# [2008] Which of your cars had the most 'character'?



## T_R_Oglodyte (Mar 15, 2008)

Jim Ricks asks "Your first car?"  The companion topic is, _*"Which of your cars had the most 'character'?"*_

*****

For me that's easy.  1960 Pontiac Catalina.  Technically, it wasn't mine. It was my Dad's, and I was still in high school.  But I operated it and took care of all of the maintenance and paid for all of the gas.

My Dad was "thrifty".  He bought the car used, from a guy who was equally thrifty.  What that means is that the car had no options other than a radio and an automatic transmission.  Most significantly, it had neither power steering nor power brakes. 

****

It was built in the days before automakers used any alloys. It was all steel and cast iron and weighed more than 4000 lbs.  On dry pavement I could not lock the wheels with the brakes.  I could stand on the brakes with two feet, bracing myself against the drivers seat and pushing as hard as I could, and I could not lock the brakes.

It was a challenge getting into a parking slot.  My best friend commented one time that the car certainly did have power steering produced by a well known company - Armstrong.

*****

After I had the car for about a year, one time I started up from a stop light and suddenly the accelerator by itself went to the floorboard and the car started accelerating uncontrollably.  I was panicking, and getting ready to shut off the ignition when suddenly the car started spluttering and released the accelerator.  I was smart enough to recognize the sounds of an engine operating with about a 20 degree timing delay.  After stopping the car and turning off the engine, I popped the distributor cap and sure enough, the rotor was out of position, having been knocked backward about 20 degrees. The rotor was held in position by a couple of plastic tabs that were part of the injection molding for the distributor cap, and I noticed that one of the tabs had been sheared off when the rotor rotated backward. 

I replaced the rotor, and about a month later, the same thing happened.  I replaced the rotor again, and the same thing happened again. After that i stopped replacing rotors and would just push the rotor back into position whenever the car repeated the same thing.  I figured out that it only happened when I accelerated too quickly from a stop, so I simply made sure that I didn't gun the car too much when starting from a stop sign or stop light.

My Dad got rid of the car when I went to college.  A couple of years later I figured out what was going on.  The motor mounts were broken, and if I hit the accelerator too hard, the engine would literally rotate inside the engine compartment.  The engine rotation would pull on the throttle linkage, causing the accelerator to open further, which increased the engine torque and correspondingly increased the rotation of the engine, which increased the pull on the throttle linage, which increased the engine torque and rotation, etc. until the accelerator was maxed out.

I believe the saving grace was that the bushings around the distributor  shaft were worn. As the engine accelerated, the distributor shaft lost alignment, and the rotor would hang up on the contacts inside the distributor cap. The rotor would then snap the tab holding the rotor in place, causing the engine timing to go out of whack.  That stopped the engine acceleration, decreasing the torque, causing engine to slow down and settle back into place, and releasing the accelerator.

What an experience.  Much to my frustration, no racing for me.

****

One time I was walking down the street and found a pair of General Motors car keys lying in the street.  I put them in my pocket. Later that day I tried them in the locks of that Pontiac.  They worked the drivers side door lock and the ignition.  I compared them with the true key and they aligned except for two slots that were one position off.  I guess the pins in the driver door lock and the ignition were so worn that being off one spot was close enough.

****

Another time I put the key in the ignition, turned the key, and the ignition started sparking and smoking.   I pulled out the ignition switch and it was all melted.

I went to a junkyard and got a replacement ignition switch from another 1960 Pontiac and replaced it.  But there was one hot wire that I couldn't connect properly, so I jumped a lead from the hot side of the fuse box.  I ended up wiring the car so that a few electrical items never shut off, most natably the gas gauge.  The drain on the battery was enough that after leaving the car sit for a couple of days in the middle of a Minnesota winter, the battery had drained sufficiently that I couldn't start the car.  So I spliced in a $0.25 Radio Shack toggle switch to allow me to turn off the accessories when the ignition was off.  When I started the car, I had to turn the toggle switch on in order to use accessories (radio, windshield wipers, heater , gas gauge).  When I turned the engine off I had to reach down and turn off the toggle switch or I would drain the battery.

*****

It wasn't my first car in terms of true ownership, but in a lot of ways it was my "first" car.  And I have never had another car that came anywhere close to that car in "character".

I also had a lot of memorable dates in that car with the first woman I really, really cared for. I have some wonderful memories of "watching Dr. Zhivago" at the drive-in movie theater that used to be on I-494 and France Avenue in Edina.


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## Passepartout (Mar 15, 2008)

I've had a few with some 'character'. I borrowed mom's Rambler station wagon with the reclining seats in high school, but that's another story. 

There's the '56 Desoto with a 392 hemi that was the first car I drove. Two speed Torqueflite and it'd do 130.

Mom was widowed at age 48. She wanted wheels to make her feel better. I was 16, The Buick salesguy said the Grand Sport had 'enough power to light Seattle'- (he lied) so she bought a '65 Mustang notchback GT serial #2 instead. I was in heaven!

There were a few sportscars, motorcycles and bad judgment put scar tissue on most joints. 

Good heavens, life changes. DW has a Prius and I spend my days in an '08 Freightliner with enough emissions stuff on it that the exhaust is cleaner than the intake air!

Jim Ricks


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## geekette (Mar 15, 2008)

My Chevette.

Cheapo transport.  No power anything.  

Ideal in winter situations where I'd be the first on the road, running late for my job, and end up in a neighbor's yard - I could push her out myself.  Low enuf to the ground that often in deep snow I didn't get a choice as to which direction she'd go but with enuf gas, we'd progress!  A skid on ice would be interesting cuz she was light enuf to slide a long way but she handled really well.   We never got into any scrapes tho we did have a handful of scary times.

When I had her in college, I was heading back to the apartment one day and some stupid frat boy turned wrong way onto the one way right in front of me.  I laid on the horn and did the best I could to avoid the dilrods, who luckily made another turn before we had contact.  The horn never worked again after that.

She got crumpled once, parked on the street, but she didn't care.  After that the doors never closed well again but I was poor and there was never anything worth stealing in her so that wasn't a problem and was actually a help the one time I locked my keys inside.

The heat didn't work so well, rear defrost decided when it wanted to work, never had AC and lived with AM radio, and the floorboards were a joke (think Flinstones car) but I loved that car and we had a lot of adventures together.  Back then, I could fit everything I owned in her, starting with the giant stereo speakers.   That gave me a weird sense of freedom but I was young, dreaming of different places and situations.  It was liberating to know I could pack it all up, pull up stakes, and try my luck elsewhere.

She was trusty, too.  One winter of -40s I was working second shift, and every night after work she started without hesitation.  Many cohorts were stuck, needing jumps.  I had never bothered with the cardboard around the grill and there wasn't much to her, so I don't know why she never froze up like the rest.

That car got me thru a lot of life.


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## Andar (Mar 15, 2008)

*I posted this in rfirst car but it REALLY had character!*

I am really not that old, but my first car was a 1949 Desoto. 
My grandrfather had bought it new and used it for to drive to church and "socials". No kidding, he had a work car. When he died, he left it to me and my sis; we were both in H.S. The car had 12,000 miles on it! 
Now having a 1949 Desoto was not cool in the late '60's early '70's.  

I remember the fluid drive. Give it gas, let up on the gas, clunk, it would shift and you hit the gas again. It also had an "air conditioner" There was a squirrel cage with a square holder that hung outside on the rear window. You would put 5 pound block of ice in it and when you drove the squirrel cage turned to blow air over the ice and into the car through the fitted slot at the top of the window. We also had flow through air by popping up the vent on the top of the hood (not as cool as a spoiler). 

The car was huge, like a tank. It didn't corner well around the mountain roads where we lived but as teenage drivers we were will protected. 

Our friends even came around to liking the car as it had so much character. It did stand out in the student parking lot!
We could fit 4 to 5 friends in both the big bench front and rear seats. That's 10; then at 4 or 5 in the huge trunk and we could easily get 10-15 people inside the drive-in theater for one carload admission price. 

The other thing that I remember was gas was .34 a gallon! We could fit so many people in that everyone would pitch in their coin and we could circle the cruise all night! 

Kept the car for many years, it was in great orginal condition. Finally, my husband got tired of it in the garage and I sold it. I think it had 80,000 miles on it. Still ran great


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Mar 15, 2008)

geekette said:


> She was trusty, too.  One winter of -40s I was working second shift, and every night after work she started without hesitation.  Many cohorts were stuck, needing jumps.  I had never bothered with the cardboard around the grill and there wasn't much to her, so I don't know why she never froze up like the rest.
> 
> That car got me thru a lot of life.



In Minnesota, it was always the oil-burning clunkers that started easiest in the extreme cold.  That's because oil-burners all had shot rings and valves, which meant the engine was losing compression.  Less compression made it easier for the battery to crank the engine, so those would start when the batteries for other cars would crap out.

Just before the Pontiac I mentioned above, the old family car (in which I learned to drive) was a 1959 Chevy which my sister overheated one time and damaged the rings and valves.  My father decided it wasn't worth fixing, so we drove it around, adding the stuff to the crankcase that's supposed to increase the seal around the rings. Still burned a quart of oil every 50 to 75 miles, though.  

What a piece of crap.  But on a totally frigid January morning it would always start.


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## Laurie (Mar 15, 2008)

A VW that had no ignition key. Instead, I had to reach back to below the back seat where the battery lived, and press a button to start the car.

Then when the wind-shield wipers quit working during a downpour on an out-of-town road trip, I had to reach out my window and move it by hand. 

All in all, it reminded me of Fred Flintstone's car.


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## king1 (Mar 15, 2008)

That would be my 1950 Chevrolet convertible.  Just out of high school and broke--got a pretty good job for the day and went for a new car that I couldn't afford. 
The combination of a new convertible and my rugged good looks landed me a date with the Homecoming Queen and we've been married for 53 years.

A close second: 1931 Buick rumble seat coupe that I purchased in upstate NY in pieces in 97.  Hauled it home and tore it all the way down to the frame, then rebuilt it to look like new.  Wood spoke wheels, massive straight 8 under the hood,  a golf bag door on the passenger side, and chrome everywhere!


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## Jestjoan (Mar 15, 2008)

For me, my teeny tiny blue Fiat with the fabric slide back roof.


My parents had a very huge Mercury station wagon (9 passenger)that was white with a shrimp(ish) color with black and white interior. It was so distinctive....I never saw another one like it.
DB says it was orange.


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## Kel (Mar 15, 2008)

My first car had the worst character.  It was a hand me down 1964 Ford Fairlane (4 door) that I had when I was in high school.  The back doors wouldn't open.  I could seat three people across in the front bench seat.  If I took more than two people someone would have to crawl over the front seat into the back.  If I slammed the driver door too hard the window would drop and I would have to crank the window in one direction until it clicked and then crank in the other direction for it to roll up.  Sometimes the accelerator pedal would fall off and I would be scrambling to press on the little metal thing the pedal hooked on to accelerate.  Then I would have to pull over to lean under the steering wheel to hook the pedal back on.  And, you could see the brush strokes in a touch up paint job on one side of the car.  I hated it then, but it’s funny now.  But I had wheels.


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## JLB (Mar 15, 2008)

'59 Jag XK150 Roadster.  Jimmy Stewart's studio car and Yvette Mimieaux's car in Diamond Head.


http://www.remarkablecars.com/main/jaguar/1958-jaguar-005.html


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## AwayWeGo (Mar 15, 2008)

*So Many With Character That It's Hard To Pick The 1 With The Most.*

Maybe the 1971 school-bus yellow Ford Torino 6-cylinder Ford-O-Matic station wagon with hand-cranked windows, non-power brakes, non-power steering, & no radio. 

Or possibly the red 1972 Chevy Vega with Power-Glide & air conditioning ( -- our 1st air conditioned car -- ) that overheated any time the AC was turned on. 

Or maybe the pale yellow 2-door Fiat rustbucket that ran OK any time it would start -- not that we could always get it started just any time we wanted. 

Possibly the big 1968 full-size Ford 302-V8 station wagon than ran great any time there was continuity in the little yellow wire connecting the ignition switch in the steering column with the ignition coil under the hood.  Unfortunately, the 1 unreliable connection in the gang-connection block under the dash was for the yellow wire.  So it goes. 

Our yacht-size Chevrolet Greenbrier wagon with the clamshell rear opening was full of character, too.  Unfortunately, it ate starters. 

All our Dodge & Plymouth K-cars needed CV boots -- every 1.  Ditto all our Plymouth & Dodge original-vintage 4-cylinder square minivans.  No boot trouble, however, with our later-vintage streamline-model Plymouth & Dodge minivans. 

Our 1993 Olds Cutlass Cruiser wagon & our 1994 Chevy "DustBuster" Lumina minivan both burned out their OEM alternators at about 55*,*000 miles.  Other than that, they were OK vehicles.  But I never liked that Oldsmobile as much as I expected I would.  All in all, I liked the old Plymouth Reliant & Dodge Aires K-car wagons just as well. 

Our 1977 red Toyota Corolla 5-speed wagon with AM/FM & AC was a quality car.  When it snapped a clutch cable, I started it in gear then carefully executed clutchless shifts late at night to drive it over to the repair shop.  We sold off that car only when our 2 sons outgrew the rear seat.  So it goes. 

I guess our all-time top colorful car was our 1960 4-door Corvair powered by a 1963 Corvan truck engine -- 2-speed PowerGlide & AM radio & no other options.  Bought it used at a used car lot in 1965 for $300.  Chief Of Staff got it clipped by an oncoming car that she turned left in front of.  The other driver was speeding & got ticketed.  The Chief Of Staff was not cited.  (Just a fender-bender -- no injuries.)   After the other driver's insurance paid $85 for repairs, The Chief Of Staff had a rough fix done for $25 -- just well enough for the trunk lid to open & close OK.  (Rear-engine Corvairs had engines in back & trunks in front.)  In 1967 The Chief Of Staff sold the car as-was for $285. 

Runner-up is our 2002 eBay Chrysler PT Cruiser -- silver with OEM flames.  Very cool car for an old guy pushing 66 to still be driving around in. 




-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Kona Lovers (Mar 16, 2008)

Our vehicle with the most character would definitely be our old 1976 Dodge CrewCab pickup.  The "Orange Monster" served us well for many miles and many purposes, and there was no losing it on a parking lot!

Marty


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## Tom52 (Mar 16, 2008)

*This One !*

...has the most character since I still own it.  You cannot drive it with the top down without the thumbs up signals and the gawkers at the stop lights and gas stations.  It is a 43 year old car that looks like it is 2 years old.  It is not fast, it is not loud it is just cool.


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## Aussiedog (Mar 16, 2008)

*my DH's 1970 Buick GSX 455 Stage 1*

Frame off restoration.

I am pretty sure he will be buried in it, which could be interesting since I am trying to convince him to sell this garage-queen!!!

Ann


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## rod (Mar 17, 2008)

The car I owned that had the most character had to be a 1960 Triumph TR-3 known as the Red Rat that I owned from June, 1969, to September, 1969.

The hood was held closed by two quarter-turn fasteners at the front corners.  It was good that it was held closed by these fasteners, since a previous owner had removed the hinges that were supposed to be at the rear of the hood and had then either lost them or thrown them away.

I had the frames, and only the frames, for the side curtains; there was no isinglass in the frames.  I kept the frames in the trunk, along with the plugs for the drain holes in the floorboards.  After all, I didn’t really want puddles of water in the car when it rained, and the side curtains would not even help keep the water out.

If I had the top up, I had to be careful not to exceed 35 mph unless I had one hand free to hold the top in place - that meant no gear shifting or tuning of the radio above 35.  The canvas top was attached to the top of the windshield frame by snaps, which were worn enough that they popped loose between 35 and 40 mph.

The starter also tended to be temperamental; usually it worked, but then every so often it would decide not to operate at all.  And even with the starter working, the car would not start if the temperature was below 40° F.  Now you know why I sold it in September.

I did have a lot of fun with that car during the 3 warm weather months that I owned it.


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## AwayWeGo (Mar 17, 2008)

*How Could I Forget ?*

We also had -- no fooling -- a Dodge Colt station wagon _and_ a Dodge Colt Vista.  (Not both at the same time.) 

Both were pretty good little cars -- Mitsubishi products sold in the USA via Dodge dealers & Plymouth dealers.  We got ours used -- 1 from a private owner (the Colt Vista) & 1 from a Ford dealer's used car lot down in Alexandria VA. 

For a while, vehicles like those were on the road under the names Dodge, Plymouth, Eagle, & Mitsubishi all at the same time. 

We also had a couple of 1976 or so Subaru station wagons -- both red, both bought used.  Those were the narrow-body oldies from the days before fuel injection became the norm.  The carburetors on our Subarus were lousy & they ran so bad that we got rid of'm as quick as we could.  The only reason we had 2 is that the 1st 1 was so bad we dumped it immediately & got a different 1 thinking that our 1st no-good Subaru had to be a fluke & a different Subaru would likely be OK.  It wasn't.  What were we thinking? 

Since then, Subarus no doubt have improved greatly.  We see'm all over the place, so they must be right up there with the other 2nd tier (after Toyota & Honda) Japanese cars -- you know, Mazda & Mitsubishi & Suzuki & Nissan & Daihatsu & I don't know what-all. 

It's been a long time since 1976, so maybe we ought to give Subaru another chance 1 of these days.  

_Naaaaaaaaah ! _ 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## easyrider (Mar 17, 2008)

1974 V8 Vega would toast the tires in every gear. 1966 Chevy Malibu SS with mind blower speakers. 1962 Belvedere with a 440 wedge, tunnel ram, dual quads. These were my favorite cars that required a lot of attention and kept me broke with parts and tickets.
 I still have problems when I go out driving occasionally, like this fishing trip where I made it out and couldn't make it back. Tow bill $280.00, 4 ruined wheels $600.00 +, dent in my boat $100.00+
and worst of all my wife and grand daughters finger wagging, hip shaking, I told you not to go there righteousness.


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## BSQ (Mar 17, 2008)

My 78 Vette (I'm the 3rd owner of it).  Who ever bought it new went all out selecting the 8-track tape player option, though skimped by not getting all leather seats.   

The second owner put headers on it and glass t-tops.  So it was a loud and a gas guzzler, and the metal hurst shifter nob often got so hot it burned my palm. 

Then ... I had to stuff a piece of a papertowel into the corner of the windshield cause it leaked on me when it rained.  The 8-track still works. The best part is when the headers kept splitting apart so it sounded like I didn't have mufflers on. I got tired of hearing the "why I hate headers" lecture from my mechanic ... that and the bolt that secured them to the block kept getting lost so it was held at least to the car by a wire loop.  When I pulled apart the dash, yup, I found duct tape holding things together. 

Hmmm what else.  There were usually an assortment of screws in the ashtray cause every now n then I'd find one in or around the car and couldn't figure out where it came from.  The passenger's door couldn't  be opened with a key.  The drivers doorhandle spring once went kaput so I had to crawl through the passengers door into the drivers seat (with the tops on).  (I'm taller than average, so that was fun). 

The battery drained because the glove box wouldn't close all the way so the light stayed on. ( I didn't know this and locked the glove box shut to keep it from flopping open).  Let's see, I'm sure there's more.  Oh yes, the horn got stuck but I was quite adept at taking it apart while driving the car (to stop it from blairing).  The driver's window get stuck but if you bang the center console in just the right spot it works again.   Oh and the paint ... well it's kind of worn off so as a friend puts it "Is your car still that battle ship primer color?"  (it's two tone silver actually).

Oh yeah. And it winked (leak in the headlamp vacuum lines). 

I had a mickey mouse antenna ball on it, which someone stole ... the came off with the mouse ears. 

I knew I was in trouble when I lived in Knoxville and everyone would stop me to say what a cool car it was.  By then it was a flat out hooptie ... but it's a corvette.   

  It's all better now, I did a frame on restoration. And will drive it till they pry it out of my cold dead hands.


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## AwayWeGo (Jul 8, 2008)

*Recollections Of Chevrolets -- With & Without Character.*

We formerly & for a long time were strictly Chevrolet people -- stove-bolt 6-bangers, Chevy II wagons + a 2-door 4-banger Chevy II sedan up in Alaska, then back home we had a big honking KingsWood V8 wagon, & a 2500 Chevy van (a brown shortie).  Shux, as noted we even had a Chevy Vega -- just 1 in a long line of _Worst Cars In The World_ we owned at various times. 

My folks drove Chevies (till they moved up to Buicks).  The Chief Of Staff's folks drove Chevies (till they moved up to Cadillacs & diesel Mercedes-Benzes). 

You know -- _Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie, & Chevrolet_. 

Then, when all of the car companies -- all of'm, not just Chevrolet -- quit making any station wagons that were worth a hoot, we switched to Dodge & sometimes Plymouth minivans -- still driving those today, including a 2006 stow & go Chrysler minivan equipped with all bells & whistles including leather seats with butt warmers.  Who'd a-thunk? 

Every car we have ever owned (except 1) we bought _used-used-used_. The Chief Of Staff -- before she was ever appointed to that position -- took a year off college, working full time & taking college courses at night, so we'd have a paid-for brand-new car to drive around when we got married.  She sprang -- cash -- for a beautiful brand-new blue 1963 Chevy II 4-door sedan with small 6-banger, 3 on tree, Four Fifty-Five air conditioning, ArmStrong power steering, & Stomp-On power brakes, plus hand-cranked windows.  It did have a cigarette lighter (which I actually used back in those days) & an outstanding 5-button AM radio.  She got taken to the cleaners upon reselling it when we got army orders to leave home & head on up to Alaska.  That experience -- getting taken to the cleaners on reselling a car bought new, not going to Alaska -- is how come all our cars since then have been bought _used-used-used_, including 2 cars bought via eBay.  Let somebody else get taken to the cleaners for a change instead of us. 

BTW, for Chevy II station wagons, check out this guy's outstanding web site.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Beaglemom3 (Jul 8, 2008)

My 1969 Slant 6 Dodge Dart Swinger (?), the one that I had to start with a screwdriver touching two points and then run to the driver's seat to start it. It was a dark green, 2 door, hardtop. Not souped up, just basic transportation then.
Picture the Fred Flintstonemobile, actually.

Oh, my '65 Barracuda which I only owned for a short while as it had an electrical system problem which I couldn't afford to fix at the time, so I took the bus after selling it to my BIL. Oh, to have that car now.,,,,
It was like my terrarium on wheels.

I did love my Aunt's '57 Studebaker Golden Hawk. She was sooo cool. So was my Aunt !! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studebaker_Golden_Hawk Now this car had _character !!_


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## KCI (Jul 8, 2008)

Mine is our *GOLF CAR*t. It gets you there on the cheap. Really cheap. Grocery stores & restaurants are all within allowed range outside our Sun City Hilton Head gate. It has seating for 4 and an interchangeable box for groceries where the back seat goes. It has head lights, tail lights, signals, horn & of course, mag wheels. Great for going to the pool or just for an evening ride. Remember when everyone just went for a ride in their cars?. We joined 539 other carts for a parade a couple weeks back. You want to see the back up of regular traffic that this caused. Life is fun, you just gotta enjoy it. It's used for everything but golf.  
KCI's wingman


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## Glynda (Jul 8, 2008)

*Picture...*

I'd post a picture of it if I could just figure out how!!!!


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## wackymother (Jul 8, 2008)

During the energy crisis of the late 1970s, my father bought a used 1976 Lincoln Continental for very, very little. (He commuted just under one mile to work and biked most of the time, so he only needed the car for rainy or snowy days.) It was HHHHHUUUUGGGEEE and we loved it. The outside was gray and the inside was deep red velour. It was like riding in a very plush, very provocatively decorated living room. It had power everything, and each seat had a joystick so you could align everything to your own personal settings. It was a very delightful car. Eventually he traded it in...for a Yugo!


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## Beaglemom3 (Jul 8, 2008)

Sometimes I feel like I'm riding down the highway of life in a Yugo (with Firestone tires).


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## Mosca (Jul 8, 2008)

First: I read all of yours. Some good stuff there!

My first car was a '65 Pontiac Bonneville convertible, butter yellow with white leather interior and all the options. It was the dealer's wife's demo, my dad bought it and when it was my turn, it became mine. I have to say, if that car had any character it was ornery. It had a 421 engine that refused to stay in tune, and the car broke down constantly. I will admit that I wasn't as kind to it as I could have been. I eventually killed it, after learning about all things mechanical on it.

From 1971 until now there have been some interesting machines, but the car that has the most character is one that I own now; my 1997 Miata. I have never owned a car that has given me as much joy, nor has gained me so many new friends.

Here we are at Pocono Raceway, this is from 2005:


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## catwgirl (Jul 9, 2008)

A 1952 MG TD.  Now THAT was a cool car.


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## Htoo0 (Jul 9, 2008)

1st car also has the most character. 1950 Mercury which was 20 years old when I got it. It's my retirement project now. (If only I didn't have to get older to retire!  )


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## Don (Jul 9, 2008)

My parents wouldn't let me even think about a car until I could afford the loan and insurance payments because they couldn't afford them.  So when I was in a position where I could pay we started looking.  I could have had a 1969 Plymouth Fury III, but Dad felt it was more than I could afford.  He decided that a 1966 Dodge Dart 270 was a better deal (and smalller engine).  I paid $1200 for the Dart vs. $1800 for the Fury, and paid it loan off 11 months early.  
Even though I really wanted the Fury, the Dart was a great car.  The only real problem with it was the radiator, solved by a replacement.  That 225 Slant Six  could get up to 109 mph (shh, don't tell) and go 150 miles on about a half a tank of gas.  I know this because my wife was living in Charlottesville, VA and I was in Portsmouth when we were dating.  A 152 mile, one way trip each weekend.
  When we needed a bigger vehicle to carry camping necessities for our growing family, I bought a van and sold the Dart to my Mother for the tax value (the minimum VA collects).  It had over 103K miles on it and she put another 20K on it before the transmission went.  I came close to buying it back and paying for a new transmission, but decided not to.


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## Don (Jul 9, 2008)

My parents wouldn't let me even think about a car until I could afford the loan and insurance payments because they couldn't afford them.  So when I was in a position where I could pay we started looking.  I could have had a 1969 Plymouth Fury III, but Dad felt it was more than I could afford.  He decided that a 1966 Dodge Dart 270 was a better deal (and smalller engine).  I paid $1200 for the Dart vs. $1800 for the Fury, and paid it loan off 11 months early.  
Even though I really wanted the Fury, the Dart was a great car.  The only real problem with it was the radiator, solved by a replacement.  That 225 Slant Six  could get up to 109 mph (shh, don't tell) and go 150 miles on about a half a tank of gas.  I know this because my wife was living in Charlottesville, VA and I was in Portsmouth when we were dating.  A 152 mile, one way trip each weekend.
  Later, when we needed a bigger vehicle to carry camping necessities for our growing family, I bought a van and sold the Dart to my Mother for the tax value (the minimum VA collects).  It had over 103K miles on it and she put another 20K on it before the transmission went.  I came close to buying it back and paying for a new transmission, but decided not to.


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## wackymother (Jul 9, 2008)

Don said:


> Even though I really wanted the Fury, the Dart was a great car.



My grandmother had a 1969 Dodge Dart! She didn't learn to drive till she was well over sixty. Then she drove her Dart until it dropped, in about 1984. In the last few years of its life (not hers!), she had shrunk so much that you couldn't see her over the top of the steering wheel. When I was a teenager, my friends would say, "I saw a Dodge Dart driving itself the other day...then I realized it was your grandmother!"


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## AwayWeGo (Jul 9, 2008)

*Car Engine Durability.*




Don said:


> That 225 Slant Six  could get up to 109 mph (shh, don't tell) and go 150 miles on about a half a tank of gas.


I can't prove it, but I strongly believe those Dodge Dart slant-6 engines were indestructible.  

Haul an old non-crushed Dodge Dart out of the junkyard somewhere & there's a good chance the slant-6 engine will still run.  Transmission & steering & suspension & brakes & wipers & wiring might all be shot, but the tilty 6-banger will keep on chugging along, forever for all I know. 

By contrast, I think The Chief Of Staff's 1963 Chevy II stovebolt 6-banger had a blown head gasket when we sold the car before we moved to Alaska in 1967. 

Back then I didn't know the symptoms.  Looking back, I think the semi-foamy & dirty-looking gooey slime visible inside the oil filler hole was 1 indication.  Ditto the noise during a 1966 trip home from Buffalo NY when the radiator pressure cap howled like a steamboat whistle from the engine compression leaking into the water jacket via the bad head gasket & blowing out through the radiator cap.  

In an older car, the pressure might well have blown a radiator hose or blown a hole in the radiator itself.  

Who knew ? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Htoo0 (Jul 9, 2008)

I too owned a slant-six '69 Dart. Bought it used for $500 and sold it in roughly the same condition 3 years later for $400. Poor thing ran great (under 60-65 MPH) for 3-4 months then began choking. Found the air filter clogged with blow-by oil. Made my own 'filter' to catch the oil which solved that problem. It could run faster but it would begin to over-heat. The more load (people/luggage) there was, the slower you had to drive. Checked the timing and the mark was all over the place. Guess the chain was in terrible shape. Still it got us around as a 2nd vehicle and looked very clean. Hated to sell it but no way it could have made the trip from SoCal to Oklahoma.


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## e.bram (Jul 9, 2008)

I had 2 '55 Cadillac Eldorado convertables.(only a few thousand produced, 2 4bbl. carbs(gas eater) at 20cents/gln who cared) )
'52 deSoto (Hemi, semi-auto transmission)
'56 de Soto(Hemi, push button shift selector)
'56 Buick Century convertable


I wish i had them today


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## Ubil (Jul 9, 2008)

I had a 1991 VW Vanagon.  Vehicle had no power.  But it was was a joy to drive.  It would turn on a dime.  It had a shorter turn radius than a small car. My boys all learned to drive on it and loved it as well.  My daughter wouldn't drive stick.

One time when I was buying a new car, I asked what the bus would bring in trade.  The used car manager came back from driving it and said that he never had as much fun driving a used vehicle.  Didn't help the trade-in value, though.

Finally donated it to Goodwill in 2004 when parts just got too expensive to keep it running.   It was like losing a family member.

PS - The Car Talk people, Click and Clack, have a list of the 10 worst cars of all time.  Between my wife and me, we have owned 7 of them (and loved them all).


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## wackymother (Jul 9, 2008)

Ubil said:


> PS - The Car Talk people, Click and Clack, have a list of the 10 worst cars of all time.



Well, I had to see that. These are the CURRENT best and worst:

http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/toxic/bestworst.html

And here are the Worst Cars of the Millennium (drum roll please!):

http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/Worst-Cars/results1.html


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## NEVacationer (Jul 9, 2008)

ohh boy a neighbor of mine growing up bought the Pontiac Aztek - with the tent built onto the trunk.  Glad to see that thing on the top of the "worst cars" list!

As for my car with memories...a '96 Dodge 15-passenger Van.  Learned to drive on it, and that thing was like driving a house.  Ah, when gas was 99cents a gallon!


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## Moosie (Jul 9, 2008)

My first a 1960 Ford Falcon, Dad bought it as an automatic, but all his girls had to drive standards, so over a summer we converted it to one.

The gas gage konked out and i ran out all the time, but hey I think gas was like 25 cents a gallon!! This would have been 1966.

To this day I still drive a standard, so does my Hubby and that's the worst part of renting when we travel, only able to rent automatics.

My one brother never had to learn and has never owned a anything but an automatic.


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## AwayWeGo (Jul 9, 2008)

*Best & Worst.*

_Whoa!_ -- I didn't expect to see PT Cruiser on the "best" list.  We've got 1 of those -- purchased via eBay in 2002 -- & we enjoy it very much for the interior roominess & versatility it delivers in a smallish car.  Plus, it's fun. 

We owned some of the cars on the "worst" list, too -- a Ford Pinto & a Chevrolet Vega.  (But not at the same time).  The Vega was the 1st car we owned that had air conditioning.  Unfortunately, in really hot weather when we needed air conditioning really bad, the Vega overheated any time the air conditioner was on.  

Our "personal best" cars have been the Dodge & Plymouth & Chrysler minivans  we've been driving around since the 1st models came out in 1984 -- cheap (relatively speaking), reliable (overall), roomy (absolutely), great for transporting people & stuff. 

Shux, last week we brought home a full-size 88-key console-style piano from a Delaware thrift shop in our eBay stow & go Dodge Grand Caravan SXT, with plenty of room left over for suitcases, boxes, & I don't know what-all, including the piano bench. 

We previously came _this close_ to trying to load the bargain piano into the PT Cruiser.  By our measurements, the piano would have fit with 1/2 inch to spare if we had loaded it in _on its back_ with the rear seats removed from the car. 

As it happened, the rear seats already were out when we got ready to move the piano in the PT Cruiser, so we were good to go if it came to that.  But we weren't able to negotiate a bargain price on the piano that day, so we never got to try loading it into the PT Cruiser.  (We dodged a bullet, eh?)

We reached a deal on the piano a couple of weeks later.  That time we were driving the Grand Caravan, which had room to spare for the piano & the bench & all that other stuff.  Who'd a-thunk ? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Htoo0 (Jul 10, 2008)

My 1st NEW car was a '77 Pinto wagon. $3,200 out-the-door, rebuilt the engine myself at 90K due to a massive oil leak which I believe was only the sending unit (discovered after the engine was out) and sold it for $200 after 11 years and 188K on it. Maybe I'm crazy but I'd love to get a deal like that these days. I come close with my Camry's (so far) but they're much more expensive.


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## AwayWeGo (Dec 8, 2011)

*Whoa!  They're Bringing Back Dodge Dart!  Who'd A-Thunk ?*




AwayWeGo said:


> I can't prove it, but I strongly believe those Dodge Dart slant-6 engines were indestructible.
> 
> Haul an old non-crushed Dodge Dart out of the junkyard somewhere & there's a good chance the slant-6 engine will still run.  Transmission & steering & suspension & brakes & wipers & wiring might all be shot, but the tilty 6-banger will keep on chugging along, forever for all I know.


The Dodge boys are reported to be bringing back the Dodge Dart -- but not its famous slant-6 engine. 

Click here for the story. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## MuranoJo (Dec 9, 2011)

And here we have a '70 Dodge Swinger slant 6 2 door, original olive green paint, which we purchased from a little old lady next door about 30 years ago.  I think it has only about 80k miles on it. Hey, it was cheap and it was transportation while I was going to school.

In high school I drove my parent's Galaxy 500(think it was a used '65) and that monster had some power.  I even did a few drag-racing stints with it that Mom would never know about.

However, my fav cars back then were a Datsun 510 just out of high school (can't even remember the model year now) and later an '85 BMW 318i stick, which we still have.  Those things just don't die.


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## NWL (Dec 9, 2011)

1966 Dodge Polara that my sister and I shared throughout high school and college.  I eventually ended up with it.  My co-workers at my first job after college graduation dubbed it "The Great White Land Shark".  It was.   

Cheers!


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## artringwald (Dec 9, 2011)

Our first car was a 1963 Impala with standard shift. It's a good thing we lived on the top of a big hill because on cold mornings when we couldn't start it, we'd just push it down the hill, let the clutch out, and it always started before it got to the bottom. I can't remember for sure why we didn't buy a decent battery, but it was probably because we didn't have any money. Years later when we went back to visit I saw that they made the street one way going up the hill. I'm glad they waited until we moved.


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