What was the most unusual car you or your father owned

[The Annoyed Man]

A 1956 Dodge Cornet Lancer with the D-550-1 Daytona homologation special motor. The motor was a 315 cubic inch hemi with 2 giant 4 barrel carbs mounted over a cross-ram intake, with tuned race headers and dual exhaust terminating in 36" glass packs. It was homologated for Daytona. It was a truly fast car. Mine looked exactly like this one:

[AEA]

NICE!

[AEA]

But my current ride is a Black on Black 2011 Mustang GT 5.0.

Nice Stang! What's the factory HP/Torque rating on that?

[RPB]

My dad and I didn't have many "unusual" cars; my brother had a 65' mustang, and the 2 "unusual" ones were a Spyder and a rust-colored Austin-Healy wagon on which I was the starter; each morning I'd push it so he could start it to get to school.

[Divided Attention]

I had the extreme "pleasure" of riding to Kg and 1st grade in a 1960 EDSEL! It was a Whooptie extraordinaire. It had a hole in the passenger floor board about the size of a golf ball you could watch the road go by underneath. No A/C, and generalized automotive skin cancer (scattered rusting). One night as we were driving from a friends house in a nice subdivision we came around a curve and the right rear axle left the car.... we had to knock on a door to ask to use the phone as we were about 10 blocks from our friend. I think my daughters would rather walk than have ridden in the Edsel. The beast looked just like this! (with a bit more character) http://webspace.webring.com/people/vk/k ... edsel2.jpg

[2farnorth]

AEA, I'm more of a pontiac/chevy guy but that is a beautiful Mustang!

Unusual for my family....this is going to be a long post

Unusual probably goes to me: I have a 1984 Pontiac Fiero.



These were RWD, midengine cars that were only made for a few years in the 80s. A lot of people have taken to swapping the supercharged 3.8L motor out of the pontiac gran prix of the 97-03 variety into these. 30 mpg, sub 12 sec 1/4 cars easy. Just so light, it takes nothing to make them FLY. My current DD is a 98 Grand Prix GTP, so I've considered doing the swap myself.

I didn't consider them unusual. I've had 13 of them, still have 2 of my own plus my daughter's is sitting in my driveway. Both of mine now are 86s. A DD 4cyl coupe plus my garage queen Black 86 GT with 39K. (barn find). I usually make the meet at Pappa's BBQ on NW Hwy in Dallas the 4th Sat of every month. We have few of the 3800SC conversions that attend.



On the unusual side I completely forgot about having a 76 AMC Pacer X. Loved everything about that car except for the gas mileage.

[WildBill]

When I was a kid, my dad had an MG Roadster like the one pictured. It was fun to ride around with the top down.

[2farnorth]

each morning I'd push it so he could start it to get to school.

He He .. I had a 66 Sunbeam Alpine that still had a hand crank to stick in under the front bumper for use in those situations.

[jimlongley]

I bought a '49 Plymouth wagon from a friend who had turned 16 and gotten his driver's license. It was a field car and I was about the fifth or sixth kid from our rural neighborhood to own it. Straight 6 "L" head with an oil bath air cleaner, 6 volt system. I scrounged a huge "new" battery and replaced the generator which was not putting out much, and tied the battery to the tray with bailing wire padded by old pillow ticking I found in the barn. When I ran out of gas, the gas gauge had long since ceased to function, I could drive back to the house cranking on the starter. Wore out a flywheel and a couple of Bendixs but learned a lot about changing such things.

We had room enough in our "back 40" to make a track almost as big as Martinsville, and once or twice a couple of other kids came and raced there. The "track" was almost oval, but the real oddity of its configuration was the little ditch that ran almost directly across the middle. Each turn was at a high end and the ditch was lower by about four feet, so the track was, from the start/finish line, where the ditch crossed the east straight, was uphill for 50 yards, turns 1 & 2, about 30 feet radius, still on the slope, downhill for 50 yards, across the ditch, uphill for about 40 yards, and turns 3 & 4 were at the top, so the apex of the turn, again about 30 feet radius, was cambered the wrong way making for an interesting slide, and then back downhill to the start/finish line. All measurements are estimates and depend on remembering 50 years back plus a little. The ditch was "bridged" with "scrap" 2x6 lumber "scrounged" from nearby housing construction.

The car had no floorboards under the front seat, so the seat was tied to the frame, again with bailing wire, and it could get real exciting when the wire wore out and the seat came loose, and the same with the pieces of plywood tied down where the floor should be. Don't put your foot near the tranny, the U-joint could grab your pants leg and put a real hurt on you, don't ask me how I know.

The "track" got pretty muddy at times, and the rear fender wells just filled up with mud, so I took the rear fenders off and under just the right conditions could really throw a rooster tail of mud. I had the front fenders off for a while but that resulted in muddy windshields, not a good thing when the wipers don't work so, having lost the fender bolts, I tack welded them back on with my father's welder, learning another lesson about welding without gloves on.

Raced a neighborhood kid for pink slips one time and won a 1947 Dodge three window coupe, another field car. After he left I got remorse (enforced by my father and a large stick) and was going to give it back, but before I could drive it back to his place a couple of days later, it mysteriously stopped running while emitting a weird smell, kind of like burning sugar cane. It stayed behind our barn until I donated it to the fire department for rescue practice.

I also discovered that with proper timing and just the right speed I could roll the Plymouth completely over by sliding at the ditch sideways, and actually come right back up on the wheels - sometimes. I had a new girlfriend who came over to my house to see my car and racetrack, and to swim in our pool (a whole different story) and after I rode her around the track a few times, I decided to show off. I didn't have enough rope in the car to tie both of us down, so I dropped her at the top of turns 3 & 4, and took the car around the track.

"Hey, y'all, hold my beer and watch this . . ."

I got up a good head of speed, whipped around 1 & 2, kept it sideways to the ditch and rolled 1.5 times up the opposite side. I was hanging from my homemade harness laughing my head off when Joyce came charging down the hill screaming hers off, she was sure I had killed myself. Tears of joy when she saw I was alright were quickly followed by tears of rage when she discovered that I had really done that on purpose.

She didn't stay to swim. ;-(

[jimlongley]

My father had a Model A that had a Stilson wrench tirghtened down on the end of the steering column for a wheel, and used a pry bar to shift gears through the open top of the tranny.

[Dadiggla]

This was my very first car. A 1977 Ford Taunus. Yep TAUNUS. I was 18, in Germany and didnt know squat about cars growing up in NYC. I bought it in 1988 from a soldier in my unit that was coming back to the states for $700. I took 2 mini stereo speakers and put em in the back window for my sounds Lol. After a couple of months a light came on. So I put gas in it and it went off. As I drove again the light came on so I put gas in it and it went off. This went on for close to 3 weeks.
I finally asked my supervisor why the gas light keeps coming on a few minutes after I fill it up. He looks at it, burst out laughing because that was the oil light.
I was driving this car ALL OUT with no oil in it. That car ran like a champ. I finally had to let it go when a guy in a Volkswagon GTI revved at me while at a stop light.
The light changed and we took off. I went to shift into second and the shifter came out in my hand. THE WHOLE shifter! LOL. I'll never forget that car.
This is the same car just not mine...I dont have any pics of it.



This is my current car. 2004 Mustang. aka "Supes"
This is my 3rd Ford and like the other two, has run well over 100K and still no major issues (knock on wood).

[74novaman]

2farnorth, your Fieros look a little nicer then mine.

Mine was only 200 dollars though, so I don't feel TOO bad about it.

[TLynnHughes]

But my current ride is a Black on Black 2011 Mustang GT 5.0.

Nice Stang! What's the factory HP/Torque rating on that?

The "official" figures are HP - 412 @ 6,500 and Torque 390 @ 4,250. I also have the Brenbo brake package and a few other options on mine. It makes my short commute to work a heck of a lot of fun!

T.

[AEA]

But my current ride is a Black on Black 2011 Mustang GT 5.0.

Nice Stang! What's the factory HP/Torque rating on that?

The "official" figures are HP - 412 @ 6,500 and Torque 390 @ 4,250. I also have the Brenbo brake package and a few other options on mine. It makes my short commute to work a heck of a lot of fun!

T.

Very nice. You have good reason to be proud of it!

[ssnstump]

My son has a 2003 Cobra and it is far from stock.
It runs sub 11 sec quarters. 700hp and 650 torque to the floor on dyno.
He used to drive it to work daily, but now only on the weekends.
I'll get him to send me the list of mods if anyone is interested I'll put up a pic when I get home
...it all started with changing out the stock Eaton supercharger with an upgraded Whipple blower.

We also had a 99 Cobra in Germany (ahhhh the autobahn), but it was stock other than exhaust and rear axle swap.
Used to run it at Bitburgh (not sure of spelling) - old airport that has quarter mile track on it now.

http://www.streetfire.net/video/whipple ... 196268.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;