Paid $500 eight years ago and haven't had to do a thing to it.
My Beater Car
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 365
Likes: 1
From: UK without vette :(
My Beater Car
Funny story today, I bet most of us have a "beater" car that we drive when the weather is crappy, mine is a 88 Bronco II. I have had this baby for awhile...for example this past summer it just got a new paint job (rather a touch up to cover the rust) via a few cans of krylon paint....you get my drift about the condition, most things don't work on it. So this morning I finally finished up putting on the new exhaust manifolds on the vette but elected to take the Bronco II to work since it looked like rain, so I get the Bronco on the road and whenever I am giving it a good pedal-full of gas it starts sputtering and feeling like it is going to stall. So I am like what the heck is up with it. My office is close (only 2 miles) so I limp it into work and am thinking maybe something is up with the ignition/fuel pump??? Then I am like, hey I wonder how much gas is in it since the sending unit has been out for years, so I go put some gas in it and low an behold it was sputtering because of fuel starvation! Let me say it was one of the easier fixes in awhile!
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 11,874
Likes: 263
From: Arlington Va Current ride 04 vert, previous vettes: 69 vert, 77 resto mod
what did you fix??????? sounds like a sticky pad with a mileage noted on it stuck on the fuel guage is in order...or is the odometer dead also? man did i have some beaters over the years.... 
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 11,874
Likes: 263
From: Arlington Va Current ride 04 vert, previous vettes: 69 vert, 77 resto mod
my favorite was a 79 honda accord two speed automatic that you had to shift...i drove this in the city.....the tire was so badly out of round over 40mph the car shook violently...never had to go over 20 so it didn't really matter....the best part was the parking pawl wouldn't engage so when the parking garage guys brought the car down and tried to put it in park the gears would just grind ....so i would stoically walk up to it like nothing was the matter....god that was embarassing
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 3,363
Likes: 0
From: Canton Ohio
I currently have a Geo Tracker, that has the back window taped in place(soft top), it squeals like a pig, and at one point the wheel fell completely off while I was driving it. But yet everytime I get in it and turn the key it starts right up....and the best part of all I paid $200 for it!
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,723
Likes: 1
From: VIETNAM 64/65-67/68 FL
Ibfm
This is mine. It,s an 03 chrysler town & country customized by Braun Corp. It,s built for my wheelchair and squats down,then deploys the ramp. I back up the ramp,lock it to the floor and slide over to the drivers seat,and im gone.. All eight of my vehicles including my five Corvettes have hand controls designed for paraplegics.
Last edited by AA2PR; Jan 12, 2006 at 04:27 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 11,874
Likes: 263
From: Arlington Va Current ride 04 vert, previous vettes: 69 vert, 77 resto mod
Originally Posted by AA2PR
..... All eight of my vehicles including my five Corvettes have hand controls designed for paraplegics.
[
[
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 365
Likes: 1
From: UK without vette :(
Since we are sharing ugly stepchildren pic's, note the close up of the high quality color match that I got from the krylon spray paint, almost 2-tone I should have got a better pic that showed the cracked windshield too 
Race Director
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 19,659
Likes: 34
From: Lenoir City Tennessee
Ci 6, 8 & 10 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15
A guy I work with always buys these cheapo cars. He has been driving this Ford Probe for years and its a real piece of work. Anyway, he parked beside me one day and I look in the car on the way in just to see how bad it really is. There is a screwdriver jambed through the speedometer like you would kill it. When I got inside I asked Ben, "What's the deal with the screwdriver?" He told me the speedo was making a squealing noise and he didn't know how to stop it so he fixed it. Now that is BUBBA!!!
Last edited by Eddie 70; Jan 12, 2006 at 05:05 PM. Reason: My brain works faster than I type.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 365
Likes: 1
From: UK without vette :(
He told me the speedo was making a squealing noise and he didn't know how to stop it so he fixed it. Now that is BUBBA!!!
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,723
Likes: 1
From: VIETNAM 64/65-67/68 FL
Originally Posted by bobs77vet
just goes to show there's no keeping a good man from enjoying corvettes
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 11,874
Likes: 263
From: Arlington Va Current ride 04 vert, previous vettes: 69 vert, 77 resto mod
Originally Posted by AA2PR
And they will all end up with me in the pyramid behind my house with me. They will not be found on e-bay
what are you directly related to King Tut or something???? i found the best solution to this issue is do the project with your son so when you get tired of it it goes to him....and then when he gets tired of it it comes back.....
Race Director
Joined: Nov 1999
Posts: 10,643
Likes: 8
From: Foxfield CO 1970 Convertible
Hey - I've got an '85 Bronco II that just keeps on running. Unfortunately, now it needs a new throwout bearing. I'm going to replace it, but man, what a pain. You have to remove a cover to get to the drive train, then remove the transfer case before you remove the transmission before you can replace the TO bearing!! 
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 4,071
Likes: 0
From: San Diego CA
My beater is a 2004 Kawasaki Ninja 500R...
$300 a year to insure and 50mpg... well more like 45mpg now that I put a bigger rear sprocket on it and do wheelies at stop lights... But yeah it's my beater, it's 70 degrees in january here in san diego and rains twice a year.
I plan on getting a 2000 Caddy Deville for my next beater...
$300 a year to insure and 50mpg... well more like 45mpg now that I put a bigger rear sprocket on it and do wheelies at stop lights... But yeah it's my beater, it's 70 degrees in january here in san diego and rains twice a year.
I plan on getting a 2000 Caddy Deville for my next beater...
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,723
Likes: 1
From: VIETNAM 64/65-67/68 FL
Originally Posted by bobs77vet
what are you directly related to King Tut or something???? i found the best solution to this issue is do the project with your son so when you get tired of it it goes to him....and then when he gets tired of it it comes back.....
Pro
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 564
Likes: 0
From: Pittsburgh PA
Originally Posted by rihwoods
Many years ago had 1963 Ford Falcon 140 cu in that smoked so bad didn't see the CHP red light behind me..he hit his siren...
He said "that's quite a mosquito killer you got here"...
He said "that's quite a mosquito killer you got here"...
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 102
Likes: 4
From: Cambridge Ohio
Beaters.....
Hi all, I'm new to the forum and thought I'd chime in on this beater topic. My beater is an 86 BMW 325, don't chastize me too much, I picked it up for $900 and have put 100,000 miles on it in the last 2 years. Only cost involved is a timing belt and water pump every 50,000 miles, besides oil changes.. It gets 31 mpg on the highway and I'm expecting it to go a total of at least 300,000 miles.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,247
Likes: 471
From: Glen Allen, VA
How about an 84 Bonneville "Grandpa Car" Whitewall tires and wire wheel covers! Been driving it for the last 6 years and it still runs way too good to even think of replacing. I like not having a car payment! It has about 140000 on it, and hopefully it will make it to 200000.