1990's Max Power shite

[Pete-M]

My Sapphire Cosworth was in Max Power, Oct 98 I think.

 

Pretty much all the spec of the car appears to have been made up on the spot my Max P. Car was 528 BHP, they put 385 bhp. Suspension was BBR, they put Koni. The only thing in the article which was true was the opening paragraph, where they explained that I'd sold it before they actually turned up to shoot the pics.

[Dan_ZTT]

Spotted this a few months back somewhere in south wales, while we're on the subject of terrible windscreen stickers...

[si1881]

I still have this magazine from 1995 when I wanted to ‘improve’ my R5 GTX but didn’t have the money to do it (insurance on the 1.7 was incredibly nasty for a 17yo).

Did Max Power it a bit with stickers and the filler cap (plus Halfords specials wheel trims - no money for alloys) and a R19 style grill innit!

 

Long since scrapped I fear as sold it for a Metro GTi with a big exhaust...

[fordperv]

I turned 17 in 2003 and this whole scene pretty much passed me by, looking at that monstrosity I'm glad it did..

It's a shame that it did, im only a little older than you but i was immersed in it all, it was such a laugh i met some great people who i still see today

[Redfred]

About 1997 I used to have an Orion 1600e with an RS Turbo bodykit, lowered on larger Wolfrace alloys with stiffened springs. Couldn’t go over an expansion joint at any speed without something breaking. Car was a hoot but only hand it a couple of months before it got nicked :/

[Pete-M]

A pal of mine built a few cars which ended up in Max P.

 

One was a yellow Orion 1.6i, RS body kit, huge stereo system, heavily tweaked RS turbo engine producing around 220 bhp. Lowered as far as it would go, it would regularly rip its fuel pump from the mountings.

 

He sold the car for an extreme amount after it was featured in Max P. Where the average Onion wad lucky to fetch £1500, he sold his for £7500. He used that money to buy a slightly rusty RS500 which he restored.

 

He now drives a 600 BHP 911 GT2 RS.

[HMC]

Anyone remember a TG mag one off supplement from the 90s? It was a sort of max power parody with a catalogue of motors rated and a section at the back where they got a 205 gti and modified it, IIRC you could win it in a competition. The “front man” was one of the TG journos with a Quentin Wilson haircut felt tipped on top.

[bramz7]

I might have that somewhere. I still haven't properly looked through my old TG magazine haul.

 

 

Still got the last ever Max Power somewhere. Probably worth less than its original price.

 

JC did a video in 2000/2001 and it focussed on modified cars, there was quite a lot of Max Power lampooning, but it was one of the more interesting videos he made.

[egg]

Smith and Sniff talk Max Power

 

[83C]

I might have that somewhere. I still haven't properly looked through my old TG magazine haul.

 

 

Still got the last ever Max Power somewhere. Probably worth less than its original price.

 

JC did a video in 2000/2001 and it focussed on modified cars, there was quite a lot of Max Power lampooning, but it was one of the more interesting videos he made.

 

 

I've still got the VHS of that somewhere. Always wanted the Paramount Performance XK, and it introduced me to the Alpina B10. I've got a copy of the last Max Power too - I stopped buying it round 2002 but I figured I had to have a copy of the last ever one as it was a big part of my teens. I didn't go in for the dodgy mods too much though....

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I didn't think I'd ever been influenced by Max Power etc, until I remembered Mrs N's XR3i in 1993...

1988 on an E , it was white , very white with a 90 RS Turbo front bumper and rear spoiler, colour coded obvs.

I changed the bumper piping for lime green, removed the rubbing strips and had a lime green pinstripe, plus lime green XR3i script on the back. Oh and lime green Ford ovals.

The whole thing was set off by 15" TSW Hockenheims , for that instant dating stereotype look.

She hated it as all the Boy Racers wanted to race it and it was completely stock mechanically and a particularly coarse, poor riding example which wouldn't see which way my company Montego GTi estate went.

But, thanks to Max Power etc, we were fighting them off with a shitty stick after the nice Autotrader Lady took a good picture and it sold by the Friday night for more than I thought was sensible.

[dome]

Holy thread resurrection etc etc

Helped a friend drag his new purchase out of the driveway where it had sat for at least 6 years. 

its a proper Dimma with an Mi16 conversion. 

Absolutely not my cup of tea but my mate loved them as a kid so I was happy to help drag it onto a trailer. Not sure of its future, the shell is pretty bad. First plan is to see if it'll run👀

 

[dome]

And here it is in happier times in the mag itself.

[tom13]

1 hour ago, dome said:

And here it is in happier times in the mag itself.

I like that a lot.

[Bren]

Yes. Happier times.

[Pieman]

I LOVE that!  Nice to see it has the go to match the show - cannot wait to see that restored.

[Talbot]

What is a real shame is that most of the MI16 conversions on 205s meant that a BX 16v died for it's engine.. a car that was actually quicker than the 205 that the engine would go into, due to the BX being so lightweight.  This one in particular might not be the case.. the article recons it was a palletised engine from ebay.. but that could still have been a BX dead for a 205.

[Noel Tidybeard]

it shows my age that i assumed that was a Dimma from the 1st pic!

[Bren]

I remember making regular trips to dimma in the early 90's.

Terry Pankhurst's mk 1 essy was in the showroom. It looked fab.

[dome]

1 hour ago, Talbot said:

What is a real shame is that most of the MI16 conversions on 205s meant that a BX 16v died for it's engine.. a car that was actually quicker than the 205 that the engine would go into, due to the BX being so lightweight.  This one in particular might not be the case.. the article recons it was a palletised engine from ebay.. but that could still have been a BX dead for a 205.

I looked at a 205 for sale once that had a BX16v engine fitted but not wired in.

You'd have to be a fucking lunatic to take that on, not a single wire was labelled and they were all the same colour 😳

 

[HMC]

I always remember my love for the Dimma kitted 205. It sort of went through a tacky cringey period when 205s were just “old” cars but with modern eyes they look so cool again. Much want; presumably a nice dimma kitted gti would now be north of 10k? 

[HMC]

That’s also a brave snapper in the max power pics- looks like he asked the owner to to a burnout whilst crouched low beside/ almost under it. Committed!

[cort1977]

I love that too, definitely my era, 46 this year so 17 in 1994. Prime impressionable age for bad fibreglass....

[timolloyd]

‘Dimma is served’. Always remember that headline in Max Power.

[riek]

 

[Scruffy Bodger]

On 2/5/2023 at 10:01 PM, Talbot said:

What is a real shame is that most of the MI16 conversions on 205s meant that a BX 16v died for it's engine.. a car that was actually quicker than the 205 that the engine would go into, due to the BX being so lightweight.  This one in particular might not be the case.. the article recons it was a palletised engine from ebay.. but that could still have been a BX dead for a 205.

What about the poor old 405's?  A bit lardy in comparison maybe but still a great package.

A sorted 205 alloy Mi16 is a whole load of fun tho, decent, more modern tyres, shocks and springs etc and 160bhp made them very entertaining indeed. Those engines love to rev!

[Talbot]

7 hours ago, Scruffy Bodger said:

What about the poor old 405's?  A bit lardy in comparison maybe but still a great package.

A sorted 205 alloy Mi16 is a whole load of fun tho, decent, more modern tyres, shocks and springs etc and 160bhp made them very entertaining indeed. Those engines love to rev!

For some reason the 405s were not as favoured by the Mi16-your-205 crew, and I don't really know why.  Maybe BX were cheaper, due to everyone being afraid of the suspension.  Or perhaps there was a subtle difference in the engines meaning the BX one was the one to have.  I dunno.

[scdan4]

1 hour ago, Talbot said:

For some reason the 405s were not as favoured by the Mi16-your-205 crew, and I don't really know why.  Maybe BX were cheaper, due to everyone being afraid of the suspension.  Or perhaps there was a subtle difference in the engines meaning the BX one was the one to have.  I dunno.

Bx had an alloy block whereas 405 was an iron one iirc.

9 hours ago, Scruffy Bodger said:

What about the poor old 405's?  A bit lardy in comparison maybe but still a great package.

A sorted 205 alloy Mi16 is a whole load of fun tho, decent, more modern tyres, shocks and springs etc and 160bhp made them very entertaining indeed. Those engines love to rev!

Go on, treat yo'self

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234884296694?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=FzQHle6cQNW&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=FzQHle6cQNW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[Tenmil Socket]

I have some great memories of the Max Power era although now looking back at the cars they were (mostly)terrible!

Some of the mods must have taken a long time to if done properly. I seem to recall a MK3 Fiesta having Peugeot 306 headlights, a MK2 Fiesta with Cougar alloys and also someone grafting the vent off a microwave into their wings like a Mercedes etc, etc. 

The weight of some of the 'mods' must have seriously have impacted their 0-60 times!

The undercar neon lights... terrible, although I did have a neon head unit that fully lit up and it had a remote (in my 1.0 Citreon AX with an AX GT gear knob and a drilled airbox for + 0.1 bhp).

The last 'barried' car I had, around the early noughties, was a MK4 XR3i fitted with an aftermarket Escort Cosworth body kit and sprayed in metallic bronze.

 

 

[tooSavvy]

How'd I miss This.... 🤣🤣

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