Things I will likely never experience again

One thing that always puts a Big grin all over my face, is when driving a manual car - and rev-matching on downshifts! The satisfaction of getting it just right is intoxicating!

 

I second the 993 door latch. My dad had one back then and everytime I hear it it brings me back.

We are very lucky that we are experiencing the real stick shift era. The new sticks just have an alibi clutch pedal imo. You let go of it at any rpm without the rev match and most of the time I dont even feel anything. No feedback

My most memorable car experiences that I can think of were my first drive in a ferrari (testarossa). I had my child seat on the passenger and still remember the sound like it was yesterday. And the second experience was driving a Veyron at full throttle.

I envy your wide experience of the nicer cars of 40 years of driving and wish you many more magnificent miles

 

That is why I have problems letting go of my old cars. I hope to have new cars to keep up and experience new technology, but will keep the old ones as long as I can. I have my 1948 MG still, with me 20 years now.

Andy

PS: I don't recall that with my 993 (that I let go of; with Tiptronic I found it competent but unexciting.)

 

An oddball one I admit, but for me it's all the Japanese tuning companies. I grew up desiring Japanese cars like the Supra, NSX, 300zx, RX-7, Skyline, etc etc and thus became infatuated by the tuning world. Names like HKS, Greddy, ARC, Blitz, Jun, Top Secret, and Mines really get the blood flowing. As cars and the car culture has changed those companies are just shells of themselves and I really miss that.

 

I hear ya. Had a burner myself with Apexi intercooler and blow off valve. Remember all of those Veilside kits? So ahead of their time.

 

It's an age thing.

 

I miss the brilliant - genius, really - targa top on my old '74 FIAT X1/9. It was an imperfect but competent hardtop, but you could remove it and stow it in the front boot, where there were four special neoprene bushings for it to ride in, and still a good chunk of space below for storage (Plus the car had another boot in the rear, behind the engine).

It really was wonderful to be able to go from hardtop to spider in the middle of an outing at whim. It was a magical car. I still dream about it sometimes.

Wish the Alfa 4C Spider was going to have that feature.

Cheers,

George

 

So what's wrong with the 308 targa top slipping in behind the seats? It's actually a faster swap than in the X1/9 (previously owned). On the other hand, I was disappointed when I found the 308 doesn't have the same characteristic as the X1/9 where you can drive with the heater on and top off with just a little bit of fresh air coming over the top; the 308 somehow dumps cold air straight down onto your hands.

 

Yes, well, wonderful. Except for the fact that I was a broke high school and college student when I had the X1/9. It would have been nice to have a 308, except for the fact that it didn't yet exist. I dreamed of a Dino 246 back then.

Magnum PI didn't come on until a few years after my X1/9 experience. The 3x8's are wonderful, but the timing just didn't work out for me. The earliest mid-engine V8 I'm interested in is the 355. 360 is my fave, even though it's dated.

Cheers,

George

 

this brought back memories of the big door handles with a big push button on old American machines. Since the door weighed 150lbs you needed a 10 lbs door handle to open it. But the specific memory was grabbing those big heavy chrome handles on a hot summer day in California and the feeling in your palm being grilled as you grabbed a hold to pull the door open.. : )

 

Two years ago I did 4,000 kms in a 330GT and 365GT/4 with two mates going to the Aussie GP and back from Brisbane.

The fact we drove the cars the way they were suppose to be driven on roads rarely inhabited by anyone let alone the police made this a ONCE IN A LIFETIME DRIVE

Feeling Ferrari's creations doing their "GT" thing made me relive all the articles I had read over the decades come to life and underline and separate fact from fiction.

The 330 was very similar to my 2300S FIAT with similar suspension traits and handling characteristics, similar brakes and similar log distance capabilities.

The 365 was light years ahead of the 330 in comfort levels at high speed and in wet conditions, a superb GT car and a wonderful sound at idle and hard acceleration.

I duly thank Simon for the generous attitude in the usage of his cars and although the 355CH is a far superior car the 330 and 365 open my eyes to the ability of the older cars which not only charm but seduce car people to want to own at least one in their lifetime.

The SOUND of two old Ferraris making 7,000+ revs through valleys on a cold morning is something I doubt I will ever experience again

 

Doing a heel/toe 4-3 downshift in my 328 is something I've never been able to enjoy as much in any other car.

 

My pleasure,Moretts.

Some of the roads had questionable build quality and are undulating,being relatively unused and therefore relatively policeproof.

We did one section,I think,of about 600Klms,in about 4 hours.
You probably remember better than me,as Iv'e done that route a few times,for obvious reasons.
You're more than welcome to experience whenever you want,since you drove all the way from Smelbourne back to Bris.

 

It was