There was a car boot sale last weekend. I was pretty damn surprised to see a Vista Cruiser there! 😲

The Vista Cruiser above is now for sale. Damn this thing is a piece of art! If I had 10 thousand I'd be all over this thing. It has less thank 50k on it!

Comes in handy for hauling stuff.

I drive a

2003 Nissian Xterra Supercharger
1999 Ford F-150 SuperCab

I currently drive a 2012 Ford F-150 Ecoboost. I've had mostly Honda's and Nissan's in the past however however. Had a 2003 Nissan Sentra SE-R SpecV, a 1996 Sentra coupe, and a 1989 Sentra Hatchback, and a 1989 Honda Prelude. I decided I would take a turn towards the stereotypical American and get a big vehicle. For a truck of this size it's actually very economical, but not compared to the smaller Asian cars I am used to.

Rhuwyn wrote:

I decided I would take a turn towards the stereotypical American and get a big vehicle.

...and then you took the Ecoboost instead of the V8 Boss it deserves. 😈

Both the Ecoboost and the 5L V8 are great engines. I wouldn't use the Ecoboost for towing at all, but it's got plenty of power and good efficiency otherwise.

I've gotten over 25mpg a few times and I have the 5.7L Hemi with 8 speed automagic. The engine has cylinder deactivation which definitely makes a difference.

It's been waiting in the garage for 4 years now....

Mk. 2 Golf, neat! My friend had one for years until the interior door panels began to grow mold. 🤣

gdjacobs wrote:

Both the Ecoboost and the 5L V8 are great engines. I wouldn't use the Ecoboost for towing at all, but it's got plenty of power and good efficiency otherwise.

Yes, most 2010-> engines are really starting to look good. The Caddy has a very nice 3.6 and it's amazing how potent these new V6's are despite missing 2 cylinders.

sf78 wrote:

Mk. 2 Golf, neat! My friend had one for years until the interior door panels began to grow mold. 🤣

Thanks 😁

Well, it's like cleaning your house. Mold comes with neglect.
There are foils inside the door panels that need to be replaced. If you are really cheap and poor you could even use trashbags. But it has to be done.

You can still order new or NOS spare parts for it (like doorpanels).
90% of the parts that I've replaced and added are from local junkyards.

This car is very cheap to maintain, but you have to do it yourself
(I am no mechanic but I am ok with getting my hands dirty)

I tried to do the same with an old Toyota Camry - Completely different car...
I like how you can accidentally push the clock "into" the dashboard while setting it 😁

Sorry for that amount of text, I just wanted to state that this car does not tend to mold 🤣

Arctic wrote:

Well, it's like cleaning your house. Mold comes with neglect.
There are foils inside the door panels that need to be replaced. If you are really cheap and poor you could even use trashbags. But it has to be done.

Yes, he used to hunt a lot so there was also fistful of dirt in both door pockets.

I like how you can accidentally push the clock "into" the dashboard while setting it 😁

Hah! Now that is something I'd like to see. 😁 I had similar issue with my first car, -86 Fiat which was build really cheaply (aren't they all?). If you slammed the door too hard the window would drop about half way down. There was only a small plastic peg holding it up and over time it got worn out.

Oh man, I love this thread 😀 I like my cars old, just like my computers, and I currently own two vehicles:

Weekend driver: 1990 Chevy Lumina with 40,000 miles. Just drove it to North Carolina and back. Has a 3.1l V6 that makes a whopping 135HP. No airbags, no ABS, no problem!

Garage queen/ER patient: 1995 Saab 9000 CSE 5-speed turbo with Super Aero wheels and 100,000 miles. Every time I drive it something breaks, so it's been on ice for a few months.

My previous daily was a 2000 BMW 323Ci, 5-speed, about 100,000 miles. Liked it well enough until a lady in a Mini Cooper rear-ended me and totaled it.

Prior to the Bimmer I had a Mazda MX-6 LS, V6 5-speed, again with about 100k on the clock. Drove it to San Francisco and back with no problems, but it drank a quart of oil every thousand miles and had a rusty undercarriage and fading paint so I sold it. Here's a pic I took of it at the Bonneville Salt Flats:

Currently trying to decide what to replace the Chevy with....

SiliconClassics wrote:

Weekend driver: 1990 Chevy Lumina with 40,000 miles. Just drove it to North Carolina and back. Has a 3.1l V6 that makes a whoppi […]
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Weekend driver: 1990 Chevy Lumina with 40,000 miles. Just drove it to North Carolina and back. Has a 3.1l V6 that makes a whopping 135HP. No airbags, no ABS, no problem!

Awesome that it only has 40K. That looks very clean. I used to live in IL and I remember how bad the rust was on cars out there, this one is a survivor for sure. Has it not been out in winters? I agree about older cars, I love how much simpler they are to keep maintained than newer cars tend to be.

I've never driven a Lumina, but I always had an affinity for 2.8L/3.1L GMs of that period. Coming from 4cyl economy cars, those basic V6s have just enough torque and hp to make me happy (in a small car at least) but without being too complicated or expensive. I've gotten so familiar with them I feel like I can keep them running more easily than anything else. My long term experience has been with the iron head though, I think the aluminum had some durability issues (but the internet tends to exaggerate such things so who knows).
The later/better versions of the iron head MPFI 2.8L were rated either 135hp and 165ft*lbs or 140hp and 170ft*lbs (depending on the car for whatever reason). When they stroked the iron MPFI to 3.1L I think it was rated 145/180 or something like that. If it's an aluminum head then the hp should be higher. There was a weaker TBI version of the 3.1L but I think it was only used in minivans.

SiliconClassics wrote:

O
Weekend driver: 1990 Chevy Lumina with 40,000 miles. Just drove it to North Carolina and back. Has a 3.1l V6 that makes a whopping 135HP. No airbags, no ABS, no problem!

That's a nice car! It still has the old Chevy 3.1 that lacks the intake manifold problems of it's successor. Most 95-> Luminas tend to mix coolant and oil after 100-130k because of the cheap gasket they used and it's a PITA to change. Chevy still used the same engine in later models bored-out to 3.4, but I believe they still have the same problem.

Yeah, the 3.1l is a pretty solid engine, if not an exciting one, and it cruises at 80mph quite happily. But the Lumina suffers from a lot of the little build quality gremlins that plagued GM cars at the time. Rear brake calipers are crap and tend to freeze after 10,000 miles. Also a little coolant pipe fitting on the intake tends to corrode and leak, and the threads break off inside the the manifold when you try to unscrew it, requiring a special tool and/or several hours worth of chiseling to get it out. Parking brake cable grommets just fall out, causing the cables to clang against the undercarriage. And the interior fittings look as though they were all sourced from different low-bid suppliers, so nothing really matches or feels good to the touch. Crap adhesives even cause the dash and trim pieces to warp and peel. But thanks to its low mileage and safekeeping by previous owners, mine is not in bad shape at all. Here's what the interior looks like:

I bought it because I wanted a cheap but reliable ride to get me from A to B while I fixed my Saab's transmission, and now I'm just holding onto it in hopes that Mr. Regular over at RCR will review it soon, but I hope to sell it this fall and get something more utilitarian, maybe a Suzuki XL7.

Yes, the build quality is a bit of problem. Still, I would love to get a Buick or Chevy from this era with a column shifter. This has been for sale locally for a long time for around 3k, and although it has a floor shifter I really really want one.

T-type Riviera with the famous CRT touch screen! Looks to be in nice shape too for it's age and miles (106k).

sf78, OMG that cockpit is awesome! Looks like a sci-fi airplane 😀 The exterior is very unusual as well, would ne unique around here.

Not a GM fan, but the 3.8L V6 in that Riv was a fantastic motor. The instrument panel is retro cool on top of that.