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What Classic/Collectible car couldn't someone GIVE to you?

52 messages,  Last post on Sep 24, 2011 at 6:17 PM

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Messages Page 6 of 6

#43 of 52 Re: What Classic/Collectible car couldn't I GIVE to you? [omarman] by andre1969

Apr 12, 2011 (12:26 pm)

Replying to: omarman (Apr 12, 2011 12:03 pm)
But over time it got kind of tricky to follow the Chrysler/Imperial car line. My uncle Allen drove a Chrysler Imperial in the early 70s with the standard 440/4bbl engine. I've read that it's not proper to call it, "Chrysler" Imperial -- just Imperial. But it was advertised as a Chrysler Imperial back then.
 
Yeah, technically they were simply "Imperials" from 1955-75. But, often the badge would read "Imperial" with "by Chrysler" underneath in a smaller script, or something like that.
 
I think one sore spot for the Imperial is that it always had the same engine as the New Yorker, yet was supposed to be a more prestigious car. Over the years, the Imperial and New Yorker became closer in size and price. For 1976-78, what had been the Imperial was now the New Yorker Brougham. In some of those earlier years though, an Imperial could be an easy 600-800+ heavier than a New Yorker, and using the same engine, that HAD to hurt performance.
 
Now that I think about it, a slant six anything made after 1979 would probably be a hard sell for me. In 1979, the 1-bbl had 100 hp, and there was a 2-bbl version that put out 110. But for '80 it was cut to 85 hp, with only a 1-bbl carb. It had to struggle so hard to move those heavy cars that most of the time, if you bought the 318 instead, you actually got BETTER fuel economy!
 
It bounced back slightly, to 90 hp for 1981, and I think that's where it stood until 1987 or whenever it was finally replaced by the 3.9 V-6. And by then it was a truck-only engine.
 
Still, if it was in decent shape and the carb wasn't too finicky, I could put up with a slant six Diplomat or LeBaron, if it was free! I'd hate to think of that over-worked '85-90 hp engine in something like an '80-81 Newport, St. Regis, or Gran Fury though.

#44 of 52 Re: What Classic/Collectible car couldn't I GIVE to you? [andre1969] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Apr 12, 2011 (5:49 pm)

Replying to: andre1969 (Apr 12, 2011 8:39 am)
Ah, you jogged my memory. It was a NEWPORT, so that means a 361 cid.

#45 of 52 Re: What Classic/Collectible car couldn't I GIVE to you? [andre1969] by oldbearcat

Apr 12, 2011 (7:53 pm)

Replying to: andre1969 (Apr 12, 2011 6:33 am)
I agree. My dad once owned a Valiant wagon with the small slant 6 with a 3 speed stick. The thing was pretty gutless.
 
Regards:
Oldbearcat

#46 of 52 Re: What Classic/Collectible car couldn't I GIVE to you? [Mr_Shiftright] by andre1969

Apr 13, 2011 (5:54 am)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Apr 12, 2011 5:49 pm)
Ah, you jogged my memory. It was a NEWPORT, so that means a 361 cid.
 
Wow, so if a Newport was guzzling like that, I hate to think of how much a New Yorker with a 413 would have swallowed down!
 
The few times I had taken my '57 DeSoto on a highway run, it would get around 16 mpg. Which, I guess, is fairly reasonable. At around two tons, it weighs about as much as my '76 LeMans, '67 Catalina, and '79 New Yorker (base weight of all three is within around 60 lb of each other). Yet with a 341 Hemi, it actually has less displacement than the others (400 for the Catalina, 360 for the NYer, and while they called it a 350, the LeMans has 353 cubes if you do the math).
 
The Catalina has done as well as 17, while the LeMans has come close to 18, and the New Yorker gotten around 21. None of them would do that consistently though, and to get those kind of figures, it almost has to be a pure highway run (i.e., fill up, get on the highway, and don't stop again until the next fill-up)

#47 of 52 Re: What Classic/Collectible car couldn't I GIVE to you? [andre1969] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Apr 13, 2011 (7:40 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (Apr 13, 2011 5:54 am)
That's the way 60s cars were---on the highway, MPG was sometimes tolerable but the minute you got into stop and go driving, the mileage would almost halve.

#48 of 52 Re: What Classic/Collectible car couldn't I GIVE to you? [Mr_Shiftright] by andre1969

Apr 13, 2011 (8:24 am)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Apr 13, 2011 7:40 am)
That's the way 60s cars were---on the highway, MPG was sometimes tolerable but the minute you got into stop and go driving, the mileage would almost halve.
 
I always thought it a bit odd that my '67 Catalina and '68 Dart would both get around 17 mpg on the highway. Despite the fact that the Catalina had about 800 lb, and 82 cubes, and an extra pair of carb jets compared to the Dart.
 
But, in local driving, the Catalina could easily drop to 9-10, while the Dart was more like 12-13.
 
My LeMans and New Yorker can easily drop to 9-10 mpg, too!

#49 of 52 Re: What Classic/Collectible car couldn't I GIVE to you? [andre1969] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Apr 13, 2011 (8:44 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (Apr 13, 2011 8:24 am)
laws of physics apply despite those $49 "hydrogen generators" you see on eBay.
 
To get a 2-ton square brick moving takes energy! Once it's moving, not so much, unless you go fast enough to hit the aero wall. Then things get ugly quickly.

#50 of 52 Old Audis by martian

Sep 24, 2011 (12:37 pm)

I wouldn't take any Audi with >60,000 miles on it. These things are money pits, and the dealers love to do a lot of "extra" stuff.
Come to think of it , a BMW 740 would be the same-huge repair costs when something goes wrong.
AS for SAAB (the newest of the automotive world's walking dead)-will sed SAABs be worth anything? I heard that the Chinese willrescue them, but I cannot see the brand surviving long.

#51 of 52 Re: Old Audis [martian] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Sep 24, 2011 (1:28 pm)

Replying to: martian (Sep 24, 2011 12:37 pm)
The older Saabs are worth something---the cars from the 50s and 60s, and the Sonett sports car is a minor collectible. Some people like to mechanically restore the 80s Saab 5-door hatchback Turbos, because they have good utility and are fun to drive.
 
Very few Audis are worth saving---the Quattro 5000 wagons do catch people's eye, and the Audi 5000 GT Turbo coupe is a minor collectible.

#52 of 52 Re: Old Audis [Mr_Shiftright] by fintail

Sep 24, 2011 (6:17 pm)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Sep 24, 2011 1:28 pm)
Audi UR Quattro, that's about it for me, but very few were sold here.

Messages Page 6 of 6

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