Cars

[bic]

That probably explains all the horror stoies I've heard from assorted relatives; they all had early 60s Beetles that never warmed up and were apparently easy as frig to steal.

My Beetle will take an '05 Acura RSX in the quarter, and any V6 Camaro ever made (Though that ain't sayin' much).

Yeah, but...

I drive a '72 VW Beetle.
Stock? Easy 36MPG in town. (And 30 on the highway, lawl)

And, with modification, you'd be amazed what they can do!
1776cc dual-port Big-Bore engine, Dual Weber 40IDF Carbs, Bosch 009 performance distributor, Engle 110 Cam.
It's worth the work, with this setup, I get a staggering 15MPG in town, and 9MPG highway!

Now that's Ecomodding.

A modern ecobox will be almost as fast and still get 30+ MPG.

(second page snipe in a row... )

 

[Basement_Modder]

Get a late '80s ford tempo with 150,000+ miles on it and more rust than a shipping yard. Ladies love 'em.

 

[robm]

Oh look, a car thread.

If you have relatives that are mechanics, then reliable + good on gas + cheap to fix = any mid-size GM car with a 3800 Series II V6. For $6500, you could get a supercharged Bonneville, which would be far from a grandma car - they're fun to drive, and reasonably powerful. They typically have leather interior, sunroof, and ride very very well.

That one is going for $4500.

 

[jleemero]

I forgot how good the Bonneville's got.
It's like, in 1999 some guy at Pontiac found a pill that turned his flax into gold, and personally funded making the Bonneville GOOD for the first time since 1976.

Instead of, you know, keeping the company afloat.

 

[themadhacker]

ge t a buick century via 1989-94. great cars and great mileage. I've got a 92. her name is sharon and love her to death. got a posable gumby strapped to the hood ornament

 

[bud]

I'm kinda leaning towards the Honda civic. I saw a sporty two door one today and I fell in love.

 

[vskid3]

I'm kinda leaning towards the Honda civic. I saw a sporty two door one today and I fell in love.

lol, sporty Civic. If you like the two door coupe, look at the HX trim. Gets better mileage than the others, and even has more power than the base engine (I would have gotten one, but neither of the ones I called on had sellers that would answer their phone ). The stock rims on them are kinda cool, too, and make it easy to pick them out (assuming they're stock).

 

[Bush]

Ew early 90's. Whats your budget? You should be able to get a pretty decent civic with low miles from 98'ish and beyond.

 

[Basement_Modder]

Get this:

 

[bic]

I'm kinda leaning towards the Honda civic. I saw a sporty two door one today and I fell in love.

If you buy that, especially if it's a mid-80s to late 90s model, this is what your driveway will statistically look like the next day:

2-door and hatchback Civics get stolen a lot

The first-generation Ford Focus is pretty good, and you should be able to find a nice one within your budget easily. The hatchback models tiny back windows and massive C-pillars, though, so rear visibility is not that great. (The sedan and wagon are fine.)

 

[bud]

Thats not the one I was talking about. It's the coupe.

 

[vskid3]

I'm kinda leaning towards the Honda civic. I saw a sporty two door one today and I fell in love.

If you buy that, especially if it's a mid-80s to late 90s model, this is what your driveway will statistically look like the next day:

)
2-door and hatchback Civics get stolen a lot

Sedan FTW!!

So you want one of those newfangled Civics? I don't know anything about them (if I'm paying that much, I'm getting something better), but I haven't heard anything bad about them. It looks like the nose is a bit shorter than mine (I swear, mine sticks out as far as a Viper's), but that might just be the horizontal windshield.

 

[ttsgeb]

That looks like a nice motorcycle, good choice. Although I could tell you more if that silly car wasn't in the way.

 

[Bush]

Im assuming none of you like SUV's.

 

[bud]

I like money in my pocket, so no I don't like SUVs.

 

[bic]

Trucks yes, old trucks Heck yes, SUVs no. (Except the Trailduster and first generation Bronco.)

 

[jleemero]

Trucks yes, old trucks Heck yes, SUVs no. (Except the Trailduster and first generation Bronco.)

Agree'd on all counts. (With teeny exception, being a special place in my heart for the 1971 GMC Jimmy.)

 

[vskid3]

There's nothing wrong with with trucks and SUVs (real SUVs, the ones built on truck frames, none of this "crossover" minivanwithoutslidingdoors crap, Cherokees get included because they have solid axles). Its just that in these days of high gas prices, its hard to justify ~16MPG highway in something that will likely never leave the pavement, never haul rocks, or never tow a trailer. If you're not going to use it for what it was designed to do, you might as well just get a car.

 

[bud]

There's nothing wrong with with trucks and SUVs (real SUVs, the ones built on truck frames, none of this "crossover" minivanwithoutslidingdoors crap, Cherokees get included because they have solid axles). Its just that in these days of high gas prices, its hard to justify ~16MPG highway in something that will likely never leave the pavement, never haul rocks, or never tow a trailer. If you're not going to use it for what it was designed to do, you might as well just get a car.

Exactly.

Besides I have my fathers 94 chevy if I ever need to haul anything.

 

[bic]

I'd like to see more old car and truck projects with modern drivetrains installed. D-series pickup with a 2004 Cummins? Fox Body with the EcoBoost engine from the 2011 SHO? Buick Grand National with an LS7?

But no. Everybody would much rather old guzzler of an engine in there with a bigass carburettor on top, just like the cars back in ye olde days had. I hate carbs. It's a miracle the contraptions worked in the first place. You can get much more power and efficiency out of a modern EFI setup.

Unlike the bodies, engines and drivetrains in cars have improved as time went on.

With teeny exception, being a special place in my heart for the 1971 GMC Jimmy.

I almost forgot about the K5s.

@vskid 16 MPG? Try 13 MPG. That's what our D200 got when it was still on the road. The trans is geared crazy low, then it has 4.10 gears in the differential on top of that.

Apologies for the derail.

Those Civics are pretty good, a buddy of mine has the sedan model and likes it a lot. If you can get a decent price on it, go for it. Honda engines generally only need regular wear parts, oil, and a timing belt every 100k or so miles.