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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today!

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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    I liked the '02 Altima a lot. I went and checked one out, early in 2002, and will admit I was pretty tempted. However, this was one instance where the Intrepid's poor resale value turned out to be a bonus. I was so upside-down on that car there's no way I could have justified the monthly payment!

    I think I still owed around $11,000 on the 'Trep, and they offered me $6500 in trade. Now in its defense, it did have about 56,000 miles, which was kind of high for a car that was only a little over two years old at that point, but still. Of course, they were more than willing to roll that over into the new loan!

    I think the new monthly payment would have gone to something like $480/mo. That sounds like chump change now, but this was over 20 years ago. And the payment on the Intrepid at the time, was only $347.66/mo.

    I did like the car's style, and it was pretty roomy. While it was a midsize, whereas the Intrepid was what I'd call a "marginal" full-sizer, the Altima actually seemed like it had more legroom. It did give up some back seat room and trunk space, and I think the big loss was in shoulder room, but it was still roomy enough. The main thing I didn't like about it was its 2.5 4-cyl engine. It seemed a bit sluggish to me, and rough and noisy, like it was out of tune. Although, from the road tests I saw at the time, it was slightly quicker than my Intrepid. And the 4-cyl roughness might have simply been because I was used to the way a V6 or V8 sounds and feels.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    edited December 2022
    Yeah, the original Tempo coupe design soldiered on through the lifespan of the model name, while the sedan was redesigned for 88. The coupe had a couple mild facelifts to pace the sedan, but the side profile is effectively the same from 84-94.

    My brother had a 93 Lumina Euro, I still recall the 3.1 noise. White with red trim, as many were, and I think a grey interior. I forget what did it in, maybe hit when parked or something. He replaced it with a Sundance Duster - he was into the 90s retro thing about 20 years early B)

    The first gen Lumina is something I never much cared for when new, but I appreciate the tall greenhouse now.

    Another one with recessed gauges is the 92-96 Prelude. I remember seeing this style when new and thought it was really futuristic, and the car was pretty posh in its own way as well. I want to say these also had backlit gauges like the early Lexus LS:



    And on the Taurus coupe idea, one came to mind, but not 100% stock:





    The first-gen Lumina never got airbags. It's really one reason when thinking about a new Lumina in '93, I decided to spend a little (quite little) more and get a Caprice Classic, which also had ABS standard.

    The Tempo coupe always looked chubby to me, but I do remember them being advertised at prices almost hard to believe. I'm thinking this was after the sedan was redesigned.

    My memories of the GM-10's, although I liked them as a FWD line--still a little size and character from older cars--I remember head room in the coupes being tight (i have short legs but long torso), and the back seat, although pretty generous leg room for a coupe I think, the seat cushion was low. Reminded me of sitting on cushions on bleachers at a school event, LOL.

    My Dad test-drove a '90 Lumina coupe, non-Euro, as a replacement for his '84 Monte Carlo. It was at a dealer 25 miles away. He liked the looks and feel but ended up buying a V6 Corsica with column-shift automatic at our hometown dealer. I'd have opted for the Lumina.

    Back in the gen-1 Lumina days, I'd have picked either the maroon ('Carmine'?) or brown ('Saddle' or maybe 'Neutral') interior. I've long-been turned off to gray interiors from all my years of seeing them in every make of rental car I had.

  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,029
    fintail said:


    Another one with recessed gauges is the 92-96 Prelude. I remember seeing this style when new and thought it was really futuristic, and the car was pretty posh in its own way as well. I want to say these also had backlit gauges like the early Lexus LS:


    From what I recall, that was the first generation of Preludes that disappointed the Honda fanboys of the era, and I believe that dash/IP was a big part of their criticism. I never minded it myself, but I was never a part of the fan base.

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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    edited December 2022
    I've talked about this car here before, but this morning I actually followed it into Aldi's and spoke at least fifteen minutes with the owner after he dropped his wife off at the door.

    '77 Caprice Classic, 65K miles, factory A/C, built 8/77 per the door jamb sticker which would've made it one of the very last '77's, no dash cracks, saggy headliner though, very good carpeting and gold cloth interior with front-seat center armrest. Nice door panels inside with cloth inserts, carpet, and pull straps and all the little metal inserts therein too. I took a pic of the interior with his permission but am not putting it here as there were personal effects lying on the front seat. He's had it ten years and had 25K miles on it when he bought it.

    Most amazing to me: It's a 250 six!

    Roads are wet here, and there's been salt on our roads already, but he said the car has been 'oiled' before underneath.

    I'd like any number of factory colors better, but to see one here its whole life, that looks in this condition, is something to see 45 years after it was built.

    I always say it, but that styling has aged really well IMHO.







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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    edited December 2022
    One final thought here on the taillight lenses on later Regals and Lexus SUV's--

    At least on the Buick, but I can't recall on the Lexus, the lenses seemed white instead of clear, like on the '02 Altima. Didn't care for that white-looking glass.
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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    Second unusual sighting locally here today....'06 or '07 Monte Carlo SS at a local repair place.

    ...since we were just discussing larger FWD coupes.


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  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,029
    A shame that the ‘77 Caprice is saddled with a 6 underhood.

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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    It's amazing to me that there are as many years between 1932 and 1977 in automobiledom as there are from 1977 to now.
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  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,029

    One final thought here on the taillight lenses on later Regals and Lexus SUV's--

    At least on the Buick, but I can't recall on the Lexus, the lenses seemed white instead of clear, like on the '02 Altima. Didn't care for that white-looking glass.

    Bill, can you find and post a picture of these lenses that you dislike? I don’t remember seeing them, and a search online revealed no images either.

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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    Here's a '92 Regal Limited Coupe, only photo I could find of the taillights. Actually, the rest of this particular car looks pretty nice to me.
    1992 Buick Regal 2 Dr Limited Coupe
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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    Here's the Lexus:

    Picture 1 of 7
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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    I like it on this '65 Chrysler. I can't explain it. Maybe because the lights or smaller, or that this is the first (original) car I can think of with this treatment.
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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    One thing I find a bit odd, is that I've actually seen the occasional '77-79 Caprice with a 250. But I don't think I've ever seen an Impala with the 250. Now once they downsized, the Caprice lineup started outselling the Impala, but I'd think that, being a nicer car, that a 6-cyl Caprice would be rarer than a 6-cyl Impala.

    But then, maybe the 6-cyl Impalas tended to be bought by cheapskates who just used up the car and threw it away when they were done with it, wheras the 6-cyl Caprice buyer wanted something nice, but economical, and was more likely to appreciate and take care of it?

    Unfortunately, my old car book doesn't break out Impala/Caprice production by engine for 77-79. The closest I could find would be the Chevelle Malibu in 1976. But even in those cars, far more V8s were sold than 6-cyl models. Especially once you got into the Malibu Classic range. So considering these were cheaper cars, if similar weight/size, I'd imagine 6-cyl '77-79 Impalas and Caprices were very rare, to begin with.

    On the subject of time going by faster than you think, I was just thinking about that, when I typed up my post on that 2002 Altima that tempted me. That was like Feb/March of 2002. I swear, it doesn't seem that long ago. I remember it like it was yesterday...a bright, sunny, unseasonably warm Saturday. Yet, it was over 20 years ago.

    But then, go back 20 years before that, and suddenly it's early 1982. I was in 6th grade. My grandparents had just bought their '82 Malibu Classic estate wagon. And since it was winter, plus Grandmom had never sat in its back seat, little did they know, those back door windows were stationary :p

    It's kinda wild how, even though the technology itself might advance at a faster pace than it did in the old days, the cars themselves just don't seem like they've moved forward, at least in terms of styling and such. A 20 year old car, or even a 40 year old car, just doesn't seem as "old" as one would have, years ago.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    edited December 2022
    A 20 year old car, or even a 40 year old car, just doesn't seem as "old" as one would have, years ago.

    Agree totally.

    I can remember my Dad reading a newspaper article to me in the early '70's probably, that said manufacturers weren't going to stick to the general two-year styling cycle as it was too expensive.

    Really, at GM, the first cars I can think of that really, visually, pushed that envelope were the full-size cars. I can point out many lines that are the same on the '71's as the '76's. Usually wheel openings to me define the styling in profile of a car, and those didn't change at all that I can think of (other than the Grand Ville getting fender skirts in '73).
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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    A girl in my high-school class--her parents had a '72 Caprice Sport Sedan. They bought a two-tone blue (like what was often advertised) '77 Caprice Classic sedan, six-cylinder.

    A year later, a two-tone green '78 Caprice Classic sedan showed up in their driveway. Guess what? It wasn't a six.
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  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,029

    Here's a '92 Regal Limited Coupe, only photo I could find of the taillights. Actually, the rest of this particular car looks pretty nice to me.
    1992 Buick Regal 2 Dr Limited Coupe

    Now that you post that, I do remember seeing those. I don't think they ran for very long though. In my original search I looked for late-90s Regals and none of them had that style. They really aren't the same as those awful Altezza-style Altima lenses though (sorry Andre) which were all clear. I don't mind the Buick ones at all.

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  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,029
    I remember in the late '90s, the GM dealer where I've bought my last few cars took in trade a '77 Pontiac Laurentian (Canada-only model trimmed like a BelAir) and had it on their used car lot. Low miles, perfect condition, obviously owned by an old person. It had the 250-6 under the hood. It got bought by a guy who drove a cab and he put it into service as one. Lasted in that role for just a few years. Don't know if he wore it out or sold it off.

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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    It's interesting that GM saw fit to keep the Bel Air, and Laurentian equivalent, going in Canada. I believe the Bel Air's last year in the US was 1975, although I think they had something called an Impala S in '76, that sort of took its place? And, of course, Pontiac didn't have anything below the Catalina, in the States.

    I just looked at the '77 Canadian Chevy brochure, and their Bel Air was even full-range...sedan, coupe and wagon! The Pontiac brochure shows a pic of a Laurentian sedan, and also mentions a Laurentian Safari wagon. Did they also offer a Laurentian coupe in '77?

    It looks to me like the Laurentian, and Bel Air, basically used the Impala door panels, but just took off that woodgrain strip that ran along the upper edge. And, of course, a cheaper grade of seating material. The dashboard manages to look a bit cheaper, too, than an Impala. And I guess they stripped off some interior chrome here and there.
  • sdasda Member Posts: 6,936

    I suspect the 250 six was smoother, more durable and performed about the same or a bit better than the 231 V6 installed in the other BOPs. Yes, V8 much preferred.

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  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 17,312

    It's amazing to me that there are as many years between 1932 and 1977 in automobiledom as there are from 1977 to now.

    I attended my first BMW CCA Oktoberfest in 1984, driving my 1973 Bavaria. I remember thinking the Neue Klasse cars on the '60s were "old." Last year I attended driving my Club Sport- equivalent to driving a 1958 car at O'fet '84...

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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    I suspect the 250 six was smoother, more durable and performed about the same or a bit better than the 231 V6 installed in the other BOPs.

    I made a comment to the owner how I bet it was slow, and he replied, "It's not really that bad". I thought that that must be relative, LOL.

    My sister and her husband bought a new '75 Buick Century Special with that V6. It was awful. Slow, OK, but noisy and rough-idling as bad as any Vega or Pinto I'd ever been in. You had to wonder what they were thinking putting that engine in a car like a Century.

    Of course I know, MPG.
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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    edited December 2022
    RE.: The Bel Air:

    The '72 was the last one I'd have even considered. The standard cloth seats were not that bad, and it actually had three taillights on each side!

    The '74 and '75 Bel Airs, which I'd see occasionally out-and-about, had gray plastic around the taillights and license plate that was often warped even when new. Awful. And the '73 and later seat trim was really bad IMHO.

    The '76 Impala S had the regular Impala's interior, but had bias-ply tires and didn't have the Impala's standard body side moldings nor side-window reveal moldings.
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  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,188
    Our driver's ed car was a brand new '74 Impala.. :)

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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655

    I suspect the 250 six was smoother, more durable and performed about the same or a bit better than the 231 V6 installed in the other BOPs.

    I made a comment to the owner how I bet it was slow, and he replied, "It's not really that bad". I thought that that must be relative, LOL.

    My sister and her husband bought a new '75 Buick Century Special with that V6. It was awful. Slow, OK, but noisy and rough-idling as bad as any Vega or Pinto I'd ever been in. You had to wonder what they were thinking putting that engine in a car like a Century.

    Of course I know, MPG.

    If I was to take a wild guess, I'd estimate maybe 16-17 seconds in 0-60, for either the 231 or the Chevy 250 in a B-body? At least, in one of the "better" years...I know horsepower and torque would sometimes vary a bit from year to year. Consumer Reports tested a 1974 Chevelle coupe with the 250/auto. It used a 3.08:1 axle, and weighed 3781 lb. It MSRPed for $3837, as tested, so I have a feeling it did not have air conditioning. 0-60 with the 250 was 17.0 seconds, and they list it at 100 hp that year. It did better than the Matador coupe (258 CID with 110 hp and a 3.15:1 axle), which needed 18 seconds. The Satellite Sebring, with a 105 hp 225, 105 hp and a 2.94:1 axle, was slightly quicker at 16.5. They also tested a Torino coupe. It did 0-60 in 14.0 seconds. However, by that time, Ford gave up on putting 6-cyl engines in their midsized cars, and went with a 140 hp 302, and a 3.00:1 axle.

    I think in most "normal" driving, those underpowered engines are probably just fine, once you get used to them. However, coming from the more higher-power cars we have of today, getting used to them might take awhile. If you have to regularly do a lot of high-speed merging, or high-speed passing, you're not going to like them, though! I know of a couple of poorly angled cloverleaf interchanges, where they slow you to almost a stop, and then you don't have much distance to merge over. Even in a modern vehicle, they're annoying. I imagine in an old vehicle that was not only slow, but couldn't take a sharp corner very well, they'd really be an experience!

    Oh, and as far as durability goes, I've never heard anything bad about the Chevy 250, or its earlier versions. It doesn't seem to have quite the fan base that the Mopar slant six does, but some of those guys get almost cult-like :p On the other hand, the only time I've ever heard anything good about the Buick 231, is if someone is referring to an '85 or later version. Or, if they just happened to get lucky with an earlier one, and think their personal experience should apply to everyone.

    Although, one thing I'll say in defense of the 231 in my old Cutlass Supreme, it was definitely a better performer than the 229 in my Malibu. Probably not a huge difference in 0-60, but the 231 seemed more responsive when it kicked down to second gear when needed, and at higher speeds, it didn't seem to get winded as badly as the 229 did. Now the old 225 slant six in my '69 Dart GT was better still. However, it was a lighter car, quicker axle ratio, and wasn't saddled with all that emissions stuff, so that's not a fair comparison.
  • tjc78tjc78 Member Posts: 15,852

    Those 0 to 60 times are just terrible. Is there any new car or truck that takes 14 seconds to get 60?

    I think the slowest thing out there is a Nissan Kicks at just over 10 seconds. I had a base model Hyundai Kona rental and that felt painfully slow and when I looked it up the time was 9.3

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  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,685

    9.3 would be FAST in 1977.

  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    When I was young, my Granddad used to let me drive his '85 Silverado a lot. Back when I was a teenager, that thing seemed kind of fast. And compared to the stuff I was used to, it was.

    But, years later, when it got passed down to me, in 2002, I remember thinking damn, this thing is a DOG! But, I timed it with a stopwatch one day and shockingly, it managed 0-60 in about 12 seconds. Which is probably about what it did when it was new. So it's not that the truck had degraded, but my expectations had changed, based on what I'd become accustomed to.

    One thing I've noticed, is that often cars with smaller engines actually don't seem that fast off the line, even when they are. With a bigger engine, it seems like there's often that initial lunge that puts you back in the seat, whereas perhaps the smaller engine has to wind up a bit more. So, maybe from like 0-10 or whatever, the bigger engine is winning out, but then the smaller engine catches up fast.

    One of my friends has a Nissan Kicks. I rode in it the other day. One thing I noticed that was odd about it, was the armrest was too far forward to be of any use to me, and the part where my elbow would rest was sloped, so I'd slide off. For some odd reason, it made me think of those GM A/G bodies with the fixed rear door windows and recessed armrests. It's been ages since I've been in one, but I've heard mention sometimes, that those recessed armrests were also too far forward to really be of much use.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    edited December 2022
    After both my parents' '80, and my '82, Monte Carlo 229 V6's, I remember my Dad's new '84 with 305 4-barrel felt like a hot rod. Really. It had a really light touch on the pedal, too. By today's standards it probably wouldn't feel that fast.

    With technology, one expects MPG and handling and acceleration to improve over the decades. But for me, happily anachronistic, I think the things I've given up, I miss more than the things my cars now have.

    First, in my long list, how about no road noise? My Cobalt was virtually silent in that regard, even as late as that was.
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  • sdasda Member Posts: 6,936
    One thing to remember is during this period the speed limit on interstates was 55. The 1973 gas crisis is when the speed limit was initially reduced to 50 then upped to 55. It was around 1987 when speed limits finally started to increase state by state. Before that increase 60 was speeding! I remember seeing ads bragging 0-50 times, lol.

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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    Yeah, I remember those 0-50 times. They can be surprisingly deceptive I think, because if you don't think about it too much, 60 mph doesn't seem like THAT much more than 50. But, those 10 mph increments come further apart, the faster you go. For instance, I found an old R&T test of an '80 Caprice with a 305. 0-50 in 7.8 seconds. But then, an extra 3.1 seconds to get to 60.

    Although I was actually impressed it only needed 10.9 seconds to get from 0-60. It also had a tall axle, a 2.41:1.

    Motortrend's '77 Caprice, with a 350-4bbl and 3.08:1 axle, still needed 10.8 seconds. R&T tested a '79 with the same engine/axle, and got 10.6. Almost makes it seem like the 350 wasn't worth it, until I remember that in '77-79, the 305 the Caprice used was a 2-bbl, and choked down to 130 hp by 1979, so the 305-4bbl for '80 was probably a good compromise between the old 305-2 and the 350-4.
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,254
    sometimes there is a gear change between 50 and 60.
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  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,435

    Those cars were running 3 speed trannys though. Get caught shifting up at the wrong time and it can really bog the car down.

    In real world driving though, they were just fine. That rarely including full bore 0-60 sprints.

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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655

    sometimes there is a gear change between 50 and 60.

    A few other details...the two 350 cars were around 4000 lb, whereas I think the 305 was around 3700. And if the 305 was using the THM200, while the 350 used the THM350, the lighter transmission would have sapped a bit less power, I guess. The THM200 also had a quicker first and second gear.

    I wonder, if the 305 would have also used a more lightweight rear end (differential, axle shafts, etc)? Both cars had 11" discs up front and 9.5" drums in back. Now that I think about it, I believe the Corvair used 9.5" drums, and I remember it being praised for having beefy brakes for such a lightweight car. I wonder if the Caprice was using the same drums as the Corvair?! I know the front brakes do most of the stopping, but still, that seems a bit "under braked" for a car that size.
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,188
    stickguy said:

    Those cars were running 3 speed trannys though. Get caught shifting up at the wrong time and it can really bog the car down.

    In real world driving though, they were just fine. That rarely including full bore 0-60 sprints.

    My '77 302 V8 4-speed manual took two shifts to make it to 60 mph... :/

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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    I think I recall Motorweek also using a 0-50 or 0-55 time. Peak malaise.

    There was a post related to the passage of time, and the amount of years between dates. It's funny to me that when my dad bought the 60 Ford, it was a cool old flashy rare fins and chrome machine, but was only 30 years old. Meanwhile, the W201 launched 40 years ago yesterday. These are 40 year old cars:



    Another ancient looking antique 40 year old car:



    And 40 years ago, a 40 year old car was effectively a prewar design. Time flies.
  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 17,312
    My slowest cars are the Clubman and Wrangler- 0-60 in the mid 9 second range. The Club Sport(with the Turner/Conforti chip) can run to 60 in a tick under 8 seconds. The X1 does it in 6 seconds flat- the same as my 1988 M6- which at the time I thought was actually fast...

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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    edited December 2022
    I saw a bit of a rarity...a Nissan Altima coupe. Unfortunately, it's been spotted on various Ring cameras, and posted to nextdoor dot com involved in less than savory activities, a little too close for comfort, to my old neighborhood...
    https://neighbors.ring.com/n/OX20MMjuGV

    Considering the Altima coupe was a pretty rare car, I'd think they're taking a bit of a chance, using one to go porch-pirating! Seems to me it would be easy for the cops to narrow down through DMV (or MVA as they call it in Maryland) databases. Although, the VIN won't narrow it down by color, but still, how many of those things can still be on the streets?

    Oh, on the subject of 0-60 times, I think even a 3.6 Charger is good for about 6.6 seconds these days, and I think the final-gen Impalas with the 3.6 clocked in at 6.1 on occasion. And those times are probably better than the vast majority of all the Chargers and Impalas ever built. I remember Consumer Reports testing something like a '69 Plymouth GTX or Coronet R/T, or maybe it was a Charger, with a 440, automatic, and 3.23:1 axle, and even with all that, 0-60 was 7.0 seconds. And while there were setups faster than that, in the overall scheme of things, very few were ever equipped that way.

    I think the original GTO, with a 389-4bbl and a stick, was good for 7.7 in typical tests. And so was the much-maligned '74 GTO, with a 350-2bbl and a stick.

    One problem with having it so good these days, is that we just get used to it, so it doesn't seem as good as it really is!
  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 17,312
    andre1969 said:

    I saw a bit of a rarity...a Nissan Altima coupe. Unfortunately, it's been spotted on various Ring cameras, and posted to nextdoor dot com involved in less than savory activities, a little too close for comfort, to my old neighborhood...
    https://neighbors.ring.com/n/OX20MMjuGV

    Considering the Altima coupe was a pretty rare car, I'd think they're taking a bit of a chance, using one to go porch-pirating! Seems to me it would be easy for the cops to narrow down through DMV (or MVA as they call it in Maryland) databases. Although, the VIN won't narrow it down by color, but still, how many of those things can still be on the streets?

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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    Spotted today, another old Chevy here in rustland. Somewhere between a 2000 and 2003, maybe 2004 (in the later years, no body side molding like this car has was available from the factory).

    For a car that's 20 years old, maybe more, maybe a little less, no visible rust spots of any kind.

    The driver looked crowding 80, and so did his wife. He reminded me of 'Pop' on 'Pop Watch' on Facebook, if any of you have seen that.


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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    edited December 2022
    andre, reasons to get the 350 4-barrel in '77-79, besides the four barrels:

    1) You got the THM 350 trans. I even heard that at the dealership back then.
    2) I was around a lot of those cars back in the day, and soft cams were an issue on 305's (not on ours, luckily). I never once heard that on those years' 350's.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    edited December 2022
    Here's 'Pop', who looks like the driver of the silver Monte Carlo today:

    (I have to admit, as does my wife, that he looks like my late Dad, including the hat--Dad died in 1995).

    POP WATCH - YouTube
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    andre1969 said:

    I saw a bit of a rarity...a Nissan Altima coupe. Unfortunately, it's been spotted on various Ring cameras, and posted to nextdoor dot com involved in less than savory activities, a little too close for comfort, to my old neighborhood...
    https://neighbors.ring.com/n/OX20MMjuGV

    Considering the Altima coupe was a pretty rare car, I'd think they're taking a bit of a chance, using one to go porch-pirating! Seems to me it would be easy for the cops to narrow down through DMV (or MVA as they call it in Maryland) databases. Although, the VIN won't narrow it down by color, but still, how many of those things can still be on the streets?

    Oh, on the subject of 0-60 times, I think even a 3.6 Charger is good for about 6.6 seconds these days, and I think the final-gen Impalas with the 3.6 clocked in at 6.1 on occasion. And those times are probably better than the vast majority of all the Chargers and Impalas ever built. I remember Consumer Reports testing something like a '69 Plymouth GTX or Coronet R/T, or maybe it was a Charger, with a 440, automatic, and 3.23:1 axle, and even with all that, 0-60 was 7.0 seconds. And while there were setups faster than that, in the overall scheme of things, very few were ever equipped that way.

    I think the original GTO, with a 389-4bbl and a stick, was good for 7.7 in typical tests. And so was the much-maligned '74 GTO, with a 350-2bbl and a stick.

    One problem with having it so good these days, is that we just get used to it, so it doesn't seem as good as it really is!

    Look up "Big Altima Energy" - an Altima coupe being used as a porch pirate vehicle is 100% on point.
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,685

    Passed a nice ‘55 Chevy Bel Air 2 door hardtop, white over red (of course), driving down I30, pretty well keeping up with traffic. Nice shape.

  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 17,312
    andre1969 said:

    I saw a bit of a rarity...a Nissan Altima coupe. Unfortunately, it's been spotted on various Ring cameras, and posted to nextdoor dot com involved in less than savory activities, a little too close for comfort, to my old neighborhood...
    https://neighbors.ring.com/n/OX20MMjuGV

    Considering the Altima coupe was a pretty rare car, I'd think they're taking a bit of a chance, using one to go porch-pirating! Seems to me it would be easy for the cops to narrow down through DMV (or MVA as they call it in Maryland) databases. Although, the VIN won't narrow it down by color, but still, how many of those things can still be on the streets?

    Oh, on the subject of 0-60 times, I think even a 3.6 Charger is good for about 6.6 seconds these days, and I think the final-gen Impalas with the 3.6 clocked in at 6.1 on occasion. And those times are probably better than the vast majority of all the Chargers and Impalas ever built. I remember Consumer Reports testing something like a '69 Plymouth GTX or Coronet R/T, or maybe it was a Charger, with a 440, automatic, and 3.23:1 axle, and even with all that, 0-60 was 7.0 seconds. And while there were setups faster than that, in the overall scheme of things, very few were ever equipped that way.

    I think the original GTO, with a 389-4bbl and a stick, was good for 7.7 in typical tests. And so was the much-maligned '74 GTO, with a 350-2bbl and a stick.

    One problem with having it so good these days, is that we just get used to it, so it doesn't seem as good as it really is!

    And as I've mentioned before, I have a 1991 magazine that is a compilation of muscle car road tests from the old Hi-Performance Cars magazine. The fastest 1/4 mile time was a 12.5 posted by Joe Oldham's 1969 Motion Performance big block Camaro- with 4.10 gears, uncapped headers and slicks. Aside from that car most of the others put up 1/4 mile ETs in the 13.5-14.5 second range.

    Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive

  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    edited December 2022
    There is a brown, one-owner 1964 Studebaker Lark Challenger with Studebaker's R3 engine, that always surprises people at the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags in MIchigan every year. Admittedly only ten of those engines were installed at South Bend on the production line, but the engines could be bought from Studebaker's subsidiary, Paxton Products, for some time after Studebaker left U.S. production.

    That car had quarter mile times at about 13 flat at the Pure Stock Musclecar Drags in the past ten or fifteen years--and with an elderly driver!

    I remember one of the newsstand performance mags several years back, had a pic of it on a corner of the cover with the wording, "A 13 Second Supercharged What?!".

    This reminds me, that on Dec. 9, 59 years ago, it was announced Studebaker was discontinuing U.S. production after 111 years in South Bend.May be an image of text that says '11:18 PM Thu De 77% December 2021 1:00 AM The South Bend Uribune Tয় C72R AUTO OUTPUT TO END HERE Studebaker Will Assemble Cars in Canada Parts, Truck Production Expected to Stay in City Goklnests'
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    Wow, it's weird to read about a pretty major plane crash in Maryland, from an Indiana newspaper! I'd never heard of that plane crash. Looks like that one was Pan Am Flight 214

    I found news of another plane crash in Western Maryland, a few weeks later. This one was a B-52 that went down during a snow storm, taking with it, the crew of five, and two thermonuclear bombs! :o
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,254
    There is still a nuc in the ground from a plane crash decades ago in North Carolina.
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    andre, have you ever been to Elkton? When I first saw that South Bend Tribune years back, the plane crash article compelled me to read more about it.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    edited December 2022
    Does anybody have an experience, or stories, about the 4.3L fuel injected V6 Chevy used in cars from '85 and a few years later?

    I don't.

    Just daydreaming the other day, looking at the '87 Caprice brochure and thinking about a white coupe, no vinyl top, that light beige cloth front seat, sport wheel covers, F41, cornering lights and possibly that engine. Might've been a nice, fairly-low-priced full-size RWD coupe in an era where those when disappearing.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    If you're going to get a 4.3, get a diesel :) - those apparently are a lot better than the GM V8 units. I've seen a couple 4.3 diesel Celebrities on Malaise Motors that seem to be alive just fine - and higher option cars too.

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