New toy, clubman

joebloyo · Postby **joebloyo** » Sun Feb 14, 2010 2:30 pm

very nice, hope the clubman gets put to good use =)

NZMiata · Postby **NZMiata** » Sun Feb 14, 2010 5:54 pm

Laguna Blue is such a stunning colour. Your NB 15s look really good painted dark with the shiny lip. More pics please!

CoffeeBoss · Postby **CoffeeBoss** » Tue Feb 16, 2010 1:01 pm

Well well well, Karl.

After all those years of paying out my Roadster obsession.... all I can say to you now is the time honoured: Welcome To The Obsession. Heh heh.

Karl's not so great at introductions, but I've already done some of the groundwork here in my thread, for those who care to read.

It's a big story, quite entertaining, I don't really do it any justice. In the best of Chinese traditions, Karl has indeed been living in "interesting times" these past 12 months. The protracted delivery time of this particular car just added to the drama!

storms_of_fate wrote:
93_Clubman wrote:Congrats again Karl - Good to see you've finally got the Clubman!

A lot of thanks to you mate!

I'm going to second that, because I was privy to all the assistance you gave Karl. It's people like 93_Clubman that have helped this forum retain a sense of credibility and authority.

And because Karl has neglected his duties, a huge thanks also has to go to Rob & Stefan, both long time members of this forum, for their invaluable NA Roadster knowledge that helped make this decision an easy one.

Karl and I drove down to Canberra last year to look at this car in my NC. I've dríven a few NA's over the years, Patchy being the most recent NA I spent time with.
I was genuinely amazed at the way this NA8 drove, particularly given the high mileage, and the fact that I had just stepped out of a 2008 NC. It pulls cleanly, steers well and is nice and stiff for a car with this age and mileage. It's nice to see such a car go to a great home like this

Over the weekend, the Clubman had a visit to IS Motor Racing, so here's a few pics I took:

Front and rear brakes - not sure what the discs are.

93_Clubman · Postby **93_Clubman** » Tue Feb 16, 2010 2:04 pm

CB, thanks, but like you & many others, I just think we all benefit through sharing accurate information & collaboration, as it saves reinventing mistakes or the wheel, & thus allows further enhancements or new possibilities to be pursued in what ever the field of endeavour.

Thanks also for your write-up of Karl's exploits. I was aware of his accident & that it was a fairly nasty one, but I wasn't aware that it was life threatening, so it's excellent to hear that after more than a year he again has a car he has a passion for, & is well & truely on the mend.
viewtopic.php?f=57&t=31170&p=517434#p517434

storms_of_fate · Postby **storms_of_fate** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 7:58 am

The car is bought with the intetion of going back to the track. And when I do as a driver, it would be about 18 months since the last. I will have to build everything I have back up again, its not much but it will be 6 months before maybe I get he hand of this car. Thankfully after playing with the Clio for 5 years, I know what I need to do to get the car to be nice to drive on a track so I can properly plan that stuff now. Otherwise it will be dríven to work for now, used as a daily. The wheels are good like that, but being old now it has patches of silver coming through. Need to do another paint job! And sadly it did not come with factory wheels, so I'm on the hunt for some factory Clubman wheels. NA8 wheels won't do... has to be the hollowed out clubman version. That's a mission... But otherwise the car has every other original factory part if I or some else wants to restore it. Although for me, I wouldn't do the restoration. Not that I'm a modifier, but I know what sort of car I like to drive so I act upon that, it won't be suitable for everyone but I'm not afraid to keep the original, just for the sake it might be rare or "how could you do that", I could because I love my car.

Here's some more pictures

storms_of_fate · Postby **storms_of_fate** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 8:03 am

93_Clubman wrote:CB, thanks, but like you & many others, I just think we all benefit through sharing accurate information & collaboration, as it saves reinventing mistakes or the wheel, & thus allows further enhancements or new possibilities to be pursued in what ever the field of endeavour.

Thanks also for your write-up of Karl's exploits. I was aware of his accident & that it was a fairly nasty one, but I wasn't aware that it was life threatening, so it's excellent to hear that after more than a year he again has a car he has a passion for, & is well & truely on the mend.
viewtopic.php?f=57&t=31170&p=517434#p517434

I think it was life threatening for a moment, and only from the Doctor's and evryone else's point of view. Thankfully, I personally never thought it was, and maybe because of that I have pulled through. It does not mean I underestimate the gravity of the accident though. And because of it, I apreicate things more. Mostly stuff we take granted, like mocing your arm! Let me assure you there was no flash of my life, or any bright light, and I never passed out or anything till they drugged me. And i never once thought about quit riding or driving cars. I like going fast, and sadly as a rider I like pain and suffering. I was off pain killers after a week and half. I was off the serious stuff in 5 days. The nurses didn't believe I'd last the night with out drip fed morphine, and they were wrong offcourse. You could go any time, so while I have it, I'd like to go fast a bit more

storms_of_fate · Postby **storms_of_fate** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 2:23 am

So there have been a few changes to the car. Number 1 of which, is the registration to NSW have finally been done. What I didn't expect to happen also is everything else I planned to the end fo the year. It hopefully does not mean bringing forward plans for next year, and the one after as I find that this sort of thing will bankrupt you very easily and quickly, despite the fact it is not French. The new additions on the car now
Sparco Sprin V seat
Spec miata tow hook
BD Roll bar
A lot of maintenance work that's invisible

broady · Postby **broady** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 2:32 am

Euro plates... interesting!

Looking good, Karl!

CoffeeBoss · Postby **CoffeeBoss** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 9:31 am

"interesting" haha, how very diplomatic of you Broady

Karl should probably explain that the Euro plates are a throw back to his Renault driving days. The rear one actually looks OK, but the front is too big. I say change.

Otherwise - looks very ready to race...

Hammer · Postby **Hammer** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 10:22 am

It's a wind break. :mrgreen:

I believe you can get Euro style plates from the RTA with small size for the front and normal size for the rear nowadays.

broady · Postby **broady** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 10:39 am

Hammer wrote:I believe you can get Euro style plates from the RTA with small size for the front and normal size for the rear nowadays.

You can! I think they're the same size as slimlines.

CB - wasn't at all implying I don't like it

I just don't think I've seen it before. After all, the '5 has some British influence!

storms_of_fate · Postby **storms_of_fate** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 10:56 am

Haha never seen an NA, or NB with Euro plates before either. Correction Matt, these are from the Astra days. Got them in 2002, when Euro plates were first introduced. Cost 230 dollars as a once off fee. I have hang on to them because of that. The standard autopick Euro plates today are 400 dollars once off, and any others would attract an annual fee.

If I can have the front one re-made into the smaller version I'll do that, but if it end up meaning repurchase I will leave them. I'd rather buy another car, or have these in storage for 50 bucks a year than change and pay an annual fee.