>>7689026I had one of these, pretty amazing little car. 1974 was the last year they were Belgium-made. The model was bought out by an American company and turned into a complete shitburger the following year, and then it disappeared from the world.
But, especially the 1972-1974 models from Belgium ran incredibly sweet. A very unusual manual transmission, simple enough a high school kid could drop it in their driveway and work on it & reinstall on a Saturday afternoon, but silk smooth. Sadly limited to 4 gears due to the time period, but a vast improvement over the usual 3-speed manuals of the era.
Two major problems eventually killed the surviving individuals. 1) the battery was mounted on bare metal in the corner of the hood above the driver's left knee. Battery acid ALWAYS leaks, even just a little, and it ate its way through the metal on almost every car. A few were retrofitted (made a lucite box for mine). Unfortunately, the fuse box was directly under the battery, so most people found out about that problem when the entire electrical system took a shit and it was too late to rebuild it. That's how I found out. A lot of work got the electrical back to "mostly working," but was always fritzy afterward.
And, 2) a square, hollow frame that ran from over the wheel well of the front & back tires and down below the running board under the seats in between. On top of the frame above the wheel wells were entry holes for some sort of access reason. But no drainage anywhere, and no rust-proofing. So, as the car ran, it slowly collected water inside the frame, often salt water in the winter, and sat pooled at the low points until it rusted its way out.
And THAT issue had no solution. Other than a junkyard.
God, I miss that car. Bought with 95,000 miles on it, junked it with 205,000 miles on it. Ran smooth as a sewing machine and blasted through backroads at 70-80 mph like a cat with its tail on fire. Never met a curve it couldn't take. At speed.
