The Dacon 828 or Mini Dacon. A weird and cute little car made in Brazil. Long post ahead.

4 Comments

1. 

   TheHandSFX 2 weeks ago

   Aw it’s so cute

2. 

   dirty_birdy 2 weeks ago

   Lots of Porsche 928 elements. Very cute!

3. 

   OriginalPapaya8 2 weeks ago

   HERE’S THE HISTORY OF THE CAR, FOR SOME REASON IT DOESN’T APPEAR ON THE POST ITSELF

   THE BEGINNING: Dacon was a Brazilian automobile manufacturer and dealership founded by Paulo de Aguiar Goulart in São Paulo in 1964 and closed in 1996. Dacon started out as a local Porsche distributor and dealership, but after car imports were banned in 1976, they chose to become a Volkswagen dealership. Paulo’s initiatives have always been marked by boldness, which has happened since his first project, at the beginning of 1964 – the import of German Porsche engines and their installation in national Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia cars, an operation carried out by Rampson, an aluminum components industry owned by Paulo, this baldness carried on, becoming a staple of the brand.
   In 1982 they started working on their own car, namely the small Dacon 828. The name was supposed to represent the year it was started (82) and the fact that it was Dacon’s eighth project, but it was also clearly chosen to remind one of the Porsche 928.

   THE ENGINE AND OTHER THINGS: In July of that year he decided to build the car, using a sawed Beetle chassis so that the rear seat was in the position of the front. For Paulo, the car should have wheels proportional to its size, and for the first prototype he chose the 10″ wheels used on the Mini Cooper.
   At the same time that a group of mechanics were working on the chassis, another group was assigned to dismantle a 1300 cc Volkswagen engine. With the engine dismantled, two pistons and their respective connecting rods were removed, leaving only the closest ones to avoid twisting the crankshaft. At night the car, despite being without a body, was ready, and Paulo couldn’t resist taking the car for a spin, which reached 120 km/h or 75 mph on the highway. The following day the set was weighed, reaching a value of 360 kg or 793.6 pounds.
   As Paulo’s goal was a car weighing 250 kg or 551 pounds less than a Beetle, ballast was added to perform the first consumption test. The prototype, still in chassis form, achieved an average of 20 km/l or 47 mpg at a constant 80 km/h or 50 mph, the same value obtained by the Beetle. It was then discovered that the engine was running very cold, and after reducing the fan cooling and returning the carburetor setting to the original, an average of 22 km/l or 51.7 mpg was achieved under the same conditions. The engine is located at the rear and can be accessed through a small cover, but like the hood, the lower part of the rear can be removed by removing four screws, which means the engine can be removed as easily as that of a Volkswagen Bus.
   After all the prototypes, 650 cc, 800 cc, 1300 cc, 1600 cc and 2100 cc versions were planned, but in the end its only engine option was a 1600 cc VW boxer-four engine connected to a gearbox four-speed. Its 65 hp (48 kW) was enough for a top speed of 142 km/h (88 mph), and an alcohol-powered version with three more horsepower was also available.
   The rear suspension also received modifications, adopting that of the Variant II, a Brazilian station wagon of the time, which does not alter the camber of the wheels, improving stability.

   THE BODY: At the end of July, during a visit to Paulo Goulart, the famous car designer Anísio Campos saw the chassis and asked -“What toy is this?”. After the explanation, he took a measuring tape and started taking the first measurements. Then, on a piece of notebook paper, he began to draw the first sketch right there. The first objective was to make a car that would awaken the desire to have it, and the design inspired by the Porsche 928 is pleasing, despite not being a reference in style. The first prototype began to be handmade on August 13, 1981 with a body made of steel sheets, later swapped for fiberglass in the production model. The total length ended up being 2.65 m or 8 feet 8,3 inches. This bodywork forms an extremely resistant structure reinforced by a metallic structure, a concept inspired by the survival cells of F1 cars of the time. Another solution inspired by competition vehicles is the front hood, which can be completely separated from the body by removing two side screws, four internal screws and the plug responsible for connecting the headlights and taillights. This way the front suspension, fuel tank, steering gear and braking system are visible, making maintenance easier.

   SMALL, BUT COMFY AND WELL EQUIPPED: Inside, the space for passenger and driver is better than that of some mid-size cars of its time, with exceptional quality finishing and excellent sound insulation.
   The single bench has a split backrest that can be reclined individually using a ratchet system.
   The Toolkit and battery are located under the seats, while the spare tire and luggage have their place behind the seats.
   Equipment, standard or not, I can’t say precisely, included: rear window wiper and defogger, leather lined interior, radio with cassette player, power mirrors, some versions also had a sunroof and power windows, the gauge cluster was complete for the time having not only the the standard speedometer and fuel level gauge in addition to warning lights but also a rev counter, coolant temperature gauge and analog clock.

4. 

   ScottaHemi 2 weeks ago

   It’s like a shrinky dink Gen3 camaro xD