Is High End Audio catchin' up with you all?

I want to be carlsbad when I grow up.

Speaking of "good noises".   My '66 Sunbeam Tiger with hand-built 347 stroker motor sounds like a pro stocker when I get on the gas.  Music to my ears.

And, I'm 72 and still wear the same size pants as I did in my 30's.  Does that count?

@tablejockey  Yes, it can get a little squirrelly.  "Involuntary lane changes" are a phenomena of high power and a short wheelbase.  Glad you got to have fun in your friend's Alpine.  I put a turbo on my '67 and still drive it.  Quarter mile times quicker and faster than a factory stock Tiger.  

@acresverde Sounds like you had a "perfectly normal" relationship between a young enthusiast and a sports car to me.  I still abuse my turbocharged Alpine.  It deserves better than me.

@ghasley Your mechanic is partially correct.  The #8 plug is accessed thru a grommet in the driver's side transmission hump.  It's actually quite easy to remove/reinstall.  #s 2-7, not so much.  It rate myself a 6.2 on the "vintage car mechanic scale" and have kept a couple of Tigers running for 20+ years.  Sounds like your mechanic needs to stick to working on slant six Plymouth Valiants.  Lots of room to work in the engine bay.

Okay, just one more off topic/on topic comment for audiophile/old car guys:

(goes back to the early 90's) The Sunbeam Alpine has solid lifters that sound like a broken Singer sewing machine at cruising speeds.  Then, I remembered I had a can of Acoustical Magic material that I used to dampen the vibrations of turntable platters on hand.  So, I cleaned up the inside of the aluminum valve cover, coated it with this stuff and cured it in the oven for a couple of hours.  

After reinstalling the valve cover and going for a test ride, the exhaust note(s) were louder than the sound of the lifters.  A much improved driving experience.  

And, yes, audiophile/car guys CAN successfully mention audio tweaks AND car tweaks in the same sentence.

@nonoise Must have been somenoise emitted from the exhaust of your project car?  fyi- I used a Webber downdraft for the blow through turbo set up on my Alpine.  Removing the choke, substituting plastic floats for the brass ones (they collapsed under pressure), rejetting, and filling in a few gapping holes did the trick.

I think we can agree that the exhaust notes of Italian cars and bikes are the Stradivarius of internal combustion engines.  However, I'd like to introduce my list of

The WORST-SOUNDING cars I've owned.

#1:  '74 Mazda RX3 (showroom stock)

Bad:  On a good day this car sounded like a convoy of 2-stroke dirt bikes with exhaust restrictors added.

Worse: Broken Apex seal.  The audible equivalent of a dragging a Port-a-potty thru a construction zone while making a batch of microwave popcorn.  

#2:  '66 Corvair Corsa (aftermarket "Trombone" exhaust added)

Bad:  The "good news" is the car did achieve the goal of "not sounding like a showroom stock Corvair".  However, the car did attract the attention of local law enforcement (ticket read:  "Loud and excessive noise due to improper exhaust and rapid acceleration") while also having the attribute of rejecting the attention of 18-24 year old females.  I'm just thankful that the "man card" didn't exist in the late 60's.  If so, I would have been wrestled to the ground and had it forcefully removed.

Worse:  Automatic car washes in the late '60s operated by latching on the car and pulling it thru stationary washing equipment.  During such an event I felt a vibration and heard a loud "thump".  Checking the rear view mirror allowed a full panoramic view of the bulk of my 3-day-old exhaust system lying on the ground.  While, admittedly this is about as close to the car would ever come to mimicking the sound of a full-on race Porsche 911, it wasn't the result I was going for.

Even worse:  17-years old, freedom and a couple of quarts of Coors can lead to good times.  They can also lead to you backing your car off the road into a ditch and burying the exhaust tips into a dirt embankment.  The sound of car transitioned from spots car(ish), showroom stock, suffocation, and death.  As they say: "What's the most valuable tool in your tool box?".  Answer: "The one you have with you".  I can report that the "tool we had with us" (beer opener) can successfully excavate enough material to dislodge the tips of a Corvair Trombone exhaust from a dirt embankment if time is not a factor.