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Might just splurge


ksdaddy

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First real "sports car" I had was the old big block Austin Healey. Took a girl to the drive-in movie but we got talking and instead, we drove about 450 miles that night to my folks' house in the Black Hills. The old Healey 3000 had a windshield you could remove with a cupla screws on each side and I'd removed the windshield. I think her hair never did get all the knots out from that little trip.

 

Actually guys, IMHO the sports cars are not good for dating. The old-style bench front seat cars were a lot better. Hmmmm. I have in mind especially a certain 383-325-horse Chrysler 2-door hardtop that I never got to top end, but was capable of well enough over 140 that I did on one short road trip. Hot. Fast, civilized... and comfortable.

 

<grin>

 

Seriously, though, I think I'm a lot happier nowadays with my Grand Cherokee.

 

m

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Oh she's very mellow and dorky. She just likes to blow stuff up and then get strange.

 

1/3 Allison Hannigan, 1/3 Kari Byron, 1/3 Bettie Page.

Good Lord, you're a lucky man !! [thumbup] a couple of suggestions to put your lovely lady "hybrid" in, Mazda Miata & Pontiac Solstice. Both have good room, comfortable, and IMHO more fun to drive than a Vette. both hold up well in accidents {I work in a body shop} had chance to drive all three at the shop one week . Rank them as #1 Miata, #2 Solstice, #3 my 4x4 truck, #4 Vette. Insurance would be less also [thumbup] What would Mrs. KSD Like? gotta make sure she's happy!

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To quote Miss Penny, "Whatever makes my baby happy".

 

No wonder I proposed to her 32 days after we started dating.

 

We both want a convertible and not something huge. Something we can go ride around in a larkish and capricious fashion on the weekend; something dependable, something we won't instantly die in, something that is reasonably comfortable. Doesn't have to be exotic or do 0-60 in 6 seconds or be capable of 140, but it would be nice if it had nuts enough to pass someone on the interstate.

 

I'd prefer it to be automatic so she could drive it, although she claims she wouldn't dare take it to work. Oh, TAKE the thing. USE it. We can run the wheels off it; they'll make new ones.

 

I wish I could have spent more time in that 900S yesterday. It was 'normal' driving; I didn't feel like I was driving a go-kart. I was just a little self conscious using someone's car in traffic. Not the most stylish but it's a 300K mile car and they can be bought cheap.

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So I must ask a dumb question... understand I can't just walk up to a Vette owner and ask to sit in his car but... are the late 70s/early 80s ones any easier to get in and out of?

 

I'm going to answer this a little differently than with a yes or no...

 

I was given a 1959 MGA when I was young and restored it. The first few times I getting in it, I felt like I needed to be a contorsionist. But, after a few weeks, I'd fling the door open and my body sort of just knew how to tumble in it easily. Kinda like that complex new chord change you have to work at really hard at first, eventually comes naturally.

 

p.s. Love that Sportster!

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I doubt if most Vette owners would care if you asked to sit in there car as long as your pockets are empty of sharp objects I have people ask me all the time to sit in both My porsche and my 51 Ford pickup hell they have there friends take pictures of them sitting in them. It never bothers me at all. People that drive cars like these are enthusiasts and they are usually more than happy to talk about there toys, heck the problem is getting away once you talk to them.

 

As for the post on the Miata that's a good choice if it's gonna be just the wife's car. The Mazda Miata might be fun but it's probably the least masculine car on the road. I had a friend that bought one and sold it for weeks later because everyone including total strangers teased him about driving a Miata and being a man. It's the grown up equivilent of the pink stingray bike with a straw flower basket on the front.

 

If you want to try something really different try a Mini Cooper preferably the S there an amazingly fun and sporty car to drive. we bought one to have something my wife could laeve at the airport since she travels quite a bit but we drive it a lot it's a really fun small car. There not 5k but if you ever get the chance drive one like i said you'll be amazed at how roomy they are and how fun to drive. I'm 6'4" tall weigh 270 and have a artificial right leg and I finfd the Mini very comfortable both to drive and as a passenger.

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This one is an '87 "Larry Kramer"... who the heck is that?

 

$4200 cash.

 

xgimj4.jpg

 

Looks like a poor man's Ferrari. Stip the rocker panel cladding and spoiler. THEN I'd be tempted.

 

At first glance I thought 'Fiero'? but it was too long.

 

 

 

Trouble is that when I finally got to the point where I thought I could get 'into' a sports car (read 'empty-nester and I had the money') I couldn't seem to get out of it, literally. The little black sports car on the show room floor just begged for me to sit in. I got into it just fine. Yup, cramped, probably a rough ride. Really looked sporty and cool. Then I decided it was time to get out... [crying][blush]. There is something wholly uncool about a car so low to the ground that you have to crawl out on your hands and knees. I have to hand it to the salesman across the room, he did keep from laughing. Though he did have coffee on his computer screen... strange.

 

Probably the reason I don't like Adirondack chairs or those four legged, spider fold-up lawn chairs. Getting in is a breeze when gravity is working with you. But, getting this 52 year old body out of them is not a pleasant experience.

 

 

 

 

How about this for a 'safe', reliable, yet quirky rag top. Think Big Iron, early 1970's full size; think Caprice, Bonneville, Coupe DeVille. Now that's truckin' off to the Denny's in style!

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  • 6 months later...

So because of flipping about 40 guitars in a month, selling the Heritage, and having a clean ES175T up on the auction block I'm back to thinking about my 'summer car'. A friend may want to buy my 1940 Kay bass so that will put me up in the "stupid money" category.

 

I'm not any closer to making a decision. I'm thinking in the $6-7K range, which would give me pretty much my choice of a C4 Vette (the little 80s ones) and possibly a C3 (the Shark ones) from '78 to '82 or so. Older ones creep up into 5 digits unless they're beat to snot. I don't mind torn upholstery, cracked dash, scraped paint and other attributes of a 30+ year old car, I just don't want a "fixer upper" or project that someone started and walked away from.

 

People have said "Oh, don't get a Corvette, they suck, it's like driving your bathtub down the road".... yeah maybe. I wouldn't mind owning one this summer and then reporting back in November that they were right! As a friend pointed out, "Climbing the Matterhorn would probably suck too, but that won't stop someone from wanting to do it just to say they DID it."

 

There's a white '69 Chrysler convertible locally for $3K but "needs work". I couldn't afford gas for the 440 anyway...

 

Still Saabs around for cheap. Not sure that fits the bill though. I want to walk out into the garage and say "holy crap, THIS is what I'm going to roll into work with!"

 

A Honda Shadow would have been a lot faster and smoother than my Sportster but.... fire up the V Twin and something stirs inside me. I want the same with a car.

 

A late 70s Trans Am or Camaro? Sure. And they want just as much as a Vette.

 

Penny and I were talking about that last night and she questioned why. I figure it's largely due to guys like me who HAD a Firebird or Cutlass in high school and then later had to give that up for the minivan... and then when they get to be my age with some disposable income they are willing to pay top dollar to artificially recapture their youth. Except all though my younger days I drove old 4 door Impalas and never once owned a "hot rod", save for a brief 30 day ownership of a '74 Nova SS in the early 80s. It was December and that car was USELESS in the snow so I swapped it for a '74 Caprice coupe pimpmobile with landau roof and skirts.

 

From 1990 to 1992 I did drive a 1949 Oldsmobile as my 'summer car' and enjoyed it.

 

Maybe I should reassess the whole thing and ask myself, putting midlife crisis completely out the window, "What would make me happy? What would excite me to know it's in the garage and it's at my disposal?"

 

*sigh*

 

ha ha.

 

That would maybe be a 1964 Rambler Classic or a '66 Biscayne 4 door with a 283.

 

This is not getting any easier.

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Not exactly a Hot Rod but there is my convertible, I've had it for 13 years or so, fun as hell, slow down and crank the music up.

 

Convertibles are cruisers, don't get something loud, fast and expensive on gas.

 

Behind is my main squeeze a BMW 328i

 

C363EE1F-B3E6-45EA-8A2B-619505880C9A-5833-00000710106D8167_zps8037b9c5.jpg

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Uhm, there's nothing wrong with a girlie car like the Miata. It is a girlie car, though, even if it is fast.

 

 

@ Dennis Is that yours? I may just give up sporty cars for something taller...get tired of these friggin pot-holes. [cursing]

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Uhm, there's nothing wrong with a girlie car like the Miata. It is a girlie car, though, even if it is fast.

 

 

@ Dennis Is that yours? I may just give up sporty cars for something taller...get tired of these friggin pot-holes. [cursing]

Miata's are definitely girlie cars.

 

And yes Izzy, it's my '06 Z06, and dem00n, there's not a miata on the planet that will even come close to it. [biggrin]

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Miata's are definitely girlie cars.

 

And yes Izzy, it's my '06 Z06, and dem00n, there's not a miata on the planet that will even come close to it. [biggrin]

 

Not really, just Google Miata LS1 swap.

 

It's common to see a Miata running 600WHP with a V8 under the hood now adays.

 

http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_forum/showthread.php?t=14216

 

http://www.vorshlag.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8142

 

Theres a video of a LS1 Miata keeping up with an 800HP Vette, its entirely possible.

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Not really, just Google Miata LS1 swap.

 

It's common to see a Miata running 600WHP with a V8 under the hood now adays.

 

Well, okay, true that. I guess I should have clarified my statement that I was referring to "factory spec" Miata's vs. "factory spec" Corvette's. So, in one sense, I guess we're both right.

 

That said, two things come to mind:

 

1. Anytime you triple the horsepower in a car not designed for it, you're going to have "unintended consequences". Just visit any racing forum where guys have done the conversion.

2. At the end of the day, you're still driving a chickmobile, no matter how fast it is (well, at least when some of those unintended consequences don't have it in the shop).

[biggrin]

 

Sorry, it's just the race car driver and Corvette owner in me coming out [flapper]

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Well, okay, true that. I guess I should have clarified my statement that I was referring to "factory spec" Miata's vs. "factory spec" Corvette's.

 

2. At the end of the day, you're still driving a chickmobile, no matter how fast it is (well, at least when some of those unintended consequences don't have it in the shop).

[biggrin]

 

 

I too thought we were talking factory un-tweeked. No fair dem00n :unsure:

 

Nothing wrong with a chickmobile! [sneaky]

 

New Vettes are not bad, but I'd definetly hump a Stingray.

I was never that attracted to my highschool bf, but he was an awesome guy and I adored him. One day we hung out in his dad's Stingray. I don't know if this is shallow, but I was into him as soon as I got in that car. That wouldn't have happened in a Miata, but it did happen in a 90s suped up Civic with another very ugly guy I was friends with years later. We were going way past the limit on an empty freeway at 3am and I was like, "Jesus, stop thinking about him that way, he is NOT your type." [blink]

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Well, okay, true that. I guess I should have clarified my statement that I was referring to "factory spec" Miata's vs. "factory spec" Corvette's. So, in one sense, I guess we're both right.

 

That said, two things come to mind:

 

1. Anytime you triple the horsepower in a car not designed for it, you're going to have "unintended consequences". Just visit any racing forum where guys have done the conversion.

2. At the end of the day, you're still driving a chickmobile, no matter how fast it is (well, at least when some of those unintended consequences don't have it in the shop).

[biggrin]

 

Sorry, it's just the race car driver and Corvette owner in me coming out [flapper]

 

I'm sure you've built many chassis's in your life time.

 

Vette owners get the biggest hits, so i'm not even going to get started.

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