How about "junkers" cars

[Rye Miles #13621]

I had a 79 Pinto wagon that was a total clunker, POS, nothing but trouble!! It looked like this only blue. Tranny blew, motor mounts broke among many other minor things!  Worst car I ever owned and I owned some real clunkers!!

 

[DeaconKC]

2 worst cars I ever owned were a '77 Chevy Monza with a 305 under the hood. 3 High Schoolers learned to drive in it before i got it. What a seriously thrashed poor little car.  The worst factory clunker I ever had was a '95 Chevy S10, engine had to be rebuilt and the rear end went while under warranty, then the tranny started to g with less than 50K on it, and it was not a work truck.

[McCandless]

'86 Mazda station wagon...  everything that had anything to do with the electrical system crapped out, fell out, disintegrated, or otherwise failed.  Continually.  No matter how many times it was fixed.   

 

 

[Don Jorge]

Pontiac Fiero  Still makes my blood boil!

[Duffield, SASS #23454]

Ford Tempo.  I don't remember the model year, I bought it in 1995 for $1000 and thought I got a bargain, sold it six months later for $500 and felt guilty for sticking someone with that pig. 

 

Duffield

[Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life]

1975 Chevy PU/ 3/4 ton, 4wd. Went thru transmission like I was changing oil. Finally had an aftermarket tranny solved the problem. Also had a 68 Charger that was a POS. Interior simply fell apart and had electrical issues from day one.

 

[Blackwater 53393]

1963 Ford Falcon.  I put four transmissions in it in two years time!  They had a long output shaft and housing that would twist and knock the bearings out of the main shaft.  They also didn't have synchronizers in first gear, so you had to double clutch to downshift back into first or come to a stop!  A real pain to drive in city traffic!!

 

 I got to where I could swap transmissions in one of those or an early Mustang in under an hour, on the side of the road, with hand tools!!

 

The other one was a late '70s Ford pickup!!  You couldn't keep front tires on it if your life depended on it and I don't recall it ever going up the road straight!!  We rebuilt EVERYTHING in the front end and had it aligned by the Ford dealership and two other really good front end shops and it still wandered up the road and dog tracked continuously!!  As a result, it wouldn't stop straight either!!  I hated that truck!!

[Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474]

I watched my Father battle with a brand new Datsun 510 in the mid 1960's, purchased only to travel on the weekends, from RCAF St. Hubert where he was running an operation, to Ottawa, where we had a home. Rest of the time, at St. Hubert's, he was driven in a staff car.

In less than a year: Rear fenders and front fenders rusted out, and were replaced under warranty.

Doors developed rat holes at the bottom, half way through the winter.

Nine months into the ownership, the transmission failed and he was warned the engine was going, due to mis-alignment of the tranny to the engine.

He replaced it with a new 1966 Bug.

 

My big disappointment was a new, off the lot, 1978 GMC Jimmy, "Treated for Canadian winter corrosion!" Yeah! Right!

18 months into ownership, there were holes in the front of the engine hood and rust bubbles at the bottom of the door.

Mechanic put it on the hoist and pulled out a bolt attaching the body to the frame with his fingers.

 

[Crooked River Pete, SASS 43485]

The worst I had was an '81 Pontiac diesel. Any American made car from the 70' till mid 80's were pretty much junk, my 75 F150 needed a new short block at 86 miles, a friends 76 Pontiac needed a new motor by 1000 miles.

[Dantankerous]

Biggest junker I had was a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee.  Couldn't go a week w/o having to fix something on it.

 

After a year I sold it after just as soon as I got it running long enough to offer a successful test drive.

 

The person who bought it was warned about the problems I had with it. They drove it 5 trouble free years. Arrrrrgh!

[Ozark Shark]

'75 Monza 2+2.  That all aluminum 4 cylinders was shot by 40k miles.  

[Silver Sam, SASS #34718L]

Several.... But the one that Really sticks out was a mid- 50's Nash Rambler.

 

I bought it while I was in the Navy stationed in Kingsville Texas in 1968....

It was the Only one that ran that I could afford, I Paid $50 for it.

 

It was Baby Blue.... The previous owner had painted Big SunFlowers all over it..... It was the 60's

It had very comfy Red Leather Mercedes Benz seats in the front.

A Hurst Floor shifter had been installed.... But the Pattern was Backwards.

It had a custom steering wheel that would come OFF  in my hands if I turned Left..... 

I mastered the 360 right hand Left Turn in it.

There was a small ball peen hammer under the front seat meant to be used to tap on the carburetor when the Floats would stick, which was often.

But it started and ran and would get a carload of Drunken Sailor's to "Boy's Town" and Back.... I wish I had Pictures 

[Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L]

1972 Chevy Vega coupe, 3 speed, only option was an AM radio - Nuff said!

[Blackwater 53393]

In one of the other threads, I told about a Honda CRV.  If the air conditioner compressor failed, it lost everything! No water pump, no alternator, and no power steering! The compressor was positioned where it was in a constant state of overheating, hidden behind a massive section of the frame, out of the flow of air.

 

 The compressor failed repeatedly on these vehicles, resulting in lawsuits and a court ordered recall to replace many of the failed units.

 

In some instances,  the compressor locked up and just broke the serpentine belt. Other times it would damage the harmonic balancer in the process.

 

We encountered several of these failures. It broke down twice in two consecutive days, once requiring a warranty replacement of the compressor and again the next day, this time taking out the balancer too!  

 

That was the last time we saw that pile of crap!!  I traded it for our current Buick Enclave over the phone, on the side of the road, while on vacation with the dog and Schoolmarm, just southeast of the Missouri/Iowa state line and the dealership came and picked us up, leaving it sitting in the parking lot of a convenience store!

[Pat Riot]

I had a '68 Ford Mustang that had a money detector in the driver's seat.

That piece of junk always broke down and the repair always cost the exact cash I had in my wallet. Weird.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

3 hours ago, Don Jorge said:

Pontiac Fiero  Still makes my blood boil!

Such a beautiful little beasty, too.  Just not a very good car.

 

 a Pontiac man for a long time.  Then I bought a Pontiac Phoenix for my wife in 1978 or '79.

 

The right visor fell off driving it home.  Took it back and they fixed it.  then the rear side window trim fell off, and the driver's door panel came loose, the heater quit working, and the brakes squealed.  After four months I worked a deal where the dealer took it back and we took a year old T-Bird in trade.  Drove until the transmission went at 133,000 miles and went to Mazda.

 

That Phoenix was garbage from the first time we drove it off the lot.

 

Second worst was a '57 Chevy 210 four door sedan.

[Pat Riot]

Also, I had a '73 Fiat 128 sedan. What a piece of garbage. I spent every weekend under the hood of that thing.

[LW McQuade]

When I went to buy my first car I had fallen in love with a 73 AMC Javelin SST, but the 'bank of dad' persuaded; me into getting a 76 Gremlin which lived up to it's name .  At least it wasn't the Pacer

[Sixgun Sheridan]

4 hours ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

I had a 79 Pinto wagon that was a total clunker, POS, nothing but trouble!! It looked like this only blue. Tranny blew, motor mounts broke among many other minor things!  Worst car I ever owned and I owned some real clunkers!!

 

 

What have you got it strapped to... train tracks?

 

Like most of you my worst cars were always GM products. The worst was an '88 S-10 pickup that I bought from a used car dealer, which was my first mistake. I did all the checks on it while test-driving it, making sure there wasn't any blue smoke and that everything worked. Immediately after getting it home the heater core failed, dumping anti-freeze all over the carpet. Once I got that fixed I changed the oil and began driving it, and a few days later the oil light came on. I checked it, and I was almost out of oil (?!?). Added more, drove it some more, and less than a week later the oil light came on again. Turned out the a-holes who sold it to me must have dumped sawdust in the crankcase to temporarily seal the rings, and probably did the same with the cooling system as well. I should have lawyered up and gone after the dealer, but instead I put my engine rebuilding skills to use. Once it finally had a fresh engine in it I drove that thing 150,000 more miles before finally selling it.

.

[Crooked River Pete, SASS 43485]

15 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

Also, I had a '73 Fiat 128 sedan. What a piece of garbage. I spent every weekend under the hood of that thing.

Fix It Again Tony,.... I worked at a fiat dealer in 73, at 10,000 miles they got an oil change and a new cam shaft!

[Rye Miles #13621]

12 minutes ago, Sixgun Sheridan said:

 

What have you got it strapped to... train tracks?

 

Like most of you my worst cars were always GM products. The worst was an '88 S-10 pickup that I bought from a used car dealer, which was my first mistake. I did all the checks on it while test-driving it, making sure there wasn't any blue smoke and that everything worked. Immediately after getting it home the heater core failed, dumping anti-freeze all over the carpet. Once I got that fixed I changed the oil and began driving it, and a few days later the oil light came on. I checked it, and I was almost out of oil (?!?). Added more, drove it some more, and less than a week later the oil light came on again. Turned out the a-holes who sold it to me must have dumped sawdust in the crankcase to temporarily seal the rings, and probably did the same with the cooling system as well. I should have lawyered up and gone after the dealer, but instead I put my engine rebuilding skills to use. Once it finally had a fresh engine in it I drove that thing 150,000 more miles before finally selling it.

.

Not mine, it’s just a pic I found. I said in the OP I had one like it only in blue!

[Dirty Dan Dawkins]

85 Toyota pickup 4WD with turbo charged 22R engine. Complete turd of a vehicle 

[Crooked River Pete, SASS 43485]

40 minutes ago, Dirty Dan Dawkins said:

85 Toyota pickup 4WD with turbo charged 22R engine. Complete turd of a vehicle 

Is that why they are marked "TRD"?

[Four-Eyed Buck,SASS #14795]

"79 Mercury Bobcat. 2.3L with a four speed. had the glass hatch back. Baby blue with a blue interior. Lousy gas mileage for a 4 cyl. plus 6 months after we got it, the paint started to peel off, huge bubbles. Turned out it went through the paint cycle at a shift change and it screwed up the finish. Dealership repainted the car, factory footed the bill. Body shop guy said that they didn't have to sand it, took the old finish off with an air gun. Finally got some MPG out of it by running the alcohol/gas mix through it. Wife loved the car, I didn't

[Chantry]

My first vehicle, which I never got a chance to drive was a International Scout II and like all Scouts there was rust, in my case, enough rust that it wouldn't pass CT state inspection in 1987.  That got traded to an uncle for a 1976 Gremlin which I drove for a year, unless of course it rained in which the car stalled.   I paid $500 for Scout and I guess got $500 worth of mostly reliable service over the year I drove the Gremlin, so I did not do too badly.

 

The worst car I ever owned was a used 1995 Cadillac Eldorado, which ran great for maybe 18 months and was fun to drive, but then things started breaking and it turned into a good way to dispose of money that could have been put to better use elsewhere.  It cost $3000 when the chips in the transmission failed and somewhere along the line the head gasket blew, which would have cost me another $3000-$5000 to repair causing me to get rid of the car.  I probably put almost much money into repairs & maintenance into the Eldorado as it cost to buy it and it lasted me less then three years before I donated it for the tax write off just to get rid of it.

 

[Sixgun Sheridan]

For honorable mention, a 1998 Pymouth Neon. Granted I did get 200,000 miles of use out of that car. But pretty much everything that could fail failed over time... gaskets, sensors, fuel pump, radiator, alternator, starter, window cranks, gauges, ad nauseum. On top of that replacing the timing belt was mandatory and couldn't possibly have been any harder to get to. Whoever wrote in the repair manual that it could be done with the engine still in the vehicle must have been grinning ear to ear as he wrote it. In the end I gave that car away to someone willing to take it on as a project.

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

Both cars bought brand new:

 

'73 Plymouth Duster. Water dripped from under the dash when it rained. Even under warranty they couldn't fix it. Alternator failed days after I picked it up - internal wires weren't connected to terminals with nuts. Clutch linkage broke loose because of a bad weld to the frame. You could practically hear it rusting on a quiet evening. I liked the 225 slant six though. It's probably still around somewhere.

 

'76 Triumph TR7. Two electrical fires requiring complete new harnesses. Wasn't even in the car when it shorted out. Car was just out of warranty when that happened. (12 mos/12k miles back then.) Expensive! AC compressor went kaput. Radiator sprung a leak. Various trim pieces broke off. Went thru 4 speedometers because they read 60 mph while actually driving 70. Found that out when I got a speeding ticket. The actual problem was a rear end for an auto transmission had been installed instead of the one for my four speed stick. Different gear ratios. Got rid of it with only 24K miles on it.

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

2 hours ago, Dirty Dan Dawkins said:

85 Toyota pickup 4WD with turbo charged 22R engine. Complete turd of a vehicle 

 

Sassparilla Kid has an '86 edition.

 

Fundamentally not a bad truck at all, but the Japanese turbochargers were terrible.  The Kid finally adapted a Mercedes turbo' and it worked well, but the plastic timing chain guides in the engine finally gave up the ghost.  Still ran, but barely.

 

So, he decided to build an engine, but omit the turbocharger entirely - after all, the vast majority of Toyotas of the period were normally aspirated.  California Bureau of Automotive Repair (state authority on such) sez "No problem!  That's a stock configuration!"

 

Engine built and installed - runs smooth and strong, but it's been parked for over a year.  Cannot get it to pass a smog check.  Actually, cannot get it checked, period.  Smog shops won't touch it - "the under-hood emissions-control schematic sticker doesn't match the engine.  It shows a turbocharger and this engine ain't got one.  You might be part of a 'sting operation' out to bust smog shops!"

 

So the Kid goes to Toyota for a proper sticker - they won't sell him one.  "We need your VIN to sell you a sticker and your VIN sez it's a turbocharged model and we can't sell you a sticker for a non-turbocharged model!"   

 

He finally found a sticker on Ebay; maybe, just maybe, he'll finally be able to get it done.  

 

 

 

                                                           

 

[Cactus Jack Calder]

When I got my license to drive my father bought an old Renault Dauphine. I think it was a 1959, back when they were know as Reenaalt not Renough. It had a water cooled 4 cylinder engine in the rear, a three speed stick and swing axles similar to the VW Bug.

Things that went wrong:

1. After a month it wouldn’t stay in first gear. Solution: Hold the stick down hard until you had enough speed to shift.
2. Soon you couldn’t hold it in first gear to save your life. Solution: Start from a dead stop in second gear. We knew the clutch wouldn’t last long that way.
3. Clutch was beginning to slip too much. Solution: Bought a second hand transmission from a junkyard , rebuilt that one and swapped out the trans. First gear in the original had tiny little cone shapes where the gear teeth we’re supposed to be.
4. The engine started running hot, not overheating yet. Solution: Use a radiator flush. I took it out to run it a bit with the flush in it. It overheated, when I checked the radiator it was empty. Fortunately, I thought, there was a nice gentleman watering his lawn where I stopped. He kindly let me try and fill the radiator with his hose. My hope was that I could make it back home before it ran dry again. With the engine idling I slowly put cool water into the radiator fill cap. My buddy was watching the temperature gauge. He said it was going down slowly. All is well, right? Then I noticed my shoe was filling up with boiling hot water pouring out of the exhaust pipe. Dad came with the Buick and towed us home. Diagnosis: Blown head gasket.
5. The folks were heading out the next day for my Grandparents home in Florida for 3 weeks, a 2 days drive away. I was working a summer job and couldn’t go. My girlfriend (later my wife of 52 years) and family are going to Canada for a week. Oh, and by the way, can I please watch the family cat (who hates me) while they are gone? After two days of being alone all day that cat became my best buddy. Until they returned, then it tried to murder me.
6. Dad left me most of his tools. Dad was a Mechanical Engineer, he designs aircraft engines for Wright Aeronautical. He normally carried enough tools to rebuild an engine whenever we went on a long car trip. We’d done it at my Grandparents house one summer.
7. I had one week before my girlfriend returned, to replace the head gasket, while working an 8 hour job in the daytime. Fortunately a friend from work agreed to pick me up each morning and drop me back home in the afternoon. Then I worked on the car until midnight. Cleaned up, crashed for the remainder of the night and was ready to leave for work at 07:30 the next morning. Thank goodness for TV Diners.
8. The Renault had a unusual design engine. The main block was an open galley where the cooling water circulated. There were four cylinder sleeves that were fitted into the galley. The sleeves sat on rubber donuts the kept the water from leaking down into the oil pan and the main crank area. When first installed the cylinder sleeves were above the top of the block. When the head gasket and head were bolted down to spec, the cylinders were pushed down into those donuts making the seal. In order to replace the head gasket I had to strip the engine of auxiliaries, remove the head and release the pressure holding the cylinders in place. The cylinders would rise up once the head was removed. Renault Co. had special clamps you could use to hold the cylinders In place. We didn’t have those clamps. I removed the head and placed large pieces of scrap iron over the cylinders to hopefully hold the them in place. IT WORKED!
9. Next I had to scrape off the remains of the old head gasket by shifting the scrap iron around to access the entire top of the block/cylinder tops. Once that was done I installed the new head gasket, head and torqued the head bolts as per spec.  Push rods and rockers arms were next then reassemble the rest of the engine auxiliaries, preliminary adjustments, refill the cooling system and start it up. IT WORKS!!
10. Now I have to run the engine until it reaches operating temperature. Shut it down and re-torque the head bolts. They were almost finger loose. I re-torque the bolts and seal up the valve cover, check the engine oil for contamination (OK), check the water level (OK). I think I’m good to go. And, my girlfriend is due back tomorrow. YIPEE!! Of course I’m still praying that nothing goes wrong, that my repair is successful.
11. The repair held, the cat wouldn’t talk to me, my girlfriend was all tan from fishing in Canada and I had transportation to take her out on dates. YIPEE AGAIN!!
12. Once my family returned from vacation, Dad and I pulled the valve cover and checked the head bolts for torque. They were so loose I was amazed that nothing failed. Once re-torqued for the second time they staid properly torqued. From his experience at Wright’s Dad was not surprised that the bolts were loose, only how much. He said they stretch, not work loose.
13. That wasn’t the last thing that went wrong on the Renault. Eventually it rusted so badly you couldn’t jack it up to change the tires. Dad sold it to a fellow who had one with a good body and a blown engine. Just unbolt the engine/transmission from the car and lift the body off. Then drop a new body onto the drive train and away you go. Simple! Ha Ha!

 

Sorry for the long post. It seems I can’t write a short one. 
CJ

[Dirty Dan Dawkins]

1 hour ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said:

 

Sassparilla Kid has an '86 edition.

 

Fundamentally not a bad truck at all, but the Japanese turbochargers were terrible.  The Kid finally adapted a Mercedes turbo' and it worked well, but the plastic timing chain guides in the engine finally gave up the ghost.  Still ran, but barely.

 

So, he decided to build an engine, but omit the turbocharger entirely - after all, the vast majority of Toyotas of the period were normally aspirated.  California Bureau of Automotive Repair (state authority on such) sez "No problem!  That's a stock configuration!"

 

Engine built and installed - runs smooth and strong, but it's been parked for over a year.  Cannot get it to pass a smog check.  Actually, cannot get it checked, period.  Smog shops won't touch it - "the under-hood emissions-control schematic sticker doesn't match the engine.  It shows a turbocharger and this engine ain't got one.  You might be part of a 'sting operation' out to bust smog shops!"

 

So the Kid goes to Toyota for a proper sticker - they won't sell him one.  "We need your VIN to sell you a sticker and your VIN sez it's a turbocharged model and we can't sell you a sticker for a non-turbocharged model!"   

 

He finally found a sticker on Ebay; maybe, just maybe, he'll finally be able to get it done.  

 

 

 

                                                           

 

My turbo went out. Took it off. The pistons come to find out we’re low compression type, so there was double whammy in power loss. It had less power than a non turbo 22R

[Four-Eyed Buck,SASS #14795]

Jack, My childhood friend had one of those. Four door, automatic. It was light green. Ran halfway decent, but would keep  chugging when you shut it off. He didn't hold on to it for  long. Got himself a Corsair Monza, '65 or '66 IIRC

[Blackwater 53393]

25 minutes ago, Four-Eyed Buck,SASS #14795 said:

Jack, My childhood friend had one of those. Four door, automatic. It was light green. Ran halfway decent, but would keep  chugging when you shut it off. He didn't hold on to it for  long. Got himself a Corsair Monza, '65 or '66 IIRC

 

I’m guessing you meant CORVAIR. I’ve had a couple of them. They’re a little weird, but mine were really fun cars and pretty easy to maintain.

 

Always wanted to do a Crown V8 conversion on one!

[Dirty Dog Doug]

Gets to brag all my cars and trucks ran great and lasted  longer than expected 

Even I  71 pinto I bought  fro $50 cause it barely ran .. ran great once it got a full tune up 2quarts of oil for every 11 gallons of gas . then some young dumb kid put 351 Cleveland in it . after 2 tickets and one arrest for street racing I learned to slow down 

[Duffield, SASS #23454]

8 hours ago, Blackwater 53393 said:

 

The other one was a late '70s Ford pickup!!  You couldn't keep front tires on it if your life depended on it and I don't recall it ever going up the road straight!!  We rebuilt EVERYTHING in the front end and had it aligned by the Ford dealership and two other really good front end shops and it still wandered up the road and dog tracked continuously!!  As a result, it wouldn't stop straight either!!  I hated that truck!!

Did you ever look at the rear end alignment on that truck?

 

Duffield

[Blackwater 53393]

19 minutes ago, Duffield, SASS #23454 said:

Did you ever look at the rear end alignment on that truck?

 

Duffield

 

Yeah! We even did a full frame correction. The frame came from the factory with a diamond in it.  We corrected that and even reworked the rear springs.  It would leave the shop running pretty straight and within a week or so, it was sidewinding again.

 

A set of front tires would be ruined in six months!