Car Porn

My grandfather inherited a ‘73 850 from his brother-in-law. I couldn’t drive it because I was too tall - distance from wheel to clutch was shorter than my knee to ankle.



Just as well, the thing was a maintenance nightmare.

 

Sorry I don't have a picture to post of it but I owned 1991 Mazda Miata for several years
(sold in 2011) And owning it I attended all kinds of different shows to go to around central Florida.
One of the shows in Lakeland I saw an older man probably in his early 70's standing by a 1993 miata.
Looked bone stock on the outside red w/ black top / interior. I noticed it had rather large wheels in the back
but they fit under the wheel wells. Then I see twin 2 1/2" exhaust pipes exiting the middle of the bumper.
He had just got to the show and was getting setup. So I hung around for a few minutes and he popped the hood
open and low and behold that thing had a corvette engine and 6 speed manual transmission. W/ a/c.

How in the world he got that in the car was a miracle. Stock hood and all. And he said he and a friend did all the work.
Beautiful car in and out. And the song when he fired it up was sweet for sure. Fun day I will never forget.

 

My Uncle rolled a red 4 dr into the ditch. (and it came back for more) Those were the days!

 

They were tough little cars...as long as you kept them away from salt.

 

Mine was the same as this but burnt orange. 1600 cc ohc 4 cyl 4 speed. It had some pretty big balls for a little car.

 

Way back in 1977, when gas got up to 56 cents per gallon, I decided I couldn’t afford to drive my Pontiac LeMans Sports Coupe anymore. I sold it and bought a car identical to this one...a 1.6 liter DOHC, 5 speed and it handled like it was on rails. Wanted the two door, but they didn’t have one. Fun car to drive, but a maintenance nightmare. Car started to rust within months of buying it, and it was brand new. Fiat supposedly bought their steel from Russia and it was low carbon steel. But the engine and transmission were jewels. I always thought that the drivetrain would be great in something like the Lotus 7 (Locost) replicas.

 

Speaking of Pontiac LeMans Sports Coupe, here’s one that’s similar to the one I owned. While this example is a ‘77 model, they were almost identical. Mine didn’t have the gaudy stripe or vinyl roof. It was the first car I ever ordered. In retrospect, I probably should have bought the Firebird, but I thought I need a bit more room. At least I didn’t order the Sunbird, .

 

The Can Am wasn't too bad looking.

 

Hmmm...mid-'70s GM stuff...

 

Datsun 510 was a classic like the BMW 2002.

 

I think they met on the track a few times...lol

 

Most definitely Fierce Rivalry going on there. These 2 cars dominated SCCA racing in the early 70's
The 2002 was slightly narrower and more aerodynamic in the body than the 510 and the 510 had
perfect 50/50 weight bias front to rear.