Hero cars - 150brake...
Discussion
Just looked at the "Hero cars" thread and have to admit that there is little being mentioned in there of any interest. Did make me think of how many of my old fun cars have had less than 150bhp - that was a dream output when I started playing, most were less than 100...
Yes, my current "old van" has a two hundred brake, four litre Camaro engine, my '36 Austin was Jag' 4.2 powered and my old Bristol had a 6.6 V8 and I've had many other grunty old vehicles, but... in the main, my "fun" cars have been relatively small engined, lightweight and not particularly powerful.
I know many folk would laugh and scoff, but I really have gained a huge amount of enjoyment from driving all over the U.K. (never having taken any of my four wheelers across the channel) in, on paper, underpowered, slow and primitive old rubbish.
Without a doubt, figures on a tech' sheet can only tell part of a story - especially when dealing with old, lightweight and quirky vehicles.
Just a few with a power output around, or under the magic ton (and certainly below one fifty). I could have added in Minis and 2CVs, and even a much modified Herald or two...
And the most fun I've ever had driving... sadly, it had to be returned to Morgan after a day of blasting around the Welsh mountains...
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Yes, my current "old van" has a two hundred brake, four litre Camaro engine, my '36 Austin was Jag' 4.2 powered and my old Bristol had a 6.6 V8 and I've had many other grunty old vehicles, but... in the main, my "fun" cars have been relatively small engined, lightweight and not particularly powerful.
I know many folk would laugh and scoff, but I really have gained a huge amount of enjoyment from driving all over the U.K. (never having taken any of my four wheelers across the channel) in, on paper, underpowered, slow and primitive old rubbish.
Without a doubt, figures on a tech' sheet can only tell part of a story - especially when dealing with old, lightweight and quirky vehicles.
Just a few with a power output around, or under the magic ton (and certainly below one fifty). I could have added in Minis and 2CVs, and even a much modified Herald or two...
And the most fun I've ever had driving... sadly, it had to be returned to Morgan after a day of blasting around the Welsh mountains...
This car gave me a lot of pleasure both to build and then to drive (so much so that I'm restoring another).
The engine was modfied to 144bhp through cams, bigger valves and porting and it went very well indeed, not at all bad for a 1558 engine conceived in 1962.
I also had a S2 Alfa Spider 2.0 Veloce (132bhp claimed) - it was nice in a languid sort of way but the dreadful scuttle shake and rear axle 'location' spoiled it somewhat. The Elan was in a different league
The engine was modfied to 144bhp through cams, bigger valves and porting and it went very well indeed, not at all bad for a 1558 engine conceived in 1962.
I also had a S2 Alfa Spider 2.0 Veloce (132bhp claimed) - it was nice in a languid sort of way but the dreadful scuttle shake and rear axle 'location' spoiled it somewhat. The Elan was in a different league
The problem with PH is that the majority of the audience for the main articles is somewhat younger than us happy band of old farts on this forum who remember when 150bhp was something to brag about.
Look at today's cars: you can buy hot hatches with 400bhp, you don't need to change gear any more and most family cars can do 130mph+ more or less instantly (or so it feels).
The excellent, eclectic selection of cars posted by the OP would all have been considered quick enough in their day. People worry about the safety of driving older cars in modern traffic, but forget it's the traffic that has sped up - not the old cars that have slowed down. Just their owners...
Look at today's cars: you can buy hot hatches with 400bhp, you don't need to change gear any more and most family cars can do 130mph+ more or less instantly (or so it feels).
The excellent, eclectic selection of cars posted by the OP would all have been considered quick enough in their day. People worry about the safety of driving older cars in modern traffic, but forget it's the traffic that has sped up - not the old cars that have slowed down. Just their owners...
Turbobanana said:
The problem with PH is that the majority of the audience for the main articles is somewhat younger than us happy band of old farts on this forum who remember when 150bhp was something to brag about.
Look at today's cars: you can buy hot hatches with 400bhp, you don't need to change gear any more and most family cars can do 130mph+ more or less instantly (or so it feels).
The excellent, eclectic selection of cars posted by the OP would all have been considered quick enough in their day. People worry about the safety of driving older cars in modern traffic, but forget it's the traffic that has sped up - not the old cars that have slowed down. Just their owners...
Quite. That pretty much sums up my thoughts... Look at today's cars: you can buy hot hatches with 400bhp, you don't need to change gear any more and most family cars can do 130mph+ more or less instantly (or so it feels).
The excellent, eclectic selection of cars posted by the OP would all have been considered quick enough in their day. People worry about the safety of driving older cars in modern traffic, but forget it's the traffic that has sped up - not the old cars that have slowed down. Just their owners...
Gareth9702 said:
The problem with Pistonheads is that content is written to sell what is in the adverts. So the cars selected are drawn from that pool, with selection criteria that may not be based entirely on being a good fit with the aim of the article.
Indeed... never forget that P.H. is a business. But, a good article can trigger a line of thought, or a few good memories...
Can't remember my first 100bhp+ car.
Might have been the Alfa 156 2.0 Tspark that was technically my then wife's.
Had loads of fun in Vivas, Escorts, Cortinas etc.
I have great fun in my 26hp Trabant these days.
Trouble today is that you don't need to be able to drive properly to drive fast. ESB, ESR, ABS and every other TLA. Back then, it was crossplies, or remoulds and rear wheel drive. Didn't actually need much horsepower to get the arse waggling.
Today it's all about how fast you go in a straight line whilst the car is lowered and on rubber band tyres. Nobody today knows what a leaf spring is, or how you jack up the rear suspension and paint your rear axle red (lit by a fog light at night)....oh, just me then?
Might have been the Alfa 156 2.0 Tspark that was technically my then wife's.
Had loads of fun in Vivas, Escorts, Cortinas etc.
I have great fun in my 26hp Trabant these days.
Trouble today is that you don't need to be able to drive properly to drive fast. ESB, ESR, ABS and every other TLA. Back then, it was crossplies, or remoulds and rear wheel drive. Didn't actually need much horsepower to get the arse waggling.
Today it's all about how fast you go in a straight line whilst the car is lowered and on rubber band tyres. Nobody today knows what a leaf spring is, or how you jack up the rear suspension and paint your rear axle red (lit by a fog light at night)....oh, just me then?
I find it a lot more satisfying "making progress" in a lesser powered car. As you say something modern with 150bhp+ is easy.
Getting a roundabout just right while scraping the tarmac with the wing mirrors in a 2CV is much more fun. I'd go as far to say of all my cars the fun / satisfaction is inversely proportionate to the power available.
(And I would love an early Elan probably more than anything else at the moment.)
Getting a roundabout just right while scraping the tarmac with the wing mirrors in a 2CV is much more fun. I'd go as far to say of all my cars the fun / satisfaction is inversely proportionate to the power available.
(And I would love an early Elan probably more than anything else at the moment.)
sideways man said:
I had a Granada 2.8 and thought I was the bees knees….
Got out dragged from a set of lights by an Elan, I had a grin from ear to ear
Years later I had my own Elan and found out how special they are.
This, plus the MX5 and 924 as posted by the OP, were my first thoughts too. An Elan Sprint DHC is still on my lottery win list…Got out dragged from a set of lights by an Elan, I had a grin from ear to ear
Years later I had my own Elan and found out how special they are.
Lots of fun stuff has no more than 150bhp, including many hero hot hatches - 205 GTI 1.9, 106GTI, Mk2 Golf 16v, RST, 5GTT, Clio Williams to name a few.
Back in 1968 I had a Honda S800 which boasted all of 71.5 bhp but I remember winding the windows down and howling through the Hyde Park underpass in 2nd gear and well into the red at 11,000 rpm, the noise was unforgettable! Today I have a VX220 NA which has only 145 bhp but is huge fun. Massive power is not the only way to enjoy yourself on four wheels!!
Edited by Mike-tf3n0 on Tuesday 22 February 23:05
I'm pleased to see this thread, too often on PH people say things like 'You must have at least 200bhp'
My Frogeye started with 42.5 bhp, mine was .010" overbore and 1 1/4" instead of 1 1/8" carbs which may have increased the power...to 43 bhp.
Despite having little power, it kept up OK in modern traffic and was great fun!
Unless you're on the track, you can only use full power for short bursts if you want to keep the speed limit and your licence so most people probably hardly use the majority of the horses they have.
My Frogeye started with 42.5 bhp, mine was .010" overbore and 1 1/4" instead of 1 1/8" carbs which may have increased the power...to 43 bhp.
Despite having little power, it kept up OK in modern traffic and was great fun!
Unless you're on the track, you can only use full power for short bursts if you want to keep the speed limit and your licence so most people probably hardly use the majority of the horses they have.
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