blown 87

And they almost have it perfected now.

The first use of urethane I can recall was on a 68 Pontiac, but it also had metal bumpers.
The 68 Firebird was my first intro into a broken T belt.

Rick Carter

Weissach axle.

fraggle

First motor I've successfully pulled rebuilt and reinstalled myself.

blown 87

I think we have a winner.

Fogey1

nsantolick wrote:
... First to use that silicon treatment making piston liners unnecessary? ...

First to get it right. Chevy Vega almost killed the idea.

... The torque tube / transmission in the rear for weight balance? ...

Didn't the Pontiac Tempest have a transaxle?

... Is it true that it was extensively tested all over the world, in all sorts of environments, like from the Sahara to the Arctic Circle??? ...

Is that unusual?

.... The flaps that open and close in the nose to assist aerodynamics when extra cooling wasn't needed??? ...

Rolls Royce (and Bentley?) had (auto?) adjustable louvers in the radiator shells. Our Saab 91 had a pull-chain in the cockpit that raised or lowered a fabric blind in front of the radiator.

... The "meet new women" mode it automatically goes into as you park? lol ...

I'm pretty sure that's been a feature of exotic cars from the beginning. Think Stutz Bearcat, boat-tail Auburns, Bugattis etc.

blown 87

The Tempest had IRS, but no transaxle, it did use a bent TT though.

djurek

Hydraulic headlight adjustment?

djurek

Rear Visors?

syoo8

I copied these down from an old thread several years ago-- not sure how many of them are "firsts"

- Torque tube (with afore-mentioned rear-mounted trans and 50/50 weight distribution) -- no left or right roll on takeoff

- Low coefficient of drag, including on later cars aerodynamic belly pans (with afore-mentioned radiator flaps for lower Cd at high speed)

- DOHC 32-valve V8, all aluminum-silicone with NO liners

- Dual ignition distributors

- Aluminum doors/fenders and hood.

- Adjustable coil over shocks.

- Tire pressure monitoring system.

- Rear suspension acts as a mild form of 4 wheel steering.

- Hidden bumpers with composite covers and low impact shock absorbers.

- Headlight washers

- High intensity washer system

- Flush door handles

- Integrated roof rack mounts

- Rear wiper with parallel mechanism

- Exposed pop-up headlights

- Outboard handbrake

- Consolidated Central Electric Panel (out of the weather)

- Diagnostic port

- Twin disk clutch

- Louvers in front of the radiator which protects the radiator at high speed and increase the cars aerodynamic efficiency.

- Wraparound interior styling with integrated console and adjustable pod

- Vents in doors

- All-aluminum suspension arms

- Air-conditioned glovebox

- Rear-mounted battery box is mounted to the transmission, to make it unsprung rather than sprung weight (or so they claim)

- Forged aluminum wheels from the factory

- Rear sun visors

- Bucket rear seats, individually folding

- Factory integrated foglights

- Ducted brake cooling

- 4-wheel disc brakes (fronts ventilated; I forget on the rears)

- Brake pad sensors

- Brake lights activated by fluid pressure, not by mechanical movement of pedal (not sure if this is a bug or a feature -- same goes for the serpentine belt)

928 obsession

It's still the first and only sports car to ever win the European Car of the Year.

James Bailey

Some factual information....from Hemmings "The Tempest's flexible driveshaft, jokingly termed "rope-drive," was an 87.25-inch-long by .65-inch-diameter (with automatics) or 82.29-inch by .75-inch (with manual gearboxes) bar of forged SAE 8660 triple-alloy steel that was shot-peened, magnafluxed and coated with a flexible protectant. The shaft, located in a hollow box called a torque tube, arched just under three inches at its center, and it transmitted power to the rear transaxle like a torsion bar. The flexible shaft was designed with center bearings to absorb some of the vibrations inherent in the non-balance-shaft-equipped four-cylinder engines. " Used 1961 to 1963. The 64 Tempest got a convential driveline which allowed them to make it in to the GTO

blown 87

Damn, Gregor is wrong again.
I have never seen one with a transaxle, sorry for my mistake.

blown 87

Speaking of Pontiac's, did the all aluminum V8 in the f85 have liners?

James Bailey

The little 225 cu IN alloy Olds V-8 had liners even the TURBO charged Jetfire version ......Yes they turboed it in 1963 as I recall. GM did not due Alusil until the Vega but the cast iron head on an alloy block had issues and the "rebuilders" nearly always screwed up the bores by improper honing deglazing. The Cosworth/Vega with the race style head was an interesting car but the Vega was too heavy for it's size....later morphed into the Monza which was fited with a 350 V-8 for a while.

WallyP

The Vega used the same 390 alloy for the block and iron-coated pistons. Their problem was a large, heavy cast-iron cylinder head sitting atop the open-deck 390 block. Differential expansion led to a loss of coolant, overheating and engine problems. After they fixed the coolant loss problem, the engines were pretty much bullet-proof, just like the 928.

GM had two different aluminum V-8s, the Olds and the Buick.