classic cars

[Preacher]

I just got a 1969 Buick Skylark 4 Door in almost showroom quality last November and have really enjoyed fixing it up and driving it to car shows and stuff. Does anyone else here have an old car? If so post a picture and specs.

 

Mine is the four door model with a 2bbl carb and has become very rare because most folks restore the 2 door like this one:

 

 

Here are some specs:

 

350 V8 (2 bbl) 230 bhp @ 4200 rpm, 350 lb-ft @ 1300 rpm.

 

 

The car was available (as the L30) with a two barrel carb and a 9:1 compression ratio and was rated at 230 bhp.

 

 

Mine looks like this but is blue like the one above:

Edited May 4, 2007 by Preacher

[anonymo]

My mom still has the first car she ever bought, a red 1971 MGB convertible which I will most likely be inheriting one day. My dad and I have spent years keeping it in good condition but like many of you know, good condition with British cars doesn't really exist. I'll see if I can't take some pics this summer when we roll it out.

 

Looks a lot like this (this one seems to have a new grill, tires and rims)

[All Kill3r]

Need pics of new car !

[Tristan]

This is similar to my Uncle's 65 Shelby Mustang

 

Except this is the GT-350

[Preacher]

I have been looking at the MGs for my wife. We're torn whether to go with one of the small 4 banger roadsters or a big A body muscle car convertible.

Edited June 10, 2007 by Preacher

[anonymo]

I have been looking at the MGs for my wife. We're torn whether to go with one of the small 4 banger roadsters or a big A body muscle car convertible.

You want my honest opinion? Don't. MGs (like most British made automobiles) are mechanical nightmares. My father has spend 4x the worth of the car in the last decade on the same engine problems. We had it totally rebuilt back in the mid nineties and it still stalls out when you're over 100miles from home (I highly dislike having to drive out to the suburbs to deliver my dad's tools to him because the darn MG stalled AGAIN). I used to dream about being old enough to drive the thing (it has classic car insurance so I had to be 25 to drive it) but now that I can I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole, just far too inconsistent and getting stuck in the middle of nowhere (or, like my father enjoys doing, stalling out in the middle of Yonge Street on Saturday afternoon with 10,000 cars all honking at him) really sucks the big one.

[Preacher]

yeah there are good and bad things about all of the diff genres of cars. The small British cars like MG and Triumph are just cool and quick. Plus they are nicer to drive for little folk like my wife.

[anonymo]

yeah there are good and bad things about all of the diff genres of cars. The small British cars like MG and Triumph are just cool and quick. Plus they are nicer to drive for little folk like my wife.

This is true.

 

If you had the money you could drop something like the Mitsubishi engine from the K-car in there and make it the most reliable MG in existence (which up to this point has been just a model of an MG with working wheels)

[MrDuke]

I have been looking at the MGs for my wife. We're torn whether to go with one of the small 4 banger roadsters or a big A body muscle car convertible.

 

My mother-in-law divorced and she wanted to spite him in the worst way possible. She took his car (a nice MG) and had it restored so she could drive it past his house repeatedly and say "screw you!".

 

Well, now it sits in her garaged covered up all nice and cozy-like. If you're serious about buying one, PM me. She never drives it.

[aldan]

I'll tell you... I've owned two MGBs. The first, a '76 MGB roadster, with the big, heavy rubber bumpers, was a nightmare, because I bought it in non-running condition. However, I got it running, though it still had some minor problems. One problem that it shared with many other Brit cars was that it had British wiring in it... so lots of the electrical just didn't work. A friend of mine thought he'd help me out by 'fixing' one of the side marker lights at the back end of the car, by reversing the wires running to it. Oh, it 'fixed' it alright... the whole harness, from the back end of it up to the fuse box at the firewall, melted, and that also destroyed a bunch of the other, previously working, electrical equipment that'd had no problems up 'till then.

 

I ended up selling it for scrap after that, because there was just too much I'd have needed to do to get it working again.

 

However, some years later, I found a first-owner '69 MGB GT for sale, that was in pretty nice shape, so I purchased that from him. Boy, was I glad I did!! This machine was in GREAT shape, and still had its ORIGINAL paint on it (though it was faded and cracked on the roof of the car). It had knockoff wire wheels on it, and had its side mirrors above the front wheels, atop the side panels. Its leather seat covers were cracked, and there were a few small rust spots (very small). Other than that, 'twas in fine shape. I would still have it, if it wasn't for the fact that on my way to work one day, a guy pulled out of a blind driveway right in front of me, when I was going over 40mph.... My shoulder belt broke my collarbone, and the car was totaled. *aldan sighs sadly* That car was a perfect runner, had NO electrical problems or anything else of the sort. *aldan shakes his head* I should have realized that if I had something so nice, it'd be guaranteed to be destroyed or removed from my posession altogether to soon.

 

I SHALL get another one, though! They handle like a dream, and if you get it with overdrive, it'll be able to handle higher speeds.

 

Oh, another thing... there was a 60s aluminum block Buick engine that MG used (in GBR) as an option for their MGB Gts (strangely enough, it was called the MGB GT V8). With a little minor research, you could probably get one of those blocks and replace the straight 4 with it. Also, there are removable hardtops available for the roadsters, along with many other upgrades, from two different companies - Moss Motors (in CA) and Victoria British (in KS or MO, I forget which), so you'd not be w/o options if you bought one.

[anonymo]

still had its ORIGINAL paint on it (though it was faded and cracked on the roof of the car).

I think the shape of the hood is somehow responsible for cracking the paint. We've painted the hood 3 times now (all different painters and 2 different hoods) and every time, no matter what, that stuff cracks in more or less the same spots. Maybe it's the extremes of Canadian weather...it probably needs to be in a somewhat chilly and very moist environment to thrive.