Just saw some pics of the new Svartpilen 701

Honestly surprised it took this long. I guess putting the KDM>JDM sticker pushed it over the line. Also surprised they didn’t post the AMG badge

For about the last 6 months, I’ve been looking over Japanese auction lists almost daily searching for something to buy and import. After a long dry spell, where either nothing interesting was popping up, or everything was seriously overpriced, I finally pulled the trigger on something!

My area got a light dusting of snow overnight that turned into a solid sheet of ice by morning. Naturally, most people stayed home and waited for the roads to clear. I wanted to try out my first set of actual snow tires, so I left earlier than usual.

Got my recall letter in.

I spent the long weekend doing some work I’d been putting off on the Miata. Subframe has been pretty badly bent for as long as I’ve owned the car. Looks like the previous owner jumped a curb or something. The ears around the driver side control arm were folded over and caused binding in the far end of droop travel.

A few of my old t12 fixtures were starting to get flickery, so rather than screw around with ballasts, I figured it was time to take the plunge into LED lighting. Bought a bunch of fixtures from amazon and put them up tonight.

Over a year ago I sold my beater e39 540i when I decided to motorcycle commute full time. Seeing as I didn’t need a daily, and had other cars for “fun driving”, it sat a few months before I decided to put it up for sale. It was one of the most well rounded cars I ever owned. It was great to drive, comfortable,…

I figured since my garage is in a constant state of change, it would be fun to do an update on where things stand, what’s new, and what’s left over the last year.

Earlier this year I bought a project s2000. It seemed like a great idea at the time, I mean who wouldn’t want a 800+hp S2000? I got everything in place to start working on it, going so far as installing a two post lift in the garage (which I don’t regret in the slightest BTW) to make dropping the motor easier. By then…

Brand new motor came in to replace the one I exploded on the Stella last month. Should be up and running just in time for the weather to turn reliably poor in the northwest.

But before saying exactly what, I’d like to take a look at this photo from almost three years ago.

(Part 1, here)

A friend’s Miata was involved in a crash last week, so I did the honorable thing and stripped out all the useful parts I could get my hands on before he sent it to the junker.

Ruckus performance parts are weird.

I started out the last day of my trip on the coast in Northern California. I left at the crack of dawn and headed North on 101 into a dense fog. It was surprisingly cold and everything was covered in a layer of condensation. I stopped a few miles in and put on my warmer layers. It was in the low 40s with light rain…

Decided that it wasn’t worth paying recurring registration costs (especially with them doubling this year) for something that sees limited usage already, so I took the plunge and applied for SP tags. In Oregon it’s a one time registration and a permanent plate.

Starting out the day in Atwater, I knew I had to head Northwest, but that meant going through at least one city during a weekday morning rush our.

H/T to Rev_Crackle_Repeat. I had no idea that Jeep LED headlights were plug and play on the NA miata. These things have SO much more light output than the garbage stock lights.