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Unread 17-11-2004, 18:51
Jay H 237 Jay H 237 is offline
Down at the railroad
AKA: Jason Hartmann
FRC #0237 (Black Magic)
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Re: What do you all drive?

I own 3 cars (two are paid for, the Toyota I'm still making payments on).

My "everyday" car is a 1997 Toyota Camry LE. It's gray with gray interior and a 4cyl engine. I bought the car in '01 as a replacement for my Caprice. It had come into the local Saturn dealer where I found it on the lot. I will never buy a new car for the simple fact of how much money you lose in driving one off the showroom floor. I like cars that are 4-6 years old.

I have a 1987 Chevrolet Caprice Classic wagon (9 passenger) I've owned since July of '95. It's gold with blonde trim (fake woodgrain) and saddle colored interior. It currently has just under 167,000 miles on the factory Oldsmobile 307 in it. The car is in good condition but the motor is tired. It uses oil (2 quarts a week if I use it all week) but I'm hoping to replace it soon. I've always maintained it but it was a company fleet vehicle before I owned it so who really knows how much use is on the motor. It should have had a hour meter since the motor was never shut off. It runs good and still is dependable but you just have to keep an eye on the oil level otherwise the motor will be finished off quick. This is my "second" car after being retired from being my everyday driver for 6 years shortly after the oil consumption started. I still use it and take it on some trips since letting a car sit is one of the worst things you could do. The main reason I kept this car is because Saturn decided all they'd give me in trade for it would be $100 because of the age and milelage. I currently have plans to restore this car since full size wagons are a dying breed and the last thing I want is this car going to the salvage yard or becoming a demo car.

My third car is the 1968 Ford Mustang in my Who Am I Pic. I've owned it since March of '98. I use it for shows and cruises only and it's off the road from the first snowfall (whenever that is) till late April or early May when most of the salt and sand is off the roads. I'm the fifth owner and have researched and spoke to the cars owners going back to the second. I did locate the first owner and sent her a letter but I haven't gotten a response. It lived in California until early '93 when it came to Connecticut. I've already redone the interior and partially redone the mechanics and replaced some of the wiring harnesses. Alot of the chrome is new but it does need some bodywork. I know the passenger door needs a new skin since it took a hit at some point and has bondo on it. The drip rails on the roof also have some rust which was covered up. The battery area sheetmetal under the hood is corroded and crinkled and needs to be replaced. The car is still it's original color of Acapulco blue but it's a repaint. It still has it's original 289 motor (82,000 documented miles on it) C4 tranny and nonlocking 2.79-1 rear end. It's other factory options are power steering, AM radio, tinted glass (5%), deluxe seatbelts (as a matter of fact seatbelts were an option back then!), and two options it no longer has, white wall tires and deluxe wheel covers. I did add one option to it though, an original clock I purchased and had it redone and converted internally to a quartz movement before I installed it.

[EDIT] I just wanted to add the cars I no longer have.

My first car I ever owned was a 1982 Dodge Omni. The previous owner had kept gas in the car and kept it washed and waxed but never did anything else to it. It was blue with blue interior with the 2.2 4cyl under the hood and 4 on the floor. The car looked great but had many mechanical problems that kept creeping up from the previous lack of maitenance. I knew this when I bought it and got it real cheap but after I started dumping way to much money into an Omni and not seeing any end to the problems I sold it. It was replaced by the Citation.

I also had a 1981 Chevrolet Citation (unfortunately it wasn't an X-11 ). It was a biege 2 door hatchback that was a 'hand-me-down' from my parents. It was also a 4cyl with 4 on the floor. It had power steering and brakes and an AM-FM mono radio. These cars had a verticle radio in them if you know what I'm talking about. They were mounted "sideways". This is one car I miss. It ran great and had no trouble going through snow. The interior was badly sun faded and had some minor rust starting to form. We wound up donating the car to the Kidney Foundation when the brakes failed and we decided not to fix the car. It had 130,000 miles on it when we got rid of it. My Caprice replaced this car.

I also bought another 1968 Ford Mustang for parts only. It was in a farmers field for 11 years and the bottom 4-5 inches of the car physically wasn't there anymore. It had sunk to it's axles in mud. It was a 200 ci 6 cyl, with a C4 tranny and was green with black interior. I dismantled this car for parts. I still have most of the parts but the carcass was disposed of. Technically it could have been restored since they make all the repro panels but it needed major work and being just a 6 cylinder coupe it wasn't worth it.
__________________
2006 Maryland Delphi "Driving Tomorrow's Technology" award
2006 Connecticut General Motor's Industrial Design award
2005 Finalists-----------New Jersey (along with our alliances again, 56 & 303)
2005 WINNERS of the Radio Shack Innovation in Control Award (not once, but twice! )
2004 WINNERS ------ Johnson & Johnson Mid-Atlantic Regional (also thanks to our alliances 56 & 303)
2004 General Motors Industrial Design Award Winners
2004 Archimedes Quarterfinalists (also thanks to our alliances 121 & 386)

NEMO _________ NonEngineering Mentor Organization
"Make it idiot proof and someone will make a better idiot!" - author unknown

Last edited by Jay H 237 : 17-11-2004 at 19:32. Reason: added more info (cars)
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