The Other Cars of USA7s Members (Non-Se7ens only)

[wdb]

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.

[slowdude]

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..

[Marek]

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.

[Marek]

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.

 

[wdb]

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. 

[slowdude]

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.

[wdb]

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.

[Bruce K]

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.  

[pethier]

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.

[JimSVO]

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, 2024 by JimSVO

[Croc]

2 hours ago, JimSVO said:

1965 Ford Mustang 2+2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I assume all stock on your 1965 Mustang?  289 V8 with a T10?

[tomatva]

18+ years of pure fun...

[JimSVO]

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.

[tomatva]

24+ years of fun...

 

Edited October 2, 2024 by tomatva
update

[pethier]

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.

 

 

 

[inchoate]

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?

[CarlB]

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. 

[MoBoost]

Having an automatic transmission put the 4C out of consideration. My wife was fine with riding in my Elise; not so much the Seven!

[mrmustang]

On 8/30/2023 at 9:50 PM, Bruce K said:

@mrmustang- a very kind offer.   Can't figure out the proportions of your new garage from the image, but it looks up to 2 cars deep and 2.5 to 3 cars wide - room to both park and work.  I may be in Georgia in several weeks, to pick up my Lola.  If so, we will spend a few days in NC to visit my wife's brother.  Maybe the wife will give me a few hours to visit you, if it is not too far off our required path.  You could show me your collection and I could show you the Lola.   I'll contact you when I know more.

 

Thanks again!

Figured I'd update the thread, no "7" in the garage at the moment, but plenty of space if and when I decide to purchase another

 

[Bruce K]

7 hours ago, mrmustang said:

Figured I'd update the thread, no "7" in the garage at the moment, but plenty of space if and when I decide to purchase another

 

A terrific shot of a terrific garage and car collection!  Three cars deep - I did not deduce that from your initial information.  And 100% convertibles, which is ideal for your South Carolina weather and truer to our transportation roots (find me a coupe among all the Arabians, Mongolians, Quarter horses and so on that men have ridden for nearly 5,500 years!).  I can't think of a single constituent of your stable that I would not want to own.  I am currently garage-limited to three fun cars, and because of time and other factors, that may be the extent of my collection. 

 

My wife is amenable to moving down to the Carolinas if and when we sell our business, as she has a brother that has retired there.  We may become relative neighbors in a year or three.  I would love to see your garage in person.  Any problems with your area, such as violent storms, earthquakes, forest fires, unruly animals, poisonous snakes or spiders?  Michigan is a surprisingly risk-averse state - basically, none or very little of the above.  We have the rare Massasauga rattler, and northern black widow and brown recluse spiders, but all three are more common to wooded areas.  We experience nearly none of the rest of the list.

 

And my Lola replica is STILL being restored!  Close, but absolutely no cigar.  It now looks like a January finish date and early spring delivery.  I have never purchased restoration services before, so my surprise at the delays is a consequence of my inexperience - I now understand two years to be an interval more ordinary than unusual.  The car is in final assembly.  All the subassemblies have been checked or rebuilt, all the panels painted (Stellantis Hydro Blue Pearl Metallic) and so on.  Should look very much like the included photos of A J Foyt's T70.

 

Take care, and have fun driving during our winter!