- 10,620
- gtp_jimprower
A couple of you have been getting tired of me recommending my Nova to every Tom, Dick, and YSSMAN on these forums, and lately, I've been wondering it myself. Why the HELL do I like that little car so much?
Think of the traditional enthusiast wants and needs.
Power - nope
Speed - nope
Luxury - nope
Style - nope
Zero out of four. That's a batting average of .000. A quartet of strikeouts. Most of us at the very least hit on the first two.
So, what is it about this car?
First thing: it's the first car I bought with my own money, and pay for everything on myself. I'm rather proud of that. I take good care of it, and It returns the favor. It's getting a new headliner soon, as well as new foglights and a tach. (even though it's an Auto...more on that later.)
My Previous two cars, a Plymouth Voyager I had during High School, and a Plymouth Reliant K I had for about a year afterwards, My parents paid for. In fact, the Voyager was actually a car we'd replaced but never sold. I sent both to the junkyard. I'm rather ashamed of this fact, but they both left me with a bad taste for FWD Mopar Auto Trannies, which was compounded by a '94 Grand Caravan in the family which also had tranny problems. On the other hand, the Toyota 3-speed auto in my Nova's built like...well, it doesn't feel like it's made of paper through the gas pedal. The primary issue is that it's geared for city driving...get out on I-74, out where the limit's 65 but everyone goes 75, and I start to worry about my engine. Hence, why I got the Tach. I want to be reassured that I'm under redline at highway speeds.
Part of this is because the engine has no rev limiter. Not one I've been willing to find, anyway. But It's simple, and, not to mention, cheap, to fix. Fuel pump? on the back of the cylinder head, three bolts, three hoses. Cost? 30 buckaroos. There's nothing to the engine: I'd guess less than a half-mile of vacuum hose. The goofy emissions systems are the worst part: I'm seriously thinking of plugging the "Oxygen pipe" to the Catalytic Converter: It does nothing but blow exhaust gas into the air cleaner housing. It's SUPPOSED to go the OTHER way.
Actually, My dad suggested Dual Solexes: Do they sell such a manifold for 4A-Cs?
The seats, made of tweed, aren't leather Recaros, but they ain't the Benches and command chairs I've had to deal with in other vehicles I've driven. They provide fairly good support, especially compared to everything else I've driven. I have a cheap CD player, it skips over the slightest ripple and bump, but I don't much care. I'm the kind of guy who would drive a Caterham daily if it had a roof and a heater. Speaking of which: fabulous heater. Air conditioning? crank down all four windows.
Handling? 13 inch, 80-series tires would like to have a word with you. So would well-worn struts and fairly soft springs. and a lack of anti-roll bars. However...It's light. REALLY light. Not Having A/C helps that, too. It wasn't meant for hard driving, but it's tossable, and does have independent rear suspension. It's relatively communicative, too, more so than anything I've borrowed, driven, whatever. Part of it's that it's somewhat thin-waled, you experience more, But the steering's as direct as it can be with such terrible parts around it, and well weighted.
So far, I've made a pretty stiff case against my car. Why do I like it, then? I...Honestly couldn't tell you. It's really in good condition, a prime candidate for restoration, if I had the money, time, or wouldn't be called insane for doing it. I paid for it myself - that's probably where most of it comes from - and I've taken good care. Being related to the AE86 doesn't hurt either, although lately that car's fans have turned as many people off as Naruto's. and there are guys who have built up cars from their 4A-C powered Corollas, many of them Seca drivers in Australia. I found out recently that the FX Hatch's struts and springs will drop right in, at least with a hole drilled here and there.
So my car has potential to be something, but with a lot of work. and there's that endearing quality cars seem to get if you own them a long time, especially older cars. You get to know the quirks, you learn to live with them, love them even. Mine seem to give my car a very humble quality, as if to say, "I want to do the very best I can!"
So, You probably won't see me recommend the AE82 to anyone with more than $5,000 in their budget, or to people who just got their learner's. I'd like to apologize for making a fool of myself in front of you, YSSMAN, and I hope this explanation will give you some insight into why I like my car so much...
And if you're still confused, remember: There's Pacer enthusiasts out there. I could be worse.
Think of the traditional enthusiast wants and needs.
Power - nope
Speed - nope
Luxury - nope
Style - nope
Zero out of four. That's a batting average of .000. A quartet of strikeouts. Most of us at the very least hit on the first two.
So, what is it about this car?
First thing: it's the first car I bought with my own money, and pay for everything on myself. I'm rather proud of that. I take good care of it, and It returns the favor. It's getting a new headliner soon, as well as new foglights and a tach. (even though it's an Auto...more on that later.)
My Previous two cars, a Plymouth Voyager I had during High School, and a Plymouth Reliant K I had for about a year afterwards, My parents paid for. In fact, the Voyager was actually a car we'd replaced but never sold. I sent both to the junkyard. I'm rather ashamed of this fact, but they both left me with a bad taste for FWD Mopar Auto Trannies, which was compounded by a '94 Grand Caravan in the family which also had tranny problems. On the other hand, the Toyota 3-speed auto in my Nova's built like...well, it doesn't feel like it's made of paper through the gas pedal. The primary issue is that it's geared for city driving...get out on I-74, out where the limit's 65 but everyone goes 75, and I start to worry about my engine. Hence, why I got the Tach. I want to be reassured that I'm under redline at highway speeds.
Part of this is because the engine has no rev limiter. Not one I've been willing to find, anyway. But It's simple, and, not to mention, cheap, to fix. Fuel pump? on the back of the cylinder head, three bolts, three hoses. Cost? 30 buckaroos. There's nothing to the engine: I'd guess less than a half-mile of vacuum hose. The goofy emissions systems are the worst part: I'm seriously thinking of plugging the "Oxygen pipe" to the Catalytic Converter: It does nothing but blow exhaust gas into the air cleaner housing. It's SUPPOSED to go the OTHER way.
Actually, My dad suggested Dual Solexes: Do they sell such a manifold for 4A-Cs?
The seats, made of tweed, aren't leather Recaros, but they ain't the Benches and command chairs I've had to deal with in other vehicles I've driven. They provide fairly good support, especially compared to everything else I've driven. I have a cheap CD player, it skips over the slightest ripple and bump, but I don't much care. I'm the kind of guy who would drive a Caterham daily if it had a roof and a heater. Speaking of which: fabulous heater. Air conditioning? crank down all four windows.
Handling? 13 inch, 80-series tires would like to have a word with you. So would well-worn struts and fairly soft springs. and a lack of anti-roll bars. However...It's light. REALLY light. Not Having A/C helps that, too. It wasn't meant for hard driving, but it's tossable, and does have independent rear suspension. It's relatively communicative, too, more so than anything I've borrowed, driven, whatever. Part of it's that it's somewhat thin-waled, you experience more, But the steering's as direct as it can be with such terrible parts around it, and well weighted.
So far, I've made a pretty stiff case against my car. Why do I like it, then? I...Honestly couldn't tell you. It's really in good condition, a prime candidate for restoration, if I had the money, time, or wouldn't be called insane for doing it. I paid for it myself - that's probably where most of it comes from - and I've taken good care. Being related to the AE86 doesn't hurt either, although lately that car's fans have turned as many people off as Naruto's. and there are guys who have built up cars from their 4A-C powered Corollas, many of them Seca drivers in Australia. I found out recently that the FX Hatch's struts and springs will drop right in, at least with a hole drilled here and there.
So my car has potential to be something, but with a lot of work. and there's that endearing quality cars seem to get if you own them a long time, especially older cars. You get to know the quirks, you learn to live with them, love them even. Mine seem to give my car a very humble quality, as if to say, "I want to do the very best I can!"
So, You probably won't see me recommend the AE82 to anyone with more than $5,000 in their budget, or to people who just got their learner's. I'd like to apologize for making a fool of myself in front of you, YSSMAN, and I hope this explanation will give you some insight into why I like my car so much...
And if you're still confused, remember: There's Pacer enthusiasts out there. I could be worse.
