danb@teneron.UUCP (Dan Ball) (09/01/84)
Due to the enormous response (27 letters so far) from my article posted a few
days ago "Need 60's muscle cars for performance", I have decided to post
this follow up article.
The positive response has been greater than the negative response but there
are four underlying questions in all of the mail I have been receiving.
1) How can I see this car. Where is your proof?
2) What happened to the two guys who got pulled over? Did they go to jail?
3) Isn't going 145 mph. down an Interstate highway dangerous?
4) How do I fix up my Toyota/Datsun/Honda/Subaru/Mazda/Volkswagen/Dune Buggy
and bicycle so that I can blow the doors off of 396 Chevys?
In response to the first question, I can only say that I cannot set up a tire
frying demonstration for all of you out there in net land because you don't
live next door and are not necessarily willing to spend this weeks pay check
to fly out here to Portland, Oregon. But... I can refer you some literature:
Car and Driver May 1979: Article about 356 hp. RX-7 that broke 185 mph barrier
testing the [then] new 13b Wankel.
Car and Driver Apr-May 1984: High performance 4-WD ralley RX-7 that has won
many of the off road national and pro-national
circuits against 400-500 hp big cars.
I could drone on using past sources about racing mazdas but current is most
notable:
Oregonian (for us in Oregon) July 22, 1984 sports section GI JOES/Grand PRIX
article about Roger Mandeville and his rotary toy. His RX-7 has the smaller
300 hp. rotary and will only do 175-185 mph. (lesser engine than the one
I quoted in last article) BUT HE IS CURRENTLY IN FIRST PLACE IN BOTH THE
CAMEL GTO and GTU competitions (These are the big block boys with gas
guzzling bored out v-8's).
Question #2 - What happened to the two racers?
The actual story has more detail than I brought out: There were only two
police officers involved and no real road block. The two cars passed the first
officer who was hiding on an overpass and at that time were only beginning
to accellerate. This officer knew that something was up when he attempted to
chase them but could only watch as they both drifted off into the sunset.
He radioed to his buddy who was located about 6 miles down the road.
The second officer decided not to attempt to give chase but parked his car
along side the road and turned on his lights. Both drivers (being the law
abiding citizens that they were and knowing that they were nailed) saw
the lights and pulled off behind him.
My buddy actually knew one of the officers and managed to get both of
them off with only a $35.00 ticket each (based upon the 69 mph. reading of
the first officers radar although the second radar clocked John at 153).
question #3 - Isn't 145 mph dangerous?
Yes, going 145 mph on an Interstate is usafe under any conditions. But...
They were travelling at 1:00 am on the widest 3 lane stretch of highway
between Salem and Portland. Also it is well lighted. Under any other
conditions it would have not been possible.
question #4 - How do I turbo my go-cart?
Building up smaller engines can sometimes be difficult and expensive yet
very possible. The rotary lends itself easily (and cheaply) because it can
rev to 14,000 rpms and be ported out to run like one big sucking wind
turbo-charger. Also it is extremely tiny and light. (1156 cc., 200 lbs.)
The best advice for increasing the performance of smaller cars
is to have the engine rebuilt, directed towards high compression,
high revving and high air/fuel ratio mixing. (Bigger 4 bbl. carburetors
and high psi. turbo charging). The more cool and wet air that can be
jammed into the cylinders increasing volumetric efficiency is the best bet.
Also getting the weight down is paramount. Remember that the fastest
production 1/4 mile accellerating vehicle has only 121 hp. THAT'S RIGHT! ONLY
121 HP. WHY?? Because it is an 800 lb. Honda motorcycle.
Weight is the whole key to my article. 386 hp. is not a lot of horsepower
but it is when put into a car that weighs only 2050 lbs AND IS BUILT TO HANDLE
THE POWER VERY EFFICIENTLY BOTH OFF THE LINE AND ESPECIALLY AT HIGH SPEEDS.
Extreme horsepower is as much of a disadvantage (more so in my book) than
an advantage because you have to build an immense grid-iron framework around
it to harness it. This reduces finesse in styling, cornering, braking, looks,
efficiency, and with 13 1/2 Gallon Per Mile (not a misprint) guzzleability,
these vehicles are great at maintaining oil financed wars throughout the world.