Cars I would own
I’ve been thinking a lot of the cars I’ve owned and how I have loved and hated them over the years. Unquestionably the vehicle that has fit my lifestyle better than anything else has been the Explorer.
Not just any explorer, of course, the only ones worth having are the 98-01 models with the v8. The 97 have a solid front axle, the 02 has the aluminum headed “Modular” engine. The 98-01 have the all cast iron engine with the GT-40 heads, rock solid and dependable and though both of mine are aging and beginning to be rustbuckets (Which is the thing I hate MOST) I would not be afraid to drive either vehicle anywhere.
Any GM car or truck with a 350. and the Turbohydromatic 350. This engine and transmission combination is the very definition of bulletproof. In fact, the GM 350 in all it’s variations may be the most important contribution to the automobile since the development of internal combustion.
Chrysler always did make great hi performance stuff but it was fiddly and required a good deal of work to keep running smooth, while the simple slant six engine was so rugged I am surprised the military never commandeered it for something. I know the combination of that engine with the A833 New Process transmission was probably the most reliable and inexpensive gear train in the history of what can be called “Modern” cars.
If I were to pick the “Optimal” drivetrains from those manufacturers I would pick those components. Now, fords tend to be ugly, Chryslers tend to catch fire in the electrics almost as often as Lucas shit, and every chevy I ever owned rusted and leaked rain in on me.
Nothing is perfect. Those three drivetrains- the Ford and Chevy made it right into the 2000’s and modern engine controls- are the drivetrains most resistant to neglect. It is not the quality of a vehicle that matters, at least to me, it is it’s resistance to neglect, and nothing can hold a candle to the drivetrains I’ve named.
Yes, the VW diesels are very strong, but I’ve done many an engine swap on them. The Mercedes 5 cylinder is likewise rugged, but you have to own a Mercedes (Or a Dodge Sprinter) to get one.
Any car you take care of properly will last a long time. I do normal maintenance but all my vehicles earn their keep and none of them are babied.
Yes, there are a lot of other good vehicles out there, but these, for my money, represent the high water mark. And every one is now gone.
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I’ve wondered, from time to time, about the feasibility of a modular, bullet proof vehicle. Plain Jane, rock solid RWD drivetrain, ladder-style steel chassis, discs front/drums rear (makes the parking brake simpler), available in a few body styles – simple 4 door SUV, 2 door pickup, 4 door sedan. Big oil pan, big radiator, etc., all parts sourced from existing stuff that’s proven to work over the decades.
Interiors, whatever you want to order. Bench, bucket, etc., chrome, fake wood, whatever you’d like. Instrument clusters identical throughout the variations, with real gauges, no electric repeaters. Exterior, maybe 5, 6 colors. Keep it simple.
I’ll not challenge you on the Chevrolet 350, but the 2-barrel 283s were pretty darn solid, too, and smaller and lighter. Ford’s 289 copy was a bit too fussy and fragile; none I’ve known seem to go as long as a 283.
Something that’s cheap because it’s basic and doesn’t change (except for the interior trimmings), and with minimal maintenance – or really, minimal neglect, as you point out – and lasts as long as you want it to last.
It’s too simple a construction to meet most of the dot gov rules and regs, and today people want status through vehicle choice, so it’ll never be considered, much less built, in the first world.
Thinking about it, the closest example I can come up with is Toyota’s ubiquitous 3rd-world Hilux. Maybe something like that with different body options. I’d buy a PJ sedan that reliable.
Oh, no question the 289 was awesome. Like the Ford 300 inline six- thing pulled like a freight train. I picked the ones I did because of their ubiquitousness and popularity. And both are like erector sets, everyone makes accessories for them.
yeah, I’d love a Hilux. Problem is they’re rustbuckets too.
The “one car” was what Henry’s model T was. And the more he made the cheaper he could make them. I wish someone had that vision today.
Well, the vision is good, but the regulations are a killer. There have been bullet proof designs down over time, able to take abuse and keep on trucking. Love me some of that older iron I do.
Had an F-150 with the 300 6-cyl. Terrific engine, but an inline 6 is a loooong engine. Lotsa underhood room, though – one could stand on the ground next to the engine to work on it.
RE: Hilux being a rustbucket; might the solution be factory-sprayed undercoat on everything?
They’re weird. Its like they deliberately form areas that collect moisture.
If Toyotas didn’t rust they wouldn’t sell nearly as many they just don’t die.
“the regulations are a killer.” — Paul B
No accident. Our rulers are consistent and persistent, while we are not sufficiently resistant.
Lol. Jesse, is that you?
The Gen III (full roller assembly) fuel injected 350s coupled to the 4L60E (which is an updated TH350 with an overdrive) was, in my opinion, probably the best 1/2 ton pickup engine/transmission setup ever made as far as reliability and longevity.
Mine had 260,000 miles on the original engine and tranny, didn’t use a drop of oil, and ran like a top when I sold it. I drove one once with 487,000 miles, all original. But it was a manual tranny…
The thing is you could fit that combo in just about anything but a compact car, and it would perform admirably in every situation.
I’m not saying the Gen IV GM engines aren’t good. The 5.3 is a good engine, but that 350 was just a juggernaut, so the 5.3 will be living in it’s shadow for a lot of years.
“but the 2-barrel 283s were pretty darn solid, too, and smaller and lighter.”
The 283 is essentially the same engine as the 350 with a smaller bore and shorter stroke (same block, different heads). They were not smaller and lighter. They were dimensionally identical and might have weighed just a touch more, if anything.
The 1,600 cc inline four in the Pinto was a helluva workhorse, too.
Tons of ’em got transplanted into various Brit roadsters, both replacing the old, tired, worn and leaky original motors, and giving the car some additional zip in the process.
My dear departed Dad’s ’73 Pinto died of a rusted floor at over 340k miles, and the motor was still as strong as ever.
And as to the durable car concept?
Bolt on some easily accessible zinc anodes, at various places on the frame and inside the body.
Every bit of anti-corrosion is a win.
Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX
Knew a pinto once with a 302 show horned in it. Always saw it setting still. Not sure what that said about the transplant.
The pinto 4 and the Chevy iron Duke were both pretty decent engines. Even the Escort engine was a solid runner, if you didn’t mind changing the fucking head gasket every hundred thousand miles.
Goob: Yes, indeed. Juggernaut is a good word for it. And man, could you wind one up, if you were of a mind to do so.
Never could understand why people thought the Escort was crap, unless it was the early models that gave the car a bad name. I had a ’91 Escort for 8 years, put nearly 90K on the clock, and gave it to my sister when I picked up the lease on Dad’s second Ranger. She drove it for another 10 or 15K before she got married and sold it to buy something else.
Loved that little car and its 4-banger. Never had a minute’s trouble with it except that the alternator went bad once and took the battery with it, and then the recall on the ignition switch that I didn’t bother with came back to bite me in the ass when I went to pull the keys out one day and the whole lock cylinder came with them…but other than what I’d consider general maintenance, i.e., brake pads, and the clutch having to be replaced right before I gave it to Sis, it was a great car.
To this day I wish I’d dropped the extra grand for dealer-installed factory air :) Those summers driving from Indy to DC and back were murder.
yeah, the Scrote was the US answer to the cheap and cheerful hatchback. And indeed, the ac was a necessity. Plus you could use the AC like jake brakes.
Had several escorts. Even one of the exp versions. All junk. I do not like a motor that can warp a head in a blink. Some world class car. First indication those words did not mean what I thought they did. On the other had my BOL has had one for 15 odd years now that still runs. UIL had some diesel versions that ran for a long time as well.
Some people loved them though. Kind of like early dodge caravans. A new tranny every 30k is not in my mind a good car.
yeah, they could be bad for heads. I think it’s the luck of the draw, sometimes you get good ones, a lot of times you get bad.
still driving my Pontiac with a 3.8SC engine with 205k miles. Still runs great.(Transmission only lasted 192k though.)
’72 Pinto hatchback with 2000cc.
Change a timing belt on the side of the road.
2001 Ranger with 300ci v6.
I’ll have to find another from the south when this goes.
The Buick Iron Duke 3.8 (231ci) was rugged. The old slant-6 was so indestructible they used to used them in forklifts. VW’s old flat-4 was pretty durable, & when it did break, it didn’t take long to change out.
Don’t get me started on motorcycles…
yep. I remember seeing that slant in forklifts running on propane for years after you couldn’t buy one in a car anymore
Yep, 289/351 Ford, 383 Chrysler, 327/350 Chevy. Best engines ever built, and still around today with EFI…
Bu…b..b… but no one mentioned the mighty Cox 0.49?
I used to keep the piston and rod from one on my keychain.
Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX
lol.
I had one of the 2000 cc Pintos, too. 4 speed manual. 1972 Pinto hatchback – my first car. Replaced two timing belts, but it never gave up. Sold it at about 125,000 miles.
Now I have an ’09 Explorer with the small V-6. Only 62k, so a long way to go before I decide if it’s a good one.
If that’s a Cologne engine, it might have the cast iron heads, which makes it a keeper. Overhead cam?
The best dang car I ever had was a ’62 Valiant Station Wagon. 170 cid engine, three on the floor and a fifth under the seat. Grossly underpowered, got 35-40 mpg and with snow tires, I drove past stuck jeeps on mountain roads if I left it in 2nd. The only reason I don’t still have it is the body rusted out and I couldn’t afford to get it repaired. 90K on the odometer when I got it and 260k when I took it to the junkyard with tears in my eyes. It was my hunting, fishing and camping rig, Big enough to sleep in, cheap to run. Changed oil and filter every 3K miles if I had to eat beans for a week to afford it. Loved that lil’ car, I did.
Gerry: Now that’s what I’m talking about. My exes’ gramma had one, in perfect condition. Someone had come along and painted “Batmobile” on the side.
My dad had a 65 Dart w the 225. We drove for 10 years w a cracked block. My first car was a 1600 Pinto, the second a 2000 Pinto. Dad always had a Chevy wagon w the 350 and later had a F150 w the big six- years later my bro’s company can had the same motor and he must have pulled 4 tons of tools and trailers w that thing. Had an 81 Escort that somebody have me- was missing a fender and he didn’t want his kids driving it. As everybody said, all these cars ran forever and weren’t finicky, which is good if you’re a blue collar kid working your way through college. Rust got ’em all, though. Loved them all.
A German buddy of mine is still driving his grandpa’s 1972 240d. It’s got over 500k on the original motor, sounds like a washing machine full of hammers, smokes like steam locomotive, is pus green and absolutely unstoppable. I’d love to have that car.