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Comments
A 1984ish Celica. I think it was a GTS, but I had the wife with me so I couldn't stop. Might run over tomorrow if I am out.
Black hatchback. $1,250.
Other than what looks like a nasty rust spill starting at the back of the bottom of the rear window, that's all I know.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Might run OK, but what a rat. It is a 1983 Celica GT (not an S). 5 speed at least. Black hatchback.
Body is bad. Lower half actually looks OK, but rot around the rear windows, a hole near the hatch keyhole (as in see through), and some holes in the cowl benether the front window (not quite sure if the water will pour into the interior or back of the engine bay).
Not at all fixable with huge $$ investment! And bad enough I don't think it is uesful as adrive until it breaks option.
Big kicker? On the dash, had a work order (from the place it was sitting in front of) from May, 2009. Must not have been running, and they spent $1,200 (oddly, what they are asking for it) bringing it back to life. Fuel pump, battery, full tune up, water pump, and a few other things. Why with that body I do not know.
It did pass NJ inspection right after that though.
I also think the seats are trash, since they all have cheap covers on them.
And, only about 200,000 miles on it!
Hey, what's not to love?
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Assuming it's got a full tank of gas. :P
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Then again, I think if I wanted a 15 year-old convertible, I'd probably find a nice 325i for less, or better yet, a newer one for that price.
I remember the principal and interest on the mortgage was $678.29 (I got suckered into 9 5/8% fixed for 30 years...but did refinance a few years later). I wonder what it would cost to finance an $80K car over the course of just 5 years?! According to Excel, $80K financed for 5 years at, say, 5%, would come out to $1510 per month! OUCH! I guess most people who bought a car this pricey though, were well-off enough that they either paid cash for it, or leased it and found a way to write it off on their taxes?
And yeah, I imagine that's why it seems more big $ cars are leased, cut down the payments and guarantee a new flashy ride every few years...
Who drives around for 10,000 miles without an oil pressure gauge?
I'd hit it at about $4500--$4750. That's about market value IMO.
Probably just about everybody, since most cars don't even have an oil pressure gauge. :P
I just find it very suspicious that a person would on the one hand brag about putting money into fixing the lighting and suspension, and then casually mention a non-functioning engine oil pressure system. What's the excuse? "I forgot"?
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Icon I6L Golf Cart
I wouldn't *touch* that car without screwing in an oil pressure gauge.
If the bearings are shot, the car is a parts car.
Yeah, all three R-body Mopars I've owned (the 2 NYers and a Newport I used to have) had an oil pressure gauge. I think they made it standard because a lot of these cars were sold as police cars or taxis, which would tend to have the full instrumentation, so it was probably cheaper to just make one gauge cluster, rather than two (although copcars did get a 125 mph speedo, versus 85, but that was an easy swap).
That might also be the reason the Grand Marquis (and my friend's '04 Crown Vic LX) has full gauges...simply because they dominate the police/taxi market as well.
My '85 Silverado has an oil pressure gauge, but it doesn't work. The DeSoto has one as well. My '67 Catalina has one, but it's aftermarket. And while the Park Ave doesn't have an actual gauge, one of the computer readouts it can display is oil pressure. Mine always reads something like 130 psi though, so I think the sending unit or something has gone bad.
**Edit: almost forgot...my '89 Gran Fury had an oil pressure gauge too, as it was an ex copcar. However, it was stuck in the lower dash, and wasn't the most professional looking thing in the world.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
My Grandfather's 04 doesn't, but its the digital dash. My 99 S10 actually has one, its the only vehicle I ever owned that has one. The 06 Pacifica we share at the office doens't even have a temp gauge!
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Icon I6L Golf Cart
The E-class coupes in those days were still true hardtops, weren't they? If they were, well that gets you about half-way to being a convertible anyway, since you already have the roll-down rear windows and some reinforcing to account for the lack of a B-pillar.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
God, those MB W124 coupes were pretty. I'd love to have one.
link title
I'm guessing the current owner is a repair shop who did a whoolllle bunch of work to the car, at which point the previous owner realized he was in way over his head and gave the thing up. The (badly typed, not-much-description) ad does say 'make an offer'. Geez, I'd think $4k was pretty much a gift, wonder what he really thinks it's worth?
Especially when one like this is $7500 (though I think a bargain at that):
link title
But, once the day is done, if forced to choose I think I'd rather pay $7500 for the white one than take the green one for free! Even though the white one's not perfect, it's still not bad. I'd want to check out how good the disc brake conversion was though, and that the powerglide-to-THM350 swap was done okay, with no issues.
Actually, that car might not be a bad performer with that swap, as the 2-speeds generally had a quicker axle ratio than the 3-speeds. So, the 3-speed with the quicker rear might give it a nice little performance boost.
I was actually shocked to find out that the 250hp 327 was a 4-bbl. I had only recently discovered that, a few months ago. I'd just presumed that the 250 hp version was a 2-bbl and the 300 hp was a 4-bbl.
1968 was a strange year in a lot of ways-cars included. Chevy changed the 327 crank journals and juggled compression/induction configurations for the 327 in different applications. Confusing information lingers, but for the full sized 1968 Chevy there were two 327 Turbo-Fire versions:
327/250hp (RPO L73) regular fuel, 8.75:1 compression, with 4 bbl induction.
327/275hp (RPO L30) premium fuel, 10:1 compression, also with 4bbl.
If you have any old magazines from '68 look for the Chevy adverts touting the new smooth power of the 327 regular gas engine. That was the 327/250hp with lower compression, 4bbl carb and single exhaust.
But the Camaro 327/210hp with 2bbl is a strange option. Maybe Chevy was trying to provide more applications for the 327 in 1968 after updating that engine? Just a guess.
I am just so amazed at the plethora of options on car years ago. Were there ever two exactly alike? Just by looking at the ads we post on here for different classics you find some really odd-ball cars. Today everything is so much simpler..... 4cyl or V6? V6 or V8? Nav or no Nav? I wonder if all these years of custom orders, multiple engine block with different cams, carbs and heads, all have helped contribute to the problems of the "big 3". It just was in no way efficient.
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For instance, on my '76 LeMans, I think the engine choices went something like:
Chevy 250-6cyl, ~105-110 hp
Olds 260 V-8 ~100-110 hp
Chevy 305 V-8 (although this might have been Canada-only), ~140 hp?
Pontiac 350-2bbl, 160 hp
Pontiac 350-4bbl, 165 hp
Pontiac 400-4bbl, 180 hp
Pontiac 455-4bbl, 200-205 hp
Seriously, did they really need that many engines?! I think they could have gotten by with one "economy" engine (pick one, the Chevy-6 or the Olds 260), one mid-range engine (350 4bbl?) and one at the top-end (455). The 400 just seems redundant to me, as there's probably not a huge difference in power between the 350-4 and the 455 anyway. I've heard the 455 in these cars would do 0-60 in around 10 seconds (thank the 2.41:1 axles :sick: ), but I've clocked mine at around 11 seconds, on a good day. So in theory, the 400 might split the difference, at around 10.5?
Actually, I could see a need for something around the 305 CID range in this lineup though. The 6-cyl and Olds 260 V-8 took 20+ seconds to move a car like this to 60. I think the 305 (and 1977 Pontiac 301) would cut that down to around 13 or so.
In 1977, the LeMans engines got really convoluted. They were:
Buick 231 V-6
Pontiac 301-2bbl (49 states...CA banned all Pontiac engines this year)
Chevy 305-2bbl (CA)
Pontiac 350 2 or 4bbl (49 states)
Olds 350-4bbl (CA)
Pontiac 400-4bbl (49 states)
Olds 403-4bbl (CA)
Pontiac High-output 400-4bbl (Trans Am, Can Am...substituted with a stock 403 in CA)
I wonder if all these years of custom orders, multiple engine block with different cams, carbs and heads, all have helped contribute to the problems of the "big 3". It just was in no way efficient.
You'd think it would have caused problems, but I always thought it was odd that GM did so well in the 1960's and 1970's, and early 1980's, when it was the "worst offender" in offering all those choices and configurations. Chrysler actually started simplifying things in the late 50's, and by 1960 was down to just three basic engines: the Slant Six, the "A" engine (318) and the "B" engine (the big-block 361/383/413). And Ford began simplifying their engine lineup as well. Yet, GM dominated in the 1960's, and in the 1970's and early 1980's, Ford and Chrysler were almost erased from existence, while it seemed at the time GM could do no wrong. And even when they did, people forgave them and kept buying their cars!
Well, that's kind of my point. When things are great the problems get masked. Imagine if they would have streamlined the choices during those great years how much more profit they would have made?
Today they are still doing the same things... who needs three versions of the same SUV? To make matters worse they do it twice (Acadia, Enclave, Traverse and the Equinox, Terrian, and SRX) It just drives me nuts! If you want two (one mainstream, one lux) that's fine but a tweener too? :confuse:
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Here's a CL listing for a 1977 Grand Lemans showing bucket seats with floor shift automatic and no detail about the engine. So there could be, what? 8 different possible engines. It is hard to believe that even after the economic issues following the oil embargo that there was still a variety like that being certified for production.
Didn't someone post a link to a listing for a similar year Olds Cutlass with a 260 V8 and a 5-speed a while back? They couldn't have made much money building those things. The range of powertrains may have been influenced more by CAFE standards by that time though.
I think that black one has a 301. Even though that ad doesn't mention it, I seem to remember when I saw it earlier, it did mention a 301, so maybe that's a re-post?
As for the 260/5-speed, I've heard of it being offered in the LeMans Sport Coupe, as well as the Cutlass. I wonder if the Century or Regal offered it as well?
Nice looking car... I have a soft spot for Orange I am finding...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Original-Poppy-Red-D-Code-4Speed-Convertible-Rare- -Car_W0QQitemZ280496514537QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item414ee525e9
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140398682948&ru=ht- tp%3A%2F%2Fmotors.shop.ebay.com%3A80%2F__%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm39%26_nkw%3- D140398682948%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc=1
I learned to drive on a 1969 Volvo with 4 wheel disks, and I am almost positive they were not power (no PS either. Or AC. Not much in that engine bay for sure!)
Push hard, and they worked. At least you had good feel!
Only problem I had was my first driver's ed lesson behind the wheel, of a snappy new 1979ish Caprice 4 door (the "downsized" model). Instructer said to let of the brake and glide to the next telephone pole, and then top by it (this coasting was a novel concept in itself, since the Volvo was also a stick).
So, I did what he said, and at said pole, slammed the brake pedal so hard I think the front bumper bounced off the road, and the instructer would have hit the dashboard if he wasn't belted in.
After driving the Volvo, a beetle, a VW 412 (evil car, bad to the core) and noodling with a Fiat 850, that was my first feet-on experience with the beauty of domestic power brakes. and of course, 1 finger steering.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
All of the early cars were titled as 1965 models even though they are considered 64½ cars by many.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S