Cars We Drive!

[Thrift Vader]

Where the Subie fans at?

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What did they do to that poor car? They ruined it. -Silver,Black stripe, Black Calipers. way better. How do people look at monstrosities like this, and say "Yup"?

Which accurately describes Subaru owners
@Thrift Vader

Wouldn't know. I'm married.

Re:Manuels.

Like a lot of people, i perfected my Manuel driving in a Corolla (1992 Twin Cam).
The shifting from memory was almost as good as anything i've driven since.

Worst Manuels in my experience? A Mitsubishi 2-Ton Truck that had done way to many miles. A TJ Jeep Wrangler, A Manuel Forklift. A Renault 4 GTL. Land Rover Defender was just bad to drive. period.

Best? Daihatsu Rally Car, with a Quaife Box. A Renault Lutecia, The Corolla,My Son's Car. An Autobianchi Abarth, probably more.

@Joffrey We have 2 licenses here also. I got the Manuel one. but drive an auto. it's a good skill to have. and it gives you more options.
However, A Manuel is fun to drive hard, An Auto is fun to drive daily. IMHO.

 

[RedLantern]

My dad kind of taught me manual in his wife's toyota in an empty park&ride. I wouldn't say I really learned it though until I started working at Les Schwab Tires while I was in high school. I wasn't 18 yet so I wasn't allowed to do anything really useful like use air tools etc, so I was essentially the shop go-fer. The usual truck to go pick up parts was an automatic Dodge Ram, but sometimes someone else had already taken it somewhere and I would have to take some kind of larger service trucks out.
The manager handed me the keys to one of the large service trucks and asked me if I knew how to drive a manual . . . "sure" I lied.

It also didn't have a 2nd gear and our store was in the "downtown" area of town so there was a good bit of traffic at rush hour (after school). The embarrassment made me learn quicker.

 

[flipstah]

Find a friend to teach you, and then it's just a lot of practice and muscle memory. The basic mechanics are simple, but getting it into your muscle memory takes time and practice. The tricky part will be finding a car to practice on.

We bought a $300 Tercel on last legs for my friend when I taught her how. Made $100 selling it

 

[Nader393]

I bought a rusty old '76 Toyota Land Cruiser (FJ40) a couple years ago, for about $6500. Spent the first year sorting out electrical issues and mechanical needs. Then last summer decided to take on the bodywork by replacing the rear sill, quarters, rockers, and patching a bunch of panels. Sometimes in the rain. Probably should have just replaced the whole tub. Required surprisingly little Bondo. Then shot the paint in the fall (behind schedule) Had to shoot it twice. All work done in my driveway. Here are the before and after pics:

 

[clee1982]

A old beat up land cruiser cost that much to start with...?

 

[Nader393]

I probably paid a bit much. Maybe by $1-2K. Prices are regional; this one was local (pricier than boonies), I had some cash burning a hole in my pocket, and I was a bit impulsive.

Also, when the car collecting hobby went crazy a few years ago, it took everything with it. Should've pulled the trigger back in the late '90s when I was eyeballing these, they were A LOT cheaper then. And a bit less rusty, too.

 

[HRoi]

aaah, that’s brilliant. I can’t tell how you left the rear - did you put the benches back in or left it a bare cargo compartment?

 

[Thrift Vader]

Bravo!


FYI? FJ/** Landy's are the new rare. you could pay upwards of 15k for less than he got.

 

[nootje]

Beautiful!

and for those that rave about the German autobahn and unlimited speed. This is the more likely scenario these days:

 

[Piobaire]

Where the Subie fans at?

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For the junior accountant that will always be the junior accountant.

 

[HRoi]

I’m getting emailed some very attractive lease offers for Aston Martin Vantages. I suppose AM put some very aggressive trunk money into these things recently? I’m aware the company as a whole isn’t doing well and their **** isn’t selling.

I find the Vantage to be gorgeous but the previous generation sucked to drive - I drove both the street version and the GT4 on track. The new gen gets good reviews though....?

 

[Nader393]

Thanks!

aaah, that’s brilliant. I can’t tell how you left the rear - did you put the benches back in or left it a bare cargo compartment?

The jump seats still need to be repaired and installed. Just part of the few odds and ends left to finish this project. But I do use this rig as a daily driver, alternating duty with my E30 BMW 325. It is about as much fun to drive as my 348, but for completely opposite reasons. Gets about the same amount of attention, too (but from male Boomers).

 

[flipstah]

That's a nice Cruiser! Good job on the resto

 

[VaderDave]

Great work on the FJ40.

 

[brokencycle]

I’m getting emailed some very attractive lease offers for Aston Martin Vantages. I suppose AM put some very aggressive trunk money into these things recently? I’m aware the company as a whole isn’t doing well and their **** isn’t selling.

I find the Vantage to be gorgeous but the previous generation sucked to drive - I drove both the street version and the GT4 on track. The new gen gets good reviews though....?

How attractive? There was a lease hacker deal awhile back for one. Compared to the cost of say an S class and the list prices, it seemed quite good though well outside my price range.