Have we talked about importing Euro cars?

ae86andkp61 (Forum Supporter) said:

z31maniac said:

Doing something silly could also entail slapping a Harrop S/C on my BRZ. 

Perfect timing! I can enable on this front if yours is a first gen with FA20. I purchased a freshly-rebuilt Harrop and have never installed it, and I'm now preparing to sell it (long story short, the supercharger would be awesome, but I've got my heart set on adding an Alfa to the fleet, which means that the Alfa will become the fun project coupe, and the Frisbee daily needs maximum reliability and fuel mileage more than it needs boost.) PM me for details.

I live in FA24 BRZ land and while the S/C itself is the same from what I understand, I have no idea about the rest of the stuff and wouldn't want to end up having to buy a piece here and there and lose any savings. 

In reply to adam525i :

Did the E46 compact get the normal rear suspension? I know the E36 Ti's and Z3's of that era had the E30 trailing arm setup. 

I kind of like it, the weird front headlights seem kind of Alfa-ish to me? Maybe it's just because it's still early in the AM.

In reply to z31maniac :

Yeah, the E46 compact has what I presume is the same multi-link rear suspension that every other E46 got.

Realoem link to rear axle

David S. Wallens said:

E36-chassis BMW Touring?

There's a 1997 Alpina B6 e36 touring on Bring A Trailer right now.  It's been converted from auto to 5 speed which is a plus, but it's silver which isn't the most flattering color for that particular model.  https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1997-alpina-b6-5/

In reply to stuart in mn :

Yeah, that has coolness written all over it. I might put stock headlights back in it, though. 

In reply to stuart in mn :

That looks like a nice example, and with no reserve, could be a bargain.  From what I've seen over the last few years is the Alpina versions bring a solid premium, but I doubt it will bring what it did in 2017 on BAT.

I have been looking at VW options. There are some cool AWD golf and Audi cars that we did not get. 

Look on YouTube etc and check out the Brazilian  restoration shops, 

Brazil is in the tropics and gets a lot of rain and high humidity  so there is a lot of hidden rust.

So the cool "restored" cars need to have someone check them out in person .

David S. Wallens said:

Sorry for defaulting back to BMWs but, for something different, left-hand drive and not a zillion dollars, E46 Compact? 

I'd really like a 1-series hatchback, but they're all too new to bring over. Had fun visiting the BMW Welt in Munich a few years ago - got to see all of their current domestic-market stuff, but was depressed to see all the cool models we don't get here...

I'm working through the process to see if it makes sense to import this from DE right now. It's looking under 5 digits for a 48k KM  example JDM car but a Europe exclusive model. 

Isn't the TVR notorious for actively trying to murder you?

In reply to calteg :

Isn't that part of the fun?

bmw88rider said:

I'm working through the process to see if it makes sense to import this from DE right now. It's looking under 5 digits for a 48k KM  example JDM car but a Europe exclusive model. 

I don't know what that is. Does it have some kind of cool drivetrain? Otherwise, it's pretty hideous. 

I'd love to have a 323ti with California roof. Plus any number of oddball French and Italian cars.

Yeah, the Baur conversions are pretty rare. 

Ooo, Panda 4x4. I've always liked those. I think they're in the collectible/reverse status stage now though. 

Color me weird but I'd want a Euro market Toyota Corolla hatchback.

They all had scrody 1.3 or 1.4 engines (related to the Echo engine I think) but the important thing is, when one points out that every Subaru tried to look like a Toyota, and someone says "nuh uh what about the bugeye GD" you could whip this out.

'Course, some of them did have 3S-GTEs but those were not for public consumption, new WRC rules meant they didn't have to have a road homologation car anymore.

Toyota didn't care about homologation by then.  Or strict adherence to restrictor rules 

To complete the "it's like a Subaru but not, and the Subaru came second" collection, a SEAT Cordoba.

WRC model posted because the street version didn't look nearly as cool.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

For all these years, I thought that only JG and I used scrody. 

In reply to David S. Wallens :

It's a perfectly cromulent word.

I think it's an Anglicization of schrott which means (quick Google) scrap metal, trash, junk, etc.  Glad I looked it up, all this time I thought it meant something that got turned into a BMW on the forum.

Speaking of things that are perfectly cromulent, we went here this weekend: The Cromulent Basement. 

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

In reply to David S. Wallens :

It's a perfectly cromulent word.

I think it's an Anglicization of schrott which means (quick Google) scrap metal, trash, junk, etc.  Glad I looked it up, all this time I thought it meant something that got turned into a BMW on the forum.

That made me think of scrumtrulescent.