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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today!

29620 messages,  Last post on May 22, 2013 at 10:20 AM

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Messages Page 2782 of 2962

#27810 of 29620 Re: '58-60 Ford pickup seen twice this morning [boomchek] by fintail

Feb 06, 2013 (7:57 pm)

Replying to: boomchek (Feb 06, 2013 7:51 pm)
Rare and probably rusting as we speak.
 
Those T-Birds attract an older sedate driver, probably many well cared for, just watch out for the 3.8. I remember at the end of the 90s, classified ads for those would tout their supposed collectibility.

#27811 of 29620 Re: '58-60 Ford pickup seen twice this morning [fintail] by boomchek

Feb 06, 2013 (8:28 pm)

Replying to: fintail (Feb 06, 2013 7:57 pm)
I see a lot of teenagers, early 20s guys usually driving the TBrids. Affordable and decent looking cars if you can find some for $1000-$2000.

#27812 of 29620 Re: '58-60 Ford pickup seen twice this morning [uplanderguy] by hpmctorque

Feb 06, 2013 (9:29 pm)

Replying to: uplanderguy (Feb 06, 2013 3:56 pm)
Yes, the Chevette strut towers were a point of relative weakness, but 11 hard Midwestern winters suggests that they weren't a design defect for a '70s entry level car.
 
Interesting about the Corsica. Was it a I-4 or V6? How did the Cavalier compare to the Corsica, durability wise?

#27813 of 29620 Re: '58-60 Ford pickup seen twice this morning [fintail] by hpmctorque

Feb 06, 2013 (9:38 pm)

Replying to: fintail (Feb 06, 2013 7:57 pm)
The 3.8 was most problematic in the FWD Ford products, and less so in the RWD ones. The main reason for the problems, usually head gaskets, is that it's a tight fit for the 90 degree angle 3.8 in the FWD cars. That restricts air circulation, thereby restricting cooling. This condition also caused premature transmission failures in FWD 3.8s.

#27814 of 29620 Re: '58-60 Ford pickup seen twice this morning [hpmctorque] by tjc78

Feb 07, 2013 (4:47 am)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Feb 06, 2013 9:38 pm)
It wasn't so much the cooling problems. The biggest reason was the iron block combined with aluminum heads. They expand at different rates and the gasket fails.
 
Yes, the FWD products had more issues, but honestly I think just because there were many more sold (Taurus, Sable, Continental, Windstar) than the RWD models. Ask any Ford mechanic they will tell you the RWD cars (Tbird, Cougar) fail as well.

#27815 of 29620 Re: '58-60 Ford pickup seen twice this morning [hpmctorque] by uplanderguy

Feb 07, 2013 (4:52 am)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Feb 06, 2013 9:29 pm)
I actually put more miles on the Cavalier--129.6K miles. Both it and the Corsica still had cold air, neither had had the 'you'll have to replace the intake manifold gasket' issue (neither did my '02 Cavalier with 112K). I would actually say the Cavalier was probably a little better than the Corsica. I had the cheapo plastic wheel covers on the Corsica which upwards of 100K miles would fall off easily. The Cavalier had bolt-on covers. I had a smallish area of crazed painted on the Corsica--it was dark grey--and I never had any paint issues whatsoever with either Cavalier, but both had clear coat. But I don't regret that Corsica one bit. There was a good rebate on it at the time too IIRC. It was a four, BTW. The Corsica was a larger, more comfortable car IMO, with better seats and upholstery.

#27816 of 29620 Re: '58-60 Ford pickup seen twice this morning [tjc78] by fintail

Feb 07, 2013 (7:48 am)

Replying to: tjc78 (Feb 07, 2013 4:47 am)
My uncle lost a transmission in a 3.0 Taurus, and my mother lost a head gasket in a 3.8 Taurus (at ~80K miles, maintained regularly). My uncle also had the intake gasket/manifold 3.8 issue in a LeSabre. My mother and brother (he dealt with issues in V6 Sundance Duster/Neon/Lumina) are both Toyota converts now.

#27817 of 29620 Re: '58-60 Ford pickup seen twice this morning [boomchek] by fintail

Feb 07, 2013 (7:49 am)

Replying to: boomchek (Feb 06, 2013 8:28 pm)
Might be things to get out of estates for cheap. I see hipster types in older cars around here, especially things like slant 6 Mopars, and of course old VWs.

#27818 of 29620 Re: '58-60 Ford pickup seen twice this morning [fintail] by tjc78

Feb 07, 2013 (7:58 am)

Replying to: fintail (Feb 07, 2013 7:48 am)
I lost a head gasket at 65K ish in my 93 Taurus 3.8. The transmission was still going at 100K when I dumped it. I had a feeling it wouldn't have lasted much longer because at WOT it didn't like to shift into 3rd bouncing the engine off the rev limiter.
 
My mother had the 3.8 in her 96 Thunderbird and she had that car for 10 years, but only put 45K on it. No head-gasket problems but I think the low mileage helped and by 96 Ford changed something to help the HG problem. That car did like to leak anti-freeze and puked up an entire A/C system.
 
I still remember when my Stepdad got that car for her. We were at the dealer and they had two 96 leftovers in January 97. One was a gorgeous dark blue 4.6, and a Pacific Green 3.8. There wasn't much price difference between the two and he told the dealer he would be back. In the car on the way home I told him to get the 4.6. When he went back he got her the 3.8 thinking she didn't need the extra power.

#27819 of 29620 Re: '58-60 Ford pickup seen twice this morning [fintail] by ateixeira

Feb 07, 2013 (8:03 am)

Replying to: fintail (Feb 06, 2013 7:46 pm)
the early 90s Escorts are mostly gone here, too
 
I had a '91 Escort GT, until it was totalled in 1998.
 
The power train was solid, ran for 107k miles on the original clutch despite some, uh, enthusiastic driving.
 
The motorized mice belts drove me crazy and some interior trim starting falling off, and the door cards were beginning to come unglued.
 
That was when Ford and Mazda were related, so it actually had the 1.8l engine from the Protoge and Miata.
 
Fun little car, but interior quality wasn't that good.

Messages Page 2782 of 2962

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