billybunters - from a bmw z4 to a mx5 se

[Danny]

Being covered with composite body panels the Lotus might come through a hailstorm better than most cars.

[rascal]

From the little I know about the 500 the biggest issue is FWD
Winding up the boost to get bigger numbers is pointless is you just suit there spinning the front wheels at every opportunity..

[93_Clubman]

-joined a fiat abarth forum & in time I can explain to them how good a mx5 is.
-was lucky I picked the right car and got out of it easy.
-competition was strong in the standard lotus cars and some I noted had not been sold 6 months after I bought mine.

You can also show them DIY car colour changes at home!
My thoughts too re choosing the SC'd Elise - think the PO to you had it on the market for a little while, so good that you found a fair bit of interest in it.

[billybunter]

overall the lotus looks the part but the SE is the better car as a daily driver. doesn't matter what you buy it takes a very good car to beat a mx5.

I wouldn't rule out a colour change on the abarth either. I only had one choice in the manual - white or nothing I also think they would be pretty hard cars to sell again so its a matter of you either like them or not. in theory they are pretty well overpriced for what you get. but in reality that what attracted me to them

I thought about just buying the top model for $43K. well that's not really their top model as the big one is $65K plus on road costs

I also thought about the ford focus st but they are pretty common and again just wasting my money. I know if I bought the focus it wouldn't last long in the garage. at least a abarth is something different and a guy in town really likes his car.

this car was very hard to get in a manual. actually the only one available in nsw or vic. plus I tried the act too. couldn't buy new and had to settle for a 6 week old demo with 500klm on the clock or pay another $6K more for the next model up in red. that means i'd have two red cars

so I figured S26888 drive away against $28500 new and you can't even buy that car in manual anywhere is better than nothing. plus I still have to get the motorbike too.

I don't think buying this would or could be any worse than buying the mgf so time will tell.

last year the same abarth was selling for $34500 drive away and this year they dropped the basic model to $28K to compete better. I think they only sold 50 abarth's last year too

I also thought about buying used for around $18K but I could also be buying some-one elses troubles. at least this way I get a 3 year warranty but if I hit it with paint - I guess that's gone immediately lucky for the car winter is here and that wild idea is not possible yet!

[Mr Morlock]

From my observation on cars its essentially a loss making process. None of the new or newer cars are going to appreciate- quite the contrary they depreciate at a great rate of knots. You spend money , you trick them up and and thousands goes missing but they fulfill a purpose (s) that public transport cannot replicate..Very few people except those in business come out with a profit. The smart way to buy is used when the massive depreciation has taken a big bite out of it. You can buy a $10.000 car which is better than a $30,000 new one- no problem at all. And beware the orphans.

[billybunter]

or better still you could buy $10,000 worth of parrotlets and providing they don't die or nothing goes wrong - triple your money

I am still thinking - will I take a plunge or not? buying them isn't the problem its the commitment to look after them but the good stuff can produce $5,000 nests

right now the rarest are $4,000 ea

[Snowmotion]

The good news is that even the Abarth Race cars use a stock motor with upgrades around the stock motor. So plenty of potential.

[billybunter]

ANOTHER BRIGHT IDEA!

while changing the spark plugs on the SE I've been thinking about where I could go to do this winter's run. well the open limit in northern territory is out due to its closure from the new government...........so I came up with another bright

when I get hold of the Abarth on Wednesday I will give it a trial or two on a few of the dirt roads around where I live and if favorable I think I will run it along the full length of the Birdsville track

I done that trip 35 years ago and surely the road would have improved a bit since then.

first things first i'd have to test the fiat and decide if it's worth the risk or not! after all I don't think they are what you call blessed in the reliability stakes.

one thing though. I recovered all my outlay on the purchase/sale of the lotus and over half that was in bird sale money alone so in reality I really got this FIAT for nothing anyway. time will tell if it's worth exactly that nothing or a bit better than what i expected.

now I could take the SE instead but I won't. I don't think it would handle the road too well. I tried it on a couple in the NT and I think it would be a pretty hard slog. that's for the car and driver combined.

if I can stitch this idea together I could end up with two great proven cars - one which did two high speed runs in the NT open limit and a combo of 20,000 klm and the other which ran the Birdsville Track. it's wild ideas like this which keep me interested. now to see if I can put this together and persuade the wife to tag along

[speed]

I understand the practicality of a hatch and I've had several over the years but i don't understand the appeal of the abarth.
Its just so small. (and i have an original mini.. buried somewhere in my house)
I know someone that bought a ST fiesta new for 30k and yesterday i met a bloke that paid 18k for one with 20,000 km with cool wheels fitted.
I thought that was a good deal and am impressed with how they are built and what they go like stock for the money.
I do think you're quite fortunate to be able to accumulate funds so easily and make such random purchases. That would be one of my definitions of what really living is all about. Trying new stuff and not regretting the consequences.
Good on you! Look forward to reading about the future mods for the abath. Who knows, maybe I'll be converted

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

[billybunter]

speed

this will be the only the second hard top car I've bought in 10 plus years. you can get these in a convertible but if you look at them -its like the sardine can when you use to get the key to wind back the lid

I think while the bird selling roll is on and the $$$ are there I might as well take advantage of it while I have the chance. I missed the big price hit in the early 80's with mutation parrots and they were tossing money around everywhere. I recall buying one pair for $2000 and ended up with two hens

after that i went in partnership with another guy and we bought $10,000 between us but by then too late and the tail dropped out and it was all downhill from there

so this time I am pretty lucky to get another chance to try again. helps too if you have what they want.

seeing I don't really work for the money - like actual work I think you look at it different. like someone giving you something for nothing. you appreciate it in a way but not the same as if you work hard yourself for it. well that's what I think.


My $30 Power Mod

the plugs are in and a 70 klm drive over. what a difference! I have no idea how much power I picked up from the plug change BUT it's a lot. 2nd and 3rd gear pulls pushed you back into the seat to 6000 revs and I still had 1500 in reserve till I hit the 7500 rev limit.

rear end was partly sliding or dancing about and the power on tap was controllable and almost like driving a totally different car. wife also commented a couple of times - this is pushing me back into the seat. naturally I replied the car does a good job too

I once had the idea to go e85 to pick up extra power but after experiencing todays burst I think i'd be looking for trouble. first time today since owing the car for 6 years I commented to the mrs - if I drove like this all the time i'd require better brakes to stop it. your over the limit year quick and have to hit the brakes hard to get you back into the legal zone.

I mentioned a few times that the lotus was the quicker car of the two with better power delivery. as of today this would bowl over the lotus pretty easy. never thought i'd say that. plus a $30 plug change did the trick. better idling from cold and smoother power delivery

in a way I was extremely lucky no-one ever inspected this car for the very few $$$ I was asking. that idea was pretty silly on my behalf when one consider its running all the very best power mods. maybe not the adaptronic ecu but the exhaust system -gtx turbo and re-built bottom end

after todays run I think it would probably be a better idea if I had it detuned to 250 rwhp rather than the wild ideas month earlier and in the direction of 350 plus.

[billybunter]

just thought i'd have to load today's photo I took of the car out on the outskirt's of Canowindra NSW in my garage thread. Autumn is in full swing in the Central Tablelands of NSW and it has turned nasty in Orange pretty quick and the trees have dropped their leaves but 60 klm west it's a totally different climate altogether and there is a great avenue of deciduouse trees.
perfect photo opportunity too

[Daffy]

Big Red is looking really good in the autumn colours billy! RE the tuning side of it all, I've always Run with the mindset of the ol rat rodder's philosophy "built for my satisfaction, not for your approval"

[Lokiel]

Glad you kept it too, I always knew it was a more practical sports car than the Lotus but it's good to hear that:

"the lotus was the quicker car of the two with better power delivery. as of today this would bowl over the lotus pretty easy. never thought i'd say that."

Your experience has cured me of ever desiring a Lotus again so thanks for being so honest about it.

350rwhp IMO is completely nuts for our cars, more power than you can ever use and requires upgrading virtually everything to support it reliably - way more trouble than it's worth.
E85 in Australia is still not an option either if you ever want to drive outside of city regions.

[billybunter]

daffy
it appears all is good power wise and I have had the oil leak repaired too. so its all good and I have a nice dry engine bay floor

lokiel

yeah the lotus is a very easy car on the eyes but not so easy to live with on a daily basis.

been on today in the tip special has 1100 klm on the clock. I am just giving it the odd run now and again just to see if I think I can swing it in the direction of running it along the birdsville track in a few weeks time. so far it appears alright and goes alright so that's two out of two!

[billybunter]

plus someone had stuch this bit of wire in a post and added a few berries so I did the rest