"bad"'70s cars that...

[bradfordwhite]

Our families cars from 70 to 80.  We started out as a single car suburban family with a

 

196x purple pontiac, no idea what it was

we got a baby blue 197x Buick Skylark. 

Then a 1974(?) 2 door mid blue with white vinyl roof LeSabre I think it was, which was a terrible car. My mother was literally crying at the dealership service center because of the issues.  That was the last GM they ever bought.

 

Then became a two vehicle household with the purchase of a red with white side paneled Ford F-100 or F-150 Lariat with a truck cap in fibre glas.  God I hated this thing.  But with the Buick it was all set for the bi-cential: red, white, and blue (and white).

Then the buick was ditched and a 1977 mid green Thunderbird.  Everything on this was green.  Didn't care for it either because we were a family of 4+ yet it only had 2 doors and with no operable windows in back and their smoking.   UGGGH. It had velour, AC, but I don't think it had electric windows.

Then in 80 the car was traded for a brown Ford E-100 cargo van when they started their business.  It was bol with no AC , 5 speed man. and nothing in the back. This was terrible because wtf?  Where are passengers supposed to sit?  Literally we had to put lawn chairs in the back and that was a disaster as soon as they went around a corner.  God, i remember riding to her mothers who was in the hospital and dying from cancer and they were crying and trying to convince me to come inside because it was probably going to be the last time I'd see her (which it would have been).  When we got home I told them I was never riding in that thing again.  It was obviously too dangerous.

They just did not think.

 

Then, one summer night, somebody (I know who they were...down the block) vandalised both vehicles by pulling the sleeping bags partially out of the back of the truck and lighting them on fire.  They also stuffed grass in the gas tank of the van.

The stupid cap was ruined (really thank goodness) so it came off and all four of us, plus the dog had to squeeze into the front of the truck to go anywhere.  Horrible.

The van wasn't drivable.  Had to be flatbedded to the dealership so they could do whatever.  The truck just went in to have the tailgate stripped and repainted. 

 

Thank goodness for insurance.

 

It was the suburban 70s.   lol.  Could have been worse I guess. 



 

 

 

 

[petek]

Ugggh those T-birds continued to get uglier and trashier after 1970. When the rounded model came out it looked like a slug imho. At least the first 3 iterations had some style. I always fancied a 67 four door ,looked quite smart for a 4 dr.

 

[kenwashesmonday]

Interestingly enough, the 1977-1979 Thunderbird was the best selling Thunderbird of all time.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Yes I remember seeing nearly everyone of those made—decades after they came out…

Even outselling it’s own stablemate the Mercury Cougar…

— Dave

 

[robbinsandmyers]

Traded cars in every 3-5 years.......

Maybe in your area but when I was growing up as a kid in the mid 70's the newest cars on my two block long street were a used Ford Maverick and a used 70 Pontiac Catalina. Everyone else drove old cars because thats all they could afford. Examples I saw were 59 Thunderbird, 62 Old Cutlass, 65 Tempest, 66 Belair, 63 Impala, 66 Olds Ninety Eight, 62 Galaxy, 66 Coronet, 66 VW squareback, 60 Dodge, 66 Mustang, 69 Marquis, plus my parents 66 Caprice wagon and 65 Chevy II sedan. And this was just an average working class area not poverty row. My dad drove his 53 Buick Roadmaster he bought new until 66 when he bought the Caprice wagon, and drove that until 79 when he bought a new Buick wagon, then drove that until 1990 with another Buick wagon until 2000 when he bought a 1990 Volvo 240 wagon.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Had a nightmare of being in a non-air conditioned two-door car's back seat, on a scorching hot day, only to realize despite the opera windows this car had, at least the front windows that open, at least some air does come back there, but better be driving at a mid-to-highway speed...

'70's and early '80's suburbs saw a lot of car thefts or break ins, my mother went up to two guys trying to open a car's vent windows possibly attempting to steal the car, one had a flashlight over the other one, so it's a good thing that my mother randomly spotted them and made them get away, in another car they apparently drove up to it in...

Naturally after they left, my mother went up to the neighbors telling them what had just had happened while they were in the house unaware of the attempted break-in/possible theft of their 1970 Chrysler Newport 4-door hardtop, and promptly called the police, and filing a report when the cops minutes later came...

-- Dave[this post was last edited: 1/9/2023-22:36]

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

One family I knew could never live without a full sized van, before moving they had a number of van conversions, all Fords, starting off with a window van that had no seats in the rear, just a carpeted wooden bench along the drivers side that I don’t think even had seat belts across from the sliding side door…

I don’t know how the kids sat still that way either, and one would have needed to have been placed in a child seat, at that age… That family made many trips to and from Florida that way… When they just moved to our neighborhood they had a window van that I’m certain had normal seats in the rear or at least one front facing bench…

— Dave

 

[wayupnorth]

I have a neighbor in her early 90's that told me they bought a used hearse from a local funeral home and with 6 kids and no seat belts, it worked for them when she was young and foolish..

 

[polkanut]

My dad bought his aunt's 1978 Granada Ghia from her in 1989. It had 10,002 original miles on it. I had aftermarket cruise control installed in it and the rear leaf springs replaced. It also had the base 250 straight 6 cylinder engine. Once it got up to highway speed she was a great cruiser that was fairly easy on gas. It was a sharp looking ride. I sure wish I still had it.

 

[vacerator]

Yes, the Granada/Monarch/Versailles

were nice cars. Having long lineage parts from the Falcon/Maverick the bugs were mainly gone.