@VDCdriver–I owned a 4-4-2. However, it was a 1978 and by that time 4-4-2 was just a trim package. My 4-4-2 had a 2 barrel carburetor, a 3 speed automatic transmission and a single exhaust system. Originally the 4-4-2 did mean 4 barrel carburetor, 4 speed transmission and dual exhausts.
well depending on where you read it…
the good ones had 400 cu in engine, 4 speed tranny, 2 exhaust
then it was 4 barrel carb, 4 speed tranny, 2 exhaust.
if you get one with 400cu in
4 speed manual
2 exhaust the W30 package I think it was called, then you have something special
MikeInNH “Pontiac LeMans from the 70’s…and then the one in the late 80’s made by Daewoo.”
Car and Driver’s comment was always one of my favorites. “Imagine blasting down the Mulsanne Straight in this 102 mph kimchi burner.”
my friend in high school had his mom s old 69 le mans convertible in the 80 s. such a shame what he did to that beauty. we went mudding in a sand pit one time and had to get towed out of a shallow lake that he was sure he could get thru once…I sat in the car while he hooked it up to the tow rope…I told him not to do it.
An old car that I’ve always wanted and never had also has a catchy name that was a bit different; the Henry J.
A neighbor a few blocks away had one at one time but it wasn’t much to look at as it was a drag strip car only with huge slicks, gutted interior, and in a perpetual primer gray color. Fast though.
Guess the lack of paint was one way of shedding a bit more weight… 
The horsepower in the first year of the 914 was just 79. I’m not surprised you found it underpowered, mountainbike. It certainly wasn’t cheap. My 2L had 96 HP and more torque. I’m sure that’s the difference in our perceptions.
No doubt, jt. There may have been other improvements, such as suspension tweaks, as well. There usually are.
ok4450 The Henry J was a very popular gasser drag car. The only one I have seen up close was one of those owned by a buddy and 427 Chevy powered. I really like the styling. He also had a 1941 Hemi powered Willys coupe. I still dream about owning that one!
I think the Porsche 914 was shunned by the Porschefiles due to the VW engine. as was the 912. The 914/6 was a different animal.
@sgtrock21, those early Willys are also dream cars of mine. A Hemi under the hood just makes it Nirvana.
My late brother-in-law had a father-in-law who has been in the salvage and auto body business forever. The FIL is an absolute weasel who treats everyone with contempt and he’s a minister to boot.
On one of his properties about 15 years ago on the outskirts of town he had 3 old Henry Js sitting out there under the trees. Two were pretty complete and one was probably fit for drag car use only.
He would not sell them, let anyone look at them, or even talk about it. He eventually sold the property and had all 3 scrapped. I never liked the guy anyway; junking the Henry Js caused the dislike to become utter disdain.
At the current time he has a pair of late 60s Ram Air Firebirds (one convertible) and a Dodge Challenger (think it’s an RT) sitting out back rotting away. Pretty dxxxxx sad… 
that is sad. may as well let someone enjoy them, and make a few bucks at the same time.
I won t even go into the minister part except to say that jesus taught us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves
Fiat left the US market in 1982, and in the same year stopped making the X1/9. Bertone had designed the car and had always manufactured the bodies, so in 1982 Fiat gave them the rights to continue making the car, with Bertone assembling the cars using Fiat mechanicals. These cars, made from 1982 until 1989 were sold as Bertones and imported to the US by one of Malcolm Bricklin’s many ventures. Sales fell off badly during those latter years as there was minimal advertising and a modest dealer network. I alwats quite liked the styling of the X1/9. Too bad it was such a wretched car.
Odd manufacturing arrangements have long been common in Europe, with small companies making specialty models for the big firms (as with Karmann and VW). This still happens with companies like Valmet (in Finland) making models for various firms, especially convertibles. I’ve always thought this an interesting system as it gives more production flexibility and lets them sell variants for which the demand is modest.
The 914/6 only lasted 3 years. The 911 worshiper didn’t like it either. And despite the Boxter/Cayman having the best handling of all Porsches today, the 911 crowd still poo-poos it. They say a Real Driver owns a 911 because he can handle the quirky beast.
@kengreen Forgive me but I interrupt this discussion for a brief salute to Chester Nez, the last of the Navajo code talkers who died recently. A great and honorable American.
I didn’t realize you were on the Rez. Many hours of windshield time were spent listening to Tony Hillerman’s books and Officer Jim Chee. Great respect.
Now back to stupid names like Bronco and Pinto?
@MarkM, back in the mid/late 80s I was working for a multi-line dealer who took on the Fiat line of X19s and Spyders. At the shop meeting announcing this all of us mechanics gave a collective groan after which we were accused of being “negative thinkers” and “stuck in the past”.
A few weeks later the first couple of new “Fiats” arrived and management was all ga-ga over them.
It was only while sorting out the paperwork later that they found those new Fiats were 2 model years old. Of course, that translated to someone needing a lot of cash to buy them outright or being on super terms with the banks on financing a new car that was 2 years old.
Many were sold anyway…
The parts situation was non-existent. As a dealer we could not even get an air filter from the distributor much less anything else on the car.
All warranty claims were continually kicked back as being invalid for whatever reason.
The warranty stonewalling went on for quite a while until the service manager made a phone call to the distributor one day with an or else attitude and discovered that “the phone number you have dialed is no longer in service”.
That was the end of the Fiat experiment and a year or so later the dealer went under.
At the time that the Fiat acquisition was announced one of the mechanics made the comment that doing so would mean the end of the dealer. A week after he made that comment he was fired for “being too negative”. He may have been negative but he was also correct.
Guess that’s the difference between the realists in the shop and the Fantasy Island people up front…
When I’ve been accused of being against change, I’ve always said there is good change and bad change. I’m all enthusiastic about good change, but all negative on bad change. She’s the one that ended up getting reallocated though.
its amazing that management often ignores its best sources of info. the guys who do the work. they assume that they are all selfish and only care how it effects them, which is true in many cases. but there are a certain number of employees who understand that their success depends on the companies success and are excellent advisors
Bing,
Chester Nez was the last of the original Code talkers.
They enlisted and trained about three groups over the years so there are still some who proudly lead our parades.
Even some of the younger ones have passed like my good friend and long time customer Jimmy Begay who was part of the third wave…Enlisted, a Marine in every respect, code talker trained and ready to go …then the war ended !
Speaking of parades ;
THIS week is the 93rd Gallup Inter Tribal Indian Ceremonial. Opening parade Thursday night and a Saturday morning parade with the Code Talkers leading the way once again.
Anyone who thought they’d get rich selling Fiats was an idiot, especially after Fiat wasn’t selling or supporting them. The sales dropped quickly when word got out that you would be on your own with a poorly made car. Malcolm Bricklin was either one of the world’s greatest optimists or a fraud. History suggests he was both. With the fraud part predominating.
I agree with the fraud part about Bricklin and the dealer I worked for being an idiot. About 3 weeks after I went to work there I had the opportunity to meet the president of the company and carry on a 5 minute conversation with him.
At home that evening after dinner I told my wife the job was not going to work out in the long run and the company was going to fold at some point. Of course, she wanted to know why.
I told her the company president was an utter moron just from the meeting and watching his face and eyes. It was like staring down an old dry water well; dark and empty.
The wife said I was not thinking positive and I said you will see…