Great thread Tommy! Haven't been around here in ages. Glad to see you are still rockin' the Smurf Coupe.

 

Well I sent it only about a month ago at 166K miles and yeah they are ungodly slow, as I'm now at 168K+ .
It says on the form to keep a copy, but I didn't make a copy.
Not sure how to check in with them. Waiting......

 

Couple of pics from my work three weekends ago...

Installed Ultimate pedals; as you can see in the "before" pic, the Brabus (yes, the authentic ones, not the Frabus ones) pedals really flaked the chrome off, and looked overall pretty nasty. The Ultimates were an easy install. The Brabus ones had teeny allen headed bolts and slightly less teeny locking nuts behind the pedals - I had to drill out the allen heads on some of them to get them out. The Ultimates are bigger on both ends, and the install was much easier. Also, they're not coated with anything, so they should wear much better. They gave me several extras of the black pads, so in case I lose any, I've got a couple of extras.

And for those who love hearing about the Sprintbooster vs. non-Sprintbooster debate, I was having some erratic throttle response issues, like when my first Sprintbooster went bonkers on me, so I just removed my second one. Think I'll leave it off for a while; throttle is much smoother, obviously, and I'm getting used to the stock feel again.

Before:


After:


Also installed new window switch trim and window switches (do NOT break them if you can avoid it; the plastic trim pieces are very expensive). Decided to cover in 3M cf tape like the pulls:


I also had wanted to paint the outside of the rear rotor hats black and paint the rear calipers gold to match the fronts and add either 5 or 10 mm spacers, but forgot the G2 paint, so that will have to wait a couple of weeks.

If you've never taken off the door panels, it's not so hard. Remove the little torx screw at the end of the door and the trim piece that it was attached to, then remove the circle underneath the door pull, then remove the torx screw that goes deep inside there, then remove the SRS badge, get to the screw behind that, then I used a door trim puller on the twitter housing (pulling from the rear-facing side), and finally just go around the outside with a plastic wedge or similar, and lift up on the door panel after removing the door locks. Install is the opposite. Not really bad at all. You just have to get over the fear of breaking something. I'd give it a 1.5 out of 5 on the degree of difficulty scale.

Oh, the original window switches are fine, so if anyone needs them, let me know. I'm also giving up on trying to sell both of my steering wheels (in the "interior" section of the classifieds) so if you want anything, contact me, and I'll decide if you're worthy of some free shizzle.

 

the blue/silver/carbon fiber looks great... where did you get your doorpanels done? i need to rid myself of the cloth pattern one panel at a time and i want to start with the door panels.

nice to see you keepin the car alive and fresh

 

Classic Soft Trim; did all panels and seats for $1600. Of course, at the same time, they managed to mess up one of the rear panels, and break the tabs off the passenger's seatback (which ended up being ok, since I have a Recaro driver's seat now, and was able to switch the driver's seatback clips to the passenger's).

I have to get rid of all of these mods sitting in my apartment before I trade it in for an Abarth next year, you know.

 

i called classic soft trim and heard they weren't doing business anymore... and katzkin or whatever is taking over, but don't do door panels. it was a lost cause, but i may revisit it someday.

 

Well, that sucks. I know that Katzkin was nervous about the proper stitching on the panels for the airbags years ago. Good luck with your quest!

 

Happy update:

Car hasn't broken down in months. Woo hoo!

I passed 145k last night, so the countdown to the all-important 155k mile grille badge has begun.

Haven't done much to the car recently. The dead pedal pictured above has been replaced, since it was rusting, with a pedal from Ultimate Pedals which matches the others, so everything looks very good.

Car's going in at the end of the month for inspection, and will get the passenger side rear qp rust taken care of (I think it's not too much), and get the Renntech rear spoiler reglued on one end, and the whole spoiler repainted; the clear is being eaten away slowly.

Otherwise, very happy with things. I've decided that I'm done with the car, except for possibly the small things I still have (full row of switchgear, updated turn signals & cruise control that mock me every time I notice them at home as they sit and wait to be installed), and possibly re-chipped for sh*ts and giggles, as I still think that the Upsolute tune could be improved upon.

Waiting on the US intro of the Abarth at the November LA show; if it's got a real manny (talk of a manumatic, the unhappy medium) and looks good, I'll dump the Benz late next year or so.

Oh, and I'll soon be posting pics of myself in a thong working on my car, as that seems to be the way to get attention these days here. :p

 

That's where we all went wrong

 

i doubt we'll get this lucky... but it would be nice if we got this model in the states:

http://www.abarth695tributoferrari.com/

 

Yeah, that is a little hottie, but I'd be afraid of the MSRP.

Speaking of my car, my new style key has developed some issues. I dropped it one too many times, and the little red "PANIC" dot came off. Now, every so often, it won't work to unlock or lock until I press the contact where the PANIC had been. So I'm now back to using my old style key. It actually feels nice to have the lighter key, actually. I just wish that it had the hatch button on it, which is a really useful feature every so often.

I'm going to go to the local dealership on Saturday and see how much they're overcharging for a key these days, and see if it's worth the money to get another one.

 

The 500 is cute, I wouldn't want one, but it is cute.

 

You'd probably get it in automatic anyway.

Going to buy a new key at lunchtime; was quoted $240, which seems to be about in the midrange of numbers. I did notice that the unlock part was becoming pretty well indented, so it was only a matter of time there, I think. So off to the dealership (they just moved to new, fancy all-glass digs this past Monday - I should get a plaque there for all of my support over the years) at lunchtime to order it.

Then the car's going under the knife on Thursday - state inspection, passenger rear wheelwell rust, and repaint and reglue the Renntech spoiler, along with new rotor rims for the front two-piecers (and Axxis pads). More money out the door, which sucks.

 

I hate automatics.. But aren't you concerned it won't be enough space for you and your boyfriend?

 

I know there's a "riding in the rear" joke in there somewhere.

 

Hey Tommy, how about this new thing: http://www.autoblog.com/photos/techa...rankfurt-2011/
I know the MSRP will be out of your range but the color is you. Maybe when you stop dating girls from this forum and find a rich wife, she will buy this toy for you.

 

Well, if I were going to go down that path, I've seen a smurf lambo around Alpine several times that I'd take. Before they find the cocaine that I'd been selling, of course.

 

maybe to your standard?



Curb weight 3430 lb
Engine 2.5-liter turbocharged dohc 20V I-5
Transmission 6-sp manual
Horsepower 405 bhp @ 6000 rpm (380, 91 octane)
Torque 510 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm
0-60 mph 4.2 sec
0-100 mph 10.8 sec
0-1320 ft (1/4 mile) 12.8 sec @ 110.9 mph

http://www.ausmotive.com/2010/04/23/...e-concept.html

 

That is a hot little number; have seen it posted a couple of times. The C30 is in my crosshairs as well for my next car too; drives very well, and like the available combos you can get, not to mention the Euro delivery is the best out there. I'd get it in "Hello Yellow", though - that's a great color.

To add relevent info here, I just came back from getting my car. Got the NJ inspection done (you're welcome, Gov. Christie - you can now get the large combo meal instead of the medium), Renntech spoiler repainted and reglued, rust taken care of on the rear passenger's wheelwell (and they nicely did the bit of rust at the bottom of the gas door which has been done by careless gas jockeys in NJ), and most importantly, installed the nearly-complete console switchrow from a wrecked sedan - I do love the completeness of the switches now. Has everything except distronic or parktronic, whichever that is.

Tomorrow morning, jacking up the rear wheels, painting the rear brakes the same gold as the fronts, and finally getting around to putting spacers on - have 10 and 5mm sizes, hoping that the 10s will fit.

Pics to follow after I'm done with it.

 

Looking good Tommy Where did you get those pedals at?

 

www.ultimatepedals.com

They have very good customer service, and much better quality than the Brabus ones.

 

OK, a little update time. While getting the car inspected/rear passenger's wheelwell rust/spoiler repainted and reglued done, went ahead and had them put in the mostly full sedan console switchgear:



If anyone is interested, I have another one just like it that Potomac German threw in with it, since they f*cked up my original order. I've also got my original one, if anyone needs it - no options at all, just anti-jacking, ESP, and door lock/unlock buttons.

Also, two weeks ago, after I got my car back from the shop, I finally got around to painting my rear calipers to match the fronts, and threw on my 10mm H&R spacers. They fit perfectly, so very happy about that. Had also bought H&R 5mms (no lip on them) just in case, so if anyone needs a set, let me know.

Closeup of rear rim:



Further shot:



Final shot - got around to installing the deadpedal that matches the Ultimate pedals that I put on recently. Though I lost an Orion deadpedal (very sad day), I got one that looks much better with the set.



And I hit 146k today; 9k closer to my grille badge.

Once I get my crx back with its new clutch (damn thing died on me after 8 great years), I'm thinking about sending the Smurfmobile ecu off to OE Tuning. Then after that, it's getting a replacement tach installed for the A pillar (the Autometer one died fairly quickly), thinking about either selling or getting puddle lights put in that I've had for years, and doing something with the control stalks that I have - I have direct replacements as well as newer ones with the more rounded ends - I think I'll try to frankenstein them, and get the new ends on the old stalk guts, so that it will work with my car. I've taken one apart before, and all you need is a 9mm torx, and the ability to take fragile plastic parts apart without breaking them or throwing them out of the house in frustration. It'll be a test.

As far as the parts I've mentioned that I'd be willing to part with (as well as the thingy that you put on top of the oil filter assembly to loosen/tighten it - I have an extra also), let me know if you want them. Prices will go from free to $1 Mil, depending on my opinion of your douchebag factor. Danke.

 

awesome...

i'm still trying whether to keep maintaining mine like yours (except that i'm at 100k)... or to bail out early and get something else.

when you look back at your expenses, do you wish you sold earlier? or are you happy that you kept it this long?

 

I probably wish that I had dumped it and gotten an EP3 (the Honda Civic Si, aka breadvan, from the early to mid-2000's, have always liked them, and it would have been much cheaper on me) about 5 years ago. But the ccoupe keeps teasing me by being good for a year or so between breakdowns, and then I rationalize keeping it longer because I've just put more money into getting it fixed. That kind of logic used to be my dowfall at the blackjack tables.

If it lasts until next Xmas without too much pain to my wallet, I'll consider it a push. I still love driving it, and have my crx for when I really want to have more fun, so it's been a good car for me overall for what I wanted, a semi-fun daily driver that I can personalize. I do wish there were more aftermarket support for it.

 

i feel the exact same way about mine since i've put so much into it... and it keeps going through periods of behaving and throwing a hissy fit.

the more mods the more attached i got... and knowing that the amount that i put into it is about the same as its current value in kbb doesn't help... but im trying to hold on.