My knuckles got scratched just by looking at pics of the engine bay. Geez.Had a Ford Countour w/porsche-cosworth designed Duratec v6 2.5L 170hp speed. Nice car - if it was slapped together correctly.
Also enjoyed an early 2.8L V6 Chevy S10 std cab short box with a 4 speed and a spread bore Rochester VaraJet FFB carb - a mini half Quadra-bogAlso owned the good X-11 citation with a 4 speed mt.
Ford Contour V6
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Small, V-6 powered coupes…miss them!
- Thread starter addyguy
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dnewton3
Staff member
I had a 1995 v6 2.5L Contour, with an automatic. Mine was the introductory model year. What a total piece of garbage that car was. If it could go wrong, it did go wrong. I got rid of it after less than two years of frustration. I liked the concept of the car; small and moderately agile with a smooth v6. But the actual product (first year run) was just a nightmare; so many things went wrong with the car. Mainly chassis and interior related items; the engine itself was fine.
I have a friend who had a 1999 Contour SVT with a manual trans. Sweet little car. The engine was strong, the trans worked well, and the handling was very agile. Admittedly, it was a tight engine bay; a nightmare to work on. But honestly it ran well and only needed one water pump and a clutch replaced after nearly 300k miles! He had nearly zero quality problems with the car in all those miles. Ford clearly worked out the bugs, as his Contour was far, far better in build quality than mine. His car being built 4 years later, they worked out all the bugs. I think he got rid of the car because of rust, but after 300k"ish" miles, you really can't complain for that kind of service when living in the rust belt.
I have a friend who had a 1999 Contour SVT with a manual trans. Sweet little car. The engine was strong, the trans worked well, and the handling was very agile. Admittedly, it was a tight engine bay; a nightmare to work on. But honestly it ran well and only needed one water pump and a clutch replaced after nearly 300k miles! He had nearly zero quality problems with the car in all those miles. Ford clearly worked out the bugs, as his Contour was far, far better in build quality than mine. His car being built 4 years later, they worked out all the bugs. I think he got rid of the car because of rust, but after 300k"ish" miles, you really can't complain for that kind of service when living in the rust belt.
Me driving, you're toast
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Shifted many gears in mostly GM V6 FWD cars. That tinny exhaust note was cool to a high school kid. Reasonably fast, cars back then were surprisingly light.
My 87 GLi with a 1.8 (15 years old at the time) was just as fast.
My 87 GLi with a 1.8 (15 years old at the time) was just as fast.
I know, collectors dream bcs. they handeld so well.Me driving, you're toast
So good that none is available even as collector item.
Yes. I had a '92 Duster 3.0 and a '92 Daytona IROC 3.0 (5 spd). Both were really fun back in the day. Then I moved on to DSM turbos.
Exactly “lowly 4 cyl” not even mentioning 15 years old just as fast
Nostalgia is what makes all these “v6 coupe super cars” so good lol.
Zee09
$200 Site Donor 2023
I did like the old 6s as well.
Sort of off topic but I had a new 06 Lincoln LS that didn't do great things but I always liked that 3.9 V8. And I thought Ford could have done great things with it. It made great noises and was silky smooth.
I thought it could have been put in many other applications.
Sort of off topic but I had a new 06 Lincoln LS that didn't do great things but I always liked that 3.9 V8. And I thought Ford could have done great things with it. It made great noises and was silky smooth.
I thought it could have been put in many other applications.
I have had exactly one V6 and it was in an SUV. Always preferred 4 cylinders in cars and V8s in trucks and SUVs.
That said my buddy’s V6 Golf with a six speed was such a fun car to drive. It is was like driving a go cart with V6 in it.
80's FWD ≠ collector car.
How many Audi 100 on Autotrader classic? Then How many Citation x-11?
I found one of each nationwide
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Great thread. I had a 96 cutlass supreme coupe - had a 3.1 - full OBD2. Went like 180K miles without any significant problems. Wish I had a pic.
Yes, lots of naysayers, but that was a great car - my first almost new car, went on a lot of trips, fun to cruise around in. Was it a sports car - absolutely not, but that was sort of the point.
Yes, lots of naysayers, but that was a great car - my first almost new car, went on a lot of trips, fun to cruise around in. Was it a sports car - absolutely not, but that was sort of the point.
Liked the GM 60-degree V6. Back then you could keep them running with lifetime warranty parts from any FLAPS at a reasonable price. Pre-OBD-II was nice as well, easy to get inspected.
Had an 89 Firebird 2.8, 96 Ciera 3.1, 97 Silhouette 3.4. Wife had a 93 Corsica 3.1. All had a nice growl. My 92 Ciera 3.3, a destroked 3.8, was a torque monster as well. They made coupes of this car some years.
Had an 89 Firebird 2.8, 96 Ciera 3.1, 97 Silhouette 3.4. Wife had a 93 Corsica 3.1. All had a nice growl. My 92 Ciera 3.3, a destroked 3.8, was a torque monster as well. They made coupes of this car some years.
Yeah the early 80's engines 2.8L with the big port heads and Rochester VaraJet ( 1/2 a quadrajet) in the S-10 pickup made some GREAT midrange grunt with the air cleaner lid flipped
The later and early example P.F.I. motors were de-tuned pretty severely.
"Fire-breathing" Rochester 2SE found on early 60 degree GM V6's -
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Yeah, I always wanted one but there was never a package containing a V6 I liked unfortunately since Chrysler refused to use the 3.5 or 3.3/3.8 in any fwd coupes ( and the final Sebring convertible doesn't count) and Ford never used the 3.0 Duratec or SHO in a coupe.
My Aunt back in the day had a Toyota Solara which was quite nice.
My brother had a Grand Prix coupe with the 3800 and I really loved it... when it would run. After leaving him stranded about 6 times with only 104k miles he was done with it. I thought the handling was fine I don't subscribe to this obsession with balance.
My Aunt back in the day had a Toyota Solara which was quite nice.
My brother had a Grand Prix coupe with the 3800 and I really loved it... when it would run. After leaving him stranded about 6 times with only 104k miles he was done with it. I thought the handling was fine I don't subscribe to this obsession with balance.
