Old Car Thread

[fab467]

And it's green! :mrgreen:

 

[capnjuan]

And it's green! :mrgreen:

Yes! the 'Studes showed impeccable taste.

 

[capnjuan]

... In BC times (before children) I had a Willys PU, if I remember correctly 1960 model ...

I had a '55 Jeep 1/2-ton ... same body style and army green paint ... sleepy original 6-cyl, the finest set of lock-out hubs ever made, and a set of nylon tires ... that's right folks ... the kind that after it sat for a day or so, got 4 flat spots that took 10-15 miles to round out ... it died of a bad head gasket and one or more cracked pistons.

Later replaced by a '67 Scout I convertible like this one except 'lima bean' green; 4 cyl / 3-spd on the floor, 65 mph max downhill, and too much fun for words. Sold to the body shop in Morgantown WV who quoted the repairs to the left-rear after a member of the Pepsi generation failed to negotiate a turn on Allen Avenue. It was bad ... but nothing like Pepsi-Boy's car :mrgreen:

 

[twocorgis]

There's a '98 528i in there somewhere!

With the summer rubber that's on it, I don't think it'll be going anywhere anytime soon...

 

[killdeer43]

What did you folks in the Northeast do to anger the weather
gods? Wow! :shock:

Inquiring minds, you know,
Joe

 

[twocorgis]

What did you folks in the Northeast do to anger the weather
gods? Wow! :shock:

Inquiring minds, you know,
Joe

Honestly Joe, I've lived on Long Island my entire life, and I have never seen this much snow. Ever. Usually we get some, and then it warms up and melts, but not this time. How do you like my new mailbox?

The old one's under there somewhere... :shock:

 

[killdeer43]

The old one's under there somewhere... :shock:

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night.....

Is the mail still getting through? That is the question! :lol:

Stay warm,
Joe

 

[twocorgis]

The old one's under there somewhere... :shock:

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night.....

Is the mail still getting through? That is the question! :lol:

Stay warm,
Joe

It is, but I'm sure my mailman probably isn't too happy about it. There's a bunch of other boxes in the neighborhood just like mine!

 

[adorshki]

There's a '98 528i in there somewhere!

Better than there being a '73 D50 in there somewhere!
Wanna borrow an AWD Mercury Milan? With traction control? I barely get to use that stuff except when it rains. Or they water down the roads. You know, to keep the asphalt from cracking. In the heat. :lol:

 

[twocorgis]

There's a '98 528i in there somewhere!

Better than there being a '73 D50 in there somewhere!

Can't argue with that logic!

Wanna borrow an AWD Mercury Milan? With traction control? I barely get to use that stuff except when it rains. Or they water down the roads. You know, to keep the asphalt from cracking. In the heat. :lol:

Mrs. Two already has a 2WD Ford Fusion with a set of four winter tires on it, and it'll go just about anywhere. Why do you have AWD in Sillycon Valley? JMO of course, but I hate AWD, and find it to be wholly unnecessary around here if you use winter tires. Just adds weight and uses more fuel.

 

[adorshki]

Why do you have AWD in Sillycon Valley? JMO of course, but I hate AWD, and find it to be wholly unnecessary around here if you use winter tires. Just adds weight and uses more fuel.

It gives fully independant rear suspension. Also makes it really hard for the tail to come out. (I'd rather not deal with that in most cars, even intentionally) And it DO come in handy on some of those mountain twisties, even when they're dry. Even at sensible speeds. Surprisingly, the Santa Cruz Mountains where a couple of buddies live, are some of the steepest on the continent, because they're relatively young and haven't eroded much. A buddy of mine who's actually a VERY cautious driver went over the side a few years back on completely invisible black ice. Just because that particular stretch was shaded virtually all day along. It hadn't melted for several days. (He lived)
SO mainly for the handling benefit over simple fwd. And I didn't have time to shop around when I needed to replace the Thunderbird. MY first choice, RWD with posi-traction in decent used condition and price (insurance) ain't actually easy to find out here. Also it had lumbar support in the seats which was another amenity I NEED these days.
It's a real nice car, just ain't got no "panache". I bought it sheerly because it had the equipment I demanded at the price I wanted. :|

 

[twocorgis]

It's a real nice car, just ain't got no "panache". I bought it sheerly because it had the equipment I demanded at the price I wanted. :|

If you think a Milan/Fusion doesn't have any panache, try a Camry or even an Accord on for size! I had a Camry once as a rental, and I told my wife "I'd shoot myself before I'd drive one of these every day". Even my Sprinter van is more interesting.

You'd like my old 5er, Al . It's one of those rare cars that seems to do just about everything well. It's too bad that the two iterations since mine aren't nearly as nice IMO, and they're butt ugly, too. When I get the Mustang in the spring, it'll be the first time in a very long time that the Blau Mit Weiss isn't in my driveway.

 

[adorshki]

It's a real nice car, just ain't got no "panache". I bought it sheerly because it had the equipment I demanded at the price I wanted. :|

If you think a Milan/Fusion doesn't have any panache, try a Camry or even an Accord on for size! I had a Camry once as a rental, and I told my wife "I'd shoot myself before I'd drive one of these every day". Even my Sprinter van is more interesting.

I knew you'd understand. Simple FWD drive and/or "crossover" styling was explicitly NOT on the list for me so Toyota and Honda weren't even potentials.

You'd like my old 5er, Al.

Oh I'm sure I would have. The Thunderbird (Supercoupe) was Ford's answer to the 635csi, style and performance wise. Gotta admit, it fell short on reliability, mainly the ECU's for the electronic stuff, because so much of it was out of production and not much, if any, NOS stuff left around, as it was fairly low production in the first place.

 

[Scratch]

This thread had me pulling out the old photo albums, then scanning to the computer. Please excuse the non-relevant photos as I could not peel the car pics from the album page. These taken in the early 70s...

My 1970 Boss 302... Re-enlisted for a variable re-enlistment bonus which I blew entirely on this car. Paid 4800.00 for it. Started dating my wife soon thereafter, then orders to play with Charlie in Southeast Asia and the car stayed home. Grabber orange; in the barracks parking lot late 1970...

Home on leave with my folks before leaving to go overseas:

With my buddy harold, same parking lot. One picture on right is driving through the smokies looking out over the 'shaker' hood scoop. H60 Goodyear tires grabbed those curves nicely.

Lined up with my buddies at my friend's wedding in Falls Church Virginia around
September 1970. One picture on left is my barracks band and me (with the microphone) playing at his reception

Saved my SEA combat pay to buy my 1967 Corvette circa 1975. Other pics are of my wife and me after I got out of the service to go to school on the GI bill 1979.

 

[twocorgis]

Great stuff Ken. You've owned some cool cars! 8)

 

[Scratch]

Always been a car nut, Sandy. I'm a poor man today because I collected em, loved em and sold them at great expense to the budget. But I sure had fun in the day... Some other cool ones over the years: 1965 289 hypo Mustang 2+2 (one of eight Mustangs over the years including the current one); 1961 MGA; MG Midget; 1969 SS 396 Chevelle; 1968 GTO convertible and a 1966 Corvette (restoration project), and a 1970 Torino GT. Just found some more pics. I'm having too much fun:

1968 GTO (389 4 barrel; not the tri duece version):

The two MGs and with Pam & red Torino. The MGA had a hand crank as well as starter button. Started first crank every time. The last picture here is with my Afro just prior to leaving for OTS in 1980

 

[killdeer43]

Ah, tripping down memory lane....and what a trip it was! 8)

Keep on keepin' on,
Joe

 

[twocorgis]

How often did that MG Midget break down Ken? How about the non-existent syncros in the gearbox? My best friend in high school had a Midget at the same time I had my TR-4a. All we did was work on each other's cars. And curse a lot. :lol:

 

[kevin the bass man]

those are some cool old cars scratch. cant really which I like most since they're all so awesome. I would love to have any of them, except the triumph (a brother of one of my dad's friends had one- fast as all get out, but it was crazy expensive to fix. when the exhaust system rusted through, they didnt make triumph exhaust anymore, so he had to get a ferrari exhaust- talk about $$$$$$$)
I really wish I had a scanner. I've found quite a few old (80's) photos of my dads cars, as well as his buddy's 71? road runner.

 

[adorshki]

How often did that MG Midget break down Ken? How about the non-existent syncros in the gearbox? My best friend in high school had a Midget at the same time I had my TR-4a. All we did was work on each other's cars. And curse a lot. :lol:

BUT they had panache.... :lol: