How Many Miles?

I drove a 1985 Toyota pickup for 16 years before getting my 1995 XJ last October, and I see OLD Japanese cars ALL THE TIME here in the San Fernando Valley.

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I think we agree on Strombergs. Essentially the same design, though. Funny, that. Dave

Nah, he just can't see that those cars going to the crusher aren't Japanese, they're Korean. To him, they all look alike anyway... :-)

Great cars - the 2 litre TDI diesel puts out 236 lb/ft at 1750rpm, 140 hp and does 47 mpg US. Now why can't we have a 472 lb/ft, 280 hp 4 litre Jeep ?

Dave

My son-in-law traded one in on an '03 WJ a few months ago.

I live in Southeast MI, I don't see nearly as many foreign cars as you do, or when I lived in the South for 22 years...LOTS of Nissans, Hondas and Toyotas. The way things are going for the Big Three that's changing fast, and I have seen a lot more Hondas and Toyotas lately around here.

Remember the Honda Oddity (Odyssey) my wife lease a while back...we had to file a lemon law suit to make them buy it back because they couldn't fix the oil leak. Leaked a quart every 300 miles. Each morning there would be a puddle under the car. Had to park it over a catch pan. I prefer American nameplates but the Honda had the features we wanted. Of course by the time they finally took it back the Fords and Chryslers caught up.

The Pinto had excellent mechanicals. There were several Ford OHC fours, either Brit or German Ford engines or US versions thereof. The parts did not interchange, meaning the Brit engines are far and away the best because there are a excellent supply of hot rod parts availale there. US built ones mean going to Esslinger, a high dollar supplier. THe Pinto/Mustang II front end is still a staple of the schlock rod business.

I'm calling BULLSHIT here on you, Bill. Because even though that might well have been a common thing had the little engines lived long enough, most died before enough time passed for that to happen. Either the aluminum bores gave out (they ran a silicon etched aluminum bore and an iron plated piston) or the valve guides wore horribly and the car was repowered or scrapped. In California and other such places many became drag cars, and are most of the Vegas around today. Out here they already had rust perforation by then and so did not receive a lifesaving transplant, but were scrapped.

I saw a Rabbit convertible, painted pink, this morning on the highway. Had to be late 70s. Looked like a Earl Scheib job on the paint. Top was ratty. Missouri tags.

Around my neighborhood we RARELY see old cars. I did see a custom 57 Chevy on the road followed by a kustomized 60s Stingray coupe (no door handles on either) being driven by a fat old man and woman yesterday. Both had Iowa tags. Those are the exception. When I see ANY car older than ten or fifteen years out here it's most always a Benz, BMW or Volvo. Or a VW Bug.

The Hondas are built in the US now, as are most other Japanese marques. The US cars have as much Mexican, Brazilian and Chinese as they can get away with.

Wow...I had a Pinto and a Vega, both '76...my Explodomobile was just shy of 20 years when I sold it...sure liked it tho.

I've had a couple of Studebakers with Strombergs, never had any trouble with them.

Jeff DeWitt

Dave Milne wrote:

Read a review recently where they compared a Honda Accord, a Toyota Camry, a Hyundai Sonata (I think) and a Ford Fusion.

All four cars got good reviews, all were more or less comparable, three of the four were made in the US.

Guess which one WASN'T made in the US?

Yep, you got it, the Ford was made in Mexico, the rest were made in the US.

While Ford is downsizing and closing plants they ought to close that one, a lot of us want to buy US cars that are actually US cars!

Jeff DeWitt

Matt Macchiarolo wrote:

These are two very different carburetors we are talking about here, though neither was very good. The Stromberg on Jags is a CV deal like a SU, but not as good even after depollutionizing.

The hot rodders used the old 97s because junkyards had them in profusion, not because they were any good. Like anything off a flathead V8 Ford.

Key word there was "had". They were lousy but they were a lot cheaper than Hilborn FI or Webers.

When I used to go to car shows as a kid all the no-go lead sleds had six or eight of them. Often chromed.