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    TRIVETTE HISTORICAL PICTURES - 3 OF 3

    -- 1976 --


    Yet another view of Paul's TriVette.


    4 TriVettes in front of the shop. There's an apricot, gold, nutmeg, and another apricot. December 1976.


    Another view of the cars - the red one is the #1 production car.


    May 1976


    Cars lined up in front of 1499 Palma Drive - December 1976.

    -- 1977 --


    Diana showing off the TriVette in front of the Dorothy Chander Pavillion in Los Angeles. Photo was taken by a professional photographer for a press function.


    The apricot-colored TriVette belonging to Pattersons. This vehicle was one of two that was made race prepped with a 1600 CC dual port Volkswagen motor complete with a turbo charger!!


    Interior of Pfeiffer's TriVette. He was from Detroit, Michigan. He also bought a second vehicle but this one was with a turbo charged Volkswagen motor. There were only two TriVettes built with the Volkswagen engines.


    A view of the engine compartment with the turbocharged Volkswagen engine. You can see the turbo on top and how the 4 exhaust pipe come together in one larger diameter pipe that comes up into the turbine section of the turbo. The output of the turbine, to its right, is the pipe that forms the exhaust. Because the turbo blades spin at such high RPMs, they chop up the high pressure pulses coming out of the exhaust ports. So there was no need to have a muffler on the vehicle. On the left side of it you can see the side draft carburetor coming into the compressor section of the turbocharger. Bob thinks it was a Bendix unit originally intended for aircraft and motorcycle applications. It delivered an estimated 220 Horse Power from this setup in a vehicle that weighed 1,140 lbs. The bike coming off the line was ferocious. This vehicle would run the quarter mile in 10.4 seconds at 140 MPH but actually spent the last couple hundred feet of the quarter mile just sitting there on the red limiter. It would have gone faster with different gearing but stock Volkwagon gearing was used in this vehicle. This was a VERY fast TriVette.


    Mr. Pattison from Hawaii picking up his TriVette. His biggest problem was trying to decide on the color of his vehicle. He could pick blue, the same color as the other one in Hawaii, that way if he got caught doing anything he could blame it on the other guy. Or, for ego, he could pick his own unique color. Ego won out and he chose an apricot color.

    The other TriVette in Hawaii was blue and had a special engine. It was a racing Fiat setup with a Paul Baker and Son special cast aluminum cross well head. The intake was a pair of 40 DCO E Weber side draft carburetors. Bob remembers driving the car to Long Beach to put it in a container to ship to Hawaii and on a special long straight stretch of the highway that was a 3 lanes wide concrete section it was showing 135 MPH on the speedometer. "It was FAST for a 903 CC motor!"


    Another of Pattison's turbocharged Volkswagen setup.


    The front left hand fender view of Pattison's vehicle.


    Front right hand view of Pattison's vehicle.


    June 1977 - Vehicle originally sent to Tepfor, a machinist in El Monte.


    Tepfor standing by his vehicle in front of 1499 Palma Drive.


    Tepfor's wife next to the vehicle.

    -- 1978 --


    The blue Volkswagen turbocharged vehicle for Pfeiffer from Detroit Michigan.


    Here is Pfeiffer's TriVette that Bob drove to the LA Airport. He flew in, took delivery at the airport, and drove it home to Detroit! That must have been one great ride!


    Another photo of Pfeiffer at the airport.


    Yet another picture of Pfeiffer's TriVette.


    The banana yellow TriVette. The fellow with his back to us is Carl, Bob's son. It's being finished up at Vincent Porra's place in Santa Pala. Had already moved things from 1499 Palma Drive.


    Vincent Porra can be seen on the left with his back to the camera and Carl on the right side.


    One more as above.


    One more as above.


    One more as above.


    Another at Vincent Porra's place, which was a truck repair place.

Copyright 2010 By Leo Doyle - All Rights Reserved