Cars
Welcome to my car page. I have had an interest in cars since I was a young lad. Cars are what makes the world go round, without them you cannot get anywhere. When I started driving, quite a while ago, nothing gave me the sense of freedom more than a car. I remember my first car, it was a 1973 Mustang. It was a total rustbucket!!! It had a 302 (5.0) engine at it was fast, but I remember the fenders flapping in the wind because they were all bondo. My '73 Mustang had a carburetor which did not make for good cold weather starting. You always had to do a dance on the gas pedal to keep the car going. Thank goodness technology has come a long way in the car arena. We now have a computerized fuel system (fuel injection) that eliminates the need to pump the gas before you start your car, all you have to do is turn the key and the car starts. No more hesitation when you step on the gas, the car just goes. The automakers have come a long way in making better engines, it is nothing for newer engines to get 200,000 miles or more before they quit. Try acheiving that with a 1970's engine. Now the bodies of cars are another story, you lean on them and they dent. The frame of the 70's has been been eliminated. The car's body is actually the frame. This makes for a weaker body that does not withstand a collision as well as a car with a frame would. I like cars with rear wheel drive and a frame. Cars like the Crown Victoria and Caprice Classic are my favorite, they have V8's along with rear wheel drive, which is great for doing 360's in a parking lot in the winter time. The Crown Vics and Caprice Classics are a bit more thirsty for fuel, but I would rather have the extra protection of a frame, along with rear wheel-drive V8 power. The older cars are oldies but goodies. Besides with car payments averaging around $300 a month for five, six or even seven years, it pays to get a older car and fix it up. I am mechanically inclined for the most part and do not have to rely on a mechanic to fix my vehicles, if I did I would have a new car in the driveway. Mechanics are expensive and I have been taken for a ride a few times, so I try to avoid them.
My current vehicle is a 1992 Grand Marquis. A 4.6 liter engine is under the hood, it has the performance package with dual exhaust which brings the horsepower up to 210. It has all the goodies, leather interior, digital dash, power seats on both sides, keyless entry and automatic climate control. A driver's side airbag is included. Personally I don't like airbags and think that they do more harm than good. When you hit the gas you can hear the slight rumble of the dual exhaust, with the exhaust pipes only being 7/8" they are not going to make too much noise. Automatic rear leveling suspension system is also included, it is a nice feature to have but a real pain when it goes out....I hope that it does not for a long time. Four wheel disc brakes with anti-lock make sure that this car stops on a dime and is a nice safety feature to have. This car is not the easiest to work on, simple things like a tune-up are a real pain as the spark plugs are hidden under a mountain of wires. I miss my 88 Crown Victoria in terms of working on it because the 302 5.0L was much easier to work on than this 4.6L. The 4.6L stomps all over the 5.0L in terms of horsepower, the 4.6 has 190 stock (210 with the performance package) and the 5.0L only had 150 horsepower. The car has 106,000 miles and it runs great, I have driven it to Florida with no problems. One problem this car has is the valve stem seals are bad so she burns about 1 quart of oil every 1200 miles but the valve stem seals are know for going bad on pre 1995 4.6L engines. I plan to keep this car as long as I can, the body is in excellent shape with no rust!!!
To see pictures of my car click here.
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