OT What Was the 'Coolest" Car Your Parents Had?

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View attachment 32348 My Dad bought my sister a new 1969 Mustang Mach 2 for HS graduation..I took my driving test when I was 16 in it
file won't open....another windows update oxymoron...there...got it now

I almost bought a 1969 Mach 1 with a 428 cobra jet in it. My dad worked for Kirby Ford at the time and they took it in on trade and I could get it cheap, but that was about the time the first big gas crisis came along and gas went from like $.25/gal to around $.75/gal over night and decided it wouldn't be a wise move. That would have been my second fastest car with the 1968 Cougar 427 being the fastest.
 
My dad wants to get rid of it so there's extra garage space, but me and my bro always object lol

Who knows if it will ever be restored,, lot of time and effort and money.
Shit do not let him get rid of it!! Does it run?
 
My dad still has his 1967 MGB Roadster in the garage, but it hasn't been driven since 1995. He and his buddy each bought one after they came back from the Vietnam War and started life in Portland in 197(1 or 2?). He actually still has the MG catalog from back then, too.

YrvIhJ47yDpj8y1pt7j2m_HdhsW9PgbxMv7QieT6yYCKPy-c2G8oEzfFWBqTG-0tR-IHCjwGvYwCwpJjZnVbLGaZ_sa6Zf44rEAEXbnnyq6RPIZgWOsu
 
My dad had a '76 MG midget which I always thought was a pretty cool car to cruise around in as a kid. I never got to drive it as he didn't have it when I was old enough. The funnest car I ever got to drive of his was an '88 BMW 325. That five speed was great until it was totaled in an accident. It was replaced with an '87 325 but it just wasn't the same with an automatic transmission. I drove that thing for years after he handed it down to me though. He bought a Miata after that, which was also great fun. I would buy another E30 325 if I had a garage and a place to work on it.
 
My dad had a '76 MG midget which I always thought was a pretty cool car to cruise around in as a kid. I never got to drive it as he didn't have it when I was old enough. The funnest car I ever got to drive of his was an '88 BMW 325. That five speed was great until it was totaled in an accident. It was replaced with an '87 325 but it just wasn't the same with an automatic transmission. I drove that thing for years after he handed it down to me though. He bought a Miata after that, which was also great fun. I would buy another E30 325 if I had a garage and a place to work on it.

I had a 1991 BMW 318i - which is an E30 like that 325 - in 1991 they put a twin-cam engine in it (a lot different from the 1984 318i which was an old SOHC engine based on the BMW 2002 engine). It had almost the same amount of power as the 325i (138BHP vs 165) but was 300lbs lighter - which made the car much better balanced. This car would have joined my Miata as a car I would have never sold - it was truly a great car. Unfortunately, someone ran into it (on Lombard street, in North Portland) while I was standing at a red-light and totaled it.
 
I had a 1991 BMW 318i - which is an E30 like that 325 - in 1991 they put a twin-cam engine in it (a lot different from the 1984 318i which was an old SOHC engine based on the BMW 2002 engine). It had almost the same amount of power as the 325i (138BHP vs 165) but was 300lbs lighter - which made the car much better balanced. This car would have joined my Miata as a car I would have never sold - it was truly a great car. Unfortunately, someone ran into it (on Lombard street, in North Portland) while I was standing at a red-light and totaled it.
Bummer when an idiot ruins something you enjoy so much.

I always loved going to the BMW races and watching that division where I drooled and dreamed.

I will have to do a little craigslist searching for a '91 now that I know that information next time I'm bored. Which is right now. If I buy one I'll let you know for a virtual high five.
 
Bummer when an idiot ruins something you enjoy so much.

I always loved going to the BMW races and watching that division where I drooled and dreamed.

I will have to do a little craigslist searching for a '91 now that I know that information next time I'm bored. Which is right now. If I buy one I'll let you know for a virtual high five.

Really hard to find. 1 year only of the M42 engine in the E30 chassis (that is not a convertible, they continued to sell them as the 318ic in 1992, 1993 - at the time they already had the newer generation of the BMW 3 series "E36" in sedan/coupe). You are more likely to find a 2 door version, most people like them most - and they carry a premium. I had the 4 door, the only differences were the number of doors and the original seats. The coupes have the Recaros that many people love. I do not, I think the regular seats in the sedan are actually better. If you find one - give it a try - I thought it was as close to an early Miata as you could get in a 4 seat form. Really a magical car.

I do not have too many good photos of that car, but here is one I do have:

33053011378_36324058c0_o.jpg


For a while there, I used to race this car in dirt-races - my wife got tired of me returning her Subaru very dirty - so I had to run this car instead in the 2-wheel-drive classes. It was a lot of fun, but I wanted to be more competitive with the faster cars so at some point I bought myself my own Subaru to race.
 
Well, precursor to me means an earlier generation of the same car. A Miata NA is a precursor for the Miata NB and down the line to the current ND - all are different generations of the same segment - a lightweight roadster. A Nissan 350Z was the precursor to the 370Z - both were affordable to mid-price coupes. The Datsun Fairlady (Roadster) and the 240Z were really cars that went to very different markets, the first was supposed to go against the MGB, Fiat Spider and Alfa Romeo Spider (semi affordable roadster market), the 2nd was a budget priced sports car - aimed at the entry level Corvette coupe market, really - they just reused the name in the Japanese market, the way that Mistubishi now sells a an Eclipse cross SUV because it is their sporty SUV, but it is really not going to the same market as the Mitsubishi Eclipse did in the early 90s.

I would say it is the precursor to the Z only in the sense that Datsun did not have the capacity / interest to have multiple sports cars, but they really are very different cars that were aimed at different segments of the market.

...yeah, OK...if you really want to split hairs...whatever you say.

...I seem to remember a very similar scenario when discussing the Midget and the Sprite...but again, whatever.
 
My dad had a '76 MG midget which I always thought was a pretty cool car to cruise around in as a kid. I never got to drive it as he didn't have it when I was old enough. The funnest car I ever got to drive of his was an '88 BMW 325. That five speed was great until it was totaled in an accident. It was replaced with an '87 325 but it just wasn't the same with an automatic transmission. I drove that thing for years after he handed it down to me though. He bought a Miata after that, which was also great fun. I would buy another E30 325 if I had a garage and a place to work on it.
I don’t think we’re supposed to use the term “midget” anymore.
 
Bummer when an idiot ruins something you enjoy so much.

I always loved going to the BMW races and watching that division where I drooled and dreamed.

I will have to do a little craigslist searching for a '91 now that I know that information next time I'm bored. Which is right now. If I buy one I'll let you know for a virtual high five.

I have 91 e30 coupe with a 3.5L swap from a 535. :)
 
I don’t think we’re supposed to use the term “midget” anymore.

Brings up a funny story my mom told me years ago. My dad was into car racing and owned a track roadster that he raced in the NW. Well, he invited my not yet mom on a date to a midget race and my mom at the time knew nothing about car racing and she was thinking why would he want go watch midgets race each other. Well she soon found out what a midget race car is.

20193508-1948-kurtis-500g2-std.jpg
 
Really hard to find. 1 year only of the M42 engine in the E30 chassis (that is not a convertible, they continued to sell them as the 318ic in 1992, 1993 - at the time they already had the newer generation of the BMW 3 series "E36" in sedan/coupe). You are more likely to find a 2 door version, most people like them most - and they carry a premium. I had the 4 door, the only differences were the number of doors and the original seats. The coupes have the Recaros that many people love. I do not, I think the regular seats in the sedan are actually better. If you find one - give it a try - I thought it was as close to an early Miata as you could get in a 4 seat form. Really a magical car.

I do not have too many good photos of that car, but here is one I do have:

33053011378_36324058c0_o.jpg


For a while there, I used to race this car in dirt-races - my wife got tired of me returning her Subaru very dirty - so I had to run this car instead in the 2-wheel-drive classes. It was a lot of fun, but I wanted to be more competitive with the faster cars so at some point I bought myself my own Subaru to race.

I owned the 318i in white. The first "grown up" car Iever owned. Loved it. Owned a few Beemers since, but that was my fave.

My dad's coolest car was a 1970 Cadillac convertible, back when Cadillacs were cool. Very Mad Men.

358_p2_l.jpg
 
I owned the 318i in white. The first "grown up" car Iever owned. Loved it. Owned a few Beemers since, but that was my fave.

My dad's coolest car was a 1970 Cadillac convertible, back when Cadillacs were cool. Very Mad Men.

358_p2_l.jpg
El Dorado ?
 
My parents had anything from Jeeps and big American cars (A Ford Galaxie was a prominent part of my childhood) to different European cars, an Audi 100LS, First Gen VW Golf/Rabbit, VW Bug etc... - my father was a Citroen lover and we had multiple Citroen 2CVs (I believe my maiden car ride from the hospital was in a 2CV van) - as well as a Peugeot 403 - later in Europe they had a Citroen Visa, a Citroen GSA (loved that car), a Citroen BX and later a Peugeot 309 (from the time it was a 205 with a boot) and when I was in college, they had a 205 GTI (which was one of the greatest hot hatches ever made, what a lovely car that was, I would have loved to have kept it).

When I was growing up we ran across a 2CV Sahara and I implored my father to buy it, he refused because it was not worth the hassle and was too complicated, but that was a big mistake - as they are super rare, less than 700 were ever made. This was a 4x4 2CV that solved the 4x4 problem using a simple french method - but putting a 2nd engine in the back to power the rear wheels. These cars go for over $100K now...

Someone at our local car club brought a 2CV Sahara last year...

48114699867_203a3b5397_o.jpg


48114584107_30bb441170_o.jpg


48114697752_41705d8a27_o.jpg


Notice that gas cap in the driver door - the gas tank sits below the driver seat - since the rear is filled with another engine.

There are 2 engines, 2 gearboxes in the car, and both are controlled by just 1 set of controls - so the engines /gearboxes are usually a little out of sync - so changing a gear might have one engage before the other - a very interesting driving experience...


Now THAT is cool.
 
My dad had a ‘68 Volkswagen bug with a cammed Porsche engine. Flat black and lowered with the widest street legal tires you could have on the back. It had bullet tail lights from an early ‘60s Impala frenched into the back fenders. I used to sit on his lap and steer it down the road.
 
well glad you liked them...I can only speak from my experience and I drove them alot for years with the band.....never liked Mercedes or Volkswagons....still don't....I think they're generally bad investments in the auto world....I think they were pretty much just fashion statements of the times. I'd buy an ugly dodge dart over a VW any day..those old darts were indestructable....my first car was one....I'd challenge any VW bug to a trip cross country against my old monkey shit brown dodge dart...see which one goes over the Rockies without a breakdown from overheating...same with vans....I'd buy any van over a VW...I think they are poorly designed
The Dart was a very dependable car. Always wanted one back in the mid 60s but never had the money.
Then I was all set to by my ex roommates late 50s Austin Healy for $500. All it needed was a new head gasket. But about a day or two before we were going to seal the deal I got my draft notice and my world turned upside down.
 
I’ll have to get the scoop from my dad and report back lol. It’s his old mini beer fridge that had been in his shop since before I was born.


Ahh, OK...like I said, I knew there had to be a story there.
 
My dad had a ‘68 Volkswagen bug with a cammed Porsche engine. Flat black and lowered with the widest street legal tires you could have on the back. It had bullet tail lights from an early ‘60s Impala frenched into the back fenders. I used to sit on his lap and steer it down the road.
Sit on his lap? In '68 I was dodging 150 mm rockets in a war.
By the way, In '63 I talked my mom into buying an Impala from ABC Chevrolet on West Burnside. Greatest car she ever owned.
 
The Dart was a very dependable car. Always wanted one back in the mid 60s but never had the money.
Then I was all set to by my ex roommates late 50s Austin Healy for $500. All it needed was a new head gasket. But about a day or two before we were going to seal the deal I got my draft notice and my world turned upside down.

Not sure what engines those had but the slant 6 was a very solid power plant.
 
...yeah, OK...if you really want to split hairs...whatever you say.

...I seem to remember a very similar scenario when discussing the Midget and the Sprite...but again, whatever.

Hey, the minute details are not always important, but this is old cars, this shit means something ;)
 
dodge dart.jpg
The Dart was a very dependable car. Always wanted one back in the mid 60s but never had the money.
Then I was all set to by my ex roommates late 50s Austin Healy for $500. All it needed was a new head gasket. But about a day or two before we were going to seal the deal I got my draft notice and my world turned upside down.
I had 3 of them in my life...each one cost 300 dollars and I sold them for 300 dollars each time..basically the free cars of my life..they are wonderfully reliable, ugly cars with decent mileage...that slant six in those darts was one of the best american motors ever put in a car in my view....you had to put a new starter motor in them once in awhile because they were so low to the ground they'd eat gravel and weren't like other starters that were easy to rebuild....only design flaw
not chick magnet cars though...meat and potatoes no frills transportation
 

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My dad still has his 1967 MGB Roadster in the garage, but it hasn't been driven since 1995. He and his buddy each bought one after they came back from the Vietnam War and started life in Portland in 197(1 or 2?). He actually still has the MG catalog from back then, too.

YrvIhJ47yDpj8y1pt7j2m_HdhsW9PgbxMv7QieT6yYCKPy-c2G8oEzfFWBqTG-0tR-IHCjwGvYwCwpJjZnVbLGaZ_sa6Zf44rEAEXbnnyq6RPIZgWOsu
Our neighbors on our block had MGs and other neighbors had an Austin Healy and a Sprite. I loved all of those cars. Another neighbor had a Volvo which got me interested in Volvo. My dream car was an Austin Healy.
 

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