Forgot to mention, had Vega hatchback (1st car, loved it, actually) I traded for a beastly '67 Camaro (late blossoming hot rod lust at 18, possibly the worst car I ever owned, maybe tied with a Fiat X1-9).
Around '87 bought a '70 Olds Cutlass S 350 from old GF's father:
Loved the lines on those suckers, especially the little arch on the rear fender blending perfectly into the body contours..mine was like the gold one except had the black vinyl roof.
That was my introduction to "gentlemen's hotrods".
To this day still think it was one of the most beautiful American production designs ever built, like "top 15" maybe? (I'd put Tom's '58 Impala in there, too, especially for this little detail alone, the little set of vents on the roof, way cool, but fender skirts only a low rider could love
) :
Anyway, bought the Olds at 58k and blew the rear transmission seal at about 63k going "over the hill" to Santa Cruz one day. Powered up from 50 to about 70 on a nice long 1/2 mil incline and knew the next couple of curves were roomy enough to be able to deal with a slow car and I'd be coasting by that time anyway, when a cloud of smoke starts trailing the car...hmmmm....don't seem to be getting any power, either.... uh-oh, time to minimize the damage.
Fortunately was at the crest where there was little restaurant and could call for tow easily enough.
Car had actually spent the first 50k on the streets of San Francisco, driven by lady in her 50's, but still, probably put a little extra wear and tear on tranny, suspension, and brakes.
So while tranny was being rebuilt, had 'em check the compression: 165 +/- 1.3lb all around.
So told 'em to add a shift kit to the tranny rebuild.
About a year later had the front end rebuilt. In that condition, was coming back from Santa Cruz one afternoon, into a long sweeper known as the "Valley Surprise" as it tightens up at the bottom when the first view of Silicon Valley is seen, distracting a driver.
Even though I was familiar with the road, I did have to back off coming into the apex, was doing about 90, steering wasn't locked up, but at the apex the whole car just kind of shifted outward,
sideways, maybe a couple of feet. Never lost its composure.
By that time had scrubbed off speed to about 70 and the rest of the road's a pretty forgiving ride while coasting downhill at sensible (50's) speeds.
I figured I'd unintentionally found the car's limits but never pushed it that hard again, except once a couple months later, late night, clear road, coming down the last 'cline to the valley floor pushed it to 105 at the start of a couple-mile long straightaway. Think I only went that fast once later on, in the Super Coupe.
Got the RX-7 while I still owned the Cutlass, so had both ends of the spectrum covered for a few years, there. Was in my early 30's, working at Heathkit-owned-by-Zenith for the best money I'd ever made, life was good.
Looked just like this, except I had the flip-up removable sunroof.
Cast wheels were jewels.
The little vents on the trailing edge of the B pillar, and the black covers for the hatch hinges at the trailing edge of the top, like a fighter plane.
To die for, especially when the top's hi-lit by the sunroof outlined in black, too. And the scoop for the license plate and its lights.
They even integrated the bumpers perfectly, too, with the narrow high rub-strip. My favorite overall version.
Had an '85 with the roof, too:
So you could drive in the rain with the roof cracked open like that, it was operated by a little rotating knob right at the back edge easy to reach, and even with a tail end wind the interior'd stay dry. If you took the roof all the way out and stowed it with built-in straps on the hatch floor, a little spoiler flipped up to break the airflow at the front edge of the hatch and interior air remained calm.
The ergonomics in that car were amazing, too. Handling? Felt like Chuck Taylors (hi-tops) compared to waffle-stompers. (Remember those?
)
More like crawling on hands and knees, actually, like, you
can't lose your grip in the corner, right?!
Acquired that first RX from original owner buddy for $1200 with 111k, excellently maintained. Loved the lines on 'em so much, I'd told him a couple of years before to give me first dibs when it came time to sell, and so it came to pass. So much fun to drive I wound up buying 5 of 'em over the years and even had 3 at once for a short while. Rotor motors. Love 'em to death.
Despite whatever you hear, those little rotary engines are bullet proof
as long as they're properly maintained, especially oil changes.
A 4-rotor RX-7 GTP car won Le Mans overall in '91, first Japanese make
and first rotary engine to do it:
So, RX-7 vs Cutlass 350 story time:
Took a date to a beach north of Santa Cruz one day, US 1, beautiful views and long straights on that part of road, fairly light traffic.
Drove the RX-7.
On the way home, spied a familiar silhouette maybe a 1/4 mile ahead: one of my beloved '70 Cutlasses. I tell my date: "I had one of those once, lemme give you a closer look". So get on it a little from 70, instant response, am getting within 50 yards when he starts accelerating.
Quick check of speedo shows 80, rpms about 3800 in a motor designed to rev to plus 7500 easily (while the torque just keeps
feedin' in..
)
Tell my date: "I think he's trying to blow off my RX, but watch.."
NO problem maintaining about a 5-6 car gap (Was trying to demonstrate some "civility" to him) for about a 1/4 mile while he's getting up to just over 90 when the tell-tale smoke starts trailing from
under the car...
not the exhaust... and he starts coasting and pulls over.
Sorry, Charlie. I think I know what the problem is, but you
may not want to talk to me right now.....
And proceeded happily home at sensible speeds for sushi.
And desert.
Still had my 5th one when I found the Super Coupe.
So I was well-equipped to appreciate the SC's supremely refined qualities. A better gentleman's hotrod than the Cutlass, and in fact even a better
overall car than the RX-7s, losing out only on reliability and the afore-mentioned hillclimb. It was just too heavy to take the hairpins as nimbly as an RX.
That's my story and I'm stickin' with it.
