Hello from a new board member! I want to introduce myself and my absolute dream of a car to this forum.
After an eternity of now 13 years with several Volvo C30, I have decided in 2022 that I will need a V8 in my life while it's still possible. I absolutely adore the C30s - I still own two T5. One is slightly modified (shorter geared, few suspension mods, interior upgraded), the other one heavily (built engine, turbo, diff, had 450+hp once and I have all parts for an AWD swap) - and being a project car, of course it's broken since a while. I call it the holy triangle of project cars; no time / no motivation / no money. One condition always applies.
At that time, I thought about a daily driven car, capable for a family - but one day in 2023 it clicked. I won't need a practical car for several years, I only use a car for ~2 days per week anyway. The F-Type Coupe was very present in my wanted list and suddenly it was a very realistic option. After a vacation in Italy, driving an absolute beater of a Ferrari California convertible on the streets of Maranello, I was set on getting a convertible; the amount of noise and emotion you get from an open top is something I never felt before. And financially, while I can admit that this car is more like a toy to me rather than a necessity - I believe the F-Type might have reached its price bottom. A purchase like this needed all of the justification I could think of. To me, this car is totally underrated on the used car market.
Forward to mid 2024, all was set and planned. I test drove a ~2018 V6 to familiarize with the F-Type, then searched for an early V8 S RWD convertible in either Firesand or Salsa Red. I did not want an AWD; I preferred the early models, which were described as "being a handful". End of January I went to examine one and ended up buying it in a great deal - the previous owner would still do the maintenance work, already scheduled for February 4th. And I could collect it on February 6th, which happens to be my birthday. That was not planned before, but wow, does it make everything about the car special to me.
2013 V8 S fully optioned: Meridian Surround, extended leather package, sport seats, winter package and so on. And most importantly, in Salsa Red. It was the first time I was able to buy a car in the color I wanted. Gyrodyne winter wheels, black Cyclone for summer, both sets a bit scuffed. It has the original software, so all of the original pops and bangs. I apologized to my landlords, whose bedroom is right behind my carport, in advance, but they turned out be just as excited about the car as I was
I already did car handling courses and love the RWD handling. For me, it was the right choice to settle for RWD. It will forever stay challenging and exciting. However I can understand everyone preferring an AWD over it
--
So, what can I say about my car? It has all of the typical F-Type problems. But with time, we will repair all of it. I already have a working diagnostic software, which is most important to me when owning a car.
It still has the original Y-pipe and slight coolant loss. But there is coolant loss visible on the heater pipe as well, which was changed already - maybe this is the main source for coolant loss. Either way, all pipes will be swapped later this year. The compressor coupler is ticking and broken. Underbody bracing / rear subframe quite rusty. The right exhaust valve was stuck and I broke it, trying to free it. The soft touch coating in the interior is sticky everywhere. And the reason why I registered at this board; the interior temperature sensor is broken and I can't find sufficient information about it.
I already bought a 2020 steering wheel and transferred the paddles, buttons and chrome parts to my wheel. We installed an Android Auto interface box. We replaced coupling rods, a brake job will be next. A friend of mine has a workshop at his home and is a car mechanic, which greatly helps to maintain such a car. Also the paint of the car is in rather bad condition and in urgent need of a polish, which I will do later this summer.
So I hope to find more information on this board, and maybe support others with knowledge that I have about the car. Meanwhile, all about my car still seems like a dream and completely surreal, I can not drive it once and keep a straight face. It just makes me happy.
After an eternity of now 13 years with several Volvo C30, I have decided in 2022 that I will need a V8 in my life while it's still possible. I absolutely adore the C30s - I still own two T5. One is slightly modified (shorter geared, few suspension mods, interior upgraded), the other one heavily (built engine, turbo, diff, had 450+hp once and I have all parts for an AWD swap) - and being a project car, of course it's broken since a while. I call it the holy triangle of project cars; no time / no motivation / no money. One condition always applies.
At that time, I thought about a daily driven car, capable for a family - but one day in 2023 it clicked. I won't need a practical car for several years, I only use a car for ~2 days per week anyway. The F-Type Coupe was very present in my wanted list and suddenly it was a very realistic option. After a vacation in Italy, driving an absolute beater of a Ferrari California convertible on the streets of Maranello, I was set on getting a convertible; the amount of noise and emotion you get from an open top is something I never felt before. And financially, while I can admit that this car is more like a toy to me rather than a necessity - I believe the F-Type might have reached its price bottom. A purchase like this needed all of the justification I could think of. To me, this car is totally underrated on the used car market.
Forward to mid 2024, all was set and planned. I test drove a ~2018 V6 to familiarize with the F-Type, then searched for an early V8 S RWD convertible in either Firesand or Salsa Red. I did not want an AWD; I preferred the early models, which were described as "being a handful". End of January I went to examine one and ended up buying it in a great deal - the previous owner would still do the maintenance work, already scheduled for February 4th. And I could collect it on February 6th, which happens to be my birthday. That was not planned before, but wow, does it make everything about the car special to me.
2013 V8 S fully optioned: Meridian Surround, extended leather package, sport seats, winter package and so on. And most importantly, in Salsa Red. It was the first time I was able to buy a car in the color I wanted. Gyrodyne winter wheels, black Cyclone for summer, both sets a bit scuffed. It has the original software, so all of the original pops and bangs. I apologized to my landlords, whose bedroom is right behind my carport, in advance, but they turned out be just as excited about the car as I was
I already did car handling courses and love the RWD handling. For me, it was the right choice to settle for RWD. It will forever stay challenging and exciting. However I can understand everyone preferring an AWD over it
--
So, what can I say about my car? It has all of the typical F-Type problems. But with time, we will repair all of it. I already have a working diagnostic software, which is most important to me when owning a car.
It still has the original Y-pipe and slight coolant loss. But there is coolant loss visible on the heater pipe as well, which was changed already - maybe this is the main source for coolant loss. Either way, all pipes will be swapped later this year. The compressor coupler is ticking and broken. Underbody bracing / rear subframe quite rusty. The right exhaust valve was stuck and I broke it, trying to free it. The soft touch coating in the interior is sticky everywhere. And the reason why I registered at this board; the interior temperature sensor is broken and I can't find sufficient information about it.
I already bought a 2020 steering wheel and transferred the paddles, buttons and chrome parts to my wheel. We installed an Android Auto interface box. We replaced coupling rods, a brake job will be next. A friend of mine has a workshop at his home and is a car mechanic, which greatly helps to maintain such a car. Also the paint of the car is in rather bad condition and in urgent need of a polish, which I will do later this summer.
So I hope to find more information on this board, and maybe support others with knowledge that I have about the car. Meanwhile, all about my car still seems like a dream and completely surreal, I can not drive it once and keep a straight face. It just makes me happy.
