winter childhood hoonmobile memories.

"Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond) 12/06/2013 at 11:46 • Filed to: None

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12

If you were lucky, your dad (or relative father figure) enjoyed fun with cars. In winter Missouri, there's a thin layer of slick beneath a few inches of snow and that's just enough for backwards donuts with dad.
The fwd 1983 Chevrolet celebrity eurosport! At the time, not a bad family car...it had enough pep for vacations with smaller kids and the eurosport option stiffened up the suspension a tad. Perfect donut stuff with kids.
How it was done: First find an empty Kmart lot late night sunday on the way home from christmas shopping at the mall. Dad puts it in reverse, twists around in his seat with his arm around the passenger headrest, and hits the gas....then cuts the wheel around when reaching probably 20mph backwards. The front wheels spin the car around in crazy circles going nowhere while us kids saw parking lot lights spinning all over....laughing like crazy.
It was a great car for that until 96, 000 miles when that 2.8 "fiero" enging threw a rod.

505Turbeaux > Grindintosecond 12/06/2013 at 11:53

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my Dad had a brown Duster with a slant 6 and a manual tranny and he used to love hooning it in empty snowy parking lots. I remember picking up a parts car when I was like 12. We towed one Duster with the other, and a rope, and my ass in the towed car to hit the brakes and steer. Right across the state of CT. Man it was a different time. He later had a baby blue Fairmont that he treated no different

Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole > Grindintosecond 12/06/2013 at 12:00

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I grew up in Metro Detroit, winter was a magical time for my brother and I. My mother would need to go to the store (the old Eastgate Shopping Center in Roseville if anyone is familiar) but none of us wanted to go with her. Why? We had a 1981 Datsun 210 Wagon (Similar to the one above, but in baby blue). 5 speed + RWD + snow = HOONAGE!! Sometimes, dad would let us sit on his lap and steer in the empty areas of the parking lot. Technically, I did my first doughnut in a car when I was 8.

In recent years, I've had to teach my wife, her sister and our brother-in-law how to drive in the snow (they're all Arizona natives). Empty parking lot + Suburban + snow = LEARN-AGE. We would do this with all of us in the car, as well as my daughter and nephew. While there were some "OH CRAP!!!" comments from the adults, nothing but laughter and screams of "FASTER!!" & "MORE!!!!" came from the car seats.

I think this winter, I'll take my daughter out and let her do her first doughnut in Grimace.

area man > Grindintosecond 12/06/2013 at 12:37

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My dad was never/is not too interested in cars, but he did have the good sense to buy a gently-used '93 Pathfinder when I was a little kid as the SUV craze took hold.

I remember being scared of riding in it because it was so much taller than his old Saab 900, but the first day he brought it home he proceeded to take me to my elementary school and hoon all over the front lawn. Then he drove up my neighbor's yard instead of our driveway running right next to it. I think he enjoyed having an SUV.

505Turbeaux > area man 12/06/2013 at 13:41

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if he bought a used 93 pathfinder when you were a little kid...what are you, 23? this was the gently used car of choice in my high school when I got my license

[feeling old] :)

505Turbeaux > 505Turbeaux 12/06/2013 at 13:43

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like this!

area man > 505Turbeaux 12/06/2013 at 13:56

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24 - at least I wasn't born in the 90s. Sorry for the reminder!

505Turbeaux > area man 12/06/2013 at 14:03

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hahaha no it was funny. I off-roaded the piss out of one of these a girlfriend of mine had. She used to come pull us out of the woods if whatever poor car we were beating on on the trails got stuck. Same color, 2 door. It's a fine reminder

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Grindintosecond 12/06/2013 at 14:18

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MA winters + RWD Volvo 740 Turbo wagon = (sometimes unintentional) Fun times had for those in the backseat

area man > 505Turbeaux 12/06/2013 at 14:19

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If it makes you feel any better, you clearly grew up in a different Connecticut than I did - by the time I was old enough to drive a lot of the wooded trails near me had been turned into developments. Plus, gas prices.

505Turbeaux > area man 12/06/2013 at 14:30

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yup, though it was still shoreline, we had the power line trails to rock out on, and gas was under a buck a gallon. We eventually had to tow alot of cars out of the woods. Ones I wish I hadnt utterly destroyed, like a '79 Supra! With red leather!

area man > 505Turbeaux 12/06/2013 at 14:34

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The ignorance of youth... wait...

Grindintosecond > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 12/06/2013 at 22:37

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yeah. once i was driving, my college car was a 242. for 100k hard hard miles i beat on that thing in the name of fun.

Theres a 740 wagon out prowling Colorado with a 2.6 turbo 16v b234 out here...500hp with all leather and a/c and wheels from a v70.....its such a sled.