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Jan 28, 2015 23:38:25 GMT
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I am not an American.
But I am going over there in February. And probably several other times this year. Any American RR'ers around Portland (this time) up for saying Hi, it'd be cool. Got a car sorted rather than renting something modern. It was sold new in the same year the BMW E34 5-series, the Citroën XM and countless other modern, stylish cars came out. When I actually see what on earth we've bought, pictures will follow, but it's not hard to guess from the subject. I'll also be lurking in here to see what the real state of American retro ownership is, because Craiglist broke my head, eBay makes me think everything is crazy expensive - after 2000 when the car of choice was a $300 3rd-Gen E-body Eldorado with that cursed 4100HTi.
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Feb 14, 2015 13:41:40 GMT
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Well let's see some pics! Craigslist is a pain but there's deals to be had. Ebay is practically useless anymore what with high fees, paypal's insanity, shipping, feedback rules- Amazon should just eat ebay and be done with it.
I'm curious to see what you've bought to drive in the states.
The retro scene here, is basically old muscle cars. The small non USA cars- it's a very small following until you hit way out west by California, where the tuner & drift scenes are pretty popular. The northeastern half of the US, is covered in ice for 5-6 months out of the year and salted roads have eaten all the small imports of yesterday.
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Feb 19, 2015 10:50:37 GMT
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Pictures will come when I'm there, less than a week to go now I have had a 1963 Buick Skylark dangled at me from Philly, but I am hoping the reputation for Oregon/Washington of not so much salt, just lots of rain, is true. Though it turns out we chose a car that was galvanised. Going to look at classic cars when I'm over, too!
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Ahh yes, Chrysler did that car in a 318CI V8 and along with the 5th avenue, they had a version called the New Yorker. My parents neighbor in Detroit has one of those and I've been trying to buy it from them for years. That car you have there, is very clean and those are pretty damn reliable too. They make very good power, but are a heavy boat. Sitting in the lap of Erm, luxury. Ish. Nice car.
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New Yorker is where it began, really! But yes, this is the 318 ci LA with 2bbl carb and electronic ignition (not sure if '89 is lean burn too). It's very solid, needs the suspension totally going over and a new fender flare as one side of the car has been mangled. And new paint - looks like it's been under a cover for years and the paint has peeled when it was removed. Interior is lush. I think the air pump/manifold joint is blowing and it's a bit down on power, needs a really thorough tune up and service rather than just the oil change and top up coolant/ATF I gave it.
Expected it to be a stopgap, cheap crappy American car. Actually really love it, it will be getting the love and attention it needs to keep healthy and survive another 26 years I expect. And parts prices in America are just as insanely cheap as I remembered.
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Mar 10, 2015 18:33:36 GMT
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When in America, use Rock Auto dot com if possible. Parts arrive fast and are SO much cheaper than retail outlets.
Great job, cool car and best of luck!
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brc76
RR Helper
Posts: 1,106
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Mar 16, 2015 13:00:43 GMT
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nice score.
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When in America, use Rock Auto dot com if possible. Parts arrive fast and are SO much cheaper than retail outlets. Great job, cool car and best of luck! Yes, Rockauto.com for parts !! I ordered some front brake pads for my Caddy from there, ordered on the tuesday morning , at my door on the thursday morning of that same week. Including the carriage, they were still £20 cheaper than anywhere over here. Being a sad individual, i spend quite a lot of my timedrooling over how cheap stuff for an "old" car can be. It actually makes a yank car economical to own over here, except the fuel that is.
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'88 Cadillac Brougham hearse (white) '91 Carlton GSi 24v '72 Dodge dual cab pick up '99 Mercedes S55 AMG
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Mar 26, 2015 23:26:48 GMT
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Marvin (for that is the name of the beast) will be getting a lot of attention later in the year - I'm over for a month at some point and at that point I'll look into repairing or removing the air pump system, which I think is blowing at the manifold, and checking all the vacuum hoses. Top of the bodywork list after "repaint where a car cover has peeled chunks off" is "find a nearside rear fender flare" - they screw on, the arches feel in excellent order, so replacing the squashed one should be very simple. A couple of self-tappers here and there holding things like the A-pillar trim have sheared off, so they'll get done.
One thing I do want to find is the shoulder belt kit - it was sold, and fitted, but this one doesn't have it. Gives the rear three point belts, meaning 8-year old can ride legally and safely in the back with a booster seat rather than a full, visibility-destroying car seat.
Caddy is my default choice usually - a ropey Eldorado was on the shortlist, but I didn't have time to chase up the filler panels. The next will be a C4 Corvette or a Fiero, I think. I definitely want some time with a Fiero.
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Mar 29, 2015 13:59:13 GMT
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Assuming these links work...
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brc76
RR Helper
Posts: 1,106
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Mar 31, 2015 12:39:06 GMT
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Ahh, the cassette single is a nice touch.
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