BODY MODIFICATIONS: Notice front wheel openings (flared to accommodate larger, wider tires), custom front spoiler, Honda Coupe rear roof line, VW Bus side scoops, blanked-in sunroof opening, louvered rear panel, shaved door handle, turn signals, bumpers & bumperettes, trick gas filller and the custom rear grille to house a custom-fabricated light bar powered by Mercury Cougar style aftermarket sequential flasher LED unit.

There will be a glass sunroof in the rear deck (behind the seats), looking down into the engine compartment, which will host a dazzling display of neon and strobe lighting effects. When I "light it up" you will be able to see the smoke strobing over the rear tire through the sunroof.

Body tilts forward to access mechanicals, accomplished by a set of gas charged struts and a radio controlled (RC) hand held remote unit and the side scoops provide ventilation to oil cooler and radiator mounted behind them.


FIT & FINISH: Paint will be Taxi Cab Yellow with a Black & White (almost psychedelic) checkered stripe around the body and a few tasteful pinstripes will accent certain features, trim will be black chrome and glass will be smoked.There will be a cab light on the roof and a meter inside and a cabby's uniform for the driver and the license plate will say "TAXETTA".


MECHANICALS: Motor will be a 3 cylinder 750 cc BMW K-Bike unit (80 HP) mounted transversely and mated to a single ultra-wide 13 inch "Indy" car style custom made Centerline rear wheel and fat, low profile tire by a 4" belt drive and custom machined billet aluminum rear sprocket. Rear suspension is a custom fabricated motorcycle style swing arm with coil-over shocks and the rear brake system will consist of an oversized drilled disc with twin calipers. Front brakes are late model Honda (wider shoes for more stopping power), custom designed Centerline wheels.

Mechanicals will be show-quality chromed, polished, powder coated or painted (yellow with black and white "splatter" accent areas), fasteners will be stainless steel polished Allen head bolts, brake and fuel lines will be braided stainless steel with black anodized fittings.

INTERIOR FEATURES: Black carpets & upholstery with yellow piping & accents, digital instruments, "thumper" stereo, custom shifter and black leather steering wheel. There will also be many small custom pieces which will also be chromed, polished, powder coated or painted...

SAFETY FEATURES: Powder coated and fully padded roll cage, quick disconnect eletrical system, automatic fuel shut off switch, full fire suppression system and 5 point harness seat belts.

A FAMILY AFFAIR: My dad bought one of these brand new in early 1958 and over the next 10 years or so, he put 1100 miles on it. He had promised it to me but sold it to someone else for only $300 in 1968. I bet that guy is still laughing (I was certainly not amused) and I spent another 20 years looking for one. Originally, these cars weighed in at 720 lbs with a 1 cylinder, 298 cc, 13 HP motor which gave them a top speed of 55 MPH and 60 MPG but at a slightly higher total weight of 900 pounds and appreciably more horsepower, Taxetta will eat Corvettes.

And now I own The World's Most Radical BMW Isetta!

Notice license plate, custom louvers (which I'll shave)...

DARLA'S DAILY DRIVER:

The wife bought this brand new in 1979 and has taken fairly good care of it.

It was her first new vehicle and over the years we have done very little to it other than replace the alternator, starter, battery, water pump, brakes, shocks & tires (all the normal stuff).

We repainted it several years ago and while we were at it, shaved the emblems and trim, lowered it a bit, added chrome wheels, big & little tires, an AM/FM/Cassette stereo with nice metal box speakers, T-handle shifter, aftermarket steering wheel and a pair of Datsun 510 bucket seats.

We also added a new, oversized exhaust system for the hopped up motor we planned to build when it came time.

When the second clutch finally let go, it had approximately 170K (and 21 years) on the meter, so we decided to go ahead and redo everything and started putting together a nasty little motor (see below).

It's due for new ball joints, tie rod ends, stock bucket seat covers and carpet kit soon.

Body paint: 1992 Toyota Supra White Dupont Two Stage Urethane with Violet Pearl in the Clear top coat

Engine paint: 1970 Dodge Charger Violet Metallic ("Plum Crazy") Dupont Single Stage Urethane

Long block assembled by Dave Rebello




THE GOODIES: Holley Weber 2 bbl carb, chromed Thorley Tri-Y header, Competition Cams 268 degree bumpstick, Mallory Unilite dizzy, etc.

I also polished the aluminum valve cover, stock fuel pump, water inlet / thermostat housings, the stock and the Mallory dual point distributors and the upper & lower brass radiator tanks.

I custom chromed the oil pan, alternator bracket, crank pulley, crank bolt, coil bracket, dual horn trim rings and brackets then tracked down a half dozen chromed oil filters, a chrome & glass see-through fuel filter, a polished billet oil filler cap, polished billet timing chain cover plate, polished billet radiator cap and there's also a polished, stainless steel radiator overflow tank, yet to be installed...

I added a set of chromed spark plug wire separators, wire wheeled or replaced all of the stock hardware with my signature black anodized or polished stainless steel Allen head bolts, polished the brake lines and connectors and added brand new hoses (and hose clamps) all around.

I match painted the radiator brackets, fan shroud, coil, horn bells and backs and the stock distributor cap (the same color as the block).

I also added some purple spark plug wires and liberally applied hand painted accent areas.

I repainted the firewall and inner fender panels to match the body's paint and to contrast with the engine block's violet metallic paint.

I went through all of the wiring and "refreshed " it all then popped for a brand new Optima sealed battery (to be painted to match soon), etc.

And there are easily half a dozen other things I plan to do to this motor yet but telling you about it will have to wait until later...

LONG TERM: We eventually plan to remove the body from the frame, add a Datsun 510 IRS set up (and custom fabricated rear crossmember) to lower it properly in the rear as well, chrome and powder coat all of the suspension and frame components, chop the top, louver the hood and then repaint it in the same color scheme (violet pearl in several clear coats over Toyota Supra White with matching violet pearl "ghost" flames).




NEXT STOP, TJ (Tijuana): Ultimately, there will be a completely hand fabricated custom dash and we will have the interior done with pearl white naugahyde tuck & roll with contrasting violet piping (hot rodder style) in Mexico, where custom upholstery is relatively cheap.

So far, I've painted the center console to match the mechanicals and added a 13 inch purple metal-flake Grant steering wheel.

And we bought one of the large (15 inch) purple neon wands to mount up and under the dash.

At some point (maybe when I build the custom dash), we'll eliminate the stock wiring harness and add one of those hot rod style aftermarket electrical modules which will radically simplify the complete electrical system and allow me to plug and unplug whole sections of the truck.

For instance, to work behind the dash, I would simply unplug the loom going to the gauge cluster, drop the emergency brake handle and steering column mounting bolts and the dash would be removable by simply loosening the 6 bolts attaching it to the firewall.

We also plan to fabricate a custom firewall cover, trick air cleaner, battery box and cover for the master cylinders & power booster unit soon.

Finally, we'll add a touch of violet neon underneath to accentuate all of our work on the mechanicals, shave the door handles, pop for some really nice custom wheels and low profile tires and paint the inside of the pick up box (white) with that epoxy based spray-on bedliner.