03 August 2012

out with old...in with new (er) ....Car talk here

Bigfoot here...

I got the urge to update my ride a couple months ago, and found a great used car deal at a Dallas Caddy dealer. Found a 2004 Town Car, top-o-the-line, with 80K miles for about $2K less than "retail" used, book price and $3K cheaper than similar ones on Ebay located in Houston. Right color, right options, sunroof, decent tires, and NO GRANNY CLOTH ROOF. Even has an auto-trunk closer....(didn't even know about that option!).

The trunk is immaculate, for now...but I tend to trash out any vehicle I own...cause" that's how I roll"...here's the fresh one with a little 6 pack cooler for size reference (TCs have HUGE trunks) note the mini-spare... and the trunk opener/closer motor to the left side

And here is the Old TC...and it's trunk. ( I nabbed some gallons of exterior latex paint samples...from the jobsite that would have been tossed in the dumpster, and after the 50 mile trip, one fell over and the velvety chocolate colored paint ran out all over the bottom of the trunk...and on a few tools too)..but latex will come off w/o too  much work. (note the full sized spare)

This old workhorse has made many trips to the cabin, sometimes pulling a pickup bed trailer with dirtbike, generator, tools, materials, etc behind it. Gets 25mpg highway speeds - no trailer.
New TC interior here.....sweet roominess for an old FATASS like me!!
Only thing the old TC needs is a detail job...and some front end, tie-rod replacements.....tends to need slight corrections as you drive down a straight hiway....but after 176,000 miles that is to be expected I reckon. The engine was replaced with a Lincoln factory "crate" engine at 85K by the previous owner ( got the paper work) . I only used Mobile One synthetic oil and it runs perfectly....gets around 23MPG from here to Dallas as a daily driver....but the newer one only gets 20-21MPG...same trip. Old one has good cold air (better than the new one), and has had the typical leaky TC rear airbags replaced with standard coil springs and manually adjusted air shocks. If I can get her cleaned up and fetch $2500, I'll be happy. Has a really good set of Michelins on it too. I'd swap these shoes to the newer one....but new one has 17" rims.(notice how Corp-super-marketing USA has got us all changing rim sizes now?...used to 15" was standard for most all cars for 50 + years....now hard to find used tires in 15-16" sizes..everything is 17"- 20".....consumer-"gotta be cool"- marketing model that killed us still going strong. (we are screwed)
My son sold his old 1970 Caddy Coupe with airbags (no motor/tranny)....to a local guy that plans to put a Dodge motor and tranny in it for a street cruiser......tow truck took it away. We had it since it was bought from an old Granny owner with 180K miles and it was Red with a white vinyl top in 1999 for my son's first car at 16yrs old. He's making room for being a new Daddy.

Okay, over load on the car chatter, I realize...but I just had to get it out. (nice break from the bread and baby talk....huh?)

(We still really miss Ben N Texas...damn, great old guy.)

Adio y'all...Bigfoot

6 comments:

tffnguy said...

You need to put 24s on the old ride and bag it. Maybe paint it pink and purple. Bet some pimp would jump right on it.

BTW you'll have been abducted in to the BBVVFD by Lee. I guess if you don't like it you can throttle him again. ;)

I'd say you'll need to get down here, but its too damn HOT!

bigfoot said...

David, About all I could do to help with a fire is either piss on it, or be the shade structure for the resting real fire fighters. But I'll try.

I only feel the need to throttle Lee when he gets his history reversed on the War Between the States. Otherwise he's a pretty good ol F-er.

Really cool looking light idea....need to hang it on a swing set frame and tie a rope to it so you can move it when a car comes down the highway at night.

Bigfoot

tffnguy said...

BF, Lee needs throttled every now and then to get his attention. ;)

Maybe I'll mount the light on a car spring and put it on the top of the tank. The wind could swing it around.

Stelle Courney said...

Your new car's all shiny and beautiful. I also think you’re a practical car buyer, since you take the car’s features into account to see which will best serve your needs. Anyway, I see that you’ve got a unique approach in how you treat your vehicles, but I suggest that you clean and maintain it once in a while, so that your car’s service life will be extended. :)

Nettie Christensen said...

I think it’ll be a good idea if you place a small trash can inside your car. You can place it inside the trunk, so it can remain inconspicuous. This can help make cleaning up easier, as you only need to dump your trash in one place. With that, you will no longer have to go through all the nooks and crannies of your car just so you can clean it.

Leisa Dreps said...

Oh, it seems that you really had that 1970 Caddy Coupe for such a long time, huh. It even lasted long enough to see your son with his own family now, and the fact that you bought it secondhand means that it’s really been around for very long! You and the previous owner must’ve taken good care of it.