wdb Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 I've been on the hunt for an N52 128i for quite a while. Need to be a 6-speed, don't really want all that dashboard foo. So many of the ones I find are N51 though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowdude Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 10 hours ago, Marek said: The N52 is a high point in BMW engine history. My favorite application is the E82 128i - a classic big-engine/small-body car. My winter beater is a 128i M-Sport manual. I have a network of friends with the same spec cars. Besides my Seven, it is the only other car I have with a network of owners. They're fantastic and it pains me there's nothing in the current portfolio which scratches that itch. It's very hard to sell manual rwd coupes to the general public, especially when the pricing gap is either cheaper (brz etc) or astronomical (looking at you P cars). Maybe things will change though, and these types of cars may come back.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marek Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 Patience is required. I wanted an M-Sport manual in a non-neutral color, non-black interior, and no nav/iDrive. After searching for 6 months I compromised on a 46k mile M-sport manual from South Carolina with dark grey/two-tone light interior with nav/iDrive. The iDrive was an unexpectedly pleasant surprise. Having spent time in other E82s, the extra complexity is worth the trade-off to have nicer controls. The M-sport suspension and interior/exterior trim was also worth the wait. This is the only car I have owned which I have not put a suspension on. Also in the network is a stunning 48k mile blue/red without iDrive (3 month search, a lucky pandemic-timing find on FB Marketplace), a high mileage Sedona Red from Georgia (5 month search) which needed paintwork, and a silver with higher mileage. Start looking now. I am skeptical we'll see a similar package of a car any time soon for the same reason we aren't likely to see any analog cars anytime soon - all the trends are towards complexity. These are simple cars by modern standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marek Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 I was only half joking in calling my 1-series a winter beater. It hasn't seen many miles this year as my daily has been my 944S; in all its glorious 80s lines and 16v song. This is my second 944 and has been with me since 2011. The miles are high and in 2020 we gave it a father-son pandemic refresh. Very analog, very simple, yet still feels modern in a way few 80s cars do. Light, but not fast, by modern standards. It moves well and encourages you to carry momentum. Modern cars, with all their power, feel heavy in comparison and encourage you to point and squirt. The hatch is cavernous - swallowing a pair of road bikes by only taking off the front wheels. My previous 944 was once tagged my German Pickup for its ability to swallow anything. Another feature lost on modern cars. I'd have sold this car years ago to make room for the next experience. But it is too practical - at least that is my excuse. Since the refresh I share it with my son who has taken to commuting with it to his job as a Mercedes and classic car mechanic. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdb Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 Not my cars exactly, but one of my other cars did get me the invitation! I went to Porsche Club of America event last week, "Tech Tactics". It was very entertaining and informative. Here are a few pics of cars and/or bits of them. This was our greeter at the entrance. Some of the stuff they use to train techs. GT3 with Manthey Racing kit added -- $67K just for the bits, not including installation! They demo'd stuff to us using this car such as the Manthey wheel alignment rig you can see attached to the hubs. A modern Porsche flat six. I don't think the belt can even be changed from above the vehicle. It really looks like a service nightmare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowdude Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 Manthey tech is super impressive and yields mega results. Very cool! The workshops at porsche dealerships are arguably the best out there, super clean. Great photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdb Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 2 minutes ago, slowdude said: Manthey tech is super impressive and yields mega results. Very cool! The workshops at porsche dealerships are arguably the best out there, super clean. Great photos. Ooh! I should have mentioned the location -- a Porsche parts warehouse and training facility. They even had folks from a nearby dealership on hand to take parts orders and pick them right from the warehouse inventory, which I took advantage of to pick up a large item that would have cost a fair bit to ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce K Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 2 hours ago, slowdude said: The workshops at porsche dealerships are arguably the best out there, super clean. Great photos. Of course, not every dealership achieves the same level of organization and equipment within each marque, but having seen several Porsche and the only local Ferrari backrooms, my vote goes to Ferrari. I had collision work performed on my Alfa 4C at the Ferrari dealership. The mechanical area was cleaner than my kitchen, specialized hoists disappeared completely into the floor, and the toolboxes were the size of pickup trucks. Lighting was so bright and well-distributed, it felt like heaven (especially with all those 9,000 rpm v12's and v8's scattered about). Their paint booths were sufficiently antiseptic for brain surgery. And preparing a car for customer pickup involved a one-hour detailing process. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pethier Posted October 1 Share Posted October 1 On 1/12/2023 at 3:42 PM, Croc said: I had one of these for a while as the "company" car in the UK but in the sedan form. I liked it. Did not wow me in any massive way but over time you really got to appreciate the unassuming competence in the way it went about things. I prefer the wagon look over the sedan too. Its hard to make a wagon look stylish but Merc managed to with this. BMW carried it off well a few times. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimSVO Posted October 1 Share Posted October 1 (edited) I've been asked to show you all some of my cars so I hope this will be OK. Present 2018 Mustang GT, 1969 Triumph TR6, 1966 Plymouth Valiant Signet, 1965 Ford Mustang 2+2, 1970 BSA 441 Shooting Star Past 1984 Ford Mustang SVO, 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302, 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302, 1970 Triumph GT6+, 1962 Triumph TR4 1985 Yamaha FZ750, 1984 Suzuki GS550ES, 1974 Suzuki 125 Duster, 1969 CZ 250 Edited October 1 by JimSVO 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted October 1 Author Share Posted October 1 2 hours ago, JimSVO said: 1965 Ford Mustang 2+2 I assume all stock on your 1965 Mustang? 289 V8 with a T10? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomatva Posted October 1 Share Posted October 1 18+ years of pure fun... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimSVO Posted October 1 Share Posted October 1 1 hour ago, Croc said: I assume all stock on your 1965 Mustang? 289 V8 with a T10? My 65 Mustang is a K-code 289 HiPo, mostly stock. Came originally with the Toploader. The Shelby GT-350 was upgraded to the T-10. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomatva Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 (edited) 24+ years of fun... Edited October 2 by tomatva update 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pethier Posted October 23 Share Posted October 23 On 12/12/2022 at 9:24 AM, scannon said: My current and favorite of all cars I've owned is my 2021 C8 Corvette convertible. Last summer I drove it to Salt Lake City for the 41st annual LOG (Lotus Owners Gathering). I registered it as the car I was bringing and it became the first non Lotus related car to be accepted for the event. I'm not sure what to make of that statement. I have seen a lot of non-Lotus-related cars at LOGs. In 2018 someone brought a Ferrari with phony Lotus badging. I didn't make it to the LOG in SLC. I did arrive early for the one in Bee Cave TX this year. I saw a C8 in the ramp and wondered if it was there for LOG. I don't know that it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inchoate Posted Sunday at 11:07 PM Share Posted Sunday at 11:07 PM A while ago I posted about looking for a replacement for my 7. It's become abundantly clear that there is no replacement for a 7 other than a better 7 so I'm definitely keeping mine for the time being. That said I'm still looking for a slightly less suicidal car for Sunday drives with the missus. I've been through a couple of 987s and they're really great cars but by wife refers to them as "fat cats that are good mousers" and I can't really argue with that. Someone suggested that I look at the Alfa Romeo 4C recently. Honestly it was never on my radar before but after a little research I'm officially intrigued. Anyone here ever drive one? How does it compare to a 7? How does it compare to an Elise or Exige? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarlB Posted 16 hours ago Share Posted 16 hours ago I have driven both the Elise and the 4C. The Elise is closer to the 7, but it is a lot more refined. Your wife will like the 4C better because there is more room, but you might not like the nannies. You can't turn off the vehicle stability or antilock brakes, and it defiantly limits the fun. The brakes start coming on in the middle of a corner. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoBoost Posted 7 minutes ago Share Posted 7 minutes ago Having an automatic transmission put the 4C out of consideration. My wife was fine with riding in my Elise; not so much the Seven! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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