By Kamil Kaluski
You may or may not have heard, but over the weekend there was an amazing car show and concours event near Monterey, California. The show was attended by thousands hundreds of distinguished automotive collectors and aficionados guys who don’t know what to do with their money morons in stupid hats normal car guys like you and me. The show was by invitation registration only, and the registration price of zero dollars meant that only the most rare amazingly unique one of a kind rarely seen crappiest of crappy cars would be shown. The show was called the 2013 Concours d’Lemons, and it was not to be missed.
Unfortunately we missed it.
Fortunately, the owner of the 2011 Hooniversal Car of the Year, the most prestigious award in automotive blooging, our own Pete, a.k.a. Sparky-Pete, a.k.a. ZomBee Racer, was there and he provided us with a 172-image gallery. Thanks Pete! Hit the jump and check out all the crappiness… which is actually really awesome.
Jeff Glucker
Totally not surprised that the lead image shows a guy working on a Cosworth Vega. They had a fuel delivery system that was touchy to say the least.
Not to mention, it's a Vega.
Vega was a dependable car,easy on gas cheap to buy,when it wore out at 75,000 miles you pitched like you would a bic lighter.
Let clarify the above, the Chevrolet Vega is a dependable car The Cosworth association was futile and pointless. Take the cheapest transportation car in the country , add British unreliability, and Wow complete crap.
That's funny. Cosworth Ford engines were reliable enough to win multiple F1, ETCC and WRC championships. And the Cosworth engine used in the Vega terrorized the 2 liter class of World Sports Car Championship when used in the Chevron B21. So much for British unreliability.
Vega on its own was good, Cosworth on its own was good. Mixing them together was a bad idea.
So if you gave Cosworth tons of money they would make something reliable. OK. While England makes great race cars they make crappy production cars. This was more so in the 70's. The best thing about a pitched Vega at 70,000 miles it was a cheap small car, that nobody wanted, that you could stuff a 350 into.
I did see a Cosworth Vega, unrestored and quite ratty, at a Cars and Coffee a couple of years ago. It was my favorite car there that day. Other folks spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on their cars and I bet they don't love theirs as much as whoever owned that Vega did. Keeping that alive is true commitment.
It's a Bendix electronic setup, and most of them you see have been converted to dual Webers.
Hey, when mine ran, it was a freight train..for a near 3000 pound car with 110 H.P. and Torque that came online @ 3500 rpm…Dang Bendix.
I had an application in for a loan for a dual Weber setup, but the engine had overheated by this point and sent a stellite valve seat into #3 cylinder. Dang G.M.
There's a great story by Peter Albrecht in AQ, Volume 27, #3, entiltled "Twin Cams For Everyman". A recommended read if you can find it.
I still miss that little four's Banshee wail…
I guess the entire board of GM attended to learn from the past. Respect to the people keeping these cool cars alive!
What, no pictures of the Cosworths in the Flickr slideshow? I'm crushed.
HEH?!? There are over half a dozen pics of the Cosies!! (one of my illogical automotive crushes)
I spent most of the time like a hyperactive kid on Halloween candy running back and forth between the Vegas and the sweet Chevy 70's van. They are there. Be sure to click on "show info" for my inane humor and running dialog on what I saw.
If it's still not working correctly for you, try the direct link.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sparky-pete/sets/721…
"Unfortunately we missed it."
I know the feeling.
<img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3680/9525901728_0f26be8698.jpg" width="400">
Perhaps next year.
And the show had a ginormous vacuum that sucked goose-poop up out of the ground from your absence.
Still, 300 miles… I can't believe you made it 300 miles.
I can't believe you were going to drive it down from Seattle and back either.
Actually, I lie. I've known you long enough to know I shouldn't be THAT surprised anymore. It was super-Spouse that couldn't believe you are actually driving it down and back.
And of course I used this opportunity to point out (as I am now) that you are indeed the crazier one. Her mom loves your car.
I'm just wondering if the collective Hooniverse mind thinks this car befits such a show… you know with it's utter banality…
<img src="http://hatchtopia.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/20130818-215840.jpg">
It's available in Portland Oregon for $1200 and I'm just a little interested…
if that was a GSI….
… it would already be mine.
But then it would be too awesome for Concours de' Lemons.
How cool is that, a price based on the odometer reading! I have never seen a Geo Prizm before, and price and condition seem nice. Would you use it as a daily driver?
12,000 miles on the odometer of the Peel! Very brave.
Is that '82-'83 Datsun 200SX at the beginning a hatchback? I would consider buying it and driving it back home to NC. My first car was an '82 and finding another is a dream of mine. Does anyone have the contact info?
Never Mind. Convertible. Missed the first pics.
I sold my '82 Datsun 200SX running well with 352,000 miles on it. Which I was personally responsible for 280,000 miles of the total. A couple of batteries, an alternator, brakes, and THAT'S IT. If I run across another hatchback 5 speed, I would buy it. One mod only, disconnecting the voice. – R Park. ('Lemons veteran, first year in Monterey, with my 1971 Wolseley 16/60.)