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 So. This is not a project thread, but a very special request for recommendations. My dad has found himself coming into some money. Until now, he's been driving my old Volvo 940, which he likes, but is a little tired of it occasionally having electrical/other old car problems (several of which are caused by deferred maintenance), failing to start, having the PO's lovely heater valve explode in San Francisco rush hour traffic, etc. He's told me he wants to buy another car to drive on longer trips, and keep the 940 to drive around town. He's turning 65 in May. He has a decent amount of mechanical experience, but mostly with older cars; he can follow instructions from a Haynes manual, but from what I've seen he's still stuck maintaining them as if they're his first car, a '64 Pontiac Catalina. He thinks that Stop-Leak is a good fix for a problem in a pinch, and hasn't had a car that was really well maintained in a long time. He hasn't had money to keep any of his cars well-maintained in decades. I'd like to find him a car from the 90s or older that meets the following criteria:
Cars he has owned/driven in the past (an incomplete list, excluding what he didn't really like/family cars):
Notably, he really likes Volvos, primarily because of the comfort, safety, and reliability aspects, but would definitely consider something else. He tends to prefer European cars nowadays, but I'm not ruling out something else. The cars that come to mind off the top of my head are, in black, dark metallic red, or another suitable color:
Thoughts? Edit: post pictures of the cars please, I plan to show him this thread. atomicthumbs fucked around with this message at 23:32 on Apr 25, 2016 |
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Apr 25, 2016 22:47
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atomicthumbs posted:
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Apr 25, 2016 23:05
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Ignoring the airbags thing, a volvo P1800 or 262c would probably do nicely. Or possibly a Mercedes 300cd or venturing into potentially hard to fix territory, a 500/560 sec. Late 90s Jaguar XKs are getting pretty cheap, but come with jaguarrey problems. An E39 540i or 540i touring would tick all your boxes, but might be a somewhat sedate choice. If you have access to a time machine, you could go back 5 years and grab a nice air cooled porsche before they all octupled in price.
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Apr 25, 2016 23:25
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Powershift posted:262c my friend this is a serious thread and you bring this PRV-powered sludge pile into it??  but now that I'm thinking of older Volvo coupes, a 780 Turbo would fit him quite well (although other than the body it's practically identical to the 940 he already has): 
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Apr 25, 2016 23:31
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atomicthumbs posted:my friend this is a serious thread and you bring this PRV-powered sludge pile into it?? Well if johnny cash was forced to drive a volvo, i don't think he would pick anything other than a 262c. In black, of course.  It certainly wouldn't be the one that looks like an accord.
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Apr 25, 2016 23:44
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Powershift posted:Well if johnny cash was forced to drive a volvo, i don't think he would pick anything other than a 262c. In black, of course. I have seen them with the vinyl removed, and they look alright. However, I refuse to let my dad drive a car that features camshafts as a wear item.
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Apr 25, 2016 23:48
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5.7 IROC-Z with T tops.
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Apr 26, 2016 00:08
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Racing Volvo with rollcage.
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Apr 26, 2016 01:12
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Two stroke saab 96 wagon
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Apr 26, 2016 02:04
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  I'd consider regular old 240s. The sedans are cheap, you can find a fair number of late model manuals, the last few years had driver airbags. Not exactly fast, but I found mine to be powerful enough. I commuted on the interstate daily with it for about a year. Same drivetrain as the 940, they didn't make a late model 240 Turbo but you can drop a 940 Turbo motor in it without too much hassle in it if that's your thing. That could be fun, but I think unnecessary. Except for going up hills, I had no problem maintaining a 80-85 MPH cruising speed in the 240 and even going up the mountains was still faster than the trucks so you can just hang out in the slow lane and be fine.  BMW E34s are pretty cheap now. I would get one with a manual, I found the automatic to be pretty terrible. Late models have driver / passenger airbags, also has ABS and Traction Control which works pretty well. I would get a 525i, engine had plenty of power. Not sure how fast it could go, but mine wasn't running out of steam at 100 MPH, I found I often drove in it alot faster than I did in the ....   E39 540i with a cat on it. Maybe it was just my examples, but it felt like a completely different car than the E34. Like this lazy limousine cruiser that turned you into the transporter at will. I think I found the 240 and the 540i to be the best cruisers cars. My E34 never seemed like it could relax as much and the steering seemed a bit off to me. However, the 540i is as Powershift puts it, more sedate. For driving around quickly on back roads the 525i seemed the best. The M50 has plenty of power but you get to use the whole RPM range whereas the M62 has so much power everywhere it's like there's no challenge to it. The only reason to maintain a high RPM is for it's own sake since it can catapult you to ten miles above the speed limit instantly at which point I'm generally disinclined to push it further. That's hardly really a fault of the engine though. I found it to be more comfortable and I preferred the steering on the 540i. The trunk is huge. It somehow gets like 23MPG despite having a 4.4 liter V8. I would choose that as a road trip car out of all of them given a choice, although they all do pretty well in that department. Cost of maintenance goes up incrementally, the 240 is a tank although you still have maintenance to do on a minimum 24 ~ year old car. If you really really want / need A/C it's probably not the best choice. It does great in the winter though, it warms up way faster than any other car I've seen so far. It's easier to find 540i manuals than it is finding 525i manuals although they will probably cost 2x as much. I'm not convinced the E34 is a significantly simpler car than the E39. It is less expensive to maintain as parts are a bit more expensive on the newer car but it seems like they simplified some things from the E39 and made them a bit more robust in some areas.
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Apr 26, 2016 03:29
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ultrabay2000 posted:
Believe me, both him and I appreciate the good ol' 240, but he drove one for three years and then drove mine between when his 960 died and when I got my V70R and I think he's looking for a step up. A driver hit-and-ran him (backed into him, told him "I HAVE A SICK FRIEND CAN WE HURRY UP", drove away when he pulled into a parking spot to get out) in my gold 240 that looks exactly like that first one and I still need to go find a fender for it someday. Maybe if I can't find the right color I'll just get one with lovely paint and put black and yellow hazard stripes on it. That 240 has been the most reliable car in my family, by far. It was my first car, I learned to wrench on it, and it's never left me stranded anywhere or had ominous engine issues - only obvious stuff like "someone replaced the alternator and forgot to use a washer and it wore through and half fell off" and "the ignition fuse needed reseating". For that alternator issues, I just took the alternator off my 940 and installed it in the 240, since the 940 was out of commission at the time anyway  And thanks for the advice about the BMWs. I like the cars and am utterly unfamiliar with them other than knowing that I would like a 525ix. ...maybe I could convince him to get a wagon.
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Apr 26, 2016 03:47
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I'm having a hard time thinking of the cross-section between cool looking, cool sounding, airbag-having, and reliable. C5? WS6? Mechanically solid, but usual GM interior stuff. You mention seats a lot, so maybe you care about interiors? E: A 540i with mufflers deleted would be neat, but they're uncool sedans. There was no 6 in those years, so that's out. Hm. Raluek fucked around with this message at 03:54 on Apr 26, 2016 |
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Apr 26, 2016 03:52
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Raluek posted:I'm having a hard time thinking of the cross-section between cool looking, cool sounding, airbag-having, and reliable. C5? WS6? Mechanically solid, but usual GM interior stuff. You mention seats a lot, so maybe you care about interiors? my dad is fine with a sedan, he's driven sedans for 40 years now
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Apr 26, 2016 04:02
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What about a Lexus LS400?
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Apr 26, 2016 04:14
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leica posted:What about a Lexus LS400? Ooh, or a GS400. A 1UZ with even a lazy exhaust thrown on it sounds insane. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1NzXbE9-qI IS-F sounds better though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvkcRdju680 Seat Safety Switch fucked around with this message at 04:41 on Apr 26, 2016 |
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Apr 26, 2016 04:37
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excuse me but the GS400 is a cool uncle car, not a cool dad car 
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Apr 26, 2016 04:49
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leica posted:What about a Lexus LS400? Exactly what I came here to post. It's not that cool looking, but drat if they don't ride real nice, and they have a surprising amount of grunt. Safe as hell too. I'd drive one.
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Apr 26, 2016 04:55
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Now that I'm remembering it, my dad's been in love with late-model Crown Victorias since he rented one in the 00s. I can throw that on the list of things to look for. Edit: or maybe an '03-04 Mercury Marauder 
atomicthumbs fucked around with this message at 05:10 on Apr 26, 2016 |
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Apr 26, 2016 05:05
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Crown Vics (or any Panther platform) are not safe, in a side collision they fold like a cheap lawn chair at 30mph and you will most likely die or be horribly injured. My wife used to drive Vics and she now drives an LS430 for this reason. [edit] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI2ctRRtQXo Applebees Appetizer fucked around with this message at 05:25 on Apr 26, 2016 |
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Apr 26, 2016 05:21
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Apr 26, 2016 06:52
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leica posted:Crown Vics (or any Panther platform) are not safe, in a side collision they fold like a cheap lawn chair at 30mph and you will most likely die or be horribly injured. I explicitly specified "safe" to mean "has airbags"
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Apr 26, 2016 09:21
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My dad and I both have C70 convertibles and both of us love them. With the top up parking lot visibility is pretty poor but otherwise they're great. Shop for an 03 or 04, it's P80 90's reliability with all the bugs worked out and only 12 years old so it's not going to have the wiring falling apart. Lots of people bought them as second cars/weekend drivers so they can be found in perfect condition with incredibly low mileage for well under 7 grand now. And if you're lucky you can find venetian red (very close to regent red) like my dad's: Dad's is bone stock, and of course mine is heavily modified:  Still one of the safest convertibles ever made, too. Side airbags that pop out of the seat, rollover bars that pop up behind the rear headrests and a windshield frame that can handle a rollover as well. I t-boned a minivan in my first one at about 30mph and it didn't affect the chassis behind the front wheels, door gaps were normal and still opened, top worked, everything.  So yeah I recommend you at least shop for these. Made from 98-04, the later the better (hardtops stopped in 02). Common problems on the early ones are microswitches in the top mechanism failing and of course the ETM from 99-02. Window regulators are prone to failure and also super expensive but other than that it's just an 850. Seats are even more comfortable than in the P80 R and the stereo is incredible. The black interior holds up way better than the tan or gray interiors so I'd recommend looking for that. Also my dad is 78 and not limber, he can barely get in and out of 240s anymore, but his 850 wagon and this C70 are perfectly comfortable to get in and out of. LloydDobler fucked around with this message at 11:42 on Apr 26, 2016 |
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Apr 26, 2016 11:38
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Seconding an E34. They're the most reliable of that era of BMW and look loving great.
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Apr 26, 2016 15:24
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Dude, you can''t give away Joe Biden's car.
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Apr 26, 2016 15:27
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atomicthumbs posted:I explicitly specified "safe" to mean "has airbags" Ok, if that doesn't bother you or your father then they really are great cars. Look for the LX Sport which are pretty rare or just go for a Marauder, although a Marauder is not going to be cheap. Also there a tons of Police Interceptors for sale as well. LloydDobler posted:My dad and I both have C70 convertibles and both of us love them. With the top up parking lot visibility is pretty poor but otherwise they're great. Shop for an 03 or 04, it's P80 90's reliability with all the bugs worked out and only 12 years old so it's not going to have the wiring falling apart. Lots of people bought them as second cars/weekend drivers so they can be found in perfect condition with incredibly low mileage for well under 7 grand now. And if you're lucky you can find venetian red (very close to regent red) like my dad's: Did you post pics in there? Because I don't see any 
Applebees Appetizer fucked around with this message at 16:22 on Apr 26, 2016 |
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Apr 26, 2016 16:18
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atomicthumbs posted:That 240 has been the most reliable car in my family, by far. It was my first car, I learned to wrench on it, and it's never left me stranded anywhere or had ominous engine issues - only obvious stuff like "someone replaced the alternator and forgot to use a washer and it wore through and half fell off" and "the ignition fuse needed reseating". That poo poo happened to me too. The alternator tensioner got loose and the whole thing snapped in half and the bolt sheared off in the block. That was a fun Sunday evening scrambling to get my car fixed to get to work the next day. It was always poo poo like that which rarely needed more than maybe a five dollar part and a trip to ace hardware. I think the adage is 'they run longer broken than most cars run new.' If the apocalypse comes the 240 will ride again. That said, I agree they are old and probably not the best choice for a daily driver in 2016 which is why I upgraded. As safe as they were for the times, I would not want to be in a serious accident in one today.
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Apr 26, 2016 16:47
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I'm nth-ing the Panther platform suggestion: smooth ride, infinite number of boneyard parts, and wrenching so easy that it's like throwing the part under the hood, slamming your hand on the grille and yelling "IN CHRIST'S NAME I COMMAND THEE TO HEAL" and watching the fucker will start up and run like it rolled out the factory yesterday. I swapped out an intake manifold (4.6's have a plastic coolant cross-over that's notorious for cracking) and with no FSM, no Chilton's manual, nothing but 4 different types of sockets with simple hand tools and balls of steel  (it was a friend's car) I had the manifold swapped out in the course of an afternoon/evening. Awesome wrenching car.Also stuffing on Ford Mustang engine upgrades never gets old. Sprintex supercharger, anyone?
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Apr 26, 2016 18:59
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leica posted:What about a Lexus LS400? This was my first thought as well. Reliable, V8, and I think older people think they're cool 'cause they're a Lexus, right? Better yet... SC300/400?
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Apr 26, 2016 19:13
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I'd do the BMW, the ones from the 80s and early 90s weren't bad to work on and were plenty fun to drive. My ideal non-M would be an E39 530i with the 5-speed.
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Apr 26, 2016 20:57
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Definitely E34/E39.
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Apr 26, 2016 22:41
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leica posted:Did you post pics in there? Because I don't see any Yeah, I see them in the original post and your quote, anyone else not loading my pictures?
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Apr 27, 2016 00:32
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LloydDobler posted:Yeah, I see them in the original post and your quote, anyone else not loading my pictures? Looks like they don't work if I access the site through HTTPS. I guess whatever busted-rear end place you're hosting those doesn't support SSL, so the browser ignores it as mixed content
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Apr 27, 2016 01:07
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Roll with this.
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Apr 27, 2016 15:10
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Delorence Fickle posted:Roll with this. This or bleed over slightly into the 2000s and go with a Mercury Marauder. It's basically from the 70s anyway.
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Apr 27, 2016 15:52
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if it helps here's a picture my dad just posted on facebook
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Apr 28, 2016 09:49
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Apr 28, 2016 09:49
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atomicthumbs posted:if it helps here's a picture my dad just posted on facebook After seeing this picture I honestly feel the correct car would be a Chrysler TC by Maserati
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Apr 28, 2016 15:02
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atomicthumbs posted:if it helps here's a picture my dad just posted on facebook '59-78 Eldorado.
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Apr 28, 2016 15:45
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atomicthumbs posted:if it helps here's a picture my dad just posted on facebook Definitely an IROC-Z
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Apr 28, 2016 15:54
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everdave posted:After seeing this picture I honestly feel the correct car would be a Chrysler TC by Maserati ah yes the good ol' reverse collaboration "Mechanics by Chrysler, body by Maserati" strategy
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Apr 28, 2016 20:04
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