Weirdest Car

Y'all | 15 Spetember 2017 | Me, myself, and I

[Army Air Corps]

Calling all motorheads: what is the weirdest, most oddball car, truck, or van that you have ever driven? The "weirdness" can be anything from exterior design, to mechanical features, to the interior. Have at it, FRiends.

[Yaelle]

I can still close my eyes and feel my husband’s Corvette’s shift knob.

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Come on; this is a family forum!

[mairdie]

Surely someone loves shift knobs. I still remember getting a wooden one with the MGB emblem for our first car, to go with the smaller wooden steering wheel. The Corvette had a particularly short throw that was different from any other car I remember. But going between the Corvette and my Fiat at the time drove me batty because the patterns were so unlike and it was hard to rely on instinct.

[MomwithHope]

that was a great deal!

[Yaelle]

(((((OK, I’ll confess. I love shift knobs. Don’t tell the FReeper men; they’ll tease me mercilessly!)))))

And my first car was a used fire red MG Midget. And don’t think I don’t know why Daddy bought it for me. No child has EVER been conceived in one!!!!! ;)

[mairdie]

I yearned over them at auto shows. The wood was so magnificent. That and the matching keychain.

Ours was British Racing Green and when we got to the showroom, they expected us to drive it out of the building and neither of us had ever driven stick. My first husband’s back was soaked with sweat for the first month we had it trying to learn how to drive it. We stalled out on a hill getting onto Chicago’s Outer Drive that no one would believe was there.

We used to save money by sleeping in the car on trips. It had huge leg room. The back end broke loose so you could take corners super fast, but that scared the life out of me. The car I bought for myself later was an Italian Racing Red Fiat Spyder. Rock steady on curves. Loved that red car!

I was raised by a very staid and very southern grandfather who drove a Packard. Sounds like you had more fun!

[mairdie]

Jaw dropped. Just staring.

[Yaelle]

(Oh, I had way too much fun. I didn’t use brakes on Mulholland Drive until adulthood. Shhhhh.)

((And yes we would take turns STANDING UP in the convertible on Topanga Canyon at night. Again, tell no one. The same canyon I now cannot drive because my child will puke from the curves. Ah youth.)

[mairdie]

The year we lived in Palos Verdes, I used to take that drive. Almost threw up myself. Only place I ever got a ticket for speeding was California. Truly deserved it. In fact, I think that was the only ticket I ever got in my life. I remember racing down one road in the fog and suddenly realized that I’d passed a street light. The next day I checked the location and it was the major interchange. Very young and very stupid.

[Yaelle]

Palos Verdes is gorgeous. Lovely micro climate, great views, great beaches. Except you can’t get anywhere from there. It’s a good place to live and work. If you work anywhere outside the South Bay or port, forget it.

[mairdie]

Worked in Hawthorne at National Cash Register. Brought them the entire systems development group of the U of Chicago. We said free hours. They thought we meant coming in at 10 am. All but one was gone in a year. Driving to the grocery store was a challenge. Used to see cars upside down between the roads. And the road surface was always bad because the earth was moving. We were on the cliff, surrounded by flower farms and would go to sleep to “Talk to the Animals” playing at Seaworld. I absolutely loved it!

[Swordmaker]

Come to think about it, this is actually the weirdest car I ever drove. It was a custom steam car my nephew built for the 2005 Burning Man, when he designed and built the centerpiece for that year's event, the four elements Clock Tower.

The car, with a full head of steam, might hit 3 MPH, and go 100 yards, if it didn't blow up first. . . and yes, that is a spittoon on the smokestack. He made it out of junk he had lying around his workshop. Here, it was pressed into service as the wedding vehicle to transport the bride and groom (him) from the wedding site to the reception. . . it made it.

It only takes twenty to twenty-five minutes to get up a head of steam.

if you blew the whistle, that distance range it could travel dropped to only 80 yards. . . LOL!

[Army Air Corps]

It may be weird, but it is definitely cool.

[Andy from Chapel Hill]

Have you tried (prescription) Sumatriptan?

You can get 9 pills at Sam’s Club (Plus Member price) for $10
WITHOUT insurance.

I start every day with one. Takes 15 minutes to work.

[RegulatorCountry]

You've stated that you have an inexplicable affection for Deux Chevaux. Here's one on auction that's very nicely restored, less than $10K at the moment, one day left on the auction: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1976-citroen-2cv/

[Army Air Corps]

That is a nice example from the twilight of the 2CV’s production run.

[RegulatorCountry]

Copy and past the link into the browser address field, go and take a look. More photos plus detailed description. It’s an exceedingly nice example, recently imported, located in Ohio.

[Bullish]

Yeah, I’ve had that one. No worky. Practically nothing works on mine and I’ve probably tried everything over the years including injections in the back of the neck known as ‘nerve blocks’. Even those didn’t work very well.

Thanks for the tip, though. I appreciate that.

I’m getting older and like all the literature says as you get older they become weaker. My Clusters are not as severe anymore and they don’t last as long. I’ve been able to get through the last few cluster periods without too much trouble. >Knock on wood<

[Andy from Chapel Hill]

Are yours triggered by heat?
There is a lot of research here at UNC and at Ft. Bragg about TBI’s being lessened by lowering the body’s thermostat.

A quick test is to soak in a 78F tub of water when you get the first indication of a cluster headache coming.

If it helps, then PM me.

[Bullish]

I haven’t had a cluster period in quite a while. As I stated they change as you get older. Nowadays when they come I’m awakened in the middle of the night with a massive headache already in progress, so there’s no ‘catching them early onset’ unfortunately.

They used to come far more frequently and would beset me in the early evening. Like I said, my clusters have become manageable compared to the hell I dealt with for decades.

I could go on and on as I’ve become quite a lay expert on the subject having researched them and lived them for so long. One thing I have found is that people who’ve never had severe headaches just don’t understand the hellish pain they exert on people.

Thanks again for your concern, I really appreciate it.