With so much much talk here of my 1st (and financially unattainable) love, cars, I got to thinking about all the cars I've owned over the years, which one was best overall ('87 Grand Marquis), the best presentation ('76 Lincoln Mark IV - moonroof bigger than many cars :D ), etc, but the most important catagory, fun to drive, kept creeping back.

Muscle cars are great, nothing like putting your foot down on a bb chevy rat!, but overall for me it came down to the number of little two door imports I've picked up for my SO at one time or another.

They are: '80 Fiat X/1-9, '76 Triumph TR7, ? Toyota MR2, and a '79 Mazda RX7.

All were fun. The Fiat was probably the closest to a "true" sports car, stuck like glue, I could turn peoples' hair white cornering in that little zoom box. The Toyota had great torque, I liked watching the tach & speedo move together in 2nd gear. The Mazda had more power than that teeny little barrel of a weird (and very reliable) engine had a right to.

But the Triumph takes the cake. A straight 4 cy. twin side draught carb, 4 speed, front engine, rear drive two seater that could put a smile on any curmudgeons' face, 4 wheel drift, hang the back end out, comfortable for a 6 fter absolute fun fun fun. I still remember blasting down countryish backstreets at 100+ with Debbie going slow down!! what are you crazy - and I was :yes: !!

Too bad driving & walking went together with that unreliable, WOW is this great car.

What's your "most fun" choice?

Pete

Mine was white, too (but with some rust :) ):

Not a car, but its by far the most fun vehicle I have ever owned. My 2002 Dodge RAM 1500 :D

-Dave

1993 Mazda Miata for just plain fun to drive. Although my 1972 Hemi Satellite was ground pounding fun and then my 1955 Belair is fun even going slow.

http://www.bluebonnetmiata.org/gallery/members/lward/lward.jpg

1974 Ford Bronco "Sport". The first love of my life; my wife realizes she'll never quite replace it for my affections :-)
Some day I am gonna get me another 'original' Bronco...

Runner-up: My wife's (then wife-to-be) 1977 Ford Fiesta. Very fun to drive, but not much going for it beyond that... it broke many times in interesting ways. I called it the "Fiasco"; she didn't disagree.

Going on grin factor alone:

'65 Corvair Corsa- my 1st car and I still wouldn't mind having another one. On those rare convergences of the heavens when four carburetors acted in unison, it would run like a raped ape. There was a twisty little street course when I was in college (was actually the streets for a housing development that never got built) that several of us would do timed runs on. 2 older Porsches (mebbe an S90 and a 356? That body style anyway), a 914-4, and a Datsun 2000 roadster. The Corvair's 140 HP, dual exhausts, and a set of 14" wide ovals always put it in first place.

'64 Volvo PV544- bought as a basket case. I rebuilt the B18 motor, breathing a little IPD magic into it, stiffened up the suspension- man, what an outrageously fun little car, and absolutely bullet-proof. That is, until my oldest son, who was 14 at the time, skipped school with his buddies one day and ran it into a telephone pole.

Sounds mundane, but I'll have to say the '86 Honda CRX Si I had was a hoot to own. Also have alot of fun in my '95 Chevy S10 LS too. (Both have sticks and decent torque curves.)

My 1969 Lincoln 4-door sedan. Big honkin' car, could load up w/friends, female & otherwise, go barreling into the night, perfect excuse to have a PARTY !! Kinda kewl w/those back-assward rear doors, uncommon-didn't see yrself everywhere in it. Only had $1K in it, if we tore it up, not so much gone-right? Ahh, the days of mis-spent youth!! -Sandy G.

Best bang/buck plus smile factor were my two Alfa Romeo Alfetta sedans, one 5-speed, and one (rare) automatic. Both cost $1000, drove each for about 75K and sold for the same price I paid.

Close second were my Eurospec (grey market) '77 BMW 320i and U.S. spec '73 2002 with 40DCOE twin Weber carbs -- God's own nightmare to tune.

Jeez, the Ford Fiesta and Audi 5000 Turbo, and former NC Highway Patrol cruiser (Caprice) were all hoots, too. I buy used cars for me for entertainment/education factor, not transportation.

First ride, a '68 Firebird. Removed the 6 cyl. while in the 9th grade and installed a 350 2 bbl I rebuilt in my folks garage. Couldn't keep a set of tires on the back. Still had the factory Hurst shifter the day I let it go at 265,000. Traded it for a '87 Honda CRX. Kept that for 14 years. Pure fun everytime I drove it. Took it from Hotlanta to New Bedford, MA on our honeymoon for $19.00 each way, 50+ mpg right up to the day I sold it. Had 235,000 and was still going strong.

Most fun...hmmmm. Would prolly be a first year '64 Super Sport Chevelle I had. Two door, hard top, bucket seats, small block. I really liked that car. Sure wish I still had it too...

It's a toss up between my 01 Lightning and my 94 Thunderbird. The Lightning doesn't handle quite as well but much much better than anyone who hasn't driven one cares to believe. Stomping on the gas though...even with an auto, it has a torque curve that a freight train would evny! Flat as a board from 1500 RPM all the way up to redline.

The Thunderbird was only a V6 so it didn't go as well but after putting on the 17 inch wheels and tires, Tokico shocks and struts and the Addco sway bars and bushings, I was dogging BMW M3's and such on the off-ramps. It was a 2 ton car but it certainly didn't behave like one. Unless I had teh crappy stock tires on it. Then it was a pig on rollerskates. It should have had at the very minimum touring or GT all-season on it from the factory.

68 Datsun 510 with a long stroked 2L with headers, basically free flow exaust and a pair of SUs off a 2000 Roadster. Top N wasn't great but a cool humid morning and those sidedrafts really made it scoot. Back roads driving using very little brakes. It was a screamer for sure.
I used to get my dad's 2002 airborn quite often on the back roads in Mass. I would kill myself and whoever else was on the road if I tried what I did all the time 30 years ago.
I owned 240Z #11915 for 250K. I think it is still on the road today. It was fast but the 510 could take it in the corners.

Originally posted by WildWest
Most fun...hmmmm. Would prolly be a first year '64 Super Sport Chevelle I had. Two door, hard top, bucket seats, small block. I really liked that car. Sure wish I still had it too...

hey, was it goldwood yellow? I have a 64 that is from arizona. Its yellow with black interior. It was a 327 car W/powerglide. No power accesories or comforts at all.

I was restoring the car, but have lost intrest in it.

Anyway, My first and most fun vehicle was a 1969 Chevy CST/10 pickup. It was one rusty Mofo, you had to have your tetnous shot up to date. I took out the 307 chevy in it and swap in a 396 from a chevelle. rebuilt the original powerglide inthe truck and swapped in a posi 3.73 truck 12 bolt. That hunk of flying, rusted metal would move now. I gave mustangs a run for there money. And it was a total sleeper.

My very first car was a 1961 MGA 1600 MKII, that I bought around '68 or so.

I currently have a 1962 (last year the MKII was made) that I've had for almost 10 years. It's a great driver, super oil pressure, good synchros, and I really like putzing around town in it.

But the most fun car, and the most enjoyable that I've ever owned, is my 2000 Jaguar S-Type. Not only does it pull like a tank, (it's been a long, long time since I've seen a speedometer wind up like this one does...281 bhp @ 7,000 rpm), but I just took a two week trip from Chicago to Palm Springs, CA, Fresno, and Lewiston, ID, and it was a great cruise. Most I've had it up to was 120, and it was still pulling strong. It's electronically limited to 155. I realized what I was in for when I first read the owner's manual and it warned: "Do not exceed 130 MPH with snow tires on the vehicle!"

Super comfortable, and faster than you'll ever want to go!

Clay

Hey Thatch, a real good friend of mine has owned 3 or 4 510's. Still has his '72 4dr. Lime green, 5spd, 2000cc. Cool little car.

Hey Wornears...

I almost bought a 60-ish Gulietta (sp?) Spider, and I owned a 320i for a few months. That was right after the Porsche 911S with the...God, you don't want to hear all the details...Sport-O-Matic.

The positively worst POS transmission ever designed by man. Three-on-the-floor, with a microswitch activated ring around the base of the shift lever, and an electronic clutch.

The idea was that you would lightly pull the shift lever in the direction of your next gear change, the microswitch would make contact, the electronic clutch would disengage, you then shifted, and when you let go of the shift lever the microswitch would re-make contact, and the clutch would re-engage.

It worked as well as the description sounds, which means not at all. I had it for several months, and it was working correctly for several days. The rest of the time it was in the shop. The last time it was in the shop the shop was broken into, my car was vandalized (Becker radio stolen, among other things), and I figured this was the message to me to dump it. Otoh, when it was running, it was a total screamer!! The shift from first to second really had your heart in your throat!

It's worse than trying to remember all the girlfriend stories!!

Clay

Each had their fun points.

A '79 Camaro. Midnight blue, T-tops, tinted windows, racing cam, etc.

A '74 VW Beetle. Orange, hand crank moonroof, tons of rust.

Originally posted by MCS Guy
hey, was it goldwood yellow?

Naaa, it was a two tone. Light surf blue with a white top.

The idea was that you would lightly pull the shift lever in the direction of your next gear change, the microswitch would make contact, the electronic clutch would disengage, you then shifted, and when you let go of the shift lever the microswitch would re-make contact, and the clutch would re-engage.

The shifter contacts actuated a servo that operated the release arm of a very regular clutch assy. that was in it's own housing between the actual transmission and torque converter. Very few
mechanics even in specialty shops did not realize the rod from the servo is and meant to be adjusted. The clutch would lose
it's freeplay causing binding and grinding on shifting. Many would throw parts at them rather than adjust them(a real PIA), never getting it right.
Properly maintained they were great! :)

Carl

Ah, what the heck. My most among them all fun car was my
'62 356B. I put the 1750cc piston and cylinder kit, full race
cam, aftermarket Solex P40-11's, and 009 Bosch distributor in it.
That 4 banger honked. Used to go out and run with the 911's
on the freeway. They could only top end me. :D The useage of
controlled understeer when hanging turns fast was a real kick
too.

Carl

Where the hell were you when I needed you????

^
|
|
Lol!!

Toss up between my first car, a 68 Mustang Fastback (came with an automatic, I ripped it out and stuck in a 4-speed). I knew nothing about cars then (was 16), but I learned a lot...

A few years later, a 64 Ford Falcon, with a 289, 351W heads, 12.5:1 pistons, stupidly lopey cam, and a 750 double-pumper on a tunnel ram sitting at about eye level out of the hood. High 12's in the quarter.

I miss both of those cars...

Originally posted by bolly
Hey Thatch, a real good friend of mine has owned 3 or 4 510's. Still has his '72 4dr. Lime green, 5spd, 2000cc. Cool little car.

Ask him if he wants a long stroke build, rebuilt and the carbs. I sure as hell don't know how to get them to Canada, but the motor was tore down, new rings etc and sits in a friends garage. I'll do what it takes to get this beauty in a car. It is a L20B with a crank from a L16, special head, hardened valves for no lead and I have the carbs.
I tell ya it was the quickest 4 cyl I ever had including my 240(6cyl) and it was the best balanced engine including the original in the 240. Built by a guy who was a mech on a Z car team and worked at Nissan during the week.
Probably one of the best 4 cyl L series engines ever built.

I would need to pay the guy that has stored it, get it on a pallet etc. Should be able to do customs and get it there for $600 or so. Just a guess. Your customs people smoke crack.

My favorite car that i owned was a 1964 Chrysler 300 2dr. It had a 383 with a 4 barrel and a push button Torqueflite tranny. It wasnt too bad on take off concidering as heavy it was but top end was great. It saw 140 mph more than a few times. Wasnt the nicest looking car style wise but was near mint condition with lots of chrome. Those were the good old days when you could get 330 hp stock and cheap. I wouldnt mind having another one.
Tony

Originally posted by Fisherdude
Where the hell were you when I needed you????

I've been here. ;)

Carl

I have to give it up to my '86 CRX. the shift between 2nd and 3rd was a hoot. I used to cruise through Atlanta at 3 am every month or so and there was absolutly no traffic and few cops. Full bore on the freeway up and over the over/underpasses. Nothing like it since. :cool:

I just loved my three Honda hatchbacks, '74 Civic, '79 Accord, '90 Integra (just the ultimate Accord, said "Honda" on the engine) - also the Saab 900 I had for too short a time.

But my favorite, and I'd love to have another:

1974 AMC Matador (the one with the big, round headlignts)

No other car I ever owned felt like such an extension of my body. On the road, it was true symbiosis.

Laz

I have had several cars through the years that I thoroughly enjoyed. My first car was a 1972 Toyota Celica that I bought totaled. My father and my uncle and I rebuilt it and it was a blast to drive. Then my next car was a 1974 Triumph TR-6, not a fast car but it gave me the top down experience. After having the TR-6 and wishing for a little better performance I upgraded to a 1974 Alfa Romeo Spyder. I loved that car, only had it for two years before selling it to buy my first house, wish I still had it.
But I would have to say that my present car is also my favorite, I bought a double black Ford Mustang GT 5 speed premium package brand new in 2002. It's my daily driver and I just love it, hopefully I'll keep this one forever.

Kim

My brand new 1966 Ford Mustang GT fastback.

It was springtime yellow with black interior. 4 speed manual, 225HP 289, front disk brakes (with no power assist, damn you needed to plant your foot into it!), tight ratio steering gear. Stiff rally sepension.

Great handling car, with decent but not overwhelming power, could break rubber in the first three gears!

Lost my virginity in that pony car!

Too bad I sold it in 1970 for $1,500 to buy a van :(

Lefty

The first was a used and abused '62 Sunbeam Alpine, which I had when I was in the Air Force in the panhandle of Flordia in '69 - 70. It burned about a quart of oil every other day, had a piece of wood for a front bumper and more duct tape on the top than leather.

...and once, just once, smoke started pouring outta the ignition switch. Never could figure out where it came from. Gotta love those Lucas electronics. There's a reason they called him the prince of darkness.

My bigest gripe was the top. Not it's condition but it's original design. Like most British roadsters of it's day, it had to be assembled from several pieces and then the leather covering was stretched over it.

And, that part of Floridia being what it is, whenever it started raining and I went to put the top up, most times it had stopped raining by the time I got it up.

But hey, I was only an A1C and paid $250 for it and aside from the above caveats, it ran pretty durn good and I could fit into it.

It sure beat walking and if you didn't have a car, any car, you weren't gonna be taken seriously by any women. And, by being in the air force, you already had a few strikes aginst you.


A few yeaars later when Iwas a fairly new civilian (72 or 73?) I got hold of a '66 Dodge Coronet 500 for $450 from a local junk yard. Every corner was dinged, the drivers' bucket seat was ripped.

The only maintenance it ever needed was once I replaced a fanbelt. Being young, foolish and broke in those days, I changed oil by attrition.

Other than that it ran perfectly for over two years until a lady friend tried to straddle a jersey divider on route 9 with it and eviscerated the front end.


Ahh, the days gone by...

The funniest one back in my younger days was a International Harvester Ambulance from 1964:p:
Think the model was Travelall ?
Bought it from a guy that converted the inside to a "gentleman club"
Red velvet in the ceiling, huge bed with tiger stripes, dingling red lights with furr-balls hanging.
Was a huge success for hunting females;)
Outside red candy-apple.
Straight six with 3 speed on the floor... and NO POWER-STEERING.
Park that thing was nothing for weak arms..
Drove it for 2 years until the mastercylinder went out and no brakes:eek:
Went over a big ditch and climbed a big tree.:(
Whole front was gone and off it went to the junk-yard....
But some good memories is still here:naughty: :boink:

I also had an '82 Chevy Suburban that was pretty much a rolling den of iniquity. They'd all get back in the 3rd seat where I couldn't swat 'em or join 'em. I think there may de a couple 20somethings roaming around that owe their existence to that vehicle.Once, I had 20 people in it- That was a party!-Sandy G.

Originally posted by Sandy G
Once, I had 20 people in it- That was a party!-Sandy G.

But hopefully no black powder was involved! :eek: ;)

-Dave

While I've owned literally over a hundred cars (couldn't possibly begin to count them all) I think the most fun one probably was my '59 Rambler American 01 series 2 door. Fire engine red with a white top it was the best chick pick up car I've ever owned.

Have had all manner of hot rods, exotics, uber luxury cars etc but none of them had the "oh, it's so cute!" factor which made females beg for a ride.

It takes a real man to drive a girl's car LOL!

Anthony

I've collected cars for 20 years and have had a lot of interesting and fun cars, but the one car that always turned heads was my 1970 Morgan Plus 8 - right hand drive. I could drag my knuckles on the ground, if I ran over a nickel the ride was so rough that I could tell whether it was heads or tails. But for fun, and for conversation, nothing has come close. I sold the Morgan last year and now my fun car is a 1960 Jaguar XK 150S - more practical if a British car can be called practical.
Larry

IIRC, Didn't the Moggie have a wooden front axle or some such? I think they basically dated from like 1910.-- The newest ones have a modern suspension arrangement, but are kinda cross-eyed looking.- Sandy G.

1992 Nissan Skyline GT-R that I still own. Street version of Nissan's legendary Group A race car from the early 90's. I have had the pleasure of driving quite a few modern performance cars and I still haven't found anything I like better. Maybe when I get a chance to drive a 959 Porsche, Nissan R390 or McLaren F1... :)

Wow! I pored over one of those when it was in Motor Trend's review stable (along with driving a Viper, but that's another story), when I worked for Petersen Publishing in LA, CA. That is one serious piece of hardware. Too bad Nissan didn't federalize it.

Originally posted by Wornears
Too bad Nissan didn't federalize it.
It's a bad thing and also a good thing. The good thing is that not every punk has one with cosmetic "upgrades" like oversized wings and neon lights. The bad thing of course is the price to get it federalized.

I'd have to say my most fun car was my 72 Duster... oh yeah that's right... i still own it!

I bought it when I was in high school, and somehow it has survived all kinds of torture! Being that it came with the 318, i completely burned away the old skinny tires it had on it during my first week of owning it! Then i put some 70's on it, and they lasted 3 months! After that, I finally learned that tires were too expensive to be spinning all of the time!

That old car has taken me all over Texas (which is a lot of ground to cover), and still does today. It's hauled anything from rebuilt CRT's to 1800 pounds of dry dog food! I've run it through ditches and a mans front yard (with the home owner sitting right there watching me), and through little trails in the woods while rabbit hunting! It's pulled a friend's Chevy truck home when it wouldn't start (sorry Mr. Goodwrench), and my Mom's big Ford Econoline out of the mud. It took me to high school Proms, homecoming dances, and even my honeymoon when i got married. I went to see Boston in 1987 in it, and that entire trip my friends and I nearly wore out our Don't Look Back tape in the cassette deck. Raced a couple of 350 Camaros... and won. :D Went camping in the mountains with it, and cruised the beaches along the coast. Oh yeah, there were a few other things that i've done in it, but it really isn't appropriate to go into detail about those particular nights! ;)

I paid 400 bucks for this old car in 1986, and it was money well spent! Now with over 220,000 miles, it still serves me well!

Hey! I had a 72 Duster when I was in high school too! I got laughed at on a regular basis for it. It had a 340 and a 4 speed none of it was stock though, I don't think. I got it from another guy I knew who wanted to ditch it in favor of a more modern car. So he bought a 94 Mustang and a 66 Belvedere and gave me the Duster for $1400. My Ranger got less laughs but then someone saw me racing the Duster at the track and clicking off high 12's in it. The laughing stopped, everyone kinda feared it. If only they got to see my 83 Mustang GT rip off an 11.68 it's first time down the 1320! Man I wish I still had the time and money to go hot rodding cars!

The Duster was gold with a white vinyl top and interior. The interior was immaculate except for the carpet which was gold at one point I think. Had a set of Chromed Cragar SS's on it and BFG Comp T/A's. It looked good but everyone thought it was lame because it was old.

My Ranger has towed quite a few GM's out of ditches, back home for repairs and even towed a non-running 77 Chevy that a friend had bought and couldn't get running to pull it off the lot. I made sure I razzed everyone about the fact that a lowlt Ford was TOWING a high and mighty Chevy!

Sorry for the edit. I finished teh first paragraph and must have tagged the tab key and it posted the incomplete message on me.

Man I drove a friends 340 Demon one time, and it scared me to death! That car would runnnnnn! :zoom:

340's packed a lot of power for being in a light car! Yeah, the laughs will stop when you stomp the gas in it!
:jawdrop: :jawdrop: :jawdrop:

1996 Nissan 200SX SE-R. I took a sawz-all to the shifter and cut off 5 inches of the shaft. That was my version of a short-shifter, and it worked perfectly. After that, I threw on some 17" Fittipaldi Polaris rims with Yokahama 215/40 meats.

Now for the good part. This car had the sr20de motor which is known for its power capabilites and strength. I installed, (yes, me and a friend) a custom hybrid Garrett T25 turbo, modified HKS intake, Greddy 2.25" cat-back stainless exhaust, larger injectors, reprogrammed ECU, bypassed speed governor, and rev-limiter bumped up to 7800 rpm. Oh yeah, and NO intercooler.

For everyday driving, I ran 93 octane and 11 psi of boost which gave me 255HP at the front wheels. (stock 140HP @ crank)

When my friends and I would go to the 1/4 mile track, I would fill the tank with a 50/50 mixture of 112/160 octane aviation fuel and pure methanol, and bump the boost up to 17 psi for a total of 331HP at the front wheels!!

With a whole lot of wheel spin in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gear, I could only do 0-60mph in 5.2 sec and the 1/4 mile in 11.3 sec @ 115mph, and that was with the street tires!! Top speed was 164mph drag limited.

Damn, I miss that car. Here's a picture of me smoking the tires in 3rd at 55mph on wet pavement with street boost! (11 psi) Notice how high the front lifts up and how far the back drops. Normally, the car sits perfectly flat with about 1 inch of wheel gap all around!

http://chops.tzo.com/DSCF0019.jpg

i have a new tahoe 1 year old. fantastic truck best i have owned. bought a 96 geo tracker in dec. with 30000 miles on it. it is an absolute blast to drive with the top down. 30 mpg and you can squeeze just about through anything. the downside it dont have leather heated seats and the ride the tahoe does.

I guess mine was a '69 ford fairlane. that my dad bought me when I turned 15. It had a 302 in it that would flat out hall butt. My father got in it and stomped the gas pedal and all I heard was ooooooooohhhhhhh ssssshhhhhhiiiiiittttttt
when it slammed him against the seat and
roasted the back tires. I blew the doors off quite a few 350 Camaros. back then.

Harry

When I started driving, my dad had a '72 280 SEL 4.5 V-8 Mercedes that I wasn't really allowed to look hard at, let alone drive. I don't know how fast that car WOULD go,prolly close to 150. They got me a Gremlin that was doing good to get out of its own way. It had a gin-u-wine Amplitude Modulation radio that picked up every electric fence in Hawkins County, but no stations. OH well-it was wheels, & beat walking- & driving my mom's '71 Colony Park wagon w/the cheesy fakewood sides. -Sandy G.

Let me preface this with "I was poor, young and stupid" Now I am older, I bought a retired 76 mail jeep from a junk yard for a shade under $300. Bent frame no shocks bald tires but the BEST heater ever placed in a vehicle. 2 wheel drive and a straight 6 232 man it was a runner. I loved driving like a european on the right side had the doors slid open what fun. I got nothing on the suburban but we had 7 drunks in that jeep one night, thats alot. Left it at work one night somebody shot out the windows with a .22 the back window was a loss so I knocked it out and a hole in the windshield and this was in the dead of winter so thank god for the heater. I will own another before I die because it was that fun to have
Brian

'63 Bonneville. The "Chief" as it were. Black with silver blue interior. The dashboard indicator for the high beams was a neon blue silhouette of the indian chief Pontiac. How freakin' cool is THAT? I used to ride around with the high beams on in the daylight. It was a karma thing having chief Pontiac along for the ride, spiritually watching out for the vehicle.

TA

A 1955 Austin Healey 100S-4 (aluminium body) strictly a road racer 4 sp. but only 2nd, 3rd and 4th available (factory locked out 1st :D ) Don't know how fast it went because the speedo was broke;

A 1974 Toyota Corona Mk. II hard top (aircraft-type instrumentation in a ceiling console) fast and comfortable;

A 1988 Mercedes 300 SDL Turbo - could only be stopped by a tank sitting sideways on the road. Could have parked the A-H 100S in the back seat;

A 1997 Mazda MX-6 V6 5 sp. with modifications (see pic below). Great car because Ford had very little influence on Mazda up to that point :rolleyes: ). I almost buried the speedo on one run - about 210 Km/h;

Now? Nothing. :( Looking for a Jeep TJ because I'm in trail country and my hoped-for Mazda RX-8 would be destroyed in a week here :mad: .

Paul

Picture seems to be missing....

Pic

'97 Mazda MX-6? Little Ford influence? Dude, the Mazda MX-6 and 626 are built on the same platform from about 86 through 97. They are mechanically identical to a Ford Probe. Trust me, Ford had a great deal of influence. Infact, the only differences are the interior trim bits and the exterior body panels. You can interchange all those parts with a Ford Probe.

Originally posted by Jstas
'97 Mazda MX-6? Little Ford influence? Dude, the Mazda MX-6 and 626 are built on the same platform from about 86 through 97. They are mechanically identical to a Ford Probe. Trust me, Ford had a great deal of influence. Infact, the only differences are the interior trim bits and the exterior body panels. You can interchange all those parts with a Ford Probe.

Oh, I'm well aware that these units were built in a Ford plant in MI. But what I meant was that these were automobiles designed by Mazda (including the Probe - essentially a sheet-metal clone) using Mazda parts - albeit some parts mfg'd in the US. Sometime later, after the MX-6 and 626 ceased production and Ford blended the Mazda development into their design group you get the Mazda/Ford Tribute with the (less exciting) Ford engines. Having been a Ford Explorer owner (two, actually) I have first hand experience with those Ford engines. An OK engine, but nothing like that Mazda 2.5 V6.

Just my $0.02 worth.

Paul

My 1992 Oldsmobile trofeo. I had it for over 8 years, and Man, what a fun car to drive!! It only had a 3.8 litre v6, but it did NOT seem like one. More than once, I raced, and beat old , '70's model v-8 cars in it. I outran a cop in it once( ok, it was BEFORE the lights came on, and I saw him turning around,to folllow me, so i booked out of there, went up a hill usually meant for around 40 or so, doing over 70, and lost the cop before he could tag me). Good gas mileage too. Over 25 on the highway, at 70-plus. Not to mention,. the twelve computers the car had in it, (including the Visual information center), made it a REAL head-turner, and just a different car.

The suspension in the car, made it fun to drive, too It was no problem going fast around curves, the big 60-series tires almost NEVER squealed, out of protest. Man, that was a fun car.... I wish i still had it now, with my van not running, and needing an engine.

i kept synthetic oil in the engine, so, at 202k, the engine used no oil to speak of, no smoke, and still felt young. However, the car stopped running last year, and when I got the company van, I donated it to a friend who had no car.(after all, I still had my Chrysler Town and country van). He got it running, and now, it has over 209k on it.He drives it WAY harder than I EVER did, such as driving at 120+ mph, right down a state route, near town!@!, going around curves as fast as he can, putting standard oil in the engine, and so on. What a shame. I had hoped he would traet the old girl good, but he Gets High too often, and then, drives as reckless as anyone I have ever seen. I mean, it still drives and handles good, but it is now too old to drive hard like that. I told him this, but some people never learn...

Honorable mention would go to the pair of rivieras I owned, 87, and 86, in that order of fun-to-drive- quotient. Both had the F.I 3.8, and were nearly as fun as the olds.

I had a 78 Thunderbird which I redid the interior on. It had a 400 engine. Once I had the car done to my satisfaction, it went fast. I remember, when I resided in warren, Ohio, I was stuck at a red light. There was a girl in a little riceburner in front of me. She was fixing her makeup. When the light changed, she just sat there, tending to her makeup. What I neglected to tell you all, I put airhorns on the T-Brid. When the light changed, she still sat there, until I tooted the airhorn. This girl teared out like a bat out of hell. Unfortunately, she did it in front of warren's finest. She got pulled over and I had to stop at a bar to laugh my ass off. I wish I still had the car.

78 Lotus Esprit, impractical moneypit but 'fun', absolutely. My wife sitting in the driver's seat is pretty funny - she has never driven a car in her life. The other day we were driving down the highway in my automatic commuter special and she asked me 'what's the big pedal on the left do?' - scary. She talks all the time about driving the Lotus and I told her if she can start it and back it out of the driveway, she can drive it. I think I'm safe :) .

Its cool that a few Mazdas made the list. My most fun car was a 1974 Mazda RX4. That was a blast, they had the big 1300cc engine. But those engines would be more correctly rated by counting two chambers of the rotary engine, instead of only counting one like Mazda tried to get away with. So it was a 2.6 liter if you follow that logic. Quite a mini muscle car, it would lay a nice patch of rubber in first and second, and then even chirp a bit with a hard shift into third. The engine was so smooth that they gave you a buzzer that would go off to let you know that the engine was at redline. I used to buzz that thing quite a bit. They would only go about 50K before needing to be rebuilt. Well, maybe it had to do with my 18 year old driving style, but they were never known for durability. I have not seen one of those in a long time, I guess they are all gone now.

I had one of these (not mine but close), when I lived in Venezuela, South America.

This was called a Chevy Monza, but it was actually a rebadged Opel Ascona made in Brazil. Not exactly the last word in reliability but it was fun to drive. Based on the same "J Car" platform as the domestic Cavalier.

Sold mine in 1996. The car pictured below is a 1986 model year. Mine was from 1985.

Regards,

crooner

Discounting the race cars and all my pontiacs that I do love. The most fun car was my 65 corvair/ Crown V-8. It wound up being more race car that street and ran low 12s The current version would be one of the fieros with a Northstar in it. The wife would kill me...:uzi: :D

Most fun car ?

Hmmm ..that would have to be my MY00 Subaru Impreza STi ver6.

Rally rocket for the road.
Rallying is the only motorsport which has readily seen spinoffs for road cars

Handling is not the ultimate but this thing has so much usable power that it overcomes any handling deficit.

Much faster on the road than any of the European cars I've owned.

Many a Porsche/BMW/Audi driver has gotten a shock at being passed by this ricerocket.

And with ABS/ 4 wheel drive it's unbeatable when road conditions get bad, unless you have a newer STi or Mitsi Evo 8.

Originally posted by crooner
I had one of these (not mine but close), when I lived in Venezuela, South America.

This was called a Chevy Monza, but it was actually a rebadged Opel Ascona made in Brazil. Not exactly the last word in reliability but it was fun to drive. Based on the same "J Car" platform as the domestic Cavalier.

Regards,

crooner

Never saw one of those before but I did have a '85 Cavalier station wagon....puke 2.0 pushrod 4 banger and the Isuzu 5 speed box. Used to literally jump hills in that car....lotsa fun and would haul engines back from the junkyard in it. Was a real handy workhorse. Not much power but at least 35 mpg made up for that!

Anthony

Originally posted by michael w

Rallying is the only motorsport which has readily seen spinoffs for road cars

Maybe that's true in NZ but here in the US, there are quite a few racing series that go both ways. There are many sports car classes and even some stock car classes (non-NASCAR) that have seen whole cars and a great deal of technology spin off along with the rally cars. Alot of racing technology comes out of the LeMans and GT classes of racing in those series. If it wasn't for LeMans we wouldn't have the Viper GTS, GTS-R or ACR. Many of the touring car series from Europe, we see the direct effects on in passenger cars for the street. Cadillac would not be selling the CTS if it wasn't for teh lessons learned racing Opels and Vauxhalls in Europe. I don't think the Corvette would be as potent if it didn't get technology passed down to it from the C4 and C5R race cars. Hell, look at Ferrari, all of the technology in thier cars comes from thier racing program! The only reason Ferrari sells street cars is to support thier racing habit! Don't get me wrong, rallying is very impressive and I am an avid fan but it's not so special to be the ONLY motorsport to have street versions running around.

Even the 1960's vintage Ford GT-40 has street versions. You can usually find a good example for sale in the 180-200K range. Rolling chassis, sans engine and transaxle, will go for about 80-100K. I had a chance to get a rolling street chassis from Holman-Moody themselves. I couldn't swing the 85K for it though.


Billfort, I was this >< close to buying a Lotus Esprit S4 back in 2001. The only reason I didn't buy it? The salesman was being very difficult to work with because he couldn't believe that a 22 year old guy had the cash to lay down on an "exotic car" as he put it. So I took my 27K, walked out the door, went to the Ford dealer and bought my Lightning. I stopped by the same dealer to pick up a part for a Jaguar that a friend had bought and the salesman was standing by the showroom door. He said "Nice truck." as I was getting out, then he realized who I was. Then he tried to sell me an Esprit. Then I laughed at him, then I picked up my Jaguar part and left 2 big rubber marks pulling out of the dealership driveway.

Originally posted by Jstas
Maybe that's true in NZ but here in the US, there are quite a few racing series that go both ways.
It's the same all over. Saloon series are all over with the same results. It's just seems like rallying is producing cars for the road with STi's and EVO's. Mine is a model that was specifically designed for Group A racing (saloon tarmac series that has been dead and buried quite some time). First 500 were produced just to get the car homogolated.

Rallye cars? My all time favorite is the Lancia Stratos (yes, I'm stuck in the 70's LOL)

Anthony

Originally posted by heathkit tv
Rallye cars? My all time favorite is the Lancia Stratos (yes, I'm stuck in the 70's LOL)
I'm a seventies kid so 80's is where my car hobbies started. It has to be AWD so either Audi Quattro or Peugeot 205. B class Peugeot was a BEAST.

If you have time, I have Ari Vatanen with Peugeot 405 driving Pikes Peak. Would you have the balls to do the same? Watch it and let us know. ;)

http://sami.kallio.com

-> videos -> racing videos
-> Course de Pike Peak, with Ari Vatanen

I guess my all time favorite car was an '86 Camaro that I bought from the origional owner. It had a 2.8 HO V6 with a 5 speed.
The car would catch 3rd gear rubber.
I drove it until last year when the fuel pump went out again. It was just worn out. I sold it. I bought a Toyota Tercel with a 4 speed. It is not nearly as fast but I get 36MPG.

Harry

I'll tell ya's all how much fun my Big Block Chevelle is on Friday...

Owned her since 1995, she sat here for the last 5 years. Now she's almost ready

Originally posted by HarryB
I guess my all time favorite car was an '86 Camaro that I bought from the origional owner. It had a 2.8 HO V6 with a 5 speed.
The car would catch 3rd gear rubber.
I drove it until last year when the fuel pump went out again. It was just worn out. I sold it. I bought a Toyota Tercel with a 4 speed. It is not nearly as fast but I get 36MPG.

Harry

Not to call you a liar, but I find that awful hard to believe....3rd gear scratch from a 3500 pound car with an anemic engine.

I've actually built some hot 2.8 V6's (for Fieros) and I know what they're capable of, but the HO factory stock engine just ain't enough to cut the mustard, the cheese perhaps, but not the mustard.

Oh, and goodluck keeping crankshafts in them.

Anthony (over 25 years in the trade, not too much gets past me)

My most fun car was a red 1967 Plymouth Belvedere GTX. Mine had a 383 hypo engine in it (someone had blown the original 440.) I had it up to 120MPH once and it still had plenty of headroom. Hit the gas and you felt that giant hand pushing you back into your seat. It had a Carter AVS 4 barrel carb in it. I sold that car to buy a handmade guitar, (a Gurian JM) which I still have.
Now I have a 1998 Toyota 4-Runner. It's a great truck, but not nearly as sexy. It's plenty fast, though.

I don't think the Viper can ever be cited as an influence on road cars.

Nothing more than a high speed truck.

:P

The Viper was to inject some interest into Chrysler's boring car lineup.

Nor can the Ford GT-40 be cited as an influential roadcar.
Genuine road versions were de-tuned racecars and not particularly suited for road driving.
The multitude of replicas (like all the Shelby Cobra replicas) were actually nicer to drive.

As for Cadillac ; learning from racing Opels and Vauxhalls...gimme a break !

Those GM touring cars are developed with little factory input.

Opel/Vauxhall roadcars are widely derided as being amongst the worst in their class for handling and driving pleasure.
The best current Vauxhalls; the VX220 and VX GTS were developed by Lotus and Holden Australia respectively.

The only reason for Cadillac producing the CTS is to *try* to place their cars upmarket amongst the BMW's, Audis, Mercedes etc.


-----------------------------------------------------------

Another vote for the Stratos !

And other Lancia/Fiat greats like the Monte Carlo Rallye, Grp B s4, Integrale, 131 Abarth.


-----------------------------------------------------------

Skyline;

How did you get a GTR in the US ?
They must be rare as hen's teeth.

Never saw the 405 but we've had an International rally here since the 70's and have seen the original Audi Quattro, 205T16, the Abarth 131's, awesome Integrales etc. in action on local roads.

My most reliable, daily driver, fun ride!

Always give me a grin after driving it and has been a blast to own. That's mine in the foreground, Zenith Blue is the color.

The picture was taken at the German Autofest in Ventura, Sept. of 2002.

Regards,

Bart

I have owned too many cars to list even and for fun my little brother owns www.summersclassiccars.com too much fun everytime I visit him. . .


Saying this my most fun car was a 67 SS427 Chev Impala with a Gail Banks 454 motor 4:10 4spd Corvette 15in Rally wheels fun, fun, fun. . . Big old ground pounder that would do everything it had in the qtr mile 7500rpm in 4th at the end. . . And without the Nitrous it had. . . I wanted a tire smoking ground pounder and I had that. . . Traded it straight across for a 30K bass boat with a 225 sitting on the back. . . 81mph on water is a trip too. . . Now both are gone but the memories still linger. . .

Not to call you a liar, but I find that awful hard to believe....3rd gear scratch from a 3500 pound car with an anemic engine.

I've actually built some hot 2.8 V6's (for Fieros) and I know what they're capable of, but the HO factory stock engine just ain't enough to cut the mustard, the cheese perhaps, but not the mustard.

Oh, and goodluck keeping crankshafts in them.

Anthony (over 25 years in the trade, not too much gets past me)

BELIEVE what you want... Maybe the car was not stock when I bought it. I dunno. I put a speedo that went to 115
out of a RS Camaro and it wrapped the speedo needle around past 115.

I found it hard to believe as well until it did it. That was after I had just bought it. I did go through 3 clutches ,1 transmission and a rear end while I was hot rodding.

Harry

Three clutches and a rear end? Now *that* I'll believe LOL

Seriously, someone must've done something to that engine before you got it, those 2.8 HO engines were available originally in the Citation and while these were lighter cars, they still weren't all that fast.

I was in the trenches working on these heaps when they were brand spanking new, so I speak with from that experience.

Anthony

Anthony,

Lets not forget the Transmission.

I got lucky and found 1 from Camaro Heaven for $200.

All I know is that car was ungodly fast for a 2.8 V6 Camaro. I still got about 25mpg out of it. I used to clown with a friend who
had a 5.0 mustang GT with an automatic.

I could take him with the hole-shot because of the 5 speed but the V8 eventually took over once it got wound up and he blew my windows off..

I atleast had a deacent start with lots of tire smoke. I found out that those "performance radials" were very expensive to send them up in smoke.

Harry

Originally posted by michael w
I don't think the Viper can ever be cited as an influence on road cars.

Nothing more than a high speed truck.

:P

The Viper was to inject some interest into Chrysler's boring car lineup.

Nor can the Ford GT-40 be cited as an influential roadcar.
Genuine road versions were de-tuned racecars and not particularly suited for road driving.
The multitude of replicas (like all the Shelby Cobra replicas) were actually nicer to drive.

As for Cadillac ; learning from racing Opels and Vauxhalls...gimme a break !

Those GM touring cars are developed with little factory input.

Opel/Vauxhall roadcars are widely derided as being amongst the worst in their class for handling and driving pleasure.
The best current Vauxhalls; the VX220 and VX GTS were developed by Lotus and Holden Australia respectively.

The only reason for Cadillac producing the CTS is to *try* to place their cars upmarket amongst the BMW's, Audis, Mercedes etc.



Just peachy, another automotive loudmouth who can't seem to comprehend a simple sentence in plain English.

Considering half of your post is harping on me about something you missed, I'll quote my own post for you.

My original post stated this very important statement:

"Maybe that's true in NZ but here in the US, there are quite a few racing series that go both ways. "

Of which the "...go both ways." part is vitally impportant. Did you maybe happen to miss that? Or do you prefer to make an ass of yourself in public over your own oversight?

On top of that, your ENTIRE post is based on heresay and conjecture. Whether these vehicles made for good race cars or road cars is not the issue. The issue is that the race cars were raced and transfered technology to road cars. It doesn't have to be an entire car either. But like it or not, the Viper GTS and GTS-R came directly from the road racing programs. It's not a truck, it's arguably one of the most potent sports cars out there. The Ford GT-40 required a certain number of road cars to be homologated and meet sanctioning body requirments for the chassis to compete. Like it or not though, the race car influenced the road car. There would be no need for the road car if the race car could compete without homologation. The Cadillac CTS was developled on an Opel chassis from an Opel car that GM has raced extensivly in the touring classes in Europe. There is a new Cadillac coming out that is based on a shared platform with Opel also. Again though, you have chosen to pontificate your own opinion and/or others opinions as facts that do not relate to the subject of the original statement that you are trying to refute.

So kindly visit your doctor so he alleviate your seemingly severe case of cranial/rectal inversion and maybe one day, I'll sit down an have a civilized discussion about it with you. Until then, unless you can refrain from going off half-cocked and getting all uppity about it, don't bother talking to me.

"So kindly visit your doctor so he alleviate your seemingly severe case of cranial/rectal inversion and maybe one day, I'll sit down an have a civilized discussion about it with you. Until then, unless you can refrain from going off half-cocked and getting all uppity about it, don't bother talking to me."

I don't disagree with you ideas about racing. But I don't think that we need this kind of talk on AK. Please take it somewhere else.

Quote from Car & Driver:

"The Viper is as subtle as a flying mallet." :D

They are sold in race form to racing teams direct from Chrysler.

Pete

Originally posted by michael w
How did you get a GTR in the US ?
They must be rare as hen's teeth.

http://www.motorex.net

There are around 70 Skylines in the US, mostly GT-R's. R32's, R33's and a couple of R34's. They are not able to import them anymore at this time. There is one 1971 Skyline in Florida that is a GT-R lookalike but it doesn't seem to be an original GT-R.

FYI the Ford GT40 Mk1 program did not require roadcar homologation , what was required was a minumum build of 50 cars to qualify for the 1966 GT competition class. Some of these were later converted for road use.

And pray tell just what Opel chassis is the CTS based on ?
Opel has competed with nothing of that size or configuration.

What a schmo

:rolleyes:

Syline/Sami,

Yours an R32 ?

:D

Originally posted by michael w
FYI the Ford GT40 Mk1 program did not require roadcar homologation , what was required was a minumum build of 50 cars to qualify for the 1966 GT competition class. Some of these were later converted for road use.

And pray tell just what Opel chassis is the CTS based on ?
Opel has competed with nothing of that size or configuration.

What a schmo

:rolleyes:
Heh. Whatever you say bub.

Maybe this Opel ?:dunno:

If this name calling doesnt stop i will close the thread.

CK

Originally posted by ckelly
If this name calling doesnt stop i will close the thread.

CK

Eh, shut yer piehole you sanctimonious nematode before I toss you on the barby. :D :D

Anthony

:lmao:

Most fun car I ever owned is my current. 98 BMW M3 4 door. Red w black leather interior. No wings or rice racer stuff.
The whole package of the car-handling, acceleration, braking, comfort and reliability puts to shame anything else I have driven/owned.
I have been an auto tech for 30 years and driven and worked on many, many vehicles. Very few I have driven put the smile on my face I get when driving this car:D
My brother owns a 70 Lotus Europa Series 1 that comes close though. Handles like it is on rails.
There is a very good reason why BMW is called " The Ultimate Driving Machine".

Was that really an Opel? Looked a bit like a Trabi....-Sandy G., Resident Redneck

Originally posted by michael w
Syline/Sami,

Yours an R32 ?

:D

Yes, the one and only "Godzilla". :)

Originally posted by Sandy G
Was that really an Opel? Looked a bit like a Trabi....-Sandy G., Resident Redneck
That's definately an Opel (Kadett seems to be the model if I am not mistaken).

Sandy, yes it's a 66 Opel Kadett.
Here is the bigger version.:p:

I wasn't going to even admit to owning this car, but I put 165,000 trouble free miles on it and the fella I sold it to a decade ago is still driving it! '88 Ford Festiva LX with a 5-speed. Mazda 121, assembled by Kia and dist. by Ford. Was loaded up with goodies and had strange little P185/70SR12 tires on it.

Vintage TX-So Stageway Armbruster made a version, too? Kewl...Wonder what Celt's Festiva would look like as an airport limo?!? -Sandy G.

:D No problem, I crank up Photo Shop and stretch it out.

The "Gremlin version":dunno:

:lmao:

Glad you like it Celt:D

You know, that thing was so cavernous inside that I once loaded six full sheets of plywood inside it from the lumberyard! It wasn't much to look at, but it was fun to drive and very practical. I even moved my RCA console TV in it when I moved into my house!

How were you able to fit 6 sheets inside and be able to see?:eek:

How were you able to fit 6 sheets inside and be able to see


Thats easy 3 in the front and 3 in the back. . .

My first car....I was 18 when I bought it...a 1996 thunderbird with a 4.6 V8, limited slip rear, and every option but leather...it was comfy, classey & somewhat quick-ish for it's time....it was real fun after I threw a computer chip at it...it was this funky plue color that'd turn purple when the sun hit it...I traded it in on a ford focus after one year of ownership...stupid stupid stupid

Ford Focus...HATED IT....had a five speed....it was a four door...beat the living snot outta that poor car....me & a buddy of mine used to jump it & take it offroading--they really slide around the dirt quite nicely....never actually wrecked it, just "slowly totaled" that poor car...friend of mine wanted to get out of the car and sit on the door holding onto the roof & make me do 85+MPH...I said no, so he says "up yours, I'm doing it try to stop me" so he rolls the window down & takes off his seat belt....well, :D clutch to the floor, brakes to the floor and the poor bastard hit the windshield--the image of my friend stuck to the windshield with a look of total shock on his face was priceless, and is burned into my memory...I didn't clean the windshield for a month becuase every time I'd look at the smudge marks where he hit the windshield it made me smile :) well, that and I didn't take care of that car...but I was makin' the payments on that thing....yeah yeah stupid decisions.

2004 Ford Mustang...always wanted one, it's orange, it's sweet, but not too fun because it's too expensive....gonna get rid of it & get another Tbird.

1966 Sunbeam Alpine painted in BRG. Shaved head, a mild lumpy cam, twin Strombergs and beefed up suspension. Great fun going around a right hander with the steering wheel cranked to the left. No radio, I listened to the drive train and exhaust system :)

although i currently own a 91 Mustang LX 5.0 coupe with a good sprinkling of mods, my most fun car would have to have been my 86 Honda Civic Si hatch. suspension, shifter, momo wheel, MSW black mesh wheels, header, centerline clutch, header, hi flow muff, etc. man, i'd like to have another.

The funnest car I ever had was my 68 Olds Toranado with a modified 455 and front wheel drive.

Had blast with that car... had a few that were quite a bit quicker than the Olds, but none that
could fly along at 100 MPH and have it only feel like 60 MPH.

That car could fly and yet ride like it was on air... speed, power, and luxury... it had it all! :yes:

Scott

1970 plymouth roadrunner with a 440, air grabber and painted lime light green. Had to sell it about 5 years ago to pay the tax man :tears:

1970 Corvette, T-Top, 454,automatic. Nothing spectacular, just fun. Bought it in 1978, sold it in 1988 when the wife was pregnant with our son. Now that he has his license, he'd like to kill me. Found the guy I sold it to this summer, and he took us over to see it. He's put 5000 miles on it in 18 years.

'73 Porsche 911T Targa. Put '83 Carrera brakes, struts and cam-chain tensioners on it as well as an electronic ignition. Zero rust. Owned from 1989 to 2000 and put over 100K on it. Syncros were shot when I bought it so put in a rebuilt tranny the first year. Did all the work myself except for things like the alignments, etc. Had a niggling oil leak I could never find. After I sold it I ran into a Porsche mechanic who told me that the early 911 oil cooler would get a small split in it. I had the engine out of the car on my garage floor three times trying to find that oil leak and never did. Just too small. But very annoying. Great car to drive. Top-off fun. Best trip I ever had was driving along route 130 outside of Cloudcroft, NM. Dirt road that wound around up and down into the mountains with many tight corners and switchbacks. Just great fishtailing around those corners throwing out a rooster tail of dirt/small rocks. Pedals were perfect for hill-and-toe driving. Without question, the best 20 miles of fun I've ever had. :thmbsp: But, I grew tired of shifting in megatropolis traffic. I'll never own another stick-shift. :no:

My second most fun vehicle was the 1965 Porsche 356C sunroof coupe I had from 1970-1982. Drove it until it dissolved (rust). By then it had become fairly valuable as the sunroof was pretty rare. Fellow that bought it from me put over $20K in new metal/interior into it.

And, the car that would probably have been my most fun was a '76 Chevy Cosworth Vega. had the head redone with CoE (Cosworth of England) valves/spring/retainers and DFX cams. Removed the stupid pollution control exhaust (1.5" diameter) and had a 2.5" diameter one built with a Pontiac 421 muffler. Put on a pair of Weber 42mm carbs and was ready to rock & roll. Amazing engine. Designed and used as an F2 power-plant. Would spin up to 8500rpm without any trouble. Fully balanced. The reason it wasn't as much fun as it should have been was the terrible transmission. 5-speed, but 1st was out of the H. That's OK for a road-race tranny, but pulling this very notchy tranny out of 1st and then over for second was a real pain. And very slow, unless you enjoyed the crunching of gears. Figure I got about 175hp out of it with the mods. Got into a great race with a twincam Datsun 510 sedan in the woods around Bear Mtn once. Great fun where didn't need 1st gear. But stop-and-go driving was terrible.

I put 165,000 trouble free miles on it and the fella I sold it to a decade ago is still driving it! '88 Ford Festiva LX with a 5-speed. Mazda 121, assembled by Kia and dist. by Ford. Was loaded up with goodies and had strange little P185/70SR12 tires on it.My brother would agree with you. His was an automatic as he has a bad back/leg so not longer shifts. But still states that it was the most comfortable car for his body he has ever owned. When he sold to a friend who still commutes in it he replaced with a '95 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. He could carry the Festiva in the trunk as his spare. :D

What's your "most fun" choice(s)?

Hard to pick one only -

1973 Porsche 914 (purchased for $100)

Rescued it from a gas station attendant who said it did not run. He was right and after replacing all the fuses that had been kicked out, and putting in a new rotor, cap, plug wires, adding air to the tires, it started and I drove it home much to his shock. The body was a mess but underneath it was rock solid mechanically.

When I went to register it the RMV would not tax it based on the $100 price I paid but at book value. That would have meant 5% on ~$4000. 2X what I paid for it to register it was not going to happen so I did what any 22 year old would do; drive it without a registration.

It was the Edgar Winter car as it only came out at night with a plate & inspection sticker I'd taken off another car in a junkyard and a hand drawn year sticker on the plate. I drove it all summer like that and took out the girl I eventually married in it quite a few times.

I sold it in the fall to a Czechoslovakian defector who had done the whole gate crashing routine to get out of the USSR with his family. He was a mechanic and about a year after he bought it from me he came & showed me what he ahd done to it. It was reborn as new and beatiful. AFAIK, he then sold it and got enough money to start his own business here in the US. Very likely that this car is still running around somewheres.

Honorable Mentions -

1981 VW Scirocco S

It didn't weigh much so the 77HP on tap was plenty to fling it around with.

1985 Mustang LX (w/ 5.0 HO drivetrain)

Spent $$$$ on motor & suspension and car was a rocket. Had a sad end but fun while it lasted.

Believe it or not, my first car, in 1977: a $100 '63 Chevy Impala 2dr hardtop. 283, 2-speed Powerglide, bone stock, floor and frame like Swiss cheese from rust, 136,000 miles... but it was mine!
Tom

My first car, a 65 mustang with hi-po 289 and a 4 barrel mated to a 4 speed manual was probably not the best choice for a teenager but I never had as much fun with a car since then. I shoulda never sold it considering what it's worth now. My current fun car is a close second though, a 68 deluxe bug with the factory sunroof and pop-out rear windows. I bulit a 1835cc engine with big valve heads, little more lift on the cam and dual 40mm webers, makes about 120hp which in a 2055 lb car is a lot of fun. :yes:

1979 FireBird Trans Am. 6.6, 400 V-8. Nuclear powered go-cart.

semi short story- was trying to pass a rig on a two-lane hwy doing 75-80, with reasonable but mininimal allowance from the oncoming traffic. The trucker thought it would be great fun to speed up to cut me off. The car in back of me saw this and pulled up to block any chance of me coming back in. (WTF!!!???) Speedometer buried at 100, played chicken as long as I could with the oncoming then at the last sec had to cut left in front of the oncoming. Jumped the gully, landed in some guy's front yard, completing a full 360 and ending sitting perfectly straight in his driveway. Pulled the front corner panel away from the tire, drove to a rest area and sat there for about 1/2 hour shaking. Still shake just thinking about it.

My first car a '75 Mazda RX-4 with a rotary engine I had in college. It was fast! Drove up and down the West Coast from Canada to Mexico doing 100 mph. I'm glad I'm still alive.

A '88 Range Rover. It took me up and down the West Coast too. Into the mountains, desert, beaches, and cities. Saw a lot of beautiful country.

Weissach limited edition. Beautiful car and drove the wheels off of it. The person who bought it off of me wrapped it around a tree at high speed so it's no longer on the road. :no:

It has to be my first "owned/purchased" car a 1962 Corvair Monza Coupe stick shift. Put a set of JC Whitney dual glasspacs on it and thought I was the Kats Meow. A fun little machine in a lot of respects way ahead of it's time until it met Ralph Nader. Was later able to find a '64 Spyder convertable. That was even more fun.

Not the 61 T bird
Not the 67 Mustang
Not the 69 Dodge D100 Van
Not the 71 Mustang
Not the 71 Pinto
Not the 74 Grand Prix
Not the 76 Ford E150 Van
Not the 79 Mustang
Not the 82 Phoenix
Not the 92 Mustang
Not the 96 Honda Civic

It is the 84 Toyota Camry. It is still my daily driver.

It's interesting how many folks name their first cars.

My favorite is the car I'm driving, a 2003 Miata I bought a year ago. It had 8k on it and is in cherry shape. It's everything I want in a classic British sports car, with dependability as an added bonus.

Second favorite car was my 1966 Alfa GTV. Sweet car when it ran.

Favorite cars my family owned would be my mother's 1963 T-Bird, which I wish I still had and my dad's 1956 Jag XK-140 MC, which I wish I really had. There were only 2200 or so built.

Doug

They are: '80 Fiat X/1-9, '76 Triumph TR7, ? Toyota MR2, and a '79 Mazda RX7.

But the Triumph takes the cake. A straight 4 cy. twin side draught carb, 4 speed, front engine, rear drive two seater that could put a smile on any curmudgeons' face, 4 wheel drift, hang the back end out, comfortable for a 6 fter absolute fun fun fun. I still remember blasting down countryish backstreets at 100+ with Debbie going slow down!! what are you crazy - and I was :yes: !!

Too bad driving & walking went together with that unreliable, WOW is this great car.

What's your "most fun" choice?

Pete

Mine was white, too (but with some rust :) ):


A TR7 story - a couple friends back in college 20-odd years ago went pubbing and were drunk-driving home when they slid off a right turn & hit a telephone pole right in front of the left rear wheel. Neither was wearing seat belts - the only accident I know of where they were better off unbelted. The car sheared in two right behind the seats leaving a perfect front clip and an almost perfect rear. The seat belts were on the rear half...

Ignoring the reliability & structural issues with a TR7 I always wondered what one would be like with a SAAB turbo engine. SAAB & Triumph shared the slant 4 - SAAB finally made it reliable


My most fun ride - rally-prepped SAAB 99 rally car. Ran it for 2 seasons in the California Rally Series.

Tom

Most fun car I ever owned is my current. 98 BMW M3 4 door. Red w black leather interior. No wings or rice racer stuff.
The whole package of the car-handling, acceleration, braking, comfort and reliability puts to shame anything else I have driven/owned.
I have been an auto tech for 30 years and driven and worked on many, many vehicles. Very few I have driven put the smile on my face I get when driving this car:D
My brother owns a 70 Lotus Europa Series 1 that comes close though. Handles like it is on rails.
There is a very good reason why BMW is called " The Ultimate Driving Machine".
I have a 2006 330i and it is fun to drive. I would love to get an m3 in the future, though.

My Jeep Wrangler was fun to drive when I could drop the top and get to the mountains. Not the best thing for day to day driving. I miss it, though.

http://www.pbase.com/uofmtiger/image/49615889/medium.jpg

Most fun, by far. 1969 BMW 2002 "Alpina Blue Dot". The lights weren't for show, I promise you. Let's just say it was "off-road" capable.

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/672/my2002pd8.gif

Hey there, my first car was a 1962 chevrolet Impala 2 door hard top 327 four barrel,powerglide auto, positraction dual exaust. I was 16 in 1976 and it was cool.Tore it to peices.wish I could afford one now. also a 1978 cadillac coupe de Ville with a 500 cu inch V-8. I stuffed in there out of a 1970 Eldorado. 10.5 to 1 compression 400 horses with 550 ft.lbs of torque. that was a blast to drive. fast and smooth.

My most fun ride - rally-prepped SAAB 99 rally car. Ran it for 2 seasons in the California Rally Series.

TomThat sounds like fun to me. :thmbsp:

Before audio there were cars!

That's was good reading!

Favorite was my '79 Fiat X-1/9 that I bought while I was a bubblehead (submarine sailor) and I too scared the crap out of many of my friends taking corners at 50mph! Followed that with a '79 Alfa Romeo Sprint Veloce, a great looking 2+2. Both of these cars were super dependable and NEVER broke down on me! My '93 Taurus SHO was also alot of fun, VERY fast as the owners of more than a few GM 350's can attest. And, I currently have an '84 Alfa Spider Veloce that was more fun to drive in CA than TX..... too darn hot the past 2 months to drive!

After posting earlier about my '70 Corvette, it dawned on me that it spent most of its life with me in the garage. Then I remembered the REAL fun car.

Having been raised on a farm, we had to work as kids. My older brother bought a '50 Chevy 4-door from an alcoholic we tried to help out by hiring him to work on the ranch. He paid ten bucks for it, and we never saw the guy again. It had a 6 cyl. with a three on the tree. The body was pretty rusty, so a couple of hours with a torch and all that was left of the body was the firewall, windshield, and front floorpan - enough to hold the seat. We used baling wire to attach the headlights to the radiator, and put a 70 gallon T-Ford truck fuel tank on the back for ballast. The muffler was replaced with a Model "A" driveline tube for a straight pipe. We used it for going to work in the fields, and since traffic wasn't too bad in those days, we drove it on the road sometimes. We also used it for a hunting vehicle in the off times. A 90 acre rolling pasture was our favorite. Since seat belts weren't available then, chasing jackrabbits in the pasture was a little dangerous. We could catch them, but they could turn alot quicker. We eventually had to put an 8:00-15 on the right front and a 6:50-15 on the left, so if we fell out, the car would slow down and turn in a circle 'till we could catch it. And, the tires were bald so if you stopped in a patch of wet grass, you got stuck. Occasionally, the tires would pitch up a pile of cow crap and drop it in the carb. You had to stop and pick it out to get going again.

I got sole posession when I was 12 and my brother got his license. I eventually sold it for enough money to buy a mini-bike frame. Man, the memories...........

Now THAT'S a car story!! :thmbsp:

bentpencil - amen! Ain't nothing like growing up on a farm in the '50s when boys were expected to be boys. Just can't agree with you more. Like was a lot simpler back then. Like a TV show.

Also, I'll vote this the "most fun thread" of any I've read on AK.

I bought a 1966 Cadillac hearse with an S&S body from a kid who's mom wouldn't let him keep it. I bought it, wrapped a Rolling Stones Bandanna around a top hat I had and drove it to my best friend's house. He came tear-assing out of that house yelling "You bought a hearse! You bpught a f*cking hearse! I'm driving it!" I told him if he wanted to drive it, he'd have to wear the hat. "I'm not wearing no f*cking top hat." I told him "then you're not driving no f*cking hearse!" He wore the hat. We drove around for 15 minutes or so, switched places and I scared the hell out of him by doing 110 down RT 208 in Hawthorne, NJ. We got back to his house, and his mom leaned out the window, took one look at the hearse and yelled "Kids, get dressed, we're going to Pathmark!" (did I mention that there were 15 people living in that house?)
We loaded 4 adults and 4 kids into the car, did a $500 shop and got it home. More tomorrow, Hunny's calling me to bed :-D.

wow...those look like some very fun cars!

The subject was "fun" car. I had a '53 Morris Minor roll-back rag top as a pennyless military draftee in Monterey, CA, back in '63. It was bought & sold many times, amongst incoming & outgoing GI's. The manual said it had 8 HP, but I think this was on some esoteric Brit dyno system. It probably put out an honest 35 horses, but the blown head gasket put it closer to the manual's specs. The starter was missing, but the hand crank did the job, even with the "iffy" head gasket.
We hauled 4 humans back & forth to San Fran many times, at a flat out 50 mph on down hill sprints. It even made down Lombard Street - not up.
I sold this wonderful machine to a base instructor for the same 300 bucks I paid for it.
One other feature. It had no reverse gear that I could ever find. I found the address of the buyer, & drove by to see if he made it home. It was parked nose-first at the end of a sharp down-hill drive way inches from the garage door. Fortunately I was shipped out two days later.

Present fun cars - '92 Subaru SVX, & '93 Nissan 240 SX. Both can be electrically started.

Ron.

My brother had a 49 and then a 58 Morris Minor convertibles. I learned to drive in the 49. Always wanted a Traveller. Love those cars.

You had first gear?!