1989 ISUZU IMPULSE - $1500 (scottsburg, IN)

Not Mine http://louisville.craigslist.org/cto/3298239533.html

If anyone needs someone to check this out for them I would be glad to. I live just up the road.

In reply to dabird:

Wasn't that one of the cars in the Cannonball Run movie?

Not bad...but my mind is wrapped up in thinking about all the hard-to-locate spare parts for this. I mean, the turbo is rare (don't know if it's a 1 year only deal, or not) and then the "Lotus engineered suspension" must have a few unobtainable parts to it.

But at that price, if i lived closer, I'd be so tempted.

I'm a sucker for rare / off-beat cars.

rare my foot! I owned one, bought it to be a locost donor . Sold it off when it started running poorly (needed a tune up it turned out to be)

I am so glad that those damn seat belts went away.

Parts are not that unobtainable by any means. It is a GM T-body car (Chevette). I have wanted one since I knew they existed, but they always show up in the wrong place or at the wrong time. Luckily this one's both.

In reply to SlickDizzy:

What?! For realz?

fast_eddie_72 wrote: In reply to SlickDizzy: What?! For realz?

Yep, Chevette chassis. Parts-bin sharing between GM and Isuzu goes back a long way.

I've always thought those were one of the prettiest cars of the 80s.

SlickDizzy:

sorry, my (mis)understanding was that the Lotus tuned Impulses used suspension parts that were a 1 year only deal...I guess I'm wrong? Or is it only a case of a few suspension bushings being non-Chevette useable parts.

BTW, on my latest trip to see my Dad, in September, I passed a mid '80s Chevette 4 door on I-81...haven't seen a running Chevette in years and probably won't see another, EVER. Does NAPA (still) carry parts for Chevettes?

integraguy wrote: SlickDizzy: sorry, my (mis)understanding was that the Lotus tuned Impulses used suspension parts that were a 1 year only deal...I guess I'm wrong? Or is it only a case of a few suspension bushings being non-Chevette useable parts. BTW, on my latest trip to see my Dad, in September, I passed a mid '80s Chevette 4 door on I-81...haven't seen a running Chevette in years and probably won't see another, EVER. Does NAPA (still) carry parts for Chevettes?

The "Lotus tuning" was stiffer springs and roll bars. Not a huge deal. Non-Lotus '87 RS models actually have even better, stiffer Irmscher suspension (though it is not labeled in any way).

Physically, Lotus and non-Lotus bits are 100% interchangeable. They didn't revise the geometry or anything.

I had a friend with a non-turbo Impulse back in the early-90's. Not fast, but definitely fun. Seems like it would have been a decent autocross car for the day.

Around the same time I also(briefly) dated a girl with a 4-speed Chevette. It was also fun, in the same embarrassing way that a moped is fun. But I was really cool to hoon the thing around gravel roads in the country. She seemed to enjoy it too.

I have to say that based on those experiences, I would have never guessed either car shared a single bolt.

Believe it or not, the Impulse (or Piazza everywhere else) was born when GM dropped off a gaggle of Chevettes at Italdesign. That much is certain; rumors say that the final body shape was Giugiaro's rejected VW Scirocco design, but it has never been proven (though it is not unlikely either). It really is a Chevette under there; albeit, one with Japanese build quality...

In theory it's possible to run the Lotus bits and turbo drivetrain in a Chevette, but I don't believe anyone has ever tried, since it would mean cutting up an Impulse - which was clearly the better of the two cars.

Impulse was a Giugiaro design, which was rejected by VW, but would have been used for the Audi coupe, not as a Scirocco replacement...at least that's the story. There's also a VERY similar Audi show car (called, if I remember correctly, The Ace off Spades).

Well, I just did a web search and it seems my memory was a bit muddled. There were 3 designs done by Giugiaro / ItalDesign, and the design that would eventually become the Impulse was "inspired" by the design done for Audi / VW. I have provided a link to the article that shows the "rejected" Audi / VW design, and the pix show a car very similar to the 1st gen Scirocco...but the dashboard design is VERY close to what the Isuzu would get. If you follow the link, it will tell you the Audi rejected design appeared just 12 months before Sciroccos went on sale in Europe...so it wasn't really in the running for the final car.

Interestingly, another, similar car, was done on a BMW platform (the E21).

http://fourtitude.com/news/publish/Features/printer_1753.shtml

Hemmings also published an article on the Audi design.