Da Eighties

[Smokin Joe]

@RAT Patrol is that a Pacer?

Chevy Vega '74 or later.

[Gefn]

Chevy Vega '74 or later.

Dang, I should have gotten that. My first car was a blue Pontiac Ventura. 76.Remember when Chevy, Pontiac, Buick and Oldsmobile all made the same car but just changed the interior and maybe a little on the exterior, but it was the same car?

And you could pick what color interior you wanted?

Gosh that car took a bruising but it was my favorite car. I learned how to drive in it. 

[Smokin Joe]

Dang, I should have gotten that. My first car was a blue Pontiac Ventura. 76.Remember when Chevy, Pontiac, Buick and Oldsmobile all made the same car but just changed the interior and maybe a little on the exterior, but it was the same car?

And you could pick what color interior you wanted?

Gosh that car took a bruising but it was my favorite car. I learned how to drive in it.

The brand new '74 Vega (standard transmission, 4 cylinder engine, no power anything) was $1999.99 plus tax. It was a remarkably capable car on twisty roads once you had the lag between stepping on the pedal and having power down, so long as you drove it up and downshifting appropriately. I had one airborne for about 100 ft. once, but that is another story...

[Gefn]

The brand new '74 Vega (standard transmission, 4 cylinder engine, no power anything) was $1999.99 plus tax. It was a remarkably capable car on twisty roads once you had the lag between stepping on the pedal and having power down, so long as you drove it up and downshifting appropriately. I had one airborne for about 100 ft. once, but that is another story...

I remember my Ventura had a AM radio( no FM) but I bought an 8 track player with babysitting money.

Ten years ago when my parents moved out of the house I grew up in into a smaller house, they found a box with a bunch of 8 track tapes inside. They threw them out. My sister tried to sell them on Craig's List. No one wanted them.

[mirraflake]

I had a 72 Vega GT with a 350 V-8 in it and 350 turbo tranny-not factory obviously. Went through 3 stock rear ends and finally put in a shortened 12 bolt.

Car was wicked but was severely twisted due to all the power..should have installed subframe connectors but I was young kid.

[Smokin Joe]

I remember my Ventura had a AM radio( no FM) but I bought an 8 track player with babysitting money.

Ten years ago when my parents moved out of the house I grew up in into a smaller house, they found a box with a bunch of 8 track tapes inside. They threw them out. My sister tried to sell them on Craig's List. No one wanted them.

I still have a bunch somewhere. Up until a few years ago we had a '78 Lincoln Town Coupe and a '79 Town Car, and both had the 8-track players (the Town Car even had a factory installed CB).
We bought both used and cheap at about 20 years old, but they were still luxury cars, and fun to drive. The last of the big boats, one had a 460 and the other a 400 cubic inch engine. The 400, though was a bad design for this climate. You were supposed to warm up the engine while driving (Imagine trying to scrape frost off the inside of the windshield and drive in a North Dakota winter!). If you warmed it up at idle, though the engine would carbon up, so you had to take it out for a run once a week or so to blow the carbon out...
The 460 had gobs of power and didn't even work hard getting that boat up to 80 MPH on the interstate....

[Gefn]

I love old cars. I don't know if it's me but cars today don't have souls, the old cars had personalities the new ones are devoid of that, just computer chips.

Maybe soul is the wrong word. They seemed to be magical. New cars don't get me excited like that.

[Smokin Joe]

I love old cars. I don't know if it's me but cars today don't have souls, the old cars had personalities the new ones are devoid of that, just computer chips.

Maybe soul is the wrong word. They seemed to be magical. New cars don't get me excited like that.

I agree. The older ones had enough character to get nicknames. Besides, you haven't lived (if you're a guy) until you changed out your points and condenser stuck somewhere (you carried spares in the glove box with a feeler gauge and screwdriver). The newer ones all look pretty much alike, and you can't do much 'shadetree wrenching' on them. Meh.

[Cripplecreek]

I love old cars. I don't know if it's me but cars today don't have souls, the old cars had personalities the new ones are devoid of that, just computer chips.

Maybe soul is the wrong word. They seemed to be magical. New cars don't get me excited like that.

You can't work on cars these days either.

My dad is selling most of his tools because most of them have become useless. I told him to hang on to them till next summer and we'll hit the classic car shows and we can find buyers who have use for them.

[dfwgator]

@Cripplecreek

You forgot one of the best things about the 80s.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uThjULHBrjo

Hey Chicago, now THIS is how you celebrate a World Series win!

[Smokin Joe]

You can't work on cars these days either.

My dad is selling most of his tools because most of them have become useless. I told him to hang on to them till next summer and we'll hit the classic car shows and we can find buyers who have use for them.

If he has old tools, sometimes those are collectors items in themselves.
Not so much call for kingpin reamers and the like nowadays, but the car shows are a good bet (or e-bay--good to check to get some idea what they are worth).
I have an assortment of oddball tools I picked up at the local Pawn shop and the occasional auction, and yes, because I have a couple of older vehicles, I can use them. I did avoid ones I couldn't use, though.

The newer vehicles go to my mechanic friend who puts them on the computer he has--quite the gadget, but more than I can afford for hobby wrenching. I have seen him use it to set timing and compensate for gear backlash in the distributor in a 200K old 5.7 liter vortec engine, and have it humming like new. That's neat, but it isn't like getting out the tach and dwell meter, timing light, and the vacuum gauge...or setting it by ear...  The good ol' days, when being a good mechanic was as much an art as science.

[bigheadfred]

@Axeslinger

The reason I picked up a bass guitar.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMn7I5VYi4g

A fave album. Ronnie James Dio. Tony can play a lick.

[bigheadfred]

...or setting it by ear...  The good ol' days, when being a good mechanic was as much an art as science.

Listening to the engine with a stick.

[Oceander]

I still have a bunch somewhere. Up until a few years ago we had a '78 Lincoln Town Coupe and a '79 Town Car, and both had the 8-track players (the Town Car even had a factory installed CB).
We bought both used and cheap at about 20 years old, but they were still luxury cars, and fun to drive. The last of the big boats, one had a 460 and the other a 400 cubic inch engine. The 400, though was a bad design for this climate. You were supposed to warm up the engine while driving (Imagine trying to scrape frost off the inside of the windshield and drive in a North Dakota winter!). If you warmed it up at idle, though the engine would carbon up, so you had to take it out for a run once a week or so to blow the carbon out...
The 460 had gobs of power and didn't even work hard getting that boat up to 80 MPH on the interstate....

Oh boy!  Had a 1976 Lincoln Continental Mark IV for a few years.  That 460 was incredible (thank goodness gas was a lot cheaper back when I had it).  No limited slip in the differential was a bit of a pain though, especially on ice. 

Funny story:  I drove out to Ohio with it once when (a) it was badly out of tune and (b) the exhaust pipe was loose at the y-juncture for the exhaust manifolds.  I was sitting at a light when it stalled.  I cranked and cranked and cranked on the starter for several minutes.  Of course, the exhaust system filled up with unburnt fuel.  Finally it caught, and blew the exhaust pipe clean off the manifolds.  I wired it up to the frame so it wouldn't drag (the end had collapsed so I couldn't clamp it back on for love or money), and then carefully drove the remaining 4 hours as gingerly as possible, accelerating gently and coasting whenever a cop was nearby (I was in Virginia and West Virginia and at the time they would definitely pull you over for a busted muffler).
Fun car.  It was pale yellow with a brown landau top; my friends called it the pimpmobile.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

First car I drove was a 1981 Volvo station wagon. Only car I've  ever driven with a choke.

[Cripplecreek]

First car I drove was a 1981 Volvo station wagon. Only car I've  ever driven with a choke.

My first car was a 73 Mercury Montego. I paid $300 for it.

[Smokin Joe]

Listening to the engine with a stick.

Finding the stuck lifter or bad valve...I have done that.

[Sanguine]

My first car was a '62 VW beetle.  I loved it.  Great car.  If it stopped, you just pushed it.

One icy winter night my brothers and their buddies picked it up and put it on the front porch.

[Oceander]

First car I drove was a 1981 Volvo station wagon. Only car I've  ever driven with a choke.

The 1974 Dodge/Mitsubishi colt I had was retrofitted with a manual choke.  That was fun to play with. I used it once to evade the old Virginia safety inspection by using it to make the engine start sputtering when the guy covered up the tailpipe (that way he wouldn't discover how badly the exhaust pipe had rusted.  Eventually I fixed the pipe. 

[Gefn]

My first car was my mom's 1976 Pontiac Ventura. It was blue, four door, blue seats. Loved that baby. I learned to drive in it. Had it for about ten years until about 1988 when it just died. I got it in 81.

It had an AM radio. I paid for an 8 track player with babysitting money and had it installed. I couldn't afford an FM radio.

It also had a bench seat. I'm 5 feet tall. I remember,any boys would be in the front seat with me would end up with their legs hitting the glove box. :)

[geronl]

I remember,any boys would be in the front seat with me would end up with their legs hitting the glove box. :)

TMI! TMI! 

[Gefn]

TMI! TMI! 

It should have been knees, not legs.

Bucket seats were like a miracle when they came out.

[geronl]

It should have been knees, not legs.

Bucket seats were like a miracle when they came out.

I'm  big guy and I need to move seats back for the leg room