tenman
Part of things
m00000000000
Posts: 899
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Sept 28, 2015 10:27:45 GMT
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S15 Silvia Varietta maybe, the S15's were a lot more go-kart like than previous Silvia's... if you want more poke, wouldn't be too hard to change the standard SR20DE to an SR20DET... 300ZX 2+2 targa top of course, cheap enough, but deffo not as reliable as an MX5 and a pain in the to work on too...
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RWD Fanatic...
2003 BMW 320d Wagon (getting old and boring) 1996 Mini Kensington (SWMBO's)
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Sept 28, 2015 10:33:26 GMT
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And also both considerably more expensive than the MX5. The S15 Silvia Varietta I have never even seen one here. So must be pretty rare too. For the toy car the point is keeping it as cheap as possible for a good one.
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tenman
Part of things
m00000000000
Posts: 899
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Sept 28, 2015 10:38:10 GMT
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then really, you either get an MX5 or some sort of scrabbly FWD Hot Hatch...
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RWD Fanatic...
2003 BMW 320d Wagon (getting old and boring) 1996 Mini Kensington (SWMBO's)
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Sept 28, 2015 11:06:27 GMT
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Yeah, like I said previously, there doesn't seem to be another option. The MG F can be had for around the same. But it seems plagued with problems and not as much fun. Besides this I don't think there is another ultra super reliable, affordable, super fan to drive, uncomplicated, true sports car besides the MX5 MKI.
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alx
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 367
Club RR Member Number: 21
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Sept 28, 2015 11:18:01 GMT
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Besides this I don't think there is another ultra super reliable, affordable, super fan to drive, uncomplicated, true sports car besides the MX5 MKI. Fiat Barchetta? Probably not as reliable but won lots of accolades when released.
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marinacoupe
Part of things
Marina Coupe, Triumph Stag
Posts: 178
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Sept 28, 2015 11:37:43 GMT
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Back in the 1960s when GT was first coined, it stood for Grand Tourisimo (great tourer), the definition was a sports car that you could jump into in the UK and drive to the south of France in, clearly before the days of budget airlines.
The logic said that you could do it in - comfort, enough luggage space for a holiday for two, fast, sexy and still be able to use it daily. Examples - Aston Martin DB4,5,6 etc and similar, Mercedes, Maseratis, Ferraris, Alfas etc etc. Fords came up with the Mustang from the pre-muscle car era, Porsche the 911/912.
GT means something different now though, often just the quick version of an otherwise boggo two/three door saloon.
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Sept 28, 2015 12:34:23 GMT
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Besides this I don't think there is another ultra super reliable, affordable, super fan to drive, uncomplicated, true sports car besides the MX5 MKI. Fiat Barchetta? Probably not as reliable but won lots of accolades when released. FWD.
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Sept 28, 2015 12:36:45 GMT
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Back in the 1960s when GT was first coined, it stood for Grand Tourisimo (great tourer), the definition was a sports car that you could jump into in the UK and drive to the south of France in, clearly before the days of budget airlines. The logic said that you could do it in - comfort, enough luggage space for a holiday for two, fast, sexy and still be able to use it daily. Examples - Aston Martin DB4,5,6 etc and similar, Mercedes, Maseratis, Ferraris, Alfas etc etc. Fords came up with the Mustang from the pre-muscle car era, Porsche the 911/912. GT means something different now though, often just the quick version of an otherwise boggo two/three door saloon. Yep. These days anything can be a GT really. The moniker pretty much lost it's meaning. They slap it on anything today.
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Last Edit: Sept 28, 2015 12:38:03 GMT by mickeym
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EmDee
Club Retro Rides Member
Committer of Autrocities.
Posts: 5,932
Club RR Member Number: 108
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Sept 28, 2015 12:43:36 GMT
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4. Must have a back seat or at least a 2+2. 7. Would love for it to look muscular. 10. Not interested in something too small. Remember this is supposed to be a proper GT. So think Jaguar XJS rather than Opel Manta. 12. Minimum 6 Cyl engine. V8 even better.
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,939
Club RR Member Number: 58
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Sept 28, 2015 12:58:51 GMT
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EmDee don't get sucked into this thread Its a sports car he wants now, despite the 8 pages of deriding sports cars over GTs
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MonzaPhil
Posted a lot
Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought
Posts: 2,456
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Sept 28, 2015 13:10:09 GMT
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Yup. Better suited to PH where there is an identical thread.
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This is now a clicky linky!
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Sept 28, 2015 13:21:17 GMT
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4. Must have a back seat or at least a 2+2. 7. Would love for it to look muscular. 10. Not interested in something too small. Remember this is supposed to be a proper GT. So think Jaguar XJS rather than Opel Manta. 12. Minimum 6 Cyl engine. V8 even better. I guess you just got here. That ship has sailed a long time ago. The GT will be a Jaguar XKR which I will do a manual conversion. I closed that case a few pages back informing everybody of my decision. Then we went off topic and started talking about a toy car. RWD, affordable, true sports car. This is where the MX5 came in. It's not the GT. The GT chosen is the XKR.
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Sept 28, 2015 13:23:43 GMT
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EmDee don't get sucked into this thread Its a sports car he wants now, despite the 8 pages of deriding sports cars over GTs Adam, with all due respect, are you trying to be "funny" or you are just misinformed? Like I said above, the GT case was closed. Never said I don't want the GT anymore. So not sure what you are on about when you say "its a sports car he wants now." No, it's both.
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,939
Club RR Member Number: 58
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Sept 28, 2015 13:26:25 GMT
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EmDee don't get sucked into this thread Its a sports car he wants now, despite the 8 pages of deriding sports cars over GTs Adam, with all due respect, are you trying to be "funny" or you are just misinformed? Like I said above, the GT case was closed. Never said I don't want the GT anymore. So not sure what you are on about when you say "its a sports car he wants now." No, it's both. It was a tongue in cheek comment, I stopped being serious about this thread some time ago
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Sept 28, 2015 13:39:27 GMT
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Adam, with all due respect, are you trying to be "funny" or you are just misinformed? Like I said above, the GT case was closed. Never said I don't want the GT anymore. So not sure what you are on about when you say "its a sports car he wants now." No, it's both. It was a tongue in cheek comment, I stopped being serious about this thread some time ago For somebody demanding royalty level of politeness on an internet board, your snark comment didn't come across as tongue in cheek at all. I guess the rules of politeness only apply to others, right?
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EmDee
Club Retro Rides Member
Committer of Autrocities.
Posts: 5,932
Club RR Member Number: 108
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Sept 28, 2015 14:32:33 GMT
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I guess you just got here. That ship has sailed a long time ago. The GT will be a Jaguar XKR which I will do a manual conversion. I closed that case a few pages back informing everybody of my decision. Then we went off topic and started talking about a toy car. RWD, affordable, true sports car. This is where the MX5 came in. It's not the GT. The GT chosen is the XKR. Aaah. Fair enough, although if I'm completely honest I didn't just get here, I'm the guy who posted a 2000 Camaro SS a few pages back (which meets all your criteria BTW). From that you may arrive at the conclusion that I was just too lazy to read it properly. EmDee don't get sucked into this thread I think that may be best for everyone. As you were then.
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Sept 30, 2015 10:17:42 GMT
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Update: Drove a 2003 XKR yesterday. Will most likely close the deal today.
MX-5: Having second thoughts about it.
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Sept 30, 2015 11:07:10 GMT
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The GT will be a Jaguar XKR which I will do a manual conversion. I closed that case a few pages back informing everybody of my decision. Then we went off topic and started talking about a toy car. RWD, affordable, true sports car. This is where the MX5 came in. It's not the GT. The GT chosen is the XKR. You might want to read this thread before buying so you know what you are letting yourself in for www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/xk8-rear-chassis-rail-rust.57607/www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/suggestions-on-how-to-get-these-bolts-out.57713/This is a 2002 to give you an idea how bad they rot. Owners comment - "This car has been a big mistake I wish I had never bought it, nothing but trouble, it has taken many hundreds of hours of work and it seems that every other week something else falls apart. Never buy one. " A friend has one and says something similar !
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Sept 30, 2015 11:13:12 GMT
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The GT will be a Jaguar XKR which I will do a manual conversion. I closed that case a few pages back informing everybody of my decision. Then we went off topic and started talking about a toy car. RWD, affordable, true sports car. This is where the MX5 came in. It's not the GT. The GT chosen is the XKR. You might want to read this thread before buying so you know what you are letting yourself in for www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/xk8-rear-chassis-rail-rust.57607/Thanks for the heads up. I'm aware of the rust issues but the car in that thread is in the UK. UK cars are rust buckets because it's an island. In the continent is different. I also checked before driving it and first impression was good. Today I'm putting it on a lift to inspect the whole under carriage and have a mechanic looking at it.
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pcj
Part of things
Posts: 203
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Sept 30, 2015 13:51:25 GMT
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MickeyM: kind of a late arrival to this thread in that I don't get on here too often these days.
I saw your original post re the GT requirement and followed through for a page or two, feeling that despite your long "hit" list for it, you'd made it more difficult by ruling out autos which are almost universal on a lot of big V12 GTs. I'm biased of course as mine is my beloved Jaguar Sovereign Series 3 V12 5.3 "Bagheera" of 1988 vintage (see my other posts if you want some details and pics).
You also made it more difficult by not specifying any real price range, yet you seem willing to cough up the expense of converting a V12 to manual (around £3k to £6k or so depending on how much you farm out) assuming you can find a decent box and all the other bits needed for the full job (plus hopefully a guaranteed future availability for spares). Not wanting to read through some 12 pages of posts I jumped to the latest ones to see how you were doing.
Thus like Adam73 I first thought you'd gone way off track as you were now talking sports cars etc when you'd ruled them out right at the start. So I feel you were a bit unfair in slapping down Adam's tongue in cheek comment, it might have been more sensible to have stopped the thread back when you elected for the XKR and started a new one re all the other stuff.
Here's a couple of comments from me for what they're worth: Compo gave you good advice re rust problems. The UK's use of salt may exacerbate the problem but if the vehicle has rust traps/tends to rust then the only thing it needs to help it on its way is to get wet by being used and after that time will tell. The rule remains the same: don't buy a rusty one to begin with and be very wary if it has known rust traps. My Jaguar isn't a rust bucket, btw.
More modern cars (and top of the range big GTs are no exception) also often come with a big wallet trap built in. Many of their components are engineered for fastest fit on the production line and/or some bright spark with a CAD/CAM system has "improved" the design, not for ease of home maintenance. You'll often have to replace entire assemblies (at hundreds of pounds) where you might be expecting to replace a humble bush on its own. Also make sure it doesn't wear some odd size and expensive, if still available, line in tyres.
You asked are XJ6's reliable and the answer is two fold: depends a lot on when they were built (Leyland and the Series 2 cars is not a happy tale) and what kind of owner they've had since build. It's not necessary (though it's nice) to own one whose owner(s) have splashed megapounds on the car's every whim but it is necessary to get one whose owners have done the regular, basic, routine maintenance and checking when it was due, not just when it broke.
O.K. mine is an XJ12 but the same "rules" apply for the XJ6s: She gives me 4 (possibly 5) full size seats, plenty of luggage room, great performance and that iconic V12 upfront, so what's not to like? Perhaps I'm just lucky (petrol bills excepted) but I've had "Bagheera" for just over two years now and she has a total of some 130,000 miles on the clock, some 12,000 of which I've put on her in those two years. Faults have been minor, none of which have put the car off the road.
I've had a loss of windscreen wipers due to a broken wire (broken, not blown) inside the original 27 year old fuse, The kickdown microswitch broke up at 120,000 miles (was the original and cost £1.50 to replace) and just this week the Hella dim/dip relay gave up the ghost (mechanical failure in one of its plastic bits). No longer available except as second-hand on Ebay and probably as old/worn as mine so bit more expensive this time: around £40 to replace it with a modern equivalent. Both front shockers replaced (again they were originals) because one had started to leak (£70 for the pair). Consumables being the usual disc pads, oil and filter change (Halfords Classic 20w50 (price that against modern semi-synthetics)) and antifreeze change. Tyres: Mr Falken (as recommended by KWE Engineering) is my hero, coming in with an excellent set of tyres ZE912s in 225/60/15 at a very reasonable £88 per corner, fitted and balanced.
Sometime this winter I will take her off the road so I can go through the various bushes and replace as necessary. At least they are still available, reasonably cheap and all I have to provide is time and be prepared to get dirty.
Do let us all know how you get on.
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