Lots of folks rallied & raced them and there were a lot of enthusiasts back in the day. My other friend that worked on it for me happened to have a Mercedes in his shop at the same time & pointed out a LOT of similarities between the 510 motor and the Mercedes. I guess they copied a decent power plant!

That car just refused to die. Years later after it had been sitting rusting away in my driveway for about a year (replaced by a brand new first version Ford Escort - gulp) we noticed an old faded note stuck under the windshield wiper. Guy offering to buy it if the motor was good to swap into his girlfriend's car. He came over & I put the old battery in...it started right up & he drove it away - no plates, soft tires and all! The Escort fell apart after only 5 years!