RWD Impulse Turbo

Tell me what I need to know, other than they are awesome and I need one.

The later handling was by Lotus!
Single turbo...more reliable than BiTurbo

JohnRW1621 wrote: more reliable then BiTurbo

Ouch! The Bitrouble will (someday) prove all you guys wrong (or me, we shall see)

All of the awesomeness of the Chevette chassis with all of the reliability of Isuzu.

Knurled wrote: All of the awesomeness of the Chevette chassis with all of the reliability of Isuzu.

Shut up! They look amazing. Shut up!!

Tom_Spangler wrote:

Knurled wrote: All of the awesomeness of the Chevette chassis with all of the reliability of Isuzu.

Shut up! They look amazing. Shut up!!

Well, yeah, since it was originally a Guigiaro design study for the second generation VW Scirocco.

Anything that looks like a VW is automatically awesome.

I thought they were only awd

Are they really related to the Chevette in any fashion? They look fantastic to me but that is all I know.

I always liked them, and IIRC they are a reasonably good driver (it's been a couple decades since I drove one for about 5 minutes).....

Knurled wrote:

Tom_Spangler wrote:

Knurled wrote: All of the awesomeness of the Chevette chassis with all of the reliability of Isuzu.

Shut up! They look amazing. Shut up!!

Well, yeah, since it was originally a Guigiaro design study for the second generation VW Scirocco. Anything that looks like a VW is automatically awesome.

While the look is similar, that isn't the case. The "Ace of Clubs" concept was commissioned by Isuzu in '78. The debuted in '79, the MK2 Scirocco came out in '82.

I was trying to pursue these a few years ago and was told that the trans is made of glass and parts are nonexistent and the car is unreliable.

If I was told wrong correct me but I have never seen anything else said about the cars and I want one bad.

I thought they were only awd

That is the 2nd gen

I have to wonder, since these are somewhat related to the Chevette, and we know about the super hot Opel versions of the same platform, what kind of monster Impulse you could build by cross-shopping the related platforms from around the globe? Could you get the gorgeous looks and space-age interior of the Impulse, built with the monster power of the Opel(was it the Manta???), all for the price of a Chevette?

kanaric wrote: I was trying to pursue these a few years ago and was told that the trans is made of glass and parts are nonexistent and the car is unreliable. If I was told wrong correct me but I have never seen anything else said about the cars and I want one bad.

I thought they were only awd

That is the 2nd gen

Excuse me, I need to go change my pants.

A friend of mine bought one brand new when he got out of college (yeah, I'm old). He didn't keep it long. Nothing but trouble. I'm sure they're much more reliable now that they're near 30 years old.

The 2nd gen. Impulse was a sweet looking car. They've all rusted away around me.

Quick pick of my Challenger car ('93 Storm GSi):

The 1st gen was red and the 2nd gen turbo was awd.

Isuzone.org is the internet home for these.

I have driven two of these. The interiors are awesome. The Lotus suspension is actually very good and included some minor geometry changes, the non-Lotus cars drive like any other RWD econobox though. I have never perceived anything terrible as far as reliability, just do the timing belt every 80k like any other import...though, admittedly, there is a LOT of vacuum going on under the hood like other cars of the era.

The late turbo Lotus car I drove was a lot of fun and totally worth it, IMO (I passed because of rust). The early non-turbo standard car I drove was really nothing more than a novelty, though I think the styling is nicer on the early cars uncluttered with ground effects.

I owned one and it was very problematic.

Problems

1. Rust especially front strut tops
2. Heqdgaskets, blow out a lot.

Mine had a 2.6 trooper engine with bigger Mazda RX7 turbo. It was a hoot when it was running.

I owned one and it was very problematic.

Problems

1. Rust especially front strut tops
2. Heqdgaskets, blow out a lot.

Mine had a 2.6 trooper engine with bigger Mazda RX7 turbo. It was a hoot when it was running.

They have the coolest 80's interior ever

In reply to aussiesmg:

You can say that again!

Aussie.. might the fact that you were not running a stock Impulse have something to do with the problems?

In europe the Chevette Chassis spawned some pretty hot cars. Overall it was an extremely simple design. Just a stick axle in the back and double A arms in the front. It is just the fact that we got the worst model here in the states and it as then made even worse with sloppy shocks, weak springs, and a milktoast engine

No they do have head issues, this resulted in the engine swap.

Its common knowledge among the owners

The JR turbo with Lotus tuned suspension is a different car to the run of the mill non turbo slug

88-89 turbo & na have the 'Lotus' suspension which consists of larger swaybars & different springs.

85-89 turbo & 88-89 na have a 4 link w/panhard bar, the others use a torque tube.

clutch type LSD rear in turbo & 88-89 na(some of the earliest turbo may not have it)

stock forged crank & rods, stout blocks. heads were crack prone if overheated. functional cooling system + headstuds + good headgasket = win.

it's not simply a Chevette w/different body & Isuzu drivetrain.

for those that need hand holding stick to miatas & civics.

Back when I was in college there was a Tampa based rallye group called Bay Area Rallye Enthusiasts (BARE) that ran monthly gimmick rallyes and every summer a two day weekend event. Saturday was normally a "here's 12 locations around the state, plot your best route and be at the finish by 5 PM with the answers" while Sunday was a standard "Hare and Hound" to get home.

After running my own car one year over some crap central FL roads, dirt tracks, etc. I determined, as had others, that rental cars handled just fine for the task. One year I found out that the local Clearwater Honda dealer rented non-standard cars and I got a first gen Impulse Turbo for the weekend for about double the cost of the standard chevy rental. It was a stick and was seriously a fun car to drive. Not the fastest machine but the brakes and handling were awesome and the interior was great for a long day on the road. It took a little while to get used to the turn signal switch placement (paddle on the dash) but other than that the car was a blast.

I had a fwd version for a circle track car. I thought it had huge potential but I could never get it to be competitive. Even with the lotus package it was way too soft and the engine had oiling issues. After 4 motors I gave up and bought a nissan. Also I never did find a fifth motor. Parts are really hard to find.