to run one, you have to afford two

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > to run one, you have to afford two

Sten Freak: Sep 10, 2008; Despite all of these shortcomings, the Sten still has a long track record of shooting people right in the face.; College Slice

That thing is sweet.

A family member had one back in the day. That was the first exotic I drove. I'd never driven a car before that you could whip the wheel back and forth and feel so attached to the road - the on-rails feeling is a trip. The engine sounds sublime too.

# ¿ Sep 21, 2015 23:00

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# ¿ May 4, 2024 22:42

Sten Freak: Sep 10, 2008; Despite all of these shortcomings, the Sten still has a long track record of shooting people right in the face.; College Slice

I've used these guys with no complaints though I'm currently waiting waiting on a prorated refund I just asked for.

http://americancollectors.com/

# ¿ Sep 22, 2015 16:25

Sten Freak: Sep 10, 2008; Despite all of these shortcomings, the Sten still has a long track record of shooting people right in the face.; College Slice

Man, the family member that had the 348ts also had a 308GT prior to that. He tried to buy some weirdo Ferrari (one that would be considered junky in the 1990s but probably is super collectible now) from an independent Ferrari mechanic around the time he had the 348ts and got taken and had to get his money back via the courts. That same mechanic had a Dino rotting away.

He got into Miatas in a major way but missed the weird Italian stuff I guess and didn't want to pay what a Ferrari commands now so imported a Lancia Zagato Sport. I put some info about it in one of the threads here.

Anyway still love this thread. We vaguely planned a road trip from AZ to CA in his 348 back in the 90s but I was young and stupid and never made it happen. One of those regrets.

When he sold the 348 it went to a friend who had the dark lower bits all painted the same color as the body. He said it looked amazing.

I can find the picture of the 348 and scan it if you have any desire to see it.

Also I remember us laughing about that weird key.

If you have any esoteric questions about the car that a new car owner may know I can ask him. It's been a long while since he has owned it but he's a major gear head and may be able to help.

E: And if you want to know why the key folds he didn't know at the time either. I specifically remember us talking and him saying he didn't know why it did that.

Sten Freak fucked around with this message at 00:46 on Jan 15, 2016

# ¿ Jan 15, 2016 00:31

Sten Freak: Sep 10, 2008; Despite all of these shortcomings, the Sten still has a long track record of shooting people right in the face.; College Slice

He didn't recall what I was talking about and asked for a pic which I sent him so we'll see.

# ¿ Jan 18, 2016 17:33

Sten Freak: Sep 10, 2008; Despite all of these shortcomings, the Sten still has a long track record of shooting people right in the face.; College Slice

And here's what he said:

quote:

It has been a loong time since I owned the 348, but i think it it to hang the belt on when you get out of the car so it doesn't strangle you. Many have converted these mouse belts, as they are a pain in the butt.

Maybe yours have been converted already and they'd make sense if the belts were in a former (original?) configuration.

# ¿ Jan 18, 2016 18:27

Sten Freak: Sep 10, 2008; Despite all of these shortcomings, the Sten still has a long track record of shooting people right in the face.; College Slice

kimbo305 posted:

The driver's side window switch doesn't always work. When it doesn't responds on first try, I gently rap the door near the switch with my fist. That has fixed it 4/5 times. The other time, it didn't help, but the window worked a minute later.
It's the sort of thing that is on a razor's edge between charmingly amusing and "oh god, what if it stops working?"

When we drove my uncle's the oil pressure gauge didn't work until near the end of the drive. This was like a 3 year old car at this point. He was very happy when it woke up.

# ¿ Jan 20, 2016 00:07

Sten Freak: Sep 10, 2008; Despite all of these shortcomings, the Sten still has a long track record of shooting people right in the face.; College Slice

kimbo305 posted:

Drove it back from the shop this morning. Completely dry, though a bit of salt dust remaining on the road.

I didn't think to get a shot of the side vs rear black trim color difference until I'd come up to my garage, so this is the best I can do:

The shop put a Griot's black trim polish on the side face of the rear trim, and it's dark enough to match the side.

It's really nice to have the work come out better than new -- the shop gave me a labor discount, and all told, the patch and paint was $480. Even so, I haven't decided if I want to disclose that repair, well outside of here anyways.

One more size comparison pic:

It's really not that extreme in real life. The 348 is 5" wider than that Corolla, but it doesn't look it thanks to how much further the Corolla's trunk pushes out.

I just love the rear end of the car. Swoopy and rounded can look cool but the rectangular and louvered surfaces really give it an all business appearance.

# ¿ Feb 24, 2016 19:36

Sten Freak: Sep 10, 2008; Despite all of these shortcomings, the Sten still has a long track record of shooting people right in the face.; College Slice

I think style is the reason but it'd be nice if wheel.and tire manufacturers had a little mercy and provided just a bit of sidewall horizontally so it wasn't so easy to scratch them.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2016 17:01

Sten Freak: Sep 10, 2008; Despite all of these shortcomings, the Sten still has a long track record of shooting people right in the face.; College Slice

Maybe the 348 bash was due to the service interval and costs. The design is whatever you think of it but they feel like they're on rails and sound sublime.

As far as the 400 goes I think they're as cool as any other odd exotic from that era.

This view looks especially good but yeah it's a 3 speed auto.

http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/ferrari/400i/1853568.html

# ¿ Jul 12, 2016 16:44

Sten Freak: Sep 10, 2008; Despite all of these shortcomings, the Sten still has a long track record of shooting people right in the face.; College Slice

On a much smaller scale I know where you are coming from with this car. I had a cherry 93LE with less than 20k miles on it, ended up putting it on BAT for a few reasons but a big part of it was I was worried something would happen to it when I took it out (and did have a couple incidents). And that was just a Miata. The weird part is my uncle gave me that Miata and he's the guy who I asked a few questions about the seat belt for the 348ts he once owned. After owning a couple of Ferraris he's a Miata guy for fun but does have an old Lancia that falls into the rare car, rare parts category. Still not Ferrari priced.

By the way, BAT was good for the most part but they ended my auction in the middle of a weekday. You might want to inquire about start/end time and ensure it's after business hours. I talked to a serious collector who bid on my car in the morning then had court cases and never bid again. I might have missed out on some $ because of that.

Also yes, any possible thing that can be nit-picked will be. The only thing they could come up with on my car was the clutch fluid was a little low and the driver's mat was rough.

Good luck.

# ¿ Jan 18, 2017 16:23

Sten Freak: Sep 10, 2008; Despite all of these shortcomings, the Sten still has a long track record of shooting people right in the face.; College Slice

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

Slightly off topic but which Lancia does your uncle own?

Hope this link works from when he bought it. Dealer pics, imported from Belgium iirc.

https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3032817&pagenumber=296&perpage=40#post425831172

He describes it as old, slow and loud. He loves it though. Only problem was cooling wasn't good but they had the radiator re-cored and maybe a new water pump.

# ¿ Jan 18, 2017 17:05

Sten Freak: Sep 10, 2008; Despite all of these shortcomings, the Sten still has a long track record of shooting people right in the face.; College Slice

kimbo305 posted:

One thing I discovered while shooting is how low the right window sits to the targa. The door hangs fine, so it's either the glass that needs adjustment or the targa that sits high. I'm sure someone'll spot that.
Also reminds me to get more pics of the frunk and fluid reservoirs. The car could definitely use a detail, but again, I think I want the condition that it's in to find its way to the right buyer.
I'll try to be active (and civil) in the comments section if stuff comes up. I was extremely up front about all the issues to the BaT writer. I'm curious how that information will be presented in the ad copy.

That last part is smart. I'm not sure if they are potential bidders trying to keep price down or just trolls but you get some BS. So someone spots the clutch fluid being a little low then you get people speculating that oh the car has a leak and this is a sign of blah blah blah neglect whatever. Whenever the discussion went that way I'd just put the shortest, most factual reply I could "The car has zero leaks of any kind and has been professionally maintained".

The one negative I mentioned to BAT was that the exterior was in good shape but would benefit from a professional buffing. This is because it had some clear coat scuffs here and there (didn't explicitly say this). The way they spun it was something like "Seller says car is clean but exterior would really pop with a professional detailing" or something like that. That was my fault due to the car being outside on a super windy day when the cover whipped against the exterior. It's part of the whole too nice of a car drives me crazy thing.

But if the photos are there, people can and should judge for themselves. You don't owe them any more or less than that imo.

# ¿ Jan 18, 2017 18:54

Sten Freak: Sep 10, 2008; Despite all of these shortcomings, the Sten still has a long track record of shooting people right in the face.; College Slice

Man, I'd guess about 15-20% of my car's final price was bid in the last hour. I gotta think he's got way more upside on this.

# ¿ Jan 26, 2017 17:47

Sten Freak: Sep 10, 2008; Despite all of these shortcomings, the Sten still has a long track record of shooting people right in the face.; College Slice

I'm so glad I didn't jinx the ending.

# ¿ Jan 26, 2017 21:16

Sten Freak: Sep 10, 2008; Despite all of these shortcomings, the Sten still has a long track record of shooting people right in the face.; College Slice

kimbo305 posted:

That guy is talking to me on email and he seems very legit. I picture that euro guy pulled over on Supertroopers.

I vant a mustache ride!

Congrats dude.

# ¿ Jan 26, 2017 21:55

Sten Freak: Sep 10, 2008; Despite all of these shortcomings, the Sten still has a long track record of shooting people right in the face.; College Slice

kimbo305 posted:

Here's the bid timeline on the last day (Pacific Time, used in the email alerts I got):
code:
35,000     7:47 AM   
 
35,500    12:06 PM
36,250    12:08 PM
36,500    12:08 PM
37,500    12:08 PM
38,000    12:09 PM
38,500    12:10 PM 

# 12:10 was the original scheduled end of the auction. With a bid happening in the last 2 minutes, the auction end is extended by 2 min.

39,000    12:12 PM
39,500    12:12 PM
39,750    12:12 PM
40,000    12:12 PM

40,500    12:14 PM
40,750    12:16 PM
41,000    12:18 PM
Just as Sten Freak said, 15% of the final sale price came in the last hour. Though really, just the last 12min of bidding, most of which was into overtime!

Mine did the same, a flurry at the very end including some OT. After I posted that I worried about expectations so glad it worked out.

Really happy for you. You're saying goodbye to the 348 but I'll try to finally scan the pic I have of my uncle's from back in the 90s this weekend and post it.

# ¿ Jan 27, 2017 19:12

Sten Freak: Sep 10, 2008; Despite all of these shortcomings, the Sten still has a long track record of shooting people right in the face.; College Slice

kimbo305 posted:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1994-Lotus-Esprit-/142244553791

Did some Esprit research -- sounds like the I4 is way safer than the Renault trans behind the V8.

I've always loved these dearly. And that is a sweet rear end example.

# ¿ Feb 17, 2017 16:33

Sten Freak: Sep 10, 2008; Despite all of these shortcomings, the Sten still has a long track record of shooting people right in the face.; College Slice

InitialDave posted:

Yeah, It's still the UN1, though in fairness, it's not quite the same gearbox in later versions as the older/smaller engined cars, and is apparently rated for a hair under 300 lbs.ft.

I'd expect someone out there has worked out a conversion to something like a flipped 911 gearbox.~

Edit: I do like later Esprits. I think my soft spot for them is when they were cast as the "cool spy car" in Teen Agent.

Don't forget Pretty Woman

I wonder how temperamental they are.

# ¿ Feb 18, 2017 07:08

Sten Freak: Sep 10, 2008; Despite all of these shortcomings, the Sten still has a long track record of shooting people right in the face.; College Slice

kimbo305 posted:

Engine pull started:

"well they say to run one..."

Buyer confirmed that it was the timing belt that broke. I feel awful, but it's still thrilling to see the engine pull actually happen, with motivated mechanics working on it.

Was the belt change past interval?

Also shame on Ferrari for having such a short planned life on the belt. Even my uncle who had one of these said "Why would you do that?!" when I reminded him of the schedule.

E: Emailing the story and pics to my uncle. He'll be horrified.

Sten Freak fucked around with this message at 18:43 on Apr 12, 2017

# ¿ Apr 12, 2017 18:31

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# ¿ May 4, 2024 22:42

Sten Freak: Sep 10, 2008; Despite all of these shortcomings, the Sten still has a long track record of shooting people right in the face.; College Slice

I can understand mileage killing the belt but the fact it sat for 2 years beyond schedule after only going less than 5k miles before shredding is absurd.

Good luck to the new buyer and his team. As I recall it's a performance shop right? Maybe they can tweak some stuff while they're in there.

Uncle's response as former 348ts owner to story: :sad:

# ¿ Apr 13, 2017 18:15

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > to run one, you have to afford two