Gathered here are the Oppositelock posts that people have put a good deal of effort into writing from the weekend. Today it includes a Fiat X1/9, why the new Datsun is perfect for millennials, exposed turbos and more.
Having been busy with work and school, I haven't been around much the last few weeks. However, I thought I'd pop in long enough to share the fun afternoon I had yesterday. At around 5 pm, a coworker of mine stopped by my cubicle and asked if I wanted a ride in his 1978 Fiat X1/9 (This is the same coworker that has all of the vintage Hondas). Of course, I said yes. While the 1.3L doesn't produce a lot of power, the 2000 lb weight make this thing feel quick (it wasn't, however).
Before Nissan, there was Datsun. Well, not really, but that’s how it appeared to us in America. Datsun was Nissan’s export brand until 1986, when they officially ended the line, deciding the world was ready for a marque that sounds like the Japanese word for “sister.” Datsun gave us some truly awesome creatures, like the unexpected 510 and the whole ancestry of Z cars. Now, not all Datsuns were track twisters, but those are the ones we remember. Now Datsun is back, but they’re certainly not playing to American performance nostalgia. In fact, they’re not coming to America at all. But perhaps they should.
Here we have a picture that sums up my Thursday night. And you thought Australians had burnouts cornered. If you don't know what that is, you're probably from a city where there's more to do than gather at an oval and watch cars crash into each other. It's called Hit to Pass and from a quick google, which, granted, may have just found events close to me, this doesn't look to be popular outside of B.C./Alberta; there's not even a wikipedia entry on the sport(?). The rules, as you may have guessed, are simple: cars race around the oval and must hit every car they pass.
It started this morning with Portland Cars and Coffee, which was pretty darn cool (more pictures after the jump), then I stopped by the local Lotus dealership, and then I took my car in to get an oil change, which somehow led to me test-driving a 2013 370Z NISMO. If I'd had more time with the Z, I'd write a Jalopnik review, but I just drove it for about 5 or so minutes.
The 1980s were a great time for European cars with France no exception. After a shaky start to the decade, Peugeot had plenty to be happy about in 1986 with sales on the up thanks in part to the successes of the 205 T16 Group B rally car. Continuing the theme of success through performance, the Paris Motor Show that year saw the introduction of the Proxima concept car.
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I've often said that what separates aerospace engineers from normal engineers is that we come up with batshit crazy ideas and treat them as great ideas. My go to example of this is my jet propulsion professor discussing future propulsion, mentioning the use of scramjets for spaceflight. The basic idea would be to build a giant railgun that would fire a craft to supersonic speeds to activate the scramjet, which would then be used to propel the aircraft into space. Not a joke, an actual, legitimate idea that has been researched.
I am still at Wisconsin waiting for the race tomorrow, but I thought I might show some pics of the epic cars at the track. I have about 2 hours worth of video, so expect something from the event. . . amazingly it is not filmed with an Iphone!
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Yesterday my Dad and I were talking about his Corvair and we both agreed that it would be far more enjoyable with a bit more power than the current earth rumbling 150 turbocharged ponies produced by its tiny flat six engine. This lead us to one of two hypothetical conclusions, do we either build up the engine as it sits, or do a heart transplant in favor of something stronger? My Dad and I would lean toward the latter, but being as I have access to the greatest car community on the internet I thought I'd pose the same question to you. What should he do?
Welcome to the "Outlets at Castle Rock Exotic Car Show." There were nice things there. Everything from a slammed Beetle to a minty fresh Countach. Please excuse the spottiness of a couple pictures. Little did I know the camera lens had some junk on it. Be sure to check out Part 2 and Part 3 as well.
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You guys start a SAAB Sunday and I'm away from home so I can't dump my archive on ya'll. Maybe this will do. Embarked on a roadtrip 3 years ago with my, now ex-, girlfriend. Our starting point was Ljubljana, Slovenia. The destination, Trollhättan, Sweden, home of SAAB and site of the factory.
As usually I was driving home in my beat-up Fiat, listening to the local radio and being bored and too hot overal (32° Celsius outside). But then my eye spotted something new. Something I have never seen live. It was a new S-class, parked right in front of some new, expensive appartments. Luckily a parking space across the road was free, so I parked the car and took a look at the Merc.
A few weeks ago I, along with an unnamed accomplice (and most of the American public) had a chance to drive the new Fiesta ST. Ford invited me to drive out to FedEx Field during rush hour, on a Friday, to watch their experiential marketing team setup a consumer event. They also let me drive the new Fiesta ST around a parking lot...for 3 minutes...in second gear.
Okay, first off, these photos were taken on my phone so the quality isn't too great. Anyway, these are some of the photos I took at the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix today. I think there's something like 70 pictures that I'm going to post, and the pictures barely show a quarter of the cars that were there. It was a great event. Too bad I had to leave early.
So when test fitting the 350 last week, we ran into a snag. The bellhousing that came with the trans we bought was supposed to be for a 350, but it turned out to be for a 327. It didn't clear the flywheel or the starter, so we needed a new one. Luckily, I had a buddy who just so happened to have a bell housing for a muncie to a 454 laying around. It bolted right up and fits perfectly, so we'll run with that. Saved a nice $200 too.
Alright, for a theme let's try something different. Post YOUR car and an explanation of why you like them. '02 Dodge Dakota. My first and probably last brand new car. Picked it up on 10/3/01 and it's been extremely reliable, never once even threatening to need a tow. It's done everything I've asked and still puts a smile on my face every time. I paid $19,470 for it and got my money's worth easily. I still consider it my DD. It's also been tracked doing bracket racing with a best time of 15.509@89.5MPH.
This is the thread wherein you post about things you did this weekend that you didn't post during said weekend. Friday: Grimace get's its period. I was prepping to go to a meet at Dick's Drive In and noticed oil leaking from the right front headlight. "WTF!?", you may be saying. After some troubleshooting Saturday, turns out it's a valve cover gasket leak. I'll be repairing that tonight.
As always, If I've missed something and you would like me to include it, let me know.
Fun Discussions
There were several posts that asked questions and sparked some good discussion over the weekend. Take a peek and chime in on some of them listed below:
Just the #tips
Honourable Mentions
These posts have already been shared with Jalopnik directly but deserve to be mentioned again because they were first posted in Oppositelock:
Best of Oppositelock: July 22, 2013