Here's the Amazing Bit: I am still driving this very same car today, May 2009.
The A/C still works; the cig lighter died; it's had work done on it, but by my husband, so it's cheap. (Water pump, fuel pump....)
I'm still loving this car! Rides very smooth, no shake, no engine noise or weirdness, etc.
Hubby says American cars around this period (1986 Chevy Celebrity, to be specific) actually work for a rather long time, despite the fact that this is an early fuel-injection model. I agree!
Hubby is still driving our "Can't Kill It" 1980 Chrysler LeBaron.
@BorisKitten,
American cars of that era had the beginnings of solid construction theory. They created engines and drive trains that were durable. The only thing was that the bodies would ruct out completely before the car stopped moving.
I once had an old Studentbaker which had metal sheeting that was thick as an M-1 tank. It could sport a thick impasto of rust and it only gave the car this camo look. Then I later had a Renault Gordini that rusted out from bottom to top, you could actually see the road below you and in winter it was quite cold. (Easily fixed using a section of plywood and some rugging.)
@BorisKitten,
your celebrity has to have a 4 banger, cuz neither of the v-6's was worth a damn.
the Chrysler will never die, 'specially if it has the last of the slant sixes in it...(but it's fugly, I care not what mr montalban says)
jalopies rule.
@Rockhead,
She's got a slant 6 mind and a supercharged heart, The little princess is singing about her parts, She says, "Come hither", but when I get hither she is yon. I was looking for what I loved. Whatever it was, it's gone.
@BorisKitten,
BorisKitten wrote:
Just a quick brag about my "new" car... a 1986 Chevy Celebrity Station Wagon which hubby (a mechanic) bought yesterday for $500 cash.
And wow, what a car! I love it! The interior is PERFECT, I don't think anyone's touched the ashtray before I used it yesterday.
It has A/C, cruise control, 4 speakers for the radio, a 6-cylinder fuel-injected engine with overdrive transmission, power window & door locks, a 3rd fold-down seat in the back... and best of all, it was ACTUALLY owned by a 91-year-old woman and maintained by her son-in-law, who took excellent care of it.
The owner's manual is in the glove compartment with complete hand-written records for, believe it or not, every tank of gas purchased, every oil change, and every repair made from 1986-1994, plus we have a folder with receipts from all later work done on the car.
There are 91,000 original miles on it. After cleaning it today I was shocked by how nice it is, inside and out! Hubby says the motor has apparently not been worked on by "shade-tree mechanics," which is usually a bad thing.
It needs an oil change and a charge of the A/C. It drives perfectly straight without a shimmy and accelerates and shifts perfectly. Virtually everything works... the cigaret lighter, the blinkers, the heat and defrost, the wipers & washers, the power windows, the radio. It even has the fancy "delay" wipers.
BTW, we live in rural central Florida. We've been looking for a new vehicle for about 8 months now. In the past several weeks, DH has checked the newspaper ads every morning, since all the good cars sell within hours. He bought this one on the spot for cash (actually we're splitting the cost, about $300 each after tax, tag, etc.)
I LOVE OUR NEW CAR! Wish my digital camera was working so I could take pix!
CONGRATULATIONS, on your new car, Boris !
Use it in perfect health!
David
@Rockhead,
Just asked hubby, and he says Celebri-girl has a V-6, 2.8, fuel-injected thingie.
StimpyCar ('80 Chrysler) is a Slant-6. Canna Kill It.
