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  #21  
Old 06-06-2011, 11:05 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by A Fish Named Wallyum
I can't say I've ever seen [a Maverick/Comet] that I liked.
This car, and the Plymouth Duster, were Jeckyl-and-Hyde cars. They could be quite ugly - especially in factory trim - or quite fierce looking with the right rims and tires. Similarly, the drive train options varied from wimpy straight sixes up thru some potent V-8's.

For me, with the Fords, Henry's ghost was still pinching pennies - they put four-bolt wheels on some of those Mavericks. How cheap can you get?

I recall at least one quite potent Maverick in my home town. The guy had it tricked out quite nicely. BTW, Mr. Squirrel-Works, Don Magness, has a Maverick in his eclectic fleet

Doug

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  #22  
Old 06-06-2011, 11:26 PM
A Fish Named Wallyum A Fish Named Wallyum is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug Sams
This car, and the Plymouth Duster, were Jeckyl-and-Hyde cars. They could be quite ugly - especially in factory trim - or quite fierce looking with the right rims and tires. Similarly, the drive train options varied from wimpy straight sixes up thru some potent V-8's.

For me, with the Fords, Henry's ghost was still pinching pennies - they put four-bolt wheels on some of those Mavericks. How cheap can you get?

I recall at least one quite potent Maverick in my home town. The guy had it tricked out quite nicely. BTW, Mr. Squirrel-Works, Don Magness, has a Maverick in his eclectic fleet

Doug

.

Kathy was having brake problems with hers and asked me to give it a test drive for her. She didn't tell me the extent to which she was having brake problems, which was almost no brakes at all. She and some friends were working at Wendy's at the time, so I took it for a turn around the lot. At the time there was only one entrance/exit to the parking lot and you had to circle the store to get out. I was on turn 3 and hit the brakes, and the pedal went to the floor. I managed to get it around the turn and E-braked it to a stop in the lot, but I **** near went straight through the landscaping and down the six foot drop to Carother's Road. IIRC, her master cylinder was shot.
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  #23  
Old 06-07-2011, 12:05 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug Sams
This car, and the Plymouth Duster, were Jeckyl-and-Hyde cars. They could be quite ugly - especially in factory trim - or quite fierce looking with the right rims and tires. Similarly, the drive train options varied from wimpy straight sixes up thru some potent V-8's.

For me, with the Fords, Henry's ghost was still pinching pennies - they put four-bolt wheels on some of those Mavericks. How cheap can you get?

I recall at least one quite potent Maverick in my home town. The guy had it tricked out quite nicely. BTW, Mr. Squirrel-Works, Don Magness, has a Maverick in his eclectic fleet

Doug

.

My best friend in high school had a red and white Comet. It was seriously tricked out but it was a sleeper. You would have never expected anything until he opened up the throttle.

I've always thought AMC made the ugliest cars - ever-. The Gremlin, Pacer, Matador, Javelin are all hideous.
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  #24  
Old 06-07-2011, 12:18 AM
A Fish Named Wallyum A Fish Named Wallyum is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveR
My best friend in high school had a red and white Comet. It was seriously tricked out but it was a sleeper. You would have never expected anything until he opened up the throttle.

I've always thought AMC made the ugliest cars - ever-. The Gremlin, Pacer, Matador, Javelin are all hideous.

I had a string of girlfriends who all drove Gremlins. (Married the last one, so they can't be all bad.) First one had a nicely optioned Levi edition that actually ran decent. Maria's was a bargain-basement car that someone GAVE her. Even then it was too much. Grandpa had a 70 Hornet with a small block V8. (304 or 301. Can't remember which.) It was supposed to be my first car, but Dad nixed the idea. Grandpa got $150 for it in trade on the Volare that he, Grandma, and his brother Jay and his wife Dot amost got killed in. I'd rock a two door Hornet if the opportunity arose. I've also seen some cool things done with Pacers, and the Javelin/AMX and (later model) Matador are just flat cool. When I was bridge hunting back in the very early spring, I saw an SC/Rambler on a flatbed, hopefully on the way for a restoration. Ugly, yes, but very cool.
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  #25  
Old 06-07-2011, 12:23 AM
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luke strawwalker luke strawwalker is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug Sams
This car, and the Plymouth Duster, were Jeckyl-and-Hyde cars. They could be quite ugly - especially in factory trim - or quite fierce looking with the right rims and tires. Similarly, the drive train options varied from wimpy straight sixes up thru some potent V-8's.

For me, with the Fords, Henry's ghost was still pinching pennies - they put four-bolt wheels on some of those Mavericks. How cheap can you get?

I recall at least one quite potent Maverick in my home town. The guy had it tricked out quite nicely. BTW, Mr. Squirrel-Works, Don Magness, has a Maverick in his eclectic fleet

Doug

.


Four bolt rims are the six cylinder models... those were the 200 and 240 straight sixes-- they didn't have a V-6 at the time (well, they did actually, but it was based on the old FE skirted "Y" big blocks and was a HD truck engine basically TOTALLY unrelated to anything being run in the cars).

Dad had a 66 Falcon with the I-6 and the four bolt wheels. All the 6 cylinder baseline Mustangs of the time also used the four bolt wheels. That's the quickest way to tell an original 6 cylinder car from the original V-8 cars of the time-- if it's got five-hole wheels it was originally a V-8 (unless they actually went through and switched the front hubs and rear end out).

The 300 six cylinder in the pickups wasn't too bad... but the 200 and 240 were kinda wimpy... of course in a MUSCLECAR you want MUSCLE, which DEFINITELY leaves out the wimpy INLINE SIXES... but for a daily driver they were good motors... especially if you were trying to save gas...

Later! OL JR
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  #26  
Old 06-07-2011, 12:27 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveR
My best friend in high school had a red and white Comet. It was seriously tricked out but it was a sleeper. You would have never expected anything until he opened up the throttle.

I've always thought AMC made the ugliest cars - ever-. The Gremlin, Pacer, Matador, Javelin are all hideous.


I liked the AMC Hornet in the Bond film "The Man with the Golden Gun"... not the prettiest car ever by a longshot but still fairly neat looking for that time...

I used to have a 73 Mustang-- before they became TOTAL CRAP and UGLIER THAN SIN... There's a guy about 4 miles from me here who has TWO 74-76 Mustangs sitting in front of his house for sale-- FOR THE LAST TWO OR THREE YEARS-- NO BITES (heck no nibbles I'd bet!) Those 'stangs look just like a Pinto sans the hatchback... and they were TOTALLY wimped out motor-wise-- either a 4 banger or a wimpy V-6... I've heard of people shoe-horning a 302 into them, but the front suspension can't really take the weight and the unibody sags after awhile, and it's still a butt-ugly car...

Later! OL JR
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  #27  
Old 06-07-2011, 12:30 AM
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Earl Earl is offline
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Johnathan-

What a person legally procures, with their own income, is (or should be) their own business, explainable and defended to no one. This is still (at least for now) a country based on a Constitution with certain rights.

You, at the same time, are certainly free to wonder -- out loud -- why a person would spend such-and-such money on such-and-such item(s).

What I don't understand (at least in the 'imparted' tone of your messages) is the seemingly near-seething 'anger' directed at some of these folks with whom you disagree concerning their own private purchases, and in particular, amounts paid.

I can see feeling pity towards them; sorrow even maybe for the 'perceived' loss of valuable dollars that (by opinion) could have been 'better spent' on something else. But it seems (at least as I perceive it) that your feelings are neither of those more 'charitable' terms. On the contrary, the posts seem like 'anger' and 'hate'.

I would not personally plop down a couple million (even if I had it) for a rare painting. Nothing against them; just not my bag, not even for an 'investment'. Others, for whom that IS their 'bag' (and have the funds) might gladly do that for the joy it brings them and their appreciation of the object. But I don't be-grudge a person for doing that OR for HAVING the funds to be ABLE to do that.

Most of us on this forum might be most happy to drop $75 to $100 for a completetly and perfectly mint Cineroc hand signed by Mike Dorffler. That, most of us would probably agree, would be a pretty good deal....one not to be missed if at all possible. NOT as an 'investment'. Most of us here I suspect don't swap and buy this old stuff for investment purposes anyway, but because it's an offer that doesn't come around at that price point. Additionally, many of us never had a Cineroc back in the day and, if we were honest, still have a place in our heart for one.

Others, outside our hobby with no understanding or appreciation of what a Cinceroc is or who this Mr. Dorffler was, would probably think someone to be somewhat daffy for spending that kind of money on an 'old toy camera' (that you can't very easily use anymore).

It's hard to know what a given person's motivations are for a particular purchase: sentimental, practical, emotional, financial, etc. In many cases, espcially for things as relatively esoteric as vintage rocket kits, the persons know largely what the item is, what it means to them, and are fully conscious of the resources they are committing to make that transaction happen. I doubt too very many of those purchases are coming from folks who are just taking a wild gander at these auction sites, doing some random mouse clicks, and hitting 'something' and saying: "That looks like an interesting item! Let's buy that!!".

So, it's all relative in many cases. What one person loathes, another loves. What someone drops cash on in a second (crack? cocaine??), other see as a complete and total waste of time and money.

Space art? Astronaut memorabilia?? Seems I recall a former mention of items of that nature in your collection. Some of those things had to set you back a buck or two (masonic rings?). But that's none of my business and I don't need to know those details of what was spent. If that is what you wanted, I think that's wonderful!

But I don't HATE you for spending your cash on that!! I think it's great!! It's the land of the free (with 'increasing limits' on same). For someone (like you have done; like many of us have done) to push past circumstances, to earn your keep, and to apply your personal and private resources towards ends of your own (legal) choosing. That, at least in part, is what America is all about.

If I've missed your point, I apologize. It's just that I perceive soooooo much anger in your posts about how people spend their OWN money.

Politicians spending our money? Keep tearing them a new one. Now THERE is a travesty and mis-management (in many cases) of the country's riches.

Individuals doing their 'own thing'? Maybe a little more 'live and let live' towards 'what others do' might be a good thing.


Love ya man!

Earl
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  #28  
Old 06-07-2011, 12:32 AM
A Fish Named Wallyum A Fish Named Wallyum is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by luke strawwalker
The 300 six cylinder in the pickups wasn't too bad... but the 200 and 240 were kinda wimpy... of course in a MUSCLECAR you want MUSCLE, which DEFINITELY leaves out the wimpy INLINE SIXES... but for a daily driver they were good motors... especially if you were trying to save gas...

Later! OL JR

Yeah, both of my friends drove six cylinder cars when we were just starting out. Rob had a 225 slant six Duster and Cone had a Nova with a 250 and a Cherry Bomb muffler. They both got in the neighborhood of 20 mpg, which beat my '73 Plymouth Satellite Regent station wagon with a billy club. I got somewhere in the area of 12 mpg, and developed such gas saving strategies as coasting down long hills and lifting the hose after shutting it off to drain EVERY drop of gas in the line. The economy of those two cars impressed me so much that the car I bought after the Duster was a Horizon that got between 30 and 40 mpg.
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  #29  
Old 06-07-2011, 09:18 AM
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All AMC cars and trucks are UGLY AS SIN POS TURDS, WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

Have NEVER owned a car without a V8, many of which were Big-Blocks in the 7.5 litre range.
Will never own a car without a V8 unless it is a European Sports car.
The V6 in the Buick Grand National is what I consider a MINIMUM of acceptable power.
4 cylinders belong in MOTORCYCLES.
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  #30  
Old 06-07-2011, 09:53 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by A Fish Named Wallyum
Yeah, both of my friends drove six cylinder cars when we were just starting out. Rob had a 225 slant six Duster and Cone had a Nova with a 250 and a Cherry Bomb muffler. They both got in the neighborhood of 20 mpg, which beat my '73 Plymouth Satellite Regent station wagon with a billy club. I got somewhere in the area of 12 mpg, and developed such gas saving strategies as coasting down long hills and lifting the hose after shutting it off to drain EVERY drop of gas in the line. The economy of those two cars impressed me so much that the car I bought after the Duster was a Horizon that got between 30 and 40 mpg.


Wish they still made the Ford Festiva (ok, so it was a rebranded KIA)... 50 MPG all day long in a fat-boy friendly little car... That is the ONLY small car that I've found that is/was comfortable for a 6-1, 300+ lb country boy...

Only thing lacking was air conditioning (sure is nice in TEXAS!!!), cruise control (nice to have) and maybe an automatic transmission. (they came with an automatic as an option-- the 5 speed box was standard. Cruise was an option too as was A/C).

Dad had two, and put well over 200,000 miles on both. He used them for work cars when he was at the nuke plant and drove 104 miles a day round trip to work. They were peppy little cars too... and they could haul a lot of stuff-- we moved my sister from near Houston to Lubbock, which is 525 miles, to the Texas Tech University (GO RED RAIDERS!!! GUNS UP!!!) every year while she was in college and home again in the summer... she and mom drove one car, with the back seat and hatchback cargo area loaded to the roof, and I drove the other Festiva with the front passenger seat stacked to the ceiling and dashboard, the rear seat folded down, and packed from floor to ceiling all the way to the hatchback-- just enough room for me to get in the driver's seat and get to the gearshift...
Those little cars were just amazing... just wish Dad had spent an extra $1,000 bucks on them (they were only like $8,000 cash) and got the A/C and cruise control...

He griped that the A/C dropped the mileage by about 5 mpg, and the automatic did too, about another 5 mpg... so you get 40 instead of 50... big woop! Sure would be nice to have A/C on a 100 degree day!!! The automatic is a "nice to have" but the standard was ok too...

Those cars ran and ran and never missed a lick-- only thing they needed were regular oil changes and replacing the 12 inch tires once or twice a year... and the tires were only like $24 each at Walmart for Douglas brand...

Not like these stupid new cars... I was talking with a dealer at the 4H fair in Indiana a couple years back-- they had that new Ford not-quite-SUV-not-quite-minivan thing on display in one of the buildings-- the guy kept going on and on about the I-pod dock and its compatibility with all the electronic bells and whistles and gizmos like GPS and various phones and all this kind of crap... I kept asking about the mileage and the transmission and the engine and stuff like that... he seemed rather shocked when I wanted to look under the hood... and all he could intelligently (and I use the term loosely) answer about was the stupid electronic interfaces with the electronic toys and gizmos you wanted to install, not about the POWERTRAIN of the vehicle! I finally told him in exasperation, "I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANY OF THAT ELECTRONIC CRAP-- TELL ME ABOUT THE POWERTRAIN!" I guess they're just marketing to these empty-headed morons that come in with half a dozen electronic gizmos attached to their belts, pockets, and wires around the neck and bluetooths in their ear...

I couldn't care less about ANY of that crap... the only options I care about on a vehicle are 1) A/C, 2) cruise control, 3) automatic transmission. In that order... everything else is nonsensical fluff...

When my dad finally wore the Festiva's out (sold one and loaned the other to my BIL for his last year of college at Texas A&M) he bought a 2000 Ford Escort to drive to work-- UTTER CRAPMOBILE!!! He'd bought a used 1996 Escort 2 door sporty model a few years earlier but didn't like it, so he gave it to my brother... he's still driving it with 300,000 miles+ on it. When my Dad became disabled after a year or two of driving the car, he parked it because he couldn't get in or out of it. It was paid for so we put it in the garage since we'd lose money if we sold it. My brother kept it as a 'fallback' car if his Escort finally died... It sat in the barn for several years, driven periodically, until we decided to pull it out and let my wife drive it 38 miles each way to work each day to save high-priced gas... but the thing only gets about 28 mpg (my parent's Dodge minivans get that on the freeway and almost that the rest of the time, even with 5-6 people!) That stupid car has to be the CRAPPIEST piece of junk I've ever seen-- it's wired with the dinkiest wiring I've ever seen-- stuff isn't much bigger than that multistrand computer wiring they use in data cables... the headlights burned up the plugs that plug into the headlight bulbs, and I installed a new set and they've burned them up too... you have to smack the headlights to get them to come on, and every time you turn the headlights on either one side or the other (occassionally both) refuse to come on unless you smack them. Even then, after awhile they'll quit coming on until you unplug the plug from the light bulb and rattle it around, and plug it back in. The A/C quit and it was getting warm out, so I started troubleshooting it and traced it to a faulty CCRM module... When I researched it online, I found out the CCRM is a faulty peice of crap they install in the system to go out, FORCING you to go drop $450 for a new one at Ford (dealer item only) and they charge about $400 in labor to install it. Turns out they use a tiny little relay inside it that you can get at Radio Shack for $3; one guy on the ZX-2 forum cut the case on his CCRM open, cut the old relay out, soldered the new one to the snipped off legs sticking out of the breadboard, and put the cover back, and presto! $3 fix to a $450 money-robbing dunsel... After looking at the wiring diagram, I figured out an easier work around-- I cut the A/C low pressure switch output wire, installed a jumper wire with a wire nut and sealed the wires/nut up with electrical tape, and ran the jumper wire directly to the A/C compressor clutch field coil, splicing the jumper wire into the power feed wire from the CCRM controlling the clutch. This bypassed the redundant and stupid CCRM and high pressure cutout switch (which is unnecessary since the thing has a freon popoff valve if the system overheats/overpressurizes anyway) and is identical to how my 96 Ford pickup A/C is wired... low pressure cycling switch controlling the A/C compressor directly, being fed power to the low pressure cycling switch from the A/C control knob inside the cab... SIMPLE...

New cars are just MADE to break down, so they can clean your plow at the dealer shop... Later! OL JR
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