Quote:
Originally Posted by AJPG
Sir you got your self a very nice list of car. Congrats!!
Is it not fair what I'm about to ask (due to technology) but how did this cars compare with the FRS/BRZ? I have drive the FIAT 124 (like 20 years ago) and it was a blast, just enough of everything to have a very fun experience. It was my first car (my first sport car) but only have it for a couple of week before get grounded... Reckless teenagers!!! Anyway ended with a aut pickup 4x4... Then the 124 look like a super car.
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Well thank you!
Looking back, it was just dumb luck. The first car that I ever bought with my own money was a little white '77 Celica coupe in 2001 for $1k when I was a Junior in high school. That was the beginning of my love for small Toyotas...
The only car that would be fair for me to compare was my little 1970 Fiat Spider, as that's the only one that I ever restored and upgraded properly. In terms of FUN and HANDLING, it was the best car I've ever owned, and I miss it badly. When I say that it handled the best, I'm talking about the progressive way in which the back end kicked out. I drove that Fiat harder than I've ever driven anything in my life, and I always knew to the INCH, how far the back would slide out and how much throttle I needed to give it to get it there. You could drift a roundabout all day long, and because it looked so happy doing it, no one ever seemed to mind. Not once did I ever find myself in an uncontrolled slide. These cars, set up properly, have perfect balance, and track like a tail-happy dart to a dartboard. Surprisingly, the ride was still excellent.
Fiat Spiders all came with DOHC motors, timing belts and all-round disc brakes.
My 1970 Spider was red with a black interior and someone had already fitted it with the larger 1800cc DOHC from a '74 and a 32/36 Webber. I paid $4200 for it in 2010 with 48k original miles on it. The 1970 model year had a flat hood and small chrome bumpers.
I found a set of (magnesium) Cromadora CD-3's and had them powder coated "sparkle silver" and wrapped in Kumho KR21's.
I swapped out all the suspension and replaced it with performance suspension from International Auto Parts including springs, shocks, sway bars and polyurethane bushings.
IAP header and ANSA racing exhaust.
IAP radiator, heater core and all cooling system hoses.
I have to give all the credit to Northwest European Autoworks here in Bellingham for performing all the work and tuning that little car to perfection.
Basically I just can't say enough good things about those Fiat Spiders. They are SO cheap to run, and they're surprisingly sophisticated. The classic Celicas are beautiful and bulletproof, but I never replaced any suspension or modified them as extensively as I did the Fiat. My Celicas drove like trucks by comparison, but it's just not really a fair test.
I only replaced wheels and tires on my '92 MR2. That car, being mid-engine, was terrifying to drive at the limit. It handled great up to that last 5%, but you'd be just as likely to drift it a few inches as send it into an uncontrolled slide. That torquey little motor was great, but it wasn't a car I could push to the limit safely. But then, possibly some of that was due to it's tired twenty-year-old suspension. It's impossible for me to know.
Our Twins are easily the best-handling new cars I've ever driven. Somehow Toyota and Subaru found a way to make these cars stay flat in corners but still be progressive at the limit. All my old cars had body roll. They were fun and predictable at low speeds, but the Twins sort of take that fun old-car driving experience and bring it into the 21st century.
In my own mind, this is exactly what I looked like, driving my little Fiat...
[ame]http://youtu.be/8HqLTQAHqGQ[/ame]