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Post by Ronv69 on Aug 16, 2019 15:37:14 GMT -5
 Little story about my wife’s 72 Eldorodo, I moved on the outskirts of Baton Rouge, little place called Central, there was an old country service station, I liked the old owner and used them for oil changes. One day I was bootling around, , they had did about 3 oil changes, I went under the rack, , mechanic had drained the pan and was putting plug in, as he was letting car down, I said WHOA, what about the other pan? They didn’t know that front wheel drive the car had a one piece 2 part pan, the one he didn’t drain held 1.5 quarts, so on my oil changes I had 1.5 qts of dirty oil left in. They didn’t know any better, still used them as they were good people and honest. But I often wondered manual stated so many Qts, was it overfilled. I was working a lot of overtime then and was lax on Checkie, Checkie. My older brother had a 67 Toranado with the same chassis, but a 455ci replacement engine with all the W# goodies. My wife had an 85 Rivera also the same chassis but a pokey little 305ci. The Toranado drove great, but the Riviera drove like crap. |
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Post by pepesdad1 on Aug 16, 2019 15:57:00 GMT -5
Little story about my wife’s 72 Eldorodo, I moved on the outskirts of Baton Rouge, little place called Central, there was an old country service station, I liked the old owner and used them for oil changes. One day I was bootling around, , they had did about 3 oil changes, I went under the rack, , mechanic had drained the pan and was putting plug in, as he was letting car down, I said WHOA, what about the other pan? They didn’t know that front wheel drive the car had a one piece 2 part pan, the one he didn’t drain held 1.5 quarts, so on my oil changes I had 1.5 qts of dirty oil left in. They didn’t know any better, still used them as they were good people and honest. But I often wondered manual stated so many Qts, was it overfilled. I was working a lot of overtime then and was lax on Checkie, Checkie. Which is why I stick with my mechanic..he has 5 S-10's in his family and knows them inside and out...got 168,000 miles on it and he says I probably have another 100,00 to go as long as I keep up maintenance on it, which I do. Love my little truck and never have any fear about going on long trips with it as just about everything has been replaced on it. |
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Post by toshtego on Aug 16, 2019 16:20:21 GMT -5
My roommate had a Fiat 124 Spider in 75 and 76 while I was living with him. It's the only car that I have pushed more than a Porsche and Sprite. Sports cars are no fun if they don't run. I wouldn't consider any other than the Miata. If you think that Fiats have improved look at the reviews of the 500. And the Alpha based Dart almost put Dodge out of business again. People who bought them were without a car for a year or more. My aunt and cousin (that is two separate humans for those of you who know Congressman King of Iowa) bought their first Fiats in the late 1950s. They swore by them and I have fond memories. In the 1970s, automotive electronics seems to have baffled the Milanese who built those cars. A neighbor had a new one, a 500. That was assembled in Mexico. She had to return to the deal once with it. There are not many rear wheel drive, manual tranny cars made these days. Fiat 124 is one of them. BTW, after a little checking on line, the Fiat 124 is built by Mazda at their Hiroshima plant. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2019 18:00:48 GMT -5
Ron you should have sprung for the rear wheel half covers those are cool. Skirts can look real good on some of the 40' and 50's cars but, IMHO not the Eldo sir, at least not for me. |
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Post by toshtego on Aug 16, 2019 18:51:07 GMT -5
Ron you should have sprung for the rear wheel half covers those are cool. Skirts can look real good on some of the 40' and 50's cars but, IMHO not the Eldo sir, at least not for me. Fender skirts on Eldorados are fine with me. It is a matter personal taste. For example, I like Eldorado convertibles, orange with white upholstery. |
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elric
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Post by elric on Aug 16, 2019 20:43:59 GMT -5
I've loved big Yank Tanks [As we call them here] ever since I was a kid. A friends dad had a Pontiac Parisienne that I thought was the ideal car. [In those days American cars were more expensive than the common British models, plus they had a high import tariff to give the British cars an advantage] Such a big car with only two doors, lol. So impractical but it's one of the things that I love about big Yank Tanks. The U.S. made some brilliant cars up to the 70's then it was as if a pack of simpletons without half-a-clue between them took over the industry. A front-wheel-drive V8 speaks for itself. [#shaking my head in disbelief#] Yep! No regrets here, accept for getting rid of it.
I'd do it all over again if I could and keep it to be buried in. Had the optional disc brakes front and back and the Moon roof.
Best car I've ever had. Sadly one the very same with options go now for around $10,000 to $20,000 and the rag tops even more. But, I'd never have a PITA rag top, besides I think there FUGLY!
Agree 100% [presuming 'rag top' to mean convertible] Have never seen the attraction myself. Convertibles do not handle as well as a regular car [with a roof] and they're heavier, which affects the performance. [Yes, I've always been a bit of a boy-racer and have over a hundred speeding fines to prove it. Although most of those were earned on a motorbike] Although there are some exceptions to the rule, in general I'd also agree that most are a bit 'fugly'. |
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Post by Ronv69 on Aug 16, 2019 22:57:36 GMT -5
My roommate had a Fiat 124 Spider in 75 and 76 while I was living with him. It's the only car that I have pushed more than a Porsche and Sprite. Sports cars are no fun if they don't run. I wouldn't consider any other than the Miata. If you think that Fiats have improved look at the reviews of the 500. And the Alpha based Dart almost put Dodge out of business again. People who bought them were without a car for a year or more. My aunt and cousin (that is two separate humans for those of you who know Congressman King of Iowa) bought their first Fiats in the late 1950s. They swore by them and I have fond memories. In the 1970s, automotive electronics seems to have baffled the Milanese who built those cars. A neighbor had a new one, a 500. That was assembled in Mexico. She had to return to the deal once with it. There are not many rear wheel drive, manual tranny cars made these days. Fiat 124 is one of them. BTW, after a little checking on line, the Fiat 124 is built by Mazda at their Hiroshima plant. That's a good sign, ya know that they have recovered enough to build cars and stuff. Maybe there's hope for the planet. If it's built by Mazda and has an Italian body design I think I can get interest. Does it come in 3xl? |
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Post by elric on Aug 16, 2019 23:50:37 GMT -5
The Cadillac Eldorado was FWD the car was so powerful they used the engine transmission setup in motorhomes in the 70s. I prefer RWD but in this day and age you almost have to step up to pick-up or big SUV to get that drivetrain. The last car we owned was 2009 Acura TL a wonderful car and a BMW killer that car was a true sleeper with the ugly grill. FWD on such a big car is impractical and a bit ridiculous IMO. The only reason why manufacturers favour designing FWD cars instead of RWD is because they're cheaper to build. Most Aussie boys learnt to drive RWD. Up until recently, Australia had a long established automotive industry. BMC [British Motor Company] was absorbed by Leyland Motor Corporation which was the first to shut shop in 1975. Valiant [Chrysler] was the next to go in 1980. Toyota closed their factory in 2017. Ford & Holden [GM] closed a couple of years ago. Apart from Toyota, the other manufacturers made vehicles designed and built in Australia. V8 motors were mainly sourced from their U.S. parent companies. Although Leyland built existing British models, their swansong was the Leyland P76. It outperformed and out-handled both the Ford and Holden models of the same year. One of it's selling points was that a 44-gallon drum fit in the boot [trunk] But it was an ugly car and not in a good way ugly. Valiants [Chrysler] built solid drive trains but could not produce a car that handled. Out running a Valiant Charger Highway Patrol was easy because the coppers were told that if they drove over 100mph, they did so "at their own risk". The problem was that at that speed the front ends 'floated' and would not steer around corners. Owning an Aussie built Holden or Ford was seen as patriotic. Holden owners in particular [Because it had a different name than the U.S. parent company, Holden owners somehow think that that makes them more patriotic than Ford owners. I often reminded them that GM is American] There's quite a rivalry between Ford and Holden owners. This rivalry was used to build support for the V8 Supercar race series that for a long time only permitted either brand. These diehards insist that one must like one brand or the other, which is IMO, rather childish. Up until the 90's I favoured Fords simply because they performed straight off the showroom floor. The 250ci straight six was an excellent motor for e.g. Holden straight sixes were under 200ci by comparison and were sluggish. The Holden 253 V8 was woefully slow. One needed to spend money modifying Holdens just so they'd keep up. I like nice cars so I couldn't give a flying toss about brand names. When my 89 Holden 5-litre station wagon started needing a lot of work, it was time to replace it. This 5-litre V8 was a bit of a slug so I intended to replace it with a Ford straight six as my budget was rather limited. On hearing this a mate, who is a Holden freak, spend days on his laptop searching for a Holden that would grab my attention. He found a HSV enhanced 94 Holden ute, 215kw [288.3hp] 5-litre V8 that was worth $8k, that the owner was having trouble selling because it was in a price range that usually suited young drivers. Drivers who've just gained a license however, are not permitted to drive V8 or turbo models for their first three years on the road. The price had been reduced to $5k over the six months that it had been on the market. I told the owner that although his asking price was reasonable, all I could scrape together was $3,650. He accepted my offer. It has a factory modified V8 [the standard version is 185kw] a cold air intake, headers, sports exhaust and sports suspension. Although it's an older car, it's been well maintained. Apart from needing all the main gaskets replaced and a new steering rack, it has not given me any other problems in six years. 288hp is not huge but it's sufficient and enough to get me into trouble. [Last year I copped a $950 speeding fine and had my license suspended for 40 days] The last HSV Maloo ute that rolled off the production line has a 6.2 liter V8 that produced 438kw [587bhp] and 740nm of torque. What a beast. Anyhoo, old Holdens and Fords were cheap and plentiful so most Aussie young blokes learned to drive RWD. Apart from European cars like Mercedes or BMW's, most regular cars are now FWD, especially Jap and Korean models. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2019 6:03:13 GMT -5
Skirts can look real good on some of the 40' and 50's cars but, IMHO not the Eldo sir, at least not for me. Fender skirts on Eldorados are fine with me. It is a matter personal taste. For example, I like Eldorado convertibles, orange with white upholstery. I had the opportunity to buy a 2nd 76 Eldo H/T ( no options) in fair condition for real cheap when I still owned mine and bought it for a parts car just in case. It was a Goldish Orange (stock color), white Landau, don't remember the interior (I think white). Gave it to the misses to drive......she Hated the color and it wasn't as good running as mine, hence why I gave it to her, to keep'er from hot rod'en mine.  To tell ya the truth, I thought it was a bit pukey look'en to say the least.
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Post by toshtego on Aug 17, 2019 13:23:35 GMT -5
My aunt and cousin (that is two separate humans for those of you who know Congressman King of Iowa) bought their first Fiats in the late 1950s. They swore by them and I have fond memories. In the 1970s, automotive electronics seems to have baffled the Milanese who built those cars. A neighbor had a new one, a 500. That was assembled in Mexico. She had to return to the deal once with it. There are not many rear wheel drive, manual tranny cars made these days. Fiat 124 is one of them. BTW, after a little checking on line, the Fiat 124 is built by Mazda at their Hiroshima plant. That's a good sign, ya know that they have recovered enough to build cars and stuff. Maybe there's hope for the planet. If it's built by Mazda and has an Italian body design I think I can get interest. Does it come in 3xl?That is an issue. I have yet to try one on. Perhaps when I next travel to Santa Fe? I am long and I am round. I have long thick legs. Will all that fit into a pedal bucket? Who knows? I would hate to have my head above the windshield. Years ago, I had an MGB-GT wherein the driver sat almost on the floor with legs extended well out in front. Plenty of room in such a small package. |
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Post by Ronv69 on Aug 17, 2019 16:15:23 GMT -5
When we were in college my best friend had a Sprite. Even though we were slim back then, it was an origami trick to get in and out. No way now.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2019 16:30:47 GMT -5
When we were in college my best friend had a Sprite. Even though we were slim back then, it was an origami trick to get in and out. No way now. I can relate, having owned a Sunbeam Alpine in that era. I quit sports cars after a friend wrecked his TR-3 in town at 30 m.p.h. and it was essentially totaled. |
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Post by toshtego on Aug 17, 2019 16:44:41 GMT -5
When I lived in England and was 60 pounds lighter I tried to enter a Morgan roadster, one of the newer V-8 models. No luck.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2019 16:51:55 GMT -5
I am big camper 6.2 and 350lbs I had a Pontiac Solstice and fit quite well in there. Alas someone hit my daughter in it and it was totaled. A modern fun scooter with turbos and rwd to boot. I cant even get into a Mazda product. The Mini Cooper is also large inside. As I grow older it not so much getting in as it is getting out.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2019 16:52:30 GMT -5
The Aston Martin DB-5 replica Bond car sold at auction this weekend in excess of 5 Million $.
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Post by toshtego on Aug 17, 2019 19:37:19 GMT -5
The Aston Martin DB-5 replica Bond car sold at auction this weekend in excess of 5 Million $. The DB5 "Vantage" was an exceptional car even without all the Bond gadgets. 300 HP out of a I6 with double overhead cams and triple Webers, if memory serves. Of course, gasoline had octane in those days and compression was something like 11:1. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2019 19:39:54 GMT -5
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elric
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Post by elric on Aug 17, 2019 20:29:42 GMT -5
Now that's just mean. [Although i must say, a nice piece of bush ingenuity  ] All Aussie Ford and Holdens were designed and built here. Only the drive-trains were sourced from O/S. That's an HQ Kingswood. When I was living in the outback I needed a car when I changed jobs, losing my company car. The only Ford or Holden for sale was that exact model station wagon. It had a piece of crap 202ci straight six with three-on-the-tree. It would run all day every day. It was fine cruising at 100kph [60mph] but would overheat if driven any faster. Trips from Bourke to Sydney were so slow, driving at 100kph in the middle of nowhere in temps over 40*C. Apart from when a Highway Patrol squad turned up from Dubbo for a week once or twice a year, speed limits were ignored outside of town by the local coppers. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2019 22:20:40 GMT -5
I knew you would love it Elric.
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Post by trailboss on Aug 17, 2019 23:01:56 GMT -5
My 1969 Chevy Impala 2 Door coupe, it was yellow.
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elric
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Post by elric on Aug 17, 2019 23:01:59 GMT -5
I knew you would love it Elric. Ah, the memories ........ |
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Post by toshtego on Aug 18, 2019 9:15:15 GMT -5
The Aston Martin DB-5 replica Bond car sold at auction this weekend in excess of 5 Million $. The DB5 "Vantage" was an exceptional car even without all the Bond gadgets. 300 HP out of a I6 with double overhead cams and triple Webers, if memory serves. Of course, gasoline had octane in those days and compression was something like 11:1. In 1986 I had opportunity to buy an Aston Martin DB4 Coupe RHD for $15,000. I ended up with a 911 instead. Oh, the roads not taken...... |
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Post by trailboss on Aug 18, 2019 10:50:11 GMT -5
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Post by toshtego on Aug 18, 2019 11:48:39 GMT -5
Hard to imagine the opportunities missed in life. |
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Post by trailboss on Aug 18, 2019 12:02:17 GMT -5
Hindsight 20/20 for sure. ♫regrets...I have a few. ![]() ♪ |
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Little story about my wife’s 72 Eldorodo, I moved on the outskirts of Baton Rouge, little place called Central, there was an old country service station, I liked the old owner and used them for oil changes. One day I was bootling around, , they had did about 3 oil changes, I went under the rack, , mechanic had drained the pan and was putting plug in, as he was letting car down, I said WHOA, what about the other pan? They didn’t know that front wheel drive the car had a one piece 2 part pan, the one he didn’t drain held 1.5 quarts, so on my oil changes I had 1.5 qts of dirty oil left in. They didn’t know any better, still used them as they were good people and honest. But I often wondered manual stated so many Qts, was it overfilled. I was working a lot of overtime then and was lax on Checkie, Checkie.
]
