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

fintail · December 2008

Was that warning light thing like a diagram of the top of the car? I remember ours had that too.

Those Marks were pretty advanced for late American malaise...maybe the first American with flush headlights.

boomchek · December 2008

Yeah, exactly that diagram. My dad thought it was a "custom" car for having it, but after all this was our second car after a 77 Volvo 245.

berri · December 2008

Iacocca was gone and The Duece (HF II) was finally out of the way, so Jack Telnac was able to give Ford products a chance to look different from GM for a change. The new Mark, Tempo, T-Bird and Taurus were a refreshing change and had the mark of good design where people actually had opinions about them one way or the other. Ford quality also improved, but unfortunately there were still too many instances where one car would be trouble free while an identical one would be falling apart after 40K.

I had an 81 Mazda GLC. It was totally trouble free and fun to drive. It went almost 150K before the floor board began rusting away. My only complaint was that it had thin materials. There were actually finger impressions on the hatch from closing it and the cheap plastics rattled a lot. It also had tinworm, but so did Honda during that period. I'm not too sure about current Mazda's though because they have a lot of Ford parts in them. I don't think they'll hold up as well as a Toyota or Honda will.

hpmctorque · December 2008

Sorry, but what's tinworm?

texases · December 2008

Think woodworm - rust holes appearing over time. A friend had a GLC in Anchorage, and the salt did a number on it, but he got about 15 years out of it anyway. He liked that car, could have replaced it any time he wanted to.

lemmer · December 2008

It was at least a good little car by 1970s standards anyway.

jlflemmons · December 2008

My lab partner had an '83 GLC 4dr with a stick. It was really a good car for the times. I do remember the day he came back from lunch and told me we needed to take a ride in the car, something was wrong. Felt like all four wheels were bent. Turned out that all four Bridgestone tires had slipped belts within days of each other! We took it down and had a set of Toyo's installed, and the car drove so completely different it could hardly be believed. Smooth, quiet, very stable.

He drove that car for years, then sold it to a coworker, who later sold it to one of his kids. Not bad considering the first month my buddy owned it, the engine blew up with <1k miles on it. Mazda had put the wrong dipstick in the engine, and even though it registered full, it was down three quarts of oil (out of four) and the idiot light didn't work. John almost got rid of it then and there, but in the long haul it turned out to be a "Great Little Car".

andre1969 · December 2008

would an AM/FM car radio have been back in 1967? My mechanic is finally just about finished with my '67 Catalina convertible. One of the finishing touches was going to be putting a stock AM/FM radio in it. It's AM-only now, and the antenna got snapped off years ago. Whenever I wanted tunes in the car I'd always just do it old-school style. Throw a boom-box in the back seat!

Well, the mechanic put another antenna in. He looked all over for an AM/FM radio that would fit in my car and still look stock, but with no luck. Does anybody know any good sources online for something like that?

I'm really excited about getting the car back, although it's going to be a bummer waiting until the spring time to start driving it around.

Mr_Shiftright · December 2008

yes!

www.originalcarradios.com

843-333-4949

Sells Pontiac radios, 1963-1977.

And yes, yours could have had an FM.

fintail · December 2008

I've seen ads in Hemmings for modern radios that kind of look old. I am sure there was a factory option by 67 for AM-FM, but it has to be uncommon.

My fintail has AM-FM, but it was ahead of its times, and I don't think a Becker unit would look right in a 67 Pontiac.

Mr_Shiftright · December 2008

You have a Becker that WORKS??

Wow.

andre1969 · December 2008

Thanks, Shifty. I'll give them a look.

fintail · December 2008

Mine worked for years but one day it just stopped. This past summer I sent it back to Becker for an overhaul. It was only about $200, including the addition of a connection to some port on the back that will accept an aux jack, which I now have hidden under the dash. So my Becker Europa now plays ipod as well as AM-FM. They even replaced the green backlight on the radio, totally worth it.

Mr_Shiftright · December 2008

The quality was always good but they seemed to be very fussy about reception. Maybe a good overhaul and a "dial-in" was what they all needed.

fintail · December 2008

I never had problems with my old radio before it randomly died - you can only get so much sound quality of a one speaker radio anyway. This is the old school Europa as seen in many 60s Euro cars, not the 400 button 80s Becker Grand Prix that so many seem to dislike. I wouldn't doubt that it is at least as good as new now.

explorerx4 · December 2008

if you look, you may turn to stone

fintail · December 2008

There's been a Bayliff on ebay off and on for months...I don't think it is Riv-based though. To think, someone paid a mint for that thing when new.

texases · December 2008

The one car that can make a Zimmer look classy! :sick:

andre1969 · December 2008

About the only thing nice I can say about that abomination is that the colors they used look very nice. If that was just a plain old Riviera or Toronado, it would look very classy in that color scheme.

It really is a shame that they mucked that poor Riv up like that.

lokki · December 2008

Dear God. The economy is so bad that Scrooge McDuck had to sell his car?

guss · December 2008

ACCEPTING SERIOUS OFFERS

$16,000 , IS HE SERIOUS ?

lemko · December 2008

Ewww!!! It looks like the product of an unholy union between a 1982 Riviera and a 1940 Packard! :sick:

lemko · December 2008

Looks like Scrooge McDuck has a thing for Buicks!!!

andre1969 · December 2008

but would there be any upshot to a 1960 Chrysler New Yorker 4-door sedan? When I was over at my mechanic's place around lunchtime, to settle up on his progress with my Catalina, I noticed this NYer sitting out in front. The mechanic wasn't around, and the receptionist and the mechanics that were on duty didn't really know anything about it.

Anyway, it was a medium blue metallic. Paint was kinda shot, worn down to the primer in places, but overall the car actually looked solid. The interior was fabric, and had some shreds here and there.

Now I know nothing of its true condition. For all I know, the engine could be seized, tranny shot, and floorboards, trunk, and critical points on the unibody rusted out.

Still, the thing looked like it could make a neat old beater. I wonder how it would perform, compared to my '57 DeSoto? It's a similar size but probably a few hundred pounds heavier. But I'm sure the 413-4bbl's 350 hp would more than make up for that added weight, compared to my 341-2bbls's 270 hp!

Mr_Shiftright · December 2008

Good sturdy old car. You can't really beat that engine/trans combo. But it'll suck gas like a shop vac hose in a cup of coffee and it probably won't start when it's hot.

berri · December 2008

Does the 60 Chrysler have that cool backlit instrument dome like the 61 does?

andre1969 · December 2008

I know the 1960 Chryslers had a dash display that was called the "AstraDome". I think it was the same from 1960-62. Here's a pic of one from a 300F...

It is a neat looking piece, but I've never seen one that was lit up.

berri · December 2008

They are cool when backlit, very art deco!

boomchek · January 2009

eBay Vette

Mr_Shiftright · January 2009

Hmmm.... a '65 Convertible but only a 327 engine. Not sure there's a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow, although there may be a pot of sorts.

So you restore it completely and it's worth what....maybe $60,000? What's it going to take to get you there? Well aside from a new frame and body I mean.

I'd say sell the VIN tags and the powertrain and those pricey little bits, and the rest goes into a wood chipper. That's obviously what the bids are about right now.

boomchek · January 2009

I'm guessing the VIN tags are worth the money in here.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2009

Oh yeah definitely. Or if someone needs a date-correct motor, trans, and diff, even if they have their own VIN tag. You can always deck the motor and re-stamp the VIN to your new car, but faking casting numbers and date codes is a lot harder.

explorerx4 · January 2009

maybe it is one of those cars, that was put together from 2 donors.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2009

Whatever it is, it looks like a hopeless pile of junk and a waste of time.

lemmer · January 2009

well not really, but here are some cars I've been offered in trade for my '86 911. I assume cash comes in the deal with the Vette and the BMW. None of these are quite what I am looking for, but they are interesting.

1968 Firebird

2000 BMW Z Coupe. This link doesn't seem to work anymore, but it was a 100K mile car that needed a new front bumper and a few other minor items. My guess is that it was even worse than that description implies. He was asking $10K.

'94 Vette

Mr_Shiftright · January 2009

the '68 Pontiac is overpriced by $3K--$4K. Rust issues are no small matter. I'd think this would be a boring car to drive, as a 350 automatic, but maybe nice for getting ice cream on Sunday and all that.

94 Vette-- looks like a nice car, good upgrades, but boy you're going to have to get used to a massive drop in build quality here. I hope you aren't too sensitive to that. But for $10K, it'll probably beat the pants off your 911 and having the roof come off is nice. Parts are cheap, but then you're going to need them often.

Looks like the 2000 BMW is no more.

qbrozen · January 2009

You're dumping the porsche already? How long did that last? 2 months?

andre1969 · January 2009

Would the 2-speed automatic in that Firebird hurt its performance very much, or would the 350 still have enough torque to compensate for it? With 265 gross hp, I imagine that's just a 2-bbl carb.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2009

Performance is quite adequate, but it's not going to push you back in the seat.

lemmer · January 2009

It has been about 4 months, which isn't a completely unreasonable length of time for me. The short story is that I can't seem to get the wife on board with the 911. She'd rather have a Boxster - not that she will get one, but that is what she wishes I had purchased instead of the 911. I think I need to buy something that has room for the kids' seats before I purchase another sports car in any case.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2009

I think we spoke about how rarely one sees a woman driving a 911 and how often we see them in Boxsters. Part of that could be the differential in income but I suspect it's other things as well.

lemmer · January 2009

Ok, bring on the jokes about buying leather purses to match a Boxster's seats, etc. I do still have the 944, and for some reason my wife and my two little girls prefer it to the 911. My wife says she feels like Molly Ringwald in "16 Candles" when we go out in it.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2009

The 911 is what I call a "high effort" car to drive. A Boxster you can drive with your pinkie of your left hand and your tea cup finger and thumb on the gearshift. :P

lemmer · January 2009

Well that kind of response is certainly not going to help my cause with the wife. That is exactly why she prefers the Boxster over the 911.

Got another trade offer - a '95 M3 (in yellow) and a Sea Doo Jet Boat. I have no other details, but if the M3 was in excellent condition I might be tempted.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2009

Well I do understand your wife's position here. It is not MY position, but it is not irrational.

I hate sea doos. Just thought I'd mention that.

The only problem with M3s is that what was "performance" back then may not be worth the extra hassle today. I can't say as I've found, in my somewhat limited experience, that M3s are cared for with the same diligence afforded most 911s.

Exceptions abound, of course.

lemmer · January 2009

I still really like that C4 Vette that I posted earlier, but I don't think I can talk my wife into it. How much do you think it is worth?

jrosasmc · January 2009

Would you consider Alfa Spiders or Mercedes 560SLs to be "high effort" cars to drive, like older 911s? I've driven examples of both and I found them to require some extra effort because of the non-power steering and the heavy feeling, respectively, in the Alfa and Benz. The SL, I discovered, did not like to be pushed hard around the corners, like my friend's Miata does.

qbrozen · January 2009

I wouldn't call the SL high effort unless you are actually trying to drive it like a sportscar. It ain't a sportscar.

The Alfa does require effort, although I think, unlike most cars, that effort gets easier at higher speeds ... to a point. Obviously, once you pass the point of traction, you are in the weeds quicker than you can blink. In other words, it has a sweet spot (IMHO) where it is a rather "easy" car to drive.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2009

The C4 should be worth what he was asking...wasn't it $10K? This is also not a woman's car as a rule. It's a rather large car for a sports car with dubious visibility and as I recall a heavy clutch.

RE: "High Effort" cars. No I think the 560SL is easy to drive...you just put it in drive and point it, no muss, no fuss. The Alfa Spider could require more effort as most of them do not have power steering--so the modern wider tires make them heavy at slow speeds or when parking, and the gearshift will inevitably grind into 2nd gear up or down.

qbrozen · January 2009

the gearshift will inevitably grind into 2nd gear up or down.

just a note. dunno if I mentioned it before or not. Mine would grind only if trying to drive it like a modern manual. If I took my time shifting or, better yet, double-clutched, there was no grind. However, not too long before selling it, I switched the trans to Royal Purple synthetic trans fluid (claimed to be designed specifically for manual trans cars that require auto trans fluid - as the Alfa does). I was amazed at how much it improved the shifting. I really COULD drive it like a modern manual and get zero grinding. Great stuff!

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

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