Hello again,
It's been a while since I properly posted on here. I've only been posting wanted this or that lately. But basically a mini update to say I'm going to be re-cycling this thread instead of creating a new one.
My life has changed a lot since the Montego Blue E86 went to a different owner. I unfortunately had to put Rusty down in April; I thought I would be ready but I was not... It was somewhat unexpected as, up until the day before, he had been completely normal. So my guard was down and it was such a blow that even now almost 3 months later, there's still a weird 'knot' feeling in my chest/stomach - no idea how to even describe it. I spent the following weeks just keeping my mind busy with DIYs around the house, but very quickly noticed it wasn't doing it for me. My usual escape from 'reality' is to go on a drive and enjoy the feel of the car around corners, but every time I took the 650i out, I just came back feeling frustrated.
The 650i is an amazing car. However, the combination of being incredibly fast, hefty in weight, automatic, and having the steering ratio of a ship, made it an unideal option for the type of enjoyment I was craving. So even though the soundtrack was glorious, instead of my little getaways hoons clearing my mind, it would just add another frustration to it. So I started looking at cars that I could essentially just buy for however much I sold the 6 series. Cheap Lotus 7 style kit cars seemed like a realistic option. But then I kept thinking/dreaming of some of the best moments of my life - driving the 3.0si in some Welsh roads last year - the car was almost telepathic then and the roads absolutely superb. This memory basically drove me to put the 6er up for sale on the forum as well to see if anyone was selling a high miler E86 that I could buy at the low end of the scale and make it into a project. Then I decided that screw being too sensible, and contacted the guy who currently owns my old 3.0si as he has had it for sale on Facebook for months... long story short, he's not really selling it.
Whilst the current owner of my old 3.0si was being indecisive, someone sent me a rather attractive offer on eBay against the 6er. A gent asked if I was interested in a trade with a Z4M Coupe... I couldn't resist and said 'yes, tell me more', when he said how much he wanted for his car, I absolutely threw all my house plans out of the window and thought 'f*ck it, I made my house perfectly nice and livable, the rest can wait' and arranged to see the car. The car is known to the forum as it was sold here last October I think - I remember seeing the ad. Rather attractive price for a Black Z4M, with CSL style airbox, rod bearings and some other goodies. I ended up walking away from that car... it was definitely worth what the owner wanted for it, but being at the top end of my budget, I would be able to buy the car and not have much left to sort out many little things that would annoy me and my 'OCD'. In hindsight, I should have researched more about the Z4M prior to viewing it, as the diff noises put me off more than anything else and I have now read how common certain noises are and how rectifiable they are with additives.
This very car is now up for auction on
Shooting Brake.
But the seed was planted, I knew what I truly wanted. I went to see the black Z4MC as it was a bargain, but it is as bad as a spec as it gets for one of those (in my opinion). So I ended up buying the M version of my old 3.0si - basically my dream spec. I've had it for a few weeks now, but the last time I drove it was the day after I bought it. I parked it and sorted out a lot of little things on it while waiting for RBM to have a slot for rod bearings, which is tomorrow! Here's a little teaser of how she looks:
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- 20230617_220403.jpg (184.28 KiB) Viewed 747 times
I really lucked out with the spec:
- Interlagos Blue
- Individual Champagne Walknappa Interior
- Carbon Trim
- DSP Hi-Fi + Handsfree
- Folding Mirrors
- Privacy Glass