I love the mass of this baby, the weight, the feel of a well built, solid, specially crafted car. On the one hand it feels as big and as sturdy as a ship and on the other, it feels like it glides on air. I loved the way it purred at 60 or 70 mph. Felt like it loved to be driven, like a race horse loves to race. Loved the big steering wheel, the heavy thumping sounds when shutting the doors, the way it loved to kick over and start right up. The feeling of dynamic power it had, even though it didn’t have that much; it seemed like it. It was good in poor weather, too. I was impressed that the folks responsible for its construction have their signatures etched on a plate and affixed to the driver’s door. I hope to get and to keep it running and usable, occasionally, until I kick.
“I have no interest in old diesels - smokey, noisy and slow”.
No car would fit Triedaq’s personality better than an old diesel. He makes a big stink, a lot of noise and doesn’t move very fast. I may get him one for Christmas.
(He shouldn’t leave his computer unattended).
Mrs. Triedaq
Sure fire way to make small fortune. Start with a large fortune. Restore a 1982 Mercedes 300SD Turbo Diesel.
I’ve spent a lot of time in these cars as taxis on my travels. They were real work horses. One in Malaysia had over one million kilometers on it and was in close to new condition through good maintenance.
However, with North American wages and no running activity for 10 years this will require a major budget. Just getting it running and then selling it to someone with a 3 car garage who wants to restore it would be my solution.
If the OP does get this thing running I suspect it will not be as pleasing a vehicle as his memory thinks it was.
@Bing, I remember a similar story from a guy who drove a 4 cyl diesel 170V touring car (That’s a convertible top with side curtains for those too young to remember) about 1500 miles across the country on $12 worth of fuel in the mid 1960s. I thought THAT was impressive. He had been in Germany as a student, and bought the early '50s car from the Hessian state police as a surplus vehicle. It cost him more to ship it to NYC than he gave for the car.
It would have been very similar to this: http://www.polizeiautos.de/show_one.php?id=3944 I don’t remember if it had blue and white spot lights.
You know it was almost 60 years ago and the more I think about it and put a pencil to it, maybe it was $7.50 instead of $3.50. It was one of the two anyway and impressed me. Old age is not your friend.
Since it was a 1700 CC diesel, I doubt it would have even outrun a VW of that era. It might have been able to outrun a kid on a fast bicycle. Any bad guys would have had to have wanted to stop out of respect for the blue and white spot lights.
I found this translation this morning.
Historisches Polizeifahrzeug, im Einsatz zunächst als Fahrzeug eines Hundertschaftsführers und später als Funkwagen, im Dienst von 1951 bis 1964, heute in Privatbesitz - Fotos und Infos: Manfred Wilewka
Historic police vehicle , in use initially as a vehicle of a hundred leader and later as a radio car , in service from 1951 to 1964 , now privately owned - Photos and Info : Manfred Wilewka
I’d rather buy and own (pay off) one very good quality automobile and to try to run and maintain it for 50 years, if I could, than to keep buying newer models and making the cash outlays to do so, if I could, all things being relatively equal (by that I mean it would be a fairly safe, fuel efficient, dependable car.) I suspect that keeping one car in good running condition over 50 years is cheaper than buying newer vehicles every few years to avoid the eventual upkeep most cars require as they age and accumulate mileage. 50 years might be too long, but I still try to apply this principle when imagining all the babes drooling over my 1968 427/450hp Stingray Roadster - black on black.
Probably one of the varied reasons I live in abject poverty. What do you guys think about this? (In other words, on a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being severely off the deep end of rational thought and completely out of one’s mind plus some, how do you rate this idea?)
VOLVO V70 Junior Grease Monkey
October 26
If the OP does get this thing running I suspect it will not be as pleasing a vehicle as his memory thinks it was
Dearly Beloved Volvo V70,
If I get this thing running, I’ll run completely around the world naked and start rooting for the New England Patriots.
I tend to follow your line of thinking. We’ve purchased vehicles and kept them for a long time. I tend to think this is a less costly way of owning a car.
Some, though, like to have new cars (or at least new to them) more often for a variety of reasons. They value and are willing to pay for new features, a different look or whatever. Who am I to argue with them?
Sometimes I wonder if the automobile industry is designed (or evolved) to keep Americans in debt to it eternally.
Also, with the advent of a thoroughly independent, non-petroleum based, electric automobile, we are on the cusp of freeing ourselves from a monstrous addiction to foreign oil, which has been, “controlling American soil” (Dylan). Plugging this damnable drain on our economy with fewer dollars going overseas to purchase the energy we’ve needed to run our nation (including our entire military) we are poised to achieve practically unimagined greatness as a force for freedom and prosperity. Not too long ago, it seemed like we were destined to rely on Sheiks walking around like kings wearing fancy jewels and nose rings, to decide America’s future from Amsterdam and from Paris (Dylan). Man, let’s not balk, now.
Also, with the advent of a thoroughly independent, non-petroleum based, electric automobile, we are on the cusp of freeing ourselves from a monstrous addiction to foreign oil, which has been, "controlling American soil" (Dylan).
I don’t know of too many people who are using Solar or wind to charge their electric car batteries. As long as we’re using petroleum products for our power plants your electric car is NOT non-petroleum based.
Nuclear and coal primarily, which I’ll take any day over sending my money overseas. Natural gas (of which I produce vast, enormous, spectacularly huge volumes) exploration and development in the U.S. are expanding rapidly, as well.
Nuclear and coal primarily, which I'll take any day over sending my money overseas.
That depends drastically on where you live.
Let’s see…send money overseas for the short term…or polluting the country for the LONG haul!! Which to choose.
Although I’m not ready to go gaga over electric cars yet, it’s great to have another option. I’m not sold on them as a primary car as they have limitations largely due to the lack of charging infrastructure.
The War Department has a Prius. She averages 50 miles per gallon in warm weather and 44 in cooler weather. She has over 100,000 miles on it and we’ve bought tires. That’s it. I understand Tesla has had some challenges with their on-board computer equipment, but nothing that is too serious and can’t be tweaked fairly easily. So, I agree with you boilerengtn, it is great to be developing the electric car market. Who knows, maybe we will become so proficient at it, foreign countries will insist on buying and importing them from us.
Wifey, I’d guess