RE: Less is more (was: 2.0 V6)

["Nick Koleszar" <npk@domain.elided>]

John

Your information is both immense in size and interest. You must have one of
the finest libraries, either in your head or, umm..., in your library! It is
so rewarding to trade views/opinions/information/"wha'evah" (as they say in
the UK) with you.

At the risk of going way way way OT in this list, further to the less is
more thread, in the 80s, the Japanese went a little bit nuts for cars which
were trucks, or vise versa. Parking is/was so bad in Tokyo that, unless you
could prove you had your own parking space, you weren't allowed to buy a
car. In the 60s, I believe, the Kei Jidosha class of vehicle was created -
basically micro-cars but nowhere near as nasty as their 40s and 50s European
equivalent. In the 80s, trucks were ok in Tokyo, as long as they met certain
requirements one of them being maxiumum engine capacity of somewhere around
660cc, later upped, I believe, to 800cc.

This spawned all manner of wierd, wonderful and effective machines in the
truck-cum-car sector such as the (my favourite) Mitsubishi Minica Dangan
ZZR,

The Dangan ZZR had circa 660cc, 4wd, 5 valve per cylinder, turbocharging and
intercooling to pull/push a car slightly taller, narrower than and about the
same length as a Mini. I recall something in the region of 64bhp or so.
http://www.xs4all.nl/~mjs/mitsubishik.html

Unfortunately, none of this class of car was officially available in the
west although Mitsubishi brought one to the UK which did the rounds of the
car magazines and succeeded in getting a big thumbs-up from great rally
driver Pentti Airikkala (http://www.flyingfinns.com/airikkal.htm). He rated
the car as the most fun he had ever driven, which is saying something as he
is used to considerably faster machinery and is probably larger than the car
itself.

I had a flatmate at the time who worked in Tokyo and remember him giving me
the impression left as one of these little rockets came past, "squeal!!
whizz!! whoosh!! bang!! screech!! flutter!! whoosh!! squeal!! whizz!!
etc...".

The other Japanese makers all produced similar types of machinery at the
same time. You can read more on the by following the Kei Jidosha links here:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~mjs/index.htm

Everyone should remember the Honda N and S 600 and 800 coupes and roadsters
of the 60s. These were basically motorcycle-engined little monsters that
revved to 8000+, produced loads of power but couldn't stop (very poor
brakes).
http://www.honda-s800-club.freeserve.co.uk/

Of course, all of these are 3 and 4 cylinder cars.

I probably have some of the minor details wrong as it's been some time and
it's very difficult to find info on any of these cars but you get the point.

George, I'm amazed you forgot the Ferrari 156 model, especially after our
short but impressive "epic flamewars of 2002" episode about the Alfa and
Dino V6s etc!

Chris Rea did have a replica made for use in his music videos and a truly
atrocious film (unless you're particularly taken by Shirley Bassey) which he
made about his childhood obsession with the marque and the drivers of the
50s and 60s. I don't think there is an original sharknose Dino in existence
but I may be wrong. Didn't Bandini die in one at Monaco (I may have eras and
models completely muddled on this)?

Alfa content: all this makes me quite eager to try a small capacity 750 or
105 series car. I still remember the snap and razz of the exhaust on a 70s
Alfetta GT 1300 which was in a used car lot in Windsor, Ontario when I was a
kid. I remember, already at the ago of about 15, being copmletely besotted
by Italian machinery. I took a friend to the car lot to try and get him
enslaved to the Church of the Italian Car. On this lot were a TR6, a
rubber-bumper MGB (hack, wheeze, caugh, splutter) and the Alfa. Like many of
the poor, wretched, ignorant common folk who lay about the land like so many
half-dead pieces of human  flotsam and jetsam, he was drawn to the MGB. I
pronounced, "You are mad, let me show you why!". I asked the salesman to
please start up the car and dragged my friend around to the exhaust end
(aka, the business end). Sure enough, as the salesman blipped the throttle,
a delicious razz, snarl and snap were emitted. Our cause had found another
convert!

Shame I couldn't afford the car.

> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Thu, 9 May 2002 22:57:01 -0400
> From: "John Hertzman" <johnhertzman@domain.elided>
> Subject: Less is more (was: 2.0 V6)
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