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cfz2882

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anyone own or enjoy BOL cars or or enjoy the economy/simplicity of BOL cars? one
co-worker,a 23yr old non-gearhead,needed a car cheap to buy and run but new with a
warranty;bought a new '89 ford escort pony;plain white wrapper,2 dr.,stick,
non A/C,13"steel wheels...Was indeed cheap to own and no problems during the 4 yrs
he owed it before trading for an '89 chevy beretta.
Another very BOL car i saw was a chrysler k-car,Ca.1981,brown 4 dr,4 spd on the
floor,non-A/C,radio delete, A guy wanted to sell me this K-car for $200-it needed
clutch repair but was otherwize in great shape-should have bought this one as it
had lots of "plain-jane"BOL appeal.At the other end of the horsepower spectrum was
another BOL car i had offered to me for $400 back in '85;a '66 dodge coronet-
a little scruffy but no rust or major damage,it had power nothing,vinyl bench seat
,simple black plastic dash,4spd,and a 383 that used oil.Nice and light with it's
simplicity and no heavy options,it was still plenty speedy even with the tired 383
 
BOL cars can be fun to throw around and use in errand running. But in the Central San Joaquin Valley in California, A/C is a MUST lol! Also there's a lot less to worry about as far as gadgets that tend to go out and nickel and dime you to death. But for long travel, I gotta have something comfortable with some power. Even the 66 Coronet you mentioned would have been perfect. Those 383 V-8's were great for tuning for maximum power. Yeah it'll cost in gas, but the ability to make a quick get away in an emergency situation or merging onto a fast paced freeway would be worth it. My Dad was never for one to settle for BOL when it came to family cars. We always had the large Ford's and Chevy's of the 70's. Then a 80 Mercury Marquis Brougham which was traded for a brand new 92 Mercury Grand Marquis. Of anything my Dad would look for in a car was size, comfort and power.
 
A true BOL car would come with the basic engine. In the 60's & 70's that would have been a 4 or 6 cyl. At the airport I learned to fly at they had a 1960 Ford that was true BOL. Three speed on the column, no radio, no a/c, plain flat vinyl seats, 4 door sedan. It was used as an airport courtesy car. We used to joke about how cheap it was but then it was 1972 and the car had 100,000 miles on it and was still going strong!
 
The BOL car that stands out for me was my sister's '65 Chevrolet Biscayne.  Six cylinder, three speed on the column, flat bench seat, metallic aqua on metallic acqua.  The factory radio (AM only, of course) didn't even have push buttons, and THAT was a real P-I-T-A.

 

A close family friend worked for GMAC, and the Biscayne came through as a repossession in mid-1969.  My dad jumped on it for less than $300.  Of course my sister wanted a VW Beetle but my dad would have none of that.  The Biscayne is where I learned how to drive a stick.
 
BOL cars

do you remember if that '60 ford had a heater-AFAIK,prior to 1968,heater was an
option or cars could be ordered without.In high school one of my classmates had a
BOL '57 chevy "150" model;6cyl,three on the tree,radio delete,etc.and i remember it
had vacume wipers instead of the electric wipers found on the upper '57 chevys.
 
Some years ago I had a '73 Toyota Corolla 2 door much like this one (different wheels) and nearly the same color. It had a 1.6L 4 cylinder, 4 speed manual trans and power brakes, that's it. It was a neat little car actually!

Kevin

revvinkevin++2-1-2012-22-27-24.jpg
 
BOL vehicles

I own a 1995 Chevy Silverado 1500 4x4 that I bought when it was just off lease and a year old. Has automatic, thats it. NO a/c, nothing, but it will always start and would climb a mountain. Also had a 91 Cavalier, I wished I still had, that I put 130,000 miles on it with the original shocks, exhaust and its 3rd set of tires without ever an alignment (which is quite unusual in Maine)and consistantly got 35 mpg. Worst BOL was a brand new 79 Ford Pinto Pony S/W, POS from the day I drove it off the lot and Ford would not honor the warranty. Needless to say, I will never own another Ford after that, before owning 11 before that. Even though my Great Uncle started the original Ford dealership where I grew up and my family drove Fords or they walked, they owe me one.
 
I can't remember if it had a heater in it. I do know it had vacuum wipers. The faster you stepped on the gas the faster the wipers would wipe. It was blue outside with a slightly darker blue on the inside.

For some reason when I think of BOL cars, usually I think of the tan colored ones.
Tan inside and out. Ford made a lot of them like that. Usually companies bought them for fleet cars. And I think GM made a bunch of Chevrolets in the same color.
 
My grandmother had a BOL

car....a 1968 Ford Fairlane, bought new. All it had was a heater. 6 cylinders, "3 on the tree," non-power steering and brakes. It was one of the least comfortable cars I have ever known.

It was a very pretty colour, however, "Diamond Blue," a blue that was almost white.

If I still drove, I could not drive it. I have a bad left ankle. As for today's cars? For me, power locks are far more necessary than power windows....

Lawrence/Maytagbear[this post was last edited: 2/1/2012-23:54]
 
company fleet BOL cars in tan

I also recall fleet cars in tan-especially ford fairmonts and chevy citations and
celebritys...Ford fairmont is another car that could be ordered up rock-bottom
BOL-the car equivelent of a 24"DD one knob wonder washer LOL.
 
Vacuum Wipers

Allen, usually the reverse of what you described is true.  Step on the gas and the wipers will slow down or stop.  Let up on the gas and they'll kick into high speed.  I think many people who drove a car with vacuum wipers have been in a situation where it was raining, they were heading up an incline, and had to let off the gas just to give the windshield a quick swipe so they could continue to see where they were going.
 
Ralph is right, although some cars came with vacuum booster motors. My '50 Plymouth has this feature - it's a little vacuum pump mounted under the fuel pump (which is mounted on the outside passenger lower side of the block, running off the camshaft). It's supposed to keep the wipers running even at WOT. However either I rebuilt it wrong or it never did draw much vaccum. The wipers don't actually stop going up hill, but they get quite a bit slower. And then they go nuts going down the hill with full engine vacuum. So I find I have to keep an steady hand on the valve on the dash to modulate the action.

Unlike GM and Ford, Chrysler had a tendency to try out some new features, if not technology, on its lower priced cars through the 30's to the early 50's. Once proven, the features would make their way up to the top end lines. Hence the Plymouth has an electric powered automatic choke, vacuum motor assist, "Floating power" engine mounts, etc (although the engine mounting dates back to the early 30's). This changed in the 50's when Plymouth was the last to get a V8 motor option, true automatic transmission, etc. And some say Chrysler quality was never quite the same...
 
The Ford Fairmont is exactly the car I had in mind when I mentioned the tan ones.
I think GM had some Chevy Nova fleet cars too in tan.

On the vacuum wipers, well it has been almost 40 years ago!
 
Those old cars

I drove a 1954 Desoto to calif,in 78 from VA in 3 days,had no problems.Slept every night in a hotel.Drove 104miles a day to work in Anaheim for 3 months.No problems what a great old car had 289,000 miles on it when a bearing whent bad traded it for a 57 Desoto to come back home in 2 years later. I still have a 56 Desoto fireflite and a 48 sedan You cant beatum!!!!!!
 
Here's an old joke as long as we're talking about BOL cars;

 

Q: What did the bird say as the guy drove past in a Plymouth?

 

A: Cheap, Cheap, Cheap.

 

 
 
My father traded his 1951 Mercury club coupe with radio and heater for a 1957 Chevrolet 210 two door sedan with nothing on it, don't recall if it at least had a heater. That was in June of 1962. Then around 1964, he traded that for a dull finished '62 Chevy II BOL 2 door with a four cylinder. In September 1967 he bought a brand new '67 Corvair 500 two door that had nothing but heat. It always had to have premium gas or it would knock. In 1972 it was swapped off for a nice '70 LeMans four door sedan with air, heat, PS PB, automatic. Had that car for years, I ended up with it and traded for something else after a couple of years.

 

The Mercury was traded off at the Mercury dealer, the building was bulldozed last year, the Chevies were purchased at the Chevy dealer in north Fort Pierce, off the lot across from the showroom/garage. That building is still there, but the OK Used Car lot is a McDonalds now. Now I'd love to have an old BOL something, with automatic at least. Does not have to have a radio either.
 
Ford Fiesta

I had a 1980 Ford Fiesta and it was about as bare bones as you can get. No A/C, power steering or brakes, didn't even have a radio, although I put in one that probably cost more than the car did. I loved that car. Even drove from Detroit to Houston with 4 guys in it for my senior class trip. I couldn't even imagine driving a car like that today but I sure did have alot of fun in that car.

http://www.tholt.com/fiesta.html
 
My '95 Mercury Cougar XR-7 was a BOL: V-8 Engine, Pearl Paint (extra cost), but had No Moonroof (wanted an after-market one to keep the dome-light, w/ dual map reading lamps to evoke the '70's era I was trying to parlay, along w/ the green leather/cloth interior w/ only a power driver's seat) and at least keyless entry, but standard stereo & a buggy-whip antenna...

Little did I know, I would want the Automatic Temperature control; the standard system got too hot or too cold & the digital electronic display just seemed too out there (& did not want the Auto Lamp feature)...

An after-market moon roof would render the stock dome light impractical, as the light would be over the rear seat, map lights and all (the earlier FoMoCo design had projected beams for the earlier map light design)...

This was my 3rd car & I had to better my 1st car a 1984 BOL Ford Escort, which had the dual remote control sport mirrors & low-back reclining seats, but no gauges, no over head console & not even Air Conditioning! It was a SAPPY Escort, white w/ red interior that faded w/ every sunrise, sunset...! My 2nd car was at least a 1987 Dodge Charger--a silver one & best damn ride that I'd ever had!

"Get a Truck!" I was told...--I should have listened!

-- Dave
 
I still have a BOL car.

I have 2 vehicles: a tarted up pickup truck and a BOL Toyota that I drive back and forth to work.

Bought the Toyota Yaris new in 2006 -- 40mpg!

Manual windows
5 speed engine, 1.4 litre 4 cylinder (oooh :) )
It does have a radio and air conditioning though.
Hatchback

But heck, I have seated 3 adults in the back seat and me and a passenger in the front. And NEW it was just over 13K in 2006.

It's actually a great car to drive in. I'm 6'1" in shoes and wifey is 5'1" standing tall and we both fit in it okay.
 
My '95 Mercury Cougar XR-7 was a BOL: V-8 Engine, Pearl Paint (extra cost), but had No Moonroof (wanted an after-market one to keep the dome-light, w/ dual map reading lamps to evoke the '70's era I was trying to parlay, along w/ the green leather/cloth interior w/ only a power driver's seat) and at least keyless entry, but standard stereo & a buggy-whip antenna...

Little did I know, I would want the Automatic Temperature control; the standard system got too hot or too cold... And a red/blue "Cool" / "Warm" setting on the dial no longer cut it on such a big, classy car; if only FoMoCo just stuck numbers along side the dial for temperature settings, along w/ "Auto" added to the variable-speed Fan setting...

But the digital electronic display on the optional system just seemed too out there & I did not want the Auto Lamp feature, though I think the "extra knob" was something I would later envy...

An after-market moon roof would render the stock dome light impractical, as the light would be over the rear seat, map lights and all (the earlier FoMoCo design had projected beams for the earlier map light design)...

This was my 3rd car & I had to better my 1st car a 1984 BOL Ford Escort, which had the dual remote control sport mirrors & low-back reclining seats, but no gauges, no over head console & not even Air Conditioning! It was a SAPPY Escort, white w/ red interior that faded w/ every sunrise, sunset...! My 2nd car was at least a 1987 Dodge Charger--a silver one & best damn ride that I'd ever had!

"Get a Truck!" I was told...--I should have listened!

-- Dave
 
BOOOOOOOOOL

I drove a Chevette as my 1st car. Over the years I've owned over 12 of them in various states of driveability. The 1st one I had was a deluxe model with A/C, Automatic, chrome everywhere and fancy interior. Others were mid-line models with various options. The only BOL one I owned was what they called the Scooter, it was an orange 76 and it was BASIC. That car did not have a back seat from the factory. Among the other things that were missing, no cig. lighter, glovebox door, cardboard door panels, missing console, radio delete (but did have the speaker, wiring and antenna), lack of passenger sill light switch, wooden stick for the hatch, manual brakes and the car was devoid of any chrome, even the bumpers were painted silver as opposed to chromed. That car also had the rare 1.4 liter engine that was only offered the 1st 1.5 years. The ONLY option if you will was that it was an automatic, a 3 speed THM-200 with a 4.11:1 rear axle. 60mph was about it literally, but a great around town car that got about 37mpg, with the low gearing the car felt nimble up until about 50-55. Miss that one, it was unique and I loved the Burnt Orange color

 

Other BOL cars I've owned, all cars after the Chevettes had power brakes, thank god:

 

1988 Festiva Base:

1.3L L-4 carbed Engine

4-Speed
Radio Delete (even lacking antenna, and speakers as well
Plain Door Panels (No trim)
No A/C

No P/S

12" Wheels

No Passenger Mirror

165k Miles

38-44mpg

 

1995 Geo Metro Base

1.0L L-3 TBI Engine

5-Speed

Radio Delete

Black Trim & Bumpers

Painted Silver 13" Wheels w/Center Caps (no hubcaps)

Standard Headlights (instead of composite lenses)

No P/S

No A/C

No Passenger Mirror

87k Miles

50-55mpg

 

1988 Toyota Corolla Base (a little nicer than the Geo or Festiva, but BOL for Corolla)

1.6L L-4 Carbed Engine

Black Trim & Bumpers

AM/FM Radio (2 4" Dash Mount Speakers Only)

3-Speed Automatic (A131L)

A/C

Painted Silver 13" Wheels w/Center Caps (no hubcaps)

No P/S

27-32mpg

235k Miles

 

 

I only need 2 options on a vehicle, one required. A/C with cruise control preferred or added. Summers here are just too brutal. I love the simplicity of a car without it, but I'm not a fan of heat, so I've moved away from the cars like that. I have a 1991 Geo Metro that I love, it's an upscale LSi model which is unusual and has all the options for a Metro that year but no A/C. The A/C on that car was ASKED TO BE OMITTED, who does that in southern IL?

 

My contribution, I do like them, and A/C as the only option is still pretty BOL these days.

 

 

@Hunter:

PS your Yaris has a 1.5 Liter engine, not a 1.4
smiley-laughing.gif
and it is one the better, simpler engines that Toyota is making right now IMO

 

 

-Tim

 
I have enjoyed the practicality of econobox hatchbacks for many years... and often they can be fun to drive with the driver having more direct control over a smaller, lighter, nimbler car... Right up there with the Chevette Scooter, my first new car was a Plymouth Horizon Miser... which even said Miser across the back window, something to be proud of! Of course unlike the Chevette Scooter, Misers had a back seat and were actually pretty advanced (transverse engine, front drive, four door hatch) for their time... and with a stick shift, it got over 40 mpgs on the highway, mid 40s above 65, or if you really obeyed that nasty 55 mph speed limit, it could get almost 50! Since then I have owned additional Omni/Horizons, a Corolla, a Civic, a Fit, and now a Fiat 500... all of them have been fun to drive, get great mileage, and can hold a lot more than their small size would appear! And fewer things to break.
 
I learned to drive a stick in a Ford Maverick, I think it was a 72/74 or close to it....3 Speed on the column......6cyl....no air, am radio, manual brakes and steering.....belong to a buddy who was teaching me....if you can drive this, you can drive anything....

remember HILLEROSIS......The fear of driving a clutch, and having to stop on a hill, and then start moving without rolling backwards......

one car I owned....which I absolutely loved.....not BOL, actually TOL and then some.....1985 Chryler Laser XT Turbo Coupe.....full package....I loved that it "talked".....kept me informed of all functions of that vehicle.....these models got a lot of critism from Consumer Reports for this feature, and yet today their "Praising" cars that communicate with the driver.........

my sister was another one who hated that this car "talked"......this from a girl who's idea of an oil change is waiting until the light came on, and kept driving until the engine siezed.....TWICE!.....the one person who needed a vehicle to tell her something was wrong......
 
My father's boss bought him a 1965 Chevrolet Biscayne 4 door sedan in white with turquoise interior. It had three on the column, 6 cylinder, AM radio with no pushbuttons, heater, and FACTORY IN DASH air conditioning. The days when you could order strange combinations on your car. I think that was during the Corvair family car time.
 
In my family it was always my father who loved BOL cars. He also didn't like to buy new cars so he usually had to settle for more features than he really wanted as true BOLs aren't plentiful. I do recall a few: a '60 Chevy two door with manual trans and stovebolt six, an early Econoline van, a '65 Citroen ID19 with no power steering - the ps was virtually standard in American spec IDs after '62 - and a '68 Ford Custom 500. The latter did have a V-8 and automatic but little chrome and no a/c.

 

My own BOL wasn't quite a true BOL but close enough, a '69 Citroen Dyane 6. The Dyane was the middle model of the A-Series cars, with the 2CV at the bottom and Ami at the top, but the A-Series was Citroen's econo line. My Dyane had the "big block" 602cc opposed two cylinder engine which was rather more powerful than the smaller 435cc , so I had a full 28 hp at my disposal. It would do 110 kph (68 mph) flat out all day, and I still recall dicing with semis on the Frankfurt-Cologne autobahn. They'd pass me at the bottom of the hill due to momentum, but I'd get them at the top of the hill only to get passed again downhill. All in the slow lanes of course! The Dyane ended out in Texas where it was pretty happy with the old 55 mph speed limit. I was in college at the time and also had a '70 Citroen DS21 Pallas, kind of old and beat up but mostly TOL, not to mention with a comparitively huge and powerful 2175cc four cylinder engine. Needless to say I took the DS21 away to school and left the Dyane at home, much to my father's delight. It made the old ID19 seem positively plush and so he took to driving the Dyane to work.

 

Pic is not of my Dyane, but it is identical right down to the pale blue color. FYI not only did it not have power windows, it didn't even have wind up windows! The fronts are split and slide back an forth like some house windows, while the rears don't move at all.

hydralique++2-2-2012-21-49-14.jpg
 
OK, my daily driver/commuter these days is a '97 Dodge Neon 2 door coupe.

Not exactly BOL, since it has AC, automatic trans., radio, power windows, and power door locks.

It languished for two years needing a transmission rebuild (at about 80k). Last winter I replaced the head gasket, timing belt, water pump, cam belt tensioner, my self. Runs fine now. Good on gas too. Gets 26 mpg in aggressive combined driving. Probably could get 30 mpg on highway, held back by three speed auto on better mileage. And my tendency to stay in the fast lane.

What I like about it is that it handles like a slot car. The ride is rough compared to bigger, more expensive, more recent cars, but it's still good enough for me. I would have rather had a stick shift but for commuting an automatic has some advantages.

PS-The Citroen 2CV has a certain impish charm. But the Dyane... wrote the book on automotive ugly ;-)...
 
ford fiesta

one of my high school teachers had a ford fiesta(back in '85,plenty of these in the
student parking lot too)Teacher was a coach too,and one day some football players
picked up the fiesta and placed it between two posts with about 2or 3 inches of
clearance to wiggle it free LOL.I have not seen one of these on the road in some
20 years,but there is one i see beside a shed-has been there since at least 1990..
 
1967 Ford Falcon

In 1967 my father had the chance of buying a Ford Falcon that was actually meant to be part of a fleet to be shipped overseas (to some Caribean country, if I'm not mistaken). It was brand new, and he got it for something like US$ 900. Man, was that car BOL! No padded dashboard, no seat belts, no radio, no heater, 3 speed on the column with un-synchronized first gear, no power steering, no power brakes, 1 speed wiper, and no washer with the wiper! I can't recall the motor size, but the car had something like 90 HP, or even less. It run on regular gas. It also had a manual throttle, which you had to pull out half way in summer and all the way in winter in order to be able to start the car. That's the car I learnt to drive with, but I must admit the car was simply awful!

I even think that in 1967 selling a car without seatbeats was against the law, but there it was allright, with no seatbelts! Unbelievable!
 
Other Chrysler Firsts!

Power steering, 1951, Sealed beam headlights, and hydraulic brakes 1928 ! electric wipers in 48, As for the 60 Ford, they did have a booster pump on the fuel pump, My Mom had a 60 Galaxie, no power steering or brakes 292 V8 with 3 on the tree, She said she would have never gotten rid of it if she had not wrecked it in 68, a teenager pulled out in front of her in a new Falcon, needless to say the Falcon was demolished!! the Galaxie was pretty banged up and rather than fix it she bought a 66 Cutlass with AIR!!!!
 

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