Started out with my learner's permit in a '68 Vista Cruiser.  "Champagne Gold", I think, was the color?  Had the 455, I believe, as it had a ton of get-up-and-go.  After my mother saw what a leadfoot I was, she shortly replaced it with a '73 Vista Cruiser with the 350 before I turned 16.  Not nearly as cool a car, but it did have the "quadraphonic" 8-track tape player.  Great for listening to The Who! ... View more

The shock tower brace on the AMC car is different than the one on the Ford car.  So I assume it was a factory piece.  If so, they were ahead of their time. ... View more

I'll second what SteveNL had to say about eBay.  I've purchased lots of items over the years there (no cars or high priced stuff, except from sellers who maintained another online selling venue).  Most transactions go fairly smoothly.  But eBay has become decidedly difficult to do business on as a seller, due to the "protections" they have built in for the buyer.  This has raised the cost of doing business there and made selling difficult, and prices definitely higher to the buyer as a result. I recently attempted to sell a car and got a number of bids, two of which exceeded the reserve.  The car description was quite detailed, and included links to 4 youtube videos of the car, as well as a substantial number of photos posted on a photo-sharing site.  I emailed the "winner" of the auction, who finally responded more than a week later, that "sorry, don't want it anymore".  EBay states that "a bid is a contract; if you bid, you are obligated to buy".  There are two exceptions; vehicles and one other category.  In those cases, a bid is "an expression of interest to buy".  What?!  The second chance offer I sent to the next highest bidder - also above, and the only other bid above, the reserve price - was ignored.  So no sale.  A waste of time, and a waste of money.  The only time I use eBay now is if I'm desperate enough because I can't find it on Amazon or Rockauto, or at a junkyard within 50 miles. ... View more

Bought a '92 SC400 two years ago for its engine.  Had the typical issues; leaking PS pump, alternator going south (because of PS pump leak), climate control display blank.  Trans fluid had pieces of metal in it.  Ran like a champ though.  When I replaced the seals and belt, the timing belt looked like it hadn't been changed since the car left the showroom.  Kept the engine, sold the trans and chassis.  Guy who bought the chassis wanted the front subframe. He said the frame rail width on that car is almost identical to an early Bronco.  With a minor amount of fab, he was going to give his Bronco new brakes, suspension, and steering.  I'll second the statement on the door hinges.  They were works of art, and ingenious for making the car easy to get in and out of, even with the huge door sills. ... View more

After school (at home) ended for the summer, my daughters and I watched a Bond-movie-a-night for almost a month, all in chronological order. (Got the entire collection on DVD.)  Now I'm going to have to pull out "Dr. No" and look at that scene again.  ... View more

Borrowed my co-worker's Capri for a few months when I was a starving flight instructor.  Don't remember the MY of the car, but the ignition switch was dash-mounted and the key required quite a bit of finagling to get it to start.  Ran like a champ though and, as a manual, was pretty fun to drive. ... View more

And with new tires, no less!! ... View more

I might have been tempted to add some 45 degree supporting gussets at the bottom inside corners for added safety, but since the pan rail is flat and level it could be considered overkill.  That motor mount does not look like it was easy to access at all! ... View more

"I'll probably only use it just this one time", you're thinking when you buy the tool.  And then you realize later how many times you've used it and how you ever got through a project without it.  Can't think of how many times that's happened with some tools I've purchased new or used. ... View more

Very much enjoyed the story, and can relate to it, as well.  Among my sisters (2), wife, daughter, mother (since passed) and I are 3 Honda products and 3 Toyota products.  The Honda/Acura stuff, though well-built and long-lasting, is the worst stuff to work on that I've experienced, as far as accessibility.  The Toyota stuff is not bad. All 3 Honda products have sideways-mounted oil filters, none of which has enough room under it to place an aluminum foil "funnel".  One filter is completely captured by the intake from above, alternator from the front, transaxle from below, and intake support bracket from behind, so it requires a custom filter wrench.  With the sideways mount, they are guaranteed to dribble all over creation, then drip oil for weeks after an oil change. The Toyota filters are all vertical mounted, or low-mounted horizontal, and easy to access.  With the unofficial designation of family auto repair guy, one gets the experience of working on some different stuff and learning a few things.  But also one gets a little too much of working on cars and not seeing any progress on one's own project(s). ... View more

I might not have read enough of the comments following, but I would have thought the MkIV (4th gen) Supra would have made the list.  Don't have one, and the body style is a little plain, but it was pretty advanced for its time and the TT model was pretty speedy. ... View more

'72 Road Runner - July 21, 1972. ... View more