General Car Discussion: MotoH's Thread

[Ivan Seeking]

It should be noted MotoH started this thread. Posts were merged from other threads which inadvertantly put one of mine on top.

It's the way it's going, give it a few years and everything will be fly by wire. It's another reason why I love modern/future classics, lots of electronics ruins the driving experience for me.

Heck, front-wheel drive ruined much of it for me. What fun is driving without the occasional power slide? I was as comfortable driving a car sideways as forward, under power.

Back when I was driving our '82 Celica, I would enter our gravel road on a 60 mph power slide almost every day. I was my secret little cheap thrill that made the day fun. I hope [my wife] Tsu doesn't see this.

 

[turbo]

Heck, front-wheel drive ruined much of for me. What fun is driving without the occasional power slide? I was as comfortable driving a car sideways as forward, under power.

Back when I was driving our '82 Celica, I would enter our gravel road on a 60 mph power slide almost every day. I was my secret little cheap thrill that made the day fun. I hope [my wife] Tsu doesn't see this.

When I was just out of college, a friend of mine had an MGA, and I loved to help him tweak it performance-wise. We'd head across the river to a town on the back side of the lake and run the gravel roads with a vengeance. He'd let me drive much of the time, probably to experience the white-knuckle rush as a passenger when a really "loose" car is being put through its paces.

Years later, after I got married, and my wife wanted to learn how to drive, we bought her a Civic, and I learned how hairy under-steer can be on gravel roads. That was one tough little car! It was used when we bought it, we loaned it to a friend for a year so she could finish college (80 miles per day, at least), and eventually sold it to another friend, who used it to get into his father's fishing camp on pretty crappy roads. He put over-sized tires on it, with snow-treads and would run through mud and muck. It probably shouldn't have been road-legal that way, but it worked.

 

[turbo]

Even with the problems, I wouldn't get rid of my Prius for anything. They are far roomier inside than you would think and I love getting 50 MPG.

I love my 2009 Subaru Forester. It doesn't get 50 mpg, but it's wonderful in ice and snow with AWD, traction control, and anti-lock brakes. It can hold a lot of people and a lot of cargo, too. It sure doesn't hurt to get ~27 mpg in an SUV when the other features (traction, road-worthiness in bad weather) are factored in. If my wife and I lived in Florida or Arizona, we'd probably be running Hondas or Toyotas, but in Maine, Subarus rule.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Years later, after I got married, and my wife wanted to learn how to drive, we bought her a Civic, and I learned how hairy under-steer can be on gravel roads. That was one tough little car! It was used when we bought it, we loaned it to a friend for a year so she could finish college (80 miles per day, at least), and eventually sold it to another friend, who used it to get into his father's fishing camp on pretty crappy roads. He put over-sized tires on it, with snow-treads and would run through mud and muck. It probably shouldn't have been road-legal that way, but it worked.

When I was a kid I had a Datsun pu that took a lot of punishment, including jumps. It was a tough little truck and performed well for a small truck, but it didn't take long to notice that the Toyota trucks were much nicer, which is when I first took note of Toyota. Hondas have always been tough as well.

Funny and true: I left a buddy in a Z-28 in the dust, on a curvy road, in my Datsun pu. I could dig my wheels into the rut of the shoulder on curves, which allowed me to take curves much faster than one would expect. He just had too much weight to throw around. That one scored me some real brownie points with the car freaks.

Within the context of this thread, I once survived a loss of breaks coming down a mountain road that way. I had bounced the battery right out of its bracket, which then shorted out on the brake line. I discovered this as I started to brake for a 25 mph curve. Had I not been able to catch the rut, we would have gone over a cliff.

 

[turbo]

I've got to give props to Datsun/Nissan. I bought Datsun's 4x4 PU in the first production year, bought a Nissan Pathfinder in the first year of production, and bought a 240SX in its first model year. I would never have tried that with any US brands. I have too many friends and relatives who are mechanics, and know too many horror stories.

 

[MotoH]

Well it seems that at least a couple people enjoy talking about cars, so I figured why not start a thread about it.
Post whatever is car related and is awesome. Day to day experiences, stories, photos, videos, whatever!

I'll start it off with this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AclNaYw-gkw

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I've got to give props to Datsun/Nissan. I bought Datsun's 4x4 PU in the first production year, bought a Nissan Pathfinder in the first year of production, and bought a 240SX in its first model year. I would never have tried that with any US brands. I have too many friends and relatives who are mechanics, and know too many horror stories.

I loooooooved my 240Z - many stories to tell; all bad.

 

[turbo]

I loooooooved my 240Z.

My cousin (lead engineer for Lockheed Martin during the last Hubble servicing mission) still has a love affair going with the Z-cars. 240Z was the first car that he bought after college, and he's still got a Jones for them. Later Z-cars got too computerized for their own good. My brother-in-law was lead mechanic for the local Nissan dealership, and he told me about one time when a 300Z got whacked on the passenger-side rear quarter-panel, and they were fighting with the owner's insurance company about whether or not to total the vehicle. Ack! Apparently, there were computers/controllers in that quadrant that would all have to be replaced, and though the damage all seemed repairable in the normal scheme of things, the insurance company wanted to bail out when faced with the cost of replacing those modules on top of structural/body repairs.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Driving Experiences - the good, the bad, and the ugly

The Toyota thread got me reminiscing about driving; in my case, driving like a maniac. I have made no secret of the fact that I was a somewhat logical, but incredibly irresponsible speed demon [hmmm., maybe I should say responsible but stupid?]. What I mean by that is that I did stupid things but usually under relatively controlled circumstances. I always tried to be sure that if things didn't go well, the only people to die would be me and whoever was stupid enough to trust me and ride along while doing this stuff.

But the one that comes to mind at the moment was not intentional. I had been working ~36 hours straight while trying to finish one job, so that I could catch a plane to Peru for another. I was driving home, late at night, and was exhausted beyond belief. I had exited the freeway and had to drive though an area called Troutdale, on 35-40 mph Blvds. The roads were empty and the drive uneventful as far as I knew. As I left the Troutdale area, I saw red lights come on behind me. At that point the speed limit was 55 mph. I looked at my speedometer and saw that I was doing about 80 mph. Uh oh!

Fully expecting a ticket, I apologized and explained that I was dead tired and simply didn't realize how fast I was going. I told him how many hours I had been working, what I was doing, and explained that I had to get up in about 5 hours to catch a plane. He told me that he had been behind me ever since I had gotten off the freeway; that I was doing 80 mph all the way through Troutdale; to go home and get some sleep. He followed me home.

Honestly, I had no clue that I had done that.

 

[rootX]

I recently heard about a person who lost his son because of similar incident. His son pulled an all nighter for the last exam and was driving home without taking any rest.

 

[MotoH]

what General Car Discussion isn't good enough?

 

[Borg]

I used to own a 77 Firebird. It had 60 series tires in the front and 50 series in the back which allowed me to have awesome traction around turns. I once drove 70 MPH on a 25 MPH entrance ramp. I could feel the back end trying to slide out from under me when I did that.

One day a friend of mine let me try out his 79 Trans Am which had stock tires. As I was putting it through its paces, I didn't take into account the difference in tires and spun it 180 degrees when I turned on to a sidestreet. No damage but, I gave us both a pretty good scare. And no, I don't drive like that anymore. My maniac days are (thankfully) over.

 

[turbo]

I was given a ride home by a Trooper one night. I think he had been tipped by the owner of the bar. The trooper came into the bar and started quizzing me, and we went outside together. I got into the back sear of the cruiser and he took me home (over 50 miles away). He didn't embarrass me too badly at home, but I had some "splainin" to do about why I had to leave and hitch-hike to get my parents' car back. BTW, the trooper was a good friend of my grandfather, who ran a wrecker service, so that was a plus

 

[drizzle]

Personally, jeep like cars are my favorite.


Here're some pics:

http://z.about.com/d/trucks/1/0/U/V/66_jeep_cj5

http://p.webwombat.com.au/motoring/images/jeep-renegade-concept-3-big.jpg

 

[Borg]

I'll recite a good story to go with my bad one above. I once came across a stranded traveler and his family on a lonely road in the middle of the woods. I stopped to help and figured out pretty quickly that his fuel filter was clogged. I had some difficultly getting the filter out because I didn't have the correct wrench with me but, I eventually got it. I advised him to get a new filter and followed him to the main road.

I guess that I had made a comment about having lost the wrench that I needed because he mailed me a new one several weeks later. I didn't exchange contact info with him so he must have written down my plate number and gotten my address from the DMV. I guess he either worked there or was a cop.

 

[xxChrisxx]

I loooooooved my 240Z - many stories to tell; all bad.

I'm quite fond of the 240Z it's a good looking car. I'm seriously considering buying a Mk2 Golf GTI, or a Lancia Delta (I can dream) now I'm working again. The missus is trying to veto it, "because old cars are cold and crap".

 

[Borg]

what General Car Discussion isn't good enough?

It looks like you both had an idea to start a car thread within a few minutes of each other. Nothing sinister I think.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Heh, no, I didn't see it. Threads merged.

 

[MotoH]

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/12/2010/02/cincinatti_camaro_ss_crash.jpg
New Camaro almost split in half after hitting telephone pole. Driver walked away.
http://www.wcpo.com/mostpopular/story/Car-Splits-After-Hitting-Pole-Driver-Walks-Away/ml2JtGU1RUK-Mje-uOC63Q.cspx"

 

[MotoH]

I'm quite fond of the 240Z it's a good looking car. I'm seriously considering buying a Mk2 Golf GTI, or a Lancia Delta (I can dream) now I'm working again. The missus is trying to veto it, "because old cars are cold and crap".

Do you live in the US? The GTI's have a gnarly high insurance rate because they are considered "sports cars"

 

[xxChrisxx]

Do you live in the US? The GTI's have a gnarly high insurance rate because they are considered "sports cars"

I'm from the UK, they are high insurance here too but its worth it because they are both rapid and cool as anything. The Delta especially.

 

[lisab]

I used to drive a Subaru WRX...fun, fun, fun car.

When I was young I drove like a maniac, too, but I'm getting better. I still drive way too fast .

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Some posts from the Toyota Recall thread were also merged into this thread. MotoH, I just noticed that this put one of my posts on the top and shows me as the thread starter. Sorry about that. I made a point to give you credit for the thread in the first post.

 

[BobG]

Personally, jeep like cars are my favorite.

I like Jeep pictures, too.

My Jeep:
http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/9314/img1135a.jpg

Other Jeeps:

http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/1496/slaughterhouse031.jpg

http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/1416/chinamangulch028.jpg

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I just opened up a box of photos my mother had put away years ago. It included this shot of a car we owned back in '58.
http://picasaweb.google.com/jsnyder527/Edsel#5434930674866032130"

In '56, our neighbors bought this. I think it's a Chevy. There was a tiny triangular window at the back, but in this photo it is hidden by a post. At 6 years old, I was quite jealous and wanted my parents to buy a car with a triangle window. I believe that we owned a black '49 Pontiac at that time. I thought it was old fashioned.
http://picasaweb.google.com/jsnyder527/Edsel#5434935660943780274"

 

[russ_watters]

I'm not old enough for rwd, and I like technology, but it annoyed me that I couldn't get a V6 or automatic climate control with a standard transmission on my Mazda 6...so I drive the 4banger (gets good gas mileage, though).

 

[russ_watters]

I recently heard about a person who lost his son because of similar incident. His son pulled an all nighter for the last exam and was driving home without taking any rest.

Tired driving may well be the #1 killer for sailors: they get home from a deployment and drive whatever is required to get home as soon as possible, even if it means they are already sleep-dep'd when they start a 15 hour drive. I lost a shipmate that way.

 

[Borg]

I just opened up a box of photos my mother had put away years ago. It included this shot of a car we owned back in '58.
http://picasaweb.google.com/jsnyder527/Edsel#5434930674866032130"

In '56, our neighbors bought this. I think it's a Chevy. There was a tiny triangular window at the back, but in this photo it is hidden by a post. At 6 years old, I was quite jealous and wanted my parents to buy a car with a triangle window. I believe that we owned a black '49 Pontiac at that time. I thought it was old fashioned.
http://picasaweb.google.com/jsnyder527/Edsel#5434935660943780274"

The older cars had some unusual features. This reminded me of the http://www.mercuryarchive.com/1965to1968/1965Montereys.jpg" (middle image) that my father had in the 70's. It had a reverse slant power rear window. A couple of times he took my sister and I for drives through the woods while we hung on to the window while lying on the trunk. He finally stopped letting us do that when we both flew off while going around a corner. We weren't hurt but we barely missed hitting a tree.

I also remember seeing a 50's or 60's era car that had a button under the brake that allowed the driver to change the radio station. Nothing dangerous about that, right?

 

[russ_watters]

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/12/2010/02/cincinatti_camaro_ss_crash.jpg
New Camaro almost split in half after hitting telephone pole. Driver walked away.
http://www.wcpo.com/mostpopular/story/Car-Splits-After-Hitting-Pole-Driver-Walks-Away/ml2JtGU1RUK-Mje-uOC63Q.cspx"

Whoa. [/neo]

...looks like it's good he didn't have a passenger and went for the big end of a 1/3, 2/3 split, though.

 

[BobG]

I also remember seeing a 50's or 60's era car that had a button under the brake that allowed the driver to change the radio station. Nothing dangerous about that, right?

I had a button like that in my 70's Chrysler Newport. Actually, the button was right next to the floor button for the brights (remember when the brights switch was always on the floor?) - which is how I first noticed it. I'm wondering why my brights won't turn off and the girl in the car with me is wondering why the radio's gone crazy!

 

[dlgoff]

I had my drivers license when I turned 14 years old and this is what I drove:

At 14 you know I put it to the test. Speaking of going sideways down a gravel road.

 

[lisab]

I had a button like that in my 70's Chrysler Newport. Actually, the button was right next to the floor button for the brights (remember when the brights switch was always on the floor?) - which is how I first noticed it. I'm wondering why my brights won't turn off and the girl in the car with me is wondering why the radio's gone crazy!

I remember bright switches on the floor, but I've never heard of radio buttons on the floor!

 

[MotoH]

I wasn't alive during the time of this, but how about the primer pedal on the floor!

 

[BobG]

I wasn't alive during the time of this, but how about the primer pedal on the floor!

That would be old.

I do remember a few cars that had manual chokes on the dashboard. I actually liked those.

The strangest design feature was the windshield washer for the Super Beetles in the 70's. Instead of using an electric pump, they used air from the spare tire to pump the washer fluid. If you had a flat tire and had to use your spare, you no longer had a windshield washer.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I do remember a few cars that had manual chokes on the dashboard.

Boy that brings me back. My grandfather's car had one. I hadn't remembered it from 50 years ago until today, but I can see him pulling it out now just like I was sitting there next to him.

 

[lisab]

That would be old.

I do remember a few cars that had manual chokes on the dashboard. I actually liked those.

The strangest design feature was the windshield washer for the Super Beetles in the 70's. Instead of using an electric pump, they used air from the spare tire to pump the washer fluid. If you had a flat tire and had to use your spare, you no longer had a windshield washer.

My first car, a '66 Malibu, had a dashboard choke - I loved it! But now that I think about it, it may not have been factory installed.

About the Super Beetle with that design, wouldn't it deflate the tire after a while?

 

[MotoH]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JidwOIk3VLE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze1Ut7BDMk8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es6-lUqzhf8
997 MKII Porsche Turbo S
530hp - 516 ft/700 NM
0-62 mph: 3.3 Seconds (PDK)
Topspeed 196 mph

 

[Ivan Seeking]

That would be old.

I do remember a few cars that had manual chokes on the dashboard. I actually liked those.

The strangest design feature was the windshield washer for the Super Beetles in the 70's. Instead of using an electric pump, they used air from the spare tire to pump the washer fluid. If you had a flat tire and had to use your spare, you no longer had a windshield washer.

I had a manual choke on my '68 Datsun pu. Going back even further, the starter was engaged by pressing the gas pedal all the way to the floor. Somewhere along the line I remember someone having a car like this but I can't remember where I saw it.

When I was a kid, my great-uncle - a cattle rancher in South Dakota - still had a tractor that had to be started using a hand crank.

The Super Beetle story is classic! I had never heard that before. Lisab, it would slowly drain the tire, but probably not enough to be a problem as long as one was diligent about adding air to the spare with every fillup. BobG, you wouldn't happen to remember if this was addressed in the owner's manual, do you? I wonder how often they recommended filling the spare tire.

If the tire is filled to 32 psi, and the washer fluid only required a few psi, there is ~ a 10:1 gain on the volume of water that can be moved by a given volume of air in the tire.

 

[BobG]

The Super Beetle story is classic! I had never heard that before. Lisab, it would slowly drain the tire, but probably not enough to be a problem as long as one was diligent about adding air to the spare with every fillup. BobG, you wouldn't happen to remember if this was addressed in the owner's manual, do you? I wonder how often they recommended filling the spare tire.

If the tire is filled to 32 psi, and the washer fluid only required a few psi, there is ~ a 10:1 gain on the volume of water that can be moved by a given volume of air in the tire.

It is mentioned in the owners manual. They tell you to disconnect the spare tire from the windshield washer when changing your tire. Changing wheels
Full manual

 

[edward]

My old 72 binder (International Harvester) truck has a manual choke. I just refer to it as an anti-theft device. Few people know how to use it and it has to be pushed back in slowly in increments as the engine warms up.

Oddly enough it still passes mandatory emmission testing just fine after I pre-tune it just for the test.

 

[Zantra]

I had an 82 280ZX turbo, and that little lady could throw you back in the seat and leave your lunch at the corner. Definitely one of my favs. I rate it better than the 88 stang 5.0 I had later on, even though the mustang was faster. had the T-top convertible and the premium sound system.

I was really bummed when I had to give up that car.

 

[brewnog]

It's probably about time I posted pictures of my toys:

 

[dlgoff]

It's probably about time I posted pictures of my toys:

Oh my. Can I take it for a spin? What is it? Did you build it?

 

[Andy]

Brewnog, you lucky bastard. I had a manual choke 1990 mk3 ford fiesta.

 

[turbo]

I learned to drive in a '40s era Willys Jeep with a bad clutch. I couldn't disengage the clutch, so I'd throw it into low-range, first gear and start it on the starter motor, then speed-shift to get up to speed. I was 10. Before my father got the clutch fixed, he brought home a set of tires on rims and told me to change them. I snapped off 3 studs using a tire wrench with a pipe "cheater" before I gave up. Neither of us knew at the time that the studs and lug-nuts on one side had left-hand threads and that's the side I had started on.

 

[89ta]

The first car that I owned was a 1989 Trans Am GTA. 305 TPI, 5-speed. Gunmetal Gray, 47,625 miles. Sorta rare actually. Paid for it with my own money when I was 14. Recently sold it (17 now). It was time for something new... and a little bit faster... looking to get into a 2000-2002 Trans Am WS6. My dad has owned quite a few cars, and right now he has a 1969 Nova with a 502 cid big-block.

 

[Brian_C]

My car.

 

[brewnog]

I paid £2k for each of those cars, if that's luck then I guess I am lucky (I dread to think of how many hours I've spent on them though)! The green thing is a Lotus 7 replica, I didn't build it myself but it was pretty rough when I got it. The 911 will hopefully be on the road this year, if I manage to save up enough for an engine for it.

They both have a manual choke!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I paid £2k for each of those cars, if that's luck then I guess I am lucky (I dread to think of how many hours I've spent on them though)! The green thing is a Lotus 7 replica, I didn't build it myself but it was pretty rough when I got it. The 911 will hopefully be on the road this year, if I manage to save up enough for an engine for it.

They both have a manual choke!

Cool. I bet the Lotus is fun to drive.

Do you wear a scarf and a cap when you drive it?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I had an 82 280ZX turbo, and that little lady could throw you back in the seat and leave your lunch at the corner. Definitely one of my favs. I rate it better than the 88 stang 5.0 I had later on, even though the mustang was faster. had the T-top convertible and the premium sound system.

I was really bummed when I had to give up that car.

I recently found a photo of my old 240 in some family slides.

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/8508/my240.jpg

The one bad thing about those cars was that you could flip the car over with very little warning. There was nothing in between rock solid and out of control. It would roll before it would slide. The closest call that I had was taking a 15 mph curve doing about 60. I approached the curve doing about 80, hit the brakes just before the curve, but released the brake a little late as I hit the curve. For a moment the entire car was riding on only the front passenger wheel. I nearly flipped it right into a rock wall. The guy riding with me didn't move or speak for quite some time. I acted like it was no big deal. Yeah, I meant to do that!

Managed to float the front wheels doing over 150. I could slowly turn the wheel but nothing would happen. It wanted to drift... it was all that I could do to keep it on a two lane highway.