ValuePack
04-11-2007, 12:11 PM
I was feeling a little homesick for my former cars today. Post 'em up.
1987 Ford Escort GT April 1999-Sept. 2000 "Uter/Pandora's Sh1tbox":
My first car, dark metallic blue. Paid $950, or about $800 too much. Rusty, leaky, famous for one tire burnouts at the autoxes, two blown headgaskets, changing the dampers three times, front seat backs that'd collapse without notice, and an engine fire. Cheap to buy, spent nearly $5k in repairs in 21k miles. Lots of oversteer, due to chassis flex. The 15x6.5 alloys weighed about a ton each. Eventually upgraded to a K&N drop in and a Grant GT four spoke steering wheel as the stock leather wheel fell apart and dropped boiling hot adhesive in my lap. Traded as it needed rear strut tower and floor rust repair, new brakes all around(again), and God knows what else for inspection. Always pissed off the NER autoxers that I nabbed the "AUTOXR" plate in NH... "I've been trying to get that for years!" Traded for the Civic at the Honda Barn, probably ended up in a junkyard.
1991 Honda Civic Wagon, RT-4WD, 6spd. Aug. 2000-Dec. 2000 "The Poonmobile":
Paid $4k, baby blue metallic. Best car ever created. Loved offroading and drifting. Came stock with viscous AWD, the D16A CRX Si SOHC 1.6L engine, and a crawler 1st gear. I bought it with an ancient Kenwood pullout cd player, later discovered it had two discontinuted Boston Acoustics speakers and an old Sony amp. Completed more road trips than any one car should. Didn't have it long enough to explore it's potential, as my attempts to be Colin McRae proved fatal for the car. My mother cried when Amica said it was totalled. In a junkyard now, probably crushed, though it's stereo gear lives on in many other cars. I still have the ashtray.
1990 Nissan Sentra base coupe, Jan. 2002-Sept. 2002 originator of my ValuePack SN:
My GF(now wife) bought it for $450 for an early birthday present; fire engine red. No options. No radio, antenna, speakers, tach, trip odo, or pass. mirror, non-flip up rear view, no P/S, crank windows, no dome light, vinyl seats, came with 155/80R13 WW tires on 13x5 steelies, no muffler(aftermarket from NH winters, apparently), STRIPPO. Loved it for it's pop out rear windows. Upgraded eventually to 175/70R13 BLK Sears Guardsman all seasons and a Monroe turbo muffler. Weighed in ~2000lbs, had a fairly fun 90hp 12v TBI SOHC 1.6L and a 4 spd. Succumbed to rust and a cracked unibody rail; the rear strut towers had holes big enough to easily put my head through. Never got an inspection sticker for it, which proved it's undoing, but it got me from Sandown to Manchester twice daily. It's in a junkyard in Derry now.
1998 Toyota Tercel CE coupe, June 2002-Oct. 2004, Unsakred named it "Tercel of Doom":
Originally my father's car, he bought it new in Aug. 1998. First car I drove legally on the street, back in 1998, and the last year for the Tercel in the US. Sierra Green Metallic, paid $1200. Weighed in at 2051lbs with fuel, had a 5 spd. and a DOHC 16v 1.5L 5EFE that was fun @93hp and a welcome upgrade after the Sentra, but I longed for a 140hp JDM Starlet GT 16v 1.3L TIC 4EFTE to swap in. Most noted for multiple jumps over railroad tracks and 48mpg with Unsakred riding shotgun on a trip to VT for a VW show. Didn't upgrade much as nothing ever broke, and I still have it's NIB KYB struts in my storage unit to this day. Sold it to buy a "family car"(big mistake); traded for a set of Blizzaks($238) for my wife's Golf. The Blizzaks are on LordBass' Impreza now, and the current owner of the car is up to 180k trouble free miles, and loves the car to death. Missing a door handle, last I saw it.
2001 Subaru Forester L, Oct. 2004-present, aptly named "The Torque Shed" for it's shape, by Lord Bass before I even got it home:
Alpine White, 5spd, $9000 I think, as it has some miles. Wanted it for it's baby seat room. The wife had an '01 that I loved, and I spied this one while on business in Auburn, ME. Called back after a month and it was still there, so I traveled all the way from Derry with Lord Bass to get it, as it was the only 5spd. in NE in my price range. Mostly stock, has a WRX rear sway bar, Bridgestone truck tires, and some other minor goodies, and I've recently discovered some OEM B13 Sentra SE-R parts in it. Replaced all the normal stupid Subaru junk; ie rear 02 sensor, rear wheel bearings, and everything else that Subaru is negatively known for except head gaskets. It loves dirt, and has seen more offroading than most trucks ever will, though was shoddily maintained by TriCity Subaru in Somersworth and Strafford Tire & Battery in Dover in it's former life in Maine; please, never EVER go to either. Currently sitting unregistered and in bad knick, but will be my DD again soon, this time in street trim. Has been for sale on and off since Nov. 2005... I'm still making payments.
1992 Saab 900S sedan, Nov. 2005-present, "Swedish Fish/the Rally *****":
"Whoever heard of a Swedish car built in Finland with euro-Ford parts?" Talked the guy down from $2450 to $1500. 2.1 16v, 5 spd. This is the car that taught me that leather seats are for fat asses and very much suck. I'd always wanted a "classic" 900, though I really wanted a 3 door turbo. Bought it with rallyx in mind as suspension and 99% of it's parts CHEAP to buy, though it's not to be. Always eager to shoot for redline, though it's parked with a bum clutch master cylinder now, and very much for sale. Yeah, the drivetrain is backwards too, damn Swedes.
There's my unGodly long list. Where's yours?:)
1987 Ford Escort GT April 1999-Sept. 2000 "Uter/Pandora's Sh1tbox":
My first car, dark metallic blue. Paid $950, or about $800 too much. Rusty, leaky, famous for one tire burnouts at the autoxes, two blown headgaskets, changing the dampers three times, front seat backs that'd collapse without notice, and an engine fire. Cheap to buy, spent nearly $5k in repairs in 21k miles. Lots of oversteer, due to chassis flex. The 15x6.5 alloys weighed about a ton each. Eventually upgraded to a K&N drop in and a Grant GT four spoke steering wheel as the stock leather wheel fell apart and dropped boiling hot adhesive in my lap. Traded as it needed rear strut tower and floor rust repair, new brakes all around(again), and God knows what else for inspection. Always pissed off the NER autoxers that I nabbed the "AUTOXR" plate in NH... "I've been trying to get that for years!" Traded for the Civic at the Honda Barn, probably ended up in a junkyard.
1991 Honda Civic Wagon, RT-4WD, 6spd. Aug. 2000-Dec. 2000 "The Poonmobile":
Paid $4k, baby blue metallic. Best car ever created. Loved offroading and drifting. Came stock with viscous AWD, the D16A CRX Si SOHC 1.6L engine, and a crawler 1st gear. I bought it with an ancient Kenwood pullout cd player, later discovered it had two discontinuted Boston Acoustics speakers and an old Sony amp. Completed more road trips than any one car should. Didn't have it long enough to explore it's potential, as my attempts to be Colin McRae proved fatal for the car. My mother cried when Amica said it was totalled. In a junkyard now, probably crushed, though it's stereo gear lives on in many other cars. I still have the ashtray.
1990 Nissan Sentra base coupe, Jan. 2002-Sept. 2002 originator of my ValuePack SN:
My GF(now wife) bought it for $450 for an early birthday present; fire engine red. No options. No radio, antenna, speakers, tach, trip odo, or pass. mirror, non-flip up rear view, no P/S, crank windows, no dome light, vinyl seats, came with 155/80R13 WW tires on 13x5 steelies, no muffler(aftermarket from NH winters, apparently), STRIPPO. Loved it for it's pop out rear windows. Upgraded eventually to 175/70R13 BLK Sears Guardsman all seasons and a Monroe turbo muffler. Weighed in ~2000lbs, had a fairly fun 90hp 12v TBI SOHC 1.6L and a 4 spd. Succumbed to rust and a cracked unibody rail; the rear strut towers had holes big enough to easily put my head through. Never got an inspection sticker for it, which proved it's undoing, but it got me from Sandown to Manchester twice daily. It's in a junkyard in Derry now.
1998 Toyota Tercel CE coupe, June 2002-Oct. 2004, Unsakred named it "Tercel of Doom":
Originally my father's car, he bought it new in Aug. 1998. First car I drove legally on the street, back in 1998, and the last year for the Tercel in the US. Sierra Green Metallic, paid $1200. Weighed in at 2051lbs with fuel, had a 5 spd. and a DOHC 16v 1.5L 5EFE that was fun @93hp and a welcome upgrade after the Sentra, but I longed for a 140hp JDM Starlet GT 16v 1.3L TIC 4EFTE to swap in. Most noted for multiple jumps over railroad tracks and 48mpg with Unsakred riding shotgun on a trip to VT for a VW show. Didn't upgrade much as nothing ever broke, and I still have it's NIB KYB struts in my storage unit to this day. Sold it to buy a "family car"(big mistake); traded for a set of Blizzaks($238) for my wife's Golf. The Blizzaks are on LordBass' Impreza now, and the current owner of the car is up to 180k trouble free miles, and loves the car to death. Missing a door handle, last I saw it.
2001 Subaru Forester L, Oct. 2004-present, aptly named "The Torque Shed" for it's shape, by Lord Bass before I even got it home:
Alpine White, 5spd, $9000 I think, as it has some miles. Wanted it for it's baby seat room. The wife had an '01 that I loved, and I spied this one while on business in Auburn, ME. Called back after a month and it was still there, so I traveled all the way from Derry with Lord Bass to get it, as it was the only 5spd. in NE in my price range. Mostly stock, has a WRX rear sway bar, Bridgestone truck tires, and some other minor goodies, and I've recently discovered some OEM B13 Sentra SE-R parts in it. Replaced all the normal stupid Subaru junk; ie rear 02 sensor, rear wheel bearings, and everything else that Subaru is negatively known for except head gaskets. It loves dirt, and has seen more offroading than most trucks ever will, though was shoddily maintained by TriCity Subaru in Somersworth and Strafford Tire & Battery in Dover in it's former life in Maine; please, never EVER go to either. Currently sitting unregistered and in bad knick, but will be my DD again soon, this time in street trim. Has been for sale on and off since Nov. 2005... I'm still making payments.
1992 Saab 900S sedan, Nov. 2005-present, "Swedish Fish/the Rally *****":
"Whoever heard of a Swedish car built in Finland with euro-Ford parts?" Talked the guy down from $2450 to $1500. 2.1 16v, 5 spd. This is the car that taught me that leather seats are for fat asses and very much suck. I'd always wanted a "classic" 900, though I really wanted a 3 door turbo. Bought it with rallyx in mind as suspension and 99% of it's parts CHEAP to buy, though it's not to be. Always eager to shoot for redline, though it's parked with a bum clutch master cylinder now, and very much for sale. Yeah, the drivetrain is backwards too, damn Swedes.
There's my unGodly long list. Where's yours?:)