What Car would you purchase in the 1970's ...

[nemelek]

Originally Posted by TheSilkySmooth

I'm surprised I didn't see one of these on the list - The VW Rabbit GTI!

My roomate had a red one. His CB handle was the red rabbit.

[fnkngrv]

My choice would be as follows....1973 Toyota Celica...

[gid]

very nice . Cars were more distinctive back then .

[yaris-me]

I don't think they had a fast back Celica in 73.

[WeeYari]

Originally Posted by yaris-me

I don't think they had a fast back Celica in 73.

1973 Celica on display in a Toyota Museum. Was not destined for North American market. 1975 I believe was when North American markets got a fastback Celica.

[Demon]

Originally Posted by fnkngrv

My choice would be as follows....1973 Toyota Celica...

are those Mitsubishi Starion alloys <????

[kargoboy]

Originally Posted by GeneW

1975 Chevy Nova. Straight six, THD 350. You could get decent mileage and the car was almost bulletproof. Properly tuned they ran great. Remove some of the Emissions Control crapola and they ran even better - yeah it was illegal, so were other things.

I owned one in the 1980s and early 1990s. With a working catalytic perverter. Wish that I still had it for Megasquirt purposes.

Been great with that straight six, a THD 200R4 and some other goodies.

Gene

One of the first cars I owned was a '74 Nova with the straight six. Emissions-era
slow, but you could not kill that engine. It would have survived a nuclear blast.

[m911gt]

What were the options for motors in the 70's Celica?

[Loren]

Originally Posted by Demon

are those Mitsubishi Starion alloys <????

They're very early Supra wheels. (back when Supra was just a version of Celica) Early 80's vintage.

[Latka]

Originally Posted by eTiMaGo

nothing like it...

... except what you posted was a MY97+ Mini. ;)

I think this is what you mean:


That's a '71. (sniff sniff) long gone now. Great little 998cc car. 10" wheels are far superior to the 12 or 13 in terms of ride quality. Plus they just look cooler. ;)

I've got a '66 Austin Cooper S that I'm going to be rebuilding here in the near future. I Love my Minis!

[UTVitz]

The best choice would have been a Datsun or Toyota then too. Funny how decades later not much has changed.

[IllusionX]

Hyundai Pony.

[gonzo452001]

I had a 72 pinto and a 76 chevette both pieces of crap

[Loren]

I had a 72 Pinto back in the late 80's. Best beater ever! Transmission was so well-worn that I could clutchless shift through all four gears up and down without grinding. Didn't care where I parked it, and like the Yaris, it was small enough to park anywhere. Good stuff.

I miss that car.

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by kargoboy

One of the first cars I owned was a '74 Nova with the straight six. Emissions-era
slow, but you could not kill that engine. It would have survived a nuclear blast.

I only ever saw one Chevy straight six die - piston through the side of the block. The dumbass would not routinely change the oil and let it slide for a year. "bang!".

I heard all sorts of stories about that motor being used in trucks, trucks to haul lumber especially. You are correct that they were very rugged motors. The loggers out in the woods used to put tons of logs on their stake beds and go up and down mountains around here without any complaint from the motor.

I hated the 1974 series - for a time they were equipped with a "safety" interlock that prevented the engine from starting unless you put on a seat belt. Practically everyone I heard from about that interlock claimed that they would re-wire it to disable it. GM did not put such an interlock on the 1975 models. My 75 Nova had a bitch buzzer, just like my 2008 Yaris.

The 74s were also detuned and monkeyed with to the point that you could not get them to do much of anything. They drank fuel too. Fortunately emissions checks were still not required in PA so most of us ripped out the carbs when they became gummy, knocked out the titanium "caps" on the carb and reset everything to 60s standards - ear tuning.

Gene

[Benggolf2]

My first car was a Vauxhall Viva 2000 GT in Verdoro Green (special color).


http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au...ifications.htm

[TEHxFALLEN V1.2]

i wiould have choiuse some kind of corveete or something

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by Loren

I had a 72 Pinto back in the late 80's. Best beater ever! Transmission was so well-worn that I could clutchless shift through all four gears up and down without grinding. Didn't care where I parked it, and like the Yaris, it was small enough to park anywhere. Good stuff.

I miss that car.

Used to call them and the Maverick the "MB RDT", Mobile Bomb Rolling Death Trap" because of their propensity to explode when they were struck from behind. Something about a plastic gas filler component which would shear and spew gasoline throughout the passenger compartment if a good sharp hit to the rear was experienced. Apparently some yummie at Ford saved fifty cents per unit by the substitution but cost Ford more because of lawsuits from people being incinerated alive in crashes.

Heard that you could replace it with a good durable filler component and then the car was pretty much foolproof. At least as much as a Ford can be foolproof.

At least your Pinto didn't have an air cooled THD 350 tranny. I still feel a little green thinking about such a thing in the Vega series. One of my friends used to rebuild THDs for lunch money and swears up and down that air cooled THDs are fine but I don't buy it.

Gene