Archive for black

2001 996 Turbo – RWD, Techart, Roof Rack!

I found this tricked out Turbo on Houston Craigslist a long time ago and it has yet to sell.  It’s a 2001 996 Turbo with a ton of modifications.  To be honest I wasn’t really interested until I saw the roof rack.   Once I was hooked I read the list of upgrades and saw this Turbo also has a RWD conversion.

I had never heard of such a thing so I jumped across a few forums and found that a good chunk of Turbo owners have done this before.  Many of the “convertees” recommend going for the full GT2 suspension upgrade to counteract the weight shift (the switch from AWD to RWD removes about 70 pounds).

2001 Porsche 996 Turbo – RWD & Roof Rack!

List of upgrades:

Exterior
TA front bumper with custom LED lights
Custom-made 997 TA sideskirts
TA Type II GTS rear bumper
Intercooler duct splitters
Authentic strosek rear wing
Custom painted Porsche emblem
H&R Street Coilovers
19” 360Forged Mesh8 with Toyo T1R or 19” HRE 895R (Chrome) – both with 99% Toyo T1R but HRE does not have tpms senors in the wheels.

Interior
FVD CF steering wheel
Tequipment roll bar
Brockway 1000
Eclipse DD Touchscreen HU
Boston Acoustics and Infinity Component speakers
JL subwoofer and amp
Ecliptech Shift-I tachometer
TPMS Sensor Unit

Engine: (All engine work done locally by DriverSource)
K16 Hybrid turbo upgrade (500 RWHP)
EPL Tune
Upgraded 1 Bar WG
New sparkplugs
Cargraphic exhaust
RWD conversion (have parts to convert back to AWD)

The owner is asking $57,500 for this low mileage example (23,000).

Here are my questions:

How do you feel about a RWD 996 Turbo?
Which wheels do you choose? 360Forged or HREs?

P.S. – I don’t think the roof rack comes with the Porsche :(

-Ben

1983 Volkswagen Scirocco Wolfsburg GT With Only 4700 Miles!!

I am a long time Scirocco nut. I had a ratty 77 that I beat up thoroughly in high school (class of 92). It took tons of abuse, but the willing little 4 cylinder and light weigh was a lot of fun for a kid my age to be driving back then. But my car was a heap compared to the MKII a friend’s older brother owned. It was black with black striped interior. And it was lowered on Momo rims, low profile tires (when 50 series was considered low profile!), an Alpine CD player and huge subwoofer in the back. It was one of the nicest modified cars at our school without a doubt. I even remember my Dad, who frowned on modified cars typically, remark, “That is a beautiful car. A high school kid owns it?!”

Seeing how nicely preserved this car is reminds me of that MKII from high school. The black on black is of course very familiar (though his seats were no where near as awesome as these leather ones!), but also because you just don’t see well preserved Scirocco’s anymore. Anywhere! And with only 4700 miles, this one takes the term survivor to extremes under the circumstances. These were all passed through the hands of high school kids, several times over, and each one wanted to modify it — ultimately killing most of them.

Check out this

quote from the eBay listing:

INCREDIBLE survivor – totally original and un-molested with only 4700 miles – absolute time warp car!!!

Original 1983 1/2 Wolfsburg Edition Scirocco with 4700 original miles. Quite possibly the finest example anywhere!

The car was purchased new in July of 1983, driven very little, and then stored for the majority of the past 26 1/2 years. The mechanic for the owner took care of and stored the car for the majority of this time up until about one year ago. The first owner had the euro headlights installed at the dealer. At some point in 1985 the GTI snowflake rims with their original set of Pirelli P6’s were put on. It also appears as if the original factory OE radio was replaced with an OE BMW factory radio out of an 83 320i. I am including an original used Heidelburg radio with the car. The orig factory 13″ rims are available with the car along with the original window sticker, factory manuals and all the OE literature on the BMW radio along with its security code & the factory OE headlights.

[...]

The car is a literal “all” orig in every way, time warp. Never hit or damaged, never repainted anywhere. The only flaw is on the right side of the hood near the windshield where something hit it and left about a one inch crack in the paint. The leather interior, headliner, and carpet are in incredible condition and still smell like a new car. No cracks or fading whatsover. The dash, door panels, headliner, every inch of rubber on the door seals are impeccable in every way.

The last Scirocco I saw in person that was this nice was Josh’s 84 that we posted here last year. That was a really fine example. This is ridiculous. And I know not everyone reading this is going to believe it, but there are 19 bids on this car totaling $8600 — and the reserve isn’t met with 2 days remaining! Clearly there are some collectors out there who remember the car as fondly as I do; not to mention an owner who isn’t letting this one go easy!

dc

Stunning 1991 BMW 850i For Sale

When was the last time you saw these three words in the same sentence? BMW. V12. 6-Speed.  Now that’s a recipe for the “Ultimate Driving Machine”.

When BMW introduced the 8-series I thought they nailed the perfect balance of masculinity and beauty.  It’s the Great White Shark of the road; long, sleek, powerful and precise.

This 2+2 was BMW’s flagship car and was aimed to compete with MB’s SL-Class and S-Class Coupe.  The seller of this particular 850i has tried his best to transform it into the fire-breathing 850CSi.  Visually he’s done a great job; black paint shines beautifully, custom exhaust, 18” M-Parallel wheels, the list goes on.

List of specs from the listing:

The front and rear bumper pieces are obvious and are factory BMW parts…This car is of course 100% original flawless paint on all metal surfaces and the CSI bumpers were painted off the car and have all correct mounting hardware and related parts, air deflectors, etc. The suspension of this 91 has the rare (EDC) or “electronic dampening control” option, giving it a sort of active suspension with two switchable setting, and is another very rare option.  The springs on this car were upgraded to a lower and stiffer aftermarket spring that is a very good improvement over all factory E31s CSI or not, and the front sway bar is a larger model in this car too.  The rear differential was changed out to a 3:15 ratio and a Limited Slip unit.  This is a BIG improvement on the 850 6 speed, giving the car a better acceleration and no effect on top speed or drivability.  It is the ratio the factory should have used in the first place and is recommended to all 6 speed cars.  This is also roughly the same ratio as the factory 850CSI uses.  The front brakes were changed from the ATE to the the rare and expensive Factory 4 piston Brembo Calipers.  These are not aftermarket, they are a factory BMW part with the BMW logo and about as rare their selves as this car in this condition.  The front projector lenses have real 8K HID/Xenon lamps and ballasts on them.  This is a very nice touch on the front of these cars.  The lenses are of course glass, not plastic and all the headlight adjusters that are problematic are perfect in the car.  Also, all the headlamps come on when the bright lights are pulled.  This was a disabled feature on the 8 series in the US.  The wheels and tires are an upgrade and are later model 18×8.5 and 18×9.5 wheels with Michelin Pilot tires sharing the same sizes as the new M5 BMW.

To make this car have more power without altering the originality or integrity a few basic things were done.  First, all 3 computer chips were changed.  The V12 cars use two “DME” computers on one “EML” computer.  The DMEs each run one side of the twin 6 cylinder engine.  The EML is more the throttles, and other aspects and is kind of linking the DMEs together.  The DME chips are the popular Conforti chips, giving the car about 30HP over its 300HP rating.  The EML, removed the top speed limiter and raises the rev limiter.  This is a separate chip from another company and is roughly the same chip used on an Alpina B12.  The combo of the 3 allow the car to achieve a near 180MPH speed and give it a bit more acceleration.  The last upgrade is the exhaust.  This exhaust transforms this already “over attention” getting car, to a musical tune not played by any other car on the road.  The exhaust was custom built on a chassis dyne by one of Dallas’ best.  Although it took extensive work and only gives the car 16 actual HP, the looks and sound are so impressive that you just want to listen to it all day.   If you did not see the car, you will look when you hear is as there is no other sound like it…With all of the performance mods, this particular 850 has 286HP to the wheels.  That is roughly about 345 HP at the flywheel, still 35HP short of the real 850CSI, but it is as close as you can get without altering the engine, and that is not an option on this particular car in its condition and rarity.

At $54,200 this 8’er certainly isn’t cheap but if you’re a Bimmer connoisseur and you’re looking for a low-mileage E31 with all the right trimmings, this may be your car.  I know I love it!

Quick Fun Fact – When you are cruising on the autobahn and you dip into triple digits the windows automatically roll up to reduce wind drag.  How cool is that!?

-Ben

1985 BMW M635CSi For Sale in Kansas

R.B. emailed me his fantastic looking M635CSi to post on the blog. Check it out:

1985 BMW M635CSi For Sale

quote from the eBay listing:

1985 BMW M635csi, VIN WBAEE310201050476, 112K miles. Dinan Stage IV, Haltech, Racing Dynamics RGR’s with new Falkens. Diamond Black over Schwarz. Originally Polaris Silber. Original Options…415mm cross-spoke alloy wheels, green-tinted glass, power sunroof, warning triangle, power front comfort (non-sport) seats, interior headlight adjustment, air conditioning, Becker radio with power antenna. Engine M88 Engine Replaced about 30K miles ago with a rebuilt S38 by a previous owner I was able to track down. Engine Compartment stripped and completely refinished in KBS RustSeal Gloss Black. New heater valve. All new Belts – factory BMW. New fan and new fan shroud. New Coil, Distributor, Plugs and Wires All new fluids, brakes just flushed. Haltech Platinum Sport 1000 ECU with Datalogging, custom wiring harness, 60-2 M30B35 trigger wheel and Cherry Hall Sensor, so no more Reference Sensors :) . New High Impedance 440cc injectors from five-o motorsport. Innovate LC-1 Wideband O2. Engine retained SS bundle of snakes headers from M88 and M88 throttles. Cone filter attached to professionally refinished plenum, refinished valve cover. Dinan air sock. Interior Nice interior, I installed a dash cap due to cracked dash, looks great. New M6 floormats. Carpet in good shape, Custom package shelf in black vinyl. Repaired sunroof header with epoxy and new clips. SI Lights fully functional, all gauges and lights working properly. Installed Nakamichi CD-400 with Bostons all the way around including perfect late model pods in the rear. Brand new Bosch wipers. Drivers seat missing some piping, passenger seat excellent. Comforts were RARE on the M635csi. AC Just finished conversion to R134A, new receiver dryer, all fan speeds and settings work, (replaced transistors), new heater valve. Suspension Has the E24 shimmy I have not addresed yet. Sits on a verified Dinan Stage IV suspension (Front Camber, Rear Camber, Sway Bars and Bilsteins). Needs the usual bushings replaced. Body Repainted Diamond Schwarz by a PO (originally a desireable Polaris car). Some chipping on the repaint, but very nice considering the age. Car looks great. Absolutely no rust anywhere. Solid, clean underbody. Car is a SOLID TEXAS car has been in MO since 2001. Always garaged at my house while the E46 M3 convertible sits outside crying. Rear bumper, slight bend due to a mailbox, looks fine, no structural damage. Rear rubber spoiler in good shape. FRONT – SLIGHT damage to kidney metal. WILL NOT require anything other than minor bodywork. New factory roundels, new factory kidney grills. New OEM Euro turnsignals converted back from DOT. No ugly front side reflectors, somehow this one escaped. Tires and Wheels New 16″ Falken Ziex, Italian made Racing Dynamics RGRs in fantastic shape. Exhaust Excellent condition, no CAT, Innovate Wideband 02 installed.

Clearly this car has had loving owners and the $12k asking sounds very reasonable! Good luck with the sale R.B.!

dc

1988 BMW e28 M5 For Sale with only 12k miles!!

Geoff emailed me this one and OMG it’s incredible!! A real survivor with only 12k original miles. The owner states it still smells new!

1988 BMW e28 M5 For Sale with only 12k miles1988 BMW e28 M5 For Sale with only 12k miles1988 BMW e28 M5 For Sale with only 12k miles

quote from eBay listing:

Here is one of the rarest and most precious finds in the vintage BMW marketplace. A 1988 M5 with just 12,595 original miles. This is one of the finest and lowest mileage original M5’s in existence today. A true time capsule which looks, drives, and even smells like a new one. The pictures barely do it justice.

With a top speed of 150mph, this historically significant Motorsport model was considered the fastest production sedan in the world when it was introduced in the U.S. in 1988 and here it is in virtually the same condition it came out of the showroom in. Includes all original books, tools, keys, and even the original BMW cassette cleaner. This car is concourse show-ready and an absolute joy to drive.

Jim, I know you were looking for a good clean example. Is this the one?

Thanks for the heads up Geoff!

dc

1984 Rabbit GTi with only 517 Miles For Sale

1984 Volkswagen GTi with 517 Miles For Sale

Saw this on the Autoblog feed this morning and my jaw dropped. That’s no typo, this car only has 517 miles on it!

:

quote from seller’s listing:

This 1984 GTI Rabbit is my father’s car. He is the one and only orignal owner. He bought this little slot car in Jan 1985 brand new from the dealer. It was driven home and later driven to CMC Stereo Center to upgrade the stereo to a Blaupunkt stereo and four Alpine speakers, this was top of the line back then. The car was later rustproofed with the LATEST WAX treatment in his garage by a persponal friend. We have ALL documentation. Within two weeks my dad had back surgery. The car sat in his garage for months hoping to fully recover from surgery.Years went by….two more surgeries, 25 years later it is time to sell. He simply can’t drive a stick shift anymore.My father had owned a Shell Service station for 50 years, he knows how to maintain a vehicle LOL and is quite the perfectionist.

You won’t find a newer GTI like this anywhere. It still smells new inside. It should be in a VW museum somewhere. This car is truly a “TIME CAPSULE”. All original, original owner, all original documents, blue car cover in trunk, 515 original miles, nothing needed but a set of license plates. We have put three new batteries in the car over 25 years , second set of tires . We have started this car monthly . All rubber is like new! Everthing is like new. Never driven in the rain snow or anywhere as a matter of fact. We garantee you will not find a newer one than this. the only flaws are a couple of bicycle handle bar nicks ( two small dings , one on front fender and the other on the rear). Nothing difficult to repair. This car starts perfect…….runs perfect ……….looks perfect…..It never sat out in the sun for any ammount of time. New, it sold for $8799.00 it should have held it’s retail price. .LOL IT NEEDS NOTHING!!!! But someone to drive it, it handles like a slot car. I owned a similair one 18 years ago, they are a blast to drive and carve the curves like a true sports car.

There is quite a spirited discussion in the Autoblog comments and also a 4+ page thread on VWVortex about this car and what it’s worth. I can see both side of the argument. Where do you think it will end up?

dc

Weedy 1974 Porsche 911 Racecar

Who out there is brave? If taking risks on vehicles is your sort of thing, how about pulling this 1974 911 racer from the weeds in Japan? Seller says the car used to sport a 3.2 liter, but now has a new 3.6 liter engine. It is clearly race setup, but also seems to need a thorough going over. The lack of description, shady pictures, some dated 2005, and fact the car is in Japan makes the $27,500 ask price way out there. (Even considering the current exchange rate) The seller does have lots of high res photos here and here. Who’s feeling daring?

~Evan

1988 BMW M5 For Sale in Portland, Oregon Black on Black

My friend Chuck emailed to let me know that he’s giving his e28 M5 one last chance at sale for a newly reduced price of $16500. Check out his latest listing on Portland Craigslist:

1988 BMW e28 M5 with Black Leather Interior For Sale in Portland, Oregon

quote from Chuck’s listing:

Lower price but still including $1000 of spare/extra parts. This is a classic BMW that really gets attention at any BMW event it is at. The black interior is something most BMW enthusiasts are caught by surprise with. Beautiful condition, great driving car and performance hard to match even in 2009 for a 4 door sedan. Had a very complete PPI performed that is available to inspect when viewing the car.

All engine checks were great, cam chain/rails looked “very good”

Leak down results were 6%-8%-4%-6%-6%-6%

Parts that were flagged have been replaced: fuel filter, coolent hose, lower ball joints, clutch slave cylinder.

I have also replaced the catalytic converter with Magnaflow unit

It now has 140,000 miles on it.

I chose to repost the picture of the driver’s seat because a) it highlights the very rare black leather interior on an e28 M5, and b) it really exemplifies how clean this car is — a real enthusiast owner takes care of the leather too, and you can expect the rest of the car has been cared for the in the same way! I just recently saw this car in person at a local track day event (Chuck wasn’t driving at the event by the way, just shooting pictures), and everyone at the driver’s meeting stopped and turned to see what was making that fantastic M powered sound! This car is really a great example and Chuck is hoping to find an appreciating enthusiast home for it.

Good luck Chuck,

dc

Two Ruf Turbo’s on eBay Right Now!

First up is an eBay listing for a . This car is advertised as 1 of 5 imported that year and a very low 12k miles! I’m a little late getting to this one, so bid soon ;) ($39k reserve not met currently)

1986 Ruf Turbo 911 For Sale Slant Nose

quote from seller’s eBay listing:

This Porsche Ruf is an Autocheck certified car with only 12,152 actual miles!! This Ruf was stored by court order for ten years and it’s amazing condition shows! We contated the RUF Performace shop in exas and they confirmed that this car is authentic and an actual RUF model.

This extraordinary 1986 RUF Porsche 930 Turbo has been factory finished in gorgeous grey metallic with a supple tan leather interior. This car is equipped with some excellent features including:

*high performance 3.4 liter horizontally opposed 6 cylinder air cooled engine
*5-speed manual transmission
*high performance turbo
*enlarged high performance air to air intercooler
*high rear spoiler
*quad tip exhaust system
*fog lights
*massive air intakes
*Ruf front spoiler


My second pick for the night is this specification according to the listing. Current bid is $25k (reserve not met) with 5 days remaining.

1978 Porsche 930 Ruf For Sale

quote from seller’s listing:

1978 Porsche 930 converted to Ruf 930 by Exclusive Motor Cars in New Jersey. Car is in truly immaculate condition – vehicle has 14,000 miles on odometer and a total of 67,000 miles on vehicle. The following was professionally installed or modified 13,000 miles ago, including a flawless better than factory repaint.

RUF Stage-1 BTR Engine (3.4 liter) 400 hp 400 ft lbs — RUF Twin Exhaust — Factory re-geared 5.12 rear end — RUF High Capacity Intercooler — RUF Front Spoiler with Fog Lights — RUF Rear Quarter Brake Vents — RUF Alloy Wheels (18 in) — Michelin Tires Pilot SX — RUF Suspension — RUF Boost Gauge with Telltale — Andial Manual Boost Control — Custom Three-Spoke Momo Leather Steering Wheel with Porsche Crest — RUF Speedometer — RUF Tachometer — Full Dashboard Gauges — Auxiliary Front Oil Cooler — Recaro Leather Sport Seats — Alan Johnson Center Console with extra gauges and cassette storage — Clifford Alarm System — H4 Headlights — Electric Windows — Factory Original Blaupunkt Frankfurt Radio — Electric Antenna — Factory Automatic Heat Control System — Factory Air Conditioning with extra Vents and Larger output Compressor — Electric Sunroof — Original Body, Original Whale Tail — Triple Black — Passed New Jersey Inspection — Second Owner — Always Garaged

I’m personally digging the 78, though I’d probably go with the period correct Ruf rims of the day. Just saying…

dc

Chuck’s Black on Black e28 M5 is Back on the Market!

Chuck emailed me earlier this week to let me know that his beautiful black on black BMW e28 M5 is back on the market. Check out his earlier listing on this blog and his new Roadfly listing for more details.

And he now has a video of the car in action:

Look at how clean that car is! I’m a big fan of this car and I hope the right buyer can give this M5 a loving new home.

dc