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Cars, love 'em. Love driving, love racing at autocross, I just love everything there is about cars. I love working on them no matter how tedious or difficult the job is.
I love learning how to fix every part on the car. It feels so rewarding when you get something done.

I have a 66 Mustang, 200 CI Straight 6. (THREE SPEED MANUAL!! ) I like how most people tell me "Oh, you should drop a V8 in it!" You know what? If classic cars are valued at what they originally were, then the car will keep its straight 6! Besides, the gas mileage is pretty good for a 46 year-old car! And still the engine is great. And EVERYBODY has a freakin' V8 in their Mustang. No thank you, this is MY horse.

I've already replaced the headlight wiring harness (pain in the ass), put a new radio in made by Retro Sound (it has the old mustang radio look, with all your modern radio options!), new speakers from Kenwood, new spark plugs, and of course some fresh oil.
Today I will be replacing those old and bothersome points with brand new electronic ignition by Pertronix and ignition coil. And speedometer cable since my speedometer is constantly 20-25 mph slow.
I'm proud to say I've done all the work myself, except for the radio where I got a buddy to help me rip out all the old wiring to install the new radio and speakers.

List of things to do in the near future:
~New carburetor from Pony Carburetors
~Disc Brake conversion kit
~T-5 Transmission from TREMEC


What about the rest of Dakka? Anyone else here have a similar soft spot for these masterpieces of machinery?

I used to have a 64 Fairlane. I miss the hell out of that car, but at least I got to drive it everyday for almost the entire year.It had the original 260v8 in it, and I too always had people tell me "yank that piece of crap outta there, and put a real engine in there!" no thanks. I was like you, it ran like a champ and I dunno, it just felt right.

My real love though was when I was into mud bogging. I had an 80 ford f150 stepside. Damn that was a blast. As soon as I find some pics of it Ill post a few

I think cars are awesome for driving to places unless there is a lot of traffic or it's difficult to park, or a very long way.

Kilkrazy wrote:I think cars are awesome for driving to places unless there is a lot of traffic or it's difficult to park, or a very long way.

That rules out much of the UK then...

I'm not mechanically inclined but I'm a car nut as well. Oh yea and be sure to watch Top Gear (UK version aka real version) although they do bash Americans and their cars quite a bit

Autocross is a lot of fun but it eats up tires even faster than circuit racing! I'm too cheap to have to replace the tires on the bone stock 350z so I've only autocrossed once. Cone duty can be pretty interesting as well.

One of these days I want to grab an Ariel Atom to race around in, budget supercar performance :

I enjoy driving, generally. I enjoy my 2001 Corvette a lot. Didn't so much enjoy the sticker shock on new tires for it yesterday (I could buy a new army for that!). I'm thinking about signing up for a track day some time soon to check that out. I can change my oil, wheels, and swap out some bad parts, but that's about the extent of my mechanical aptitude. I enjoy my Top Gear, but that's more for the general buffoonery in a car-related atmosphere.

I spend much of my waking life surrounded by cars...so over the years have developed a love/hate relationship with them.

I like my 2008 Prius because it saves me money in gas.

Cane wrote:I'm not mechanically inclined but I'm a car nut as well. Oh yea and be sure to watch Top Gear (UK version aka real version) although they do bash Americans and their cars quite a bit

I love Top Gear. I understand their dislike of American cars (except Hammond, he loves muscle cars). Jeremy enjoys his exotic euro-super cars. They're sleek, stylish and all around works of art. American design just doesn't suit his exotic tastes.

My Mustang:

I don't think anyone is denying that America does come up with some true modern design classics, like the Corvette, Mustang, GT40 etc.

To be fair to Top Gear, what they do criticise about US cars is usually the handling, but that's as a consequence of being a much bigger country with a better road infrastructure than most of the UK - we have a lot of narrow, twisty roads that require a particular blend of poise, power and accuracy in a car.

Very nice, that's a slick looking mustang.

filbert wrote:I don't think anyone is denying that America does come up with some true modern design classics, like the Corvette, Mustang, GT40 etc.

To be fair to Top Gear, what they do criticise about US cars is usually the handling, but that's as a consequence of being a much bigger country with a better road infrastructure than most of the UK - we have a lot of narrow, twisty roads that require a particular blend of poise, power and accuracy in a car.

i think the US has its fair share of crazy roads, most people i guess just imagine the US as being flat with highways or bumper to bumper traffic in the cities. once you get to the mountain ranges everything changes.

im not sure what is required to drive on roads in Europe but my truck does quite well when i mash on the gas and the V8 makes me go deaf from the exhausts.

PS. i miss my 85 Monte Carlo SS

I personally love cars that I will never be able to afford to buy, most of which exist only in photograph and museum. I also dont always like the fastest cars, but they really need to look good on the road.

In my favorite car list:

1930s Mercedes SSK
1951 Mercury (only the lead sled varieties though)
1971 Plymouth Barracuda

Actually, I love most cars from the 30s and 40s, with a few favorites coming from the late 60s and early 70s. Something about the artistic beauty of the cars of the 30s and 40s just calls out to me. Something about them just speaks to me, and I would absolutely love to own a car from that period.

Finally found my mud bogging pics. Heres a couple of mine and 1 of the group of us that always went together

I'm not a truck-guy, but I do like your mud-bogger, cracker!

Well, 2 days of frustration, 10 rants about everything from screwdrivers not being magnetized to why I hate drugs and will never do them, I finally got the ignition working.

Turns out the electronic conversion system I got from Ignitor was faulty because a couple of magnets were missing from the rotor sleeve and the current wasn't being transferred to the spark plugs. So I have to go back to Advanced Auto Parts to buy a replacement points and condenser. *sigh* That's faulty part #2 I have received.

But no matter how many babies I want to stomp because of problems like these, it's always rewarding to hear the car roar life again.

DickBandit wrote:I'm not a truck-guy, but I do like your mud-bogger, cracker!

Well, 2 days of frustration, 10 rants about everything from screwdrivers not being magnetized to why I hate drugs and will never do them, I finally got the ignition working.

Turns out the electronic conversion system I got from Ignitor was faulty because a couple of magnets were missing from the rotor sleeve and the current wasn't being transferred to the spark plugs. So I have to go back to Advanced Auto Parts to buy a replacement points and condenser. *sigh* That's faulty part #2 I have received.

But no matter how many babies I want to stomp because of problems like these, it's always rewarding to hear the car roar life again.

if you received faulty parts, shouldnt you get them replaced for free?

I do autocross in my 92 MR2. Mid engine rear wheal drive is great. I learned my craft on a 86 dodge aries and a 84 Volkswagen golf. I swear I was underneath that volkswagon every weekend fixing something. Shockingly I couldn't kill the aries, that thing would always start, even when i didn't start it for a month and found it buried under a snowplows 10ft snowpile. Everything else on that car fell apart, doors wouldn't latch, radio didn't work, but it would always start.

I also love my 68 vespa that I bought for $50 at a garage sale and completely rebuilt.

Ensis Ferrae wrote:

DickBandit wrote:I'm not a truck-guy, but I do like your mud-bogger, cracker!

Well, 2 days of frustration, 10 rants about everything from screwdrivers not being magnetized to why I hate drugs and will never do them, I finally got the ignition working.

Turns out the electronic conversion system I got from Ignitor was faulty because a couple of magnets were missing from the rotor sleeve and the current wasn't being transferred to the spark plugs. So I have to go back to Advanced Auto Parts to buy a replacement points and condenser. *sigh* That's faulty part #2 I have received.

But no matter how many babies I want to stomp because of problems like these, it's always rewarding to hear the car roar life again.

if you received faulty parts, shouldnt you get them replaced for free?

Yeah, it's just obnoxious. I just got out of the Army, however my home town is 980 miles away. So I'm staying with a buddy around the base I use to be stationed at. 980 miles is a tough drive on any car, but a 46 year old car is much much worse. So I'm trying to give the car a complete tune up before I head back home. Faulty parts just slow down the process.

Well I checked my bank account and saw that I spent nearly $700 on car parts and tools in the past 2 1/2 weeks.

Why do I always choose the expensive hobbies?

Because your smart!.........................wait a second I think I was wrong answering that

I'm already looking into buying an engine hoist so I can install a T-5 transmission. It'll be a lot cheaper than bringing to a transmission shop. A LOT CHEAPER.

$1300 in labor? No thanks, I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself!

agreed. I found out itll cost around 900 bucks to have a shop replace the head gaskets in my car......900? Goddamn! I think my brother and I can handle it thank you

That's the awesome thing about old cars. Easy to work on, easy to get parts for 'em.

Mostly, easy to get parts for. But yea they are plenty easy to work on. My fairlane was similar to how Orks work on things.

Me: Whats this?
Brother: Inno.....
Me: scratches head
Brother: whered you get it?
Me: Pulled it offa that fing der....
Brother: *shrugs* toss it out den


Car starts up and runs

I did that once, unfortunately it was with the ignition system... it didn't start...

Haha, lesson learned: Before taking anything apart, make sure you know how it goes back together!!

I plan on importing and converting a 2007 Dodge Charger to right hand drive for AUS roads...

I do not know the technical terms but ever since driving my cousin's in Canada a few years back I have wanted one.

AvatarForm wrote:I plan on importing and converting a 2007 Dodge Charger to right hand drive for AUS roads...

I do not know the technical terms but ever since driving my cousin's in Canada a few years back I have wanted one.

Do you really need to switch it over, or is that just your preference? My buddy has an old mini here in the us and it is right hand drive, totally legal. It's weird shifting with your left hand, but I got used to it.

Andrew1975 wrote:

AvatarForm wrote:I plan on importing and converting a 2007 Dodge Charger to right hand drive for AUS roads...

I do not know the technical terms but ever since driving my cousin's in Canada a few years back I have wanted one.

Do you really need to switch it over, or is that just your preference? My buddy has an old mini here in the us and it is right hand drive, totally legal. It's weird shifting with your left hand, but I got used to it.

Yes, there are enough crazies on the roads here, I dont want to give them a reason to squeeze out of playing insurance if they hit me.

AvatarForm wrote:

Andrew1975 wrote:

AvatarForm wrote:I plan on importing and converting a 2007 Dodge Charger to right hand drive for AUS roads...

I do not know the technical terms but ever since driving my cousin's in Canada a few years back I have wanted one.

Do you really need to switch it over, or is that just your preference? My buddy has an old mini here in the us and it is right hand drive, totally legal. It's weird shifting with your left hand, but I got used to it.

Yes, there are enough crazies on the roads here, I dont want to give them a reason to squeeze out of playing insurance if they hit me.

Unless there is a specific law saying you cannot operate a left-hand drive vehicle on the road, then you'll be ok.

Like the other guy said, here in the US you can drive either. In fact our mail-men drive right-hand drive trucks!

In terms of imports, my dream car is a Skyline R34. I just have to do research on how to make it street legal in the US. The R35 (The new Nissan GTR) is too advanced. Sure it's a sexy car, don't get me wrong, but it's missing the intimacy between man and machine.
This is why I prefer to drive stick. In my mustang I don't have a tachometer (the gauge that reads RPM) because back in 66 tachometers were an option for the high-performance mustangs. So when I'm driving I have to listen to the car, the engine speaks to me in revs. When she gets loud she wants me to shift her into next gear. If she stutters a little bit and is a little hesitant in acceleration it means that I shifted to higher gear too soon. I enjoy that feeling because I feel that I am in complete control of the car rather than the car driving me.

AvatarForm wrote:

Andrew1975 wrote:

AvatarForm wrote:I plan on importing and converting a 2007 Dodge Charger to right hand drive for AUS roads...

I do not know the technical terms but ever since driving my cousin's in Canada a few years back I have wanted one.

Do you really need to switch it over, or is that just your preference? My buddy has an old mini here in the us and it is right hand drive, totally legal. It's weird shifting with your left hand, but I got used to it.

Yes, there are enough crazies on the roads here, I dont want to give them a reason to squeeze out of playing insurance if they hit me.

if i had one i would gladly trade you an '07 Charger for a '73 Ford Falcon XB GT Coupe