Maserati 3200 GT. IIRC they were discontinued when the car was introduced into the American market, as Maserati thoguht Americans wouldn't like them. Every American I've ever spoken to about them thinks they look better than the lights that replaced them...
It's so nice to be back in Ferrari land. When I sold the 355, I immediately regretted it. I spent six months in a 4.2 XKR, then 6 months in an SMG M3. Now I can get back to driving a proper car, not a quick armchair.
Sorry, the piccies were too big. Now reduced. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Here's the one I was thinking of....thanks to Trax for posting it on another site so I could pinch it! Jamie Image Unavailable, Please Login
Here are some images of my 2004 MINI ONE (named 'Zeus'). The first three images are of me driving on a MINI Run (we had photographers strategically placed on the route) and the duck on the aerial is a tribute to deceased members in the MINI community. The fourth image is Zeus undergoing some surgery on my driveway. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login I've made some personalisations (all declared and insured) for enhancing the driving experience: Koni FSD shock absorbers GTT Spiroslot Brake Kit (front & rear), uprated Brembo pads, BF Goodrich stainless steel brake lines, Motul RBF-600 brake fluid GTT Aerobox Upper Front Strut Brace GTT Lower Front Chassis Brace GTT Mid-Chassis Brace GTT Rear/Boot Brace John Cooper Motorsport Open Cone (JCM510) Induction Kit Milltek 'Special' Cat-back Exhaust 205/55-R15 88V Kumho ECST tyres (equivalent size to stock) So, I've tried to make it handle better (Koni FSD and chassis braces) and stop faster (uprated brakes). I've uprated the brakes more than once as I had some problems during a MINI Run last year and managed to simultaneously boil my brake fluid and set my brake pads on fire. Buttertubs Pass is a fun road... I haven't uprated the engine due to fears that the gearbox (made of a variety of soft cheeses during the period of my build) wouldn't take it, but I could remove the electronic limiters and give it another 30bhp if that wasn't an issue. The OEM exhaust rusted straight through and holed itself, so I replaced it with a stainless steel example I got on a group buy on a MINI forum. That made the exhaust a little louder than the engine, so I added a cone filter up front to even it up again with induction noise. I've tried to keep a relatively 'stock' external appearance, as I'm not much of a fan of lowering kits, oversized alloys, spoilers, etc... I also have a 2002 SmartCar ForTwo that my fiancée uses as her car, but I don't currently have any images of it. All the best, Andrew.
We have a winner Nice a lot of work done but why not just buy a cooper? BTW i always pictured you in a pink Micra convertible
My parents bought me the MINI for my 21st birthday, however I had to pay for all the running costs and insurance. As I was doing my undergraduate degree at the time, I calculated that I could afford to insure and run a ONE but not a Cooper. Apart from the engine management program and the suspension, they're the same car anyway. I threw a bunch of options on the ONE so ended up being an on-the-road price pretty close to that of a standard Cooper. After my 25th birthday, it was feasible to change to a specialist insurer to allow for the modifications. I'd also started a postgraduate degree which offered a little income for subsistence - as I live quite modestly, I had enough to play around with. As for the modifications themselves... I bought the strut/chassis braces used and picked items of limited production run so I knew they'd hold value for when it came time to sell them. The brakes needed doing (completely shot) and the upgraded components were less than the cost of the OEM replacements. The exhaust needing doing (holed) and the stainless steel replacement was cheaper in the group by than the OEM replacement. Tyres are wider than standard, but were also cheaper than the dealer-recommended options. The only real extravagances were the induction kit and the Koni shock absorbers - the shocks did need doing but the Konis were about four times the price of the OEM components. Had I changed it for a Cooper, the cost of changing cars would have been more than was worth it and I would have had a car for which I didn't know the history - which comes in handy for nipping problems early before they become expensive. With the handling upgrades, my ONE can actually set faster laptimes around a track than a standard Cooper as I can stop much quicker and hit higher cornering speeds. A pink Micra convertible?! Good heavens, no... having been in a serious crash already, I'd never own a convertible. All the best, This week's Haggis-Munching 348 Pansyboy.
Fiancée says I can have the whiskey at least, she's not such a haggis fan. Oh well. I'll have a rustle around and see what I can find amongst the pictures of ourselves. All the best, Andrew.
Yep - no worries, Tom. It's even structural engineer-approved. I couldn't afford a purpose-built ramp so talked to a structural engineer (aka dad) and went out to get a couple of concrete blocks. The idea is to let a little air out of the tyres to spread out the weight of the car, jack up one side of the car a little bit and slide under a block. Go around to the other side and jack that up a little and slide under a block, etc. I made sure the ground was level, handbrake was on as tight as it would go, chocked the rear wheels and the front wheels were in-gear. It wasn't moving anywhere. And since the blocks were wider than the tyres and quite long, it was very stable - I also tried pushing the car around a bit before getting under it. Here are some other images of jacking it up: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login However, while safe, it's a lot of hassle and it'd be much better to have a ramp to drive up like this: Image Unavailable, Please Login http://www.restorationramps.co.uk/ (no affiliation, just first Google result) But it worked as an inexpensive (<£10) option to get the car up so I could look underneath it. All the best, Andrew.
Keep it old school with the blocks. If it's good enugh for 1 of 1 Ferraris and limited edition Alfas it's good enough for a mini http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=222935
