Once I saw 3 Baur 2002's at Mid Ohio on SCCA weekend about 20 years ago. They were making laps around the track- memorable to say the least...I'm pretty sure I have photos . I have had at least 6 "roundies" and a few 1800's. I would settle for just one non rusty one ! ... View more

I forgot the Simca 1204 ? sold in the US by Chrysler in the late 70's that was quite ahead of its time. FWD , comfortable ride ( like most Gallic autos ) . Great MPG ect....but the mechanics fled when one came in to the service department, parts support was non existent ( like most US euro imports i.e Merkur et al)  and apparently they don't use salt in France as they rusted severely within a few years.  It deserved a better fate.   It also had a great heater !  -that is if you could plug all the holes in the body that let in air -I think we used squirty foam .  I still have a shop manual in my garage ..why you ask...? ... View more

French autos.....a source of humor as well as mystery. I worked for a Peugeot /BMW ( we sold quite a few 505's ) dealer in the 80's -90's. Before that a place that sold whatever they could get ( Volvo,Lotus, BMW ..etc.) so I was up close and personal with Peugeot diesels ( pretty good -the African stalwart ) and gas engines....which were nothing spectacular beyond the cushy French seats. My late father n law had a Dauphine which the only memorable part was a town and country horn. Le Car had some meteoric presence in SCCA for a minute until they faded to wait to kill off AMC with the junk Appliance .. If you want to see many french cars go to the Lang in Nashville ..they have many ..!!! Worked on a SM once.....totally alien even for Citrioen with the Maserati engine. ... View more

The "new" beetle is a sad copy of the air cooled peoples car. Why ? -poor build quality and materials, electrical nightmares and fragile and weakly designed auto trans. The diesels will drive to the junkyard long after the rest of the car has disintegrated. Even though I own a 80 Rabbit with 69 k miles ( another story )VW has traded on it's early reputation as a easy to live with and economical auto which since the bug, it has not been. We all have fix it on the side of the road stories that we endured in our air cooled youth (along with no heat and power) that for some reason we now find quaint and pleasant to recall. My fathers 75 Rabbit was well appointed and had top quality materials and build. My 80 is a cheapened version that started the road to nearly driving VWOA back home to the fatherland. How many Dashers,412's,Vanagons etc of that era do you ever see on the road or at shows...not many . There are actual websites Titled "why I hate VWOA " and my "VW is crap"...Not exactly creating the love is it ...??? ... View more

I currently have a 69 and highly modified 75 MGB. A Chinese ev with a MG badge stuck on it does nothing for me. Just like a MG 1100 that was actually a Austin "america"....or Morris whatever. But this POS won't be /isn't even made in the UK. Just like when Colmans ready made mustard and Harp beer weren't made in their "first" country....poor substitute for the original. Warts, Lucas,rust, SU's etc etc and all- It's the challenge not the end result. A missing link would be the smell just like a German horse hair seat base! Double pass... ... View more

I have a rusty-ish Ca emissions (smaller AT, goofy Air cleaner and turbo set up) 85 300TD with 315 K, that has been in most of the 48 states and a great deal of the Canadian provinces. . My son has a 91 MB w124 wagon with under 200k and he just added a 92 BMW 114 k ( non Vanos engine ) wagon to the fleet. I wonder if it will go up in value like the Benzes ? The BMW will be getting a 5 speed swap as the GM junk Auto tranny is going south. I'm sure many will find that POS transmission sacrilege! ... View more

Those 2500/2800 and Bavaria,s fitted with TR's should of had a voucher that came with it for a head replacement !   MB learned a similar issue with it's CA emissions diesel fiasco. My 85 300TD had a new engine at 8900 miles courtesy of MBUSA....still going strong at 301 k later l  ... View more

Three cheers to the statement: Don't yank the head unless you are prepared fiscally and physically what may lurk within ....I tried 4 Alfa 1600-1750 heads until I found a good one that wasn't cracked. The good one was literally pulled out of a scrap pile at a junk yard that had a fire. Deja Vu on the small 60's BMW 4 cyl.head job.....the 4's are tougher crack wise than the 6's especially if they had thermal reactors fitted stock... yuk! ... View more

Yawn....part of the allure of VW was that they were easy and inexpensive to repair (up to the 411 at least) had durable materials and were quirky enough to be fun. My 1980 Rabbit was more VW -esque ( even though it was a cheapened US model) than any after that incantation. They got more complex,the quality suffered, dealers got worse and VWoA could care less. Oh yeah..did I say it's ugly ..??? Expensive toy for those buying into the current electrocar illusion. ... View more

I would have a rope drive tempest...especially with a V 8 ! ... View more

When was the last time you saw one moving under it's own power? Most Fiats aren't worth the hassle but my late cousin Bill auto crossed a 124 ! I had a 67 124 with no 4th gear...no problem just go to 5th ... View more

I have lusted after A Gordon Keeble since i saw one on some BBC TV show in about 66 or so. Chev v8 ,decent chassis and Ital body work.....whats not to like? Except maybe it had a serious case of "Lucosi-the evil price of darkness"electrics.....Hey even some Spitfires have Delco distributors so maybe it was a karmic wash.... ... View more

The wood grain indeed was factory- it just looked cheap ! ... View more

Opel GT was my younger sisters first car. Fun, easy to repair and for a time my family were big Opel fans..inexpensive, German build quality ( But GM none the less) and better that the US counterparts ( none) Worked on and drove the Lotus at a Lotus dealer in 1978. Odd, hard to park, broke often. My Grandma drove the Monterey...as her "last " car. Need I say any more ? Hang 10 Dart..seriously ...rusted out in months not years,abysmal build quality ( I worked at a Mopar store) smog motored slug ...ewwwww! ... View more

Pretty sure they only offered that "durchshist" one year in the US 1959. my friend just finished one up on a restore...an odd beast to drive ... View more

Do any of you remember the Sportmatic? ( VW Porsche) How about the Austin/BMC 4 speed auto that could be shifted like a manual? They guy who designed it made his fame in Horticulture...not transmissions . I didn't like working on either .....few working examples are left. How about a Furlec auto clutch on a Renault....? Nothing new here ....ish.....sorta ... ... View more

I had a 63 Mini Cooper that never got stuck except if the snow was too deep the oil/trans pan would "plow" and eventually get bogged down. It was great on ice once you got it chipped out of the tundra. My 91 Volvo always starts, will grill meat with the heater and it has over 250 k on the weak geared odo. ( it has broken a few times so actually it's a guess). My 62 Comet 260 v8 with drum brakes, bench seat , 2 speed auto trans .and the most over boosted power steering known to man was THE WORST ! ...but it only cost 150 in 1983 so I loved it ! ... View more

I drive my 91 240 Brick everyday. "Hey...why do you drive such an old car" is the frequent comment by the students at the school where I work. "I'm frugal...I can fix it and I'm old"' ., I reply .This comment is just as common as ..."Hey man way cool old Volvo!"... Our first "family steed" 1967 144 was purchased from some flower children at Antioch collage for 153.00 about 30 years ago. I repaired it and my sisters (3) and younger brothers (2) learned to master the clutch and oxcart suspension. The younger finishing it off by being stupid and wrecking it racing a mikrobus.. Our family has many great Volvo stories ,but alas they have become but a shadow of their former selves..China...seriously..? A Swedish flag does not make a Swedish automobile. The 244 is truly a world car with Japanese transmission, German electrical ,French /belgique fuel injection and Swedish steel. ... View more

I remember shoving a Muncie "rock crusher" up to a 327 in a 64 Chev wagon with the trailer towing package. Same deal...up on stands, drink some sudz, wrestle it out on your chest and say a few cuss words as gear oil poured out on your head.  Good times ... View more

Now hey now.  The 100LS was long on design elements but short on execution. I still have my dad's 4000s and cant bear to give it away to be crushed.   It ran and drive until I parked it and all the lines rotted away. I would have a 100 LS- at least you had a 1/2 assed chance at getting it on the road compared to the new junk that is price prohibitive as it ages. ... View more

Unless some one else posted the following are useful: Long extension flip mirror. random sections of pipe that fit over breaker bars of varying sizes.Magnet mount rechargeable lamp/led . Cheap ass Harbour Freight boroscope to look in places the mirror wont reach-plugs into cell phone. Rechargeable soldering iron. Point scribe with push to lock feature to id parts . Brains...experience....persistence...prayers Not to mention the proper tools for the job. Metric for metric fasteners, proper screwdrivers etc....givens taught to me by my Germanic /Swiss ancestors -."und don beya dumass" ... View more

I worked at Chizeler in the 80's when these hit the shores. The 2.6 ate guides and rails but for the most part was pretty tough. The FI system was odd to say the least but wasn't trouble prone. Trim would be hard to find as far as parts go but many 2.6 are in rusted out mini vans and other similar era Mopar junk. I drove many and they were a gas..the coolest thing Mopar sold at any store in those days ! ... View more

Is Mini city still around?    Back in 1977 I pulled a few Austin Americas from the jaws of the shredder to learn the intricacies of the "auto" trans. My gear head mentor obtained a book from the UK about  how they supposedly worked. The front clutch packs went south at about 30k miles max.  The guy who designed the trans was famous for Botany and not auto design-only in the UK...." "gather together a clean jam jar whilst prizing grud from the immediate surfaces" ... View more

If it wasn't for my Mini I may have never "met" my wife. As I said above it was highly modified. (mini, but wife not so much) Some folks called it a suitcase with wheels as it had leather straps holding down the fiberglass bonnet and deck lid.  It had those old school Dunlops that had the tread up halfway to the bead on the sidewall.  I used to have my trophy from the Mini meet in 79 but it got "misplaced" by my late folks at least 30 years ago.  I'm pretty sure the Innocenti had a square-ish grill and well appointed on the inside.  Weren't some OZ spec Minis assembled in Melbourne?  However, they were still stock and just slightly modified for the OZ market..maybe a Roo bar! ... View more

You forgot the Innocenti (sp) I saw one at the MINI meet in Dayton Ohio in 1979. Leather, wood and nice paint..de seamed as well as I recall. Veglia gauges? At the time I had a 63 Cooper balanced and blueprinted with many go faster bits. No one could touch it on the "track" at the time. It was "civilized" with Austin America parts as a real heater and better than stick seats. ... View more

Our family has "relatives" in Argentina and Brazil. (Don't ask) one of them told me how he used to race his OHC (Crank snapper as known at the local USA Jeep store) in local Brazilian speed events and was untouchable. He stated that via some basic hot rod tricks ( balanced, blueprinted, Webber, hot cam available only in Brazil) the motor could challenge US V8's on the track. He has some great stories!    ... View more

I was sad when my father got a Fury III in 72' instead of a Gran Fury ! The coolest! So modern ..but what a piece of crap, as the build quality was appalling. My grandmother obtained a 73 Gran and my father tried to get Chrysler to buy it back..Everything rattled and leaked ..pure junk! ... View more

I have had Many 1600/1800/2002 's in my life...and even worked for BMW. Also a 67 GTV.. It will be interesting to see how this story shakes out. I ditched my last "Zeus" (as a customer referred to a 2002 as) due to rear shock tower rot. I will never forget " How much are these "zooz" cars? " ... View more

I wonder what ever happened to that Borgward in the lead photo ? ... View more