Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Outside my window

Where to post this? I don't know.. not very moderatorish of me is it?

Just a nonsensical rambling anyway but.. I sit here in my little covey hole looking out accross the service department (Chevy dealer) everyday looking at these nameless faceless excuses for machines GM produces these days. (Own one? sorry.. no offense intended)But occasionally we get a vic.. I mean customer who brings in a noteworthy piece of Detroit steel

Right out in front of my window is a dark blue (they had me at dark blue) 1967 Camaro SS convertible... sweet ride, been meaning to ask if they needed someone to test drive it for a couple of.... weeks, it's got an automatic tranny though but I could let that slide I suppose.

Bad news? Forgot my camera... sorry... I had good intentions.

So what's the point of this post you might ask... A possible discussion about muscle cars? ha ha I get to sit in it and you don't? all I can say is you were prewarned of a possible pointless thread.... what can I say.. seemed like the thing to do at the time.

The closest I got was a '90 Mustang LX 5.0 in Red five speed. Rated at 225HP (doesn't sound like much now?), had trouble keeping tires on the darned thing!

Chy,
Coincidence?
Riding my mountain bike into work today, I thought of today's cages. Why is it that I care about how my sickle looks and not of how my cages look? Taking the time to polish and keep Vera Lynn clean. Cars? Thirty years ago, I thought how cool it was to own a 51 Chevy pickup truck. Had a '61 Hillman Minx too. I did all the body work and paint work and mechanics on them. They shore was real purty and I was like proud of them. Then other expenses (life) got in the way and I drove around in what ever I could. I guess that is when I lost touch of four wheels on the ground vehicles (or more). They served as point A to point B transport. All the cars today, they all stink. Nothing to give a second thought too. Driving around in something that cost as much as a house is, well, not for me. Yesterday's cars. Ahh they were something. Any bygone muscle car would be the only type of cage I would take pride in owning. Those would be more that Point to Point transportation. So, about then I was rolling down the bridge about 30 mph. Dodging broken beer bottles, used yota gloves, and other gross miscellany. Now what was I just thinking about?

No soul man.. they just got no soul..

I have never been able to own a muscle car (opportunities and money never coincided). I did own a '64 Mercery Comet (the only real good looking year for both the Comet and the Falcon) once. Had a 289 and 4 speed.
Here are some of the cars I would love to get my hands on:
'68 Barracuda
'70 'Cuda w/ (real)Hemi
'67 GTX Convertable
'67 Nova
'70 Coronet Super Bee
'60 Impala Convertable

Soren

In my garage as we speak. I love old cars.
Mad`

I've always been a Mopar person. I guess because my dad always owned em. I drove my friends Dark Green 1968 Dodge SuperBee with a "383"ci., 4 barrel carb, Hurst 4 speed shifter in his wedding back in "69. I've wanted one ever since. It had such low gearing you could start off in 2d and it would just take off. I don't remember what they cost back then but I think it was around 4 or 5 grand. Those were the days.

ooooooo...suh-weet!

I had a '65 Corvette for a while.. 396ci 400+hp w/4 speed manual transmission.. beautiful car.. candy apple red with white accents. Would snort anything on the road that attempted to beat it off the line.

Only other car I've had that was as fun to drive was an '85 Camaro IROC-Z. Had an L69 engine, posi rear and borg-warner T5 short throw 5 speed transmission. I ripped out all the emissions and computer controlled crap and dropped in a vacuum advance HEI distributor and Holly 750 double pumper carb. Another beautiful car.. bright red with dark grey interior, black skirts, T-tops and aftermarket Enki rims w/50 series gatorbacks on the ground. I couldn't keep that car on the road when it rained

Of course, my favorite (and most reliable) was an old '52 chevy longbed pickup. Not quick, extremely ugly paint job, big as a house, but dependable like you wouldn't believe. It could sit out in the yard for 6 months, and sure enough, you would go out and hit the button on the floor with your foot and it would crank right up first try. Had 6V electronics, no air filter, no oil filter, funkey glass fuel fiter, pull choke on the dash, vacuum powered wipers and a 3 speed tranny with shifter on the steering column. Wood floors made it great when it got dirty inside.. just open up the door and spray it down with a hose

Cheers,
Brad

I've seen pix of that 57 before... very nice 2 door post there man...

I until a few years ago owned a 67 Mustang. I spent big big dollars restoring the body, paint was black, black, black, but went custom on the drive train. Had a 351 Cleveland with quench heads polished and ported, Holly carb (750cfm), Weiand single plain aluminum highrise intake manifold, roller valve train, aluminum 10.5:1 pop-up pistons, electronic ignition, headers, and 411 posi trac in the rearend. It was also an automatic but I had a two stage shift kit and a 3500 stall converter in it. Finished it off with the Thrush CVX exhaust system. All told it had well over 300 hp though this is an estimate as there is no dyno anywhere around where I live (convenient I know). Anyway, I don't mean to sound like I'm bragging but I was pretty proud of that car and miss it to this day, I sold it as I was starting a young family and needed the money. Out ran the police a number of times in it and though I didn't like to abuse it to much I did race three or four times and went undefeated. Never left me walkin' either. Anyway, enough reliving the glory days, I think I'm gonna go sit in a dark room and cry now.

My last project: 64 Chevelle SS convetible, 427 BB, 4 speed, 370 posi rear; foolishly sold it!

Current project: 65 Plymouth Valiant convertible, don't ask how I ended up with that. My first MOPAR and it's growing on me for sure. No race car, just a 273 small block auto.



Too bad I'm spending all my time and money on my TBA, it may never get done!

Guys,
I really enjoy it when you guys get going on about muscle cars and cars that you owned in your youth. Such a contrast to what we grew up with in the UK.

Ford Escorts, Fiestas, Cortinas, Vauxhal Cresta, Morris's and the ilk.

My first three cars. A Ford Escort Estate (Station Wagon) 4 cylinder 1300cc 4 speed. I had fury dice hanging from the mirrow and thought i was hot stuff in that car. Following that was a British Leyland Morris Marina, again, 4 cylinder 1300. The stereo was worth conciderably more than the car. When that died it was replaced with a Open Rekord Estate. What a tank, the clutch pedal was three inches higher than the brake and gas pedal. had to lift my leg up to get on it. Oh and the stereo in this one was crapelo. A Portable cassette player under the drivers seat.

I had a Ford Cortina MK3 2000GT for a while. Now theres a storey.

If you want to talk about first cars.. mine was a 1966 canary yellow Corvair (yes, corvair, not corvette ) The thing had a 140ci 6 cylinder air cooled 'spider' engine in the rear.. it was called the spider because of it's air filter, which had four tubes coming out of it going to the four carbs (yup, 4 carbs for 6 cylinders!) My first mod was to install a Radio Shack 8-Track tape player, and for the first year, I only had 1 tape, Deep Purple 'smoke on the water'. I must have listened to that tape a zillion times and know every word to every song on it by heart. It had a 2 speed automatic transmission with a shifter on the dash board. For such a small car, it had more interior room than anything else I've ever had since (mostly due to the engine being in the rear). I wound up blowing up the engine on a drive from the Florida keys up to Miami, and sold the thing to a guy who was going to rebuild the engine and use it to make a trike. (hey, this is actually kind of related to motorcycles after all!)

Cheers,
Brad

1967 Mustang Rag top 3 years restoration....sold for down payment on first house

1970 Nova 6 month restoration...sold because I was stupid!!!

1972 Cammaro 1 year restoration... gift to then Girlfriend...now wife...sold because she was a terminal lead foot and I couldn't afford the rubber for it any more...

ANY one of those I would take back in a heartbeat!!!

I owned a 69 Chevelle Malibu, not the SS. Had a 307 instead of the 396 engine. Had those neat looking square tail lights. Ran like a raped ape. Had to sell it in 85 first kid came along. Called it Bu, cause it was a Malibu and it was blue.

My favorite ride was a 1964 Ford Pickup, straight 6 cylinder, hellova pulling power. I also modified it by taking the shifter off the column and put in a stick shift from(JC WHitney) Brad will like this, I put in an 8 track player and listened to Steppenwolf-Born to wild all the time. SOld that truck in 1989 for $1000
They sure don't make trucks that sturdy anymore.

Gosh guys, why make me start thinking about this. Yeah, cars today have no soul. My kids always ask me why my $7k Triumph and my $500 1973 Honda basketcase stays in the garage and our $60k of cars stays outside. They do not understand.

In my youth, in order:

69 Chevelle SS
68 Camaro (also Canary yellow, but a hardtop)
72 Camaro
72 Mustang Mach 1 (the big ones)
after that they began to get boring

The list of the ones I still dream about are, well, too many to bore you with.

my first car hahahahahahaha a Nash Metropolitan, 2 seater. then i got a 57 chevy 2door post car, ended up owning 4 57's, 2-55's, a 56 a 58 then got into a 66 chevelle then a 68 cutlass, and that was the last of the hot rods after that it has been trucks and vans aplenty with a few vw's thrown in and then i had a 75 chevy monza with a v-8 then it was back to the vans the hot rods were all before i was 27 and had $$$$ hahahahaha like the rest of you, i think the cars being built today have no soul and the ones that are being redone...ie:mustang, charger, gto, are way to expensive for a car. i think a car is something you use to get from point a to point b and nothing more, why would i pay 30, 40, 50k for something that is nothing more than transportation?? i just get something that does what i need done and thats good enough!!!

OK
I will go out to the garage and start my 68 firebird now.
sit in it for a while and think about how much I am going
to spend on it this summer.

always wanted a nash metro, cool little cars.

I had and now wish I still had
65 Mustang paid $75 for it when I was 13
64 Chevy Pickup paid $50 and a cord of wood when I was 15
70 Nova $500 and a year to do a complete restore, this is the one I really miss.

how much muscle does a 1959 Chevy Nomad Wagon have?

mert

Ahh..the ole Muscle Car...had a few..as recent as 2 years ago. In case you wonder about this...I am Mopar through and through.
In the order owned(and stupidly sold...)
1971 Dodge Challenger R/T 340 sublime green
1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 440 Go Mango
1970 Dodge Dart Swinger 340 White/Black Vinyl Top(big block killer)
1969 Plymouth Roadrunner 383 4sp Olive Green
1970 Chevy El Camino SS 396 Yellow(rear window always leaked when I washed it)
1968 Dodge Dart GTS 383 4sp(this car was extremely rare..as were the amount of brain cells I had at the time when I 'decided' to sell it)
1970 Dodge Challenger T/A 340 Six Pack 4spk(saw one of these go for $125K on the Barrett Jackson show..threw up immediately after that)
1970 Plymouth 'Cuda 340 In-Violet(plum Crazy for the Dodge Fans)sold this one 2 years ago and it was the prettiest car I owned.
And my latest aquisition,which smokes every old stock muscle car with the exception of MAYBE the limited 1968 Hemi Darts/Barracudas.....a 2006 Dodge Magnum SRT-8.
0-60 in 4.7 seconds
0-100-0 in 16.4 seconds
1/4 mile 13.2@112mph
Top Speed(gulp)165-170

I've never had a car.....

But growing up the olds have had all sorts....
I think the favorites they've had are the Triumph Stag they still have, the Saab 99 (I think it was a 99) that had a rebadged Triumph engine in it...that went really well, till it blew up anyway....,the 2CV that I took to pieces at the breakers yard when I was 10 (all you need it a 13mm spanner and a flat 'driver), and the car my mum drives now...her TR7 convertable.

Wonder why I have a Triumph bike now....

My old man had a 68 Malibu SS that I would "borrow" when he was working the 4 to 12. I was in heaven at age 13! Never got caught either!

I remember the Triumph Stag. I was in the market for an MG or Triumph back in the very early 70's when I first saw the Stag and thought..."gotta have this" until I saw the $$tag and my heart sank. Double what everything I was looking at cost. I did buy a Triumph Herald while I was living in London which was a blast to drive and I never had a single problem with it.

They weren't about muscle.... they were about style but muscle could be added to taste

I have had some muscle cars and some strong performers that they do not really consider muscle cars but were actually the cars that I liked the most. I have had a couple tweeners but nothing worth mentioning.
In order:
1966 Impala - Only had it a short time and sold it for
1970 GTO - Ran like a raped ape till the day I slammed it into a curb at about 90mph after going airborne over a median
1970 Pontiac Grand Prix - Probably my favorite car that ran super and the interior was like a jet cockpit extremely funtional and super comfortable but sold for a
1969 Triumph 650 Trophy still working on the restore
1969 GTO - needed an engine and some resto, sold to buy
1969 Grand Prix - Super project car that I was fixing it all up, Black leather interior, body was solid but 428 engine smoked, built a 455HO engine for it after doing tons of research on best performance tips and mods. Installed it and had the transmission rebuilt, 3.55 gears, then I got married and ended up selling it to a buddy of mine for down payment on a house before I ever had a chance to start it up. He got it running and brought it over and threw me the keys one day and said take it for a ride. I did and have been kicking myself in the A*# ever since. I did tons of research before I ever built the engine and it all paid off, too bad it was for someone else. Ever since then its been all Toyota trucks and 4Runners. I still have Pontiac motors around that someday I want to find an old Trans-Am, GTO, or Grand Prix and do a ground up restore that will run like a scalded dog!

Long rant but I sure miss the days that you could buy a muscle car or great performing car for a couple hundred dollars(Never paid more than $750.00 for any of the cars) or there abouts and run a car with true soul like others have stated here. I agree cars today just don't have the soul like the cars of yesteryear.

Got a song for you all, especially for you Camaro fans... Bitchin' Camaro by the Dead Milkmen

Soren

My first car while in college was a 1970 Dodge Charger R/T with a 440 magnum motor.....There were only two speeds that I knew back in those days-Fast and Faster.....Angelis

I spent most of my muscle car money on short track circle track cars. I did hop up a '63 Falcon with a warmed up 289 that surpised a few people on the street.
I borrowed my son's '06 Mustang GT last Sunday. A same color GT pulled up along side and tried to get me to race several times and I just waved. We were stopped at a light and we both rolled down our windows. I am 55 years old(and look every bit of it). I told him "This is my Dad's car and he'd kill me if he saw me racing in it." The 20-something kid broke up laughing after a brief moment of bewilderment.
There are cars with soul out there.
Mike Sr.

I had a TR7 also:one half of the Stag V8 if I recall. Lucas stuff forced me into an Olds Cutlass.
Mike Sr.

Quote:

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I think the favorites they've had are the Triumph Stag they still have.......mum drives her TR7 convertable.

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For years the Stag was one of my favorite cars. Especially in Triumph Yellow. WOW. Get a good one and they are dream cars, get a bad one and holy %&$#@

My last car before leaving for the US was a Bright Metalic Green TR7 Convertible. Loved that car. It was the reason for meeting my wife, and the car is in our wedding pictures. White Ribbon the whole bit. If i could ever find it i would buy it and have it shipped over here. Reg no was KAV 53?W...its not your mums is it.

My first car was a 66 galaxie fast back with a 428 interceptor. 1970 dodge swinger with a 318. javelin w/409. 1970 cuda with a 340 six pack. 1969 chevelle w/454 cowl induction. i drove a friends golden goat 1969. my last fast car before i married was a roadrunner. now, dodge ram and my green BA are just fine.

Apart from my two wheeled transport, I don't have much in the way of brand loyalty when it comes to cars!

I've only had 12 cars in my time but I've had 11 different manufacturers!!
(I've had two Fords)