OY pics and plans

[Oldiron440]

My oldman had a set of Firestone double whites that had a 500 in the ww on his 65 Lesabre.

 

[Aspen500]

First thing that popped into my mind when I saw the pics of your Challenger was Vanishing Point.

 

[old yellow 78]

Goodbye, Old Black.
Yesterday I sold Old Yellow's garage mate, my old 1950 Pontiac Silver Streak Chieftain Deluxe. I had owned it for close to 30 years, but had never really done much to it. I had lost interest in it many years ago, and was never thrilled with it anyway. It was unusual though. It had only 40900 original miles on it, and I was the second owner. It ran really well and rode like a floating sofa, but I never fully trusted driving it very far, and didn't want to put the money into it to fix it up right. I was lucky to find a buyer who loves Pontiacs of this vintage and body style. He already has a very nicely restored '52 version of the same car, and plans to do a driver restoration to this '50. Then, with new black paint, a set of wide whites, and it's fender skirts and sun visor, it is going to look pretty cool. He already searched down pics of what it will look like when he is finished and seemed very happy to get it. I'm glad to be lightening up and clearing out. Too many unfinished projects and not enough time, money, and interest.

Off to a new home...

 

[Aspen500]

Well, it is going to a good home. Still tough to let them go though.

 

[old yellow 78]

Well, it is going to a good home. Still tough to let them go though.

Much less difficult than I thought. I actually feel pretty good for having sold it. It had become a problem trying to make room for it, and keep it up and running every so often. I finally realized that I was never really going to do anything with it, so... I really don't miss it at all, and I'm glad that the buyer is happy with it.

 

[XfbodyX]

Its always good to clean out the shop for the good.

Cool azz car though.

 

[old yellow 78]

Speaking of getting rid of things, In addition to selling the Pontiac, I have been doing some Fall cleanup, and am beginning to question having all of the spare parts that I have for OY. For example, I moved the doors and hatch - again - that I took from the Virginia parts wagon, and wondered to myself, "Am I ever really going to use these?"

I like the idea of having spare F parts as they are only getting harder to find, but, along with these body panels above, I also have four NOS front fenders, a spare A833 trans, an extra set of Rally Wheels, a set of Road Wheels, an extra set of almost all the interior panels, three spare dash panels with pads, and a bunch of miscellaneous stuff like trim and various mechanical components, a couple grilles, etc. Humm. It is nice to know that I have all sorts of spare parts IF and WHEN I need them, but I'm starting to think this is too much. How many others here on the forum have their own hoards of "spare parts"? When does it become too much?

 

[BudW]

Are those doors/tailgate the same color as existing car?

My wife and I have a difference of opinion as to how much is too much...
BudW

 

[old yellow 78]

Are those doors/tailgate the same color as existing car?

Yup. I got them from the '78 Aspen parts wagon I stripped in Virginia a few years back. It was the same Classic Cream color as OY which was a nice plus.

 

[Darth-Car]

One can never have to many spares.

 

[old yellow 78]

It is midnight now, quiet and lightly snowing outside. I was just feeling good knowing that OY is safely tucked into it's garage, safe and sound, full of dryer sheets and gas stablizer.

 

[Darth-Car]

... And to all a good night.

 

[old yellow 78]

... And to all a good night.

Precisely DarthCar! OY is hibernating for the winter - dreaming about a new coat of "Classic Cream" paint!
I've moved on to my snow plows now: a Cadet Cub lawn tractor with chains for the heavy stuff, and my ancient (late '70's?) Troybilt Horse tiller with snow blade attachment for the lighter stuff. Both work quite well. The Troybilt is an old beast that is rarely seen anymore, but a lot of fun. A very versatile machine with a ton of different available attachments if you can find them, such as: plow, generator, hiller/furrower, and a very cool log splitter! That's the one that I am still trying to find! But, no luck yet.
I'm also beginning to look for a new car maybe this coming year as my Mazda 3 is ten years old now, and has served me extremely well as a commuter car. I'm hoping to retire next year, so I'm looking for a new car to use more for taking on trips, camping, and fun. I'm really interested in the brand new Mazda CX30, but it hasn't arrived in the states yet so I've never seen one in person. It's due in very early '20. It seems to be a really sharp small SUV and the reviews for it overseas are great. It's positioned between the smaller Mazda CX3 and the larger CX5. I only wish they had more interesting colors for it. I'm so bored with black, white, silver, gray, and red. Check it out below! I like every angle to it, and the interior is extremely nice with a kind of retro-like dash where the duel climate control sort of looks like the old style radios in the middle of the dash, AND you can get it with an optional 6 SPEED!!!

 

[AJ/FormS]

Isn't OY already the ultimate camping, tripping, and fun car? I would drive that thing everywhere all the time, wearing out the tires as fast as possible.

As for the TB tiller, I think my grandpa had one or maybe something like it... but that was in the mid-sixties, oops probably late fifties,lol. It was a rear tine walk-behind with a 2-wheel trailer with a tractor seat on the trailer, and loooong handlebars to turn it around. It was a rusty as heck looking beast then already at that time.
Every once in a while I stumble on a video, that has something like it, usually in a poor country like Russia, or Asia or South America.
I read you called it a Horse Tiller. what is the significance of "horse"

I have a 2014 Chevrolet Orlando with a 6-speed. GM's programming on that thing is spot on, and I really enjoy it. The little VVT 2.4 DI engine has no problem motoring the 4000 pound loaded rig, even below the VVT cut-in point of 4500. One day I put my compression tester on it and found 220psi in every hole. BadaBoom that's why it motors.
So if the 6-speed in the Mazda is anything like that, yeah, that is a great great thing to have. Point to point tho,my Orlando, high-roof wagon only does 34mpgUS,lol.She's geared 65mph=2000rpm, about the lowest 4-banger cruise rpm I have ever seen.

 

[old yellow 78]

Isn't OY already the ultimate camping, tripping, and fun car?

LOL, well....yes and no. OY is definitely FUN! I really love driving it around, and the fact that it is so unusual and often draws attention is also fun. BUT, as far as long trips or daily use.... well, it's not 1978 anymore, and traffic and the roads aren't the same either. Also, although I did drive OY all the way back from Colorado when I bought it back in 2012, about a 2000 mile trip, the one big problem I had with it was no A/C. It was July, and just too hot! I bought one of those little clip-on fans that runs off the cigarette lighter but...it wasn't very good. Power everything and A/C has spoiled me at this point. I am also leery of the lack of safety features.

When I bought my 2010 Mazda 3, it was my first new car ever. I had only put 6000 miles on it when some guy ran a red light and T-boned me in the left front. It swayed the front end several inches over and pushed the tire back and into the rear of the wheel well. He spun around and smacked the Mazda all along the drivers side too.

His almost new Pontiac G6, and my brand new Mazda were both totaled. Yet, neither of us were hurt... but I would NOT have wanted to be in OY in that accident. It is a fact that the new cars are much safer - a fact that I appreciate even more the older that I get. I was so impressed with how the Mazda absorbed the crash that I went back and bought another identical Mazda 3 and still have it today with about 130,000 trouble-free miles on it.

In 1978, I drove a cinnamon brown four speed, slant six '76 Volare Premier wagon all around the US for several months on a solo camping trip from PA to Mexico to Canada and back. The only problem I had with it was the reverse light switch on the A833 began to leak going over Independence Pass in Colorado. I had it fixed in Grand Junction. It was a fantastic trip but the car was only two years old then, and I was young. Forty one years later now, I would not want to do that with OY. The roads, traffic, people, and I, are all quite different than back then. So, OY is now relegated to simple weekend cruises, trips for ice cream, the occasional car show, and maybe a weekend car camping trip. I know that some would use it for a daily driver, but that's just not for me.

I read you called it a Horse Tiller. what is the significance of "horse"

That is just the name of it. A "Troybilt Horse Tiller". They were a really great, over engineered, rear tine tiller with a bunch of available accessories from when they were still made by GardenWay, and you could order them and the accessories right from the factory, or buy them at some mower shops. They were always advertised in Organic Gardening magazine and the like. I think in the '90's, GardenWay sold out to MTD, but they kind of wrecked them by cutting corners, using much cheaper materials and engines, and selling them at box stores. Here's an internet pic of an older one like mine:

Keep hands and feet AWAY!!! GRRRRR!

Here's a pic of one with the ultra rare wood splitter powered off the PTO and the plow for the front of it. I have the plow, but I'd love to find a wood splitter! The half round piece in front is the removed shield for the rototilling tines.

It's a cool old machine! I have two, the first one I bought long ago, is even older, and the engine blew up, so I just keep it for parts now. The second one I bought, I was really lucky to find as it has electric start and in much better shape with the PTO switch, engine guard, and plow! Woo Hoo!

I have a 2014 Chevrolet Orlando with a 6-speed. GM's programming on that thing is spot on, and I really enjoy it.

I've never heard of a Chevy "Orlando". Is it strictly Canadian? And by "6-speed", do you mean manual shift? If so, THAT is really cool! It looks like a cross between a small van and an SUV. I have only ever had three Chevys. A '62 BelAir, a '67 Impala, and an '81 Malibu, and I didn't have any of them very long. My family used to be strongly GM - mainly Chevy and Buick, and had a lot of stock in GM. But then GM went bankrupt, stole all the stockholders money, and reorganized as the "NEW GM". Bastards. Good cars or not, I'll never, ever buy a GM anything again. But, I'm glad that you like your Orlando so much. Looks great

I'm still looking up all the Mazda CX30 info that I can find online, and have found it comes in one color that I sort of like. It is called "Polymetal Gray" and although not "exciting", at least it's not metallic, so it's sort of neat - particularly with the dark chrome wheels. I'm tired of metallic everything for colors, and find the few new non-metallic colors like on the Subaru Crosstreks very appealing. Here is a rather too long video of a Polymetal color CX30. But, at about 9 min., there is a nice scan of the interior and dash which I really like, and apparently it comes in two tone black and brown, or black and blue! Wow, actual colors! How about that! At 13 min., they have some nice views of the exterior in that Polymetal color. Hummmm, love those dark chrome wheels!

 

[AJ/FormS]

Yeah that looks pretty much like grandpas unit. I even remember the long levers. Very cool and thanks for the Pics

I've never heard of a Chevy "Orlando". Is it strictly Canadian? And by "6-speed", do you mean manual shift? If so, THAT is really cool! It looks like a cross between a small van and an SUV.

Yes the Orlando is not for US sales. Came with a 6 speed AUTO, I forgot to include that. Great little car.

I really like OY and am keeping my eye open for something like that

 

[old yellow 78]

I ran across this pic of my 2010 Mazda 3 (the replacement one) and my friends 2010 Mazda 3 taken last Winter. We both bought them new at the same time, and they are identical except for color. Both have been exceptionally reliable and sturdy cars, mine with 130,000+ miles, and his with 140,000+ miles. The only thing that we both don't like about them is that they are not great in snow/ice. If Mopar was still Mopar, I would still be driving a Plymouth or Dodge. But, time moves on and things change. Now I'm pretty much loyal to Mazda - but would consider Subaru also. Sometimes when I am out for a cruise in OY, I wonder to myself, "How did we used to drive these things all the time??" As much as I love the Mopar F's in particular, they are ancient tech today. But, that's ok too!

 

[Oldiron440]

Isnt the Mazda the same platform as a Ford Focus? I had a Focus ZX3 for a year and snow was scary and it didn't need to be much more than a half inch of powder. I sure like the look of the new Mazda 3.

 

[BudW]

Mazda and Ford go back a few decades. I “Think” Ford owns a large percentage of Mazda (or used to).

The Ford Escapes are, or were, rebadged Mazda’s. That might have changed now but was true a couple of years ago.
BudW

 

[Oldiron440]

Ford/Mazda is from the early 70s, Fords and Mazdas are built in the same buildings side by side.