Worst beater you've ever driven...

[spackard]

There was a 70's wagon, the Brady Bunch size, a friend bought for $80. Guy who sold it to him felt bad doing so. First time we'd ever had a disposable car, man did we have fun in that. We literally could break down in this car and walk away from it. Very liberating feeling.

Used to pretend we were drunk/idiots/whatever. Tied an electric blanket heater around the hitch one night and drove it around with it kicking up sparks until it eventually abraded away.

Transmission started slipping, so we had to drive it slow, and it took time to climb a hill. Sometimes we'd be on a dirt road and it wouldn't climb, so we'd have to find a way to back down and go another way.

One night we had to drive up to LAX to pick up his dad's friend. We were waiting for that guy, kept getting kicked out of curbside waiting zone, so we'd have to make another loop, barely doing 25 up a ramp, driving back around the loop again. Where is this guy!? Finally about 45-60 minutes later he shows just as we're getting kicked out of curbside waiting again so we load up his suitcases, he's talking a mile a minute while we're [censored] off about having to do the loops, then we climb the ramp again and the transmission is slipping real good. He suddenly realizes this, starts to slow his talk, then says "Hey, I think your car's gonna' break down!" We just mutter "It'll make it." Rest of the ride was pretty quiet.

He sold it a month later, for $130. A $50 profit!
Everything else on the car was in pretty good shape.

 

[morris]

i started driving a 1949 ply in 1965. 6 cyl 6 volt burned tons of oil. the rings was so bad on slight incline the engine would not hold it. the clutch slipped. had the old center plain brake system. NOT a chick magnet.

 

[Chris142]

75 impala 4 door. The passengers doors were smashed in a foot. I paid $125 for the car just to pull the engine because it had #186 heads on it. I figured someone had swapped in an older engine.

Once I pulled the engine I found it to me a 1967 302! Code "MP" if you chevy guys want to look it up. It was tired but ran, The heads alone were worth the $125 I paid for the car.

I Rebuilt the 302, put a $20 low hp reground cam in it. Kept the 11:1 compression and the 2bbl carb and intake from the 75. Put it in a 69 Chevelle with 3.08's and a 3 on the tree. Car ran consistant 14.47's at the 1/4 mile track with a stock cam and 2 bbl!!! That car was a blast!

 

[mrsilv04]

The worst car that I've driven was a 2011 Mitsubishi Galant.

The only car that I've driven, that I truly hated.

 

[wirelessF]

1991 Nissan Sentra obtained in 2010 for free...RIP 2012 and really miss that car (since I threw so much money into fixing it.) Minor front right damage from clipping a light pole making a left, didn't have the time to repair it. Our unofficial truck recovery vehicle, used it to pull my dad's Tundra from a muddy mess and used it to tow my Chevy 1500 when the fuel pump went out. In-town newspaper delivery car, very nimble around town versus using a truck. Had a unsolvable miss under idle but it gets the job done.

 

[Stelth]

Work truck. Can't remember if it was a Datsun or a Toyota, but I couldn't park it in my driveway, because with the brake on and the transmission in first, it would roll back down until it found more-or-less level ground. You could hear the engine turning as it rolled.

Another work truck. IIRC, it was an F600, and it was basically a fuel truck with a big, square, welded tank on it. It had vacuum assisted brakes, and a leak in the vacuum system. It also had a bent tie rod, which I discovered once when I had to hit the brakes on a back road, and the truck jerked hard right, and I almost hit the rock wall next to me.

 

[mattwithcats]

1988 Dodge Dakota, with the 2.2 Omni engine and manual 5 speed transmission.

Hesitation of power was legendary,
0-60 in 10 minutes, with a stiff tailwind.

Bought new for $5500 with a thousand rebate...
$4500 for a truck and motor, no radio, no AC, bench seat, not a single option...

I ran it until 2002/03, then gave it to a Summer Camp for Kids...

It's still running...

 

[01rangerxl]

As far as owned, that would be my rust eaten 1995 Explorer. Everything worked and it ran good, but the radiator and charcoal canister were hanging on for dear life. The fuel filler neck leaked gas until I replaced it with a used, but rust free one. The rocker panels were gone. One of the rear shocks broke off. If it weren't for rust, it wouldn't have qualified as a beater.

As far as driven, hard to say. I've driven some really ragged out cars. Some that come to mind...
- 1995 Blazer 2WD. The driver door was held shut with rope, you had to enter through the passenger side. A coworker pulled it into the shop and came running out the passenger side gagging from the smell and yelled "somebody took a [censored] in there!" The front suspension was totally shot in every way. Every joint was completely worn out and on the verge of failure, and it creaked and groaned worse than any suspension I have ever heard. When I got in it, sure enough, it smelled like someone had just taken a dump inside. The engine sputtered and misfired like crazy, and of course every light on the dash was on. It would barely move under its own power, and was bleeding from every seal and gasket it had.

- 1995 Astro, 500K mi. All exterior door handles were broken and the owner just left the driver window down all the time to access the interior door handle. Starting it was accomplished with a pair of needle nose pliers. It actually ran okay, but leaked everything and the suspension and steering were very sloppy.

- 1991 F-150, 500K mi. It got oil when it knocked. Finally when the oil pressure gauge dropped to 0, the owner decided it was time for an oil change. It had been over two years since the last one. It knocked LOUD after the oil change, then quieted down after about 20 seconds, and the oil pressure gauge climbed back up to mid range. This one was also started by using needle nose pliers to push a rod in the steering column.

- 1991 G20 conversion van. For some reason, someone attempted to steal this van and totally trashed the steering column. The whole column just flopped around all over the place, driving it was downright scarey. The owner kept a spoon in the cup holder to push the rod in the steering column to start it.

- 2006 F-150 Lariat painter's truck. Body and interior were trashed, but the best part was the pieces of paint mixing sticks wedged between the fuel rail and a coil to keep it in place.

- I've driven a number of N and W body GMs and '96-'06 Taurii in worse condition than these trucks, but it was so common to see them in badly beaten condition with a whole slew of unrepaired mechanical problems that I can't recall a particular one that stood out.

- Early 1990s Chrysler Concorde mosquito fogger that someone appeared to have gotten into a fight with. I did not know that these cars had composite front fenders until I saw this one. Both of them were totally shattered. Someone had clearly punched the OEM radio as well, the face of it was completely smashed.

 

[GreeCguy]

1958 Chevy "Apache" half ton truck.

Let's talk rust. I had to get a tetanus shot just from looking at it. Way back in the day when it rolled out of Detroit, it had been some shade of blue. When I got it, there were a few blue spots here and there but mostly it was covered in rust, except for the spots were there was no metal at all. The hood had holes large enough you could stick your hand through, (that really didn't matter as one day the hood simply blew off while driving down the road).

That was pretty cool I thought because now I didn't have to endure the time consuming process of raising the hood to check the oil - that and I thought it looked pretty tough driving around with no hood. I mean, any vehicle can have a hood, you gotta be a man to go hoodless.

It wasn't too long after going hoodless that I almost went topless, (keyword here is almost - let's keep it clean). There I was, motoring down the road one fine afternoon when suddenly "BOOM." The roof of the cab split from one side to the other about an inch above the windshield. When I arrived home, I tried taping it with duct tape, but the constant "hula" action of the roof in the wind while driving would tear the tape. "No problem" says I. "Nothing like driving with the wind in your hair."

Interior wise the floor was totally missing. Friends, I'm here to tell you, nothing beats the thrill of motoring down the highway, watching the pavement pass directly beneath your feet as your lungs fill with the rich smell of burning motor oil coming directly out of the rusted exhaust pipe which just happed to rust off directly beneath the cab. Yes, it could get smoky, but roll your windows down - problem solved.

Seating was living room comfort - that is if your idea of living room comfort is tearing all the stuffing out of the easy chair and sitting on the frame and springs. It actually was safer this way since this truck rolled off the line years before seatbelts. But those bare springs would pinch and grab your pants and backside and hold you in place in a way no safety harness could ever dream of.

The windshield wipers sucked - literally. Those of you from back in the day will remember vacuum operated wiper systems. Hit the gas and the wipers would slow down, let off the gas and watch them wipe like there's no tomorrow. The problem with mine however is the vacuum line to the manifold was rotted and had holes in several places. I got really good at driving in the rain with my head stuck out the window.

At one time the bed of the truck had been made out of wood. When I got it, all that was left of the original bed were a few knots here and there on the frame. Someone had the great idea of throwing a piece of plywood over the bed and holding it in place with the spare tire. Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it - aka "leave well enough alone."

The brakes worked, as did the transmission. It was the old "three on the tree" set up. The motor worked too but had a never ending thirst for oil. If I really babied it I could get about 200 miles per quart, (non-detergent 30 weight no less).

The end came when I listened to the wise counsel of my Father. I was going to change the oil and he informed me that I ought to use detergent motor oil. "It will clean all the gunk out of that old motor" he said. It did, along with a few bearings as well. After we pulled it home, we removed the pan and valve covers and scooped sludge out of the motor by the handful.

It sat under and oak tree for a couple of years. I came home from work one day and my truck was gone.

I asked my Dad, "What happened to my truck?"

"I got tired of looking at it and gave it to the junk man." was his reply.

I've never gotten over that and am convinced its the reason I wake up sometimes in the middle of the night trying to double clutch my pillow.

 

[Mr_Incredible]

When I left high school and got my first job I got a cheap 66 Skylark. Though it started through a mighty cold winter, it overheated in the summer. The timing chain blew on it, it needed brakes redone all around, and the gas tank straps rusted through one night on the highway home.

 

[1foxracing]

Originally Posted By: clinebarger
1967 F100 352/3OTT


Want to buy another? Mine is a auto 3-speed though. No extra chrage for the snow!

 

[PeteTheFarmer]

Originally Posted By: slowdime
The cause of the misfire was a leak from the valve cover on to the spark plug boot, there was about an inch of oil in the tube!


That happened a lot on that generation Altima.

I had a 1980 Ford Granada that I learned to drive manual on, and how to double clutch when one of the synchros went. It had a duct taped taillight, leaking shocks, two missing window cranks, a hole next to the drive shaft hump. When it sat overnight, it would start on the first crank, then immediately stall. It would start and run the second attempt, be OK for the rest of the day, and then repeat the process the next morning.

 

[IndyIan]

The only car I've been embarassed to drive was the Neon after I put it on its side at the track... I don't might the odd dent, but have the whole side scratched and bashed was a little to rough for me.
I actually liked my 81 Omega, it looked quite good at 20'. The 92 Sentra was Ok looking and actually very fun to rip around in. I guess the Tracker is looking a bit rough now but that's fine too, its had a few experiences along the way!

 

[MCompact]

My parent's 1974 Maverick LDO. Textbook definition of a cr*p car.
Next up was my mother's 1984 Mercury Topaz which I would drive for her to keep the battery charged up and to have it serviced. Awful.
Lest you think I hate fords, my favorite beater was my 1984 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe- of course it was properly equipped with three pedals...

 

[rjundi]

I bought a swiss cheese 1986 Subaru XT with the 4cylinder motor(90HP?) and autotragic for $300. It was a weird car with a front bumper skin missing, holes to the pavement, smelled like mold due to water leaking up from road spray.

I knew a guy to inspect it.

I took a week trip to South America and decided to stay 2 more weeks and left at the airport due to excessive parking costs and not sure what happened to it.

 

[chriscreags]

My beater story would be my first car, a 1990 Acura Legend sedan. Got it from my Grandma when I got my license at 18.

I went through several So. Cal summers with that car, no A/C, no window tint and leather seats. You can imagine how pleasant that was. And during the winter, the seal around the sunroof would leak, so water would collect and then dump out on me when I would step on the brakes to stop. Being a young and broke college kid (still am, this was just a couple of years ago), I never fixed it. Just threw a black trash bag on the sunroof whenever I parked. The car started to have various electrical issues as well...

Other than that it was an awesome little car. The C27A engine in it was solid. To this day, I wish wouldn't have sold it.

 

[Oldmoparguy1]

Where do I start? There have been so many.......

 

[mjk]

I made the mistake of buying a 96 Altima. I totaled a 94 Geo Prizm, and had to pick up a car very quickly.

Oil leaks everywhere; very common distributor seal went out. My car died several times on the road, before a mechanic (on a hunch) took the distributor off and found it 1/3 full of oil !!

About every sensor needed replacement. Fuel pump replaced 2x.


On the other hand, that Geo was a godsend. I literally did nothing other than plugs/air filter/tires/oil changes in the 75k I owned it. In fact, after 50k, I had it in for tires and realized I had 75% pad left on my front brakes. I had no records of brake jobs when I bought it, so I assume it had many more miles on them than 50k!

Those Geos are just awesome cars.

 

[Cubey]

1988 Buick Regal. Paid about $225 for it. Got 3 flat tires at once then the 4th went flat a couple days later. Somebody was dumping screws in the road someplace. My non-beater van I also had at the time also got a flat from a screw.

Anyhoo... it bucked really hard into second gear but never stranded be the short time i had it. I took it on the interstate a few miles a coupe times and it did fine.

The fuel gauge didnt work so I had to add $20 every so often since i wasnt sure how much it had or what kind of mpg it was getting.

I got rid of it for about $200-250 for money to put toward a car i was getting by trading in the non-beater van i had.

The brake lights werent working which I didnt know until the guy who bought it came to look at it and told me. I think they must quit while i had it since i was sure i checked them at one time.

The guy who bought it was a former GM mechanic he said, and it seems he was buying it for his teenage son since he was there looking at the car too.

I saw an 88 regal on CL with no pics for about $300 not long after that. I suspect he realized it was too much work and was trying to unload it too... haha.

 

[Kuato]

Originally Posted By: gfh77665
1977 Plymouth Volare. It was rusted badly from being used as plant vehicle in a acid and caustic unit, and then later from me driving it in saltwater at the beach. Bad shape all over but it did run. However, it got worse, much worse.

I was flying down I-10 at 75 mph and hit a huge road sign. The metal I-beam that held one side of it up dug in to the fender an inch behind the edge of the head light and peeled the whole passenger side, including the door clean off. I skidded to a stop, picked the door and panels up, tossed them in the trunk and sped away.

I got a guy to beat them roughly into shape and then weld them back on as best he could. I bought a piece of plexiglass and screwed it over the remains of the window hole.

Amazingly, the beast still fired up and ran straight, as the wheels were still in line and intact. It would even inspect after I convinced the guy it was still OK to drive. I kept it another 2 years, 20K miles before the engine blew.

With due respect to all, I think I win.


You were in the lead until GreeCguy's post, LOL.

I owned a 77 Volare wagon, 4 spd o/d manual. Rust story same as yours, even without the chemical plant.