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American cars a love/hate thing.


Uncle Jimmy

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the '70's jeep wagoneer, all chrome grill and formica down the sides..... yum!!

 

or 58 plymouth fury or belverdere. it would have to be white over red though, even though that is not a factory colour scheme....

 

also the late 60's GM coupes the chevy chevelle, pontiac gto and there was also an oldsmobile (the 442?) all using the body. all have buttress back wings and the like. i think there is a chevy nova (nova 2?) based on the same body.

 

generally i would say that the one which i really like, yank wise are the mid-sixties to early seventies...

 

top of the picks for me would be the 69'71 dodge charger, but i guess even basket cases are mega-money now 

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fab-hudson-hornet-07.jpg

I love the stuff from the early 50s*; I would die happy if I ever owned one of these in this exact livery. If not then a Chrysler Windsor or Loewy designed Studebaker of the same era would be an acceptable substitute.

 

*Note: this is an incurable condition brought on by watching too much early NASCAR on youtube. If you do not wish to be infected then do not watch anything from Daytona Beach or Darlington Speedway ;)

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I've really never had any interest in American cars (apart from the sound of a V8!) but commercial vehicles are a whole different story. I quite fancy something like a 70s/80s Ford Econoline or Bronco; and a Suburban (OK it's strictly a car) floats my boat too :-)

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On a recent trip to Dayton, we got this POS, an insult to the car

 

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Which had handling like a Duck (Seen  here on the river in Downtown Dayton)

 

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Later on I saw my DREAM American car :

 

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Pretty much a Mk2 Cavalier. This taken 2009 and the car was almost perfect.

 

 

 

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Anything after 1980 doesn't do it for me. 1945-1954ish, I like roundyness.

1955-1962ish, Yuk hate fins.

1963-1970ish, like muscle cars will not spend that kind of money...so

1970-1980 is my best bet; smaller rather than full size, V8, I'm thinking of AMC Hornets/Javelins, Chevelle?

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I'd love an sixties hardtop, like a '64 galaxie or '67 dart. I have given serious thought to getting rid of all my current shite and getting an early seventies f-series pickup.

I think a '73 two tone F150 short bed with a 302+slushbox would be the perfect motor to suit my wants and desires.

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I'd love an sixties hardtop, like a '64 galaxie or '67 dart. I have given serious thought to getting rid of all my current shite and getting an early seventies f-series pickup.

I think a '73 two tone F150 short bed with a 302+slushbox would be the perfect motor to suit my wants and desires.

Even the later pick ups are getting to be silly money; my American relations were aghast when I told them how much an old step side goes for here.

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the only gremlin listed currently on american ebay is $8000....

 

could it be that AMC was the equivalent to BL, with awkward styling and peculiar ideas some of which are really daft, and some pretty good, even if the execution was questionable

 

AMC pacer - Austin Allegro

 

AMC gremlin - Austin Metro 

 

but what, no marina, maxi, princess ect ect... (they did sell those in america too with the 2.6 litre e6 engine)

 

though i think that whole comparison is quite unfair.........

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I was affected by the British and European propaganda which stated that all American cars were cumbersome, wallowing barges with lousy brakes and roadholding tuned to straight roads. When work started taking me to the USA several times per year, starting around 1991, I really wanted to hate the yankee hirecars and deride their substandard, inefficient engineering.  My first hire was a Chevrolet Luminar. It looked moderately ill proportioned as I approached its parking berth, still bleary eyed after 9 hours in a Jumbo.  The hotel and work destination was about 80 miles away, and threading this monster out of a busy airport carpark and on to the I 5 seemed daunting....until I set off.  This thing was quiet, easy and light to control, and had loads of torque from its 3.something V6 and slushbox.  The stereo was superb as well. I began to like it a lot.  This pattern was repeated in subsequent visits.  Buick Century: Lovable, with no sense of direction and needed frequent steering inputs to keep it from wondering off the straights. A later model Luminar: Blandness just creeping in, but still a very nice way to travel (had a few of these). Dodge Intrepid: A complete revelation.  It had the character of a yankee full size sedan, but handled as well as many quite classy European cars. Intrepids were my favourite by a long way. Cadillac something or other with a V8: Wafty and quaint, though too dark inside for my liking.  Oldsmobile Ciera:  This was the only yank I drove that fitted my propaganda induced stereotype.  It really was awful. Despite being a recent addition to the hirecar fleet and being a few months old, it felt unsteady in a wobbly twisty way and took 30 metres to recover from any minor imperfection in the road surface.  I made sure that I never had another Ciera, even opting for a Camry or a Nissan QX to avoid such misery. 

 

While it is unlikely that I'll ever buy a fullsize sedan or ever drive an older rwd yank, I now like them a lot.

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i believe that the marina was indeed sold in us as a austin

 

i'd need a camel hair coat, a wide brimmed hat and i'd have to call everyone "my man" with that 20 foot vision in brown!

A Marina coupe appears in the odd but likeable Paul Newman film 'the drowning pool', so a few appeared in the States.

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had a few over the years would say the following from each decade

 

76 350 V8 firebird drove ok ,but disappointing overall (all show no go)

83 F350 std cab 300 straight six, basic (was bottom of range though),  needed od box (3spd auto) good all rounder great fun.

95 mustang 3.8 V6 comfy (blended in) good all rounder.

 

all easy to run, parts supply better than for uk avl stuff,& better quality.

 

def have another truck loved it & built like a tank.

 

verdict do your homework & go for it.

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Mostly love any from 80 downwards - 60's 70's Mukkle cars being high on list but also the big arsed barges with uber velour buttoned seats and interior often in huggy bear shades of red and kermit green love em

 

Had a 2nd Gen Camaro with super silly Karlos fandango rear wheels in deep dish slot mag flavour This being it

 

 

rwtApKL.jpg

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Heroic is the word I'd use to describe anything AMC did, Dick Teague their designer was able to keep producing new cars with Blue Peter levels of money and equipment.

 

 

That man doth speaketh the truth!

 

Pretty much everything AMC made during the '70s and '80s (Pacer and Matador excepted) was derived from the Hornet.

 

1970 AMC Hornet saloon.....

 

AMC-Hornet-1970.jpg

 

 

Take a two-door Hornet, chop off the boot and fit a Kammback tail and you've got a Gremlin.

 

Hornet.

 

1970AMCHornet02.jpg

 

 

Gremlin.

 

1971_AMC_Gremlin_X.jpg

 

 

Take that same Hornet, add a vinyl roof, an updated nose and a posh cabin and you've got the upscale AMC Concord.

 

1981_AMC_Concord_4-door_beige_PAfr.jpg

 

 

Gremlin getting old?  Then slap on the Concord's nose and reprofile the rear to create the Spirit Liftback.....

 

1981_AMC_Spirit_four.jpg

 

 

....And the Spirit Kammback.

 

amc-spirit-3-door-hatchback-photo-305360

 

 

Concord losing it's lustre?  Then jack up the suspension and add some Jeep 4X4 hardware underneath to create the world's first crossover, the AMC Eagle!

 

Eagle shown in wildly popular estate version....

 

AMC-Eagle.jpg

 

 

There were many, many, MANY more versions of this platform.  Too many to show here but you get the idea.  AMC were almost as good as BL when it came to getting the most out of ancient tooling and dated designs, even after they started building Americanised Renaults.

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I had a mate locally who had a Chevy stepside. I loved that pickup, it sounded glorious. He sold that after being faffed around an awful lot. He bought some 40's thing that had been made into a lead sled. It needed a shedload of work and he took it to a so called 'specialist' that dicked him about for over a year, took his money and did fuck all. He literally had to break in to the place to get the majority of his bits back. He then went to another specialist who just sat on the car for months without doing anything and was so slow that glaciers looked speedy in comparison. It still isn't finished now and it started about 3 years ago. He was very negative about the 'scene' and said that this was not that uncommon.

 

A couple of years ago I nearly bought a Siera/Ciera?? It was only 500 quid but I couldn't quite make myself do it. It drove ok with the 3 litre engine but........

 

I would love to have an American car and would happily go for the following:

 

Chevy Caprice estate (sis had a hearse version)

Chev Impala

Corvair

Almost any 50's or 60's pick up - slightly rat look/satin black. Even Mrs PBK approves. 

 

Oh by the way, next weeks WD features the GMC Pacer. Yes, yes it does. 

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