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-   -   Bought a Z3..........what a bummer..... (https://madabout-kitcars.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5342)

WorldClassAccident 18th March 2015 08:44

You know that feeling when you wake up and remember that lunch yesterday started with a bottle of red wine and you didn't go back to work...

...alcohol may have affected my previous postings. Sorry if I upset anyone. ��

reneanglia 18th March 2015 09:30

Scottie you just understand what i mean to say.
Last year the '62 did'nt start,i sanded the points and till today it starts like new.
If my wife's Focus doesn't start we have a problem.........there are no points to sand and the electronic ignition probably has to be replaced......costs?
If one of my cars breakes down on the roadside 90% of the time i can repair it with a hammer and some chewing gum,with eny modern car you need a very long extension cord to power the computer for a diagnostic session.
As stated to put an older engine into a z3........in the Netherlands this is not allowed with a rebody.You are allowed to chanche the engine to another bigger engine if you keep the rest of the car stock.Also emissions are an issue,the car need to reach the same emission as the year of the stock car.
Now i am gonna take a drive in the '48 ford...........

Jeffr4 18th March 2015 11:32

I believe a modern reliable car with a classic appearance to be the ultimate.As kit builder and semi-mechanic, you can bring at least the most important parts with you in the car, like ECU/MAP etc. There are also universal diagnosis testers,, I have a program for my Renault on a laptop, to detect errors, so I can do a check on the road.
I have built-in a 1400cc in the R4, injection engine of a Super 5 and drives perfectly and well arranged. ..
A very classic car or kitcar with low maintenance and problems and little costs is of course best.
http://i60.tinypic.com/2f0dhjm.jpg

Love the mecanic , who comes with the car too

Scottie22 18th March 2015 11:40

Rene, in England a couple of years ago, one of the big petrol retailers had a bad batch of fuel out on the market, there was some chemical contamination, it was only like 2 parts per million, but thousands of modern cars broke down and went into "limp-home-mode"

The top of the range cars cost two thousand pounds to "repair the damaged engine", while the cheaper ones cost several hundred pounds for the same bullshit.

It made the national news headlines.

The garages and dealers really cleaned up big-time.

Whereas all the Capri's, Morris Minors, Triumphs and other older cars just soldiered on and never missed a beat, as they had no stupid sensors.

You could have peed in the fuel tank and made no difference.

It was this demonstration that finally finished me for modern cars I'm afraid.

I am still kind of looking for the perfect car, as modern as it gets, with an old re-built engine, but without the stupid sensors.

That sort of car would also come free of all the latest Euro-bullshit M.o.t. regulations that have to be complied with.

reneanglia 18th March 2015 13:23

Well.........i think i am a sort of caveman regarding cars......
So Jeffry you carry a laptop with you when you drive your car?.....shit,i don't have a laptop,not even a modern mobile phone.
I have an 12 year old mobile from work,can't even take pictures with it.
I don't own a mobile as i use the one from the boss.......
Some say i am a neanderthal regarding phones,social media,cars and bikes..............they could be right...........i like it this way.

WorldClassAccident 18th March 2015 14:35

I guess it is an age thing. When you started working on cars and the like.

If you take the seat belt issue you raised as a problem coming in in 1972, that is 43 years ago.

43 year is quite a long time to learn and adapt.

They used to make cars out of wood and canvas so you could repair them easily (or because that was the best they had) and when that was replaced with steel you needed new tools and learn techniques to fix the new panels.

I appreciate that you can sand your points to fix the car but saying that you have a car where the points rust up and you have to sand them to get the car working is a better situation that a car that a car that doesn't have the problem seems strange.

Having said that I am sure in 43 years I will be complaining about the nano-tech bodywork that auto restores to the factory settings despite my best efforts to customise it

For what it is worth, I do appreciate simple too. One of my mountain bikes is fully rigid and fixed gear which is as simple as it gets...

...but I also have a full suspension bike with 30 gears for when I want it

reneanglia 18th March 2015 16:33

I am certainly convinced todays car are much better as 40 years ago,500.000km is'nt rare anymore,cars are saver,more economic,easier to drive,powered steering,powered braking and powered everything.
It tells you how to drive,put on the seatbelt,the doors are closed,the boot is closed,you need service and even if your zipper is closed.
Well.....i am only a little disabled but i can still wind the window up with a cranck,put some pressure to the braking pedal,turn the unpowered steering wheel and i am happy with it.
When i mentioned the points it was just as an example to say how easy such a problem can be solved......and can be repared.
As i found out many times electrical components on todays cars cannot be repared but must be replaced.
Last year my missus Focus drove 20.000km,did'nt brake down but did cost almost 780 euro for only service turns(oil chanche etc.)
The two Anglia's drove also 20.000km,10.000 each.......no breakdown and about 25 euro's each for oil etc.
Oh well,we never be on one line with this discussion,i am just having fun in my old cars and will be driving them with a smile......except when driving the hotrod along the mall..........then i have to look cool:icon_cool:

WorldClassAccident 18th March 2015 17:06

I agree with a lot of what you say, don't worry :-)

I think the cost differences with Oil and Services must be down to you CHOOSING to use a garage for the Focus and doing the others yourself.

When the Anglia's were new, and if you used the local Ford garage, they would have been just as expensive, probably more as they need doing more often.

I would be surprised if your Focus needed more than one service in 20,000KM. In the UK it is Oil and Filters at 12,500 miles (just over 20,000KM). 760Euro seems a LOT, a quick Google shows the UK service cost is approx £235 (324 euro) for a major service and just £129 for an interim.

I do understand about replacing components rather than repairing them but I think people (not just you) overstate the difference.

You might be able to repair a part 5 times every 10,000 miles before having to replace it compare to the modern electronic versions that doesn't break for 70,000 miles and then needs replacing.

I really agree about the bings and bongs of safety warnings though. I cannot put my shopping on the passengers seat in my Merc without being Beeped every 15 seconds to put the seat belt on. Grrr

Still, I managed to disable all that in the Z300 so get the modern pleasure of driving the car instead of fixing it with the old fashioned freedom of warning lights and chimes

reneanglia 18th March 2015 17:46

The service on the focus included M.O.T.,full service,wipers and some other bits and bobs..........and yes very expansive.
Because the car is still in guarantee period it had to get the service at the dealer(Official Ford dealer)
Official dealerships are always expansive and i always feel ripped off as an independent garage are much cheaper for the same thing.
I agree the Anglia's when new had probably cost the same at service........but now they are not new enymore and i can do the sertvice myself because it is a simple job to do..........no diagnostics or electrickety involved.
If i was sensible i must get rid of these old junk as a modern car is much cheaper to drive,the focus uses 1 litre 18km,the hotrod uses 1 litre every 8km.........but hey,good for the economy and tax.........grrrrr.

WorldClassAccident 18th March 2015 18:09

I feel your pain

I buy cars that were expensive when they were new and smile at the depreciation the previous owner sufferred

I recently sold my CL600 which was £124,000 new including the options.
I paid £12,000 for it with 45,000 miles
I drove it for 5 years with independent servicing as it was out of warranty.
Approx £250 for a service at variable intervals - the computer told me when I needed a service - between 12,000 and 16,000 miles
I sold it for £2000 with 95,000 miles

Reasonably cheap motoring for such a car although the number of buttons, switches, computers and options would probably drive you mad.

Anyway, I am glad we can share our understandings even if we don't agree on the details. If we all agreed on everything the world would be a boring place.

i reckon the real problem was you probably tried the 1.9 engine!

:-)

reneanglia 18th March 2015 18:21

Nope,2.8 six.
The whole driving expirience felt wrong,did'nt like it at all.
Nothing to do with that particular car because it was a good example,all was functional and working fine,good roadhandling,superb brakes.........
Can't help myself.........i am a neanderthal carwise.
Yesterday i drove a brandnew Merc with a lot of letters on the bootlid belongs to my boss.......also did'nt like it.

WorldClassAccident 18th March 2015 18:29

I felt the same way about the Audi A8 I owned for a while

The most 'adequate' car in the world. i don't mind a few faults in a car if it has some bits that excite me, the Audi was just adequate in everything.

When I make love to a woman I don't car if she feels great or disappointed but I think if she just said "Thanks, that was adequate" I would be upset :-)

Plastic Porsche 18th March 2015 18:54

Modern verses Old
 
A fascinating debate which appeals to me as I have the same dilemma.

A Z3 250swb will cost about the same as a tvr 300Om / Tamar to procure

TVR cheap to run / service, possibly Tax Free, great fun to drive, not many around.

The issue for me is that the Tribute Z3 SWB is new, I like the shape, and I could use it every day, my wife could drive it and there are some modern bits like central locking and air conditioning, ABS etc which make it more practical to own.

Maybe the answer is to buy one of each, still less than the cost of a new focus.:argue::argue:

y cymro 18th March 2015 20:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by WorldClassAccident (Post 64601)
You know that feeling when you wake up and remember that lunch yesterday started with a bottle of red wine and you didn't go back to work......alcohol may have affected my previous postings. Sorry if I upset anyone.

I quite enjoyed your rant, though didn't understand much of it:

Quote:

Originally Posted by WorldClassAccident (Post 64582)
There is a lot of bullshit spread by people comfortable with a spanner but scared of a screwdriver

Sort of got that one unless you were being literal in which case a spade might be better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WorldClassAccident (Post 64582)
It is like technology racism

no idea about that one

Quote:

Originally Posted by WorldClassAccident (Post 64582)
I do understand where you are coming from but don't bury yourself in some weird past that never really existed.

Lost me there

Quote:

Originally Posted by WorldClassAccident (Post 64582)
Some people post on the internet complaining about modern technology without feeling any sense of irony.

Thought that was quite clever :smile:

WorldClassAccident 18th March 2015 21:18

The spanner / screwdriver refers to people who are okay with mechanical stuff but scared of electrical stuff. Electric stuff relies more on screwdrivers than spanners.

Not to sure about the rest although I too like the irony bit

Thanks for the tolerance. :-)

redratbike 19th March 2015 11:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by froggyman (Post 64586)
I had thought about the route 'Redratbike' suggested as then you could fit the engine and box of your choice and the dashboard and instruments could be assembled from scratch rather than modifying the original loom.
Emissions are based on the age of the engine so if you can prove the engine is e.g. pre-cat then you don't need one.

or find a seperate type chassis with v5 that is the same as z3 wheel base or closer to the ferrari ?
fit the mounting points for the rear and z3 scuttle windscreen for the doors and roof to line up with ,get chris to mould the longer bonnet if thats the way you have gone then build around that for a more realisitc replica?
nice alfa v6 in rear wheel drive would be good?

Mister Towed 19th March 2015 16:34

I can sympathise with the 'modern cars are too complicated' standpoint, this, my only breakdown in the Spyder to date -

http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/...psb747b8c9.jpg

was caused by this -

http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/...psef032d17.jpg

a modern, multi spark ignition module I'd added for extra reliability, failing under full power. :(

I've got to say though that changes can be made to the donor that will transform its 'feel' as a car. Tall sidewall tyres, different exhaust, removal of soundproofing etc. My Spyder doesn't feel anything like a Triumph Vitesse to drive now it's wearing its party frock. :)

WorldClassAccident 19th March 2015 17:59

was caused by this

http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/...psqoddssoa.jpg

(not fitting the right part correctly) :-)



Okay - that was my last cheap jibe. I promise to leave this thread alone ;-)

gas guzzler 19th March 2015 18:42

[QUOTE=Mister Towed;64674]I can sympathise with the 'modern cars are too complicated' standpoint, this, my only breakdown in the Spyder to date -

http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/...psb747b8c9.jpg

I'm impressed you've got room for cones in your car , I've only got a fold away triangle in my modern Z3 :smile:

Andy

reneanglia 19th March 2015 18:46

Ofcourse he has room for cones..........he does'nt wear a flatcap or flying helmet so...........


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