Welcome to the Cars Forum!

[justinblue]

Hi all,

Welcome to the new Tom's Cars Forum. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Thanks for your continued support!
Justin

 

[badge]

I have trophys for my time spent racing street machines on a quarter mile track in the 70's. I have tuned a car over and landed it on it's roof and kept it running without catching fire. Evil Knievel once landed his plane on the drag strip I frequented. As I watched on, later that evening He laid down his cane and He successfully jumped ten buses on His custom Harley. I spit in the wind that night, but not without knowing some day a daredevil car saalesman like Tiger Woods would come along to take his place (editor's note: writer's embellishments may have been added). Reality? I am reality.

 

[cangelini]

I live my life a quarter mile at a time.

 

[itadakimasu]

I drive everyday...

 

[badge]

She's real fine, my 409.

 

[mi1ez]

Fiat Stilo! WOO! 1.2litres of wannabe and still I get done over for my past mistakes....

 

[joefriday]

I drive an 87 Turbo Coupe when I can. 2.3L turbo charged 4 banger with 5 speed T5, rear drive with 8.8 inch rear housing 3.55 gears and limited slip diff. 190HP @15pounds boost factory. Now it's pushing 18 pounds boost with uncorked exhaust and bumped timing and K&N cone filter, I'd estimate around 210-220 HP at this time. Real grin machine. It's has too much rust being in the midwest, but it's internals will live on in the chassis of a FactoryFive Daytona Coupe 3 years from now once I finish Family Medicine Residency.

My daily driver for the past 6 months has been a ho-hum black on black 2003 Monte Carlo SS. Dependabe, stylish, and very boring. Good God GM, give me a stick. Makes me miss the 94 Taurus SHO stick that I sold when I bought the Monte. Quick Taurus and a real looker, but Lord almighty, what a maintenance whore. Sold it before I had to put $700+ and a good weekend's time in a clutch job. Gumbling throwout bearing be damned. Owned that SHO 9 whole months, bought it for a steal at a Grand even, put $700 in it fixing it up to perfect standards, then sold it for what I had in it PLUS a 5.0 explorer engine with early GT40 non-P heads to boot. That will be going into my other fast car, an 88 T-bird with an 88GT Mustang 5.0/5-speed swap, TC rear w/3.55s, and Turbo Coupe front clip. Ya, I like the 80's aerobirds.

Prior rides include a 95 Cougar XR7 V8, 87 Mustang State Patrol car (5.0/stick in a notchback design), Several T-bird TCs, all stick, and a 93 Mercury Topaz 2 door 5 speed that was my wife's car before upgrading (great cheap beater that gets 33-35 mpg and takes tie rods every 30k miles, but when tie rods are only $7 a piece, who's gonna complain?).

Wife drives a 99 Escort ZX2 5 speed. Picked out by me for her as replacement for that 93 Topaz. Really nice car overall. Watch the rear brake cables b/c the like to seize almost annually, keep the battery clean, and change the timing belt every 100K miles. Sips gas and zippy to boot. Nice chick's car.

Always on the look out for a 5 speed ZX3 Focus, 2000-2004. Tried to find a nice one when I sold the SHO, but couldn't find any with a stick around me, so I had to settle for the Monte (shakes head).

The old SHO: Drool at will.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l51/ddker/joes%20stuff/pic2.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l51/ddker/joes%20stuff/pic0.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l51/ddker/joes%20stuff/pic3.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l51/ddker/joes%20stuff/pic6.jpg

 

[knotknut]

If it's got tits or tires it's going to require alot of maintence.

 

[jitpublisher]

I drive a 99 Durango 4X4 with a 5.9 liter magnum V-8.
85,000 miles and still runs and drives like it was brand new. Does not burn a drop of oil between changes.
Takes me up and down the beach for Clamming out at the Long Beach Peninsula, hauls my fishing poles to the Columbia, Kalama, Cowlitz, Toutle, Green, Lewis rivers, carries all my camping gear, my skis to Timberline Lodge, or Coopers Spur resort, plows through 2 feet of snow like it's nothing. When relatives come to visit, I can take them all sight seeing to Mt Saint Helens and the Columbia River Gorge with room to spare.
It's favorite place is the Chevron Station in Kalama.
They have pretty fast gas pumps.........................................................

 

[joefriday]

If it's got tits or tires it's going to require alot of maintence.

Some more so than others. For the SHO, it's quite common to have to replace the clutch every 30-40K due to poor throwout bearing design. Also, those Yamaha V6's required new timing belts every 60K, and an entire top end service including checking the valve train clearance (solid lifter DOHC design utilizing shims) at 60K as well. With valve cover gaskets costing $100+ and spark plug wires at $70+, that 60K service starts to cost around $400-$500 if you do it yourself. That's if you can find the replacement parts. Ford discontinued these parts several years ago, and NOS stock is really drying up for some of the more uncommon parts that may need to be replaced. In fact, the SHO community has a kit of used shims they let members borrow when doing a 60K service, because new shims cannot be purchased anymore.
Then there's the whole issue of low oil pressure at idle when the engine gets around 120,000+ miles due to excessive rod bearing clearance. Once that low oil pressure light starts to flicker, you better replace those rod bearings, because there's a high chance that one will spin if left unattended and then the entire bottom end is toast. The good new is, you have to remove the transmission to get the oil pan off, so you can change the clutch while you change rod bearings!
I'm no stranger to working on vehicles, and I like to keep my vehicles well maintained, but the SHO is high maintenance all around. I knew that when I bought it. Saw plenty go in and out of the Ford dealership when I used to work at one as a detailer in undergrad. Always said I loved to drive those SHOs, just never wanting to own one. I only bought that white one because it was super cheap, looked excellent, and the majority of the nasty work had already been completed, with receipts for everything going all the way back to 1996. Still, it only took 9 months for me to feel like I needed to dump it before I put more money in it then I'd ever get back out of it. It was a neat car, got lots of compliments, and was decently quick for a daily commuter, but I don't regret ever getting rid of it.

Anyone else have any cars/trucks that were maintenance nightmares?

 

[Kraynor]

I recently had to replace the camshaft in my '86 Trueno... was a nightmare tracking a replacement down, but she's humming nice and happily now. 140,000 on the clock, 2 engine overhauls (mostly original parts though, because I'm obsessive like that), the only non-standard part is an improved sound system and stereo I can hook my mp3 player up to.

Had to replace the servos in the pop-up headlamps too, not as difficult to track down as I thought they'd be.

 

[knotknut]

Thoes turd things on my front lawn, are they like shoe polish?

 

[joefriday]

Thoes turd things on my front lawn, are they like shoe polish?

Unfortunately, we cannot hear your inner monologue. You'll have to fill in the blanks here.

 

[quantumsheep]

I drive a Ford Fiesta Zetec S 1.6 which is kicking out around 175bhp at the wheels (N/A engine) with a roll cage, six speed box, LSD, Koni suspension and Brembo brakes. I'll get some pics up later.

Daily driver is a Fiat Panda 100.

 

[leo2kp]

'06 Ford Fusion. Stock all-around save for a widened intake tube and K&N filter. I take maintenance seriously, but I've beat the crap out of the transmission a few times and it shifts funny and seems to have lost some power. It does have 75k on it but I plan on getting the tranny looked at, dyno'd, dyno my fiance's Fusion to compare numbers, and then throw in a CAI, tune, and Magnaflows. Bumps up HP from 221 to around 260 for a mere $1,200 Will upgrade the suspension and brakes eventually too.

 

[quantumsheep]

'06 Ford Fusion. Stock all-around save for a widened intake tube and K&N filter. I take maintenance seriously, but I've beat the crap out of the transmission a few times and it shifts funny and seems to have lost some power. It does have 75k on it but I plan on getting the tranny looked at, dyno'd, dyno my fiance's Fusion to compare numbers, and then throw in a CAI, tune, and Magnaflows. Bumps up HP from 221 to around 260 for a mere $1,200 Will upgrade the suspension and brakes eventually too.

If we're thinking of the same Ford Fusion then having even 221bhp is a stupid idea. The ford Fusion looks like it'd topple over if you so much as looked at it!

I was sure they never made a 221bhp version of it. Thought it comes with a 1.4 with about 80bhp or perhaps a 1.6 with 100 at the most?

 

[joefriday]

most likely he's referring to the US model, which as a sedan built on the Mazda 3 chassis:

 

[UNICOMPLEX]

I have a mazda RX8, the 230BHP version, I have had this car a year now and new before I bought it that they like petrol, Im only getting about 18mpg around town and 25 on a motorway which is normall for this kind of car but someone told me that there air starved, so I have had a look for myself and this seems to be true because where the air box is on the right hand side of the front of the engine theres only a small pipe which feeds the air box, this pipe then runs along to the left side of the car then comes down and only as a 1inch opening for air to get in.

Is this really enough for air to get in, I know this is what the mazda manufacture as put in the car but it looks stupid, anyone here think I would be better removing this small pipe and putting a more direct air intake on, to feed the air box, would this give me better MPG ?.

 

[joefriday]

Unfortunately the rotary engine was never a very efficient design. The 3.8L V6 in my Chevrolet gets 18 town and 28 highway, and that's behind an antiquated four speed automatic.

 

[frozenlead]

98 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP - 170k and loving it.
245HP 3.8L V6 supercharged with an Eaton M90.
Runs 15MPG on premium...but she ain't never stuttered.

 

[FSXFan]

98 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP - 170k and loving it.
245HP 3.8L V6 supercharged with an Eaton M90.
Runs 15MPG on premium...but she ain't never stuttered.

My cousin (in the picture with the Bronco actually) has one of those too, they're awesome. He has an intercooler, undersize pulley, intake/exhaust and a bunch of other stuff. We're guessing it's putting out ~400hp. He's been through 3 transmissions and 2 engine rebuilds though. They have a problem with crank bearings and differentials when you start adding more power, and those cars aren't light. Right now it's been sitting for a year with another blown diff and the power steering pump is fubar. I think I about have him talked into fixing the tranny and swapping the drivetrain into a dune buggy. We've seen it done before but not a modded engine. 400 horses in a 1000lb vehicle would kick major ass in the dunes!

Anyone else have any cars/trucks that were maintenance nightmares?

Yes, I do.

[/img]
This thing is a ticking time bomb. The whole drivetrain is totally worn out and needs replaced. That's kinda why I bought it though with plans of turning it into a badass off road machine. It's gonna get a worked over big block, manual tranny, doubled transfer case and either 1-ton or Rockwell axles with 40"+ tires. There will be a full exo-cage with buckets and 5 point harnesses for safety. It has no radio and I might not even add one. If I do it will be all marine grade stuff. But for now I just try not to give her too much hell, although driving (sideways, mostly) in 18" of snow isn't the easiest life for a vehicle. It sure made for some funny looks from people though.

 

[wip99gt]

05 CTS 3.6 litre six speed manual
Bought it with 70k km on it
I made a new intake, replaced the cat with a high flow one along with the rest of the exhaust and that horrible GM muffler they put on it. Runs pretty good now and I can get 30mpg on the highway at around 70mph. I like the car but there are some cheap pieces inside and the leather is very thin. The shifting is decend, no BMW but still enjoyable. The new exhaust gives the engine a great sound at 6000rpm and while idle is still quiet.

Funnest cars I've had were a '68 vw campervan and a '70 impala. Wrecked the impala and had the engine stolen out of the van when it was parked for the winter at the farm. The old vw vans just had something about them, slow as hell but I've never been happier behind the wheel of anything else. Just a note though, driving down the highway with a canoe on top of it on a windy day can be a little scetchy.

Right now we're working on a '68 Int. Scout. Came with the 190? slant four replaced it with a 345 v8 out of an old grain truck. It's a full frame off job. It's got a 6" lift with 38" tires on it. The truck runs right now but theres still most of the electrical, all of the interior, and all of the body work.

 

[wip99gt]

Forgot I also got my '08 Dodge 4500 service truck. Just usual service truck crap in it like power inverter, 4 batteries, service body, and air compressor( not the screw type they're crap for the new trucks and way too over priced).

 

[knotknut]

Formula 1 V-10 @18000 RPM

http://metacool.typepad.com:80/metacool/2006/02/unabashed_gearh.html

 

[wip99gt]

Always wanted to make it to a formula one event. The biggest racing event I've been to has been the Grand Prix up here in Edmonton. I help out with my buddies sprint car team and go the the drag races all the time but most of those are pretty small events. Sprint cars are pretty wild though. He's got around 650hp out the engine, small block sportsman class.