Cars that you owned that didn't make the grade.

[Pat Buckley]

As a spin off from the other thread about how long have you owned your car, I thought it would be interesting to see what cars we have all owned that for some reason didn't make the grade.

I have had quite a few, some pretty nice ones, that were quickly disposed of.

I'll give the reason(s) why they didn't last very long in the Buckley garage.

#1 one on my list because it was a car that I had lusted over since they first came out in 1961 was an E-Type Jaguar. I bought the car, a red 1965 roadster and drove it twice. Once just before I bought it and the second (and last) time after I bought it.

The drive lasted about 5 miles - no kidding - when I realized it was a truck and that continued ownership would not be a good expense vs pleasure equation. At least I only lost about $1500.

 

[Pat Buckley]

The next victim was a Caterham/Westfield Lotus 7 copy type of car.

I didn't even take pictures of it. It was also red and had a Toyota DOHC engine in it. It was a fun to drive little car but driving it took my breath away - literally!

I only drove it about 7 or 8 times - usually only because friends wanted a ride - and sold it because every time I drove it it made me feel like a dog whose head is hanging out the car window. The wind blast into my face was so extreme that I could hardly breathe and had to take air in little gulps.

I thought of putting on my full face helmet when I drove it but thought that was a little silly.

I had it about two months and traded it for the next short term victim. Which was a white Austin Mini Woody. I don't think there is such a thing as a black Mini Woody (sorry about that humour)

Besides being slow I could never get over proudly telling people I had a Mini Woody. Maybe I hang around with the wrong crowd but I ALWAYS got some sort of comeback to that announcement. The car was gone in three months.

 

[Jim Craik]

Pat,

This is another thing we can agree on. Back in 1975 I bought a 1967 E type 4.2 roadster. It was dark blue with 80 spoke, chrome wheels and a a prittier car would be hard to find.

That said, your right, it was a truck! You sat in what felt like the trunk with this incredably long noise sticking out, I was never comfortable in it.

Although I drove it quite a bit more than you and the girls loved it, I only kept it for a few months.

I never regreted selling it until recently when the values started up, but all in all I was not impressed.

 

[Pat Buckley]

After the Mini I thought it would be neat to get a 911. I found a really clean white one that didn't have any of the usual gimmicky go fast things tacked on to the body - no spoiler front or rear, nothing.

I actually took it on a couple of long trips before I decided that it was a piece of shit.

What I didn't like about it:

The turn signal lever was just far enough away from the steering wheel that you had to take your hand off the wheel to activate it.

The car was the worst shifting POS I have ever driven. Bar none. I repaced the engine and transmission mounts. I replaced the gear oil with some fancy German Swepco (or something) lube...I replaced all the shift linkage joints and bushings. Didn't really change anything.

What did it for me was realizing that one of the sweetesat shifting cars I have driven was a lowly VW beetle that had the same engine/trans layout but without all the fancy bushings and joints. Why, I asked myself, should the VW shift WAAY better than the Porsche.

That thought disgusted me particularly since these POS cars were supposed to be drivers cars. Bull.

Sold!

 

[Pat Buckley]

Jim, I think it was one of those deals that you actually had to do it to get it out of your system!

 

In my student days I bought a 1966 Prince B200. Silky smooth overhead cam 2 litre six and nice highway cruiser. However, it suffered from terminal understeer if hurried into a corner and drank fuel like there was no tomorrow, probably because it weighed more than the average house.... Only owned it 6 weeks.

 

[Jim Craik]

Pat, yea, I think you right. The other thing is that Jag never had a chance. The car I sold to buy it was a 1967 Alfa GTY, you know the little "step nose" coupe. That was such a wonderfull little car, it made the Jag seem like it was from another age. (I guess it was).

 

[roaldin]

1972 Toyota Celica twin cam - 2TG (Yamaha head) 1600. Most disappointing engine ever. SOHC L16 Datsun engine was just soooo much better. What a piece of sh!t. - No pic'.

1978 Porsche 928 (with some S upgrades) - Mine was a bit of a mess. I'm sure all the bits used to work - once. Bought it to run in Targa Tas' but the organisers of the time didn't like it.

GT3000 Capri Mk1 - handling... what's that. Had lots of interesting but unintended electrical "features", like self-switching windscreen wipers...

Car I loved but was fatally flawed - XB351 Ford Fairmont - built as a special order GT without the garish bits. Sounded like a thunder storm - Fantastic!
Brakes were predictable in that they would pull violently in one direction or the other.
Handling was good as long as you were driving sideways - which was most of the time.
For the Australians here - the car and I had a pact: it could only be driven with an Angels tape playing.
Interesting car to drive at anything more than moderate speed. From about 200 kph the mixture of violent vibration from the drive-train, less than optimal aerodynamics and uncertain suspension behaviour had a way of getting your attention...
Fuel - when I bought it it ran a Holley and about 3 MPG. I injected it and got it to about 9 MPG... Pass anything but a petrol station.

Tim.

 

[Geoff Hurrell]

Talking about E type Jags. I went round to a friends house in an e type that I was working on and his wife said "my God, that looks like a penis on wheels". I nearly passed out from laughing.

 

[Leon]

This sounds like a good thread so I will add my 2 cents worth. I have had 46 cars in 37 years Most of them pretty boring. The worst was anything that was made by Mitsubishi of which I had 2, A GLS galant coupe, and a Pajero 4x4. I had a Porsche 928 which I blew the motor at a track day and then it nearly bankrupped me fixing it. I have had so many Nissans I hardly remember them all but what I do remember is they were all great and never cost a dime to run. Ive had Rovers, P5, SD1s Rangie's And a couple of Discovery's (Still have one) all V8s Loved them, A couple of Fords and few Holdens, Toyota's and even some Chevy's. We now have an Audi A4 Quattro and a Disco. If I had had a few less cars I would have a lot more money thats for sure.
Cheers Leonmac

 

[Dalton Veitch]

That could be a separate, even sadder, thread. How much money would I have now if I didn't like buying cars? But hypothetical, so pointless.
It is interesting that cars some of you considered crap were really good for me (eg E-type Jag, early 911), maybe better maintained, or maybe my expectations or desired characteristics were different. These cars were certainly going superbly for me long after my friends' Alfas, Ferrari's, Saab's, etc. had given up.

 

[Russ Noble]

Dalton an even sadder thread would be cars that we shouldn't have sold that are now worth a fortune!

Not this lemon here though. Thankfully I never owned it but my father had an Austin Kimberly.

Made in Aussie and the biggest piece of shit this side of the Black Stump. Total terminal understeer, couldn't even get the tail out trail braking into a corner, it just wanted to sledge even worse.

6 cyl inline transverse engine and front wheel drive. Horrible :cussing:

Austin Kimberley - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

No photos of that thank goodness but heres a couple of specimens I dragged off the internet....

 

[Dimi Terleckyj]

Hi Guys

Probably the worst car I have had was a Toyota FJ55 Landcruiser Station Wagon.

Had a straight 6 4.2Lt motor that drank fuel faster than I could fill it up,
on a trip it would drop back t 80 K's at the sight of the nearest uphill slope, then the valve springs started to lose their tension and it began valve bouncing at progressively lower and lower rpm's.

Then the transfer case broke some gears, and the worst of all was that I had it "rustproofed" from new and it began rusting out within 2 years from new.

In the end it was given to the recyclers for nothing with my blessing and was happy to see it crushed ( that is, what was left of it that hadn't rusted away ).

Dimi

 

[Dave Wood]

I too had to have an E type. It was '63 3.8, beautiful but highly flawed. I loved to drive it, but hated the constant attention it demanded. I bought the Brock Coupe because the lines evoked the same feelings as that E type...without the baggage. I also have a thing for British and Italian cars....I do have a '72 850 Spyder, I acquired in the last few years and will attempt to correct some of it's shortcomings to make it the enjoyable ride I know it could be. I had an 850 Coupe I drove the crap out of. Too many British cars to name that didn't make the grade. I used to tell people I LOVED the British and Italian cars( even the Alfas), but you could tell they came from countries smaller than many states. You could take a weekend and drive around the country one day and spend the next day fixing it. The '63 Lincoln was nice but waaaay too much of a boat, made a great concert hauler though. You could load a party of 8 in that thing and just let it roll. The '55 'bird would have probably been a keeper if I had gotten it many years earlier than I had...to many untalented hands had been on it by then. I owned a few Simcas too, not likely to ever again. Probably the worst parts availability of any car I have owned. Anyone have input on Studebaker Avantis?? Always liked them and am considering buying one now...not the later SBC powered ones, but a Studie engined one.

 

[Jack Houpe]

I had a 65 XKE coupe with the 4.2, drop floor and good seats, I still miss that car. It was a handful and not sure how they ever raced them, but I enjoyed fall drives through the Ozark mountains, it was damn hot on inside in the sumer and you couldn't get it warm enough in the winter.

I guess the biggest POS I have owned was a turbo lotus, the body and finish on that car was the worst I have ever seen and seems like all of them were that way. One thing I have to add is it handled as good as the GT40 and its performance was impressive for a turbo 4 banger. But the body had stress cracks and the windows look like the guy who fitted them was on crack. I didn't even take a picture of that car it pissed me off so bad.

 

[Pat Buckley]

Dalton, You're right about the E-Type.

My expectations were based on how absolutely beautiful they are - I expected the car to drive as nice as it looked.

As for the 911 - I did drive one of the last air cooled ones - 993? - and it was everything I expected.

 

[Dave Wood]

It was a handful and not sure how they ever raced them, but I enjoyed fall drives through the Ozark mountains, it was damn hot on inside in the sumer and you couldn't get it warm enough in the winter.

I couldn't agree more, that hot/cold thing especially.

 

[Mike Christian]

My POS - without a doubt - 1976 Jag XJ12. It drank gas like I drink beer. It always needed work.

Then there was a Pontiac Fiero...I had to meet Pontiac at the Arbitration table because it had sooo many problems.

 

[Bill Cooke]

Interesting thoughts. My first drive for three years was a 1932 Ford model B pickup.Drove it for 3 years. Next was a '65 Porsche 356C coupe. Lots of fun 'till I rolled it over. Next was a '71 Datsun 240Z. Next was a '75 280Z and then a '78 280Z that I put a 350 Chevy into and did a VR roadster body kit on. The Z cars were great fun for the bucks.They could beat the hell out of many bigger cars in the twisties.There was also a 1967 Pontiac GTO, Great car in a straight line. As I build my GT40 I have a FFR Daytona Coupe to play with.
I'm not sure if they count but I have 1903 Grout steamer,a 1909 Maxwell runabout and a 1912 Stanley 20 HP touring car.
I love different types of toys. Then there were the bikes.
Bill

 

[Bill Cooke]

Sorry, I misread the title. These were all great cars to own.