12-03-2021, 03:00 PM | #67 |
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Our neighbor had an extremely low-mileage Volkswagen Rabbit (Mk1 Golf for those outside the USA) sitting in his driveway. He bought it brand new for his wife, and wound up getting divorced over it because she loathed the thing and refused to drive it! I offered him a few hundred bucks for it, and had to spend my next two college job pay checks buying all of the parts to replace the rusty brakes so that it would even roll.
VW used a Solex 1-barrel carburetor on the thing, which was obviously a leftover from the aircooled Beetle factory when production stopped. The intake was sooooo restricted that it couldn't get out of its own way, and holding highway speed on the slightest incline was not happening even with a tailwind. The only car ever produced that was slower than that thing was the VW diesels of that era, and those were noted for measuring 0-60 MPH test runs using a calendar. Long story short, I installed a performance exhaust on it. One of the mechanics at our local BMW motorcycle shop drag-raced MOPAR 4-bangers at the time, and Dodge was buying engines from VW at the time because they couldn't make their own. One or two of those parts migrated under the hood of my poor Rabbit, including a 2-barrel Weber downdraft carb from lord knows what and an intake manifold hogged out so thin that you could almost see light through it. When everything was finally un-corked, it was flowing so freely that it would stall if I opened the throttle too fast due to the sudden loss of vacuum to draw in the air/fuel. Anyway, I drove that car for several years. The unibody ultimately weakened from the fatigue from the engine's power, and I snapped three windshields from being overly aggressive with the throttle in the last year of ownership before I sent it to the scrap yard. Do I wish that I still had it? No, it was past the point of being safe to drive on the road, and needed to be crushed. Would I buy another one today? Up until a few years ago, the answer would have been *yes* if a solid 1983-84 Mk1 GTI came along. What changed my mind is that a colleague from work sent me a link to one for sale on bring-a-trailer, and seeing the interior pictures made me remember how primitive those early 1980's cars were. It was almost as sparse as my old mid-80's Jeep CJ-7, which is another vehicle of mine that was put out to pasture when it got too rusty to drive safely...and I wouldn't want another one of those, either. The reason why I like my BMW i3 so much is that it feels like a natural evolution of the Mk1 Golf/Rabbit. Both are light, chuckable in corners, and have skinny tires that make lateral grip challenging for the loose nut behind the wheel. (I have my weekend toy in the race car hauler if I want to go faster.) Being made with carbon fiber and aluminum, I expect the i3 to last for the rest of my lifetime because it can't rust.....
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2015 BMW i3 BEV, Giga World (Lodge interior), Tech/Driving Assist Packages, 30K miles
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12-03-2021, 03:12 PM | #68 |
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1978 LADA 21011. Do I miss it? Not at all. I've seen a few of them here in US, looks like some people have a strong nostalgia case. But not me, not. Some are for sale asking up to $12K.
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12-03-2021, 03:21 PM | #69 | |
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12-03-2021, 03:45 PM | #70 |
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Mine was a 1977 Ford Fiesta. Silver, 4 speed standard transmission, but otherwise gutless on a too small engine. It ran fine, but it had odometer problems, and every time it went to roll over 1000 miles, it would occasionally add another 10,000 miles with it. Soon it was up over 100,000 miles (showing), but only about 40,000 miles actual, and it was getting hard to keep track of the real mileage. But that odometer only showed 5 digits, so it was back to reading only a few thousand miles then.
But it got great mileage and got me back and forth to college, a good 12 hr run, many times. |
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12-03-2021, 04:09 PM | #72 | |
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12-03-2021, 05:10 PM | #73 |
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Yes it was. I tried to find it on YouTube but didn't have much luck. Maybe someone else has more patience than I do for searching out these things.
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Wha' da ya mean? No brakes never stopped anyone before!
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12-03-2021, 06:16 PM | #74 |
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I had a '79 Lancer and I agree with the other posters that it felt like a punishment. Still beat public transportation though.
My dad drove a 200sx at the time and I WISHED that I could have his car… |
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12-04-2021, 09:36 AM | #75 | |
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12-04-2021, 03:40 PM | #76 |
I can haz cheezburger?
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Received December 1996 and had it until October 2012. 1987 528eA, light mods:
e38 basketweaves Bavauto springs Bilstein sport shocks 535is front spoiler 535is front sport seats e30 325is ECU Rust |
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12-04-2021, 03:43 PM | #77 | |
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has a ebay short shifter, great upgrade, back in the day ebay or expensive stuff has the same goal. iirc I put 3xxk km on oem coils bigger diameter, better flow path and no pre-cat. But I put a brand new uber expensive highfow post cat, because environment. Flows are fighting each other, no wonder why it was a 30bhp upgrade Last edited by oVeRdOsE.; 12-04-2021 at 03:54 PM.. |
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12-04-2021, 07:41 PM | #78 |
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Now that I think about it, my first car was a coaster with soap box derby wheels and a 3/4 HP Briggs & Stratton engine. Dad acquired the used engine and helped me convert the coaster. He made sketches and I did the work. Also, I had to pay for the centrifugal clutch.
I was in 6th grade.
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12-04-2021, 07:45 PM | #79 | |
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My first BMW was an '88 528e in Bronzit with 5-speed manual. I got hooked on BMWs when my brother got a 2002 back in the early '70s. It took me that long to get my ducks in a row (house, kids, money in bank, decent job) to afford to go get one. I love love loved that car. I had it from '88 until '97 when I sold it to my son. He drove it for 10 years. Regular maintenance and wear parts and one water pump. That's it. Great car. Fond memories. |
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12-05-2021, 08:58 AM | #80 |
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Not my first but my second, 1981 Z28 back in the 80`s, I wish I still had it 😪. 1st picture is my twin brother and 2nd picture is me with a typical 1980's perm
And my 1st motorcycle that me and my twin brother build from scratch back in 1980 at 14 years old. We had no internet back then, so everything was ordered from a catalogue, overhauled the motor with a bigger block, piston and carburetor, custom rear swing arm fork, etc. For some reason we couldn't find a blue seat, so we had to get a red one. Last edited by Dino GT; 12-05-2021 at 09:36 AM.. Reason: Pictures were sideways. |
12-05-2021, 10:33 AM | #81 |
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Thinking back still again, my first car was a quarter midget racer. I didn't own it, but a local rancher asked me to drive the car for him while I was in 5th and 6th grade. He solicited a new driver every 2 years at our local grade school when the current driver timed out (aged) out of the quarter midget age regulations. I really had fun driving that little car on regulation dirt tracks. I even won my first race after doing the required rookie heat races where passing wasn't allowed.
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12-06-2021, 09:30 AM | #82 | |
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