Hey, folks, So, I might be selling my daily driver, a 1963 Falcon Sprint; I've got a serious bite, and if they offer me what I want, I think I'll take it. If that happens, I'm gonna need something I can drive about 50 miles a day--something that doesn't have "Honda" in the name or "2004" in the date of manufacture. Anybody out there have any interesting older drivers out there that might be available? If you live in California, that would be better ... but surprise me. (God this e-mail sucks! Sorry, guys; this is sounding really lame.) If you guys have any ideas, I'd appreciate hearing. I'll keep you posted. Cheers,
Fifty miles/day in SoCal, gas prices continuing to rise, and you have a hot-rod mentality . . . Mid '80s BMW 318i coupe, preferably with a five-speed, 150K-180K miles, well maintained and showing pride of ownership, A/C, PDL, PW, CC, sounds . . . Expect to pay $1500-$2500 for a good one. Count on getting excellent handling performance from a well-balanced car that is driven by the correct axle! Tough and faultless shifting transmission (so long as you replace the shifter bushings after about 150K); excellent brakes; excellent steering with good feedback; bags of cockpit room for six-footers and taller (with characateristic arms-extended German driving position); excellent seats with about 8 inches of fore-and-aft adjustment, plus recline; excellent ventilation/heating system (and if it's A/C equipped you can hang meat inside in the Summer!). The 318i is a very unfussy car in spite of its all-around excellent performance. Tuneups, at about 50K miles, are simple and cheap . The electronic pieces cost no more than they do for other cars of the era, domestics included, and are generally cheaper than equivalent pieces for Japanese cars. The 318i is a willing spinner and rushes right up to 6200 rpm where the factory rev limiter says "no more." That can be a bit frustrating at times because you know it's got another 700-800 in it before it begins to break a sweat. As an example of maintenance costs, I had the cat and O2 sensor replaced in my 318i during its recent smog test, and the entire bill, which included some tuning and the cost of the cert (on a chassis dyno) as well as the parts was $370.00. This was with 250K plus miles on the odo. I consider it a good investment; my fuel economy which had slowly dropped into the low 20s in the last few months is back up to low 30s cruising at 70-75 mph. Sure, your pals are going to give you a hard time about driving this little yuppie/chick car, but you can retaliate by sucking them into a decreasing-radius off-ramp at double the posted speed without even showing any brakes lights! Check recycler.com.
Citroën 2CV with a GS motor. Going from 602cc to 1200cc gives the little banger some balls, and you'll surprise many at a light. Seriously, I drive a Merc 300D Turbodiesel about 75 miles every day, get 23.5 mpg even while wringing the snot out of it, and with the fuel turned up and overboosted, it fair rocks. Lots of performance available out of the VW diesels, too, and loads better economy, as they're only 1.8 litres. But you gotta have boost!! Cosmo
I loved my '85 Porsche 944 non-turbo but got a chance to trade it to my kid for our old family 92 lumina coupe.I took it. The lil' chevy has 160K on it but runs like a watch and gets almost as good a mileage with it's 3.1 as the 2.5 litre porsche did with a lot less drama. Yeah, I gotta put brake pads on it almost annually and the calipers seize every 70,000 miles or so but the parts are cheap. Front drive keeps me going in the winter ice and snow too.
Thanks for the help, guys, but seriously, I guess I'm a friggin car racist. I'm gonna have to find something that's old and Ford-related. I just don't think I could stomach rockin' a BMW, a 2CV or anything like that. 2CVs are, like the slowest things on the planet and the exhaust smells like Gauloises. And Beemrs get spendy when they break. I appreciate the effort, but I think I'll be looking for something '50s and Ford if the occasion arises.
The Jalopy Journal
