1979 Oil Crisis Challenge [Finished]

I’ll be looking forward to what kind of performance you can get out of a 15k $ car that also does 25mpg or more. But yeah, as far as suspension setup goes, it can be track ready if you want.

Well since the engine performance is pretty much restricted by the rules, suspension tunning will be key to improve track times

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I’ll add gearing to that as well.

How will the races work? Will they be done with beam MP or you will trial them?

He does time trials with each and posts the laps on his Youtube channel. He has some previous challenges (1967 weekend race car, 1992 Sport truck, etc) that have all worked the same, which you can check out

i will be slow as fuck again :smiley: 75 Hp here :smiley: but hey at least 42 US mpg.

I wonder if I can make a Sinistra work in this challenge… Well, I’ve got 6 days to crank out a design, might as well try.

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Really?

79 body, 72 engine (2 way cat & 4barrel) 25 US mpg, and $1K to spare. Sure, it’s as slow as a wet week, but I’ve only been adapting it for about 20 minutes.

It should be said that hitting the fuel mileage target has as much to do with which body you are using as it does the engine itself. There’s a massive difference between drag and weight between them.

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I’m sorely tempted to run with the sedan I made, complete with the 1600cc, 55 horsepower I3. It’s a perfect example of why no one ever mentions the few I3 engines Sinistra ever made.

It’s guaranteed to be slow, but it’s L-FWD, 4 speed, and squeaks by in the fuel economy part, so it’s a classic Sinistra in at least two ways.

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MAHG Delta Rapide '79

2.6L
140+hp
5speed box
9.3L/100km

I guess it’s going to be the quick one!

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Does rule requirements 5 full seat not 2/3*?

I presume that all 5 seats have to be full-sized (no +3 in the second row).

Is power steering requirements?

If it’s not written, it’s not a rule…

1979 Sinistra Traville XLC-1600

So, you need a family sedan, but it has to get more than 25 MPG, cost less than $15,000, and you don’t care about performance so long as it can drive?

Then you need the Sinistra Traville in XLC-1600 trim. All expenses were spared, providing you with a car painted in any color you want, so long as all you want is plastic-with-white, with a punchy (for a go-kart) 1.6 liter inline three driving a five speed manual transaxle under the hood. Sure, we have fuel injection and four-wheel independant suspension in this design, but we guarantee you’d have more fun trapped in an elevator with a farting sumo wrestler than you ever could behind the wheel of this factory clunker.

At Sinistra Motors, we seriously recommend you get literally any other engine in this car if you can afford it, but for those who insist on maximum MPG at all costs, the XLC-1600 might just be the car for you.

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1979 MAU Bojon


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I made that MAU Bojon in one day. I’m tired.

Any notes on min/maxing? Like is it possible to do -15 quality safety?

LONGLEY Panama ST6 1979


In 1979, energy prices were skyrocketing, so Longley had to make a small, fuel efficent car that would still provide fun handling and high speeds. So, they introduced their new entry level muscle car, the Panama

Panama on the middle right, along with three other failed concept cars
with a 2.4L V6 turbo’d engine producing 105bhp, it was clear that the energy crisis had taken a massive chunk out of muscle car performance. However, at weghing just over 800kg, it was light enough to keep up with or even beat contemporary muscle cars like the Ford Mustang or Dodge Charger on twisty roads, despite a third of the power.


Some more advantages of this strange muscle car was it’s great city abilities. In a larger car, like a Ford Falcon or Chevrolet Camaro, it was hard to navigate tight city junctions, and find a parking space. But with the Panama, it’s immense compactness meant you could look cool AND park up at the nearest shopping mall.


A major flaw compared to American muscle cars was to do big fat 'MURICAN BURNOUTS BABY! Which made it unpopular with the hardcore Muscle fans of the deep south of the country. However, it introduced the European market and the large city areas like Los Angeles or New York, to the muscle car market. It was also vastly cheaper compared to the large V8 American muscle cars, not just on fuel economy but it’s very attractive 15 grand starting price, meaning it could give a small taste of muscle car performance to a much wider range of demographics. Come the late 1980’s early 1990’s, the car was on sale not just in Europe and America, but in countries like China, Japan, Russia, the Phillipines and even some parts of the African continent. The last one rolled off the line in June 2001, at Longley’s overseas production plant in Kyoto, and was also honoured by being the first car to drive around the new Kyoto Driving park.

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