Car Pictures Thread

[Crayz9000]

Here's my '86 IROC-Z from back in 2005. I was handling the camera and my wife (then-girlfriend) was driving.


It's parked in my garage now and registered non-operational. I'm planning on doing an LSx engine swap to it and the interior is missing at the moment. It also needs a new paintjob badly, somebody took it to a place like MAACO before I got it and now most of the bumper paint is missing (idiots forgot to put the proper flex-agent in the paint).

This is what I'm planning on having the dashboard look like when I'm done:



My current driver is a 1987 Volvo 240 GL, that looks remarkably similar to this (the rims are different, but that's about it). Currently has about 1.87886781 light-seconds on the odometer.

[Grahf: Seeker Of Power]

2000 Honda Prelude:

[Chardok]

Let's take a walk through my life in Cars. This should be fun.


(NONE of these cars are mine. Just representations.)

It all started in 1994 with this monstrosity:



a 1978 Pontiac LeMans - not nearly as nice as this one, but you get the idea. Remove the hood thingo, add loads of rust and replace the nice rims with poo stock ones. (One with no hubcaps)

So I sold that horrendous thing and discovered that I am a Nissan Fangirl. (Not a ricer, just a nissan Fangirl.)



So I got this thing. It had 200k on the odo when I got it and damn if it didn't still run like a champ. The thermostat was stuck open, so the car didn't ever get more than cold. The A/C was like ICE, which was cool. I would later replace the thermostat because it got COLD in the winter and the heater doesn't work if your engine is cold (lol?) at 224 I replaced the FACTORY clutch on it - this car must've been made to withstand the rigors of space flight. I still miss it.



After that was gone, I got me basically a duplicate of this car, the 1989 Nissan Sentra XE (Hatchback) it was rad and easy to work on. To this day I don't know why I got rid of it. the solenoid went out on it so I actually started it for about 6 months by jumping the points on the starter with a screwdriver. Turns out that when you do that, the computer doesn't "Think" the car is on, and therefore will not adjust the fuel/air mixture properly. I eventually replaced the starter in the parking lot of an Autozone. It took all over 10 minutes. What a great car.



Enter my "Sensible" period. I got this car because I just got married and needed a 4-door for her son and my new daughter. it was a goodish car, only 69k on it when I bought it. I must've driven it for 120k miles with slowly failing valve seals and head gasket. It wasn't nearly as reliable as my old sentra or 200sx, but it looked nicer and it was a 5-speed, which was cool. Replacements included Clutch, thermostat, various heat shields, brakes, shift linkage, water pump, and timing belt (Thank god for non-interference engines!). It finally died in 2002 in the parking lot of an apartment complex. Good riddance.



While married, we found it easier to live with 2 cars, so I bought a broken down crap version of the car pictured here. A 1982 Mazda RX7. I've heard they're good cars, but I would not know. This one hardly ever ran.



I traded the RX7 for this horrible thing, which actually DID run, but that's about it. I hate 360's with a passion because of this car. Don't get me wrong, I know they're great engines, I just hate them.



What happens when a Mustang has sex with a Gran Sport? This horrible thing. 5.0 with an extra 300 pounds of glass. The floor was rusting out of the passenger side, but MAN was this thing ever fast. I ditched it when I got a divorce.



After moving florida, and just after the Galant died peacefully, I bought another 200SX, this time a turbo hatchback for 200 bucks from a friend. This one had all the bells and whistles, including the digital instrument cluster, sunroof, factory spoiler, spiffy hood scoop, premium rims, AUTOMATIC WINDSHIELD WIPERS (My favorite feature) and flip-up headlights, which is just cool. (It even had a "wink" button that would rapidly open/close just one headlight) Also a 5 speed manual)



Turns out you should BELIEVE it when the oil pressure gauge says "0" and not just assume it's the oil pressure sending unit. going bad. The 200SX blasted a connecting rod out of the side of the block and died a horrible, painful death at an intersection in Jacksonville. so I bought this watchamacallit from a friend. a 1989 Subaru GL wagon. before this car, I'd never even SEEN a boxer engine, so it was a surprise to me when I opened the hood to discover a standard mounted engine (Facing front/back instead of side/side) yet still front wheel drive. I would eventually replace the intake manifold gaskets in the DARK (PS that is difficult), CV axles/joints, and hood latch (PPS - a hood flying open at 45 MPH is a quite effective speed brake Also - it will damage the hood. But it's nothing that a ball peen hammer could not fix. HA!) Bad point: no A/C....



One day, while sitting on the Buckman bridge sweating like a pig, I decided "You know what? I can afford not to have to put up with this shit." I pulled ye olde Subaru into the Nissan Dealership and drove away with this, after the salesman tried to get me to buy an Altima. (Bite me, I don't need a 30k car, just give me a small car with A/C, manual shift, and a CD player.) I drive it to this day. not a horrible car, but nothing special.

[tim31]

The S12 Silvia looked bitchin' good Chardok. Was it an FJ20ET?

Yay that you went back to Nissan!

[Chardok]

Nah, she was a CA20E, you know, the one with the two sparkplug per cylinder setup and NOTORIOUSLY leaky Fuel injectors? Ahh, but man do I miss her. IMHO 1983-1990 was just golden for Nissan/Datsun. the 200SX, Pulsar, and even the Maxima just had damned character. Ahh...why do I pine so for cars of the 1980's?



EDIT____________________
You know....Now I think on it....I don't recall the CA20E being turbocharged...she may have been naturally aspirated. it was 7 or 8 years ago now, I guess. if someone can check on that for me, that'd be great. I'm 100% sure on the CA20E being the engine in the car.

Also for you Nissan-philes, my first 200SX had the Z24 engine - biggest 4-cylinder I've ever had/Seen! 2.4L Almost a damned V-6, by God. Man do I ever miss those cars.

[Phantasee]

Excellent post! That was awesome, Chardok. I felt the sensation of time travel for a moment there.

I'm going to make a post like that, with all the different cars I drove summer before last (I counted it at 18 different cars last I checked).

It was a fun summer.

PREVIEW:

93 Pontiac Grand Prix (blearg!)
04 Dodge Ram 1500 (whee! oh wait the gas tank's empty..fuck)
08 Maserati Quattroporte (what? that's right, a fucking Maserati with the Enzo engine and transmission!)
06 Acura CSX (the car I learned paddle shifting on... needs more clutch, IMO).

[Coyote]

Where did you get that shot from?

And did KITT always have that goofy-looking air scoop on the bonnet? Urgh.

That's not KITT; that's Mad Max's V-8 Interceptor from The Road Warrior.

EDIT: Holy cow, I had no idea I was responding to such an old post within the thread.

[tim31]

Ha. Anyways Chardok the CA20E sounds likely. During the same era they were fitting that engine to the Australian manufactured R31 chassis and selling it as a Pintara, when they should have called it a Bluebird and had done with it. When they started flogging the Nissan RPS13 in the States they gave it the KA24 engine and called it the 240SX, while the JDM S13 'one eighty' started with a CA18DET and moved on to the SR20DET. Of course, neither of them ever sounded quite as good as the FJ20.

EDIT: Using the thread as an excuse for a shout out to Ken Block. Skip the first minute if impatient; the rest is well worth it.

[aerius]

New Chevrolet Camaro




Yup, it's an SS





Which means of course, it's got a V8

[Phantasee]

I almost nailed one today. Fuckface was ripping around a shopping centre parking lot, right by the busiest construction site in Western Canada (formerly the site of the busiest and deadliest intersection in Western Canada). I had 48 metric tons of steel, gravel, and rubber under me, at 50 km/h, and it wasn't stopping easy after getting off the highway.

So FYI having a Camaro doesn't make you death-proof. Even with the V8.

And I prefer the new Dodge Challenger, personally. I saw one done up sick, black with airbrushed flames on the hood and side (and it was done nice, not cheesy flames), with blacked out windows and orange/reddish rims. SRT-8.

[aerius]

And I prefer the new Dodge Challenger, personally. I saw one done up sick, black with airbrushed flames on the hood and side (and it was done nice, not cheesy flames), with blacked out windows and orange/reddish rims. SRT-8.

Yeah, but can it transform into a giant robot?


Autobots, roll out!

[Phantasee]

I would have liked to see that mother fucker try. Then Optimus Prime would have squished me inside while he transformed to deal with retard-Bumblebee.

Theoretically I would transform back into a functioning human being after, right?

(I didn't catch the badge the first time, LOL). They should put it on the engine, too. And add a couple grand to the price for the 'special' edition.

[Havok]

Those are fucking hideous. Why don't they just put a Challenger badge on it.

P.S. Chardok, you have horrible taste in cars man.

[aerius]

Those are fucking hideous. Why don't they just put a Challenger badge on it.

I gotta agree, all of the new retro-themed pony cars look like shit, ugly chunky pieces of shit. The Challenger's the worst, then the Camaro, and the Mustang sucks the least but it's still a turd.

They should've made the new Camaro look more like a blend of the Corvette and Saturn Sky, modern styling, not shitty retro knock-offs.

[The Yosemite Bear]

those new pics makes me want to watch bullit to make things better....

[Havok]

Those are fucking hideous. Why don't they just put a Challenger badge on it.

I gotta agree, all of the new retro-themed pony cars look like shit, ugly chunky pieces of shit. The Challenger's the worst, then the Camaro, and the Mustang sucks the least but it's still a turd.

They should've made the new Camaro look more like a blend of the Corvette and Saturn Sky, modern styling, not shitty retro knock-offs.

Or they could have, y'know, made it look like a Camaro. Fuck. There are very distinct eras they could have chose from... 67-68, 70-73, White Trash... oops, 82-92... but no, they picked 70's Challenger, which was balls in the 70's, and NOT CHEVY, and then put the Firebird 69 Camaro gills on it. Hey a Camaro!! Yeah, no.

At least the Challenger looks like a modern version of the Plymouth/Dodge bodies of the Barracuda/Charger/Challanger from the 70s. The Camaro looks the same... oops.

The Mustang I actually like because it looks, like what the Challenger has achieved, a modern version of the older bodies. The Mustang even emulates a good looking older body to boot.

My only problem with the Challenger is that they chose to bring back the Challenger.
You want to impress me, bring back the Road Runner. Who gives a fuck if Plymouth went under. Use the god damn name that defined Muscle Car if you are going to bring back the Muscle Car. They could have done that with the Charger, but they made that thing look like a Dodge Ram someone kitted into a car.

[Crayz9000]

Honestly, aside from the commonality that all the pony cars of the late 60s - early 70s had, I really don't see your point. The new Camaro does not look like a 1970s Challenger. It has a superficial resemblance, but that's not unexpected. You can't go retro without hitting something from that period.

Personally, I'm a thirdgen F-body fan. I like the new Camaro, I just happen to like the 3rd gens better. I guess I can blame Knight Rider for that; black Trans Ams of that period just look damn good.

By the way -- the new Mustang is a fair sight better than the 1990s-2000s Mustangs (blechhh), but it has fins and grills in all the wrong places. I think they were trying to recapture the essence of the ~1969 Mach 1 (IMO the only actually good looking Mustangs ever made), but sort of got lost in ricer land along the way. As for the Saleen mustang abortions... may they forever burn in automotive infamy.

So yes, I said it, I don't like the new Mustang. Ford's current crop of designers can all go kiss my exhaust for all I care since they seem to have no talent whatsoever.

[tim31]

Personally, I'm a thirdgen F-body fan. I like the new Camaro, I just happen to like the 3rd gens better. I guess I can blame Knight Rider for that; black Trans Ams of that period just look damn good.

A mate of mine has a 3Gen Z28 Camaro. I like it because I'm a fan of the 80's 'sport' look anyway, but dear god I would not want to try punt it around a racetrack. It's so heavy.

[aerius]

Personally I like the 3rd & 4th gen Camaros the most, the 3rd gen looks nicer from the front while the 4th gen has that really slick blended spoiler wing at the back. If I was gonna make a Camaro, those are the 2 models I'd be looking at.

[Havok]

1967-68 Camaro. There is nothing else to look at.

[Phantasee]

I'm a Mustang fangirl, since I was a kid. I have to say I loved this last model Mustang, right up until they changed the styling this year. The new rear end looks terrible from a distance, and it doesn't improve much from up close. The front end is passable, though, but that's because they barely changed it.

My uncle's an engineer for Chrysler the Government, and I remember I kept asking him if Dodge was going to make a 2-door Charger (somehow, I see now that it wouldn't actually work) in time for me to buy one after I turned 18. He knew something of the Challenger, then, and he'd always get this look in his eye, like he knew something secret he couldn't share.

I like the Challenger, it's a nice car, I like the body of it more than anything else. I like that crease they put in the rear fender now, all these new cars have it, like the Charger, but they end up looking more like cheap body kits than properly made fenders.

[J]

Hardtop Mazda Miata with funky colour shifting banana mango paint.

[The Yosemite Bear]

I wish I had pictures of my uncle's Jag. That car not only looks good, but when driving it slaps the road on the ass and says "Whose your Daddy"

[J]

Indy Cars! My husband & I snuck got lost and wandered near the track area during practice for the Toronto Indy and snapped some pictures before security figured out what was going on and escorted us off the grounds.










Taking pictures was nearly impossible since the cars were in the frame for maybe a quarter second at most.

[Phantasee]

Nice! I wish I could go to the Edmonton Indy this year, but between work and being broke, I don't think it's going to happen (unless I get a surprise gift for my birthday this year).

The Penske car is the best of the three. I think it's easier to take a shot when the car is further away, because you get more time to track the car across the frame, no?