Posted on 05/06/2016 7:18:17 PM PDT by mdittmar
“The problem with the original XJ wasn’t leaking oil. It Lucas electrics.”
Haha! The Prince of Darkness. My MGA was afflicted with them as were just about every Brit car of that period. the MG was 12 volt, + ground (Lucas referred to it as “positive earth.”) Two six volt batteries wired in series, located in a compartment behind the seats, open to the road below.
I’m beginning to miss that little oddball car... Sniff.
A Kelly Green, Convertible, Karmann Ghia.
By the time I had a license, they weren’t making them anymore :-(
-JT
When I was in college one of the kids had a Chevy II. It looked plain and he did not keep it real clean.
It was not your typical Chevy II tho. I have no idea what he had done to it but it was what we called a “Q” ship. Some high performance V8, heavy duty tranny and whole drive train. The high performance tires were a bit of a giveaway but most people did not notice.
Me too. Loved the way the Pacer looked. I’d still.like one.
Black ‘65 GTO.....
The year I was 15, my neighbor had a 1956 Buick Special as a second car. It was beautiful. I hoped to make him an offer for it once I got my iicense and started working, but he had traded it by then.
Oh,man, my dream car was a 1968 Camaro too!
GMTA!
Like a beautiful woman, that car had hips.
My favorite rear end in Corvettes, though I kind of like the single headlight ‘56-’57 ones a little more.
Truth be told, when I was 16, any car that was mine alone would be a dream car. It could have been a rusted-out, 4-door Rambler with a 4-cylinder engine and three-on-the-tree like Grandma drove and I’d been fine with it because it represented independence. Of course, my sense of independence wouldn’t have been too tarnished if Dad wanted to fill the gas tank.
Lucas electronics. The reason the British drink warm beer is that they have Lucas refrigerators.
1973 Charger. I was 16 in 1979
I also really liked the Plymouth Satellite
When I got out of the service in 1972, I had the chance to buy 13 acres of lakefront property (today worth a few million) or buy a 1970 Hemi ‘Cuda...
I really had a ball with that car....*sigh*
Great, until you have to brake and take that turn up ahead and some MG Midget passes you on the outside.
Aornis tried to drop one of those on Tuesday Next from a transport blimp. (a Jasper FForde reference)
The Rover 3500 sedan had the battery in the trunk. The trunk carpet would get inevitably get wet when you had to add water to the battery. It had a small reserve tank so that when you ran out of gas due to faulty instruments, you could pull a mechanical lever and have enough gas to get to a station (remember to pull the lever out when filling the tank so the reserve would fill, as well). Twin carbs, aluminum engine and body.
The XJ, on the other hand, had dual tanks (filler cap on each side) which didn’t interconnect, again, so you didn’t have to rely on the gas gauge). Unfortunately, the choice of tank was controlled by an electrical (see the problem) toggle switch on the dash.
Driving Asian cars isn’t nearly as exciting.
A 1956 Buick Special was the first car I remember my Dad having. From NJ, we traveled all the way out West and across Canada in it. Had it all the way until 1964 when he got a 1965 Buick Le Sabre which I never really liked. I was not old enough to drive the ‘56 before it disappeared one day!
“Call me crazy, but I loved the 6.9 Mercedes of the 1970’s. Big, brash, grey market beast that I saw beat a 308 in a sprint. The prototype of the future AMG miracles. BAMF.”
Not crazy at all. The ultimate sleeper. My Dad had a white 300TD that did not so much accelerate as gather momentum but would then cruise whatever speed all day. It seemed to be invisible to cops.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.