Winter beater with a heater

[1BAD68]

Just picked up this legendary piece of automotive history.

[nh_mopar_fan]

Needs an "01" on the doors.

[skip68]

Hell yah!  With that kind of MPG's I could care less what it was or looked like.   

[Todd Wilson]

Needs an "01" on the doors.

And a wing!


Todd

[bobs66440]

Of yeah! I love cars like that! 

Beat 'em, scratch, dent 'em, who cares! Some of my fondest automotive memories involve old beaters. Very cool!

Just don't hit anything...

[1970Moparmann]

Death trap.

[694spdRT]

You could do a complete restoration on that with a pint of Bondo and 1 can of spray paint.

[bajaherbie]

wear sunglasses so your friends won't recognize you

[tan top]

Hell yah!  With that kind of MPG's I could care less what it was or looked like.   

true !!  more to spend on the charger 

[TUFCAT]

Needs an "01" on the doors.

TOTALLY.

[jaak]

everyone needs a beater, hears mine, purchased a couple of years back for the grand total of $0. Can't beat that!




Jason

[Chad L. Magee]

Just picked up this legendary piece of automotive history.
Because nothing say's "I've completely given up on trying to impress anyone" than this car does.
With it's easy to clean (90% vinyl) interior and lack of options, it won't bog me down with distraction's while I'm getting from point A to B.
And talk about performance! The 1.3L Mazda engine produces an astonishing 63hp at 5000 rpm, plenty to move the 1700lb all steel body.
The only thing this car will be passing is the gas station, getting an average of 47 mpg.
Slap a set of 12" snow tires and chains on the front and see if old man winter can stop this beast.
My 93 Ford Festiva aka "FestEvil"

No offense, but eww....

While I was at grad school for my PhD, one of the professors had a pea green 86 Festiva that he drove occasionally (when he did not bike to school).  This was his family's only car by choice (environmental to an extreme is saying it lightly), as he made six figures alone with his paycheck.  The head of the department had a nice BMW 750iL with the V10 (and a newer Bentley, as well as a few others in that caliber) that he would park behind the building in reserved spaces.  It was strange to see the ratty Festiva sandwiched between high $ luxury cars to say the least.  I overheard the Festiva professor once asking him what MPG his cars got after bragging about his car's MPG.  The department head replied "Doesn't really matter now does it?". ...  

Here is one of my beaters: 1990 Ford Probe with the 2.2L Mazda engine for MPG (when it runs)....

[PocketThunder]

The best beater i ever had was my old 86 S-10 i bought for $100, put $350 into it and drove it for 5 years.  4 cylinder, 4 speed, 2 wheel drive, and got 26 mpg and i red lined every shift. 

[bordin34]

My Winter Beater

[Magnumcharger]

This reminds me of a car my buddy had, his winter beater.
A Chevy version of a Suzuki Swift. It was red as well. Being so small, he called it the "Blood cell"!

[bobs66440]

I had two '66 Volkswagen Bugs when I was a teenager in the '70s...the floors were so rusty you had to pick up your feet going through a puddle so they didn't get wet!  

They really didn't have much of a heater though. You had to scrape the ice off the INSIDE of the windshield. 

[TK73]

My Winter Beater

NICE beater!!   

[BY RSCO]

I had a 90 Festiva for my beater - though tiny, great little car - long story short, I drove it for several years, got divorced - and had a very big smile on my face when I took it to the ex-wife in exchange for the 95 Procharged Mustang that she could not afford to keep after we split...  (yes, I had the better lawyer..) - my new husband-in-law drove it about another 60k before it finally laid down.. 

[Bobs69]

You mean to tell me you, the man, came out ahead on something in a divorce settlement?

[BY RSCO]

You mean to tell me you, the man, came out ahead on something in a divorce settlement?

Got very very lucky - she was at a point where she just wanted out to start her new "adventure" - so it worked out well -- I still had to pay for whatever was not paid for, but I was the main household income anyway, so no big difference. I am remarried to a great lady, we have an awesome daughter, and they both love cars and guitars - the ex is still a cheating b!#&h and married to a jackwagon.. life is grand sometimes

[Cooter]

1984 Subaru GL Wagon, with 575K miles on it. Paid $400 and been drivin' it since early 2004. Av. around 30 MPG.
30 years old. Rusty, raggedy, but all mine and no need to do anything else but get me there and back.

[Stretch]

Good luck finding 12 inch tires. They are no longer in production for the most part. You can still get 12 inch trailer tires. If you find a sorce for 12 inch dot car tires I'd love to know about it. I could sell a ton of them.  Festivas and the GEO's have been comming out of the wood work sense gas went through the roof.

Jason

[1BAD68]

That's a fact
Could not find any in stock anywhere locally but searched Craigslist and found a new set (approx. 50 miles on them) mounted and balanced on rims for $100.00.
Once these wear out I'll have to swap over to 14" somehow.

[Dino]

Because officially you could not have a 68 Charger as your daily driver, I used to have a '79 and '82 European Ford Fiesta.  They were great little cars, very cheap!  The fuel mileage on the Fords offset the mpg on the Charger quite nicely! 

[Rolling_Thunder]

My GF had two separate festivas in her life time...    she loved them and she claimed MPGs in the 40s...    I wouldnt mind having a little beater like that --   but what is this "winter" you guys speak of? 

[Stretch]

My GF had two separate festivas in her life time...    she loved them and she claimed MPGs in the 40s...    I wouldnt mind having a little beater like that --   but what is this "winter" you guys speak of? 

I'll take some pics when I get home tonight. It was snowing an inch an hour for a while today. I think we got about 5 inches so far.

[dkn1997]

my beater:  99 s10, 133k, 4cyl, 5speed, air, hard bed cover.  best mpg 24 so far.  got it for 600 bucks from a guy at work because it "needs a clutch"  in 30 minutes my friend and I bled out the muck in the clutch reservoir and had it driving around the yard.  I did a battery, starter, plugs, wires, both 02's, air filter, oil change, and charged the ac.  got it for 600 bucks and have less than a grand into it.  I actually love this thing.

[Stretch]

 but what is this "winter" you guys speak of? 

This is a look at winter. No we don't have white grass! Fear not! It's just snow! It falls from the sky, makes everything slippery, and it's cood to the touch! It can be easily moved with the proper equipment! It can be alot of fun if you have snow skis, or better yet a snowmobile (preferably one with 3 cylinders , multiple carburetion, and tuned pipes). Don't woory it will only be around for about 6 months. So enjoy it!!!