Take my E30 Cabbie off my hands...really

Guys, I love the looks of this car, but the non adjustable steering wheel angle and awkwardly high position are playing hell with my shoulder. http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/23793062 She's a stunner and a rel nice runner, just not for me. I post here amongst you autophiles because I don't want to sell it, just swap for a similar value 2 dr automatic hatchback. Corrado's and GTI's haunt my dreams and are calling me in the night.

Why the auto? funny you should ask : http://www.miata.net/motm/2007/thomson.html that's also the reason this E30 is tortuous to my shoulder - one hand on the wheel in one position on the wheel always.

I hope I'm not breaking GRM policy with this post...if so I apologize and feel free to delete.

as always...thanks guys, mark

Nice car, have you considered submitting it to BaT? Of course, if you do that and they post it you will open yourself up to all sorts of comments about the choice of transmission, choice of wheels, and pros and cons of the trunk mounted spoiler.

I've had 4 different Honda vehicles, the 1st did NOT have a tilt steering wheel. On the other 3, I rarely use the tilt function putting the wheel in the full up position on all of them since day one and just leaving it there.

Funny, with so many positive comments about these and other models of BMWs I've considered looking a bit more closely at the ones I see in my area. Not sure if I fit, and now wonder if the lack of a tilt wheel makes them a very short trip cruiser.

The Miata's wheel position, sans tilt, suits me perfectly. And unfortunately for me test drives are out of the question due to the necessity of the hand controls. That's how the E30 and I came to be. I was seduced by her beauty and never gave the steering wheel position/angle a second thought.

I hadn't thought about BringATrailer, but thanks for the tip.

I'm used to the auto bashing, you should visit the automatic section on miata.net sometime...you'll see what I mean :)

Carol Hollfelder races with an automatic in World Challenge.

http://tiger-racing.com/tigerorg/driver_bio.html

(2nd driver bio)

WOW, She is incredible!!!

I was trying to look up Regazzoni's hand controls, but all I can find is his obits, and his pre-accident F1 career. IIRC, it's actually a ring mounted on the steering wheel for accel (so that you can steer and use the throttle at the same time), there's a separate knob for the brakes, and for racing applications-an actuator for an automatic clutch. I found the website from the company that built it for him..

http://www.katalavox.com/kempfhandco.htm

Interesting..down at the bottom, they mention they created a joystick system for Phillipe Streiff, after his testing accident.

I think Carol's onto something though. Autos are getting better all the time, I wonder if the Aston unit they installed have one of those "slap-levers" where you can select the gear by hand. Don't know what would happen to the revs when you took your hand off the throttle/brake, tho.

I guess the moral of the story..keep chasin them cones, dude. Ya gotta start somewhere, and in this sport, ya can't really practice with your buds in the backyard.

Evan Evans is another superb hand-control racer (CORE trucks), his setup might give you more ideas for your own:

http://www.off-roadweb.com/features/0504or_chevrolet_silverado_prerunner/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evan_Evans_%28racer%29

I've read of Evan Evans before, another impressive individual!!!

I've battling the cones in my Miata for 4 years now, and absolutely love doing it. I've gone from near the bottom overall to a consistent midpacker.

These summer days in Indiana are brutal, and I've long since gutted the a/c in the Miata to add lightness...that's another big reason for seeking a decent hatch - with a/c :)

I've got my controls pretty sorted:

Joe Cypher, driver of the airborne ranger monster truck also drives with the halo hand control system too I think.

We have an accomplished club racer in NASA-SE that runs an M3 with hand controls and tiptronic. He can be found at

http://site.fandangoracinginc.com/

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Friends-of-Fandango-Racing/159730303257

He is Super friendly and one of the most gifted public speakers I have personally met.

Not that it would be an even trade, but early Ford Focuses had a column that tilted up and down plus telescoped in and out. I know that at some point that option was dropped but I don't know when.

The Focus was made in 3 and 5 door hatchback models. Also there is a fair amount of aftermarket preformance parts for them.

That reminds me, whatever happened to Mike Bullis, who used to be a nationally competitive autocrosser in IIRC a ZR1 Corvette with hand controls? I never knew him or anything, I only read about him in magazines and on message boards, but I haven't seen the name in a while. I could be wrong but I think I read his car was actually a manual with a hand operated clutch.

LopRacer - you must mean Drew Ewing, we chat often on FB, and you're right - he's a super guy!!

Hal - I would dearly love to swap for a ZX3, especially one with the 2.3 Duratec. Ford Racing offers some pretty sweet SVT suspension upgrades at really reasonable prices.

Josh - I bumped into Mike on the SCCA forums years ago when just starting this adventure. He was very encouraging and another great guy.

mark

OIh yeah....forgot to list my location...I'm an hour south of Indy.

mark

Mark you are 100% correct I am refering to Drew, just a completely awesome guy. Fast too.

Wow, you're a glutton for punishment if you want a Corrado with an automatic transmission.

docwyte - I said they were 'haunting me' lol.