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My parents' old...
This is more for people over 40, but the younger crowd can chime in too.
Of all the cars your dad or mom owned, what's the one you would love to find and restore in 2011, even it wasn't exactly classic or historic?
For me, it would be my dad's 1972 Mercury Montego MX. It was green-gold metallic with a white vinyl roof, dark forest green vinyl interior, 351 Windsor under the hood with a C4 automatic. Dad had it for almost exactly 7 years (March 3 1972 to March 1 1979), rang up over 210,000 miles (2nd engine, 2nd transmission at the time of trade-in), and even saw duty as an unmarked police car when Dad became a cop in 76... my sister and I even got him the suction-cup cigarette-lighter revolving red light for Christmas one year, and he did get to use it.
That car took everything Dad dished out and then some. To his surprise, he even saw it on the street about a month after he traded it... was easy to tell it was his from the huge aftermarket bumper guards.
Anyone else?
kcram - Pickups/Wagons Host
Of all the cars your dad or mom owned, what's the one you would love to find and restore in 2011, even it wasn't exactly classic or historic?
For me, it would be my dad's 1972 Mercury Montego MX. It was green-gold metallic with a white vinyl roof, dark forest green vinyl interior, 351 Windsor under the hood with a C4 automatic. Dad had it for almost exactly 7 years (March 3 1972 to March 1 1979), rang up over 210,000 miles (2nd engine, 2nd transmission at the time of trade-in), and even saw duty as an unmarked police car when Dad became a cop in 76... my sister and I even got him the suction-cup cigarette-lighter revolving red light for Christmas one year, and he did get to use it.
That car took everything Dad dished out and then some. To his surprise, he even saw it on the street about a month after he traded it... was easy to tell it was his from the huge aftermarket bumper guards.
Anyone else?
kcram - Pickups/Wagons Host
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Although if I found it and restored it, I'd probably hate driving it. Maybe mom's '65 Ford Galaxie 500 would be more fun.
Bloated T-Bird? Pass. Ciera? Pass. Tempo? Pass. A few Taurus? Pass. S-10 Blazer? Pass a billion times. And the list goes on.
But my dad liked to have a hobby car, and for a few years had a 60 Ford Country Sedan, red and white on red and white. It was the coolest old car, sadly, he sold it on a whim (sold within hours of being on offer) and I never saw it again. It could be a cool cruiser.
Yes, I have the same fear. When I was too young to really remember it my parents had a '51 Studebaker Commander 4-door. I wouldn't mind having it, but would probably hate driving it. Another example was their '64 Rambler Classic V-8. I learned to drive on that one, and loved it at the time because its 3-speed auto allowed it to outdrag Powerglide Chevys from stoplights. If I drove it now, I would probably think it was a tank. One that I really would like to find, however, is their light blue '68 Volvo 122S with the black interior. I even liked the bread van shifter in that one. If I found it and restored it however, I would add overdrive.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
This was the one I learned to drive manual tranny on, too. Great rig! :shades:
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
But when I came out of that last donut I gunned the gas pedal and told my friend "watch this!" I headed straight for an open spot of the lot, then realized I was heading towards doom-dome and hit my brakes of all things! Dumber than a sack of glazed donuts!
BAM! We hit that large boulder and tried to climb up it all at one time. Broke the VW's horn off the steering wheel and cut my wrist with it. It was spurting blood out at a pretty good clip. I pinched the wound shut but my friend was afraid I was going to bleed out so he took off his white t-shirt and I tied it around as a tourniquet over my wrist. We hit our heads enough to leave small bumps, too. A lot of people now would go to a nearby ER to get checked out but we figured we'd better not push our luck.
Here's the kicker...Dad just had it towed to a body shop and had the front end fixed-I think the bill came to around $1,500-$1,750. He never chewed me out-not even a little "what were you thinking" line, or anything! I could not believe it!
Not that I felt good about it. Dad evidently had his own story from being in the service and buying an Anglia or something...a small sporty car...he bought it with his buddy and later wrecked it over in Europe before he could ship it back here. I think he felt that my wreck at 16 years of age too closely mirrored his in foolishness and he cut me some slack.
Or he was just simply too busy at that particular time to chew me out about the stupid wreck...which might be closer to the truth.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
Two other strong contenders would be his maroon 1965 Pontiac GTO convertible and his 1955 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Starfire convertible.
Family legends don't lie. :shades:
(Dad also told me that he put molasses in his bike tires since he couldn't afford patches, and was the high school quarterback and then put on his drum major uniform and led the band at half-time).
He used to buy a car every couple years, and put the replacement into the "pool" for the kids to use (there were 8 kids).
He LOVED that car! Amazing power, 375 HP. He and I drove from Incline Village to Walnut Creek back in the day, and did it in 21/2 hours...
I never told mom...
My parents had a 1951 Buick Roadmaster that I would love to have. It was huge, very strong and powerful. No power steering so I don't know how my petite mother ever managed.
My dad's 1962 Volkswagen bug was another one I would love to have.
I've (knock on wood) never put a dent on any car but I nearly hit a pole one night in that VW. We were down on the docks in San Pedro CA where I grew up when we spotted a wharf rat the size of a tomcat. I was determined to run it over and I chased it all over with the VW.
My buddy screamed out STOP and I stopped with my front bumper about three inches from a huge pole.
The rat escaped to live another day.
It was by far the most stylish car I can recall my folks ever owning - excepting the '98 Explorer of course! :-P
I sure wouldn't mind tracking it down and owning it today - if I managed to restore it, it could be my Sunday driver again, a mere 40ish years later!
That Citroen was a car that still looks beautiful to my eye today, and of course it was a standout for being one of the first cars to have Bosch fuel injection. In an age today when almost nothing automotive looks very good or distinctive in much of a way (IMHO) except for retro-styled models, that Citroen would catch a few eyes I think if I were to drive around town in it now.
I don't remember it giving my dad a lot of mechanical trouble - certainly it never stranded us when I was riding in it - but in 1975 he sold it when we moved to the U.S.
My dad also had a '75 Westfalia (pop-up top, fold-out bed and built-in fridge and all), which was mechanically and structurally the biggest POS they ever owned by a factor of 10, but still has a certain styling distinction to it that would pique my interest if I had the chance to own it today. As unreliable, underpowered, and tipsy as all the Westys were for all the years they sold them in the States, I can still understand why their cult following is so devoted to them.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)