2JZ gang gonna come out of the woodwork any minute now.

False, it isn’t haunting anything. I think its sweet.

AWD wouldn’t work without an all new platform. Part of the charm of the PT was the very low load floor meant they could swallow a lot of stuff. They even used a Watt’s linkage rear suspension to get the load floor as low as possible.

No doubt this is absolutely the coolest PT cruiser that ever was.

I would also (Personally) argue that it had the wrong drivetrain in it at launch. A FWD-only, four-speed automatic with a wheezy four cylinder didn’t really jive with what it was cosplaying as. I think if the high-output options and Getrag had been used early on, it might not have been remembered quite as poorly, and…

Wait until you guys find out about the PT Cruiser cults where people spend truly unreasonable amounts of money on the cars, and insist that PT Cruisers are “Classic Cars”. We have a bunch of those people in Washington state.

I don’t even mind the matte.  It’s a well put-together project. 

I want to hate it, but...

Aside from having no tailgate, this is pretty awesome. He’s made a widely loathed vehicle into something pretty cool.

I never quite got the hate for PT Cruiser.  And I rather like the look of this.  Probably worth the 5k for the custom fabwork alone

For me, Westlake tires are CP not because of the “if the owner was so cheap...” thing, but because it indicates a professional flipper. I guess that’s similar to the “if the owner was so cheap” rationale.

Chill. The Pirelli tires for these things are like$2-3 grand. They’re odd tire sizes, and hard to find brands that fit. I have a 98 XK, so not 100% certain the R has different sizes, but you get my point.

The R was always blessed with good transmissions, before the ZF 6HP it had a Mercedes 5-speed, unlike the troublesome ZF 5HP in the older non-R

I’m leaning heavily towards a 16/17 Chevy SS with manual. My other option is a GS-F.

Tires are definitely an issue, but your point about the tech is great as well. There is a whole generation of cars from this area saddled with primitive technology that is more or less impossible to replace. 

Where’s that guy with the M5 who used to be here 4 days a week?

you don’t know if the seller is that type of luxury owner who isn’t into car knowledge (he probably bought new and drove a Jag for decades after all). Maybe his garage just sold him that tires and made good money ... because they know their customer just doesn’t know.

Only 4 litre cars had Daimler gearboxes. The 4.2 litre cars have ZF gearboxes.

CP <<====J|=====>> NP

Meow, sexy kitty. The achilles heel of these cars are the plastic timing chain guides. 2003 was a transition year where they started using metal guides that don’t need to be replaced. You can confirm by looking at the build date. If they’re in range, drive and enjoy without worry (the engine is bolted to a bullet…