Rare CL Find-Impulse AWD

I was on Jalopnik and found this. Come to find out, its within an hour of me. Does anyone have any experience with these?

http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/1940080538.html

I really like those. I searched for one about 10 years ago and was unable to find a good one.

I do believe the AWD parts are near unobtanium in the USA.

That said, one car from across the OTHER pond that I do want (along with a 1st gen Impulse Turbo)

It certainly doesn't weigh 1950lbs. Closer to 2500lbs.

68% give it a nice price vs. 32% for crackpipe. I'm not sure. I love rare cars, but price and parts make me very cautious.

http://jalopnik.com/5649527/for-3500-this-could-almost-be-an-impulse-purchase

I owned one. Never got it running right.

Parts were expensive (and the cast exhaust manifold tended to crack badly), complicated rat's nest of unlabeld vacuum hoses, etc), little to no aftermarket support, etc.

The gearboxes are unobtanium (my car was bought by a guy needing a gearbox) and I understand prone to damage if you tweak the boost up and/or drive them in anger.

I bought my car in nice shape but needing a head and exhaust manifold for $1000. About $1500 worth of parts later, I sold it for $1000. And was glad to see it go.

I think I'd rather invest in another UrQ....

Bill

In reply to wcelliot:

Thanks for that post. I may have done something dumb. The last thing I need is a car where parts are rare.

Worked with a guy who had one. Blisteringly fast in every way, stupendously unreliable, and impossible to find parts for (as everyone else has said).

I'm blocking out all of the bad things you all have to say about these cars and am focusing on the important parts:

1) Turbo
2) AWD
3) Handling by Lotus
4) Light (for an awd turbo car)

This all adds up to an epic DO WANT.

I'm working on it. Hold tight. Got a cash offer on the MX6 today.

93celicaGT2 wrote: I'm blocking out all of the bad things you all have to say about these cars and am focusing on the important parts: 1) Turbo 2) AWD 3) Handling by Lotus 4) Light (for an awd turbo car) This all adds up to an epic DO WANT. I'm working on it. Hold tight. Got a cash offer on the MX6 today.

I love living vicariously through others on the GRM message boards.

Amen to that ^. 93, if you get that thing you have to stop by my house on the way home,a beer and pizza will be in it for you but I would like to check that car out. (I live just north of Columbus)

In reply to 81gtv6:

Have him pick you up and head 25 minutes north to my house

Do it on Thursday and I will be in Columbus as well.
Interesting car which would be cool to check out.
Aside from the AWD portion, I am much more partial to the looks for the early Impulses.

Sounds like a party.

I saw one on a junkyard a few years back, and from a distance it looked cherry. The body was 100%, the only things missing were the transmission, turbo, head and exhaust manifold. Hmmmmmm, now I know why.

Lets be rational here, I think you should buy it for the following reasons: you want it, it will make you feel better owning it, it will make other GRMers envious of your car thus making you feel better about your car which will make it that much more special to you thus making yourself feel better about having bought it...

In reply to pinchvalve:

Was it red? My car went to a guy in your area....

When I lived in Lancaster, Pa. there was one at a super-crappy used car lot that bordered my back yard. It had a mismatched wheel and $1,250 on the windshield. It sat there the whole year I lived there. The temptation was almost unbearable some days.

jrw1621 wrote: Do it on Thursday and I will be in Columbus as well. Interesting car which would be cool to check out. Aside from the AWD portion, I am much more partial to the looks for the early Impulses.

It is what the Scirocco should have been.

I mean, it is the Scirocco, but better.

There is one a couple streets down from my house - the owner seems to use it as a daily driver so it is possible ...

Also an I-Mark in Ohio.
http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/1964415140.html

Mine was used as a daily driver for 100k before the head cracked. Unmodified and not driven hard, they seemed to survive "okay".

But how many of us here would

1. Not modify it? and

2. Not drive it hard?

UrQ's are relatively unbreakable and around for $5k or less.... and you can turn up the boost AND drive the snot out of them.

In reply to wcelliot:

But...but....LOOK AT IT! God I love the look of those Impulses.

Hmm, did Isuzu survive the GM fallout? Are they on their own again? Can they produce cool cars again?!

m4ff3w wrote: I really like those. I searched for one about 10 years ago and was unable to find a good one.

You could have searched for one when they were brand new and not found a good one.

wcelliot wrote: I bought my car in nice shape but needing a head and exhaust manifold for $1000. About $1500 worth of parts later, I sold it for $1000. And was glad to see it go. I think I'd rather invest in another UrQ....

My personal story is similar to yours, except it was a 1st-generation Impulse Turbo, I bought it for less, spent a whole hell of a lot more, drove it a total of five miles, and was so happy to see it go I almost refused the $25 the junkyard gave me for it, but I felt like getting a burger to celebrate.

And THEN, I swore off piston engines for ten years.

The JI Impulse is a Storm. People don't go ga-ga over Storms for a damned good reason. The AWD turbo JI Impulse is a Storm that breaks even more often and is even harder/more expensive to get parts for.

[IndyJones] THAT CAR BELONGS IN A JUNKYARD![/IndyJones]

Why yes, I'm biased. If I was being ornery, I'd say it was an awesome car, that it was worth twice that price, then I'd sit back and watch the trainwreck unfold.

That I-Mark looks bad ass in a 323 GTX sort of way. Any details on the I-Mark as far as reliability,and the spots that the rust the worst?

Fletch1 wrote: In reply to 81gtv6: Have him pick you up and head 25 minutes north to my house

You can just drive by my house and honk....