Beer Baron

and btw call me gay but this is what I'm hunting at the moment. It will be the new daily. EP3 2004 Type R Honda Civic! 6 speed manual and makes 160kw from it's NA 2 lire. has nice recaro seats etc and great handling. plus being small, light, 2 litre and non turbo it's quite good on fuel for just driving around. really looking forward to something different.

it sounds like you guys have it sussed. and messaih sounds like you have the idea. stick to the stuff that's important to you, but just be prepared to pay a little more for a car that meets most of your criteria if you have to. and kristian is right, patience is key too. it's a bit contradictory. on the one had you have to move fast as cars come and go like the wind. but at the same time you have to keep a clear set of rules in mind and not break them buying getting all hot over a particular car.

lol, I would cry if I was buying for you and found that nice black, manual, 04, stock, low kms, 4.5B, premium audio, full leather and you didn't like the interior!! I will give you some advice. buying a used car from auction is not the same as buying a new car from a dealer. you cannot pick every option down to the type of gearknob it has. You can start with say 6 requirements, but in the end you need to be willing to settle for say 3 or 4 out of 6. otherwise you will miss a lot of really good cars and may never get the exact car you want and may end up bidding on poorer qual cars just because they meet all your options and you've been looking for months and getting frustrated. this goes even doubly when some of your requirements are rare (like in this case the colour and the manual trans). Now I'm not saying you did the wrong thing letting this one go as if you really hate the interior then there is no point buying a car you wont like. but the big benefit with importing cars bought at auction is the cost saving and variety. nothing else. some people do need to choose every aspect of their car. there is nothing wrong with that. but those people are not guys who can and should buy other peoples used cars from auction. only the first buyer gets to pick the specs. again, not saying you are one of those people. but it's something I've come up against a lot. sometimes people forget that they are buying someone elses dream car, and that is one of the reasons used cars are cheap. now having said all that you are mad to let that one go! lol, i'm not a fan of really light colour leather in dark cars, but that cream is not that light, more tan really, and the full leather is nice, and adds resale for sure. providing it presented as it did on the sheet that would have been a kick ass 35.

lol. please spell out "Homer, your mother loves you. Meet me at taco bell" with the first letter of each line. then I'll call it even! anyway, more importantly what's happening with the car? I'm guessing you have a chef of iron on the case for you. so don't leave me hanging! what did your dude inspecting say? I see it's listed about lunch time. I'll expect full report by early arvo.

well they did use about half a dozen of my photos in issue 105 or 104 (i forget which) of auctions, big freighter etc and no credit given! bastards! lol. and autosalon mag were keen on buying pics of mine from drifting and tokyo auto salon etc, but in the end for the money I could get as a non-pro photographer outweighed the fact that I'd lose IP over the pics. and I wouldn't have been able to share them with people for free via the forum etc. so I kept them

lol, yes as people have now corrected funky. san is an honorific used with SURNAMES. like you meet yukiko kosaka. you call her kosaka-san. her father is also kosaka-san. if you start dating and get her into bed then she becomes yuki-chan. -chan is used with first names and used in place of darling etc (though it doesn't literally mean that). guys will most often shorten their girlfriends first name and add the chan suffix. girlfriends will call their boyfriends kun. so tomonori yamada's girlfriend will call him tomo-kun. other male friends will also sometimes call their younger male friends -kun too. it's a term of endearment. but never used for someone with higher standing that you. only equal and most usually lower standing. it's kind of cutesy too. really many blokes would not call each other tomo-kun or riki-kun etc. know you know where domo-kun comes from... though why he walks around yelling domo domo domo I still don't quite know. basically you will call everybody surname-san. and they will call you surname-san unless they get confused and call you first name-san. unless you get them into bed in which case go nuts and shorten her first name and add chan. or if you're gay you might use kun. I'm not sure, never done any dudes in japan.....

bit hard to tell from the photos. it's standard ratio, but of course aftermarket diffs are just the centre, you re-use the standard CW and pinion. I can only see one side of the ramps. but standard diff or aftermarket will both look pretty similar. the only easy way will be if it has the brand markings, or is a 1.5 way instead of the factory 2 way.

they look like a good deal for the money. I couldn't imagine anything decent at $700 a set, but I reckon they will be the best buy you'll find. I may even grab some as spares.

it is not constant AWD. it's constantly VARIABLE AWD. or continuously variable AWD. and guys there is no centre diff. GTR has gearbox, transfer case and front and rear diff. drive goes engine to gearbox. and from the back of the box to the transfer case. out the back goes the drive to the rear diff. on the front of the transfer case goes the drive to the front diff. it uses a multiplate wet hydraulic clutch system to regulate drive to the front and is computer controlled. the computer relies mostly on the G-sensor to decide how much pressure to pump into the transfer case and therefore how much front drive to give. but it also receives wheel speed via the ABS sensors, steering angle via the steering angle sensor (used for HICAS) and throttle position too from the TPS. to get 100% RWD is very simple. just pull the engine bay mounted AWD fuse. this will only disable AWD. there is also an in cabin fuse you can pull but it will disable AWD and ABS. you can easily rig up a switch to either of those fuses. many of the aftermarket controllers have a 100% RWD function also. there is one other way to trick the car into RWD and that is to turn off the engine whilst the car is in motion (above 20km/h) and then restart it again whilst still in motion. every time the car is started the ABS centres do a self check. as the car is moving they cannot complete that check and cause a fault which puts the ABS and AWD into limp mode (ie off mode). once you come to a complete stop they will perform the calibration check and AWD and ABS will return.

it's unlikely that the scratches are actually the size and shape of a fist. that is just a rough guide that my auction access provider puts at the side of each screen. A1 is the smallest graded scratch. so it could be anything from a tiny 1mm long faint buffable scratch to a 15mm long deeper scratch. often very small scratches aren't graded at all. again this is why you never buy cars on-line like some less caring people do. you need to have someone on the ground who knows their shit and cares about your repeat business to inspect the car for you. otherwise you are relying on a team of lowly paid auction house employees who grade up 10,000 cars a week and will whose goal is to have as many cars sold as possible. so it's in their interest to be 'kind' with their gradings. I mean they are not outright dishonest, but they would each do hundreds of cars a day and spend a very short period of time with each car. you also need someone good inspecting. many buyers will not look that closely as they know most importers will not give them much repeat business. since they only get paid for cars they buy would they rather inspect 10 cars for you over the course of 2 weeks, or inspect 1 car and encourage you to buy that? take a guess. they get the same money in each case. again, that's why you need people you can trust. yes you're right for many buyers in japan they are limited to a couple of the local auctions near where they live, and they may travel to 1 or 2 others like osaka or USS T once a fortnight or so. many guys have contra deals though with other buyers in other parts of japan to inspect and buy cars for them at their local auctions. so they can safely buy from a range of places. anyway, like I said, the sheet for the car reads nicely. but I only ever use a sheet as a guide on whether are car is worth the trouble of inspecting. never use the sheet to decide to buy or not buy a car. if the sheet looks good, then the car needs inspection. that is what you use to decide. because whoever you have inspecting the car can look over it properly. sometimes a grade 4.5 car is rubbish, could be a heavy smokers car, who lived on a snow field in sapporo so it stinks and is full of rust. and other times a 4.5 could be a little old lady who was a car nut and lived in a nice apartment in shinagawa who only took the car on nice long drives once a week and kept it garaged and serviced every 6 months. no way to tell from the sheet. this is why the guy who inspects for you and bids for you is the most important link in the chain.

way to post while I was posting. now I look dopey! and yes run the RB26 block in the boot. just like group A rules where if a car was factory fitted with an AFM you must retain one and have it plumbed into the intake tract. says nothing about it being the primary load sensor, so you screw it to the inner guard, hook up a tiny 5mm vacuum line to it and use a map sensor to run the engine like you wanted too. all legal. but seriously, I think in this case you'll be restricted to actually using a 26 block for the engine. but that's no problem. you can get plenty of power and plenty of response out of a 26 block based motor. just get a nice close ratio box, and a nice rev limit and away you go.

yep, it's a high deck/spacer kit with liners and stroker crank. and it uses the original block. so technically you should be able to use it. when they list the size limits for turbo engines that is before the 1.7 multiplier is applied. so you can go up to 3.5l. also of course 2.8 strokers are no problem and there are plenty of those around. and I think the race pace 2.9 uses an RB26 block.

if only you could have had your wanger coated with this hard wearing plasma dealie. it might have saved it from being worn down to the little 1 inch nub it is today.. i guess it's still enough for mark to enjoy

it's quite a tasty car. if you are ready to buy definitely get someone to check it out, and if it's good... BID! you wont see this combo of leather/black/manual/04 model pop up too often and it's quite rare to see manuals with nice options. call your broker today if you've already engaged one.

oh, and a black 350 is pretty rare. and a manual is pretty rare too. and a black manual is really rare! but I just had a little look for you and I found one coming up. it would be perfect for you. leather seats, 6 speed man, grade is ok at 4.5B. has the premium bose audio etc too. could be a nice car. would need to be checked in person to tell (sheets are sometimes waay off). anyway, if you've already engaged a broker he should have shown it to you by now. if not hire me and I'll buy it for you

talk to a few brokers first. ask them where they source cars, where they are physically in japan or where their partners are in japan. see if you can get an idea of if they know a lot about the specific model you are after. some exporters/importers will know lots about evos and know just what to look for. some will know lots about skylines etc. so pick one that preferably knows a lot about the model or at least the brand you're after. and pick one that you trust. then, choose one broker and one only to start searching for cars for you. it's not fair to have a whole bunch of guys spending time on your behalf if you're only going to end up buying off one. and as mentioned above it's counter productive. all decent guys will have on-line access with an account for the 60 or so dealer auctions in japan. and on top of that they will have other areas they have dealt with like car yards in their local area, other japanese wholesalers etc. but generally, not always, but most of the time the best cars and the best buys will be from auction. as for how often they contact you. well everyone is different but mostly guys will be looking for a range of cars for people at one time. so it doesn't hurt to call say once or twice a week to ask how things are going. that will help keep you in the front of their mind as they are searching through cars. the big auctions are thu, fri and sat (well for me anyway). so calling on wednesday or thursday to ask if they've seen anything coming up that is worth looking at is a good idea. be aware that each auction runs only once a week. so if a particular auction houses day is thursday the run the auction on thursday and then spend the rest of the week clearing out the sold cars, and filling up and grading the new cars coming in. they do this right up till the day before the auction, so most sites that list the cars wont have a complete list till the day before. though they generally have most cars 48hrs before. this means you need to be contactable so the broker can ring and email you cars that look promising and if you're interested let them know and they will check it in person at the auction. you need to make sure you are contactable on auction day to talk to the guy while he's there on the ground and get his take on that car, and then let him know what your max bid is for that particular car. generally the buyer will tell you what he thinks is a realistic bid for that particular car. if you trust them take their advice and adjust your bid accordingly. if you don't trust them then you need to deal with someone else. another piece of etiquette is pay on time. have your funds ready so you can pay your buyer for the car and his FOB fee the day after he has won the car for you (or the next business day). he doesn't want to call you with the great news that he's won you a car only to be told: "I just have to sell my pulsar with the sick system and chromies that I want $15K for and I'll get you the money then. it shouldn't be long the car is fully hot, should sell straight away". it's not fair on the guy. especially if they have 5 customers who are slow to pay at once it can just about bury an exporter if he owes the auction house for 5 X 5 million yen cars. if he doesn't have enough money to cover you guys he can loose his auction access which will make things very difficult. and even if he does have the money he shouldn't have to be shelling out for cars for you. so my advice is: -pick one broker/exporter and one only -have ALL the money you need ready before you start and pay each bill straight away. they will love you for it. -be honest about your total budget for the car landed complied and on the road. - be very clear about your 'want list' and let them know what is and what is not of top importance on that list -take the experts advice on what is/is not a realistic price to bid for a particular car. they will grow to hate you if they keep turning up quality cars only to have you give them tiny low ball bids that they know will not win the car before they even start. it wastes their precious time at auction. eventually they will stop showing you the top shelf cars and start looking for cars in your bid range which means you'll end up with a lesser car. -buy the upper end of cars. it's always worth paying a little more for the cars with a better grade, with lower kms, with books etc. don't skimp on the actual car bid price. - don't call the poor bloke every day to ask what's happening. once or twice a week is ok, but no more than that. - say please and thank you. - enjoy.

fking go webber! cop that all the clowns who said he was a hack. just like most of the drivers there, at the time he was in the best car he was able to get the best result (well 2nd to teamate in the same car). if anything his drive was more impressive than vetts as vetts drove the whole race in clear track which is a BIG advantage in the rain. webber spent time battling with button etc and stuck in spray and for once didn't bin it and made some nice moves. troy is right, he needs to cane vettel next race though if he wants to be considered as a top driver, not jsut an average drive in a good car (like hamilton for instance... lol).

you are loose fatz. but I still like you. now back on track. get out in the 33 russ and make mark work for his times. at least you can hold him up once every couple of laps... hehe.

hope it's back on track mate. it was good to have a chat a few weeks back. BTW who is tuning your thing?

well done mate. sorry to hear you d-manned it again though. d'oh!

nice looking cars guys. I have a 1/8th scale tamiya TGX nitro car with Kure Nismo Super GT GTR body. It was a great car in the day. nice engine, great build quality and I bought the 2 speed transmission for it and with that it gets to about 80km/h in top gear!! the only downside is at that speed you get out of range pretty quick and can have some pretty nasty stacks too. I might drag it out of the garage and get it going again. the killer with the tamiya gear is it's all top quality, but the hop ups cost a bomb. from memory the 2 speed gear box was over $150 at the time, and then you have 2 clutch etc, carbon brakes a lot of stuff that can wear out. I also ran it with a front 1 way LSD and rear 2 way and carbon fibre tailshaft. lol, just like a real GTR.

i'm not that old but my farts are pretty rich... lol at least that's what people standing behind me say.

there is nothing wrong with launching a GTR at 7,000rpm. I've done it many times, probably over 50 times on 1 single OS twin plate alone and 50 more on the tripple. that problem lay entirely with the poor clutch and flywheel combo that was in there. nothing to do with how the car was driven or who was driving.

yeah to get a good weight saving you really need to go carbon but the cost is $$$. lol yes I have the carbon one, but I need it cause I'm a fat cnt. even without a big weight saving the safety aspect is huge, and you will be able to drive the car so much better. it's amazing the difference they make to driving feel.

you wont be disappointed with the seat or harness you chose I still prefer the evolution, but the sebring is a damn good seat too. yep, the cobra fabric is pretty hard wearing. mine did duty in an FPR V8SC before I got to it and the fabric was still nice. and still is today.