1986 Monte Carlo SS - ticked the boxes on the order sheet at Hogan Chev-Olds in Toronto in August 1985. It was delivered November 10, 1985 to me. Made the deal on '85 prices subject to price increase if any for $15,500 and when it came they asked for $15,700. I was young and it seemed reasonable. It was a well thought out and well built car out of Arlington Texas plant. Owned it until January 1992 when baby #3 prompted us to get a 92 Bonneville,(another excellent car I owned for 14 years). Only thing that ever broke on the SS was a power steering pump. In late summer of 1986 we took that car on a two week road trip through Northern Ontario and Manitoulin Island, then in spring 1987 baby #1 arrived! It always drew a crowd at gas stations and there was an unwritten rule with other SS owners that we always waved when we passed each other. Never owned a car before or since that owners did that.
I would have to say it's a toss up. Either the 66 Grande Parisienne 427 4 speed car, or 1 of the 94 Impala SS cars. Close second is the 65 Canso. I've owned a 65 SD Canso over 1/2 my life.
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
Probably my 1965 Malibu SS (283 2spd)or my 52 Chevy sedan (350/350), AHHH Yes....Good Times in both these cars. Although, my Corolla GTS was a fun car too(for an import)
1960 Pontiac Strato Chief Safari 1960 Laurentian Safari 1960 Laurentian 4door(scrapped) 2001 Grand Am Traded on a '96 Suburban 2WD 2002 Hyundai Accent(SOLD) 1968 Grand Parisienne Scrapped and SOLD
Probably the best car for me would be my 94 Bonneville SSEi. I've owned over 1,000 cars. (Worked at a few dealers where I could feed my car addiction) Started buying cheapies when I was 15, now i'm 53 and have had a lot of different makes from all different countries and car companies. The most durable and trouble free was that Pontiac. Had a big Mercedes 560 SEL that was close to the Poncho but it was too expensive to run
Hmm...that's a tough question. I've never really driven anything new other than company demo's. I never had them long enough to really enjoy them. I had some oldies that I really miss. My 58 Plymouth Belvedere was a great highway car. Those fins and torsion bar suspension really did help keep the car steady at 90mph. I would drive 35 miles to work during nice days in that car and on two lane highways when I'd pass an oncoming 18 wheeler (at 75mph) the car wouldn't even flinch and that was on bias ply tires. I see that car is in old auto's for sale (much more $$ than I sold it for). If I could afford it I'd own it.. It was a solid California car. Here's a pic of it I found on a Plymouth website: My 70 Biscayne (6 cyl,glide) was bulletproof. I really miss my 60 Catalina too!
70 Monte Carlo. it donated the motor for my 55 when it rusted out. good old ontario salt. i got clocked doing a 145 mph outside of regina, trying to make the coast in 2 days from ottawa. we made it 48 hrs.
78 volvo,paid $500,put $500 into it over 3 years,leather,sunroof,ac,mech fuel inj,4spd+OD wired for 7 spds,3.91 posi beat the krap out of it,took it camping,offroadin,mud boggin (snow tires)not a care in the world about the sheet metal ended up rear ending a 1ton chev,took out the bumper and class5 hitch,jumped on the hood so I could see and drove for 3 months until the blower motor stoped,you have to take the whole dash apart to get at the heater box,take the box out then the motor comes out, so it was not worth keepin
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69 2+2 convert pw,ptop,disks and 3.73 posi 12b on the way
My 68 Cutlass 442 convertible ... I absolutely loved that car ... a beautiful aqua-blue colour.
I sold it to go to college.
The guy that bought it, told me during the test drive that he had previously totalled a Mustang and Camaro.
I cried seeing that car leave ... that night my Mom actually made me a huge tray of lasagna (my fav), to try to pick my spirits up.
Through the years, friends always reminded of the time I got rid of that car ... as if I need reminding.
I still have a soft spot for 1968 Cutlasses! It was the one year for that cool front end.
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Prince Edward Island
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
Not necessarily the best car but the one I probably miss the most was a '69 442 2Dr. Post Bench seat car I paid $200 for in the late 70's.. The original M40 tranny died the first weekend I had it...a used M40 w/ a Transco shift kit out of a '69 Gran Prix fixed that problem quickly.. The original 400 dropped a valve and blew the piston through the block a week later.. A stock 455 I pulled out of a '69 Toro' sure lived things up and I ran it like that for a few years.. Foolishly I stripped the car and turned it into a stock car in the 80's...what's left of it is still sitting at my buddy's farm..
Thinking further maybe it's the back seat memories of the years in that car I'm missing more?.
-- Edited by Ghost Post at 09:59, 2008-07-07
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I like real cars best...especially the REAL real ones! ----------------------------------------------------------------
hmmm...too easy for me, my first car was my beaumont, owned since i was 14 (1987) and it will be last car i own too. its by far the best car i've owned! now i wont pull a fishing boat with it on a gravel road, so i guess the second best is my pathfinder!
Don't laugh but the most dependable car I ever owned was a 1974 AMC Hornet station wagon. I bought it in 1986 as cheap transportation while I was rebuilding the engine in my truck. I kept it for about 3 years and gave it to my brother who drove it for 6 or 7 years before he wrecked it. I never had any problems with the car and don't think my brother did either. James
Don't laugh but the most dependable car I ever owned was a 1974 AMC Hornet station wagon. I bought it in 1986 as cheap transportation while I was rebuilding the engine in my truck. I kept it for about 3 years and gave it to my brother who drove it for 6 or 7 years before he wrecked it. I never had any problems with the car and don't think my brother did either. James
Hey, Now that shook up a memory. I had a 74 Hornet wagon also, and, Damn, It probably was the most reliable car I ever had. Never plugged her in, even at -35 and every morning would have to boost the Ex's car, and her brothers truck(both of which were plugged in). I would start the Hornet, it would be running at about 5RPM's and when I came back out with my coffee, it was revving at about 5000RPM, and it was melting the snow around it...LOL I owned mine for about 4 years....Paid $75 for it
-- Edited by sixtywagon at 20:18, 2008-07-07
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1960 Pontiac Strato Chief Safari 1960 Laurentian Safari 1960 Laurentian 4door(scrapped) 2001 Grand Am Traded on a '96 Suburban 2WD 2002 Hyundai Accent(SOLD) 1968 Grand Parisienne Scrapped and SOLD
Let me state, that I have never had a "new" car....and up until this year, have never spent more than $3500 for a car. I just bought a 2005 Chev Uplander van ($14,500)....so that ruins that record.
I used to buy $50-$100 bombs for the winter and when the wife came along, the crappers would be hers to drive......Most were good cars.........you just had to know how to treat them...A few are...
68 Beaumont....$50 65 Pontiac ........$150 64 SS Impala......$275 61 Comet....$125 70 Hornet...My dad gave it to me.
etc.........at those prices, and if you got a year or two out of them, you called them a good car......
I think my best deal was the $50 68 Beaumont........Drove it for 4 years and turned around and sold it for $75.........Bonus.
Don't laugh but the most dependable car I ever owned was a 1974 AMC Hornet station wagon. I bought it in 1986 as cheap transportation while I was rebuilding the engine in my truck. I kept it for about 3 years and gave it to my brother who drove it for 6 or 7 years before he wrecked it. I never had any problems with the car and don't think my brother did either. James
Hey, Now that shook up a memory. I had a 74 Hornet wagon also, and, Damn, It probably was the most reliable car I ever had. Never plugged her in, even at -35 and every morning would have to boost the Ex's car, and her brothers truck(both of which were plugged in). I would start the Hornet, it would be running at about 5RPM's and when I came back out with my coffee, it was revving at about 5000RPM, and it was melting the snow around it...LOL I owned mine for about 4 years....Paid $75 for it
-- Edited by sixtywagon at 20:18, 2008-07-07
Ok I gotta' admit I had one too...the old '73 Hornet Snatchback.. I bought it as a ride home from the auto auction once and it was such a good S-Box I put it on the road and drove it for maybe a year?. One thing led to another and I put a 360 out of a Javelin and a shift kit in it.. lotsa' great memories in that one too...girls, cops etc.. I remember the cops stopped me once and gave me a really hard time because it was registered as a Rambler.. I had a few Ramblers too...sure wish I still had my '67 2Dr. Hdtp!. Cool thread...I'd almost forgotten the Hornet!.
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I like real cars best...especially the REAL real ones! ----------------------------------------------------------------
Actually there is a very cool little 67 2 door post Ramble in town here. I think it's a 343 and it's a factory 4 speed bench seat car. He owned it about 30 years ago when we were both about 20, sold it, tracked it down a few years ago and bought it back.
He kicked some very surprised butts when he brought it to town in the 70's.
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
HAHAHA, Sounds like this place is going to the Ramblers.... Oh well, we've all grown out of that stage????
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1960 Pontiac Strato Chief Safari 1960 Laurentian Safari 1960 Laurentian 4door(scrapped) 2001 Grand Am Traded on a '96 Suburban 2WD 2002 Hyundai Accent(SOLD) 1968 Grand Parisienne Scrapped and SOLD
Actually there is a very cool little 67 2 door post Ramble in town here. I think it's a 343 and it's a factory 4 speed bench seat car. He owned it about 30 years ago when we were both about 20, sold it, tracked it down a few years ago and bought it back.
He kicked some very surprised butts when he brought it to town in the 70's.
The 1969 Rambler SC/Rambler's wild paint job paired with its high-performance mechanical components won over even its staunchest critics.
Way cool SC/Rambler in the first series paint style!!! I always wanted one of these but had to make do w/ my '67 Hdtp. in the same body style but powered by the almighty 199 six banger w/ aircooled auto!. The best mod I ever did to the car was update the original 3/4" wide 4-wheel brake shoes/drums w/ the wide Gremlin brakes...all a simple bolt on deal..
Further hijacking this thread into the AMC world, don't forget the factory 360 SC Hornets!.
Also one of the neatest but relatively unknown AMC Supercars was the dealer built Randall XR401 Gremlins..
http://www.gremlinx.com/RandallXR.htm Keep forgetting to ask, how do you lite up a link like this to a clickable one?.
-- Edited by Ghost Post at 17:07, 2008-07-08
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I like real cars best...especially the REAL real ones! ----------------------------------------------------------------
At least we are not talking about Found On Road Deads here!
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Prince Edward Island
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
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