Hey guys its been a long time since I've posted on here and just wanted to share my story with you all. Earlier this year I ran across a marketplace ad for what was one of my realistic grail e30s, a Delphin Japanese market Mtech 2. After talking a few times with the owner and getting a ton of pictures, I put down a deposit and booked a flight out to Cali. A quick test drive told me I wanted it but it desperately needed more power being the m20b20 available in euro and japan models, but the car was otherwise exactly as described so cash exchanged hands and my return journey from L.A. to rural Michigan began. The next morning my buddy AJ and I decide to take a mountain road over towards Vegas rather than be stuck on an L.A. expressway longer than we already had been. This was the beginning of a much longer and expensive trip than we had expected. The mountain road offered less and less traffic as we journeyed onward, slowly realizing, although not wanting to voice our concerns to one another. After about 30 minutes of pristine empty mountain roads, we found our way blocked by a gate and about two feet of snow as far down the road as we could see. Evidently California wasn't as proficient at plowing these roads as we had hoped. Luckily we were able to backtrack and find a couple local enthusiasts on a morning drive of their own in a 911 and miata that pointed us towards a way out.
Several hours later we stopped for a quick lunch in Vegas and continued on to Grand Junction, CO. We very quickly realized one of the things we failed to check when looking at the car; the operation of the heater. In our excitement in seeing an e30 with working A/C, we simply overlooked twisting the dial back to check for heat under the warm Californian sun. Not to be deterred, we pressed on after stopping and buying what I thought at the time was an excessive amount of hand warmers. Having done a trip like this the year previously with wonderful weather and only flecks of snow ever coming down I was foolheartedly expecting the same results. We quickly realized this wasn't going to be the case. Waking up in Grand Junction early the next morning, we began what we hoped was a long drive to somewhere in Nebraska to stop for the night. We made it two and a half hours to Glenwood Springs, CO where we were forced off a closed I-70. Our way through the mountains was blocked and the poor e30 that had likely never seen snow was introduced to it hours into my ownership. This may be the time where some of you are saying "why not just have it shipped back from Cali right to your doorstep?" To you I say, "Where's the adventure in that?" Despite that being the obviously safer route, I like to think I'm more adventurous, rather than saying I'm a complete idiot, but more on that later..
Two days passed in Glenwood Springs. Two days of unyielding snow. We made the best we could of the time, continually clearing the constant buildup of snow from the car, trudging through town to see the local sights, and taking a dip in the hot springs. These distractions came to an end when our incessant checks of the live stream I-70 traffic and weather reports said the pass had been reopened. What should have been a two and a half hour drive to Denver was nearly six hours of a mix of boredom, white knuckle driving, and extreme anxiety. After FINALLY making it over the mountains and seeing Denver in the distance out spirits began to lift as we started our descent to the city below. My first plan of action was to get all this snow and slush off my car before gassing up and handing over the keys to my copilot. I was in desperate need to get out of the driver's seat for at least a little while after the stress of the morning drive. This was just the beginning of the day though and much more was in store.. After cleaning the filth as best I could at the self wash and snapping a couple pictures I settled into the passenger seat. Unbeknownst to either of us this was going to be the shortest drive of the trip. We made it about ten feet out of the car wash and the timing belt went. Yes, our bad luck followed us over the mountain. I had discussed this with the PO, but after seeing the maintenance that had been done on the car and his insistent trust in his mechanic, I was less concerned than I should have been. It was my mistake not pulling the car apart before even starting on the trip to be sure of it, but we were already behind schedule so I decided to trust in the PO. If they did the cap, rotor, plugs, fuel filter, etc. they would've done the timing belt and water pump if it was questionable, right? Not right. So after hearing the wonderful lack of compression that's accompanied by the snapping of a timing belt and a quick look through the oil cap hole to see the cam wasn't moving, having a small breakdown and silently screaming at myself, I began to gather my wits. Luckily AJ's aunt lived 20 minutes away from where the car had given out so I had it towed there to await a proper shipping truck to have it brought home to Michigan. Feeling completely defeated, I booked us both flights home to Chicago and Detroit and settled on a company to ship the car the remainder of the journey.
This picture was taken minutes, if not seconds before tragedy stuck.
Several hours later we stopped for a quick lunch in Vegas and continued on to Grand Junction, CO. We very quickly realized one of the things we failed to check when looking at the car; the operation of the heater. In our excitement in seeing an e30 with working A/C, we simply overlooked twisting the dial back to check for heat under the warm Californian sun. Not to be deterred, we pressed on after stopping and buying what I thought at the time was an excessive amount of hand warmers. Having done a trip like this the year previously with wonderful weather and only flecks of snow ever coming down I was foolheartedly expecting the same results. We quickly realized this wasn't going to be the case. Waking up in Grand Junction early the next morning, we began what we hoped was a long drive to somewhere in Nebraska to stop for the night. We made it two and a half hours to Glenwood Springs, CO where we were forced off a closed I-70. Our way through the mountains was blocked and the poor e30 that had likely never seen snow was introduced to it hours into my ownership. This may be the time where some of you are saying "why not just have it shipped back from Cali right to your doorstep?" To you I say, "Where's the adventure in that?" Despite that being the obviously safer route, I like to think I'm more adventurous, rather than saying I'm a complete idiot, but more on that later..
Two days passed in Glenwood Springs. Two days of unyielding snow. We made the best we could of the time, continually clearing the constant buildup of snow from the car, trudging through town to see the local sights, and taking a dip in the hot springs. These distractions came to an end when our incessant checks of the live stream I-70 traffic and weather reports said the pass had been reopened. What should have been a two and a half hour drive to Denver was nearly six hours of a mix of boredom, white knuckle driving, and extreme anxiety. After FINALLY making it over the mountains and seeing Denver in the distance out spirits began to lift as we started our descent to the city below. My first plan of action was to get all this snow and slush off my car before gassing up and handing over the keys to my copilot. I was in desperate need to get out of the driver's seat for at least a little while after the stress of the morning drive. This was just the beginning of the day though and much more was in store.. After cleaning the filth as best I could at the self wash and snapping a couple pictures I settled into the passenger seat. Unbeknownst to either of us this was going to be the shortest drive of the trip. We made it about ten feet out of the car wash and the timing belt went. Yes, our bad luck followed us over the mountain. I had discussed this with the PO, but after seeing the maintenance that had been done on the car and his insistent trust in his mechanic, I was less concerned than I should have been. It was my mistake not pulling the car apart before even starting on the trip to be sure of it, but we were already behind schedule so I decided to trust in the PO. If they did the cap, rotor, plugs, fuel filter, etc. they would've done the timing belt and water pump if it was questionable, right? Not right. So after hearing the wonderful lack of compression that's accompanied by the snapping of a timing belt and a quick look through the oil cap hole to see the cam wasn't moving, having a small breakdown and silently screaming at myself, I began to gather my wits. Luckily AJ's aunt lived 20 minutes away from where the car had given out so I had it towed there to await a proper shipping truck to have it brought home to Michigan. Feeling completely defeated, I booked us both flights home to Chicago and Detroit and settled on a company to ship the car the remainder of the journey.
This picture was taken minutes, if not seconds before tragedy stuck.
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