Yeah pretty. But also pretty rubbish. I had no end of trouble with this one. Super nice inside. Beautiful packaging. Everyone appreciated it. Endless positive comments when filling up and driving around (similar to driving an Aston Martin and very different from driving a 911). Fabulous soundtrack and rapid in a straight line. But hideous on the bends and frankly nailed together by Italians who just wanted to get back to their vino. The more recent models were much improved.
4 Likes
That Hummer! <3
That sums it up nicely. 
Back in the late 80's I bought a Buick Regal that had the same engine as the Buick Grand National. It was white instead of black like the GN and a true sleeper. If you didn't notice the raised hood you'd have no clue. They were a blast to drive. The turbo charger would not kick in until sufficient vacuum closed the waste gates so when you floored it you got a couple seconds of 6 cylinder so-so acceleration and then it would smash you back in your seat.
The photo is not of mine but it looked just like that one.
Did 0-60 in a tad over 6 seconds which for it's size and for the year wasn't bad.
4 Likes
My 73 Corvette has been sitting in the garage since 1993. I put it away when my oldest son got his drivers license and I haven't driven it since.
10 Likes
I am surprised by the relative lack of Italian cars represented here...
I had a bit of an Italian dark horse back in my much younger days, a 1971 Alfa Romeo Berlina sport sedan. At the time I wanted a four-door w/decent room that was still fun to drive, and the Alfa was all of that. Basically the same engine, running gear/suspension, etc. as the Duetto and GTV but clad a stealth "Don't worry about me, I'm just a sedan" body. My buddy had a cheap boat-tail Duetto he had picked up (complete w/rust holes in the floor board and bondo-mania on the body) and we would race about like idiots. Thank god we didn't kill ourselves or somebody else. [eek!]
1750cc, dual overhead cams (!), Spica mechanical fule injection (!), five-speed syncromesh (!), and just super fun to drive. If pressed I might admit that it required pretty frequent (weekly!?) adjustment of the points to start reliably, and maybe the u-joints were a bit of a weak-link that one might need to replace, but those were minor prices to pay for the fun and relative rarity of it. If I saw one or two Berlinas every six months I was surprised. I always got a lot of "What is that...oh, cool." comments which my young-self ate up. 
Sadly, I realized years ago that I did not keep one single picture of the ones I owned, so bummed about that, but below are what my first and second one looked like...loved the deep burgundy color of the first one the best.
But I wrapped it around a freeway underpass support column racing in the rain (yeah, I was very 20-ish) which ended that. So I swapped the engine and all the good bits into a body I picked up w/a more traditional Italian racing color:
They have a really cool (to me) interior w/real wood on the dash and center column that made me feel like I was driving a luxury sports sedan. The top black rubber part of the dashboard often cracked from sun exposure, but mine was perfect...at least until the crash. 
So much fun. You only get to be young once...
4 Likes
Alfa Romeo 33 16v. 1.8litre boxer engine with Ferrari Dino (copy) camhafts.
Seriously quick.
Came on cam at 5,800 and rev limiter set to 9,000.
Beautiful sounding engine.
Very high maintenance but great to drive.
2 Likes
I'm jealous. I like the 73.
Although not jealous that it is sitting there not being driven.
YES!!!! 
Very nice. That will put you back into the seat pretty well.
I believe that's included in the Alfa Romeo handbook... 
1 Like
This post would be too long with the vehicles I've owned PRIOR to what I have now.... 
I do way too many oil changes....
The 2 wheel version...
Heavily modified and owned since it was new
The sporty one...
The daily driver, kind of...
Newest toy
3 Likes
Hey - is that a 350z? I had its grandfather, a Datsun 240Z, about 40 years ago. It was bright yellow and would fishtail very easily. I don't drive anything remotely sporty now - a small hybrid.
Edit: Also had a Triumph Herald with a 948 cc engine. That was fun to drive too. My last few pre-hybrid cars have been VW diesels. And Volvos. If I ever buy another car, I'd like it to be all electric.
3 Likes
Yep!
1 Like
How about "Dumbest thing I ever did when working on one of my cars" sub-category. 
Replacing stock struts/shocks on VW Scirocco (another fun little car I owned) w/KYB replacements. Did it all alone, and of course started late so it was dark before I finished and I'm working in partial light. Not smart generally. Yup, still in early 20's.
I was using a spring compressor probably created in the late 1800's that I had borrowed from a friend. Never seen or done this before but of course it's no big deal, I'll handle it.
I didn't get the compressor on correctly on the first spring and at one point it lost grip on the spring. I was about 1/2" away from a gazillion pounds of presurre suddenly releasing, and almost lost at least a finger, maybe more.
The sound it made when it let go and the spring hit the car is something I'll never forget. I was so shakey I had to sit down for 15 minutes to calm down. Of course I didn't stop, went back at it and got it done, but also decided that I would pay for that kind of work in the future. I've swapped engines on cars w/friends, but I have never gone near compressed springs since...
Side note: When I finished w/the shocks, the rear end of the car was lifted several inches, really noticeable and not at all what I wanted. I took it to the local shop where I had gotten the shocks and they were also mystified, and even offered to replace the shocks for me in case they were bad. I suggested we wait a bit to see if they'd settle, as it seemed an odd coincidence that two shocks would randomly both be bad. Couple friends looked at it, made great fun of me, but couldn't figure it out. People were stopping me in parking lots and asking how I had done it! Led to lots of interesting conversations...
I finally figured it out after a week or so when I was looking at the car and the car manual over and over. I had reversed the rear shock caps - I had put them back in upside down, and they unfortunately fit perfectly that way. [eek!] I took it back to the shop and we all had a good laugh at my expense, and they were nice enought to put them back to normal position for me. Happy ending. 
But it was long while before I stopped getting a recurring ribbing from my car-friends the "Custom Scirocco lift-kit" I had installed.
4 Likes
Yeah but those 240Zs would take a cloverleaf at 60mph no sweat. Amazing little beasts!
1 Like
Wife had a 280zx in grad school...fun in a straight line, never trusted it on twisties. [eek!]
1 Like
Y'all can go fast. I can go anywhere. That said, I did thoroughly enjoy my Camaro back when I was young and had too much money.
'03 Jeep TJ Sport
1 Like
Here's my Superlite SLC. I built it over a 7 year period.
It's powered by a dry-sump LS7, connected to a Ricardo 6-speed from a 2006 Ford GT. All aluminum chassis, with a 6-point cage.
Heat and AC as the windows are fixed.
Lots of electronics, including it's own wifi network and webserver, used to control much of the car's features set.
320W amp powering an 8" JL sub and pairs of Morels in the doors. Android tablet provides music, internet, OBD2 tools, etc.
No integration with Hubitat, though- is that a disqualifier?
19 Likes
We could be brothers.
I was changing out the shocks on my 77 Scirocco, and had a spring compressor, but it was too fiddly, and I really didn't need it, right?
Uh no, I guess I really did need it. While I was unscrewing the top shock nut, it seemed like it wasn't under much force, so I just kept on it until... It flew off, the top hit me in the head, and knocked me unconscious for a few moments.
I think I still have a small scar above my eye after 40 years or more.
Lesson learned: always use a spring compressor!
1 Like
