[Final results!] The Car Shopping Round 66: A car for a hero

And you didn’t spot this in the Paginza review:
“caused Dick to perk up.”

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… I had to leave that for someone else. Congrats, and you’re welcome. :wink:

I’m done with turbo chargers, especially on I-6 engines. Mine only afforded me 12 extra hp. I wanted to make a realistic engine (lore vehicle being Italian couldn’t be larger than 2 liters), and tried to squeeze some extra horses into it, but it fell flat. I debated even submitting it, but why make a 1975 vehicle, if you’re just going to throw it away?

Journal bearing turbos are really finicky to tune because of the friction (I think), so it’s often best to wait for the ball bearing ones. But that said I was able to get something ok out of it for the same fuel consumption… It’ll just wreck the reliability because forced induction is terrible for carbs :joy:

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Ups. I didn’t see the budget limit XD.

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oh men xD :joy:

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Lolwut heretic :stuck_out_tongue:

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Wut? This is a competition, what do you expect. Cars that don’t meet the criteria or are not as good as the others get binned. This isn’t a charity where “everyone is a winner”. You win some and you lose some. Instead, try to learn why the others were better and what made your car perform poorly.

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In my case…won 1 and lost 44, 45 with this one!

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well, better than some!

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TBH, to make a “realistic” engine for 1975, turbos would probably not have been used. By then, Oldsmobile and Chevrolet had tried it some years in the 60s, but did not make any turbo engines anymore, Porsche had a turbo and there was the BMW 2002 turbo (which I think was discontinued by 1975), and that pretty much was it. It gained widespread use on passenger car gasoline engines first after the Saab 99 Turbo was introduced in 1978 (if I remember correctly Saab was the first one to use the wastegate). Saab and Porsche used Bosch K-Jetronic MFI and BMW Kugelfisher MFI. The GM cars were carbureted IIRC, but then it was the 60s…

The Oldsmobile had a water/metanol injection to prevent knocking, which required the driver to fill up with “turbo fluid” once in a while which many people ignored ant ruined their engines…which was one big reason for the turbo engine being canceled. So the wastegate was pretty much a basic requirement to make it work in a car for “normal people”.

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Same boat here. I have only ever won one competition, and never a CSR. Doesn’t stop me from trying. And getting insta-binned a lot. Dorifto Dorito is right, though. It’s hard to learn without at least trying.

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Not winning doesn’t mean anything as long as you improve and keep coming back for more.

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and i’ve been Insta-binned for the smallest things. but you learn, and try again, and in the end i won after around 40 attempts.

To be honest, a real car buyer also instabin cars that may be really good because of small details sometimes…so it reflects reality IMO. I would never buy an Audi as an example, but despite that I don’t doubt that they put a lot of thought behind their cars.

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I used to insta bin cars IRL for FWD.

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Actually, what I meant was why would I throw it away? I understand why it got binned. I’m trying to let you understand why I submitted it in the first place. I mean, what other use have I for a 1975 car?
My point is - and I guess I wasn’t clear - Any future vehicles I submit, are never going to have turbos. I just can’t get them right.

/hype

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you live and learn. there will be a competition where you are just too hard pressed to compete without using turbos

The Shakedown


Wednesday, 9:00 AM-ish

The blue Rover P6 splashed through a large puddle as Dick sped along a B-road, dousing an oncoming car in a huge wave of dirty water. He didn’t notice the drivers obscene gestures or hear his shouting; not that he cared, for he had more important things to worry about.

A few minutes later, he arrived at his destination: a small airfield not too far from the company office. The place hadn’t been used very much, so getting to loan it for the day hadn’t been a problem. It had several large runways which made it perfect for high-speed testing. Not all of them were in the best condition, but Dick didn’t mind too much; it just meant that they’d find out how the cars handled bumpy surfaces. He found Daniel already waiting, together with a big fleet of cars. Damn, he let that many through? The guys at the office did a damn fine job getting all of these.

“You’re late”

“Sorry ‘bout that, got stuck in traffic”, Dick responded. “You know how the morning rush is around here”.

He gestured toward the line of cars. “So, where do you want to start?”
Daniel shrugged. “I dunno, that one?” he said while pointing to the Conan C21.
“Alright, why not?”


Conan C21 Twincam Turbo



The Conan really did look a bit like a race car. Almost too much in fact; the low ride height made Dick question how the car would handle bumps. A look under the bonnet revealed the piece de resistance; a 2-litre turbocharged engine, fed through a single side-draft carburettor. Nothing that’d cause them any trouble, Dick thought. The underside revealed a rather standard layout: front-engine, rear-wheel drive; double-wishbone suspension up front, semi-independent in the rear.

Daniel’s comments: “Alright, this thing grips damn well in the corners and is bloody quick in a straight line, which would be great except the car hits the bump stops if you drive over a leaf. The engine got a bloody good punch to it, and it’s peppy for a turbo, but it’s too much for the car; I was shredding the tires all the way up to 45! The brakes aren’t very good either; step on ‘em and the rears barely lock up while the fronts don’t do anything. Oh, and it’s got no power steering, so you can’t drive it slow without looking like a tit.”


FM HiWay GT2000



Moving on to the HiWay, it was good-looking car except for the paint combination, though the lack of bumpers was a worry. The car could get a bit banged up during stunt scenes, Dick didn’t like the potential repair bills. Underneath the bonnet a two-litre, four-cylinder engine resided, just like the Conan’s resided, though that’s where the similarities ended. This didn’t have a turbo, only a single camshaft but with 16 valves (like the Dolomite Sprint), and was fueled by a pair of SU carburettors. The cars shared a similar rear suspension setup, though it had simpler McPherson struts up front instead.

Daniel’s comments: “The car handles alright in the turns, but it’s just not fast enough and the engine’s a bit of a dog. It should have a Weber or something, not those bloody eco carbs. Also, who the hell tuned the brakes? You can’t breathe on the fuckin’ pedal without the rears locking up. I’m damn glad we’re doing this in a field, otherwise I’d’ve ended up arse-first into a tree.”


Znopresk Z217 Sport



The Z217 Sport the guys had gotten their hands on seemed to have gotten a little spruced up compared to the one in the ad; this particular example was equipped with a black front spoiler and a set of black stripes. A look around the back revealed a spoiler on the boot lid and- wait, were those tow hooks? Dick let out a chuckle. Man, those Znopresk guys were serious about the ‘Sport’ thing. Under the bonnet sat another four-pot, though this one was the smallest one so far, at 1.7 litres. It had a single overhead camshaft, but only two valves per cylinder. On the other hand, it had the most complicated fuel system so far with two side-draft carburetors. The underside of the car revealed two big surprises: first, the car was front-wheel drive; second, while it had double-wishbone in the front it had leaf springs in the back!

Daniel’s comments: “Alright, I was a bit skeptical at first; first it drives on the wrong wheels and then it’s got ox cart suspension but bloody hell did they do a good job with it! It’s probably faster in the corners than the Conan and not bad in the straights either, even with only 120 horses. And it’s actually got good brakes! I gotta admit, I really like this one. The only problem is that it’s a bit wallowy, but that’s what happens when you compromise.”


HSR Jester



The Jester was definitely quite a looker with lots of little details to look at. The front fascia definitely gave the car a unique look. Dick thought it almost looked Asian. Moving on to the back revealed a strange detail; for some reason the rear bumper was almost three times as big as the front bumper! Other than that, the rear end looked quite nice, a bit like a Ford Capri in some ways.
In the engine bay sat the aforementioned V6, equipped with dual DCOE carburetors. Daniel furrowed his eyebrows. “They got two hundred horses out of that? Does the bloody thing even idle on its own?”. Underneath the car had McPherson struts in the front, and a solid axle in the rear, though this time it had coil springs.

Daniel’s comments: “Alright, first off: the engine. It does make two hundred horsepower all right and screams like a banshee, but you gotta rev the nuts off it to get to ‘em. It doesn’t make any power below four grand, so you can’t drive it like a normal car or you’ll end up stalling it all the time. Other than that, it’s OK; it understeers a little too much, and the brakes are too biased to the rear, but bloody hell that engine. Who the hell thought this was a good idea in a road car?”


Ausud 159RE



The Ausud 159RE was another unique-looking car; it kind of looked like what a front-engined 911 would look like. That’s apparently was Daniel thought too, as he opened the front boot to look at the engine. “What the-? There’s no bloody engine in here!” he exclaimed.
“Wrong end” replied Dick. Daniel didn’t seem to pleased with that response. “Oh for fucks sake, I said ‘no deathtraps’! You know what I think of those bloody rebadged Beetles.”
“Don’t worry, it’s probably fine, plus it’s not like you gonna get hurt out here.”
The engine turned out to be a three-litre V6 with a single four-barrel, a sensible configuration it seemed. Seeing the suspension setup underneath, double wishbone on both ends, seemed to relax Daniel a bit. “At least it’s not set up like a Beetle, maybe it’ll be alright.”

Daniel’s comments: “Alright, I’ll admit, it’s better than I thought it would be; much better in fact. The handling is really sharp, and it corners flatter than the Conan, and that’s without shattering your spine. And bloody hell I think it’s faster, too! I’m actually impressed, though I’m still not sure I trust it, especially with the brakes matting after a while.”


Ardent Vizcaya GT V6



The Vizcaya looked rather striking in the indigo color it was painted in. It was a nice looking car, though nothing that really stood out. The engine turned out to be the most primitive so far; a cam-in-block V6 with only a single two-barrel carburetor. Daniel shook his head. “Why do they keep doing this? It’s not like a four-barrel would cost that much extra, and it would make things so much better.” Underneath the car the simplicity continued, with leaf spring suspension in the rear and McPherson struts in the front.

Daniel’s comments: “It’s alright. Cornering’s not too bad, though it understeers a little at high speed. Brakes are good. The engine’s a bit sluggish, but it’s got decent power at least. Still wish it had a better carb, though.”


Morton M20 Twin Cam



Dick scratched his head. He could swear the car looked a little different in the ad. Or was he just imagining things? Anyway, this was another car that didn’t have bumpers. Or any trim at all for that matter. Aside from the matter of body work costs, Dick wasn’t sure the car could pull off the look. Some chrome strips would do wonders to break up the monotony of the sides. Also the color scheme reminded him of boats, for some reason.
Underneath the bonnet sat a two-litre, twin-cam inline-four with a four-barrel carb and… a long tube exhaust manifold? Not that it was a problem, but certainly unusual for a car of this price class. A look at the undercarriage revealed that the car was serious about its sporty intentions, with double wishbone suspension front and rear.

Daniel’s comments: “Hey, this is pretty good. It’s got loads of grip and corner nearly flat. Engine’s got a lot of pep, but there ought to be something wrong with the tune; there’s no extra kick anywhere in the revs. I think it’s got too much timing or something. Brakes fade a little bit after a while, though it doesn’t really matter that much ‘cuz of how good they are.”


Bogliq Belfast RS



The Bogliq had a very, um, ‘unusual’ color scheme. “Bloody dreadful”, thought Daniel. Dick reluctantly had to agree; the colors might have been OK on their own, but together the car looked more like some kind of chocolate cake or something. Other than that, it was alright; the front looked a little disproportionate, but the rear end was nice with the tail light surrounds in black plastic. The gold wheels looked rather classy, too.

The car turned out to be equipped with a rather large 2.4-litre inline-4. Like the Morton this also had tube headers, but completed the package with a pair of DCOEs. The suspension was much more conventional with a solid, coil-sprung rear axle and front struts.

Daniel’s comments: “The engine feels like it’s gonna puke its guts out when you go over six grand. I don’t get it, why build such a sporty engine if you’re not gonna make sure it can take the abuse? Other than that, it’s alright.”


Birmingham 2000 T-Top



This was another decent looking car, with some muscle car vibes. Dick felt a sudden urge to smuggle a load of bootleg beer across southern USA in two days. He snapped out of it and tried focusing on the issue at hand.
The engine was a rather large 3.5-litre V6, fed by a pair of SU carbs. The car rested on double wishbone suspension front and rear. “At least it should handle well”, said Daniel, “even though I’m not sure those tires are big enough.” Dick had to agree, the wheels did look rather skinny for such a big car.

Daniel’s thoughts: “Bloody hell the steering is heavy. At least the Conan didn’t weigh that much, this gotta be four hundred pounds more than that! Also the engine shakes more than a Parkinson’s patient with benzo withdrawal. You can’t just take a V8 and lop off two cylinders, it doesn’t work like that. Handling’s pretty nice, I gotta admit, but it just doesn’t have enough grip.”


LLA Moth V6



Dick wasn’t sure what country the Moth came from, but he guessed it was Italian. The elegant sports sedan definitely gave off those kinds of vibes. There was something weird with it, though.
A note on the dashboard caught Dicks attention. It read:
“Loaned from dealer, was in for repairs for missing mirrors, actual car has them.”
“Oh, that explains it then.”
Under the bonnet was yet another 3.5-litre V6 with… TWO four-barrel carburetors? Dick felt concerned. Such a setup hadn’t been used in production cars since what, the 1950’s? There was probably a good reason for that, he thought. Even though he doubted the car would break, he was afraid of how hard it might be to fix such a complicated setup.
Looking underneath revealed a rather conventional suspension setup, with struts in the front and semi-independent in the rear. What was somewhat concerning were the thin sway bars and the beefy brake calipers in the rear.

Daniel’s thoughts: “Jesus, this thing wallows like an American land yacht! And it’s like the front and rear aren’t even connected! What the hell were they smoking? The engine has some go, I’ll give it that. Brakes are good too, except the rears lock up too easily. But bloody hell that suspension, ruins the whole car!”


BAM Paginza 622



Seen from the rear, Dick could’ve sworn the Paginza was an Italian car, with its sleek lines and elegant design; however the stern look of the front revealed that this was indeed a German car.
In the engine bay rested a sensibly sized 2.2-litre straight-six. “This oughta be the first one of those we’ve seen”, Daniel commented. What was somewhat less sensible were the long-tube headers. Surely they wouldn’t be necessary for this kind of engine?
What was somewhat surprising (and concerning) was that not only did the car have two-piston calipers both front and rear, but the rear discs were bigger than in the front! “I don’t geddit; why does everybody mess up the brakes so much? Did the laws of physics change after these cars were designed or something?”
Said brakes (and wheels) were attached to the body with dual a-arm suspension on all four corners, this time with reassuringly thick sway bars.

Daniel’s thoughts: “I don’t know if it’s because the LLA drove like crap or something, but this feels great! Engine’s got some punch, the handling is sharp and it’s got loads of grip. I don’t get the brakes though; why are the rear brakes bigger than the front? It doesn’t make sense.”


Type SC Infinity



The Infinity was one car that Dick thought was really pretty in the ad, but in real life it was almost a little underwhelming. While the front looked alright, the rear looked like it was under designed, and he thought there was something missing from the car.

Oh, right.

Dick peered through the windows. Nope, no note about the missing wing mirrors. Guess the car just didn’t come with any.

A look under the bonnet revealed the first V8 of the day; a rather small 3.2-litre unit with dual two-barrel carburetors, which was something rather extraordinary.
More extraordinary was that the car was built on a tube-frame chassis, another first. “From a smaller company perhaps? Would explain them forgetting the mirrors.”

Daniel’s thoughts: “Holy hell this is quick. The only car that’s faster to 62 is the Ausud, and that has all of the weight over the drive wheels, which this sure as hell doesn’t. It likes to shred tires more than the Conan, for fuck’s sake! At least this one doesn’t have a turbo, so it’s easier to control. Shame about not having power steering, though, ‘cuz the chassis is pretty bloody good otherwise.”


Mount Royal Terrebone Turbo



“What’s this thing doing here? This isn’t even close to what we’re looking for!”
Dick had to agree; this wasn’t a sports coupe, this was a family car with slightly sporting ambitions. As much as he liked the quirky styling and weird engineering of the Terrebone, Daniel was right, this wasn’t the car for the show.
Whatever, the car was here now, might as well take a closer look. Under the bonnet lay the coveted twin-turbo 2.9-litre V6 with its twin SU carbs. All that tech, yet it had barely more than 160 horses. No, definitely not a sports car, something further confirmed by the hydrogas suspension.
Dick shrugged. “I don’t know, honestly.”

Daniel’s thoughts: “I don’t even know what the hell he was thinking with this one, it’s basically a fast Austin Allegro. Alright, it’s far less shit than an Allegro, I’ll give him that, but it’s completely wrong. Honest though, as a not-sports car it’s pretty good, even though the suspension is a little out of sorts and the brakes need tuning. I’m almost starting to warm up to it a bit, but it’s not a sports car.”


Griffa Rogue V8



There were only a few cars left, and Dick was pretty sure that none of them were going to top the Griffa Rogue on the crazy scale. The angry scowl of the front fascia made the car seem like it didn’t just ask for respect, it demanded it.
The car had the biggest engine by far; a massive hunking great bald-eagles-with-guns-bbq-and-beer American V8 with torque that could move mountains.
“Bloody hell”.
Dick nodded. Bloody hell indeed.

Daniel’s thought: “Fuck me, this thing is a monster. I’ll take back what I said; THIS is the fastest car of the bunch. Not even the Ausud can beat it. In a straight line that is, ‘cuz as soon as you hit a corner it all falls apart at the seams. Because it’s got fuckin’ two thirds of the weight on the front wheels it handles about as well as a Marina, and the brakes are even more American than the engine, and by that I mean ‘shit’. That isn’t what it’s about. It’s about style, character and this has it in spades. I hope we don’t get this one because I don’t want to have to drive it but bloody hell am I glad it exists.”


Komodo Inpiro S



If this whole mission was about finding the most flashy car possible this would probably win. The car had more chrome than a 60’s land yacht and looked like something that would sit in a drive way in Monaco rather than a slightly damp airfield in southern England.
The car had the second straight-six of the day, though this one was far bigger than what the BAM came with at more than 3.2 litres.

Daniel’s thoughts: “It’s not as sporty as the other cars ‘cuz it understeers a bit. Not as bad as the Griffa, but it’s still got a big, heavy engine. Oh and the brakes need work but that’s how it is for every car here.”


Armada Talon 4S



Dick could barely stop himself from drooling; the Armada was truly a beautiful car. Had this been all about the design and the emotions it awoke he’d have picked it as soon as he saw the ad. In reality however, things were more nuanced, which is why he had view the car more objectively.
Even when playing the numbers game the Armada did pretty damn well. The 2.2-litre straight-six developed 152 horsepower, a little more than the similarly-specced BAM. It had double wishbone suspension front and rear, just like it was expected for such a car and, rare in this company, sensibly sized brakes.

Daniel’s thoughts: “Now THIS is a gold nugget! It’s fast without being hard to drive, has great handling, lots of grip and best of all, Armada knows how to set up brakes! Fuckin’ brilliant!”


After many hours of looking, examining and testing, they were finally done with the last car.
“Alright, I guess we’re done here”, Dick said. “I think we should be able to pick something out of the-”.

He was interrupted by the rising sound of a wailing V12. It got louder and louder, until-

“What the actual fuck”

To be continued…

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