80 MPH 3 Wheel Electric Car

dickg1 · Post by **dickg1** » Tue Sep 17, 2013 1:19 pm

[quote="JPG40504"]Didja at first think it was a Studebaker?] We were behind it, but there was no mistaking it for anything but a Tucker.
Dick

fredsheldon · Post by **fredsheldon** » Tue Sep 17, 2013 3:23 pm

Or that aircraft engine in back, same engine as in my Cessna 182 Tubro RG.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Tue Sep 17, 2013 3:47 pm

dickg1 wrote:We were behind it, but there was no mistaking it for anything but a Tucker.
Dick

I was thinking of the front. I forgot about the back! Side view was more like a packard IIRC.

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Tue Sep 17, 2013 9:51 pm

tgamel wrote:Wow....how many of us actually know what a Corvair is.....I think your showing you age! My parents actually had two of them as GI's often sell used cars to one another as they move from AFB (Air Force base) to AFB.

My dad owned 3, my brother owned 2 and I owned 2. I would still own one if they were made today. Greatest car I ever had in the snow. And after 64 when they used unequal length swing arms in the rear they would corner like they were on rails. Biggest problem was when you got them up over 100 the front end would plow in a curve. Nascar calls it push or being too tight. In any case an air damn on the front corrected that problem. Never had an engine failure or an failure other than a 1960 model owned by my dad and driven by me at the time locked up the tranny. No one had ever checked the tranny for oil and it didn't have any or not much from the manufacture they replaced the car with a favorable deal on 1964 model. Dad jumped on it.

dlbristol · Post by **dlbristol** » Tue Sep 17, 2013 11:45 pm

I know what they are, My late wife had one when we met. My dad who loved to name cars, tractors and other stuff, promptly tag it " Ralph" and so it was called for as long as she had it. It was actually fun to drive!:)

skou · Post by **skou** » Wed Sep 18, 2013 12:10 am

Ed in Tampa wrote:My dad owned 3, my brother owned 2 and I owned 2. I would still own one if they were made today. Greatest car I ever had in the snow. And after 64 when they used unequal length swing arms in the rear they would corner like they were on rails. Biggest problem was when you got them up over 100 the front end would plow in a curve. Nascar calls it push or being too tight. In any case an air damn on the front corrected that problem. Never had an engine failure or an failure other than a 1960 model owned by my dad and driven by me at the time locked up the tranny. No one had ever checked the tranny for oil and it didn't have any or not much from the manufacture they replaced the car with a favorable deal on 1964 model. Dad jumped on it.

A good high-school friend turned a '62 convertible into a Spyder. In '62, the numbers ran consecutively for all models, so there is no way to prove his wasn't factory turbo. (Unless you do some REAL digging.)

My older brother bought a '63 hardtop Spyder with a lunched engine, and wanted to rebuild it. He (my brother) is a great woodworker, but needs help changing a spark plug on a lawnmower. Needless to say, he sold the "car" to my friend Mark, who used a lot of the parts on his conversion.

Mark later on, "massaged" the engine, which vastly improved the power output. Replaced the stock carb with a 2BBL Weber sidedraft, with a vacuum secondary, and a solenoid on the vacuum line. You flipped the switch under the dash, and doubled your horsepower. Yes, the increased power caused some "interesting issues."

But, running around in a car with the trunk in front, also had it's points. Mark used to carry a couple 50 pound bags of lead shot in the trunk, as well as a roll-around jack. We were going down the freeway in San Jose, (where we grew up) and a lady right in front of us had a blowout. She got safely to the side, and we were right behind her. We had the spare on in about as much time as a Nascar crew would have. (Well, maybe 4 minutes.) She was shocked, when we refused anything for our troubles. Back to the story, the extra weight up front, greatly improved the handling.

I miss the old cars, so EASY to work on!

steve

skou · Post by **skou** » Wed Sep 18, 2013 12:19 am

I will say however, my favorite car to drive was a '72 Datsun 240-Z.

Favorite to work on, a '64 Dodge 1/2 ton slant-6 truck. You could climb in, under the hood, shut the lid to keep rain out, and still have enough room to work. And, the hood went up about 95 degrees, instead of the 30 to 45 degrees you get now. Yes, the tip of the hood, fully raised, was slightly behind the springs. The inner fenders had ridges in them, just perfect for catching sockets, screws, and other parts. Were also, except for the ridges, perfectly flat, and ran from the radiator to the firewall. You could look down from above, and see the ground, all the way around the engine, except for the bell housing. Try doing that, on ANY new car!

Problem was, you never needed to work on it.

steve