[bigtimesuperstar]

Hi,

I picked up a 1983 sedan last night. I will probably be posting a lot of questions in the weeks to come, so I thought I'd just say hello and post a picture of my new toy.

It's in pretty good shape. It runs and drives with no issues (that I could tell so far). It idles a little rough and the interior needs some TLC. It's an automatic with sunroof and about 217K miles.

The issues that immediate attention seem to be:

1. Can get the trunk open (have no idea what is in there).
2. Brake lights and left driver side taillight not working.
3. Driver side back window does not go up or down.

 

[BHart]

It's good to see another old car kept on the road.

People say cars like the Prius are environmentally green. The problem those people do not take into account is the huge carbon footprint a Prius leaves behind. The dirty process involved in making the batteries, the fact that they are only produced in Japan and must be shipped on enormous container ships to market. How will they be disposed of at the end of their life?

Every old car kept on the road is one new car that doesn't need to produced. It still takes a lot of manufactured material, raw and recycled, and energy to make a new vehicle. The money saved by a slightly more efficient new car can take many years to re-coup. I'd like to know how the actual pollution numbers compare between running an old car and building a new one....

New cars are built like most other appliances today. Most parts are not fixable and must be replaced as assemblies. The poorer quality (from all manufacturers) means faster depreciation and cars that will be thrown away rather than fixed.

So again, great car! Glad to see it wasn't turned in for the Clunkers program. Best of luck with the little, fixable problems.