Your list of old, EX cars

Haven't done this in here yet. This list is not exactly in order, and I don't have pictures of all of them, much less online.

Years driving, 38.

Cars owned, over 130.

Current cars:

'01 BMW 740i
'14 MINI Cooper
'02 Chevy Suburban 2500
'79 Chevy Stepside hotrod

Past Rides:
Cars:

American:

'13 Chevy Volt
'06 Mustang GT convertible
'63 Mercury Comet S22 hardtop
'63 Mercury Comet Convertible
'02 Chrysler PT Cruiser
'99 Ford SVT Contour
'86 Caddy Fleetwood Brougham (the Battlestar Cadillactica)
'61 Ford Falcon
'62 Ford Falcon 4dr custom
'86 Mazda/Ford RX7 (the Rex)
'62 Mercury Comet 2 dr sedan (my first car)
'72 Ford Pinto (my first autocrosser)
'70 Ford Mustang Sportsroof (autocrosser)
'70 Ford Mustang Mach1 (drag car)
'70 Ford Mustang BOSS 302 (investment car)
'71 Ford Torino GT 429
'73 Euro Capri (road racer)
'50 Ford coupe
'70 Pontiac Ventura (drag car)
'76 Pontiac Grand LeMans (lowrider)
'89 Pontiac Grand Am
'78 Pontiac Trans Am (autocrosser)
'84 Chevy Monte Carlo (lowrider)
'85 Chevy Monte Carlo (lowrider)
'75 Chevy Corvette/ Ferrari Daytona Spyder replica (TV car)
'81 Chevy Citation (323k miles!!!)
'71 Dodge Charger
'84 Dodge Daytona Turbo
'86 Dodge Daytona Turbo
'56 Dodge Hemi Coronet
'56 Rambler Wagon


Imports:

'11 MINI Cooper
'98 BMW 740iL
'02 Hyundai Accent
'73 Porsche 914
'74 Porsche 914 (autocrosser)
'66 Porsche 912 (autocross and road racer)
'69 Porsche 911T
'74 Porsche 911S (driver and autocrosser)
Custom Bugs too numerous to list individually... (over 30)
'63 Ghia
'71 VW Karmann Ghia
'72 VW Ghia
'69 Squareback VW
'69 Fastback VW
Bradley GT kit car
'77 VW Scirocco
'80 VW Jetta (custom, w/Cabrio grille)
'59 Jaguar Mark IX
'86 Jaguar XJ6 (black)
'86 Jaguar XJ6 (cream)
'71 MG Midget
'76 MGB
'58 MGA
'59 TR3
? TR-7 (with Ford 2.8 V6)
'84 Renault Alliance

'61 Renault 4CV

'72 Audi 100LS
'75 Fiat X-1/9
'78 Fiat X-1/9 (autocrosser)
'81 Fiat 124 Spyder
'72 Fiat 124 Spyder (autocrosser)
'74 Fiat 124 Spyder
'66 Datsun sedan
'72 Datsun 240Z
'74 Datsun 240Z (autocrosser)
'84 Toyota Corolla GTS (autocross and road race)
'74 Subaru Coupe
'82 Subaru 4x4 wagon
'84 Subaru 4x4 wagon
'70 Mazda R100 (autocrosser)
'73 Mazda RX-2 (autocrosser)
'73 Mazda RX-3 (autocrosser)
'75 Mazda RX-3
'79 Mazda RX-7
'86 Honda CRX Si (custom)

Bikes:
'81 Honda CB750-F
'86 Yamaha Radian
'89 Suzuki Katana

Trucks

'94 Chevy 3500 dually
'01 Range Rover 4.6 HSE
'95 Range Rover County LWB
'88 Range Rover
'92 Toyota lowrider pickup
'96 Ford Ranger Splash
'77 Ford Courier
'78 Chevy LUV (lowrider)
'74 Chevy LUV (lowrider)
'71 Datsun
'73 Datsun (lowrider)
'66 VW panel bus
'66 VW 21 Window Deluxe bus
'68 VW Westfalia camper bus
'72 Chevy Suburban (lowrider)
'78 Dodge Chinook Motorhome
'68 GMC intercity bus/motorhome conversion
'72 Winnebago Indian w/Mopar 413
 
Nice list's, thank you for sharing, keep'em coming..


Years driving, 38.

Cars owned, over 130.

'73 Porsche 914
'74 Porsche 914 (autocrosser)
'66 Porsche 912 (autocross and road racer)
'69 Porsche 911T
'74 Porsche 911S (driver and autocrosser)

Bradley GT kit car

'72 Datsun 240Z
'74 Datsun 240Z (autocrosser)
'84 Toyota Corolla GTS (autocross and road race)

'79 Mazda RX-7
'86 Honda CRX Si (custom)

'66 VW panel bus
'66 VW 21 Window Deluxe bus

'68 GMC intercity bus/motorhome conversion
'72 Winnebago Indian w/Mopar 413

Do you have pictures of any of these?
 
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Updated, May 2021:

I'm game:

But first some info about me: In contrast to most people on a car forum I made my driving licence only when I was already 29 years old. I had no interest in cars up to then (and for some time onwards too as you will see by my choice if cars), was a money investing tightarse, a racing bicycle freak, and anyway I live in public transport paradise Switzerland. Hence for a long time I didn't saw the need to enter the world of personal motoring. - Until I was in need to get a driving licence to have more mobility for business reasons.

A year later in 2003 finally I bought my first car: 1994 Opel Corsa Sport, 1.4L, 82hp - Aka: "Blackegg"
Ah, the new joy of personal mobility: Went on my first drive after the purchase on a friday evening and said: "I will be underway for about half an hour or so." - I ended up doing a two day pan-european roadtrip instead. - Owning a car is awesome. Who knew?!

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Pro: It was black metallic and "SPORT" was written on the doors. Enough said.

Contra: I kept the black egg way too long and was constantly pouring money into it to keep it roadworthy beyond it's expiration date. - So here I learned the rule of bangernomics: "Buy a car, drive it until it dies or the MOT runs out, then throw it away and buy something else".

How it ended: MOT failure after 5 years of ownership. Sold for scrap value.



Second car, purchased in 2008: 1994 Ford Fiesta, 1.4L, 75hp - Aka: "Tincan"
Unplanned last-minute I-just-need-a-car purchase. Soon after I bought it someone stole both front blinker covers. I didn't care at all and never replaced them. - Also you can see on the second pic one day I had to rescue the little Fiesta out of a winter storm snow drift. :lol:

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Pro: Somewhat lovable basic bucket with extremly cheap maintenance.

Contra: Mispurchase in terms of engine power.

How it ended: Since my daily commute now included Autobahn time my patience with the lack of power grew thin very quickly. - Sold after 1 year, still in good condition.



Third car, purchased in 2009: 1994 Opel Corsa 1.6L, 106hp - Aka: "Rocket"

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Pro: A power-to-weight ratio of over 100hp/ton. How awesome was that!

Contra: Opel Corsa.

How it ended: Sold after 2 years because of MOT failure.



Forth car, purchased in 2011: 1993 Honda Concerto 1.6L, 122hp - Aka: "Glasshouse"
When I took possession of it it had anti-aircraft-cannon encasements around the exhausts and an equally stupid rear spoiler (see first pic). Got rid of that crap a few days later (see second pic). Much better.

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Pro: Somewhat cool in it's own ways. Also very roomy and airy with so much glass around.

Contra: Technic from the 1980's in a car built in the 1990's, driven in the 2010's = Hapless 4-speed automatic. - Also one day I had to replace the cool thin double barrel exhaust with a standard single can because the former had rusted trough.

How it ended: As usual by now, after 2 years. Had a hilarious engine failure on the Autobahn: A piston tried to escape through the bonnet and almost made it: Takatakataka!-Clonk!-Bang! Sold for scrap value.



Fifth car, purchased in 2013: 2002 Renault Laguna 3.0L, V6, 207hp - Aka: "Frenchy"

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Pro: Soft and comfy and had some power. Somewhat nice growly V6 soundtrack too.

Contra: Plastic phantastic interior and a very french and slow automatic gearbox.

How it ended: Slow but steady decline in overall health from the get go. Drove it for the last 6 months with a glowing CE light and an unwell clutch. Sold for scrap value after 2 years, still in somewhat drivable condition, one day before the MOT expired.



Sixth car, purchased in 2015: 2003 Audi A6 4.2L, V8, 300hp - Aka: "V8"

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Pro: Effortless AWD power and extremely comfy. V8 soundtrack was a daily joy. My first really good car.

Contra: Transmission/gearbox timebomb. Not a wagon.

How it ended: Very unusually in relation to my car history I traded it in still in good shape only after 1 year, and still with 12 months of MOT left. = I broke my own rules, but in a good way.



Seventh car, purchased in 2016: 2000 Audi S6, 4.2L, V8, 340hp - Aka: "Barkwagon"

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Pro: Even more effortless AWD power. Spacy wagon. Hilariously loud Sportec exhaust system was the highlight of the car, absolute fun even on the daily commute.

Contra: Much more hunkered down and harder as the wafty A6. Drank petrol like I had shares in an oil company. Key scratch on the hood, and some rust on the rear flap, which I later replaced with a clean piece.

How it ended: After 4 very reliable years the car suddenly reached that peak age when after you just repaired something two days later some other part would fail, and so on... - Which is fatal for a daily driver. - Sold still in driveable condition.



Eighth car, purchased in 2021: 2007 Audi S6, 5.2L, V10, 435hp - Aka: "Howlwagon"

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Pro: Relentless AWD power. Spacy wagon. Glorious V10 race car scream when you push the pedal to the metal, and equally glorious low frequency growl when you lift off again.

Contra: 2-ton tank. Consumes liquid dinosaurs like there is no tomorrow. Lacks audible presence when not pushed, at least in comparison with my predecessor.

How it will end: Dunno, MOT until 06/2023
 
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I got my license in early 2000.

1984 Ford Escort 1.3 - A very practical 3 door hatch. I cut holes in the parcel shelf to fit a pair of Sony 6x9" and bolted some extra 100-watt Hella lights to the front. Kept this car for a year.

1990 Ford Sierra 2.0i DOHC sedan - Fuel injection and lots of sideways action in winter. Also four doors and a conventional boot, which I discovered looks good but unlike the Escort the nice sedan body couldn't swallow a wheelbarrow. I found this out when trying to put a wheelbarrow in it.

1994 Volvo 855 20 valve auto - This was around 2005 or so. I needed something with more room than a sedan and as a 20-something I had already decided my cars should never ever have more than two pedals. The build quality of a Volvo came as a surprise to someone used to a Ford designed in the early 80's. A rear backrest that isn't made from foam and recycled beer cans, and actually might hold the contents of your trunk in the trunk in a crash? Brakes that don't warp after you slam the brakes for an animal from [SPEED REDACTED]? Whoa.

1997 Volvo V70 10 valve auto - See above. Just in better shape and with a very well executed facelift. All the toys and the big stereo, just lacked an actual engine.

2004 Volvo V70 2.5 Turbo Geartronic - Don't ever ever test drive a turbo version when you've got the gramps spec.

2012 Skoda Octavia 1.4 TSI DSG - My first new car, and my only new car so far. Got tired of fueling up a turbo Volvo. A Golf with a stache, very spacious in length but not in width. The little turbo motor was less of a downgrade than you'd expect after coming from a 210PS V70.

2014 Opel Insignia Country Tourer 4x4 Biturbo CDTI Auto - After four years of Skoda ownership I wanted something more substantial again. Something that wasn't knocked around by crosswinds and that didn't have an engine and a gearbox built by VAG. I also had a list of features I wouldn't budge on, but I was open to suggestions when it came to make and model... so I went on the internet and found this.

This time the list included AWD since I was tired of not having traction in winter, and diesel because this is in the territory where spark ignition would produce unpleasant fuel bills. I put the second set of tires into the trunk of the Octavia and drove 3 hours southwest to "test drive" a car I'd never considered or even been in before, in any kind of model year or trim. It's less spacious than the significantly smaller Skoda and the diesel sounds like a bag of rocks compare to the VAG offerings, but it's an excellent winter car and excellent tow car. Very comfortable too, and it's been more trouble-free than I expected an Opel to be. Unlike VAG and Volvo it doesn't need new chassis or steering bits every MOT and the engine has only ever needed a new battery and a single (horribly expensive) glow plug.

What comes next, who knows. Maybe a new generation one of these, maybe not. Two wheel drive is out of the question and diesel still feels relevant.
 
I passed my test around 2009 I think, but couldn't afford a car for a few years after.


2011-2013

2008 Toyota Yaris T2, 1.0.

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I was gonna go out and buy a Pug 106 or something but my parent's outright banned daily shitboxes and mandated that if I was gonna live under their roof I was gonna drive something under 5 years old.

Enter the Yaris. 1.0 3 cylinder, base spec. Cost £5500, paid back at £120 a month. Almost certainly my most sensible car purchase, it was rugged and refused to break despite constant abuse and life at the redline, cost pennies to service and maintain and as far as transport goes was pretty spot on aside from being a bit underpowered. Traded against it's replacement for £4,500! It's still on the road, now in Orkney.


2012 - Present

1977 Triumph Dolomite 1300.

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My first foray into old cars. I did the stupid thing and bought the first car I went to see and overpaid at £1400. To the trained eye it was mechanically very tired with numerous areas of bodgery to the bodywork and had obviously gone around the clock and done 124,000 miles.

It went through phases of being notoriously unreliable and perfectly serviceable daily transport, mostly due to ignition problems. It started burning a lot of oil and the filler all fell out the bodywork and eventually it ate a big end bearing on the M74 and blew it's engine. For the last year it has been in a state of restoration, a freshly built 1300cc engine is installed and most of the welding is complete. It just needs bodywork and paint... And suspension... And electrics... And the interior... Etc, etc.


2013 - 2014

2012 Vauxhall Corsa 1.4T "Black Edition".

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The Yarises replacement. I went to trade in the Yaris for something faster, better equipped and cheaper. I achieved two of those things.

Terrible purchase. Shoddy build quality, depreciated like you wouldn't believe, fond of inexplicable snap oversteer, it wouldn't demist, the steering was utterly devoid of feel, it was just shit.

The first week of ownership saw me drive over a small stone which punched a hole straight through a rear tyre and the alloy wheel for a total repair bill of £360. That pretty much set the tone for ownership. It then started getting keyed outside my house because somebody took a dislike to it. I ditched it after a year to free up money to move into my own house, it traded in for £6k less than I paid for it... It is still on the road now.


2013 - Present

1976 Triumph Dolomite 1850HL

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Cropped up locally for £850, would have been very rude to not buy it. Immediately pressed into daily transport in preference to the Corsa, immediately crashed by spinning it off a wet roundabout.
A new halfshaft and set of steel wheels saw it back on the road but it never drove properly afterwards, and it wasn't until years afterwards I realised the subframe had sunk into a "tender" chassis leg leading it to sit on the steering column. The thermostat also jammed and caused it to overheat and I think ever since that it had a slight headgasket weep.
Eventually failed an MOT on being rotten as fuck. Has sat in a field in Aberdeenshire ever since, not getting any less rotten. Once the Dolly 1300 is finished this is the next project.


2015 - 2018

2005 Honda Civic 1.6 Executive.

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My parents actually bought this car for me. I'd sold the Corsa at a massive loss and moved out of their house, a month later the Dolly 1850HL failed it's MOT and the 1300 was pressed into daily use with a repair budget of £0. One day it's clutch hydraulics and starter motor died on the same day and I had to borrow my parent's garage to sort it, I asked if they could give me a lift to work on Monday and they bought me a car...

As a car it was really not bad, but it represented my abject failure as a functional human being and I hated it. Eventually the rear calipers seized up and the cost of replacing them, the discs and pads was going to be equal the car's value. I sold it to a guy who specialised in breaking them for parts and to my knowledge it is still on the road but on a personal plate.


2018 - Present

1983 Triumph Acclaim L

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On moving to Glasgow from Aberdeenshire my car insurance jumped from £300 to £700 a year. Which I thought was a bit harsh, however a car on a specialist "classic" policy is much cheaper so ideas of buying something to replace the Civic which was just old enough to qualify were floating around when this cropped up on eBay. Bought unseen for £850.

Mechanically bulletproof it was used a daily beats for a couple of years before the rust started looking pretty bad. Once in the workshop it transpired the structural fabric of the car was actually mostly underseal. There was no point in repairing it given the low value of the car so obviously it was repaired and resprayed. I justify this by reminding myself the L(ow) is a rare spec and that it may well be the last surviving Acclaim that's been in Scotland since new...


2020 - 2021

1988 Volvo 740GL

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Bought for £300 for use as a parts hauler and long distance slogger. 2.0 injection with the autobox without lockup, the second least desirable variant after the carb motor...

I thought it was great, owner since 1993, loads spent on it over the years, presentable, drove decently. I think I owned it for 4 months?

Went into the workshop for a prod at the rear of the sills before it's looming MOT and was found to be rotten as a pear. The old boy who owned it had undersealed it every year, result being an inch of goop over rusty flakes. Areas of serious rot were: front floors, inner sills, outer edges of the crossmember, rear inner arches into the boot floor, front inner arches into the cabin, the chassis legs were a mess of patches that'd all need redoing. I elected to restore the Acclaim instead and sold it for £160. I then had a look at values and even parts cars are £500+, nice ones are £2k+ so I'll probably never have another. :(
 
Let's do a "Motorcycle Edition"

2003 Suzuki SV650S, bought new.

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Picture without mirrors or turn signals, was going to a track day.

My first bike, I learned on it, used it for commuting, weekend ride, and eventually as a track toy. Met my current girlfriend while riding it.

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Sold it in 2008 for 50% of the initial price, but with a lot of extra parts (and an engine rebuild), with >70000km on the clock.


1988 Yamaha FZR400, bought used in 2008

Race bike, bought it to go racing with my friends in the Canadian VRRA (Vintage Road Racing Association).

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Crashed in 2010, collected dirt in my garage for 5 years, sold in 2015 for almost the same price I had paid for it initially, but with a lot of extra parts (and an engine rebuild).


2008 Yamaha WR250X, bought used in 2013.

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Still in service. Hoping to not have to rebuild the engine.

Update, WR250X exchanged for a Yamaha FJ09 in 2016, got the same price I had paid for it, and didn't do an engine rebuild :dance:

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At the rate I'm putting miles on it, it will need an engine rebuild in 2056.
 
Back on page 1 I wrote I'd be back when my list has grown to more than one entry.... well, I passed that point five years ago.

Past cars:
  • 1994 VW Passat Variant GL 1.8. Bought in '95 by my father, handed down to me (not for free, but at a significant discount) in 2001. From the moment we bought it, I expected it to become mine eventually, and even though I had to fight my sister over it, that came to pass.
    I bought it with about 180,000 km on the clock and continued to drive it throughout my university years and beyond until about 270,000 km.
    That car will always have a specail place in my heart, because first car etc. and because it drove much better than one would expect from a bland family wagon. Among other things, it exceeded its advertised top speed by 15 to 20 kph on flat roads. :D
  • 2009 Ford Focus Titanium 2.0 - bought new, driven till 2016 for just 60,000 km. For more info, read the thread. :p
Past motorcycles:
  • 2008 Honda CBF1000, bought in 2011 with only 6,000 km, sold in 2019 with about 35,000 km on it.
 
We did have a thread similar to this, but damned if I can remember what it was called. Anyway, a new one would hurt.

I have bought and sold quite a few cars in the 18 years I have been driving. I'll do my best to describe each car.

1. 1981 Honda Civic Wagovan - Silver - Bought for $400 as my first car. I learned to drive it at the dragstrip in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The gear on the cam stripped that drove the oil pump. My dad and I replaced the cam and the oil pump, but never got it running again. It was hauled off when we sold the house we lived in in Tulsa.

2. 1988 Dodge Ram 50 - Dark Blue - My first vehicle that I actually drove as a licensed driver. The A/C worked, it was slow, automatic. Sold it to my brother to replace his junk Maverick. He then sold it to my dad, where it was used at the racetrack. Eventually sold after it developed overheating problems.

3. 1986 Acura Integra - Light Blue - Loved this little car. Drove it to Houston, Texas for a job, drove it home and sold it to my brother. At 210k miles the oil pump locked up on him, engine let loose and it was sold for scrap.

4. 1995 Nissan Truck - Magenta (Nissan's name, I called it purple.) - After returning from the job in Houston, I put a sizable down payment on this truck. This was a fun truck, I put tons of miles on it. Lowered it with spindles and blocks. Got into an accident with it, fixed it. Stripped the lowering stuff off and sold the truck to a Mexican who took it to California.

5. 1986 Honda CRX - Dark Blue - This was my first failed project. I bought it wrecked, planned to fix it and then have a CRX. Although I did get to drive it a few times, I never finished it. Engine still sits in my shop 15 years later.

6. 1986 Toyota Truck - White - My uncle bought this truck new in 1986. After 200k miles the clutch finally failed. I replaced the clutch, then sold it to a man who was going to take it to Guatemala.

7. 1988 Nissan Truck - Silver - Found this in a local paper for $600. Ran, but the key-way on the crank was fubared. I welded the balancer to the crank. Then sold it to my dad as a truck to use around the racetrack. Eventually the headgasket failed. I parted the truck out. I still have a few parts kicking around the shop.

8. 1986 Olds Cutlass - Cream - This car was given to my brother and I to build a racecar from. Had the trans built, gutted the interior, had contacted a engine builder, but nothing ever happened with it after that. Transmission is still in my shop. Car was given to a buddy of mine. Never heard what he did with it.

9. 1992 Saturn SC - Red - My girlfriend (now wife) needed a car after she missed one too many payments on her Cavalier. I bouth this one for $1,995 from an individual who had listed it on a website. This was the first car I bought from the internet. She lightly rearended a Grand Cherokee with it at one point, with the headlights up. I fixed it with about a million self-tapping screws and an old Coke sign. It overheated multiple times. I really learned to hate it. Eventually we sold it to a fella that was still driving it 5 years later.

10. 1989 Honda Civic - White - Another car that the wife and I used. I don't remember why we replaced the Saturn with this car, but it was a million times better. Bought it from a family that had it since new. It was slow, fun to drive though. Automatic. We got rear-ended by her brother in it. Fixed it with an old scissor jack and some wood posts. Eventually sold it to my sister-in-law. She drove it until the engine let loose. I bought it back and sold it as a pair with another I bought to replace the engine.

11. 1992 Nissan 240SX - Dark Grey - This was a $250 car with a bad engine. I bought a good engine from a 1995, dropped it in and sold it to a guy from St. Louis. Fun car to drive, but man did it need a LSD.

12. 1985 Ford Mustang & 13. 1986 Ford Mustang - One was maroon, one was silver, I don't remember which was which now. - These were bought as a pair for $100, but I had to drive 16 hours total to get them. Started to build the silver one into a racecar, lost interest, sold both.

14. 1985 Ford E-150 - Silver - Only reason I bought this is for the 351W and the 9" rearend. Sold those off for more than I paid for the van. Then took the rest to scrap.

15. 1993 Nissan Altima - Champagne - Another car bought for the wife. This one was well loaded for a mid-sized car from the early '90s. Dual zone climate control, leather, heads-up display. Again, was an auto. Wasn't exactly the most fun car to drive, but we racked up the miles on it. Sold it after is started burning oil. Saw it for a couple years after that, but haven't seen it lately.

16. 1995 Ford F150 - White w/dark blue rockers - I replaced the 1995 Nissan truck with this. It was my first full-size truck. I bought it from a friend. I once had to change the rear brake hose in a hotel parking lot after the spare rubbed a hole in it. Drove the piss out of it and then sold it to a co-worker of my brother's. Odd fact, that co-worker eventually ran-off with my brother's wife.

17. 1991 Ford Mustang - Maroon - Yet another failed racecar project. Bought it cheap, did nothing with it, sold it for more money.

18. 1981 Ford Fairmont Wagon - Blue - I bought this one on a bit of a laugh. It was $850, had a 351W in it, did burnouts, ran high 14s in the quarter. After some transmission trouble I sold it to a friend. He and his daughter raced it for years.

19. 1993 Ford Mustang - Silver - This one is about as far as I have gotten on a Mustang project. Bought the car, bought most of the parts for a 331 stroker, things were coming together and I sold it. Saw it later on for sale for a large amount of money with a serious drivetrain in it.

20. 2001 Honda Accord - Silver - My wife and I financed this one for her to drive. Great car, never gave us a lick of problems, was a fun front driver even with the automatic. We got into a wreck with a pickup that had stalled on a dark country road. Car was totaled, we survived.

21. 1984 Ford Mustang SVO - Dark Charcoal Metallic (9W) - First car I really took from nothing to something. Bought from a friend who had let it sit under a tree for 5+ years. Car was slow, ran like crap, but I soon figured out the problem. The clip that held the wastegate flapper to the actuator was missing. After that and some upgrades I got the car to run a best of 13.21 @ 102. I sold it five years ago, have looked for it for the last four.

22. 2003 Ford F-250 - Dark Shadow Gray - My first adult purchase. Truck was the 6.0 diesel, it pulled great, it ran great, no real problems, until one day, no start. I hate to admit this was during a tough financial time for my wife and I, so it was repossessed as part of a bankruptcy in 2008.

23. 1991 Ford Mustang LX - Grey - This was a running driving 4 banger that we bought for my wife to build into her own Mustang. Later we used it as daily transportation after #20 was wrecked. Started puking transmission fluid out the front. Sold it to a friend's brother. He now is a great pitcher.

24. 1992 Ford Mustang LX - Red - We bought this as a parts car for #23. It had been rolled over. Car was a cut and shut. Had a rear clip from an earlier car welded to the 1992 front. Ended up parting it out and never completing #23. Surprise, surprise...

25. 1984 Toyota Truck 4x4 - White - I paid something like $200 for this. Never drove it, but planned to build a Formula Toy out of it, guess what? Never happened. SOld the body for scrap and gave the chassis to a neighbor.

26. 1991 Ford Ranger - Black - After the bankruptcy I needed a cheap truck, bought this for $1,000 from a friend. It didn't have a muffler, was loud, slow and a hoot. It had a rear sway bar, but not a front. So it would oversteer randomly. I got rearended in it, sold it to my brother, who got a DUI in it. He then sold it.

27. 1995 Acura Legend - Black - We thought this would be a great car, but it was far from it. Dealer that sold it to us was an absolute liar. I fixed many of it problems, but got sick of the car and traded it for #30 after we bought #29 for the wife to drive.

28. 1998 Ford Ranger - Red - After #26 was rearended I bought this to replace it from a friend of a friend. Great little truck, had the 2.5 and a 5-speed. Ended up selling it to a racer about a year later.

29. 2000 Ford Taurus - Silver - Former rental. Had column shift, front bench seat. Not the sportiest car, but would absolutely eat up the road miles. My wife disliked it, so we sold it to buy #32.

30. 1995? Toyota 4-Runner - Tan - As mentioned above, traded #27 for this. Was a decent runner, but then it developed a rod knock. Sold it cheap and hated myself for trading.

31. 1992 Ford Mustang LX - White - This was the sought after 5.0 5-speed coupe. Loved this car. Best handling Mustang I've owned. Had many aftermarket upgrades. Ran high 13s. Sold it to have a down payment for #32.

32. 2002 Honda Accord - White - In 2010 we had a kiddo on the way and the wife didn't like #29. So we bought this. Was a well loaded car. Ran great. We put 50k miles on it and the transmission started acting up. Traded it in when we bought #44.

33. 1986 Merkur XR4Ti - Red - This was bought as a project. I got it about 95% done and lost interest. I drove it several times and it would have been a great toy, but I needed something reliable. Sold it and bought #34.

34. 2004 Ford Mustang GT - Dark Shadow Grey - I bought this one from a car lot, they financed it through a bank. Car was decent, but was a little rough around the edges. I fixed the small mechanical problems, barely put any miles on it and freaked out about the payment (a whopping $200 a month). Sold it at a loss. I'm an idiot.

35. 1986 Ford T-Bird Turbocoupe - Black (though was originally silver) & 36. 1989 Ford Mustang - White - Bought these as a pair, plan was to put the turbo motor from the T-Bird in the Mustang. Started the swap, had back problems and sold it to a friend.

37. 2000 Ford Mustang - Blue - This was bought with a bad engine, dropped a new one in it and sold it on to a friend to buy #40.

38. 1997 Ford Explorer & 39. 2000 Ford Explorer - Bought the pair for $750. Sold them for the same. Had a little fun with the 1997 in between.

40. 1985 Mercury Capri - Red/Grey two-tone - Loved this one even though it was an automatic and had the Ford Central Port Injection. It was slow, rusty and ugly. Sold it to a guy in Arkansas that fixed the rust and painted it. He sold it to someone in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Last report I got on it, it was sitting on the side of the highway looking pretty rough. Sad really.

41. 1985 Ford Mustang SVO - Black - Still have this one. Still in a million pieces.

42. 2003 Ford SVT Focus - Red - This was probably the most fun to drive car I have ever had. I put 21k miles on it over a three year period. Traded it for

43. 1993 Ford Mustang LX - Blurple - I bought this as my first and only internet auction purchase. It was wrecked and I knew it, but from the photos you couldn't tell how bad it really was. It donated a lot of parts to #45. The rest was hauled off for scrap.

44. 2010 Nissan Altima - Silver - My wife's current driver. We've had it for going on three years. Had 15k miles on it when we bough it and now is nearing 80k. It's not very fun to drive, the seats make my ass hurt after an hour on the road and the CVT transmission sucks my will to live. She likes it though, so whatever...

45. 1993 Mustang LX - Red - Bought without an engine or transmission. Swapped in the drivetrain from #43 and sold it to a friend of my brother's.

46. 1988 Ford Thunderbird Turbocoupe - Silver - This was just a parts car to donate the drivetrain to #41. Sold most all of the other parts to racer restoring his 1988 T-Bird, then crushed the rusty shell.

47. 1981 Ford Fairmont Wagon - Blue - Yes, same one as #18. This time around it had a 302 with EFI. Fun car, did donuts, ran low 15s. What else could you ask for? Ended up selling it to a racer, who sold it to another, then he sold it to guy in a town about 10 miles from me.

48. 1993 Mazda Miata - Black - This one was bought about a year ago. Fixed a number of things wrong with it, the sold it this spring for a very small profit.

49. 1998 Mustang V6 - ? - Another racecar project gone wrong. Bought and sold in a matter of months at a loss. Heard the guy I sold it to crushed it. Bastard.

50. 1998 Mustang Cobra - Bright Atlantic Blue - This was (and still is) a roller. No engine or transmission. I'm still searching for a suitable donor. Maybe this winter.

51. 2014 Nissan Frontier Pro-4x - White - Current daily driver. Logged about 6,000 miles in two months. Only complaint is a slightly squishy brake pedal.

52. 2007 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor - Silver - Got this in trade for #42. It's for sale. You know you want it.

I'll try to round up some photos and attach it to some of these tomorrow.

Huh, never did find any photos... Oh well. Let's see what I have done in nearly 6 years....

53. 1986 (?) Merkur XR4Ti - Bought this from a friend. Was a good example, but as usual, I got greedy and traded it off after awhile for... #57

54. 1992 Isuzu P'Up - Bought to get running and sell, never did get it running for more than 5 minutes, gave up and sold it. Was terminally rusty though. Frame was going to buckle if you looked at it wrong.

55 & 56. A pair of fox platform Mustangs *shock* (years unimportant) - one with no drivetrain and a title, one without a title, but with a drivetrain. Never did anything with them. Sold them separately.

57. 1992 Infiniti M30 - Traded the Merkur for it. Car had been used in film production and would eat batteries. Sold it to a friend's son, he sold it back to me. I sold it to someone else. Was a fun car to drive, just too difficult to find parts for.

58. 1984 Mustang SVO - #21 was repurchased after finding it in a salvage yard in Arkansas. I'm still slowly bringing it back. Might be on the road, some day. Maybe.

59. 2013 Subaru BRZ - You all know the story on this one. Rolled over 268k miles (1 billionary KMs) recently.

60. 1988 Ford Super Duty - Still sitting in my yard. Need time to work on building it into the ultimate car hauler. Oh and space where you can work on a 25' long truck.

61, 62 & 63. 1972, 1974 and 1976 Datsun 620 pickups - One is to keep, the other two are for parts. I've had the 1974 for awhile, but needed parts that I have scavenged off the other two. Still needs some work to be a driver though. Soon. Maybe.
 
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So, car history. Pretty short, only 3.

2001, got myself a Nissan Sentra SE-R SpecV. 6 speed manual, 2.5 NA inline 4.

Can't find any pictures of mine, so here is a stock photo:

2002_Nissan_SentraSERVSpec2.jpg


Replaced the engine under warranty after 40000 km, got a recall done for the header pre-cat that was suspected to be the root cause of the issue, and replaced the engine again 20000 km later. After that I replaced the header with an aftermarket one with no pre-cat, and the third engine stayed solid until I sold the car.

In 2011 I learned that a manual version of the Subaru Legacy GT wagon had been made for 3 years in Canada, 2005-2007, with the 2007 model being a facelift. I then manage to find a used 2006, it got sold before I could test drive it, then I found a 2007, and bought it.

DSC_3407d5ab4ec802dafdf9.jpg



Was quite an expensive car to own, I had one blown turbo, replaced the intercooler twice, the coils a few times.

Changed the shocks, springs and sway bars to get rid of the understeer, and changed the downpipe and reflashed the ECU to Cobb stage 2 to gain a bit of power.

In the end, rust started to set in, and I could feel many expensive repairs coming, so in 2018 I dumped the car (for a ridiculous price, but I just wanted to get rid of it) in exchange of the RS.
 
Well, my list is pretty short and I don't think it'll get any longer...

1) 1994 Audi 80 B4 2.0 (66 kW), bought in October 2006, crashed (not my fault, a driver came skidding from the opposite direction) in January 2007. Even though I owned it for just three months, I can tell two stories: when I bought the car I noticed the previous owner had it for just three months or so. When I asked him why he sold it so soon he said "my four kids don't fit in the rear because of the thick door panels". o_O Second story: when I had the car for just 6 weeks I was on my way to work, driving on a straight bit of road. In the opposite direction I saw a car indicating left to turn into a gas station, but as I was still far away I though the driver would go either way before I got there or after me, but nooo, he decided it would be a good idea to start moving when I was about 20-30 metres away. I yanked the steering wheel to the right to avoid him which worked. I rumbled over the curb, but thankfully there was a small paved area behind the entrance of the gas station where I came to a stop. I was in complete shock, apparently the old man who drove the other car looked at my car and me, noticed I didn't hit anything, bought his paper and went off before I recovered. I went into the gas station where the attendant said he knew the man and gave me his address. Two or three days later I had an appointment for changing tires anyway so I told the garage to check the alignment of the chassis. I don't know if that was from the hard rumbling over the curb or if it was already misaligned before that, but afterwards the alignment was way out of line. I took the invoice to the man who paid for the alignment without hesitation.

Erster Audi 80.jpgHPIM2555.JPG HPIM2556.JPG HPIM2557.JPG

2) Another 1994 Audi 80 B4, this time a 2.0E (85 kW) and with better equipment (rev counter instead of analogue clock, fog lights, foldable rear seats instead of fixed ones) for less money than I received from the insurance. Sold it in late 2010 to someone who wanted to use it as a winter car since for me it wasn't financially viable to repair it.

Zweiter Audi 80.jpg Eye-Q on the Ring 2 (Pflanzgarten, Timon Geiger) groß.jpg

3) 2001 BMW 320i touring E46 (125 kW) with the glorious straight six. :) This one I bought from a Peugeot dealer who took it as a trade-in for some new Peugeot. Quite a downgrade for the previous owner...
Once again someone crashed into it while I was sitting in it: The driver before the man in front stopped for turning into a driveway on the left, I stopped about 30 cm short of the man in front, the driver of a VW T5 didn't realize that and rear-ended me. The third picture shows the cover for the towing hook mount which had the mount practically embossed into the cover, of course the cover was smooth before the accident. Other than that the damage didn't look so bad since the T5 crashed perfectly straight into my rear.

BMW 1.jpg Eye-Q 02.jpg Abschlepphakenaufnahme mit Abdeckung.jpg

4) Another 2001 BMW 320i touring E46 (125 kW) with the glorious straight six, but better equipment (noticing a pattern? Yes, that's two 1994 Audi 80 B4s and two 2001 BMW 320i tourings back to back, the second one always being better equipped after the first one has been crashed into...)
Roadtripped it to the north cape, southern France and the Balkans, had another crash, again not my fault, but fortunately repairable. Since I started cycling in 2017 I drove it less and less, and keeping a car so it stands 99.99% of the time was absurd so I sold it just before new year's eve 2018. Since then I don't own a car anymore...

BMW 320i touring.jpg P1050834.JPG BMW 320i 03.jpg BMW on the Ring 06.jpg
 
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Apparently I haven't done this yet. Well go on then.

I've been driving for 13 years now, time certainly does fly. Most of the time it's been in badly made products from BL or its successors.

First car - 2008 - 2011: 1977 Land Rover Series 3 2.25 Petrol - never named

The best way to get into driving as a newbie was to grab a classic, insurance is cheaper and I wanted a Series III anyway. Lack of power anything (steering, windows, in the engine) didn't put me off and I grabbed this example somewhere around Cambridge I think. My drive was the first time I'd ever driven any Land Rover on the road, let alone an old Series motor so it was quite a lesson. A large part of the journey was on a 70mph limit dual-carriageway so I quickly learnt how to saw away at the wheel to keep it in a straight line and that I belong in the 'loser lane' at 65mph where I could be neatly overtaken by all the trucks. Two things that appealed to me were the Cobra bucket seats (trimmed in LR logo cloth) with 4-point harnesses and the fitted radio with 4 big speakers. Big speakers were necessary!

I used it well, taking it off road where other people probably wouldn't. I quickly got used to the tractor-like gears and lack of power steering, things that would probably be a shock to me again now. I never got the roof off completely like I wanted to but it was great to drive with no door tops (two bolts). The Cobra seats and 4 point harnesses were very supportive but hard and because you had no movement, your arse would go to sleep on even relatively short journeys. The harnesses and van body sides also stopped you from seeing what was coming at blind junctions, so I swapped them for a pair with Windows.

Rust was always going to be an issue with an old LR, especially so with a late 70s example. I had work done to the footwells and to the chassis under the seat box but always knew the bulkhead was going to be an issue down the line. Swapped in electronic ignition after having issues, I probably could've just swapped the coil as that was the cause of the bonnet-up break shown below but I went all the way. It made a huge difference.

I took lots of pictures, some got into a magazine while the third one below got printed on a parts manufacturer calendar.

Decided to move on after driving down to Davetouch's house in Sevenoaks for my first FG Ringmeet. I'd driven down to Guildford once before for a Land Rover show at the Dunsfold Land Rover Collection so knew it could do motorways (at 65, being overtaken by everything); however, doing so alone and in the middle of the night when already tired was just too much. I wanted to be able to drive longer distances without getting a numb arse and without thinking it would fall apart in stop-go motorway queues. Sold it to FG member KaJuN while he was based in the UK, he had the bulkhead work done and then took it back to Ohio. I believe he still has it. I'd buy it back. On the day I bought it I could've bought an ex-MOD 110 for the same price, I wonder what would be different if I had chosen that instead...

Good memories: Best green lane car, always made me smile at the start of a journey, great old car smell of grease and unburnt fuel, side-mounted exhaust used to spit oil on the neighbour's car.
Bad memories: Rust, horrible on long journeys, chasing ignition issues before I knew what I was doing, rust.
Seen on the back of a truck?: No




Second Car - 2011 - 2017: 1994 Land Rover Discovery 1 300Tdi - "Keely"

Looking at replacements for the SIII, I couldn't afford a good Defender and they were already being stolen and stripped for parts at the time so I went looking for a 300Tdi Discovery 1. I don't remember why (maybe knowing insurance costs) but I gave myself a really tight budget and ended up with this example for £1200. The floor and sills were less rotten than the other examples but it wasn't in particularly great condition and had done over 200,000 miles before I got it. The speedo was disconnected so I don't know how many miles it had really done. I really do wonder why I bought it now, on eBay, for the starting price as the only bidder. I had considered lots of other cars including Saab 900 Turbos and E28 BMWs, they were reasonably priced back then.

I fixed the little issues and then it didn't look too bad, maybe I'm being too harsh. Chucking away the odd road tyres on corroded alloys and fitting steelies with mud-terrain rubber meant it was ready to play and I went off playing with KaJuN, quickly realising that it needed a suspension lift and the tow bar needed to be removed. I had to replace the turbo in early 2012 as it started leaking too much oil into the intake, then again after I accidentally drowned it at an off road site in June of that year. It's apparent that it probably did a little more damage as the engine started smoking badly while on a green laning trip in September. A friend had a replacement engine and we changed it.

That winter I fitted a snorkel so I didn't damage the replacement engine. I continued to upgrade some more things, got the boot floor replaced, had some of the bodywork replaced and kept playing until I tried to take part in the 2016 UK roadtrip. I left the header tank cap off after filling and hit the motorway, I didn't realise the cap was off until I saw steam and stopped but by then it was too late and the head gasket was toast. Yadda yadda old head had already been skimmed too much, bought a new head but the compression was still low and in the end I just gave up, I'd had Bugsy for a year by this point.

Sold for scrap as it was always going to need a huge amount of welding. Kept anything useful, the gearbox is in Bob and I swapped the back door over too - it was a lot better than the scabby one it replaced. It sat for a bit then got carted off in 2017.

Good memories: Brilliant off road, especially after I fitted the rear air locker. Much nicer for longer journeys like the one down to see TG being filmed.
Bad memories: Rust again, wheel bearings were a pain as they didn't seem to last long. Wheels tried to escape on the M25.
Seen on the back of a truck?: Yes



Third car - 2015-2020: 2001 Land Rover Discovery 2 V8 - "Bugsy"

Bugsy - the Lord of Cheese Bottom. I can't full remember why I decided to buy another Discovery, I had attempted to set Keely up for a roadtrip before but that didn't work out so maybe I wanted something I could waft to Ringmeet in. I know I was set on an earlier V8 auto, something that was quite difficult to find then and is even more difficult to find now. Earlier because I don't particularly like the facelift D2 design, the interiors are mostly all black which looks rubbish and the expensive headlight clusters are easy to steal. I found this one and went to see it, it was clean, drove nicely and had low miles so I got it. Turns out that the dealer was a real Boycie type and they bodged repairs/services, leading to the truck being taken back up for numerous ABS work under warranty (that they failed to fix) and to me joining the Bongard club during Ringmeet 2015, when the cheap water pump they had fitted failed and pissed the coolant everywhere.

ABS issues plagued me for ages until I performed a wiring bypass that sorted it for good. The V8 was silky smooth and the gearbox was nice, having cruise control for the first time was great but also sometimes made driving more frustrating as I've mentioned elsewhere. I had to replace the rear suspension airbags and problems with the ACE hydraulic anti-roll system (a wonderful system when fully working) lead to me finally getting a replacement valve block with proper hydraulic fittings. There was also a parasitic drain on the battery and the rear sunroof kept leaking. Many reasons why a manual V8 Discovery 1 could be a lot easier to live with. I never did fit the straight-through silencer replacement pipe as someone welded the mid box in and I could never be bothered to deal with it in case it was too loud.

Bugsy was the lifeboat of the roadtrip/Ringmeet 2016 after the failure of Keely and many other cars, it was fully loaded with stuff and people before taking on UK border control with 4 different nationalities/forms of ID. It's OK, we're from the internet. No rubber gloves for us, thanks.

Sold to re-pay the money I borrowed for the deposit on the Tesla. I do miss it, I heard that it flew through the MOT last year.

Good memories: Mini roadtrip 2015, Ringmeet 2016, sounded pretty good, nicer to drive than the Disco 1, looked really tidy. Also cruise control!
Bad memories: Ringmeet 2015, three amigos (ABS, TC and HDC lights), leaky hydraulics, batteries problems and sunroof leaks.
Seen on the back of a truck?: Yes (covered in decals and an pride sticker)



Fourth car - 2017 - present: 1990 Land Rover Discovery 1 200Tdi Bobtail - "Stubby Bob Junior"

I wanted something to replace Keely and was looking for something that had already been prepared. Knowing that the body on Keely was getting very rusty, I had been looking at space frame conversions so stuff with roll cages appealed to me. A friend from the Land Rover club I was in had built this truck and it was always at the shows and play sites doing its thing - very impressively too. I had bought the old Nissan Skyline intercooler from it for Keely after it had been removed from Bob to make way for a bigger winch and always thought that I'd like to own a similar truck one day. So when I saw it for sale I jumped at the chance. Initial impressions were good but the first test drive showed some problems, the gearbox was like stirring concrete blocks and the steering was woolly as all hell. Still bought it, was always going to.

I replaced the gearbox with the one from Keely, a later R380 box that was smoother and didn't suffer from the faults of the earlier LT77. The power steering unit went over too, it wasn't very old. Those fixed the two major issues and I was able to enjoy it. The 33" extreme off road (remould) tyres were deemed too dry-rotted to pass the MOT that year so were replaced, the best is in the back as a spare as that was just a normal-sized tyre when I got it. a 33" tyre does fit in the back of a bobtailed Disco - just. I took the tank out in 2018 to de-rust and repaint it, also fitting a float fuel gauge as the sight tube it had was useless. I upgraded the dashboard last year and recently fitted a short-shift kit to help improve gear changes.

I've enjoyed playing in it but wouldn't drive it very far, it would be similar to the situation with the SIII. I've considered re-fitting the intercooler to bring the power back up but this engine is really old and I don't want to stress it too much, it's fine for what I do with it. Maybe when diesels get banned I will fit a V8. The big tyres hate cambered, potholed roads and it definitely keeps you awake.

Good memories so far: Realising that I could get it, getting it, fixing it up, enjoying it off road, knowing I have a well built truck.
Bad memories so far: Refitting the clutch specifically when changing the gearbox, multiple transfer box linkage issues that never occurred with Keely despite it being the same damn gearbox. I forgot to close the bonnet when I first got it (shitty bonnet pins) and it flew up, that was bad.
Seen on the back of a truck?: No




Fifth car - 2018 - 2020: 2005 Smart Roadster Coupe - don't remember if I gave it a named

My first non-Land Rover. I wanted something small, fun and quirky with a soft-top and the Roadster fitted perfectly. The car I got wasn't perfect, with several faults hidden. The turbo wastegate wasn't actually connected so it was down on power, I refitted it and thought everything was fine. It was until Ringmeet 2018, where it went into limp mode for no apparent reason and I drove home with no boost, being overtaken by trucks again. It rained very heavily in Belgium. A few days after getting home the car was completely dead, caused by water in the SAM unit (BCU).

The SAM was sent to a specialist and pronounced dead, so I got a replacement along with the engine ECU and instruments (coded to the engine ECU) and swapped it all out. Problem solved. The new SAM was conformally coated to prevent any more water damage and the ducting around it sealed to prevent water ingress. The weekend before the first service was booked at the specialist, a coolant pipe failed and it had to be taken there on the back of a truck. Overheated for no reason on the motorway, caused by a random airlock in the cooling system that is down to bad design. Then there's the 2019 roadtrip, where the limp mode issues kept occurring and a boost pipe sort of melted.

Cause eventually traced to the adjustment on the wastegate actuator causing overboost, annoying that I had the back off at Ringmeet 2019 but didn't check the adjustment. The gauge shows a fake boost reading and would never show overboost. Anyway, it worked great after that with no faults. Robotic manual was pretty terrible, especially when trying to merge quickly in traffic.

Sold like Bugsy due to the Tesla arriving. Don't know if I would've kept it, I would never be able to shake the feeling that it could go wrong at any minute. It has changed owners since I sold it so maybe it did go wrong again.

Good memories: Very nice to get the top down, great fun on country roads and on the roadtrip. Sounded pretty good with the 3-pot and the squirrel mincer.
Bad memories: Flaky electronics, A-pillar seals would somehow let water in if you drove with the windows closed and roof open during rain. Shitty auto clutch. Not really big enough to carry everything for a roadtrip.
Seen on the back of a truck?: Yes



Sixth car - 2020 - present: 2020 Tesla Model 3 Performance - "Nebula"

Bit of a strange choice this one, going from relatively cheap old stuff to financing a brand new EV. Well there is some method to my madness. I've been working for the same company since 2008 (I started a week before buying the SIII) and have always travelled into the office by train. the station in my town is nearby, the town in the city is a 10 minute walk from the office. However, the service has gradually got more shit and the price has gradually gone up and I was sick of it. Combine this with experiencing Leviathan's Model 3 in 2019 and it was kind of inevitable.

I've said for years that if I have to buy a 'normal' car to commute it has to be something nicer than an econobox or I would just get bored out of my mind. Anything Octavia vRS upwards would work, the company had one as an pool car at one point and it was really quite nice. I could've got a nice big-engined BMW but cost wise, there was also no way I could afford the fuel for something thirsty combined with the tax of such beast. The multi-storey car park near the office also had a deal for EV owners.

Since this could be my only chance to finance a new car (I'd like to get on the housing ladder afterwards and this was kind of a test of what I could afford per month) I wanted the best, so test-drove the Model 3 Performance in February last year (they kept it back for me, how nice). This was my first time in a RHD Tesla and Milton Keynes isn't exactly a test track but I just loved the way it drove and ordered mine the next day. THEN 2020 HAPPENED. I tracked my car across the ocean from San Francisco but it seems that the ship was also bringing a boatload of COVID as my car became trapped in Solihull. Some conversations and changed paperwork later and this identical car arrived on a truck. As per usual with Tesla, there were a couple of quality issues to be resolved by service: the spoiler wasn't attached right and the trim by the drivers C pillar window was all out of whack. Easily fixed.

Since then I've been furloughed, then working from home with only a few days per month in the office so it only has 2560 miles on it. I've wrapped the piano black centre console, had the car detailed and ceramic coated, had a set of alloy-gaiters fitted after I scuffed a wheel and fitted/removed a winter wheel/tyre set. I really enjoy driving it, it can be extremely relaxed when you want but a quiet electric bullet when you want some fun. Autosteer and adaptive CC are just nice features to make traffic of all types less stressful.

Don't know how long I'll have it, officially I have it for three more years but a lot could change. Not having charging at home is more of an issue than I had hoped, as I'm not in the city to use the public chargers and when I did try, one was out of order and the other being taken by a council van. I've been able to run a cable out there occasionally but not often, finding the 150kW filling station chargers that I tried earlier in the week really helps.

Good memories so far: Goes like stink, quiet, takes the stress from driving, nice integrated media system, free road tax, cheaper per mile to run than any equivalent ICE car.
Bad memories so far: A pain to charge, wheels easily damaged. Expensive monthly payments.
Seen on the back of a truck?: Yes (being delivered)

 
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My list of ex-cars is rather short as well, as I still have majority of cars I've bought.. :D

1999-2000 - BMW 318i (E21) -81
Declined the offer to have a 1.1 Fiesta of same vintage for free. Instead got this rust bucket from halfway around the country, with around 322k km on the clock when I got it. It got the typical treatment of a clueless 18 year old; Ran it almost without oil for a good while, since I'd only had two strokes up to that point and didn't know you should check oil levels every now and then. Differential didn't give in, but I wore it down considerably with one wheel burnouts, skidding on patchy ice etc. Gearbox as well as distributor did give in though, so it introduced me to working on cars from the go. Fortunately for my sanity it ended it's working life the Finnish way, with a moose collision. The whole thing was rusted to the core, but was still strong enough to leave me and my passenger unscathed. So the remains got scrapped and I found a 323i I still have about a month later.
318i_Kolari.jpg


2003-2005 - 2x Talbot Horizon, -84 & -85
The 323i had some GDPO contraptions, so it never really worked that well in the winter. My father got this packet deal from his friend, two Horizons in great condition for 300eur or so. Didn't care much about these, so I used the first one up during the first winter and as soon as it developed some small niggle (probably a worn bushing or something similar) it got either scrapped or given away, can't remember. The second one got used as a painting practice car, as well as a winter car, until I could get a rwd car (E21 of course) for winter use as well. Despite the very.. personal color selection this got sold to a Peugeot/Talbot hobbyist, to continue its journey as a winter beater (with rattle can matte black, instead of the color I chose for it). :D
talbot.JPG


2005-2008 - BMW 315 (E21) -81
Once again, picked it up from the other side of the country, had a lovely long drive back with it's close ratio diff and 4 speed gearbox and loved it ever since. Even if it was once again a complete rustbucket. But the color was so lovely I had to have it. :p Introduced me to rust repairs, big time, before I deemed it too dangerous to repair and it got scrapped in 2008. And despite all that, I still think this is the best (or most fun at least) car I've ever driven. Completely stock, the base spec 75hp engine, 4 speed and heater being the only "feature" on the car... So what I want clearly isn't anything measurable, but this is still the yardstick that everything I drive gets compared to.
IMG_1081.JPG


2007-2010 BMW 523i touring (E39) -97
My first stab at a "modern" car, as well as importing from Germany. Bought in the fall of 2007, fairly well equipped and served well as a daily driver. Used it as a camper at the alps and did few laps at the N?rburgring in 2008. Finally, after yet another track day it burned itself through one of its exhaust valves. After the engine was fixed it got "sold" to my brother, where it still serves as a family hauler.
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2009-2010 BMW 318i (E30) -87
Back to basics. Modern cars were too good and comfortable for me, so I find them too boring. This was a 450eur beater I bought with the idea of trying on a e30. I wanted an ix, but this was a cheaper option to test if I want to actually live with a e30. Had a modest 380k km on the clock, needed some welding and new front fenders and the heater valve cracked during the winter. So with all this it was the perfect car for a trip to Germany with our BMW club. :D Had alternator issues the whole way, as we couldn't find a single place that would've sold regulators for the most common alternator in Europe..:blink: Got a used one from a club friend and made it home, did some roadtrips, track days etc with no issues. Then, later in the summer I drove it to my first Ringmeet. And of course, after arriving to Germany withing 20km of the harbor the regulator gave up again. And while I had spares this time the starter jammed and burned itself at N?rburg area. :p Sourced a replacement via Finalgear and headed to the alps again after Ringmeet. It had Eibach springs when I got it and I upgraded it with 325i ARBs. Didn't get to test the upgrade at the 'ring, but it was much sharper and more tail happy like that, so something I'd recommend for an upgrade. Probably the most fun track car I've had, even if I have and have had more capable cars. After I got my ix I sold the 318i to a local teenager who just got his licence.
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I'm at 7 cars and one bike at the moment, but these were the only ex-cars so far.
Something to add here, even (and expecting picture links to have issues, as usual).

2017-2017 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport 3.0 V6 -97
This purchase escalated quickly. I needed to bring the GTi engine for the Swift home from Germany. And since I combined the trip with some snowboarding in the Alps, more driving wheels would be optimal. And since I've never owned a car that should go off-road I thought why not. And like in so many cases, with some help from @Beni, this Mitsu was found from a collection of really bad alternative options. But apart from what looked like all season tyres from 90s this was a really nice example. The V6, if a bit peaky and/or lacking low end torkue for the purpose made the whole package really car-like. There was barely any rust (frame was completely intact) and the only small issue was a solenoid on the gearbox that occasionally caused ABS to malfunction as it didn't regocnise which mode the transfer case was in. Plenty of space to haul the FG skiing team around and quiet and comfortable for a short cross-Europe drive of 32 hours from Austria to Estonia (+2h ferry and 2h drive in Finland) via Limburg.

Some fun was had during summer, exploring some nearby woods and off-road areas nearby. It was a bit oversized to fit in most routes around here, but I was still a bit sad that I never planned to keep it, as I would've had a perfect hobby lineup; Off-roader, cabrio, daily/track car and some bikes. I sold it to my brother in the autumn the same year, with a caveat that I wanted to borrow it for the Icetrackmeet in January. And of course it was bonked a bit during test drives there..

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2014-2020 BMW 130i (E87) -05
Started its life with me the same way as the Pajero. Bought it from Germany with help of @Beni. Otherwise the opposite end to the Pajero, a lovely sporty drive, when it worked. I had a look through the album and it's just full of documenting what broke. But on the other hand it never really stranded me, just all kinds of small mechanical and especially electrical issues. After making its way to Finland via Netherlands, it saw quite a few track days during my ownership and visited Nordkapp and Ringmeet in 2015. And was also bonked during an Icetrackmeet when offering drives to other people.

And while it was objectively a great car, I'm not one for objectively good decisions. Apart from track use I didn't really find it to be a thrilling drive, as it was overly capable for street speeds and suspension height and setup wasn't the best for gravel roads. Because of that it was usually just parked on the yard whenever I had anything else running and I couldn't really justify a car that expensive just for occasional track use. And true to its nature it put up a fight right to the point of selling it, as the windshield cracked 5 days before it was sold.

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1999 Impreza 2.5RS (sold)

2003 WRX (sold)

2007 Legacy GT Spec B (sold)

2009 Hyundai Genesis Sedan V8 (lease return)

1995 E36 M3 coupe (sold)

1999 E39 M5 (totalled)

2012 Hyundai Veloster (sold)

2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo (sold)

2014 Audi S4 (sold)

2015 Fiat 500E (lease return)

2016 Porsche Cayman GTS (sold)

2017 Kia Niro EX (sold)

2015 Porsche 911 Turbo (sold)

2020 Kia Telluride (current car)

2020 Tesla Model Y (share with wife)
 
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1993 Ford F-150 Flareside (sold)

2004 Ford Mustang GT Convertible (sold)

2018 VW Golf GTI (Lease Return)

Seems I need to buy more cars.
 
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