My Rad Era cars

I just received the May issue and scanned the "We Were There" article about 80's and 90's cars, so I thought I'd add my entries.  One of these was in the article and one was not.

First up, my 1985 GLH Turbo.  Yes it was crude and unreliable, but it was the fastest thing Dodge made in 1985 and was a hell of an autocross car on certain courses.  I won two SE Division championships with this, and set the fastest Stock class time at this event:

Next up was my 1991 Ford Escort GT.  An underrated and underappreciated autocrosser, it was based on the Mazda 323 of the day and actually ran and handled very well.  I surprised quite a few Porsches with this and won several local and state championships over the course of 11 years and 130k miles.  It still looked good when I sold it.

Two very cool cars, thanks for sharing! 
 

I wish there was a modern equivalent of the Ford Escort GT/Protege/323. Seems hard to get a car of that size and weight with similar power.

In reply to CyberEric :

Civic Si?

In reply to jstein77 :

Waaaaaaaay larger than those Escorts, no?

Does Hyundai still make the Accent?

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

No, but they make the Elantra N (very quick), which isn't huge.  There may still be some leftover 2022 Accents around somewhere.

Are we showing off our Rad era cars?

yupididit said:

Are we showing off our Rad era cars?

 

Yes please

I don't think my 1980 450SEL 6.9 will qualify but my 190e should def. 

My whole fleet is Rad currently. One from the first year of the era, one from the last, and one right in the middle.

My 1994 nissan hardbody xe, v6,ex-cab,  manual trans and 4x4. Lifted on 35's.  This is the day i sold it for way too little $ in 2015. I still miss it. 
 

oh yeah, i have my 1995 e36 325is in the driveway. 

Oh boy- here we go. I'll attempt to be brief.

93 SE-R, first autocrosser:

91 MR2, this thing would be worth far too much today given how clean it was:

88 MX6, a Gambler car before the Gambler existed:

88 Impulse, attempted daily driver, frequently project instead:

86 535, surprisingly functional:

87 MR2 and matching XT600, great vehicles both:

Another honorable bike mention, 89 CB-1 complete with screaming gear driven cams:

Another 91 MR2, this time much rattier and with V6:

83 635i, great highway car, many many dryrotted bushings and all:

89 Foxbody, terrible but hilarious rallycross car:

85 Celica daily and rallycrosser, arguably the best car I've ever owned:

84 Toyota pickup, rallymoto bike hauler and daily:

95 318ti, daily driver for a while:

86 RX7 rally car, this thing was falling apart and it ruled anyway:

85 XR4Ti rally car with matching rad era Chief tow rig:

85 MR2, current daily driver:

Our Miatas (NA & NB) are both 90's cars, but don't feel like Rad cars.  The E36 Touring is Rad, spirit and letter...

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

Sweet 3G Celica!

In reply to jstein77 :

Good ol Hollywood Speedway.  I went through the Brands Hatch America racing school there to get my SCCA license, which used Escort GT's and Formula Firsts for their school cars.

The Firsts used the Escort GT drivetrain in the back, which meant the shifter was on the left side.  Took a bit to get used to that 3-2 downshift.

Peter Argetsinger was the lead instructor (son of Cameron Argetsinger who started the Watkins Glen races).  Link Evelith, David Russell and Albert Naon, Jr. were some of my instructors.  Link was well known in the Florida autocross scene, and David and Albert were trying to make it in IMSA at the time.

David had some good results with low buck GTU teams at Sebring, and now runs Automatic Racing in Orlando.  Albert had a brief stint with the factory Spice team.  He had a really good battle with Geoff Brabham in the Nissan at Miami one year, before Geoff made a questionable move and knocked the nose off Albert's car.

In reply to Rodan :

Twistys look so right on a wagon

I don't have pictures of all of them.

The most notable that is still in the fleet is this one. 

This one made me swear off BMWs. I absolutely love this body and it would eat up highway miles but what a POS it was.  

This one was a hoot to drive. Not many T-Birds in this world with 5 speeds but this was one of them. 

I still regret selling this beast even though it averaged about 8 mpg for the time I owned it. We drove it all over the eastern US and parts of Canada. 

Another one I should have kept. 

The XJ barely doesn't qualify since it's a 2000 but the design is solidly 90s. 

Can't forget the Samurai. It's still in the fleet but it's off the road and in storage for now. 

Just the current "rad" fleet.

The VW is Rad appropriate

Trent said:

The VW is Rad appropriate

Yes indeed!

Y'all making me miss my E36

This is last photo I have of it sitting behind its replacement. And below that is me being properly rad with it in Yosemite. It came to me in the family hand-me-down program. If I'm honest, it changed the course of my life forever. It's the reason I'm here and the reason I'm an engineer. 
 

Currently in the fleet:
 

Really, it's an '86.

It may not have the original drivetrain, but it's all 1985 on the outside.

1990.

There are a bunch of these littering the place.

I have never thought of this car as "rad", but it IS a 1994. On the title.

While I never actually used the word "rad" in the 80s or 90s, this one might count. Pic's a few years old, but it's still on the SSRs, has the dual exhaust and the stripes.

And of course...

Previous member of the family was this 1999.5 Golf, so it just made it under the wire. Hella colored tails, BBC RC wheels, I forget what suspension. It had so much grip it didn't really handle. It just gripped. But check out how colorful my driveway was around 2000.

My first car was my '95 Civic. It was the car I came home in and I loved it dearly, but I had to sell it because of mechanical age-related issues. Here it is next to my second Rad-era car, my '91 Honda Beat I bought with my brother while we were in college:

The next qualifying car was my first Miata, Steve. Steve was a total E36 M3box, but I had a total blast in that car.

My 86 MR2 was fun but had too many problems and I overpaid for it

I bought my second Miata, Elvira, and she's been a reliable racer for me for the last three years.

And lastly, my '98 Boxster. If you've read my thread, you'll know tht this one won't be around for much longer.

Oh man, I've had a rad fleet most of my life.  Here are some of the favorites.

I loved my 83 Grand Wagoneer. Don't have a pic but it was just like this but a little rougher: 

My other favorite was my 89 Dodge Colt GT. It was #4 made and featured in ads. 

My 92 Integra GSR took me all over the place. She was a little rough but sooo much fun. 

I've had a few more. Bunch of miata and Mitsubishi. My 91 MR2 Turbo. My current Mirage RS. But those 3 were top of the list. 

OK here are mine.

Willow Springs on a Honda 125cc GP bike circa 1988

My NA Miata Showroom Stock C race car & daily driver

My Rad Era Formula Car 1987 Novakar F500; 3rd one ever built.