I’ve got a ridiculous amount of stupid ideas for Frankencar engine transplant/customisation/crossbreeding projects, so I’d start by setting up a workshop with mechanics, body and paint guys (or girls) and a manager to take my phone calls every time inspiration struck like ’hey, how about a Nissan S-Cargo monster…
MorganGT
morgangt
Oh yes, the sound......
Suzuki later produced the RG250, a parallel twin watercooled 2 stroke sportsbike with (allegedly) the first all aluminium frame on a production bike. It eventually morphed into the RGV250 (V-twin 2 stroke). They also produced the RG500, which was essentially two parallel twins sandwiched together (dual cranks) and…
Can’t remember which model, but I did find a 70s Toyota in a wrecking yard years ago that had tiny winder handles to swivel out the vent windows, so an electric version would not have been hard.
Some guys I knew years back had a similar setup to this. They were members of a car club that pooled resources and rented 2 small factory units next to each other. One was sub-let by one of the members who lived in the factory in a caravan and ran his own repair shop out of half of the space, the other one and a half…
The one I let go?
.......and just to prove we down here are also good at taking the piss, we named a swimming pool after him !
A good sleeper shouldn’t sound powerful idling at the lights, so no V8s. And huge tyres on the back are also a giveaway but a powerful RWD car without decent rear tyres can’t make use of excessive power, so you want AWD with subtly wider wheels and the grippiest tyres available.
The Alfasud Sprint 6C Group B prototype may not have seen the light of day, but some roadgoing mid engined Alfa Sprints did emerge from a factory in Australia - the first few with Alfa V6s, then a dozen with a Holden V8. Google ‘Giocattolo’ (Italian for ‘toy’, apparently) for more info....
Holden Scurry - perfectly descriptive and cute for what was a rebadged Kei-class Suzuki Carry van.
I don’t know why rotaries have such a reputation for fragility - all my experience of them suggests they are tough as old boots! At one point in the late 90s nearly all the gearheads in our little group ended up owning a rotary alongside the V8s they already had. They were mostly high mileage already and were not…
If you like the sound of Merlins and WWII themed cars, google ‘Rod Hadfield Final Objective’ - Rod Hadfield is an Australian hot rod builder who built a P51 Mustang themed ‘55 Chev, and did it properly by stuffing a Merlin engine into it!
Leyland P76.
By running a check on a computer. The Police also have plate recognition cameras they can sit by the side of the road, scan each plate as cars drive by then pull over anyone with an expired registration or where the car is registered to someone with a suspended licence. The camera system uses character recognition to…
In a idealistic world I’d be able to buy a Morgan, but unfortunately the closest I’ll get is monogramming my tool cabinet with the diecast script boot badge off a Morgan.
You mention the 610 as the unloved follow up to the 510, but I loved them, even if nobody else did. As well as quite a few 510s, including a wagon (fairly rare here in Australia) I had a couple of 610 coupes. Down here they were called the 180B SSS. One had a Nissan FJ20ET and 5 speed transplant, as well as upgraded…
Is it a bit sad that looking at the photos of Duttons the main thing I spotted was the customised espresso machine in the cafe? Admittedly that’s my line of work, which is why I have been to Zagame (to service their coffee machines). Last time I was at Zagame in Swan Street, across the various showrooms they had an…
My best mate had a similar light connected to a switch that we referred to as the ‘hoon mode’ light - it was universally accepted that if a passenger reached over and switched on the ‘hoon’ light, the driver had to floor it no matter what the situation. Although sometimes it was hard to tell the car was at full…
It’s kind of bizarre seeing so many familiar locations filled with supercars. That first service station I recognise, it’s in Anglesea - I’ve had to stop in there with my first bike when I was running on fumes.