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Z Odyssey Part 3: A Slipping Clutch, Broken Bolt, and Delirium
A quick refresher as to where we last were in the saga: I found a 240Z for sale on craigslist across the country, and had a friend that was semi-local go check it out. I purchased it, and due to shipping company snafus and location, as well as my heart’s whispered desire for adventure, I elected to drive this great nation: from California to Virginia, in December, with the looming risk of freak snow storms across half the distance. A genuine Lewis and Clark, from end to end, behind the wheel of one of Japan’s finest rippers.
Last-minute prep for the long drive ahead. Upon arrival, I finished my first test drive with the clutch slipping and heart alive: she was a little missile inviting my touch. After years of being censored and dampened by modern suspension advances, it was thrilling to be in a pure driving machine. There are no aides or nannies in this car whatsoever: no ABS and no power steering. It’s effectively a seat, engine, four wheels, and the open road. This would be my steed home, and I was not only going to see the country; I was going to feel every bump and divot between the gold coast and the old coast.
Before we could embark, Pat and I pulled back into his shop and got to work. In our hubris we thought we could simply adjust the clutch, hoping that it was a minor adjustment, but to no avail. Along with fiddling with the clutch, she got new oil, oil filter, brake fluid, clutch fluid, coaxed her heater to work, and most importantly, we got the defrost working. After fluid and essentials, we tackled wiring issues and chased a dim headlight to a failing fuse. Working back from the bay we cleaned the K&N air filter, greased the drivetrain, checked the brakes for pad life and shoe wear, and checked all hoses for potential cracks. By the end of the day I could barely lift my arms, but my heart was full with love for my pure driving machine.
Typical clutch adjustment on a 240Z. Not my picture obviously, as there isn’t 40+ years of grease on here We headed back to his place exhausted but excited. The Z felt ready to make the jaunt to SLC, where we planned to stay with my brother. With so much accomplished, our morning list was small, and my hope buoyed that we would be highway bound before long. One thing still concerned me: the old girl wasn’t maintaining operating temps. But, figuring a thermostat was a minor repair, I drifted off that evening dreaming of Virginia back roads and my new driver’s machine. We woke up fairly early Saturday to button up the small items.
I began to pull the thermostat housing and immediately snapped the first bolt. Dread came crashing in, and I began to panic that this trip wasn’t going to happen, and I started questioning my decision making skills. Luckily cooler heads prevailed, and after spending an hour drilling out the snapped bolt and securing replacements, she was ready to make the trip. We messed with the clutch adjustment some more, but no matter what we did, we could never get the clutch to not slip. This worried me a little as I was about to drive 2,600+ miles on a slipping clutch through remote parts of the country.
The original warranty book and paperwork were still with the car The more hours I put into her, the more I fell in love with her. She wasn’t taken care of very well physically, but that was about to change. I vowed to give her everything in that moment, OEM+ and all. I wasn’t put off by her paint peeling, the lost interior knickknacks and the dull neglected plastic sheen. Some enthusiasts might gasp at her cracked dashboard that was hidden by a plastic cover. Purists would scoff at the choke lever crudely secured to the center console, but I adored her in her imperfections; I loved everything about her. She was exactly what I had been seeking: solid wood over which to stretch clean white canvas and start painting my magnum opus.
Before departure she offered one other imperfect surprise to me: the CD player wouldn’t open. I was going to be stuck listening to one CD the entire trip. Fortunately, it was Funeral for a Friend’s “Your History is Mine” and I was glad for it. As I was pulling her out of the garage, getting ready to embark on a grand adventure, something strange happened. While I’m familiar with the tradition of naming cars, I have never named any of my cars and didn’t intend to name this one; that is, until she spoke to me. Maybe other cars have spoken but I didn’t have ears to hear them. Other cars were utility; this one was passion. Passion to travel across the country and lie on my back, draining old fluid and chasing ancient wiring. In my passion and my joy I heard her name as clear as a cold start: Lucy. Her name was Lucy. The cynic in me chalks it up to sleep deprivation and delirium, but the romantic in me knows the truth: I was for her as she was for me.
Stay tuned for part 4 where I stop romanticizing this car and start actually driving her!
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Buyer’s Remorse: 1994 Acura Legend 6MT Type II Coupe For Sale
This beautiful mid-90’s sport-executive rarity ticks all the right boxes: it’s manual, it’s a coupe, and it’s the later Type II engine variant. This six-speed, 3.2 liter, 230 horsepower sport compact is rare, optioned out just right, and ready to put up against any Integra or Prelude in its path. Its C32A engine shares naming conventions with the NSX’s C32B, giving the owner a weird-flex-but-okay bragging right (the engines are completely different designs). For these reasons and more, the owner is currently asking $24,500 or best offer on Facebook Marketplace.
But what is the and more? Well, it does “only” have 143,000 miles, which is reasonably low for a 30 year old Honda. But upon closer examination, I found the exact same car, with the exact same mileage, sold only a month ago on Bring A Trailer for $18,500.
Perfectly optioned. Don’t meet your heroes? We all know prices are up this year, but I don’t think they’ve gone up 30% since June 1. The current owner did mention in the BaT comments that if he were to “pass it on, it will be better than when [he] bought it”. To that end, it appears the owner has spray painted the entire muffler flat black since purchase, covering up the chrome and acceptable patina on the original canister.
Buyer’s remorse is an unfortunate thing and we here at CCF wish this seller the best in unloading his mistake.
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Spotted: 2000 Subeeru Outback Project
It may not look like much, but pop the hood: this 2000 Subaru Outback has a “couple thousand dollars in parts and labor” freshly performed just days before “the incident”.
Crushed by a tree, this wagon is priced right at $700 or best offer on Facebook Marketplace. There is added value: the owner explains “aggressive bees have now claimed this vehicle as home”. As an established bee colony, $500 sounds just about right for this project, located in Bloomington Indiana.
Spotted by Puchii on our Discord server, we realistically see a good value here for nearby scrappers. Act fast, and good luck.
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Just Missed It: 40,000 Mile Miata NA8 Sells for $6000 OBO
SHEEEESH! You really should have been paying attention on our For Sale page, because this Classic Red 1996 Miata with only 40 thousand original miles just sold instantaneously. Imagine if you’d had notifications turned on, maybe you could have gotten it! What a shame.
Dang bro that would have shined up nice and you just sat on your hands Maybe if you’d been in our Discord Server you would have seen us talking about it. Really a shame you weren’t on the ball today.
Okay yeah it’s an auto, but I mean c’mon man, dang. Get in the game -
Testing The Waters: 2000 Toyota MR2 Spyder
This is my 2000 Toyota MR2 Spyder. It has a little under 64,500 original miles, a clean title, and as you can see, is in impeccable condition. It is mechanically perfect and has just a handful of tiny paint imperfections. It also has brand new KYB front struts and top hats, and about 5500 miles on new Yokohama Advan Fleva tires. I just submitted it to Bring A Trailer, and unless somebody steps in with the bag like, right now, it’ll be up for auction before too long. If you’re interested, contact me immediately.
This is a badass car and I hate to see it go, but I have a 2000 Mahogany Mica Miata SE to work on now, and many other cars on the bucket list, so it’s time.
Some in-car footage; as you can see, it’s fine. -
An Inside Look at Winning a Copart Auction
This video was created by one of our Discord users, who goes by PoppaFixit on YouTube. Witness firsthand the last few moments of a CoPart auction, this one on a Dodge Dakota convertible, as tensions rise and bad decisions are made. And good luck finding one of these: we haven’t seen one on Facebook Marketplace since November 2020.
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Doug DeMuro Just Destroyed Your Chances of Buying an EP3 Civic for under $10,000
I’m gonna level with you, race fan. I wasn’t aware I could be emotionally hurt by a Honda Civic. I’m sure there’s an irrational Honda boy out there right now, with the same anger and rage that I feel, now that I know the EP3 Civic market has been forever changed. In case you’re not up to speed, we can start with this recent Cars and Bids listing.
“Highly modified” 2004 Civic Si (The EP3 Generation) THIS…. is a 2004 Civic Si that just sold on Cars and Bids for $14,720. A few of us in the Collector Car Feed Discord have been playing a virtual Price is Right style game, trying to predict the hammer price on auctions as they end. Today, however, I was not prepared for this letdown It happened again: an outlier is attempting to sway the market. If you have seen some of my past articles (or click here) you’ll see I am not a fan of outlier cars setting the market price.
Highly. Modified Before I decided on my prediction for the hammer price, I did a search of all the EPs currently for sale. Of the Si variants, only a handful came back with under 150k miles. Of those 3, none were stock or even near stock. Most of them were cracked, chipped, dinged, and dented. Every single one of them was slammed. At this point, I was thinking even with Honda bois being irrational, there’s no way they’re worth a lot of money. With that knowledge in hand, I slapped down a $7200 prediction and went about my day.
Here it is, in all its shame. As I said in the beginning, I was not prepared for what this auction would bring. My fear, which I’m saying out loud now, is that the EP3 market is about to double in price. When potential Civic sellers do their due diligence, one of the first sales they’re going to find will be this Cars and Bids auction, safely confirming the (delusional) thoughts they continue to have: The riced-out civic in the driveway is finally worth something.
So in closing, I hate when this happens. I hate it even more when it happens in real-time, right in front of my eyes. It’s like watching your favorite childhood actor do rips at the private table in a Vegas club. You hate to see it, wish you could be in on it, but ultimately nobody is going to be the same afterward.
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Toyota MR2 Spyder Roundup
The 2000-2005 MR2 Spyder is on the verge of classic/antique in many states, and with that, we’re seeing renewed interest in this fantastic (and fantastically slow) roadster, which is inarguably the best handling generation of Toyota’s mid-engine fever dream, if not the fastest. Horses in the back and incredibly light (2195 pounds dry), you’ll have a great time holding high RPMs through winding back roads and tearing down the highway until you blow your pre-cats through the EGR and end it all.
The following are all recent low mileage examples.First up is this modified 2001. Inside you’ll find a built turbo 1ZZ and gauges affixed to every flat surface. This car is a Super Street era masterpiece: you’ll even find nitrous in the frunk. The owner claims 400 horsepower. Includes an OEM hardtop and installed TRD bodykit. Located in Illinois, this MR2 Spyder has 45,000 miles on the body and around 10,000 on the rebuild. Listed at $15,000.
Completely stock, here is a fine 2000 Solar Yellow with 74,500 miles, priced at $10,995 in Avon Lake, OH. There’s a tear in the passenger seat and more in the top, and you may love or hate the factory wing and its double 3rd brake light appearance. I think it’s pretty rad.
Here’s one you missed, listed only three days ago: a 2003 Spyder with only 38,500 original miles, with an asking price of $11,500 in Paris, Texas. Remove the pinstripe and send this one to Bring A Trailer.
The seller wants you to know that yes, this 2002 MR2 Spyder is a stick, and it is stock. Only 16,000 original miles, asking $16,500. Located in Columbia, Maryland.
Another missed opportunity: 92,000 miles on the body, 60k on the engine: this 2ZZ swapped 2000 MR2 Spyder could be a deal, if you can overlook the salvage title. Sold for $7500.
Check out all recent MR2 Spyder listings here. You can subscribe to get email notifications for new Facebook listings as we find them. You can also get notifications on Discord.
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New Models on The Feed
Here are all the new threads we’ve added in the past few days, at the request of users just like you. Something you want that we don’t have? Just ask, either on the forum or on Discord, and we’ll get it sorted.
