A glimmer of reason in the automotive world
- Thread starter iveofione
- Start date
As a kid in remember riding with my uncle in his 1960 something VW bus in hilly San Francisco and really hoping we didn't crash because there was very little between my knees and the front of the bus. That being said, it was great for getting around with his large family. My folks had a '63 bug. I used to love riding in the wayback between the back seat and rear window. It was often necessary if my older brothers and sister were along for the ride.
I’m guessing the hippie gene runs strong in your family.
FinLuver
Native Oregonian…1846
And there are the crosswinds…
My first car was a ‘68 VW van in high school…pulled the middle seat, found a piece of chartreuse green shag carpet and put it inside…it could do 55 downhill with a tailwind…slept in it many times going to concerts or fishing and hunting…almost blew over in a crosswind on the 95 going up to Vermont from MA…
wanderingrichard
Life of the Party
I wonder if this Aussie engine that's now powering the Meyers Manx would work on those old VW busses?
Bought this in 1971 , 1964 Dodge Powerwagon , 318 V8 4 speed manual . It was quite the machine . I ran the old 750/16 pizza cutters on it . It would just about go anywhere . Another one of those old vehicles I had ,I wouldn't mind having today . You certainly don't see many of these around . Sorry for the grainy picture ,only one I have .
Dustin Chromers
Legend
We are going backwards as far as automobiles. We went from this engineering marvel of simplicity, repairability, and durability pictured to overly complicated lightly built non repairable garbage.
And now for my top 3 dumb vehicles.
1. The Chevy avalanche. Yes it's the aztek for a wannabe man. If you're driving one I simply know you don't do any truck stuff and have horrible credit. Oh and also your brake pads are shot.
2. The Cyber truck. Need I say more. This is the ultimate in idiot wagons and proves that just cause you have money doesn't mean you have sense. The fact people pay for a truck with a weak bumper that looks like a prop on the set of Aliens is beyond me. We see you dude, we know you are a moron
3. Any Hummer that's not the actual OG one. All of them built by GM on a minivan frame. You get all the weight and none of the benefits of the real H1. We see you. You are just the avalanche of GM. What a dumb truck.
That is all for my deep vehicle thoughts on this day. Just know I'm driving around and judging with disgust.
There was a day , when I owned that old Powerwagon I could repair just about anything on it , and find the part to do so. Although I do all my own maintenance on my Ram 6.7 diesel , thats about it . There is no repairing a lot of things on it ,especially the electronics or emissions . Sure I can replace the brakes ,ball joints ,those sort of things ,but thats about where it ends .
Dustin Chromers
Legend
Instead of buying a new work rig I bought a fairly minty Ford excursion with the 7.3 diesel. I'm blown away at the high quality of about everything on the vehicle right down to the seats. The seats could be in a high end home as lounge chairs. Everything on the thing is simple, over built, repairable, and durable. All that with no emissions or def stock and 15 mpg woods driving included and 19 mpg for travel on the highway town driving included. Even at the premium price I had to pay for such a rare unicorn it's light years better than any modern option I had available.
It's annoying that cars (and many other consumer products beyond phones) have become data collection instruments. I wish it was simpler to inactivate the constant surveillance. Privacy is a modern luxury option.
www.eff.org
How to Figure Out What Your Car Knows About You (and Opt Out of Sharing When You Can)
Cars collect a lot of our personal data, and car companies disclose a lot of that data to third parties. It’s often unclear what’s being collected, and what's being shared and with whom. A recent New York Times article highlighted how data is shared by G.M. with insurance companies, sometimes...
My truck before this Ram was the early 99 Superduty with the 7.3 . If it would have had the power to tow a big fifth wheel , I probably would still have it . I bought it new in July of 1998 , drove it for nearly 16 years . Arguably the best truck for towing , and reliability I’ve owned until I moved up to a big fifth wheel , but just couldn’t handle the weight . It was the F-350 crew cab short bed . Just couldn’t handle the mountains here in Utah , Idaho , and Montana towing my fifth wheel. This 6.7 Cummins is light years ahead of the old 7.3 for power towing , just no comparison.
Dustin Chromers
Legend
Hard to beat a Cummins motor. I put a tuner in mine with no other mods and it was a drastic improvement. Mainly the transmission shift strategy. I don't run any ultra aggressive tunes but it's lots more satisfying to drive. I still drive it like a truck but a quick pass happens pretty quick now. I'm trying to baby this thing and make it last forever. It is the ultimate forester/surveyor rig. I can't be happier with the 7.3 but I'm also not towing anything heavier than a glass drift boat.
I did a lot to that old 7.3, short of injectors , and turbo . Air intake , 4” exhaust turbo back , 6.0 intercooler , and transmission cooler , and DP tuner . That 6.0 transmission cooler was probably the best upgrade I did . That 4R100 transmission was not one of fords best for sure . Plus the fact of inadequate OE cooling didn’t help . Still was a great truck , just lacked the power to tow heavy .
Dustin, I’ll give you the last two but I had an 02 Avalanche that I considered a an RAV, Recreational Attack Vehicle. For 9 years I pulled 7500# of boat and trailer from New England to NC and back 2X a year without issue. Thankfully no inclines more than crossing the GW and Delaware bridges. Dropping the mid-gate I could load 8+ fully ready to go rigged fly rods all the gear I needed for travel and fun and during hunting season with a mat and sleeping bag all the comforts …well.. capability that I needed.
I will agree with you 100% on the brakes as the front disc brakes were a POS as they used floating calipers that at times, usually when needed the most, they would not slide far enough to fully engage the pads to the rotor. Slight problem but hey shit happens. GM knew about it but back burnered it, then 2008 happened. You could haul a lot of shit with it also. Made a lot of “new friends” until I started charging them a fee.
Saw a new Hummer EV on the lot yesterday $100K. 250/300 mile range. They also have a shit ton of
6.2 gassers that will be cheap shortly due to the 600K recall on them.
JimTravers¤£a!!Travers
Steelhead
Allow me to STEP IN and explain:
Usually in the automotove industry your gonna be seeing deals north of 85. What you have to understand is how to make a deal. When in dire times the Main Goal of the AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY is to make a buck. ITS you never know wunce money gets involved.
Usually in the automotove industry your gonna be seeing deals north of 85. What you have to understand is how to make a deal. When in dire times the Main Goal of the AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY is to make a buck. ITS you never know wunce money gets involved.
Imposter! Where are the EXCLAMATION POINTS!!! ???
JimmyT’s been back doored!!
I’ve had interest in the VW camper vans since 1970 or so but never pulled the trigger. I’ve recently seen snippets of new models coming out, one being called the California. I’m totally happy with my Tacoma with canopy, as it fits my lifestyle perfectly, but I’d be interested if anyone here has looked into the new VWs. I’d expect they have adequate power now.
Edit: … and better steering. I drove a VW bus once, and it’s an experience, almost a challenge.
Edit: … and better steering. I drove a VW bus once, and it’s an experience, almost a challenge.
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