Tuesday: I see a posting for a very inexpensive, original owner BRZ with a bad TO bearing. I call the guy and he's not your typical 86-bro.
Wednesday: He pays off the loan, as I told him I want to pay cash. Bank releases Title.
Thursday: Title is overnighted.
Friday 5PM: Title arrives. I book a flight.
Saturday: 6:45AM: Drive to airport. Arrive at 9:30. Guy picks me up from airport. Test drive, look it over, negotiate price. Sign paperwork.
Saturday 11 AM: I've got a new car. Other than some paint chips on the front, it's exactly as described:
- 2013 BRZ Limited, 105k miles, all oil changes since new (even did oil analysis every 10k!)
- FA20Club Intake, JDL UEL, overpipe, front pipe, HKS Legamax Exhaust
- ECUtek & Pro Tune: 190whp/155tq
- Eibach springs, stock shocks
- Blizzak WS80s on stock wheels, Michelin Pilots on 18x8s
- SPC LCAs, 1.5* camber
- New Brakes
Basically, the car checked every box except the damn color. I'm not a fan of black, but this car is a set of shocks away from being EXACTLY what I wanted. Bilsteins coming right up? Anybody got a recommendation?
Driving back was... as expected, not easy while in traffic. The busted TO bearing meant the clutch couldn't fully disengage, so stop and go was tough. Once on the highway, it was smooth sailing. 34mpg on the way back is a handy offset to buying 93 octane.
Sunday: I pulled the trans. The ease of working on this car (at least in this sense) blows the miata out of the water. SO. MUCH. SPACE.
Aaaaaaaaaaaand the result.
All in all, so far so good. Clutch kit and flywheel are in the mail. Looking for a good (fast) source for a clutch fork and the TO bearing retaining clips, which are clearly ruined. And then once that's done and we are approaching spring I'd like to get a set of shocks. Gonna be an interesting change, after (count em) one two three FOUR miatas....