Thanks for checking it out.

Have a neighbor who's had this in his driveway for years. Thinking of offering to buy, but need to know exactly what I'm looking at here lol. This i well past my time, but classic cars always look better.

I have a friend who's house i went over to recently. His dad has a 50s Desoto fireflite in the garage (unrestored) and i asked him to fire it up as a joke. He put the key in and it started with less than one revolution of the engine. How can I achieve this?

Well I bought it…1951 ford F1 V8 flathead 6V all original. At first he was asking 10k and I watched him lower the price to 8500. Didn’t pay the 8500, about 3k less. Some will think that’s high, and maybe it is for the condition, but overall I’m very happy I was able to find this and purchase it. Ideally I would’ve spent 1k Less, but in the grand scheme the opportunity to find one is worth the extra little bit. This will be a project I’m going to take on myself, at least as much as I can, I’m in no rush and happy to learn as much as possible via this restoration. Thanks for all the previous comments and insights - I’ll be sure to post pics along the way as I begin to restore this in the spring!

WHAT WAS ADAMO

Among Brazilian manufacturers of small-scale automobiles, Adamo was one of the longest-lived and most productive.

The company was founded by Milton Adamo in 1968, together with the polyester furniture factory that his family had owned for a few years in São Paulo (SP). It was his idea to diversify production towards sports cars, a natural path at a time when the recently created Puma was beginning to rise rapidly, driven by its beautiful GT, which had already become an object of desire among Brazilian motorists.

The first Adamo car was presented that same year, at the 6th Auto Show, at the Petrobrás stand, still in prototype form. It was a small, curved, two-seater sports car with Volkswagen 1300 mechanics.

Adamo GT: the first car produced by Adamo was halfway between a buggy and a sports car: https://www.lexicarbrasil.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/adamo3.jpg

Although the initial plans were to start sales early the following year, Adamo decided to improve it, re-presenting it at the VII Motor Show two years later (again at the Petrobrás stand) as the GT model, with more aerodynamic features and retractable headlights. Designed to carry four people, the car gained its practically definitive lines, which would remain little changed for a few years.

The GT put into production differed from the one shown at the Motor Show in two main aspects: it was now an open targa-style car, without doors, and it lost its luxurious finish, almost becoming a buggy.

However, its main characteristic remained, a “discovery” by Milton and exactly what would set it apart from real buggies: its longer wheelbase.

By maintaining the original length of the Volkswagen platforms that he used in his cars, without shortening them, Adamo not only simplified manufacturing and provided a vehicle less subject to alignment and assembly defects, but also offered passengers the interior space of a real automobile. With this, he practically created a new category in national production – a half-convertible sports car, half-buggy. With flowing and elegant lines, the GT could be fitted with a vinyl top, which covered the targa; the truncated rear was painted black and had four round signal lights. The bold design was its prominent headlights, mounted on the bodywork, a simple and cheap solution that was only used on the most traditional buggies, bajas and cars with less aesthetic ambitions. The first Adamo to be mass-produced was sold assembled or as a kit. Around 170 units were produced up until 1975.

At the 9th Motor Show in 1974, Adamo launched his first “real” GT, already equipped with VW’s new 1500 engine. As with the previous model, this one used an uncut VW platform. Called the GT II, it was presented in two versions, grand touring and targa, both with two seats, four round headlights embedded in the front and four tail lights in the truncated rear (the model at the Motor Show still had taillights from the Ford Corcel); the front brakes were disc brakes.

Seen from the rear, the car resembled the Ferrari Dino, an impression reinforced by the slight inclination of the narrow rear windshield, which did not follow the line of the bodywork. Its performance, however, was discreet – slightly better than that of the Beetle 1500, from which it was derived. From mid-1975 onwards, it began to use the VW 1600 engine with two carburetors, but even so without substantially improving the results.

The 11th Motor Show in 1978 showed another Adamo creation, the GTL, built on the VW Brasília platform, with rectangular retractable headlights and a style that once again recalled Ferrari (this time, the front of the 308 GT).

At the rear, the use of the Alfa Romeo 2600's headlights and the narrow windshield, mounted almost vertically, accentuated the car's width and reinforced its sporty impression. Special attention was paid to the interior design, which featured a complete, well-designed dashboard and highly finished anatomical seats; the same attention was paid to safety (laminated glass, three-point retractable seat belts). The low center of gravity and the correct choice of rear tires contributed to good stability. Performance, however, remained mediocre, because, despite the use of the Puma dual carburetor, the air-cooled Volkswagen mechanics had already reached the limit of their development, and not much more could be expected from them.

This was a particularly successful period for the company, with around 700 vehicles sold in two years, some of which were exported to the USA and South Africa. In 1980, the GTL was updated and its name was changed to GTM. The air intakes for cooling the engine were moved from the rear pillars to the sides; the trunk was redesigned and had more usable space, the taillights were replaced with those from the Brasília and the bumpers became wraparound and covered in rubber.

In the early 1980s, Brazil was engulfed by a severe economic recession, and the crisis was particularly hard on the automobile industry, which saw huge drops in production. (The Auto Show itself, which had been held every two years, canceled the 1980 show and only held it the following year, when the C2 convertible with a manually operated hood was launched.)

Small manufacturers suffered the most, with a decline of up to 80%. Those that did not depend exclusively on manufacturing cars managed to maintain a relatively regular production rate – in the case of Adamo, between eight and ten units per month, ensuring a situation of relative comfort. So much so that the company felt encouraged to make a leap in the quality of its products, designing its first model with truly updated mechanics, derived from the VW Gol GT – the CRX 1.8.

Presented in 1984 at the XIII Auto Show (under the name Búzios), it had a 1.8 inline four-cylinder water-cooled engine, front-wheel drive, McPherson front suspension and torsion axle rear suspension with coil springs.

If from a mechanical point of view the CRX represented a radical break with the past, stylistically the change was less noticeable, with the new self-supporting body still reminiscent of the previous model, especially at the front. The car was available in two versions: closed or with a partially removable roof, producing a beautiful targa. The GTM models and the C2 on the Brasília platform remained in line.

The second half of the 1980s brought more difficulties for small manufacturers. The Cruzado Plan, price freezes, a stagnant domestic market, a lack of commercial structure for exporting and weak unity of purpose among companies, all of these factors contributed to the closure of many small industries during this period. Adamo, however, resisted. It introduced some aesthetic changes to its models (side stripes, elimination of the false front grille, narrower bumpers on the GTM and C2), and even participated in the XV Motor Show in 1988, where it presented an elegantly revamped C2 – the AC 2000 – with a 2.0 Santana engine, new taillights and cleaner side lights, without air intakes, stripes or bumper rubbers.

At the same time, Adamo sought diversification, also launching at the Motor Show a customization kit for the Chevrolet Monza (not the American Chevy Monza, but the Brazilian Chevrolet Monza, which was the name given to the Brazilian Opel Ascona C), consisting of a new grille, bumpers, hood, front fenders and rear spoiler – all molded in fiberglass – in addition to new taillights.

Photos of the customization kit for the Chevrolet Monza, presented by Adamo in 1988, at the XV Motor Show.

1: https://www.lexicarbrasil.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/adamo11.jpg

2: https://www.lexicarbrasil.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/adamo12.jpg

The various Adamo models continued to be produced in small quantities, on demand, until 1990, when the off-road segment suffered its death blow in the form of Fernando Collor de Mello and his policy of deregulating the economy and radically opening up imports. Competition from foreign cars wiped out an entire Brazilian industrial segment in just a few months. Dozens of small manufacturers went bankrupt; very few survived – and this time the crisis was fatal for Adamo as well. An example of persistence and consistency, Milton Adamo estimates that he produced around 1,700 units in the twenty years he operated in the sports car market – around 600 of them the CRX model.

PHOTOS

1: The first Adamo was presented at the 6th Auto Show, at the Petrobrás stand.

2: Adamo GT, displayed at the 1970 Auto Show (photo: 4 Rodas)

3: The 1972 GT, the first Adamo produced in series (photo: Autoesporte)

4: The Adamo GT, here equipped with a canvas top (source: João Luiz Knihs / Automóveis & Acessórios).

5: Adamo GT in an image taken in the current century (source: guzcars portal).

6: Adamo GT II at the 9th Auto Show; note the similarity of the front profile with the previous model (photo: 4 Rodas).

7: Adamo GT II: its rear resembled the Ferrari Dino. Very well preserved, the car in the image (year 1977), registered in São Leopoldo (RS), was put up for sale in 2013 (website rs.quebarato).

8: The targa version of the GT II (source: Jornal do Brasil).

9: Adamo was constantly present at the various editions of the Auto Show; here, the GTL model, launched at the 1978 Auto Show (photo: Autoesporte).

10: GTM - new name for the Adamo GTL, modified in 1980.

11: Adamo GTM C2 convertible, launched at the 12th Auto Show (source: Jorge A. Ferreira Jr.; photo: 4 Rodas).

12: Adamo GTM C2.

13: GTM C2 convertible in an advertising brochure distributed at the 12th Auto Show.

14: The beautiful CRX 1.8 in the targa version.

15: Adamo CRX 1.8 targa (source: Jorge A. Ferreira Jr.).

16: Adamo CRX 1.8 targa (photo: 4 Rodas).

17: CRX 1.8, originally called Búzios; the car used VW Santana taillights at the rear (photo: 4 Rodas).

18: Exceptional example of a 1986 CRX targa, completely original, registered in Campinas (SP) and put up for sale in Rio Grande do Sul in 2019 (source: Paulo Roberto Steindoff / flatout).

19: The same 1986 Adamo CRX in ¾ rear view (source: Paulo Roberto Steindoff / flatout).

20: The Adamo AC 2000, the latest model launched by the company (photo: 4 Rodas).

SOURCE: https://www.lexicarbrasil.com.br/adamo/

The history of the Brazilian automobile industry is full of curious and unexpected facts, being as rich and diverse as our own country. Even so, one model stands out for its controversial and mysterious history.

This is a model that many people may have never heard of, and its story is somewhat intriguing, not to say “complex”. It all began in 1996 when Fabrício Samahá, then editor of the Best Cars Web Site, saw a dark blue prototype, similar to the car’s current lines, driving around the Paraíba Valley region, more precisely in Pindamonhangaba, in the interior of São Paulo, 150 km from the capital.

A short time later, while working for an automotive magazine, he obtained images of another model, this time gray in color and with blue plates (indicating that the vehicle was being tested by the manufacturer) and published them in December of the same year.

On the back there was a Lotus logo (which at that time belonged to Proton Malaysia, and which today belongs to the state-owned oil company Petronas), thus confirming suspicions that the model used Lotus mechanics.

The manufacturer of this car was Megastar Veículos, which was a business arm of the then-owner group called New Concept Aktiengesellshaft, from Vaduz, Liechtenstein, in Europe, and whose president was Francesco Hurle, who at the time lived in Lugano, Switzerland.

Before that, the factory made scooters that were well-received at first, but with the rise of the dollar in January 1999, they sank along with the Emme project in December of the same year. It was manufactured between 1997 and 1999, in the city of Pindamonhangaba, in the Paraíba Valley, São Paulo, with a nationalization rate of 87%. Some of its parts were imported, but there were plans to nationalize them as well.

Some Lotus technicians even came to Brazil to adapt the engine to Brazilian standards. The construction process used machines that injected 160 molds with just two operators, which allowed a car to be built in just 12 minutes. Mechanically, it has independent suspension on all four wheels, with multiple anchor points, double quadrilateral and torsion bar, and the rear axle has a self-steering axle. Everything was developed in Brazil, except for the powertrain (engine and gearbox, which are imported).

It is said that more than US$ 156 million was invested in the manufacture of the Emme 422T, but according to what was found, the investment barely reached 15 million. Even the city government gave the company incentives, providing land and tax exemptions for a while, but it was all in vain. During the period in which it was in operation, it is estimated that only 12 to 15 units of this car were produced. Its ambitions were great: the factory intended to export some units to Europe to try to compete with the sports sedans there, but because it did not have an adequate safety system, such as ABS brakes and airbags, for example, it was immediately barred from production by EuroNCAP, the European automotive safety agency. The company even drove a prototype on the streets of Milan, Italy, Monte Carlo and Monaco, and then returned to Brazil, all of which is shown in this video: https://youtu.be/kpuykmiesvE

The engine was the same one that equipped the Esprit S4 model, until then considered scrap by Lotus. I'll tell you why soon...

The body was made of a polymer called VexTrim, patented in Europe, and was similar in size to the Chevrolet Omega.

Its design featured modern details, such as super-ellipsoidal headlights, but its style was far from pleasing the vast majority.

It was available in the 420 and 420T versions, being 4-cylinder naturally aspirated and turbo respectively, and the 422T, of Lotus origin. The code indicated the number of cylinders (4) and the cubic capacity of the engine (2.0 and 2.2, in addition to the “T” for Turbo). They say that the 420 and 420T engines were made at the Emme factory in Pindamonhangaba, but the similarity in the piston diameter and stroke measurements (82.5 x 92.8 mm respectively) and the engine shape were the same as the Volkswagen AP-2000! In the case of the Lotus engines, things are a little worse…

When I said that the engines supplied by Lotus were practically scrap, it's because they really were, for the most part: besides no longer being of interest to Lotus (since they had developed a 3.5L V8 twin turbo with 350 HP for the then Esprit S4S), the 910S engines with 16 valves and turbo that came, about 10 of them, had the most varied problems, some even with hidden screws! They say that out of 10 engines, only 2 were in perfect condition. That's when they didn't have electrical and electronic problems causing a general blackout in the car. Another thing that held the car back was the Borg Warner gearbox from the Ford Mustang V8, which was too long for the Emme. Along with this, there was the problem of Turbo Lag, which is the lack of turbo action at low revs, and this made the car difficult to drive. With 0.8 bar pressure in the turbine, a water-cooled Garret TB03, the car only ran well at high revs. Several components came from different cars: just like the Lotus engine, it also had a PowerLock self-locking Hypoid differential from some Jaguar models, both from England, but it also had components that, surprisingly, came from the “European” Ford Escort (spotlights and turn signals on the bumpers) and even from the then discontinued Chevrolet Opala, among many others. A true Frankenstein!

The disharmonious lines of the body, with a very prominent waistline, are reminiscent of the Volvo ECC (Environmental Concept Car) presented at the 1992 Paris Motor Show, which later became the Volvo S80 in 1998. In other words: both cars were based on the same concept design. Still speaking of the body, this is a part where the headache was the biggest: the plastic parts had no dimensional tolerance. Each molded part was different from another of the same type. There would be no point, for example, in buying a set of taillights to keep in stock because, to install one in place of the other in the event of an accident, it would be necessary to adjust the bodywork, with trial and error before painting. The same happened with the hood, trunk lid and doors. A real jigsaw puzzle!

There was a case of a user from São Paulo who had the front suspension of her car broken on an avenue, without major consequences. And a few months later, an accident put an end to this same Emme, which was considered a total loss by the insurance company. Before the suspension was damaged, however, she only had to complain about the low ground clearance and premature wear of the clutch.

Well before closing down, the factory was already in a bad way. In its last year of operation, it had only 3 employees in the administrative area and only 2 in the factory!

Before closing down, there was a drawing on their website of a mini urban car that they intended to manufacture, but in fact they were drawings of what would be the new Mini that we know today that had been published in some magazines! (Apparently, stealing drawings from other brands was a common thing for Emme).

SPECS

ENGINE: Front mounted, Lotus 910S, aluminum with Nikasil cylinder liners and 4 chromed forged aluminum pistons. Aluminum alloy cylinder head with 16 valves, double overhead camshaft, four valves per cylinder. Water-cooled TB03 Garret turbo with integral wastegate and 0.84 kilos of pressure. Multi-point electronic injection with self-diagnosis knock sensor. Electronic ignition by double coil without distributor. Lotus ECU, prepared for Brazilian fuel

DIMENSIONS: 2,174 cm³

BORE X STROKE: 95.3 mm x 76.2 mm

COMPRESSION RATIO: 8.0 : 1

MAX POWER: 264 HP at 6,500 RPM

MAX TORQUE: 36.1 kgfm or 309.89 Nm at 3,900 RPM

GEARBOX: Borg Warner (from the Ford Mustang), 5-speed synchronized manual, with independent rear transmission and Jaguar PowrLock self-locking hypoid differential.

SUSPENSION

·Front: Independent double quadrilateral, with torsion bar, coil springs and hydraulic telescopic shock absorbers.

·Rear: Independent double quadrilateral and self-steering arm with torsion bar, coil springs and hydraulic telescopic shock absorbers

BRAKES: Dual-circuit servo-brake. Ventilated front discs of Ø11.6". Solid rear discs of Ø11.6"

CHASSIS / BODY: Tubular chassis in galvanized steel, body in injected plastic veXtrim® Sports sedan with 4 doors and 5 seats

WHEELS AND TIRES: Light alloy; 15" 7J rim and Toyo Proxes U1 radial tires. 225/50 ZR 15

DIMENSIONS

Length: 4.62 m (15'1.89")

Width: 1.76 m (5'9.291")

Height: 1.40 m (4'7.12")

Ground clearance: 15 cm (6 in)

Wheelbase: 2.76 m (9'0.66")

PERFORMANCE

Top speed 273 km/h or 169.7 mph

0-100 km/h or 0-62 mph: 5 seconds