New (well, 95% sure) owner, Vancouver, WA

[havok1919]

Hey all,

I'm flying out Monday to do an on-site inspection on a 2006 Atom 2 that I have an email/phone 'handshake' in place to buy. Assuming there's nothing too spooky about it she'll be on a truck next week headed this way and probably up here by the first week in October.

Pretty much base car-- 245HP Ecotec, roll bar, parking brake, individual seats, foot rests and that's about it for options. Trying not to get *too* excited until things check out OK and I have title in hand... But I'm still getting kinda excited now.

I'm a EE/CS engineer type, so this will be something of an R&D platform for some Ariel-specific electronics I want to take a stab at developing. (Yes, I like my markets very small, and very niche.

Anyone in WA have any tips/caveats/concerns about registering it on standard plates/tabs here? I'm inclined to just get emissions done and go to one of the 3rd-party registration places with my bill of sale, buyer/seller price declaration, and 17 digit VIN and just hope it registers up OK. Any words of advice or do's and don'ts would be great to hear!

Thanks!

[Terry Kennedy]

I'm flying out Monday to do an on-site inspection on a 2006 Atom 2 that I have an email/phone 'handshake' in place to buy. Assuming there's nothing too spooky about it she'll be on a truck next week headed this way and probably up here by the first week in October.

Check out the Brammo retrofits and upgrades threads here at AAC. None of them are real show-stoppers. It it has the original exhaust, you'll want to beef up the flex joints. If it has the old "dryer hose" air intake, you'll probably want to swap it out for the molded one. That isn't as important on a 245, compared to a "300", but the left rear shock / spring can wear a hole in it, which will confuse the engine with an incorrect MAF reading. You can either fab something up yourself, or buy a "take-off" molded intake from someone who switched - I think Norm here is selling one at a good price - check the classifieds. The mold was lost or damaged, so there aren't any new ones.

Inspect the rod ends carefully - there are 6 heavy-duty ones (1 each at the top of all 4 uprights, 1 each at the bottom back of both rear uprights) and 12 lighter-duty ones (2 each on 4 suspension pushrods and 2 each on the 2 steering rods). Some cars were built with an incorrect part which can suffer a catastrophic failure.

The incorrect parts will be labeled SPM-x or SPB-x, and have a yellow finish with a very dimpled surface and a pronounced "waistline". The correct stock parts are labeled AM-x or AB-x, and have a satin silver finish. The "race grade" parts are labeled PRM-x or PRB-x and have a yellow finish, but a very smooth satin finish, not the rough finish on the wrong ones.

Anyone in WA have any tips/caveats/concerns about registering it on standard plates/tabs here? I'm inclined to just get emissions done and go to one of the 3rd-party registration places with my bill of sale, buyer/seller price declaration, and 17 digit VIN and just hope it registers up OK. Any words of advice or do's and don'ts would be great to hear!

There are a number of WA owners, so I'll let them reply with first-hand info.

[bolus]

which one is it? (last 3 digits of VIN)

[Norm]

There are a number of WA owners, so I'll let them reply with first-hand info.

I will send a PM

[havok1919]

which one is it? (last 3 digits of VIN)

It's 111. This is the one that was for sale at the end of '09 with 100 miles and was up again in Phoenix this year at 1300. Appears to have spent it's entire life as a marketing prop for one business or another. The whole story is best summed up as just "damn, that's weird"-- hence why I'm spending the $$$ to fly down and check it out in person.

(I'm FrankRizzo's friend-- he probably had you guys look over some pics and try to figure out what in the hell it has on it. It had the mismatched front/rear tires, Sparco seats, stock muffler, etc. The present owner has no real idea and says *he* has never driven it...)

Thanks for the tips on inspection points to check. I'm going in pretty well prepared and I already warned Mr. Rizzo that if there's 4G cell coverage there he should expect inspection photos on the fly from me.

Thanks!

[bolus]

Ah ok. I dont have much info on the 111. Mines for sale if it goes south

[havok1919]

Ah ok. I dont have much info on the 111. Mines for sale if it goes south

Heheh... I sent Chris a link to one listed for sale on arielatom.com and he said "that's bolus' car!" NICE job on that.

My wife was due for a new car before me, so my sole defense at this point is that "it costs less than anything you would have wanted". If I didn't still need to keep my daily driver around for our northwest weather I'd sell it and make you an offer.

-Clay

[McFred]

Congrats on your near-purchase. I think they're fun. And more on the road is better.

[silver]

being that the car hasn't been really driven, the thing is....most likely none of the updates have been taken care of so throttle will be touchy it probably has the fuel tank gaskets melted in the tank fan is probably wired backwards more more more anyways, that's how probably 90 % of atoms condition will be..... sure you can buy it get out and have fun without any worries, after a while if you are a tinkerer...you'll want to start doing all these updates to make sure it runs properly and to it's capability

[havok1919]

being that the car hasn't been really driven, the thing is....most likely none of the updates have been taken care of so throttle will be touchy it probably has the fuel tank gaskets melted in the tank fan is probably wired backwards more more more anyways, that's how probably 90 % of atoms condition will be..... sure you can buy it get out and have fun without any worries, after a while if you are a tinkerer...you'll want to start doing all these updates to make sure it runs properly and to it's capability

Yeah, I'll be amazed if anyone's done anything to it unless it was required to keep it running.

It'll be interesting to see if the fuel gaskets are shot or not (might have sat dry for a number of years?). Mark @ TMI said to expect the rod ends and wheel spacers to be original and need replacing too. The stock muffler as well at some point.

It makes for a daunting 'to do' list at first, but after letting it sink in for a day or two it's not so scary now. First things first-- inspect, pay, transport, insure, emissions, register... THEN monkey with it.

Thanks for the pointers!