Bought Joey's GTI, so I need to get rid of the Miata. CL posting below, let your friends know. Also have the FZ-07 for sale, message me if you want more details for either.

https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/...10521.html

My Z . It has been a long journey of to finally find a car that is A-in good condition, and B-checked most of the things I needed/wanted in my "first" car. Yes the saturn is my first car, but this is my first car that I will be doing everything right on, and hopefully bring to the track. I did do most things on the saturn as correctly as I could with my knowledge at the time, but I cheaped out on a few things. Like the Racing seat (it was $40 on craigslist) and a stupid, ricey RAM intake. I want to do everything 100% with this car, I started that trend by getting an actual NRG wheel because the stock one is waaaaay too thin and uncomfortable too me.

One really cool thing about this whole process is that I have gain a few friends along the way. One of those people being Taylor. He has been a very positive influence throughout this process. Another friend that I have found through this is A guy named Joe (he bought Taylor's miata). I never expected us to grow as close as we have in the past month or so. I just started sitting next to him at lunch one day and we started talking about cars. He said he wanted a miata and I agreed. I had my heart set on a miata but things got in the way so I had to move on. And the search broadened. I just knew that I wanted a rwd with enough power to not have to worry about modding the engine do whatever I want to do on track. I mentioned to Joe that Taylor's miata was for sale and he went and bought it. The weird thing is that Joe and I have done everything with our new cars together. Joe bought his car Saturday and came with me to buy mine Monday. We both got our cars on Tuesday. And we both got our cars inspected on Friday! Joe has been a really cool guy to be doing all this with and I cant wait to see what happens with the rest of our journey!

Now, the car in its present state.
It is suuuuper clean for a 84. it has 50th anniversary badges on it but they were probably just stuck on. It has 65k on the odometer but I thing its rolled back. The ac doesn't work. The oil pressure gauge doesn't work, as well as the fuel gauge. I actually don't think the air conditioning system works at all, it only blows hot air. It didn't pass inspection because of minor things I will get into later. It has a lot wrong with it, but I love every part of the car. It is mechanically sound and drive amazing! It is such a clean vehicle for its age. Its more than 30 years old! All of the work it need I can do myself with help from the forums and friends and I can not wait to do it. The car as so much potential and that was the biggest thing I was looking for when I was searching. I only got the car for $1,900 and have already gotten offers for the car that is more than that. I believe that this is an amazing purchase and I will stand by it.

The Goals for this build.
1. Pass inspection, needed blades, battery, and fog lights (I will get into this story later)
2. New wheel, and shifter. I want to enjoy driving a car, it feels like I am driving a truck [emoji20]  AND GET RID OF THIS CAMO
3. Fix the broken thing. This is going to take sometime but I am going to be very persistent with it
4. MOD BABY. I understand that several people would rather the car get restored and what not, but this is my car and I want to track and enjoy it. I am planning on first making a nice auto cross vehicle and then move to drifting if I still feel like it. There is a huge list of things I want to do but lets fix stuff first [emoji2]

Now, What happened with inspection.
I went to a very nice little shop Friday to get my car inspected. The took sometime so I knew something was up. I wasn't sure about the car because I didn't get to give it the look over I wanted too, since I needed to get to work that evening and my saturn was officially un-ensured. The inspector came out to talk to me with a small list of demands and an offer for the car. He bought up buying the car several times throughout our interaction. He told me that I needed to get wipers, new fog lights, and either a new battery or it might just need a charge. A small list it seemed to be at the time, but as I went to auto zone (a place I do not like) to get my car battery checked and charged I found out that I needed a new battery that would cost me about $140. The Auto Zone employee tried to up sale me of course and talked about how I should get a Gold instead of a Silver, When he did talk.... I asked him what were the differences, and he read me a list of things. One thing stuck out too me, he said that The gold has a 3 year warranty instead of a silver that has only a 2 year warranty. I thought well my battery is supposedly new, I should be able to take advatage of it. I asked him about it and he replied to me with a small smile that the only way I would get a warranty is if I had the previous owner come in with his receipt, then a distant thought crossed my mind. I remember papers in the glove box. I went and checked them and found the receipt to my surprise. I brought it back to him and that was about the end of our conversation. He got a battery. brought it too my car and told me I have a 3 month warranty on this one. KEEP SOME RECEIPT!



IMPORTANT- I need help. The only thing I have left to do to pass inspection is the lights. I checked the bulbs and they are good. I checked the fuse and it's good. I just went and bought a multi meter and checked the fuse and it has power running through it. I checked the relay and it it has power going to it. how does the power run? does it go to the fuse and then the relay and then the switch? That my train of thought right now. Also how do I trouble shoot a relay? please help, it would be much appreciated. Also tell me what you think of the build, thanks   
-Brandon

**SOLD**

$12,000 public price. Make me an offer 

This 4Runner has every option the 4th Gen came with except for the XREAS leveling shocks. 

The Good:
Leather, heated seats
2UZ-FE 4.7L V8 with VVT-I producing 273 horsepower and 315 lb-ft of torque
Brand new Water Pump and Timing belt installed by a Toyota master tech (Jason)
Fresh Coolant
New Denso Alternator
New Power Steering Cooler tube and full Power Steering Flush
Fresh Oil Change
New Pads, Rotors, and RR Caliper within 15,000 Miles
New Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac All Terrain Tires
New Cabin and Engine Air Filters
New Gas Cap 
Automatic Climate Control
Power Moonroof
Projector Headlights
Power Closing Tailgate 
All other features from the Limited trim

The Bad:
Blemish on Rear Bumper from a parking garage incident
Exhaust Tick from the header
Small Tear on rear seat visible when door is open
Blemish on passenger interior door panel
Frame rust typical of Toyotas. Nothing structural, but enough to make me freak out before I learned to just drive it and not worry about it.
Bulbs behind HVAC/Computer screen have gone out.

Selling a couple of 5.11 packs I don't use.

Used the Rush 72 maybe twice, too large for a day to day pack. Great for 2-3 day weekends at the track. All the MOLLE. Comes with expansion straps to hook other smaller Rush packs to the large pack.

Covrt 18 was my day to day backpack to/from work for about 1yr. Then I went 100% remote so no need anymore. Laptop sleeve and lots of pockets for all the things. Stash spot for a CW on a Velcro holster if you so desire.

Rush 72 (Black) - $75

Covrt 18 (Black/Grey) - $50

Hello everyone, it's been quite some time since I've been on the forums, so I figured I'd post an update on everything I've been up to. I tried to keep it short, but brace yourselves. Forums and taking pictures while I work aren't familiar territory, so sorry in advance for the lack of quality pictures and any formatting errors.

For those of you who don't really know me (and haven't read my intro), I own too many cars. My first car was an '06 Acura RSX base model, automatic.



Sold that a little over a year ago and I don't really miss it.

I also own a '92 Miata (~82k), '03 s2000 (~66k), and I'm leasing a '16 IS350 F-Sport as my mostly daily driver.







The Lexus is obviously completely unmodified, as is the s2000 (besides the previous owner's choice of shift knob). Two summers ago I gave the Miata new suede handbrake and shift boot covers (not perfect but oh well, it was $10 for both of them including shipping from England), a brass shift bushing & shifter rebuild, ss brake lines, slotted rotors, ebc greenstuff pads, clear turn signals (old ones were corroded beyond repair) and the new enkei wheels and dunlop direzza tires you see in the picture above. Oh and I had to replace a seized brake caliper too.





I have no plans to autocross or track these at this point. I don't really have the time to dedicate being competitive enough to really enjoy those endeavors. Plus I'm still just learning how to improve my driving in day to day situations on the road. I might turbo the Miata or do some crazy engine swap in the future, but I've been saying that for 5 years now so... we'll see when/if that actually happens. Most of my modifications these days are based on improving the driving experience as a whole.

So I had started a new job last summer, and I was driving to the office on the Friday of my first week there. I had just left, I was a minute out from my house, sitting at a red light when this happened.









This 19 year old in the CRV flew through the red light from the opposite direction, slammed into the Jetta that was crossing, and then his CRV bounced off and hit me head on. My airbags were the only ones to not go off. I was generally alright, besides a nice bump on my head, moderate concussion, and whiplash. Jetta driver had a gash on his hand but nothing too serious. CRV kid of course didn't have a scratch on him. I can't prove what I think happened, but I'll say that light was red for a damn long time before he went through it. This apparently wasn't the first accident he caused. Insurance didn't total the Lexus because it was too new, so I drove a variety of cars to work for the next 2 months while the Lexus was being repaired.

Anyway, on to the fun part of this update.

A couple weeks later, while sitting at my desk at my fatally terrible job, I was browsing Bring a Trailer every single day. I don't know why, and I didn't have any intention of actually buying anything. I was just bored I guess. But then, something interesting popped up. It was one of the first cars to strike me as impressive and different as I watched it drive by in Atlantic City when I was a kid. And it sat, and sat, and sat, for 6 days, just stagnant at $1600. It was in Lancaster, PA, not that far from me in northern NJ. That was the day I registered as a bidder. The auction ended at 6pm, so as soon as the clock hit 5 I was out of the door and headed home. I sat in my room at my laptop, and people started bidding with 20 minutes left. I started throwing bids in, with my mental limit set at $4000. It went back and forth for awhile, climbing all the way up to $4000. I gave it a last ditch effort, bid $4200 and walked away from the computer. I sat on the floor on the other side of the room with my head in my hands, waiting to hear the "ding" of someone throwing another bid in, signaling my defeat. But that sound never came. I walked back to my laptop and I had won. I was shocked and scared, part of me already thinking I made a huge mistake. But the next day, I drove the s2000 to Princeton and took a train to Lancaster. I walked one block to the dealership and there it was, greeting me like it was our first date.







Yep, I bought a 1987 560 SEC with ~125k on the clock, and the odometer wasn't working so it's anyone's guess as to how accurate that is.

So what all was wrong with it when I bought it? Odometer, speedometer, fuel gauge, air conditioning, clock, radio, front speakers, seatbelt extenders, all non-functional. Exhaust leak, interior in somewhat rough shape with a ripped passenger seat and partially sagging headliner by the sunroof, some dashboard cracking and the like. Very slow window operation on the 3/4 windows that worked. The rear passenger window didn't work and liked to fall down. Dent on the driver's door in a spot that's gonna require the door coming off to fix. Less than perfect paint with some scratches and blemishes. Some rust around the top of the trunk opening and bottom of the drivers door, but nothing too terrible. There is a bit of a leak in the trunk so it smells like the bayou. Some random wiring not attached to anything but the battery. ABS and other dash lights like to intermittently come on when they feel like it. The heated seats work!

After dealing with the wire transfer and some paperwork, the owner of the dealership drove me to a nearby(ish) notary to finalize everything. And I got to ride in this as he went full send.



Yep, that alone was like a dream. A 1972 (I think) v12 e-type converted to fuel injection. Unbridled doesn't even begin to describe the sound this thing made. Turns out the dealership owner races classic cars, and boy does he have quite the collection.



I could go on and on about everything he had there, but back to the Benz. I left the dealer, and went to the nearest Sheetz for gas, jerky, and red bull. I put one of my favorite albums in the cd player (yeah, I came prepared) and hit the road for the 150 mile drive home, silently praying that I made it.





Yes, that temperature is accurate (90 F). It was 94 when I left and didn't get much cooler the whole day. Good thing the windows liked to stay down, because the whole no AC thing was brutal. The fuel gauge bounced all over the place, I had a dying Iphone simultaneously running a speedometer app and google maps as my only guide home. It was slightly discomforting, but I had Smash Mouth blaring out of the two functioning speakers, the dense, humid, hot Pennsylvania air flowing through the cabin, and the snide feeling that my coworkers were all miserable in the office while I was driving one of my dream cars home.

About 20 minutes or so into the drive, the temporary tag that was poorly taped to the back window fell down so I got off at the next exit to try and remedy that. I must have had some luck on my side that day, because right off the exit was a Michaels. Grabbed some duct tape and took some time to fix the tag and just admire the thing.



A little while later, we were home without incident.



First thing I did was give it a good wash and got that Rand Paul sticker off the back. Then I just drove it here and there for a while, until winter came. It was far too cold and I was far too busy to attempt to work on it. But now that's changed! My first order of business was to fix the odometer. I took the gauge cluster out and found that one of the plastic gears was disintegrating. I ordered an overpriced replacement set and got that back together. I haven't been able to drive the thing to see if that fixed the problem, because the next day I walked into the garage to find it had a mysterious flat, and I only own a low profile jack that somehow doesn't lift this pig high enough for me to get jackstands under it. Gonna try again soon on some ground more level than my deceivingly steep driveway, and buy a new jack if need be.

Next up was attending to the windows, so I spent the last couple days ripping apart the interior and removing the motors/regulators. There was a lot of 30 year old grease-turned-sludge on the regulators, so I cleaned and regreased them all. I'm hoping that'll mostly fix the problems, and I think I just have a bad switch for the one window that doesn't work. I also found out today that the 8 month old battery in it was somehow no good, so I got a new one and I'll be putting it in tomorrow and seeing if I actually fixed anything. Here's some more pictures.





Don't worry, I already removed that wiring.







Before/after comparison of one regulator and another:





I've never attempted anything even remotely as intensive as this, but it's been a great learning experience, and this is just the beginning of the restoration I have planned for this car. I'm planning to drive it to Nashville at the end of March for a friend's bachelor party, so right now my goal is to make it as pleasant a drive as possible for those 13 hours.



As I sit here typing this, my 23rd birthday has come to an end. A lot of people texted me their well wishes today, and asked if I was doing anything fun for it. I told them "I'm sitting in my garage alone working on one of my cars", and they all responded with some version of "What? Why?? You could do that any day, why not go do something fun?" I responded with "I am."

So I just brought home my 1992 Mazda Miata I bought from Taylor and I love it. I've been pining for a miata for what seems like ages now and I'm super excited to finally own one. However, it is in need of a few things, mainly, a new soft top. Figured I'd see if anyone was letting one go on here before shelling out for a new one. Mainly looking for a black one with a plastic window, and preferably with a rain rail. MUST BE ON A FRAME. Let me know what you got!

Hey all.

On Friday, I had an epiphany while driving back from JMU for a work trip in the 4Runner. Everyone is right, I don't NEED an SUV. The stupid payment I was making on it could easily pay for a cool car that is better for a commute and fun, and also save gas. I thought about what I'd like new and set my eyes on a WRX. It had everything I wanted, AWD, Fast, Looked Cool, Aftermarket Community, 4 Doors, and best of all, a great CPO program. I texted Joey and asked what he was doing, but of course, he was asleep, or in his garage gluing pieces of wood together and sawing them apart repeatedly, so he didn't respond until much later. I informed him of my dumb idea, and Saturday morning, I dropped the 4runner off and he drove me to Dulles Motorcars to check it out. A CPO 2016 WRX Premium was the car. We checked out a Stinger while the salesmen spent forever to get my license scanned and we headed outside to drive it; it was raining. 

It sounded great, pulled hard, rode well; overall, it was a good car. However, Joey had qualms with the interior, comparing it to his GTI. In my mind, he was just being picky, as any interior made 2010+ was a foreign land to me. I do trust Joey so I gave his words some thought and we decided to go drive a new Si. We arrived at the Honda dealer and quickly realized the salesmen know nothing of their performance models. Joey and Zach explored while I sat and watched the salesmen scroll through base model Civics, asking me if I was okay with CVTs or Hatchbacks. I was too polite to correct him full stop, so I offered questions like "Does the Si even come in a CVT?", to which he replied "Yes". 

That was enough.

I took over the search on the computer, guiding him to where we needed to go, reaching the conclusion that they have ONE Si on the lot. We go find it, and it's a coupe. Joey and Zach climb in the rear and I play with the gadgets. A camera shows you the right side of the vehicle when you hit the turn signal, brake hold feature, crazy digital dash, really neat stuff. I let it warm up while I get adjusted, and we take it for a spin. I work my way up through varying levels of hoonage, but I quickly realize that the car spins through first and second on the damp roads. That's no good. It's still a fun car, and miles better than anything I ever sit in, let along drive, so it's still a positive experience. It accelerates... well. Not great. Well. The styling is not my taste at all, and the interior is incredibly busy. However, it's fresh in my mind, and it seems like a good idea. I did find it cool that the salesmen asked me to keep driving since he was having so much fun, and he directed me to an empty stretch of road to really open it up. The car I drove retailed for 25,000. Not bad! I sit at the table while the salesman hustles back and forth from the manager to me answering simple questions I asked that he didn't know, so eventually the manager comes over to me. At this point, Joey had walked away to find a brochure and bring it back to me, which answered more questions than any employee. We chatted for a bit and I said I needed some time to think, so we left. 

The whole day, Joey had reminded me that I needed to drive the GTI before I shot it down. In my mind, I knew I wouldn't like it, but Joey was being nice and not trying to push me, so I caved and we went to Lindsay VW. The dealership was welcoming. We are met at the door in a kind way, not in a "Rush to the door to get the sale" way, and we walk in to see a VW traversing the Nurburgring on the TV. A Type 1 VW pokes its head out in the back of the showroom. We go back to an office and we discuss a GTI. Everyone recognizes Joey and chats with him as well. I guess he's a regular. Before I know it, we're driving a Black 6 speed SE, at Joey's suggestion. When I sit down, I realize how nice the interior is without dog hair all of the place (Please don't let Molly in your new car, Joey), and all of the new things for 2018 really bring it together. It's a really nice place to just... be. 

We take it out onto 28 and I gave it a little throttle. I hear the turbo spool and suddenly I'm kicked in the ass. I couldn't help but to giggle as I changed lanes to avoid running into the person in front of me. I was sold then and there. The rest of the drive was just unnecessary. We come back to the dealership and talk through a few numbers, I get the guy's card and we all head home. I was late getting back to the house to meet the kid who bought the Miata, but it still worked out. Joey texted me and mentioned he was going to the VW dealership the next day and I mentioned I would too. I didn't sleep much that night. I lied in bed and thought through everything over and over. The sun was rising, so I went to sleep. 

The dealership opened at 12, and I was there soon after. We talked some more, and after being told multiple times that the SE did not come with Plaid seats, they miraculously found one in the lot across the street. Funny how that works. We went outside to look at my 4Runner for a possible trade in and we bumped into Joey and Lauren, who never actually believed I would come back. "What are you doing here?" Joey asked, and I replied with "Buying a car!" with a smile on my face. We take a drive in the car with the plaid seats, but I was already sold on buying it. They gave me laughable offer on the 4Runner, but I expected that, but we made our way through the car buying process. Joey would pop in to check on me ever so often because he knew I was nervous. One thing after another happened, and next thing I know, I'm in the finance manager's officer signing a promissory note. He was a nice guy, and an ex SCCA Instructor, so he didn't try to sell me on any extras because I was a "fellow racer". (Little did he know, I'm just a poser). We chatted for a while, then I had a minute to think about what I had done while I waited for them to finish the preparation on my car. The salesman eventually came around and took me to their delivery area, and I stopped in my tracks when he handed me the keys to my new car. 

What a feeling. 

He showed me the features quickly and I drove off to grab Zach to bring him back so he could drive my 4Runner home. When we got back to the dealership, we went in the visit Joey and Lauren... and they had also bought two new Volkswagens... and on top of that, Zach was now buying Joey's old GTI. Thus, the Itty Bitty NOVA VW Committee was born. 

Me: a Black 2018 SE with Plaid Seats
Joey: a Green 2018 Autobahn with all of the bells and whistles
Zach: Joey's White 2016 SE with Lighting package
Lauren: An Suv thing

Since none of us are going to do anything crazy to our cars, we are going to share one thread to discuss the happenings during our ownership.





For those keeping track at home, when this photo was taken, I technically owned 5 vehicles.

http://hyper-fest.com/

Hyperfest is the ultimate motorsports destination and this year it's at VIR on May 18th, 19th and 20th. NASA Road racing, Drifting, Lawn Mower Racing, Burnout contests, RallyCross, Bike racing, car shows and much more! This weekend is the weekend most of us anticipate all year and there is NO reason not to make out. Hotels are on site and nearby, but the best action is camping out with everyone either in the camping area or the NASA paddock if you're lucky enough. DO NOT MISS THIS EVENT!

Ticketing Information Coming Soon

Who is going? Who is working?








Working Full Time:
Zach
Taylor
Sean
Matthew
Brandon
Will

Working Part time:
Jesse Nunally
John Hunter
Ian O'Brian

Helpers:
Alex Peery

Camping (Only need the name of the person with the tent):
Jesse/Pierce
Protoshea
Chris Castor
Alex Peery

Attending (Other):
Jake, Ryan H, Scott K, Kaan,

Camping/Parking

1) Unless you have a NASA pass, you're parking in the big Field outside the NASA paddock. (To your right after crossing the bridge)

2) Camping is technically only in the camping areas outside the paddock (think the areas on the road before you pass the pond on your left and stop at the stop sign in the paddock near the gas station). A camping pass is required

3)We usually get away with non workers camping by the showers in the NASA paddock without a camping pass, but you'll need to park outside the paddock (see 1)

4) since you can't park in the paddock without working, it's safe to assume you'd be sleeping in your car in the lot, which will not fly with the VIR people since you'd be cheating the system

So either your options are, Get a NASA pass and sleep in your car in the paddock, or get a camping pass and sleep in a tent in the paddock (leaving your car in the lot) or camping with the non NASA people outside the paddock. MM'ers that need a camping pass, please post up here.

All students camping should get together and think about whose vehicle will be most useful to get in and out of the paddock and use that one. Ditch all the rest in the parking lot. (smart money says someone with a pickup or large vehicle should be chosen)

Brandon and Rj's talk about tunes and mods and the complication of aftermarket integration into newer vehicles got me thinking.

New cars are SUCH a pain to modify in traditional ways and have become more expensive to do simple "tuning" and upgrading stuff such as the exhaust and suspension (Electronic deletes).  During the early 2000s and even the early 2010s, the cars became heavier, more numb, and more expensive.  So screw newer cars right?

WAIT!

The past 5 years or so have been absolutely amazing to car enthusiasts.  Cars have gotten louder to the point of Ford even introducing a "good neighbor tune" to quiet the exhaust on start up during start up at certain hours.  No need to upgrade that exhaust! The suspensions have gotten stiffer AND more comfortable.  They finally come from the factory with enough adjustability to add camber or have good enough suspensions to not need a ton to do avoid destroying tires in aggressive driving.  They also have gotten LIGHTER (some not all) and got steering feel back into them vs previous iterations in the early 2000s.  Huge wheel widths to support good tire and enough power stock that "why add more?"

For example, I would gladly trade up my E92 M3 for any of the above and damn near would change VERY little, heck the stock wheels themselves are gorgeous!
BMW: M2
Chevy: Corvette Grand Sport and Camaro Z28/1LE
Ford: Mustang GT350
Porsche: Cayman GT4/Porsche Boxster GTS/991S

And some that I wouldn't necessarily buy myself but are superb vehicles and I would consider pretty big upgrades from previous gens.
Audi: RS3 and RS5 models
Mazda Miata: Went down in weight by a significant margin on an already light car!
VW: Latest GTI

Am I just getting old or this truly just a "bright spot" like the early-mid 90s were for auto enthusiasts?

Tell me if ur mom has a nice one she wants to sell! Prefer the 2.4L 5cyl, FWD, with 3rd row jump seat.