"VehiculusIgnorantus" (crdiscoverer)
02/14/2020 at 16:12 • Filed to: None
6
15|
"VehiculusIgnorantus" (crdiscoverer)
02/14/2020 at 16:12 • Filed to: None | 6
| 15 |
So I finally made the jump to Oppo and I thought it was a good idea to introduce myself: I’m Eric, a Costa Rican with a couple of somewhat interesting rides which maybe justify my presence here and which I will describe below, but before that, being from a remote place with its own car quirks I thought it could be fun for you to see what I see from time to time.
So, without further ado, I present you my ‘97 supercharged, 5spd, inline 6 E39:
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It has served me well for over 10 years now. I had it imported from Belgium since I could not find any manual E39s down here and of course I do have some horror stories like those you should expect with any old German car, but I came to realize most of the money pit issues show up when the car is neglected. You see, German cars like to be pampered. They will quietly let you know when something is about to break (sometimes very quietly) and unlike a Camry, they will simply stop working and leave you stranded if you don’t immediately replace said something.
Given that it was a basic 528i with the low end torque of a 90's Civic, I eventually added a stage 1 supercharger from VF Engineering. It wasn’t easy as there is no market or access to such things here so I had to basically transfer a few grand to a company I did not know in the US and hope for the best. The most difficult bit was figuring out how to send the ECU to VFE to have it reflashed and then ship it back. It’s of course not anywhere near an M5 in performance, but I like to think that I have a slightly lighter, faster and better 540i (rack and pinion!).
I did other small modifications to it, such as getting nicer wheels out of an E60, the brushed aluminum trim, the OEM aerodynamics package and assorted ///M bits (it doesn’t say M5 anywhere so shut up).
Then I also own this:
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What you see above is a 1978 Toyota Corolla, better known as the KE30. Fun fact: The actual chassis name is just “E30” (same as the BMW 3 series from the late 80's). The first letter describes the engine in it (K series or T series), so mine has a 3K engine with all of 1.2 L and neck breaking 55 hp when new. Most of the ones you see in the US are TE31's since they came with the 2T 1.6 L engine and a few other changes such as massive plastic bumpers:
So what’s the story behind this one? My dad bought it new from the dealer back in ‘78. He says he wanted the same car but in wagon form but he couldn’t afford it so he ended up buying the 2 door. You have to realize he was buying this for a family of soon-to-be-5 so I always laugh when people say they need a Suburban because they have 2 kids.
My dad got a better job, he was given a company car and then he bought a Nissan van in 1990 (the one that was recalled due to fires), identical to this one:
so the Corolla got left behind, almost abandoned except to fulfill its duties as “that shitty car I learned to drive in” for a few family members.
I felt sorry for the poor thing since there were so many stories we shared together and my dad was already thinking about either selling it for pennies or having it crushed, so when got my driver’s license I offered my dad the few savings I had and was the happy owner of a neglected, 70's econobox with less hp than a lawnmower.
Restoring it to a driveable condition took more effort than I thought, especially since this is not a Mustang for which new parts are still made. It’s only getting worse and most of the parts that I need are rare finds on eBay, which to add insult to injury, are priced super high as the sellers “know what they have”.
I’m seeing myself driving it less and less to prevent stupid people from crashing into it, so it’s sort of becoming a garage queen with no value whatsoever, other than sentimental, that is.
So that’s it. I will post from time to time to show you hopefully interesting stuff about either my cars, future projects (I’m eyeing a Pathfinder R50) or just random things.
ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
> VehiculusIgnorantus
02/14/2020 at 18:13 |
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Welcome to Oppo. You're E39 is seriously cool. I miss my former E39. I was a sublimely good car.
SmugAardvark
> VehiculusIgnorantus
02/14/2020 at 18:30 |
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Welcome! Great cars, and love the back story.
CB
> VehiculusIgnorantus
02/14/2020 at 18:45 |
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Welcome to Oppo! I hope you have a great time here. Stay out of the basement .
That Corolla looks wicked. Such a sweet style. Planning on keeping it stock-ish forever, or doing some tuning stuff to it like your 5 series?
feather-throttle-not-hair
> VehiculusIgnorantus
02/14/2020 at 19:38 |
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Welcome! The first car I remember my parents having was a 1978 corolla 2-door like that. I believe my Dad bought it brand new. He and some friends actually organized a group buy and I think they walked out of the dealership with 3 identical corollas.
Longtime Lurker
> VehiculusIgnorantus
02/14/2020 at 20:27 |
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Welcome to Oppo!
phenotyp
> VehiculusIgnorantus
02/14/2020 at 20:48 |
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Welcome to the weirdo club.
Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
> VehiculusIgnorantus
02/14/2020 at 21:51 |
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Welcome to Oppo! I only joined a few months ago, but I already feel like a part of the community here. We’d love to hear more from you!
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VehiculusIgnorantus
> CB
02/15/2020 at 16:33 |
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I have been tempted but I always go back to not doing anything to it (I already have a quick-ish car anyway) . There is beauty in its simplicity and that’s why it has lasted 40 years. There is going to be a point in the not-so-far-future where mechanical parts will be so scarce that I will be forced to do an engine swap along with modernizing most of it (especially brakes). The go- to alternative for these things is a 4A-GE but those engines are already old too. If I can find one and figure out the electronics, I’d love to throw a 4U from a GT86 in there.
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VehiculusIgnorantus
> feather-throttle-not-hair
02/15/2020 at 16:37 |
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That’s awesome! That was around the point where Japanese cars were being taken seriously because of their reliability. The Datsun B210 was a way better car back then, so I wonder why anyone would’ve chosen the Corolla.
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VehiculusIgnorantus
> Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
02/15/2020 at 16:37 |
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I’ll try to be a regular around here.
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VehiculusIgnorantus
> ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
02/15/2020 at 16:39 |
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I think you can already see I have an issue with getting rid of my previous cars, so my E39 will likely die with me. I’ve read so many stories of people regretting selling them. What engine/trans did you have ?
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ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
> VehiculusIgnorantus
02/15/2020 at 18:12 |
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It was 2000 528i/5-speed auto , sport package car. It wasn’t the V8, but it was very good interstate commuting car that went around a corner better than anything weighing that much had a right to.
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feather-throttle-not-hair
> VehiculusIgnorantus
02/15/2020 at 18:49 |
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Yeah, i’m not sure why he and his friends chose a Corolla over a Datsun. My dad is/was a pretty big japanophile and I think he and my mom lived in Japan until the early-70's, so it’s likely he had some experience with Datsun vs Toyota cars while he was living over there.
He may have even done some work for Datsun and/or Toyota back in the day. I remember him in more recent years expressing a little bit of disdain towards Nissan. Apparently there was a ton of redundancy after the Nissan/Prince merger that they kind of refused to get rid of, the prime example being the company building both Skyline and Fairlady sports cars that essentially competed with one another.
Also, that E39 is cool. Good on you for finding a stick!
Duck Duck Grey Duck FTMFW!
> VehiculusIgnorantus
02/17/2020 at 11:04 |
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Welcome to OPPO! Your cars are very nice!
davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
> VehiculusIgnorantus
02/18/2020 at 09:50 |
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Welcome! Nice cars.