During this year, some insights had begun to mature. Among other things, the fact that a Volkswagen Beetle from the 1950s (let alone updated) did not feel really pleasant at speeds above 150 kph. Maybe the caster angle was too small (i.e. aggravated by a lowered front suspension); perhaps an overlooked fact that no one back then thought about. Anyway, in order to drive safer and, probably, faster with the same basic concept, a better aerodynamic solution was needed. In the world of thought, it was a contest between either a Porsche 356 or a Karmann Ghia. Naturally, I took the one that first appeared at a low price.
At one point in Norrtull, an Amazon tuned with two Weber 45 DCOE started burning in the engine compartment and the owner tried desperately to kill the flames with his jacket. Considering that the military training I had done and lessons learned about fires and that fire extinguishers were always in the car, I offered my service. It was enough to partially close the hood and a small, easily-cleaned puff through the gap was enough to douse the flames. Later, I visited the guy’s home and discovered that he owned several other cars and among them a disassembled Ghia object in rather poor condition. After a bit of negotiation, the car became mine for SEK 400 in the late autumn of 1980. Back then, prices were undeniably and completely different than today.
The previous autumn had been devoted to new tests with the 2-inch SU carburetor and a further developed two-stage system for water injection. Water injection was used from the beginning and was absolutely necessary to deal with the Corvair engine’s tendency to detonate. The oil system was also rebuilt to overcome high temperatures and became a quirk that never really turned out well. Over the winter, the engine was completely disassembled and revealed, among other things, seize marks in valve guides and conically-worn cylinders. Many years later, I have wondered how much of that engine was seriously rebuilt given the many shortcomings that appeared while owning the vehicle.
The 1980 season began with winning ahead of a beautiful -70 Chevelle with LS6, manually shifted and 4.11. Mörtberg, who owned the car, had it on display several years earlier.
Yngve, who previously drove the Charger with a supercharged 440, had returned this year with a -72 Dodge Demon. Probably, it was the same engine as in the old Charger, but in a lighter, more developed car. According to my old notes, this car was judged to do low 13-second times on the street, but it was not enough in the meeting with The Silver Gray.
Later that summer, a story was told about Yngve. Apparently, he had been in the garage working on the car when he suddenly stopped mid-work and dropped the tools. With the words, “What am I currently doing?”, everything was sold – both the car and the garage it rested in. Yngve disappeared completely from the car scene and reportedly devoted himself instead to downhill skiing, which was growing to become a real national sport in Sweden during that period.
The next appearance was a winning race against a somewhat odd -64 Chevy Nova. The engine make-up comprised of a Chrysler 413 tuned with twin turbo and blow-through carburetor. This type of installation was tested by several people, but without really getting any major power increase as a result. What’s a bit strange is that all the turbo-tuned, four and six-cylinder engines without a blow-through carburetor have given lots of power. Only much later with the advancements made by the likes of people such as Gale Banks have turbo and V-eights finally started to give the desired increase in output performance as intended. Here is me wondering what that defining difference actually was?
After the Nova, there was another race in Norrtull and this time against a really wild-looking -66 Impala. The car seemed lightened and the 427 was fully exposed inside the front wheels. It looked fast, but ultimately got the short end of the stick.
About this time, claims appeared that The Silver Gray did wheelies. Back then, it undeniably sounded odd and amusing because there was no one I knew who did it on the street. The trick of rocking-up with a run-down, or removed, shock absorbers in the front wheel set does not count. My curiosity resulted in the installation of a switch that activated a lamp when the shock absorber was fully extended. Despite several attempts, the lamp remained off.
Judging by the pictures, the next race was done in Kista. Earlier I have mentioned a -64 Pontiac with tuned Cheva 327, which made a high eleven with slicks. The owner back then agreed with me that he would win in that condition, but would lose with street tires. Now, it was finally a chance to shelve the matter with a new owner and street tires. As in the old assumption, it was The Silver Gray that won.
A car that went more into the show category was the next race in Norrtull. It was a -67 Mustang convertible with 4-71 supercharged 351. That car was quite hopeless and we were content to call the race early after maybe 250 meters.
Towards the end of the summer, an extremely confident and boisterous guy named Magnus appeared. The smokescreen was tight around his -65 Oldsmobile F85 and no one was allowed to look under the hood. Rumors spoke of a strong Chrysler engine, but later it emerged that it was a tuned Buick 455. The car turned out to be quite nimble; I guess 14.0, or a little better. Despite the fact that according to my notes I drove badly, Magnus fell behind. After the loss, he was quite assertive for a second run and my answer resulted in really angry comments. Thus, the 1980 season was over for me and The Silver Gray had now been involved in 56 races.
During these years, I made a living driving a taxi that has given me many memories. At night, on the way home from the pub, some customers would start really deep conversations like the meaning of life. At one time, I had an older, rather drunk gentleman in a short leather jacket and a look that brought to mind over-wintered 50s youth. He sat in the front seat and soon began a conversation with himself, which at times slipped into mushy American. It was with a shudder that I suddenly perceived “Sepulveda” and “Van Nuys Boulevard“. Naturally, you woke up to the latter address: a classic place for street racing in Los Angeles in the years around 1970. It turned out that my customer drove a taxi in this area back in the States and proudly announced that he was not sober a single day at work. By the way, the future dream was to trudge around the beaches of Santa Monica with a metal detector and a whiskey bottle in the pocket because, “There people always lose valuable things“. He probably never realized that plan.
Another taxi memory also happened one night with a drunk passenger. The guy was probably 20 and had apparently come to town to party and buy a car. Oh yes, he would visit the car dealer Peder’s Car (with the slogan Racecar in Town) and buy the quickest tire-burning machine in history namely a Torino GT Cobra! The goal was “to drive the shit out of everything at home. You just have to understand how quick this car is!” The pinnacle of achievement would then be to whip-up the fastest car in the capital of Scandinavia. He elaborated, “You may have heard of the Professor, huh?“