Cars You Drove Back In the day, you wouldn't dream of driving today!

[Bills72sj]

1971 Ford Country Squire wagon. White (+rust) with fake wood grain. Bought it for $50. Drove out of their apartment complex. At the very first stop sign the brake pedal hit the firewall with no warning. Stabbed the e-brake pedal in a panic. Heard a loud "sproing" under the car. Still rolling 30 mph. Threw it in Park. Listened to the parking latch pawl chatter until it finally caught and oscillated forward and backward once it stopped. My brother and I drove it intermittantly that Summer with no brakes at all. We would just swerve back and forth to scrub speed and roll through stop signs. It had a tranny leak as well. We would take $5, go to the truck stop nearby, put a quart of fluid in it and the rest is the gas tank. (Gas was 75 cents a gallon). We go beat the HELL out of it until it overheated then limp it home. One night my brother purposely ran over 2 miles of the orange and white sandwich boards with the blinking yellow lights, just for fun. Another afternoon we took it out to a hilly field with a bunch of dirt bike trails. We had blast chasing dirt bikers with this big 'ol station wagon. Then there is the story about a parking lot full of Corvettes...

[Tom Geiger]

9 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Yes, and I understand it's also tough to keep up with repairs when the vehicle is in constant service for making a living.

Nothing like coaxing a car all week so you can get to work and home again, until you could fix it on the weekend!

Back in the early 1980s when I was a new homeowner, with a stay at home wife and a new baby, I was working second shift CAD for Exxon R&D. I had an hour drive each way, coming home at 12:30am.   I bought a 1967 Valiant with 25,000 miles on it for $450.  It was the bare essentials... 170 slant six (the little one) with a 3 on the tree, manual everything!   I had patched the holes in the floor, under the rubber floor mats.. no carpet!  It had that awful silver blue  paint that peeled.  Someone had Earl spray blue over that, and it all peeled.  It was the ultimate rat pile of junk.  When I did battle on the Garden State Parkway, the other cars would back down because they knew I had absolutely nothing to lose!  I had a friend who would stand next to it and scrape my peeling paint off with his laminated drivers license!

But it was very reliable!  It started every time. It got decent gas mileage.  When the awful little Carter carb flooded and stalled at a light, I could move it to safety by cranking the starter.  Working second shift, I kept a tool box, floor jack and a selection of parts like a spare starter, alternator, battery and solenoid.. I actually had a second coil mounted on the inner fender.  And I had a trunk full of tires.  One time I came out of work and someone had flattened both tires on the drivers side.  No problem!  Jacked it up and changed them!

And the car being so basic, I once changed the starter with a good shirt on.  The worst breakdown was when the water pump went.  I didn't have one at 1am.  I called my father and woke him up.  I had a water pump in my garage.  He went to my house, got it and brought it to me.  I'm in a rest stop on the Garden State Parkway and a State Trooper decided to mess with me.   He wanted to have me towed as a non-opp vehicle.  He gave me a 1/2 hour to get it moved.  I already had the radiator out and the old pump off.  My father pulled up and I quickly installed a new pump, and was topping off the coolant in the radiator-- with the car running-- when the trooper came back!  

The car had one quirk.  The drivers window was held to the assembly with plastic grommets. They'd fail and the glass would fall inside the door.  I got really good at getting the door panel off quick and putting the window back in place.  This was when the state troopers had a crackdown on drunk drivers.  They would stand on the toll booths and talk to every driver.  I was pulling through the toll at 1am one morning, and the trooper spied the Playmate cooler on my passenger seat.. my lunch or dinner bucket!  It was empty.  As I tossed my coins, he reached in and grabbed the steering wheel... YOU OFF TO THE SIDE!  As he did this, his arm hit the top of the glass and the glass fell into the door.  I started yelling, "You broke my window!"  and he told me to get out of there!

I did drive that pig over 75,000 miles.  One day I saw it listing to the right and realized the torsion bar was ready to let go due to rust.  So I parked it and managed to sell the motor and trans for more than I initially bought it for 3 years earlier!  

 

Edited March 14, 2022 by Tom Geiger

[OldTrucker]

On 3/12/2022 at 5:14 PM, Ace-Garageguy said:

Hmmmmm...interesting concept and responses.

When my cheap old vehicles had problems, I fixed them.

I didn't realize I was just supposed to accept driving dangerous, unreliable junk.

My bad.

EDIT: I did in fact have an S1 E-type that was so bad structurally (much like Johnny's Corvair) that you couldn't open either door without jacking the middle up...though it had been "repaired" by chimps who glued linoleum to the rocker boxes and floors, then covered everything with bondo and undercoating.

But it was never a driver. Bought it for $400, tripled my investment just selling the bonnet, made lots more parting the rest of it out.

Still occasionally kick myself though, as we all know what that car is worth today.   

Bill I have to say I was a mechanic and a truck driver. I would pick up cheap cars to fix but never sold one that was unsafe. Those I listed were ones I deemed too bad to fix for resale and they became my  "terminal" cars. Last thing you wanted to leave parked in the truck terminal yard was a good vehicle.

[Rusty92]

@Tom Geiger I really enjoyed reading that. Thanks for a great story.

[slusher]

I had a 76 Chevy Monday I believe it had a 262 cu v8.  I know it was a v8.  It was quick. I bought used and the chassis started cracking and coming loose right at the end of the driver side fender well.  The crack was about 4 fo5 inches from the A frame.  You had to clean the plugs on one side or it would back fire. The valve seals was bad on the driver side and let oil drip on the plugs. The wheel rattled I always worried about. I took it back to the dealer and gave it back to him. I never drove anything dangerous again..

[MeatMan]

I just remembered. I had a late 60's Ford Econoline van that I bought in the eighties. I bought it as a project after I sold my Chevelle, as vans were popular then. After driving it about a month I took it back. It was grossly underpowered and kind of swayed around corners. Sound bounced around the empty interior and it always seemed cold. Some people loved them, but it moved me away from vans forever.

[NYLIBUD]

When i worked for my local county a bunch of years back,i needed a basic car due to doing a lot of driving and field work.So i had a four door white 88 Cutlass Ciera.When i bought it,it was in mint condition.It was a grandfather’s car.By the time i was done with it,and beating the piss out of it,it was an absolute POS.Dents everywhere,check engine light,broken windshield.But hey it lasted for a couple of years,and it served its purpose for my job.But i would never buy another one.It was an old man’s car,and definitely not a chick magnet,lol.??

[Joe Handley]

On 3/17/2022 at 9:04 PM, NYLIBUD said:

When i worked for my local county a bunch of years back,i needed a basic car due to doing a lot of driving and field work.So i had a four door white 88 Cutlass Ciera.When i bought it,it was in mint condition.It was a grandfather’s car.By the time i was done with it,and beating the piss out of it,it was an absolute POS.Dents everywhere,check engine light,broken windshield.But hey it lasted for a couple of years,and it served its purpose for my job.But i would never buy another one.It was an old man’s car,and definitely not a chick magnet,lol.??

That is a sibling of that 6000LE Dad had, I think that is the only car that any of us had that isn’t missed!

[Tom Geiger]

On 3/17/2022 at 10:04 PM, NYLIBUD said:

It was an old man’s car,and definitely not a chick magnet,lol.??

Who ya calling an old man car!  ?

I bought this 2005 LaCrosse for my wife to drive daily and for the 2 hr trips between PA and NJ.   It was an estate car, son traded it into an Acura dealer.  Paid $9000 cash for it  back in 2014 with 23,000 miles on it.  Eight years later it just hit 90,000 and has been a pleasure.  

Recently had it in for brakes and the garage relays the message that another customer asked if we'd consider selling it for $10,000.  Um nope, my wife loves it!

 

 

 

[NYLIBUD]

On 3/28/2022 at 1:47 PM, Tom Geiger said:

Who ya calling an old man car!  ?

I bought this 2005 LaCrosse for my wife to drive daily and for the 2 hr trips between PA and NJ.   It was an estate car, son traded it into an Acura dealer.  Paid $9000 cash for it  back in 2014 with 23,000 miles on it.  Eight years later it just hit 90,000 and has been a pleasure.  

Recently had it in for brakes and the garage relays the message that another customer asked if we'd consider selling it for $10,000.  Um nope, my wife loves it!

 

 

 

Sorry Tom,hey the Ciera actually did it’s job really well for my field work.I know it had a ton of miles when i was done.But like i said,one was enough.Lol 

Edited May 4, 2022 by NYLIBUD

[espo]

Many years ago, I was in need of a commuter car and didn't really have a lot of money and didn't want a car payment. I went by a used car lot that I knew usually had pretty good cars and was reasonable on pricing.  They had a '51 Ford in the "back line" which is where the trade ins that were going to be wholesaled would be. This would not be my first shoe box Ford as I'm more than a little partial to them. The car was about 15 years old at the time and wasn't something he would keep for his lot, so he was glad to get rid of it.  Car ran great and didn't overheat going back up the mountain, I was living at about 4000 feet up, and it didn't use any oil. The next day I'm going to work, which was a little higher up. When I turned down a steep road that dropped down to the area where I was working. I got to the bottom of the hill and started to slow down with the brakes. The first pump seemed fine and I'm not the type to just see how fast a car will stop. The second pump is when the hair on the back of my neck started to stand up. The master cylinder had decided to give up the ghost and the pedal went to the floor. I'm about twenty yards from the bottom of the hill and the Stop sign and the car is picking up speed. I pull the emergency brake and it has very little effect and I'm down shifting in too second. Thankfully no one was coming, and I went through the Stop sign and coasted on into work. I turned off the ignition with the car in gear and a little help from the E brake and got it stopped on the level ground. I have had a few other fun experiences with other cars as well. Glad it all happened while I was young and never fully know just what kind of danger I was in. 

[NYLIBUD]

I have two rides to mention.One was an 82 Isuzu Impulse turbo.It was such a POS.It was a hand me down from my sister.The funny thing,was it had decals and emblems on it that said,handling by Lotus.Ha ha,??.It was so slow for a turbo car,it was a joke..The second car was a 74 four door,triple brown Ford Grand Torino,with over 160,000 miles on it when i got it.It kind of looked like the Big Lebowski movie Torino.My father worked at a bank,and it was his company car.Then after I got my license,it became mine.I have mixed feelings about that car.It was really ugly,the top was in pieces,and the paint was falling off the car.But yet it was my first car,and I use to drive it to H.S.So I had good memories driving it.But I would never drive one now.I remember I wanted to make it into a Starsky and Hutch car,but as I said,it was a four door car..

[Tom Geiger]

On 4/3/2022 at 12:08 PM, NYLIBUD said:The second car was a 74 four door,triple brown Ford Grand Torino,with over 160,000 miles on it when i got it.It kind of looked like the Big Lebowski movie Torino.My father worked at a bank,and it was his company car.Then after I got my license,it became mine.I have mixed feelings about that car.It was really ugly,the top was in pieces,and the paint was falling off the car.But yet it was my first car,and I use to drive it to H.S.So I had good memories driving it.But I would never drive one now.I remember I wanted to make it into a Starsky and Hutch car,but as I said,it was a four door car..

A parallel story..  I had a triple brown 1978 Ford LTD II that was a salesman’s car at my father’s company. Two years old and had 100,000 miles on it. Filthy inside and out, no wheel covers. A New York City car. Bought it for $600. 
 

My friend detailed used cars at a dealer and he made it look brand new! Since it was the then current model, and the odometer showed a few thousand miles people thought I had a new car. It was my customer car when I sold real estate.

Then I started a job at my father’s company and we commuted in it for years. The NJ State Police used this same car at the time so we looked like an unmarked car. People would get out of our way!

We put 220,000 miles on it with nothing more than maintenance.  We sold it and about two years later saw it on the road!  Figure it went 300,000! Who knows, it might still be out there!

 

[DPNM]

I'll keep it short(er). Back in the early/mid 80s I worked as a security guard. I was told by another guard that if a strike came up to try to get in on it. One came up in Rumford Maine. I was selected to go. We met somewhere near Pittsburgh and a couple carloads of people and gear headed there. I was among them. Once there I was given the task to work at the Contractors gate. The plant was still operating and the picketers were at the main gate. We were working 12 hour shifts, 7 days a week.

I hooked up with a girl who worked for one of the contractors. After the strike was over I purchased a used '77 Harley Sportster in Augusta. We rode around for a few weeks then it was time for me to head home. I flew home.

I needed to go back and get the bike. A friend of mine had a '71? Plymouth Scamp that he sold me for $75. The front wheels had the look of a dirt track racer. The tops of the wheels were in and the bottoms out. Another friend had two cycle carriers that mount to the rear bumper. Took 'em with me. Once I got there it turns out the bike was way too long for the carrier. What to do? With the help of a couple guys who worked where I had stored it we got it into the back seat. Rear end on drivers side, front to the passenger side with the passenger seat moved all the way forward and the bike's front end cocked full left. It fit. 

On the way back home, somewhere on the Pa turnpike, I got a flat drivers side front tire. I pulled to the side and started to change it. About halfway through a Pa State Trooper pulled up behind me. As he was walking by the door he looked in. He came up to me and said "there is a bit more room if you drive up around this curve". He got back in his car and drove off. Seeing a motorcycle in the back seat of a car must have been a pretty common occurrence then I guess.

I got the car home no other problems. I put it in my yard for sale at $50 for a week. No takers. I raised the price to $75 and sold it the next day. Yes, I did make the buyer aware of the front end issue.