Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Options
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
Yep, five mains are a heck of a lot better than three. Flathead Ford V-8's somehow managed with three main bearings too and I don't recall folks saying they had weak lower ends..? A bit before my time though.
The B18 Volvo and B20 all had soft camshafts. Volvo made the same lame camshafts and u-joints for god knows how many years. But the camshafts never quit, they just wore down the lobes and the engines got lazy.
I remember we used to rebuild old Volvo engines for folks in Colorado and they couldn't believe how well they ran. They hadn't had a good camshaft for so many years they had no idea.
I think you should post this either in the Sedans Board or the Coupes/Convertibles Board, as this Board is only for "classic" cars. You'll get a lot more respones over there as well.
thank you
Host
Anyway, how do you guys find mechanics who are relatively trustworthy and have any sort of clue about how to work on cars of such advanced age? We live in Houston, if that helps any.
Still, there must be someone around who can get that Chevy running. they are rock solid cars that aren't complicated.
Except for the 216 engine with the babbeted bearings. Finding someone who can fix that might be hard.
Kinley, we've talked to some people in one of the clubs, but their attitude is usually "Fix it yourself", which isn't an option right now. Time constraints are tight, and where we're living at the moment, you can't work on your cars on property. Don't get me started about them, that's why we're house-hunting. ;-) But we will continue to ask around, because you're right about that being a good place to look.
What would the cost of the new tranny and rear end run you? The 350 is not the best engine for gas mileage, so even at 20 mpg, that is 5 gallons of gas a day. Not to mention, that kind of mileage on an old car will rack up repairs fairly quickly. None expensive, but possibly time consuming to fix if your only car.
I would consider finding a fuel efficient "beater" car as a possibility. I have a buddy that drives an old Saturn as a beater, another an old Geo Metro. All depends on how long you keep the job, I guess.
I would be hesistant to depend on a 31 year old car long term for 500 miles a week minimum.
As for fuel economy, I usually got about 13 mpg city/17 highway, and actually had the guts (or stupidity?) to drive the car from Maryland to Oklahoma City, back in '95.
As for the total cost, I think I figured once that this car cost me about $.10 a mile for repair + maintenance + original purchase price, and another $.09-.10 a mile for fuel. So it came out to about $.19-.20 or so a mile to drive that thing. But hey, the monthly payment alone on my Intrepid comes out to about that!
As long as it has been looked after, theyre outstanding cars.
Bill
Do you remember this noise? It is, IMO, one of the most unique noises you'll hear from a classic Mopar (Dodge, Plymouth, or Chrysler). It's the distinctive noise the starter motor makes while turning over a Mopar V8's which were produced in the 60's and 70's time periods. It sounds good...even today!
My 67' Galaxie 500 2 dr. hardtop and all 65' - 70' big Fords with the 390 2bbl and 2.75 and 2.80 axle are excellent daily drivers. All the normal things that break are easy to find. The basic drivetrain was used for 20 years in cars and trucks making parts easy to get. The 2bbl 390 will give decent gas mileage 14 in town and 17 on the highway. At 70 mph with the 2.75 axle the engine is turning about 2000 rpm and is inaudible, and yet it's very peppy around town and will leave traffic in the dust with little effort. The main difference in driving a big Ford around the terrible streets of Houston is that it soaks up even the worst bumps easily where as the Pontiacs would bottom and crash. The trade off is that the Pontiac corner much flatter around town and generally gives more precise handling, but it's not worth it if you have bad roads. If you will driving your classic car where the roads are nice and smooth then the G.M. is fine. But here in Houston the big Ford copes much better.
Car is huge inside compared to my 2000 Intrepid, which is considered a full size car today.
I think it would make a good daily driver and should be very simple to maintain. I wouldn't put too much money in it, however, since it is a 4-door and will not appreciate much in value. So keep your costs down and don't put an expensive paint job on it unless you really don't care about regaining your investment. Matching #s etc don't matter on this car so if you want to modify it for safety or customize it for pleasure please do so without concern.
After that, I rode in his '94 Lexus GS300 the next day. What a cocoon of silence that was compared to the MG!
Bill
Enjoy the spring!
Hal
I'm not terribly fond of the Triumph marque compared to say MG, because they really aren't built as well. A TR3 is a tough car to restore because it is so hard to get all the panels to fit properly. Triumphs are kind of "crates", bolted together by blind men. But they always seems to perform better than the MGs regardless.
Still, a TR3 is fun to drive, slowly, on a curvy country road on a sunny day. It is a very British experience.
My personal favorite among Triumphs is the TR250, made only in 1968, with the TR4 body mated to the TR 6 engine.
The MGA is flat-out gorgeous. For an inexpensive British sportscar.
I don't know why someone told you not to change it unless they thought maybe the seals would start to leak. With old engines sometimes the only thing keeping the oil inside is the sludge around the seals--the seals themselves were shot years ago. ATF is such an effective detergent (I used to use it as a hand cleaner but it's probably a wonder I'm still alive) that maybe running a fresh batch through an old transmission would flush out the crud that's keeping it sealed.
The interior on my 67 Galaxie convertible is all original, so only the factory installed front and one rear speaker is in the car. The original radio works, but I just don't listen to music while driving - let's me talk to people about the car at traffic lights.
The C-6 came out around 66'.