Why the Pontiac Solstice

Squatch said:
Didn't the original MR2 actually have the tie rods from a Corolla or Camry in the back end of them, as it used the front engine cradle from one of those cars? Of course, the tie rods were not related to any kind of rear steering, or anything. They were just affixed to something stationary.
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The chassis of a corolla was flipped 180 for the MR2. It was in essence a Corolla going backward.

The engine compartment of the original with the Supercharger was so tight changing the belts required access from below.
 
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I had somebody offer to trade a '79 MGB for my Z3 today. I told him I have too many already (I really just don't want to have to find parts for it ;))
I did love my S2k though.
 
Squatch said:
Solstice over the Sky, for me. S2000 over the Miata. Fiero over the Fiat X-19. Second gen Corvair over any of them. ;)
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Sunbeam Tiger over them all. Wish I never got rid of that car! :cool:
 
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I've always had a soft spot for the Datsun 2000. I had one back in the day with the rally package (150HP, Solex carbs and a 5 speed) and it was one of the best balanced cars I've ever driven. For a 1970 model it had great power to weight and handled like it was on rails. 75HP per liter was pretty amazing in those days and in a 2,000 pound car it was quick even by today's standards.

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I sold it to my cousin 30 years ago and he has fully restored it. It needed someone with some money to invest and that wasn't me in those days.

This isn't it but it's just like this one.
 
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Rooscooter said:
I've always had a soft spot for the Datsun 2000. I had one back in the day with the rally package (150HP, Solex carbs and a 5 speed) and it was one of the best balanced cars I've ever driven. For a 1970 model it had great power to weight and handled like it was on rails. 75HP per liter was pretty amazing in those days and in a 2,000 pound car it was quick even by today's standards.

View attachment 185768

I sold it to my cousin 30 years ago and he has fully restored it. It needed someone with some money to invest and that wasn't me in those days.

This isn't it but it's just like this one.
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Met the neighbor's brother a couple days ago, and he said he has a '69 2000 Roadster. Neat little cars! When did they quit calling them the Fairlady?
 
Rooscooter said:
Funny you should say this....

I much prefer the Pontiac's clean looks. In fact I like them so much I'm looking at one of these at the moment.

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This is the GXP coupe with the targa top. They made about 2000 of them in the final year for Pontiac.
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I always loved the look of the car and how balanced it looked as well as the aggressive stance and the wheels/tires being further at the corners. Great potential and easily swappable with Benz performance parts
 
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Growing up my mom had a 1978 Fiat 110 Sedan(Similar the one above but Green), that she kept for a few years. She drove the car everywhere and that vehicle was always great to be in until it rained. It rains all the damn time in the Caribbean where we lived. As a little kid I always had to help push start it. Still fond memories of that car, but if I ever get an older Italian vehicle, I will be redoing the entire electrical system.
 
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Squatch said:
Met the neighbor's brother a couple days ago, and he said he has a '69 2000 Roadster. Neat little cars! When did they quit calling them the Fairlady?
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It's when they put the 2 liter in them. In Japan they were called Fairlady regardless.

If your neighbor's brother has one with the Solex carbs it's the 150HP engine that was a product of Skyline which had just been purchased by Nissan.

The 2000 dominated the racing circuit in their class for the 3 model years they were made. 0-60 in the very low 7's, a perfectly mated 5 speed and a top speed of 130. It had a stock aluminum finned oil pan that held 7 quarts and was about 2,000 lbs curb weight. The Sunbeam's needed 4 more cylinders to get to 164hp at nearly 2,650 lbs.

It performed better than the 6 cylinder UK cars of the day by a decent margin..... for about $3K new when a MGB was over $5K....... and it worked in the rain.

Add a cam and a decent exhaust and you could get close to 200hp.
 
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Rooscooter said:
It's when they put the 2 liter in them. In Japan they were called Fairlady regardless.

If your neighbor's brother has one with the Solex carbs it's the 150HP engine that was a product of Skyline which had just been purchased by Nissan.

The 2000 dominated the racing circuit in their class for the 3 model years they were made. 0-60 in the very low 7's, a perfectly mated 5 speed and a top speed of 130. It had a stock aluminum finned oil pan that held 7 quarts and was about 2,000 lbs curb weight. The Sunbeam's needed 4 more cylinders to get to 164hp at nearly 2,650 lbs.

It performed better than the 6 cylinder UK cars of the day by a decent margin..... for about $3K new when a MGB was over $5K....... and it worked in the rain.

Add a cam and a decent exhaust and you could get close to 200hp.
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I remember seeing a Fairlady 240Z (or 240Z Fairlady?) about 40 or so years ago. I'm guessing it was for the Japanese market, based on what you've said about the Fairlady roadsters. Anyways, the one I saw was a '70. The pic is not that car, but at least it shows the script. Hard to find pics of 'em...
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