Towing an R-Pod 171 with a Subaru Outback |
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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Topic: Towing an R-Pod 171 with a Subaru Outback Posted: 05 Nov 2020 at 4:58pm |
Yep, the VW heater was ineffectual, I used to scrape the inside windshield too. It was close to your face so at least it was easy to reach. I had 56, 59, 68, and 72 bugs. With studded snow tires I didn't have any problems in them with snow as long as I could see where I was going. Never tried the pond skimming, that does sound like fun. If you think the bugs were bad the buses were worse. I drove a 40HP 60 bus across on the trans Canada highway from Vancouver in January. Got as far as Winnipeg and gave up, headed south. That was an early Westphalia camper, my first RV. Wish I had that now, it would be worth a small fortune. Boy was it cold, and slow. But those things were hard to stop and easy to fix so for a poor student they were great. I recall clutch disks costing a whole six bucks and taking 30 minutes to change, start to finish. The good old days when cars with easy to fix and we were crazy.... I personally kinda think the whole unsafe at any speed thing was a bit over the top. Lots of cars were dangerous back then besides the Corvair and the VW swing axle designs. In some ways I liked 'ol Ralph but sometimes I think he went overboard a bit.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6288 |
Posted: 05 Nov 2020 at 9:03pm |
Even though the design changed to eliminate the problem of the swing axle, it was too late to save the Corvair. It had other problems. I had the automatic with the little lever on the dash for shifting. It had reverse, neutral, drive, and low. There was no park except for the parking brake. I learned early to turn the wheels into the curb if there was one and I was on a hill as the parking brake was also not that effective. I also was driving home and it was a freezing rain. I got of the more main road onto a road that was not so well maintained and started fishtailing. I tried to correct and it kept getting worse. I ended up doing one or two spins (I don't remember how many), and went off the side of the road into a snowbank. It was like I parallel parked half-way between two telephone poles. When I went into the snow, it knocked the throttle connection loose so I could not move. My dad came and figured out the problem so we reconnected the linkage and we got the Corvair moving again. It was also slow to get moving. The worse was that the engine leaked oil, so I had to keep a window open so I could let the smog out. The defroster did sort of work as did the heat, but the smoke coming in with the heat was not very nice. It could not have been good to breathe either. I got a brand-new Pinto to replace it. I am just glad I did not get a Vega.
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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Posted: 05 Nov 2020 at 10:51pm |
Talk about out of the frying pan into the (literal) fire. 'Ol Ralph went after the Pinto even more than he did the Corvair. I recall trying to fix the brakes on my girl friend's Pinto, ended up replacing everything in the whole system and it still wouldn't stop right. At least it didn't have an aluminum block. Or you could have bought a Gremlin. Very unfortunate name choice.... My first new car purchase was also in that timeframe, a first gen Honda Civic. Very nice, efficient, and reliable little car. |
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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marwayne
Senior Member Joined: 25 Oct 2011 Location: Edmonton AB Can Online Status: Offline Posts: 1002 |
Posted: 05 Nov 2020 at 10:56pm |
I had a Pinto station wagon, it was yellow like a lemon, which it was.
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If you want something done right, do it yourself.
2011 RP172, 2016 Tundra 5.7 Litre, Ltd. |
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jato
Senior Member Joined: 23 Feb 2012 Location: Kewadin, MI Online Status: Offline Posts: 3226 |
Posted: 06 Nov 2020 at 6:32am |
I got a brand-new Pinto to replace it. I am just glad I did not get a Vega. Stephen HDuring my college years at Michigan State I was forced to sell my '69 Corvette as I was putting my own way through school w/o any outside help. I replaced it with a 74 Gremlin, still remember the numbers, sold the Vette with the optional hardtop for $ 4000 and purchased the Gremlin off the lot for $ 2902 total price! Wish I had the Vette now, worth quite a bit. College was affordable then, 4 years set me back $ 11,000 - not bad for a 4 year degree. Nowdays that only pays for 1/2 year. And yes the Gremlin . . . . even though it wasn't a eye turner like the Vette, it was more dependable as I was always fussin' with the Vette. Had the Gremlin for 8 years, 125,000 miles and not 1 issue the whole time. Sold it for $ 800 so the price/year of Gremlin ownership was only $ 262.50. Even abused the Gremlin as I would get 9 of us in that thing going to church 3 each in the front and back seats and 3 in the rear with legs hanging out with the hatch window up. Pretty funny sight! Should have put air shocks on as it would hang pretty low in the back. |
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God's pod
'11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free." |
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GlueGuy
Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2017 Location: N. California Online Status: Offline Posts: 2630 |
Posted: 06 Nov 2020 at 9:26am |
The first "new" car I ever got was a Vega GT. The GT had the super-sized radiator, and did not have the problems that happened with the teeny radiator versions. We kept that car about 5 years, when I got a Honda Accord. The Vega was a good starter car, but the Accord was better.
Neither were suitable for towing.
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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6288 |
Posted: 06 Nov 2020 at 11:20am |
After we had an accident (on our honeymoon) in the Pinto, I drove a Falcon for a while and then bought a Honda Civic CVCC wagon. That was a good car, but it did have some problems as well. Then a Dodge Omni followed by a Chevy Lumina APV. When we came back from Hawaii we got an (out of) Focus. Then a 2009 Escape, a 2016 Escape. After the incident on ice, we got the Frontier I now drive.
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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
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