OT -- fun to drive classics BESIDES Cobras

[btsai]

So what do you guys own or have driven that are fun to drive? I'm thinking of older cars -- not just horsepower motivated (e.g. -- a '70 Chevelle with a 6-71 blower on top of a large displacement Chevy engine would be fun, but not what I'm thinking about). Here are a couple of possible examples:

1959 Alfa Spyder



A an old friend of mine had one. I never got to drive it, but it made wonderful sounds. He did say that the parts were not cheap.

I got a ride in one of these not along ago too (a replica) -- Porsche 550 Spyder.



Great looking car. Sounds it made were okay -- not really anything to write home about. Car is tiny. All in all, not as cool riding in it as I thought it would be. (Just for the record, driving/riding in a Cobra IS very cool. Duh. )

I also had a friend in college who had a great Lotus Elan convertible. (late '60s vintage I think...). Wonderful handling car. Ran through River Road in Tucson as smooth as butter. Fun car. Seemed smoother than a Miata as best I can recall...

At any rate -- any other fun drives out there? Let's share some other experiences.

Ben

[MilwDoug]

I had a chance to drive a customers Caterham Super 7 a few years ago. That car was a blast. Very small. Much smaller than a Cobra with a Lotus engine in it. It was a go cart on steroids.

I used to have a Sunbeam Tiger. Poor mans Cobra. Not as good as the real thing but still lots of fun.

I love driving around in my 65 Bonneville Convertible which I have had for 12 years. Completely different than the Cobra, but very relaxing and also gets lots of great comments. Plus my daughters like it better because it has room for their friends.

[Zulu]

Austin Healy MkII 3000 , lots of fun, owned by a friend

MGB with twin webers, loaned to me for a week after repairing the carbs. hppned to be dating a blonde at the time - tres cool!

Alfa Spider (not as old as the above one- probably around 1969) owned by my best friends brother. 1800 motor , had fun working on that too.

Alfa GTA 2000 , man did that go !!!

[Bill Wells]

previously a long list of cars , most memorable : Pantera, 68 Cougar XR7GTE with factory 427, old bathtub 356 Porsches. Currently a SPF, 57 Thunderbird (my 3rd) and restomod 65 Mustang Convert with modified K code and tremec 5 spd. Each of the current cars puts you in a different mood when driving them. AT least one is running at all times but all 3 seem to always want something ..LOL..bill.

[btsai]

Bill -- what are the bathtub Porsches like? Ever drive a Speedster too?

Ben

[427sharpe]

My 1966 GT350 or some favs from the past.'63 Continental convertible or a 1965 Galaxie 427/4 speed. Have a 1966 Buick
Wildcat convertible I am restoring now. 401 nailhead with 3x2. Like the Bonnevile by a previous poster, or the 63 Lincoln I once owned, just a laid back cruising kinda car.

[Matt M FFR 1502]

Greetings Ben, Fiat 850 Spyders were a blast to drive (if you didn't mind 5000 rpms from LA to Sacramento at 77mph), as was the Fiat 124 Roadster. Just fun little cars. Matt

[snakeeyes]

My favorite cruisers were a '71 'Cuda convertible and a '70 Buick GS Convertible. Nice ride, lots of room, lots of torque.

My wife's old Miata was a lot of fun in the twisties. It felt a lot quicker than it was, which probably isn't a bad thing.

Ferrari 308 is a nice overall ride. Great steering, good brakes, decent power, and a wonderful exhaust note that makes you seek out tunnels and overpasses.

A GT40 is a great drive if you like looking UP at trailer hitches and Saturns.

Bob

[bittentoo]

I'm restoring a 71 Torino GT. 351c 4v, 4 speed, A/C, PS, PB, bench seat car with the shaker and rear slats. Great car to cruise in and will get up and go when needed. Gets lots of looks with the shaker and slats.

And guess what color it is.....Calypso Coral(sp)........go figure!

[btsai]

Kelly -- funny coincidence. The first car I ever (legally) drove was a friends '71 Gran Torino. It was the day I got my learners permit. The car was a silver automatic with a 351 Cobra Jet engine. Great memories.


Ben

[bittentoo]

Ben,

My first Torino was a 70, same color. Had many "Great Memories"
in that car

[Charlie]

The most unusual car I ever rode in was back in high school, my buddy had a completely original 1956 Cadillac Hearse, all black, with gold-roped velvet curtains and opera lights on the sides. This thing weighed 7000 pounds, had some monsterous Cadillac engine, a HUGE chrome bullet bumper up front, and was the smoothest ride you ever experienced. You didn't really feel ruts in the road in the normal sense, everything was like a slow motion delayed reaction event. A regular '56 Cadillac was big, but this was a behemouth.

We would typically invite the girls to go to a dark drive-in movie (they still had those back then) and watch some slasher movie like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and back the Hearse up, open the casket loading door and turn on those marker lights on the side. For some reason, nobody wanted to park near us . I can't figure it out. . . .

We regularly drove the hearse to school and just had a general blast driving around in that thing.
Charlie

[BB427]

Originally posted by Charlie


This thing weighed 7000 pounds, You didn't really feel ruts in the road in the normal sense, everything was like a slow motion delayed reaction event.
Charlie

I bet the cars behind you felt the ruts in the road

[dscott]

I'm working on a project I hope will be fun to drive. I like oddball cars that you don't see on the road. It's a 1955 Nash Rambler Farina wagon. It's setup for Mustang II up front, 9" rear, 351W with a C4 auto. Needs lots of work to get it on the road but that's half the fun. I bought it at an auction cheap, nobody else wanted it because it's so ugly. I'll post a picture of the beauty when Brent fixes the picture problem.

I owned a 1955 Healey 100/4 that was a ball to drive. Very low and had a nice sound.
Don

[FST HSKR]

Owned a 69 Boss 302 loved the sound of solid lifters. Also had 69 Mach with a 428 CJ. Did get to drive a 69 Boss 429 Mustang enjoyed the 302 more, a 55 T- Bird, a 62 T-Bird Roadster. The one that still makes me smile the most was a 94 Winston Cup Ricky Rudd T-Bird that I had a my house for one weekend, really rattled the windows of the neighborhood that weekend.

Jim

[Hal Copple]

have had the pleasure of riding or driving in many cars since the early '60's. Went to Gerrmany in fall, '69, with my brand new Dodge Charger R/T with the 375 hp 440 ci motor. Europe was still in recovery from the war, so there were very few big cars on the road, unless driven by an American soldier. mostly small VW's, with the odd Messerschmidt or Isetta trundling along.

So when i would go thru the small hamlets in my big thumping Dodge, it would really bring out the locals. I would cruise all day at about 95 mph, getting about 6 mpg, from mid-germany down to Austria.

How serene, as long as i did not try to go much over 100 mph, as the car would not make one complete stop from that speed, due to brake fade.

If i could bring back one of my many cars, it would be that Charger. Sold it to a soldier who went off the road in it. Traveled on 18 cent a gallon Quartermaster gas.

The good times always seem so carefree in one's memory. Then i was posted to the Delta as an Infantry captain for 366 days. Come to think of it, would sometimes travel by Jeep, with my trusty M3 smg by my side. Or the K, or the MAS, the XM, or the KAR, or even the PPSH, when you are an advisor you have a choice of just about anything.

[Cal Metal]

M-B 300 SL Gullwing Coupe. The cockpit ,with the wide sills and short windshield, makes you feel as though you are in a small airplane.

[btsai]

CM -- a neighbor friend (the dad) had a 300 SL Gullwing when I was in highschool. (mid '70s). Sat in it once. He'd drive it around and leave it parked with the doors up to attract even more attention. He said he took it up to 130 mph and you'd not want to go faster than that.

His "regular" cars were Corvettes. Collected a bunch of 'em. His trailer queen was a '54. Wife's daily driver was a '64 327 convertible w/a 4-speed. Only one was an automatic -- '65, white, knock-offs, side pipes, teak steering wheel. Older daughter drove that one once in a while.

They had an 8-car garage and their own gas pump (had to truck in the high octane stuff - especially back then.)

I got a double benefit from that family -- cool cars and two beautiful girls my age. Man, times were good then!.

Ben

[Cal Metal]

Ben:

Sounds like you found the Holy Grail with those neighbors. If one part went to hell, you had the other half. Not bad.

I hate to say it but the Gullwing gets more looks and discussion than the Cobra. So few around anymore that people have no idea what it is. They are a veritable eye catcher. No other car has ever had the styling cues that those cars did. Nothing derivative about the styling at all. The doors really surprise people--particularly the drive up attendant at McDonalds!!

[snakeeyes]

Cal has had that Gullwing for all of, what, a week now? He's been driving it without registration and is already acquainted with the local constabulary! Naughty boy...how about posting some pictures of that beauty so we can all enjoy it?