My dad used to have a manual transmission 1970s Ford F-150 truck. That truck was fun as hell.
I was stationed in GTMO Bay, Cuba in the early 1980s. At that time many of the available vehicles were from the 1950s and 1960s. My friend bought one of these hoopties for getting around but it was a PIA. There was no reverse gear so we had to be mindful of where we drove and how we parked.
It also sounded like a stuttering chain saw with breathing issues.
I often wonder how long it lasted after we left that god forsaken island.
I’d probably get an old Volkswagen Thing (one with A/C).
They seem indestructible, since there is no “upholstery” as we normally think of it. Share’s an engine platform with the same-year VW Beetle, and has slightly more room inside.
Here’s an example: https://classics.autotrader.com/classic-cars/1973/volkswagen/thing/102629929
I’m the Jay Leno of Hoopties. Got around 20 or so. Hard to beat an old BMW e30. Nissan Frontiers and Jeep XJ’s are always good to have on hand. But for beer runs, the 87 Mitsubishi “Adventure Wagon” is my Go-To. You can get a whole lot of beer in the back of that thing!
My #2 vehicle is a 2006 Camry. It’s currently making a funny noise I want a mechanic to check out, but it’s still running and doing the job I need it for.
For that matter, the bike that’s my #1 vehicle is also pretty beat up by now, but also still works.
I’ve never heard the word outside this board either. But there’s a current (well, resurrected) thread about the word itself in FQ.
I’d love to have Clownie back.
In 2004 I became self employed as a consultant. There was no guarantee that it was going to work out, and suddenly we needed a second car (I had been commuting by train up til hen) and didn’t want to risk big money on it..
My parents in law were getting rid of their old car - literally, it was untradeable and they were about to pay someone to take it away. I asked if I could have it, and so we became proud owners of a ?12 year old Proton Persona, about as undesirable a car as you could find. (On days when I visited clients, I took Mrs T’s car).
Over the years it became known as Clownie (short for Clown Car) because of the regularity with which bits fell off it. In those days I was still playing cricket, often with Trep jr - at my level teams were made up of early-mid teens and middle aged men - their best, or even adequate, cricketing years behind them, but at least they could drive. Often Mrs T would be on chauffeuring duty as well, in her leather seated VW Passat - but the kids always wanted to ride in Clownie - they could just pile their gear into the car and they didn’t even have to take their spikes off; and if a bit of the car came off in their hand, they knew to just toss it in the back for later consideration.
Of course, we reached the stage where it was no longer viable to maintain it - it’s cash value being largely dependant on how full the tank was. So Clownie had to go.I’m not a car person, and Clownie was the only car I have ever loved.
j
End Note: If anyone is interested - we’re still friends with a lot of those kids, now in their mid thirties and married with kids of their own. Cool, huh?
PS: in the UK, instead of Hooptie we might say Jalopy or Banger
Today I Learned:
Like others here, I would go back to my first vehicle, a '65 Ford F-100 truck. 300ci straight six, one barrel carb, and a three on the tree. The steel on the body would probably bend any shopping cart that hit it. Heck, I rolled it and drove it home.
Legend.
I miss my silver, 1983 El Camino. It had a moon roof for some reason.
Oh man! My parents had a Ford Galaxie station wagon from the 70s or maybe 60s for a while in the early 80s. It had the flip-out kid-seats in the far back.
And it had a rusted-out hole in between them. My friends and I would play “Submarine” by sitting back there, and we’d drop out “depth charges” (pieces of trash) and if a car behind us ran them over or straddled them, it was a “hit”.
Dad finally figured it out when someone tossed an entire styrofoam cup out the hole, and yelled “Depth charge away!” and he saw it in the rearview mirror. That was the end of that game, unfortunately.
I’ve rolled two and driven them home. (Suzuki Samurai and Jeep Commando)
Yeah, but you can find those on their side in the driveway after a stormy night.
I had a 1974 Chevy Impala 4-door for a brief period in the 90s and it was amazingly impervious to door dings and bumps. Big bench seats and a huge trunk made it very easy to haul people and junk around. Lousy gas mileage, but it did not have a huge engine. It was reliable. Even after 20+ years, parts were readily available. It’s the only car that I actually had painted while I owned it…$129.99, as I recall. From 100 feet away, it looked fine.
Checker Marathon, mess with me at your own peril.
Little known fact, Fran Lebowitz owns one of these. I don’t think she drives it much, living in NYC.
She said it’s the only monogamous relationship she’s ever had.
Add me to the ranks of those who would have my first car again: an '81 VW Rabbit, which was 9 years old when I got it (in college). Easy to drive, better-looking than Golfs, and you can fit a ton of stuff in the hatch.
Classic.
I have a 2000 F-150. Some idiot kid rear-ended me in a parking lot (at low speed). I got out, and couldn’t tell if there was any damage, so I told him to watch where TF he was going and let him leave. The advantages of a beater vehicle.