What's your winter driver - Don't say Mustang

I find it strange that my 89 F-150 and 96 F-150 both still have fairly solid frames. Even with one plowing snow and salt every winter for the past 14 years. The '08 Ranger I owned had undercoating but not proper spray rust check. After 5 years and 180 K there was considerable rust on the suspension mounting to the frame. Part of the trade in reason for me to move on.

When I got the '13 F-150 crew cab I got the electronic rust protection. Only vehicle I ever had with it. Not sure if I got lucky with a proper installation or product (from the dealer) but overall the only place I see any significant rust is on the rear spring shackles between the leafs and mounts and the front lower wheel casting. Both I believe are "insulated" from metal to metal conductivity by the rubber bushings. Everywhere else after 130,000 KM and 6 winters of driving is still frame black like it was delivered.

Even though the '17 Mustang never sees winter I do rust check it every two years. It does see a lot of water as it is the summer driver rain or shine.

317,000 is a really good run on a Cavalier in any scenario.
 
Yea, I changed the oil religiously every 5,000 kilometers over the 12 years of ownership. And I have had my 01 BULLITT Rust Checked every year since I got it in 2011, undercarriage only. It was sold new in Florida and has never been winter driven since it arrived in Canada but keeps everything underneath dark and rust free ?
 
And 12 years and 317,000 kilometers is not bad considering I paid $13,000 for the car ?

Another car I did good with was the 83 Monte Carlo. It had 6,000 kilometers on it when I bought it for $11,300 as a Demo in September 83. I sold it 5 years later in 88 for $6,000, $5,300 in depreciation over 5 years was nothing. ?
 
27 years 9 cars with the pony. Current driver is a 2009 Jeep Liberty Limited bought 10.5 years ago never had any issues except basic maintenance and some rust which has been fixed.

1983 Honda Prelude, 1991 Nissan pickup, 1987 Nissan Pulsar XE T-top, 1993 Honda Civic, 2001 Nissan Sentra GXE (first new car), 1999 Acura 1.6 (bought for ex to use), 2006 Nissan X-Trail, current 2009 Jeep Liberty Limited and lastly 2017 Ford Mustang V6. Almost forgot my work truck is a 2015 Freightliner Cascadia.

1DF37733-5F64-4EFE-9511-E4B9B2339557.jpeg74A97472-5DF5-402D-A2C5-54B1DEAF4B00.jpeg
 
TrueBlue02058 said:
Impressive vehicle history MC Stanger ?

Vehicle I kept the longest, 95 Cavalier, 12 years. Bought it in 95 from A rental car agency, had 18,000 kilometers, traded it in on new Ranger 3.0 V6 extended cab 2 wheel drive in 07. After 12 years of being rust checked every year and 317,000 kilometers, body was good, but head gasket blew day I was going to pick up Ranger, still got the $1,000 retire your ride trade in, traded in just in time ?
Click to expand...

I had an '89 Cavalier with 314,000 , car was indestructible until the same issue, head gasket, no Rust Check. Loved that car, manual transmission, 13 inch wheels, no power anything, and an AC Delco AM/FM radio. Parts were cheap and plentiful, but structurally it was getting sketchy, so it was time to retire it, otherwise I would have done the head gasket and kept going.
 
It was the 2nd head gasket for that car, first one was replaced before it blew after warranty was done (at local shop). A year later GM came out with a Service Bulletin on the head gaskets and all I had to do was bring my garage receipt to the Chevy dealer on my street, and they reimbursed me the full amount minus $30, the cost of the oil change. I later had a cracked head, and it (Aluminium Head Gasket) was replaced with a used unit from salvage yard. Then there was the last head gasket failure the day after ownership was signed over to Taylor Ford and I was on my way to pick up my new Ranger. I called Salesman who told me to have it towed in as nothing had changed. Good timing for sure ?
 
My 95 Cavalier had 14 inch tires, last car I owned that wore 13' was the 87 VW Jetta. Now 13's have to be Special ordered and 14's are hard to find. But I loved the Price of those tires, a lot cheaper than the 18's my 08 Taurus and F-150 wore. (y)
 
When I had mine, one of my co-workers had an Outback and told me the Chevy Cavalier was a Poor Man’s Car, cause once the Repairs started, it would keep you in the Poor House. Parts were cheap, but you had to replace them often ??
 
Ohtobbad said:
I understand a lot of people had Cavaliers, but admitting it in writing, really :oops:
Click to expand...

ha ha ha I'll admit it any time, that was the first car I ever owned that I never had to worry about scuffing the paint. Imagine the freedom and peace of mind for car guys like us if you could park with impunity and not care about how many door dings you got !!!

It was an '88, and the door skins rusted out so bad, you could figure out how fast you were going by how bad they were flapping in the wind, so I pulled two doors off a junkyard Z24, removed the old ones and hung the new ones myself in the driveway and did a literal paint job in a barn with a spray gun and compressor, back in the day when you could get all the stuff at UAP and mix it yourself. That thing gave me less trouble than a lot of other cars I owned that were more expensive, and never left me stranded, plowed through snow drifts like a trooper, as long as you took a run at them.

If you look real close on the front bumper cover you can see the original burgundy metallic colour. Still miss that car, and it was a blast to drive. I used to load a 90 pound Akita and a 70 pound lab/shepard mix in the back seat, talk about funny, there wasn't room for much else other than maybe the leashes. lol Maybe this one should have gone in the Memories thread.....

IMG_0408.jpeg


IMG_0409.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Friend of mine in Moncton back in the 80s bought a brand new Cavalier wagon with the 2.8 litre V6 and a 5 speed stick, same power train as Z24. It was a peppy little car, had 125 HP, Z24 had 130, when most comparable cars (Shit Boxes) had 90, 100.
 
Last edited:
I have had some real winners also, a few lemons and a few I missed.
I would have to really think long and hard to remember them all.
I am well over 200 now.
I have slowed down a bit, so hopefully only good ones from here on out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top