Scenic Drives

[NH.Solar]

That is a Factory Five and one of two I owned. The first was traditional white striped on blue and was really a much nicer vehicle. It had a very hot 347 stroker set up to breath and dynoed at 392 hp to the rear wheels at 6,300 rpm. Becuase it as heavily cammed and had big heads it didn't produce anywhere near as much power as the 390 that was in the red cobra, but it was a much better match for a 2200# pound car. The blue snake also had IRS and traditional 15" rims and rode and handled much nicer.
I bought the red car in the photo from a cash strapped buddy but never really liked it much. He purchased the 351 stroker from a hot rod shop fairly cheaply after the original motor buyer bailed. It had been set up to go into a Ford truck and would have been a great motor for that application, but big low end torque and low rpms are not all that great in a lightweight sports car. It only produced 297 rwhp and was all done by 5,200 rpm, it did however have monsterous midrange torque. It also had a 3 link solid rear axle and that combined with the 17" rims and lower profile tires made for a fairly harsh ride. I only kept it for one summer.
There is a perfect 91 Miata sitting downstairs in the garage now and I bought that with the intention of stuffing a V8 in it right away ...and then started driving it and fell in love with it just as it was. Going from 390 rwhp to about 90 in the same size car was quite a drop, but it is the "happiest" car I have ever owned. I bought it with just over 50K on the odometer and now it has closer to 150 and is begining to feel tired. One of these winter days a truck with a new 525 hp LS3 crate motor is bound to show up in my driveway

[Slickcraft]

Originally Posted by NH.Solar

That is a Factory Five and one of two I owned. The first was traditional white striped on blue and was really a much nicer vehicle. It had a very hot 347 stroker set up to breath and dynoed at 392 hp to the rear wheels at 6,300 rpm. Becuase it as heavily cammed and had big heads it didn't produce anywhere near as much power as the 390 that was in the red cobra, but it was a much better match for a 2200# pound car. The blue snake also had IRS and traditional 15" rims and rode and handled much nicer.
I bought the red car in the photo from a cash strapped buddy but never really liked it much. He purchased the 351 stroker from a hot rod shop fairly cheaply after the original motor buyer bailed. It had been set up to go into a Ford truck and would have been a great motor for that application, but big low end torque and low rpms are not all that great in a lightweight sports car. It only produced 297 rwhp and was all done by 5,200 rpm, it did however have monsterous midrange torque. It also had a 3 link solid rear axle and that combined with the 17" rims and lower profile tires made for a fairly harsh ride. I only kept it for one summer.
There is a perfect 91 Miata sitting downstairs in the garage now and I bought that with the intention of stuffing a V8 in it right away ...and then started driving it and fell in love with it just as it was. Going from 390 rwhp to about 90 in the same size car was quite a drop, but it is the "happiest" car I have ever owned. I bought it with just over 50K on the odometer and now it has closer to 150 and is begining to feel tired. One of these winter days a truck with a new 525 hp LS3 crate motor is bound to show up in my driveway

Wow thanks for the reply. Well, I really like the looks of the red one. However I would get in trouble with that much power!

We bought the 21 ND RF Miata last year (in photo at Evans Notch) and love the way it drives. Not real fast but fast enough. On the way home yesterday from a ride, a NA followed us for quite a ways and gave the horn toot as we pulled into our drive. Fun rides

Alan

[BroadHopper]

Originally Posted by NH.Solar

There is a perfect 91 Miata sitting downstairs in the garage now and I bought that with the intention of stuffing a V8 in it right away ...and then started driving it and fell in love with it just as it was. Going from 390 rwhp to about 90 in the same size car was quite a drop, but it is the "happiest" car I have ever owned. I bought it with just over 50K on the odometer and now it has closer to 150 and is begining to feel tired. One of these winter days a truck with a new 525 hp LS3 crate motor is bound to show up in my driveway

Went from a VW Karman Ghia to Fiat 124 spyder to Porsche 912 to Mazda RX7 and finally the Miata for 2 seater convertible. All excellent vehicles!
Currently driving an allroad with sport package and stage one tune. Far better than the soccer mom vehicles. Lots of fun!

[Slickcraft]

Originally Posted by NH.Solar

. One of these winter days a truck with a new 525 hp LS3 crate motor is bound to show up in my driveway

Here is one with a LS1 for sale:

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a4...ailer-auction/

Looks like a real sleeper

[Mr. V]

Originally Posted by NH.Solar

T
There is a perfect 91 Miata sitting downstairs in the garage now and I bought that with the intention of stuffing a V8 in it right away ...and then started driving it and fell in love with it just as it was. Going from 390 rwhp to about 90 in the same size car was quite a drop, but it is the "happiest" car I have ever owned.

My neighbor owned and raced a little Lotus for many years; he sold it and bought a new Corvette (pre-C8); he wishes he still kept the lighter Lotus, as the more powerful Vette lays down good numbers but is less fun to drive.

"Just add lightness" said Colin Chapman.

[dippasan]

Thought I'd let you know the route we took on our road trip last Wednesday the 6th. Beautiful, comfortable day.
2007 Mustang GT Premium convertible with 14,000 original miles, bone stock with red interior.
God I love this state we live in!

-Left Alton and took Rt 11 to The Weirs, Meredith, then Rt 25 to Ctr Harbor
-Took Bean Road (AKA Squam Lake Road) out of Ctr Harbor to Rt 113
-113 around the back of Squam to Rt 175 in Holderness.
-Rt 175 to N. Woodstock for lunch a the Woodstock Inn/brewery
-Rt 112 due west past Lost River to Rt 302 in Bath.
-Rt 302 east all the way to Route 16 in Glen NH
-Rt 16 to Mt Washington Auto road and YES, to the summit. Pic of "The Chain House" at the summit named for the chains you can see that secure it to the mountain.
-Back down to 302 west to Bartlett. Up over Bear Notch to the Kanc.
-Kanc to 93 to Ashland and back to the lake.

sorry for the crooked photos. Damn Iphone

[NH.Solar]

I took one of two bucket list jobs a few years back and became a tram operator at Cannon. It cost me more to drive there than I earned, but still was worth every minute. Here's a fun fact from that stint, on the day that Mt Washington recorded 231 mph the tram top hut recorded 204. Mt Lafayette on the other side of Franconia Notch is ~1200 feet higher but has no recording station. What do you suppose the wind speed was there?