I’ve been having the mutha of all clearouts here at Ratdat acres, tidying up all the sheds I store stuff in and getting rid of all the junk that’s accumulated over the last few years. I dragged this out from the darkest recesses of a shed yesterday, whilst shifting all my spare engines. This is very rare in the UK… a fuel injected Datsun L series (L18E) with a dog leg long 5 speed. Four cylinder L series engines in the UK only ever came with carbs, either twin choke downdraught or twin SU’s by Hitachi on the SSS models.
A few years back, I pulled this engine and gearbox out of a rotted out Japanese spec S110 Silvia that had found it’s way to the UK. Shame that the car itself was utterly beyond redemption as it was the only S110 Silvia I’ve ever seen here other than a couple of 240RS rally cars. I really should do something with this engine. It would be idea for building a turbo L series! I’ll dig out some photos of the S110 and scan them in.
Update: It seems the Internet has managed to spread the word so fast that the 411 became a little to hot to handle, with the result that rather than it heading for the banger track as was intended, the thieving scumbag that lifted it saw fit to dump it last night, thankfully with minimal damage. Although the identity of the thief is known, it’s unlikely the Police will act. What’s more the owner had to pay the Police £190 in towing fees to get his car back. Good to see the law looking after the victims of crime and dishing out justice, eh?
A friends unique Datsun P411 Bluebird was stolen this afternoon from the Arundel area down in Sussex. It’s missing it’s radiator so it’s not drivable for far. It was most likely lifted with a truck. The chances are it’s headed for export or for the oval so keep ‘em peeled folks. If anyone sees it send me a message. It’s also wearing a set of slot mags and the registration NAB 850D rather than the one shown in the pics.
Another pic after the jump…
Read the rest of this entry »
The motoring media lambasted the ill fated Alfa Romeo ARNA back in the late 1980’s for it’s dull as cold porridge styling, as clearly it was not what was expected from the innately stylish Italians. Such is the Italian sense of style that Carrozzeria Studio Minardi stepped in to improve matters by applying their coach building talents to the boxy Italian/Japanese offspring. Only I’m not sure that actually did. I know little about this particular car other that what’s in the obscure brochure I have. Needless to say, the coach built version on offer here really doesn’t seem to offer much more in the way of good looks than did the original. If anything it’s actually slightly uglier!
Read the rest of this entry »
Them ol’ Duke boys could git that thar General up on two wheels, but I’ll wager they ain’t never managed drivin’ on three. Brings a whole new meaning to the word Hazzard…
Spotted down south somewhere by my mate Spence. Cheers for the pics!
I’ve had a lot of cars but remarkable few I’ve regretted parting with. Alas this Oldsmobile Omega coupe is one of those regrets. Sure, it was a totally rubbish car. A wallet raping 15mpg on a good day and it could barely crack a ton despite having 5.7 litres of finest Detroit V8 under the bonnet. At 70mph upwards you could forget about using the air con… if you did it would simply overheat.
But somehow this car was still glorious. A vision in brown and beige that stood as testament to the miserable malaise the US car industry was to fall into after it’s golden years of the ’50’s and ’60s. The fuel crisis and crushing smog controls were to change the once mighty V8 muscle man into a wheezy weakling, with paltry power figures despite biblical thirst.
Read the rest of this entry »
Yeah, I know it was over a week ago… I’ve been busy okay? Hot Rod Holiday was a pretty cool show and the standard of ride in attendance was generally quite high. Nice to see the legendary Henry Hirise in the flesh after it’s recent restoration and the rodded Standard Flying 12 was just breathtaking. Is that a Volvo 5 pot in there? Plenty of clean American cars, although I can’t say I’m a fan of the current trend of fitting absolutely vast wheels with rubber band tyres to older cars. That ratty looking Mk5 Escort with the twin turbo V8 under the bonnet… seriously WTF!?
Oh, and an old friend turned up, now resplendent in red. Check out the pics after the jump…
Read the rest of this entry »
