Last october i sold my 61 Ford F-100, that was the most relaible vehicle i ever owned. It was the first vehicle i ever bought, leanred everything i know now on it and put 150,000 miles on it with no major problems. The reason i sold it was to pay for a 55 pontiac i bought on a line of credit and had to pay off. This pontiac was a beautiful solid california car with no rust, restored all original in the early 80's minus the tuck and roll interior. So i drove it all the way back to Canada, went through it over the winter months, replaced everything that needed to be replaced and then started fixing it all over again. I started by putting new shocks and brake lines, rebuilt the wheel cylinders, new heater cores etc etc.... In the last year it has come home 6 times on a tow truck, i have had everything from the starter literly breaking into two pieces, to emergency brake locking up inside the drum. Numerous times i have lost all the brakes (and never close to home). The new heater core is leaking again. I put new wheel seals in in june, and one is leaking again. The rear window i replaced fell off its track and cracked when it hit the bottom of the 1/4 panel. I have had two people run into me ( one at a car show ) One day i was picking up my girl friend from work and the lower control arm broke into three peices!!!! I have driven old cars my entire life and never had this many problems with all of the other ones combined. I should have listened to my dad when he said not to buy a GM.
bummer, sorry to hear about your string of misfortune on your poncho. but i think everybody goes through this phase, my ranchero used to give me its fair share of headaches and still does occasionally. but if they don't break it just means you dont drive them. hope you get a break soon dude.
Eh same story with my 57 ford F-100 (that i almost sold to you, this is Duke on his lady freinds account) It all started when my window mysteriously shattered on the highway for no aparent reason, then my solonoid went out and i had to push start it for days, which caused my girlfreind and mom to push it into a fence and dent/scrape the paint off the fender, then the inner door rail fell out, throttle cable broke, headlight got punched out.Horn got stuck on causing me to have to break it apart, overflow tank cracked on the highway causing water to spray through the one rust hole on the floor into the cab, and the best part about it, My dad warned me not to buy a Ford HHAHA
maybe you could trade it of on a good old reliable flat powered hotrod... ...For some reason, there are lots of 40 Fords still running around as compared to gm's.... There's excellent metallurgy built into the various parts that Ford has used from the teens to the .... and if the motor and parts last longer due to 10 cents worth of additional chrome/nickel, of which Other manufacturers would not/will not spend the money on then... ...sorry to hear about your experiences with somewhat cheaper non-alloyed and/or factory parts. .
I have a 50 ford coupe with a flat motor in it and have a 31 coupe i'm building with a flat motor in it. So far the 50 coupe has never let me down. I've also only burnt one tank of gas through it since i got it on the road.
That's it. Man, that sucks, I had a car once that gave me tons of trouble, it's the worst feeling in the world, when you expect a breakdown, everytime you drive the car.
I've been lucky with old cars, except..........when trying to sell them. The day I sold my 32', I decided to take one last cruise. The headlights went out. No big deal. Change the fuse. Wasn't the fuse. Next morning, the lights worked. Let the car sit until the new owner showed. Sold my 65' Biscayne. Decided to go for one last cruise. Driving down the freeway, at 4:30 am, the dash lights started to flicker. I had just installed a stereo, so I killed the power to the head unit. Lights still flickered so I headed off the freeway. I hit the ramp and the car filled with smoke. Yikes! Turned the ignition off and coasted off the freeway. When I parked, my right foot felt like it was on fire. Oil line! Looked down and saw a glow from under the dash. Beat the flames out with a rag. Towed the car home and discovered that the braided oil pressure gauge line had rubbed through the emergency flasher wire, grounded the power, cut through the line and sprayed oil over the wiring. The sparks ignited the oil. My wife believes my cars have soul and don't want to be sold. Switched to an electric gauge, new under dash harness and new carpet. Tossed the 4 sale sign. Went to a cruise a couple of weeks later and a guy wanted to buy the car. Turns out, he lives right behind me.
It sounds like you have not performed the right sacrifices to the demons within your car yet. I suggest bloodletting and supplications. Tears wouldn't hurt so they know you're serious, and if all else fails, fight fire with fire and wash it in holy water. Maybe you need to talk to her more, not at her. Petting is not unheard of. A little stroke of love across the dashboard every day and she'll treat you right.
Well, Either you are cursed - or you aren't fixing it right. Old cars will break down on you. It's just a fact of life. That's why I drive a honda. 70k miles last year, and nary a single issue.
I had a '57 Chevy that way...it was the plain fact it didn't like me...I don't think I was able to put 500 miles on it over the course of two years cuz it was always breaking...front wheels fell off one day while cruising about 35 mph...freeze plugs would simply fall out, spark plugs wires would jump off...jets in carb would plug for no reasone...windows would fall off the trax...the car hated me (and you can read all about it in "Bangin' Gears and Bustin' Heads"--unabashed self plug here...). I finally sold it (got rid of it) and got a car that liked me...and we've been great friends ever since... R-
Once I sell one of my rides thats it...........it's parked until the new owner comes to get it or the shipper picks it up. The last thing I want is for somebody to run into it and screw me out of my money.
sell your car to a family member, work on it and drive it but keep it under their name. for some reason ive learned that i can work on other peoples cars and nothing ever goes wrong. when i work on mine something new breaks. sorry about your luck
Sounds like you might have replaced everything with defective made in china parts and now the car is very angry with you. You might have to take a few nights, sit in the car and listen to some old doo wop. Rub the stearing wheel and tell her, "Everything is the same". This may only work on 57-58 Plymouths. Worth a try.
this reminds me of my first old car, a 62' mercury comet (yeah beyond cool i know lol) but i thought it was the shit when i first got it until the day i started tearing into it...thats when i realized that the floor was pretty much paper mache' and the only thing holding the leaf springs together were zip ties LOL oh man it was hilarious
soooo.... you live in a place where winter doesnt exist, and you drive a honda? what are you doing on this board?
my non-hamb friendly car was/is cursed. but for some reason i just cant let it go, so now it just sits, collecting dust. sat in my driveway for three years, now it currently resides in a shop in la habra. apparently they dont want to work on it either. haha
Your going to need to talk to your car and give it a hug and a kiss. Its pissed at you right now. Its a lot like a woman you HAVE to give them attention make them feel special and wanted. If you only rush to get inside her and don't leave anytime to cuddle your going to be in a world of hurt. Picture that china made starter as a necklace sure it looked like a good deal but now you have to answer as to why it turned your gals neck green. You bought a old car and the price is not what you paid to pull her off the lot. Its old and old things need work and a whole lotta cash to keep going. The same applies for your gal of course but she don't need to be old to cost alot
don't listen to yer dad, he doesnt know what blasphemy he speaks!! sucks to hear your car hates you, Lee. I really like your pontiac... hope you can get all the bugs worked out (by the time your done, you'll probably have a brand new car haha)
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