99 problems

So broke! Teeth needed money spent (and still need much more) and my Legnum is due both a warrant of fitness, and a general tidy-up. To be honest, I’m a bit over it as a daily driver. It’s got good power and doesn’t use too much gas, but it’s boring as all hell, and fairly uninspiring.

 

I’ve got a bit of money saved away, and am seriously thinking about buying something older, RWD and with a bit of character.

I’ve been following Racer86′s blog for a wee while now, which can be found here, and noted he’s recently procured a tidy E30 BMW. Now, I know what you’re thinking “E30′s are NOT rare, and are definately not exciting.”

I’d agree

Clean and functional

But as the above photo demonstrates, they can look great with a little work, and I think they’re quite a striking wee vehicle pre-modification.

They’re cheap too. A decent, tidy example can be had for less than 2k if you shop around. Add to that stunning reliability and a swollen after-market scene, and it starts to make sense. I’m not too keen on an old, old car for a daily driver. I’ve done that, and though fun, isn’t really suited to business shirts and dress pants.

The above ticks a lot of my prerequisites, but I’d be keen to hear what others think. God knows I need a few comments.

C11-OH!

Bit shaky, taken from my desk, leaning backward.

As-yet unfinished, clearly. Probably never will be finished.

Reckon the orange and red work swell. Go the XR4s

New Daily of petrol-eatery

Picked up a smooth-as-a-sailor V6 4WD Legnum on Saturday. Drives well enough, is rapid enough and looks good enough to satisfy my admittedly-low standards (my flashest daily driver to date has been the 1993 626 this replaces). High kms, but I didn’t want to spend much on a car I’ll be driving every day, so picked it up for a song. Has some nicer rims and a dose of lowering (apparently) also, so I’m happy

Would like to get the VR4 kit on, space the wheels out a bit, consider coilovers, fix a couple of electrical gremlins and sort out a decent sound system. First things first however, it needs the cambelt done and a general once-over- previous owner carted her kids and dog around in it.

Basically ticks all the boxes for what I wanted to achieve in 2010, sans a trip to see The Alchemist in Melbourne. Am a qualified Architectural Draughtsman, am working full-time as one also, have moved away from home (again) and have a decent car I can hopefully rely on.

Have added a quick pic of the wagon. Excuse the crap trademe spec quality.

Wekfest 2010

http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2735807

Fucking sick cars. Few links in there to whet your appetite.

Working on a sweet post. Bit of a thinker

Sigmata V2.0

Some of you are aware of the old Sigma wagon I rolled a couple years back. I got it after I got rid of my Celeste, and it was a trooper.

I basically removed the suspension and popped on some knock-off Hayashi Streets. I think it looked choice. I got heaps of comments and smiles. It ended up smoking a bit and chewed some wheel bearings, so after getting it fixed and back to stock, I sold it off sans WOF for $200.

Looked pretty sharp at it’s best

Since the blowout that was the Sapporo, I’ve been thinking more and more about another Sigma, albeit in sedan form. Just like almost any Mitsubishi in NZ, they don’t get a lot of respect and if modified, are done so in a fairly foul way. Think 17″ rims, not really lowered, garish silver paint everywhere and badly painted interiors. I reckon they’d make a sound option for an older Japanese car in regards to tasteful modifications, at an accessible price. They rarely sell for more than a grand or so, and mods are simple, like any old car. Here’s what I came up with on Photoshop.

Pretty standard fare. Hard slam, wheels, tidied up

14s with acceptable offset and width, low profile tyres with a hint of stretch, likely adjustable struts to get acceptable lowness and a few touches that I haven’t shown there.

Thoughts?

Forza III, V1.2

Finally activated my Xbox Live account, so figured I may as well post some shots from this fine game. I’m only at level 25-odd, which is likely laughable compared to most. Enjoy, and feel free to comment/advise

NA MX5. 1800cc with all the goodies. Low as possible (not Slamburglars low though) on Work 01s. This thing is obscenely tail-happy. No rotary needed here

Obligatory AE86. Had a 3SGE in it for awhile, sans turbo. Decided to go back to the 4AGE with everything. Sounds unreal. Similar to the MX5, but feels more balanced. Far too much tyre, and the wheels aren’t my cup of tea. Don’t want Equip 01s on everything though.

FC that I’ve raced in everything possible. A lot of fun to drive. Mildly modded but a two-stroke-esque powerband. Looks quite sharp.

Couple of shots I like, to finish with. Am forever snapping away, sol I will likely post some more at a later date

VG30DETT+maximum money spent=no traction until 5th and 300km/h+

Mr Beeoneoneoh doesn’t like this game, and I’m rather mystified as to why.

Bye for now. Will likely have some interesting tidbits to add soon enough.

For those who are on Xbox Live, my tag is Brick vs face

Forza 3

Finally turned up this morning. No time for a decent play but first impressions are good, particularly with a decent wheel and pedal set up. Need to run it into my 1080P capable LCD also, but that can wait.

As a side note, I’m going to be building a setup to play in. What a full blown nerd.

 

Also, the Sapporo is gone. Due to an inability to store it in it’s current home, I had little choice in the matter

 

More on that later

 

P.S. HI JARRED! Hope Brennan is okay now

Automotive oddity that makes sense (sort of)

Came across this Polonez 125P on trademe, and thought it strange how well suited to the shape of a ute the 125 is. Of course the Polonez’s had a different frontal arrangement, but look at the profile. Suits it well I feel.

Unsurprisingly, wikipedia is quite vague on this little baby, but I gather it’s a Polish company, who are now non-existent. They produced typically hardy vehicles with small price tickets, cheap parts and low technology, typical of that part of the world, with Communism having a firm grip.

Anyway, with the Fiat twin-cam and a decent interior, this wee truck looks to be real fun. Hopefully it doesn’t die an early death from rot.

Sapporo supdate

At tec late again, time for a post on the future of the Sapporo

As it stands, I haven’t worked on the poor thing for months. I’ve been at tec til midnight consistently during the week, and either hungover or helping my Mother sell her house on the weekends.

I left it sitting in it’s warm shed somewhere near Hamilton, in bits, but dry and safe. The head is off pending accrual of a better one, and the front guards have been removed as they need some serious work to do their job to a WOF-able level. I’ve also removed various ancillaries for a clean and paint, as well as aquire bits and pieces of the electrical persuasion.

As it stands, I’d like to have it running this summer. Not necessarily legal and driveable, but running. This means I need to find a good condition cylinder head to whack on. As luck would have it, after negelecting such thoughts for weeks on end, I was pondering exactly that when I got a random text from a gentleman from the Oldschool forums. Mr caboon, or “Ogre” as he is also known happened to have a spare head going that had also had a refurb recently. I’ll take that! As a side note, he happens to be popping a rare AMG 4G63 into his LB Lancer, which I’d like to get some updates on. With any luck I’ll be having that in my posession in the coming weeks.

I have everything else sans a distributor, which is an easy find. All belts and gaskets are taken care of. I’d like another water pump really, I’ll see how the existing one looks.

Long term? Well once it’s running, I’ll need an exhaust system, as the 2′ of 2.5″  straight pipe likely won’t cut it. Suspension will be one of the first aspects taken care of once it’s road legal, likely in the form of some adjustable platforms in the front ala fuel spec, and something horrible in the back until I get the financials to get to work.

Engine-wise, I’ll stick with the SOHC for a while. It’s won’t be quick, but with a weber, extractors, the head cleaned up and a decent exhaust it’ll get around fine. Eventually, I’ll be opting for a DOHC 4G63, though of what type I’m unsure. ITB’s and a high rev limit is tempting, though will likely break easily and the power-to-weight ratio won’t be flash.

DOHC 4G63t is really the way forward for decent results, so will likely be what I opt for. It won’t be cheap, so will wait till I’m working full time next year.

I’d like some interesting wheels from the land of Japanese people, preferably in the 14 x 8 and 14 x 9 widths. I only need one kidney anyway.

The reality is, this is a long-long-term project. I didn’t want to see it end up crushed or crashed, so even if I just get it road-worthy, I’ll be happy. Michael over at RC understands, he’s been working on his C110 GTR for as long as I can remember.

Here’s a sad pic to end on

That S30

The car of the moment?

Goes to show how crucial being low is

I’m not going to gush over this thing. I’ll leave that to the rest of the internet. I’m here to look at this example of fandom-causing automobilia objectively, which I’ll keep to myself. I hope Mr Akaishi doesn’t mind me using his photo. Any man worth his life is never too proud to have his work considered by others.

It intrigues me how infatuated others can be with the opinions of the world. It shouldn’t matter, why should it? It’s not even as simple as the now-over-used concept of doing what you want. You don’t, and shouldn’t need to be told that.

 

To quote a great man,  Howard Roark, to a foul man, Ellsworth Toohey, who shared only one thing with Mr Roark, their lack of existence. This is upon being asked by Mr Toohey what Mr Roark thought of him.

“Mr. Roark, we’re alone here. Why don’t you tell me what you think of me in any words you wish.”
“But I don’t think of you”

 

It’s the things we love and desire that enslave us. Don’t let those things be determined by the opinions of others.

The car looks fantastic, there is no doubt, but does it deserve the accolades it has recieved? Has there been a great feat of engineering involved? Does it do something new and innovative? No. But then the owner hasn’t claimed it does. It exists in it’s own right.

It’s only a car. You’re a person, capable of such greatness your mind likely doesn’t know of it. Reserve your admiration