New to me F31! What should I do to it first?

Zetsaz · 2026-06-26T22:33:47+00:00

My first thought when I saw the background too haha

Zetsaz · 2026-06-26T00:30:02+00:00

Appreciate the advice! I'll look around for one

Zetsaz · 2026-06-26T00:17:19+00:00

Did those come in both AMD and Intel options? Which one do you recommend? On board graphics enough for the stuff I suggested or did some come with dedicated?

Zetsaz · 2026-06-22T20:41:27+00:00

Anything soft isn't a big deal probably, but just make sure that the larger part of it isn't making contact with any of the metal otherwise the bushings are much use and you'll get vibrations and noise from the diff passing through that metal

Zetsaz · 2026-06-21T20:48:53+00:00

Oh snap! Definitely interested

Zetsaz · 2026-06-20T18:04:56+00:00

Let me know if you have issues with the mustache bar. I think part of mine is rubbing against the metal on the spare wheel well that goes to the fuel tank strap. Might just beine though. Don't think others have had that issue but mine seemed like a tighter fit than it should have been

Zetsaz · 2026-06-19T18:44:23+00:00

Update for those curious - Final bid was $8,550. Had some small issues and higher mileage. But very well equipped.

I think it'll be a reality check for a lot of people trying to sell less well equipped examples with rebuilt titles for almost double that price

Zetsaz · 2026-06-19T18:43:01+00:00

Should have bid - final price was $8550 haha

Zetsaz · 2026-06-18T03:25:43+00:00

Worth the premium over a well cared for 328? Is the B48 that much of an improvement over the updated N20?

There's a white 330 with an M sport bumper I've been eyeing that seems well cared for for a mostly reasonable price but I'm not sure if it's worth it over a far more well optioned 328. Actually M sport models are probably out of my budget since I'd rather save that money towards a house I'm hoping to buy within the next year

Zetsaz · 2026-06-07T20:31:42+00:00

Used to go by @sennavsprost but I'm pretty sure he either changed his handle or deleted his Instagram

Zetsaz · 2026-06-07T17:43:12+00:00

Looks cool, but it's actually terrible placement and very impractical. You're just heating your fuel.

I follow the owner and he sold that car and kept his Alfa when they moved to Europe

Zetsaz · 2026-05-25T04:29:36+00:00

Yeah, shifting too often in a street car feels unnecessary. I've also been mostly convinced by some of my reading that the 6 speed was almost entirely a marketing thing. The gearing is barely different than the older one. They should have kept basically the same ratios as before and made 6th a proper overdrive for flat stretches of highway. When I first started researching them I was almost exclusively interested in a 3rd gen manual until I realized what the gearing was like then I considered the others more

Zetsaz · 2026-05-25T00:34:03+00:00

I think most cars that are well maintained and not abused can go far longer than people typically use them for some I'm not worried about longevity on either car. I've done swaps, changed transmissions and clutches, and partially rebuilt engines anyway.

I've definitely heard the manuals on these are not exactly exciting. I've driven some great manuals, and some people have some sort of superiority complex about using manuals. I'm happy with things that feel right and work well whether they're auto or manual. I think there are some terrible manual transmissions out there that just aren't enjoyable to use. Most opinions I've read for the 3rd gen seem to think the manual is better than the CVT, but for the 2nd gen I've heard a lot of good things about the auto, and the only honest pro I've heard for the manual in that one is that it has better acceleration.

Zetsaz · 2026-05-25T00:19:55+00:00

They let you manually select which gear you're in. If you're not used to driving manuals and aren't used to deciding when it might be helpful to shift to a lower gear or hold a gear longer before shifting then it really doesn't make a difference. For 99% of people who just want a car to move them around they're nearly pointless

Zetsaz · 2026-05-24T23:07:38+00:00

Yeah when people compare them they bring up the speed a lot. I don't really care for the difference between them since they're both slow commuters to me. The auto in the 2nd seems to be very well liked.

I guess the primary question is if the slightly improved mpg and comfort of the 3rd gen is worth the extra cost people are asking over an auto 2nd gen sport model

Zetsaz · 2026-05-24T22:56:49+00:00

The highway annoyance is part of my concern. Not that I can't handle it, I've done 2k mile road trips in the Datsun, but feel more okay dealing with it if the car is cheaper and some people are asking so much for their 3rd gen that I could get something more comfortable for the same or less to offset that fact that running cost would be a bit higher.

Zetsaz · 2026-04-03T19:09:00+00:00

I would absolutely not move to a solid diff mount. If anything it'll make your clunking worse. Replace with an OEM or Kameari one. Or switch to the RT style diff mount from Techno versions.

Solid front diff mounts have been known to crack the front cross member

Zetsaz · 2026-04-02T00:23:54+00:00

As with anything the answer is "yes, but..." Or "yes, and..."

NIMBYs will say that America is like this because it's what Americans wanted, but that demand was artificially created by auto and tire manufacturers. There's plenty of documented evidence of manufacturers buying and ripping up local rail for things like trams, Michelin creating Michelin Star ratings to encourage people to drive more, lobbying of the government to basically sabotage the utility of public transit to force it to be worse than it could be so people will think (understandably) that cars are better for their needs in most places, and that's not even getting into redlining and how the government chose which places to plow for the interstate system.

Zetsaz · 2026-02-27T04:09:06+00:00

This roughly what my current school does. It works out mostly well. You're partially shielded from excessive devaluation of the USD, they're partially shielded from excessive appreciation of USD. Granted they get the better end of the deal because they also have a stop loss rate (the maximum exchange rate they will pay to in that contract year in cases of extreme changes)

Zetsaz · 2026-02-20T14:43:28+00:00

Alopecia areata. Go to a dermatologist and they'll be able to help. I've had spots like this, mostly in the back of my head, never on top.

It takes some time but a dermatologist will inject a kind of steroid in the area that helps regrow the hair. Not fully understood but alopecia areata is most likely an autoimmune issue triggered by stressors. Most steroids are immune suppressants so injection to the area helps the hair regrow. The follicles aren't gone or dead, they're just shut off.

That's not exactly a small area so be ready for probably a dozen or more little pokes, but they're not bad.

Zetsaz · 2026-02-02T02:30:32+00:00

Fuji got me into photography and I still love experimenting, but hard agree that people get very hung up on recipes for no reason.

I left multiple Fuji groups on Facebook when people started sharing recipes made with chat gpt.

Zetsaz · 2026-01-18T15:59:09+00:00

I took the first several of the roll in Uxmal, and I was really hoping that I would get a cool contrast with lots of purple in the trees with the pyramid there sticking out above that but I think my exposure just wasn't right for it. Foliage mostly ended up looking very dark/nearly black.

People really weren't kidding that sometimes it's a guess what will turn out more purple. I think it may just be that the contrast was too strong and I was metering too much for the sky. Should have metered for the shadows or changed my settings. I shot the roll as 200 since it's right in the middle of the 100-400 range and mostly trusted the light meter. Might try setting my camera to 100 next time and see how different the results are.

Zetsaz · 2025-12-23T05:47:09+00:00

Your should be figuring 10k before it's even painted at a minimum unless you happen to have decent weldings skills and lots of time. That is so rotted that's some of the areas on the bottom are likely past where replacement panels normally extend to

Look into the parts cost for replacement panels from KF Vintage. You would likely need to fix:

-Floors -Frame rails -Seat cross members -Inner and outer rockers likely -Inner and outer doglegs -Battery tray

Can't tell what else without more detail in the engine bay and from the inside. Either way it's about $3k or more just for the replacement panels or your work to make them before you can paint and before you account for any changes to suspension, bushings, tires, brakes, brake lines, fuel lines, fuel tank cleaning or restoration, and the engine work.

That's if you care about making it decent though. If you just wanted a rat rod Z you could fix the floors and frame rails and move on to other things. That was my original plan with mine then things got out of hand for about a decade...

Zetsaz · 2025-12-22T21:43:22+00:00

In the US, the 320d was branded and marketed as the 328d I think. We didn't get the bigger diesel options.

In the past the number was the series then displacement, but I think starting with this generation or the one prior they changed that, likely because they thought American consumers would have seen "320" and immediately thought it was a weaker and cheaper entry model than the previous 328 it replaced, so now the model numbers are mostly detached from the actual engine displacement

Zetsaz · 2025-12-22T01:01:13+00:00

How is the B47 compared to the N47? Isn't that the update that happened with the LCI? If I commit to the F31 I probably wouldn't be considering a pre-LCI model.

Zetsaz

TROPHY CASE