Driving Old Bangers

Bella

 

Molto bella! Same great color as my 330 GTC.

 

my apologies for missing your compliment.

my first car was a 77 red trans am. it was already 10 years old, and a beater when i found it, sitting on the SIDE of someones house, after they had gotten into a bit of trouble with it.

i bought it ( cheap!) and that was what really made me the (wierdo!) person i am today. i had some sort of car disease, that made me want to take things apart, even when they were still working, just to see "how" they worked. this was a terrible affliction at an early age, as i had no idea what the hell i was doing, or how to fix anything!

i of course went through numerous engines, transmissions, and 2 complete rear ends in this old red trans am. i had to ride with freinds to school as i refused to buy some damn vw beetle or some " Jap car " just to get me around. yes, i was ...... hard headed.

somehow i learned a few things about cars, and made it a point to ALWAYS have more than one that ran, and drove. at one time i had 11 early camaros and firebirds. i was a good kid, a bit of a nerd, did not get into trouble, so my parents let me have the cars stacked up at the house, as long as i could afford to keep them registered and insured, or chop them up quickly and use the parts to keep the fleet alive. i had some super rare ram air trans ams, several COPO camaros, a Baldwin Motion camaro, and these cars were not " rare" or valuable. they were just " different". you guys do not want to see the old 35mm pics of the stuff i chopped up. hell i can barely look at them given the value of some of them now, if they existed! i was still in my early teens, and a girl that hang out with our little group of car hellians came by , and gave my my CARREAPER name. she had seen me that morning in a white trans am, that i had purchased out of a McDonalds parking lot for 400.00, only to see the car completely chopped up by lunch time in the backyard.

i needed the parts for a 4 speed car i was ( trying) to resurrect. ( see, i liked the 4 speed hard top coupes, and chopped up t top cars with automatics, no matter what they were. ( gulp!)

time went on. i stayed in school , worked two and sometimes 3 jobs at the same time to buy stuff that i wanted. my parents took good care of me. but they had no spare cash to "give" away. i worked for all of my stuff.

i had a terrible passion for exotic cars. i knew facts about them like a damn Wiki page on LSD. Lord knows some of those owners were so nice to me, i know i was annoying. i have made it a point to always be nice to the other car nerds i meet.

i got bored with muscle cars.

found Ferrari Chat.

a member had a disagreement with a curb in the rain in his marrone 308GTS.

bought it for $9500.00 slightly bent. my first Ferrari. ( vin *23785*) i basically slept in the old beach chair in my shop that night the car was delivered. i had already been at work for 10 hours. and worked on the car until very dark-thirty. had to wake up, shower, and go to work, really sore from sleeping a few hours in the chair, next to the 308.

fixed the Ferrari. bought 4 more. and 3 Lamborghini's. and a Pantera. and a Lotus turbo.... 3 Porsche 911's.

and i aint done yet.


to finally answer your question, i really like the way the 70-78 4 speed Trans ams drive. also the 1970-72 Z28 camaros with 4 speeds. the other years without 4 speed i could care less about. i mean they are parts cars to me still! lots of fun.

torque. the smell of old , hot, GM plastic. mixed with hot oil on headers, and fuel. just like 70s Ferrari's have thier smells and charms. so do the old muscle cars. and by old i mean original, yet decent drivers. i do not buy resto-fied cars someone has had all apart and put back together again, all clean and pretty. i want one that's been around since the 70's, not some new show car i can not beat on.

Dale, they are still as fun as you remember. this new gasoline sucks, even for the low compression mid 70's cars. a 4 speed and some loud ass headers, will really make you smile. you dont have to drive like a moron, and risk hurting anyone. these cars are now " old" , "heavy" and "slow".

i dont need the 1000 hp street machines some of these guys are running, but i will salute them still for their passion. the old, slow Ferraris and Lambos i have owned have been a real privilege to experience. ya know, i will never see the 275 GTBs in anger on the roads, or see a Miura zipping along. they are so rare, ( and i live in Georgia!) they are not used as cars anymore.

i think its loads of fun to jump out of a 70s or 80s Ferrari, and hop into a muscle car you know from your younger days. these old cars talk to us, as many of you are aware, in ways the new sterile computer cars do not. the Ferrari's are small, nimble, and not "that" slow compared to the 3500 pound Firebird i just got out of. they both have unique smells, sensations, and a feel you know is right for the car, or would have taken it apart by now!

i have no desire for much of anything made after 1989. we will see how the market reflects the desires of other buyers my age.


who am i to judge?


THECARREAPER

 

Check the pedal support for a return 'helper" spring?

I've had them break with a "sproing" sound.... but if it happened and you weren't there to feel the pieces ricochet off your shin, you wouldn't know.....

 

well, i did have a orange and black 454 4 speed car here.......
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Dale, you are more than welcome!!! Perhaps I can show you what the Dino can do in the twisties, or the supreme elegance of the 330 GTC as it roars up the Cantabrian chain (that's a hint to where you can find me. Follow the song of the 12 cylnders!).

I like bad-ass Camaros very much, and driving next to yours would be a pleasure.

I agree with everything you say on the 330 GTC, with the exception of your AC comment. I put one in. I know, that was really wimpy of me, but man it gets hot in this country sometimes...

 

And I happen to be just the man to do something about it -

 

UHMMM...

 

OK...

 

I have not yet exercised the 365 GTC as vigorously as I would have liked, as I am still mulling over the serial number fiddle issue, and whether to send the car back to the broker and be refunded what I paid (at the peak of the market last year). I don't want any issues to be raised about deteriorated condition--or heaven forbid, a shunt--if the car does go back. I am also reluctant to test limits on public roads. If I do keep it, I will do a low key track session or two to get a good feel for the car in a safer and more controlled environment. I will say that I have been surprised at the punch the car has.

I also have a Daytona, but for various reasons have not been able to get the two cars together in the same state to do a back to back comparison. I keep thinking about contacting "Forza" or another magazine to see if they would be interested in doing an article on the two cars and comparing the driving characteristics. "Forza" has done a 365 GTC vs. 365 GTS comparo, and a 365 GTB/4 vs. 365 GTC/4, but not 365 GTC vs. 365 GTB/4, as far as I know. Would be interesting.