On 31 August 2012 05:34, Walter Hamler <hamlerwal...@gmail.com> wrote: > Whew! None of mine are there. > > Cars I Have Owned > (clip)
Here's my list with some comments. One of mine got onto the list, under a different name. 1970 Morris Mini K Australian model with a torquey, lazy 1100cc engine. Later fitment of twin 1 3/4inch SU carbies and extractors made it fly like shit off a shovel, but a broken engine mount led to one carb being smashed, and it was reverted to the standard 1 1/4 inch SU, keeping the extractors. Gearbox in sump caused fast ring and bearing wear because of metal contaminents getting into engine, an old Mini shortcoming. When oil loss reached a litre per thousand kilometres it was time to move on. 1980 Suzuki Stockman LJ80V V = van body. The Australian name for the Jimny, the original 4WD Kei car. I had this one for nine happy years, and 170,000km. The engine was getting a little knocky in the end which was an amazing long life for a sub litre engine that was taken to the redline on every gearchange for most of its life. I would have kept it for twice as long, maybe forever, if 3rd gear hadn't broken when I couldn't afford the repair. 1977 Toyota Corona Well into its 2nd decade when it was put down due to terminal tattiness, but it just wouldn't die. At one time it blew the head-gasket when I couldn't afford repairs (a frequently recurring story). The radiator was left bubbling and fizzing, and the engine oil turned to mousse. A change of fluids, some Bars-Leaks in the radiator and STP additive in the engine oil, and it healed itself and continued to improve for another year and a half. A bulletproof car if ever there was one. 1959 Morris Minor 1000 2-door An amazingly modern driving experience (excluding the pathetic brakes) for a car that was 35 years old. Wrecked on my 3rd day of ownership when it was rear-ended while stopped at the roadside. The fuel tank had run dry although indicating 1/4 full. The dealer later said about the fuel guage, "Oh yeah, they all do that". That's the kind of information best shared sooner rather than later. >_< 1984 Holden Camira The deservedly maligned GM J-car. In its defence it was a very sweet drive with tight, stable handling and a free-revving 1.6 litre engine that could easily exceed the redline even in 5th gear. In the end It lost the race against galloping rust. Poor detail design meant that there were dust and water traps that wouldn't drain out, exacerbating the low quality paint coverage inside the body panels and dodgy steel with fissures and random crystallization. The J-car, in it guise as the 1982 Cadillac Cimarron, earns its place in the worst 50 for this reason alone. 1981 Honda Accord Sedan Pleasant white-goods on wheels. Semi-automatic gearbox was a bore. Fairly uneventful ownership except for a top-end rebuild after a broken cam-belt, beware of used cars without log books. Rust got this one in the end, too. 1991 Toyota Camry Wagon Strong car, satisfying drive. Bulletproof like the Corona. A serious overheating event mid-life should have killed the engine, but a thorough service found no problem, so with new water hoses and plug leads (the heat melted the old set!!!) it soldiered on until the old bogeyman rust began to creep in (did I mention that I live on the coast?). 2005 Ford Focus Zetec 5-door Pleasant drive but the Zetec body-kit was too low for most suburban driveways and shopping mall car parks, grounding itself almost daily. The 4 speed auto gearbox was behind the curve at a time when most other cars were getting 5 or 6 speed autos, and was a disappointing aspect of the Focus due to the big gaps between gears. 2008 Ford Focus Ghia sedan Much the same as the previous car but without the low body-kit and with a boot (trunk) rather than a rear hatch. Comfy leather upholstery was nicer than the nasty microfibre of the Zetec, while a less sporty wheel/tyre combination made it a smoother ride. Still that same gearbox with not enough ratios. 2011 Hyundai ix35 Elite 2.0CRD Yes, a dreaded SUV. The attraction wasn't the all-wheel-drive, it was the interior space, hugely bigger than the Focus Ghia but with a smaller footprint on the road, handy in my parking-space deficient street. The turbocharged diesel engine pulls like a train. Hills don't seem to exist anymore and its cabin quietness on the freeway needs to be NOT heard to be believed. regards, Anthony -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
