Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Have you not wondered just why it has a mismatched wheel?

Hint: Probably had a high speed encounter with something about 4-6 inches high and made of concrete. With everything that implies.
Are you sure they are mismatched? It looks the same to me with a shadow over the front.
 
Good point. It's always necessary to check out for crash damage, and even more so when there are potential evidence about it. But if you're lucky there's no accident behind it, or everything has been fixed and they saved money only on the rim.

A friend of mine bought B5 A4 with similar thing, three all seasons and one summer tyre. 60km later I towed him to home, because of a snapped drive shaft. All the damage had been repaired, all control arms where new and shiny (good thing, they are expensive and there's shit loads of them in the B5 for reasons which are ambitious but rubbish). Only downside was, the repair guy had forgotten the spline (is it called spline?) from the shaft at the wheel hub and the shaft decided to come almost whole way out before it transferred all the torque by only the little part after the spline, which of course isn't made to transfer anything. Snap.

All the parts were about 300 euros, but had we let some garage fix it, it would probably have been at least 500 euros. I'm not saying same thing is going to happen with the R, but if there's even small possible evidence of a crash, check everything out. And like in the Audi, we did, but it's impossible to find a missing spline inside a wheel hub.

But after all the demotivation: 16" Comets are hot! :)
 
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I love that titanium gray-blue that Jags came in. My current holy grail is an '03-04 XKR coupe in that color.
 
If only they came in manual.

They did, just not in the U.S. :p

When I had my Jag I looked into the cost of a conversion. The good thing is that you only need to swap the mechanical bits, the bad thing is that you need to buy the parts from Europe.
 
They did, just not in the U.S. :p

When I had my Jag I looked into the cost of a conversion. The good thing is that you only need to swap the mechanical bits, the bad thing is that you need to buy the parts from Europe.
Wasn't Spectre swapping a GM manual into one of his at some point?
 
Different generation, and he abandoned it for a GM automatic.
 
Yup, while the T5WC did fit in the car it never worked out the way I'd hoped and I ended up shelving and later scrapping the project.

The next time by (my current car), I used a TH700R4 instead.

Edit: Also, Labcoatguy: If you are talking about the color of that first of two Jaguars argatoga linked to, that is Nautilus Blue. Jaguar's color code for it is PDV, and it is a pearl or metallic flake paint.
1997_jaguar_xk8_base_burlingame_ca_93239621170262132.jpg
 
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Yes, sadly there are no XJR's for sale in the Denver area right now.

So what if the R has been in an accident and that's why it has a mismatched rim? My current car has a slightly discolored fender...it gives it character :lol:

And it's not like I haven't already been through the route of replacing front suspension components - at least I know what to expect, and how much it costs. (by the way the saffron R I posted earlier has IPD struts and springs)

Edit: Holy crap, a third 1998 R showed up in Denver. This one is Black. They are asking $6k and it has 211k miles...not sure if serious.
 
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Yup, while the T5WC did fit in the car it never worked out the way I'd hoped and I ended up shelving and later scrapping the project.

The next time by (my current car), I used a TH700R4 instead.

Edit: Also, Labcoatguy: If you are talking about the color of that first of two Jaguars argatoga linked to, that is Nautilus Blue. Jaguar's color code for it is PDV, and it is a pearl or metallic flake paint.
1997_jaguar_xk8_base_burlingame_ca_93239621170262132.jpg
I like this blue. More cars should be that blue.
 
So what if the R has been in an accident and that's why it has a mismatched rim? My current car has a slightly discolored fender...it gives it character :lol:

And it's not like I haven't already been through the route of replacing front suspension components - at least I know what to expect, and how much it costs. (by the way the saffron R I posted earlier has IPD struts and springs)

Edit: Holy crap, a third 1998 R showed up in Denver. This one is Black. They are asking $6k and it has 211k miles...not sure if serious.

Wow, reread what you just wrote. Ignore that it is a Volvo. Does that follow any sense?

If it has been in an accident the unibody could have been tweaked.
 
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I like this blue. More cars should be that blue.

Every time I look at that car in that color all that pops into my mind is this

[video=youtube;fki-LTswICw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fki-LTswICw[/video]

I like to think that was how the car left the factory
 
Argh, Captivas are like a plague around here.
 
If only they came in manual.

About a year or so ago, I came across a 1994 Jaguar XJS with the 4.0 litre 6 and a factory installed five speed manual.

I was sorely tempted, but I remembered all the horror stories I heard about the XJS both here and on Top Gear and so I passed.

(And now Spectre comes along to say that most of the bugs were worked out of the XJS by the early Nineties and the 5.3 litre V12 was the most troublesome bit anyway. ;))
 
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