ROBERT CATANIA'S HISTORY

My penchant for more power was still not satisfied though. Next order of business was a carburetion upgrade to two 44mm IDFs. I would not recommend this upgrade if the majority of your driving is in and around town, 40s are more than enough for that. However, since I did a considerable amount of driving on the open road and on open track days, I wanted to maximize the output. The difference in top end thrust was quite impressive, so much so that I felt compelled to put the 40's back on just to double check. The motor just kept pulling now, well into the red line in each gear finally topping out in fifth at 7500 rpm. For an 18 year old this was a tremendous rush. Naturally, cruising around at night under Vancouver's lights was always an adventure. In retrospect, I think I was lucky not to get myself into any trouble or even hurt given the amount of racing I did. And like most typical teenage smart-asses I took on anybody from Alfa GTVs to V-8s, it didn't matter. I loved to mess with their minds. Fortunately, we had enough sense to take it out of the city and for me a more appropriate proving ground was the track.

As a testament to just how good 124s are, this car was driven everyday to work and back as well as to track events and car shows on weekends without missing a beat. The key is simple; regular maintenance. By 1987 though the age of the car was taking its toll and it became clear to me that if I had any intention of keeping this car going any longer the maintenance would have to be extended to include bodywork. There were areas where rust was becoming more evident and I was disinclined to patch jobs here and there. If bodywork was to be done it would have to be done correctly, one time. That is when I finally took the car off the road and started my 5-year restoration. For complete step-by-step summary check it out in our Tech Talk section.

<< PREV PAGE