Guildedagain
Enlightened Member
Old, exotic, British, leather, wood, Connolly hides, smells, sounds, speed.
Dream cars
- Thread starter Guildedagain
- Start date
Old, exotic, British, leather, wood, Connolly hides, smells, sounds, speed.
davidbeinct
Member
Beautiful cars from a golden age. Not one of them would beat a V-6 Accord around Watkins Glen.
That's precisely the problem with classic cars. A small block '68 SS/RS Camaro a lot like I used to own got spanked by a Honda Odyssey when Car and Driver tested classic cars against their their modern counterparts a few years back.
Guildedagain
Enlightened Member
"It's not all about speed" as relayed by partners throughout time.
BradHK
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2014
- Messages
- 1,039
- Reaction score
- 2,702
I have a classic car and motorcycle both from the 1960’s which were the “sports” model at the time. Both would lose any acceleration, braking and/or handling contest with pretty much any new car or motorcycle...and I still love to drive them and wouldn’t trade either for pretty much any new car or motorcycle. There is just something about vintage cars and motorcycles that I love and I don’t get the same feeling with newer models.
davidbeinct
Member
Those cars were all about speed when they were new and now must be enjoyed for their beauty and nostalgia because see above.
den441
Junior Member
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2023
- Messages
- 13
- Reaction score
- 8
- Guild Total
- 0
That's very true, they don't make them like they used to as they say...
davidbeinct
Member
I quit riding last year but my last bike was a Moto Guzzi Breva, a modern bike with (to me) a classic feel. When I got rid of the bike I bought a Miata. Similar vibe. I love the romance of the old classics but changing oil and tires and not doing much else is pretty appealing too.
Agreed. I too gave up riding my beloved BMW K75C a few years back after getting run off the road by a texting soccer mom, and decided that riding in the smart phone era isn't very smart. As for classic cars? they're cool, but they're crude, and pretty much all of them are deathtraps if you get in an accident. I'll take the performance, reliability, and most importantly the safety of modern cars any day.
My sister's boyfriend had a '69 Torino fastback with a 429 Cobra Jet power plant and with a 6 pack and headers. FAST!
I bought my first car when I was in the Navy, a '66 GTO ragtop with a 389 engine, 4 speed. Also fast!
I bought my first car when I was in the Navy, a '66 GTO ragtop with a 389 engine, 4 speed. Also fast!
steve488
Member
Dread you sure about that 6 pack on a 429 CJ 1969 Torino? My understanding was that the 6 pack was a very rare add on to the 1970 Boss 429 mustang. A 69 Torino should have been sporting a 428 with a 700cfm 4 barrel (or bigger). 1970 Torino (CJ) would normally have sported the 429 with a 715 or 780cfm Holley 4 barrel. Maybe some aftermarket work was done on the car to get it that way. No matter what that was lots of car candy.... I will take one!
Rich Cohen
Senior Member
Yeah, but they broke down a lot. Do you remember how often the radiator and generator broke, not to mention the drum brakes wacked out?
Cougar
Enlightened Member
I'm with you there. My "dream car" has gone through some evolution lately. I'm looking at used cars, but not too old. It started with a Jag F-type...
Then I started getting a little more practical and was thinking about the Genesis G70....
But now, I I'm really liking the Audi A5....
Problem is, it's snowing now, and to get to my place I've got to traverse a one-lane gravel forest-service road with two switchbacks. Mrs. Cougar's front-wheel drive van couldn't make it up the second icy switchback last week, so I had to park it off to the side and walk the rest of the way. Our 4-wheel-drive FJ Cruiser can crawl up it no problem -- I just want to be careful not to slip off the side and down the steep cliff. All the above "dream cars" are AWD. Still, not sure how they'd do in some severe snow.....
Looks like your taste got a lot better as you went on, and the A5 (or any Audi really) is an excellent choice. I'm still plugging along merrily with a 2009 BMW 535i sport 6 speed, but there are no more manual non-M BMWs here in the states (boo), so my next car won't be the blau mit weiss. I don't want an M car, and I hate run-flat tires too, so next car will be either an Audi A4, or perhaps another VW GTI.I'm with you there. My "dream car" has gone through some evolution lately. I'm looking at used cars, but not too old. It started with a Jag F-type...
Then I drifted over to the Maserati Ghibli....
Then I started getting a little more practical and was thinking about the Genesis G70....
But now, I I'm really liking the Audi A5....
Problem is, it's snowing now, and to get to my place I've got to traverse a one-lane gravel forest-service road with two switchbacks. Mrs. Cougar's front-wheel drive van couldn't make it up the second icy switchback last week, so I had to park it off to the side and walk the rest of the way. Our 4-wheel-drive FJ Cruiser can crawl up it no problem -- I just want to be careful not to slip off the side and down the steep cliff. All the above "dream cars" are AWD. Still, not sure how they'd do in some severe snow.....
As for snow performance? It's 100% a function of your tires, and winter tires (use four of them) aren't like the ones your father used to use. They use special rubber compound that stay soft an pliable in extreme cold, and are even hydrophilic, because what makes you lose traction on icy surfaces isn't the ice, it's the layer of water between the ice and your tire. With a good set of -1 size (narrower is better) winter tires on an A5, the only limiting factor would be ground clearance in the really deep stuff.
My old '88 325i with winter tires on its original "bottlecap" wheels and a limited slip differential, would go anywhere in the snow, and was a blast to drive in it too. Man, I loved that car!
6 pack was an add on/
I once owned my dream car, back when I could buy one for less than a grand. Red on red '63 Nova SS with the stock straight six and two speed Powerglide. Life got in the way, sold it for less than a grand, and now it's a dream car again with a price tag 30-50 times more than it cost me the first time around. A guy can dream...
Guildedagain
Enlightened Member
Millions of fine working drum brakes out there on the highways. Old radiators last nearly forever and can be fixed. Generators went the way of the Dodo in around the early 1960's. Chrysler "invented" it, was the first to have it on cars in 1960, Chevy in 1963, Ford 1964.
Guildedagain
Enlightened Member
For me the dream car was always something unattainable, in price, need for maintenance, likelihood of theft, speeding tickets, etc...
JohnW63
Enlightened Member
I don't know if I ever had a full out "dream car". I've had plenty of cars in my head I would have liked to have!
At this point reasonably nimble and built to last with low cost of maintenance sounds like a dream car to me.
At this point reasonably nimble and built to last with low cost of maintenance sounds like a dream car to me.