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

stickguy · August 2020

I just saw an older car wizard video where he talked about the GM 3800. Called it the best engine ever I believe. definitely easy to work on, compared to a modern design!

fintail · August 2020

Speaking of Car Wizard, he recently got in a nice driver quality Pagoda SL:

https://youtu.be/RNHl7o1tmwQ

Interesting, as this car has effectively the same engine (M127) as my fintail, and shares many bits along with the engine - the swing axle, the uniquely hinged chrome air vents and similar trim pieces, etc. My car even has the same Becker Europa TR radio.

andres3 · August 2020

On the topic of engines, probably the most disappointing was an early 90's 4Runner V6 from Toyota. It was reliable and not only bullet proof, but bazooka proof, but still a dud..

The 5-speed manual was buttery smooth though.

fintail · August 2020

Didn't some Toyota 6cyl of that era have head gasket issues? Or was that an I6? Even Toyolex can have an Achilles heel here and there.

Back in the day, I knew a guy with an early 90s 4x4 V6 pickup, I think it had required some work.

fintail · August 2020

Bidding on the 41K mile Regal GS is up to $2600 with a couple hours left.

stickguy · August 2020

too rich for my blood!

fintail · August 2020

Ending price, $2951.

I still think of that estate sale pristine loaded 04 Grand Marquis from back in the spring, probably could have got it for $4500 - it was really immaculate and definitely worth that.

xwesx · August 2020

The miles on this blew me away.... It actually looks very good when one considers those!

https://fairbanks.craigslist.org/cto/d/fairbanks-toyota-sienna-xle-2005/7174091159.html

stickguy · August 2020

looks amazing for that many miles, especially up there. Even the driver's seat.

tjc78 · August 2020

Someone loved that van. Very clean.

I’d wager it never had kids in it.

No matter how hard I try I’m always cleaning something in our Enclave. It’s particularly fun using a crevice tool and a screwdriver to get junk out of the tracks for the seats.

omarman · August 2020

It's 1 owner since new so wonder how old those pics are? I can't make out the exp date sticker on the plate. No pic of the dash/odometer. The interior looks as nice as any similar van with half the miles. So maybe that's when the pics were taken?

fintail · August 2020

An old co-worker had a Nissan Quest of the same year. She ditched it about 2 years ago (original owner) at around 200K, and even in this mild climate, it looked like it was dredged from the bottom of a lake compared to that Sienna. I'd wager the Sienna is a mature owner who never hauled devilspawn/sod etc in it.

xwesx · August 2020

tjc78 said:
Someone loved that van. Very clean.

I’d wager it never had kids in it.

No matter how hard I try I’m always cleaning something in our Enclave. It’s particularly fun using a crevice tool and a screwdriver to get junk out of the tracks for the seats.

I know; it's disgusting! I honestly have no idea how kids are so nasty. My father would have skinned us alive if we were like that. I remember a few irate times when we carried sand on us from the beach in to the car. But, he didn't get mad so much as got even. I vacuumed and scrubbed his cars more times than I care to remember....

xwesx · August 2020

omarman said:
It's 1 owner since new so wonder how old those pics are? I can't make out the exp date sticker on the plate. No pic of the dash/odometer. The interior looks as nice as any similar van with half the miles. So maybe that's when the pics were taken?

Hey, that's a fair point. Based on the melting snow in the surroundings, I will guess that they were taken in April of this year. It has 2021 tags on it, so the earliest it could be is from April of 2019.

Anyhow, I sent a copy of the link to a young lady who is currently using my 2008 Forester. She takes very good care of my car, so this might be a perfect fit for her, plus the price is actually quite reasonable (according to the price guides).

tjc78 · August 2020

xwesx said:

tjc78 said:
Someone loved that van. Very clean.

I’d wager it never had kids in it.

No matter how hard I try I’m always cleaning something in our Enclave. It’s particularly fun using a crevice tool and a screwdriver to get junk out of the tracks for the seats.
I know; it's disgusting! I honestly have no idea how kids are so nasty. My father would have skinned us alive if we were like that. I remember a few irate times when we carried sand on us from the beach in to the car. But, he didn't get mad so much as got even. I vacuumed and scrubbed his cars more times than I care to remember....

Mine really aren’t too bad. I’m just a little crazy about the cars.

We go to the beach nearly every weekend so my Sunday ritual when getting back to the house is to vacuum out the interior.

I don’t care how careful you are, there will always be some sand.

fintail · August 2020

Had the old dear out today - fuel pump seems loud again, guess I am going to have to call my mechanic soon. Otherwise, ran fine - I set the idle speed faster by a minuscule amount, probably like 25rpm, which makes all kinds of difference - makes everything smoother, I think I had it set a tad slow. And when the weather gets cold, I'll have to adjust it just a little again. Had a few people come up to me with questions or compliments, and a fun thing, I visited a friend and his 90 year old grandfather, who bought a 190 Ponton new in 1959, and my friend thought he'd get a kick out of the fintail. The old guy showed up with a pile of original promo material, including the price of his car ($3559, IIRC). Looked good in the hazy sunshine today:

And a shot of the Coco mats material I had made for the rear shelf area - looks a lot better than the cheap completely incorrect vinyl I had there before:

texases · August 2020

That’s about $32,000 in 2020 dollars, sounds about right.

fintail · August 2020

Back then most MBs were just quality cars rather than fancy cars, and weren't wildly expensive. I think my fintail was in the low 5K range when new.

My friend's grandpa had a couple fun tales - he lived in Dallas at the time, and as AC was a dealer installed item, had one installed at purchase. He said it was not an ideal system, and the car also had a stint where it ate generators. He was also amused that he sold it 25 years later for $59 less than he paid for it.

fintail · September 2020

Saw this elsewhere, thought it was amusing (ad is apparently gone now):

stickguy · September 2020

man I would like some more pictures of that beast.

tjc78 · September 2020

That’s a first

fintail · September 2020

stickguy · September 2020

I’m speechless.

xwesx · September 2020

Wow. That thing takes Ugly to a whole new level!

tjc78 · September 2020

I'll take two

Michaell · September 2020

I'm guessing that, when new, it was on the same lot as the Wagon Queen Family Truckster

fintail · September 2020

fintail · September 2020

I mended something (gratuitous pic from yesterday):

My turn signals had been blinking at different rates per side since they were "fixed", so I decided to dig a little. I first switched the blinker unit with a spare, no difference. I then noticed that one side wouldn't blink at all if the parking lights were on - so I suspected a defective or incorrect bulb. I inspected the bulbs and all appeared OK. I then played a game of guess and check, and figured it out. If the bulbs aren't aligned just-so, weird things happen. I learned that if they are aligned really wrong, the blinkers act like hazards (which this car, due to its age, doesn't have). So I re-installed them properly, and now have turn signs that blink right and left at the same rate

sda · September 2020

It’s always a pleasant surprise when a fix is so simple and satisfying that you fixed it not someone you had to pay to do so.

fintail · September 2020

I feel victorious when I can fix anything on my own

stickguy · September 2020

Scotty would be so proud of you!

fintail · September 2020

It's a MB, he'd whine about it

fintail · September 2020

Someone I know on another forum, who lives in Oregon, is being evacuated due to the fires that seem to be everywhere right now. He wasn't going to leave his old dear behind:

kyfdx · September 2020

His wife, on the other hand....

fintail · September 2020

Priorities!

Ah should have put this on the postwar Stude page.

fintail · September 2020

Here's a goodie for sale, highline fintail with the rare busy upholstery option

Exchange rate is a little over 30K USD, in Europe, a fair asking price for one of these cars.

stickguy · September 2020

cool interior

steine13 · September 2020

I'm mystified by the latch mechanism in the roof in one of the later photos. I figured there was manual sunroof but there clearly isn't. What is behind the cover??

xwesx · September 2020

fintail said:
Here's a goodie for sale, highline fintail with the rare busy upholstery option

Exchange rate is a little over 30K USD, in Europe, a fair asking price for one of these cars.

What is the mileage.... 73,000 kilometers? Is that what I'm reading?

fintail · September 2020

That's a sunroof latch, as far as I know, it might not show up in the low res pics the owner has so generously provided for the ad.

To operate the sunroof, you pull down the handle, rotate it, and slide the roof back.

steine13 said:
I'm mystified by the latch mechanism in the roof in one of the later photos. I figured there was manual sunroof but there clearly isn't. What is behind the cover??

fintail · September 2020

Yep, per the owner anyway. Of course, these are 5 digit odometer cars. However, by the state of preservation of the interior, I don't doubt the claim - I am pretty sure that fabric is not being reproduced today.

xwesx said:

What is the mileage.... 73,000 kilometers? Is that what I'm reading?

omarman · September 2020

1985 944 Porsche looks like a well kept non-turbo with 119K miles. Well kept 944 Turbo is a different story and the market still loves/respects them.

1984 Ford Mustang SVO. Speaking of turbo power... Car was sold on BaT last July for $15K and is now for sale at Krieger's used car lot on Morse Rd for $21K ask price.

2011 BMW 328i Convertible. Low miles, automatic, salvage title and seller ask is $12,300.

Seller's ad: 1976 Chevrolet Other. It actually looks like the '77 Nova Rally below which replaced the discontinued '76 Nova SS.

Seller's description: "76nova 350engine headers 4barrel hatchback automatic nice car." Also states "Driven 840 miles" Not enough pics but still could be my favorite thing that I wasn't looking for on FB today.

stickguy · September 2020

I like that nova. Just needs a manual trans!

Of course, I always wanted a Ventura based GTO too.

Michaell · September 2020

The Nova is a sibling to the Omega/Ventura I had briefly in college, though the Nova is in much nicer condition.

steine13 · September 2020

Pure Michigan!

https://lansing.craigslist.org/cto/d/mason-project-jeep/7196112257.html

CL ads are annoying since they disappear fairly quickly, so for posterity's sake, here's the pitch text for this rust bucket:

"976 Jeep Wagoneer. This is a great project jeep for the right person. The floor boards have rusted out and need to be replaced. Engine ran great until 2 years ago but hasn't been started since. Most likely a bad fuel pump. With Jeep re-releasing the Wagoneer in 2021 this will be a collector's car."

kyfdx · September 2020

@steine13 It is already collectible. Releasing a new one won't matter.

Someone could probably put $50K into it, and have a $75K car..

stickguy · September 2020

That might crumble into dust if you try and take it apart.

No interest in the Jeep, but I would love the garages that guy has!

fintail · September 2020

Too bad that Wagoneer is so far gone, they seem fairly rare pre-80s.

50K investment for 75K return is pretty awesome in the car world, I bet.

kyfdx · September 2020

fintail said:
Too bad that Wagoneer is so far gone, they seem fairly rare pre-80s.

50K investment for 75K return is pretty awesome in the car world, I bet.

I was assuming a shop would take this on for themselves. I doubt a buyer could pull that off

fintail · September 2020

So 125K for a buyer to get 75K? Sounds about right.

kyfdx said:

I was assuming a shop would take this on for themselves. I doubt a buyer could pull that off

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

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