Cars I've Known

I was reading an article on Quora in which a person who was answering a question derided "vintage" cars and complained about a number of problems with old cars. It made me think. Most of the cars I've owned were "old" cars. Not vintage, not that old, but old.

My first car was a used 1958 Fiat 1100 sedan. It was six years old when I bought it for $300. It was a great little car. It was almost like a four-wheel-drive, in that it would go off-road almost anywhere.  I wrote about it here.

My second car was a used 1955 Chevrolet. It was, well, forgettable. The engine was worn out. It burned a quart of oil every 20 miles. I wrote about it here.

My third car was a 1960 Plymouth. It had the "pushbutton" transmission and no "Park" position on the transmission. It had only a drum brake on the drive shaft to hold it on a hill. You may think, a drum brake on the drive shaft doesn't sound very reliable. You would be correct. That brake was a "P.O.S." Yes, that means "Piece of S---." Otherwise, the Plymouth was a plucky vehicle. I had an interesting and dangerous road trip in it. I wrote about it here.

My fourth car was a 1968 Dodge Charger. It was a pretty car and the small block engine, a 318 c.i., would burn a little rubber if I floored the gas pedal. I wrecked it and it was never the same.

My fifth car was a 1970 Oldsmobile. I drove it like a Jeep, across streams, up and down gravel roads, to a few places where there were no roads. It left the factory with a vinyl roof. When sunlight damaged the vinyl, I got a can of acetone and removed the vinyl. (The acetone melted the glue holding the vinyl to the car's roof.) After I removed the vinyl, the roof was metal-colored. So I spray-painted the entire vehicle in my backyard. It was not a great paint job but at least the entire vehicle had paint.

My sixth car was a 1974 Honda Civic hatchback. It had the old-style Honda chassis. It was a small car with a 2 speed "Honda-matic" drive. It would go anywhere, like the Fiat. 

My seventh car was a 1988 Subaru GL wagon. I bought the Subaru new, my only new auto, and I drove it for ten years. It had 4 wheel drive and it really would go anywhere. It held to the road like it was glued to it. I drove it 60 mph through heavy rainstorms where everyone else had pulled off the road, but it never gave any problem with traction. It was a great car, but under-powered with its 88 hp boxer engine. I wrote about experiences with the Honda Civic and the Subaru wagon here and here.

My eighth car was a Nissan 300ZX, a two-seat sports car that was beautiful to look at. It had a front-mounted engine and had lousy real-wheel drive. The car was light on its real wheels, so the road traction was poor. It had T-tops, but I seldom removed them. The seats were black leather which, on a sunny day, would get so hot it would burn me through my jeans. But it was fun. It had a digital speedometer which had two digits, so the display topped out at 99 mph. I could drive it faster but the speedometer stayed at 99 mph. The car handled poorly at that speed, due to its lack of a ground effects package. It felt like it was about to float off the road. I only pushed it to that speed a couple of times, and I made sure no other vehicles were around me.

My ninth car, the car I drive now, was a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Its 4WD works as well as the Subaru's, but the 5.2 liter engine has a lot more get-up-and go on rain-slick roads. It holds four passengers plus has a luggage bay. It had 42,000 miles on it when I bought it in 1998. When I "retired" and moved into my present abode in 2003, it had 78,000 miles on it. That was 19 years ago (8 years after it was built and 5 years after I bought it.) It still looks good and it's been mostly trouble-free. I say mostly because there have been a few maintenance issues.

Shortly after I bought it, I had to overhaul the transmission ($1600), then I had to overhaul the 4WD transfer case ($1800). Those jobs were done in 1999; today the bill would be a lot higher. A few years later, the water pump bearing failed suddenly, causing the serpentine belt to fall off all the engine pulleys. That left me with no power steering and I could only steer the vehicle while it was moving. I had it towed to a dealership for repair. 

The electronic Vehicle Information Center (VIC) developed a bug and I disconnected it but left it in place so I wouldn't have a hole in the dash. I blogged about that here.

I've replaced the muffler on the Jeep at least twice, replaced the radiator and starter motor and solenoid, both front axles, the front sway-bar bushings, and some other parts.  Over the years I've spent over $11,000 on repairs and maintenance. But the Jeep stays in my garage most of the time now. I drive it once or twice a week, usually to a nearby store. The last time I had the Jeep inspected, the shop owner asked me, "Why don't you get rid of that old truck and get a new one?" I guess after driving it for 24 years, I've grown attached to it. Who would sell an old friend? Besides, do you know what has happened to new car prices recently?  The price of a 2022 Grand Cherokee is about $41,000.

The Jeep is starting to show her age, but in that respect, it is like its owner. The Jeep and I are both hanging in for the long haul. I'm not giving her up to be crushed for scrap. As long as I'm alive, the Jeep has a home in my garage. 

Over the years that I've written this blog, I've written a dozen articles about the Jeep. Of those articles, my favorite is one titled "August 14." It's really just half an article because I never finished it, but I published what I had. You can read that article here.