Ask the Car People.SM


50 Worst Cars of All Time

405 messages,  Last post on Apr 05, 2010 at 1:57 PM

You are in the Classic Cars Forum.

What is this discussion about? Automotive News, Classic Cars, Coupe, Convertible, Truck, Sedan, Wagon

Messages Page 37 of 41

#356 of 405 Re: not bad at all.... [Mr_Shiftright] The worst... [euphonium] [fintail] [lemko] [fintail] by ghulet

Apr 01, 2010 (9:36 am)

Replying to: fintail (Apr 01, 2010 6:50 am)
funny you mention the 302 was 'mid-year' '68, which never occurred to me til my uncle bought a '68 Mustang convertible (green, 3-speed manual, 289, TOTAL rust-bucket) for, believe it or not, a parts car for his '68 fastback (302, automatic). I drove that fastback once or twice. Pretty damn quick (feeling, at least), but the worst rattle-trap ever, and both brakes and steering, on a car with decent acceleration, were downright scary.

#357 of 405 Re: not bad at all.... [Mr_Shiftright] The worst... [euphonium] [fintail] [lemko] [fintail] [au1994] [fintail] [Mr_Shiftright] [fintail] by lemko

Apr 01, 2010 (10:26 am)

Replying to: fintail (Apr 01, 2010 8:25 am)
I had a 1975 Cadillac Sedan DeVille with a 500 V-8 that was like that. It took a lot of $$$ to run even when premium was $1.35/gal.

#358 of 405 Re: not bad at all.... [Mr_Shiftright] The worst... [euphonium] [fintail] [lemko] [fintail] [au1994] [fintail] [Mr_Shiftright] [lemko] [andre1969] by lemko

Apr 01, 2010 (10:35 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (Apr 01, 2010 8:28 am)
Did you ever notice the similarity of the Lancer's front end to that of the 1960 Pontiac?
 
The GM senior compacts could've been badge-engineered variations of the Corvair. The Olds and Buick versions were rather non-descript. The Olds version was to be called the "66." The Buick version was unnamed. Of all of them, the Pontiac Polaris was the coolest:
 

#359 of 405 Worst Car in Past 20 Years....Period by phill1

Apr 01, 2010 (12:28 pm)

I nominate for worst car in past twenty years the 1988 Hyundai Excel I purchased new. I kept it for barely 2 years and it depreciated almost 75%. I was lucky to get anything for a (trade-in) but fortunately the Honda Dealer next door to the Hyundia Dealer was owned by the same outfit and they gave me a token above what the Junk Yard would have offered. Slow, poor quality, entire exhaust system rotted and needed replacement in barely 24 months. Hyundia, like they say, " You`ve Come A Long Way....Baby!"

#360 of 405 Re: not bad at all.... [Mr_Shiftright] The worst... [euphonium] [fintail] [ghulet] [fintail] [lemko] by euphonium

Apr 01, 2010 (2:20 pm)

Replying to: lemko (Apr 01, 2010 6:54 am)
You even got a nicer grille on a 1966.
 
Upon taking delivery of the '67 Country Sedan (Galaxie) I R&R'd the aluminum chincy grille with the chrome grill from a Country Squire. Sure improved the looks.
 
For $100 a mechanic R&R'd the 2 bbl manifold & carb with a 4 bbl manifold & carb from a used 352. Hiway mileage improved by 3 mpg, but when needed - the passing gear was a lot more effective going up the Pass to ski.

#361 of 405 Re: not bad at all.... [Mr_Shiftright] The worst... [euphonium] [fintail] [ghulet] [fintail] [lemko] [euphonium] by fezo

Apr 01, 2010 (3:34 pm)

Replying to: euphonium (Apr 01, 2010 2:20 pm)
Wow. Nice to see all these 57 Plymouth stories. The only new car we had when I was a little kid was a 57 Plymouth Custom Suburban. Not sure of the engine but it had the push button transmission (with no park button). My little brother would get in and pull the N button so it would be out like the others. The first time the mechanic came to the house. The second time he showed my mother how to fix it.
 
Somewhere around 65 it had what they figured was a fatal repair estimate.
 
Andre - what the latest on the DeSoto?

#362 of 405 Re: not bad at all.... [Mr_Shiftright] The worst... [euphonium] [fintail] [ghulet] [fintail] [lemko] [euphonium] [fezo] by andre1969

Apr 01, 2010 (3:55 pm)

Replying to: fezo (Apr 01, 2010 3:34 pm)
Andre - what the latest on the DeSoto?
 
Well, it ain't gonna be ready by my 40th birthday as I had originally hoped for. Unless the mechanic can slap it all back together by tomorrow! He hasn't really found anything catastrophic, although he got a little melodramatic when he found sludge in the engine. Hell, I TOLD him it had sludge in the engine...on an old Mopar you actually WANT a little sludge...that's what keeps them from leaking!
 
It'll probably be roadworthy sometime in the summer, but probably not in time for the Mopar Nationals at Carlisle, which is in July. So I'm hoping it'll be ready by my 41st birthday, and then I'll take it to the Mopar Nats in 2011!
 
Oh, and I finally got that supposedly NOS 1957 DeSoto fender from him. Last Friday, he called me at work and told me to come get it, as he'd brought it in to work. Unfortunately, I was driving the Park Ave and not about to strap that fender to the roof! So, he said he'd drop it by on the way home that evening. Only problem is, I was going to be away all weekend, so he said he'd leave it. So I come home on a rainy Sunday, and find this 1957 DeSoto fender sitting end-up on my deck! I thought that was a bit ironic, that this thing had probably been stored indoors most of its life, only to be set out in the rain. Not a good fate for any 1957 Mopar part!
 
The fender is in good shape, but I don't think it's NOS. For one thing, it's gray...looks to me like it just came off of a gray car. Plus, it has minor scratches on it. But no dents, and more importantly, no rust. The downside is that it's a 2-headlight setup rather than a 4-headlight. The fender is designed for 2 or 4, but the inner part of the bezel is different, and unfortunately, welded to the fender rather than bolted. So I'm sure that'll cost a few bucks when I decide to replace the fender. And it also must have come off of the cheapest 1957 Firedome available, as there are no holes for the 2-toning, or the chrome accent on top of the fender. But anyway, I don't think I'm going to be painting the car anytime soon.
 
Oh, as for your parents' '57 Custom Suburan, my old car book is a bit vague. It lists the 6-cyl as being standard in everything but the Belvedere convertible and Fury. But then for V-8's, it only lists the 301-4bbl, with 235 hp, as being optional in "all except Fury". The other two V-8's, a 197 hp 277-2bbl and a 215 hp 301-2bbl, are listed as being offered in the Plaza, Savoy, Belvedere as appropriate, but none of them specifically mention the wagons (which would have been Suburban for the cheap one, Custom Suburban for the top level, and I can't remember if there was one in between)
 
So going from that, my guess would be that it had the 301-4bbl. A Custom Suburban was pretty expensive, so I'd imagine they were more likely to have the big engine.

#363 of 405 Re: not bad at all.... [Mr_Shiftright] The worst... [euphonium] [fintail] [lemko] [fintail] [au1994] [fintail] [Mr_Shiftright] [lemko] by uplanderguy

Apr 01, 2010 (4:47 pm)

Replying to: lemko (Apr 01, 2010 8:10 am)
and the Lark was ...meh...a Studebaker
 
Yeah, but that '60 Lark could be had as a convertible, two-door hardtop, 4-door wagon, or a V8--try getting any of those in a Big Three or Rambler '60 compact. Plus, the Lark was bigger inside than any of the others, since it was in effect a downsized full-size Studebaker...sort of what GM did fifteen or more years later!
 
Bill

#364 of 405 Re: not bad at all.... [Mr_Shiftright] The worst... [euphonium] [fintail] [lemko] [fintail] [au1994] [fintail] [Mr_Shiftright] [lemko] [uplanderguy] by andre1969

Apr 01, 2010 (4:52 pm)

Replying to: uplanderguy (Apr 01, 2010 4:47 pm)
Those Larks were also good-old-fashioned body-on frame, so that, coupled with the fact that they were really just chopped-down versions of the standard-sized cars probably made them a bit more sturdy and durable than the typical Big Three compact of that era.
 
They were a great tow vehicle as well. A Lark hardtop could pull a loaded horse trailer across a level soundstage floor with ease, as witnessed on "Mister Ed".

#365 of 405 Re: not bad at all.... [Mr_Shiftright] The worst... [euphonium] [fintail] [lemko] [fintail] [au1994] [fintail] [Mr_Shiftright] [lemko] [uplanderguy] [andre1969] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Apr 01, 2010 (5:05 pm)

Replying to: andre1969 (Apr 01, 2010 4:52 pm)
True but the horse was giving directions.

Messages Page 37 of 41

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement