A couple of posts ago I was talking about the sports cars of my past. Well here's photos of three of them.
I still don't get the adding photos part of this blog to get them in the order or where I want them! Anyway, Me standing next to my first Fiero, 1985 5 speed on a test drive after we'd replaced the motor- a whole lot of work! But the Fiero was, I think anyway, an underrated car. That '85 got about 32 MPG on the highway on regular gas. For most people the biggest problem was it was so low to the ground! It was pretty difficult to get in and out of for some because of that design. Even the Solstice is taller. My favorite Fiero was the 1987 I bought at a yard sale! I wasn't at the yard sale itself, I was at work at a call next door. After I finished the call I went next door to talk about the car. They were the original owners and had bought it new in '87. But things had happened and they couldn't afford it anymore in 1998, so it was at the yard sale. I'd said I ultimately had 5 Fieros. 2 running, like the one above, and three for parts cars. The least expensive one was $125.00 (and it ran) the most expensive was $1000.00. The '87 cost $700.00. Of course I spent about double that for a paint job and repair to the A/C unit and a new interior, but it had low original miles and so that Fiero became the best one I had. Even with the auto trans and A/C, it still got 28 MPG so it was often the commuter car for the 80 mile a day round trip back then.
I'd handed the '87 down to Sean for a sporty car for him. He put some miles on it driving from San Diego to Phelan on the weekends. What killed it was the engine cooling design. The line to the overflow tank had sprung a leak and when he replaced it he forgot about the need to refill the coolant from the engine area, NOT at the overflow tank. So on a trip home from San Diego, he'd made it over 100 miles before it overheated and seized. An air pocket developed in the cylinder head area since it was higher than the radiator. We brought it up with us with the idea of 'someday' getting it going again. Let me just say Stacy is happy that it's gone and the Solstice runs great. We sold the Fiero to a neighbor that wants to get it running for his son. It seems like the thing that supposedly killed the Fiero in 1988, high insurance rates for young drivers, isn't the a problem now that its over 20 years old! I did see though that you can still get a "brand" new 1988 on e-bay!!
Second photo is my 1973 Datsun 240Z (the days before Nissan). In line 6 cylinder with 4 speed manual, no air conditioning. Had that car until a really strong sand storm hit after we'd moved to the desert, and before we'd built fences to protect the vehicles, sand blasted the car down to bare metal on the passenger side and also sandblasted all the glass in the car. So that was about 1990.
And the last one is the first "sports car" a Burgandy 1975 Triumph Spitfire. The only convertible until the Solstice, it was small, yet long and low. I've seen a couple over the years and now wonder how I got into it they're so small! Once in the drivers, or passengers seat of the Spitfire, your legs were way up next to the engine bay. And 1975 car tech for this model didn't include ventilation for the toesies. So what I remember most is toasting feet and legs!!! It had a 10 gallon gas tank with the filler directly behind the convertible top. But what killed the car for me and why it didn't stay long was the continual electrical problems! Lucas electrics! Seemed like something every week! The convertible was kinda nice but I also remembering it wasn't too much fun on the freeways in California. It seemed so small, even in 1982, around all the other cars of the day.
By the way, I remember I'd talked about Fred Davis's XKE's, and once on a trip to visit him when he lived in Weaverville I got to drive one of the cars around the area instead of just ride in one. Confining was the word that came to mind. I like the American 'gimmie some room' way of thinking when it comes to sports cars.
Forgot to include a shot of the Mitsubishi 3000GT. Another post I'll put one in.
Other stuff to talk about-
I guess that the real hot days of summer are now past. The hottest being last week during the trip to Mikes. This past weekend it got warm, about 87 on Sunday, but today it raining and cool.
After work tomorrow Stacy and I are heading out to go to Eureka California. We got reservations for the days there because it looked like most places were filling up since its the 'last weekend' of summer. So we'll see what we can accomplish with all the stuff in storage in two and a half days. At least some arrangements and agreements can be made while we're there.
Sandy and Erik are going to meet us there. It's a drive for them also to come up from Southern California, Sandy thinks they'll be there sometime Friday afternoon. We're not expecting them to help, just an opportunity for a visit. Albeit an out of the way visit! Almost 900 miles for us and about 700 miles for Sandy and Erik.
Laura seems to be doing well. Where Sandy was helping her company move to a new building a couple of weeks ago, Laura is helping the entire animal shelter move to another location. She likes her job but is still looking for something with better pay and more regular working hours and with two days off together!
Sean called and will be back to day shift starting next week. He hasn't called much the last few months because of his different shifts. He said overall things are doing well.
So that's this update. Type later, Tad
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