OMG! My wife and I owned one of these. My in-laws bought it for us to drive wbile our '85 Chevy Cavalier was in the shop getting a new engine. Ours was a Premiere, the top of the line in '77. As I recall, it was almost fully loaded and everything mechanically worked just fine. It had a 318 V-8 backed by a 727 Torqueflite tranny. The interior was almost mint. It also had power windows, door locks, and tilt wheel with cruise control. The original AM/FM cassette system was still in the car and worked quite well--especially when you kicked in the 150-watt stereo amp that was in the car when we got it. It looked as though this amp had been a pro install, as there were no wires hanging down from under the dash. It worked so well that my adopted son blew all but the front speakers showing us that we did indeed have a boom box on wheels. But like all other Volares of this era, ours had terminal body cancer over the liftgate area which took out the tailgate hinges. I had visions of fixing it up before my bodyman told me about this. I wound up selling it to a young couple who were in desparate need of a car. And yes, I told them about the tailgate problem but it didn't matter to them. I had the car serviced so well that they were happy to get it. Whenever I see one of these, I'm taken back to the Summer of '96, and all the fun I had withit.
Yeah Tony, it was indeed the summer of '96. That old car ran very, very well after I serviced it. When my wife drove it to my workplace, it ran like crap. In fact, I wondered if it would even get us through the paper route that we ran at the time. With the next week being my vacation from work, I spent a lot of time under hood giving the old girl a little TLC. She got a full tune-up, a fresh fill of tranny fluid, along with a tranny filter and pan gasket. I also replaced the modulator valve, and serviced the A/C with one of those DIY air kits from Walmart. It ran so well that everyone that saw it wanted it. As I said, I sold it to a young couple for much les than I had in it. I saw it once or twice after I sold it. Sadly, my wife suffered a massive stroke in 2003. Every time I see one of these, I think of that wonderful summer we shared together.
Best of OPC. 
8 comments:
Ugh. Another slant six. Well, I guess it's part of our history. Like locust, tornadoes and the plague.
These cars really were horrible products, tho. From the darkest moments of the American car industry.
I don't know what you're talking about, but slant sixes are about the most indestructable engine ever made besides the Ford 300CID straight 6.
Fake wood grain and dog dish hubcaps. Awesome.
Oh look, a 1979 Toyota Cressida wagon. Wait, nevermind.
+1 on the woodgrain/dog dish combo. Just looks right on this car, as do the whitewalls.
OMG! My wife and I owned one of these. My in-laws bought it for us to drive wbile our '85
Chevy Cavalier was in the shop getting a new engine. Ours was a Premiere, the top of the line in '77. As I recall, it was almost fully loaded and everything mechanically worked just fine. It
had a 318 V-8 backed by a 727 Torqueflite tranny. The interior was almost mint. It also had
power windows, door locks, and tilt wheel with cruise control. The original AM/FM cassette
system was still in the car and worked quite well--especially when you kicked in the 150-watt
stereo amp that was in the car when we got it. It looked as though this amp had been a pro
install, as there were no wires hanging down from under the dash. It worked so well that my
adopted son blew all but the front speakers showing us that we did indeed have a boom box
on wheels. But like all other Volares of this era, ours had terminal body cancer over the liftgate
area which took out the tailgate hinges. I had visions of fixing it up before my bodyman told
me about this. I wound up selling it to a young couple who were in desparate need of a car.
And yes, I told them about the tailgate problem but it didn't matter to them. I had the car
serviced so well that they were happy to get it. Whenever I see one of these, I'm taken back
to the Summer of '96, and all the fun I had withit.
great story, captain. i didn't think you were going to say "summer of '96."
Yeah Tony, it was indeed the summer of '96. That old car ran very, very well after I
serviced it. When my wife drove it to my workplace, it ran like crap. In fact, I wondered
if it would even get us through the paper route that we ran at the time. With the next week being my vacation from work, I spent a lot of time under hood giving the old girl
a little TLC. She got a full tune-up, a fresh fill of tranny fluid, along with a tranny filter
and pan gasket. I also replaced the modulator valve, and serviced the A/C with one of
those DIY air kits from Walmart. It ran so well that everyone that saw it wanted it. As
I said, I sold it to a young couple for much les than I had in it. I saw it once or twice
after I sold it. Sadly, my wife suffered a massive stroke in 2003. Every time I see one
of these, I think of that wonderful summer we shared together.
Post a Comment