MaxN
Part of things
Posts: 482
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My father had one back in the early 1980's. It was a 'J' reg, so I guess about 1971 ?
It was brown and cream with little tartan panniers and a huge front windscreen.
I had a big crash on my RD250 and for reasons unknown I was able to get him to loan 'the' C90 to me for a year. On what was probably the third or fourth ride, the engine seized. At the time I was probably flat-out in third. It had been feeling a little sick and gutless prior, but I just assumed that this is how they always are. I managed to leave a thin black line for a very long way and amazingly kept it all under control.
I bought a used engine from a breakers in Coventry and about three hours later it was in and running.
Over the months that I rode it I put about 10K miles on the thing, I rode from Leicester to London on it, buzzed around Wales, took it up to Manchester and rode it 2-up endlessly travelling to see bands play.
When he decided that he wanted it back, I pretty much begged him to sell it to me, by this time I was utterly smitten with the thing.
I bought a newer one (1977 ?) a few years later, but never had the affinity I had with that old J-reg one.....
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MaxN
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Posts: 482
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Jun 16, 2015 10:17:55 GMT
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I really like that bike.
I mean it looks like it has all the structural integrity of a paper bag and the bottom bracket is almost comically high, but it looks awesome....
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MaxN
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Posts: 482
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Jun 10, 2015 13:22:41 GMT
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Personally I would buy the spare car. - Swapping the engine will tell you everything you need to know almost instantly. - Having a spare engine/box etc will allow you to get one rebuilt while you drive with the other - Stripping off and e-baying the parts you do not need will recoup some of the outlay - The left-overs will have a scrap value. I really love this build BTW
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MaxN
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Posts: 482
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May 21, 2015 13:08:08 GMT
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Just a thought..... How will the gearbox that is attached to the non-running engine cope ? In the US many (?) people 'flat' tow their cars behind RV's, so that they have something smaller to drive while the RV is parked at a campsite. www.edmunds.com/car-buying/what-cars-can-be-flat-towed-behind-an-rv.htmlA quick google tells me very little, other than some manual transmission Volvo's cannot be flat towed this way as the gearbox lubrication is driven by the engine, not the gearbox/wheel speed. Obviously if you intend to run it in dual-engine power for 99% of its miles, then there is no issue...
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MaxN
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Posts: 482
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May 12, 2015 14:40:01 GMT
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If I stick with a fully reconditioned set of standard brakes then I'll have to drive within the safety envelope. What to do? Just look for something modern with a similar weight and power and transplant the brakes from it onto the Goddess. I realise that articulated lorries have Air brakes, which are generally Spring-On, Air-Off and that the Goddess is not articulated (at least yet), but the inherent safety aspect of not being able to lose your brake appeals to me. I'm sure that this will cause all sorts of unnecessary complication, but that is a good thing, yeah ?
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MaxN
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Posts: 482
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I loved it with the 1380 in it, then the bigger wheels arrived and the longer front and this was in my mind mostly offset by that motor. Now it is utter perfection. Seriously, if that was mine it would live in my office and I would stare at it all day long......
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MaxN
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Posts: 482
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Given the work done so far, I'm not sure you need it, but Good Luck regardless....
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MaxN
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Posts: 482
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Apr 27, 2015 11:43:30 GMT
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The anonymous nature of Saabs is quite appealing... I've seen a few folk mention that the police don't bat an eyelid at them *n Do not rely on that - I got a substantial ticket while driving a company owned 9000 Aero in the mid 90's..... Saying that, I love this 9-3, makes me want one again.....
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MaxN
Part of things
Posts: 482
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Apr 24, 2015 12:46:18 GMT
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This thread just keeps on getting better.......
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MaxN
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I love the attention to detail.
I also love old Porsches. I daily drove a 1978 SC for many years. It had an appetite for roll-bar bushes and heat exchangers, but other than that it was awesome.
Maybe some day I will get another one....
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MaxN
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Posts: 482
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Mar 11, 2015 13:15:16 GMT
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I have a feeling that E30 M3's are getting to the point where as long as the VIN tag survives, they are economically repairable.
Shame my E30 325iS was not as valuable when I crashed it......
My advice is the same as everyone else, prove the value of the car, the value/cost of the upgrades and then get a couple of really comprehensive quotes to either fix yours or to replace it with 'like'.
Good luck !
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MaxN
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Posts: 482
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Jan 16, 2015 11:32:11 GMT
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MaxN
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Nov 28, 2014 11:31:18 GMT
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I agree. I grew up having a neighbour with a BDA powered Mk1 Escort, a teacher with a Lotus Cortina and second teacher with a wide-bodied Mk1/2 Capri that spat flames.
The Tesla is insane in a 'hand of god' way and I understand that folks like the whirring and whining, it is very Jetsonesque, but I prefer things that announce their presence....
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MaxN
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Posts: 482
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Nov 28, 2014 10:19:43 GMT
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One of the most brilliantly silly threads I have seen on here in a long time. Thankyou Silly? Yes but I'm a very disappointed man. The infernal combustion engine is wayyyyy overdue for replacement and what are we going the get? Electric cars with maybe a fuel cell to spice things up. YAWN. Where's my atomic motor, where's Mr. Fusion? Jet-propelled hover or flying cars? The motor industry has let me down big time. You probably need to drive a Tesla. When I lived in the US, my friend had the full power version. It made my then daily, a 300+ hp BMW feel a bit on the slow side......
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MaxN
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Posts: 482
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Oct 22, 2014 13:31:35 GMT
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Ian The site's interesting but I think they could have come up with better induction protection on a $150k bike than a bit of mesh and a very large jubilee clip. Dust and debris kills turbines and that doesn't look up to much. Jay Leno has one of those bikes, the Y2K. True story: A few years ago I caught up with him as he rode it on Mullholland drive. Even wearing full leathers on my Speed Triple I could feel the heat-wash from his bike if I got too close. Obviously by too-close I mean about 30-40 yards - I could hear the 'wooshing noises' over my bike despite wearing a decent helmet and ear plugs ! He stopped at the Rock Store and was pretty much engulfed by bikers of every style. <-- not my video, but you can see the reaction and hear the crazy noise Utterly insane piece of hardware.....[/quote]
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MaxN
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Posts: 482
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MaxN
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I had a set of Oz Futura Modular's a long time ago. From memory they were something like 8x16, maybe 17's but as they are modular you can pretty much build whatever you want. This is a random shot showing the style The set I had had polished rims and graphite centres and resided on an Escort Cosworth in 1995/6. I cannot find a single pic though
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MaxN
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Posts: 482
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As others have said, this thread and its predecessors are one of my favourite threads on here.
I borrowed a Xantia once to move some belongings form 'up north' to Hampshire, I did several trips and by the time it was time to return it to its owner, I really did not want to give it back. There was something special about it. I love what you are doing to yours....
As for Princesses, my old neighbour had a metallic blue once from new in about 1978/79 I think. From memory it was an HLS. He kept that car way into his retirement. I last saw him and the car in 2005 I think. I remember that it barely fit inside a standard sized garage at the time. I was a wonderful thing....
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MaxN
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Posts: 482
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I had a really early one in racing blue - J995 SRJ.
I managed to put about 60,000 miles on it in a little under three years. During that time it ate several engine mounts, tons of tires and several sets of brakes.
I utterly loved it though. It was probably more fun to drive than anything I've owned subsequently.
Great to see one getting some love.
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MaxN
Part of things
Posts: 482
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Have also cut out the rear of the bonnet bulge to try and help get hot air out of the engine bay. Not really critical, but since I'm planning a flat front floor at some point, it made sense to open it up now while I'm messing around with the bonnet anyway. I may be completely wrong here, but I am reasonably sure that the area at the bottom of the windshield is a high pressure zone and as such this will mean that rather than allowing hot air to escape, it will push air in through that new hole. It might be different for Capri's, but my local mustang racers use similar holes to feed the carbs nice dense, high pressure air.....
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