90's sleeper cars appreciating

James Hart

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Sleeper has been a term known to me for my entire memory... the outcome of this Saturday morning favorite is the definition of 'Sleeper'



or perhaps it was my old man 'lighting them up' and blowing the doors off young punks at the Jersey Shore in the old Plymouth Mom wagon (he dropped a 440 6-BBL from a Police cruiser in place of the stock 2bbl 318) while we were on summer vacations in the mid 70s.

and I'm curious if this is "the rule"... I like a moderated forum, but is talk limited to just Guild stuff?
 

Opsimath

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"or perhaps it was my old man 'lighting them up' and blowing the doors off young punks at the Jersey Shore in the old Plymouth Mom wagon (he dropped a 440 6-BBL from a Police cruiser in place of the stock 2bbl 318) while we were on summer vacations in the mid 70s."

That's funny! 🤣
 

twocorgis

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Tail happy?
Yes, also known as "trailing throttle oversteer". If you went into a turn too hot and lifted the throttle, forces would jack up the swing axles, and raise the car's center of gravity at a most inopportune time. Many a VW Beetle, and even a Porsche or two overturned due to it, or went off the road tail first.
 

Opsimath

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Yes, also known as "trailing throttle oversteer". If you went into a turn too hot and lifted the throttle, forces would jack up the swing axles, and raise the car's center of gravity at a most inopportune time. Many a VW Beetle, and even a Porsche or two overturned due to it, or went off the road tail first.
Yikes! And thank you for the explanation.
 

JohnW63

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In general, "tail happy" can be summarized as the back of the car doing what it wants and not what you want.

Luckily, my wife's Little British Car has a different set of parts than the Mark I GT6 and is not nearly so prone to "rear jacking" , like this picture shows....

triumph-spitfire-.jpg
 

adorshki

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In general, "tail happy" can be summarized as the back of the car doing what it wants and not what you want.
That's what locking differentials are for. The Super Coupe (and lots of muscle cars) had one so it would always burn rubber in nice straight lines.
 

adorshki

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Yikes! And thank you for the explanation.
It's also why GM for sure (and likely Ford and Chrysler too) designed their chassis with a deliberate bias to understeer, or not want to turn in too tightly: Most people going into a corner too fast will lift off the throttle, inducing the rear end to lose traction and come out, forcing the front end to come in and helping cure the problem, hopefully before the car went off the road.

One of the reasons Corvairs got such a bad rap or handling was that the front tires were supposed to be inflated to a lower pressure than the fronts. This was so uncommon that it went largely unknown or ignored by lots of owners. The original rear suspension was flawed too, but was quickly upgraded. Remember that was a rear-engine vehicle so was naturally tail-heavy.
 

adorshki

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Not '90's, but I love this:
189546_Front_3-4_Web.jpg

189546_Rear_3-4_Web.jpg



These came out in late '92 and I still think they're one of the most gorgeous cars ever built. I still lust after one. But they suffered from the same drawbacks as the Thunderbird SC:
1993-mazda-rx7-fd-for-sale-1-1024x768.jpg


And unlike my beloved first-gen RX-7's, there's not really enough room to curl up back there for a nap, in a pinch.

But I think I could learn to live wih that.
 

twocorgis

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These came out in late '92 and I still think they're one of the most gorgeous cars ever built. I still lust after one. But they suffered from the same drawbacks as the Thunderbird SC:
1993-mazda-rx7-fd-for-sale-1-1024x768.jpg


And unlike my beloved first-gen RX-7's, there's not really enough room to curl up back there for a nap, in a pinch.

But I think I could learn to live wih that.
A neighbor just around the corner has one just like this, and in true Wankel fashion, it sounds a lot like a 6hp outboard when she drives by!

Member @RussD has, or at least had one, last time we had a meet-up at the Arlington guitar show, and they are pretty!
 

twocorgis

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The only car I coveted from the '90s was the BMW M3.

1674665851973.png
Perhaps the best M3 ever. I've owned three BMWs ('87 325i. '98 528i) the overall best one being my current '09 535i 6 speed, but I've gotten off their bandwagon now that they all have run flat tires and awful electric power steering. Can't get manual transmissions in anything but the M cars now, either.

My Car and Truck.jpg
 

adorshki

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That old Nash Rambler Wagon makes me swoon!!! :love::love: From back in the days where you just had to glimpse and knew what car it was vs. today when you have to scan for a name badge because they all look mostly alike.
And then there're the "Medusas". You know, the ones that turn you into stone if you look at 'em for too long;

images


1674667559221.jpeg
images


Rarely one to innovate where they could follow, Chevy jumped on board too.

images



In an alternate universe being forced to drive one of these things for a year became the modern equivalent of being pilloried, with much better behavior-modifying results than the typical social media lamb-basting parties.
 
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