Just got in from wrenching on my pick up and thought I'd share some thoughts.(yes I'm bored)

I enjoy old cars. For some people this seems really hard to understand. While I love these cars they can be a huge source of frustration. Here is a list of some things I love and hate about old cars. To give proper credit I copied this almost word for word out of Car Craft magazine but it fits me to a tee.

I like modifications that make cars faster, safer, and easier to drive.
I hate "bolt ons" that aren't even close.
I love the thrill of new projects.
I hate the fact my wife doesn't understand why I drag car after car home on a trailer.
I like the way old cars were built with real headliners and interiors with more metal than plastic.
I hate not having a heater or A/C in most of my cars.
I like cars you can fix with zip ties and duct tape.
I hate the guy at the parts store that ask "what kind of car?" when all I need is intake gaskets for a SBC.
I like the fact I can pull the engine out of my car in an hour.
I hate the grease stains in my driveway that prove it.
I like old car personality.
I hate that all new cars look the same.
I like seeing the ground when I open my hood.
I hate getting 8 miles to the gallon with $2 per gallon 92 octane.
I like getting the thumbs-up when I'm driving.
I hate that some people think old cars should be crushed.
I like that I can buy 5 old cars for what most people shell out a year in lease payments on their Honda.
I hate that I'll probably lose money on all of them.
I like the simplicity of carburetors.
I hate not being able to tune one very well.
I like cars with manual transmissions.
I hate driving them in traffic at rush hour.
I like really fast cars that look stock.
I hate tubbed, tube-chassis race cars that call themselves street cars cause they have a horn.
I like the smell of nitro-methane at the dragstrip.
I hate the smell of 30 year old gear lube anywhere.
I like big V8s and four speeds.
I hate that soon they will no longer be available.
I like getting grease under my fingernails fixing my cars.
I hate that some people think this means I can't afford to have some else do it.
I love to wrench on old cars.
I hate the fact I'm usually up till midnight doing it.

Sorry this was so long but I thought some of yall might appreciate it.  

455sd=73 trans am?

[img]http://www.snedegar.net/ryan/images/stuff/cars/Cobra2.jpg[/img]

Aw yeah.

I know exactly what you mean! Me, I've never taken a car to a shop. I had a chance to buy a '65 Galaxy 500 in damn-near showroom condition for $3500, and didn't. IDIOT! These kids who build up their Hondas and Nissans haven't got a clue what a REAL car is.

Hehehe. My second car was a '67 Galaxy two door with a 390. Then I went to a '70 Mustang f/b with a 351C [8D]. Drove that one for 17 years.

I now drive a pimp-mobile (has a chrome trim package) '85 El Camino.

I was watching the kids little cars and thinking I need to build a good 350. I haven't seen a good powerstall since I moved here 12 years ago. It's past time these kids get an education. [;)]

I've probally owned close to 35 cars.Maybe 20 were rebuilt, modified,ect.I would post a list if I can stop crying.



Example 1963 Ford Falcon 2dr/4 speed/260ci.
All factory  31,300 miles.

[center][b]455sd=73 trans am? [/b][/center]


Yeah., I wish. So far the 455SD is just a pipedream of someone who spends to much time combing the salvage yards.

The first car I owned at 16 was a 1963 chevy SS 409, had all the toys, dual quad, 4 sp, posi, rated 425 hp, and turned the 1/4 in the mid 12's pure stock all this in a car the only weighted 3190 lbs. Only got between 4 to 7 miles/gal... LOL then I got drafted and sold it like a dummy.
Ron

Damn I wish I was around in the days of the GTO and the muscle cars.  I know its technically not a muscle car, but I'm considering purchasing a 79 corvette...350 V8...and of course I'll have to throw in some flowmasters or borlas :-)  Cant wait to take the glass tops off and put the pedal to the floor in that thing.  my dad has a 95, but my favorite style has always been the "C3".  Guess its an old sports car, is that good enough?

Old trucks are awesome.  Don't work on old cars all that much.  Next week my friend and I are putting a Harwood pro-stock bolt on hood scoop on his 1978 bronco on 38" Swampers.  In addition to a Edelbrock intake manifold, 750cfm carb and K&N 14" round 6" high filter with the X-treme filter top.  It will breath new life in to that 351M.  Also putting an MSD 6Al ignition and coil in my other friends '94 Bronc.  It is newer but you can still work on the 5.0L's.  Going to be a busy week.  I also just put Edelbrock Cat back dual rear exit exhaust on my '91 351W F-150.  



Drool.   Someday I will have a BOSS 351. [:)]

My dad used to drag with a 68 Road Runner matalic blue black interior. not sure about the engine but it was Hemi

I'm only 16, and I've had a '68 mustang coupe, a '65 fairlane 500, and a '67 ford f100 stepside. The mustang nearly blew up, so we sold it, the fairlane motor went in my dad's '68 ford f100 just like mine, so we sold the body, and just the other day [>(] my '67 f100 with a 289 high performance motor, siezed up after i put a new starter on it. I hate that it happened b/c i loved that truck. I'm lookin at a '66 ford fairlane with a reg. 289, 3 in the tree. Unlike everybody else my age, I love old cars and can't stand these fartmobile hondas.

Mikie

Geez! I didn't mean for this to turn into a Fordfest lovathon![:D]LOL

There`s plenty of us motorheads who know where you`re comin` from......enjoy it!!!!![smoke]

      455

That brings back memories!
The year is 1978, I am 17, and Dad and I are looking to buy my first car.  We are looking for an early seventies Monte Carlo but then Dad points out that the Oldsmobile  Cutlass is a very similar car and much less expensive.  We eventually find a '71 and my Dad takes it out for a check drive and the first thing he says is "Man! I cannot hardly keep the tires from spinning!"  I think to myself, "oh yeah, my kind of car"  Well it turns out that it was Dads kind of car too  (Oldsmobile man + large engine man)  so we purchase it (he paid for half:)).  The seller tried to pass it off as a 350 engine by scratching the 455 off the air cleaner but Pops sniffed it out.  The car was actually a Cutlass Supreme SX  with 455/turbo 400, ralley wheels!  That engine put out 365 HP (low compression, 8.5:1) and 465 lbs/ft torque!   What a  great car that was for the three years that I owned it eventually sold it looking for better gas mileage :(:(.

I currently own an '84 Z28 that I retrofitted with a fuel injected 305 and rear disc brakes from a '92 and IROC wheels and suspension componets.  This too is a very fun car!

EX GI

455 Right on! In 1980 I bought my first car and I wish I still had it. 1969 Dodge Charger. It started life with a 318, that did'nt last long, blew it and put in a 383, blew it too. Then I found a rolled Plymouth Satellite with a 440. That one lasted until I thought I needed a new truck.  It would run mid 13's and got about 8 or 10 MPG. In the bay area in the early 80's there were lots of muscle cars.

orginally posted by ARMALITE FAN:



Know what you mean.  As I kick myself in the ass for getting rid of some of my past cars, 63 1/2 390c.i. 4 speed police cruiser, 67 427 fairlane, multiple 69/70 cobra jet mustangs, and one of my favorites, 70 429SCJ Cobra torino.  All sold dirt cheap. If only I would have known.  I would still like to get my hands on a 70 429 Mercury cyclone.

Bought my first new car when I was 18 in 1968.Plymouth GTX with 440 4bbl. Six months later I was drafted but had enough saved up to make payments on it so it was still there when I got back home. Kept it 5 years, got tired of it and sold it my neighbor. He must be smarter than I was because he has refused to sell it back to me ever since, but I keep trying.

My first car was a 1969 AMC "AMX":
343 automatic: Not one of those pos Javelin or Hornet AMX's from the early 70's.

343 automatic tranny: There were only about 18500 copies of the AMX.

Mine was rotted out from being driven around in the salt of northern Ohio by the woman who had it before my brother, who sold it to me.

I finally sold it to a guy in Houston who said he was going to strip it, cut out the cancer, acid dip it, re-metal it, and re-build the whole thing.

I left Houston before I had a chance to see it: I wish I had kept his card.

Jay
Arizona

62 Falcon
[img]albums.photopoint.com/j/view?u=1391821&a=10390079&p=51122957[/img].

I'll bet most people these days have no idea what an AMC AMX even is/was. Remember it's next of kin, the Javelin SST?

Myself? These days I've kind of developed an affection for the Pontiac Fiero, another obscure car from the past. Being as it has a plastic body, MPFI and an ECM it probably doesn't truly qualify as old. One day I'd like to drop a fuel injected 350 into a fastback GT.

I also like the 86 and earlier Jeep CJs, especially the 81-86 CJ-8 Scrambler. That is next on my list.

First car was a 1967 Impala.  Great car.
Second car was a 1965 Star Chief.  Great car.
Third car was a 1971 Caprice 2-door.  Great car.

GunLvr

In my short driving time I have rebuilt from the ground up '69 chevy pickup. A '76 toyota landcruiser that had a 3-inch lift and 33" BFG's on it. Now I have a 1979 Dodge power wagon with a gas gussling 360 v8, 3-inch lift and 35x14 gumbo monster mudders. The one thing that I would love to do but can't is park my right front tire on top of one those plastic P.O.S. Honda's.[shotgun]

Yea I grew up with muscle cars ever since I was old enough to drive. 70 torino GT 429, 69 fairlane conv, 69 caprice 350, and my favorite a 70 AMX 390 with go pack( ram air, 4 speed, 4:11 posi, disc brakes ect..) was the quickest of the bunch. A little known fact was AMC and Hurst made 50 AMX's to qualify for super stock drag raceing and they ran high 10's right out of the factory. Mopar did the same thing with its Hemi Dart/Baracuda and they ruled the upper classes in SS running low 10's/ high 9's. Thats kick ass even by todays standards. Heads and cams have come a long ways since the 60's.

Mannnnn!
The first car was a hand me down from the parents. It was a 1971 Plymouth Station Wagon with a 440 in it!

The first car I bought with my own money was a 1968 Chevy El Camino.
It was an SS 396 El Camino, the guy who owned it before me pulled the engine, trannie, and rear end out. I bought it in 1977 for $800. I thought my dad was gonna kill me!
I ended up buying a crashed 70 Nova and put the engine and drive train from it in the El Camino.
I did all of the bodywork on it and cleaned it up before I dropped the engine and drive train in it. Right after I had installed the engine (pain in the ass dealing with the engine and trannie mounts) the guy who I bought the El Camino from called me up and offered me the engine and drive train from it for $500.
I bought that, rebuilt the engine and trannie, pulled out the 350 and drive train, and installed the 396 and drive train.
It was a cool car/truck, when I was done with it I had a cherry 1968 SS 396 El Camino.
I had the engine bored out to just about 427, had Art Carr rebuild the trannie, and installed the 12 bolt main posie rear. The only downside was that it had 4.11 gears in the rear and it I only had a Holly 850 double pumper on it.
I had it together for about 2 months, and (of course) one nice summer day I was broadsided by a brain dead bitch in a station wagon! Go figure.
The insurance company totaled the El Camino (now days it would have been repairable), my dad ended up with it. I traded the engine and drive train to a guy who put it in his 1978 El Camino. I got a 1965 289 4 speed 4.11 geared Mustang and some cash. I sold it to my uncle in 1980, he still has it, he hasen't changed a thing on it except rebuild the engine. It still has all of the bondo fixes, the Lakewood ladder bars, the Craiger rims, the Gaberial Hi-Jacker shocks.
If I had those same cars today.

AAAHHHH.... YES! Old cars and Guns. I'm, not sure which one gets me more excited. Cant get enough of them and cant afford the ones I've got. I guess at this point my ultimate dream car would be an antique armored car, the best of both worlds. current project: 55 chev 2 door sedan, bright RED, as some of you know from my earlier posts. Yea I'm a die hard Chevy fan

My first ride was a yellow 64 Impala SS. I wish I still had it.

Get out the cryin towels guys.......

http://www.carsinbarns.com

My first car was a '72 Chevelle with a built 350. I left a whole lot of rubber behind me getting that thing home the first time. Than damn car should've killed me on several occasions and it was in desperate need of a lot of body work, but it sure was a hell of a lot of fun. I currently have a '71 in much better condition (and the same drivetrain) that I am slowly restoring. Those 502 crate motors are really starting to appeal to me, though. Who knows, might just have to get one.

A friend of mime used to have a '78 Cutlas that he dropped a 455 out of a early 70's delta 88 he found in a junk yard. He used to piss a lot of people off with that monster. He finally ended up trading it for some POS Grand Prix because he broke the flywheel. Could have slapped him for that one.

I also had a '78 Monte Carlo that I dropped a rebuilt small-block 400 into as well as '81 Cutlas with a 305 and a '81 Camaro with a 400. Seen the Camaro the other day for sale on the other side of town for $700 . She's seen better days, but if definitely my old car. Man I miss that thing. I outta buy it back and give it the love it needs, but after all the money I've spent on guns lately, the wife would kill me. Besides, the Chevelle is my first love and a rather effective money sponge itself. I did see a really clean looking late-70's Z28 along the highway a few hours ago for $750. Damn thing can't have much for a drivetrain for that sort of price, but damn is it tempting....

I've had my 67 Camaro RS/SS since I was 16, i love that car, but now all it does is sit in the garage for months and months at a time. I wish I could drive it more but that just hasn't happened.

I also had an '81 Cutlass that I did some interesting things too.

1:  The computer controled carb was malfunctioning so Dad and I took the Rochester 4BBL off a 63 chevy and adapted it to the buick 231 V6 that was in the car (with a peice of 2X6 believe it or not) and I drove it in this config for a year.

2:   Decided I wanted more power so I went back to the 63 and got the 327/powerglide tranny and built it up and installed it in the cutlass.  then went drag racing for about a year.
one used up 327 later another engine swap was in order..

3:   350/TH 350 tranny installed over the thanksgiving holidays and drove to Colorado for christmas,  what a blast to drive up in the mountains!    
Well,
  One day Dad and I were in the garage and we had nothig to do so we got to looking at this 454 that I was going to put back in my '74 chevy PU.   We got to wondering if that beast would fit in the cutlass.......

4:  It did! 1981 cutlass with slightly warmed over 454/TH400 and 2:42 gears!  
Can you say "highway cruiser".    Drove the car for 5 years and never lifted the hood,(except to change the oil once or twice  :()  best engine swap we ever did!

Cars are Cool

Did anyone else happen to see the "You just might a gun nut if..." discussion thread on the Colorado State Shooting Assoc. website (CSSA.ORG). One post was "You just might be a gun nut if... you would rather drive a $600 car and have a $10,000 rifle, than a $600 rifle and a $10,000 car" I'm guilty as charged.

Dave
SSgtUSMC
NRA Life, (need to join NYSRPA, among others)
Able to arm the neighborhood if the need arises,
'72 K5 Blazer
'82 Suburban
'93 S-15 Sonoma (All paid for and running, Knock on Wood!)

How about a 64 Impala SS 327/300 HP with muncie M21, 4:11 posi and ladder bars?  Did all the wrenching myself, kept it mostly stock except for a hi flow beehive air cleaner, Hurst shifter and Sun tach.  these fart mobile jocks will never know what it is to cut a 14 second 1/4 mile, with the left front wheel off the ground for the first 50 feet, in a car that would hold 5 friends.  Big ol Carter AFB carb, could tune it up in a couple of hours, change a clutch on Sat. morning, go racing and .........,
 Now its an old diesel blazer. Just the way I like it, complex as a hammer.........

I ride a $4000 mountain bike and drive a $250 work car.

I've had this one since '88. Just turned 50,000 miles last weekend

[img]http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1633910&a=13223786&p=49504686&Sequence=0&res=high[/img]
Latest project. its been 3 1/2 years
[img]http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1633910&a=13223786&p=51144456&Sequence=0&res=high[/img]

Good news crew!! Remember the '67 ford f100 that we thought the motor had siezed in?? Well I took the starter off this mornin and low and behold, everything in the starter had fallen out into my tranny. Good way to ruin a clutch huh? Anyways, I got out, and tryed to turn the fan to see if it was still siezed and she worked. I now can agree that Autozone sucks big. Anybody know where I can get a good starter for a 289 High Performance without going to autozone or advance auto?? I'll go to the company if i have to. Don't wanna wreck that motor.
Mikie

This is just too cool. I've never started one of these "threads that refuses to die" before. WHOOHOO!

Summit Racing 1-800-230-3030 or summitracing.com has a lot of good parts. high quality and the price is good. better than most cheap parts houses. Jegs is also very good, dont know the # right off hand but they are also in Ohio, Jegs.com or something like that.
I think I alone have kept them in business

Just like a great old Chevy aint it

YardDogOne

I'll let that slide because up until about 1962 Chevrolets had Pontiacs beat in the style dept.