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M is for Marvelous – 1956 Austin-Healey 100M
When the BN2 version of the Austin-Healey 100 came out in 1955, it was a significant but not drastic improvement over the BN1 that had been launched in 1953. There was now a four-speed gearbox, eye-catching two-tone paint and other detail changes, but otherwise the car had the same good looks and lively feel. 1955 was also the year that Healey decided to give the customer a hotter version of the 100 for the road. They had already built fifty examples of the 100S, a 132 horsepower rocket for the track, so the obvious next step would be to offer a similar package on the road cars. The result was the 100M, a car distinguished from the regular 100 by its louvered hood held down by a leather … [Read More...]
Early Bird – 1955 Ford Thunderbird
Once upon a time, Ford's Thunderbird was a somewhat sporty machine in pretty much direct competition with Chevrolet's Corvette. Alarmed by the response to GM's sporty two-seater convertible in 1953, Ford rushed to produce something similar, but played more to the American desire for luxury and less to the desire for sportiness. Ford marketed it as a "personal car" rather than a true sports car in the European sense, and the T-Bird flogged the Corvette in sales for several years running. … [Read More...]
Frugal Fun – 1985 TVR Tasmin
If you can find one, these '80s wedges can be seriously cheap and relatively simple to keep running. Heavy use of Ford parts throughout make maintenance a little easier and a fiberglass body keeps rust out of the question, at least on that part of the car. But even though production of the Tasmin coupe and convertible numbered in the mere hundreds, and even with the panache of the TVR name, a good Tasmin can often be had for the price of a two or three year old sport compact. … [Read More...]
Surprise Under the Hood – 1974 MG Midget
This car is, well, something else. At first glance, nothing other than some ugly aftermarket wheels would suggest that this is anything but a humble old MG Midget, that cheap pocket sports car that's almost impossible not to like. Lift up the one piece front end of the bodywork, though, and there's a surprise. Gone is the famous old BMC A-Series motor, and in its place is one stamped with another familiar name: Nissan. Fitting old European cars with more reliable Japanese engines is not a new idea. … [Read More...]
Lightweight Great – 1961 Porsche 356B Super 90 GT
The 356 had already been around for a decade when Porsche introduced the 356B, a move that Jesse Alexander called "a rather drastic face lift that will come as a shock to Porsche owners all over the world." There were a lot of little detail changes, the most visible of which were the raised headlights and bumpers. Performance again was another gradual improvement, as is the Porsche way, but there was still a demand for a Porsche road car with more oomph. This came in the form of the Super 90, a new 1600 engine introduced in 1960 to replace the Carrera de Luxe. With high compression, better cooling, and lots of clever use of aluminum, the engine made about 90 horsepower and was widely … [Read More...]
Open Top Treasure – 1979 Lancia Beta Zagato Spider
In the story of Lancia's long and celebrated past, the Beta has unfortunately not been one of the happier chapters. Especially in the UK, rust problems on the early examples led to all sorts of customer relations problems, and as the press attached themselves to the story and blew it into a scandal, the legendary Italian carmaker's reputation was in the dumps. The Beta was also the first model introduced by Lancia after they were bought by Fiat in 1969, so it had plenty of Fiat parts to go around. This fact, along with the notorious rust issues and front-wheel-drive, meant that nobody was exactly jumping for joy over the Beta, but the car was still widely praised for being a fun driver. … [Read More...]
Boxy Bargain – 1971 Datsun 510
Like its stablemate the 240Z, the Datsun 510 just made sense. It had sensible but pleasing styling, and reliable but sporty mechanicals. With a solid motor, good weight distribution, and fully independent suspension, it was a good performer and a practical, daily-drivable sedan all in one affordable package. Of course, it wasn't long after the 510's introduction in the late 1960s before people started to wonder how it would fare as a racing car. They soon found out that the answer was quite well, with the 510s campaigned by Brock Racing Enterprises (BRE) doing splendidly in Trans Am and other teams racking up wins in SCCA's B-Sedan class as well as on the harsh rally circuits on the other … [Read More...]
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