ILC's 1991 318 S50 track rat
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24' ? Should be a nice setup with tandems. Should probably see like 12 mpgs lol. Either way drive it like you stole it
#SHTFCKRACING
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Wow when you dive in, you really dive in!
dude it's soooooo bad driving that E30 on the street. 20% of the bumps that you hit you're goin "fuck did that just bend a control arm??" I seriously worry about driving the car to/from the track. Truck/trailer is a necessity in my opinion, but the ridiculous part is truck prices these days. That's a $41k truck, and constitutes a "stripped down" model. I said "Give me something that can tow and has a decent sound system for long trips, a crew cab, nothing more and we'll be good". So they did. And it was still wildly more expensive than I would have liked.
Oh and upon inspection of going to pull the oil pan out, discovered that the driver side motor mount bracket was busted and 2 of 3 engine mount bolts were completely missing. Backed out entirely, and the 3rd and final bolt was backed out 3/4 of the way. Scary stuff. I was very close to have my engine riding on the subframe at BHF.
2011 E92 M3 6MT ZCP - ESS 625 supercharged
2007 Z4MR
2003 E39 M5
2002 E46 M3
2021 X5 40i -
24' ? Should be a nice setup with tandems. Should probably see like 12 mpgs lol. Either way drive it like you stole it
#SHTFCKRACING
yea 24', tandem Dexter axles, 1 month old tires, 48" service door, fold-down ramp extension, electric brake assist, painted floor and 4 floor hooks for a car.
When I have money again in like 5 years I'm gonna buy this for it: https://jet.com/product/detail/fd71e5dc7f4e4a10be4d4c3e003cc15a?jcmp=pla%3Aggl%3Agen_vehicles_parts_a1%3Avehicle_parts_accessories_motor_vehicle_parts_motor_vehicle_towing_a1_other%3Ana%3APLA_348999540_24332410740_pla-156916835100%3Ana%3Ana%3Ana%3A2&code=PLA15&ds_c=gen_vehicles_parts_a1&ds_cid&ds_ag=vehicle_parts_accessories_motor_vehicle_parts_motor_vehicle_towing_a1_other&product_id=fd71e5dc7f4e4a10be4d4c3e003cc15a&product_partition_id=156916835100&gclid=CM2OwILut80CFVGAaQodrd8F6A&gclsrc=aw.ds
2011 E92 M3 6MT ZCP - ESS 625 supercharged
2007 Z4MR
2003 E39 M5
2002 E46 M3
2021 X5 40i -
IIRC each of the mounting arms have four bolts into the block?? If so you still had another left to fall out lol. When I took the engine mount arms off during the swap, 2 of the heads snapped off. They were awfully weak after all the heat cycling/weathering. I bought new ones and blue loctited them in
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well this one had 3 for whatever reason, so shows the new bracket I had to overnight here. I'm with you - loctiting all the things lol
2011 E92 M3 6MT ZCP - ESS 625 supercharged
2007 Z4MR
2003 E39 M5
2002 E46 M3
2021 X5 40i -
dude it's soooooo bad driving that E30 on the street. 20% of the bumps that you hit you're goin "fuck did that just bend a control arm??" I seriously worry about driving the car to/from the track. Truck/trailer is a necessity in my opinion, but the ridiculous part is truck prices these days. That's a $41k truck, and constitutes a "stripped down" model. I said "Give me something that can tow and has a decent sound system for long trips, a crew cab, nothing more and we'll be good". So they did. And it was still wildly more expensive than I would have liked.
Oh and upon inspection of going to pull the oil pan out, discovered that the driver side motor mount bracket was busted and 2 of 3 engine mount bolts were completely missing. Backed out entirely, and the 3rd and final bolt was backed out 3/4 of the way. Scary stuff. I was very close to have my engine riding on the subframe at BHF.
The more prepped the car eventually you reach the point of towing. Not only a comfort issue but the clown car packing routine of all your gear for the track gets old. Plus the potential flat-bedding the car home in case of on track drama. New truck would be really nice to have but $41k is absolutely nuts!
Between the motor mounts and bolts issues, the engine riding on the subframe would have been the least of your worries. Glad you caught it before bad things happened.
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The more prepped the car eventually you reach the point of towing. Not only a comfort issue but the clown car packing routine of all your gear for the track gets old. Plus the potential flat-bedding the car home in case of on track drama. New truck would be really nice to have but $41k is absolutely nuts!
Glad I'm not the only one thinking that about the truck. You could've bought a full blown race car for what you have into the E30, truck, and trailer ($60k?)
I think a $5k truck would've done the job just fine. More money for BMW parts then
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This truck also doubles as my year-round car in case i need to travel for work or anything, given that I am selling the Subaru. It doubles as an alternate that the wife can drive and cart the kids around in case her car takes a dump.
Think what you want about the truck's price - there's no doubt it isn't cheap, but it's mildly offensive to judge considering you have no idea of what my financial situation is. If you actually had a family of 4 like I do who enjoy coming to track events with me, you may think differently about buying some shitbox, rusted out, 200k mile tiny ass cab truck for $5000. Cuz that's exactly what you're gonna get for $5k. Please find me a truck with decent mileage, not rusted to shit, has a full 4-door crew cab that can comfortably fit 4 people and amenities for a 2-3 day overnight stay track event, and modern tech like bluetooth audio, anti-sway LSD, brake gain/loss controller, etc. for $5000.
It's easy to point a finger at someone when you have 0 other considerations other than yourself and purely towing a car, in which case $5k on a shitbox truck would indeed be fine.
2011 E92 M3 6MT ZCP - ESS 625 supercharged
2007 Z4MR
2003 E39 M5
2002 E46 M3
2021 X5 40i -
By the time I hit another track day you will be an instructor. Just giving you a fair warning that I may be your student in the future
i'll be sure to get my life insurance in order.
2011 E92 M3 6MT ZCP - ESS 625 supercharged
2007 Z4MR
2003 E39 M5
2002 E46 M3
2021 X5 40i -
e30 is almost back together. The baffle is tig-welded in to the oil pan now, connecting rod bolts are in, still needs the new shifter.
2011 E92 M3 6MT ZCP - ESS 625 supercharged
2007 Z4MR
2003 E39 M5
2002 E46 M3
2021 X5 40i -
In every car forum that deals with track cars, there's going to be a number of tow vehicle discussions. Challenge is that folks can be talking past each other if the intended purpose of the tow vehicle purchase is not clear. All sorts of camps are out there with some folks looking for dedicated tow vehicles and others for dual use/daily drivers, some folks looking for high end amenities and others looking for bare minimum reliability, some touting the merits of pickups and others advocating SUVs, passenger / cargo / conversion / molester and/or down-by-the river vans, reconditioned ambulances, box trucks, or converted school buses. Key is what you want to do with the ride. Anyway glad you found something that fits your and the family needs.
My issue is that the days of relatively affordable new pickup trucks are gone, driven in part by demand for trucks from folks who will rarely if ever actually use them as trucks. This in turn feeds the piling on of amenities and manufacturers' dreams of ever greater profit margins. Can't blame the manufacturers. As long as gas prices are in a sweet spot and consumer demand is there, they'll crank out heavily optioned trucks well north of $50/60k. I had some time to kill before a flight home last week so visited the Ford Rouge plant in Dearborn and watched that assembly line humming, cranking out one after another new F-150s. By the time you leave the plant tour after the high-end surround sound promotional video experience and the assembly line observations you walk out ready to jump in a new truck. Surprised they didn't have sales folks waiting at the exits before we got back on the bus.
Sad that $41k is a deal, but it is what it is.
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This truck also doubles as my year-round car in case i need to travel for work or anything, given that I am selling the Subaru. It doubles as an alternate that the wife can drive and cart the kids around in case her car takes a dump.
Think what you want about the truck's price - there's no doubt it isn't cheap, but it's mildly offensive to judge considering you have no idea of what my financial situation is. If you actually had a family of 4 like I do who enjoy coming to track events with me, you may think differently about buying some shitbox, rusted out, 200k mile tiny ass cab truck for $5000. Cuz that's exactly what you're gonna get for $5k. Please find me a truck with decent mileage, not rusted to shit, has a full 4-door crew cab that can comfortably fit 4 people and amenities for a 2-3 day overnight stay track event, and modern tech like bluetooth audio, anti-sway LSD, brake gain/loss controller, etc. for $5000.
It's easy to point a finger at someone when you have 0 other considerations other than yourself and purely towing a car, in which case $5k on a shitbox truck would indeed be fine.
It's the stuff in bold that sends it over the $5k price point. I bought a 2000 Ford Ranger for $1,400. It obviously didn't have any of those amenities, couldn't tow a trailer, or fit anything comfortably. You'd think with a few more thousand dollars, you could get something decent. Maybe, maybe not. My buddy picked up a Nissan Titan as a tow vehicle for like $3k. Again, not sure it had any of those amenities besides the full crew cab.
This is probably the closest to something I could get and afford: http://wausau.craigslist.org/cto/5579464262.html or http://wausau.craigslist.org/cto/5637734482.html
Given your slightly hostile reply, I think you took my comment the wrong way. In no way was I trying to offend you or point fingers. I'm simply jealous, that's all!
You've got an awesome truck (and soon-to-be trailer), awesome track E30, awesome 135i, awesome wife, and awesome kids. I can only hope that one day I'll be in a similar position.
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The amenities help to push the price up brand new but mean next to nothing when it comes to resale value. The large cost of buying new is the guarantee and warranty that is coming with the vehicle. You are paying for piece of mind.
The question we should all be asking is can the Tundra do a burnout?
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The question we should all be asking is can the Tundra do a burnout?
Finally! Someone has a good head on their shoulders
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Any accessories with the trailer? Winch? Electric? Lights? Toolbox?
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It's the stuff in bold that sends it over the $5k price point. I bought a 2000 Ford Ranger for $1,400. It obviously didn't have any of those amenities, couldn't tow a trailer, or fit anything comfortably. You'd think with a few more thousand dollars, you could get something decent. Maybe, maybe not. My buddy picked up a Nissan Titan as a tow vehicle for like $3k. Again, not sure it had any of those amenities besides the full crew cab.
This is probably the closest to something I could get and afford: http://wausau.craigslist.org/cto/5579464262.html or http://wausau.craigslist.org/cto/5637734482.html
Given your slightly hostile reply, I think you took my comment the wrong way. In no way was I trying to offend you or point fingers. I'm simply jealous, that's all!
You've got an awesome truck (and soon-to-be trailer), awesome track E30, awesome 135i, awesome wife, and awesome kids. I can only hope that one day I'll be in a similar position.
You caught me at a bad spot - the moment I posted on Facebook I had people arguing about which truck is better than which. 99.9% of people are too poor to ever own more than 2 trucks in their entire lifetime, and yet they somehow all are experts on every make/model of truck ever in history. There is so much ignorance. The bottom line is any modern full-size pick-em-up-truck can easily tow 6000-6500 pounds, which is the average payload of literally everyone i know who trailers race cars. At that point it's like pick the truck you like and just move on. One is not better than another at that weight class (assuming full-size pickups).
the sad reality is that Boris is right about people not using trucks for their intended purpose. Ever. I was fortunate that i could locally source an SR5 Tundra. Many people end up buying Limited or Platinum editions which jacks up the price, because they want a truck because #truckStuff but it's their only car, so they also want "luxury". Even though no matter what you do to a truck, it's still a truck.
The trucks you linked that you would buy are fine for you, but those are exactly what I was talking about in why I wouldn't buy them. For $4k - look at all the dents and rust on that F250, and the interior is basically shot. One look at the steering wheel and seats and you can see how beat out that thing is. and nearly 200k miles like i said/expected. And it's not a diesel - a regular gas V10 like that in a work truck won't last nearly as long as a diesel.
My research showed that a "decent" truck - i.e. 80-110k miles, crew cab, 2005-2008 vintage, clean body - was still about 15k for most makes/models of full size pickup.
Pat is also right about peace of mind. For me, especially if I have other people with me, I don't want to have to worry about having my truck break down and cost me more money to tow it and inconvenience other people in my life. I spend enough time wrenching on my 135 and the E30. I don't need a 3rd car to spend time fixing. Already went down that route with the Subaru and hated my life for it. My time is worth way more than that.
2011 E92 M3 6MT ZCP - ESS 625 supercharged
2007 Z4MR
2003 E39 M5
2002 E46 M3
2021 X5 40i
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