Quote:
Originally Posted by naikaidriver
My first car was a 1971 Ford Ranchero with the 250hp 302. Ugly, green, built like a tank.
I first learned "tuning" with that car in my front yard when I was 15 with nothing more than book on Ford Small Blocks, a timing light, dwell meter and a vacuum gauge. As much as I hated that car when I owned it, I miss its simplicity sometimes.
My first experience with import engines was with my 1981 Ford Mustang GL hatchback. It had that crappy 95hp 2.3 Mazda-built 4 cylinder that Ford was using in everything back then. I got the thing to nearly 150hp by shaving the head, port and polish, 3 angle valve job, gasket matching and installing a more torque-inducing cam from a Ford Ranger, and changing the carb to a one-barrel with a secondary that I found in a junk yard. Aftermarket? What aftermarket? I did this all myself in the high school auto shop in my spare time.
Everyone used to tell me I was "wasting my time" with that little engine and 4 cylinders would never make any power.
It is fun to reflect back every so often and look at how drastically the field has changed over the last 30 years. I think its narrow-minded to say any era, or technology, or features over the years were better than any other. But I do think its important to remember our roots because every so often, a simple, little car comes along that reminds us of those roots and what makes cars so enjoyable to many of us.
Scott
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In general people lack of sense of history. That way we lack an appreciation of how far we have come.
I just finish reading "Crash Course: The American Automobile Industry" and "Once Upon a Car." I learned a lot.
It nice to hear from members here who have such a broad experience with cars.
:happy0180: