Need advice on older model cars, please...

coubob

Celestial
It was merely of a suggestion that maybe there is more cars out there to found other than them 3.
But i have always liked Olds, and i would choose the cutlass. i used to have a 71 442 that i had doin low 10`s in the 1/4 i used to drive the hell out of it, people had offered me 30g for it before but i said hell no im luvin driving it, and the guy i bought it from worked at the central offices of gm and special ordered it. COPO olds?????never was one or was there?
 
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coubob

Celestial
I`ve had Facebook for a while and deleted it, and after bout 6 months i ended back up on there as a means to keep in touch with family like the reunion that coming up soon. last time there was over 150 people there, but any how dreaming? my wifes car is a 90 towncar, ive grown to love it but dont trust anybodys driving for me to relax in the back. tried to get the ol lady to let me fix it up kinda like this
 

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
I hear that!

This guy is local to me. Home

I was never into fins but somehow driving past this place my head keeps turning to see what he has sitting there. The old 'vette is fun but you have to open the door and then kind of slither down into it; more of a cockpit than a seat. I'm 6'3" and the idea of having a vehicle big enough to warrant it's own zip code has some appeal.

This pic is a very, very close copy of a '75 Cadillac my neighbor left sitting under a pine tree for years. I could've had it for a song. He died. Now I see it around town all spiffed up. Just a pipe dream - I have nowhere to keep it. But it's a three ton pile of coolness
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That has got to be one of the biggest Caddies ever. The next version was something like a thousand pounds lighter as Detroit entered the Dark Times and went on an emergency diet. Who knew that car buyers would balk at pouring $.75 gas into giant roadboats? I had a '73 Grand Prix, a great "mid size" car. Very reliable, very comfortable, plenty of power and easy to work on. It got around 16 mpg on the highway, pretty good for its time.

You and I have Harley Earl to thank for all those GM cars that we can fit comfortably in. Harley Earl - Wikipedia He retired about the time I was born, but he cast a long shadow at GM. He was 6' 4" and so powerful within the company that if he couldn't drive it comfortably, it didn't get built. John Delorean was about the same size, along with some others high up in the food chain I think.

I had a very pretty '75 Granada that was an ergonomic nightmare. I didn't keep it long because it made my back hurt driving to work and back, half an hour each way or so. It had a factory 8 track tape player and a column shifter. You could only insert or remove a tape if the shifter was in park, or maybe low. The whole car was like that. It had a wheezy six and got terrible mileage.

I drove a few Corvettes back in the day. Always wanted one but I'm too cheap.
 

coubob

Celestial
I hear that!

This guy is local to me. Home

I was never into fins but somehow driving past this place my head keeps turning to see what he has sitting there. The old 'vette is fun but you have to open the door and then kind of slither down into it; more of a cockpit than a seat. I'm 6'3" and the idea of having a vehicle big enough to warrant it's own zip code has some appeal.

This pic is a very, very close copy of a '75 Cadillac my neighbor left sitting under a pine tree for years. I could've had it for a song. He died. Now I see it around town all spiffed up. Just a pipe dream - I have nowhere to keep it. But it's a three ton pile of coolness
maxresdefault.jpg
When i first got my license to drive, my parents had a blue 77 sedan deville that had all the bells and whistles, i remember the hood seeming like it went on forever, the whole right side was bashed in like someone rode the guardrail though, looked like the blue caddie in the Highlander movie
 

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
This is a close copy of one of the favorite cars I ever had: Thunderpig
440px-Plymouth_Gran_Fury_Suburban_1975.jpg


I don't think I have any photos of the actual one I had. '75 Gran Fury Wagon. Still love those station wagons. The interior had been stripped bare and one side had been smashed in. Bought it for a hundred bucks from a guy I worked with. He called it the Slosh Wagon. Fixed the brakes - something minor the previous owner wasn't up to. Literally used a pry bar and sledge to get the passenger doors to work. Previously, I had torn the green interior out of my '68 charger and sold it to this guy for $100. I wound up installing the bucket seats and front carpet in it so I guess I technically got the thing for free.

Twenty feet of pure rolling hell. Don't exactly remember the motor other than large and healthy and quite capable of lighting up a rear tire - only one, no posi. The only other adornment I added was a sheet of plywood in the back. Classy.
Thunderpig bought it on a guardrail in a snowstorm one day. They recycled it into 14 other cars I'm sure.

At the time I did that to a car that was less than ten years old. Kind of sets the bar, eh? How long vehicles were expected to last then versus now. These days 200k+ mileage is considered normal. Back then you had to have a Volvo or - yes it's true - a Dodge Dart to do that. Those slant sixes will run forever - if you can just get the f*****g things started .......
 

nivek

As Above So Below
Which car did you decide on or are you still looking?...

...
 

michael59

Celestial
Well, the cutlass was a no go. It was in bad shape underneath, all rusted out and the windshield was all cracked.

All the cars I listed on here are gone. I am now looking at this one...

For sale | Classic Cars | Edmonton | Kijiji

It's not what I wanted, but now that winter is so close, pickings are slim.

I have to email the person first and then make plans to meet up. I had planned to be rid of my old car but the guy never showed up. That put me behind a little bit. He also said he had nothing to pop the lock on my old car. I am going to call AMA today and have them do it. Then I can get my stuff out of the car and try calling again to get it towed away.
 

nivek

As Above So Below
Toyota's are reliable cars for the most part and work well in high mileage too, I know someone who had a Corolla and was driving it with over 300,000 miles, it was a good car for him...

...
 

michael59

Celestial
I've already decided against it because it has a catalytic converter. That's why my old car was vandalized, they cut it off so they could sell to scrap metal yard for $50- $60 . It costs almost $500 to replace. And what would be the point of replacing it. They would just steal it again. :(
 

Captain Tinkle

Honorable
I tell everyone who will listen that I am so sick of these cars made after the year 1996. They're like plastic computers with wheels. Nothing but, fuses "chips" & "sensors" that constantly need fixing or replacing.

They fly apart when you get in a minor accident and either get written off by insurance or they cost thousands of dollars in repairs.

If I could, I would drive a tank. I want to feel protected. If something hits me, I want it to bounce off me and not even leave a scratch.

My mechanic is old school and is really handy with the older model cars, but he's in high demand and I can't just bug him every time I have a question about cars. I want him to be my bud forever when it comes to fixing my cars. He's great with people and never over charges or talks down to you even if you are female. He's a rare find nowadays.

I don't have much money so, luckily older model cars are pretty cheap and most parts are a dime a dozen. At least for now they are, but I know it also depends on the make & model.

I also live in a high crime area so, I don't want to get a car that will cause too much attention or it will get vandalized or stolen.

These are the vehicles that I have earmarked for now and I was hoping I could get some opinions from you guys & gals. I am doing the research as well and have crossed off the quite a few that are not reliable. I live in Canada and the weather is brutal year round. Summer is tornado, hail & severe thunderstorm/windstorm weather. It also gets really hot here in summer for example tomorrow it will be 30C which is around 90 degree Fahrenheit range. I have a weak heart so, the car must have air conditioning. In the winter temperatures can drop as low as -50 without a windchill factor and we get a lot of snow. That means it must have a block heater and it must have a good heater inside the car as well. Rear wheel drive is best for winter driving but, it's not a must since I do have emergency road service that provides 5 free calls a year. I don't own a cell phone but hey, it's Canada, when people see you stuck or stalled somewhere they are quick to offer help, believe it or not, even the teenagers are great about helping.

I really want this cougar, yeah, I know...a cougar for a cougar...hahaha... it has air conditioning and rear wheel drive. But, they don't make them anymore so, parts? And theft? Could be a problem, right? He wants $1000 for it but I think I can get it for about $700 or maybe $800. What do you think?

96 mercury cougar | Classic Cars | Edmonton | Kijiji

I really like the oldsmoble cutlass supreme. I had a 95 but I had my first accident in April of 2017 and it was too costly to repair. I only get personal liability insurance because these cars are just beaters after all.

This one is a 97 but I could forgive that if he will come down in price a little. It has had only one owner and all paperwork is available. I don't know what he means when he says, "it's not perfect by any means". Scares me a little and also he lives quite a distance away but I could probably get him to bring it to me...for a price. What do you think?

1997 cutlass supreme | Cars & Trucks | St. Albert | Kijiji

I love the idea of owning this one but, what the hell does he mean when he says it has a spark problem? Other than that it is perfect. Anyone know what a spark problem is? What do you think?

1980 Ford LTD | Classic Cars | Edmonton | Kijiji

See, I have a serious problem with motion sickness so, I cannot use public transit. I am not able to sit in a car unless it is in the front passenger seat and only for short distances. If I am driving, I have no issues whatsoever with motion sickness.

I can't keep paying for taxi's it cost way too much. I can't even get to the post office. They closed the one next to me in April. I want to send pigfarmer money for postage but, I would have to take a taxi to the bank, find a phone, call a taxi and go to the post office, find a phone and call a taxi to get home again.

I need a car!! lol

Guessing you are a man who knows what he is doing when it comes to "classic cars". Part of the problem with classics is the amount of work you have to put in to keep them running.

My friend has/had a Morris Minor Traveller. He purchased this at the age of 17. Drove it for about a year then he decided he was going to strip it, replace the wood (they can suffer from rot), sort the rust, rebuild the engine etc...

He is now 29 and still not finished. Trained mechanical engineer by trade so he knows what he is doing just he never has the time. Now sits in the garage

However if looked after they do keep their value (at least certain classics do in the UK).
 

michael59

Celestial
Well first off, I'm female. And I don't know very much about autos. lol

Turns out all cars from 1975 til today have catalytic converters. I just found that out by googling it. Apparently it is not an issue in Alberta though. We don't have inspections or emissions laws yet. We do have inspections but not if you are just getting personal liability insurance.

What I have been doing is each time I see a car posting that I might want to purchase, I take the year, make & model and go to a site where people write reviews about it. It's very informative and has saved me a few times from buying lemons.

I am now upset because it means my car was targeted. It had to be my so called best friend that took me for all my savings and even stole all my valuables from my house, including all of my food. When I look back now, I do recall it happening a few weeks before he moved out of my building. So it was most likely him that did the deed. Hopefully now that he's gone I won't have any problems with the cat getting stolen.

That means the corolla is back on my list.
 

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
Morris Minor Traveller

Had to look that one up. OK. Wondering if the interior door frames are still wood in that thing. They might be.
The game's the thing, you see. It matters less what you are working on than the fact that you are working on it.

In the rare times I go to these meets/shows you'll find the visitors talking about statistics and horsepower and the guys who built the things swapping recipes, talking about vinyl dye and bitching about shipping costs for parts.
 

Rick Hunter

Celestial
Michael59, I was a car mechanic for my first career and still do alot of that stuff at home. Hit me up if I can give you any advice!
 

michael59

Celestial
What do you guys of this one...

Buick LeSabre | Cars & Trucks | Edmonton | Kijiji

They are 30 minutes out of the city but, I'm thinking that if I offer to pay the full asking price they might bring it to me. I could meet them at AMA (Alberta Motor Association) near my place and that way I can get it registered & insured right away. I can get $200 for my old car from the scrap company which means I only have to come up with $400 cash.

They think it needs to be re-certified which costs about $200 but, I don't have to do that. I already checked it out.
 

michael59

Celestial
Okay, I spoke to Buick guy, very nice man. Mechanic by trade. He said all it needs is a wheel alignment and a new battery. We talked for over an hour. I believe he is a good guy. He's even willing to install the battery for me. Batteries are freak'n heavy. lol

I searched the corolla and they are apparently nothing but engine problems after the 200, 000 k. mark. Engine shakes and oil burns and whatever holds the engine in place (I forget what their called) break. And apparently you start to burn gas a lot faster. This corolla has 270,000 already. The Buick will last me another 10 years he says if that's all I am using it for is to shop & see doctors around the city.

So, $600 for the car, $200 for alignment & whatever a battery will cost.
 

michael59

Celestial
Oh, I forgot to add that Toyota Camry's are the ones that will run forever. That must be what your friend drives, Nivek. :)
 
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