Redneck Automotive History
Since my cleaner counterpart put his car history in his automotive lineup I guess I should to. As with the current stables, my list is a bit longer and more eclectic than his.
Prior to my current current lineup I had a ‘99 Ford Ranger standard cab step side 4×2. It was equipped with the surprisingly grunty 2.5l I4 backed by the 5-speed manual. What this truck lacked in personality it made up for in reliability. It made it across the country twice and put up with my hooning about for the entire two years I owned it. I finally had to get rid of this truck because I got to the point of being able to pay either the payment or insurance, but not both.
Before that I had an ‘89 F-150 standard cab short bed. It had the mighty 300ci/4.9l I6 backed by the legendary (and parasitic) C6 3-speed auto. This truck had the amazing ability to get 12mpg no matter the conditions: from driving like an idiot or a grandma to loaded or unloaded. Sadly the F-150 finally met it’s demise when the rats nest Ford called an emissions system decided to start going south. Since this was before I really started working on autos, and had no clue where to start, the truck ended up being donated in hopes someone else would be able to get the most out of it.
Finally, my first car was an ‘88 Plymouth Reliant. This one had the 2.2l I4 and 3-speed auto with lockup torque converter. I cut my teeth on this car, rallying down the mountains back home and bashing about in places I really should not have taken it. The lack of power kept me from generally overstepping my bounds, and allowed me to have my teenage fun without killing myself in by going off a cliff in the Rockies. Sadly I had to put this car out to pasture when it died coming up the driveway after school one day.
The Refined Stable (and history)
As opposed to the resident redneck, my stable of cars is rather small: 1.
I drive a 2005 Subaru Legacy GT Limited, manual transmission of course. Prior to that, my cars were a lot less interesting and fun.
I started with a 1990 white Taurus wagon, featuring the ever-so-dull 3.0L V6 with a whopping 140 horsepower. In spite of that cars obvious shortcomings, I learned to drive with it and learned to have irresponsible fun in it too. It was easy to predict how that car would behave helped by the fact that it was slow enough to avoid serious trouble.
When I started college my father traded cars with me and I got the 1999 Taurus wagon (snazzy silver this time). Again this was running the 3L V6 which had evolved in to a monstrous 155hp beast. That car got me through college but I was ready for something different, and it was having its fair share of troubles. That was the last American car my parents owned, after getting fed up with the troubles the ‘99 had.
My Legacy is basically stock but I have the usual refinements: subwoofer, auto dimming mirror, electronic seats which include seat heaters, and force you in to leather and a sunroof. Stupid packages. I also have an aluminum blob of a shift knob and “STI” metal pedals because the rubber pedals would stick to the rubber on my shoes and slowly started to drive me insane. I have a handful of upgrades I’d like to pursue down the road including stiffer sway bars, but I have other hobbies which have been getting the attention of my wallet lately.
Moving up to a much faster 250hp turbocharged car took a little bit of getting used to, but it was the good kind of adjustment. I have asked myself “what’s next?” but that’s not something I’ll need to answer for at least a few years.
The Current Redneck Stable
Currently I have a redneck worthy lineup of one working auto, and two in need of some love.
My current working vehicle is a 1997 Subaru Outback. It is equipped with the 2.5l flat four and five speed manual transmission. Beyond the usual Fuji Heavy Industries equipment it has aftermarket fog lamp replacements, a second set of Hella fog lamps (non-functional at the moment), two antennas beyond the AM/FM, and several always on 12v outlets through the cabin and on the grill – I still haven’t figured out what that one is for. These modifications were apparently made because the last two owners were avid rally racers and both ran and aided in events with this car.
The 1986 Chevrolet K20 is a project vehicle for me. I picked it up last summer equipeed with headers, dual flowmasters, front and rear 10-bolt corporate axles, and a bunch of loose wires. From that point I drove it until the 350 V8 blew… something… through the oil pan on a road trip at the end of the summer. What better time to learn about engine swaps, especially when I already had a 6.2L GM V8 that I got cheap off of Ebay. Sadly this project is still in progress as I had little time while I was in school. Now that I am at a full time job with summer classes basically at an end, I will be getting back to it, with all of the gory details outlined on here.
A 1982 Honda Nighthawk rounds out my current lineup of rides. I bought it for $300 for the sole purpose of learning how to ride. It accomplished as much and promptly died. This currently is in need of a carb rebuild, engine tune up, and very likely a whole lot more since I intelligently did not cover it over the past Northeastern winter. I have to now decide whether I want to fix up this bike that I really do not care for or just sell it and pick up the dual-sport that I actually want.