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That's every automatic in the last 20 years. Manuals haven't been about efficiency or speed in a very long time.
Car Enthusiast Thread
- Thread starter Lets Gekiga In
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That's every automatic in the last 20 years. Manuals haven't been about efficiency or speed in a very long time.
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That sort of era of mustang are cheap as chips in the UK, I guess because LHDs aren’t popular. Link
Consider me curious. Are they fun to drive? Any obvious Achilles heels mechanically to be aware of?
On a similar note, here’s a picture of a particularly nice Ford Probe in red I saw at the Festival of the Unexceptional 2024.
Consider me curious. Are they fun to drive? Any obvious Achilles heels mechanically to be aware of?
On a similar note, here’s a picture of a particularly nice Ford Probe in red I saw at the Festival of the Unexceptional 2024.
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They are fun cars in V8 form. Primitive by modern standard but mechanically solid. They sound and look great, especially the New Edge models (99-04). Cheap parts and easy to work on and upgrade if that's your thing. Look for a V8 SN95 coupe in the UK (94-04). The convertible tops tend to leak so I'd avoid those unless you have a garage.
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I wasn't able to snap a photo, but I saw a Subaru SVX for the first time in a long time last week. Probe reminded me of it with the 'glass greenhouse' look.
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The Probe is miles better looking than the Ford Cougar we got over here afterwards. It was named the Mercury Cougar in the states.
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I drove from VA to WA, 3000 miles coast to coast in one of these. Ive never been in a car that gave me more of a compulsion to yeet random things out of the window. Something about the angle of the glass or something, it was strange. “Hmm…. Im done with this bottle, now i wanna yeet it…. And this cell phone, and my hat….” These were my thoughts every time i was the passenger. When i was the driver (which luckily it timed out right that i was the one who got to descend Mt. Rainier into Seattle) the thoughts were mostly “dont get another speeding ticket!!” Lol
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Got a new Porsche today, pretty chuffed as you can’t usually get a 959 for £1. More like £1 million.
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It’s a good looking vehicle but I still don’t understand why it has a ladder when there is no roof rack?
WHAT ARE THEY CLIMBING UP TO???
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It’s a good looking vehicle but I still don’t understand why it has a ladder when there is no roof rack?
WHAT ARE THEY CLIMBING UP TO???
It's a metaphor for the corporate suits that buy one.
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So, the top my my Miata is only 3 or 4 years old, and the vinyl is still in good shape, but I got a little crack in the plastic window. In this ridiculous southern heat, the crack ended up being a cancer and the whole window came unglued pretty quickly. There isn't any really good way to fix this that isn't just a temporary bandaid, so I decided after almost 20 years of convertible life I'm just going to put a permanent hardtop on it.
With Mazda hardtops being at ridiculous prices both new and used, I went with an aftermarket fiberglass top. This makes it cheaper, but also requires a lot more prep work and I've already spent a lot of time drilling holes, sanding, etc, and over the weekend I sprayed the underside with primer in preparation for paint. Really hoping I didn't make an expensive mistake getting an aftermarket one, but won't really know until it's fully assembled and on the car.
I've seen people online that have both liked and hated it, but most of the people who didn't like it just put it together and bolted it to the car, and any fiberglass part really needs work done to it be good. People also say that all Miatas leak and they just don't know how to properly adjust a top.
With Mazda hardtops being at ridiculous prices both new and used, I went with an aftermarket fiberglass top. This makes it cheaper, but also requires a lot more prep work and I've already spent a lot of time drilling holes, sanding, etc, and over the weekend I sprayed the underside with primer in preparation for paint. Really hoping I didn't make an expensive mistake getting an aftermarket one, but won't really know until it's fully assembled and on the car.
I've seen people online that have both liked and hated it, but most of the people who didn't like it just put it together and bolted it to the car, and any fiberglass part really needs work done to it be good. People also say that all Miatas leak and they just don't know how to properly adjust a top.
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Good luck, last year I bought a fiberglass tonneau cover for $100 local on Facebook marketplace. Since I roll with no roof, I want to eventually just repaint it (currently red) and mount it pretty permanently to the car.
So far have only been able to test fit it and it will definitely need a little finesse-ing so it can mount and not interfere with the trunk lid opening.
I'm curious if it will help or hurt wind noise in the cabin once it's on.
Like this one (might be from Racing Beat but there were knockoffs too, I can't tell for sure)
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Yeah, everything I've learned from actual body shop guys have stated that you basically can't expect any fiberglass part to fit properly out of the box. They're not stamped from steel in a factory, each piece will have slight variances and rough edges that need to be dealt with. However, it is pretty malleable and not too terribly difficult to make do what you want to do.
The thing I'm most worried about is that the window opening actually keeps out rain. I've seen some complaints, but all of them are using a generic piece of weatherstripping while I am planning on using new OEM Mazda fitted weatherstripping which is adjustable and fills out some nooks and crannies that generic pieces can't. I have a little experience from installing the soft top, it took quite a bit of adjusting both the mounts and the glass in the door but I was dry as could be afterwards.
The thing I'm most worried about is that the window opening actually keeps out rain. I've seen some complaints, but all of them are using a generic piece of weatherstripping while I am planning on using new OEM Mazda fitted weatherstripping which is adjustable and fills out some nooks and crannies that generic pieces can't. I have a little experience from installing the soft top, it took quite a bit of adjusting both the mounts and the glass in the door but I was dry as could be afterwards.
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you can't be any geek off the street, you have to be handy with the caulk...
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Over here with our shitty weather I’d never consider a soft top anyway. Plus I know someone who got their soft top boxster slashed by thieves which kinda put me off. My SC 430 is pretty solid with its lid on, and I can enjoy it off for those glorious 3 or 4 weeks of summer over here lol.
I wouldn‘t mind a Mazda MX-5 RF one day - the one with the solid sliding roof.
I wouldn‘t mind a Mazda MX-5 RF one day - the one with the solid sliding roof.
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I hate the look of softtops. That's why the Mercedes SL is clearly the best option.
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What do you make of the Chrysler Crossfire? I wasn’t aware how much some people hate them. I think they look alright for budget thrills. They are 80% Mercedes R170 parts.
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I think they are still over costed, but I think they look decent. Keep in mind those are SLK clones, not SL's. For that price, i'd rather have a well maintained SL. I owned an MB from this era, and it was very reliable until the end. I was replacing a lot of electric components. Electric Air Pump. Electric Fuel Pump. Electric Gas Pedal. The transmission was the ultimate problem, but that's kind of on me. I believed them when they said lifetime transmission fluid. I should have changed it every 30k miles.
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Maintenance day to pass PA inspection. New pads and rotors, new lower control arm, and inner and outer tie rods.
Passenger side is all bolted back up, drivers side is disassembled but will have to wait until tomorrow to put the new parts on.
After doing it I'm feeling like maybe I should have just done new wheel bearings while I was at it, but maybe I'll do that with new struts at some point beyond 200k (180k right now). I did the stabilizer bar bushings and end links last year so that would be basically everything on the front suspension.
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I’m glad the detailed directions I gave you on how to fix all that stuff were helpful!
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