Re: Car guys?

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For the last ten years my main squeeze has been my '93 Dodge Stealth. Only the SOHC base model but not only does it have all the power I'd need but it's also the most comfortable car I've ever driven as well as being a very fun car to drive. Unfortunately, it's getting to the point where it seems to spend more time in the shop than it does on the road and I'm slowly working myself up to getting rid of it...

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Re: Car guys?

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Damocles wrote:For the last ten years my main squeeze has been my '93 Dodge Stealth. Only the SOHC base model but not only does it have all the power I'd need but it's also the most comfortable car I've ever driven as well as being a very fun car to drive. Unfortunately, it's getting to the point where it seems to spend more time in the shop than it does on the road and I'm slowly working myself up to getting rid of it...

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I always like the design of those cars. Very cool looking. I looked a twin turbo one way back in like 2001, fun test drive but I was dreaming - at the time I didn't have the time or money for something like that.

I did consider a green manual base model for awhile. It seemed OK, but for a 2 door they are heavy cars. I probably would have liked it but ended up passing for something else.

Car guys?

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My VW is home!

Fuel injection has been replaced with a progressive two barrel carb. Fuel tank and starter replaced. Brakes, bearings, bushings, etc all inspected and replaced as needed. New tires and battery.

Drove it home from Harrisburg area today. About 45 miles. It took a while to get back into the "beetle mode," of driving, i.e. anticipate hills, brake early. It got lots of love from passing drivers and cruised straight and smooth at speeds up to about 70 mph.

Probably needs a muffler but, damn, it is fun to drive. First CD listened to on the way home? Workingman's Dead - Turned the volume way up on Uncle John's Band and just grinned.

Here it is in the garage, next to its distant German cousin.


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Re: Car guys?

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I love me some VW Buses!

Bought my first one, a '66 Deluxe, when I was in my 20s. Went thru everything on this bus and drove it for 10 years. And then I sold it, like an idiot. Worst decision I ever made.
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My current VW love is a '71 Westfalia. Been fixing and restoring it for about 5 years now. It's an ongoing project, but it starts every time and runs like a champ. We take it camping a few times a year. No way I'm selling this one!
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Re: Car guys?

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Dude! You sold it?!?! That's a cosmic screw-up!

Seriously, those oldies are precious. My current 78 is the last in a series that started with a 66 beetle that got me through college, a 70 beetle that got me through grad school (after a brief and torrid affair with an Alfa), and then a 73 Westie pop-top. We camped all over Arizona and Utah and made many forays into Sonora for beach time in that bus.

I am still addicted to the sound of loose valves, the smell of hot motor oil, and the sense that the engine was chasing me and having a hard time keeping up...

My biggest mistake was to turn down a picture perfect 74 Ghia that my dentist was selling in about 1986. Convertible, glass rear window, dead stock and perfect.
Last edited by Bucolic on Sat Mar 04, 2017 4:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Car guys?

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Bucolic wrote:Dude! You sold it?!?! That's a cosmic screw-up!
Yeah, I know. Been kicking myself in the ass ever since. :wall: I loved that '66 Bus! And what makes it worse is every time I see how much the early buses are selling for now, I know I'll never be able to afford one again. I keep telling myself that there's some kind of zen lesson in detachment in there somewhere, but it ain't working!

So now I've got the '71 Westy, and I'll be damned if I'm letting this one go!

And I know they're dangerous. Not to mention slow, noisy and they ride like shit, but there's nothin' like an old VW Bus!

Re: Car guys?

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Bucolic: Sweet about your Beetle coming home! Sounds like it got some good, loving attention. :yahoo: Your story about the Ghia actually made me cry...

I still have the '63 Beetle sedan I drove in high school over 30 years ago. :whistle: It's under cover now, at least, but the mice need to be evicted and it needs a whole lotta work.

Cosmic: Is that a pair of Webers on that motor? :) I had baby Dellortos on my Beetle ages ago...

... which reminds me: Bucolic, would you mind saying how that progressive is working on your Beetle? Mine had been running a 34-PICT most recently and it was never very satisfactory. (009 distributor)
"I am not a number, I am a free man!" - Number Six

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Re: Car guys?

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Just this morning I saw a white beatle painted with baseball stitches on it.
This is just my opinion, yours may vary and is no less valid.
- Me -

"I will never claim to be an expert, and it has been my experience that self proclaimed experts are usually self proclaimed."
-Me-

I must proof read more

Re: Car guys?

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Bacchus wrote:Cosmic: Is that a pair of Webers on that motor? :) I had baby Dellortos on my Beetle ages ago...
Yes, a pair of 34 ICTs. I had nothing but trouble with the stock carb and manifold after I put a header exhaust on it because the heat risers wouldn't work properly. The dual Webers fixed that problem! I've done everything I can to squeeze as much power as I can from the 1600. It also has 1.25:1 ratio rockers and electronic ignition with a Bosch blue coil. And I've got a whole shelf full of other goodies I need to install!

Re: Car guys?

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Dang, when did this turn into an ACVW thread?? Lol
Here's my 1964 SO-33 Westfalia that I've owned for about 20 years.
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Got a 1973 Type 181, and a 1987 Vanagon Syncro full-camper Westfalia with a Subaru 6cyl conversion as well.. but no pics on the phone ...
And have been through countless others..

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Brian in StL

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Re: Car guys?

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Beauties!! Love them all! Not many 181s still on the road. Hecho en Mexico, as I recall, and not the most durable. Still, effortlessly cool!

I rgr t that I have no pictures of my old ones. I think th 73 camper is still on the road in Tucson but the others are rust in the wind.


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Re: Car guys?

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My parents were fans of VW vans with Westfalen interiors for camping. Gas mileage was great, but they were gutless wonders on the highway. Forget about passing unless you were going down hill. Newer models are no doubt much improved.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Car guys?

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highdesert wrote:My parents were fans of VW vans with Westfalen interiors for camping. Gas mileage was great, but they were gutless wonders on the highway. Forget about passing unless you were going down hill. Newer models are no doubt much improved.
60HP isn't going to win any track days. We got a Type II (1.7L IIRC) proper stuck on the beach in Daytona one year. Beach patrol had to rig up a tow strap to get the old girl off the sand.
LGC Texas - Vice President

Re: Car guys?

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here's mine, 93 lumina apv, 190k miles
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not really mine, but looks just like it.
also known as the "cadillac of minivans", "dustbuster", or "star trek shuttlecraft"
i'm retired. what's your excuse?

Re: Car guys?

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Glad someone bumped this thread up. I've got a 1978 Westfalia "resting" in the garage. I picked it up about 12 years ago from the original owner and put a crap ton of time into it. It was especially fun finding a functioning EGR valve to get it smogged. But then it sat on the road (no garage space at the time) so much of the exterior improvements I'd made need to be redone. To make it worse, I'm not a mechanic, so most of the mechanical "fixes" I've done have had to be redone. It's time to pull the engine to address oil leaks, again. I'd done it before, cleaned and painted the tin and then weather happened, so that needs to be done again as well. And then there's the center link pin that still wanders. And the rusty love bumps from the PO. And the rust under the windshield. I've often considered passing it on to the next owner but fear I'll regret it. I love it when we do (once or twice a year) take it camping for the weekend. Bay windows aren't into the realm of splits yet but it's sort of like moving out of California--once you're out, you can't afford to buy back in. Now I've got space in the garage for it but no time to work on it!

My other project is a 1990 Nissan Hardbody 4x4 manual everything single cab. It's the dump truck and fortunately, in much better mechanical condition than the bus. Really just needs some paint on the hood and tires. Oh, and a working odometer and/or fuel gauge would be nice. :D

Daily driver is a Leaf to lower the carbon footprint of the other two.
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Re: Car guys?

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I went full Brit a ordered one of the very first Jaguar F-Pace performance SUVs to hit the states. One of the first off the boat. Ordered mine six months before it shipped, sight unseen, not even a photo of the model on the Internet. I'm not a Jaguar fanboy. This was my first car from the brand. But I couldn't resist. I started to buy a Porsche Macan S until I heard was coming out with a performance SUV.

Mine is the top-of-the line F-Pace S-First Edition in Caesium Blue. My dealer in PA could only get one like it, and still has not received another one just like it and won't.
"The last thing right-wing nuts, fascists and haters want is liberals owning guns and knowing how to use them." - Wise Liberal

Re: Car guys?

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I wrench the following:

'52 & '54 Austin A40 Canadian Somerset sedans
'53 Dodge M37 3/4 T 4X4 military
'59 Benz 219 sedan
'67 Kaiser-Jeep M54A1 6X6 5-ton cargo military
'79 Chevy Luv Diesel 4X4 pickup
'80 Benz 300SD sedan
'85 Benz 300TD wagon
'90 Ford F350 Diesel double cab
'16 Smart Fortwo Passion (still under warranty)

Zoom!

Subs
"Oozing charm from every pore, he oiled his way around the floor."

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