The Most Dangerous Car You've Ever Owned

[DRG]

My first car was a 1956 Crown Victoria with a 312 Thunderbird engine.

There were, naturally modifacations to the engine and it would definatly move.

One night I blew the engine.

The next morning, after removing certain things from the car, Mag wheels and such a wrecker picked it up to take it to the junkyard.

As he drove down the street he stopped, and dropped the car down. I walked down to see what was wrong and he told me he had to pick it up by the front, he had picked it up from the rear, the steering column had snapped in two.

[robertw]

My Vette, it just begs to be driven faster.... and.... faster.....and.....faster. And you know what they say, SPEED KILLS. LOL

robw

[lordairgtar]

Darn it guys, I know that situtions and dollars can cloud ones judgement at times but driving a car that you know is unsafe is just plain dumb.

Putting your own life and limbs at risk is one thing, but when it involves others on public roadways that can be harmed because of your "unsafe" vehicle doesn't give you brass stones......think about it and please consider others as well as yourself.

I don't think most of the posters were intentionally driving dangerous wrecks. It is what they could afford at the time. I drive a new 2010 truck now, but back in the day, my first cars were suspect!

64 Buick LeSabre 4 dr sedan...50 dollar car, no floor boards and lost the seat attachments over the Marquette Hi Rise in Milwaukee. Cop said I showered sparks like the 4th of July.

64 Buick LeSabre 4 dr hard top...another 50 dollar car, broken motor mount, and I drove it all the way from Wisconsin to California.

66 Ford LTD 4 dr hard top...bad brakes, so rusted that when my sister's husband helped me push the car out of the way with his truck, the whole body broke off from the frame.

78 AMC Concord 2 dr coupe...The Widow maker...the only car I was actually afraid to drive. Anything over 30 mph would cause it to go sideways on wet pavement. Forget about winter conditions. Body shop could not find any trouble with the unit body, no bent pieces, no loose or mis-aligned suspension, but it just would not drive nice...haunted maybe? Should I call Art Bell?

It's nice to have safe cars and today, kids have almost new vehicles to drive cuz mom and dad buy a safe car for them...but where is the memories from a Corolla or mini-van.

[1320wayne]

Not really an unsafe vehicle story but all of these other stories reminded me of one more to tell.

Back in high school my buddy had a 65 Riviera that had the misfortune of a tree falling on the roof. No worries! We simply cut the roof off and it was good as new. The fun part was living in Massachusetts and driving to school in the wintertime with the two of us wrapped in a comforter to try and stay warm. Especially embarrassing when we got stuck behind the school bus on the way to school with all of the other kids laughing at us. Really bad when we went to leave school at the end of the day and it had been snowing most of the day and we have to shovel out the interior. Those were good times and I wouldn't go back and change a thing.

[David G.]

Darn it guys, I know that situtions and dollars can cloud ones judgement at times but driving a car that you know is unsafe is just plain dumb.

Putting your own life and limbs at risk is one thing, but when it involves others on public roadways that can be harmed because of your "unsafe" vehicle doesn't give you brass stones......think about it and please consider others as well as yourself.

I think for most drivers who have been forced into such situations, it wasn't a matter of machismo or having brass, copper or even titanium "stones." Trust me, I hated having to drive a worn out, broken down, unreliable car. It was an embarrassment and had nothing to do with having clouded judgement or being macho. I knew what I was doing was risky and hated having to do it, but having no money to properly repair the car, let alone replace it, I had to do it.

Also, I am in no way trying to promote the operation of unsafe vehicles on our roads and highways. However, almost everybody has had to drive a car that in less than optimal operating condition, or has had to affect temporary or sub-standard repairs on a car. For most of us, this is a shared experience, an example of "American persistence in the face of adversity." I was merely trying to tap into this cultural commonality solely for its amusement and entertainment value. Nothing more than that.

Regards,

David G.

[Jim Gibbons]

I think for most drivers who have been forced into such situations, it wasn't a matter of machismo or having brass, copper or even titanium "stones." Trust me, I hated having to drive a worn out, broken down, unreliable car. It was an embarrassment and had nothing to do with having clouded judgement or being macho. I knew what I was doing was risky and hated having to do it, but having no money to properly repair the car, let alone replace it, I had to do it.

Also, I am in no way trying to promote the operation of unsafe vehicles on our roads and highways. However, almost everybody has had to drive a car that in less than optimal operating condition, or has had to affect temporary or sub-standard repairs on a car. For most of us, this is a shared experience, an example of "American persistence in the face of adversity." I was merely trying to tap into this cultural commonality solely for its amusement and entertainment value. Nothing more than that.

Regards,

David G.

Well said, David. My lengthy post about my '60 Sunliner didn't state that despite its problems, everything else, with the exception of the exhaust repairs (which worked, by the way,) was road legal. If it were a sedan or hardtop, I would have thought twice about putting it on the road because of the exhaust issues and the missing trunk floor; carbon monoxide poisoning would have been a factor. The crucial parts were in decent shape as far as the front end, brakes, etc. When a brake hose did fail (fortunately in a lot, and not on the highway,) I took it off the road. A year later, I had a '71 Gremlin I bought from my neighbor for $125. It was a decent and solid car, but was up there in the miles. When I had returned from my two week annual training in the Army reserves, it had a flat left front tire. I jacked it up to put the spare on, and the upper ball joint popped out of the A arm. After replacing the tire, and carefully lowering the jack while ensuring that it went back in, I drove it a very slow 1/2 mile to a friend's hardware store and parked it in the back lot for good. I sold it to an Army buddy who wanted it for parts. In retrospect, I should have fixed it, as it was fairly rust free, and had a good drivetrain. However, during that training period, I had arranged to buy a very nice '66 Fairlane wagon from one of the sergeants.

I think many of us have had these types of cars; there were reasons we had them whether it was from youthful exuberance or economic necessity. Cars have changed drastically from the period of time most of these tales are from. Stricter inspection and emission laws have taken care of a lot of it, and one would be hard pressed to say that there is a completely bad car being manufactured today. The days of cars rusting the minute they came from the dealer's lot are long over, along with their related mechanical issues. It's rare to see a "mosquito killer" on the road like we used to. Superior metallurgy and other engineering factors apply. Yes, there are bad cars on the road, and it's irresponsible to keep them on it. Most of these tales are from a different era. A brand new car from the mid '60s and earlier was far more dangerous than a poorly maintained 10 year old car today. Consider the protruding conically shaped steering wheel center on a '55-'56 Chevy without seat belts for example. Ever look at a mid '50s Buick? The round dash knobs are about the right size for an eye socket. (If my memory is correct, that's how Sammy Davis, Jr. lost an eye in his Cadillac after a crash.)

These tales are fun and nostalgic; we could never get away with these things today. Were we young and stupid? Sure. However, somehow we survived an era without seat belts, bicycle helmets, and all the other things that that are common today.

[junkman1153]

Well said, David. My lengthy post about my '60 Sunliner didn't state that despite its problems, everything else, with the exception of the exhaust repairs (which worked, by the way,) was road legal. If it were a sedan or hardtop, I would have thought twice about putting it on the road because of the exhaust issues and the missing trunk floor; carbon monoxide poisoning would have been a factor. The crucial parts were in decent shape as far as the front end, brakes, etc. When a brake hose did fail (fortunately in a lot, and not on the highway,) I took it off the road. A year later, I had a '71 Gremlin I bought from my neighbor for $125. It was a decent and solid car, but was up there in the miles. When I had returned from my two week annual training in the Army reserves, it had a flat left front tire. I jacked it up to put the spare on, and the upper ball joint popped out of the A arm. After replacing the tire, and carefully lowering the jack while ensuring that it went back in, I drove it a very slow 1/2 mile to a friend's hardware store and parked it in the back lot for good. I sold it to an Army buddy who wanted it for parts. In retrospect, I should have fixed it, as it was fairly rust free, and had a good drivetrain. However, during that training period, I had arranged to buy a very nice '66 Fairlane wagon from one of the sergeants.

I think many of us have had these types of cars; there were reasons we had them whether it was from youthful exuberance or economic necessity. Cars have changed drastically from the period of time most of these tales are from. Stricter inspection and emission laws have taken care of a lot of it, and one would be hard pressed to say that there is a completely bad car being manufactured today. The days of cars rusting the minute they came from the dealer's lot are long over, along with their related mechanical issues. It's rare to see a "mosquito killer" on the road like we used to. Superior metallurgy and other engineering factors apply. Yes, there are bad cars on the road, and it's irresponsible to keep them on it. Most of these tales are from a different era. A brand new car from the mid '60s and earlier was far more dangerous than a poorly maintained 10 year old car today. Consider the protruding conically shaped steering wheel center on a '55-'56 Chevy without seat belts for example. Ever look at a mid '50s Buick? The round dash knobs are about the right size for an eye socket. (If my memory is correct, that's how Sammy Davis, Jr. lost an eye in his Cadillac after a crash.)

These tales are fun and nostalgic; we could never get away with these things today. Were we young and stupid? Sure. However, somehow we survived an era without seat belts, bicycle helmets, and all the other things that that are common today.

wasn,t it a wonderful time though ,we thought we were indestructable. then reality reared it,s head and bit us in the butt.a lot of us either lost a friend or classmate to those fun crazy cars combined with i can drive anything attitudes. life takes a real toll when the best friend you have in the world is laying in a casket dead at 17 . 62 nova ,fiber steering coupler broke,kid meets tree at 60 mph. it slowed us all down for a while.not long though,after all we were kids and indestructable.

[DanielG]

I had a '64 Malibu stnwgn that was used to launch boats, it rusted out behind the spring mounts and the gas tank supports gave way and the tank rested on the filler pipe. I bolted the tank to the deck! I also had a '52 Bug that would pour exhaust fumes in to the cabin, just drove it with the windows down, summer and winter.

Edited September 19, 2010 by DanielG

[Agent G]

The first was the worst,'62 Catalina 421SD.

It was mechanically sound which, in itself, was the issue. This car was so darn quick in a straight line as to be scary. It wouldn't stop and it wouldn't corner.

Naturally there were "modifications", like the surfer foot gas pedal and matching brake and clutch pedals. No rubber, just cast aluminum and slippery as heck. Then there was the issue of the classic hotrod steering wheel. Black vinyl,chrome and maybe 12" in diameter. Yeah...........ever try to steer a car this size with a small wheel and no power steering?

Looking back I'm glad it was gone before I rotated home. That Poncho had a better chance than Charlie ever had of taking me out.

G

[Joe Handley]

I never kept a car long enough to let it get as bad as the ones mentioned here, the worst was my '85 Lebaron, some of the reason I took it off the road as that the floor was getting bad enough to be worried about my rather hefty self would fall through it, but it ran good much of the time I had it, and was frighteningly stable at 85+mph with the floor (and the whole body really) in such shape Probably the most dangerous car I have driven was the '86 Pontiac 6000 Dad used to own, the brakes were such that if you hit the brakes just hard enough to stop when it was slick (and sometimes when it was dry too), the thing would swap ends, wouldn't corner if it's life depended on it (wet or dry there too ), and It would also stall for the no apparent reason within the first couple miles after start up after having the fuel pump replaced. We were actually pretty happy when that car got totaled and Dad replaced it with our first XJ and my Lebaron, even at the end of it's life was a safer, more stable and more reliable car than that car ever was!

[Rob Hall]

I've never had anything worn out (started out w/ new or nearly new cars from my first car onward), but have had friends that had rolling wrecks...in college a buddy had an early '80s Citation 4dr that had been hit hard in the right side, both passenger side doors crushed in..no glass on that side, interior would fill up w/ snow in the winter and he often had to get a push start (bad starter). Another friend was constantly buying and selling $200-500 cars and fixing up the rust w/ lots of bondo and cardboard...he went through probably 50 high mileage '70s-80s cars in a couple years...

Cars today do seem to last longer w/ proper maintenance..I'd never driven a car past 100k miles until last year, my 10yr old Jeep is still going strong and looks great w/ 120k.

[Agent G]

100k was a benchmark for trading a car for a very long time. Now it seems with proper maintanence and care most cars will exceed that by a fair length. My '05 Lincoln has 57k + and it acts as if it's just getting broken in. I'm planning on keeping it for a long time, not to mention the fact the model will be discontinued soon.

G

[Joe Handley]

I'm not surprised by that, I swear my Jeep's engine wasn't fully broken in until a 90-93k.

[GrandpaMcGurk]

Guilty as charged and I've had more than my fair share of trips into the dark zone...after all I've owned Pinto's, Corvairs, Studes, etc.

Even tried to drive an early VW on a lake 'cause they said the car was watertight and would float. Well it did....and the rear wheels motivated it (very slowly) with the front tires acting as rudders.........all well and good until the engine burped and I tried to crawl out the window.

Point is no one else was at risk. My kick around driver is a '96 Ford 150 shortbed with 200,000 miles on it. It's it safe? Yep!

It doesn't cost a lot to keep an older car maintained compared to the cost of new one, having to hobble home is one thing but continued use knowing that there is a problem that can be dealt with isn't.

Yeah, the stories are funny, but guys we'd like you stick around awhile, be safe!

[Terror]

Last spring I got rid of an 89 saab,no brakes,no heater,windshield wippers didn't work and bald tires.Drove it to the scrap yard and got $240 for it.LOL,I only paid $120 for 6 yrs ago.I like to get my money's worth out of things. .It was a hairey ride last winter.

[David G.]

I never kept a car long enough to let it get as bad as the ones mentioned here,

Most of my cars were old and worn out when I got them. For many of the cars I've owned, my driveway was the last stop on the way to the scrap yard.

The joys of being one of the working poor.

[CAL]

Honda Accord.

It was so rusty that when you accelerated or braked the dash moved well over 1 inch.

[jeffb]

most dangeous car i ever owned wasnt dangerous per se.. it was a 69 coronet r/t, 440 4spd. manual drum brakes.. it was built to the hilt, but the most dangerous element was my testosterone overdosed, invincible 17 yr old self..i had the speedo pinned sveral times..it went to 140. it got kinda floaty at those speeds. man, wish i still had it

[Nick Winter]

Not my story but my dads after he sold his '69 Mustang Coupe he bought a '73 Dodge Monaco ###### kicker my dad called it, one morning in the winter he started the car to get it warm went inside to say good bye ot mom and came out to find the Monaco climbing a big old oak tree with Tires spinning, the car when it hit high idle had dropped inot gear and had left the driveway and ended up the tree. He sold it soo after and bought a brandnew '81 Monte Carlo Classic. Anyway, turns out the transmission was shot and he had been driving it like that for months this time the car deceide it didn't need a pilot

Then there was the back seat fire in that car, my dad smoked then in the 80's and he and a friend were driving home from a near by town threw there buts out the window and had them fly in the back window, thank god for snow, they pulled over and dumped snow in there and put it out, by the time my dad sold the car there was a melted back seat, no transmission and brakes that wouldn't stop that almost 4000lb boat.

[MikeMc]

73 Caprice....Classic 4 door.....400 small block turbo450 trans, 4 tires that went into a parking lot and got sliced sidewalls (didn't leak) went to the races on a saturday night and sold it to a racer for the "Hales Whales" class...he went out finished 2nd....and the winner got disqualified for illegal equipment....gave me the car back..little rougher, drove it to work all that winter,

Wouldn't always shut off the motor, a quick yank of the coil wire solved that.........Aggghhh...Memories!!

[Chuck Most]

My '98 Mercury Tracer just cleared 315k... it'll be pretty dangerous before too long, I guess!

[Craig Irwin]

76 Triumph TR-7, it's a wonder I was never ran over walking home on so many busy highways.

[Rob Hall]

76 Triumph TR-7, it's a wonder I was never ran over walking home on so many busy highways.

My ex-brother-in-law #1 had one of those, along w/ a TR-6..they seemed to spend more time in the driveway broken than being driven.

[Poncho-Power]

my most dangerous car that i ever owned was my first, 1983 Buick Regal, i lived in a small town called Napanee, and i worked in Kingston about 30 mins from Napanee, at the time also i did not know all that much about cars, everytime i drove to kingston i would have to get the car towed back, reason being everytime i drove to kingston the brake lines would blow! everytime! no joke. the last time it happened it was around 6pm and i wasn't in Kingston i was in Napanee and i was driving home from a friends house and the lines blew when i went to a stop light....luckly no one was around and i couldn't stop at all! found an empty parking lot about 6-7 blocks away and put'er in neutral and let it coast to a stop....that was it! no more car! screw that!!!!

[Rob Z]

I'd have to say the most dangerous car I have ever owned would have to be my 68' Impala. I bought this car back in the 80' for $150 and it even came with a spare tie rod assembly. It had a 327ci. and a powerglide, on the way home I got on the highway and quickly found out why it had that spare tie rod in the trunk. The right side outter came off and the car started bouncing insanely, I tapped the brakes and she took a sharp right turn towards the guardrail. At 60 mph this was not too fun for me, I let off the brake, cut hard left and only scratched the paint down the whole right side...

Well I got it towed home and when the wrecker showed up I saw what the problem was and went to repairing it abruptly. I got out the BIG hammer and a coat hanger patched it up and drove it that way all summer, occasionally the tie rod would fall off and I would have to stop and fix it but, I still drove it, with the NEW tie rod still in the trunk...

I would guess that's why the say with age come wisdom, I wasn't a really wise teen but, live and learn I guess...