got into a little street race last night, in a car

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Ari Rankum

NAFO Karting Champion, 2012
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I found this on another forum. I don't know if it is original. I found it particularly amusing, though.

I borrowed my wife's Geo Metro last night. One liter of raw power, 3

cylinders of asphalt-tearing terror on thirteen-inch rims. It's stock,

alright, nothing done to it, but it pushes the barely 2000 pounds of metro

around with AUTHORITY. I'm always catching mopeds and 18-wheelers by

surprise...

I was headed back from Baskin Robbins with my manly triple-latte cappuccino

blast ("No Cinnamon, ma'am, I take it BLACK"), when I stopped at a

streetlight. As the Metro throbbed its throaty idle around me, I sipped my

bold beverage and wiped the white froth my stiff upper lip. I was minding

my own business, but then I heard a rev from the next lane.

I turned, made eye contact, then let my eyes trace over the competition.

Ford Festiva -- a late model, could be trouble. Low profile tires, curb

feelers, and schoolbus-yellow paint. Yep, a hot rod, for sure.

The howl of his motor snapped my reverie, and I looked back into the

driver's eyes, nodded, then blipped my own throttle. As I tugged on my

driving gloves and slipped on my sunglasses (gotta look cool to be fast,

and I am *damn* cool, hence...), the night was split with the sound of

seven screaming cylinders...

Then the light turned... I almost had him out of the hole, my three

pounding cylinders thrusting me at least a millimeter back into my seat, as

smoke pouring from my front right tire... my unlimited slip differential

was letting me down! I saw in the corner of my eyes, a yellow snout

gaining, and I heard the roar of his four cylinders. He slung by me, right

front wheel juddering against the pavement, and he flashed me a smile as

his .7 extra liters of motor stretched its legs. I kept my foot gamely in

it, though, waiting for the CHECK ENGINE light to blink on in the one-gauge

(no tachometer here!) instrument panel. I saw a glimpse of chrome under his

bumper, and knew the ugly truth... He was running a custom exhaust --

probably a 2-into-1 dual exhaust ... maybe event cutouts! Damn his hot-rod

soul! The old lady passing us on the crosswalk cast a dirty look in our

boy-racer direction...

Yet still I persisted, with my three pumping pistons singing a heady

high-pitched song, wound fully out. Though only a few handfuls of seconds

had passed, we were nearing the crosswalk at the other side of the

intersection, and I heard the note of his engine change as he made his

shift to second, and I saw his grin in his rearview mirror fade as he

missed the shift! I rocketed by, shifting, and nursed the clutch gently in

to keep from bogging, keeping my motor spinning hot and pulling me ahead,

now trailing a cloud of stinking clutch smoke. Not ready to give up so

easily, he left his foot in it, revving, and I heard one wheel *almost*

chirp as he finally found second and dropped the clutch. We careened over

the crosswalk, now going at least 15 miles per hour. A bicyclist passed us,

but intent on the race as we were, neither of us batted an eye.

He pulled slowly abreast of me, and neck and neck, we made the shift to

third, the scream of motors deafening all pedestrians within a five foot

circle. He nosed ahead as we passed 30 miles an hour, then eased in front

of me, taunting, as we shifted into fourth. I was staring up the dual 6"

chrome tips of his exhaust, snarling, my cappuccino forgotten, as he lifted

a little to take the next corner.

I saw my opportunity, and counting on the innate agility of my trusty

steed, I pulled wide into the number two lane and kept my foot buried in

carpet. Slowly, I inched around him, feeling my Metro roll slowly to the

left as I came abreast in the midst of this gradual sweeping turn. I felt

the Geo ease onto its suspension stops, and felt the right rear wheel

slowly leave the ground - no matter, though, because my drive wheels, up

front, were pulling me through the corner, and around the Festiva ... The

Ford driver beat his wheel in rage as my wife's car eased past him on the

outside, my P165/54R13's screaming in protest, as we raced to the next

light. We coasted down, neck-and neck, to the red light. I tightened my

driving gloves, ready for another round, when this WIMP in the next car

meekly flipped his turn signal and made a right. Chevy (Suzuki) superiority

reigns!!!

I drove off sipping my masculine drink, awash in my sheer virility, looking

for other unwitting targets.... Perhaps a Yugo, or maybe even a Volkswagon

Van!

joe

 
Ari....you don't have to hide behind an alias :D .....we are all FJR brethren here :good: ....you should come out from behind the facade :derisive: & admit it was yourself.... :lol: ....it's OK really :friends: :haha: :lol2: :rofl:

 
That was Great!

I actually had a Ford Fiesta, made in Germany, before they they went to the Festiva, made in...China? The Fiesta was a quick little thing that would run 200k miles no problem. Everyone that had one loved it, so naturally it was discontinued. I wonder if the FJR will be discontinued too?

 
That was Great!

I actually had a Ford Fiesta, made in Germany, before they they went to the Festiva, made in...China?
Korea. Made by Kia.
Festiva was made by Kia in Korea. Fiesta was made by Ford in Spain, but co-developed in Germany and Great Britain. Originally designated as the 'Bobcat', Hank Ford II wanted a small car to compete in Europe against Renault 5, VW Polo and Fiat 126, et al.

Pimply teenage boys, not into sports and sans the ability to get to 'first base' know this ****. What can I say.

 
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, or maybe even a Volkswagon

You do want none of that VW. As a Teen. I did the same minus the cuppuccino, in my 84 Escort with the most powerful 1.6L pavement pounder. That VW gave me nuttin but a good shot of its backside! maybe it was Herbie
:lol:

 
How about a 1969 VW square back sedan with a porsche 2.0 drive train....can you say sleeper? :lol: .....

 
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I had a Fiesta, 79 vintage. The engine was the 1.6 liter pushrod version originally installed in early Pinto's, Capri's, and believe it or not, still, Melroe Bobcats. It had a hot cam, Redline Weber carb, a header, Konis at all 4 corners, 14" fatties replaced the oe 12's, the car was actually a riot to drive. Me and a pal would have fun with people by picking up the rear and setting into place when parking, it was good for 7500 on the tach and 125 mph, and was an outstanding autocrosser/ice racer. I still wax nostalgic when I see threads like this........... :(

B31911.jpg


 
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, or maybe even a Volkswagon

You do want none of that VW. As a Teen. I did the same minus the cuppuccino, in my 84 Escort with the most powerful 1.6L pavement pounder. That VW gave me nuttin but a good shot of its backside! maybe it was Herbie
:lol:


 


Ahem, "cough" Fuego "cough"......


 


And don't forget the "dirt-tracking" that Escort did......
:p

 


Then again, considering my first car was an Aries K Wagon (yellow with the oh-so-classy fake wood vinyl appliqué) I'll bow out gracefully now......


 
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Yeah, that Renault Fuego would do 0-60 in 18 secs!!!!

You would leave a body imprint in the seat from the Gs!!!!

 
ahhh the memories...

my '76 AMC Gremlin with the Starsky & Hutch paint job and 232 under the hood....

...now I know why I block those memories out

 
ahhh the memories...
my '76 AMC Gremlin with the Starsky & Hutch paint job and 232 under the hood....

...now I know why I block those memories out
There you go! I had one of those too. One night, fueled up on beer, we took it through a dirt road, kinda like a slolam course drifting and bouncing off the sides. Back on the pavement the car was making a whirring noise and I figured the dust shield must have gotten pushed up to the flywheel. Figuring that situation would correct itself as it wore through we drove home. The next morning it wouldn't even turn over to start. A closer examination revealed the unsecured battery had fallen into the alternator cooling fan which had chewed it's way right into the plates, acid everywhere. That car was undestructable until I finally put it sideways, drivers door first, into a huge pine tree at 50 MPH. The drivers door and passenger door were only 2 feet apart. The rusted out car actually bent in a 45 degree around the tree. I was released from the hospital 9 weeks later. Thus, the beggining of a much more sedate lifestlye started back then.

 
I owned a 1962 Renault Dauphine Gordini with the coveted VENTOUX engine. The Ventoux had Renault factory power enhancements which pushed the 845cc engine up to a massive 40hp. The normal 32hp engine would rip 0-60 in 32 seconds but the hot 40hp engine pushed 0-60 times all the way down into the mid 20 second range. Just as well the performance numbers were at this level, because anything more would have over matched the chassis. The car tipped the scales at a gnat like 1,390 lbs. I purchased this car in 1970 for $0.00, its exact worth.

<torch>Body off. Suspension out. Engine out. Fab one full tubular frame with full roll cage, assembled on a car size welding frame. (Assume the acquisition of a totaled Lotus, again for the same $0.00) In goes the Lotus suspension. Send the Lotus engine to a speed shop for some tweaking, install. Fab the shift linkage and clutch assembly from hell. Send the rolling assembly to a race shop to get it dialed in. Install 5 point harness when nobody even used their 'lap belts'. </torch>

The car was street legal and still retained almost all of its original beauty :bad: It now weighed 1,550 lbs and produced a calculated 245hp. As noted in another thread, I went through NY State Drooper radar at >140 mph and in the process learned the difference between misdemeanor and felonious reckless endangerment. Spending 5 days in jail over a Thanksgiving holiday sucked. While the car spent a great deal of time at the track it still managed to do a bit of Corvette hunting when used as a commuter car.

 
got to watch out for the mighty mites, 1973 Mazda Syvanna Rotary Coupe(808 in the USA) put in the bigger B block 1288 cc, polished ports, teflon apex seals, huge holly 4 barrel+ high rise manifold, fab'ed new headers and exhaust(really big), only limit to making horsepower in those old wankels was how much fuel/air could you pump in verus how much exhaust can you pump out.

After the first time trials ANSCA(all nippon sports car Assc.) put us in the over 2000cc classes and made us run with mufflers. Daaamn, that car was LOUD. We still did very well thank you.

 
Oh this brings back memories...

I soo wrecked a Fiesta dirt tracking it on a buddies farm in Indiana in the mid 80's. :)

It was my girlfriends at the time.

I still remember the conversation; "Don't worry honey, this is perfectly safe. Us rednecks, we do this all the time. I won't wreck your car" :D

Those were the days.

 
Priceless, thanks for the chuckle.

Anyone remember the Vega? The engines would last all of 30,000 miles if you were lucky. Install one each SBC of suspect displacement, 4 barrel Holly on a high rise, nice quiet duals with the stock 13 inch tires.....Sleeper. As long as I nursed it out of the hole and kept tire spin to a minimum it was quick. Of course, I could tell stories of a friend ripping the rear control arms out of the uni-body when he fitted L60 X 15's on his......

Fun times back then.

--G

 
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