YBNormal
Active Member
For any coupsters suffering insomnia, here is my (long) list of drives to date over nearly 5 decades:
1948 Dodge "Fluid Drive" coupe - Chrysler experimented with some strange drive trains prior to the automatic. Mine was a conventional 3 on the column, but with a torque converter. You could start in 3rd by just letting out the clutch and stomping on the gas, the result of which it took off like a scalded snail....good for laughs when you're 16.
1950 Chevy hardtop - converted from Powerglide, so no X member under the tranny which made swaps a breeze. Handy if you played Donny Drag Racer and occassionally lunched a gearbox - got so I could do the job in an hour. It had 235 CID instead of 216, would chirp the tires going into high (3rd).
1959 Impala - 348 with "TurDboglide", Chevy's lame version of Buick's Dynaflow. White with red interior, at least the chicks dug it.
1960 Pontiac Catalina - formerly the family car, clean looking Black 2 door hardtop and very quick for it's time with the Hydramatic. Was all set to make a C/Stocker of it at the local drags when Uncle Sam beckoned.
1959 bug-eyed Sprite - a piece of crap but fun, in the Army now. Went to an SCCA national in Phoenix and had an AWAKENING. Big races in those days (1966), saw Jerry Titus in an early 911 and a Porsche sports/racer. Most memorable was Dan Parkinson in a Fiat Abarth giving the Mini's fits.
1964 MGB - had it perfected with Chariot Red acrylic lacquer. But some unfortunate driving experiments in the snow led to it's being crunched, didn't turn out as well next time. I am among those who learned the hard way that "steering into the skid" is of little value in a car with locomotive springs and a low center of gravity.
1968 Z28 Camaro - Less than the sum of it's parts. Too much cam with a 3.73 gear, essential with a long commute. In less than a year the BMW 2002 and Fiat 124 Coupe were introduced - what have I done? But it was very tough to beat in a drag race from a 20 mph rolling start.
1970 Fiat 124 sedan - the realities of raising a family. Much better than a 510 as delivered, with radials and 4 wheel discs. A tie for best overall with the '98 Civic further down. And no, Tony didn't have much to fix, a blown head gasket because the owner wasn't bright enough to torque the aluminum head periodically.
1972 Fiat 124 Coupe - last of the good years, geat performance for the money. Bought for $3,600, drove it for 2+ years and 32K and sold if for $3,250 when we moved from Kent (Seattle area) to San Jose.
1976 Plymouth Volare - my "urban renewal", thought I was ready to plug around in an automatic, a real dog. We still had the '70 Fiat which would run rings around it on Hwy 17, could load 3 kids with beach gear and carve through the traffic on the way to Santa Cruz. The experiment lasted 1½ years, dumped it for a.....
1973 Volvo 164 - 4 spd. OD, a great ROAD HOG, made it from S.J. to Portland in just over 10 hours with 2 small kids. Tipsy even with big sway bars, but the smooth torquey 6 was great on the freeway.
1977 Lancia Beta Sedan - close but no cigar, fragile like our coupes but had it's virtues. With a header and ANSA exhaust it could get out of it's own way, and very solid from the safety angle.
1986 Jetta GL - another great cruiser with the O.D., very torquey and flexible for 1.7L.
1985 Audi 5000 - steel blue with 5 speed, not fast but a great car for the money thanks to 60 minutes. Very economical except for it's penchant to visit the garage at least twice a year for $500 "treatments."
1992 Mazda Protege LX - red with grey fabric, a hot rod for it's time, totalled it on the Nimitz in a chain collision heading out to golf on a day with very slim prospects. That addiction is as bad as the 4 wheeled one. Partner none too happy as this was primarily her car. But all was made right, see below.....
1987 Audi GT - Wish I still had this one, very fond of small well balanced coupes. Much quicker than 130 HP would indicate.
1991 Mazda Protege LX - peace restored at home. Found one in great shape, plenty good enough for the wife's 3 mile commute. A nice light metallic blue, a shade or two darker than Fjord, which The Coupe will eventually be. We still have it, as she's retired unless something else comes along, a spare car.
1993 Audi 90S - an off-white business car, not exciting but solid and very good on the freeway, handy when commuting from San Jose to Oakland. But had the same penchant for those $500 visits to support the local garage, which led to.....
1998 Honda Civic LX 5 spd. - a tie for best overall with the 124 sedan. A very comfortable car for 2 people, handled much better with the addition of Bilsteins and poly bushings. Put 137K on it in a little over 4 years, never missed a beat and averaged nearly 37 mpg. The softer suspension than the SI was better suited for driving the Nimitz (880) 85 miles a day.
2001 Dodge Stratus SE 2.7 - good daily driver, the automatic nice for just running errands with a gimpy left knee. Has the auto-stick, good for merging as I have a terrible touch with downshifts, either nothing happens or it kicks down to first! Still have it, which brings us to.....
1973 CSi - looked for a 911 project and thought of these, something different and more conventional to work on. As for the future....
I like symmetry - the little blue Mazda will be 18 in 2009, and the CSi 36. Why not a '73 911 Targa to compliment The Coupe for some top-down driving? An 18 year old "practical car" and a pair of 36 year old classics, makes perfect sense dontcha think? My wife loves the Maxda and it's in great shape for 115K, so I have a chance to pull this off. I still work full-time, but at home, so I have a little more time for car nonsense.
Zzzzzzzz.....
1948 Dodge "Fluid Drive" coupe - Chrysler experimented with some strange drive trains prior to the automatic. Mine was a conventional 3 on the column, but with a torque converter. You could start in 3rd by just letting out the clutch and stomping on the gas, the result of which it took off like a scalded snail....good for laughs when you're 16.
1950 Chevy hardtop - converted from Powerglide, so no X member under the tranny which made swaps a breeze. Handy if you played Donny Drag Racer and occassionally lunched a gearbox - got so I could do the job in an hour. It had 235 CID instead of 216, would chirp the tires going into high (3rd).
1959 Impala - 348 with "TurDboglide", Chevy's lame version of Buick's Dynaflow. White with red interior, at least the chicks dug it.
1960 Pontiac Catalina - formerly the family car, clean looking Black 2 door hardtop and very quick for it's time with the Hydramatic. Was all set to make a C/Stocker of it at the local drags when Uncle Sam beckoned.
1959 bug-eyed Sprite - a piece of crap but fun, in the Army now. Went to an SCCA national in Phoenix and had an AWAKENING. Big races in those days (1966), saw Jerry Titus in an early 911 and a Porsche sports/racer. Most memorable was Dan Parkinson in a Fiat Abarth giving the Mini's fits.
1964 MGB - had it perfected with Chariot Red acrylic lacquer. But some unfortunate driving experiments in the snow led to it's being crunched, didn't turn out as well next time. I am among those who learned the hard way that "steering into the skid" is of little value in a car with locomotive springs and a low center of gravity.
1968 Z28 Camaro - Less than the sum of it's parts. Too much cam with a 3.73 gear, essential with a long commute. In less than a year the BMW 2002 and Fiat 124 Coupe were introduced - what have I done? But it was very tough to beat in a drag race from a 20 mph rolling start.
1970 Fiat 124 sedan - the realities of raising a family. Much better than a 510 as delivered, with radials and 4 wheel discs. A tie for best overall with the '98 Civic further down. And no, Tony didn't have much to fix, a blown head gasket because the owner wasn't bright enough to torque the aluminum head periodically.
1972 Fiat 124 Coupe - last of the good years, geat performance for the money. Bought for $3,600, drove it for 2+ years and 32K and sold if for $3,250 when we moved from Kent (Seattle area) to San Jose.
1976 Plymouth Volare - my "urban renewal", thought I was ready to plug around in an automatic, a real dog. We still had the '70 Fiat which would run rings around it on Hwy 17, could load 3 kids with beach gear and carve through the traffic on the way to Santa Cruz. The experiment lasted 1½ years, dumped it for a.....
1973 Volvo 164 - 4 spd. OD, a great ROAD HOG, made it from S.J. to Portland in just over 10 hours with 2 small kids. Tipsy even with big sway bars, but the smooth torquey 6 was great on the freeway.
1977 Lancia Beta Sedan - close but no cigar, fragile like our coupes but had it's virtues. With a header and ANSA exhaust it could get out of it's own way, and very solid from the safety angle.
1986 Jetta GL - another great cruiser with the O.D., very torquey and flexible for 1.7L.
1985 Audi 5000 - steel blue with 5 speed, not fast but a great car for the money thanks to 60 minutes. Very economical except for it's penchant to visit the garage at least twice a year for $500 "treatments."
1992 Mazda Protege LX - red with grey fabric, a hot rod for it's time, totalled it on the Nimitz in a chain collision heading out to golf on a day with very slim prospects. That addiction is as bad as the 4 wheeled one. Partner none too happy as this was primarily her car. But all was made right, see below.....
1987 Audi GT - Wish I still had this one, very fond of small well balanced coupes. Much quicker than 130 HP would indicate.
1991 Mazda Protege LX - peace restored at home. Found one in great shape, plenty good enough for the wife's 3 mile commute. A nice light metallic blue, a shade or two darker than Fjord, which The Coupe will eventually be. We still have it, as she's retired unless something else comes along, a spare car.
1993 Audi 90S - an off-white business car, not exciting but solid and very good on the freeway, handy when commuting from San Jose to Oakland. But had the same penchant for those $500 visits to support the local garage, which led to.....
1998 Honda Civic LX 5 spd. - a tie for best overall with the 124 sedan. A very comfortable car for 2 people, handled much better with the addition of Bilsteins and poly bushings. Put 137K on it in a little over 4 years, never missed a beat and averaged nearly 37 mpg. The softer suspension than the SI was better suited for driving the Nimitz (880) 85 miles a day.
2001 Dodge Stratus SE 2.7 - good daily driver, the automatic nice for just running errands with a gimpy left knee. Has the auto-stick, good for merging as I have a terrible touch with downshifts, either nothing happens or it kicks down to first! Still have it, which brings us to.....
1973 CSi - looked for a 911 project and thought of these, something different and more conventional to work on. As for the future....
I like symmetry - the little blue Mazda will be 18 in 2009, and the CSi 36. Why not a '73 911 Targa to compliment The Coupe for some top-down driving? An 18 year old "practical car" and a pair of 36 year old classics, makes perfect sense dontcha think? My wife loves the Maxda and it's in great shape for 115K, so I have a chance to pull this off. I still work full-time, but at home, so I have a little more time for car nonsense.
Zzzzzzzz.....
