New project: 1975 Chalon Options

[ConeDodger]

Did a guy with a 916 bodykit insinuate the chalon kit was ugly?
Ive heard everything! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif)

If you’re talking about me, my car isn’t a 916 body kit. It’s an M471. Also, no one at all called it ugly. It isn’t ugly. It’s made to look like an RX7. I owned two RX7’s in the ‘80’s. Why would I buy a car I thought to be ugly? I said, and I repeat, why would you put a body kit on a car to make it look like a car anyone could buy? In 1984 I bought an RX7 GSL-SE for $14K. So let’s think this through critically. The 914 was only say 10 years old on average then. So it wasn’t that cheap to buy. Then you have the cost of the kit and shipping, then installation and bodywork. By then, you’re pretty darn close to that top of the line RX7. So why? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

It only looks like an rx7 to those who need an appointment with their eye doctor. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/chair.gif) It has 911 style bumpers. If they wanted it to look like a mazda, they would have put mazda bumpers on it. It was designed to look like a 911/930 slant nose. One look at the marketing materials for the kit should make that obvious.

I worked for Dune Buggy Supply back then. Building kit cars. The VW mags back in the day said it “brings to mind the Mazda RX7.” I’ve never seen the marketing materials.

[Rob-O]

And the whole time I thought the Charon kit was a facsimile of the slope nose 911. Man do I feel like a total idiot.

YOU should not feel like an idiot...






(IMG:style_emoticons/default/stirthepot.gif)

But I think Rob should add a Chalon to his stable. Sell off the Datsun!

No. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)

But you said you owned RX-7’s!!! One has to make the mental leap that you actually liked the styling in order to purchase TWO of them! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

If needed we could always look for a Chalon that has had a Wankel swapped into it.

[ConeDodger]

And the whole time I thought the Charon kit was a facsimile of the slope nose 911. Man do I feel like a total idiot.

YOU should not feel like an idiot...






(IMG:style_emoticons/default/stirthepot.gif)

But I think Rob should add a Chalon to his stable. Sell off the Datsun!

No. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)

But you said you owned RX-7’s!!! One has to make the mental leap that you actually liked the styling in order to purchase TWO of them! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

If needed we could always look for a Chalon that has had a Wankel swapped into it.

No. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

[worn]

HEY ... Too All you guys in the 914 World that feel that the Chalon is a piece of (IMG:style_emoticons/default/stromberg.gif) May want to just keep in mind ... After Having only 911's my whole life the 914 is a piece of (IMG:style_emoticons/default/stromberg.gif) to the 911WORLD ..
We all have different taste in how we fix up our 914 's .. Some like V8's Some like 6cly some stay with the type 4 .. We All have different Budgets and what we want to do to our personal HotRod ... So It angers me to hear Bashing towards someone uses choice ..
the WORLD part means we are all are different but share the same passion of the 914

Lighten up

I'd say a good majority of 914 owners currently have or owned a 911s in the past (like myself)

No one is calling the Chalon a POS, it is the styling that is a love or hate thing.

Me among others. The OP had no way to know how very funny this thread would become. No, I don’t blame Canada.

[horizontally-opposed]

What's amazing to me is a Chalon might be at pricing parity with a (rough) 944, the newer Porsche some Chalons share their front bumpers with. I would have loved to have listened in on some of those conversations: "Sir, we now offer the choice of a downgraded 944 nose, in case you're feeling a bit conscious about the full monte up front." It would be even more interesting to chart the value curves for Chalons vs real Slantnoses between 1985 and now, this from a guy who hates value threads. Might be humorous to see where the curves come closest.

And yes, lighten up re: poking a bit of fun at the Chalon. They've actually aged better than I expected, but more importantly, I've always felt like a Porsche owner who can't laugh at the porcupine joke shouldn't be driving a Porsche. That goes double when it comes to we 914 folk...while the car is finally having its day, it was long the butt of many, many, many jokes. Best to grin and bear it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[ConeDodger]

On the plus side Pete, with far more slant nose 911’s than were originally made, it’s much easier to plot that value curve! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

[Rob-O]

What's amazing to me is a Chalon might be at pricing parity with a (rough) 944, the newer Porsche some Chalons share their front bumpers with. I would have loved to have listened in on some of those conversations: "Sir, we now offer the choice of a downgraded 944 nose, in case you're feeling a bit conscious about the full monte up front." It would be even more interesting to chart the value curves for Chalons vs real Slantnoses between 1985 and now, this from a guy who hates value threads. Might be humorous to see where the curves come closest.

And yes, lighten up re: poking a bit of fun at the Chalon. They've actually aged better than I expected, but more importantly, I've always felt like a Porsche owner who can't laugh at the porcupine joke shouldn't be driving a Porsche. That goes double when it comes to we 914 folk...while the car is finally having its day, it was long the butt of many, many, many jokes. Best to grin and bear it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Wait, are we plotting the curve of all Chalons? Or Chalons with wankels? Because if it’s the latter we could just ask Rob what he thinks his new car is worth..to him...if he sold it to a Canadian.

There can’t be more than one Chalon with a wankel, can there?

[horizontally-opposed]

On the plus side Pete, with far more slant nose 911’s than were originally made, it’s much easier to plot that value curve! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

To keep it fair, I was thinking original Chalons and original Slantnoses only. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)

The question is, would that disqualify Beach Boys Racing?

Wait, are we plotting the curve of all Chalons? Or Chalons with wankels? Because if it’s the latter we could just ask Rob what he thinks his new car is worth..to him...if he sold it to a Canadian.

There can’t be more than one Chalon with a wankel, can there?

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)

[Larmo63]

I imagine leisure suits will come back in style someday too......?

[ConeDodger]

What's amazing to me is a Chalon might be at pricing parity with a (rough) 944, the newer Porsche some Chalons share their front bumpers with. I would have loved to have listened in on some of those conversations: "Sir, we now offer the choice of a downgraded 944 nose, in case you're feeling a bit conscious about the full monte up front." It would be even more interesting to chart the value curves for Chalons vs real Slantnoses between 1985 and now, this from a guy who hates value threads. Might be humorous to see where the curves come closest.

And yes, lighten up re: poking a bit of fun at the Chalon. They've actually aged better than I expected, but more importantly, I've always felt like a Porsche owner who can't laugh at the porcupine joke shouldn't be driving a Porsche. That goes double when it comes to we 914 folk...while the car is finally having its day, it was long the butt of many, many, many jokes. Best to grin and bear it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Wait, are we plotting the curve of all Chalons? Or Chalons with wankels? Because if it’s the latter we could just ask Rob what he thinks his new car is worth..to him...if he sold it to a Canadian.

There can’t be more than one Chalon with a wankel, can there?

I would never sell anything to a Canadian. Without exception, every time I did this in the past, they asked me to help them cheat on their taxes, and then were totally butt hurt when I said no. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

I have never seen a Chalon that I would call decently done. I’m no Ferg, but I just wouldn’t own any I’ve ever seen. The were all total shitboxes. On second thought, I should buy one and sell it to a Canadian just to get the damned thing exported! Might even help the wanker cheat on his taxes! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)

[porschetub]

What's amazing to me is a Chalon might be at pricing parity with a (rough) 944, the newer Porsche some Chalons share their front bumpers with. I would have loved to have listened in on some of those conversations: "Sir, we now offer the choice of a downgraded 944 nose, in case you're feeling a bit conscious about the full monte up front." It would be even more interesting to chart the value curves for Chalons vs real Slantnoses between 1985 and now, this from a guy who hates value threads. Might be humorous to see where the curves come closest.

And yes, lighten up re: poking a bit of fun at the Chalon. They've actually aged better than I expected, but more importantly, I've always felt like a Porsche owner who can't laugh at the porcupine joke shouldn't be driving a Porsche. That goes double when it comes to we 914 folk...while the car is finally having its day, it was long the butt of many, many, many jokes. Best to grin and bear it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Wait, are we plotting the curve of all Chalons? Or Chalons with wankels? Because if it’s the latter we could just ask Rob what he thinks his new car is worth..to him...if he sold it to a Canadian.

There can’t be more than one Chalon with a wankel, can there?

I would never sell anything to a Canadian. Without exception, every time I did this in the past, they asked me to help them cheat on their taxes, and then were totally butt hurt when I said no. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

I have never seen a Chalon that I would call decently done. I’m no Ferg, but I just wouldn’t own any I’ve ever seen. The were all total shitboxes. On second thought, I should buy one and sell it to a Canadian just to get the damned thing exported! Might even help the wanker cheat on his taxes! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)

Wow what a sh%t storm on this car,main issue that many were built on crashed tubs because they were most likely free back then,worth checking panel fit and gaps but hopefully all is ok,good luck.

[AZBanks]

Did a guy with a 916 bodykit insinuate the chalon kit was ugly?
Ive heard everything! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif)

If you’re talking about me, my car isn’t a 916 body kit. It’s an M471. Also, no one at all called it ugly. It isn’t ugly. It’s made to look like an RX7. I owned two RX7’s in the ‘80’s. Why would I buy a car I thought to be ugly? I said, and I repeat, why would you put a body kit on a car to make it look like a car anyone could buy? In 1984 I bought an RX7 GSL-SE for $14K. So let’s think this through critically. The 914 was only say 10 years old on average then. So it wasn’t that cheap to buy. Then you have the cost of the kit and shipping, then installation and bodywork. By then, you’re pretty darn close to that top of the line RX7. So why? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

It only looks like an rx7 to those who need an appointment with their eye doctor. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/chair.gif) It has 911 style bumpers. If they wanted it to look like a mazda, they would have put mazda bumpers on it. It was designed to look like a 911/930 slant nose. One look at the marketing materials for the kit should make that obvious.

I worked for Dune Buggy Supply back then. Building kit cars. The VW mags back in the day said it “brings to mind the Mazda RX7.” I’ve never seen the marketing materials.

Post 15 of this thread has some pics of the original marketing materials.

The writers and editors of VW mags back in the day did way too many hard drugs. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/w00t.gif)

[carl k]

OP here....lively discussion! Don't worry about offending me. I'm no huge Chalon fan either. Since it has the Fuchs, it was an easy decision to bring it home as a project. It's a solid car with minimal rust, so it will be a good project to work on with my son. And as I said, I won't be heartbroken if something happens to it.

ConeDodger, that is a good idea to put a rev limiter on it.

[Rob-O]

I probably should’ve mentioned earlier in the thread that I had a Chalon kit back in the late 80’s. Never installed it and ended up giving it away...to a Canadian (no lie). Last I heard it was in his attic but he did modify one of the 914’s I gave him to look like a Chalon. He used a Ford Probe GT (late model) front fascia, Chrysler Cirrus front fenders, Ford Escort front fenders in the rear (turned around so the left was on the right and right was on the left) and a Ford Probe GT rear fascia. I’ll see if I can find the pics and add them here. He had a Chrysler 318 in it for awhile but had trouble getting it registered in Ontario so pulled the engine and putting a 2.0L type IV back in.

[PatrickB]

I probably should’ve mentioned earlier in the thread that I had a Chalon kit back in the late 80’s. Never installed it and ended up giving it away...to a Canadian (no lie). Last I heard it was in his attic but he did modify one of the 914’s I gave him to look like a Chalon. He used a Ford Probe GT (late model) front fascia, Chrysler Cirrus front fenders, Ford Escort front fenders in the rear (turned around so the left was on the right and right was on the left) and a Ford Probe GT rear fascia. I’ll see if I can find the pics and add them here. He had a Chrysler 318 in it for awhile but had trouble getting it registered in Ontario so pulled the engine and putting a 2.0L type IV back in.

Was the guy outside Windsor? Might be my car.... Ford probe GT front and back, had a 360 dodge in it... type 4 2 L when I bought it. Mine was originally a Sarnia car according to the the dealer package everyone has to get from the government when they sell a car. Was light blue originally. Problem my guy has wasn't registering the car, it was that the insurance company wouldn't give him historic vehicle pricing with the 360 and the body mods.

[Rob-O]

I probably should’ve mentioned earlier in the thread that I had a Chalon kit back in the late 80’s. Never installed it and ended up giving it away...to a Canadian (no lie). Last I heard it was in his attic but he did modify one of the 914’s I gave him to look like a Chalon. He used a Ford Probe GT (late model) front fascia, Chrysler Cirrus front fenders, Ford Escort front fenders in the rear (turned around so the left was on the right and right was on the left) and a Ford Probe GT rear fascia. I’ll see if I can find the pics and add them here. He had a Chrysler 318 in it for awhile but had trouble getting it registered in Ontario so pulled the engine and putting a 2.0L type IV back in.

Was the guy outside Windsor? Might be my car.... Ford probe GT front and back, had a 360 dodge in it... type 4 2 L when I bought it. Mine was originally a Sarnia car according to the the dealer package everyone has to get from the government when they sell a car. Was light blue originally.

Yup, yup and yup. I gave him two cars, a black one and a light blue one. I believe it was a 360 Dodge motor in it now that I think about it. I think the black one was the one that he put he built the Chalon look alike on. Did it look like this?

[PatrickB]

I probably should’ve mentioned earlier in the thread that I had a Chalon kit back in the late 80’s. Never installed it and ended up giving it away...to a Canadian (no lie). Last I heard it was in his attic but he did modify one of the 914’s I gave him to look like a Chalon. He used a Ford Probe GT (late model) front fascia, Chrysler Cirrus front fenders, Ford Escort front fenders in the rear (turned around so the left was on the right and right was on the left) and a Ford Probe GT rear fascia. I’ll see if I can find the pics and add them here. He had a Chrysler 318 in it for awhile but had trouble getting it registered in Ontario so pulled the engine and putting a 2.0L type IV back in.

Was the guy outside Windsor? Might be my car.... Ford probe GT front and back, had a 360 dodge in it... type 4 2 L when I bought it. Mine was originally a Sarnia car according to the the dealer package everyone has to get from the government when they sell a car. Was light blue originally.

Yup, yup and yup. I gave him two cars, a black one and a light blue one. I believe it was a 360 Dodge motor in it now that I think about it. I think the black one was the one that he put he built the Chalon look alike on. Did it look like this?

That's my car. drove it a lot in the last 4 years with the 2 litre, had a valve seat come loose. In the middle of another swap... Good to know where some more of the body work came from! paint inside the headlight pots and the doors is blue.

[PatrickB]

Tried to chase him down this summer, he ran a body shop and I hit a raccoon and made a mess of the car. He sold the shop and I don't know where he went. The other car was on a jig last I saw it, and another guy in Windsor bought it and a whole lot of other parts, at least 2 bodies,and including the 360 and adaptor. Don't know if he ever got it together. My car is in a PPG paint calendar from 2005, so it's a long time ago that he built it.

[Rob-O]

Yup, all that (including the rims/tires) were mine at one point. The paint is a PPG prismatic. Unless he gave you what he had left I doubt a repaint will match.

He had a light blue shell. The black car had rust in the rear trunk. He cut all of it out, put the 360 in it and we would use it as a dune buggy in the field next to his house.

I lived in Detroit at the time and we were pretty close.

[PatrickB]

Yup, all that (including the rims/tires) were mine at one point. The paint is a PPG prismatic. Unless he gave you what he had left I doubt a repaint will match.

He had a light blue shell. The black car had rust in the rear trunk. He cut all of it out, put the 360 in it and we would use it as a dune buggy in the field next to his house.

I lived in Detroit at the time and we were pretty close.

Got the can of paint with the codes. Rock hard now but at least I got the numbers. Can't buy it this side of the border, and illegal to bring it across. Paint guy that's going to fix it is really good, and his supplier used the codes to come up with a match... we'll see. Not sure what happened to him, there's a trucking company working out of his shop now. Sold the place. The local guys here said the guy that built the car should do the repairs so I tried to find him... No luck. Had a few phone numbers and knew where the shop was. All dead ends.