Fate

[skip1930]

Bob23 writes above; " Must've been an old Fiat 850..with a whopping 817CC displacement....pistons the size of bathroom Dixie cups! "

That got me to thinking. One of my model R/C aeroplane engines is a Rossi ABC [Aluminium-Brass-Chrome] ringless piston. The piston is hand lapped and fits so tight that it is very hard to turn the engine over with an 10 inch-5 pitch prop. Once the 10% nitro ignites she screams to life making an incredible 3/4 hp from a measly 0.40 cubic inch displacement at about 14,000 rpm. Now that's booking!

I see where Ford Motor Company has a production turbo charged three cylinder engine...a screaming machine that luv's to spin and make power yet sip fuel. Developed in Partnership with Yamaha.

You mentioned Dixie Cups. An invention put on public transportation street cars during the horrendous influenza virus where from 1918 to 1933 almost 2/3 of the world's population scummed to 'The Deadliest Plague In History'. Strangely enough in the book the very street I lived on in Lincoln, Illinois when attending college was mentioned. The gist was, in the morning so and so walked past a certain house on Keokuk Street. And on the way back from school two more Black Bows were were tied on the railing of the front porch. Two more deaths attributed to this pandemic.

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[Bob23]

   Eons ago, my sister owned a Fiat 850 Sport Spider. I used to love racing my friends in that thing...8500 redline, if I remember correctly. That sucker seemed to have power all the way up. Not bad for a pre-VVT, carbureted, naturally aspirated engine. Rear engine, rear wheel drive. I used to routinely beat my buddies Triumph S*itfire easily.
   You lived on Keokuk St.? That must have been eerie...seeing your street mentioned in the book. What a horrible time that was to be living in.
bob23

[spritemann]

I felt the need to chime in.   I'm mostly a lurker on this fine forum but Healey bashing gets mee blood boiling.   Well, not really but I have to say that I love my ComPac 16, I loved my Sprites and MG's and I love my Healey 100.  Not necessarily in that order.

[Citroen/Dave]

Anybody want to talk about the most advanced cars ever?  Lets start with the first modern automobile, the '35 Citroen, the first successful mass produced front wheel drive, in production until '57 when an American  automotive journalist noted that it was more advanced than anything built in this country that year.  Then the '55 - 75 DS 21 Citroen.  It got 36 mpg and had a cruising speed over 100mph with safety features to match.  It had 59 advanced features including self correcting steering. Ever blow a front tire? Sitting on you hands at 100mph you can stop, straight line, just by applying the brakes.    Another feature was mandated for all cars sold in this country this year; the current version is called electronic stability control.  It prevents overcorrection accidents that kill 2 out of 3 on American roads. The DS did it with proper design and hydraulic computers.  Self leveling suspension with an override to change tires or pick up a trailer hitch.  Three point suspension with four wheels, ever have two flats?  Charles De Gaul and his wife were driven to safety at over 60 mph after an ambush shot out both tires on one side. (See "Day of the Jackal" for a rendition of that event.)  The list goes on and on.  The current Citroen top model is so advanced it takes a serious study to " get it all". The C1 economy model get 63mpg.  The bigger Cits, the C5 and C6, change their suspension springs and dampeners at 5 thousands of a second in response to changing road conditions and driver input.  I will get of my soap box for now . . .  I may actually launch my C16 for the first time tomorrow before the cold front arrives in Central Virginia.  If not it may be a very long winter.

Citroen/Dave

[Bob23]

Are Citroen's still sold in the US?
bob23

[Tim Gardner]

Dave, Where are you going to launch?
TG

[Citroen/Dave]

Are Citroen's still sold in the US?
bob23


Bob,

Citroens were last sold in the US in 1972. My last good Citroen, a '70 DS21 came with the original bill of sale from Paris.  The car was sold to the service man from whom I purchased it.  He paid $2,200 and had it shipped over for about $900.  The company and France at that time did not know the real value of their products.  If Citroen had priced the DS like Mercedes did their cars, three times the European cost, Citroen probably would still be in this country.  The official reason Citroen left is that they would not redesign a 17 year old design for a 5mph bumper.  That would have interfeared with their energy absorption frame that was saving lives during front and rear end collisions.  [Mercedes gets to claim they invented that frame structure, but the DS in secret development had it around 1946.  The design or the DS started in 1938 to replace the 1935 car.]  The DS had a 4mph front bumper; one simply loosened the slide bumper-mount and pulled it forward after a mild front accident.  The CX Citroen came out in 1975, followed by other industry changing automobiles like the XM.  If you get to France or any of the other civilized countries, rent a C5, or a C6 luxury Citroen to see where automotive design is these days.  US and other manufacturers have about caught up to the 1975 DS except for the hydraulic suspension with nitrogen gas springs. I know one does not often cross a plowed field at 60mph or hit a curb a 60 but the 1955 Citroen can with no damage and no discomfort. My current sailboat hauler all but requires a road side rescue to just change a tire: the DS does not even use a jack!. The safety margins of the larger Citroens are phenomenal. How many decades will it take to catch to the C6?

Dave

[Citroen/Dave]

Dave, Where are you going to launch?
TG
[Tim,

My favorite launch site is Belle Haven Marina [ correction: Lake Haven Marina] near the Smith Mountain Lake State Park. It caters to sailers and it is ususally protected from high winds on the lake, plus it has two launch pads, one shallow and one steep.  When I had a Rhodes designed, Picnic 17, I would launch on a Friday afternoon, eat at Lake Haven's Irish Pub, sleep at the transent dock, sail early and all day Saturday, sleep while the transient big sail boat crews partied at the Pub Saturday night, sail on an empty lake again early in the morning and pull out before the afternoon crowds hit the lake.  All for $4.00.  I live in Lynchburg, so the north side of the lake is the closest side for me.

Yesterday, I made the decision not to take my first mate out for the first sail. Conditions were deteriating during my anticipated sailing time and I did not want to subject her or me to possible desasters in an untried boat, even though I have the greatest confidence in the design.  I noticed, too, that the lake was devoid of boats should I have had to ask for help.

Where do you sail?  I found another C16 owned by Dave Smith(?) near Monetia]

Dave

[Bob23]

Dave:
   Didn't realize the genuis behind Citroen...thanks for the enlightenment. I've always liked them for thier quirkiness but wasn't aware of the advanced technology behind the car. Ashamed that I didn't know they hadn't been sold here since 72. I guess I'm a bit outa touch!
bob23