I'm a simple man, all i want is NA MX-5 and 1998 Subaru STI. Unfortunately the price of petrol is so high in Portugal that i can't afford to run a Subaru
Seeing that Belair vs Malibu crash leaves me cold for an older car, but crash worthiness aside, I've always had a soft spot for Volvo 122s and Volvo 142E. I've had several and found them very nice drivers. They stop well, have comfortable seats, and like our Mirage, turn on a dime. I've also had an early and mid-60s Valiants, one slant six and another a V8. Perhaps they could be modernized with disk brakes, but in factory original configuration, I'd take a pass.
70's Westfalia VW camper bus. It was my first car, in the 1990s in California, but I never ended up driving it. I fixed it up in the backyard, even slept in it one night for fun. But I was young and practical beyond my years. I wanted something safe and reliable, so I bought a new 1999 Saturn. Sold the bus. Moved to Ohio. Wished I still had it, but I'd need more garage space. A couple years ago, my mom bought me the nice big VW Bus LEGO set. It's assembled on the shelf in my office. No maintenance, no insurance required.
I've also always loved the 80s Lotus Esprit. Late 90's/early 2000's Impreza. Only car I've seen that looks good with gold wheels. Delorean, of course.
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View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 44.1 mpg (US) ... 18.7 km/L ... 5.3 L/100 km ... 52.9 mpg (Imp)
fifteenwindow (01-26-2017)
Ah, such a fun topic!
My dream cars have almost never been exotics. For a daily driver, I've always wanted a 1st gen Honda Insight. About 6 months ago that dream finally came true and its now what I daily drive. Here is a picture next to my old daily driver, my 99 Metro.
The next car that I really enjoy is also a little econobox. Its actually my first car, a 1993 Toyota Tercel. I still own it, but its not currently running. It needs a bunch of work and it has a ton of miles at 217k. I'd love the chance to rebuild the oil burning engine, reupholster the interior and get rid of the rust on it. Who else can say they still have their first car?
The next vehicle on the list I also currently own! I know, lucky me. Its my second classic that I've ever owned (first was a 1973 Jaguar XJ12 that I let sit too long... RIP beautiful V12 engine). This is a 1951 Ford F1 pickup, and it is sitting tucked away in my garage. I love the body lines on the old pickups. There is nothing like it these days. I picked mine up a couple years ago for a great price. Of course it needs a ton of work and isn't running. Trying to get rid of other projects so I can find time for it. Here are some pics from the day I went to look at it at my buddie's house.
The last one that I'd really like to own is one I've kept an eye out for for a long time, but simply don't have the time or garage space for quite yet. Its a summer/fun car that I'd never take out in the salty roads here in Wisconsin (not that I would with the truck). I love the styling on the Nissan 280Z. The long front hood with the fast back... beautiful car. Not too pricey either really. Here is an example pic.
Seriously though guys, this thread needs more pictures.
Custom Mirage products: Cruise control kit, Glove box light, MAF sensor housing, Rear sway bar, Upper grill block
Current project: DIY Nitrous oxide setup for ~$100
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View my fuel log 2015 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 47.2 mpg (US) ... 20.1 km/L ... 5.0 L/100 km ... 56.7 mpg (Imp)
I am with Wells. VW buses are a pile of fun.
Here we are at the Dead show last July. Ours is the green & white '78 on the left.
And here's the '58.
Both buses have beds and a cabinet or two. Neither have water or stoves. We do a lot of camping.
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View my fuel log 2014 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 53.1 mpg (US) ... 22.6 km/L ... 4.4 L/100 km ... 63.8 mpg (Imp)
wellswebdesign (01-27-2017)
The most important part of buying an old car is looking at what's missing. The crap that is there is the easy part. I currently own and am building a 1968 coronet. It was an old drag car and I'm putting it back together for street and road racing (Elkhart lake) use. I massively underestimated the amount of hours and financial backing it was going to take to do a "nicer job". I've built lots of hack-job turbo coupes and insane motor swapped rusted buckets of bolts but i decided to do a nicer job this time. The car has now been in pieces for about 2 years and I've sunk an unreasonable amount of cash into the project. Pretty sure she'll be running/driving this year though, but no matter what way you twist my arm i can't justify near $500 cost of RUBBER DOOR SEALS, which is just the tiny tip of the iceberg of unrashionality.
Lesson learned: start with the most complete car you can and accept it for what it is, or hack it to bits and move on lol
I'm older than most of you guys...so my taste in cars is probably a bit different from the typical Mirage owner. I'm a huge fan of classic American musclecars. I like them all...GM/Ford/Mopar. My first car out of college (late 1980s) was a 1970 Buick GS455 that I bought for $4900 (a lot of money for a 20 year old used car back then). I owned it for a few years, sold it, and forgot about it.
Last year I came across the car on eBay. I emailed the owner and verified that it was my old car. He sold it for $35,000! Guess I should have held onto it?!?
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View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)
Such a huge list. I would have close to 40-50 cars but I LOVE to drive and a car isn't a car unless it's driven.
One car I'd love to collect is the 1992-1994 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 1 RS. No power windows, no power seats, no ABS, no rear wiper. It was a super light car for what it was. Lots of aftermarket modifications. But it's a collectable. Wish I can find a clean one as they're legal in the United States coming October!
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View my fuel log 2015 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 43.4 mpg (US) ... 18.5 km/L ... 5.4 L/100 km ... 52.2 mpg (Imp)
Early 90's Chevy Camaro or an El Camino because ummmmm........ Mullet!