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I remember maybe 7-8 years ago a statement that there is “no” good EPS, but if anything, Porsche does it best. Eventually nobody will remember and over assisted will be ok.
Average age of vehicles is up&up
- Thread starter The Artillerist
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I maintain a 1999 as my daily driver, as well as two other year 2000 vehicles and one 2011. Really no trouble getting parts as long as I'm willing to mail order.
. At least many shops can handle the walnut blast process…
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I junked my 1998 this year, but love my 2006 and 2007 to this day. The 2011 is so so as it’s a GM SUV
Look on ebay, they have an aftermarket cat & flexpipe that bolts right up for under $100 for your car. The midpipe and muffler actually cost more.
A car lasts until it peeves you off, then it gets resold until it peeves its final owner off, who junks it. This guy might be handy or he might be good at ignoring warning lights. Sixty years ago a car would probably burn oil, lose compression, and get junked for that. The pendulum swung to rusty unibodies and, now, probably, electronic & emissions issues. A car that starts and runs and gets to work will irritate its owner less than one that randomly stalls out or throws codes that can get dealt with months later (or never.)
We have regions with smog and safety inspections, and regions without. I surmise the ones without think they're "smart" for importing mildly defective vehicles from stricter states.
My daily driver is a 79 Subaru DL. I have it oil undercoated yearly, and wash it often in the winter. There are a few rust spots that require repair, but those same spots have been there for many years, since I bought the car. Very little of it is original. Many parts have been replaced with parts from different manufacturers or models of car. There are even some marine and aircraft parts mixed in. Engine is an EA71S, which is essentially the Subaru factory race engine for the FJ1600 (old Japanese equivalent to a Formula Ford car). Originally it had dual carbs but was missing its intake so it is running a Holley 1904 carb on a modified single carb intake. Other modifications include Denso alternator from a Suzuki Samurai, GM HEI ignition module and Ford TFI coil, Ford Racing 90 degree oil filter adapter, and 5 speed dog gear transaxle from a Subaru 1300G. Too many little things to count. At this point it's as reliable as a modern car or better. Manual rack and pinion steering, very easy to steer but not at all like steering on a modern car. Not biased towards going in a straight line but rather unstable, in a good way. Any kind of turn from any direction can be made lightning fast, with little force applied. I carry a small tool bag which has every tool necessary to repair anything on the car. I rarely need to use it for any more than a small coolant leak, loose wire, or exhaust gasket. It's a great car, I am planning on keeping it forever. Eventually the body will be restored as well. I'm planning on getting another car that's RWD, lightweight, and manual transmission. Have my mind set on a Cosworth Vega. Always wanted one, have done a decent amount of work on the engine, but swapped into a Chevette. I'd like to use the original fuel injection manifold but install modern injectors, a modern Haltech ECU, knock sensor, O2 sensor, TPS, MAP sensor, and coil per cylinder ignition. Obviously have Cometic make me a custom MLS head gasket as well. And I think it would be a wonderful car, having gotten rid of the analog computer and actually having modern controls on that engine. If you're not looking for one in perfect shape they're really not terribly expensive. $4000-8000 range for one that needs paint and interior work, but is running and driving fine. Another old car that I think you guys will get a kick out of is my friend's 82 Toronado diesel. Original 5.7 engine, never rebuilt, has over 600,000 miles on it. It does have ARP head studs installed, but the cylinders are factory size, and they still have near perfect crosshatching. Oil used way back when is unknown. Currently uses mostly Mobil 1 15w50 and 5w50, some Mobil 1 V Twin 20W50 as well, Mobil does strangely recommend it for API CF applications. Included are some pictures of my Subaru:
Yawn, I've seen rust belt 12 year old vehicles with an outstanding rust recall advertised on the west coast for prices into the 15,000 range.
Thats a bunch for a car that should be sent to pasture. Its like its a game.
Thats a bunch for a car that should be sent to pasture. Its like its a game.
22 years on my CamryI know COVID related crunch aided the already existing trend, but I think durability is a constantly increasing variable, despite the ever growing complexity
Average car is 13.5 years old, which means a lot are older than that, yet are still maintainable to be driven!
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Wow this is amazing! I hope I can keep my 91’ Previa running like what you have here! Parts are already getting hard to find, but you seriously jury rigged your car! Parts from all over!
What makes it easy in the case of the Subaru is how generic everything is. And the fact that it's carbureted with electronic ignition. Basically anything from that time period can be made to work. On a fuel injected car the same could be done, just a bit more difficult and would likely require running a standalone ECU like a Haltech or similar. That way you could use sensors, injectors, etc for any kind of car, and tune for it. That's the plan when I get my Cosworth Vega. The simplest Haltech standalone, GM MAP sensor, TPS, knock sensor, GM wideband O2, Mercury IGN1A coils, late model GM injectors. But that is a simple setup. One of the first modern style EFI cars available in the US. That engine is capable of over 250hp and over 8000RPM, naturally aspirated. Detonation tends to blow head gaskets. Modern EFI with a knock sensor, temp sensor, and an MLS head gasket should solve that.
The S2000 debuted with EPS and no one complained about it.
I think every new tech has one company fail hard (Nissan early adopter) and majority do fine. Toyota waits and engineers a long lasting version generally.
Nobody who has owned something from new would question the durability and reliability of cars of the past thirty years or more.
You do nothing other than routine maintenance for the first 100K+ and the thing starts, runs and drives just fine.
I say "owned from new" since only in that way do you actually know the car's maintenance history. Plenty of used cars for sale that have a host of undisclosed problems.
I've owned and daily driven cars well beyond the current average and found them to be pretty carefree.
How many old cars and trucks do you see plying the roads every day?
If you pay attention, it's a substantial fraction of those on out there.
Vehicles last a lot longer than many seem to think and are not terribly expensive to keep on the road, or at least the ones we've had haven't been. Rust is also not nearly the problem that it was back in the seventies and earlier.
You do nothing other than routine maintenance for the first 100K+ and the thing starts, runs and drives just fine.
I say "owned from new" since only in that way do you actually know the car's maintenance history. Plenty of used cars for sale that have a host of undisclosed problems.
I've owned and daily driven cars well beyond the current average and found them to be pretty carefree.
How many old cars and trucks do you see plying the roads every day?
If you pay attention, it's a substantial fraction of those on out there.
Vehicles last a lot longer than many seem to think and are not terribly expensive to keep on the road, or at least the ones we've had haven't been. Rust is also not nearly the problem that it was back in the seventies and earlier.
All three cars in our driveway are 08s.
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not at all familiar with the vehicle so I googled what you said. I dunno
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