On Wed, 08 Aug 2018 13:57:29 -0400, wrote:

On Wed, 8 Aug 2018 10:58:37 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I had a lady coworker ask me about older muscle cars. Her son was going to get his licence soon, and wanted to get a 60's to 70's "muscle car" to drive. My advice to her was get him a late model Corolla or similar. That old car wouldn't have ABS, airbags, crumple zones, door beams, etc. Maybe not even shoulder belts. Plus the brakes and handling aren't very good unless you do some resto-modding.

I like my old Torino, but I also respect it and its shortcomings. No way a 17 year old should be driving something like that for a daily.



No question. The classics are stylish (something new cars lack) but
they don't come close to the handling and safety of new cars. Plus,
the "muscle" car is a bit of a misnomer today. The
old rule of "there's no replacement for displacement" really doesn't
apply anymore. Some of the new cars with small, turbocharged engines
can out perform some of the old muscle cars of yesterday.

That said though, the low RPM torque of a GM 454 ci engine and
some of the Ford and MOPAR big blocks just has to be experienced to
appreciate.

No doubt about that. If I hit the lotto and decided I wanted an old
60s car, the first thing I would do is drop a brand new "box motor" in
it.
Judy really wants a 50s pickup truck but she wants the sheet metal
dropped down on a new Lincoln chassis. ;-)

Here ya go - upgraded engine, interior, and suspension. Good lookin' too!

https://classics.autotrader.com/clas...3100/101010235

John H. Wrote in message:
On Wed, 8 Aug 2018 08:39:41 -0400, Keyser Soze wrote:

On 8/8/18 7:07 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 8/7/2018 7:53 PM, John H. wrote:
On Tue, 7 Aug 2018 19:37:16 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 8/7/2018 1:51 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 07 Aug 2018 06:26:32 -0400, John H.
wrote:

On Mon, 6 Aug 2018 16:42:55 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

On Monday, August 6, 2018 at 5:53:59 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
...wish I'd seen this video a few years back when I dropped the
Mille at a MacDonalds!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyWpIKC_Br8

I saw a guy do that once because the kick stand collapsed, so he
picked it up just to have it keel over the other side.....

I posted a video of that here a while back. Funny as hell, but I
think the guy must have been drunk.

When I dropped mine, it dropped on the kickstand side. Whoops!

Harleys have a real bad habit of going over on the kickstand side if
you park in the grass. That is why guys carry a little block of wood
to put under the kick stand..



Any bike will tip over if the kickstand pushes through soft soil, even
my little 150 cc scooter.

The scooter gave me the itch though. Bought a used Suzuki C50T to ride
(drive?) :-} around on. Decent bike ... not anywhere near as heavy as
the last two Harleys that I had. This one weighs in at just about 600
lbs wet. The Harley's were about 900 lbs. It also has a lower CG.

Congrats! Looks like a mean machine. Not wild about the style, but I'm
just not a cruiser guy. What
year, how many miles...got a picture?

Should we open up the 'countersteering' discussion again?



It's a 2008 with 16,000 miles on it. 805 cc. Not as big and heavy as
the two Harley Ultra Classics I had and the biggest thing I noticed
right away (besides the lighter weight) was the lower center of gravity.
Looks just like the image at the link (below) except it's a metallic
charcoal with black trim instead of all black. I also removed the
driver backrest which I didn't like. Mrs.E likes it because she can go
for rides with me once in a while. My brother has owned an older
version of the C50 (2004) and it has been trouble free in the 14 years
that he has had it.

https://latelifebiker.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/the-black-beauty-med.jpg


It doesn't have the "balls" that the Harleys had but it has more than
enough for me with my wife on board. Of course the Harley engines were
almost twice the size at 1584 cc and my last one was a 6 speed whereas
the Suzuki has 5. It's water cooled as well which I like.

I really didn't have any intention of buying another motorcycle but the
day I went to the dealer to pick up the little scooter I happened to see
this one sitting in the shop and it caught my attention. Went home,
rode the scooter around for a couple of weeks and decided to go back and
try out the Suzuki. They made me a offer that I couldn't refuse
so now I have both the scooter and the bike.

It's history is kinda funny. It was purchased new in 2008 by a guy in
his mid 40's. He recently moved to an apartment in Boston and didn't
have a place to easily store it so he traded it in on a scooter
identical to the one I bought for commuting in the city.




How does your wife get up on that passenger seat? It looks pretty high up...

I had a Mini Cooper S with a smaller engine than the 1584 cc's in your
Harley...it was a 1275 cc and I think the entire car weighed about 1300
pounds...four speed tranny.

Passenger foot rest. Don't Ducatis have them?


The imaginary ones don't, aparently. :-)
--
x


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

On 8/8/2018 2:03 PM, Its Me wrote:
On Wednesday, August 8, 2018 at 1:57:26 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Wed, 8 Aug 2018 10:58:37 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I had a lady coworker ask me about older muscle cars. Her son was going to get his licence soon, and wanted to get a 60's to 70's "muscle car" to drive. My advice to her was get him a late model Corolla or similar. That old car wouldn't have ABS, airbags, crumple zones, door beams, etc. Maybe not even shoulder belts. Plus the brakes and handling aren't very good unless you do some resto-modding.

I like my old Torino, but I also respect it and its shortcomings. No way a 17 year old should be driving something like that for a daily.



No question. The classics are stylish (something new cars lack) but
they don't come close to the handling and safety of new cars. Plus,
the "muscle" car is a bit of a misnomer today. The
old rule of "there's no replacement for displacement" really doesn't
apply anymore. Some of the new cars with small, turbocharged engines
can out perform some of the old muscle cars of yesterday.

That said though, the low RPM torque of a GM 454 ci engine and
some of the Ford and MOPAR big blocks just has to be experienced to
appreciate.

No doubt about that. If I hit the lotto and decided I wanted an old
60s car, the first thing I would do is drop a brand new "box motor" in
it.
Judy really wants a 50s pickup truck but she wants the sheet metal
dropped down on a new Lincoln chassis. ;-)

I saw that very thing a few weeks ago. It was a late 50's Ford truck, but when I looked into the front wheel well it was obvious that it was a late model chassis. About then the guy walked out of the store and we talked. It was a Crown Vic chassis under the truck sheet metal.


The 1955 Ford F-100 I had was built on a Mustang chassis, complete with
a HO 302.

On Wed, 8 Aug 2018 12:14:23 -0600 (MDT), justan wrote:

John H. Wrote in message:
On Wed, 8 Aug 2018 08:39:41 -0400, Keyser Soze wrote:

On 8/8/18 7:07 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 8/7/2018 7:53 PM, John H. wrote:
On Tue, 7 Aug 2018 19:37:16 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 8/7/2018 1:51 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 07 Aug 2018 06:26:32 -0400, John H.
wrote:

On Mon, 6 Aug 2018 16:42:55 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

On Monday, August 6, 2018 at 5:53:59 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
...wish I'd seen this video a few years back when I dropped the
Mille at a MacDonalds!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyWpIKC_Br8

I saw a guy do that once because the kick stand collapsed, so he
picked it up just to have it keel over the other side.....

I posted a video of that here a while back. Funny as hell, but I
think the guy must have been drunk.

When I dropped mine, it dropped on the kickstand side. Whoops!

Harleys have a real bad habit of going over on the kickstand side if
you park in the grass. That is why guys carry a little block of wood
to put under the kick stand..



Any bike will tip over if the kickstand pushes through soft soil, even
my little 150 cc scooter.

The scooter gave me the itch though. Bought a used Suzuki C50T to ride
(drive?) :-} around on. Decent bike ... not anywhere near as heavy as
the last two Harleys that I had. This one weighs in at just about 600
lbs wet. The Harley's were about 900 lbs. It also has a lower CG.

Congrats! Looks like a mean machine. Not wild about the style, but I'm
just not a cruiser guy. What
year, how many miles...got a picture?

Should we open up the 'countersteering' discussion again?



It's a 2008 with 16,000 miles on it. 805 cc. Not as big and heavy as
the two Harley Ultra Classics I had and the biggest thing I noticed
right away (besides the lighter weight) was the lower center of gravity.
Looks just like the image at the link (below) except it's a metallic
charcoal with black trim instead of all black. I also removed the
driver backrest which I didn't like. Mrs.E likes it because she can go
for rides with me once in a while. My brother has owned an older
version of the C50 (2004) and it has been trouble free in the 14 years
that he has had it.

https://latelifebiker.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/the-black-beauty-med.jpg


It doesn't have the "balls" that the Harleys had but it has more than
enough for me with my wife on board. Of course the Harley engines were
almost twice the size at 1584 cc and my last one was a 6 speed whereas
the Suzuki has 5. It's water cooled as well which I like.

I really didn't have any intention of buying another motorcycle but the
day I went to the dealer to pick up the little scooter I happened to see
this one sitting in the shop and it caught my attention. Went home,
rode the scooter around for a couple of weeks and decided to go back and
try out the Suzuki. They made me a offer that I couldn't refuse
so now I have both the scooter and the bike.

It's history is kinda funny. It was purchased new in 2008 by a guy in
his mid 40's. He recently moved to an apartment in Boston and didn't
have a place to easily store it so he traded it in on a scooter
identical to the one I bought for commuting in the city.




How does your wife get up on that passenger seat? It looks pretty high up...

I had a Mini Cooper S with a smaller engine than the 1584 cc's in your
Harley...it was a 1275 cc and I think the entire car weighed about 1300
pounds...four speed tranny.

Passenger foot rest. Don't Ducatis have them?


The imaginary ones don't, aparently. :-)

Hard to imagine a motorcyclist not knowing how passengers, especially those who aren't over six feet
tall, board a motorcycle.

On 8/8/18 2:14 PM, justan wrote:
John H. Wrote in message:
On Wed, 8 Aug 2018 08:39:41 -0400, Keyser Soze wrote:

On 8/8/18 7:07 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 8/7/2018 7:53 PM, John H. wrote:
On Tue, 7 Aug 2018 19:37:16 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 8/7/2018 1:51 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 07 Aug 2018 06:26:32 -0400, John H.
wrote:

On Mon, 6 Aug 2018 16:42:55 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

On Monday, August 6, 2018 at 5:53:59 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
...wish I'd seen this video a few years back when I dropped the
Mille at a MacDonalds!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyWpIKC_Br8

I saw a guy do that once because the kick stand collapsed, so he
picked it up just to have it keel over the other side.....

I posted a video of that here a while back. Funny as hell, but I
think the guy must have been drunk.

When I dropped mine, it dropped on the kickstand side. Whoops!

Harleys have a real bad habit of going over on the kickstand side if
you park in the grass. That is why guys carry a little block of wood
to put under the kick stand..



Any bike will tip over if the kickstand pushes through soft soil, even
my little 150 cc scooter.

The scooter gave me the itch though. Bought a used Suzuki C50T to ride
(drive?) :-} around on. Decent bike ... not anywhere near as heavy as
the last two Harleys that I had. This one weighs in at just about 600
lbs wet. The Harley's were about 900 lbs. It also has a lower CG.

Congrats! Looks like a mean machine. Not wild about the style, but I'm
just not a cruiser guy. What
year, how many miles...got a picture?

Should we open up the 'countersteering' discussion again?



It's a 2008 with 16,000 miles on it. 805 cc. Not as big and heavy as
the two Harley Ultra Classics I had and the biggest thing I noticed
right away (besides the lighter weight) was the lower center of gravity.
Looks just like the image at the link (below) except it's a metallic
charcoal with black trim instead of all black. I also removed the
driver backrest which I didn't like. Mrs.E likes it because she can go
for rides with me once in a while. My brother has owned an older
version of the C50 (2004) and it has been trouble free in the 14 years
that he has had it.

https://latelifebiker.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/the-black-beauty-med.jpg


It doesn't have the "balls" that the Harleys had but it has more than
enough for me with my wife on board. Of course the Harley engines were
almost twice the size at 1584 cc and my last one was a 6 speed whereas
the Suzuki has 5. It's water cooled as well which I like.

I really didn't have any intention of buying another motorcycle but the
day I went to the dealer to pick up the little scooter I happened to see
this one sitting in the shop and it caught my attention. Went home,
rode the scooter around for a couple of weeks and decided to go back and
try out the Suzuki. They made me a offer that I couldn't refuse
so now I have both the scooter and the bike.

It's history is kinda funny. It was purchased new in 2008 by a guy in
his mid 40's. He recently moved to an apartment in Boston and didn't
have a place to easily store it so he traded it in on a scooter
identical to the one I bought for commuting in the city.




How does your wife get up on that passenger seat? It looks pretty high up...

I had a Mini Cooper S with a smaller engine than the 1584 cc's in your
Harley...it was a 1275 cc and I think the entire car weighed about 1300
pounds...four speed tranny.

Passenger foot rest. Don't Ducatis have them?


The imaginary ones don't, aparently. :-)


Some Ducati motorcycles have neither passenger seats nor footpegs for
back seaters, though they are available as accessories. I can see how
you two, Johnny the Racist or Chubby Hubby Timmy, wouldn't know that,
though, since you like the superheavy Avoirdupois Bikes. Oh, a few weeks
ago, I saw a pretty new Triumph Bonneville with a single seat and no
rear set or pegs.

On 8/8/18 3:07 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 8/8/2018 2:03 PM, Its Me wrote:
On Wednesday, August 8, 2018 at 1:57:26 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Wed, 8 Aug 2018 10:58:37 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I had a lady coworker ask me about older muscle cars. Her son was
going to get his licence soon, and wanted to get a 60's to 70's
"muscle car" to drive. My advice to her was get him a late model
Corolla or similar.Â* That old car wouldn't have ABS, airbags,
crumple zones, door beams, etc.Â* Maybe not even shoulder belts.
Plus the brakes and handling aren't very good unless you do some
resto-modding.

I like my old Torino, but I also respect it and its shortcomings.
No way a 17 year old should be driving something like that for a
daily.



No question.Â* The classics are stylish (something new cars lack) but
they don't come close to the handling and safety of new cars.Â* Plus,
the "muscle" carÂ* is a bit of a misnomer today.Â* The
old rule of "there's no replacement for displacement" really doesn't
apply anymore.Â* Some of the new cars with small, turbocharged engines
can out perform some of the old muscle cars of yesterday.

That said though, the low RPM torque of a GM 454 ci engine and
some of the Ford and MOPAR big blocks just has to be experienced to
appreciate.

No doubt about that. If I hit the lotto and decided I wanted an old
60s car, the first thing I would do is drop a brand new "box motor" in
it.
Judy really wants a 50s pickup truck but she wants the sheet metal
dropped down on a new Lincoln chassis. ;-)

I saw that very thing a few weeks ago.Â* It was a late 50's Ford truck,
but when I looked into the front wheel well it was obvious that it was
a late model chassis.Â* About then the guy walked out of the store and
we talked.Â* It was a Crown Vic chassis under the truck sheet metal.


The 1955 Ford F-100 I had was built on a Mustang chassis, complete with
a HO 302.


The only classic truck to own, of course, is an early to mid 1930s Model
A Ford with the flathead V8.

On 8/8/2018 3:56 PM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 8/8/18 3:07 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 8/8/2018 2:03 PM, Its Me wrote:
On Wednesday, August 8, 2018 at 1:57:26 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Wed, 8 Aug 2018 10:58:37 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I had a lady coworker ask me about older muscle cars. Her son was
going to get his licence soon, and wanted to get a 60's to 70's
"muscle car" to drive. My advice to her was get him a late model
Corolla or similar.Â* That old car wouldn't have ABS, airbags,
crumple zones, door beams, etc.Â* Maybe not even shoulder belts.
Plus the brakes and handling aren't very good unless you do some
resto-modding.

I like my old Torino, but I also respect it and its shortcomings.
No way a 17 year old should be driving something like that for a
daily.



No question.Â* The classics are stylish (something new cars lack) but
they don't come close to the handling and safety of new cars.Â* Plus,
the "muscle" carÂ* is a bit of a misnomer today.Â* The
old rule of "there's no replacement for displacement" really doesn't
apply anymore.Â* Some of the new cars with small, turbocharged engines
can out perform some of the old muscle cars of yesterday.

That said though, the low RPM torque of a GM 454 ci engine and
some of the Ford and MOPAR big blocks just has to be experienced to
appreciate.

No doubt about that. If I hit the lotto and decided I wanted an old
60s car, the first thing I would do is drop a brand new "box motor" in
it.
Judy really wants a 50s pickup truck but she wants the sheet metal
dropped down on a new Lincoln chassis. ;-)

I saw that very thing a few weeks ago.Â* It was a late 50's Ford
truck, but when I looked into the front wheel well it was obvious
that it was a late model chassis.Â* About then the guy walked out of
the store and we talked.Â* It was a Crown Vic chassis under the truck
sheet metal.


The 1955 Ford F-100 I had was built on a Mustang chassis, complete
with a HO 302.


The only classic truck to own, of course, is an early to mid 1930s Model
A Ford with the flathead V8.Â*


I don't know. The '55 was the only classic that I made a small profit
on when I sold it.

On Wed, 8 Aug 2018 15:51:55 -0400, Keyser Soze wrote:

On 8/8/18 2:14 PM, justan wrote:
John H. Wrote in message:
On Wed, 8 Aug 2018 08:39:41 -0400, Keyser Soze wrote:

On 8/8/18 7:07 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 8/7/2018 7:53 PM, John H. wrote:
On Tue, 7 Aug 2018 19:37:16 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 8/7/2018 1:51 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 07 Aug 2018 06:26:32 -0400, John H.
wrote:

On Mon, 6 Aug 2018 16:42:55 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

On Monday, August 6, 2018 at 5:53:59 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
...wish I'd seen this video a few years back when I dropped the
Mille at a MacDonalds!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyWpIKC_Br8

I saw a guy do that once because the kick stand collapsed, so he
picked it up just to have it keel over the other side.....

I posted a video of that here a while back. Funny as hell, but I
think the guy must have been drunk.

When I dropped mine, it dropped on the kickstand side. Whoops!

Harleys have a real bad habit of going over on the kickstand side if
you park in the grass. That is why guys carry a little block of wood
to put under the kick stand..



Any bike will tip over if the kickstand pushes through soft soil, even
my little 150 cc scooter.

The scooter gave me the itch though. Bought a used Suzuki C50T to ride
(drive?) :-} around on. Decent bike ... not anywhere near as heavy as
the last two Harleys that I had. This one weighs in at just about 600
lbs wet. The Harley's were about 900 lbs. It also has a lower CG.

Congrats! Looks like a mean machine. Not wild about the style, but I'm
just not a cruiser guy. What
year, how many miles...got a picture?

Should we open up the 'countersteering' discussion again?



It's a 2008 with 16,000 miles on it. 805 cc. Not as big and heavy as
the two Harley Ultra Classics I had and the biggest thing I noticed
right away (besides the lighter weight) was the lower center of gravity.
Looks just like the image at the link (below) except it's a metallic
charcoal with black trim instead of all black. I also removed the
driver backrest which I didn't like. Mrs.E likes it because she can go
for rides with me once in a while. My brother has owned an older
version of the C50 (2004) and it has been trouble free in the 14 years
that he has had it.

https://latelifebiker.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/the-black-beauty-med.jpg


It doesn't have the "balls" that the Harleys had but it has more than
enough for me with my wife on board. Of course the Harley engines were
almost twice the size at 1584 cc and my last one was a 6 speed whereas
the Suzuki has 5. It's water cooled as well which I like.

I really didn't have any intention of buying another motorcycle but the
day I went to the dealer to pick up the little scooter I happened to see
this one sitting in the shop and it caught my attention. Went home,
rode the scooter around for a couple of weeks and decided to go back and
try out the Suzuki. They made me a offer that I couldn't refuse
so now I have both the scooter and the bike.

It's history is kinda funny. It was purchased new in 2008 by a guy in
his mid 40's. He recently moved to an apartment in Boston and didn't
have a place to easily store it so he traded it in on a scooter
identical to the one I bought for commuting in the city.




How does your wife get up on that passenger seat? It looks pretty high up...

I had a Mini Cooper S with a smaller engine than the 1584 cc's in your
Harley...it was a 1275 cc and I think the entire car weighed about 1300
pounds...four speed tranny.

Passenger foot rest. Don't Ducatis have them?


The imaginary ones don't, aparently. :-)


Some Ducati motorcycles have neither passenger seats nor footpegs for
back seaters, though they are available as accessories. I can see how
you two, Johnny the Racist or Chubby Hubby Timmy, wouldn't know that,
though, since you like the superheavy Avoirdupois Bikes. Oh, a few weeks
ago, I saw a pretty new Triumph Bonneville with a single seat and no
rear set or pegs.

Doubt if mine weighs much more than a Ducati, and surely not much more than the new Bonnevilles.
Almost any motorcycle can be fitted with a single saddle and the passenger footpegs removed. Surely
you knew that.

Keyser Soze Wrote in message:
On 8/8/18 3:07 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 8/8/2018 2:03 PM, Its Me wrote:
On Wednesday, August 8, 2018 at 1:57:26 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Wed, 8 Aug 2018 10:58:37 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I had a lady coworker ask me about older muscle cars. Her son was
going to get his licence soon, and wanted to get a 60's to 70's
"muscle car" to drive. My advice to her was get him a late model
Corolla or similar. That old car wouldn't have ABS, airbags,
crumple zones, door beams, etc. Maybe not even shoulder belts.
Plus the brakes and handling aren't very good unless you do some
resto-modding.

I like my old Torino, but I also respect it and its shortcomings.
No way a 17 year old should be driving something like that for a
daily.



No question. The classics are stylish (something new cars lack) but
they don't come close to the handling and safety of new cars. Plus,
the "muscle" car is a bit of a misnomer today. The
old rule of "there's no replacement for displacement" really doesn't
apply anymore. Some of the new cars with small, turbocharged engines
can out perform some of the old muscle cars of yesterday.

That said though, the low RPM torque of a GM 454 ci engine and
some of the Ford and MOPAR big blocks just has to be experienced to
appreciate.

No doubt about that. If I hit the lotto and decided I wanted an old
60s car, the first thing I would do is drop a brand new "box motor" in
it.
Judy really wants a 50s pickup truck but she wants the sheet metal
dropped down on a new Lincoln chassis. ;-)

I saw that very thing a few weeks ago. It was a late 50's Ford truck,
but when I looked into the front wheel well it was obvious that it was
a late model chassis. About then the guy walked out of the store and
we talked. It was a Crown Vic chassis under the truck sheet metal.


The 1955 Ford F-100 I had was built on a Mustang chassis, complete with
a HO 302.


The only classic truck to own, of course, is an early to mid 1930s Model
A Ford with the flathead V8.


Of course, your daddy gave you one.
--
x


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

On Wednesday, August 8, 2018 at 4:09:16 PM UTC-4, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 8/8/2018 3:56 PM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 8/8/18 3:07 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 8/8/2018 2:03 PM, Its Me wrote:
On Wednesday, August 8, 2018 at 1:57:26 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Wed, 8 Aug 2018 10:58:37 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I had a lady coworker ask me about older muscle cars. Her son was
going to get his licence soon, and wanted to get a 60's to 70's
"muscle car" to drive. My advice to her was get him a late model
Corolla or similar.Â* That old car wouldn't have ABS, airbags,
crumple zones, door beams, etc.Â* Maybe not even shoulder belts.
Plus the brakes and handling aren't very good unless you do some
resto-modding.

I like my old Torino, but I also respect it and its shortcomings.
No way a 17 year old should be driving something like that for a
daily.



No question.Â* The classics are stylish (something new cars lack) but
they don't come close to the handling and safety of new cars.Â* Plus,
the "muscle" carÂ* is a bit of a misnomer today.Â* The
old rule of "there's no replacement for displacement" really doesn't
apply anymore.Â* Some of the new cars with small, turbocharged engines
can out perform some of the old muscle cars of yesterday.

That said though, the low RPM torque of a GM 454 ci engine and
some of the Ford and MOPAR big blocks just has to be experienced to
appreciate.

No doubt about that. If I hit the lotto and decided I wanted an old
60s car, the first thing I would do is drop a brand new "box motor" in
it.
Judy really wants a 50s pickup truck but she wants the sheet metal
dropped down on a new Lincoln chassis. ;-)

I saw that very thing a few weeks ago.Â* It was a late 50's Ford
truck, but when I looked into the front wheel well it was obvious
that it was a late model chassis.Â* About then the guy walked out of
the store and we talked.Â* It was a Crown Vic chassis under the truck
sheet metal.


The 1955 Ford F-100 I had was built on a Mustang chassis, complete
with a HO 302.


The only classic truck to own, of course, is an early to mid 1930s Model
A Ford with the flathead V8.Â*


I don't know. The '55 was the only classic that I made a small profit
on when I sold it.

50's-early 70's vehicles are hot right now, partly because the people that had them back then are in a financial position to buy/restore them now. Old 30's - 40's stuff can be had for a song. The people that loved them are mostly dead.