Beater experience. Do you have one?

M

maxmk8

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Recently I have switched over to my GFs 1995 Gallant (for the summer) and it has been pretty interesting. I mean the car has NOTHING not even power windows/locks. But it is really CHEAP to drive. If you need new tires, just slap on some $30-40 dollar Big-O tires it would be close to $200 on my car per tire nowadays. The Gallant gets 25mpg average where as my mark gets about 18.5 or 19 in the same routes/driving conditions. No premium required so that a fill up every 300 miles or so is about $25 vs the $40 on my mark, big savings at the pump and in the maintenance dep. Car feels surprisingly strong too, I'm guessing since it is stripped of everything... curb weight of 2755 pounds and 141hp and 148 pound feet of torque get you going. I'd say throttle response is better than my marks. No luxury or anything but just cheap transportation. I never really realized how much money it costs to maintain my mark until now.

So do you guys have a 2nd car?? Or is your mark a daily driver?
 
RE: Beater experience. Do you have one?

Diesel F250 drooool.... nice (minus those headlight covers though)!!
 
RE: Beater experience. Do you have one?

my current beater is a 93 blazer, 4.3 cpi, 4x4. good truck, but i'm looking to upgrade to a suburban so i can tow more.
 
RE: Beater experience. Do you have one?

My brother had a 75 Volvo station wagon with over 300,000 miles. We're not sure how much more over 300,000 because the odometer quit working. It had been in Spain at one time. My bro replaced the bumper with a $20 iron "C" beam from Home Depot. He was able to ram many things without worrying about costly damage. It ate a lot of shopping carts. And somehow, while servicing the engine, my dad was able to get it to run in the opposite direction - air was sucked into the the tail pipe and exhaust came out the intake. We're still trying to figure out that one. He also managed to twist the rear windshield washer nozzle enough to spray the opposite way. Since the thing would spray about 15 feet, he was able to wash many innocent pedestrians standing on the sidewalk. One day, the exhaust got disconnected just below the headers and you could hear it coming from miles away. Of course he ended up busting the rings and burning all his oil, until the engine just seized.

Now who has got a better beater story than that?

After the Volvo, he inherited my mom's 87 Mitsubishi pickup, which he still has, but that is a another story...
 
RE: Beater experience. Do you have one?

I dont have a "beater". I couldnt own one. I need to drive a nice car, or I would just stay home. I commute at odd hours, and reliability is #1.

My 94 is my daily driver, and gets weekends off. Our 97 is Brenda's daily driver. But her commute is 2 miles, each way(lucky).

My previous daily driver was my 96 Mercury Grand Marquis. 27 mpg in that sled Max!!! I can net avg. 450 miles per tank in my 94, and yes, I do have a heavy foot. I drive 75 mph to work, and near bumper to bumper coming home. I guess it is tuned pretty well, huh?

Oh, and Driller, nice steed. Here's our old tow vehicle!
http://www.markviii.org/~blackicelsc/MVC-265S.JPG
1985 Ford F-250 4X4, with a 460 powered by propane. it could probably stop the earth if i tied it to a giant rock, and floored it heading west!
 
RE: Beater experience. Do you have one?

[div class="dcquote"][strong]Quote[/strong]
Oh, and Driller, nice steed. Here's our old tow vehicle!http://www.markviii.org/~blackicelsc/MVC-265S.JPG
1985 Ford F-250 4X4, with a 460 powered by propane. it could probably stop the earth if i tied it to a giant rock, and floored it heading west!
[/div]

Nice. :) I actually miss the older(mid 80's - mid 90's) body styles of the F250 series. The 460 big block ruled the roost 'till the Powerstrokes came along, IMHO. Personally, I think the Powerstroke diesels hit their prime with the 7.3L intercooled version.
 
RE: Beater experience. Do you have one?

my beater is a dropped 92 s10 blazer 4x4 it gets worse milage than the mark but im not scared of thing running into it in fact i uasly try to park it where it will be hit so i can claim more insurance money on it
 
RE: Beater experience. Do you have one?

I bought my Mark as my beater,
Then I fell in love with it and turned it into a sleeper hotrod.
Now my beater is a 92 4x4 explorer.
Good thing too
a truck did a hit and run on me in Brooklyn 6 weeks ago.
Took out the whole side of the truck.
If it was the Lincoln,
I would be PISSED !
 
RE: Beater experience. Do you have one?

Sounds like me. I went to get a beater and ended up with my Mark VIII. It will eventually be turned into a semi-sleeper hotrod, but that's currently #4 on my vehicle project/purchase priority list.
 
RE: Beater experience. Do you have one?

Old topic, I know, but here's my beater list:
1990-1994: 1980 Ford Thunderbird
(Complete with 1972 vintage 302 from a Torino)

1995-2000: 1987 Toyota Camry
(Passenger floorboard rotten when I got rid of it - hit a large puddle and watch the floormat rise!)

Winter 2000: no beater, wished I had one!!

2001-2003: 1988 Ford Tempo
(blankety-blank-blank heap!)

Oct 2003-now: 1992 Ford Crown Vic
(big boat car, and not a heap - love it!)

:)
 
RE: Beater experience. Do you have one?

Beaters? Do I remember any beater stories? LOL!

When the forward gears went out I backed the “Midnight Rambler” (73 Matador wagon) the three miles to the junk yard and sold it for $75. I’d paid $300 for it a year earlier. Before walking home I asked if they had anything streetable for sale. They offered me a 64 Ford pickup that they used to retrieve parts in the yard. $400 later the “Blue Max” was mine. When they got it the 292 engine was blown and they sold the 3-speed trans. They took a rolled Torino and cut out the 302 & C4 trannie and welded them in the truck. The clutch peddle was tied up out of the way and a hydraulic jack handle on the column was used to shift the gears by feel. I drove the “Blue Max” for seven years and sold it for $700. My current beater is a 82 Olds wagon.
 
RE: Beater experience. Do you have one?

My first car (and beater) was a 1977 Plymouth arrow. Bought it for $50.00 and it had a bent valve. I replaced it and drove the Pi$$ out of it (I was 17). I threw a rod in it and sold it for $75.00. Then there was a short period of time with my 77 Power Wagon, 360 Commando, 4.10's all the way around, a Holley 750 Double pumper and a 4 speed.... Ahhhhh.. Then there was the 1988 Monte Carlo SS. Fun car to drive, but it never ran very long without requiring a few hundred dollars of Maintenance. So now my 66 Mustang is my "beater" but not for long. The 289 died, so I'm thinking about the 347 Stroker. Next I'm trading a Vulcan 750 for a 92 Camaro RS (6 banger). I always have a project or 4 going at once. My wife LOVES that...
 
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