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In reply to the discussion: What was the worst car you ever owned? Mine was a Rambler. Stopped whenever it pleased.--on bridges. hills. flat roads. [View all]mike_c
(36,281 posts)I bought it used in the mid-1970s. I think I paid about $500 dollars for it "as is." It drove off the lot and I was a happy young man.
Let's see, the ragtop leaked, so I had to bail out the floor whenever it rained. The passenger side window rolled itself down spontaneously whenever the car was on the road. The brake pedal assembly rusted solid, so I used the parking brake lever by hand instead. The gas pedal was semi rusted, I could mash it down to speed up, but had to stick my toes under it to pull back up and decelerate. It was a real bear to shift gears. I found out later that an engine mount was broken so the transmission was at an odd angle. No heat. Dashboard indicators didn't work so I estimated my speed by comparison with other cars and carried a can of gasoline in case I misjudged my gas tank. Fifty years later I still get anxious when my gas gage falls below half full.
It was fun to drive, despite the problems. I had to junk it a couple years later when finding a replacement distributor took months, and I got tired of hoofing it everywhere.