The MW Automotive Thread 5.0 GT

[Wasabi-san]

Ever drive right-hand cars in a left-hand world? It's bad enough getting used to driving on the right, and not being able to see to pass, or make unprotected left turns, turning like a MACK truck. The pedals are the same position, as is the ignition, but the signal stalk is on the right. The shift pattern is still the US pattern in the XABC's running top loaders, meaning shifting with the left hand, and First, is far and away. I'll stick to the "dumb" automatic that's paid for for right now. The "mildly-built" 460+.030" over=467ci came with the rebuilt C6 that had only 500 miles on the combo. They came out of a '82 F250 tow truck that I paid $1000.ooUS, and had a friend pull it and deliver it to me from Canada (Doug). The exchange back then was $1000USto$1400CA. Sweet deal. I would like to put an overdrive in it sometime, but the push is to get it done (drivable) by the wedding...fiancee' wants to ride away in it, complete with Dinki-Di cans and dog bones trailing. Go figure.

[pfunk]

Ever drive right-hand cars in a left-hand world? It's bad enough getting used to driving on the right, and not being able to see to pass, or make unprotected left turns, turning like a MACK truck. The pedals are the same position, as is the ignition, but the signal stalk is on the right. The shift pattern is still the US pattern in the XABC's running top loaders, meaning shifting with the left hand, and First, is far and away. I'll stick to the "dumb" automatic that's paid for for right now. The "mildly-built" 460+.030" over=467ci came with the rebuilt C6 that had only 500 miles on the combo. They came out of a '82 F250 tow truck that I paid $1000.ooUS, and had a friend pull it and deliver it to me from Canada (Doug). The exchange back then was $1000USto$1400CA. Sweet deal. I would like to put an overdrive in it sometime, but the push is to get it done (drivable) by the wedding...fiancee' wants to ride away in it, complete with Dinki-Di cans and dog bones trailing. Go figure.

I drove in Australia with a full size car, manual steering, brakes, and transmission

Edit, Ill scan the photos I have, it was a Challenger with a Slant 6 Hemi

Edited May 25, 2012 by pfunk

[Wasabi-san]

@pfunk: Noticed you're in MI. Did you go to the Ford 100yr celebration in '03, or the Woodward Dream Cruise? Challenger? It wasn't the E38 or E49 Chrysler Charger Valiant with the 265 HEMI straight 6 w/ triple carbs was it? Usually you didn't see ANY Chrysler products outside of the major metro areas, and dealers are even more rare.

When in OZ, I drove a sweet, Ford BAXR6 Falcon wagon from Horsham to Adelaide, then to Broken Hill/Silverton and back when we went to see the filming sites for The Road Warrior/Mad Max 2 TCC. By the end, I was getting used to right-hand drive cars on left-hand roads, and round-a-bouts, but got thrown for a loop on East/West directions during mid-day. It's an North/South hemisphere thing. Now the right-hand turn where you have to be on the left side of the road in downtown Melbourne, just, plain, c0nFuSeD me.

[Lobizon]

Alpine A110-50 Concept. Designed to pay homage to the original Alpine A110

Renault Alpine A110-50 concept does its papa proud

[pfunk]

Been to a lot of car stuff around here, the cruse on the east side anyway involves the whole state lol, I stayed in Melbourne and worked on the last rendition of the commodore in the mid 90's. We took over the body in white design from Lotus engineering,, they F'd up and did the design on the rh side of car (always left even in rh drive situations)

heres a similar charger to mine (which I blew up BTW)

http://bringatrailer.com/2010/10/16/cylinders-not-carbs-aussie-1971-dodge-charger-hemi-6-pack/

it only had a single 2bbl carb and a 3 speed on the floor I think it was a saginaw POS

[reddsun1]

Been to a lot of car stuff around here, the cruse on the east side anyway involves the whole state lol, I stayed in Melbourne and worked on the last rendition of the commodore in the mid 90's. We took over the body in white design from Lotus engineering,, they F'd up and did the design on the rh side of car (always left even in rh drive situations)

heres a similar charger to mine (which I blew up BTW)

http://bringatrailer...er-hemi-6-pack/

it only had a single 2bbl carb and a 3 speed on the floor I think it was a saginaw POS

You had an Aussie Charger? Sweet.

Wasabi-san: RHD in the 'States? True enough with 2-lane passing: fugedabadit. But otherwise, it ain't so bad. If you can stand the "mailman" jokes, you've got it made...

Bugger me, this makes me want mine back on the road. Still on jackstands, bits in boxes piled in the corners.

Edited May 25, 2012 by reddsun1

[reddsun1]

Wasabi-san: will you have to notch the shock towers to accomodate the big block? If you don't wish to do any radical surgery, there's still some easy tricks you'll want to consider to help with the handling:

Eccentric eliminators: can replace the camber adjusting/mounting bolt on lower arms, as they tend to roll or shift under heavy loads. Cheap, easy to install and it does make a difference in reducing steering "slop."

Tie rod adjuster sleeves: get rid of the old stamped steel split tube that comes on these, help prevent deflection and changes in toe settings.

OR, a Bump Steer kit: takes it a step further, replaces outer tie rod and allows adjustment of pivot point to help reduce bump steer inherent in this style suspension [plan on stepping up to this myself, eventually]

Shelby drop: lower the upper arm mount point 1" to improve camber gain; or if you don't want to drill new holes, can get aftermarket arms with a dropped pivot shaft.

I've done the A-arm drop myself, and I think it's definitely helped, even though I'm riding so low it's only about 2" off the bump stops.

[Omegablue]

New road sweeper!

[Wasabi-san]

Mailman jokes..."After all, it IS the fastest postal vehicle on the planet."

"Nice Charger/Chevelle/Torino/AMX/Javelin/Mustang/Marlin/Montego/Trans Am/Camaro...etc."

"Look Honey, he's on the wrong side." "No, I'm on the RIGHT side."

Mouthing "WTF" as the maroon almost sideswipes me.

"It's a shame what they did to that poor Trans Am."

"Is that legal to drive in the US?" "Postal vehicles...USPS/Mad Max."

If you're going to be a jerk about it, its going to be a "Canadian Camaro, a Mexican Mustang, or a British Trans Am."

"OMG! Oh WOW!!! Is that what I think it is?! IT's a XB Falcon! I never thought I'd see one in real life!" That was cool.

Notching the shock towers...no. But with the Pacemaker tri-Y extractors, I will have to lay them in the bottom first, then bolt them on once the engine is in the mounts. Holes w/ plugs will be drilled in the side to get to the plugs. Clearance...about an inch and a half per side.

"End of the Commadore line." Was that before the VE Commadores new platform design? Some of our engineers/designers were in "Mel'bn" a few years ago working on the 511 Camaro...wish they needed modelers. I would've jumped in a heartbeat, but 17hrs in the air in a coach/steerage seat = OUCH!

I managed to see ONE, repeat, ONE, E49 in "Sublime" green with the black stripes that had the "4" on the front guards. Cool cars and look deceptively small. Never saw under the bonnet or boot lid...bummer.

[pfunk]

17hrs in the air in a coach/steerage seat = OUCH!

I remember that vividly, and the 1 week lag that followed. Vowed to stop in HI next time

and that was my first flight

Edited May 30, 2012 by pfunk

[Wasabi-san]

Never got lag, but never got more than 20 minutes of sleep going either way. It was 6.5hrs from Toronto to LAX, Customs was over an hour, then 17hrs from LAX to Melbourne. Coming back, the flight was only 12.5hrs due to altitude, winds, rotation of the "Erf" to LAX, two hours in Customs, then another 5 to Toronto, with a 5.5 hour drive home, plus stopping for almost three hours at the US border..."US/CA/OZ/CA/US." They pulled me over for "inspection." Not fun.

I did however wake up one morning, looking around thinking "Where in the world am I...literally" when in Horsham, Victoria, OZ.

[areaseven]

Here's a look at the cars used in The Avengers, including Tony Stark's Acura NSX Roadster Concept (which supposedly can't go over 10 mph, or the body panels fly off! )

[ron5864]

Alpine A110-50 Concept. Designed to pay homage to the original Alpine A110

Renault Alpine A110-50 concept does its papa proud

Looks like an Autobot ready to transform.

[reddsun1]

"Nice Charger/Chevelle/Torino/AMX/Javelin/Mustang/Marlin/Montego/Trans Am/Camaro...etc."

For some reason, I always get "GTO"?

If you're going to be a jerk about it, its going to be a "Canadian Camaro, a Mexican Mustang, or a British Trans Am."

I had settled on "Mexican Camaro," should the need have ever arisen. You know: when they insist that you don't know what the fu*k your own car is, "that ain't no Falcon. They didn't make them in '73, '74, etc..."

"Look Honey, he's on the wrong side." "No, I'm on the RIGHT side."

Hehe, damn right!

Edited May 31, 2012 by reddsun1

[areaseven]

It's amazing what all the money in the world can get you. This is the Ferrari SP12 EC, a one-off car built specifically for Eric Clapton. It's an homage to the Ferrari 512 BB, Clapton's favorite model. Now why can't Pininfarina and Ferrari make their regular cars look like this?

2012 Ferrari SP12 EC

[reddsun1]

It's amazing what all the money in the world can get you. This is the Ferrari SP12 EC, a one-off car built specifically for Eric Clapton. It's an homage to the Ferrari 512 BB, Clapton's favorite model. Now why can't Pininfarina and Ferrari make their regular cars look like this?

2012 Ferrari SP12 EC

The Glickenhaus P4/5 also comes to mind. When customers are taking your cars and having them redesigned to look like your earlier designs, that's gotta speak for something about how they're being received...

[pfunk]

Thats the way a Ferrari should look.

'\

Im sure you guys have seen this before, but I always wanted to do something like this to a Z

[derex3592]

I'd take a 458 Italia over Mr. Claptons. I never cared for those models. However,...how cool is old slowhand for having a custom Ferrari??? That's BIG pimpin. lol!

[reddsun1]

Thats the way a Ferrari should look.

'\

Im sure you guys have seen this before, but I always wanted to do something like this to a Z

Take a small, lightweight car and stuff a big ol' V8 in it. How can you go wrong with that, eh?

ed: I suppose usable traction becomes an issue, if a heavy foot is used. Such a vehicle would certainly require finess--and more importantly, respect.

in hindsight: 0:45 - that's an astoundingly stupid thing to do, with oncoming traffic just one lane over.

Edited June 1, 2012 by reddsun1

[reddsun1]

[ron5864]

A dump truck it is. A General Lee it is not.

[David Hingtgen]

A dump truck it is. A General Lee it is not.

But just imagine it with the General Lee's horn as it goes over the edge. Makes the gif twice as fun.

[Beltane70]

Is it odd that I get more excited seeing a GT-R on the road than I do when seeing a Ferrari or Lamborghini?

[badboy00z]

The most bad ass GTR ever?

[reddsun1]

WOW, these things are ugly...

Better make sure you're all the way in the car before you close the door, or you're gonna scalp yerself.

Actually saw it first in one of the linked vids at the end of your posted vid, badboy00z (it was rather comical watching them unload it from the truck in that one).

Edited June 3, 2012 by reddsun1

[ron5864]

The most bad ass GTR ever?

Almost like the Gundam 00 of automoblies.

[reddsun1]

Hehe, cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZQTlj6Slrw&feature=related

[areaseven]

Here's a look at Aston Martin's Virage, which is slotted between the DB9 and the DBS.

[badboy00z]

Why does every Aston Martin look the same?? lol

[eugimon]

why change awesome?

[reddsun1]

why change awesome?

Hehe, you make a pretty strong argument there.

AM's do positively ooze cool...

[emajnthis]

I Love Aston's style and "Cool Factor" but it does make it hard to justify the cost difference between models when everyone who sees your car can't tell if you bought the $120k Vantage or the $270k DBS; even most enthusiasts can barely tell the difference between models. An Aston is one of those cars you buy to impress yourself; in fact most of the Aston Martins i see driven in my area (there's an AM dealership about 10 miles away from me) are driven by women, and the most common models i see are the DB9 and Vantage convertibles.

[Ignacio Ocamica]

An Aston is one of those cars you buy to impress yourself;

There lies the answer

Edited June 6, 2012 by Ignacio Ocamica

[reddsun1]

Oh, that's just. Sad.

[David Hingtgen]

The wheels and tires look the *most* out-of-place of all the bits it's Frankensteined from. Let's see-----Firebird-esque front fascia? Top half of a hearse?