Yes, it's an autotragic and only has the N/A 2.0L, but it is mint. Definitely a rolling time capsule.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Isuzu-Impulse-Coupe-2-Door-Low-33K-Miles-Very-Rare-Isuzu-Impulse-One-Owner-No-rust-No-reserve-/231121782996?forcerrptr=true&hash=item35cfee88d4&item=231121782996&pt=US_Cars_Trucks
Dat gauge surround. Dat vent! So. Eighties. All that's missing is a digital cluster that talks to you.
Much Isuzu. So eighties. Wow.
I don't think time capsule is strong enough a word. very cool
Single wiper tech and still shocked its a Chevette, always wanted one for 4g63 rwd swap weirdness
I love how all those old 80s Japanese sporty cars had interiors that look like something out of Star Wars.
Its really hard to believe that there is a Chevette hiding in there! Does anyone here know these well enough to say exactly how much Chevette?
On a related note, I have dirty dirty thoughts about what I would do with a clean Chevette.
nice, always heard these were garbage though (reliability, handling, etc).
In reply to HappyAndy: A quick Google search says some of the Impulse parts swap onto Chevettes pretty easily (like the bigger brakes and LSD rear end).
In reply to kanaric: No clue about reliability. Same Google search also brought up the fact that Lotus tweaked the suspension in the later years of this model Impulse (RWD), which made it handle much better. Not that Impulses are thick on the ground but if you can find a ratty Turbo with good mechanicals, or the parts for one, then there is no better swap candidate than this car.
i'm sure the reliability thing has more to do with early 80s turbo and nobody knowing how to maintain it. usually that is the case nine out of ten of the times with turbo cars from that era and their "reliability"
I know they rust extremely badly though. That i've actually seen for myself. Keep inside during winter, lol.
Car makes me wish the Scirocco was RWD. There would be a lot more of those around if they were.
This car really needs a crazy LED display to go with those fighter jet controls on the sides of the steering wheel.
edit:did a search of "impulse dash" and that dash image here came up on another site that isn't selling a car.
http://karakullake.blogspot.com/2013_11_01_archive.html i can't see it because it's blocked on work https://www.google.com/search?q=isuzu+impulse+led&client=firefox-a&hs=LRW&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=fyK8UoTZHKW62gXUlYFg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=1083#q=isuzu+impulse+led+dash&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&imgdii=_ from this search
When those first came out a black Turbo came flying by me on I-26, talk about a head turner. At the time it was definitely a striking design and it had the performance to back it up, although by today's standards it's slow.
control arm bushings, shocks, upper balljoint = same as Chevette. uca can interchange but the Impulse is reinforced and may have slightly different angle where the bj mounts. thats pretty much it.
said it before & I'll say it again: it is wildly inaccurate to say these are Chevettes with a different body.
there is no voodo or black magic involved in repair & maintenance on these machines. however you won't have all the hand-holding and build recipes to copy like more mainstream cars.
kanaric wrote: i'm sure the reliability thing has more to do with early 80s turbo and nobody knowing how to maintain it. usually that is the case nine out of ten of the times with turbo cars from that era and their "reliability"
The turbo engines were "special" because they had a cramped exhaust manifold, a tiny turbo for quick spool (only 140hp from a turbo 2l) and the valve order was EIIEEIIE. The center of the head would overheat from having the two exhaust valves right there + 80s aluminum head lack-of-technology (poor casting design/poor thermal management) + the turbo was RIGHT THERE.
I had a Turbo. I bought it with a cracked head. I had one cylinder head crack almost immediately after install. I had the second head crack 15 miles after install. It was the only car I ever had where I was HAPPY to see it go away.
Plus the digital dash didn't work either.
Turbos and, I think, the 2.3 engined models had a 4 link. The 1.9 models had the Chevette/Kadett torque arm. I didn't get to drive mine long enough to say how well it handled.
impulsive wrote: said it before & I'll say it again: it is wildly inaccurate to say these are Chevettes with a different body.
I wonder how much of that is due to the fact that the Impulse was more properly based on the Kadett chassis and the US-model Chevette was an offshoot of that. I'd wager that the Isuzu had a lot more in common with the Opel Kadett/Vauxhall Chevette than the Chevy Chevette had.
Isn't this car the Isuzu Piazza? A very forward thinking chassis that many other Japanese brands copied if my memory serves me correct.
Mazdax605 wrote: Isn't this car the Isuzu Piazza? A very forward thinking chassis that many other Japanese brands copied if my memory serves me correct.
Piazza is what it was called in some markets.
I'm not sure how forward thinking it was. Giugiaro came up with a design concept for the next generation Scirocco, VW declined using it as being too out-there, Isuzu bought it instead and parked it on the I-Mark/Gemini (Kadett) chassis. (And that's why the Impulse has silly proportions with tons of overhang - the design was for a front-driver)
Unless "forward thinking" means "let someone else do the majority of the engineering and design for you", which is probably a lot of why Isuzu doesn't make cars anymore.
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