The best I can remember is that my parent's had a '70s Chevy Malibu station wagon (which are apparently sought after now for some reason), then a series of Ford Pintos, in the mid '80s a Chevy Citation and Chevy Chevette were bought Then around 1988 or so my parents bought a Ford Tempo. My car driving experience started out in a Pinto when I liberated a Pinto at the age of 13. That experience also taught me how to drive manual (well drive in general). Soon those experiments ended when my aunt saw me driving about and informed on me resulting in my parents hiding keys.
But here is the main point of this silly thread: My main ride from 1980-1988 was this:
That is my bicycle from the 1980's. I put it back together over the winter and it is 99% original, including tires (but missing some things like wheel reflectors and two pads). It is an odd bike as it is a Schwinn Predator with a frame built in 1980 when the Predator was introduced in 1982. Yay! I get to ride my 1980s bicycle again.
That is a fantastic winter project! Good for you for bringing it back to life. You'll have to put some hockey/baseball cards in the spokes to give it that bad-ass sound.
I had a few BMX bikes back then, but none of them were name brands that I can recall (although I really wanted a Ritchie for some reason).
As far as cars go, my ride was the back seat of my mom's Volvo 240. I actually took over ownership of the old beast in my 20s once it was rusted out and looking a mess. But that engine kept purring along. Those things were so well built.
"How fiendishly deceptive of you Magnum. I could have sworn I was hearing the emasculation of a large rodent."
I inherited my father’s 69 Ford F-250 pickup when I started driving in the mid-80’s. It never had any mechanical problems for the couple of years I drove it. What killed me was buying gas. It got 8mpg!!! No joke.
My mom drove a Ford station wagon into the 80’s. That was my childhood ride. We used to slide around in the back when she went around corners. No seatbelt laws then. I had a BMX bike too, a Mongoose, but I mostly rode my skateboard around and to school, right up until I got my license.
Thomas_Magnum wrote: ↑Sun May 30, 2021 9:00 pm
A 1986 Pontiac Fiero SE. Great little car that was all I could afford and be Magnumish.
The Pontiac Fiero, a mid-engine light weight car with a 6 cylinder engine... That must have been a blast to take turns at silly speeds as mid-engine cars are balanced. I base this on the first car that I owned that was also mid-engine, a 1970 Porsche 914. Do not let the name Porsche fool you as there was nothing special (or expensive) about it, well other than it was fun to drive. In Europe they were sold as VW-Porsche. Mine was Canary Yellow so I could not even pretend that it was Magmumish.
Also of note, I just realized that in the 1970s-1980s the kid movers were station wagons. In the 1980s-1990s they were mini vans. In the 1990s to present they are SUVs.
Thomas_Magnum wrote: ↑Sun May 30, 2021 9:00 pm
A 1986 Pontiac Fiero SE. Great little car that was all I could afford and be Magnumish.
The Pontiac Fiero, a mid-engine light weight car with a 6 cylinder engine... That must have been a blast to take turns at silly speeds as mid-engine cars are balanced. I base this on the first car that I owned that was also mid-engine, a 1970 Porsche 914. Do not let the name Porsche fool you as there was nothing special (or expensive) about it, well other than it was fun to drive. In Europe they were sold as VW-Porsche. Mine was Canary Yellow so I could not even pretend that it was Magmumish.
Also of note, I just realized that in the 1970s-1980s the kid movers were station wagons. In the 1980s-1990s they were mini vans. In the 1990s to present they are SUVs.
The 914 has aged nicely and they're actually pretty collectible. I guess the prices for 356s and 911s became so out of reach, people started say "at least it's a vintage Porsche." But yeah, nothing like a 911. Still, they're quirky and I've always liked them. I guess the equivalent to the Fiero SE in 914 terms was the 916, with a six cylinder engine shoehorned in. Now THAT must have been a white knuckle car to drive!
"How fiendishly deceptive of you Magnum. I could have sworn I was hearing the emasculation of a large rodent."
The 916 never went into production so they are super rare (I think only three were made and initially they stayed with people who had the last name Porsche). They did not go into production because they feared they would hurt 911 profits. Looking into this today I found one was recently auctioned for just under US $1 M. I have heard of people shoving big engines into 914s, usually a Chevy small block V8. One guy told me he had some sort of Audi engine in his. I cannot imagine the headaches of working on the large engines with a tiny engine access lid. Also I cannot imagine how massively overpowered those cars would be.
80s Big Hair wrote: ↑Fri Jun 04, 2021 2:31 am
The 916 never went into production so they are super rare (I think only three were made and initially they stayed with people who had the last name Porsche). They did not go into production because they feared they would hurt 911 profits. Looking into this today I found one was recently auctioned for just under US $1 M. I have heard of people shoving big engines into 914s, usually a Chevy small block V8. One guy told me he had some sort of Audi engine in his. I cannot imagine the headaches of working on the large engines with a tiny engine access lid. Also I cannot imagine how massively overpowered those cars would be.
Totally! Death machine. But an exciting way to go out!
"How fiendishly deceptive of you Magnum. I could have sworn I was hearing the emasculation of a large rodent."
My ride was a 1979 rx 7 I joined the navy in 1985 and bought the rx on leave after a school and drove it to my first duty station .I had it for a few years after I left the navy and then sold it. It wasn't the ferrari from the show but was as close as I could get on a e4 salary
BORNTURUN wrote: ↑Fri Jun 18, 2021 11:44 am
My ride was a 1979 rx 7 I joined the navy in 1985 and bought the rx on leave after a school and drove it to my first duty station .I had it for a few years after I left the navy and then sold it. It wasn't the ferrari from the show but was as close as I could get on a e4 salary
Nice! Was it red?
"How fiendishly deceptive of you Magnum. I could have sworn I was hearing the emasculation of a large rodent."
BORNTURUN wrote: ↑Fri Jun 18, 2021 11:44 am
My ride was a 1979 rx 7 I joined the navy in 1985 and bought the rx on leave after a school and drove it to my first duty station .I had it for a few years after I left the navy and then sold it. It wasn't the ferrari from the show but was as close as I could get on a e4 salary
Sort of looks like Rick's 1980 Datsun 280ZX GL (before he drove a Mercedes).
