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If you could own just one special vehicle what would it look like?

Lucky7 said:
That brings back (bad) memories of driving a U-haul truck starting Dec 30th many years ago from Kingston to Winnipeg with 3000 lbs+ of mill and tooling in the back.
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GTA to Ottawa (short hop).....

Not my brightest move.

With the U-haul 55MPH max sticker on the bumper I figured there was probably some sort of governor. Nope cube van loaded Mill, lathe, toolboxes and everything else from the garage. Trailer on the back with my 65 Fastback. Felt heavy but decently stable, so on an open stretch of the 416 I decided to open it up and see where that governor might kick in, no governor as far as I can tell passed a couple cars probably doing 140+km/hr Ford tough!

Would love to have heard the comments from the cars I passed, if I had to guess idiot, a**hole, nut case.

No tickets or mishaps;-)
 
after giving it some hard thought...anything I'd suggest would not be stock by any means...I'm more of a " built not bought " kind of mentality...most if not all the vehicles I've ridden in, drove, or watched being built on TV...were all modified in some regard...

The weapon of choice would be 70 Plymouth Roadrunner, 4 spd pistol grip, Scat Pak equipped and then all the modern bits under it to make it do more than straight lines...as JustaDB pointed out...but definitely updated fuel and ignition systems...would I stick with the original era motor?...hard to say...the newer motors are pretty impressive, and they weigh less

Now with more reasonable ideas...I think I'd like to actually complete the daily's build...starting with a complete undercarriage swap...3/4 or 1 ton chassis donated by either Ford or Dodge...A GM based LS 5.3 or 6.0 with the reliability modifications made (these engines are crazy power makers, but in stock trim, they have issues)...for extra oomph to get her down the road whilst pulling my trailer or hauling whatever...a supercharger...because Road Warrior damn it...that car set me up for life with a love of blower whine...(did you know Hellcat blowers are found pretty reasonable on Fleabay?...ugh...
All of it...nestled underneath the somewhat shabby body of my 03' Toyota Tundra.
I have a plasma cutter, a few tape measures, jack stands, and a flagrant disregard of the opinions of purists...
What I lack is funds...and time...mostly funds...
 
well, that is a loaded question. For the longest time it was a 72 Mach 1 with the louvers, but then my tastes got weird....

its a toss up between a home built X-114 ( it counts as a boat :D )
10307L.jpg



or a Tatra 814-7
1752680933643.png
which would make a hell of a camper as long as I could resist not turning it into one of my favorite movie trucks
1752681030423.png
 
KeeponDragon said:
...and a flagrant disregard of the opinions of purists...
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Completely agree, I was told countless times, you're going to diminish the value of your car. I would say it's my car and I will build it the way I want, technology moves along.

40 years later the resto-mod era kicked in and those modified cars started selling for $100k+ While most of the stockers were selling for 1/4 of that.
 
The kid across the street from my parent's place had something like 20 some cars over time from a Shelby to Landrovers.He, fixed, bought and sold. At the time I still lived with my parents. it saved on entanglements . But his favourite was the MGA, It wasn't fast but it was fun to drive.
 
Aarknoid said:
I assume they are like hummers on the highway, an exercise in patience and absorbing a terrible ride, but they really do excellent at off road.I think my choices are all about being able to go wherever I want.
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The simple truth is that Hummers will not go everywhere. They are too wide to handle most off-road trails.

The best off-road vehicle is a Jeep. Preferably one of the Rubicon Editions. There is a reason that Jeep Jamborees are so popular. Next up is a Landrover.
 
Susquatch said:
The simple truth is that Hummers will not go everywhere. They are too wide to handle most off-road trails.

The best off-road vehicle is a Jeep. Preferably one of the Rubicon Editions. There is a reason that Jeep Jamborees are so popular. Next up is a Landrover.
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I don't hold a high opinion of jeeps for anything but their offroad capabilities. IMO its a shame they didn't do much else well, not counting the war time versions, they were excellent at what they were designed for. I would pit the 6x6 Tatra against most challengers. The drive system is neat and i think kinda unique ( based on my zero experience offroading and speaking completely from my ass;))

but i did find a neat youtube video
 
Aarknoid said:
I don't hold a high opinion of jeeps for anything but their offroad capabilities. IMO its a shame they didn't do much else well, not counting the war time versions, they were excellent at what they were designed for. I would pit the 6x6 Tatra against most challengers. The drive system is neat and i think kinda unique ( based on my zero experience offroading and speaking completely from my ass;))

but i did find a neat youtube video
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While not my favorite vehicle, my 89yj has done all I have asked of it...... I have modified the heck out of it mind you....
 
Aarknoid said:
I would pit the 6x6 Tatra against most challengers. The drive system is neat and i think kinda unique
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I think the Jeep would slaughter it. The thing got stuck multiple times in the video. Looking at what it did and did not do on some contrived ground, I'm thinking that a jeep would do all that and much more. And I'm not speaking out of my ass. I've driven a jeep on the Rubicon trail - the only 10 rated trail in North America. There are other vehicles that can do the Rubicon too, but I'm not aware of any that can do it in factory condition.

The jeep is a bit of an icon. Yes, it's a rough vehicle, but that's also one of the reasons it is so popular.

I think one has to drive an off-road trail to really appreciate them. For me, it was a semi-religious experience. As you encounter and clobber successively more difficult barriers, you transition from "No Fkn Way" to a sense of faith. Your mind set changes from "that's impossible" to "it's only a matter of how".

Here is a short magazine sponsored video. I couldn't stomach looking for a good video. No snorting beasts like the Tatra here (Ya, I did like that!) cuz it wouldn't get past the first obstacle. The video is only a smattering. It does not include river forging, swamp holes, rock walls, ravines, etc etc. But it will give you an idea. It's not about screwing around in a quarry. It's about crossing over a mountain in a car.

 
Aarknoid said:
I don't hold a high opinion of jeeps for anything but their offroad capabilities. IMO its a shame they didn't do much else well,
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I'm sorry, I think I missed your point. Not good for much but their off-road capabilities.

Well, that misses the whole point of the jeep. It's not supposed to be good at anything else! Most vehicles (or anything really) that try to do several things well end up compromising their primary purpose. The jeep is basically a no compromise off-road vehicle. You can buy gentler versions if you just want the country girls to see you as an outdoorsy jeep guy, but the true jeeps are not comfy, not quiet, not smooth, and not even pretty. They are more like off-road bikes. Noisy, rough, and sorta ugly in a loveable way. They have the biggest following of any car brand and one of the most recognized brands in the world. To be honest, most who love them would go bonkers if you tried to make them good at other things too. Cuz then they wouldn't be jeeps anymore! They would just be another also ran compromise.
 
I have been driving 4x4 since '74, I had the last of the bush pig Dodges. For some places, a good off road vehicle you need ground clearance, something with a step down axle like a Unimog sort of thing . . But the problem with that ground clearance leaves you with high center of gravity, requiring you to swing a vehicle on a side hill. BTW current Wranglers are too fat, you need something narrower and lighter.
 
Had a Jeep as a rental for a few weeks in 2018 after my 6 month old F150 was stolen.
Warning - personal opinion based on my brief experience with one follows - may offend new Jeep owners!

My impression then was that anybody who just drove a Jeep on the roads was 100% brain dead, as for that kind of money it is a 40+ year old design that did nothing well on the road or for driver passenger comfort. Now if you can off road it, sure, but still the price of admission to the "ultimate off road vehicle" just isn't worth it in my opinion.
That 2017 Jeep had ~30000km on it, was falling apart inside, threw a check engine light in week 2, had design issues (feet would catch the cable to the door - the cable that you disconnect to take your doors off), had a stereo that looked older than the one from my 1986 Fiero, and was just generally a poor vehicle compared to so many other options for 99.9% of people. That 0.1% that really are going to use it I don't begrudge, but the majority are just posers keeping a steady supply of used vehicles for those in the 0.1% that can't afford the new price.

A used one as a toy - sure, but its going to be after I get through my top 10 first and its not going to be stock.
 
Mike R said:
Had a Jeep as a rental for a few weeks in 2018 after my 6 month old F150 was stolen.
Warning - personal opinion based on my brief experience with one follows - may offend new Jeep owners!

My impression then was that anybody who just drove a Jeep on the roads was 100% brain dead, as for that kind of money it is a 40+ year old design that did nothing well on the road or for driver passenger comfort. Now if you can off road it, sure, but still the price of admission to the "ultimate off road vehicle" just isn't worth it in my opinion.
That 2017 Jeep had ~30000km on it, was falling apart inside, threw a check engine light in week 2, had design issues (feet would catch the cable to the door - the cable that you disconnect to take your doors off), had a stereo that looked older than the one from my 1986 Fiero, and was just generally a poor vehicle compared to so many other options for 99.9% of people. That 0.1% that really are going to use it I don't begrudge, but the majority are just posers keeping a steady supply of used vehicles for those in the 0.1% that can't afford the new price.

A used one as a toy - sure, but its going to be after I get through my top 10 first and its not going to be stock.
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I had my heart set on a jeep for years. I finally got to the stage where I could actually buy one. I wanted a Rubicon Wrangler.

After much consideration I ended buying a Nissan Xterra. I've never regretted not buying a jeep. The stock Rubicon does have a slight advantage in offroad capabilities. But I bought far better reliability and much better on road handling and comfort for less money. The Jeep also has the unmatched advantage of tremendous after market product availability.
 
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