My new roadster... new to me

[acuboy]

Yup, that's the one! I'm really happy with it and I can't say enough good things about Mike.

[Roman]

looks like a pretty nice car. Now that it is yours, what are your plans? Also, pictures are a must.

[acuboy]

So, thanks for the question. Here's my vision for the car and maybe it'll lead to advice from all of you with actual experience with these vehicles. I've been looking for a car that will be a driver. I live in Oakland, but work in San Francisco, about 17 miles away. I have my jeep that I use for my daily commuting, but I'd love to use the roadster for that on nice days. I work off hours, usually 11am - 7:30pm, so I don't have to deal with commute traffic. But, you never know in the Bay Area when traffic will strike, so temperature management is important to me. I want something that looks good, but not "restored." I'll be parking on the street sometimes in SF and I don't want to spend my time worrying about the car. So far I'm really happy with how the car performs, but I am interested in maybe converting to electronic ignition. I've had some old bikes with points and I always found a performance and reliability upgrade with electronic ignition. I might be interested in upgrading the brakes in the future because I drive in city traffic. I'd like a decent soft top, because I'll have to park it sometimes in SF. I'm looking at some cheap stereo upgrades. Finally, I like its semi-rough black paint job. I'll probably touch it up a bit, but I think with some addition of badges, letters, and trim it'll look incredible and tough. Oh yeah... and seat belts. I'm excited that my vision for this car will evolve with me. Maybe I'll go for more of a restoration at some point or go the performance route. Right now I just want to enjoy. Pics will come!!

[68DSU]

I did that commute for a couple of years in my roadster. There are a couple of threads that speak about hiding a radio. If you are parking in SF, that might be something to consider. I think the Wiki section has information about electronic ignitions and brake upgrades. The belts are a must if you are commuting through the maze and on the bridge. I might also suggest putting a few tools and some spare parts in the trunk as parts stores in the city are not easy to find.

[acuboy]

You read my mind. The bay bridge definitely demands good breaks. Stereo-wise, I figured I'd pick up a $75 deck with a removable face and try to find a stealthy spot to hide a couple speakers. I don't need a sub or anything. Just need to be able to hear AC/DC at the proper volume.

I'm going to meet up with Mike Young in a couple days and talk about all the best ways to upgrade my ride. I'd rather get the work done now when the car is new to me than at some future date. But, I had a blast driving in the Oakland hills today!

[dbrick]

You could get a cheap IPOD amp, some have FM and a remote too. Hide it under the seat or dash, 2 little box speakers behind the seat

[dridge11]

You could get a cheap IPOD amp, some have FM and a remote too. Hide it under the seat or dash, 2 little box speakers behind the seat

I was going to suggest that. I have a small amp and some speakers hidden behind the carpet in the rear/trunk. Just have a switch in the glovebox to give it power, then an RCA to AUX cable to plug in my Ipod and I'm good to go. Then the "stereo" comes with me and it looks like I just have the stock radio.

Also, for the side trim, if you don't want to spend a few hundred bucks on the real thing, I found some "cut your own" that's adhesive backed and it looks fantastic for about $40. Think I got it from JEGS, I could double check if you're interested.