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Post by toshtego on Jul 15, 2019 17:55:33 GMT -5
That 215ci Buick V8 was a nightmare in Buick cars before they sold it to Rover. I couldn't believe that they actually got money for one of the worst American engines ever made. Every time the heads came off, the head bolt threads came with them. And they always overheated. I also had a Buick GS 350 4 barrel that was very fast, but couldn't get across town on gallon of water. I remember that. Yet, the English put that engine in Range Rovers, The Triumph Stag, the Rover 3500 sedan which we had, and it worked well. Go figure. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2019 18:04:17 GMT -5
I have been driving a Toyota Land Cruiser bought new in 1987 for 32 years so I guess that is my real favorite. Spends almost all of its miles on dirt roads, very little highway driving and then seldom over 45 MPH. Geared low- 4.56 ratio, overdrive, 32 inch diameter tires. I wanna see that one. Sounds like my kind of truck, John. |
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Post by toshtego on Jul 15, 2019 18:52:29 GMT -5
I have been driving a Toyota Land Cruiser bought new in 1987 for 32 years so I guess that is my real favorite. Spends almost all of its miles on dirt roads, very little highway driving and then seldom over 45 MPH. Geared low- 4.56 ratio, overdrive, 32 inch diameter tires. I wanna see that one. Sounds like my kind of truck, John. This time of year it is muddier owing to the condition of the roads and fields over we pass.  |
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Post by smellthehatfirst on Jul 20, 2019 1:57:58 GMT -5
I’ve about given up driving because I can’t see at night. Nowadays “the Car” is my wife’s car.
But..
The best car I ever had was a Mercury Grand Marquis. I bought it when I was cross shopping Buick, Toyota, and Lexus, and the Mercury option was literally ten thousand dollars less. And more comfortable.
Back then, in the middle 2000s, I was doing 40-60 thousand miles a year on the road for work. That big Mercury, as poor as the quality control was, outdid it’s rivals in comfort.
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Post by toshtego on Jul 20, 2019 11:14:26 GMT -5
I’ve about given up driving because I can’t see at night. Nowadays “the Car” is my wife’s car. But.. The best car I ever had was a Mercury Grand Marquis. I bought it when I was cross shopping Buick, Toyota, and Lexus, and the Mercury option was literally ten thousand dollars less. And more comfortable. Back then, in the middle 2000s, I was doing 40-60 thousand miles a year on the road for work. That big Mercury, as poor as the quality control was, outdid it’s rivals in comfort. I have that trouble in towns and cities at night with all the bright lights. Out on our mostly empty rural highway and roads, I do OK. I assume you are writing about the Mercury Marquis/Ford Crown Victoria? I loved those cars and wish there was one here now. V-8, as God and Henry Ford intended for us in the beginning, four big doors, REAR wheel drive where traction counts, seats like a living room sofa, steering and handling slightly better than a ferryboat ("Helm's a'lee, Capt'n), reliability adequate and access to systems made easy by spreading the thing over a chassis longer than most others. That era has mostly passed. |
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Post by smellthehatfirst on Jul 20, 2019 11:30:31 GMT -5
I’ve about given up driving because I can’t see at night. Nowadays “the Car” is my wife’s car. But.. The best car I ever had was a Mercury Grand Marquis. I bought it when I was cross shopping Buick, Toyota, and Lexus, and the Mercury option was literally ten thousand dollars less. And more comfortable. Back then, in the middle 2000s, I was doing 40-60 thousand miles a year on the road for work. That big Mercury, as poor as the quality control was, outdid it’s rivals in comfort. I have that trouble in towns and cities at night with all the bright lights. Out on our mostly empty rural highway and roads, I do OK. I assume you are writing about the Mercury Marquis/Ford Crown Victoria? I loved those cars and wish there was one here now. V-8, as God and Henry Ford intended for us in the beginning, four big doors, REAR wheel drive where traction counts, seats like a living room sofa, steering and handling slightly better than a ferryboat ("Helm's a'lee, Capt'n), reliability adequate and access to systems made easy by spreading the thing over a chassis longer than most others. That era has mostly passed.
It has entirely passed, unless you count pickup trucks
There is no body-on-frame sedan offered for sale in the United States. The crown victoria / grand marquis / town car were the very last.
I had a final generation vehicle, '03-'10, and it steered a lot better than you would think. Turning circle was slightly smaller than a contemporary FWD Camry, despite being a much larger car.
It was big, it was quiet, it was spacious, and it was cheap. I have some complaints about the build quality but given the money saved, it worked out real good for me across the ~150k I put on the clock.
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Post by smellthehatfirst on Jul 20, 2019 11:31:21 GMT -5
That 215ci Buick V8 was a nightmare in Buick cars before they sold it to Rover. I couldn't believe that they actually got money for one of the worst American engines ever made. Every time the heads came off, the head bolt threads came with them. And they always overheated. I also had a Buick GS 350 4 barrel that was very fast, but couldn't get across town on gallon of water. I remember that. Yet, the English put that engine in Range Rovers, The Triumph Stag, the Rover 3500 sedan which we had, and it worked well. Go figure. "Working well" is measured by an entirely different standard in a British car  |
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Post by Ronv69 on Jul 20, 2019 11:42:09 GMT -5
I’ve about given up driving because I can’t see at night. Nowadays “the Car” is my wife’s car. But.. The best car I ever had was a Mercury Grand Marquis. I bought it when I was cross shopping Buick, Toyota, and Lexus, and the Mercury option was literally ten thousand dollars less. And more comfortable. Back then, in the middle 2000s, I was doing 40-60 thousand miles a year on the road for work. That big Mercury, as poor as the quality control was, outdid it’s rivals in comfort. I have that trouble in towns and cities at night with all the bright lights. Out on our mostly empty rural highway and roads, I do OK. I assume you are writing about the Mercury Marquis/Ford Crown Victoria? I loved those cars and wish there was one here now. V-8, as God and Henry Ford intended for us in the beginning, four big doors, REAR wheel drive where traction counts, seats like a living room sofa, steering and handling slightly better than a ferryboat ("Helm's a'lee, Capt'n), reliability adequate and access to systems made easy by spreading the thing over a chassis longer than most others. That era has mostly passed. Those old big Fords and Mercury's are in great demand for spare parts to keep the limousines running. We see several around here driven by OLD people that would be worth 50k in NYC. I went to buy a Grand Marquis for a work car in 71 and bought a T-bird instead. Boss was pissed. He was my brother though so what could he do. |
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Post by Ronv69 on Jul 20, 2019 11:47:58 GMT -5
Ever noticed that the car magazines rate handling above everything else, when 99% of the people are more interested in comfort, room, and mileage. They have ruined the auto industry and everyone drives trucks now.
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Post by smellthehatfirst on Jul 20, 2019 17:32:36 GMT -5
I have that trouble in towns and cities at night with all the bright lights. Out on our mostly empty rural highway and roads, I do OK. I assume you are writing about the Mercury Marquis/Ford Crown Victoria? I loved those cars and wish there was one here now. V-8, as God and Henry Ford intended for us in the beginning, four big doors, REAR wheel drive where traction counts, seats like a living room sofa, steering and handling slightly better than a ferryboat ("Helm's a'lee, Capt'n), reliability adequate and access to systems made easy by spreading the thing over a chassis longer than most others. That era has mostly passed. Those old big Fords and Mercury's are in great demand for spare parts to keep the limousines running. We see several around here driven by OLD people that would be worth 50k in NYC. That era is passing, too. Black cars typically have to be no older then seven years. The last big fords rolled off the line in 2011. |
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Post by pepesdad1 on Jul 21, 2019 11:58:51 GMT -5
Love my lil Chevy S-10 year 2000...has 162,000 on it but is taken care of as if it were my baby, which it is....mechanic owns 5 of them in his family...knows them inside out and takes care of mine like it was his own....says I can put another 100,00 on it and should be just fine. I'll keep it til I die. Only a 2 seater but we have a car seat for our small baby...she is a queen and is treated as such.  |
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Post by toshtego on Jul 21, 2019 13:31:41 GMT -5
I always wanted a Checker Marathon. Not an ex-taxicab, but the consumer four door model with the 350 GM V8 and the GM auto tranny. It seemed that unless you lived in South Dakota, Nebraska or Iowa, there was no way to find a dealer. Roomy, solid, slow!
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Post by Ronv69 on Jul 21, 2019 15:03:52 GMT -5
Love my lil Chevy S-10 year 2000...has 162,000 on it but is taken care of as if it were my baby, which it is....mechanic owns 5 of them in his family...knows them inside out and takes care of mine like it was his own....says I can put another 100,00 on it and should be just fine. I'll keep it til I die. Only a 2 seater but we have a car seat for our small baby...she is a queen and is treated as such. Our Yorkie rides in a dog carrier strapped to the top of the console in our regular cab Ram. She's very happy to ride in it, but she freaks out without it. |
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Post by Ronv69 on Jul 21, 2019 15:06:26 GMT -5
I always wanted a Checker Marathon. Not an ex-taxicab, but the consumer four door model with the 350 GM V8 and the GM auto tranny. It seemed that unless you lived in South Dakota, Nebraska or Iowa, there was no way to find a dealer. Roomy, solid, slow!
I always wanted one too. They are slow because they are heavy. That 350 can be made to compensate for the weight. |
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Post by smellthehatfirst on Jul 21, 2019 16:38:27 GMT -5
I always wanted a Checker Marathon. Not an ex-taxicab, but the consumer four door model with the 350 GM V8 and the GM auto tranny. It seemed that unless you lived in South Dakota, Nebraska or Iowa, there was no way to find a dealer. Roomy, solid, slow!
I always wanted one too. They are slow because they are heavy. That 350 can be made to compensate for the weight.
It's only 3700 lbs. Heavy, but not outrageous. It's not a Chrysler Imperial.
Bet a 4 bbl carb or a fuel injection retrofit would put some pep in its step.
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Post by toshtego on Jul 21, 2019 20:46:31 GMT -5
Man, THAT is what a car is meant to be in my world.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2019 20:54:50 GMT -5
My favorite car/truck I've owned is the one I'm driving now, a 2003 Chevy Tahoe LT 4x4 with a 5.3L V8 engine, dark green metallic paint, and tan leather upholstery. I bought it new 15 years ago. It's big, solid, comfortable, has plenty of power, and plows thru the snow when necessary. I've never had to do anything, but regular maintenance work either. Love it.
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Post by pepesdad1 on Jul 21, 2019 21:03:39 GMT -5
Love my lil Chevy S-10 year 2000...has 162,000 on it but is taken care of as if it were my baby, which it is....mechanic owns 5 of them in his family...knows them inside out and takes care of mine like it was his own....says I can put another 100,00 on it and should be just fine. I'll keep it til I die. Only a 2 seater but we have a car seat for our small baby...she is a queen and is treated as such. She's very happy to ride in it, but she freaks out without it. Got one of those from Chewy.com...our little girl loves being in it instead of laying on a pillow in my wife's lap...she seems quite comfortable as she can either look at me nose to nose or sleep for the ride...great thing to have...she wears a harness when out and it has a strap to the carrier so she can't get thrown out in an accident...keeps me happier knowing she is safe...turned off the airbag on the right side of the cab..we wear seat belts so need for it....could kill her if it went off in her face (dog). |
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Post by Ronv69 on Jul 21, 2019 22:26:08 GMT -5
Our Yorkie rides in a dog carrier strapped to the top of the console in our regular cab Ram. She's very happy to ride in it, but she freaks out without it. Got one of those from Chewy.com...our little girl loves being in it instead of laying on a pillow in my wife's lap...she seems quite comfortable as she can either look at me nose to nose or sleep for the ride...great thing to have...she wears a harness when out and it has a strap to the carrier so she can't get thrown out in an accident...keeps me happier knowing she is safe...turned off the airbag on the right side of the cab..we wear seat belts so need for it....could kill her if it went off in her face (dog). Same, agree with all. |
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Post by Ronv69 on Jul 21, 2019 22:30:37 GMT -5
I always wanted one too. They are slow because they are heavy. That 350 can be made to compensate for the weight.
It's only 3700 lbs. Heavy, but not outrageous. It's not a Chrysler Imperial.
Bet a 4 bbl carb or a fuel injection retrofit would put some pep in its step.
I believe that they were heavier than their contemporaries. Thicker steel, heavy duty frame and seats built like office furniture. Or maybe your right that the brick-like appearance just fooled me. Neighbors got a turbo 400 smallblock in his garage. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2019 22:30:43 GMT -5
My dog sits on the center console and uses the daddy arm restraint system from before the invention of seat belts. Good enough for me good enough for my dog.
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Post by smellthehatfirst on Jul 21, 2019 22:53:37 GMT -5
It's only 3700 lbs. Heavy, but not outrageous. It's not a Chrysler Imperial.
Bet a 4 bbl carb or a fuel injection retrofit would put some pep in its step.
I believe that they were heavier than their contemporaries. Thicker steel, heavy duty frame and seats built like office furniture. Or maybe your right that the brick-like appearance just fooled me. Neighbors got a turbo 400 smallblock in his garage. 3700 was pretty heavy for its era, just not wildly outside the norm
for perspective, the full size 1979 Ford was 3600 lbs. Full size 1979 Chevy, also 3600 lbs. (Coincidence, or convergent evolution?)
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Post by Ronv69 on Jul 21, 2019 23:01:51 GMT -5
I am sure that they looked over each other's shoulders. My 51 F1 Ford weighed 2300 lbs. My same sized Ram weighs 4600 lbs. So it's hard to keep up with.
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Post by monbla256 on Jul 21, 2019 23:03:57 GMT -5
For me it's always been the 1954 Jaguar XK 120 DHC . I learned to drive in that car and remember the wood dash as I hadn't seen one til my father bought a 1957 MG Magnette with it's all wood dash . The Jag was BRG and had wire wheels which I thought were neat as they were the first I'd seen. He kept that car for almost 30 years till he sold it when he retired to a collector in Dallas. He got a little more than he paid for it new in '54! 
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2019 0:00:00 GMT -5
As a followup to the first car thread. Mine was a Subaru Brat that I ran the hell out of. Apparently, Ronald Reagan had a Brat, too. He kept it at his ranch and it's been restored and is on display now. |
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Post by smellthehatfirst on Jul 22, 2019 0:12:38 GMT -5
For me it's always been the 1954 Jaguar XK 120 DHC . I learned to drive in that car and remember the wood dash as I hadn't seen one til my father bought a 1957 MG Magnette with it's all wood dash . The Jag was BRG and had wire wheels which I thought were neat as they were the first I'd seen. He kept that car for almost 30 years till he sold it when he retired to a collector in Dallas. He got a little more than he paid for it new in '54! Learning to drive in a '54 Jaguar must have made American cars something of a dream! |
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Post by smellthehatfirst on Jul 22, 2019 0:13:10 GMT -5
As a followup to the first car thread. Mine was a Subaru Brat that I ran the hell out of. Apparently, Ronald Reagan had a Brat, too. He kept it at his ranch and it's been restored and is on display now. Ronald Reagan was also known to smoke a pipe when the camera was off. He sold Chesterton's professionally, but that wasn't his preferred vice. |
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Post by toshtego on Jul 22, 2019 11:41:45 GMT -5
For me it's always been the 1954 Jaguar XK 120 DHC . I learned to drive in that car and remember the wood dash as I hadn't seen one til my father bought a 1957 MG Magnette with it's all wood dash . The Jag was BRG and had wire wheels which I thought were neat as they were the first I'd seen. He kept that car for almost 30 years till he sold it when he retired to a collector in Dallas. He got a little more than he paid for it new in '54! THAT is one beautiful car! The entire XK series from 120 to 150 was pretty wonderful. Then came the "E" and was that not grand? |
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Post by Ronv69 on Jul 22, 2019 12:04:29 GMT -5
For me it's always been the 1954 Jaguar XK 120 DHC . I learned to drive in that car and remember the wood dash as I hadn't seen one til my father bought a 1957 MG Magnette with it's all wood dash . The Jag was BRG and had wire wheels which I thought were neat as they were the first I'd seen. He kept that car for almost 30 years till he sold it when he retired to a collector in Dallas. He got a little more than he paid for it new in '54! THAT is one beautiful car! The entire XK series from 120 to 150 was pretty wonderful. Then came the "E" and was that not grand? I always thought that the pre-XKE cars were uglier than VW Things. But the E-Type is museum worthy. It is in the permanent collection of several museums. One of the most beautiful cars ever made along with the Auburn Boat tail Speedster. One of my junior high school teachers hand a candy apple red roadster with tan top and tan leather seats. I still drool every time I remember it. |
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Post by pepesdad1 on Jul 22, 2019 12:24:27 GMT -5
Apparently, Ronald Reagan had a Brat, too. He kept it at his ranch and it's been restored and is on display now. Ronald Reagan was also known to smoke a pipe when the camera was off. He sold Chesterton's professionally, but that wasn't his preferred vice. Chesterfields was the name I believe. Good cigarettes back then. |
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