Posted by Daniel Strohl on December 16, 2006 under Daniel Strohl, Hemmings Muscle Machines, snowmobiles, trucks and Jeeps | 
I used to own a ‘71 Nova – six-cylinder, two-door, three-on-the-tree. Had a lot of fun with that car, but needed the cash, so I sold it a couple years ago. Been trying not to regret it ever since, but a blue ‘70 sits for sale at the gas station right down the road, tempting me to ditch this whole Christmas racket…
This’ll kick the jonesing I’ve got going on. Scott Windle originally posted about this particular Nova on novaresource.com last year, but I’m just now seeing it. It’s a 1970 Nova converted into a snowmobile by using three one-ton axles by a fella from Cedar City, Utah. To drive those three axles, he installed a 400-cu.in. small-block Chevrolet V-8 in the back and extended the body to cover the drivetrain. According to a failed online auction, the snowmobile was able to plow through 10 feet of snow at 45 mph.
What it’s doing on top of the shipping crate, though, I have no idea. I’d love to see some video of this thing in action.
Posted by Daniel Strohl on December 5, 2006 under Bonneville/land-speed racing, Daniel Strohl, Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car, snowmobiles, stuff Dan lusts after |
Ah, the lonesome lonesome Geo Metro. Subjected to thousands of A-to-B types who believe oil changes are something only $10,000-plus cars should benefit from. Richard Cobun, of somewhere in Ohio, though, gives old Geo Metros a home. Specifically, old Geo Metro convertibles that his father brings back from Florida every year, though he’s scattered a couple coupes in his collection along with one ultra-rare (at least, in the States) Suzuki Swift GTi.
Couple things I never understood about Metros. One, they got something like 52 miles to the gallon, and nobody at all has mentioned that feat (done sans hybrid technology, btw) in all the recent high-gas-prices-are-doom discussions. Two, they never caught on with hot rodders or tuners the way other small cars – the Willys 33, the Fiat Topolino, the Nash Metropolitan, the Honda CRX – did. After all, they’re light, small cars, perfect to fit a medium-to-big engine into. Instead, they’re stigmatized, as something only cheap college students or your local pizza deliveryman would drive.
I will make an exception, of course, to Bonneville racers. I saw no less than three there this year, including this one powered by a snowmobile engine:
But Bonneville racers will run anything, including bar stools and lawnmowers, just as long as they get their chance to race the salt.
Is there a Metro tuning/rodding community? Prove me wrong and send me your Metro modification stories and pictures, or simply post them in the My Hemmings section.
Why yes, there is a full moon tonight.