Project Cars--You Get to Vote on "Hold 'em or Fold 'em"

fezo

A friend of mine had that car except it was a sedan.

I think that and the next generation are the best Accords.

andre1969

On my way to work, I pass by a house that has an '86-89 era Accord in the driveway. Little rusty around the rear wheel opening and rear quarter, where the plastic joins the metal, but other than that it's in decent shape. There's also a 1975-ish El Camino in the driveway as well.

And interestingly, a few houses up, I've noticed a '98-02 style Accord sedan, sitting up on jack stands. Been that way for awhile now. I think the owner is doing brake work or something, as both rear wheels are off. It's kind of amusing though, seeing a Japanese car jacked up and partially dismantled in somebody's front yard, for a change! :P

Mr_Shiftright

Either got his Camaro running or junked it I'd guess.

michaellno

I also liked the '86-'89 Accords .. it was Honda's first attempt at a "longer, lower, wider" vehicle.

I had a co-worker who owned an LX-i sedan. White, brown (?) interior with a stick shift. She needed to borrow the Isuzu P'up one night so we traded cars. Two things stick in my mind:

1) The clutch was really tricky
2) I thought that was the most luxurious car I'd ever been in (I know, I don't get out much, but hey, it was the 80's).

andre1969

Another running joke, of sorts, is going on next door to me. Last fall, the guy that owns the house moved out and put it on the market as a rental. A family moved in, and they have a dark green 1994-97 era Accord, and a similar vintage red Tahoe.

It seems like not a day goes by that I don't see the Tahoe's hood up, and the guy messing around with it. And once it was disabled along the road just a few hundred feet up the road, but I think that was just a flat tire.

In comparison though, I don't think I've ever seen them working on the Accord!

Not making a judgment call here, but I do find it amusing that both vehicles seem to be acting true to stereotype!

jlflemmons

or maybe he doesn't know how to fix a REAL car?

Mr_Shiftright

Old American cars have their advantages...like an alternator costing $12 or something and parts available at your local supermarket.

andre1969

Old American cars have their advantages...like an alternator costing $12 or something and parts available at your local supermarket.

Heck, there's something to be said for that! I remember some clip in the carburetor linkage in my '79 5th Ave broke years ago, and I rigged it back up with a twist-tie from a loaf of bread. Scary thing is, the next time I took that car to the mechanic, I asked him to look at it, and he said it was fine! :surprise:

FWIW, this was my previous mechanic, not the one I use now. My current mechanic is a bit of a perfectionist, and I think he'd have a fit if I told him how I rigged that carb up! But hey, I think that was in 2002 or 2003 when I did that, so I guess it's working!

As for my neighbors, one thing I'll say for that Yukon, is that it never seems to leave them stranded. With the exception of the flat tire, I guess. While the guy is always under the hood, it still comes and goes on a regular basis, as often as the Accord, so it's not like it's ever laid up for days at a time.

Mr_Shiftright

When I bought an old car, no matter how "pristine", it usually took me about 3 months to get it shaped up to where it was a car I could count on. I never, ever bought an old car that met my standards of maintenance or reliability from the get-go EXCEPT for a couple of them that were gone through at my expense before I put them on the road the first time.

Now that I don't drive old cars on a daily basis, I can give them more slack, and a wire on the carburetor is just fine thank you.

texases

This caught my eye about the work they're doing on the Hubble telescope:

"It took all of astronaut Andrew Feustel’s experience as a mechanic and an old Jaguar restorer to fit the Hubble Space Telescope with a new set of eyeballs Thursday."

They got the right guy-if he can restore an old Jaguar, that telescope's a piece of cake!

I'd like to see the tool box...

explorerx4

corvair

dodge polaris(?)

lotta 300 stuff

50's century

slepper?

cheapo exhaust

some big ffresh air iron

low rider

i like this

not a sleeper

call for mileage?

gsemike

Old American cars have their advantages...like an alternator costing $12 or something and parts available at your local supermarket.

I don't really buy that anymore at least when you're comparing an American car to a Japanese car. My friend was giving me that rap about my 97 Pathfinder so I looked up parts for it at Parts Geek and Rock Auto and right down the line, none of the parts were significantly more expensive than parts for a 97 S 10

Mr_Shiftright

I guess it depends on what parts you are talking about. Maybe it's the German stuff that is so remarkably expensive compared to domestic cars. I'd also guess that economies of scale would prevail as time goes on. If a car was not sold in large numbers in '97, the parts for it are going to be more expensive...e.g., Subaru. The Pathfinder is a pretty prolific model spanning many years.

RE; Hubble -- a 7 FOOT :surprise: bolt? I don't think even Jaguar has one of those.

fintail

Looks like some of the muscle car people need cash.

lokki

I just can't get myself interested in the first generation Corvairs - I like the lines of the later models..... and then I want a Yenko Stinger. Same with that bloat Galaxie, although in this case, it's the earlier leaner

However, I've wanted a 66 Plymouth just like that one with Hemi in it since High School. There were a couple in town that were amazing cars.

hpmctorque

I think the gap between the price of parts for domestic and foreign brands, Asian and European, has narrowed significantly in recent years. The domestic manufacturers seem to have adopted the business model of keeping the price of their new cars low, and compensating by charging more for parts.

It looks to me as though the era of cheap new parts is over, especially OEM parts.

xwesx

Ugh. That lime green Challenger is overpowering. Last summer, I saw a new Charger in Delta Junction that was painted just like this! Yes, it was just as overpowering. :sick:

xwesx

I agree. So far, with the mechanical parts and sensors I have purchased for my Caravan and Escort, they are highly comparable to the prices I paid for Subaru parts. What are far less expensive, though, are body parts. For example, I can replace the headlight assemblies on my "domestics" for about $60 each. The assemblies on my '96 Outback were approximately $250 each.

andre1969

The assemblies on my '96 Outback were approximately $250 each.

Well if it makes ya feel any better, back in 2004 a friend of mine bought a new passenger-side headlight assembly for about $225, for his 1995 Grand Marquis. He brought it over to my place, but between the two of us, couldn't figure out how to get it on, so he had to pay someone $75 to do it!

So, domestics can get pretty pricey, too! I guess the one small consolation was that the thing came with all-new bulbs.

The kicker though, was that about a month after he replaced that headlight assembly, he traded the car in at CarMax, on an '04 Crown Vic LX that had about 9900 miles on it. He got $600 in trade. Probably would've gotten $600, whether he had replaced that headlight assembly or not. :sick:

Mr_Shiftright

Try an older Audi at $1000 a pair. Or a 90s BMW power steering hose for $300 bucks. (some are $600).

At least with domestics you have more CHOICES for parts and probably more brands of aftermarket stuff.

Okay how about MOTORS? You can get Chevy crate engines dirt cheap.

xwesx

Ouch. That stings!!!!

I have yet to hear anyone fault me for not repairing the body damage on my '98 Escort.... apparently they understand the economics behind such a silly endeavor.

andre1969

I have yet to hear anyone fault me for not repairing the body damage on my '98 Escort.... apparently they understand the economics behind such a silly endeavor.

Yeah, I know where you're coming from there! My '00 Intrepid has a little battle damage on it. One small scrape on the driver's side, just ahead of the rear wheel opening, and another about a foot long on the passenger side that got both doors.

I probably should get new headlight assemblies for it, as they've clouded over. I've rubbed them with toothpaste, which seems to help for a little while, but then they just cloud over again. At least they're not like my buddy's Grand Marquis though, where the assembly had actually cracked along the bottom and had little shards of plastic crumbling off! Oh, and thankfully I figured out how to get my headlight assemblies off. Just two really long, skinny bolts, and they pull right out. I suspect it was something equally simple on my friend's car, but we had just overlooked it.

bumpy

Pontiford

$2500 rims, plus free car

relive the malaise era

last of the K-cars

well, technically it is a truck

parade float

big and slow

better than any 240SX you'll get at that price

andre1969

Of that bunch, I think my favorites are the '75 Delta 88 convertible and the Mistubishi Conquest. They both look like they're in good shape and reasonably priced.

I like that Benz too, but imagine it's a money pit. The '72 Galaxie and '76 Malibu give me a headache just looking at them. Maybe if the Galaxie was clean and a less poopy color, and the Malibu didn't look so beat-upon, I'd have a better perception of them. Oh, and maybe if the Malibu had at least a 305. I prefer my 0-60 time in LESS than 20 seconds, thank you very much.

fintail

The big Olds convertible looks like a fair enough deal, yeah. The non-offensive color is a plus, too. Probably no harm done there, and a little could be negotiated I am sure.

Beater W126 for a grand...money pit no doubt, but it's a 6, so at least 25% less of a money pit than most of them :P

The plush upholstery of that Conquest amuses me, somehow.

I have to doubt a Galaxie had leather that year.

andre1969

is the seller of this 1961 Catalina talking about?! "Tri-Power Glide with Race gear?" "Body hand-made by Fisher?!"

I'm almost tempted to go look at the car after work. I recognize that location; it's about 5 minutes away...I ran out of gas about 200 feet up the road from that Shell station back in 1991. I'm sure the transmission is just that "Slim Jim" hydramatic. Where was the Reverse located on those? Was it P-R-N-D-2-1, or was that the one that was P-N-D-2-1-R? If that's the case, better not throw it in that "R" if you want to race! :surprise:

And why do I have a feeling it's not a 421? Probably just a 389-2bbl, with an aftermarket air cleaner.

andre1969

I need to stay off Craigslist, because this one actually has me hot and bothered!

fintail

Wasn't someone here looking for an early 60s Caddy? That one looks pretty nice all around.

lokki

This guy is delightfully uninformed....

I've started toying with the fisher-price of a handmade Pontiac body

And I suspect that that "R" will stand for "Rebuild Time" if he tries to use it for Race

Here's what I've gleaned so far from our friend the internet....

Some GM divisions had their own designs in the 1950's (example: Chevy TurboGlide, 1957-1961) with the newer P-R-N-D-Gr or Hr (Grade Retard, or Hill Retard) setup at the same time other divisions still had P-N-D-L-R... like Pontiac until 1961.

See post from Ovenmaster, near the bottom

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/archive/index.php/t-116312.html

tjc78

and the Mistubishi Conquest

I think the Conquest was actually a Chrysler and Mitsubishi had the otherwise identical Starion. I remember them, always thought they were nice rides. I may also be the only person who finds the Chrylser Laser/Dodge Daytona of the era nice too.

andre1969

I may also be the only person who finds the Chrylser Laser/Dodge Daytona of the era nice too.

No, I have to confess that, in a guilty pleasure sort of way, I kinda like them too. Now at the time, when they were new, I didn't like them, but they've grown on me a bit.

The seats in that Conquest are kind of interesting, though. They almost look like they'd be more at home in a 5th Avenue than in a sporty car!

andre1969

Yeah, at one time, Parm was looking for a '62 Cadillac, but had no luck. Then I think he was looking for '63-64 Caddies, almost had one lined up, but then it was sold out from under him.

I gotta confess, the more I look at this car, the more I get tempted. And I can afford it, sure...the house can wait another year or so to be re-roofed, and, well, I've waited this long to get the DeSoto on the road again, it can wait awhile longer! :P

Mr_Shiftright

It's a nice Caddy, but it's no "show" car by any serious standard. Clean driver #3+/2-, worth just about what they are asking. It is after all, a Series 62, not a deville. Not the "steal" he claims, not with surface rust on the undercarriage and hood hinges, non working radio, busted speaker and erratic wipers.

Of course, were it perfect and a Deville, it would be $20K, so fair enough.

fintail

Your DeSoto is a pretty cool car though...maybe you should get it up and runnnig rather than add another mouth to the litter. Keep that up, and you'll have to build a second garage :P

andre1969

So if I offered say $11-12K, do you think he'd take it? Or would that be too much of a lowball? Or should I hit him lower? That green is actually a bonus for me, but I imagine that most people would prefer some other hue.

I'm starting to scare myself, in that I'm actually putting some thought into this! :surprise:

Mr_Shiftright

In this lousy market, he'd be a fool not to take it IMO. However, he looks like a consignment dealer, so I don't think he has the power to go too low on his own.

explorerx4

chavy crate motors are without a doubt cheaper than fords.

explorerx4

that pontiford reminds me of this(video)

fezo

Dang. One of my best friends had a 62 Caddy convertible back when, It was his mother's. His parents didn't let anyone outside the family drive it - except me. I loved the thing. Funny thing is he hated it. If his parents knew how much I liked it they might have let me have it. They gave it to his sister and brother-in-law who trashed it. A shame.

fintail

I think Lois Lane was driving a Pontiford in the earthquake scene of the 1978 Superman, when the car was swallowed by a crack in the ground.

benjaminh

Like the looks of this one. But $46k! Shifty: How do these drive?

http://www.classiccarcenter.net/66healey.html

That Caddy is nice looking Andre. But would that be the replacement for your Intrepid? Don't you need a more recent daily driver?

benjaminh

In the 78 Superman movie she was driving, I think, a c. 1972 or so Ford LTD or Galaxy 500. iirc, the bumpers might be the clue to the year. By 74 didn't bumpers start becoming more massive? I think these were the pre reg bumpers, but I could be wrong...So, yes, very much like the "pontiford" in bumpy's link!

benjaminh

Shifty highly rated for his knowledge. In a tough field, he's near the top.

Rank Leader Points
1. karjunkie 6055
2. mr_shiftright 4695
3. mastertech19 2965
4. tony78 2720
5. steve_ 2220
6. zaken1 1915

Mr_Shiftright

oh yeah that's the score for the last 30 days. karjunkie is catchin' up. Smart guy! He's better at tech stuff than I am. For overall scores for the year in all categories, you click on the person's name. Answers is a very cool tool!

http://answers.edmunds.com/defaultloggedin.aspx

Mr_Shiftright

AH 3000 is a nice driving car. I disagree though that the 3000 is a "rapidly appreciating car". In fact, it has taken a hit these last few years from previously much higher values.

Big issues with the car are very low ground clearance and lots of engine heat. But they are very capable of cruising on modern freeways with that big torquey inline 6, and they sound great. Nice cars. $46K is a pretty good price if it is in fact totally reestored.

I'd need to put eyeballs on it to see what the quality of the restoration is. For a top notch restoration, nut and bolt, 75K is not unheard of--but that's a #1 show car with all the right stuff on it.

Best ones are the BJ8s, the last models.

On the other end, a basket case could be had for $5000 and a dirty solid driver that needs restoration for maybe 10K--$15K and a very decent daily driver for $35K.

fintail

Right you are, it was a 72



Gotta love IMCDB

I think in 73 the bumpers were big as malaise set in, and the beaks would be gone soon.

benjaminh

Thanks, Shifty, for the thoughts on the 3000. It does look like a very fun car to drive. Ah well, I don't suppose I'm ever going to drive something like that.

What's the modern version of a car like that. Surely not the Solstice? Although how are they? Could probably get a decent price on one of them now...

benjaminh

Wow, fintail, cool pic. That movie, imho, is so much better than all of the comic book movies today. I love the first few seconds, when they start like they are reading a comic in black and white, and then it zooms out to the moon, become wide screen, and then the credits zoom past you. The credits take too long, but the movie itself is pretty good. Today a lot of those movies don't have character development, dialogue, humor, etc., it's just one endless scene after another of action.

By the way, is that car an LTD? I remember the ads back in the day saying the LTD was almost as quiet as a Rolls Royce.

fintail

The first modern (78) Superman movie was the best, hands down. My favorite parts are actually Lex and Otis - hilarious. II was OK, the third was pretty bad (Richard Pryor is the only saving grace for III), and Superman IV was terrible.

The pictured car is a Galaxie, a name caught up in the asinine old Detroit strategy of depreciating a name over time. From top of the line in 59 to dead 15 years later. Great idea.

hpmctorque

The "Quiet as a Rolls Royce ads were back in '65 (I think that's when the LTD was introduced) and '66, and possibly '67, but I don't know that direct comparisons with RR they were run after that.

Maybe, looking back, Chevy, Ford and Plymouth would have been better off leaving the Caprice, LTD and Grand Fury (?) space to Pontiac or Olds, Mercury, and Dodge, respectively, since these models essentially competed with, and marginalized, the medium price brands. To my thinking, it would have been more appropriate for Mercury to compare itself with RR, since by the mid '60s Mercury needed something to differentiate it from Ford.