Posted by Samurai remember when Toyota used to build cars and not earth-tone painted appliances with styling straight out of some twisted anime?\

I liked when they had no idea what they were doing.







The rear wiper linkage on this thing is amazing. The wiper arm is attached at the roof, and just pivots out of the way when you open the hatch (which is just a piece of tempered glass). The wiper motor is in a little compartment on the right side of the trunk, and has a 3 foot long cable (like a speedometer cable) going up into the headliner and to the wiper arm. The nozzle is part of the left hinge.

Why wouldn't they just hang a motor off the lower end of the glass and have the wiper arm attached directly to that? You know, like everyone else did?

It also has a longitudinally mounted drivetrain, which takes up a lot of room in a FWD car. That lasted through the second generation of Tercel.

Other than Subaru, LH platform Chryslers, the VW Fox and B5 Audis/Passats, that layout hasn't really been used much since the Tercel. (edit- also the Acura Legend and Vigor)

Posted by Samurai the HHR SS is a very rare beastie... the HHR itself was based on the Delta, or Cobalt/G5-Pursuit/Ion, much like the PT Cruiser was based on the Neon chassis. They weren't a bad car, but the styling was VERY polarizing, running the gamut of "oh that's really cute' to 'that thing looks like a fucking hearse!'.

It's not a bad car, but you can tell it was bail-out era of GM. A lot of corners were cut, especially in the interior. It is a fun little car, though. I personally like the look of the HHR over the PT, especially the panel version.

Bandi, definitely want a C30 at some point. I'd also love an Amazon wagon.



My wagon. Manual swapped it a couple months ago and it now also has a slightly bigger turbo in it, as well as the Snaab boost pipe/air intake system. Fun car.

Here's the HHR with the 240:


Also the Saabaru:


And something Sam might get a kick out of, our dirt-track cars:

actually, the HHR is a pre-bailout GM design. It was planned as a PT Cruiser competitor based on the Delta-chassis which goes way back to around 2000/2001. There was a GM designer who was also a Cavalier nerd that was keep the J-body forum abreast of what was coming with the Cobalt and the HHR was obliquely mentioned on more than one occasion.

personally, i feel that GM should've kept the Cavalier nameplate on the Cobalt as it had over 20 years of brand recognition and loyalty. Also, with the HHR, it should've been sold as the "Cobalt HHR" due it's chassis sharing duties. A friend of mine had one for a but, but alas, i don't remember what year it was it's been so long. Brucie called it "The Orange Crate Express".


honestly, i miss the Cavalier... it was a honest, unpretentious entry level car. It was reasonably priced, fairly rugged, cheap and easy to repair, fairly peppy for its price-point and easy on fuel economy. And everyone always screams about the interior plastics and how the engines were noisy and how it wasn't as good as a Civic or a Golf... well, they have been out of production now for almost 20 years and you still them rolling around, the shit beat out of them with the odometer tickling 200,000+ miles... anyways, i still miss my last one, the 98 RS clone... this was taken the day before I traded it for a brand new 05 Cobalt coupe.

Ah, I knew it was supposed to compete with the PT, I never knew it went back that far.

I agree with you on keeping the Cavalier nameplate. It was honestly a car I didn't pay a ton of attention to (I had its rival, the Neon) until about 3 or 4 years ago when we started getting into dirt racing. Since our track banned VVT engines due to them not making things very competitive, the J Body Ecotecs dominate there. When we say "We race Cavaliers", we get some looks until people actually see race footage then they understand. It's amazing what just a balance shaft delete and a lighter flywheel will get you.



Since this picture, we traded off 22 to a buddy who now races and have acquired 2 more 2 doors and a 2 door. One's a daily, the other two await their fate to be backups or one will be my future car (I plan to race next year)

Posted by jellybeans95 Ah, I knew it was supposed to compete with the PT, I never knew it went back that far. I agree with you on keeping the Cavalier nameplate. It was honestly a car I didn't pay a ton of attention to (I had its rival, the Neon) until about 3 or 4 years ago when we started getting into dirt racing. Since our track banned VVT engines due to them not making things very competitive, the J Body Ecotecs dominate there. When we say "We race Cavaliers", we get some looks until people actually see race footage then they understand. It's amazing what just a balance shaft delete and a lighter flywheel will get you. https://scontent-l...e45dbb&oe=60A542EC Since this picture, we traded off 22 to a buddy who now races and have acquired 2 more 2 doors and a 2 door. One's a daily, the other two await their fate to be backups or one will be my future car (I plan to race next year)

even with the 2.2L OHV engine, if you know what you were doing, mixing and matching from different years and from the S10 got you a stout running little engine, especially if you know which year gearbox to buy (old Cavaliers had a deeper gearset in them, but still bolted to the newer MPFI and SFI engines.

Posted by jellybeans95 And something Sam might get a kick out of, our dirt-track cars:

It's a ridiculously small world. Greetings from one Lawrenceburg regular to another. Always fun to watch both of your cars in action.

Posted by Harvestman It's a ridiculously small world. Greetings from one Lawrenceburg regular to another. Always fun to watch both of your cars in action. https://i.imgur.com/r7LXZ8Uh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/7cCh5HMh.jpg

Oh well hey! I think I'd seen before that you were in the Cincinnati area. We have a 3rd car running sporadically this year (black with yellow numbers, 22) and hoping for me to run next year. Should you see someone with a wolf-faced bandana wearing either a t-shirt or hoodie that says "Black Wolf Motorsports" carrying camera equipment, feel free to say "hi".


Those are awesome pics, btw!

Posted by jellybeans95 Oh well hey! I think I'd seen before that you were in the Cincinnati area. We have a 3rd car running sporadically this year (black with yellow numbers, 22) and hoping for me to run next year. Should you see someone with a wolf-faced bandana wearing either a t-shirt or hoodie that says "Black Wolf Motorsports" carrying camera equipment, feel free to say "hi". Those are awesome pics, btw!

Will do! I ran the #44 bus in the bus races last year and will be doing it again this year. I'll keep an eye out for you and the cars.

Posted by Harvestman Will do! I ran the #44 bus in the bus races last year and will be doing it again this year. I'll keep an eye out for you and the cars.

The Hot Wheels bus! Nice! The bus racing is always so fun to watch.


For anyone curious to follow our racing adventures, we have a Youtube and a Facebook for our race team.


https://www.youtub...lcAj-q6ubdfPvfxAzQ


https://www.facebo...ackwolfmotorsports

We not only post about our races, but other car stuff happening at the shop as well. I plan to also video some of the Pure Stock races this year and get bus races, the minivan demo derby, and possibly film our friend who drives late models.

reading the last few comments in this, i am so humming "it's a small world after all..."

Bought a bad car I've always liked. I love it. It's fun.

Nice,
Why does it look so 4x4, has the suspension had something done?
Is that factory?

Posted by gambino Nice, Why does it look so 4x4, has the suspension had something done? Is that factory?

that's just the way Fiero's sat... they got lower as the years went on.

And in the second photo, it's leaning away on a hillside, so it makes it look a bit higher. But yeah, it sits like a monster truck stock.

Posted by bandi And in the second photo, it's leaning away on a hillside, so it makes it look a bit higher. But yeah, it sits like a monster truck stock.

mot people that aren't familiar with all things GM don't realize that the underpinnings of that car are T-body (front-Chevette) and A-body (rear-Celebrity).

The bonus of that is that GM's of that vintage are like Lego's... a piece from here, a piece from there and you have something greater than the sum of it's parts.

and they are a neat looking car.

Posted by bandi Bought a bad car I've always liked. I love it. It's fun. https://i.imgur.com/uipZuQZ.jpg?1 https://i.imgur.com/oFe1uMs.jpg?1 https://media1.ten...8a692de8/tenor.gif[/eimg]

That's rad af! Nice find!

Posted by jellybeans95 That's rad af! Nice find!

Thanks!

the sbort windy fun-ass road...

[Personal] Sonic_&_winding_road(a)_6-18-2021 by Samurai Harris, on Flickr

Cool shot, how are you liking that car?

When the sign says "Light 'em up!!!", a guy kinda feels obligated. 2004 WJ, 340 stroker.