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what are those, stitches?
You got it. Didn't take a close look but they may have used paracord or maybe zip ties.
>
I remember back in the early 80's, my Uncle Buddy pop-riveting sheetmetal to the lower quarter panels, as well as the lower part of the door, on his '74 Impala coupe, and just painting it with a spray can. Actually didn't come out looking too hideous.
I remembered that trick when my '68 Dart started rusting out. I tore out all the bondo and cut all the rust out, and found a piece of aluminum lying around Grandmom's house (Grandmom and Granddad were packrats). I bent it into more or less the shape it needed to be, shoved it up in there, and pop-rivited it into place. It actually held pretty well, too, as that was around 1997 that I did it. Finally got rid of that car in late 2009, and it didn't rust out any further...at least, not in that spot!
I wonder though, if putting the aluminum right up against the sheetmetal would have caused any sort of chemical/electrical reaction? I've heard that one thing that would make older cars rust out was when they put two metals against each other that shouldn't have been. I think that was usually some sort of chromed piece up against sheetmetal, and it would create a reaction that would make the sheetmetal rust. Of course, the chrome strips would also catch moisture, debris, etc, and that would speed up the process...
I knew this guy on the Sausalito waterfront who was a total "make do" kind of person, often to the point of absurdity.
One time, I saw him working on the front floor of his totally ratty Mercedes 220 sedan (circa 1970s model). When I peered over his shoulder I saw that he had taken a 1 X 1 foot of sheet metal and was laying it over the rusted-out floor.
To secure it? He had drilled tiny holes all around the perimeter of the sheet metal, and, using wire, was stitching the panel to the floor.
I don't know if he tied a knot at the end and bit it off with his teeth, but he could have.
He's the same guy (you may recall) who decided to cure the old burning in his truck by opening the throttle full bore and pouring Borax into the carburetor....to "seat the rings" as he put it.
As you might expect, that didn't work out too well.
I kind of like the stitch and glue method, but I know how to sew a bit.
Yeah, you'd never ever see something like that in the city
"I remember back in the early 80's, my Uncle Buddy pop-riveting sheetmetal to the lower quarter panels, as well as the lower part of the door, on his '74 Impala coupe, and just painting it with a spray can. Actually didn't come out looking too hideous."
Some may have thought it was a stylish optional decor package.
A stitched up Lexus GX, there's an unusual sight.
Speaking of make-do repairs, I remember my dad's 60 Ford had one. He found the car with something like 30K on it, but it had sat outside in long grass for awhile, and the front floors were pretty bad. The rest of the car was solid - no problems in rockers or fenders, and I remember the red paint shined up with a day's worth of backbreaking work on my part. Sourcing an original floor or having one pro fabricated would have really blown the budget - so he shaped some sheet steel that he already had, and attached it with fiberglass. I am not sure if it would be a durable repair, but it looked OK and seemed solid.
I remember a friend's dad did a patch and spray paint repair on a Ford Elite - but as it was a brown Elite, it probably wasn't noticed. A car that got really rusty in western WA by the time it was just over 10 years old, that's less common.
Probably won't see the '99 Quest again since the buyer lived an hour away and she gave the car to her grandson who will be heading for Wisconsin this fall. But I've seen my old '97 Outback twice in recent days. Saw it up close just now parked up the road at the city park - the new owner has polished (or perhaps replaced) the front headlights (I kept them somewhat polished myself). and has new fog lights on it.
He claimed he was going to smurf it up for his daughter but I think he's enjoying driving it too much.
Got my fingers crossed that the head gaskets won't go until after we leave town in a couple of months.
Interesting site that's new to me - looks at longer term reliability.
Long-Term Quality Index
Stay away from CX-7s!
Gee, Steve, thanks.
Our 2010 CX-7 has 53,000 trouble free miles on it.
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
Better trade 'er in.
Thought about it, but we're way upside down in the loan (don't ask).
As long as we keep changing the oil every 3-4K miles with semi-synthetic I feel pretty confident that it will treat us right.
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
I'm proud to say that my MINI has the worst possible quality index of any car on those charts.:)
No surprises on these charts, really, for us gearheads, except perhaps the CX-7. Now there's a car you might want to ditch at 99,999 miles.
I did think of you reading those charts, Shifty.
I'm Number One! I'm Number One!
"Mini Cooper....where the phrase 'Drive It Until the Wheels Fall Off' is not just an idle expression..."
Great. I don't plan on telling my daughter any of this.
Here's hoping we get right side up on the Mazda loan before the odo clicks over to 6 figures.
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
Stay calm. As with any statistic, your results may vary. In the past 65,000 miles, I've only replaced a few minor things --- tires 2X, AC compressor, right side door trim, thermostat housing, control arm bushings, AC fan module, radio, catalytic converter, battery, right door lock actuator, and sunroof.:)
Heh, a MINI and a CX-7 - batting close to $1,000 there @Michaell. Or several $1,000.
The daughter is on her 2nd MINi. The first one she had for 4 years and 40,000 miles. Ate a couple of tires, but otherwise trouble free. The new one is only a few months old, but has already done road trips to UT and NM.
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Well damn, Mrs. Lincoln. Other than that, how was the play?
Whew, that's high maintenance! As I remember, you're the second owner of your MINI, so is 65,000 the odometer reading, or the mileage you added? If the latter, then the total mileage on the car has to be considered in evaluating the degree of high maintenance.
Well occasionally people fall out of buildings and land on a flatbed truck carrying mattresses---some folks are very lucky. I think if she had the 2nd generation MINIs they are considerably better cars in every way.
Nonetheless, you have to admire a car's ability to come in dead last in a quality index. There is a certain mad genius in creating something like that--think of all the decisions that had to be made to achieve that ranking AND sell a lot of cars in spite of it
RE: Maintenance --- one reason I am now shopping for a Porsche 996 is because after sitting down for some time with my friend who owns a Porsche/Audi repair shop, we figured out that a MINI costs exactly the same to repair and maintain as a 10 year old Porsche.
Obviously, our thought processes work very differently. My reaction to that news would be to run away, far away, from either one.
If you're gonna drive junk, I guess you might as well drive fun junk, at least!
Or, funner, at least, as I'd imagine that a Mini still has some fun factor to it.
Porsches are a lot more reliable than MINIs, though. > @henryn said:
Okay, the first generation of BMW MINIs are high maintenance, and second generation are better, while still average-below average. Maybe three's the charm. Would you consider a 2015 MINI, if you were buying a new car in the $20,000-$25,000 range?
Yeah, I think I would consider a 2015 MINI, because of the warranty. I'm not so keen on turbo cars though, unless it was a turbo diesel. I can't really complain too much about the MINI, since it is a work vehicle and I've put 60,000 miles on it in 4 years. It "earns" money.
So maybe I have $3K in repairs and maintenance (I don't cheap out on tires, brakes or service--the car gets the best of everything), originally paid $12K for it, sell it for $6500....so $8500 total outlay in 4 years is not bad compared to the depreciation on a new car. Probably would have taken a depreciation hit of 13K.
My MINI has every option so it wouldn't be $25K to replace---more like $30K.
Sure, I could have bought a Civic Si or Mitsubishi Evo or Subaru WRX STi and endured only 1/2 those costs, but I wouldn't have gotten the pleasure out of the car.
Three thousand in 60,000 miles, including tires, brakes and scheduled maintenance isn't unreasonable, especially for a car that's brought you pleasure. From your original comments I thought it had cost you considerably more.
http://autoweek.com/article/classic-cars/clean-1987-honda-civic-nearly-makes-300000-miles-will-be-crushed-soon
http://autoweek.com/article/car-life/another-race-car-building-ritual-taking-engine-donor-shell-crusher
Have you ever scrapped your car(s)? If yes, did you feel any remorse?
Back about 1968, I retired my first car, a 1949 Chevrolet. I had been driving it with expired registration (never did have a title so couldn’t register). A member of the local constabulary told my father that I needed to get that “piece of junk” off the road. My father found a 1959 Chevy to replace my 1949, and this time it came with a title and registration, and only cost me $75. It was infested with fleas (??, yes, fleas, but easily deloused), and the rear floorboards were gone, totally rusted out. My father helped me with that. We cut pieces of tin (roofing) and put them in place to cover the rusted out rear floor boards. Roofing tar was used to hold the tin in place.
The brakes were bad, but my father had a friend with a matching car in his junk pile and we stole the brake shoes off of that one to fix mine. The oil rings were stuck, and it got about 75 miles to a quart of oil. Recycled oil was only 19 cents a quart, so no big deal. My father was going to help me replace the oil rings, but about that time he got a job as a construction mechanic, started traveling, and that (replacing the oil rings) never happened. That car got me through my junior year in high school, and the following summer I made enough money to buy a 61 Chevy. Good times, if someone had a time machine, I would go back right now.
Poor thing did its job. You can't save every old car after all.