I'd buy virtually any 1940s or early to mid 1950s American tin for the right price and then install my freshly built non turbo OM617. I was planning to do this this summer but I have to spend money on getting divorced instead...

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Stock? Probably early 70s and up if it was my only car, disc brakes are really kinda needed to drive on the freeway safely anymore, because all the other cars on the road stop too much faster now.

Porsche 911. There's nothing wrong with the older ones all the way back to 1964, but of the ones I've driven, I like the 911 SC best, and those were made from '78 to '83.

I had a '77 240D as a daily driver from '06-'10 until I used it as the tranny donor for my 300D. If one could be had in new condition, I don't think I would have any problems using a '68 200D as a daily. A fintail would most likely be fine as well, but the oddball vertical speedometer turns me off. About four years ago I worked with a guy who used a '59 Ford Galaxy as his daily driver.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 401,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 26,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.
99 Mazda Miata 183,xxx miles.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

hell yeah.............

Say what you will about old cars, but I was very glad to have a modern (81) bike with electronic ignition (goodby points condensor) as my DD for a while. Terribly uncomfortable in Rochester winters though.

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$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

1949 Ford custom coupe.

Basic exterior style would remain classic, elegant and original, up to including white walls and baby moons. Brakes, drivetrain, safety, seating, all upgraded to modern standards. And of course, it would have to be diesel, but seeing as its a ford, It might have to get a 7.3 pre powerstroke turbo.

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

No upgrades! Bias-belted tires and all!

what!?

ok, well with no upgrades put me down for a 1968 Skylark GS with the drop rear fender and aggressive side panel swoop like pic one (which for some reason I absolutely love), and with the 1972 GS hood and trunk spoiler like in pics 2 and 3, maybe the seats from 72 also with the head rests. Then it would have to be a two tone with no vinyl top

Surely you won't deny me a composition of factory parts from different years and a little custom paint? Maybe better brakes *might* find there way on there over time, but only if thats what was available when it came time for a brake job.

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

In the summer and when I can get away with it in the winter, my 91 Vette goes out. That said, if I didn't rebuild it myself, the oldest car is the 99 E300 only because the wife has some strange fantasy of making a million miles on it or driving it into the ground. Also there is the 01 Ford Excursion.

If all were blown up, I would like to drive the newest thing I could afford and that WILL NOT be a brand new car. I don't like the depreciation. Won't be a GM since I don't trust Government Motors after their meltdown. Probably a car that just came off a 3 year lease provided it isn't the first year of that system. Prefer a more tried and true model.

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

I am pleased and fully confident in it. I would go older depending on the manufacturer and model. The following are non-negotiable:

Four wheel disc brakes
Ball joint front end. No kingpins.
No piston-type compressor if air conditioned. No ac at all is acceptable.
Power steering

Without any doubt, a Volvo P1800E (1970-3), although the original design goes back to 1961. Timeless classic, 3-point seatbelts, SRS, disc brakes, easy as pie to work on, and infinitely customizable with slightly more modern goodies –power steering, oil pressure gauge, fog lights–.

My first car was a 1970 model that had been rolled twice. The car was fully intact and drove just fine... except for the fact that it had a crack in the block. Despite the rust, the engine trouble, and the Smiths gauges, I did not lose a single penny in its purchase!

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[GONE] - 1995 Mercedes E300 Diesel - 130k miles - Smoke Silver (702) over Mushroom leather (265) - Bladder blasting, coast-to-coast work machine.

It is not my daily driver, but my favorite story of a daily driver is of a 1932 Duesenberg Model J (J-476) with a top torpedo convertible coupe body by Murphy. This Duesenberg was last owned by a man named Don Carr who was an electrical engineer at Wright Patterson. Don Carr purchased this Duesenberg in 1954. Its condition was not pretty as it had been severely side swiped on the driver's side. Don repaired the car and drove it 106,000 miles as a daily driver until 1981 when he donated it to the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum. When Don donated the car it was with the instruction that the car was to have current registration kept on it and that it is driven at least 100 miles a year. Today it has 265,000 on it.

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Current:
1985 300D aka Miss Margaret
1991 300SE aka Alarice
1995 SL320 aka Samantha
1997 K1500 Silverado
Past:
1999 E300 ex-wife got it and let her son ruin it
1984 190 2.3 ex-wife got it and let her son destroy a great car
1985 300D (CA version) aka Maybelline lost to deer at high speed.
1981 300D aka Madeline (went to salvage at near 400k) rusty, yet best car I ever drove
Wishlist:
McFarlan TV6 (only a few privately owned)
ReVere with Rochester engine
1917 Premier (only one left)

my current dd is my 87 mitsubishi montero. Reliable as an anvil.

I'd go with any 123 diesel too if up to snuff.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

My 05 truck which is going to be a 14 next year.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200