Search results

  1. D

    Protect my head lights?

    Using NuFinish every few months or so for years on them. Just tried their graphene formula. UVA protection in the NuFinish original. Tail lights as well.
  2. D

    Any problem areas to look for on this '91 Grand Am?

    I have had an 86 Calais Tech 4 since 1994 when it was purchased with 21,000 miles. Alternators, electrical problems, body hardware and plastics as cheap and brittle as anything found on an early '70s AMC product. Parts availability: anything more than service parts and commonly shared units...
  3. D

    66 Valiant

    Congratulations. I have loved mine and still do. My entire automotive philosophy is anchored in the type of car the Valiant represents [as influential as the books "Why Trade It In?" and "Drive It Forever"]. One of the best things I have done to mine is adding a Pertronix electronic ignition...
  4. D

    66 Valiant

    I saw an old Slant Six being run without oil after having been treated to some sort of snake oil. They were selling the snake oil... [Dura-Lube...? '80s, early '90s] at the Rose Bowl Swap Meet in Pasadena. The demonstration drew a crowd and I bet they sold a ton of it. IIRC there was a late...
  5. D

    66 Valiant

    My parent's new 63 Dart Wagon had to be towed back to the dealer because that linkage hung up. The problem seems to have been baked in from the factory. I fought mine for years in the Valiant until I adapted the stouter z bar from the -67 & up [available from Classic Car Industries, btw]. Wish...
  6. D

    Oh lord the 2023 Accord is ugly

    Very nice. Audi like. Clean and a nice alternative to the tortured sheet metal we've seen for years. You'd prefer the pre-wrecked look of the juvenile last generation Civic, perhaps?
  7. D

    Who's into base models?

    Life is too short to live it buried in debt.
  8. D

    Who's into base models?

    Motor Trend discovered the same thing back in the '60s when it tested a base 64 Plymouth Savoy: V8, heater, foam front seats, 3 speed manual column shift IIRC. Just a few options would have made the car more pleasant. A radio. Arm rests. Their readers claimed one thing but industry stats said...
  9. D

    Who's into base models?

    What I wouldn't give to have a console free front floor...
  10. D

    Who's into base models?

    I have been a base model type for decades now. The car that set the template was the one I bought forty years ago. As I was just starting out I wanted the simplest vehicle possible, so that in case anything went wrong it would be cheap and easy to fix. Turned out to be a 63 Valiant Signet...
  11. D

    Who's into base models?

    Not into trucks, but I would have swapped for the 07 Ranger with 4 cyl, 5 speed, vinyl bench seat, crank windows, rubber flooring, no stupid console eating up cabin space, bed cover and fancy wheels back in 2009-10. The dealership was closed on Sunday, but that thing represented "purpose built"...
  12. D

    A Case For Minimalism

    It's sick, but that car has set the template for a lifetime's worth of car buying.
  13. D

    A Case For Minimalism

    Mine's a 63 Valiant with slant six and three on the tree
  14. D

    A Case For Minimalism

    ^This. 100% 'You want to be environmentally friendly and minimalist, go buy a well maintained low mileage car from the early 2000s. Take care of it. It'll be on the roads until 2040' That is my plan: 05 minimalist ION1. It's in getting small repairs completed. New axles. Seats have been...
  15. D

    BG Products restores junkyard engine

    I stopped watching true crime shows that did that overbearing background noise , as well as car shows that blast horrible studio heavy metal crap under the entire episode. We get it : cars....heavy metal...such a bloody cliche' now.
  16. D

    New Dorman or used junkyard OEM?

    You already have lots of used parts on that 03. New. I have an 05 ION which I plan on running another 18 years. New, for me, is good. It's getting new axles currently, the non-power door lock fixed. The rear bumper will be repainted later this month. But: with an '86 Olds and a 63 Valiant in...
  17. D

    GM's 2.7L - Deep Dive

    'balance shaft that has already posed issues in service,' GM obviously not getting them right is the point.
  18. D

    GM's 2.7L - Deep Dive

    It, too, had millions of miles of testing. As did the Mopar 2.7 V6. Northstar. Ford 3.8 V6. Same thing with Dex-Cool. Neon head gaskets. Ford 3 valve truck engines. Power Shift tranny. All dutifully tested. In 76 GM went back and 'fixed' the Vega engine with improvements that should have been...
  19. D

    Questioning my decision - the full rundown.

    BTW if you can find it, Michael Lamm used the same philosophy with a 63 Dodge Dart station wagon he owned and described his efforts in one of his Motor Trend "Used Cars" columns. 1974-75 IIRC. It warped me. That philosophy of maintain, reuse, replace, refurbish has been my benchmark all these...
  20. D

    Questioning my decision - the full rundown.

    I like the attitude. Out of six cars I have owned in the past 40 years, I still have three of them. Little bro is still driving one of the six. It's a sickness, definitely. BTW: all three are ordinary "throw-away" cars. Repairing things on them is more satisfying than having buyer's remorse and...
Back
Top