My modest but comfy ride

[mattmacklind]

Man, what is it with Australians and big motors?! I mean this in a complimentary way, of course, but ever since I saw Mad Max when I was like 12 years old I have associated "muscle cars" more with Australia than the US. Are you guys like all hard core enthusiasts or what? GM in the US just keeps using the ol' 3800 V6 in everything, until recently anyway, and you guys get huge V8's. Are there vast areas of open road there? What is the speed limit and how is it regulated? Seriously asking.

[2ndclasscitizen]

Man, what is it with Australians and big motors?! I mean this in a complimentary way, of course, but ever since I saw Mad Max when I was like 12 years old I have associated "muscle cars" more with Australia than the US.

The thing is Australia had quite a few American brands in the first half of the 20th century so it came from there, also Holden and Ford both used by US V8s in a lot of their cars (though Holden not so much, only the 327 then 350 Chevs)

Are there vast areas of open road there?

Yes

What is the speed limit and how is it regulated? Seriously asking.

Highway will be 100-110kmh, and depending on what state and wherabouts you are the enforcement varies from really strict to bugger all. But all the state governments are big on the speeding issues

[pimento]

The Northern Territory still has sections of derestricted roads, but it's also a legacy of cheap fuel, wide roads and most early cars being either American or American based. Also hoons/yobbos.

[acemotorsport]

Highway will be 100-110kmh, and depending on what state and wherabouts you are the enforcement varies from really strict to bugger all. But all the state governments are big on the speeding issues

go to NT some roads up there are not speed stricted good for some ''testing''

[Doug_Dread]

That is just ****ing wicked

I love cars like that. There's a BMW M3 somewhere near here roaming around with '318Ci' badges on it, and standard wheels!

Yeah, I think they call them Q-cars and believe me, they are tremendous fun because EVERYONE underestimates them. I built it because I wanted supercar speed but couldn't afford a supercar, a sort of 'poor man's Ferrari'. I doubt I would have had as much fun in a real Ferrari.

I made sure I told no lies by removing the V6 badging, replacing the one on the boot with an 'automatic' badge, just to rub it in. Gave my victims something to read when they caught up and examined the back of the car for some sign of wtf had just blown their doors off.

The 3 speed Turbo 350 auto box was operated through a B&M ratchet, racing shifter (sort of 'mechanical tiptronic'), which made it a clutchless manual. Aside from the engine, this was the key component of the car, making it almost impossible to make a mistake on take off. Many a faster car lost out through poor clutch work, either spinning their wheels or falling in the hole (too much clutch, not enough revs).

Another important bit was a modified torque converter which allowed me to hold my foot on the brake while building up revs to the optimum for a 'no wheelspin, no lag' take off.

Traction was always a problem. Without flaring the wheel arches, it was tough to get enough rubber on the road. The best I could do was hunt for a set of mags that projected inwards more than outwards, but I still had to lift the back suspension to stop the tyres catching when the car 'hunched down' under full power or went over bumps.

To double the rubber, I had spacers inserted in the diff to force all the gears to mesh, a sort of cheap and nasty limited slip diff, making it drive off both rear wheels instead of just the one. Worked like magic but made the car deadly and almost undrivable on a wet road. When both rear tyres broke free, the car was under no obligation to go where it was pointing.

The other big problem was cooling. The big Merc radiator you see in the photo did ok as long as the car was moving, but getting caught in stationary traffic guaranteed an overheat. This was later solved by replacing the radiator with the large aluminium one from a BMW 735.

All in all, driving the ultimate wolf in sheep's clothing, was the most fun driving period of my life.

[henk4]

So what are your plans for underneath the Mazda bonnet?

[Doug_Dread]

So what are your plans for underneath the Mazda bonnet?

LOL, nothing. Mmmmm.... wonder if a re-chip would wake it up a little?

[henk4]

LOL, nothing. Mmmmm.... wonder if a re-chip would wake it up a little?

depends whether it has a turbo or not. Otherwise a chip would not do too much.

[Doug_Dread]

Slightly OT but hey, its got wheels.

I used the money from the sale of the Rhino to take this ultimate speed freak ride. The plane is a Hawker Hunter jet fighter and after a gut-wrenching aerobatic sortie which pulled my stomach out my mouth and rammed it up the other end, reached a speed of Mach 0.95.

[acemotorsport]

LOL, nothing. Mmmmm.... wonder if a re-chip would wake it up a little?

conv to rwd, tub it and put a rotor in it

[greg.harvey]

Yeah, I think they call them Q-cars and believe me, they are tremendous fun because EVERYONE underestimates them.

<trivia> So named after the British "Q Boats" of WW2, which were destroyers disguised as merchant vessels hiding in trans-Atlantic convoys during the war to catch out careless U Boat captains. </trivia>

Nice ride!

[Doug_Dread]

Hmmm.... seems there's no interest here in wheels that don't stay on the ground?

[IWantAnAudiRS6]

Hmmm.... seems there's no interest here in wheels that don't stay on the ground?

Go on, change your avatar, you know you want to

And your Cortina fascinates me! I've always wanted to do that to a car- in particular a VW Lupo, then shove a 2.8 VR6 under the bonnet... it can be done!!