When I read this, I thought you and I went through the same process with this car:

Came here to say that (aerospace engineer here). Thanks =)

I prefer the E-legend to the icon-E.

I did doubt you and as I said, I’m ready to eat crow if needed. Congrats on getting to Moab David, I’m really happy you made it safely there, and really looking forward to next year’s project! Based on simple extrapolation, you’ll have to buy a body without frame next time ;)

I don’t know if you knew about this, but before the Z3M was officially sold by BMW, the owner of the Pelras BMW dealership in Toulouse, France, comissionned an independant shop to create a “Z3M”.

Great input arach. I fully understand that cars can be appriciated as a work of art and that it can be hard to put miles on a fleet of vehicles.

I know I’m a broken record, but BMW E85 all the way. It does everything. Trackday toy? Check. Roadtrip car? Check. Weekend end cruiser? With the wind in your hair. Grocery getter? Doable. Cost of ownership? Manageable. I have it for 3 years and even though other cars tempt me, I just can’t imagine myself selling it.

I want great flying professionals that are allowed to easily and quickly take control of a plane country!

Awesome! It looks like you’re going to pull this off despite my skepticism! Can you pass me this crow please? I’m hungry.

Well, yeah. If you did a Venn diagram of Jalopnik readers, people who like wrenching and people who like Mustangs, the first circle would be fully included in the intersection of the other two.

I clicked hoping it’d be your Mustang.

^This.

Good job, I did read that with a bad russian accent borrowed from a vilain in James Bond!

The Tu-144 is actually interesting, but in a weird way. While the Concorde was a technical marvel but a failure business wise, the Tu-144 was a failure in both regards. The USSR basically copied the Concorde idea and made one key mistake plus a buttload of classic communist era nonsense.

You don’t realize this but you had pretty much the perfect winter car. I drive a ‘99 Clio 2 with a 60hp 1.2L engine, and in serious snow it’s perfect. Every year I drive across France for Christmas, and that little 2000lb crapcan is unstoppable. The 165 winter tires cut through snow like no premium car can. I’ve seen…

I agree about new cars, but second hand ones with 10 - 20 years today? That’s going to be the next golden generation of youngtimers. Last NA, manual, with hydraulic power steering, screen-and-data-free vehicles with good fuel economy, decent safety and reliable with sensible repair costs (because no gazillion sensors…

95dB is loud as hell. 95dB is the maximum allowed at some TRACKS in France. So, unless you have a racecar exhaust, you’re fine.

Thank you. I came here to rant about this, now I don’t have to do it.

I understand your logic, and I apply it too. However, I draw the line at safety. I love reading about your wrenching adventures, stay safe out there, I want to keep reading about them for a while =)

And those were his last words. Come on David, that Jeep is 60% pure rust. In the best case, you’ll end up with your butt on the road the second you’ll jump in it.