Cars of any brand that you like the body style but don't like for other reasons....

[Cranky]

There's several for me. I like the 1st gen Mustang Fastbacks and the interior isn't bad either but man, got tired of the breakage and especially stuff that shouldn't break from abuse from a low torque 289. GM products was they way they rode and hated the way I felt once inside and driving a new 67 Camaro. Plus it had massive wheel hop after dumping the clutch. If I took off easy and then laid into it, it was fine but had a lot of rear end squat which isn't a bad thing I guess? Neither one of my Fastbacks had a bunch of rear squat and had no wheel hop and so far never had a Mopar with wheel hop.

67 Chevy Biscayne (I think it was a Biscayne) 4 dr sedan military cop car. Wasn't nothing cop about that sponge cake but it did run ok with the 283 and 3 on the stick. Yup, didn't like driving it above 80....felt like driving a super soft sofa and doing 80 in Germany only puts you in the way.

Pickups? Don't even think about trying to shift the 3 speed column just a little bit faster than normal because it would jamb. That was my dad's 65 Chevy. Other than that, it was ok....basic no frills at all but did have a heater at least.

86 Mitsu Tredia....ran good but difficult to get to the oil filter. Other than that and a sorry resale value, it was ok.

76 Dodge Colt....too little and no power even with the 4 speed. Dang Vega was bigger. Got a good story about that episode lol

Late 70's big block Mopars.....down on power and leaking valve covers.

All the Dodge pickups with the fuse block in the glove box. Most with those trucks know what I'm talking about. None of mine melted but saw plenty that did. Also the alternator gauge not bused right on most Mopars and especially the trucks.

Can probably think of more but that's enough for now.....

 

[68BabyBlue]

Wow, you nailed it on the Camaro. When Bob Miller and I were driving GTX number five east from Iowa, he commented that we would be hating life if we were attempting the same trek in his '68 Camaro, which replaced Baby Blue back in the day. Bob had to resort to traction bars when he raced the Camaro, really appreciated the extra spring leaf on the Hemi suspension when he raced the GTX.

 

[68BabyBlue]

I loved the looks of the '66 Corvette Convertible I owned for one year, and so did the general public. Ride was terrible, and lack of low end torque on a cammed up 350 with a big Holley didn't light my fire after decades of running high torque Mopar big blocks. My wife thought it was a huge improvement over my Mopars, until she took her first ride with the top down. She never rode in it again, and eliminated my primary motivation for acquiring a GM product.

 

[Cranky]

I loved the looks of the '66 Corvette Convertible I owned for one year, and so did the general public. Ride was terrible, and lack of low end torque on a cammed up 350 with a big Holley didn't light my fire after decades of running high torque Mopar big blocks. My wife thought it was a huge improvement over my Mopars, until she took her first ride with the top down. She never rode in it again, and eliminated my primary motivation for acquiring a GM product.

View attachment 1469203

My first wife didn't like the 70 440 RT Challenger rag top either lol. Had to have the top up and couldn't use a head scarf.....these days she doesn't have much hair so maybe she wouldn't mind the top being down now

 

[YY1]

I like the Viper but can't even close the door to get in and my head sticks up above the windshield.
bmw z3 I can at least close the door (funny as it's a much smaller car) but still my head sticks up above the windshield.

Agree on mid-size gm rear "coil spring shimmy" and wheel hop.
My skylark had almost 2 inches less headroom than my 67 Coronet after I removed the 3/8" seat spacers.
No option to do that on the buick, and my head rubbed the headliner.
I like the 68-74 nova but WAY too many "dog track" and there's an issue with breaking the axle to spring pin from too much torque.
I also like the vega/monza body but the cramped interior is ridiculous compared to the exterior dimensions.
At least they have (incredibly) a bit more headroom than the mid size gm.
Don't get me started on gm heavy door spring sag and cheap pot metal handle breakage that leaves the "small, sharp" end attached to the mechanism.

Most fords I'm interested in style wise (mustangs and mid-size) suffer from cowl rust that also takes out the floorboards.
Crazy PITA to fix right.
The 351C I owned had the stupidest external engine component design issues-
Distributor sat in a walled, low area which retained water and it rusted in place.
Water pump bolted to a flat plate that was trapped by the balancer- try replacing the pump and sealing it without a puller.
Most fords of that era also had that "power piston" power steering.
80% of them leaked at the rudimentary heim joint pin and trying to find and repair that was a royal PITA
Even into the mid 80's seems like all the fords had an ongoing battle with oil spraying all over the engine.

 

[Cranky]

I like the Viper but can't even close the door to get in and my head sticks up above the windshield.
bmw z3 I can at least close the door (funny as it's a much smaller car) but still my head sticks up above the windshield.

Agree on mid-size gm rear "coil spring shimmy" and wheel hop.
My skylark had almost 2 inches less headroom than my 67 Coronet after I removed the 3/8" seat spacers.
No option to do that on the buick, and my head rubbed the headliner.
I like the 68-74 nova but WAY too many "dog track" and there's an issue with breaking the axle to spring pin from too much torque.
I also like the vega/monza body but the cramped interior is ridiculous compared to the exterior dimensions.
At least they have (incredibly) a bit more headroom than the mid size gm.
Don't get me started on gm heavy door spring sag and cheap pot metal handle breakage that leaves the "small, sharp" end attached to the mechanism.

Most fords I'm interested in style wise (mustangs and mid-size) suffer from cowl rust that also takes out the floorboards.
Crazy PITA to fix right.
The 351C I owned had the stupidest external engine component design issues-
Distributor sat in a walled, low area which retained water and it rusted in place.
Water pump bolted to a flat plate that was trapped by the balancer- try replacing the pump and sealing it without a puller.
Most fords of that era also had that "power piston" power steering.
80% of them leaked at the rudimentary heim joint pin and trying to find and repair that was a royal PITA
Even into the mid 80's seems like all the fords had an ongoing battle with oil spraying all over the engine.

I'm familiar with the cowl rust. Mine was ok but saw plenty of them that wasn't. It's crazy that they had that problem and weren't all that old. Mine had some rust through in the lower quarters so plenty of tire smoke would come into the car. My dog didn't like that too much but it never stopped her from going with me.

 

[YY1]

I'm familiar with the cowl rust. Mine was ok but saw plenty of them that wasn't. It's crazy that they had that problem and weren't all that old. Mine had some rust through in the lower quarters so plenty of tire smoke would come into the car. My dog didn't like that too much but it never stopped her from going with me.

I believe you can actually purchase clear lexan cowl vent covers that have seals and attaching hardware that makes them snug right up to factory cowl vents.

...right from the "resto" catalogs.

You know it's a bad, common problem when you get to that point.

 

[ESOXER]

I like Buicks, I don't like GM. One of my favorites.

 

[chargervert]

I like Buicks, I don't like GM. One of my favorites.
View attachment 1469262

The 63 to 65 Riviera is the Mona Lisa of Buicks!

 

[68BabyBlue]

I like Buicks, I don't like GM. One of my favorites.
View attachment 1469262

I always like the look of the Riviera. When I was in law school, I had a professor who had owned a new one every three years since 1965. Got the best career advice of my life while riding in his new '83, left me with a good feeling about them.

 

[Cranky]

I believe you can actually purchase clear lexan cowl vent covers that have seals and attaching hardware that makes them snug right up to factory cowl vents.

...right from the "resto" catalogs.

You know it's a bad, common problem when you get to that point.

And people thought Mopars were bad for rust. I truly think Ford and GM had more issues with rust than Mopar did.

 

[YY1]

I like them 63-65 rivs and the boat tails.

Can't say anything bad about the 63-65 but 71-76 in general big gm's-

Vents SUCK. Nothing but warm air and the fan runs all the time.

Coil spring rears sag after a few years.

Dash lights are a chronic issue. Every gm I've ever owned has had dash light issues, some never got fixed.

Buicks in general- the rear bumper design makes it real easy to bend severely inward.....and quite the bitch to pull back out to straight.

...and back to gm mid-size, specifically the 72-77 cutlass- the back bumper brackets rust through like crazy (I think you can actually watch them give up metal).

In OH, there were so many of those running around missing their back bumper.....I coined the term "cutlass bumper-itis" (with apologies to Warner brothers RR cartoons).

 

[68BabyBlue]

And people thought Mopars were bad for rust. I truly think Ford and GM had more issues with rust than Mopar did.

I have a Mopar buddy who worked in the body shops of both the Plymouth and Ford dealers back in the day, and did free lance work on the side. He's the first to say that they all had their problems, just different varieties. We all know that trunk floor rust is an issue with our B bodies, but Ford Falcons of the era didn't even have a trunk floor, just the top of the gas tank. I assume the early Mustangs are the same...

 

[Cranky]

I always like the look of the Riviera. When I was in law school, I had a professor who had owned a new one every three years since 1965. Got the best career advice of my life while riding in his new '83, left me with a good feeling about them.

Forgot all about the Rivies......yeah, cool looking for sure and especially the mid 60's cars. Another GM I liked were the earlier 60's Pontiac Cats and Bonnies! A ride in a 62 Cat back in 63 is what cemented my love for factory hot rod cars. It was a 389 Tri-power with a 4 speed and a cousin let me ride with her (yes, her) to the post office. She gave me a good ride after short shifting 1st to 3rd and I told her 'heck no' so she stopped completely in the road (country road back then) and commenced to rowing through the gears under heavy throttle. She already was my favorite cousin and that only made me like her more. What can I say....she was blond too!

 

[Cranky]

I have a Mopar buddy who worked in the body shops of both the Plymouth and Ford dealers back in the day, and did free lance work on the side. He's the first to say that they all had their problems, just different varieties. We all know that trunk floor rust is an issue with our B bodies, but Ford Falcons of the era didn't even have a trunk floor, just the top of the gas tank. I assume the early Mustangs are the same...

Yup, Mudstains used the top of the tank as a trunk floor too. After all, the 1st gen Mustang was nothing more than a rebodied Falcoon. Don't know about the 2nd gens etc

 

[icetech]

Pontiac... the owners are WEIRD.... the motors seem to explode if you spin them over 3500.... just.. everything about them other than styling.

 

[YY1]

71 torino trunk floor was the top of the gas tank.

That always creeped me out a bit.

 

[YY1]

Of all the brands, I found the common Mopar issues were the easiest to find and fix.

That went a long way towards me becoming a lifelong Mopar guy since age 16.

...that and the extra headroom most classic era Mopars seem to have vs the others.

That means a LOT being 6'3" with a long spine- not having to sit crouched while driving...what was my favorite pastime at that time.

 

[Cranky]

Of all the brands, I found the common Mopar issues were the easiest to find and fix.

That went a long way towards me becoming a lifelong Mopar guy since age 16.

...that and the extra headroom most classic era Mopars seem to have vs the others.

That means a LOT being 6'3" with a long spine- not having to sit crouched while driving...what was my favorite pastime at that time.

I grew up with Mopars but what made me a lifelong Mopar guy was they didn't break under my abuse!!! And man, I dished it out! And after having 5 Fords.....I'll never own another lol

 

[68BabyBlue]

I grew up with Mopars but what made me a lifelong Mopar guy was they didn't break under my abuse!!! And man, I dished it out! And after having 5 Fords.....I'll never own another lol

I will never forget the night in 1986 when Bob Miller invited me to his mom's place for dinner, and asked me how Baby Blue was running, three years after I'd purchased the car from him. When I answered, "Great!" he returned with a shoe box. It was filled to the top with time cards from his years of running the car down the quarter mile at Capitol Raceway in Maryland. The only engine work that car had during that time was valve seals changed at 80,000. Great testimony to the strength of a stock 440. That engine still runs great with 120,000 miles.