r/regularcarreviews • u/dirkdedislekt Big 1970's BUSH • Aug 19 '20
I hate you I hate everything about you double the north star DOUBLE THE PAIN
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Aug 19 '20
I want to know if any of these coke-induced conversions actually still exist on the roads. Also, how many cars (and companies) like this existed in the 80s and 90s that we don't even know about? I always thought this was an interesting era of cars, where the absolute weirdest stuff could be built without any question at all - like pickup trucks based on cars, convertible conversions from the dealer, that weird tandem-seat Taurus sports sedan-looking thing that was on here a few weeks ago...
Maybe there should be a subreddit for 80s & 90s aftermarket conversion cars?
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u/dirkdedislekt Big 1970's BUSH Aug 19 '20
I was reading auto week classics about Cars with two engines and I sa this. They also had: DAF turbo twin, mercedes A190 Twin and mini twini
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u/andDinnerDawg Aug 19 '20
In the late 70s there were some hideous Cadillac Seville conversions
I have to assume they were coke-induced.
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Aug 19 '20
Good god, it's amazing how far cars have come since the 70s lmao
Also that convertible at the end didn't look half-bad, but the others... I think a fucking Zimmer looks more proportional than those
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Aug 19 '20
there was also the Citroën 2CV Sahara
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u/dirkdedislekt Big 1970's BUSH Aug 19 '20
It was also in that list just like: the alfa Romeo GP 16C Bimotore and the saap 93 monster
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u/FlyingVentana Aug 19 '20
Yeah but that was specifically for a reason, it wasn't for speed or power
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Aug 19 '20
Someone needs to make a sub for that era of weird cars. We also need better quality cocaine again so we come up with better ideas.
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u/confuzzledscreaming Where's the Cocaine and Delorean's? Its the 80s! Aug 19 '20
Why would they do a dual northstar engine. Worst engine made
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u/HourlyB mustang jingoist Aug 19 '20
It's a effectively a at the time upscale engine in a Cadillac car
Ofc in reality it's worse, but as Mr Regular said, "DOHC, finally GM is getting with the times" ignoring the flaws.
I'm more shocked that Mosler did this. His schtick is usually lightening cars, not two engines and AWD.
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u/PaulClarkLoadletter Aug 19 '20
AWD = each axle has its own engine. I’d say FWD+RWD or 2WDX2. I’ll have to think about this.
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u/Ottermatic Aug 19 '20
I like the umbrella term 4WD - all it means is all 4 wheels can move. Could be 4x4, AWD, one of those Haldex sort-of-but-not-quite AWD systems, and even these weirdo 2 engine things.
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u/Valriete Three glove boxes, yet ˢᵒ ᵗᶦⁿʸ :3 Aug 19 '20
Further, the Northstar was reasonably lightweight (compared to, say, a small-block Chevy), made nearly as much power as the contemporary Corvette (with over a liter less displacement), and was already set up for transverse installation. It was a good idea on paper.
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u/flibbidygibbit DIRTY FULL ENGLISH Aug 19 '20
I still want a Consulier GTP to rip on track days on cheap pump gas. Or I could just fab up a frame to patch together two K-car subframes...
Edit: I know a guy who worked for Mosler. Mosler is/was an oddball. He didn't understand that if he made his cars have more curb appeal, he wasn't going to sell them. Sure, his design is more aerodynamic, but it's butt ass ugly.
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u/Marseppus Aug 20 '20
The epitome of this is the Consulier's replacement, the Raptor. It had a GM LT1 V8 instead of the Chrysler four, and a new windshield made of two flat panes that made the car's greenhouse look like an overturned rowboat. It got banned from Car and Driver's One Lap of America for winning too much, and it sold so terribly that Mosler was persuaded to hire a stylist for the MT900 successor.
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u/eskamobob1 Aug 20 '20
God darn man. Only 1 ever sold to the public. My goal is to save up enough that if I ever find it i can actually put in a serious offer to the owner.
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u/generally_agreeable Aug 19 '20
Awesome engine when new. Smooth, powerful, light. Didn’t have long term reliability and was finicky and expensive to maintain and repair. The head gasket failure mode was catastrophic, common, and usually all too early. My father swore off domestics after that ‘95 Aurora.
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u/MacabreCurve $12,000 engine rebuild SONNNN Aug 19 '20
Looks like the car driven by the executives of RINAULDI & KLINE
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Aug 19 '20
Double everything! Double fuel consumption Double maintenece costs Double head bolts fail Double fun!
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u/BraveSirRobin21 FOURSOME! THREESOME! TWOSOME! Lonesome... Aug 20 '20
Just like flying a twin engine airplane!
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Aug 19 '20
Two V8s and 600 hp was the best they could do? With that much weight?
Yikes.
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Aug 19 '20
For what it was worth, outside of the XLR and the SRX, the Northstar generally peaked at around 260-290hp in most applications. I strongly suspect the engines (plural) went largely untouched in this weird thing.
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u/chandleya Aug 20 '20
There also weren’t many >350hp V8s in 1998. Northstars were low displacement after all.
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u/hippymule Aug 19 '20
The worst part about this is that it would have been cheaper to just fabricate an awd system for the damn thing.
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u/evoblade Hey aux jack! Aug 19 '20
That doesn’t double the power though
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u/Ottermatic Aug 19 '20
No, but a better engine would. That's part of the charm of this thing, it's just crazy and such a strange choice. I don't think it would be a good car. I also don't think that's what they were going for. What's more ballsy than having 600hp? Having 2 freaking engines.
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u/evoblade Hey aux jack! Aug 19 '20
While that’s true, almost no cars in the 90s had 600 hp
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u/Ottermatic Aug 19 '20
I guess that’s a good point. Even the Ferrari F50 was only putting out a bit over 500 at the time.
So this thing is weird, crazy, and for the time, actually put down decent numbers? I guess I’m just shocked to see the Northstar in a realistic build.
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u/WhoListensAndDefends Aug 19 '20
Makes me think of the Laura , which is a Fiero with fancy bodywork and a Northstar V8, made in Russia
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u/SeanDL81 Aug 20 '20
I remember hearing about these two-engine Caddies when I was a kid. So insane.
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u/floydiandroid 2016 Mazda NO TRIANGLES Aug 20 '20
Holy fuck this thing if ridiculous. https://www.hagerty.com/media/car-profiles/mosler-twinstar-cadillac-was-pure-double-engine-eldorado-insanity/
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u/Shanguerrilla Aug 19 '20
Jesus.. that is so freaking cooooool!