Let's go back in time...

4,347 Views | 24 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by CanyonAg77
Dr. Doctor
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AG
Found this today and I figured it was a fun trip down memory lane for some of y'all (including me).

SLABs baby!

Land yachts, ho!

~egon
Furlock Bones
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AG
oh hell yea
Buck O Five
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AG
My granddad had an Olds 98 in his garage under a tarp. I remember it looking longer than the super crew truck he parked next to it. No idea how the length and weight stack up to modern SUVs.
Silvy
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AG
Roadkill
johnrth
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In the early 2000s when I was in the navy, some friends and I pitched in and bought a 73 mercury Monterey. Thing was all original. Some old lady had it in her barn for years. It had something like 43,000miles on it, white leather seats, power locks and windows, and an am only radio everything worked and no tears in the seats. All we could pick up was the Disney radio station. It had a ford 400 in it and a hole in the exhaust. You could hear it pulling on base from the pier. Thing was an absolute beast. I think my exact words to my friend when I found it on the side of the road and called him was, "this thing is so big, you could have 2 people going at it in the front seat and 2 people going at it the back seat, and you'd never know they were there." we kept it for a good 6months, rolled around in mullet wigs and jammed to radio disney. Then one sad day one of the co owners of the land yacht blew the transmission trying to burn out by revving in neutral then dropping it into drive. Would only go in reverse after that. We ended up just giving it to some dude we found at a gas station right after it happened.
Centerpole90
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I owned this exact car (but in metallic puke green) for one semester @ A&M. Fall 1990.

Bought a spotless example from a Winter Texan for $1,500. Drove it to CS, to the LSU game in Baton Rouge via New Orleans, dove hunting in Cuero, Bonfire, and all around town. 7 MPG the whole way. Sold it over the Christmas break for $1,500. Good times.

I followed a rolling bar fight out of a Baton Rouge club (after Harvey Williams had run all over us) to see at least 20 people standing on the hood and trunk of my Caddy to watch the fight. When I cleared them off there was not a freaking dent in it. Unbelievable.

sts7049
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AG
merica
91AggieLawyer
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My parents checked the box for many of these.

We had a 1974 Sedan De Ville that was actually one of the best cars I've been around. I think we got it around 1976 and it was trouble free, as far as I can remember, for the entire time we had it (until around 1983-4). I got my license in late '82 so I drove it some. It had a ~470 and it wasn't very quick off the line but damn, that thing could go from 60-90 so easily and so smoothly, you'd rack up tickets if any cop was around. It even survived a skunk attack! My parents were at my grandfather's place right after my grandmother died and the dogs cornered a skunk under an LP gas tank. In early summer! That car smelled for pretty much the entire summer but after a ton of washings and interior cleaning (most of which I did), the smell went away.

My dad also had an early to mid '80s Toronado for a while. I might have been in that car 5 times and drove it exactly one time. I don't know if it always had FWD but this one did. Weirdest thing -- no hump in the middle. 6 150-pound or smaller people could ride in absolute comfort in that thing.

My parents also owned more Oldsmobiles than I can remember as it was my dad's favorite line. But I don't think we had a 70s era Olds. Went from 2-3 60s models to an '82 or 83 Cutlass that my sister took over and, within weeks, got stolen!

My first car was a '76 Impala -- didn't make the list here but was plenty big. Reasonably fast, too!

My family has a TON of car related stories -- many of which are actually somewhat entertaining! Quick hits: brakes going out; me pulling one out of park on a sloped driveway when I was around 3; car thefts; near restore of a Monte Carlo to sell only to see new owners total within a few days!
KY AG
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AG
This hits close to home.

My granddad, one of my personal heroes, was Ford through and through. He was also a self-made businessman who ran a successful machine shop.

Starting in the early 70s, he owned a string of Lincolns. He particularly liked the Mark V (not his, just an example).


When the Mark VI came out, he (according to my Mom) grumbled considerably as they significantly shortened the wheelbase. He liked the longer ones. But he still owned a few Mark VIs though, and a Continental.


My Granddad passed away in 1986 and I never really got to know him. These cars are the few bits and pieces of his life that I still have some minor connection too; which is sad because he truly was a Horatio Alger-esque story of whom most of my family say I act like.


AggieDruggist89
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AG
Learned to drive in my dad's 1980 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser. That was a boat.
Complete Idiot
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I assumed this was going to be a DeLorean thread
Complete Idiot
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You know, I just saw a DeLorean last week. It was parked outside a Jim's restaurant off 183 in Austin.
Alte Schule
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1972 Cadillac El Dorado. Bought it in '84 for $1500 with 48,000 miles.Original window sticker in glove box had it listed for $7400. That 6000 + pound beast had a 275 HP 500 CI with Turbo Hydra-Matic to push it down the road,
Dog slow from 0-50 but pulled like a freight train after that. Big inside with lots of comfortable leather. Suspension was a little worn when I got it but it still floated like a boat at speeds over 50. Ripped part of the exhaust system out going over train tracks in Navasota. Never was the same after that.

<a href=""><img src="" alt="Image hosting by Novarata PicPaste" /></a>
1agswitchin4lanes
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AG
My mom sold her 76 TransAm when I was born, and they got a 74 Buick LeSabre coupe...what a gigantic POS.

I remember my dad had a 98 Regency, 80 or 81 model.

my aunt had a burnt orange delta 88 with orange interior.

So many family and friends all drove big ass Box Caprices, Parisiennes, Delta 88s, etc growing up....

Then my dad pretty much had Crown Vic company cars for 10 years after that.....
The Fife
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I owned a couple of these beasties in the same color pictured
'71 Fleetwood (was a massive POS, sitting in a field for 10 years before I ended up with it).


'78 Delta 88 that was even worse. Too many problems to mention. The car caught fire twice and dad would have saved tons of money by just letting it burn instead of putting it out.
1agswitchin4lanes
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AG
DONG!!!!! WHERE IS MY AUTO-MO-BEEEELLLLL?



Complete Idiot
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I searched for "longest production car" and found there is a Landyacht page on Wikipedia.

Origins[edit]

Land yachts are essentially large cars and recreational vehicles (RVs) compared to yachts that ride on land, evoking the relative size, maneuverability, and luxury of the water vessel. An extravagant RV with two floors designed for entertainment and super yacht lifestyle was valued at $3 million.[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landyacht#cite_note-4][4][/url] The Airstream luxury recreational vehicle manufactureer uses "Land Yacht" as a model name.[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landyacht#cite_note-5][5][/url][url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landyacht#cite_note-6][6][/url]
In automobiles, the term is most commonly applied to the large American cars of the pre-oil crisis era. Cars of this era remain known for size, large and powerful V8 engines, and an emphasis on ride comfort at the expense of handling. Features commonly found in landyachts include very generous exterior proportions, somewhat vague steering, and a soft ride.[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landyacht#cite_note-7][7][/url] Consumers purchased these large cars for a many reasons and practicality was usually one of them. One of the largest production sedans were the 19741976 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 sedans that reached 252.2 in (6,406 mm) in length and weighed 5,5006,100 lb (2,5002,800 kg).[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landyacht#cite_note-8][8][/url][url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landyacht#cite_note-9][9][/url] Many landyacht-type cars are four-door sedans or hardtop (no "B" pillar) body styles, but large coupes, convertibles, and station wagons were available.[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landyacht#cite_note-10][10][/url][url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landyacht#cite_note-11][11][/url]
Wildmen03
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AG
Alte Schule said:

1972 Cadillac El Dorado
My high school girlfriend had this exact car in bright red with white interior. It was awesome.
Complete Idiot
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High school friend had a late 70's Chrysler Cordoba. Long as **** but only two doors, so funny these were considered coupes. Open the engine bay and there's some huge V8 but also what seemed like 2 feet of blank space between front of car and engine. I used to race him in my super hot 1985 Dodge Aries.

Centerpole90
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AG
Funny the things I'd totally forgotten about and recall now that I reminisce about that car.

I bought a couple old ratty turkey mounts at a junk store in Bryan to go with the Dixie Chicken decor of my 5th sr year apartment. They were just the perfect size that on pretty 'windows down' days I would set them in the back seat with their heads stuck out of the rear windows of the Sedan D'ville. That got a lot of looks and laughs.

Can we go back to college now
mm98
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In 1993 my brother had to buy a '78 Buick, mint green (pause for My Cousin Vinny joke....) for $500.

No matter how fast we were going in that car, it never felt like it was over 25mph.
An Ag in CO
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If there's any style of car for which I have absolutely no nostalgic feelings it's definitely the land yachts. My wife had one when we first met and it was such a bad car to drive. I had the opportunity to drive some of the finest from the 60s and 70s and they were all crap. My father-in-law was a huge Lincoln Town Car guy for some reason, but it was more of a status item for that generation than anything about enjoying the driving experience.
TSJ
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While not malaise era cars, I went to the goodguys show last weekend up at TMS and fell pretty hard for some yachts there.

Buick Electra









Pontiac Bonneville




Never heard of this one before but it was immaculate Chrylser Saratoga



Centerpole90
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AG
That Electra.

That would have made Electra Waggoner Biggs proud.
CanyonAg77
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Mom and Dad built a house in 1959, making the garage big enough for the cars of the day. In the 70s, the cars got too long for the garage, but the cars eventually shrunk back down in the 80s and they could close the garage door again. I remember we had a 1964 Olds, and in 1970, dad traded it for a 1963 Cadillac Fleetwood.

I was going "what the heck?", but it turned out to be an old couple's car, and only had 12,000 miles on it. It was an awful color they called "Desert Rose", and which is why I called it "The Pink Hearse".

Representative photo:



Good photo of another Caddy in "desert rose"



It had power windows on every window, which included vent windows front and rear, so there were 8 window switches on the drivers door. Also had power seats, and vacuum operated power door locks. Push the button and you heard a sucking sound as the doors locked. Add the power mirror control, and the driver's door looked like an aircraft panel. According to Google, it had a 325hp 429ci motor.

Dad liked it, because at 6 foot tall, he could lay down in the back seat to sleep, with room to spare, while mom was driving her shift on the 8 hour drive to College Station, where my brother was a fish. There was enough room between the end of the front seat and the doors that I could go from front to rear by going around the seat while we were driving. (Seat belts? What seat belts?)

One of the not-so-great options was the automatic headlight dimmer. It was mounted top center on the dash, and looked a little like a pistol, with an "electric eye" photocell aimed at oncoming traffic. This is a Ford dimmer, but it looked a lot like this.



It had a dial to adjust the sensitivity. When a car came toward you with their lights on bright, it would dim your lights. Usually, the oncoming car would then dim their lights. At which point, the electric eye, no longer seeing the other headlights, would turn your lights back on bright. Which would piss off the other driver, who would put his lights back on bright. Which would cause the electric eye to dim your lights. Which would cause the other driver to dim his. Which would cause the electric eye to brighten yours.....

Thank God for that car, since mom and dad survived a near head-on collision with a grain truck. Lady driving the truck turned left in front of them, and they scraped the whole left side of that car on the left end of her bumper, and even dented the right side as the car rocked up on two wheels and hit the concrete culvert on the right.

They got it fixed and drove it a few more years, though it never drove as straight and smoothly after. I think their next Caddy was a brown 1974 with the 500ci engine....
CanyonAg77
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AG
Quote:

Open the engine bay and there's some huge V8 but also what seemed like 2 feet of blank space between front of car and engine.
I had a 1973 Monte Carlo like that. Easily a foot between the grill and the radiator. Then another 18" or more between the radiator and the front of the engine. Had a tunnel-like fan shroud between the radiator and the engine.

Dad told of the 1940s Lincoln cars with the flathead V-12 engine. Apparently the V-12 sucked, so a common conversion was to replace it with the Ford V-8. He said it was common to see mechanics standing inside the engine bay (where the other 4 cylinders used to be) working on the motor.
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