|High School Harry| Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 FWIW... my drink of choice is strong coffee with heavy whipping cream. Going for cup number 3 as we speak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Tigre Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 1 hour ago, High School Harry said: I had a dark blue Vega panel truck. No kidding. Station wagon with nothing behind the driver and passenger seat and a solid panel where the rear windows would have been. Sold as a light delivery vehicle, florist shops, drug stores, etc. I threw a mattress in the back and used it for long trips sleeping in the thing. Slowly, to be sure, and had to use the transmission constantly to keep from stalling out on any sort of grade. But fun and fun on dates. Aluminum heads warped and the engine was useless after a short period of time. Body made with cheap Japanese steel and they became infamous for rusting while on the showroom floor. But I learned my lesson. Traded it in on a spiffy red Pontiac Astra station wagon. A Pontiac Vega. Same car but different trim. It did look nice but looked nice parked in front of my house because it never ran. My girlfriend at the time's father ran a garage and he spent more time in it than I did. Under the hood. You win, Harry. Best real life Vega tale. I had completely forgotten the Pontiac version of the same monstrosity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saphead Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|SF2| Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 There ain’t no substitute for cubic inches and a cast iron block! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|High School Harry| Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 1 hour ago, Le Tigre said: You win, Harry. Best real life Vega tale. I had completely forgotten the Pontiac version of the same monstrosity. Thanks, kinda, I think. For the compliment but was not thinking competition. Just my 2¢. Underpowered rust bucket. I wonder if there are any around still intact and not a pile of rust dust. 1 hour ago, saphead said: Yep, the very one. Only mine as dark blue. One of its best qualities (and there were very few of those) is it was unique enough that it didn't get lost in parking lots and you could tote around a middling amount of crap, more so than your average vehicle of the same size. Truck plates, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|SF2| Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 I had the exact opposite problem, my mom had a 1978 Chrysler Newport. 440 cubic inch engine (7.4 liters for you youngsters) weighing in at a svelte 4600 lbs. The damn thing drove like a barge, steering was God awful, and holy shit did it suck down the fuel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleEarl Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 4 minutes ago, SF2 said: I had the exact opposite problem, my mom had a 1978 Chrysler Newport. 440 cubic inches weighing in at a svelte 4600 lbs. The damn thing drove like a barge, steering was God awful, and holy shit did it suck down the fuel. 78 Chrysler? Did it have the “lean burn” system? That thing was a POS and those cars never ran right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricket Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 7 minutes ago, SF2 said: I had the exact opposite problem, my mom had a 1978 Chrysler Newport. 440 cubic inches weighing in at a svelte 4600 lbs. The damn thing drove like a barge, steering was God awful, and holy shit did it suck down the fuel. ...and a Vega would just about fit in the trunk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_C_Deadpeople Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 19 minutes ago, SF2 said: I had the exact opposite problem, my mom had a 1978 Chrysler Newport. 440 cubic inches weighing in at a svelte 4600 lbs. The damn thing drove like a barge, steering was God awful, and holy shit did it suck down the fuel. A fried of mine had a similar car to that in high school - we used to say "it gets 8 feet per gallon and sleeps 8 comfortably" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|SF2| Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 On 12/8/2020 at 10:28 AM, I_C_Deadpeople said: A fried of mine had a similar car to that in high school - we used to say "it gets 8 feet per gallon and sleeps 8 comfortably" 10.6 miles per gallon, 440 cubic inch engine (7.4 liters for you pinko commies), 185 hp. Those late 70s smog motors were a joke. A 1969 440 pumped out 385 hp SAE net. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazycat Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 Ok I cannot compete with the Vega, though I did come close to buying one. My dad had 1970 Impala. It felt like driving a boat down the highway. I had a 1966 Chevelle, 300 deluxe. 283 power glide. Got it from my dad. The first car i bought for myself, a 1976 Datsun 710. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|SF2| Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 8 minutes ago, crazycat said: Ok I cannot compete with the Vega, though I did come close to buying one. My dad had 1970 Impala. It felt like driving a boat down the highway. I had a 1966 Chevelle, 300 deluxe. 283 power glide. Got it from my dad. The first car i bought for myself, a 1976 Datsun 710. My friend had a Datsun 610. Great little car. Learned how to drive a manual in it. Ahh the 2 Speed Powerglide slush box. Virtually indestructible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Tigre Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 2 hours ago, High School Harry said: Thanks, kinda, I think. For the compliment but was not thinking competition. Just my 2¢. Underpowered rust bucket. I wonder if there are any around still intact and not a pile of rust dust. Yep, the very one. Only mine as dark blue. One of its best qualities (and there were very few of those) is it was unique enough that it didn't get lost in parking lots and you could tote around a middling amount of crap, more so than your average vehicle of the same size. Truck plates, too. Purely a complement, Harry. i had briefly considered a panel one, but decided against it. My neighbor had an old Corvair truck, and another friend had a Pinto wagon, so it sort of soured my perspective Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|SF2| Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 9 minutes ago, Le Tigre said: Purely a complement, Harry. i had briefly considered a panel one, but decided against it. My neighbor had an old Corvair truck, and another friend had a Pinto wagon, so it sort of soured my perspective You guys should have opened up a museum for misfit cars! All you would need is an AMC Pacer wagon to compete the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_C_Deadpeople Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 23 minutes ago, SF2 said: You guys should have opened up a museum for misfit cars! All you would need is an AMC Pacer wagon to compete the list. Another friend in High School - his first car was an AMC Gremlin, paid all of $100 for it. Lime Green. The wipers were weird, only worked when accelerating. LOL. I am trying to remember the name AMC gave the engine to make it sound cool - something Command 6? What a POS that car was but we sure rode it hard lol EDIT - I googled it - Torque Command 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|SF2| Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 6 minutes ago, I_C_Deadpeople said: Another friend in High School - his first car was an AMC Gremlin, paid all of $100 for it. Lime Green. The wipers were weird, only worked when accelerating. LOL. I am trying to remember the name AMC gave the engine to make it sound cool - something Command 6? What a POS that car was but we sure rode it hard lol Ahem, don’t you mean “Jolly Green?” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_C_Deadpeople Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 38 minutes ago, SF2 said: Ahem, don’t you mean “Jolly Green?” You are correct sir! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|High School Harry| Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 17 hours ago, SF2 said: Ahem, don’t you mean “Jolly Green?” Not a Gremlin but how about a Pacer? Like the "Wayne's World" Mirthmobile? Party on, Garth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky151 Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 My grandmother had a Vega. My mom had a corvair and hated Ralph Nader for getting them banned. After the Corvair came a Ford Maverick. Grandad had a Ford Falcon station wagon which seemed like a decent car at the time. He was a beekeeper and people would call him to remove beehives from their yards. One time he took me along and trimmed off a branch and put the bees in a cardboard box then folded the flaps. He put it in the back of the Falcon and the bees were energized and buzzed angrily. As we were riding off I asked him how many bees were in the box. He said "Oh, probably 25, maybe 30 thousand". But they behaved during the ride so I lived to tell the tale. In other unmemorable, unremarkable 70s vehicles we had a Chevy Citation X car and a couple of Plymouth K cars. And a Mercury Montego. Cars only last 3 or 4 years back then before something rusted out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_C_Deadpeople Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 The 70's was really a decade of shit cars. I blame this on disco, or I blame disco on the shitty cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shebengal Posted December 9, 2020 Report Share Posted December 9, 2020 3 hours ago, I_C_Deadpeople said: The 70's was really a decade of shit cars. I blame this on disco, or I blame disco on the shitty cars. I had a 1976 Mustang. Puke 🤮 yellow with an equally 🤮 green vinyl top. My dad’s mechanic spent more time with that car than I did. Piece of crap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea Ray Posted December 9, 2020 Report Share Posted December 9, 2020 20 hours ago, I_C_Deadpeople said: The 70's was really a decade of shit cars. I blame this on disco, or I blame disco on the shitty cars. The early 80s weren't so good either. Remember the Chrysler K-car? My first car was a used 1980 Buick Century. Those cars would go 100K miles maybe; 110K miles tops then they died. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea Ray Posted December 9, 2020 Report Share Posted December 9, 2020 On 12/8/2020 at 12:03 PM, SF2 said: My friend had a Datsun 610. Great little car. Learned how to drive a manual in it. Ahh the 2 Speed Powerglide slush box. Virtually indestructible. I drove a really cool Pontiac LeMans convertible (not the GTO) in high school but it's limitation was a 2 speed transmission. Was that a "Powerglide" as you referenced? I wish it was at least a 3 speed. It shifted at about 20-25 mph and that was it. On a really, really good day that 350 engine would give you 20 mpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleEarl Posted December 9, 2020 Report Share Posted December 9, 2020 5 minutes ago, Sea Ray said: I drove a really cool Pontiac LeMans convertible (not the GTO) in high school but it's limitation was a 2 speed transmission. Was that a "Powerglide" as you referenced? I wish it was at least a 3 speed. It shifted at about 20-25 mph and that was it. On a really, really good day that 350 engine would give you 20 mpg The power glide transmission wasn’t for high performance, but it was one of the most indestructible transmissions ever made. My father actually dropped a power glide into a ‘65 corvette. He wanted to make it easy to drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_C_Deadpeople Posted December 9, 2020 Report Share Posted December 9, 2020 44 minutes ago, Sea Ray said: The early 80s weren't so good either. Remember the Chrysler K-car? My first car was a used 1980 Buick Century. Those cars would go 100K miles maybe; 110K miles tops then they died. K-car and the Mini vans were shite, but they did save Chrysler from bankruptcy. I did own a 73 2 door impala for a bit, simply nicknamed 'the boat', i think each door weighed 500 pounds lol. Also had a nice 1976 Malibu, that was a respectable car but I wrecked it. Speaking of shite cars, my brother had a Ford Capri, cant recall the year but my dad would not let him park it on the driveway as it was always dropping fluids lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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