Automotive Fads From the '80s
- Thread starter Passport1
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I still have a hood ornament on my Mercedes. They're about $40 at the dealer, broke one when I wasn't paying attention when brushing the snow off the hood. They're starting to go with a sport look and that gets rid of the hood ornament, just a flat badge on there instead. The luxury models still had the hood ornament, but only for a little while longer.
I miss the bright fwd jacked-up trucks with lots of chrome. Now everything is black and so are the moods of most people.
Hey, I was excited when i found my red GX. Way less common than the silver, white, and beige ones
The heavily padded Landau vinyl tops. I had them on my Caddies and Buicks
Vinyl Roof...rear quarter only
Late 80s Caprice Classic Brougham LS comes to mind.
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And an AM-only radio with that one oval shaped speaker in the middle of the dash
That might've been mid-late 70s.- Joined
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How about the fake convertible tops? Was that a Cadillac Eldorado exclusive?
‘85 Trans-Am. First car I bought. In 1986, in Corpus Christi, TX. Shown here the day I sold it. Car seats really don’t fit in the back of that car.
The aluminum louvers were an 80s thing, but in the South Texas heat, they actually helped keep the car cool.
Still like the looks of that car, but the 80s were an awful decade.
The long stroke, low RPM 305 small block, fed by an electronic Q-jet, with a modest fuel-economy cam, and choked by a single exhaust and heavy cat, made a whopping 165 HP. The 200R4 wouldn’t stay in 4th if you were above 2/3 throttle, limiting top speed. It also ate the plastic governor gear twice in the first 80,000 miles, sticking the trans in first gear.
The aluminum louvers were an 80s thing, but in the South Texas heat, they actually helped keep the car cool.
Still like the looks of that car, but the 80s were an awful decade.
The long stroke, low RPM 305 small block, fed by an electronic Q-jet, with a modest fuel-economy cam, and choked by a single exhaust and heavy cat, made a whopping 165 HP. The 200R4 wouldn’t stay in 4th if you were above 2/3 throttle, limiting top speed. It also ate the plastic governor gear twice in the first 80,000 miles, sticking the trans in first gear.
Yes not a lot great about the anemic emissions bolted on engines of that era, but that car still had a cool style. The 78 through your year T/A has style and coolness missing today.
Too many silver cars that all look alike.
I couldn't access the "25 features" on my old computer but I'll assume they didn't show the fiberoptic tell-tale lights run from the taillights (or possibly turn signals) to the rear tray beneath the rear windshield.
Fiberoptics were so new GM thought it would be a hep thing to add....for 2 or 3 years on cheeky models.
Fiberoptics were so new GM thought it would be a hep thing to add....for 2 or 3 years on cheeky models.
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Beautiful car and so much fun to drive!! Compare that to the ***** stuff that's current.
manicrodder
$50 site donor 2022
Had the same car all black even the factory wheels. I had the tired engine replaced with a crate 305. Engine had a cam replacement and head work. It was pretty strong in the 90's.
My 1985 Escort GT had that same console feature.
I would’ve loved to drop a decent small block in there. A 350 with a decent cam, perhaps even a 383 (400 crank striker version). Not too much cam, or the Q-jet would’ve been unhappy. The Q-jet flowed plenty of air, but was a bear to tune because of the plugs on the mixture screws, and other emissions gear.
The real restriction on that engine was the exhaust. Two log style manifolds into a restrictive car and a single exhaust.
Even if I added a cam to the stock 305, that exhaust had it choked off pretty well. The L69, HO 395, was about 190 HP and it was mostly cam and some slight tuning.
But a good flowing exhaust (Edelbrock made a header system, and there were some better cats available by the early 90s), with a cam and/or bigger engine would’ve transformed that car. It was fun to drive, but awfully slow by today’s standards. My Volvo wagons, even the AWD, would smoke the TA.
I had plans to modify the TA. It had Koni adjustable shocks and struts. Better brakes from the 1LE package were going to be next (factory parts, bigger rotors, rear rotors to replace the drum). Then the engine. Roller rocker arms (the factory was 1.5:1 stamped steel), a warmed up cam, perhaps Edlebrock intake, the header system and cat and exhaust had all been planned out.
But then my daughter was born. Car seats and that car just didn’t work.
I sold it and bought a 1985 Volvo turbo wagon. Manual transmission. It had better brakes, better handling, and a ton more room than the TA. With the 165 hp intercooler turbo, and manual, and lighter weight, it was actually quicker than the TA. A better car in every respect.
Except looks…
CPI Inflation Calculator
www.bls.gov
$6,800 inflates to $23k today (assuming you can find a basic pickup).
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