Project Cars--You Get to Vote on "Hold 'em or Fold 'em"

fintail · January 2009

The maintenance isn't like a Subaru or an old domestic workhorse, yeah. I wouldn't want one if I lived in your area either. I can say from experience from our last winter blast that it is not the most ideal snow car....it needs a set of snow wheels and tires.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2009

MGBGT -- it's a very sweet little car. No, it won't run as well as a Miata but these are simple vehicles and don't require that much care. Parts are no problem whatsoever except maybe for a few rare exterior trim pieces. Even those can be bought but aren't cheap.

If that B had overdrive (most do) that works and isn't rusted, it's a fun car and pretty comfy compared to an open B roadster.

I notice the ad says "new carburetors". I hope they didn't put Webers on it, that would be unfortunate and troublesome.

qbrozen · January 2009

what carbs did that come with?

i searched and can't find any specs on the car. Weight and hp are the stats I was looking for.

Would you call it more fun, less fun, or same fun compared to an '86 Alfa Spider?

I showed the GT to the wife and she said "sweet looking, but it would be too slow for you." She's probably right.

Sure, I like the twisties and have fun, but I find a car that takes 9 secs or more to hit 60 gets on my nerves.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2009

yeah it's a little pokey but the *sensation* of speed is good, so you may not mind it.

It's as much fun as the Alfa, maybe a little more in that it has a torquey engine and a nice exhaust note, whereas the Alfa is pretty gutless off the line and sounds like a can full of gnats.

The Alfa is much more refined though. MGs are primitive in comparison, especially in the ride.

The MGBGT is a very practical car, though. That hatch opens up and you can stuff a lot in there. Fun car for weekend trips, presuming you get there of course.

guss · January 2009

Will the Fast and Furious fad ever die out ?

link title

lokki · January 2009

fezo · January 2009

I know it's just me but the idea of an MG without a roof that comes down is pretty strange. I remember thinking that when they came out.

However who could deny that q needs another car?

qbrozen · January 2009

oh good god. Warn a guy first, will ya? I threw up a little in my mouth, I think.

qbrozen · January 2009

However who could deny that q needs another car?

The answer to that question is "Mrs. Q," apparently.

ooohhh... I almost forgot. This little item came through on one of my saved searches last night: '88 RX7

Exterior pics are pitiful, but the interior looks real sharp. And I'm really confused how one could follow up this: "Engine runs strong, always starts and has been well maintained" with this: "Engine has been rebuilt." ???

And something else I'm confused on... wiki says the vert was only N/A?? So what the hell is with the hood scoop? I thought only the turbos had the scoop? Am I incorrect? I know there was a non-scoop hood. So if this is N/A, and the vert brings the weight to 3k lbs, then this ain't the RX7 I'd want, I'm sure.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2009

"I will not accept a PENNY les"

wanna bet?

MGBGT -- actually the GT has some advantages over the roadster. While it is a bit heavier, and hence a tad slower, it has a much bigger windshield and also much better weather protection as you can imagine. Otherwise, same car underneath. Think of it as a base model MINI at 1/5th the price.

boomchek · January 2009

Thanks Shifty, I'll look it up and see if it's worth seeing.

michaellno · January 2009

Will the Fast and Furious fad ever die out ?

Not with a fourth movie (starring Vin Diesel, apparently) in the works, and teenagers everywhere playing "Need for Speed" on their video game systems.

My son, apparently, is one of them. His dream car is an RX-8, lowered and modded to heck and back.

qbrozen · January 2009

Will the Fast and Furious fad ever die out ?

Funny you should post that question. It was just this past Sunday we were cruising home from a fine day of shopping for the living room when we came upon a slow moving Mercury ... oh, hell ... whatever their version of the 500 is. Anyway, it had a carriage top. So this struck up a conversation with the wife about such a practice and how it seems to have held up as a "fad" with the seniors.

This had me wondering aloud what will happen as the fast and furious crowd becomes seniors. Will we be seeing 2050 Toyotas with 20" chrome spinners and ground effects dropped within an inch of the asphalt driven by the gray-haireds?

xwesx · January 2009

Well, if I had the space and money for a summer fun car, I think something like this could be highly enjoyable. But, considering my cars live outside year-round and are driven daily, I would feel a bit off doing such a thing to an E55. Plus, I would not want to spend the dollars for maintaining it as a daily driver, and I prefer to keep my cars in top mechanical condition even if their skins can get to looking rather haggard from time to time.

xwesx · January 2009

Hahahah! I will enjoy seeing that. Actually, at my age come 2050, I will enjoy seeing at all.

michaellno · January 2009

It was just this past Sunday we were cruising home from a fine day of shopping for the living room when we came upon a slow moving Mercury ... oh, hell ... whatever their version of the 500 is. Anyway, it had a carriage top. So this struck up a conversation with the wife about such a practice and how it seems to have held up as a "fad" with the seniors.

This had me wondering aloud what will happen as the fast and furious crowd becomes seniors. Will we be seeing 2050 Toyotas with 20" chrome spinners and ground effects dropped within an inch of the asphalt driven by the gray-haireds?

Well, the couterpart to the 500 was the Montego. When the 500 was renamed to the Taurus, the Mercury version went back to being called the Sable.

My thought, however, is this ... why is it that when I used to travel, I saw more of these "carriage" roofs on cars on the East coast and Midwest, but virtually none here in Colorado or California.

But, your point is valid ... in 40 years, when my son is closing in on 60, what will he want to drive. The current boomers, of course, have focused on the 60's and 70's muscle cars, and the generation before them the hot rods.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2009

Seniors won't tolerate either the ride on ground effects or slammed cars (unless you want to pogo-stick into another lane at every bump) and they won't like the entry/exit problems.

Seniors like to WALK INTO their cars without bending over.

xwesx · January 2009

Very true, Shifty. My grandparents are absolutely this way. They would rather climb into their car then have to bend down.

jlflemmons · January 2009

Make sure it starts easily when cold. If you bypass the rev limiter and wind those things up, which they will freely do, you get wear on the rotor wipers and lose compression when cold. Crank that sucker all you want and it won't want to start, or if it does it will burn oil and run poorly until fully warmed up.

Knew a guy who routinely ran his up around 9-10K rpm all the time. After an extended highway run at those speeds, he pulled up to his house and turned it off. Next morning, no start, no compression. Mazda warranteed the engine, but told him the new engine was all his if it broke.

oregonboy · January 2009

Was this an RX-7 (series 3?) or RX-8?

fintail · January 2009

I think carriage tops and the like are very much an east coast thing. I almost never see them out here either - not on cars made after around 1985 anyway.

I have to doubt in 40 years, when I am around 70, should I or any of us be around then, that the computer componentry in modern cars will have held up. Maybe it will all be able to be bypassed by some miracle new technology.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2009

Well they are running the Space Shuttle with *very* old tech and it works fine...well, except for a couple of explosions.

Their computers still use "core memory" (ferrite rings)!!!

guss · January 2009

1998 to 1991 Mazda RX-7 Convertibles only came non-turbo. The hoods never had the scoop. Unless the rebuild included adding a turbo ,my guess would be that the hood was replaced due to an accident.

I liked your thoughts about what teenagers will be driving in fifty years. I can see Lincoln Town cars with body kits , lowered and painted lime green. Of course they will have added hydraulic seats to make getting in and out easier.

qbrozen · January 2009

aha. thanks for the tips. so i was right to question it. maybe i'll email the seller.

qbrozen · January 2009

seller says engine is still non-turbo. Hood was replaced for aesthetic reasons.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2009

Dent on '96 Miata. How much you think to bang it out and blend in the paint? This is not a quiz, I really don't know. Any ideas?

qbrozen · January 2009

I'm not sure you are "banging that out." But I'm going to say $600-$700. That should cover it either way. Half for labor and/or new fender and half for the paint. But I'm not a pro and I've been WAY off before. Hell, the insurance company cut me a check for $1200 for the bumper on our Pacifica. That was to replace it, the brackets behind it, and paint.

Man, those hood bras are such a bad idea. I can't believe folks still use them.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2009

Okay. I haven't seen the car but it looks like you can work that fender. The seller said "$300" and I thought that was way under estimate, so I thought i'd check.

qbrozen · January 2009

Anytime an angle is involved (in this case, the lip over the wheel), I doubt the ability to rework the metal. Or, at least, I should say, its not cost effective. But, like I said, I'm not experienced by any means.

$300 sounds like a Maaco estimate to me.

We went to Maaco once for a little ding on our Forester. Again, however, this was right on an angle (top of front fender). Good shop said $350. Maaco said $180. We went with Maaco because we were trading the truck. At trade time, the salesperson commented "it looks like a grade-schooler fixed the fender." LOL.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2009

The only time I'll let Maaco paint my car is if the cost of the paint job equals the value of the car.

I like this Miata. It's an M edition, under 100K, 1996, dark blue with tan top, good options, LSDiff. Problem is the price. He wants $4700 I'd like to pay about $3800 tops with that damage.

jrosasmc · January 2009

Shifty are you going to buy that '96 Miata? It looks good on paper.

And whatever happened to that non-running '92 you got for a low price? Did you ditch it already?

andre1969 · January 2009

and he said that he's hoping to have my '67 Catalina ready to pick up tomorrow. At this point he's just waiting on some weatherstripping that goes on the rear quarter windows and one or two other spots.

Just my luck, that it's ready to pick up just as a serious cold front is about to come through. Guess I won't be playing with the top tomorrow!

Mr_Shiftright · January 2009

yeah sold the '92 to a guy who wants to run Spec Miata.

qbrozen · January 2009

personally, I'd be a hair lower than that. $3500. But I'm pretty sure miata prices here in the rust belt are quite a bit lower than your neck o the woods.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2009

Well sure you're right but some people glaze over their car's defects and just look at price guides.

My problem is that I don't want red, white, blue/green or French blue. I want BRG or dark blue. This limits both my choices and my bargaining abilities.

I thought a dark blue car with a tan hardtop would be quite handsome.

michaellno · January 2009

Guess I won't be playing with the top tomorrow!

You do realize it's January, don't you?

Unless you live in Palm Springs, Arizona or Florida, I wouldn't think the top would do down until March or April at the earliest.

jlflemmons · January 2009

New fender, $331.28 plus installation, and paint.

http://www.autopartsdeal.com/basket.php?add_item_id=210752

lokki · January 2009

I think I'd go for the new fender - and have them retouch then entire nose while they're at it.

IMHO, when you take that bra off, it's going to be ugly underneath. They trap sand, and then vibrate against the paint as you drive....

But then - you're the appraiser, and it occurs to me that you know a lot more about this kind of thing than I ever will.

In any case, I bet if you make him pull that bra before you buy the price is going down for paint damage there too.

guss · January 2009

'96 is my favorite M Edition. Something about the dark blue and tan top and seats offsetting each other.

Hopefully at just under 100k he has had the timing belt done, otherwise figure $600 to have it done in a shop.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2009

Gee that's not too bad for a new fender. I wonder how hard it is to get off.

Yep, gonna look under the bra for further issues. I can't expect a new car for this price so little nicks and such, no problem. I'll have more of those soon enough on California freeways. Some days the 'flak' is so bad on these roads I feel like I'm attacking Schweinfort (old reference for you history buffs).

I once had a framing hammer whistle past my driver's window.

stevedebi · January 2009

"Well they are running the Space Shuttle with *very* old tech and it works fine...well, except for a couple of explosions.

Their computers still use "core memory" (ferrite rings)!!! "

I'm pretty sure they upgraded the electronics of the shuttle fleet in the early 1990's. I believe Columbia was the last one upgraded.

stevedebi · January 2009

"Some days the 'flak' is so bad on these roads I feel like I'm attacking Schweinfort (old reference for you history buffs). "

Or Regensburg. My uncle flew B-17's in the war (but not on THAT mission).

Mr_Shiftright · January 2009

Oh did they finally upgrade? That must have cost a pretty penny. Yeah, I was reading a somewhat dated article, so that makes sense.

But I imagine all military hardware must remain more obsolete than if it were on the commercial marketplace. Can you imagine the lines of code you'd have to write for a space shuttle?

Mr_Shiftright · January 2009

Yeah maybe in 20 years we'll be able to just bolt on some device that by-passes entire engine management systems from the "old days" of 2009.

xwesx · January 2009

A co-worker was trying to sell her M edition about 18 months ago, I cannot remember the year, but was burgundy with a tan top. She wanted $8,000 for it. :surprise:

Somehow, I think she still owns it.

explorerx4 · January 2009

you might try one of the paintless dent removal places.
i had them fix one that was on a crease in a door.
it looks like the car is already wearing a bandage.

qbrozen · January 2009

HUH??? Can someone explain to me why I'm right now watching a '77 BMW 530i 4-door get $29k at auction? Am I missing something? This is not an M3, its not an 8-series, and it ain't a 2002. What's the deal?

explorerx4 · January 2009

i saw that one too, and went huh?!

texases · January 2009

Easily explained - a combination of drugs and alcohol! WTF?? That's one of the least-desireable 5ers, with the thermal reactors cooking the engine and a head with a known defect. The subsequent 528i fixed those problems, and I'd like to find a clean one of those.

lokki · January 2009

If I drive really, really fast... maybe I can get my 3 series down to Barrett Jackson before the bartender gives last call.

Think I should throw my old lawnmower in the trunk?

I could use the money.

Project Cars--You Get to Vote on "Hold 'em or Fold 'em"

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