RWD stick shift "family" car... and fairly recent?

ray wrote:
> N8N wrote:
> > Steve wrote:
> >>> (looks at 1957 vintage Longines on wrist)
> >>>
> >>> so? If I'm willing to pay for it, who cares?
> >> (Looks at 1970s vintage Zodiac triple-date on wrist)
> >>
> >> Not me, that's for sure! :-)
> >
> > There seems to be a lot of crossover that I didn't really recognize
> > until recently... it does seem that a lot of "car guys" tend to
> > appreciate anything mechanical. I guess that's not really surprising,
> > however.
> >
> >> But you and I both know you can maintain several Studebakers for the
> >> payment on a one new transportation appliance, so I'd say you're not
> >> "paying" for it at all.
> >
> > This is probably true, but when you're starting with someone else's
> > abandoned project, and not really "maintaining" it so much as "turning
> > it into the car I really wanted" - then I am paying for it.
> >
> > But again, *I* am paying for it, so who else cares? (besides the
> > Y-chromosome-deficient finance department, that is.) By the time it's
> > actually dependable regular transportation, I will probably have hit
> > the OP's price cap though. Not that I keep records of such things; I
> > deliberately do not, so as not to depress myself. But then again, how
> > else can you *get* a stylish, 5-passenger (OK, that's stretching it a
> > bit) V-8 powered RWD car with a manual transmission for that price?
> > Certainly not in the new car market, that's for sure.
> >
> > Let's just not factor in labor...
> >
> > nate
> >
>
> The reason I won't consider driving a 67 GTO for this mission is twofold:
> 1) time. With one baby here, and another on the way, my car time is
> extremely limited. I don't have time to maintain the current fleet.
> 2) Snow. I live in Winnipeg, where the winters are cold and brutal.
> -40 for a week brutal. Old cars with carbs just don't compare when it's
> -40 to a new car with command start.
>
> Don't get me wrong, it's just my old 70 Buick was the worst winter car
> of all time. Damn thing left me for dead every time it got cold, would
> run fine all summer. Nothing like changing a starter in the work
> parking lot at -30. I don't have time nor the inclination to play with
> dead transportation appliances in -30.
>
> Ray

I wasn't actually suggesting that. One major improvement to new cars
that John S. did *not* mention and is actually relevant to anyone
living north of the Mason-Dixon line is rustproofing. It essentially
did not exist until at least the mid-70s, or even later depending on
the manufacturer. e.g. most new Porsches have fully-galvanized bodies
(those that use steel body panels, that is) but to attempt to drive an
older one in the winter is silly; my '71 914 is badly rusted in the
rocker areas because this wasn't done back when that car was built.
Which is kind of a shame as it appears it would make an excellent
winter beater, otherwise - kind of like a sportier VW bug.

nate

N8N wrote:

>> Don't get me wrong, it's just my old 70 Buick was the worst winter car
>> of all time. Damn thing left me for dead every time it got cold, would
>> run fine all summer. Nothing like changing a starter in the work
>> parking lot at -30. I don't have time nor the inclination to play with
>> dead transportation appliances in -30.
>>
>> Ray
>
> I wasn't actually suggesting that. One major improvement to new cars
> that John S. did *not* mention and is actually relevant to anyone
> living north of the Mason-Dixon line is rustproofing. It essentially
> did not exist until at least the mid-70s, or even later depending on
> the manufacturer. e.g. most new Porsches have fully-galvanized bodies
> (those that use steel body panels, that is) but to attempt to drive an
> older one in the winter is silly; my '71 914 is badly rusted in the
> rocker areas because this wasn't done back when that car was built.
> Which is kind of a shame as it appears it would make an excellent
> winter beater, otherwise - kind of like a sportier VW bug.
>
> nate
>

yeah, I need to move south.
that said, I imagine it's just different things that kill cars down
south - I'm sure the Arizona sun is easy on the paint and interior.
My Trans Am is black on black with glass T-tops and it's like 120F in
there in the summer, I can only imagine it being like 200F in the car if
I parked it outside in Vegas in the summer.

Ray

ray wrote:
> N8N wrote:
>
>>> Don't get me wrong, it's just my old 70 Buick was the worst winter car
>>> of all time. Damn thing left me for dead every time it got cold, would
>>> run fine all summer. Nothing like changing a starter in the work
>>> parking lot at -30. I don't have time nor the inclination to play with
>>> dead transportation appliances in -30.
>>>
>>> Ray
>>
>>
>> I wasn't actually suggesting that. One major improvement to new cars
>> that John S. did *not* mention and is actually relevant to anyone
>> living north of the Mason-Dixon line is rustproofing. It essentially
>> did not exist until at least the mid-70s, or even later depending on
>> the manufacturer. e.g. most new Porsches have fully-galvanized bodies
>> (those that use steel body panels, that is) but to attempt to drive an
>> older one in the winter is silly; my '71 914 is badly rusted in the
>> rocker areas because this wasn't done back when that car was built.
>> Which is kind of a shame as it appears it would make an excellent
>> winter beater, otherwise - kind of like a sportier VW bug.
>>
>> nate
>>
>
> yeah, I need to move south.
> that said, I imagine it's just different things that kill cars down
> south - I'm sure the Arizona sun is easy on the paint and interior.
> My Trans Am is black on black with glass T-tops and it's like 120F in
> there in the summer, I can only imagine it being like 200F in the car if
> I parked it outside in Vegas in the summer.
>
> Ray

Heh... I was just thinking I'd love to be able to move back north - I
grew up in western PA and the alternating heat and torrential rains here
in this overdeveloped swamp - I mean, our nation's capital - just really
aren't my thing.

But yes, you're right, some kind of heat-reflective window tint is
mandatory in the real south, and even then, A/C is a must. When I
started my new job, I had to drive for a month in my old, black Porsche
(with a failing A/C compressor) before my company car arrived. This was
in June. Not a pleasant experience, even in northern Virginia (which
most Southerners don't actually consider part of the South - note
initial cap - since it's mostly populated by yuppie scum and assorted
government types, none of whom actually grew up there. Yeah, I know,
neither did I.)

Anyway, I'd be perfectly happy to have to put away my older car for 2-3
mos. out of the year and drive a winter beater, I actually think snow is
pretty and hate hot weather. Diff'rent strokes, I suppose.

nate


--
replace "fly" with "com" to reply.
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Nate Nagel wrote:

> Anyway, I'd be perfectly happy to have to put away my older car for 2-3
> mos. out of the year and drive a winter beater, I actually think snow is
> pretty and hate hot weather. Diff'rent strokes, I suppose.
>
> nate
>
>

I guess we're never happy with what we're stuck with.
It's not the snow I have a problem with, it's the -40 that really sucks.
Dead batteries, dead starters, flat tires, door handles that snap off,
cooling systems turned solid...

That said, I'd love to take my TA to a dragstrip at -20 to see just how
much faster it would be - in theory it should be a measureable amount
quicker, assuming you cleaned off the concrete enough.

Ray

ray wrote:
> Nate Nagel wrote:
>
>> Anyway, I'd be perfectly happy to have to put away my older car for
>> 2-3 mos. out of the year and drive a winter beater, I actually think
>> snow is pretty and hate hot weather. Diff'rent strokes, I suppose.
>>
>> nate
>>
>>
>
> I guess we're never happy with what we're stuck with.
> It's not the snow I have a problem with, it's the -40 that really sucks.
> Dead batteries, dead starters, flat tires, door handles that snap off,
> cooling systems turned solid...
>
> That said, I'd love to take my TA to a dragstrip at -20 to see just how
> much faster it would be - in theory it should be a measureable amount
> quicker, assuming you cleaned off the concrete enough.
>
> Ray

You'd probably need some pretty special tires to hook up at those
temps... maybe glue some erasers to them? I was thinking of winter
as more as 10 degrees or so... I've spent some time in the UP of
Michigan, that's probably about as far north as I'd want to live,
although I would certainly not mind it (assuming I could find a job there)

nate

--
replace "fly" with "com" to reply.
http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel

ray wrote:

> yeah, I need to move south.
> that said, I imagine it's just different things that kill cars down
> south - I'm sure the Arizona sun is easy on the paint and interior.

Absolutely. The rule of thumb is "buy your sheet metal from Southern
salvage yards, buy your plastic and glass from up North" :-)

Truth be told, the southern sun is FAR harder on new cars than old ones,
though. New ones have a lot more plastic for the UV to attack.

Nate Nagel wrote:

> Anyway, I'd be perfectly happy to have to put away my older car for 2-3
> mos. out of the year and drive a winter beater, I actually think snow is
> pretty and hate hot weather. Diff'rent strokes, I suppose.
>
> nate

That "crossover" you were talking about just hit its limit :-)

I HATE snow. I get cold if it drops below 80 in the daytime.