My first car died.

[Arbitern1]

A week ago today my first car's engine failed. Oil leaked out of it and the oil light in the car was broken so i didn't know i was low. So here is goodbye to my 1989 Chevrolet Celebrity. It had 220K miles on the speedo on original engine and tranny. I feel slightly sad about it's unfortunate end. Any of you guys ever had a vehicle you valued that kicked the bucket?
It's probably for the best. Being 18 and insuring three cars wasn't going to be easy. I use my 66 Corvair as my daily driver now. It gets about 25 MPG but it gets damn hot in the thing. Leather seats with no air conditioning in 100 degree humid days gets brutal. I just drive with the top down most days. Does anybody know of a good place to buy aftermarket air conditioner units for cars?

On another note can any of you guys tell me what is the towing capacity of a 1978 El Camino was with a manual 350?

[Para]

I've had three cars die on me for good over the past seven years or so. I didn't care about the other two but I really miss my Oldsmobile Cutlass. That thing was so roomy and comfortable, it was actually pretty fast and it drove so well. I drive a 96 Grand Am now but I was a lot more attatched to my Olds.

Right now I am saving up for a Jeep of some sort. I want a Scrambler or a Jeepster but both are pretty rare so I might end up getting a Cj or something if I don't have any luck. I really want a vehicle I can customize and give some personality, and being a "fun vehicle " is important to me. I've driven boring cars for so long, it's time for some fun.

I also really love camping and toad trips so I kind of want to get a vehicle that will cater towards that aspect of my life, and I could throw a tv and a modded Xbox/dreamcast or something in there so I can game on the go.

[jeffro11]

el Camino.. no more then 2000lbs. Anything over that I would be very wary.

I've never had a car just die on me. I have killed cars, but I was trying to on those occasions.

CHECK YOUR OIL!! EVERY FEW DAYS!! Good rule to live by, ESPECIALLY if you own a rotary like I do hahahah. Those things leak oil like a sieve.

[puke_face]

That's a sad story. My first car was a 1986 Chevy Celebrity! It died in an accident on a dirt road, when I rolled it..

[CRTGAMER]

Might want to get some air shocks if you are going far towing with the El Camino. The motor should handle towing a small boat trailor, be sure you have good brakes.

Please post pics of your cars, two classics! Pancake motor is special, ask a friend to check the antifreeze in radiator of the corvair.

[Sideroller]

Ohhh boy.

I hope no one ever has to lose a car like this, but my first car was a Toyota Corolla, 1990 or so. It was about as old as I was and just about every sibling in my family plus my parents drove it at one point. When they passed it down to me it was like an heirloom. It looked dated but I loved that it had this nice broken-in feel. Oh and no CD player meant you had to use one of those tape converters.

But, our time was short lived. Driving home from school one day I was stopped behind a school bus dropping off kids. Well there I am just sitting there and all of a sudden the bus begins BACKING UP in the middle of the road with cars behind me. I assumed it knew I was there and that it would stop...but it didn't. In my futility I tried to reverse the car but by then it was too late and I didn't think to honk my horn. The bus basically sat on top of my little corollas hood and completely wrecked the front. I was thankfully okay but the corolla didn't make it. =(

What's even better is if I hadn't drove to school that day, I would have taken the bus that sat on me back home. The driver was nice after the crash but she shouldn't be driving buses. Who the hell just backs up in the middle of the road? Apparently she missed the stop by about 10 yards....yeah. Afterwards I was really pissed, but at the time I was shooken up because it was my first crash.

A couple months later that same bus driver drove through someone's house...while kids were riding in it. No one was hurt thankfully, but I hope she's fired.

[Arbitern1]

el Camino.. no more then 2000lbs. Anything over that I would be very wary.

I've never had a car just die on me. I have killed cars, but I was trying to on those occasions.

CHECK YOUR OIL!! EVERY FEW DAYS!! Good rule to live by, ESPECIALLY if you own a rotary like I do hahahah. Those things leak oil like a sieve.

I do have a class 3 trailer hitch rated at 5,000 pounds along with trailer brakes and everything. I want to tow a boat to the river. The trailer and the boat combine are around 4000IB. I have the stopping power and the pulling power. Also got a transmission cooler. The only thing i am worried about is the immense amount of swaying caused by the huge amount of weight. I think i would be fine because i would be driving on a highway about an hour to the river. Keep it at 45MPH and i think sway would be minimized.

After all my father used to use his 1975 El camino with a 350 to tow his 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle SS hundreds of miles to car shows when he was alive=0.

Also, Oldsmobile is without a doubt my favorite car company of all time. They were upscale without the snooty arrogance of a Cadillac.

[weaponepsilon]

Cars I've killed:

1991 Honda CRX - it was in bad condition, it burned oil bad.
1985 Oldsmobile Calais - Dropped two trannys, my ex drove it into a post. I also ditched her too.
1981 Oldsmobile Regency - Problematic from day 1. got bored with it. Dumped it.
1995 Mazda Protege - Hit a deer with it. Hit all kinds of things with it. kept falling apart. Dumped it.

My wife has killed a 1995 Plymouth Acclaim, 1991 Ford Escourt, a 1985 Reliant K, a 1996 Toyota Tercel, and just yesterday forgot to oil her Saturn, so now thats in the garage...

[Michi]

Ohhh boy.

I hope no one ever has to lose a car like this, but my first car was a Toyota Corolla, 1990 or so. It was about as old as I was and just about every sibling in my family plus my parents drove it at one point. When they passed it down to me it was like an heirloom. It looked dated but I loved that it had this nice broken-in feel. Oh and no CD player meant you had to use one of those tape converters.

But, our time was short lived. Driving home from school one day I was stopped behind a school bus dropping off kids. Well there I am just sitting there and all of a sudden the bus begins BACKING UP in the middle of the road with cars behind me. I assumed it knew I was there and that it would stop...but it didn't. In my futility I tried to reverse the car but by then it was too late and I didn't think to honk my horn. The bus basically sat on top of my little corollas hood and completely wrecked the front. I was thankfully okay but the corolla didn't make it. =(

What's even better is if I hadn't drove to school that day, I would have taken the bus that sat on me back home. The driver was nice after the crash but she shouldn't be driving buses. Who the hell just backs up in the middle of the road? Apparently she missed the stop by about 10 yards....yeah. Afterwards I was really pissed, but at the time I was shooken up because it was my first crash.

A couple months later that same bus driver drove through someone's house...while kids were riding in it. No one was hurt thankfully, but I hope she's fired.

Dude.....

[CRTGAMER]

I do have a class 3 trailer hitch rated at 5,000 pounds along with trailer brakes and everything. I want to tow a boat to the river. The trailer and the boat combine are around 4000IB. I have the stopping power and the pulling power. Also got a transmission cooler. The only thing i am worried about is the immense amount of swaying caused by the huge amount of weight. I think i would be fine because i would be driving on a highway about an hour to the river. Keep it at 45MPH and i think sway would be minimized.

Check the brakes in the trailor, water puts some serious corrosion in drum brakes. Usually the pads will drag so badly you get the sway hop action. When I replaced my boat trailor axles, I went with NO brakes in the trailor. The surge cylinder didn't work anyways in the vintage trailor. Luckily my Sequoya has disc brakes all the way around, but as a precaution I slow down conservatively before stopping.