This silly joke is the answer to the comment I left over at Possumblog this morning in the famed Thursday Three pronouncement for the week.
The Thursday Three this week came from another fabled motorhead, Larry Anderson and these questions are available to read at Possumblog. I simply must pull out of my study and RL induced stupor and respond to these very pertinent questions.
1. What's the strangest car I've ever owned? That might just have to be a Citroen CX2200 sedan. I wrote about this car before and I'll reprint it here:
Citroen CX2200 What a weird critter this was! Hydraulic suspension, when you shut the car off it settled down on its wheels like a camel kneeling. Start it up and it rose like magic to the right height again. Move a lever to jack it way up and lock it to change a tire. Brake pedal didn't actually move it just actuated a pressure switch. Four wheel disc brakes, hydraulically boosted too but no power steering, ugh! Sold it to another GI, he tried to get me in trouble with the commander over it. Unsuccessfully.
2. The worst car I've ever owned? Hmm, this is a toughie as you will no doubt realize when you get to the extended entry. Two of the worst had to be the Commer Caravan camper that didn't look much better than the one in the picture. I said this about it in a previous post:
1974 Commer Caravan, our first RV. This thing was about the size and shape of a Volkswagen microbus, battleship gray and rust infected. The spouse was offended just having it sit in the driveway but we toured England with it and made full use of the stove, sink, fridge, pop-top and fold out bunks.Alternately, the 1984 Skoda Estelle might take worst car prize, which remarkably shared the driveway at the same time as the Commer! I wrote this about it in a previous post:
I bought this one with the engine already blown; I took a connecting rod out of the motor before even removing the air cleaner... This one was the finest Czecheslovakian car I ever owned! Twelve hundred cc motor, in the back. I fiddled with the motor for this thing for a number of weeks, the first one I couldn't keep together and I finally bought a second from a wrecking yard in London.After the second engine installation we did drive this throughout England for a number of months before returning home. It was an nightmare from an engineering point of view and it was remarkable how sturdy they could be and how beloved they were among the hard working farmers in East Anglia.
3. Any wrecks? Ah, yeah, I suppose there's been a couple wrecks. But I've only turned three vehicles upside down... And nobody's ever required any more medical attention than a band-aid and a valium or two, so that's not bad. Right? The first upside down adventure happened again while we lived in England, in a Fiat 128 sedan, on my way to work one (not so) apparently icy morning. I had Son 1 in the back seat, strapped into his car seat and suddenly we were off the road at 60 mph and fighting for control. I lost. The car hit a large bump in the ground, rotated 90 degrees and then nosed over into a mostly-empty canal! I got wet about knee deep extricating both of us out of that mess.
Then the pretty blue Ford Thunderbird that the BSU insisted on having to rid herself of the "soccer mom in a minivan" look. I turned it upside down with both kids in the car this time, coming back from my mom-in-law's funeral in Jan 98. We crested a large hill on the interstate, and passed onto a piece of the highway that was perenially shaded and covered with packed snow and ice. We faced each direction on the compass before backing into the mountain side and rolling over just as we came to a stop. Rode the Greyhound home the next day after that little mishap...
Finally, just 13 months ago, on the way to West Yellowstone for a weekend adventure of snowmobiling Yellowstone Park with the BSU, we rolled over in our 2000 F-250 truck. Again, it was packed snow on a road that never sees daylight that caused the disruption of our little vacation. That trip did entail an exciting ride down the mountain in an ambulance but everyone turned out fine and we were able to drive the truck home once we rescued it from the wrecker operator.
As for the bonus TT question- my most memorable drive-in memory, I'm gonna have to ponder that one a bit, cause there were some times...
I found this link tonight while researching some of the cars already mentioned. Its an article about some of the worst cars of all time. I've owned several of these cars! What does that say about me? Pammy, I liked my Pacer!
Finally, I've reproduced a post I made some time ago listing all the cars I've owned. My list was not as long as Larry's but I still think its an impressive list. (Your results may vary...) There was once upon a time a link to each one of the cars but they have been lost to the re-copying from one blog to the current one. So check it out.
Tuesday, May 13, 2003
Hi, I'm Nate and I'm a vehicoholic. Terry over at Possumblog got this started today and after the first email in which I admitted to having once owned a Pontiac Gran Prix, a Fiat 850 convertible and a Citroen; it was time to face the facts for myself. I like cars. And trucks. Racecars are really good. Hot rods make me stop traveling wherever I'm going to go back and see up close. I have traveled through multiple states to pick up cars that I purchased sight unseen.
Thought I might come clean by making a list.
1947 Pontiac 4 door sedan - bought before I had a license and never got a title. Did spend a summer working on it and listening to the tube powered AM radio in the evenings with my best friend.
1962 Oldsmobile F85, also a 4 door with bench seats. Not very cool in high school in 1972 but it did have a (little) V8 and the bench seats turned out to be pretty practical after all. (Think Meatloaf and that greatest rock and roll operetta, Paradise by the Dashboard Lights here.)
1964 Pontiac Gran Prix, black with red interior. Big V8 and a chrome console, power windows and AC, this was a cool car in 1974 and the 8 track player and 6X9 speakers in the back window just made it all the better.
1969 Opel Kadett, my first foray in foreign cars. Throttle linkage fell off every time you hit a big bump but otherwise a pretty reliable lump. I replaced my first heater core in that car. Added a homebuilt Plexiglas spoiler to the trunk lid and put 60's on the back and 70's on the front. This might have been where it got started...
1972 Fiat 850 convertible. My first car payments! 903cc of screaming power! Best thing about this car was driving it at full force all the time. Just going for donuts in the morning was a Gran Prix race, but the guy next to you never knew. Had intimate relations in this car a couple of times, with the top up!
A Chevy Vega station wagon. I bought this after wrecking the Fiat and while trying to figure out how to get it fixed. It rusted away almost visibly day by day. The inner fender wells were held together just by the wiring harness clips by the time I got rid of it. And it burned oil like every Vega before GM began installing iron sleeves. But I liked the styling and it was a practical car for two people.
1972 Hornet hatchback. Another winner! Sixty series tires and shortened front springs gave this car attitude even if I did croak the motor trying to pull a much too heavy trailer. Don't remember when I got it but I towed it to Utah in 1979 after I joined the service.
1969 AMC Ambassador SST What a boat this thing was! I think it was a $300 boat, into which I promptly installed a used replacement motor. But then I drove it from Ohio to Texas and then to Utah with all my earthly belongings in it, after changing the timing chain and the burned carburetor in the trailer park driveway in January.
AMC Pacer station wagon, don't remember the year. I'm seeing a bit of a pattern here. Spooky! Bought while married to the first wife and we had a brand new baby. Thought buying a station wagon was just the right thing to do. Immediately became divorced. Drove the car to my next duty station in Florida from Utah. Even had this car painted after the sun burnt off the original paint, it was silver and gun metal gray metallic. I actually really liked this car.
1980 Plymouth Fire Arrow. Came with the current BSU when we got serious. This was a brand new car when she was married to her first spouse. It went to Florida also.
Pontiac J2000. After the second baby and living in Florida, 4 doors and air conditioning seemed to be requirements. Took this one to England when we moved in 1985.
(NOTE: cars kind of came and went during the next several years so the order might get a little scrambled. But bear with me here...)
Austin Allegro. Who knows what year this beast was born. This was an oversized Mini, very similar to the Austin America that was sold over here in the US but rounder. Front wheel drive, very basic transportation. Bought it at the auction down the street. I wonder what happened to it.
Fiat 128 sedan. Bought from the garage owner across the street from me. Turned it upside down on my way to work one morning with my son in his car seat in the back. We came to a stop upside down in a fortunately nearly empty irrigation canal. Took two wreckers to get it out of the canal, for which I also paid Fred.
Citroen CX2200 What a weird critter this was! Hydraulic suspension, when you shut the car off it settled down on its wheels like a camel kneeling. Start it up and it rose like magic to the right height again. Move a lever to jack it way up and lock it to change a tire. Brake pedal didn't actually move it just actuated a pressure switch. Four wheel disc brakes, hydraulically boosted too but no power steering, ugh! Sold it to another GI, he tried to get me in trouble with the commander over it. Unsuccessfully.
Lancia Beta coupe. What a wreck this was! It should have gone directly to the wrecker's yard, instead I bought it. It was completely illegal by British safety requirements. I finally got rid of it when 2 of the disc brakes wore down to the steel pads. And one of the McPherson struts was rotted through at the top and the strut would bang around inside the mount when going around corners... It did go to the wrecker's finally. Thankfully.
Toyota Celica hatchback, the one that looked like a 5/8 scale 69 Mustang. Bought it from another GI. Seems like I drove it pretty hard for a while. I did stuff it into a ditch on a country road one afternoon when the brakes failed. It was a ratty car but it went ok.
1974 Commer Caravan, our first RV. This thing was about the size and shape of a Volkswagen microbus, battleship gray and rust infected. The spouse was offended just having it sit in the driveway but we toured England with it and made full use of the stove, sink, fridge, pop-top and fold out bunks.
1984 Skoda Estelle 4 door. I bought this one with the engine already blown; I took a connecting rod out of the motor before even removing the air cleaner... This one was the finest Czecheslovakian car I ever owned! Twelve hundred cc motor, in the back. I fiddled with the motor for this thing for a number of weeks, the first one I couldn?t keep together and I finally bought a second from a wrecking yard in London.
Toyota Space Cruiser van. Another trip into car payments! This had 2 sunroofs and 3 rows of seats to keep the kids separated. It also had everything hidden under the floor so maintenance was a drag. Sold it when we came back to the US in 89 since it was right hand drive.
1988 Isuzu Trooper, our first SUV! What we wanted was a Chrysler minivan, but they wouldn't loan us money after being out of the country so long and GM would finance us. We purchased this on a Monday morning in Portland OR and on Wednesday we headed for a wedding in Ohio on Saturday!
Mitsubishi Cordia. Another 2nd car when we both went to work in Louisiana in 1990. Not a bad little hatchback but it had 2 shift levers, 4 speeds on the principal lever and the 2nd was a "power-economy" lever. Hailstorm damage paid that one off... Spousal unit sold it when we divorced.
1991 Mustang GT. This I bought after the divorce was in work. I didn't need the Trooper and couldn?t afford the payments. I couldn't afford the Mustang's payments when I swapped either but I had a shiny fast car to cheer me up. I put a shift kit in the auto transmission and started to get my head together.
1981 Ford F150 truck, my first truck. When the divorce was done and the 2nd marriage was pending, the Mustang had to go. BSU did not appreciate its symbolism and it was no good for hauling home repair materials either. This truck was a banger with millions of miles on it but I was desperate and so it followed me home.
1991 Ford F150 truck, truck number two. This one was a really nice XLT extended cab that I really liked. I took it with me to Korea when I went in 1996, just so it wouldn't be sitting in the driveway tempting my teenaged, wannabe driver. It came back the US with me in 1997 and took up residence in Utah.
Hyundai Excel 4 door. Bought this for the spouse when she came back to town after the divorce and she wanted to work things out. We drove the wheels off this little car for a couple of very dependable years and only ever replaced one CV joint. It was cheap but a reliable car and it earned my respect.
Pontiac TranSport minivan. Traded the Hyundai for this one. I put some shiny billet wheels and 70 series tires on it for a much-improved look over the originals. A pretty decent soccer shuttle and grocery hauler, we even took a road trip from Louisiana to Oregon and back in decent comfort for 4 people.
Ford Thunderbird, 1996. The BSU bought this one while I was home on leave from Korea. She wanted out of the minivan mom look and the metallic navy blue T-bird was the ticket. Too bad I rolled it on the Oregon interstate in coming back from her mother's funeral. This time I had both kids in the car with me but nobody was hurt and we got a Greyhound ride home the next day.
Jeep Wagoneer.This was "Woodrow" because it had the wood grain trim on the side and the spouse thought "Woodie" was too informal. Big honking V8 under the hood but no power, no gas mileage and crowded inside. Woodrow had to go when every time I tried to leave town it broke down on the spouse and forced me to come home early.
Mitsubishi Montero A much more modern SUV to replace the Wagoneer. This was spousal unit's daily driver and the family car. It was sold when she went unemployed.
Ford F250 Crew Cab truck, 2000. This was the very first vehicle that I bought brand new from the dealer. Everything else on this list was used when I bought it. It is V10 powered, 4WD and has all the goodies inside. We bought this to keep a long time and to accommodate our recreational desires.
1987 Jeep Cherokee. This one came from the auction and was planned to be either for the spousal unit or for Noah's driver. He promptly exploded the motor and I spent all last summer overhauling, then replacing the motor. Once it had a good motor in it, I sold it with no regrets.
1989 Geo Tracker. This is another SUV, but a little 2 door convertible one. It also came from the auction, the same night as the Jeep. (I got in a little trouble for that...) Its been a really dependable little rig for the time I've owned it and taking off the top when the weather is nice is great fun. It is cheap and easy to work on and tolerant of a teenaged driver.
1969 VW Baja. I bought this for the elder son, who I thought was going to get his drivers license but didn't. Now Noah claims it and in a week or two we may have it through the licensing process and on the road. (Since sold due to lack of interest.)
70s vintage Fiberfab Avenger. This is a kit car that I bought as a father-son project a couple years ago. It looks a little bit like a Ford GT-40 racecar from 1967. We have done quite a bit of work to it but restoration has been stalled due to lack of funds. It is VW powered and we have an entire replacement chassis in the backyard awaiting our time and money. (And now we have a 2.2 liter fuel injected Subaru moror to transplant!)
That's it. That is the list of all the cars I have owned in my life. I think. Thirty-three cars and trucks. The number hardly seems big enough for the list, since 4 of the rigs are presently still in my driveway.
Nate 5:11 PM
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