Well yes. But, remember the cautionary tale of how the blonde got stuck in the shower...the instructions said "wash, rinse, REPEAT"Originally Posted by Duelist
Well yes. But, remember the cautionary tale of how the blonde got stuck in the shower...the instructions said "wash, rinse, REPEAT"
Why can’t we get the “peaceful protestors” to go rail against stuff like this instead of tearing shit up because habitual offenders died doing criminal things? Imagine if those efforts were directed at actual bad policies/laws and those who enact them; get mad at the right things for a change. But that might actually result in critical thought being applied and the realization that the real enemy is wielding a pen vs a baton/taser/OC etc.
“Conspiracy theories are just spoiler alerts these days.”
In breaking news, NY has outlawed "South Pacific"...
HBO states that they will bring the film back with a disclaimer and introduction at some point in the future.
There's nothing civil about this war.
How about 'Social worker'?
That's what my Dad calls his old 1970's vintage 18in 870. It lived in our linen closet with that same nickname starting around the time I passed hunter safety as an 8 or 9 year old.
@OlongJohnson and @RJ beat me to it.Argh. I was in Kalispell two weeks ago. I coulda looked at it for ya.
I’d check with @JRB but on my ‘67 example of BMC/British Leyland’s finest, rust was not a question of presence but rather degree.
Also: Do you have a background in sketchy British auto electronics?
Kidding. Looks like a fun car.
I'm still mystified by England in this regard. Why make so many ragtop roadsters when you have 5 decent days of weather a year? One really can't overstate the problems with rust, weird hardware, electronics and gauges by Lucas the God of Darkness(tm) etc. Seating comfort for anyone over 5ft 9in is completely accidental. Plus you have parts support issues, and what you can find is very expensive.
But they're classics for a reason and if the heart wants what it wants, my strongest recommendation is to follow Half-Moon's advice and stick to a 69-72ish model for the reasons he described, and buy one from SoCal or Arizona and pay the premium to buy one that's been there for the majority if not all of its life. Miles on the odo are absolutely irrelevant with a car like that - actual condition and the number of owners should be your guide. Lots of owners means it's had lots of problems that may or may not have gotten solved. Obviously a one-owner car that old is basically nonexistent, but pay a premium for one that's had 2-3 owners that have had it a decade + each. Pay to fly out and inspect it personally and ideally make friends with some MG people to have one local to the seller meet you to inspect it. Fly home, pay a transport service to ship it back to you. Pre-COVID I'd suggest making a little vacation out of viewing the car, too, but we'll see how that shakes out in the long run.
You may find a nice one in WA by virtue of WA being the garage-queen champions of the car world. Tons of amazing stuff hides in garages 9 months a year in that state.
That all aside, Olong's recommendation of a newer Miata is spot-on. All of the British roadster fun with Japanese electronics & reliability, along with vastly improved suspension, brakes, seating position, interior, and aftermarket support. I would also consider a nicely kept Honda S2000 if your budget permits, and you can find one.
If you're thinking a $5k-7k fun weekend car, a nicely kept 90's vintage Miata with a 'foamectomy' job on the seat can accomodate up to a 6ft3in ish driver depending on your leg:torso ratio. In particular, the 94-95 model years and the 99-01 model years are damn near ideal for their respective body styles.
Wildcard option - The new Fiat 124 Spider is an ND Miata unibody with the surprisingly not too bad Fiat 1.4L Turbo I4 making 160hp or so stock. A cottage aftermarket exists for it which spices things up nicely but being a Japanese chassis means you're skipping a lot of the European car problems. You can find '17 and '18 models in the mid-high teens, typically with 30k miles or less. Inevitably there's going to be some European car problems with those, but at least they're much newer with classic-ish European styling and some very nice features and improvements vs the old school.
So I'm paraphrasing here, but you're saying he should avoid the well-known issues with English cars by buying Italian?
Did you guys know that the Germans make roadsters?
All cars from that era rusted like that, there were just a lot more made in America, so the survivors were greater in number. Although leaking water in the top and letting it sit in the floor pan, held there by carpet, may have made it a little worse. Would be too much of a derailment to detail how my Fiat coupe managed to still accomplish that.
Interestingly, the Wetside of WA has a lot of the same weather as England. There really isn't a nicer day anywhere in the world than a nice summer day in the PNW outside Seattle. It kinda makes the roadsters worth it. You can actually have a car without A/C there and be fine. My hypothesis is that a lot of the British hardware migrated up there from CA in the '80s and '90s as the first wave of economic migration got underway screwing up WA. People cashed out of houses they'd bought for $35k in the early '70s in SoCal and moved to WA. Bought mansions, Mercedes, started up new businesses. Real estate went insane. Cars came along for the ride. By the time I got to SoCal in the mid '90s, it was actually quite a bit harder to find a clean old British roadster. Which ultimately ended up being good, because I discovered Japanese sports cars.
I'm 6'4" and my '99 with a foamectomy was about an inch too small in several directions.
For the record, all three generations of MR2 will comfortably accommodate up to about 6'5". If I was looking for a 30+ year old sports car, an '87-89 MR2 would be on the list. The limit handling is night and day improved over the '85-86, much more fun and safer to drive fast. Steering and engines are sweeter than any Miata, shifter is great. Very well-made. Basically a Corolla. You'll get thumbs-up from weirdos like me if you drive around in a nice one.
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Not another dime.
A fundamentally Japanese car with a Chrysler/Fiat collaboration engine known as the MultiAir 1.4L Turbo, which is shared by plenty of cars wearing a Dodge badge and will have enduring parts support thanks to that, yes.
I've worked on too many BMW's. Imagine a valedictorian designing 70% of something, and then handing the last 30% to the special-needs classroom with a 2 hour time limit to finish that 30%, and that's how I imagine BMW's are designed.
If you like expensive parts, brittle plastic welds holding in your coolant, and pointlessly complicated component depth issues plaguing basic parts replacement, and never-ending electrical problems then yes BMW makes roadsters. At which point I'd almost rather have the 70's MG.
Which is why, despite being a die-hard Toyota fan and Supra owner, I think the new 'Supra' is a pile of pointless sad trash because it's a badge-engineered 100% BMW turd wearing Toyota emblems.
I had a 1989 MR2 SC that was track prepped. Supercharger was pullied to 12psi, HKS cams, HKS header and exhaust, Bilstein shocks and Eibachs on all four corners, sticky tires... I'll never forgive myself for selling that car.
Good points about WA weather and the driving forces that moved all those cars up there. I think you're right about the rust issue overall, but Japanese cars started using galvanized steel before anyone else which is why I think you can find more 80's/90's Japanese cars and trucks than English/German/Domestics etc.
Last edited by JRB; 08-11-2020 at 10:27 AM.
The Z3 was a nice car. I always wanted one but not bad enough to short my retirement fund. My wife wants a new house so I might slip in a used Z3 into that deal. There are plenty of those around here with low miles.So I'm paraphrasing here, but you're saying he should avoid the well-known issues with English cars by buying Italian?
Did you guys know that the Germans make roadsters?
Last edited by Borderland; 08-11-2020 at 01:38 PM.
In the P-F basket of deplorables.
It's already a hard car to find in good shape, but aim for an 01-02 model with the 3.0L M54 I6 and a manual trans, or just go all-in and find an 01-02 Z3M with the S54. Avoid 2000 and earlier Z3M's (neutered engine) and avoid the 4 cyl models and any with an auto trans, they're simply not worth the fuss of an old BMW.The Z3 was a nice car. I always wanted one but not bad enough to short my retirement fund. My wife wants a new house so I might slip in a used Z3 into that deal. There are plenty of those around here with low miles.
Earlier models with the smaller M52 I6's and a manual should serve well but are 40-50hp short of the M54 3.0L. IMHO, if you're going to fuss with an older BMW it might as well have over 200hp.
The best use for one of those cars is to bolt its quick-ratio steering rack into an actual E36 chassis.Earlier models with the smaller M52 I6's and a manual should serve well but are 40-50hp short of the M54 3.0L. IMHO, if you're going to fuss with an older BMW it might as well have over 200hp.
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Not another dime.
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