Maverick Old Farts

What was “The” car that when you were a kid that made you stop your bike and go
”Whoa…guys…look at that… (staring in awe)

Mine was a neighbor’s 1970 Dodge Challenger, dark dark green . And HE NEVER gave rides to us kids, no matter how much we tried to get a ride.
He and that car saved my life.
I was attacked by a dog and he floored it all the way to the hospital.
Hell of a way to get a ride in your “dream” car huh.

1970 426 Hemi Cuda. Red with a black vinyl top. High School guy had it. Thing just looked and sounded awesome. Come to think of it, am I the only one who misses how a real V-8 used to sound? V-8's today sound like a rhino farting. Back in the day, a beefed up V-8 simple rumbled. Just a very low rumble, kinding like a growl. And then when you stepped on the gas, the carbs would make this howling sound for a split secound. Does anyone else remember this or am I totally of the mark?

Oh no that growl….
I totally agree!
It was just …almost primal.
Like a warning that something powerful was about to move.

Guess I'm different than most. Though I grew up in a small town in northern Pennsylvania I wasn't interested in the Mopars, Mustangs, Chevelles, Camaros, Torinos and all that stuff. For me the European cars were what turned my head; MG, Austin-Healy, Lotus, Morgan, Mercedes, Porsche, Alpha Romeo, Fiat, etc. The one I probably would have considered bank robbery for was the Lotus Europa. In retrospect it's a good thing I didn't take up a life of crime; those ended up being good looking and that's about all. BUT the Porsche 914/6... where's my Sig Sauer? I did get to own a (real) Mini w/ a twin carb 1275cc engine while I lived in Germany... 10" mag wheels and all! (You haven't lived until you've driven the German Autobahan at over 100mph w/ your butt only about 6" above the ground! Yee haa!)

@RideSolo

@RideSolo Same for me. My dad had a 914, and friend had a TR-6. I was about to pull the trigger back in 04 on a TR-6 project when I saw the Pontiac Solstice roll onto the stage at the Detroit auto show. It had that british look so I got in line and got a 06 in emerald green metallic and still love it 19 years later.

The car that made me turn my head was a 1969 Camaro Indy 500 replica pace car, one of my neighbors had one, just loved that white and orange color combination and being a convertible.

I used to lived in Alabama, where NASCAR is king, any pace car replica that pulled unto the local’s watering hole parking lot, that good ol’ boy driving it became the man of the hour!
I wish I could go back just to listen to those guys talking about their cars. Priceless.

I was and have always been a corvette guy. Was 50 when I finally bought my 96 Collector Edition! Still love it!

'66 Barracuda that a couple of older kids had in the neighborhood. Not "plum crazy" but a light purple color.

Neighbors next street over when I was eight years old got an Edsel.
Really different.

I just heard from a friend of mine who's a car tinkerer that he just bought a completely re-done, from the ground up, MGB that's just waiting for summer back road blasting. EDIT: I should add that this friend has had more than 500 vehicles over the years, everything from a 1912 Olds, a race prepped 914, to Mercedes coupes. He's had vehicles from every decade into the 1990s; some stock, some rods, some in various states of renovation. Pretty amazing guy.

@RideSolo

@RideSolo Man, 500 cars, I'm envious. I've had maybe a tenth of that. Had a 1972 MGB that had undergone a complete ground up restoration. Classic lump of British iron. I think the British car I miss the most was my 1981 Triumph TR8, that 3.5L Rover/Buick V8 was sweet.

@TheShark

@TheShark Yeah, interesting guy. I won't get into his personal info but he's severely disabled, lives, and works alone. He takes on project vehicles w/ a "vision" for the direction he wants to take w/ it and then finishes it and sells or loses interest and sells. That I know of he rarely, if ever, loses money and keeps himself amused. He constantly lurks For Sale info all over the country and if something comes up he hitches up the trailer and hits the road. The'76 MGB he got was a ground-up, I guess even frame off, referb. Weber & header, new top & interior, and a kit to replace the rubber bumpers w/ older chrome.

@RideSolo

@RideSolo Sounds like an interesting guy, would be fun to talk too. The rubber bumpers were nasty, really changed the look not to mention the height. Emissions really strangled what power that old B series Austin engine had, the Weber would have been a big upgrade from the Zenith Stromberg carb.

As a kid, One of the locals had a pinkish-orange Rolls Royce. Almost copped a hubcap when he wrecked it. or my friend's 1979 Trans Am. One of the silver ones with the big firebird on the hood. or. more recently, a friend owns a Chevy 409 (Like the beach boys song). But: (bored and stroked motor! Muncie 4 speed, Currie/Ford 9 inch rear end ! 411 gears!)

@TheShark

@TheShark here's the car of my other friend. With the 409 engine.They sure don't make em like that anymore.

@Bilbo_B

@Bilbo_B I had the 6.6L (400 cubic inch) which had a heart stopping 180 BHP. My hybrid Maverick is better than that! My 1967 Firebird convertible had a 326 four barrel which had 285 horses, shows you what ten years of emissions and the oil embargo did.

@TheShark

@TheShark Emissions :-( ugggh. My dad had an 82 Cougar S/W with a V6 that got it's (3) catalytic converters clogged by bad gas. It was a gear-bound dog to begin with. Cost a lot to change out those converters. I wish that they would have just put in straight pipes.

I've marveled at some of the auto restoration shows and the vintage car auctions on MotorTrend TV where the folks are all excited about some vintage bit of iron that had such a spectacular engine w/ some special order multi carb package and they'd quote HP and torque numbers that were laughable compared the bone stock Tundra w/ a 5.7L DOHC V8 I had.

@RideSolo

@RideSolo Not only the HP and torque but the handling. My '67 Firebird was fun to drive in straight line but watch out for the corners.

@TheShark

@TheShark Yeah, lots of differences since then. C of G, suspension, tires. I do miss rear wheel drive burn outs though. Those cars just handle right for that one aspect. Can't even burn out with all wheel drives. :-(

@TheShark

@TheShark You've got that right. One of the last times I was "back home" in the northern Pennsylvania hills I noticed that most of the roads didn't feel nearly as... challenging... as they did back in the day. Just diddly bop right on down the road, no muss, no fuss, no excitement, just around that curve and on to the next. But I bet it would still be a real ride in that old '62 VW, the '66 Buick or the '75 Vega!

@RideSolo

@RideSolo I remember driving up to the top of Mt. Washington N.H. back in the 60's. We had something like a 69 LTD that did fine with a 351W 2 Bl. The big Pontiacs had to pause from overheating though.

I remember when I first drove down to NC from Chicago in my 1984 S10 which had a 1.8 Isuzu engine and struggling in the Smokey mountains, I would have to pull over periodically to let the engine cool down. My first car was a 1976 Pontiac Sunbird with the Vega aluminum block engine, what a POS. In the Chicago winters if the temp dropped below 28 degrees it would never start, I had to carry a can of InstaStart (either) and spray it into the carb to get it to start.

@TheShark

@TheShark When I moved from Fairbanks, AK to Dayton before I retired from the AF I had an S-10 w/ a 4 banger/automatic, might have been a 2.2L. I'd get out on the Interstate on the south side of Dayton, merge into traffic, and keep the gas pedal right to the floor all the way to the exit for the AF Base just to keep up w/ the flow of traffic.

@RideSolo

@RideSolo I drove on the German Autobahn in a rented Opel station wagon of about 1977 vintage. The average flow of traffic was in the 80mph range but some cars were really moving. It's all that little 4 banger could do to get out of the way.

@Bilbo_B

@Bilbo_B I lived in Germany for five years in the '80s. One quickly learned to keep one eye looking out the windshield and the other looking in the mirror because they came up and on by so fast. Just stay out of the way!

I don't think I'm an old fart, but I got ready for work and bent over to get my boots. I felt a shake pain and the new week I was struggling to perform at work. Vets News is that, I didn't struggle to get into the Maverick. Maybe the ride was a bit tough on my lower back, but I had no other complaints

ditto, loved the challengers, had 3 1971's in my life. 383 magnum 4 speed was the funnest.

Maverick Old Farts

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Maverick Old Farts

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