Nemo Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 In 1983, that first summer out of high school I was able to round up $700 and my mom gave me the other $50 to buy my first car: A 1979 Mitsubishi Champ that had been in a wreck and had a very bad body repair. Rust tumors were exploding from behind the bondo. I had to sell it a year after because I didn't make enough money to keep up with the repairs and when it rained it leaked a lot of water through the passenger door and rear window. I'll never forget the always damp smell of that little car. Maybe I should've kept my Yamaha RD400. What was yours? Here's where we read about the Pacers, Gremlins, Chevettes and Edsels of the BE world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgary Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 What was yours? Here's where we read about the Pacers, Gremlins, Chevettes and Edsels of the BE world. 1972 Chevy Blazer. 22 years old when I bought it from the original owner, who only used it for fishing trips, and kept it under a car-port in his back yard the rest of the year. 65,000 miles, clean original 350 with matching numbers, no smog stuff, no body rust, real 4-wheel-drive with locking diffs, etc. Thought I was getting a great deal. Had it checked over by "my" garage, who pronounced that all major systems were working. Good compression. No leaks. It ran *great*.... when it ran. Problem was that - after I bought it - I never knew when it was going to *stop* running. Alternator belt one day, radiator hose the next, then a brake line (!), then power steering. In hindsight, what I bought was a truck that had essentially sat in a yard and "rotted" for 22 years. I had it for 3 years... and it was probably running and drivable less than a fifth of that time. Last straw was when my mechanic told me that a seal between transmission and transfer case had gone and was allowing tranny fluid to contaminate the transfer case grease. He said "the good news is, it is a 50-cent part. The bad news is, it will be a thousand dollars worth of labor to get to it." Ended up selling the thing to a local guy who... amazing bit of synergy... restored old chevy's as a hobby. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basman Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 A 1980 somthing Ford Tarus. made me swear off Fords forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Well, British cars were fun, but they tended to act like they were built from paper clips, twine and duct tape. Did tend to leak from various orifices and other bits; did tend to break down suddenly and stupidly; did thusly tend to be a spot of bother. An MG I once had tended to leak oil from somewhere under the dash so I wore a pair of crappy shoes whenever I drove it because I would've ruined every OTHER decent pair of shoes if I drove this car with them. Ah, the things we put up with when we're young! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Every "race" car I have ever owned. About 20 of them total. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Oh, and I forgot to mention my ex's damned Corvairs. God, what weird pieces of s**t. They needed constant work... or seemed to. Hell, I even tore them apart and rebuilt them as well. Too weird. Dangerous, too. You had to put mega-weight in the upfront trunk just to keep the front end in contact with the road! Gah!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Base model stripped down 1989 Eagle Talon. Ate clutches. No traction & all sorts of other problems. Regretable choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 My first car was a 1974 Ford Torino that my sister found for me. $300 from one of her co-workers. It was a green 2-door with a 351 Windsor engine. Not a bad car ... but nothing exceptional either. I drove it for about 3 months during the summer of my Junior / Senior year in high school ..... totaled it after a night of *adult* beverage consumption, and sold it a week later for $350 to a guy who wanted the motor for his boat! What a summer, and I made a $50 profit! My absolute *worst* car was a 1980 something Plymouth Horizon. What a piece of crap! I would have gladly traded it for a Chevette. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Santiago Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 (edited) worst car was my first car.... 1969 camaro. never!!! let a teenager buy a car at night!!!! also had a 73 dodge dart with a straight 6. i treated it like s**t, never washed it or closed the windows, rain or shine... but it would not die. parked it at my in-laws in the bushes and after 7 mos we dragged it out, cleaned out the mouse nests, put on the jumper cables and it fired right up. sold it for more than i paid for it......!! edited to add a couple of my camaro's highlights..... needed 3 keys (trunk,ignition,door) only came with 2. I kept a hanger in the trunk to unlock the door. driver's window grears were stripped so when i closed the door, the window fell down. had a short in windshield switch so when i shifted into 2nd gear, the wipers did a quick wipe of the windshield. had no power steering but had a 10" racing steering wheel on it. Murder to turn in tigh places. I'm sure there are more but 33 years ends to work on the memory.... Edited July 24, 2007 by pas44 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingchange Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Worst car was also my first car - when I got my license, my mom gave me her old car, a 1987 Ford Tempo. The only thing reliable about it was the frequency of its breakdowns: every three months. And it was never something minor, it was things like when the engine FELL OUT. I got a new(er) car when I was in college and tried to sell the 'empo (the T fell off) for $300 and had no takers. Ended up donating it to a women's shelter in Brooklyn that mysteriously dropped off the face of the earth shortly thereafter. At least the car was gone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 1981 Buick ..top of the line POS everything failed on it in the first 3 yrs..trans, engine, rearend, brakes, you name it...when the warranty went, so did it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Santiago Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Ended up donating it to a women's shelter in Brooklyn that mysteriously dropped off the face of the earth shortly thereafter. At least the car was gone! They probably took a ride in it and decided it wasn't worth running the shelter with donations like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Middle Man Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 (edited) I really liked the 1972 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser I drove for a while in high school in the early 1990's, but the transmission did die (twice) and had several assorted minor issues. She had a 455 V8, but with all that mass it just sucked down fuel. It was Dark Green with the faux wood panel decals and side skirts. It had been repainted in the late 80's and looked very clean, not a single rust spot. The car rode very well with nine of my closest friends comfortably ensconced within those 5000lbs of steel and glass. Come to think of it, I kinda miss that car...big and ugly, but in a good way...like a tank Edited July 24, 2007 by Middle Man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Believe it or else, I had a Ford Pinto stationwagon while in Anchorage, AK (where I bought it) and dragged it around the Northwest with me until I just got tired of moving it. It was ugly but oddly reliable and caused virtually no serious problems. Took quite a beating in Anchorage (all cars in Alaska "take a beating") and it kept right on ticking. By the time I got it down to Washington, the gear shift lever had the habit of occasionally falling off right in my hands. Very hard to drive a four-speed under those conditions. However, I had someone nearby who was willing to fix it for nothing every time it happened. Weird quirk to have in your ride, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 I once had a Chevette that was quite dependable, except for one time ........ I was at my girlfriends house and when I went to go home, I put the stick shift in reverse and somehow it broke right off in my hand ! I had to drive the dammed thing all the way home in reverse! Weirdest car I ever had was a gray 1972 Chevy Nova ................... *HATCH-BACK* :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajarrel Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 When I enlisted in the Navy in 1974 I had to have a vehicle to drive from home in Mobile to Pensacola on weekends. I bought a 1965 Ford Galaxy 6 cyl that ran like a top....til i changed the oil. Back in those days, some folks would run NON-detergent oil in their vehicles. I didn't know that and at the first oil change filled it up with a HIGH-detergent oil. It took a couple of hundred miles but that became the worst oil burner I ever owned. You wouldn't believe the smoke that engine would put out. But it got me back and forth to Mobile every weekend dj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micah Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 My worst car was a Geo Metro. Being my second car and an avid golfer (and skirt chaser) I thought the collapsable back would be an asset. The only asset I got (satirical pun intended) was having the option of strapping it to my back and carrying it home in case it broke down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Santiago Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 I really liked the 1972 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser I drove for a while in high school in the early 1990's, but the transmission did die (twice) and had several assorted minor issues. She had a 455 V8, but with all that mass it just sucked down fuel. It was Dark Green with the faux wood panel decals and side skirts. It had been repainted in the late 80's and looked very clean, not a single rust spot. The car rode very well with nine of my closest friends comfortably ensconced within those 5000lbs of steel and glass.Come to think of it, I kinda miss that car...big and ugly, but in a good way...like a tank I drove my parents 70 bonneville wagon when i first got my license. Same engine. 0-60mph in a day, 60-0 in 2 days. I always turned the airfilter cover upside down to hear the quads kick it. My dad kept wondering why the car was going through so many radiator hoses... I don't know, I thought it was meant to be a street drag car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfinney Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 worst car was my first car.... 1969 camaro. never!!! let a teenager buy a car at night!!!!also had a 73 dodge dart with a straight 6. i treated it like s**t, never washed it or closed the windows, rain or shine... but it would not die. parked it at my in-laws in the bushes and after 7 mos we dragged it out, cleaned out the mouse nests, put on the jumper cables and it fired right up. sold it for more than i paid for it......!! My worst and first car I bought was also a 69 Camaro..... but after rebuilding it from the ground up over the next three years (because I had to, not because i wanted to!) it ended up being my BEST car. I learned alot about cars, and life, bleeding and sweating over that hunk of metal. But the end result was worth it. My dad also had a 63 Dodge Dart, Slant 6, w/ push button drive...... indestructible car. ran forever. I'd hardly categorize as a worst car, even if it was ugly. We also sold it for more than we paid for it, in the early 90's (he bought it about 1970 I think). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemo Posted July 24, 2007 Author Share Posted July 24, 2007 I really liked the 1972 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser I drove for a while in high school in the early 1990's... That's kinda cool, Jeremy! The sister to the Forman's Vista Cruiser! Hangin out down the street The same old thing we did last week not a thing to do but talk to you... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scout454 Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 A 1959 Morgan +4 brought up to Super Sport specs. For every dollar I paid for it I put $3 into it - in less than a year. But Lord it was fast and the handling was superb. But . . wood floors, it spit oil and it was blessed with electrics by Lucas - The Prince of Darkness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gameplayer Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Definitely my 72 Buick Skylark. Eight different colors including a couple shades of primer. Hood was fastened with a rubber tie-down and decided to let go going 70mph down the highway. Hood takes off into the air like a kite. Piece of crap is what it was. It was my beater while I worked on my 70 Chevelle SS LS6. Those were the days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outerlimits Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 any non-german vehicle (except a truck, of course)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L9X25 Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 My older brother owned a car lot and was given the opportunity to pick out my first car in 1978. I guess I must have angered him considerably during my youth so he picked me out a 1972 Pinto stationwagon with the woodgrain siding on it. It was the 4 cylinder model and there were 2 choices: go a top speed of 80 with the A/C off or go 65 with the A/C on. Since he doesn't have any kids, I will get to pick out his nursing home as revenge! Believe it or else, I had a Ford Pinto stationwagon while in Anchorage, AK (where I bought it) and dragged it around the Northwest with me until I just got tired of moving it. It was ugly but oddly reliable and caused virtually no serious problems. Took quite a beating in Anchorage (all cars in Alaska "take a beating") and it kept right on ticking. By the time I got it down to Washington, the gear shift lever had the habit of occasionally falling off right in my hands. Very hard to drive a four-speed under those conditions. However, I had someone nearby who was willing to fix it for nothing every time it happened. Weird quirk to have in your ride, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Kaw Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Weirdest car I ever had was a gray 1972 Chevy Nova ................... *HATCH-BACK* :blink: Heck Chris, Those were pretty rare! If you still had it I would probably buy it off ya...... And worst car here was an 81 LTD, white, looked like an unmarked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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