Coolest Car you have ever owned

[rplace]

1957 Chevrolet, 2 door hardtop, #5939 off the line at the Los Angeles plant back in 1957. Interesting story - as a kid always loved these cars, and back in 1983 was taking a trip out to California for a training session. I had actually purchased TWO 1957's by this time (both ridiculous, rust eaten relics in Pennsylvania - one a running 2 dr HT with 6 cyl, and one a 2 dr Sedan sans the transmission and motor). This time I was on a MISSION....

Chris, great story.

[jacksonbart]

....perhaps another 1966 Mercury Comet, my first car......[]

Chris

Was this her?

[sunburnwilly]

Here is a 67Charger for sale in your neck of the woods for around $16,000. Same color

http://www.oldride.com/classic_cars/390644.html

For $16K they should fix the headlamp doors .

[Mighty Favog]

Here is a 67Charger for sale in your neck of the woods for around $16,000. Same color

http://www.oldride.com/classic_cars/390644.html

For $16K they should fix the headlamp doors .

Good luck fing a new motor for the hide-a-ways. They were electric (I think) but were later vacuum operated from 68' and up.

ALso aske them about the dash lights. If memory serves that was neon and needed a ballast.

[J.4knee]

How about this?

http://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/12/14/mustang_wagons/index.html

[+o(] [+o(]

[kaiser SET say]

You think this concept was brought about to challenge Chrysler and the Magnum wagon?

[DrWho]

The Magnum wagon fricken rocks [Y]

A mustang wagon on the other hand would be hilarious - seriously, who would feel comfortable driving such a contraption???

[popbumper]

Jacksonbart:

Sheesh, you're killing me with the pic of the Comet. Mine wasn't that pretty, but you get the idea. To a 16 year old, a big 'ol bench seat and a 289 V8 are a dangerous thing. Of course, nowadays its those killer rice burners that tear up the streets. You know, when I drove that car in 1976, I remember filling the gas tank on a $5 bill. I was working after school at a steak house for $2 an hour, and gas was 25 cents a gallon in some places. MY MY, those were some days - even talking about it brings fond memories.

Of course then there was DISCO - but that's being discussed in another thread altogether.....[]. And drive ins.....yeah, bench seat....[] Did I mention I also used to drive a Pinto? [:$]

Rplace: Glad you enjoyed the 1957 story, it was really a neat adventure.

Chris

[pauln]

This country used to make some fine cars... to produce some of these beauties today would cost a fortune.

I have a theory about the production of cars (applies to other things as well). In the beginning, the trend is to over spec everything because of the unknowns... as time goes on the specs are reduced down to the bare minimum. This causes the effect that there is a 'golden age' when a product is full out great, from which time diminishes the product as it gets produced in weaker, wimpier forms. Cars, amps, etc., ...

[Mick Bell]

This is what Santa brought me this year!

[JJkizak]

Yeah, thanks to an American who went to Japan after the war everything is now 1%. The old cars were based on the 20% rule as far as rust, etc. Some of the exceptions would be sheet metal. There are millions of pros and cons on this subject. Why would a transmission manufactured under 1% tolerances last almost forever whereas if the benchmark was changed to 20% 1/3rd will fail? I guess it's all mathematics. But think about this: a 1967 plynouth 440 with pushbutton tranny---hold the trottle to the floor in nuetral, push the reverse button, spin tons of rubber and while holding the throttle to the floor push drive button spinning tons of rubber then reverse again then forward again then reverse again then forward again. There ain't nothin made today for the consumer market that will do that and stay in one piece. This was out the showroom door, not modified. Try running the 1/4 mile in a stock Hemi-Cuda out the door in low elevens with auto trans, what do you have to pay now to get that performance?

JJK

[Rockets]

1968 Olds Toronado with 455 ci quadrajet. I don't have a digital picture of my mine...sadly no longer have it...but here's a similar one. Mine was "Ticket me RED" w/ black accents. Once got into a impromptu race in the 80's w/ a co worker who just bought a Dodge Shelby w/ turbo. Let's just say there's no substitute for cubic inches...

here's some other views

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/582914

[johnellis]

29pt. Dinan Supercharged 540i/6 Sport. 0-60 4.0 seconds, 165mph (proven), 200+ mph (untested). Less than a dozen of these cars on the planet. 29pt. Dinan's that is. Fun car!!

[DizRotus]

Rockets-

Have you seen Jay Lenos custom Toronado? If not, go to the link below.

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http://www.cartype.com/page.cfm?id=1095

[Rockets]

I've seen other tricked out vintage Tornado's, but never Leno's...DROOOOoooooLLLL. I REALLY wish I still had mine. Paid $2500 for it, but didn't have a decent place to keep it. I already had/have one hanger queen...73' Olds Gutlass. Nothing special about it, other than I've had it since 76' and spent a ton of time and $$$ on lacquer.

The Toronado just has such fine lines you really don't have to do much to it and it offers plenty of potential if you do. If any one car had STYLE this would be it. Not to say a Ferrari, or Lambo are ugly. They're more like a crotch rocket compared to a Bourget chopper. I wish I had to time to play, I'd buy another and breathe some life into it. I have to tell you for a land yacht it really handled pretty good for it's size too.

Thanks for the Leno link

TC

[chops]

As far as looks go, I'd have to say my '02 Hyundai Sonata, 2.4L I4 and 5-speed manual, 18" wheels with 225/40 meats. It was pretty quick too, faster than anything else Hyundai puts out stock, even the V6 Tibs. Of course, it had some custom work done to it, stainless 2.5" dual-exit exhaust (designed by me), custom intake (again, by me), remapped ECU.

For most fun, it's a toss up between this '96 Nissan 200SX SE-R and my current car. It had the awsome sr20de motor and 5-speed manual. I installed a Garret turbo, reworked the head a little, stand-alone engine management, and ran a mixture of 108 octane race fuel and alcohol (for track days). At it's max setting of 17psi, it was dynoed at 350hp and 320ft lbs at the wheels, and my best pull was an 11.7 sec @ 117mph in the 1/4 mile on 17" 205/40 street rubber, and clocked at a top speed of 161mph at 7900rpm. The second pic was taken right before my "other brother" started holding on for dear life when I took it up 160mph, laying the speedo needle ever so gently onto the trip reset button shaft.

My current fun car, and probably my favorite is the '02 Mazda Miata. I thought this car was stock, however I have found out that the compression is up from the stock 10:1 to now 11.5:1, the flywheel replaced with a lightweight aluminum one, and the ECU has been tinkered with (timing, air/fuel). I put an R-Speed intake and Racing Beat exhaust on it, some suspension tweaks, and just recently installed a set of Falken Azenis Rt615 205/50-15 rubbers on it. These tires do NOT let go under any circumstance as they are DOT approved racing tires. It has run a best of 14.5 sec @ 98mph in the 1/4 mile, and literally runs out of gear at 131mph at 7000rpm.

[jheis]

But my all time fun driving fun time of my life car was a 79 TR7 convertible. Not the fastest car by any stretch of the imagination, but it was a blast to drive and easy to work on. I wish I had never sold it. This is not mine, but you get the idea. Mine was Brittish racing green with a tartan interior.

I recently read somewhere about Giorgetto Giugiaro's (Bertone, Ital Design) initial reaction when he saw the TR7 when it was introduced at the Paris (?) auto show.

Story goes that Giugiaro looked at the front of the car, walked around and looked at the driver's side, walked to the back and looked at the rear of the car, and then walked around to the passenger's side and exclaimed "My God, they've done it to this side too!"

James

[Mike Lindsey]

My first car was a 1965 Cadillac Coupe De Ville that I bought as a 16 year old sophomore in high school in 1975. This car was fricking huge and would seat 7 kids comfortably on a road trip for lunch. I loved this car but had to sell it when my dad up and moved us to Virginia a year later. I then had a 68 Firebird with a 350 in her that was a great car until I put her into a wall. [:'(]

But the coolest car I have ever owned is one I have owned for 11 years, and gotten a ton of fun from. She has gone from totally stock, to a mildly modified autocross car to a full-blown road racer that can still be driven on the streets. She is now a 385 stroker, with nothing but the best internals, Be-Cool radiator, Mocal oil cooler, 3-qt accusump, Canton race pan, ATI Harmonic Balancer, McLeod Street Twin clutch, Wilwood 6-pot/4-pot brakes and so much more. Suffice it to say she can handle her own out on a road course and is a total blast to drive.

Mike

[oldtimer]

Explain 3 qt. accusump. Does this add to the overall oil capacity?

[Mike Lindsey]

Explain 3 qt. accusump. Does this add to the overall oil capacity?

Yes... with a 7 qt pan, 3 qt accusump and a 25 row oil cooler, my car takes 11 qts of Mobil One on every oil change.

An accusump is a place to hold extra oil, and gets thrown into the block during hard cornering (loss of oil pressure) and then returns when it's not needed (via a valve). It's also a pre-oiler.

http://www.accusump.com/

Mike