Best and Worst Vehicles

[gunflint]

Another post got me thinking about some of the beaters I've owned over the years. I had an early 60s VW bug that had no heater so I taped a butane torch in the glove box for heat. The worst car I ever had was an early 70s Ford Maveric. What a piece of junk that death trap was. It only had front brakes and they locked at the slightest touch and it blew exhaust (heavily laden with oil) into the passenger compartment. People would actually laugh at me when I pulled up next to them at stop lights.

The car that I would take back if I could: I had a 69 Plymouth Road Runner, candy apple red with a black roof and interior. 383 mag and the whole works. I still get a little misty when I see Road Runners at car shows. Beep Beep. How about yours?

[doufishto]

I also had a 69 Runner, bright orange with black striping. Wish I had it now. But the car I wish I had today was a 69 Nova with a bored and stroked 396. She could haul (Contact US Regarding This Word)!!!! Funny, when were kids, they had to be jacked in the back, down in the front and as loud as uncapped headers could make it. One trick that I did, when street racing the Nova, everyone carried bleach to warm the tires. I never did. i hooked up a windshield wiper tank in the trunk, inserted spray nozzles in the trunk above the wheel wells. they always wondered. Funny, I wonder why I am going deaf!

[harvey lee]

I had a 69 roadrunner,only a ragtop and boy I wish I had that car now,Last time I saw one at a car show like it ,it was for sale at 35,000.00. How many of you noticed that the speedometer would go past the 120 and into the temp gauge next to it.They dont build the power like they used to.Who could afford the gas today for the mileage you got with it? Other greta car I owned was a 1978 T-Bird.

[The_Duckslayer]

Worst car that I ever had was a 68 Hillman IMP. That was over in England. The accelerator cable broke and I fixed it with a piece of speaker wire... trouble was that broke about every two weeks, and not usually in the dirveway.

Car I wish that I could have back is my '68 Dodge Charger RT. 440 Magnum, bored, stroked, cammed, you name it it had it and two Holley 1150 double pumpers on top of a 6 inch Edelbrock Torquer hi rise. That thing would pass everything but a gas station! She was quick! Ahhh the memories! Take care and N Joy the Hunt././Jimbo

My first car I still have out in the garage. It is a 1948 Plymouth Business Couple (no back seat) Delux. Used to be grandpa's car. I am going to restore it over the next couple of years. Have a good one and N Joy the Hunt././Jimbo

[CFRay]

Best car? 67 GTO, 4 speed, 400, 4 barrel, Cragar chrome wheels, blue w/ black vinyl top and an 8 track w/ Learjet speakers on the back shelf playing BTO. (now I've dated myself)

Worst- 79 Ford Fairmont Futura, something was always wrong with that thing

[Ralph Wiggum]

You guys may have had your Roadrunners, but I started with a different sort of Plymouth, an '84 Reliant , yup, a K-car. What a pile! I then updated to an '87 Accord before getting my current (and best) ride, a 2004 Accord V-6. That baby purrs! Guess I am a little younger than you all!

My dad had a '78 Ford Fairmont station wagon when I was growing up. That thing sucked. Baby blue, straight-6, AM radio...luckily, it died shortly after I started driving, although it probably wasn't much worse that the Reliant!

[FOOT]

Best car was a 1967 Mercury Cougar w/ a 390 4 spd manual. I bought it my last year in the service and would street drag anything anytime I could. Very rarely lost. It was yellow with a black vinyl top and I installed two, 2 million candle power driving lights. Did some work on the exhaust and a little on the engine but it was basically a stock go fast machine. Got out of the military, got married, had a baby and that was the last I saw of my cougar. I had to trade it in on a Country Squire station wagon.

I also had a 1987 Chevy Suburban w/ 430,000 miles. The only work I had done was a cam and timing chain at 200,000 miles. Traded it in on a 2003 Suburban.

Then again there was the 1954 Chevy station wagon I got by trading a MinnKota 35 trolling motor. Traded it even and I drove the wagon for almost 3 years before the tranny gave out and I junked it.

Worst car was a Ford Pinto. A guy hit me 3 days after I bought it. He had a full size 1972 Ford and hit me head on at 30 miles an hour. I was parked along a curb and he came around a corner too fast. The Pinto collapsed around me. My right knee drove the radio into the dash, the steering wheel impacted my chest, my left knee pushed in the dash and my head hit the top of the car and popped the windshield out. I walked away with minor scratches and brusies. The 1972 Ford had one dented trim ring. I din't replace the Pinto too darn cheap.

[nytelyter]

second vehicle i owned was a 1969 english ford cortina. i abused the heck out of this car and spent countless hours repairing it. took it places that fourwheelers would not go and the thing would climb hills like a moutain goat. also had a 1980 pinto wagon california edition. no side windows in the back just lil moon windows and a louver covering the back windows. was a great icefishing vehicle would run snow tires all the way around it and put chains on the rears when the snow got bad on the ice. i tourtured this vehicle as well. my favorite was my 93 lumina Z34 brite white v6 and fast looked like it was breaking speed limits just parked in the lot. lost it to a terrible hail storm. looked like a golf ball after the storm. now i have a 96 gmc serria streach cab shorty small 305 init but fully loaded.

[John Mickish]

The worst car I ever had was still very fun to drive, a '73 Ford Mavrick with a 302 4bbl/ three speed on the floor. No heat, crappy brakes and tires but she would smoke the hides at will!

The one (two) I want back are a 1968 Camaro and a 1967 Camaro SS. I was so smart when I was 17 I sold the pair for, get this, $600.

[Hecker]

When I was in high school I paid $200.00 for a 1977 Cobra 2. This thing was shot, It had a Smokey old 302, Bad paint, no louvers, 13" wheels and so on. I had my High School shop teacher do the paint and I built a 69 351w from a torero. What a fit! Scraped up enough to put dual stainless Supertraps that dumped in front of the rear tires. That thing sounded wicked. The biggest mistake was me installing 4:11 to 1 gears. I couldn't bring it to the cities like that so it sat in storage until I sold it to some young kid for $2000.00. I sure hope it's still around.

It was the only car I owned that would stop people dead to stare. Even when driving next to the really cool cars.

Some of you guys from Superior may remember this one. especially in the East End of town.

I owned it for about 10 years so it was the best and worse car I owned.

The other car is a 87 GTA sweet but a mistake.

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[mitch]

My best and worst car has to be a 1996 chevy corsica. The best only because it's my first and current car. It only has 48000 miles on it but it needs to be fixed all the time. Something new every week. My friends always make fun of it because it only has half of its paint. Half blue half primer. The paint chips off when I drive down the interstate. By the way does anyone know where I could get a paint job cheap.

[Dennis Steele]

I had a Road Runner as well. Only it was a '72 and I would have to say it was the worst car I owned.

There wasn't much left of it when I bought it for 75 bucks, but the 383 mag was still in great shape.

THe exhaust and most of the quarter panels had long since rusted away and the front rotors were warped so bad you couldn't hold on to the steering when when you braked or you would break your arms!

I pinched off the brake lines with clamps so I could drive the thing. Then she would go into spin at the slightest bit of a slick spot.

The best vehicle I ever had was a 91 Chev pickup with the 4.3 Vortec. I put 140K on that truck and it never once let me down. Never had to take it to the shop either, save for brake pads. Completely dependable!

[uffdapete]

Best as far as reliability, efficiency, quiet, maintenance free, easy starting, comfortable - my current Toyota Camry.

Nostalgic wish-I-had: '68 Charger!

Worst: '89 Bonneville - in 18 months the ac died, the interior roof fell in, the ext paint did the late 80's GM thing, a door knob fell off, the radio died, 2 power windows quit along with the power locks, the tranny had issues and apparently other people didn't like it either cause 3 people backed in to it - the front and both sides! We build excitement?? And the car only had 54,000 when I bought it.

[Gissert]

My first car was a '76 Ford Grenada. Worst...car....ever... 250 CI straight six, with three on the tree. It ate clutches, it had low oil pressure, and the front end was never right. When I bought it it had those Firestone 721 radials on it. Worst....tires....ever.....Finally I just gave up and sold it shortly before I got out of college.

I bought a new F150 in 1987, 302, 4wd Drive. It was pretty bad, too. Kept it for 105,000 miles. It used a qt of oil every 750 miles out of the gate, shelled out the rear end at 40,000. Wierd electrical instrument problems that never got resolved. Terrible alignment problems. Crappy paint that peeled like an orange. Worst....truck...ever. Traded it in on a used Bronco with 48k on the clock. The Bronco had its problems, but was never the lemon the F150 was. I still have that Bronco, 269k on it now.

Best vehicle is my current ride. 2001 Dodge 2500 with the Cummins diesel. In 185,000 miles, I have had to replace two fuel transfer pumps. One was under warranty, the other I paid $150 buck for and installed it myself. Other than a couple minor warranty items, that is all I have had to really stick into it other than normal wear and tear items. It is getting its third set of tires next week, and the alignment is still pretty good. I would buy another one of these in a heartbeat.

[Dave B]

Biggest 85 Buick Rivera (better in snow than an SUV)

Smallest 80 Triumph Spitfire

Funnest 94 Mustang GT Convertible (Triumph was fun too, in a different way)

Fastest 77 Chevy Monza w/ 305 V8 (1st car too-cheapest, $800)

Slowest 87 Nissan Pulsar

Most boring 92 Ford Tempo

Most expensive (current) 2002 Explorer

Wish I still had? Monza, Triumph and Mustang, but where would I keep them. BTW-I use to tow a 12' boat w/ the Mustang, 0-6 in 7 seconds w/ boat in tow!

[ChuckN]

I've owned a lot of vehicles mainly for work reasons. Lots of cheap rides.

Best, most reliable:

'91 Plymouth Sundance 2 door was my first car. Bought it new, got me through high school and college. This thing pulled snowmobiles, small boats, big boats (short distances), trailers for moving....it was a great car. Never saw a mechanic in the 125,000 miles I owned it. 35-40 mpg was nice back in those days.

94 Toyota Camry - best car ever. Only tires, timing belt and oil/tranny fluid changes. 180K still going.

'97 F150 4x4 - No question it's a great truck, 117K so far, had it 6 years, only problem was one time a coil went bad and needed a tune up anyways. That was 3 years ago.

'92 Ranger 4x4- bought at the end of college. Bought with 45K miles and drove it to 140K miles and this truck never saw a mechanic either. Loved this truck, but with a new wife and dog, larger boats, had to regretfully sell for the F150.

Also had small Honda Civic, Ford Mustang Convertible, Dodge Spirit, Subaru Legacy AWD (great old car, but did have some minor issues - parts are way too expensive). The Subaru was treated poorly on my part, but this is only car with major issues...blew a head gasket at 160K miles and gave her away. Paid $750 for it with 100K miles and drove it 2 years. Can't complain too much.

[fishinchicks]

Worst car - Pacer. No explanation needed!

Best - 2004 Dodge Ram 2500

[Dotch]

Worst car: '73 Vega or Vegamatic as we called it. Absolute rust bucket and full of fun and games from the day I bought it. Traded it off on a '74 Gremlin. Ugly, burnt orange color, but the 232 6 ran like a Swiss watch. Easy car to work on but didn't need to that often. Big gas tank too so one could cruise nearly 600 miles without stopping. Thought I'd died and gone to heaven over the Vega tho.

Best: 2001 Dodge Ram 3500 CTD. Even tho she's a dually, extended cab with the long box (I think everyone should own one once) it gets around fine in winter with the 4WD & a little narrower tires than it originally came with. Nice ride for a heavy duty truck and Cummins engines are tough.

Car I want back: 1st car, 1960 Studebaker Lark 4 door, powder blue, flathead 6. I know where it is and I can get it back if I want it but having the place to put it and work on it is the problem. Still in good shape tho...

[Guest]

Wow.. I have had so many beaters I dont know where to begin.

I think the worst was a car my sister gave me(she's a little heavy).. a early 70's Vega Station Wagon that was blaze orange with a white top. Factory 4 cylindar and manual tranny with badd clutch pressure plate that auto parts store wouldnt carry anymore. The thing wouldnt idle unless you turned on the air conditioning.. then it would idle at about 3000 rpms. The thing had a permanent lean, or sag to the driver side compliments of my sister, driver seat was as hard as a rock.. the wires hanging out under the dash would give good sparks once in a while when you were driving down the road... never could find the source.

The pressure plate eventually went out. I stuck a 400 in the thing with an auto tranny and used it the rest of a winter. It would go across the ice great with a set of tire chains! I sold the car for $200 the following spring..

I dont miss it!

[FOOT]

Dotch, a Studebaker man huh. My dad was one. We had a 1956 Silver Hawk, a 1957 Golden Hawk and 4 or 5 trucks he used in his business. Later on my brother and I bought a 1953 Low Boy and man was that thing low.

When I got out of the military in 1968 I bought an Avanti. Darn fast machine and I loved the look. Problem was, just like the 1967 Cougar I owned, I got married and very soon with a child on the way both the Cougar and Avanti had to be sold. On my earlier post I had even forgot about the Avanti, didn't own it long enough to really become attached to it. Wish I had it now.

[lawdog]

ahhh car nostalgia, its a blast! My car I'd like to have back is my 1982 Pontiac Trans-Am. White with T-tops and a real torque-loaded 305 four barrel. I also had a real rocket with my 1990 Plymouth Laser RS Turbo, I had it up to 136 mph on the speedo and was still climbing when I ran out of good road and had to back off. That thing flew. My favorite car though I did keep and always will. Its a 1968 SS 427 Chevy convertible. White with a red interior and 385 factory HP, they don't build em like her anymore!

Worst car, EASILY my Chevy Nova I think it was a 1988. I drove it commuting for law school until some lady pulled out in front of me on Hwy 55 and I T-boned her. Good grief did that hurt and that little Toilet (as those cars were called since they were built with Toyota and Chevrolet together and so not too fondly called Toylets...) was DONE!

[Dotch]

Ah FOOT, those Hawks, both the Studebaker and Packard variety were something to behold, both inside and out. With the overdrive am told they would go like a banshee. There was a Golden Hawk with the big V-8 in it stored in a garage not too far from my office. When they'd open the door some days, I'd sneak over and ogle it. My cousin owned 2 Avanti's. Used to climb inside one at family gatherings when I was a young whippersnapper. Talk about a car ahead of it's time. Thought I was in a spaceship when I'd make the appropriate sound effects. Of course later, as a teen I was always looking in junkyards for the fold down front seat option that Studebaker had in some of it's Lark's a la Rambler. Never found one so had to sleep in the back seat...

[MT Net]

DOTCH, how can you say that about the Vegamatic?! It was a great car. Fun to drive, easy on the gas, great in snow. At least 4 inches or less. It had standard built in air conditioning. The doors flapped so hard on the highways, not only could you see the road conditions thru the bottom of the doors, it power ventilated the entire car! My Vega was canary yellow with black faux pleather interior.

Wors't vehicle I owned was my 1988 GMC pickup. I bought it brand new and had it in the shop more than on the road. Nothing but problems.

[FOOT]

Dotch, the 1957 Golden Hawk my dad purchased had the bigger engine and my older brother and I made good use of it. Neither of us were old enough to drive but with my father owning his own construction business and my mother working outside the home we had plenty of time to sneak out and go for a drive.

I think my dad had an idea but he always blamed my mother for running out all of the gas. We weren't smart enough to refill the tank from the above the ground gas tank he had for his trucks and such.

[Dotch]

LOL! Great story FOOT! Merry Christmas!

[island guy]

Best....Bought a 1989 toyota camry in 1996 with 192000 on it. It is still in the family with 312000 and going strong. Original running gear and no problems other than routine stuff.

Worst...........Have had two Ford 150's 1997 and a 2001. Nothing but trouble on either one. In the shop more than my garage. Should of learned after the fist one.

[federline]

Worst car (driveline eliability & performance combined): 1985 Ford EXP. Basically a bathtubbed 2-seater Escort. Great gas milage, but only if you could keep it running. That little 1.6L was so gutless, too. It smoked like a banshee at 110,000 miles.

Best car (reliability): TIE!!! 1996 VW Passat Turbo Diesel and 1986.5 Nissan pickup (before the hardbody). The TDI went 215,000 miles before I traded it in on my current chevy pickup. The VW also saved my life, those cars are engineered for crashes like no other! The Nissan... just change the oil and put gas in it, and watch the body rust off while it kept chuggin down the road... when I donated the Nissan, it has 175,000 miles on it, and needed a throw-out bearing. That's it, except I couldn't hold anything in the bed, it was all rusted away.

My 1999 Silverado Z71 is quickly becoming my favorite. I'm shooting for 200,000 miles (at 115,000 now). It piles up the highway miles like a champ while getting me where I need to go. Minimal repairs, good gas mileage from the 4.8L small v8.

Car I wish I would have kept: 1970 Chev Impala, 350/350. Champagne metal flake. Had 32,000 original miles, I literally bought it from a little old lady who drove it to church, grocery store and hairdresser. The body was mint, as was the interior, and it had the original bias ply tires on it. Being a teenager, I didn't inspect the thing very well - the frame broke in half going down the highway, it was rusted clean through for many feet on both sides. Only way to save it was to do a frame swap or frame off restoration. Being I had a free car coming to replace it (a rusty, margarita green 1975 Ford LTD...), I parted it out - sold the engine and tranny to a guy who put it into his '68 chev pickup, sold the interior to a restorer, and junked the rest...

[MnIceman]

I had a "68" Dodge Charger, 383 magnum, 4 speed, Red with a black vinyl top and black leather interior. Wish I had that one back.

Also had a "70" Plymouth Road Runner, 383 magnum, auto, Plum crazy with the air grabber hood scoop that operated with a vacuum switch.Was on my way to work one morning with it on the interstate when a loud Chev. pickup pulled along side and revved up the motor and made some noise while the driver looked at me. I looked back at him, flipped the switch for the air grabber and gunned the motor a little. The tires eeked a little from the gunning while the hood scoop came up from the hood. When I looked back at the Chev. he was slowing down and snuck in behind me giving alot of room. He got off the freeway a couple of exits later.That was a good morning laugh.

Had a "68" Camaro ,327, auto and green. Some drunk women rear ended it and totaled it out.

Of those 3 The Charger handled the best. The Charger and Road runner were about as fast. The Camaro I did not care for . Handling was terrible and it just was not as fast .

Best: Tie between a "79" Dodge D-150 pickup and a "86" Dodge Ramcharger. Both very dependable. I have a "98" Dodge 1500 pickup now and it still has some earning to do. Gas mileage is terrible in the "98".They all have/had 318's.

Worst: tie between a "86" Chrysler Fifth Avenue and a "91" Pontiac Grand Am. I don't know which was in the garage more.

[renny]

Looks like I'am just as old as everyone here, LOL. all these cars a flooding my mind with memories. i never owned any of the super charged cars personally but i had many friends that did, and saturday night in our little town of comfrey, about 4 blks long, they would cruise all night long with an occasional peel out when the cops were on the other side of town. any one remember the super bee? I guess this is my own personal american graffiti. All i ever owned are beaters,

my first car- 72 gremlin, orange, black stripe, ran good.

2nd-77 ford gran torino, was good car also

3rd- buick lesabre, to big for me at time, 2 mile hood

4th-numerous old pick-ups, never had 4 wheel drive to this day!!!

5th-1986 plmouth reliant, got married,had kids, needed 4 doors, car is still running, pulled everything, went to idaho with tailer and went elk hunting, 4 cyl. LOL

5th- dodge caravan, kids got bigger, been real good car and also have 1983 chevy scottsdale, again 2 wheel drive, but only 40K on it when i got it last yr and half. no power though. great thread, thanks for the memories.

[MnIceman]

I had a friend who had a "70" Super Bee ,383 magnum,pistol grip 4-speed, 4.11 Posi. That was a quick car. It all ended in a telephone pole. He downshifted at 50 to pass and the tires lit up, went into spin and bang. Then he got a "67" Olds 442.That was a fun car also.I've had 24 different vehicles since I started driving in 1976.