The real car days thread....

[Rebel SS]

Anything and everything cars...


I was working (puttering) out in the nice warm garage today, and those new tires on Mr. Sparkles with the OWL sidewalls have it smelling like a new tire shop....aaahhhhh! Have to love that smell! Brought back some old memories of working on cars and hot rods thru the 70's and early 80's...now there's some real labor-of-love memories, especially when I ran across a GM dwell tool...who still has one? Or even remembers how to use one? Raise yer hand! Brought back images of many things you loved, (although sometimes with the bleeding, busted, greasy knuckles, ya didn't think so) and have cataloged away back in the fond memories drawer of your mind...The little bottles of Indian-head gasket sealer... the Fel-pro cork gaskets hanging on the pegboard...The white and blue cardboard cans with the red top of Valvoline oil, and the chrome punch spout.... the RAC tach/dwell meter...the Sun chrome timing light, with the white crayon taped to it... A Holley 780 CFM double-pumper sittin' on top of an Edelbrock Torker... breathin' thru the first K&N's...fire provided by those yellow silicon Accel wires, coming off the converted red and black MSD sparker system...belchin' out thru a set of Hedman or Hookers, rolling on a set of Goodrich TA's on those Cragars or Rockets...*SIGH*...boy, I sure miss those days, and those cars.... 

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[Boar]

i put a hot dog in mine..

[glenn57]

i put a hot dog in mine..

[delcecchi]

Those old cars weren't as great or fast as you think they were....

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.   

[Rebel SS]

I guess my certified ET run slips at Amber Green are just dreams. I know exactly how fast they were. Go buff yer antlers, Mr. Know it all.

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[Dotch]

 

[Rebel SS]

   Lovin' it.
Mike Kuehns flip-front delivery is in there. I did the one in '05. Never missed going to it when I was up at my cousin's.

[delcecchi]

I have truly fond (mostly) memories of cars of the 60's.   I still miss my 340 barracuda.     Bit it wouldn't start reliably in the winter, polyglass tires got stuck on 3 snowflakes, and it got like 14 mpg of premium.   

Look up 0-60 or stock ets for those days and compare them to today's cars.   
I just looked up my old cuda and it was 0-60 7 seconds and et of 14.9 at 95 mph

According to https://www.zeroto60times.com/vehicle-make/toyota-0-60-mph-times/
my 2015 toyota highlander will do "2017 Toyota Highlander V6 AWD  0-60 mph 7.2  Quarter mile 15.2 "

Cars today are way way better than the old days.  Me, not so much.   

[Rebel SS]

YOU go look it up. Who the he** cares??! I didn't start this thread for TODAY'S cars.

[delcecchi]

As much as we loved them and had fun with them and got jiggy in them when we were young, American cars in the 60's and 70's were basically poorly designed junk.   

Speaking truth to power.....

[Rebel SS]

Why is it you have to destroy a fun thread for folks that want to reminisce, Mr. Precise?  God, go compile some stupid statistics on something no one cares about. 

[delcecchi]

Well, I had a lot of fun, parked on the st paul campus or in como park in a 62 comet......   I even put new bigger wheels on the back to try to get more than 65 mph out of it.... 

It could sometimes beat a vw beetle in a drag race.    Nearly got me killed on highway 61 north of rock creek trying to pass on the two lane.   

No nostalgia for the car.   For my youth... you betcha.   

I loved my barracuda and still miss it.   But it didn't start in the winter, didn't go in snow.  Hated the carter carbs.   Oh, and the way the starter and solenoid was nestled between the torsion bar and the exhaust... 

Now my 76 montego wagon.... Moby Mesabi we called it because it was as big as a whale and was determined to turn back into ore.   But it started in the winter.   

The 77 impala with the 200 series tranny in it with a V8 because it saved GM a few bucks, and cost me a grand...... back when a grand was important to me.   

I'm not destroying your fuzzy warm nostalgia thread.   I'm just injecting a little reality.   

[LPS]

OMG Del you are starting to scare me.    I didn't know you were a hell raiser like that.  Ya that was the good ol days but those cars did not start in cold weather like the newer ones do.. They were twice as cool though.  I was a GTO guy.  Had a 67, blue with a black vinyl top.  389.  And then a 69 Judge with a 400.  Both cars got me in a lot of trouble.  I was in my early 20's then. 

[Boar]

i had a 67 ford montego....smelled like hotdogs

[glenn57]

i had a 67 ford montego....smelled like hotdogs

you putz!

[glenn57]

Never been a car enthusiast, but like looking at what some guys do to them pretty cool! My ex son in laws brother does body work only on older vintage cars. Man he's good.

Carry on.

[delcecchi]

OMG Del you are starting to scare me.    I didn't know you were a hell raiser like that.  Ya that was the good ol days but those cars did not start in cold weather like the newer ones do.. They were twice as cool though.  I was a GTO guy.  Had a 67, blue with a black vinyl top.  389.  And then a 69 Judge with a 400.  Both cars got me in a lot of trouble.  I was in my early 20's then.

I was always too risk averse and thrifty to get in much trouble.   Did some rallys around here for a few years before being induced to wear green and move to california.   Came back, bought a house, we had a kid, Barracuda was just too much pain in the behind and it had to go.  I was sad but it was time,  and parking it in the back yard with a tarp over it didn't seem to be a good plan.   

So a succession of practical cars (had a motorcycle for fun.  Kawasaki K1 then honda 750)   
After driving junk for a good while had a Aerostar minivan, then the Explorer.   The Highlander was a revelation. 

But if you look at all those "muscle cars" from the late 60's they were all basically kludges made with the minimum investment using stuff the companies had laying around.  Of course they were fun. we were young and they were fast, compared to what was around, and they attracted girls.   

Maybe it would be best if I never got to drive another 68 again so I can preserve the memories...   

BTW the 70's and 80's were the pits with respect to cars.   

[Rebel SS]

Yup. All cars from 1900 on were all POS. Now that that points been made we can close the thread, no further discussion needed.

[Dotch]

This one pre-dates that so we should be safe...



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[Gunner55]

Del probably had 1 of those too!

[delcecchi]

Del probably had 1 of those too!

Nah.  I wanted something with a back seat...

[Gunner55]

 

[Dotch]

Del probably had 1 of those too!

Nah.  I wanted something with a back seat...

Better? 



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[Dotch]

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

While I don't claim to be a mechanic, I get my share of it in whether I want to or not. Over the years I've developed a deep appreciation for collector automobiles and tractors along with hanging with people of a like mind. As I approach retirement it's one of the things I plan on focusing more attention on. I'm a member of the MSRA, the SDC national and North Star Studebaker of the SDC along with being a member of Memories, the local car club. At the local meeting Saturday, we just increased our dues so we can continue to sponsor a scholarship for kids going into the automotive and mechanic profession.

One of the cars I always admired as a kid was this one. The styling for the day, the fact it was front wheel drive and went purty fast made it something unique. As with most of the autos I'm interested in, they weren't the mainstream. Sure, they aren't the cars we have today but then they were never intended to be. They were the cars of their day, not the 2000's.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/c12-0509-1966-oldsmobile-toronado/

[mike89]

hey Dotch those were nice cars in their day for sure!!! I liked them too!!!

[Gunner55]

I was always a fan of some of the early Buick Riviera's too , kinda along those same lines.

[glenn57]

man you guys are auld pharts!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Gunner55]

man you guys are auld pharts!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With a little luck..............................you MIGHT get there too. 

[mike89]

he is already but he has not figured it out yet!!!     

[Rebel SS]

My buddy Rex ("Flex" when he was wasted) had that same car. Excellent chick cruiser for up and down broadway. Plenty of storage for various bottle and cans of silly juice. Plus, had that cool "rolling tubular" speedo in it, with the neato dash...and the Rocket 455 under the hood, topped with a puke-jet, spinning one of the first front-wheel drives thru a turbo 400.... What's not to love?