Fond memories of large barge ICE vehicles

ernieb1536

ernieb1536

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MuseChaser said:
My first car was a (1974?) Datsun B210, manual 4 speed. Always got over 40mpg, usually close to 45mpg, on the highway, and mid to upper 30s around town. Now, my daily '13 budget sports car (Scion FRS 6 speed mt) gets 38mpg hwy/33 local, with almost three times the horsepower. Of course, my Datsun cost me $500 used, while the FRS was $17,300 used....a bit more cost to amortize....
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Bought new a 1991 GMC Sonoma 2.8 v6 5 speed with cruise control nice little truck very fun to drive got around 30 mpg on the highway . I Sold it with 60,000 for almost as much as I payed for it in 1996 ! Had to teach the guy who bought it to drive stick but it was very easy to shift and drive !
 
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ernieb1536 said:
Bought new a 1991 GMC Sonoma 2.8 v6 5 speed with cruise control nice little truck very fun to drive got around 30 mpg on the highway . I Sold it with 60,000 for almost as much as I payed for it in 1996 ! Had to teach the guy who bought it to drive stick but it was very easy to shift and drive !
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Dad bought a 1973 Datsun 620 pickup in the mid 1980s, for $500.00.

Drove it for a decade or so- it was brick reliable, and got about 30 to 35 MPG at 55MPH.

He decided he wanted a more "luxurious" truck (i.e, one with air conditioning :D ), and sold it to a neighbor- for $500.00. And the guy was glad to get it at that price!

Regards,
Gordon.
 
peterp1 said:
I had a 1971 Datsun 510 around 1980 that I very heavily modified. With dual 45 DCOE Webers and 2.0 liter engine, it was not particularly economical, but performance was quite good

View attachment 2607477
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That was, in a lot of ways, the "BMW 2002 on a budget".

And in some ways, it could sometimes exceed the performance of the 2002. Given how many IMSA and SCCA races were won by 510s, they certainly weren't lacking.

Regards,
Gordon.
 
Mystic said:
Dig it! It smacks of the Lada or Zhiguli hot rods I've seen in Russian and Ukraine o'er the last 10-12 years.
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GordonW said:
That was, in a lot of ways, the "BMW 2002 on a budget".

And in some ways, it could sometimes exceed the performance of the 2002. Given how many IMSA and SCCA races were won by 510s, they certainly weren't lacking..
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it was pretty heavily modified. I replaced the stock 1.6 liter with a 17k mile 2.0 liter. I added a “Japan market only” SSS performance large valve head and distributor, dual Webers, headers, 2 1/2” Ansa exhaust.

There was no internet back then, and I wasn’t positive the longer block 2.0 would fit under the hood, so I put putty on the top of the valve cover and brought the hood down slowly to see if there was clearance first time I tried to close it (fortunately it fit).

Both the 1.6 and 2,0 are the exact same engine as used in the 240z with 2 cylinders chopped off. My friend had a BMW 2002 at the same time (this was when we just started college) We never really raced, but pretty sure the 510 was quite a bit faster. It would keep up with my brother’s 240Z. Pretty good performance back then, but not relative to today (though the 2-valve-per-cylinder Japanese 4’s had low-end torque back then, so they felt very strong in normal driving versus many modern 4-valve-per-cylinder Japanese 4’s today).

I thought the engine compartment was as clean as I could make it back then as a youth, but there is a lot that I’d tidy up today (if I still had it) looking back at these scans of old (early 80’s) photos now.

60DE67D9-D9E5-4BAE-A1E2-182EA401E321.jpeg
 
peterp1 said:
it was pretty heavily modified. I replaced the stock 1.6 liter with a 17k mile 2.0 liter. I added a “Japan market only” SSS performance large valve head and distributor, dual Webers, headers, 2 1/2” Ansa exhaust.

There was no internet back then, and I wasn’t positive the longer block 2.0 would fit under the hood, so I put putty on the top of the valve cover and brought the hood down slowly to see if there was clearance first time I tried to close it (fortunately it fit).

Both the 1.6 and 2,0 are the same engine as used in the 240z with 2 cylinders chopped off. My friend had a BMW 2002 at the same time (this was when we just started college) We never really raced, but pretty sure the 510 was quite a bit faster. It would keep up with my brother’s 240Z. Pretty good performance back then, but not relative to today (though the 2-valve-per-cylinder Japanese 4’s had low-end torque back then, so they felt very strong in normal driving versus many modern 4-valve-per-cylinder Japanese 4’s today).

I thought the engine compartment was as clean as I could make it back then as a youth, but there is a lot that I’d tidy up today (if I still had it) looking back at these scans of old (early 80’s) photos now.

View attachment 2607846
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Love the look -- and those Webers? Way cool.
 
GChief said:
Have you done it? Do a few launches in a Tesla S and get back with me :thumbsup:
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Ever been in a 450HP Chevy NOVA CAMARO CHEVELLE etc with 4.11 or lower gears. There is something about it thats so different then some Slot car that just accelerates.
 
Mark W. said:
Ever been in a 450HP Chevy NOVA CAMARO CHEVELLE etc with 4.11 or lower gears. There is something about it thats so different then some Slot car that just accelerates.
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Yep and have owned plenty similar. Currently have a 65 Galaxie with a 445ci stroker FE. EV's like the Tesla are in a different much quicker league.
 
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Mark W. said:
Ever been in a 450HP Chevy NOVA CAMARO CHEVELLE etc with 4.11 or lower gears. There is something about it thats so different then some Slot car that just accelerates.
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Years ago my brother had a 1967 chevell 427 4 speed , it was a beast !!!!!!!!!
 
ernieb1536 said:
Years ago my brother had a 1967 chevell 427 4 speed , it was a beast !!!!!!!!!
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There was never an official factory built 67' Chevelle with a 427. Select dealers could, by going through the COPO system, have one installed but they are rare as hen's teeth. So likely your brother's was a transplant because the 396 big block was the largest engine available in a Chevelle in 1967.
 
MitsuMan said:
There was never an official factory built 67' Chevelle with a 427. Select dealers could, by going through the COPO system, have one installed but they are rare as hen's teeth. So likely your brother's was a transplant because the 396 big block was the largest engine available in a Chevelle in 1967.
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i remember this, as a yung'un, @ Nicky Chevrolet (Chicago): Chevelle SS396 and SS454, but no (SS or otherwise) 427 cui. This would have been 1968-1971-ish.
 
MitsuMan said:
There was never an official factory built 67' Chevelle with a 427. Select dealers could, by going through the COPO system, have one installed but they are rare as hen's teeth. So likely your brother's was a transplant because the 396 big block was the largest engine available in a Chevelle in 1967.
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Even the COPO 427 cid Camaro came later than 1967, say, 1968 (or 1969), yes?
 
MitsuMan said:
There was never an official factory built 67' Chevelle with a 427. Select dealers could, by going through the COPO system, have one installed but they are rare as hen's teeth. So likely your brother's was a transplant because the 396 big block was the largest engine available in a Chevelle in 1967.
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Did the Yenko folks "do" a 427 cid Chevelle @ any year?
 
Mystic said:
i remember this, as a yung'un, @ Nicky Chevrolet (Chicago): Chevelle SS396 and SS454, but no (SS or otherwise) 427 cui. This would have been 1968-1971-ish.
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Yeah the body style change came in 1968, the corporate edict in 67' (with the exception of the corvette) was nothing bigger than 400 cubic inch in anything. If you were to have a 67' with a COPO 427 there would have been no SS designation or emblems. Yeah by 1970 the LS6 454 was available and was the highest factory advertised HP (highest advertised torque belongs to the 455 in the Buick Regal GSX) ever in a GM vehicle. Again, to own a true LS6 Chevelle you better be ready to spend north of $200k.
 
Hyfi said:
Oh boy, first at the Red Light every time

I want my 77 Delta 88 and my 79 Parisian back. There is nothing like driving your Sofa down the road in class.
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My fiance-then-wife had a '73 Delta 88 that was our first car together. Used to use it for gigs back in the days when I hauled a lot of stuff. Three keyboards, big powered Yamaha mixer, TWO 4115 Yamaha cabinets in the back seat..just a huge beast of a car. Loved the huge bench seat/sofa up front. Prior to driving that car, my only other driving experiences were a VW bus and a 4 speed Datsun B210. Suffice it to say I made a fool of myself the first time I stomped on the gas pedal of the Delta 88. The Rocket 350 was a VERY different experience to the anemic 4 cylinders in the othet two cars.
 
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