Thanks to my summer jobs and lack of holiday, I was able to afford a funky little 1995 Opel Corsa 1.5 TD at 19. It unfortunately ended after a few months as the car emptied its oil tank in a month without any obvious reason. A friend managed to find a 1994 engine and fit it in the car then sold it.
With the money I bought my mother's 1998 Renault Twingo II with a long folding moonroof. I totaled it after 2.5 years having a frontal crash at 70 km/h vs. 30 km/h against a Renault Scenic II (wasn't my fault).
Somehow I was quite lucky since the insurance gave me 4250 euros; if I would have sold it myself, I would have earned nothing more than 2500 euros (the body was damaged everywhere, because stupid people in French Riviera don't know how to park).
Now let's go with the good stuff: I bought a 1984 BMW E28 528i from a German friend for 2000 euros just before I left France to Munich, Germany. I spent about 500 euros in parts to make it work properly (water hoses, gas hoses, Bosch battery, gas pump, water pump, manifold-to-catalytic exhaust sections, "clutch-lever assistance", fan's viscous clutch, spark distribution)
Here is a picture of it and its specs:
http://img201.imageshack.**/img201/3880/copyof1kw7.jpg
Engine: 12 valves I-6, 2788 cm?, bore X stroke: 86 X 80 mm
Power: 184 hp @ 5800 rpm
Torque: 240 Nm @ 4200 rpm (177 lb-ft)
Gearbox: 5-speed manual
Differential: open
Mass: 1300 kg
Weight: 2866 lb
Tires: 195/70 VR 14
0-100 km/h (0-62 mph): 8.4 s
1000 m (0.622 mile): 29.8 s
Top speed: 220 km/h (137 mph)
Gas consumption: from 7 L/100kph (33 mpg) to 30+ L/100kph (less than 8 mpg)
Stock: ABS, Bavaria cassette player / 4 speakers
Options: long final drive, Bilstein shocks, Eibach springs, manual AC, lightgold BBS rims
Impressions
Acceleration: on 1st gear (up to 65 km/h), it's quick but not impressive; on 2nd and 3rd gear (from 65 to 160 km/h) it felt awesome: a feeling of endless powerband that left behind GTIs which were happy to follow me on 1st gear; 4th gear (up to 220 km/h) isn't bad but as I reached 190 km/h, the boxy shape slowed down the acceleration despite having higher revs; 5th gear is only useful for economy and cool driving. On a downhill highway I went beyond the 250 km/h mark.
Handling: the ride was very comfortable, since the Bilstein/Eibach combination had about the same specs as the original option from BMW. The handling relied on weight transfer rather than sticky grip but it was quite efficient, offering the usual comfort/handling compromise of 5-series. The car was only let down by the open differential while exiting tight corners.
Design: I love the front design with its reversed nose and its large-sized low beams / medium-sized high beams setup; it was so aggressive that everybody let me pass on the highway. From the C-pillar, the design is less happy and more boxy. Also the chromed bumpers were quite nice, and looks far better than the US-spec version.
I sold this car right before leaving Europe to US, but I was quite lucky to find a nice deal for the Z3. I will post it later.
With the money I bought my mother's 1998 Renault Twingo II with a long folding moonroof. I totaled it after 2.5 years having a frontal crash at 70 km/h vs. 30 km/h against a Renault Scenic II (wasn't my fault).
Somehow I was quite lucky since the insurance gave me 4250 euros; if I would have sold it myself, I would have earned nothing more than 2500 euros (the body was damaged everywhere, because stupid people in French Riviera don't know how to park).
Now let's go with the good stuff: I bought a 1984 BMW E28 528i from a German friend for 2000 euros just before I left France to Munich, Germany. I spent about 500 euros in parts to make it work properly (water hoses, gas hoses, Bosch battery, gas pump, water pump, manifold-to-catalytic exhaust sections, "clutch-lever assistance", fan's viscous clutch, spark distribution)
Here is a picture of it and its specs:
http://img201.imageshack.**/img201/3880/copyof1kw7.jpg
Engine: 12 valves I-6, 2788 cm?, bore X stroke: 86 X 80 mm
Power: 184 hp @ 5800 rpm
Torque: 240 Nm @ 4200 rpm (177 lb-ft)
Gearbox: 5-speed manual
Differential: open
Mass: 1300 kg
Weight: 2866 lb
Tires: 195/70 VR 14
0-100 km/h (0-62 mph): 8.4 s
1000 m (0.622 mile): 29.8 s
Top speed: 220 km/h (137 mph)
Gas consumption: from 7 L/100kph (33 mpg) to 30+ L/100kph (less than 8 mpg)
Stock: ABS, Bavaria cassette player / 4 speakers
Options: long final drive, Bilstein shocks, Eibach springs, manual AC, lightgold BBS rims
Impressions
Acceleration: on 1st gear (up to 65 km/h), it's quick but not impressive; on 2nd and 3rd gear (from 65 to 160 km/h) it felt awesome: a feeling of endless powerband that left behind GTIs which were happy to follow me on 1st gear; 4th gear (up to 220 km/h) isn't bad but as I reached 190 km/h, the boxy shape slowed down the acceleration despite having higher revs; 5th gear is only useful for economy and cool driving. On a downhill highway I went beyond the 250 km/h mark.
Handling: the ride was very comfortable, since the Bilstein/Eibach combination had about the same specs as the original option from BMW. The handling relied on weight transfer rather than sticky grip but it was quite efficient, offering the usual comfort/handling compromise of 5-series. The car was only let down by the open differential while exiting tight corners.
Design: I love the front design with its reversed nose and its large-sized low beams / medium-sized high beams setup; it was so aggressive that everybody let me pass on the highway. From the C-pillar, the design is less happy and more boxy. Also the chromed bumpers were quite nice, and looks far better than the US-spec version.
I sold this car right before leaving Europe to US, but I was quite lucky to find a nice deal for the Z3. I will post it later.
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These are the real Bmw-s IMO.
