Wintertime Beater ride

slant6billy · Jan 3, 2014

I was searching the local Craigslist for a possible beater. You know, the kind that has working heat, lights and the windows are not broken. I found a 93 grand caravan all wheel drive van for 700 bucks. I'm tempted. It looks pretty good- almost too good and it will be ashamed when it gets goobered in an accident. Not that I plan to play bumper cars with it, but he who has the biggest piece of shit on the road always wins in a blacktop tap dance.

Wonder if those old telephone pole bumpers from the ramcharger would fit?

alf44 · Jan 21, 2014

my winter beater is a 1985 chrysler 5th ave i got free from my father in law. poor thing never got any love untill something broke then he brought it to me to fix. now she is mine and i stripped the interior seats-carpet. used old house carpet in off white, cloth -vinyl bench seats from my volare 2 door. tuned her up best i can but only gets 12-14 mpg hiway. best part about it is the HEATER. will roast you out after 20 mts,lol

Jack Meoff · Jan 21, 2014

alf44 said:
my winter beater is a 1985 chrysler 5th ave i got free from my father in law. poor thing never got any love untill something broke then he brought it to me to fix. now she is mine and i stripped the interior seats-carpet. used old house carpet in off white, cloth -vinyl bench seats from my volare 2 door. tuned her up best i can but only gets 12-14 mpg hiway. best part about it is the HEATER. will roast you out after 20 mts,lol

Oh yeah!

slant6billy · Jan 22, 2014

I need that display for my van- similar heat AC controls, but it looks better with the numbers and illumination. Trouble with beaters, yours sounds too nice even though free. Ideally, some car that is too damn ugly and pathetic would work, as long as it has heat and defrost. Someone just offered me a Sebring convertible (2002 I think). It had one of those shit designed oiling systems and other designed to fail features. Chrysler must have thought about marketing a snazzy looking ragtop that was completely throwaway. Similar the intrepid with that self-destruct motor. Not to mention the firetrap Caravans. Sadly, any used vehicle is the previous owner's headache until it becomes your own. I may venture off to a Bronco 2 for 500 bucks. That way, I won't shed a tear when wrecked.

Jack Meoff · Jan 22, 2014

I needed a beater a few years ago. Picked up an 89 Craprice for $500
Drove the piss out of it and eventually blew up the tranny.
Big car, not a bad ride, good heat and A/C to boot.
When it was time to say sayanara I stripped it clean, gave the parts to a buddy who's a Chevy guy and said so long. No tears shed when that thing went bye bye. Paid $500 and got $300 from the wreckers. Can't beat that math.

ramenth · Jan 22, 2014

Unfortunately, with the price of gas and the former commute, sometimes the beater is what we have on hand. I had to press Sarah's Hyundai into service for the winter simply not to have to pay myself to get back and forth to work. The F150 is a blast to drive (I love my trucks and manual trans, too boot), but when the Hyundai gets double the fuel mileage it only made sense.

Can't complain, though. '02 XG350 (Hyundai's entry level luxury car, a good touring sedan), all the bells and whistles. Handles like it's on rails, stops on a dime and gives a nickle's change, and enough power to get the hell out of Dodge with the drop of a throttle. The FSM says the governor is sat at 125mph. I've been over.

My imp · Jan 22, 2014

Which vehicles did the black faced HVAC come on? Until I get the wiring harness for my digital controls off of the LeBaron, I can swap out the silver ones that came with the car. Anyone interested in a swap & $?

NoCar340 · Jan 22, 2014

I think most non-Fifth M-bodies and most of the J-cars had them. In fact, I've never owned a J with the silver controls. Now I wonder if I still have the control panel out of my LeBaron. :hmmm: