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My credit certainly isn't bad (780), but it isn't great either. I was having a hard time getting a competitive rate for a car under $15,000 & 10 years old
Gonna knock out motor/Caitlynn mounts tomorrow morning. Haven't driven the car since I realized the mount was torn. Hard to describe but I feel like I could tell something wasn't right which was why I looked. Didn't want to risk damaging something.
Fair point, I guess it's just the opposite for me living in San Diego haha.
Just yesterday on the way home, I saw 2 tastefully moddedc AP1s an original E30 M3 going down the highway ... last time I saw a beautiful exotic like a Lambo or Ferrari?
Dave, it was a cinch, jack car up high enough to get under comfortably. But not so high your jack can't get the engine up a little to support it.
I didn't try and take shortcuts because I read it was easier to remove the brackets from the engine held on by 4 bolts each. An air ratchet was fantastic for this because at least 2 bolts have very little clearance for your ratchet (I have a snap-on thanks wacker! which has many more teeth and works with less movement but still).
Then, raise up the engine a bit to get it out, drive side was a lot tighter for in and out but removing from in front of cross member was easier.
I guarantee you you're in need of mounts if they've never been done. My transmission ones are solid rubber and after I cleaned them up, you'd have a hard time telling if they were the new or old ones. SKIP changing the transmission mounts unless they're visibly torn.
Next up check your differential mounts...the driver side big one is almost always perished, according to billman.
^ I need to check mine too...just got back from our trip and I feel like the 2-3 shift is a little less precise when going quickly than I want it to be due to the engine moving.
is it me cuz something does not look right with the soft top.
What you're seeing is one of the hoops, just looks a little funny from that angle coupled with the fact the soft top is very tight - it moves very little even at highway speeds.
I got back from my Pittsburgh trip late Sunday night with the newly acquired S2000. What a trip with a couple turn of events. My dad decided to join me for the trip as he gets enjoyment from these little cross country adventures.
We headed out at 4:30 am to Chicago. We got direct flights from O'Hare instead of flying from Milwaukee to Chicago to Pittsburgh. We didn't want to risk the Milwaukee to Chicago flight being delayed for a lavatory light being out.
Landed in Pittsburgh at 10:00 am. Meet up with the seller at a nearby Hyatt hotel and got to work right away looking through the car (thats my father checking it out).
Took it out on a test drive after looking through it. Car ran great. It is extremely straight, no vibration in the wheel, no pulling either direction, nice and quick, hugged the corners, etc. Took it up to redline and the engine sounded strong. The only thing I noticed is the cruise control was not working. I wasn't sure if it was because of how I was using it but I thought the controls were pretty typical.. nothing unusual there. We continued back to the hotel and opened the hood to see if we could see anything more when we noticed this...
.... the oil fill cap come off while I was driving the car. I know the oil cap was on prior to my driving as we had the hood open and I saw it there. Not much oil came out while I was driving but you could see a little bit was sprayed onto the hood. We called the mechanic who just did the compression test and he reassured he did not take off the oil fill cap. Checked the oil level and it was just slightly below the L line. The seller took his other vehicle to the autoparts store, picked up another oil fill cap and a quart of oil. Dropped the quart of oil in and snugged the cap up and we were good.
I had the seller take me out in the car so he could see the cruise control didn't work. The light would come on as if it was engaged but it would not hold speed. I negotiated $250 off for the cruise control not working and we called it a deal.
We jumped in the car and headed towards Ohio. Car ran pretty awesome the whole way with the exception of a slight rattling noise that comes up every once in a while. It sounds like a loose heat shield that needs to be replaced.
Stopped in Toledo Ohio and already received some thumbs up at the rest stop.
My dad picked up driving somewhere in Indiana. We strolled across the Scion tC that was going up in flames.
We stopped in Chicago to pick up my dad's car at the ORD airport. As he was picking up his car, I was already vacuuming out the S2k at the gas station vacuums.
We started nearing Milwaukee and thats when things started to get a little hairy. I pulled up the radar on my phone and saw this.
My girlfriend calls me and says they had reports of golfball and softball size hail. Shit. The soft top seems tight and in good condition but that is certainly something I didn't want to put it through. We made the decision to pull off and take cover for the next hour. The gas station flooded with people trying to get their cars under the overhang.
After the hail calmed down, we hit the road again. Luckily we were able to dodge the storms and make it back hitting very little rain.
And back at home all safe...
My TL-S in the background -- don't worry its not being neglected. It was pulled into the garage as well.
All in all, I was really happy with the condition of the vehicle, especially for the price I paid. The paint has some surface scratches the need to be pulled out but thats nothing that a clay bar, wax and some rubbing compound can't fix. The original owner didn't spend much time cleaning the vehicle and certainly didn't work on it. I'm looking forward to get it into top shape and get it out to some autocross events nearby!
The car looks a lot better than the earlier pictures.
Exterior i'd say it is well above the average AP1 i have seen. It is rare to find AP1 with headlight looking that clear (assuming the previous owner did not clean it)
Time for some maintenance work with all the fluid and etc...
Dude...you're getting a dell (S2000)
Welcome to the club...by now, you've formed some sort of unnatural bond with the bitch. Enjoy it and hang on for the ride. It's like no other car ownership you've had, I guarantee.
Loved reading your story, thanks for sharing. Cruise is probably something simple...being an AP1...it's likely a mechanical throttle cable (like my 04) and I bet the throttle cable for the cruise is out of it's housing (it's an adjustable nut)...and not pulling on anything to engage. Or the Cruise unit is cooked...used one probably isn't $250
black paint is the devil.
I love S2Ki and having the right tools.
