Prius owners are chapped en masse for economy numbers less than the window sticker claims while my friend’s 1960 Morris Minor continues to get 40 MPG with an engine shared with my long ago MG Midget. Pretty much every function of any modest car is now performed via computer chips and servos. T…

No such critter. Impossible to meet safety/pollution/economy/power requirements without lots of electronics.

Even the Nano has electronic fuel injection…

ebay You might have luck finding a fully restored 78 AR GTV out there somewhere. Just be aware parts will be hard to find and very expensive to buy.

…but be aware that you will not be able to bring that Tata (bodacious though it may be in your eyes) back to the US because…it does not have the electronic equipment necessary to pass any Western nation’s emissions tests. It also does not have the ability to accelerate fast enough to get out of har…

Interesting you chose a 1960 Morris Minor. 1960 was really the very start of pollution control regulations. That Minor probably put out more pollutants (HC and CO, the bad stuff) than 100 modern cars. Ahhh, the good old days…

Doesn’t that Morris Minor have Lucas electrical components? You know, the ones made by The Prince of Darkness.

The advent of pollution controls made the computer controls necessary to get good mpg, good performance, good driveability, and reliable too. The late 70’s and cars of the 80’s were full of mechanical things to control pollutants but they were also loaded with numerous vacuum lines, tubes, air pump…

None. Nada. Cannot exist under our present EPA and D.O.T. mandates. Besides, electronic fuel injection really is much more reliable, and the systems allow the engine to run much cleaner extending its longevity, than those ol’ carbs did. And the airbag systems, steel door beams, unibody construction…

There are NONE. I don’t think you can get an ICE powered lawn mower or weedeater without emissions controls … many electronic. Most autos went to at least pneumatic (vaccum) analog computing and control certainly before the 1980s probably earlier than the 1970s. By the end of the 1980s these vaccum…

Best "mechanical" car?

General Discussion

twotone August 25, 2010, 9:37pm 3

Go to India and buy a brand new Tata.

Twotone

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Best "mechanical" car? Maintenance/Repairs	0	304	August 25, 2010
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Best "mechanical" car?

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