I too inquired extensively about the car. Never got answers to the "major" question. Glad to see driversource step up to the plate with their offer. If I were you I would have James at Norwoods do the service/engine; he build it. I chickened out to get a stock BB.
If you think its a "Bad" car, why are you even interested? Or are you using that term as baggy pants wearing semi-literate teenagers use it?
David, I really was planning on it(Norwoods) and can not say enough about what a quality guy James is but my thoughts, as I got farther into the project planning, were twofold. One, if its in the bay area, I can visit the job, help out with outsourcing fabrication for the intake system, help take parts for powdercoating etc. and two, if there is further tuning, maintenance (etc) issues, its only a 4 hour drive instead of a $4k ship and month wait. If I were building a new system, James would be the obvious choice, but the system is built, now just needs refinement and upgrading and Brian is not only my long term mechanic but an expert on TR motors. He is also, like James, a standup honest guy who will do his best to not only do the job right but do it at the best cost possible. I know that from working with him over the last years.
Steve, thanks for the good wishes. I am old enough to remember traveling in europe when the dollar was king and everything was cheap, especially in the southern tier. At the rate things are going the only exotics in this country will be in the hands of the super rich (and of course the 308 Big Tex lives in under the overpass!) I hear the sound of jingling euros......
Newman, thanks for the great pics. I would love to hear from you about technical components that you would reccomend for the rebuild. Mule, oh yeah, I could see this baby all jacked up for winter with some big knobbies on the rear. Talk about throttle steer....... Thanks all for the good wishes. I will keep up a thread about the rebuild. I have been encouraged by a couple of respected sources to consider rebuilding naturally aspirated. Both have said it would be super reliable and a wonderful driver. I may look into that, any thoughts Newman? or others? I must admit that I have owned at least one turbo car for the last 25 years so I guess you could say I am a bonafide boost junkie. I am not really a first gear kinda guy so am not too worried about being able to keep the high hp setup happy. Give me an open road and 40 to 100 will keep me happy all day. And I am blessed with tons of scenic, lightly traveled roads that will allow poetic expression of the boosted 12 at full song! Don, this may look very familiar!! Image Unavailable, Please Login
wow john! what a fantastic machine. cosmetics look very nice if not super! the wheels are perfect in design and size...it is countach wild looking with boxer class! i am looking forward to your very detailed driving impressions and would LOVE to see a nice professional video of the car made!!! contact clarkson...just tell him to use care in his 1st to second gear upshifts!!! best, pcb
Yes naturally aspirated is always less headaches in the long run but less fun too! To go without boost, a very stout engine can still be had with the right parts, especially since you have a TR engine as a great starting point over the original 2 valve boxer engine. I would lean to boost in your case since its already all there, I salivate everytime I see it. The key to trouble free operation with gobs of power will be in the combo. The engine can be made to handle it, the gearbox would be my concern. Lets see what you have inside first and we can go from there.
Hey Pete, thanks and have a great family day yourself. No one seems to mind if I steal to the computer for a couple of minutes once in a while. Could be worse habits eh! Don, 56 or something like that. South of Mt Hood to the Clackamas. O my, what a road. No houses, no kids, only two intersections in about 50 miles. We were in my other TT, a built pcar with a measly 640hp! From Mt. Hood to Mendocino you can virtually drive on world class two lane roads about 95% of the trip if you are creative and some of the most breathtaking scenery, well, period. Newman, yes, boost is good, think I will stick with the set up! And yes, no power shifting, but I find with really high hp cars its best to shift smoothly and with some care and thought to whats going to happen next before going deep into the throttle. There is so much power with this car hard shifting is just not necessary.
John, I think it would be a shame to do away with the turbo's! Something about the picture of them, the way they look just so perfect, and natural, on the engine. Almost as if Enzo might have dreamed of doing it someday! Happy Thanksgiving day to all! John
Wicked cool, John. The car looks very clean inside and out. I look forward to seeing the rebuild in person. I am also grateful for Newman's guidance along the way. Wishing You the Best of Luck!
Congrats to you RiverFlyer! The car looked fantastic! I, too, looked at it many times in awe of all the goodies it has! Enjoy the car in excellent health! Cheers, Sam
Nice car and congrats! Your correct about James Patterson at Norwood. Class act for sure. Norwood Performance built my 308 turbo. I think in the end, you would be better off taking it to him. Bob Norwood tuned my car and it runs exceptionally. I would recommend Bob to tune your car. He has been doing it for quite some time and is very good at it. I shipped our car to TX from CA and have had 3k miles of trouble free spirited driving. If tuning is the issue for not taking it to James than your missing out by not having Bob in the loop. His tuning costs are quite reasonable for the level of expertise and experience your paying for. Keep us posted either way and enjoy! Cheers
John, I am with ya, turbo's stay but it will be good to know that the car would be formidable even without the boost. Vijay, yes, looking forward to connecting and doing some drives together. Sam, appreciate the support. Turboqv, I know I am in good hands with Brian. I have talked to James about hiring him to help if needed or appropriate. I think Brian and he have corraborated a bit in the past.
Congrats!!! What a wild BB!! I still have the Forza article about it. Looking forward to hearing about the rebuild process. Hope you can post lots of photos!
Martin and Gary, thanks. Will post lots of pics. Finitele, leakdown when I first tried to buy it was 3%. This time around it was 12 to 15% so someone did her wrong. No worries, I am comitted to bringing back to her full glory!!;-)
Tho' not posted much .. and only ridden in one Boxer (non turbo) THAT THING must be insane when boost kicks, lol the memories i have of that first ride in one has stayed with me for some 20 years and I smile everytime i think of it. bless you my man and have tons of fun
Well I see that you finally acquired the vehicle. Congrats. I am sorry that I was not able to help you out more, I tried though. The pics in post #6 look mighty familiar LOL. I miss detailing that beauty, it was so nice to be around a car like that. Definitely one of my favorite jobs. Enjoy.
Jason, your attempt to help was most appreciated for real. Anytime you want to come out to N. Cal coast and have a mini vacation, I would comp you a nice suite in exchange for a good detailing! You took great care of the car, thanks, John
Congrats on buying this amazing BB. Do you plan on taking the car to the track at some point? When will the work get started? Thanks for keeping us all informed.
