Thought it'd be neat for us all to share what we own, car wise :)

Here's mine:

1. 1985 Chevy G20 conversion van - I've had Patches for almost 10 years. She's got me through hell and back, and I pretty much owe my whole life as it is to this old gal. Still has the original "computerized" Quadrajet carb and air tubes, and it all still works.....

2. 2007 Cadillac DTS - A big paradigm change from the van :) . Just bought it two weeks ago. LOVE the car!

3. 2006 VW Beetle - The wife's car. Gotta love the license plate, huh? It was my idea. We keep getting people coming up to it snapping pics with their smart phones :D

4. 1958 Plymouth Savoy Club Coupe - She ain't too pretty, she's an oldie but a goodie :) . A work in progress....

Where's the Buick?

Traded the Buick for the Plymouth. Liked the Buick, but the Plymouth was my dream car :)

1. 2004 Ford Focus SE

2. 1985 Mercedes 300D Turbo diesel

3. 1986 Mercury Gran Marquis

4. 1955 Plymouth Plaza 4dr

5. 1949 Plymouth Special Deluxe 4dr

1986 F-250 Diesel, just won't die so I'll keep driving it.
2003 Monte Carlo GT, wife's car.
1976 GL-1000 Gold Wing, my toy.

Used to have lots more 4 and 2 wheelers, but this is all right now.

Not wanting to offend anybody, I own a Chevy, a Ford, a Dodge and an International...and my wife has a Corolla.

Here is the 51 Ford, that I've posted before. You can see my 67 Impala in the background. The Chevy was my first car, just today I found some receipts where some work was done to get it through state inspection back in December '87, weeks before my 16th birthday. It's a 283/Powerglide and has been beige, black, maroon, red and now aquamarine. (I decided I was old enough, finally, to have it the color I really wanted!) As for the Fordor, I picked it up in December and have been having a ball with it. Flat 6/3 on the tree, runs great, just a fantastic car.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x293/bgadow/Shoebox%20Ford/December210.jpg (http://s184.photobucket.com/user/bgadow/media/Shoebox%20Ford/December210.jpg.html)
I also posted photos of the 2 pickups: my 74 IH that I rescued from the crusher a few years ago, AMC 258/3 on the tree, a reliable old beast...and my daily driver, a 96 Dakota (V6/AT)that I bought in 97. Just turned 250k not long ago. Great TV hauler!

Neat 51 ford

'98 Chevy Lumina. 174,000 miles. 120,000 of those I've put on since I've owned it.

'94 Chevy 3/4 ton pickup, 4 wheel drive. Used mostly for going to the dump and getting around in the snow, when we have any.

1994 Chevrolet Caprice.. LT1 engine modified to a 383ci stroker.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/Evilweredragon/Car%20Pics/th_capss.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Evilweredragon/media/Car%20Pics/capss.jpg.html) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/Evilweredragon/Car%20Pics/th_IMG_0149.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Evilweredragon/media/Car%20Pics/IMG_0149.jpg.html)

The 03 Merc is my driver, the 72 Buick is still stashed away back there in CA in hopes that someday I'll eventually get to restoring it.

1996 Volvo 850 sedan 5 speed(car just wont die:) 180K miles
1992 Ford F-150 straight 6 5 speed-This will last forever and bulletproof(IMHO, the BEST engine ford ever made as far as reliability and durability) 180K miles
1964 Cadillac Fleetwood 60 special ( a work in progress) 114K when parked and soon to be 0 again

Love the Fordor! I know someone who has a '53 with the flathead 8, that is the quietest engine I ever heard.

08 Chevy Impala LT
99 Chevy Silverado 3-door with 197,000 miles (it's getting a party when it hits 200,000)

77 Chrysler Cordoba

Y2K Ford Excursion 4X4 V-10, AKA "The Mighty Valdez"...2009 VW Touareg V-6 TDI, 1997 Toyota Camry, 1967 Lincoln Pervertible Sedan, 1973 Caddy Fleetwood Brougham.. In Stasis- 1969 Lincoln Continental Sedan, last of the Suicide Door Lincolns...1965 Lincoln Lehmann-Petersen Limousine, 1951 Chevy 3800 ton Panel Wagon..

egrand,
that is a great looking Cordoba !!!

Sandy,
would love to see a pic of that Fleetwood ...

I find myself liking old cars more and more all the time, especially "oddballs". That is a nice looking Cordoba-what draws my attention to these is that , as a kid in the 70s/80s, hardly anyone we knew had a late model Mopar so I didn't get to know those cars.

Currently have a 2000 Civic with 207,000 miles and a 1996 Ford Aerostar with 290,000 on the, but only about 8,000 on the engine since I rebuilt it. The Aerostar mostly sits in the garage until I need to haul something big.

Some cool stuff on here... I like that 67 impala. I have three cars myself, a '98 Mustang, a '90 Mazda Miata, and a '68 F-250 with a 390 and C6 auto. It's no surprise that people with multiple TVs also have lots of old cars :)

For about three years my daily driver has been a 1993 Dodge Colt coupe with 89,000 miles now. My wife's car is a 2001 Toyota Roxy Echo with around 160,000 miles. Both get 40-41 mpg on the highway.

I recently sold a '94 Astro van with 248k miles I owned about 10 months. Last summer I sold a '66 Chrysler Newport I owned for 19 years; an older guy in the neighborhood is restoring it and I believe it has been in a couple of movies already. A pickup truck is in the near future.

99 Subaru Outback with 158,000 miles that can haul most any console. Built in Lafayette, In. Rebuilt trans at 100K, two sets of head gaskets but runs too good to give up

2006 Tacoma extended cab made in Fremont CA (now the Tesla plant), plenty of room for a console radio - and thats just the inside:thmbsp:

The interesting ones I have safely in the garage, next to TV "shop":D:

1967 Pontiac Grand Prix convertible with 92K, original 400/350hp and M400 trans, and rusted out trunk/quarter panels. It has the speaker in rear seatback, like Bryan's 67 Impala.
1969 Pontiac Grand Prix 90K miles, 1972 rebuilt 455 v8, with Verba-phonic AM/FM (but not stereo) and the troublesome windshield antenna, I rescued it in 1986:yes:178798

A fleet of 4WD station wagons...
Subaru Legacy non-Outback
Volvo XC-70 Cross-Country
Suburban 2500 w/Quadrasteer

Plus a '67 Sunbeam Alpine

Chip

I drive a '10 Focus SE. Got it on closeout, they came down 4k off the sticker, paid for the sales tax and gave me good money for my trade-in, a '95 Chevy S-10 LS. Paid cash for it too! :)

http://videokarma.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=178756&stc=1&d=1369417083
http://videokarma.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=178757&stc=1&d=1369417083

not mine ... belongs to the girlfriend
1996 Klingon Battle Cruiser, more commonly known as a Cadillac Sedan DeVille
just turned over 100k miles
seriously in need of a visit to the detailing shop for a bath and make up job
a pig in town at about 8 mpg, but a jewel on the highway easily getting 24+ mpg with the Northstar power plant

not mine ... belongs to the girlfriend
1996 Klingon Battle Cruiser, more commonly known as a Cadillac Sedan DeVille
just turned over 100k miles
seriously in need of a visit to the detailing shop for a bath and make up job
a pig in town at about 8 mpg, but a jewel on the highway easily getting 24+ mpg with the Northstar power plant

SOMETHING must be amiss, there SHOULDN'T be so much of a difference between city & hiway mileages as that...Unless you drive it STOMPED everywhere around town...

Sandy,
... don't know why that beast has such a difference in city vs highway miles, it runs very well and has been well maintained ... as good as any 17 yr old Northstar
... have a buddy who has a DeVille ~ 10 yrs newer than this one and he has near the same mileage ... but he seldom drives it as it is his wifes daily driver
... one thing is for certain ... it is really tough to beat the comfort of a Deville on the highway ... great road vehicles they are ... the girlfriends aunt has a pristine, garage kept, ludicrously low mileage Lincoln Town Car from about 2005 and it is not nearly the joy to drive that the Cadillac is

OK, understood, but THAT big of a difference is Puzzling..My Mighty Valdez-a V-10 4WD 2000 Excursion gets about 8-10 in town & 12-15 on the hiway...And HAS for 165K miles...

Sandy, he's 100% right.

I just came back from a 2 hour ride each way in my 2007 DTS with the Northstar V8, and pulled 25-28 mpg easily cruising at 70 MPH. Around town? Pfft. Maybe 12? It's just the way they are. I think they've got some great highway gearing, but around town is abysmal.

Even though I miss my Scion xB's 32 highway 26 around town, I wouldn't be willing to go back :D

Fair enuff. I can ONLY go on MY experiences w/the 6.8L V-10...It has PLENTY of low end grunt, & adequate hiway Scat, too...Plus, it has been Trouble-free from Dec 99 til 2013... 165K miles..

It's really weird. The salesman told me the same thing though.....he said on the highway, it'll rival my Scion as far as fuel mileage, but around town, be really light on the gas because it's going to suck fuel. He said that it's because it's got a lot of power and a tall highway gear, it doesn't take much to keep her going on the highway.

Gotta say, it's nice driving the automotive equivalent of the Santa Fe Super Chief on the highway, as opposed to the buzz of a 4 cylinder :)

Many things account for large engine fuel economy differences. Gearing: is the engine in the sweet-spot of energy output at 60mph? Shape: as speed increases so does drag, Popular science use to publish mph for different speeds of the cars they tested. Lots of 70's cars topped out at 45mph as for peak mpg.

GM has always done better than Fords on highway mpg for their rear wheel drive vehicles. I suspect they have higher gear ratios for final drive. The engine turns slower at 55, but the taller gears means it has to work much harder to get there. So local driving forces down local mpg a lot.

Mostly, mpg is effected by changing speed of the vehicle. I have ridden with many people who think they are good drivers and can't understand why they get poor mpg's. I find that they can't regulate the speed of their cars well, and don't rely on the cruise control, or they un-knowingly decide to race every car that comes up behind them, or next to them.

There were however a few times in history where some large American cars got better mpg than you might have thought. We had a 1979 Mercury (Ford LTD 302V8) wagon with VV carb that got 26 highway really loaded. My Dakota 3.9l Spit injection gets 26 highway 17 city, But out 87 LTD wagon with port injection same configuration, and transmission would not get much more than 21 highway. Same driving conditions/person driving.

In Sandy's case..... I imagine Sandy nailed a wrap around all wood porch to the thing, with maybe a rocking chair or two by the doors, a large flag pole there somewhere... Inside a couch, 25" floor model console tv with remote, Magnavox of course.... A cast iron coal burning stove full height 8" double insulated smoke stack, pull out fully electric wrap around sun awning, custom mud dually rear end, and a 45,000 watt 4 cylinder diesel 3 phase surplus army generator bolted to the roof. And towing behind a 12,000 lb 6 wheel all day fully loaded tail gating supreme 3 steer smoker-barb-Q Auto rotisserie with fold out retail counter, cash registers, and pop up umbrella array so no sale is lost in bad weather....

Dam Sandy! You should be happy with 8 mpg...... ; )

.

Hehehehehe...Well, it AIN'T quite THAT bad, Squirrely, but The Mighty Valdez weighs 7500 LBS EMPTY..The V-10, while smaller in displacement than the "RAT" motors of yore, is still 413 cubic inches...I like being able to "Dust" kids in fart-muffler slammed Hondas, OCCASIONALLY, anyway, but the price of all this is lousy mileage. The SOHC V-10 is very docile, one wonders what COULD have been w/a DOHC 4-valve version...

Ha-Ha -- Thought you would get a good laugh out of that posting.... While we have 4 honda's 250K+ miles each, I really dislike the Farting Honda's that kids drive today, And I also call them "Fart-Mobiles" too! I don't know why they think that is cool....

got a 98 Camry great on gas... and something not so great on gas, even with the practically base 283 motor

I'm a bit of a watercooled VW / Diesel engine nut. Currently our fleet is down to the 99.5 Jetta TDI w/ 290,000 miles, the 91 Mercedes 350SDL w/ 230,000, an 03 F350 6.0 that doesn't get driven now that it needs headgaskets, and a 12 Passat TDI we picked up just over a year ago... almost 30,000 miles on it already!

The Passat has been flawless ad we really enjoy it... it's as big inside as the MB but gets almost 50 MPG on the highway instead of almost 30. Dad got the 99.5 new and sold it to me on my 21st birthday. The MB is currently all taken apart for an AC rebuild / valve body shift kit install. I hope to get it back on the road tomorrow!!!

I've also had an 85 Jetta 1.8 gas (best $180 car ever!), a 92 Jetta ECOdiesel (saved it from the junkyard, only 140,000 miles on it!), and a 91 Jetta ECOdiesel. The 91 was my first "tinker car" and ran great, even though it had just under 430,000 miles. Sadly a 17 year old girl driving mom's van totaled it while it was parked... that was the impetus for buying the Passat so I can't say it worked out all bad.

http://videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=253927

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V0hc_30539s/T_hKCB8-QZI/AAAAAAAACRY/Dwh8MUcWHXc/s720/_MG_4647.JPG

Thank goodness for good service manuals!

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-HHgbzIAwVLc/UZAxunA6fmI/AAAAAAAADDM/8efjpBKRbd0/s640/P40440200.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-bv33PWVyZcM/UXStl52O2aI/AAAAAAAAC3U/Dmgduktmsc0/s640/P60107800.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-zIY0aznnX_I/T-kLxqERgZI/AAAAAAAABnk/AS7tfmyml1I/s640/P67306103.jpg


-Jason

1961 VW Bus

1976 Porsche 911S

2012 Fiat 500

Ha-Ha -- Thought you would get a good laugh out of that posting.... While we have 4 honda's 250K+ miles each, I really dislike the Farting Honda's that kids drive today, And I also call them "Fart-Mobiles" too! I don't know why they think that is cool....

If you ever need anything for your Hondas, let me know, I'll be glad to MORE than help you....I work for www.oemacuraparts.com :)

Incidentally, I went to Carquest today, and they are now carrying the Acura/Honda DW-1 synthetic transmission fluid in stock, much to my surprise. I think it was $7.99 a quart, which is dirt cheap compared to dealer MSRP.

I have a 1996 dodge ram 1500 4WD club cab that my parent gave me. It has been sitting around for a few years not really being driven after they got new cars. Now to get a license!

Username, what year is your Dakota? One of these days I'm going to need to replace my 96. I really like the looks of the last models (really, it is the only late model vehicle that I kinda like) but haven't heard what mileage they were getting. Guess they all came with the 3.7. I get a very consistent 22mpg now; worst was 16 during a snowstorm, best was just shy of 25 on a long stretch of flat interstate. Tall gearing.

The Fordor should be getting over 20, according to old road tests from the 50s, but I'm only getting in the 13's. I blame the stuck heat riser for at least part of that; I really need to check the timing and points gap, and rebuild the carb.

Our daily drivers are our 91 Accord 408,000 miles, currently waiting for me to do a valve job on because of a chipped valve in #4 cylinder. Happened this Feb. on a trip back from the airport. Great car, 34mpg painted her in 2010.

The 86 Prelude was supposed to be the kid's car, but she decided she didn't want to work, and we decided she didn't need to drive, so the little blue car became our backup. Also around 33mpg. 170,000 miles

The Dodge is an 88, factory High Definition model with the larger breaks all around larger wheels, and some other stuff. I found the build sheet under the seat one year. She has 2WD, the first automatic overdrive for that model, spit injection, variable rear break adjustment with load which works really well. She does just under 20 around town, and 27 on the highway, I keep all our cars to 60 tops to keep the mpg up, and the wear down. She has 118K miles, I got her in 93 I believe, she was owned by an electrician, I think she had just got over 97K miles when I got her. So she has an easy life of trips to the gravel pit 5 miles away once every 3 years, a few trips to Home Depot, etc. While I have owned her she was never out in the snow. While the paint is not looking good, there is no underneath rust. The green car got painted first because its the wife's car, and she complained about the rust and faded paint more than the Dodge does.... This year I had to change the radiator, all the hoses, and drive belts, they were all original up to this year. While I love Honda's I would buy this Dodge again.

By the way, Love the 51 Ford! I had a friend in High School who had a 53, we use to sneak into the drive in with 4 in the trunk....!

A 89 Accord 250K miles and a 89 Prelude 248K miles not in the picture are also in the mix, but they didn't wanna be in the picture....

Captain - I'll check them out! I get some parts by dealers online....

Username 1!
I thought I was the only one raised by hard-nosed parents. :D
Secondly: What engine is in your '88 Dakota? The 4 cylinder?
I had a '91 with a 5.2. I don't think, I ever got over 20 mpg, empty.
IIRC, they had the 3.9 out at the time, which is a 5.2, with two less cylinders.
Regarding the newer Dakotas, they use both the 3.7 V6 and 4.7 V8 SOHC, newer design engines. :yes:

Yep, the 3.9 is a sliced down 318. Not the smoothest running thing, but you can squeeze a ton of miles out of one. I had an 87, a good truck but they had a carb that year and it was always giving me trouble.

A bicycle!

Yep, the 3.9 is a sliced down 318. Not the smoothest running thing, but you can squeeze a ton of miles out of one. I had an 87, a good truck but they had a carb that year and it was always giving me trouble.
It probably was a Holley. Mopar switched to using them around 1980.
I'll take a Carter anyday. My 1991 318 had a Carter throttle body. Never a problem.
I never want to go back to carburetors. :no:

Hi guys;

My Dakota has a 3.9L with throttle body injection. The old style push rod engine. Strange stuff, when I got her, she got similar mileage 17 - 21 hwy. But then the O2 sensor went. I tested it and could not find a fault, But I had bought a full exhaust system for the 91 accord from the junk yard. Both used what looked like the same 4 wire O2 sensor, both same point down stream in the system, far from the manifold, so I took the one off the Dodge, it made noise when I shook it, so I swapped the plugs, put the honda one in the dodge, and then the mpg took off..... It runs different now, On highway at certain speeds it has a bit of up and down with engine speed, not surging, just hardly noticeable. I think the O2 I put in may have a greater range to it and takes the mixture lower. Anyway I'm grateful at the increased mpg.

Dieseljeep; sorry I had to go back and figure out what you were talking about. Well the blue car was a $500. ebay job on Long Island. We must have picked all the wrong roads to get there because the trip took all day, the car needed an axle, and brakes, radio fix, and she was fine for a kid out of HS. We figured she could use a good first car to get a job, save some cash and pick her next car herself. But her and her circle of friends were kinda layabouts, they burned holes in that perfect interior, walked all over the car, kicked the interior broke stuff. On top of that we paid insurance, $70/week gas and she didn't find a job for months. So we said "in 3 weeks insurance payment is due, you have it or you park it" The wife said there is no way she's gunna give up the car..... I said I bet yes....

Old school designs only, RWD, USA, frame, V8, 5-6 pass. & 2+ tons.

2003 Merc Grand Marquis
2004 Crown Vic Sport
Everyone thinks milage is bad but. The CV gets 28 on hwy at 75-85
with the windows opened. I bet if I took off the useless converers
& closed the windows it would go well over 30mpg. The Merc
not so good probably the single exhaust.

On wish list there are a few exceptions to the rules.
Another 1972 Olds Toronado, awesome FWD smoke shows.
Another 1993 Buick Roadmaster LT-1 "shock & awe". Would
have got another but GM abandoned me.

For pissah rides
1963 Studebaker Avanti
1963 Studebaker GT Hawk
Either must have factory Paxton blower.
You young whipper snappers will have to look these up.

73 Zeno

Hi guys;

My Dakota has a 3.9L with throttle body injection. The old style push rod engine. Strange stuff, when I got her, she got similar mileage 17 - 21 hwy. But then the O2 sensor went. I tested it and could not find a fault, But I had bought a full exhaust system for the 91 accord from the junk yard. Both used what looked like the same 4 wire O2 sensor, both same point down stream in the system, far from the manifold, so I took the one off the Dodge, it made noise when I shook it, so I swapped the plugs, put the honda one in the dodge, and then the mpg took off..... It runs different now, On highway at certain speeds it has a bit of up and down with engine speed, not surging, just hardly noticeable. I think the O2 I put in may have a greater range to it and takes the mixture lower. Anyway I'm grateful at the increased mpg.
My '91 Dakota had a bad 02 sensor. It blew black smoke and the fuel mileage took a nosedive. I think it effected the catalytic convertor. At the test station, they said it'll have to be replaced, before the next emissions test.
I sold it to a friend, who only drove it for four years.
He installed a universal convertor, so it met emissions standards. :yes:

Be american drive american

Be american drive american

Used to be my parents line of thinking...Until mom got a new '89 Chevy Baretta. That car was the worst lemon I've ever seen. It had problems with the steering column right off the bat, electrical issues, and it was always having engine troubles. If we ever put in anything other than AMOCO mid-grade it would need a service within a week. That thing had blown an engine gasket by the time it turned 30K! The paint was going bad not long after it left warranty. It probably spent around a quarter of the time I rode in it in the local repair shop.

Meanwhile my uncles 80's Honda civic(I think it might have had the highway gearing option that gave it 60MPG highway) was doing fine at 100K without ever having had any service NOT EVEN AN OIL CHANGE!

It was obvious to my folks at this point who their next cars should come from.

Every few months I see a Baretta on the road and wonder what sort of witchcraft keeps what few of them remain in existence on the road. Those cars were starting to become scarce before Y2K!

Here's my fleet recently.

I sold the '57 chevy (with 76,000 original miles) and the '75 Dart (62,000 orig.) a couple years ago. Trailers get used for radio meets, auctions, and estate sales.

I kept the '67 Coronet with only 23,000 original miles, and my Sienna van just hit 110,000 miles this week.

Nice cars! Love the Coronet! Awesome car! They sure drive nice.

I like that Dart, 74 or 75 my dad had a 74 318 and it had a neat gas saving feature I read about for the 75 model. If you put your foot in the gas too hard, the blinker bulb out on the fender facing the driver would light up. A little then more as you gave it more and more gas over what it thought it should get to accelerate the car. It was tied to a vacuum gauge somehow.... Well his was a 74 and PS magazine had this thing as a new feature for 75 Dodge cars, like the Dart.

That Coronet is cool too. We had a 70 440 but it had a 225/6 Mom said she almost ordered it in Plum Crazy, but we had Brown. Then me and brother read this article in something like Carcraft For $38. more we coulda got a 440! Pretty funny, as kids we were say'n Dad! you coulda got a V8! But then it also didn't have tinted windows, A/C, air bags, power brakes, and a buncha other stuff. But those 4 wheel drum brakes could put ya through the window and still not lock up and skid.... It was a very good station wagon... Now I see from the morning news a few days ago CBS I think, they are collectors items now..

Yeah, I can't even remember the last time I saw a Coronet...They used to be fairly common, but now they're all gone.. Of course, the fact that they're gettin' close to the 50-year old mark, MIGHT have sumpin to do w/it...

'59 Rambler station wagon
'61 International C-100 pick-up
'04 Chevy Venture van (daily driver)

I've sometimes daydreamed of using a Rambler wagon for a daily driver, instead of a small pickup w/ cap.

Really an eclectic collection we have on VK!

dieseljeep, username1-that 87 did have a Holley 2 bbl. Had it rebuilt and it ran a lot better but I was forever messing with the choke. About time I had it set the way I wanted it, the weather would change. The 96 has Holley fuel injection and has been very reliable. I've needed a few O2 sensors along the way. The last one I only replaced because it completely rusted out and made the exhaust noisy. Today I had to go to Baltimore about a job prospect, over 4 hours on the road, 18 y.o. truck with 251k going 70mph down the beltway and the check engine light is off...I'm happy!

When I got my 1969 Lincoln sedan in 1982, it sorta became my "Go-To" car, because my 1982 Chevy Suburban K2500 6.2 Diesel turned out to be such an unremitting POS, & spent so much time in the shop..The Lincoln was utterly reliable, ALWAYS "Went", & was an EXTREMELY comfortable ride while doing it... It had power galore, having a 460, even though the 460 had a LOT of weight to haul around..It STILL could give a very good accounting of itself against the dreadful weak-kneed JUNK of the early Eighties... That & the fact I had it painted, & it was SO pretty, & had such clean lines...Well, it WASN'T a hardship to use it..Biggest problems were the A/C didn't work, & a couple of the power windows didn't, either..Ford used a nylon gear in the power windows, & after 15-20 years, they kinda crumbled...

When I got my 1969 Lincoln sedan in 1982, it sorta became my "Go-To" car, because my 1982 Chevy Suburban K2500 6.2 Diesel turned out to be such an unremitting POS, & spent so much time in the shop..The Lincoln was utterly reliable, ALWAYS "Went", & was an EXTREMELY comfortable ride while doing it... It had power galore, having a 460, even though the 460 had a LOT of weight to haul around..It STILL could give a very good accounting of itself against the dreadful weak-kneed JUNK of the early Eighties... That & the fact I had it painted, & it was SO pretty, & had such clean lines...Well, it WASN'T a hardship to use it..Biggest problems were the A/C didn't work, & a couple of the power windows didn't, either..Ford used a nylon gear in the power windows, & after 15-20 years, they kinda crumbled...
The GM 6.2 diesel wasn't much better than the Oldmobile joke of a diesel.
I talked to a few Chevy 3500 truck owners and they said that engine barely went over 100K, without a overhaul or replacement.
Diesels are supposed to last over 500K miles. :sigh:

Part of the problem w/the 6.2 Weasel, the Urbanizer had a 4.11 rear end in it, which drove the Weasel a LOT faster than it wanted to go..GM said it WASN'T, but it was basically a "Big-Block" dieselized gas motor, just like the 350.. Altho they HAD learned a few tricks that made the 6.2s a LITTLE better than the 350s..If you remember, NOBODY then made "Small" V-8 diesels....Diesels for automotive applications were 4s, 5s, & 6s, all INLINE motors... Generous Motors was NOT smarter than the entire rest of the industry...I remember a few years ago over yonder at AK, we started talking about the notorious 350 Weasels, & some guy said, IIRC, that his dad was a developmental engineer at GM in the late Seventies when they were doing the 350 diesel programme, THEY knew the engine was a Dawg, but the Big Shots ran the motor thru anyway...And kept their fingers crossed..

Be american drive american

When I bought my 2000 Dodge Dakota, I inquired if it was USA built. The salesperson's reply was that all the Dakotas were built in Warren, Mi.
My reply was: "I wont pay this kind of money, for a truck built with cheap labor".
I have no problem with a Canadian built product. :thmbsp:

wow everyone else says were over paid.When I bought my 2000 Dodge Dakota, I inquired if it was USA built. The salesperson's reply was that all the Dakotas were built in Warren, Mi.
My reply was: "I wont pay this kind of money, for a truck built with cheap labor".
I have no problem with a Canadian built product. :thmbsp:

The finest MoPar (that brought home most of my TVs) was our 1975 Fury wagon with a 318, it was built in Hamtramk (Detroit plant) and had rusted-out quarters fixed twice because it was such a great car.

My folks bought MoPars for almost 40 years, beginning with a 1969 Polara wagon 383-2V, ending with the 2005 Voyager minivan when their micro-dealer had to surrender the franchise.
Suffering the usual electrical, carburetor and transmission issues along the way, the "little dealer" fixed them all, hence the repeat business.

Gentlemen: A quick " fessup".
December,10 2009.
I totaled my beloved 2005 Jeep Liberty. It was a freak accident, on an icy country road near me. I nose flipped it and it landed on its roof. The insurance company deemed it a total loss.

I just use the screen name, to prevent a hastle.
Long story, short, I replaced it with a used, high milage, Toyota Prius hatchback. It's great for garage sales, thrift shops and general chasing.
It's the first Japanese car I bought in 49 years, of owning a car or truck.
Absolutely no regrets.
I still have my other two American made vehicles. :thmbsp:

Used to be my parents line of thinking...Until mom got a new '89 Chevy Baretta. That car was the worst lemon I've ever seen....

That car drove my Mom away from American cars too. She bought an '88 Baretta GT new. It lasted 74k miles and must have gone through four or five alternators and batteries in eight years. It also used to eat up those Eagle GT+4 tires. The last time I saw it before the motor locked up it was leaking fluids - all of them. She's owned two used Corollas since 1997 and they have both been great reliable cars.

That car drove my Mom away from American cars too. She bought an '88 Baretta GT new. It lasted 74k miles and must have gone through four or five alternators and batteries in eight years. It also used to eat up those Eagle GT+4 tires. The last time I saw it before the motor locked up it was leaking fluids - all of them. She's owned two used Corollas since 1997 and they have both been great reliable cars.

I never kept it a secret, that I don't like GM products. :thumbsdn:
I only owned one in 49 years and that was 42 years ago. That was another pig that leaked all the fluids, including the rear end. :sigh:

I never kept it a secret, that I don't like GM products. :thumbsdn:
I only owned one in 49 years and that was 42 years ago. That was another pig that leaked all the fluids, including the rear end. :sigh:

Do not forget GM's leaky windshields, fresh-air cowls, rear windows and trunks. Yes I love my old Pontiacs but they DO leak, so they stay inside:sigh:

I never kept it a secret, that I don't like GM products. :thumbsdn:
I only owned one in 49 years and that was 42 years ago. That was another pig that leaked all the fluids, including the rear end. :sigh:

I've owned bad products from Ford, GM, and Chrysler Corp., as well as a couple of foreign builders. That alone would not keep me from buying another of their products, as I have also had very good cars from the same builders.

There is often a price you have to pay to drive the vehicle you want to. For example, if you want to drive a vintage British or Italian sports car, you'd better bring a set of tools and spare parts along with you, and also have a friend who is a good mechanic. For the most part, we accept that we have to make some sacrifices to own and drive the cars we like.

Currently, the Toyota van I bought new in 2006 (manufactured in Indiana) has been the most reliable and trouble-free vehicle I've ever owned. It just hit 110,000 miles on the odometer, and has needed nothing other than the routine scheduled maintenance. It often tows a 5 by 12 foot enclosed trailer to radio meets, estate sales, and auctions. And it still looks good. If I had parked my Geo (Suzuki) Metros or Dodge (Mitsubishi) Colts outdoors as long, they would have completely rusted away.

.

My mechanic friend says 06 was the high point for Toyota's vans... It went downhill quickly after that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I got a 98 nissan 200sx 2 years ago for 600 bucks 180,000 miles.
It has a 120hp 1600 cc dohc 4 valve 4cyl fuel injected engine with a 5 speed stick.
6900 rpm redline goes pretty good if i rev it up a little - 2350 pound car.
It has 209,000 miles on it now.

All i have done to it is replace the brake light bulbs change the oil and rotate the tires.

Runs and drives perfect uses less than 1/4 quart of oil in 3000 miles.

I was going to buy a olds aurora that needed work but my dad saw the sx
On craigslist.

"" There is often a price you have to pay to drive the vehicle you want to. For example, if you want to drive a vintage British or Italian sports car, you'd better bring a set of tools and spare parts along with you, and also have a friend who is a good mechanic. For the most part, we accept that we have to make some sacrifices to own and drive the cars we like. ""

I agree with this..... And for me and the wife, its keeping her 408K mile Accord now that she may need a little more tlc now and then.

And we all make purchase decisions not only based on our own experience, but also based on the stories we hear from others, not knowing how they treated those items....

Used to be my parents line of thinking...Until mom got a new '89 Chevy Beretta. That car was the worst lemon I've ever seen. It had problems with the steering column right off the bat, electrical issues, and it was always having engine troubles. If we ever put in anything other than AMOCO mid-grade it would need a service within a week. That thing had blown an engine gasket by the time it turned 30K! The paint was going bad not long after it left warranty. It probably spent around a quarter of the time I rode in it in the local repair shop.

Meanwhile my uncles 80's Honda civic(I think it might have had the highway gearing option that gave it 60MPG highway) was doing fine at 100K without ever having had any service NOT EVEN AN OIL CHANGE!

It was obvious to my folks at this point who their next cars should come from.

Every few months I see a Baretta on the road and wonder what sort of witchcraft keeps what few of them remain in existence on the road. Those cars were starting to become scarce before Y2K!

I totally agree that 1989 was about the lowest point of GM's quality and bad engineering, and the Beretta was a good example of that. However, the other side of the coin is how many 1989 Toyota Tercels or Nissan Sentras do you still see today or that are running perfectly? My point is that the foreign makes are not immune from making lousy cars too, and I think Toyota has been guilty of it the last few years. They seem to be suffering from GM syndrome where they are the biggest now and think they can do no wrong.

Also, I agree with Username. You do often overlook faults of something you like. I guess we just hope other people do the same thing with us.

I look at things this way: if everything worked perfectly all the time, this wouldn't be a hobby.

Also, I agree with Username. You do often overlook faults of something you like. I guess we just hope other people do the same thing with us.

I look at things this way: if everything worked perfectly all the time, this wouldn't be a hobby.

A lot of truth there. I traded in my 2009 Scion xB for my 07 Cadillac DTS. The DTS won't get the 32 MPG highway 26 city, it won't go for a bazillion miles without a complaint, and it won't shrug off muddy kids with a little wipedown.

But the Scion wasn't a Cadillac :)

A lot of truth there. I traded in my 2009 Scion xB for my 07 Cadillac DTS. The DTS won't get the 32 MPG highway 26 city, it won't go for a bazillion miles without a complaint, and it won't shrug off muddy kids with a little wipedown.

But the Scion wasn't a Cadillac :)

Ain't THAT the Truth...I'm a Lincoln man, but I know/understand fully/Agree COMPLETELY with yr sentiments..

A lot of truth there. I traded in my 2009 Scion xB for my 07 Cadillac DTS. The DTS won't get the 32 MPG highway 26 city, it won't go for a bazillion miles without a complaint, and it won't shrug off muddy kids with a little wipedown.

But the Scion wasn't a Cadillac :)


The Scion Xb has been on my want list for a long time, the early ones were cavernous inside, perfect for hauling TV's and the mileage in outstanding.

Since my second vehicle needs are fairly minimal these days the old Aerostar is sufficient, and it's paid for, actually it was "Free", it was my Dads and I got it after he died because I had rebuilt the engine in it, though the job had never been completed and the crackhead he hired to swap engines screwed it up royally.
Would you believe he forgot to install the timing cover gasket. :screwy: and that was the most minor of his mistakes.

My "Free" van ultimately cost about $1600 to put on the road (including $400 in DMV fees because Dad didn't fill out a non-op slip :sigh:), but it pretty much has new everything and it's fairly Lux, with power windows & locks, three row seating, P/S, dual zone A/C, AM/FM with rear controls, limited slip differential (not functional since the clutches are worn out but oh well, it never Snows here). :thmbsp:

Why are there links in my post about my 200sx
I never put them there

What did i do wrong ?

I need to repair the passenger door lock on my sx
And it has yellow headlight lenses. But the interior is pretty
Nice and it is straight and the paint is fair.

Looks pretty nice for 600 bucks

The aurora would have been more fun but
I would have spent more and i would have a smaller down payment for a house

Why are there links in my post about my 200sx
I never put them there

What did i do wrong ?



You didn't do anything wrong, the links are inserted automatically by Google Ads or Skimlinks or whichever program VK is signed up with.

They are inserted based on certain keywords and VK gets a small kickback if someone uses them to buy something, or maybe even if someone just uses the link to browse whatever site is being promoted.

Kamakiri (aka Tim) can probably give more accurate details.

Kool i thought it was a button i pushed

I have a 4 wheel drive 1/8 scale electric powered kyosho mp9e off road buggy that i am building

With 4s battery and a 2200kv trudgy motor and all the titanium upgrade parts
It will weigh about 7 pounds and have about 2 3/4 hp

With a 6s battery well over 4 hp

Should be pretty insane

The mp9e tk1 with upgrades is a 3000+ dollar rc car
Inferno series 8 time ifmar off road world champion
A record so dominant it exceeds that of all other manufacturers combined

I am surprised at how much power my 1.6 200sx has with 209,000 miles on it
Maybe some one rebuilt it or something.

I had a grand am that i put over 450 thousand miles on the clock but
I did 3 total hopup rebuilds to its transplanted w41 ho quad 4

I should mention that i drove it like i just stole it all the time.
My grand am did not have a easy life
I was very hard on it. :D

You didn't do anything wrong, the links are inserted automatically by Google Ads or Skimlinks or whichever program VK is signed up with.

They are inserted based on certain keywords and VK gets a small kickback if someone uses them to buy something, or maybe even if someone just uses the link to browse whatever site is being promoted.

Kamakiri (aka Tim) can probably give more accurate details.
I see no links at all in that post.

.

I see no links at all in that post.

.

Possibly you are missing a browser plug in required to make them work or maybe you have an ad blocker installed?

I have never taken a car to a repair shop or a jiffy lube.
I have never had a car i own repaired by some one other than me.
I have taken sub assembly's such as cylinder heads to a machine shop
This is amazing. When you know that i have slight cerebral palsy and that i owned A american car with a quad four in it for 20 years.

Great little engine the quad four :D
I always drove my w41 ho quad four equipped grand am like i had just stole it
:D
I am looking to buy a house but right now i rent a room in a house
I have done oil changes in my landladys driveway but she might not let
Me do any thing more complicated than that in her driveway.

Hopefully nothing goes wrong with my sx till i find a house.
I need to quit revin it up to 6900 rpm.

I repair everything myself including complex electronics plumbing etc

Took driver's ed in a brand spanking new Beretta, an '88? They had just come out. A couple months later some other kids were out on a drive and someone else ran a redlight and totalled it. Now, there is some fool riding around town in one with historic plates.

My current drivers except for the last:
All are rust free and original paint.

1990 CRX Si

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m305/rob89m3/Hondapics/DSCF0194.jpg


1988 Civic LX

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m305/rob89m3/1988%20CIVIC%20LX/IMG_0725.jpg


1991 Civic Si (garage queen)

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m305/rob89m3/1991%20Civic%20Si/74296309.jpg

Nice crx

I want one

My daily driver is a 2003 Ford Crown Vic
Wife drives our 05 F-250 and it is 4x4
1976 Ford Maverick Stallion, ordered it in Sept of 75, 17k original miles, have been showing it, drag racing it since I bought it when I was 18.
1966 Chevy C-10 454 th 400
2001 Grand Marquis, parents last car they bought
1988 Mustang GT ordered it in Sept of 87, 14k original miles
1979 Z-28, bought it the night John Lennon was murdered :(
1960 Pontiac Catalina
1998 Pontiac Bonneville 412k miles
1972 Maverick Sprint, project
1972 Maverick Grabber, project
1977 Maverick 4dr
1949 Ford F1, field fresh
1956 Chevy 150, 350 Muncie M21, lotsa fun!
1930 Ford Model A blindback,, pretty much a low mileage original car. very rare body style.
2003 Harley Davidson Road King, bought it new
1973 Triumph 750 Bonneville
1976 Maverick Stallion parts car.
1949 IH Farmall tractor
and a 1959 Shasta canned ham camper,, my little man cave

I have enough to keep me busy lol

Daily driver is a 2001 Lincoln Town Car. 176,000 trouble free miles and still going strong. I'm often tempted to step up to a newer model, but I hate to get rid of it when it's still providing dependable service.....not to mention the fact that since it's a Lincoln, it's a nice comfortable car to drive.

Have a 1973 Ford LTD in the garage that's been in my family since new. 109,000 miles and the biggest thing ever done to it mechanically was a brake job.

Daily driver is a 2001 Lincoln Town Car. 176,000 trouble free miles and still going strong. I'm often tempted to step up to a newer model, but I hate to get rid of it when it's still providing dependable service.....not to mention the fact that since it's a Lincoln, it's a nice comfortable car to drive. .
You cant step up ! As you probably know Ford dont make that chassis anymore. Thats why I will keep my Crown Vic & Grand Marques til
the end then replace them with the same thing. Ford Panther chassis
was the last of the true economy family sedans that were safe &
comfortable. GM gave up in 1997............

73 Zeno:smoke:

Your right, Zeno. What I meant by "step up" was to an '09 or '10 model. The only thing I've noticed is that prices on those (with low miles) aren't dropping nearly as fast as they used to. I'd say it's because they are no longer being made, and there is still certainly a demand for them.

There are no other cars on the market today that (dollar-for-dollar) can touch them.

As of right now:
2010 Dodge Challenger R/T 5.7 Hemi
1997 Mercury Mountaineer 5.0
1966 Dodge Coronet conv. 383 4 speed
1962 Cadillac (Miller Meteor) Hearse. 390
1947 Dodge coupe 440,4speed,Dana 60..........not being driven,unfinished.
1937 Plymouth Business coupe,318,4speed


http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff289/grimer66/47d_zpse6035878.jpg (http://s242.photobucket.com/user/grimer66/media/47d_zpse6035878.jpg.html)
http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff289/grimer66/mrsgrimerrt_zpsb7967248.jpg (http://s242.photobucket.com/user/grimer66/media/mrsgrimerrt_zpsb7967248.jpg.html)
http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff289/grimer66/bod_rod01a_zpsb6f736ba.jpg (http://s242.photobucket.com/user/grimer66/media/bod_rod01a_zpsb6f736ba.jpg.html)

I HAD, for awhile, a 1951 Chevy 3800 TON Panel Wagon..4 on the floor, extra-extra-extra large pizza sized steering wheel..Think it hit all of 50-55 MPH top speed...Drifted horribly, you never knew quite what lane you were in.. 216 6 cylinder..Hard to believe people actually drove these things for a living...

Wow, never realized there were so many cool car owners here. I just have a 1991 Ford Tempo with the 2.3HSC and lethargic 3 speed and a 1993 Ford F150 with the mighty 300 six inline six and five speed.
http://videokarma.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=178847&stc=1&d=1370406317
http://videokarma.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=178846&stc=1&d=1370406249]

They're both a bit high on the milage, and they're not much too look at, and eahc has their own set of quirks, but they're both paid for. :banana::thmbsp:

I'm hoping to add this 1991 Grand Marquis to the mix, alledgely with just 41K on the clock. I had an 85 and loved it.
http://videokarma.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=178848&stc=1&d=1370406317

http://paintforcars.com/Merchant2/images/Photo06011138_1.jpg

Ah, Rod! Your '91 Tempo brings back many wonderful memories of why I will never own a Ford again! My wife had that same year in red, and it was a dog through and through! Hope you never have to change a water pump on that thing!

It went to the shop over and over again for a deafening bearing noise-no shop could ever determine the cause, but all of the pulley components were changed over about a zillion times. It ate serpentine belts and bled oil everywhere-with only 60k on the odometer!

I did a lot of work on that car in the 18 months that we had it, and most of the respect I lost from Ford was how poorly their shop manual was written for that car. I don't know how many times I would come upon some cramped assembly that obviously required a special tool to change it out, and the Ford manual simply stated "take out the old one and put a new on in". Just shameful!

My last drive in it was nice. I had to drive it 5 miles to the dealership for a trade in. While it had been fine the day before, on this day, I started it up, and I had no power steering. I popped the hood, and was greeted to a running engine with no motion on the serpentine belt. So, I sped off to the dealership with no AC, alternator, water pump or power steering and crawled onto the lot with an overheated, dead battery mess. They still took it, though.

Yikes, sounds like you got a lemon. Mine has been alright as far as reliabilty and driveability since I've had it, thankfully. I did have to replace the starter on it. The air doesn'r work in it though, and I've had little problems, like the AC switchbox not working properly, the headlight switch is also messed up, and has one hairtrigger position that lights bot hthe headlight and tail lights. It's one of Ford's lower end cars, that much is obvious, and with it's boxy appearence, OHV motor and 3 speed auto, was dated in 91 and especially 94 when it was discontinued.

Here's me with my car Clyde, a 1957 Imperial. Aka "Clyde the Ride" :D

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/543715_500782639970385_1785341873_n.jpg

I built this replica of KITT from Knight Rider out of an 82 Trans Am. Sold late last year, sadly. :(

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/72243_1683619612037_2302991_n.jpg

LOVE that Imperial...1st use of curved sideglass on a "Major" brand...That, & the heroic Exner fins...Possibly the BEST looking car of 1957..

I wish I still had my '59 Imperial.

My favorite Imperial is the 1966 "Black Beauty" from the Green Hornet TV series. It's also the only custom car I really like. The car I want most though is a base model 1981 or 1982 Mercury Lynx 2-door in medium blue metallic with a medium wedgewood blue interior, 4-speed manual and of course one of my factory 8-track stereos. Here's a pic of one, but in a different color.

Yikes, sounds like you got a lemon. Mine has been alright as far as reliabilty and driveability since I've had it, thankfully. I did have to replace the starter on it. The air doesn'r work in it though, and I've had little problems, like the AC switchbox not working properly, the headlight switch is also messed up, and has one hairtrigger position that lights bot hthe headlight and tail lights. It's one of Ford's lower end cars, that much is obvious, and with it's boxy appearence, OHV motor and 3 speed auto, was dated in 91 and especially 94 when it was discontinued.

My brother bought a 1990 Mercury Topaz for his wife, at the end of the model year.
The car had many options on it for a $9,000 car. Air, power windows, auto transmission and stereo radio and tape, etc. Also a decent color exterior. Deep metallic red. They only drove it for fifteen years.
Crazy little problems like an accelerator cable that snapped in heavy traffic and a few other minor problems.
Good value for the money. :yes:

LOVE that Imperial...1st use of curved sideglass on a "Major" brand...That, & the heroic Exner fins...Possibly the BEST looking car of 1957..
It's too bad so many of them were scrapped early in their life. The MoPars of the day, didn't have much of a demand on the used car market. Poor fit and finish, as well as an early rusting problem, sealed their demise. :tears:

kv-1926r,

why would anyone want one of those pieces of poo ...

had one, 1982, lynx, black with red interior, 4cyl., manual transmission
purchased new (ok-i was young and didnt know any better)

what a embarrassment for the Ford Motor Company




thankfully ... nearly all of the escort/lynx have found their way to scrap yards and recycle mills

kv-1926r,

why would anyone want one of those pieces of poo ...

had one, 1982, lynx, black with red interior, 4cyl., manual transmission
purchased new (ok-i was young and didnt know any better)

what a embarrassment for the Ford Motor Company




thankfully ... nearly all of the escort/lynx have found their way to scrap yards and recycle mills
You should have bought a Chevy Citation and found out what a real piece of junk was. How many GM "X" cars survived the test of time. :scratch2:

yeah ... one seldom sees a GM X car, or the escort/lynx on the road today
same with the Chrysler K's ... they are disappearing fast as well ...

I disagree on the K cars.... I still see a few running around NY, and with little rust. The Escorts usually had the motor blow up after 70K miles, junk yards here had tons of them with no heads. X-cars also filled the junk yards pretty early... They didn't even get time to rust.... Both of them almost as bad as Yougo's, which I have seen a few in the junk yards with their original battery.... That's pretty bad...

A strange thing on batteries, Both our ford/mercury LTD's (79 & 87) had the original Ford battery live for 9 years.....

K-cars were easy to get parts for and keep running. My parents ordered a Reliant SE wagon with a 2.2 liter (I advised against the 2.6 mitsubishi, though it might have had more torque) and 4-speed and that K was a much better car than my Grandmas 1980 Pontiac Phoenix, which caused her first (and last) accident with its wacky-ass brakes. Changing the plugs on the back half of the 2.8 V6 was a pain, but it was a good motor. I still cant believe she traded a 1969 Mercedes 220 diesel for that POS

K's did have a negative image from day 1 because it was a result of a government "Bailout" IIRC, but Lee Iacocca had a good design compared to others. Too bad they never redesigned the transmission enough when they started making Voyagers and Caravans.

I could never get an Escort or Lynx to run right with that Italian-made Holley 2V progressive linkage carburetor. I had to buy a rebuilt carb every time.
A friend replaced the clutch on his girlfriend's Escort then found out the cheap firewall was flexing when the clutch pedal was pushed, after he was finished.

Yeah - the 80s...good electronics but not such good cars
I was sick when family members traded good, but worn 60's and early 70s cars in for that JUNK!!

I make no apologies for my taste in cars.

There were a number of fords where the dash flexed and broke with the new hydrologic clutch mounted on the fire wall. Place I worked had a f150 4x4 '87 inline 6 with that clutch failing a few times.... Pain to get that fixed. A friend had a T-bird with clutch cable, still cracked the fire wall.

KV- you can have the car of your dreams...... but that car was a nightmare for a bunch-a-people.... I worked on many of those first run Escorts, they were sorry to say really cheap junk. I'm sure those and X cars helped sell lots of Honda's and Toyotas.... The Quad 4 sold me my Prelude.

It's too bad so many of them were scrapped early in their life. The MoPars of the day, didn't have much of a demand on the used car market. Poor fit and finish, as well as an early rusting problem, sealed their demise. :tears:

I hear a lot of guys mention how they made great demo-derby cars... that or the Hemis were pulled out by the hot rodders. :(

This car came from the California central valley... only rust problem is a spot about an inch round on the rear passenger side rocker. It was garage kept and still has the original vinyl padded dash and door panels. :thmbsp:

I loved my grand am that i transplanted a w41 ho quad four into.
Drove it for over 20 years put over 450,000 miles on it
Very fast and cheap to own
I did all of the repairs and maintenance my self.
No prelude ever out ran me :D

My w41 was extrude honed had hollow aftermarket cams - - etc
Lots of modifications
It had about 230+ hp and it was reliable

I drove it very hard all the time like a idiot. :D
I drove it like i stole it

My favorite Imperial is the 1966 "Black Beauty" from the Green Hornet TV series. It's also the only custom car I really like. The car I want most though is a base model 1981 or 1982 Mercury Lynx 2-door in medium blue metallic with a medium wedgewood blue interior, 4-speed manual and of course one of my factory 8-track stereos. Here's a pic of one, but in a different color.

I had two of those, back 20 years ago. Wait, three....one was a wagon.

I liked them, they were kinda neat. I made a body kit for one of them too.....out of plastic gutters, and painted it same color as the car. It actually looked really good!

Although I did like the 85 1/2 Escort/Lynx style better....when they came out, I was amazed at the sexy European look they had. Well, after all, it was 1985...... ;)

The Escort EXP was a good one too. Such an improvement over the Pinto-Mustang II "POS platform".
I knew many who had the Lynx-Escorts, always lending a hand to fix them. It was a "world car", using much design from Ford of Cologne Germany.

Ford of Cologne Germany gave us the Mercury Capri from 1971-76, a true pocket rocket with that wicked-running 2.8 V6, but the body rusted bad and electrical system was a disaster, they kept running long after the garages refused to pass inpsection on them.

The chevette also had lots of critics but the simplicity of rear wheel drive made them so easy to fix.

K-cars were easy to get parts for and keep running. My parents ordered a Reliant SE wagon with a 2.2 liter (I advised against the 2.6 mitsubishi, though it might have had more torque) and 4-speed and that K was a much better car than my Grandmas 1980 Pontiac Phoenix, which caused her first (and last) accident with its wacky-ass brakes. Changing the plugs on the back half of the 2.8 V6 was a pain, but it was a good motor. I still cant believe she traded a 1969 Mercedes 220 diesel for that POS

K's did have a negative image from day 1 because it was a result of a government "Bailout" IIRC, but Lee Iacocca had a good design compared to others. Too bad they never redesigned the transmission enough when they started making Voyagers and Caravans.

I could never get an Escort or Lynx to run right with that Italian-made Holley 2V progressive linkage carburetor. I had to buy a rebuilt carb every time.
A friend replaced the clutch on his girlfriend's Escort then found out the cheap firewall was flexing when the clutch pedal was pushed, after he was finished.

Yeah - the 80s...good electronics but not such good cars
I was sick when family members traded good, but worn 60's and early 70s cars in for that JUNK!!

The 2.8 GM, wasn't that good of an engine either. They used them in S-10's and Blazers. The people that bought the 4 cylinder, had a lot better luck.
GM, also sold those to AMC for the Jeep Cherokee. Bad choice.

Regarding the people that grumble about the government bailout of the auto industry, Chrysler paid back the money, with interest, in less time, than planned.
I have no problems with the GM bailout, even though, I'm not crazy about their products.
How many more people do you want on the unemployement line? :sigh:

I had two of those, back 20 years ago. Wait, three....one was a wagon.

I liked them, they were kinda neat. I made a body kit for one of them too.....out of plastic gutters, and painted it same color as the car. It actually looked really good!

Although I did like the 85 1/2 Escort/Lynx style better....when they came out, I was amazed at the sexy European look they had. Well, after all, it was 1985...... ;)
I saw the wagon version of the one I want on Craigslist one time, seems that it sold fairly quickly. The '84 we had when I was a kid had some problems when we first got it that were mostly caused by abusive previous owners. Once everything was fixed it performed quite well, its performance in the snow being especially good. Unfortunately it was sold in favor of a hand-down Dodge Lancer that developed a myriad of problems, just because the Dodge was a 4-door. An upstairs neighbor had an '84 Lynx that held up quite well in a rear-end collision, only the bumper was ruined. Ford kind of shot themselves in the foot in regards to earlier models with the interference engine, they failed to educate the public to replace the timing belt every 60k.

I have a bunch of the harder-to-find, mostly NOS non-mechanical parts for the 1981-early 1985 models, including the little black hubcaps that were exclusive to the lower-trim models. A 1981-82 grille hangs on the wall above my desk. One good thing about this car's lack of popularity as that many parts can be had cheap. I figure it was better to start stockpiling these parts when I did, rather than trying to find the parts when the need comes up.

The 2.8 GM, wasn't that good of an engine either.

Maybe not in a Blazer, but my 88 year old neighbor(may he rest in piece) had an 89 Chevy Celebrity with a 2.8 and a three speed auto, and even with over 200k on the clock, that thing was zippy. I loved driving it.

Those Shitvettes were as exciting as watching paint dry, but were almost as reliable as hammers-Front engine, rear-wheel drive, a combination that was well & truly understood by the late Sixties/early Seventies..Didn't they soldier on til '85 or so ?

The 2.8 GM, wasn't that good of an engine either. They used them in S-10's and Blazers. The people that bought the 4 cylinder, had a lot better luck.
GM, also sold those to AMC for the Jeep Cherokee. Bad choice.

Regarding the people that grumble about the government bailout of the auto industry, Chrysler paid back the money, with interest, in less time, than planned.
I have no problems with the GM bailout, even though, I'm not crazy about their products.
How many more people do you want on the unemployement line? :sigh:

Roger that, Pontiac made the Iron Duke 2.5 4 cylinder a workhorse four, maybe because their experience making fours like the ones in the early 60's Tempest.:D

The only problem with the Chevettes is the front suspension was weak, cross-member issues and threw the camber way off. I remember seeing a lot of ads for alignments and in small print said "toe in only on chevettes". I owned a '76 Capri(or crappi) as a lot of people said but was a pretty good car except for the C3 automatic which started pouring fluid out of the torque converter seal. Only $300 to rebuild the trans(those were the days!!)

IIRC, the Chevette was GM's 1st "World Car", a design that with small modifications, could be sold in virtually any market they serviced. I THOUGHT most of the initial design work was done in South America, I could be wrong. Think they called it the "T" car at the time..It was, in '76, however, a design that was on the way out, for the nominative car design from then til now has basically been a transverse-engine, front wheel drive set up..

Super duty or ho versions of the iron duke are pretty kool
3200 cc ho 4 banger

When I was in high school in the early 80's the student parking lot was literally half full of Chevettes or Pontiac T1000s with an occasional Ford Fiesta or Dodge Omni thrown in. They had absolutly no resale value, which is why they were popular with kids cause they were cheap. The other half of the cars were old farm trucks, or 70's era family trucksters (my group), or old muscle cars that had no resale value thanks to $1/gallon gas.

By the time I went to college in the late 80's Escorts had replaced most Chevettes. I can tell you they didn't last as long as either. But, like the Chevette, most people drove them 'till they fell apart because they just weren't worth anything on a trade in.

SandyG, I like your avatar. That is a REAL CAR!

Yeah, what is that, anyway? I used to think it was a Roadmaster with the roof chopped off. :/ *shame*

There's only 1 four door, suicide door, American convertible that I know of ;)

-J

There's only 1 four door, suicide door, American convertible that I know of ;)

-J

Yep, my Lincoln.. 1967, they made approx. 2300 of 'em..We THINK there are 7-800 survivors..

Yep, my Lincoln.. 1967, they made approx. 2300 of 'em..We THINK there are 7-800 survivors..

I do recall some structural issues with 'em but yours does appear to be a nice clean example!

wow ... this thread has brought back memories of my '82 Mercury Lynx
was young and had $ ... didn't know any better at the time ... live and learn
bought it new from Marion Ford Lincoln Mercury
been 31 years so I don't remember what the sticker price was
a pretty little thing, 2 door hatchback, black with red vinyl interior, am radio and a/c ...

so weak the engine was I never turned the a/c on until it reached cruising speed, and had to switch it off if I was in heavy traffic and needed acceleration
enormous keys!!! what a dumb idea Ford had there
paper thin driver and passenger door window glass
interior vinyl, panels and carpet faded rapidly and driver seat cracked
dash actually came loose from firewall ... had to find a long Phillips screwdriver and tighten screws
blew head gasket for no known reason, H2O pump went out, timing belt jumped teeth before scheduled replacement
relay in a/c went out ... jumpered it rather than spend a fortune for replacement
hydraulic lifters for hatchback lasted maybe 2 years


... but it did have 4 Michelin XZX radial tires ... lasted the life of the car

don't miss the car at all

should have kept the "73 AMC Hornet Levi's Edition

One of my customers was a diesel mechanic and his grocery getter for many, many years was an Escort diesel. Had to be a rare bird! Early 80s. He may still have it. One thing I always used to notice about the (gas) Escorts was how buzzy the engine was. I'm guessing bad motor mounts? Never noticed it with the Focus.

I still see a fair number of K-cars on the road. Lots of older folks who don't run their cars too hard...one couple I know have been running a Reliant wagon forever. I probably see a half-dozen Aries/Reliants for every Citation these days.

Re: weak engines, I was dating this girl and she had a genetic disposition for lousy cars. (among the jewels she drove while I knew her were a Chevette, a turd-brown 4cyl/4spd 83 Ranger and a Buick Regal that must not have had any shock absorbers left at all-one of the most dangerous things I ever drove) At one point her parents managed to buy a used Geo Metro 4dr with a 3 cyl and AT. I remember us all piling in the car one night, they were going down the highway at maybe 50mph and decided to turn the AC on. Comical-it really was like throwing out an anchor. I think it lost 10mph!

I knew someone that had a diesel Chevette years ago!! Ok, it was his girlfriends car at the time but I did ride in it once!

As I recall, the 1961-69 Lincolns used suicide doors to ease the stress on the then-new unibody construction.

In Canada, the Pontiac T1000 was badged as the Pontiac Acadian. It and the Chevette were produced until 1987.

I knew someone with an '84 or '85 Oldsmobile Omega. It ended up needing an engine job when someone dropped part of a spark plug into the head, which blew a hole in a piston when the engine was turned over.

wow ... this thread has brought back memories of my '82 Mercury Lynx
was young and had $ ... didn't know any better at the time ... live and learn
bought it new from Marion Ford Lincoln Mercury


Wow, I remember Marion Ford. When I was a teenager my Dad's Town Car had the water pump go out on the way home from KY and had it fixed there. Must have been a weakness with the 351 because two years later it went out again when we were in Branson.

When I was at SIU I used to walk up to Vogler Ford in Carbondale when they were on the strip and look at all the new cars and get brochures. I actually won a car from them at a Saluki baseball game. I had the choice of taking the car or taking $100. I took the money. That should tell you how good the car was!

One of my customers was a diesel mechanic and his grocery getter for many, many years was an Escort diesel. Had to be a rare bird! Early 80s. He may still have it. One thing I always used to notice about the (gas) Escorts was how buzzy the engine was. I'm guessing bad motor mounts? Never noticed it with the Focus.
Not really, they pop up on eBay every now and then. The Escort and Lynx were available with a diesel engine for the 1984-87 model years. The diesel engines were Mazda-built and are known for cracked heads.

I know about a dozen quick fixes for Chevette problems. That's the problem with having been in the parts business for 25 years, you're left with a lot of outdated useless knowledge :)

I remember the days when parts stores were stocked with whole aisles of e-brake cables, carb kits, ignition tune up stuff, and bondo. Not so anymore. I laughed pretty hard when a guy ahead of me in line came in for points and condenser for a 1995 Mercury Grand Marquis, and everyone in the store including the manager couldn't find the application :D.

I came up to the manager and said "Ford hasn't used points since 1974".

Newbies.....

That last story, talk about the blind leading the blind!

Whenever I think of an Omega I think of a customer I had, and older Scottish gentleman (least I think that was where he was from, his accent was hard to peg.) He kept that Olds as clean as a pin, and it was a really pretty shade of green. Often wonder what became of him and that car.

I do recall some structural issues with 'em but yours does appear to be a nice clean example!

Well, yes, & no. When they were introduced for the 1961 model year, there was a resonance that manifested itself at hiway cruising speeds..The solution was to place 4 50 lb weights in the front fenders & the tail, they acted as harmonic balancers. Occasionally, a convertible could be parked on uneven ground in such a way that the doors wouldn't open easily.. The WORST thing was to be rear-ended in a collision, they tended to collapse at the rear edge of the back doors. My car, I've had it to an indicated 100 MPH, & it had PLENTY left, had I wanted to "Press the Issue"... But I backed down, as I thought, you're in a 25 yr old car w/questionable brakes, loosy-goosy front end, no top..So I slowed down to a mere 70, as if that would have made a whole HELLUVA lot of difference..The problem w/these barges was their WEIGHT... My pervertible weighs in at something like 5500 lbs..W/o me in it. The only heavier production cars were the Caddy Fleetwood limos..After a couple of panic stops from hiway speeds, stopping was an article of Faith.. But most of these were driven quite sedately, so they never really had to explore the limits of the car's suspension/braking abilities..

egrand,
have purchased a bunch of vehicles from Marion Ford
82 lynx, 4 ranger pickups, hyundia tiburon, a ford contour that the salesman told me was the 1st of that model they had sold, and a mercury mystique
once was a great place to buy vehicles...but the new owners have destroyed that place...woudn't wish that experience on anyone now
never have purchased from Vogler...I drive within a block of their old location on hwy 51 every day...think they still own the building and use as a parts warehouse

Well my daily driver is an '89 Ford Probe, basically a rebodied mazda 323.

as for my projects..

1966 volvo 122s wagon
1964 honda trail 90 motorcycle
1939 dodge roadster pickup
1939 plymouth roadster

I remember when those Probes came out, I was a detailer at a Ford dealership at the time. They came with a sheet of paper on the front seat, showing how the plastic clips that were on the rear window were to hold the glass to the frame of the rear window while the adhesive cured during transport. I still have one of those papers :)

They had a Nascar edition (as I remember) turbo in 89 too. I LOVED those. Fast as hell :)

I brive a dus ..... i dus a brive

I brive a dus ..... i dus a brive
The Honeymooners was an honestly funny series. I liked the mother in law. She could really get to him.
BTW, the TV's shown on the series, weren't Dumonts, they were CBS-Columbia's. :scratch2:

Not sensible as every day transport but I've driven about 25k miles in the last 20 years in this.

Peter


http://www.nostaliatech.co.uk/ss_jaguar.htm
https://i.postimg.cc/KzQ8TTzs/JVS-002.jpg

Wow...... nice little car ya got there.....

Thanks SB. It was one of the fastest saloons on British roads back in the 1930s (0 to 60mph in 17 secs) but most modern cars today can leave it standing.

Peter

This list was compiled by the Autocar in 1936 and the accompanying text highlights how few saloons had more than 3HP/100lb weight.

I have highlighted them with red dots.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh103/pmscott6135/powerLarge.jpg

Figures the Scotch would name styles of cars after American slang for establishments that serve alcohol...Was it okay to consume alcohol in your saloons back in the day?

Gorgeous car and gorgeous countryside there Peter. I bet you've had a lot of great trips in it.

I'm surprised to see Railton listed as an American car. I know the frame was imported from Hudson in the States, but everything else was made in Britain, wasn't it?

The frame AND engine and transmission were Hudson so it was really only the body that Railton added. The straight eight was a nice fast car. Went up Brooklands 1 in 3 test hill from a standing start and lept over the top!

http://www.classiccar.com/forum/uploads/thumbnails/media/kunena/attachments/46920/Forum%20Jumping%20Railton_125196036346920.jpg

I guess back then it was ok to drive whilst tanked up but you needed to close one eye to do it or you kept having to choose which road to take.

Peter :zoom:

Not sensible as every day transport but I've driven about 25k miles in the last 20 years in this.

Peter
Looks like something out of Bonnie and Clyde, but flipped.

Currently I drive nothing. -_-

Battery is bone dead. And because my job recruiter kept blowing me off, I have no job, and a negative checking account. I am done for now. Damnit! Batteries warranty is done too.

The frame AND engine and transmission were Hudson so it was really only the body that Railton added. The straight eight was a nice fast car. Went up Brooklands 1 in 3 test hill from a standing start and lept over the top!

:

Ah, wouldn't it be a thrill today if we could race around Brooklands in one of these cars...

Thanks for the clarification. I really like most pre-war British cars, but I think a few really stand out like the Jags. I like most of their post-war cars too until the Mark 1. Not that it was a bad looking car by any means, but they seemed to lack the elegance of the earlier sedans (saloons to you).

Ah, wouldn't it be a thrill today if we could race around Brooklands in one of these cars...

Thanks for the clarification. I really like most pre-war British cars, but I think a few really stand out like the Jags. I like most of their post-war cars too until the Mark 1. Not that it was a bad looking car by any means, but they seemed to lack the elegance of the earlier sedans (saloons to you).

Especially if it was the ultimate Brooklands gladiator (John Cobb's Napier-Railton)..

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01447/brooklands_1447436c.jpg

There is still a tremendous atmosphere just standing on the parts of the banking that remain.

The 1950s wasn't really a very good period for saloon/sedan elegance (with the odd exception from the likes of Citroen). I agree that the Mark I could be better but the Mark II was much improved with its thin framed side windows.

Peter

Well, the early postwar years were a sellers' market, they could sell anything/everything they could push out the factory doors... This situation lasted here in America at least until 1949-50. Only then did you see "Progress" being made in automotive design, I.E. more power & ease of control. its also when the car companies got a formula-Front Engine, rear drive, & set about perfecting it, making the car as reliable w/as little maintenance from the owner. That "Formula" lasted into the 1970s-early eighties, til the front engine/front wheel drive package began to dominate, as it still does today.

Just recently purchased this 2011 Ford F-150 XL. It has the V6 with a 6sp automatic. Just about 43,000 miles on it.
http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y440/countryford83/2011ford_zps40b49f19.jpg (http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/countryford83/media/2011ford_zps40b49f19.jpg.html)

This is my 1969 Ford F-100 Custom Heavy Duty Special. I've had it for over 3 years now. It was bought new here in Phoenix and has spent its entire life here. Slowly restoring it. It has a 360 V8 with a 4spd manual.
http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y440/countryford83/Cars/002_zps726443c1.jpg (http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/countryford83/media/Cars/002_zps726443c1.jpg.html)

Just acquired this from my father-in-law. 1956 Thunderbird
http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y440/countryford83/Cars/013_zps0efaf759.jpg (http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/countryford83/media/Cars/013_zps0efaf759.jpg.html)


This is my dad's 1960 Thunderbird that one day will be mine. It has the 352 V8 automatic with factory pwr windows and a/c.
http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y440/countryford83/33_zps4166d8f7.jpg (http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/countryford83/media/33_zps4166d8f7.jpg.html)

This 1981 Delorean, I had to sell about 3 years ago. Needed the money. I still miss it. One day I will get another one. Took 5 years to restore it.
http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y440/countryford83/38_zps6b4ae8d8.jpg (http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/countryford83/media/38_zps6b4ae8d8.jpg.html)

I also had a 1974 Gran Torino that got wrecked about 5 years ago. I loved that car.

Not quite as nice as some of the cars here, but this little guy got me around for almost 8 years. It was my first car, a 1989 Ford Festiva my neighbor sold me shortly after I turned 15.

It was really run down (I got it for $200) and nobody expected the car to last long, but I proved them wrong by buying a repair manual and learning how to fix it. The car never left me stranded, and I drove it cross-country several times.

I sold it to a mechanic, who still drives it daily, when I got a 2006 Toyota Rav4. It's nice having a newer car, but it just doesn't have the character my Festiva had.

Another vehicle I had, which I still regret selling, was this 1976 Ford Courier. Probably the only truck I've driven that got 40 mpg.

I found it on Craigslist as a project that never got finished. The guy had already done some bodywork and fixed a bunch of mechanical issues. All I had to do was drop in the newly rebuilt engine.

It was a fun, quirky little truck. Driving it was a real learning experience. It introduced me to the world of points and condensers, lap seatbelts, choke knobs, non-power steering, mechanical lifters and manual drum brakes.

Sadly, times were tight and I had to sell the Courier. I really should have sucked it up and kept the truck, I've never seen another quite like it.

Somehow that looks more like a Toyota than a ford to me.

Somehow that looks more like a Toyota than a ford to me.

Almost...it's a rebadged Mazda B1800

Tim, great to see that Courier! My father had one in the late 70s, it was his "gas crunch" vehicle. Man, that thing was tough. I remember him stacking firewood until it was above the cab roof, constantly abusing that thing. People told him it would be worn out at 50k. Sure enough, as soon as the odometer rolled over it started burning oil like crazy.

Festivas always seemed to popular with mechanics...when they were new there were several guys at the local Ford dealer shop who used them as daily drivers. My wife had one before we met, totalled when somebody rear ended her at a stoplight.

Thanks!

The Northwest is a virtual museum of old cars. Stuff you'd never see anywhere else still roams the roads. Classic Minis (sold new here in the 60s), WWII-era farm trucks, DeLoreans, Yugos, Checker Marathons, Honda CVCCs, Daihatsu Rockys...you name it, it's probably out there.

I liked the Festiva because it was a very simple car. Not much to go wrong and very easy to fix. Which is probably what made it popular with mechanics. And virtually every part interchanged with Kias and Mazdas. To this day Festivas have quite a cult following.

Those Couriers didn't survive the years well, unfortunately. They were built with thin sheet metal and the tiny engine wasn't powerful enough. Despite all that, they could handle a real pounding and never complained. Mine had a pretty rough life, and was cobbled together with the best of a half dozen trucks.

You ever seen a Mazda REPU? It was a variant of a Courier with a rotary engine. Incredibly rare and probably the only rotary-powered truck ever made.


-Tim

Tim, great to see that Courier! My father had one in the late 70s, it was his "gas crunch" vehicle. Man, that thing was tough. I remember him stacking firewood until it was above the cab roof, constantly
abusing that thing. People told him it would be worn out at 50k. Sure enough, as soon as the odometer rolled over it started burning oil like crazy.

Festivas always seemed to popular with mechanics...when they were new there were several guys at the local Ford dealer shop who used them as daily drivers. My wife had one before we met, totalled when somebody rear ended her at a stoplight.

I've only seen the REPU (I didn't know it by name until you mentioned it) in pictures. As a little kid I thought my Dad was saying that his truck had a "Monza" engine! I used to always sit in the middle of the seat and he would let me do the shifting while he worked the clutch. One of his favorite things to do: just near our house was what passes as a hill around here (not much of one!) and every time we would get to that spot in the road Dad would kill the ignition, let it coast down the hill, then turn the key back on causing a real nice series of backfires. He did that pretty much every single time-I'm sure the neighbors were thrilled! Another time I recall him driving through a corn field, around harvest time...I'm not sure why he would have done that, but I was by his side as usual and it was a ball...there were so many cornstalks stuck in the front that he had to pull the grille off to clean it out. He had rollbars on it, and painted it about once a year. (started off baby blue, then it was white, then finally a pretty dark blue metallic) When he went to trade it in (on a used '76 Dodge D100) the salesman made the mistake of not taking the Courier for a test drive, so he found out too late about all the blue smoke.

Sounds like you had a fun Dad! Couldn't see mine ever driving through cornfields or letting me shift.

I used to do the exact backfiring trick your Dad did. It would also backfire if I let the clutch go too quickly while the engine was still cold. The neighbors probably rejoiced when I finally sold it.

Usually you hear about the dealer nickle-and-diming people on their trade ins. Sounds like your Dad turned the tables on them. I know I'd be grinning from ear to ear if I traded in my beater and they didn't bother to take it for a spin...

I've only seen the REPU (I didn't know it by name until you mentioned it) in pictures. As a little kid I thought my Dad was saying that his truck had a "Monza" engine! I used to always sit in the middle of the seat and he would let me do the shifting while he worked the clutch. One of his favorite things to do: just near our house was what passes as a hill around here (not much of one!) and every time we would get to that spot in the road Dad would kill the ignition, let it coast down the hill, then turn the key back on causing a real nice series of backfires. He did that pretty much every single time-I'm sure the neighbors were thrilled! Another time I recall him driving through a corn field, around harvest time...I'm not sure why he would have done that, but I was by his side as usual and it was a ball...there were so many cornstalks stuck in the front that he had to pull the grille off to clean it out. He had rollbars on it, and painted it about once a year. (started off baby blue, then it was white, then finally a pretty dark blue metallic) When he went to trade it in (on a used '76 Dodge D100) the salesman made the mistake of not taking the Courier for a test drive, so he found out too late about all the blue smoke.

worked on many of those courier trucks back in my wrenching days.i liked them.i also liked the ford pinto.saw many of those with well over 150k on them and still going strong.my current daily driver is a 1995 cadillac hearse.55k with a red leather interior.350 LT1 under the hood that gets 27 mpg on the highway.intown i can get 21 mpg.i get many strange looks and some people actually pull over when they see me coming

worked on many of those courier trucks back in my wrenching days.i liked them.i also liked the ford pinto.saw many of those with well over 150k on them and still going strong.my current daily driver is a 1995 cadillac hearse.55k with a red leather interior.350 LT1 under the hood that gets 27 mpg on the highway.intown i can get 21 mpg.i get many strange looks and some people actually pull over when they see me coming
Haha :D

I like the 1975-78 Mercury Bobcat wagons, the Pinto is just slightly too plain looking for my liking. Then for 1979-80, the Bobcat shared front-end sheet metal with the Pinto, so I don't care much for either of those.

like the 2300 engine myself.those were good little cars that got a bad rap over the gas tank.of course if any car got hit from behind at 100 mph i think they would burst into flames too

The 2300 engine is the better choice, the 2.8 would get hot easily. You're right about other cars being just as likely to catch fire when rear-ended at high speed, no idea why the Pintos and Bobcats got most of the bad PR for it. The wagons are safer in that regard as they use different fuel filler routing and have more clearance between the gas tank and differential bolts.

This is my 1969 Ford F-100 Custom Heavy Duty Special. I've had it for over 3 years now. It was bought new here in Phoenix and has spent its entire life here. Slowly restoring it. It has a 360 V8 with a 4spd manual.
http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y440/countryford83/Cars/002_zps726443c1.jpg (http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/countryford83/media/Cars/002_zps726443c1.jpg.html)

Now that is a familiar face - looks like a nice rust free version of my '68... nice to see someone else here has one

The pinto, Ford, got a bad rap on the gas tank not because it burst into flames at relatively low speed crashes, but mostly for the fact that ford disregarded the lives of their customers when it was revealed they knew about the potential for fires in their own tests. And that for less than $12.00 per car they could have used different bolts, and possibly a shield to keep the tank from getting punctured, and gas spraying in a way to make the fire worse.... The car itself, I liked, but it was no great car and deteriorated quite quickly, like the other american cars of the time.....

When you consider how many were actually made, its hard to believe you almost can't find one on the road today.... But there are actually K-cars running around, even though the pinto had about 1 million more sold in their production run...

The pinto, Ford, got a bad rap on the gas tank not because it burst into flames at relatively low speed crashes, but mostly for the fact that ford disregarded the lives of their customers when it was revealed they knew about the potential for fires in their own tests. And that for less than $12.00 per car they could have used different bolts, and possibly a shield to keep the tank from getting punctured, and gas spraying in a way to make the fire worse.... The car itself, I liked, but it was no great car and deteriorated quite quickly, like the other american cars of the time.....

When you consider how many were actually made, its hard to believe you almost can't find one on the road today.... But there are actually K-cars running around, even though the pinto had about 1 million more sold in their production run...

Yeah, apparently, FoMoCo learnt NOTHING from the Chevy Corvair debacle from about 10 yrs before that...You remember, how the Corvair would flip at relatively slow speeds, but if they'd installed a $15 sway bar on 'em, it pretty much solved the problem ? Sometimes, I REALLY think the car companies SHOULD have been allowed to go under..

I agree mostly with what you said but keep in mind the Pinto was built from 1971-1980 and k-cars went into production from 1981-1995.

Currently driving a 79 pinto daily with the 2.3 and a shield on the front of the gas tank to protect it from the differential :D

SR

Sometimes, I REALLY think the car companies SHOULD have been allowed to go under..

If they had not gotten bailed out they would probably still be around anyway. The politicians all were crying bloody murder that Detroit would go bankrupt...In such a way to make the populace think that bankruptcy would end the auto makers. Which is rubbish. Bankruptcy is not necessarily fatal to a company, and many companies(and other entities) that have gone bankrupt, have recovered and are still in business. In fact Detroit the city just declared bankruptcy in the last few weeks, and I don't think anyone expects them to disappear, but whether they will ever get their act together long enough to get back out remains to be seen...

What would help American cars aside from ending some dumb policies and regulations, is for some smart folks here to start a new auto manufacturer to make affordable cars that are worlds ahead of what is on the market.

The us auto manufacturers have tried for decades to go under, just take a look at some of the interviews the press had with Rick Wagner before the Gov. booted his dumb ass during the bankruptcy of GM. Its as if that guy just left home each day and went golfing. I don't think he had a clue about how to run GM, Same with Bill Ford, they deserve to be living under a bridge in Detroit.

The marketplace would have taken over, some Blackstone would have taken them over like Chrysler. And then again there would still be making crap. Obama did well kicking out Wagner, Ford did well getting Malally, He has a brain.

The whole thing was a testimony to the fact that MBA's don't know how to run a company. A testimony to the government saving large companies from the most corrupt aspects of predatory capitalism. The war machines industry is bailed out repeatedly, annually, as they constantly deliver barely functional over priced crap, that we are forced to pay for, and then store in the desert until people forget about them, and then they are diapered, and new crap added to our endless debt. -- This is an industry we can do without....

The market would have replaced GM, Ford and Chrysler with something better, look at Tesla, a startup that will produce what may be the next generation in transportation. And I say transportation because they are working on a new rail system, who knows if this guy has the smarts to take us into the next generation of travel.... The airlines surely don't have the smarts for it, the crappy three sure don't, and our government can't tie its shoes without shutting down for a week fighting about what kind of knot to use....

The us auto manufacturers have tried for decades to go under, just take a look at some of the interviews the press had with Rick Wagner before the Gov. booted his dumb ass during the bankruptcy of GM. Its as if that guy just left home each day and went golfing. I don't think he had a clue about how to run GM, Same with Bill Ford, they deserve to be living under a bridge in Detroit.

The marketplace would have taken over, some Blackstone would have taken them over like Chrysler. And then again there would still be making crap. Obama did well kicking out Wagner, Ford did well getting Malally, He has a brain.

The whole thing was a testimony to the fact that MBA's don't know how to run a company. A testimony to the government saving large companies from the most corrupt aspects of predatory capitalism. The war machines industry is bailed out repeatedly, annually, as they constantly deliver barely functional over priced crap, that we are forced to pay for, and then store in the desert until people forget about them, and then they are diapered, and new crap added to our endless debt. -- This is an industry we can do without....

The market would have replaced GM, Ford and Chrysler with something better, look at Tesla, a startup that will produce what may be the next generation in transportation. And I say transportation because they are working on a new rail system, who knows if this guy has the smarts to take us into the next generation of travel.... The airlines surely don't have the smarts for it, the crappy three sure don't, and our government can't tie its shoes without shutting down for a week fighting about what kind of knot to use....

Exactly. I have a 1973 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham that my granddad bought new in spring '73. The TOTL model from the TOTL division of GM... And its a POS. Runs DREADFULLY, has ever since it was new. Part of that is the primitive smog control stuff they had back then. But the fit & finish on the whole car is laughable- the whole car feels like its "Loose", like every nut & bolt needs another turn or 2.Door seams are like an 1/8 to a 1/4", & yet they STILL manage to "Rub" in places.. The paint, a metallic silver-grey, felt like suede even when it was new. And of course, Generous Motors, looking for ways to cut costs, even on their $10K Flagship of the Fleet, saved a dollar or 2 by NOT painting under the vinyl top..It started feeling "Sponguey" right around the bottom of the back window around 1977... Even though its an IMMENSE car, usable room inside is at a minimum, due to the "Tubular" nature of the body. The seats are so soft that if you get 3 people sitting abreast, they end up in each others' laps. the interior trim looks like it was designed & installed on a "Close Enuff For Gov't Work" standard. I could go on, but I think you get the message. Yet as awful as it is, its a nice car to have around & show how far we have come in the design & build of cars..

dont know if i posted but i currently drive a 1995 cadillac hearse.350 chevy engine and a federal conversion.top of the line with 55k on the odometer.gray,black vinyl top,red leather interior.it has a marble floor in the back.gas mileage is around 21 mpg in town and 27-28 highway.i got it very cheap and its a smooth ride!

And of course, Generous Motors, looking for ways to cut costs, even on their $10K Flagship of the Fleet, saved a dollar or 2 by NOT painting under the vinyl top..It started feeling "Sponguey" right around the bottom of the back window around 1977... Even though its an IMMENSE car, usable room inside is at a minimum, due to the "Tubular" nature of the body...

Ha Ha Ha ! ! ! This is sooo funny..... Both my '72 and '73 mustangs had vinyl roofs, and guess what..... no paint under the roof..... no paint inside the car on the roof.... as a matter of fact, if you couldn't see it, there was no paint on it.... I can attest to that as I tried for over a decade to stop the rust on those rustangs..... Visibility, and usable room sucked too, as my '89 Prelude had great visibility, and tons more room....

Ha Ha Ha ! ! ! This is sooo funny..... Both my '72 and '73 mustangs had vinyl roofs, and guess what..... no paint under the roof..... no paint inside the car on the roof.... as a matter of fact, if you couldn't see it, there was no paint on it.... I can attest to that as I tried for over a decade to stop the rust on those rustangs..... Visibility, and usable room sucked too, as my '89 Prelude had great visibility, and tons more room....
I noticed how the design of those Mustangs hampered visibility; little doubt that it contributed to the unplanned accident in the original Gone in 60 Seconds.

I don't know about the movie wreck, there was a good one on the starsky & hutch remake when they tried spinning the car around like rockford and hit the front fender on a bunch a parked cars.... Anyway, the mach 1's in that photo were even worse visibility than the coup'e which I had. Brother had a mach 1 and that back window looked only about 2" tall..... didn't even fill the visible area of the inside rear view mirror..... But they were the coolest looking of all the mustangs IMAO, and very very fun to drive, great first cars ! I still wouldn't have had any other first car.... One day I'm gunna find a picture and post it..... I painted mine fresh plum metalic, a gremlin color, with what some called a gay cuda stripe down the side..... Brother had a red and black '71 mach 1 which we repainted to yellow and black. Both our cars had red door jams....

Currently restoring a 69 mach 1... Yeah, that rear window is something else to look out of... :)

SR

When I was about 12 my father built a 69 Mach 1 clone, a good looking car. I remember hoping he would hold onto it until I was 16 but instead he sold it to my older cousin-she pretty much destroyed it. That body remains my favorite Mustang by far. I'm a big fan of fastbacks.

Detroit became immensely inefficient, including when it came to interiors. There are oodles of huge cars from the 60s-70s with almost no rear legroom, yet my plain Jane 51 Ford (a "cheap" car, and not really a large one) looks like a limo in back by comparison. I guess you can trace it all back to the mid/late-50s when style started overtaking substance in a big way. I won't blame it all on the automakers, since America bought what they cranked out in record numbers each year...yet hardly anyone bought Checker Marathons!

Tonight I had a meeting to go to so I took the Ford. I really love that car, and especially love driving it. Coming home, the flathead 6 chugging along, the Bendix playing AM 740 (just in time for the 80s at 8), the Magic Air keeping my feet warm (18 degrees when I got home), go ahead and laugh at my 6 cylinder and 6 volt electric, it works for me!

Marketwatch has a few mustang prototypes that never made production, and another slide show of what they are calling the best over 50 years.....

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/a-look-at-ford-mustangs-that-never-were-2013-12-13#

------------

A friend in high school had a '53 ford 4 door with a 6, and tree mounted manual shift, tube radio in dash, it would come on after we drove about a 1/2 mile... Very nice roomy car..... And yes that car was used to sneak 4 or 5 people into the drive in all those years ago.... I think I could park the Prelude in that car's trunk....

-----------

My dad had a '65 or '66 Corvair Monza which only lasted about a year, many oil leaks, and the 4 single barrel carbs would flood and generally the whole car was not reliable for daily use, so he got rid of it, $200. back in '71.... any takers....? I always thought I would get that car as my first, but it didn't stay long.... Mom hated it because you could smell the exhaust inside... she was a party pooper for that car.... I think it was our only stick shift car, that's why I thought it was cool.....

-------

We got a station that does 80's at noon.... ! Love it ! ! !

The Cad, w/its "Tubular" shaped body, actually "Squashed tubular" would be more correct- is incredibly wasteful of space. F'r instance, the "Tumblehome"-side curvature- is so much, that it is difficult to sit in the drivers' position, & rest yr arm on the door at the window...Its WAY the hell over there, somewhere. The windshield has so much "rake", there must be 2-3" of wasted space from the edge of the dashboard to the base of the windshield.. You could about land a Piper Cub there. The Brougham, w/its 3" longer wheelbase, DOES have a little more legroom in the back seat than its low-rent Sedan DeVille brothers- But it should have a LOT more. You CAN, however, set the reclining/6-way power front seat gizmo to drive it like Superfly-Seat back almost at horizontal, steering wheel almost vertical, seat height almost mashing yr head against the ceiling-Even if you're only 4'11". Actually, this thing is PURE Seventies- It REALLY works well only if you get it out on the Interstate, set the cruise control on 70, the A/C the same place, put on a Seventies radio station, drape yr hand over the wheel, sit back & let the Big Dawg eat up the miles- All the while delivering an IMPRESSIVE 9 MPG.. Arab Sheiks must have been in mourning when the downsized Caddys appeared in '77, & actually almost doubled the mileage of their predecessors..

Sandy, back then a barrel of oil was what $14. so, those caddy's weren't shining OPEC's bank accounts...... but at $100./bl. those 12mpg giant pickups they makin' today.... well, there's some shine over there today!

There was a kinda neat look to those Tubular cars.... I didn't realize just how far those tires stuck out from under the pinto's.... Same for most 70's cars too, I bet that design made for lots of the rust in those quarter panels....

Anyway, the mach 1's in that photo were even worse visibility than the coup'e which I had. Brother had a mach 1 and that back window looked only about 2" tall..... didn't even fill the visible area of the inside rear view mirror..... But they were the coolest looking of all the mustangs IMAO, and very very fun to drive, great first cars !
Agreed on the Mach 1's appearance. Somehow the Grande just doesn't look right to me.

Currently restoring a 69 mach 1... Yeah, that rear window is something else to look out of... :)

SR

Were those the ones with the Venician blinds over the back window.
I thought they were fugly and stupid. :nono:

Agreed on the Mach 1's appearance. Somehow the Grande just doesn't look right to me.

My '73 was a Grande' Original red with black roof, I thought a great color combo. Second best was the '78's Midnight Blue with Chamois vinyl roof and interior colors. The mustangs, thunderbirds, and whatever else had it back then....

The Grande' was the EX version, cloth center to the seats, bunch-a other stuff, probably Power Brakes, and A/C, 351C, had the FMX transmission, some people didn't like it, I had no problems with it, I think my brothers mach 1 had it too... It only lived to be 143K miles, (rust killed it) engine rebuild at 135K burned a case of 20W-50 a month of local driving..... I could smoke out anyone at will though...

--------------

On the '69, a lot of people thought it was the best looking of the fastbacks.... And the back window louvers was an add on, a lota cars had them back in the later 70's..... cool looking at the time..... I guess the for-runner to those things people put in the front windows to try and keep the car cool...

No venician blinds on this one i am proud to report :D This one looks like the 30k cars on the bay :D

SR

Found this cool little thing on aol this morning.....

http://autos.aol.com/article/tech-pair-builds-fully-functioning-car-out-of-legos/?icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl29|sec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D421778

Found this cool little thing on aol this morning.....

http://autos.aol.com/article/tech-pair-builds-fully-functioning-car-out-of-legos/?icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl29|sec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D421778
Holy moley, that's freakin' nuts. Gotta love it. With a mini version for the kids, this could generate a fortune.

Yah, Lego's are the best toy.... I figured they just Lego-clad some car, but it seems they came up with something quite unique in every way.... I think I really wanna know about that engine.... I think its a kind of steam engine, but with compressed air, to be plastic friendly.... ending up with an actual plastic "engine".

70 Dodge Charger, dressed as the General Lee, fun time cruiser

1995 Saturn Coupe, daily driver, 35 mpg

1994 Ford Aerostar for work (painting contractor)

71 Amc Javelin AMX painted and working on re-assembly

Various old bikes including Shwinn Stingrays, used to get from point a to b when ever weather permits

1966 Chevy C10 Stepside shortbed - one of my other restoration projects

2012 Chevy Avalanche LT 4x4 - daily driver

Just got a slightly used 2013 Chevrolet Malibu LTZ in Atlantis blue.

I LOVE IT!

70 Dodge Charger, dressed as the General Lee, fun time cruiser

1995 Saturn Coupe, daily driver, 35 mpg

1994 Ford Aerostar for work (painting contractor)

71 Amc Javelin AMX painted and working on re-assembly

Various old bikes including Shwinn Stingrays, used to get from point a to b when ever weather permits

All of the "big 4" represented. Nice collection.

Mine:

'51 Imperial
'61 Imperial
'69 Imperial
'70 Dart
'73 D-200 Dodge Truck
'88 5th ave
'89 Maserati TC turbo II
'89 5th ave
'99 LHS
'12 Challenger R/T

... And a '02 Ford Escape I let my girlfriend keep in the driveway to haul the dog around.

WOW, Quite a "collection"

I like the Imperials, and I am a Dart fan too !

All of the "big 4" represented. Nice collection.

Mine:

'51 Imperial
'61 Imperial
'69 Imperial
'70 Dart
'73 D-200 Dodge Truck
'88 5th ave
'89 Maserati TC turbo II
'89 5th ave
'99 LHS
'12 Challenger R/T

... And a '02 Ford Escape I let my girlfriend keep in the driveway to haul the dog around.
Got a factory 8-track stereo in any of these?

Wow, Carmine has a fleet! I came from a mostly GM Family, though dad did have a couple AMC Ramblers, as second cars that he mostly drove to work at GM Pontiac, MI. I do like several 60's and 70's Chrysler, Dodge, and Fords, though! So many still look much "cooler" to me than some of the newer, smaller, stranger-looking cars they are building now, I really question some styles! I'd really like to ride in one of the 60's Imperials, such a big, roomy car! I always liked the look of the Dart as well! Me, I drive a '13 GMC Sierra 1500 Pickup, absolutely love it, and my wife a '13 GMC Terrain. Wish I had a classic car, and a place to keep it. Maybe someday!

Carmine, I would have figured you'd have an "Elwood Engel" Imperial, as well. The Virgil Exner Imperials had some of the biggest, yet most graceful, fins ever put on a vehicle.

And you use the Ford for hauling the dog in!! :D

Daily driver is a 2006 GMC 1500 Sierra ext cab with 20"ARE chrome wheels on it .
It has about 60K on it . Outside of the wheels ,tires ,wiper blades and oil changes and an alignment only a starter and battery have been replaced . I bought it new ,it still runs like new .Just passed it's bi annual smog last week . Can't complain.

Today I drive a Chevy Uplander 2006, bought it with 16k on it, now it has 104K miles, and is still going. Did have a lot of bugs that had to be worked out at first, but now is running fine. Had problems with gas gauge, (float in the tank), ABS light, and the transmission which were taken care of under warranty. Had to replace and repair (at my own expense), front wheel bearings, tie rod ends, struts, stabilizer bars, EGR system, and of course tires and brakes. However I don't think that's too bad considering I mostly do in city driving for the number of miles.

Previous cars I have owned
First car 1963 Dodge 330
Ford Torino wagon 1972
Pontiac Astro, 1976, only kept it 4 months (big piece of junk)
Chevy Chevette 1976
Ford full size van 1976
Chevy Malibu wagon 1980
Olds Cutlass Cerra wagon 1988
Buick Estate Wagon, 1992
Dodge Caravan 1994
Ford Escort 2002 (which my son totaled driving on ice)
Ford Taurus 2004
All my vehicles I have bought used except the 1980 Chevy Malibu wagon which at that time was only $7500. Now you can't even buy a decent used car for that!

The green one in the drive way

http://m3.i.pbase.com/o6/42/971642/1/132333523.Lz4OmXeD.miscwinter032.JPG

You see green in that pic.....?

Hope you didn't take that today.....

That looks like an unusually heavy snowfall for BC even in their coldest months.

Actually, Jon, that's about average, even less than average for the Prince George region.

Red Raster and I live in the same neighbourhood, and this is a photograph of my beater from the same year. (winter, 2013) ( I now drive an even older, but less decrepid, Nissan Pathfinder.)

http://www.pbase.com/moltogordo/image/131989163.jpg


and from the same year, two months later:

http://www.pbase.com/moltogordo/image/132858705.jpg

Man, THAT'S more snow than we'd likely see in a CENTURY... The most accumulation I remember was a freak April 15th snow in the mid-'80s that dumped about 2 feet here. Most of the time, however, a BIG snow for us would be a 6-8 incher-Barely a flurry for y'all, but it sends us Hillbillies into a PANIC.

Actually, Jon, that's about average, even less than average for the Prince George region.

Red Raster and I live in the same neighbourhood, and this is a photograph of my beater from the same year. (winter, 2013) ( I now drive an even older, but less decrepid, Nissan Pathfinder.)
More snow in Northern BC, that makes sense.

An El Taurumino (or Mercury Sable?), there's something I don't see much of anymore. Good choice for a beater.

More snow in Northern BC, that makes sense.

An El Taurumino (or Mercury Sable?), there's something I don't see much of anymore. Good choice for a beater.

Are you by chance a Devotee' of David's Farm, Jon ?!? (grin)

Yup, haha. I was wondering if anyone would pick up on that.

My dream would be to take my '67 Lincoln convertible sedan to David's Farm & Get Air on Sky Hill.. If I'm ever feeling low, I look up the one where he roasts that ginormous "Bee" nest in the old Datsun/Nissan, catches the roof liner on fire, & has to scramble to get the fire out. MMmmmmmm.. Bee Burgers... More Bees, please !

Actually that was a 1982 Toyota Cressida. ;)

Getting air on Sky Hill with the Lincoln shouldn't be too hard considering the air the Cheviac got one time.

Yeah, you're right. It WAS a Cressida. The "Star" there was the huge Bee Nest, tho-The car was merely incidental.

http://m1.i.pbase.com/g9/42/971642/3/156682861.hGhIrqIG.jpg
So comes the time when you want make room and sell things. 86 Olds Cutlass Saloon w/ 305 and factory T roof original owner
http://m2.i.pbase.com/g9/42/971642/2/156682882.KESMAvUG.jpg
With only 150000km or 90000miles no rust, in good original condition the cleaning and detailing will be easy.
http://m4.i.pbase.com/g9/42/971642/2/156682884.NmUUmLlY.jpg
Now for the tough part after driving it around for a few days do I really want to sell it?:scratch2:

So comes the time when you want make room and sell things. 86 Olds Cutlass Saloon w/ 305 and factory T roof original owner
http://m2.i.pbase.com/g9/42/971642/2/156682882.KESMAvUG.jpg
With only 150000km or 90000miles no rust, in good original condition the cleaning and detailing will be easy.
[img]Now for the tough part after driving it around for a few days do I really want to sell it?:scratch2:

:jawdrop::jawdrop::jawdrop::jawdrop:
Aww man!! that is a Beaut... I would love to get my hands on one of these era Cutlass's. My parents had an '86 as well in the early '90s. If it's stock though, it has the 307. None that I know of came with 305's. mmm very nice:thmbsp:

Anyway's as to What I drive,
Ive got a 2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport with the 4.0 BW4. Almost has 170,000m.
A 1994 GMC Suburban 4X4, L05 350, 4L60 140,000. Rusty but trusty hauler.
and my first vehicle which is now the project. My trusty old 1987 Dodge Dakota. 2bbl 3.9, A999 Tourqueflite with 140,000. It's getting a built up LA318 sometime in the future. Hopefully this summer. Also working on the body some and going to try to find some wheels for it. Looking for some old Dodge Turbine wheels seen on the Ramchargers in the 80's.

They came with 305's. They haven't made a 307 probably since the early 70's. Not speedsters by any means but fairly reliable.


[QUOTE=ZackN920;3110564]:jawdrop::jawdrop::jawdrop::jawdrop:
Aww man!! that is a Beaut... I would love to get my hands on one of these era Cutlass's. My parents had an '86 as well in the early '90s. If it's stock though, it has the 307. None that I know of came with 305's. mmm very nice:thmbsp:

The Oldsmobile 307 was the last true Olds designed V-8 engine. Besides the nylon cam gear they hold up quite well. I'm not sure what year it was first produced though but definitely not to be confused with the late 60's early 70's Chevrolet 307 or later 305!

That is a pretty Cutlass and I bet it will cruise nice on the highway!

Red Raster; That Olds is a beautiful car...... I would NOT sell it.....

Hope you post pictures of your '87 Dakota, I got a '88 auto 3.9 also HD springs, 15"
ordinary gray wheels...... Hope to put a paint'n on it maybe next year.....

It would be cool to go out to Ca. and get one of those Convertible Dakotas ! !


http://www.dakotaconvertible.com/

.

Yeah, I wouldn't trade something like that for something as common as money.

The more I drive it the more I want to keep it, Also I get a kick out of answering questions like Where did you get it? "from the dealer" or what restoration did you do
after getting it? "none I got it new" And most of all it really stands out in the modern croud
http://www.pbase.com/redraster/image/156682861/small.jpg

There's a reason why the Cutlass was such a top seller and a big money maker for Olds. The G-Bodies to me were a disappointment when they first came out in '78 but GM did a good job of refining them through the years. The Grand Prix was ok but the Cutlass/442/Hurst Olds, Buick Regal/Grand National/GNX and the Chevrolet Monte Carlo/SS became standouts worthy to be collectable and the aftermarket support has been growing for these cars.

Gee, we're not helping you very much in deciding to get rid of it, huh?

There's a reason why the Cutlass was such a top seller and a big money maker for Olds. The G-Bodies to me were a disappointment when they first came out in '78 but GM did a good job of refining them through the years. The Grand Prix was ok but the Cutlass/442/Hurst Olds, Buick Regal/Grand National/GNX and the Chevrolet Monte Carlo/SS became standouts worthy to be collectable and the aftermarket support has been growing for these cars.

Gee, we're not helping you very much in deciding to get rid of it, huh?

Yeah, they looked IMPOSSIBLY short, stubby & fat, compared to the log, low sleek cars of 1973-'76. Funny how they had seemingly more USABLE room inside. My '76 Cutlass Supreme Brougham was LAUGHABLY small inside, especially in the back seat. You couldn't "Cuss a Cat" back there, it was so small.

The '80 Grand Prix is my favorite of those mentioned.

Try finding a Monte Carlo Aerocoupe.

The '80 Grand Prix is my favorite of those mentioned.

Try finding a Monte Carlo Aerocoupe.

I have a brochure on the Monte (1987) and I recall the Grand Prix had a version also. Very rare then!

Yr Humble Narrator once did an EXTREMELY Stoopid thing w/his '76 Cutlass. Was going to school at Univ of Richmond, Roanoke, Va was about 1/2 way there. There was also a Girls' College, Hollins there, & I knew a couple girls who went there, they were from my hometown. Stopped in to see 'em, visited awhile, & then got back out on I-81, heading to I-64, & back to Richmond. Anyhow, before I left Roanoke, I saw a sign that said, "GAS, 59.9", & methinks, that's CHEAP gas for this interstate... This was in Spring '77. Anyhow, I pull in, stick the nozzle in, & commence fillin' 'er up... Guy came over, sez, You owe me 10 bux.. I sez, Nooooo, I used that CHEAP gas.. He looked at me funny, & said, Son, you just put $7.50 of Diesel in yr car.. Now, ALL of you know that there's times in a boy's life when he REALLY wants his Mama... That was one of 'em for me..Will it hurt my car ? No, but, Shit-For-Brains, it'll rattle & smoke. I went from Roanoke to Staunton, about 70 miles, I had it in 2nd gear, going 75-80, had the windows rolled down, A/C on "Get It", radio playin', ANYTHING I could do to burn up that damn Weasel.. It sounded like Ricky Ricardo's Rhumba Band, & put out a smoke screen that would do James Bond justice. It also got 37 MPG, I stopped almost every chance I could, & put more gas in it. Got back to school, shut it off & it just sat there, continuing to run, VERY roughly.. UR was a small school, everybody about knew everybody else, & good gossip travels FAST-I had people comin' up to me if I was the one who put Diesel in his car, & then they'd crack up But the car suffered no long-term ill effects, it all worked out OK.. But I DON'T recommend doing it...(grin)

Yeah, everyone knows that diesel should only be used in a gas engine if the vehicle doesn't have a catalytic converter.

Hope you post pictures of your '87 Dakota, I got a '88 auto 3.9 also HD springs, 15"
ordinary gray wheels...... Hope to put a paint'n on it maybe next year.....

It would be cool to go out to Ca. and get one of those Convertible Dakotas ! !

http://www.dakotaconvertible.com/.

You probably dont have to go to CA. to get one. They sometimes appear on CL. Ive seen a few legit one's on there. We've got a red convertable that roams around town durring the summer that's in mint shape.
I didn't know Dakota's came with HD springs, or were they added later?...
Any pics of your's?

First is when I baught it in 2009.
2nd and 3rd are from last year, truck was showing it's true colors. All the shoddy previous body work re-rusting out. Aint it nice.:sigh: The front also met a tree that winter. Damn front wheels locked in the middle of a turn on soft fresh snow.:no:
4th is how it looked a few weeks back. I took a lot of crap off that i've wanted to get rid of and am working on the hood and roof. It looks better now though with more paint.
Dont lauph too much at this one, but 5th is one I made up with the MSpaint and how i'd like the truck to look. Kind of a throwback to the late60's early70's mopar muscle look. Flat black hood too. Think Duster+Demon. I cant afford one so... Ive also got a 318 that im going to be building for it.

Well, lets see if this works,

my buddy from high school got this for his birthday last year...as you can see from the garage....money is not an issue for him. Very nice Ferrari next to it as well.

finished this last year. 25k original rust free miles, original interior, motor, trans. Rebult slanty and 904, new top. Power nothin'! My son used it for some of his wedding pictures last summer. Yup...push button auto.

I have a '67 Lincoln convertible sedan, like my avatar. SOMETIMES I really do wish it had "Power Nothin'" like yr little beauty does...3 hydraulic pumps, 14 little electric motors, & 25 relays all have to be in more or less Agreement for the top to go up or down on it...

finished this last year. 25k original rust free miles, original interior, motor, trans. Rebult slanty and 904, new top. Power nothin'! My son used it for some of his wedding pictures last summer. Yup...push button auto.

Rebult slanty . aka the leaning tower of power

Rebult slanty . aka the leaning tower of power

I guess the A-904 was around for quite a while. The engine in the car is probably a 225ci. My '64 had a 170 with three on the tree. Like most of my vehicles, very basic transportation. :thmbsp:

I have a '67 Lincoln convertible sedan, like my avatar. SOMETIMES I really do wish it had "Power Nothin'" like yr little beauty does...3 hydraulic pumps, 14 little electric motors, & 25 relays all have to be in more or less Agreement for the top to go up or down on it...

Damn! Your cars roof has enough relays to do math in binary! Lincoln must have had Rube Goldberg on staff back then....

Damn! Your cars roof has enough relays to do math in binary! Lincoln must have had Rube Goldberg on staff back then....

The 1961-67 Lincoln convertible sedans had a SIMPLIFIED, & IMPROVED version of the 1957-59 Ford Fairlane retractable top "Hardtops"... The last couple of years, 1966 & '57, they were sposedly "Improved" even MORE. Actually, they REALLY DO work pretty well, if given HALF a chance... And, its one HELLUVA show, watching the deck lid raise itself up, the "Flapper" unfold itself, the Top folding itself into a ball, & then the decklid coming back down all nice & slow.... Back 30-35 yrs ago, when I bought mine, it was estimated that to build & make a car EQUAL to the level of build quality inherent in the 1961-67 pervertable sedans, would cost Ford a whopping $40K apiece..

Daily Driver- 1978 Fiat 124 Spider

Also appearing in Al's driveway

'71 Fiat 850 Spider (restoring an underdash FM-8track to go-in it now)
'75 Lancia Beta coupe
'85 Bertone X1/9
'87 Yugo GV
'95 Mercedes E320 Wagon (wife's old car-just right for picking up old electronics!)
'96 SAAB 900 turbo convertible (wife's good weather toy)
'12 Fiat 500 (wife's daily driver)

and enough parts to someday build a '59ish Fiat 600...

Al

Daily driver is a 2009 GMC Canyon with the 5.3 V8, love this truck!!!
2013 Ford Escape, wife's car
1961 Corvair Lakewood wagon
1962 Corvair Spyder Convertible
2009 Star Stratoliner motorcycle

Gregb

Picked up another! This is #4! Dang, I've got alot of vehicles.:lmao: Now I got to sell one... Who wants to buy an '87 Dakota?!

Anyway's, I finally picked up a Jeep Grand Wagoneer. Don't know why I like them, but I do and they are hard to come by around here. Got it reasonably too, kinda.:stupid: It's a project, but it runs and drives. Needs some help though, body rust, bad clearcoat, carb issues, leaky exhaust, bad rear glass motor(have replacement), loose 'semi' scary steering, squishy brakes that need bleeding, and a the rear view mirror fell off... and some other misc. It's a little worn for only having 101,3XX miles but that AMC 360 sounds good, the 727 shifts good,4X4 works. Not too bad, but not the best from March of 1990
I havn't taken pics yet, these are from the CL add.

Those Grand Wagoneers were the finest 1962 cars still on the market..

For about the last two years my daily driver has been a '96 Nissan Pickup. 2.4, 5-speed, it was a one-owner that had regular maintenance. I'm now pushing 230,000 miles on her, she gets 22mpg running the a/c, and consumes a quart of oil every 2,500 miles.

In April I made an impulse buy - a one-owner 5-speed '88 Toyota Corolla station wagon with 106,000 miles and every single receipt ever handed to the lady. Spent a few months rebuilding the front end completely, she's now mechanically in top nick. Unfortunately the old lady ran into several things in the last few years; if I decide to keep her indefinitely I'll have the front bumper straightened out and paint her. My daily commute is about 60 miles round trip and the wagon is getting 35-36 mpg.

Those Grand Wagoneers were the finest 1962 cars still on the market..

Wait....Do you guys mean those things were STILL sold new in 1990?!

Wait....Do you guys mean those things were STILL sold new in 1990?!

Actually I think '91 was the last year for them! :D

The original SUV that started it all!

Actually I think '91 was the last year for them! :D

The original SUV that started it all!

So the year I was born was the last year for new first model Atari 2600s and first body style SUVs.

Those wagoniers were in 60 minutes once a month by the end, all that 60's
engineering was making them look really bad.... The best one I remember
the key to run up the rear glass would get locked into on, if you let go of
the giant slide off keyhole cover, it would lock the 'up' mode and somehow
a few kids got cut, or almost cut in half by it.... My mom use to tell us kids
not to get our fingers near the electric windows in our first electric window car,
she cut a few pencils in half to make sure we "got it"....

Is it ok if I make a wood splitter from our electric windows mom ?

They are hard to find around here too.... They had rust catchers all over
the place on them.... I think they could hold a Ford Expedition inside....
Sandy might disagree :) Anyway happy you got what you wanted, thanks for
the memories, hope you post more pictures of it with the back off, change
all the caps they gotta be bad, they were still using paper caps on them, do
the electrolytics and the seleniums I think they hid them in the front rocker
panels..... Again good luck ! Gunna paint it ?

.

After 11 years of ownership, the '85 Chevy van that we called "Patches", burned up in an underhood fire :cry: . I owed my whole life to that van. Saw my kids from diapers to teenagers.

My stepson borrowed it to move stuff with, and he couldn't get it started. It was raining sideways over by his place, and I figured something got wet. I got it running, and figured the water would work itself out, which it did. Stopped for gas, and there was an occasional miss, but everything seemed to be okay....until it backfired hard, shot flames out the tailpipe, and stalled at a light, where I saw a wisp of smoke come from under the hood. I told him "GET OUT", popped the hood, and the flames rolled out :(

As you can see, the damage was extensive, but I decided I was gonna fix it anyway. This van was my baby. I removed the plugs, cleaned out all the debris, removed everything that was melted and burned, then pulled and bench tested the starter and reinstalled it with wiring to roll the engine over.

The engine was locked up solid. With sagging rear springs, rusted brake lines, nonexistent lower control arm bushings, cracked windshield, and a body that was starting to rust badly....it was time to call it done.

This week, I invested $400 into a '96 Grand Caravan with 187K. Runs great and the body's pretty rust free, just a little bruised up. I put some tires on it yesterday, and I'll need to work on a few little issues....but all in all it seems to be a good solid ride. And I won't have to fill my Cadillac DTS with crap at ETF, I'll drive this instead.

It's really hard to let go of Patches, but she's just too far gone. Anyone need any full size van parts?

1992 Ford Ranger Super-Cab

I bought this recently to replace a Saturn that was nearing what I believed to be 450K miles on the engine. I ended up selling it to a nice kid down in Indiana whos fixing it back up. I was tired of driving a small car, and I needed something large. I figure instead of spend more on the Saturn, I sold it and got what I needed instead.

Cost me $950, with some pulling from savings and what have you. I've done some mild work to it already but it seems to be very solid, well taken care of and so far, very reliable. 2.9L Cologne V6, A4LD 4-Speed Auto, 4x4. Seems like a pretty strong little truck to me. It really has a lot of features that resemble a 1994 Ford Explorer I used to own many years ago.

It's going to be my winter truck to a large degree. I won't drive the Courier after the first measurable snow fall. It get's a cover tossed on it and put away for the winter.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v480/RileyWestwolf/CTEHp1GWoAEvmhw_zpsntcuhj33.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RileyWestwolf/media/CTEHp1GWoAEvmhw_zpsntcuhj33.jpg.html)

1980 Ford Courier

This is my baby. Hardly any of these left in the world, let alone on the road. This little champ came to me in a trade. I had a 1991 Volkswagen Cabriolet Etienne Aigner edition convertible. I bought it because I thought it was super cool, and it turned out to be a huge pain in the ass. So I tossed it on Craigslist after 6 months of messing with it, and with in a week, an email comes in from a nice fella up in Milwaukee, offering me a "Courier". I was extremely skeptical at first.

I wanted a truck, plain and simple, but I had never heard of a "Courier" so I looked at the pictures and Googled it, and found out, it was Fords little truck before the Ranger. Mazda Built in japan, chicken tax truck. Engine, and bed attached here on the west coast. Packed with a Ford 2.3L and a Mazda 5-Speed manual box. I was all ears.

We talked for over a week and a half over email and I finally went to see it. It was a disaster. It barely ran because of vacuum leaks, and had a lot of "What am I even doing?!" repairs. We traded, I drove it home over 100 miles, after stopping for gas and getting clever with a roll of duct tape, it ran fine.

Never had an issue since!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v480/RileyWestwolf/IMG_1535_zpsaey6mtab.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RileyWestwolf/media/IMG_1535_zpsaey6mtab.jpg.html)

After 11 years of ownership, the '85 Chevy van that we called "Patches", burned up in an underhood fire :cry: . I owed my whole life to that van. Saw my kids from diapers to teenagers.

My stepson borrowed it to move stuff with, and he couldn't get it started. It was raining sideways over by his place, and I figured something got wet. I got it running, and figured the water would work itself out, which it did. Stopped for gas, and there was an occasional miss, but everything seemed to be okay....until it backfired hard, shot flames out the tailpipe, and stalled at a light, where I saw a wisp of smoke come from under the hood. I told him "GET OUT", popped the hood, and the flames rolled out :(

As you can see, the damage was extensive, but I decided I was gonna fix it anyway. This van was my baby. I removed the plugs, cleaned out all the debris, removed everything that was melted and burned, then pulled and bench tested the starter and reinstalled it with wiring to roll the engine over.

The engine was locked up solid. With sagging rear springs, rusted brake lines, nonexistent lower control arm bushings, cracked windshield, and a body that was starting to rust badly....it was time to call it done.

This week, I invested $400 into a '96 Grand Caravan with 187K. Runs great and the body's pretty rust free, just a little bruised up. I put some tires on it yesterday, and I'll need to work on a few little issues....but all in all it seems to be a good solid ride. And I won't have to fill my Cadillac DTS with crap at ETF, I'll drive this instead.

It's really hard to let go of Patches, but she's just too far gone. Anyone need any full size van parts?

Did it still have the original Delco stereo in it? And did the fire not damage it? I know the radio is above the dog house on those. I collect car radios!

Did it still have the original Delco stereo in it? And did the fire not damage it? I know the radio is above the dog house on those. I collect car radios!

Did you see the older Delco car radio, that had the external MPX adaptor. Late 60's, I would estimate!
It was WARCI swap meet last sunday. :scratch2:

Did it still have the original Delco stereo in it? And did the fire not damage it? I know the radio is above the dog house on those. I collect car radios!

The doghouse did its job, and the fire never touched the interior whatsoever, to my amazement. I think it's an old Pioneer Supertuner or some such in the dash. Or maybe it's a Craig. I've had about half a dozen radios in there and I don't remember off the top of my head.

I have a few aftermarket two knobbers here, you can have em all for the shipping costs, including that one, if you want.

I drive now a 2002 Subaru Forester and have a 1978 Old's Cutlass Ciera for a backup and over the years I had a 1985 and 1977 Chevy Caprice station wagons a 1974 Plymouth Satellite and a 1969 Pontiac Firebird.

Started with a 6 cyl 3 V8's now 2 4cylinders.

I'm still kicking my a$$ for not keeping the Firebird.I could off fix it up.


I just love those Delco radios.I snatch both out of the Caprice wagons before I got rid of them.Great selectivity and sensitivity and sound.I cant recall if I pulled the AM radio out of the Firebird but recall the days I used a Audiovox FM converter with it.The same with the Plymouth AM radio.

Sucks to read about what happened to your old van, Kamakiri. That body shot didn't look bad.
Hey Arcanine, I've never seen one of them (rebadged) Ford pickups before. The only thing close to that, that I remember is the Chevy Luv pickup. I think dodge had a rebadge little pick up too, but I don't remember the name.

Been working on the Waggy some...When warm enough. Changed brake lines and front calipers, and I got the squishy brakes fixed. Cleaned it inside and out, and did a little work on some of the rust. I've got a carb rebuild, fuel pump replacement, and steering box swap to do next. Then I'll (hopefully) be able to daily drive it, with out having to worry about anything.
Got lots of better pics of it now! Here's a few...

I only drive my bike :) (When I do -- I havent in along time)

After 11 years of ownership, the '85 Chevy van that we called "Patches", burned up in an underhood fire :cry: . I owed my whole life to that van. Saw my kids from diapers to teenagers.

My stepson borrowed it to move stuff with, and he couldn't get it started. It was raining sideways over by his place, and I figured something got wet. I got it running, and figured the water would work itself out, which it did. Stopped for gas, and there was an occasional miss, but everything seemed to be okay....until it backfired hard, shot flames out the tailpipe, and stalled at a light, where I saw a wisp of smoke come from under the hood. I told him "GET OUT", popped the hood, and the flames rolled out :(

As you can see, the damage was extensive, but I decided I was gonna fix it anyway. This van was my baby. I removed the plugs, cleaned out all the debris, removed everything that was melted and burned, then pulled and bench tested the starter and reinstalled it with wiring to roll the engine over.

The engine was locked up solid. With sagging rear springs, rusted brake lines, nonexistent lower control arm bushings, cracked windshield, and a body that was starting to rust badly....it was time to call it done.
Man, that's rough. :( I always liked those old cargo vans.

She went with a lion's roar and went down fighting anyway. I wouldn't expect less of good old American iron in the hands of a dedicated owner.

Patches' replacement is doing much better now that I've dumped a bunch of money into it.....I've replaced the driver's side CV axle, oil pan, valve cover gasket, EGR valve and transducer, oil change, tune up, tires (got a great deal on 4 used mounted on rims off CL), brakes, rad hoses, rear shocks, door lock actuators, a couple door seals, and repaired the ABS.

Since I have TV trips coming up and it's snowy and cold out, I took it to a friend's shop to diagnose a coolant leak that I couldn't find, and a transmission leak that I thought was the side gearcase cover. The coolant leak was the water pump, and the transmission leak ended up being a cracked solenoid pack. Total bill on that was just over $500....owch.

It's throwing an intermittent P0420 code for the EGR that replacing the EGR didn't solve, so in the spring I'll have to yank and clean the intake.

One problem though....I was doing the front valve cover and I noticed that one of the intake bolts moved when I grazed it with my knuckle. Someone must have tried to tighten it to clear the code, and the sucker must have snapped off. The previous owner just stuck the rest of the bolt back in the hole, and must have walked away whistling with his hands folded behind his back looking up at the sky.....

Either way, I'll get it done. Done worse :)

Still, all in all, I now have a touch under $1200 into it. And in the end, it'll be a FAR more reliable vehicle than a $1200 vehicle I would buy elsewhere, because anything in this price range you KNOW will need work of some kind. Some worse, some better.....but in the cheap minivan genre, it's difficult to find one that anyone ever cared about.

1992 Ford Ranger Super-Cab

I bought this recently to replace a Saturn that was nearing what I believed to be 450K miles on the engine. I ended up selling it to a nice kid down in Indiana whos fixing it back up. I was tired of driving a small car, and I needed something large. I figure instead of spend more on the Saturn, I sold it and got what I needed instead.

Cost me $950, with some pulling from savings and what have you. I've done some mild work to it already but it seems to be very solid, well taken care of and so far, very reliable. 2.9L Cologne V6, A4LD 4-Speed Auto, 4x4. Seems like a pretty strong little truck to me. It really has a lot of features that resemble a 1994 Ford Explorer I used to own many years ago.

It's going to be my winter truck to a large degree. I won't drive the Courier after the first measurable snow fall. It get's a cover tossed on it and put away for the winter.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v480/RileyWestwolf/CTEHp1GWoAEvmhw_zpsntcuhj33.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RileyWestwolf/media/CTEHp1GWoAEvmhw_zpsntcuhj33.jpg.html)

1980 Ford Courier

This is my baby. Hardly any of these left in the world, let alone on the road. This little champ came to me in a trade. I had a 1991 Volkswagen Cabriolet Etienne Aigner edition convertible. I bought it because I thought it was super cool, and it turned out to be a huge pain in the ass. So I tossed it on Craigslist after 6 months of messing with it, and with in a week, an email comes in from a nice fella up in Milwaukee, offering me a "Courier". I was extremely skeptical at first.

I wanted a truck, plain and simple, but I had never heard of a "Courier" so I looked at the pictures and Googled it, and found out, it was Fords little truck before the Ranger. Mazda Built in japan, chicken tax truck. Engine, and bed attached here on the west coast. Packed with a Ford 2.3L and a Mazda 5-Speed manual box. I was all ears.

We talked for over a week and a half over email and I finally went to see it. It was a disaster. It barely ran because of vacuum leaks, and had a lot of "What am I even doing?!" repairs. We traded, I drove it home over 100 miles, after stopping for gas and getting clever with a roll of duct tape, it ran fine.

Never had an issue since!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v480/RileyWestwolf/IMG_1535_zpsaey6mtab.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RileyWestwolf/media/IMG_1535_zpsaey6mtab.jpg.html)

Never could stand these old trucks, much less their appearance. Neighbors across the street from me have one and you can hear them coming in and leaving. Sounds like a mini tank. Shouldn't be allowed to drive it at night. Too loud. I can't recall how many times I've seen them under the hood of that thing and underneath it working on it. If I were to own another truck, it would have to be a Chevy Silverado up to 1987. Only thing is after some experience, I don't trust them too much due to poor maintenance from previous owners. Bought a 1986 from a guy that said everything was perfect and engine just rebuilt. $2200 and a month later, it overheated and blew.

[QUOTE=ZackN920;3153943]Sucks to read about what happened to your old van, Kamakiri. That body shot didn't look bad.
Hey Arcanine, I've never seen one of them (rebadged) Ford pickups before. The only thing close to that, that I remember is the Chevy Luv pickup. I think dodge had a rebadge little pick up too, but I don't remember the name.


Chevy Luv=Isuzu
ford Courier=Mazda
dodge d50=Mitsubishi

interestingly enough, all 3 still have ties with these Japanese company's

I always thought AMC vehicles were interesting using different manufacturers parts. Generally the engines were AMC, Automatics were Chrysler, Power seats were GM, Steering column was GM, P/S pumps were Saginaw(GM), ignition systems were Ford duraspark(usually), A/C/heat look GM. Did they use Spicer axles?

I owned a lot of Volvo's over the years. They did the same thing in the 80's. DAna rear axles, Aisin automatics, Saginaw P/S pumps, engine was Volvo, Brakes were ATE or Girling