You may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile

So, I went with this. `99 Grand Marquis LS with 145k that was a Texas car. Underneath is nice and solid. I got it for $2500 out the door.

And yes, I fully intend to autocross this.

Sweet. During dinner Alan and I were discussing my desire to track a P71.

I am eagerly awaiting the opportunity to do so in mine. Hilarity shall ensue.

David S. Wallens wrote: Sweet. During dinner Alan and I were discussing my desire to track a P71.

You like that gray one, don't you?

Gray, navy or maroon, probably.

And you may ask yourself

How do I drive without a third pedal?

And you may ask yourself

What is that thing sticking out of the steering column?

And you may tell yourself

This is not an e30 or Miata!

And you may ask yourself

Am I right?...Am I wrong?

And you may tell yourself

MY GOD!...WHAT HAVE I DONE?

irish44j wrote: And you may ask yourself How do I drive without a third pedal? And you may ask yourself What is that thing sticking out of the steering column? And you may tell yourself This is not an e30 or Miata! And you may ask yourself Am I right?...Am I wrong? And you may tell yourself MY GOD!...WHAT HAVE I DONE?

Same as it ever was, given that my other car is a Caprice Estate!

David S. Wallens wrote: Sweet. During dinner Alan and I were discussing my desire to track a P71.

DO EEET

I was going to come here and praise the brilliant thread title but I was beaten to it.

Great car.

I'll go ahead and say that the thread and its title are brilliant, even for those of us who have little to no interest in the car.

The car matters not. There is brilliance afoot here.

Hoop wrote: And yes, I fully intend to autocross this.

We do, of course, request video documentation of this. Strictly for recordkeeping, of course

One of our local autocrossers, John Rudy, made a habit of regularly amusing us:

In the quest to find a photo of that car I came upon these:

Hoop wrote: Same as it ever was, given that my other car is a Caprice Estate!

well played.

So you "living in a shoot gun shack"

Once in a lifetime . . . everyone should drive a large automobile. I remember, perhaps in the mid-eighties, a Peter Egan "Side Glances" article where he waxed eloquently on about the virtues of massive American cars. It challenged my perspectives as the scion of a European car guy.

I dug some some very old (2002) video of one of our local competitors in a Lincoln.

http://www.cfrsolo2.com/video/bigcar.mpg

Ill have to check the garage to see if i have any parts leftover from my 99 gs. I autocrossed it with stock suspension, hpp 21mm rear sway bar, and some 17x8 mustang wheels with 245 width tires. Steering feel non existent but the car was predictable.

I later upgraded brakes to hawk hps and drilled and slotted rotors...but never got out to autocross after...

I miss driving a larger car. My current want is a V6 challenger.

So what zip code.... I mean class do cars like this run in? BTW, most excellent thread...

There was a guy around here that autocrossed one of those. It looked like a hoot.

failboat wrote: Ill have to check the garage to see if i have any parts leftover from my 99 gs. I autocrossed it with stock suspension, hpp 21mm rear sway bar, and some 17x8 mustang wheels with 245 width tires. Steering feel non existent but the car was predictable.

Oh, if you have any of that, let me know!

As for its classing... probably G Stock?

I've watched a few caprices autocross and I've got to say that they are the most course dependent car I have seen. Tight with quick transitions and they are terrible looking. Smooth, flowing and fast courses they look like a fighter jet (tipping the wrong way of course). I always thought they would be great on a nice open fast road course. I like big cars and I cannot lie.

I gotta admit I really want to see a video of this thing killing cones. But I want to see a video of the driver during that run even more. I rode once on the front seat of one of those, and apart from the comfort, I remember sliding all over those slabs of leather they call car seats even when driving on the street. I don't see how you could autocross that thing and not fly out the window at the first corner

mazdeuce wrote: I've watched a few caprices autocross and I've got to say that they are the most course dependent car I have seen. Tight with quick transitions and they are terrible looking. Smooth, flowing and fast courses they look like a fighter jet (tipping the wrong way of course). I always thought they would be great on a nice open fast road course. I like big cars and I cannot lie.

While mine never looked like a fighter jet, it was a pretty smooth car on course. Granted, it was also much slower, but that did not stop me from unsettling the rear end on those tight transitions.

Here's the thread: http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/why-yes-a-caprice-wagon-is-faster-than-a-volvo-245/49889/page1/ and a video of the Caprice (starts at 3:17) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As2L8IgDZn4&feature=relmfu

Raze wrote:

David S. Wallens wrote: Sweet. During dinner Alan and I were discussing my desire to track a P71.

DO EEET

Oh, hai.

Hoop wrote:

failboat wrote: Ill have to check the garage to see if i have any parts leftover from my 99 gs. I autocrossed it with stock suspension, hpp 21mm rear sway bar, and some 17x8 mustang wheels with 245 width tires. Steering feel non existent but the car was predictable.

Oh, if you have any of that, let me know! As for its classing... probably G Stock?

Yes. Panther cars are GS. Last time I went there where 5 cars in GS, the largest class that day. My Neon, 2 P71s, a 9C1, and IIRC, a StarQuest. Side note, V6 Accords are also in GS.

Either way, I have my heart set on replacing my neon with one of these boats. Preferably an '03 or newer for the frame. But if I end up with an older one, I have some 235/75/15 snow tires from an F-150 for the winter.