The oldest/strangest thing you've driven?

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Time_Attack

Time_Attack

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Midship_Express
I'm curious because of how far cars have come in the past 20 years or so. Driving anything much older you almost have to relearn a thing or two. So I ask what is the oldest and/or oddest thing you've driven and what made it special?

For me it was a 1949 GMC 250 flat bed pickup. 6 volt electrics, vacuum operated wipers, floor mounted starter switch and a non-synchronized 3 speed manual trans. This thing made my 1986 MR2 seem practically modern by comparison.
 
I can't remember. Probably either my dad's truck (1985 F250) or my grandmas old Caddy that looked like it was from the '70s. I forget. Probably others I'm forgetting as well.
 
The oldest car I've driven was the '87 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2. A lot of fun, still a distinctly quirky Porsche.


Weirdest car? Has to be the '93 Volkswagen Fox GL Wolfsburg that I owned

  • Built in Brazil, shipped to the US & Canada
  • Used "Wolfsburg" badging that is supposed to imply construction at the Wolfsburg factory in Neidersachsen, Germany
  • The chassis was hacked together with pieces from the MKI and MKII Golf/Jetta
  • Had a 1.8L I4 from the Audi 80
  • The engine was laid out longitudinally, attached to a Quantum (Passat) transmission
  • Suspension bits and pieces were sharred with the MKII Golf/Jetta
  • The Fox was offered as a coupe, sedan, and three-door wagon
 
1944 Dodge Power Wagon. It has recently been restored but I haven't had the chance to drive it in it's current state, however in the next few months I will be helping the owner (who happens to be my cousin) swap in a '97 Cummins Turbo Diesel engine in it as well an an NV4500 5spd. I'll drive it after that.
 
The oldest car I've driven was a 1976 Ferrari Dino 208 GT4 but the oddest thing would have to be the 1984 Suzuki Sierra that I owned for 6 months. Certainly odd to drive compared to many of the modern tame cars I've driven and/or owned really; the steering wheel felt like it did absolutely nothing and in a moderate crosswind at speed it wandered all over the road. The engine was also the 1.0L carbureted I4 so it was fantastically slow yet quite dangerous at its top speed of about 80kph, and the leaf springs meant it also didn't really "ride" so much as it bunny-hopped.
 
The oldest has been a 1964 Mini Cooper S, which was pretty cool. Oddest has to be the Renault Twizy I drove a week or so back, though it was also one of the most fun.
 
YSSMAN
The oldest car I've driven was the '87 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2. A lot of fun, still a distinctly quirky Porsche.


Weirdest car? Has to be the '93 Volkswagen Fox GL Wolfsburg that I owned

  • Built in Brazil, shipped to the US & Canada
  • Used "Wolfsburg" badging that is supposed to imply construction at the Wolfsburg factory in Neidersachsen, Germany
  • The chassis was hacked together with pieces from the MKI and MKII Golf/Jetta
  • Had a 1.8L I4 from the Audi 80
  • The engine was laid out longitudinally, attached to a Quantum (Passat) transmission
  • Suspension bits and pieces were sharred with the MKII Golf/Jetta
  • The Fox was offered as a coupe, sedan, and three-door wagon
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*snerk*

I never personally drove it, but on a trip through Washington, we came across a meet-up with dozens of really old dawn-of-motoring cars. One really nice guy gave my brother and me a short ride around the little town in a car from 1905.

Some highlights were a hand-starter, a nonsensical throttle, brake, and transmission system, and a suspension system made of wood.

It was pretty fast though, and quite fun.
 
One similar to this, specifically a blue one:

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While it wasn't particularly old (almost new in-fact), it was quite odd to drive, also considering that the controls haven't changed at all from the old ones.

- Gear shifting is done using a rotary sequential shifter, integrated with the clutch lever on the left handlebar (you depress the clutch lever, and twist it upwards to go into 1st from neutral, then down 2 clicks into second, down one click into 3rd, and once more into fourth :crazy:)
- There's no brake lever, instead a foot-pedal like one on a car
- The throttle is the same twist-grip as a motorcycle.

:confused::boggled:

A bit confusing at first (since I had to combine both car and motorbike techniques), ended up stalling a couple of times due to forgetting the handbrake :O But it was quite fun, a recommended experience even if it is really slow 👍
 
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Well, I owned a Lada, so that's pretty high up the bucket of crap weirdness scale.

I've also been drunk and taken one of these from a building site because some plank left the keys in it and I was egged on by my dad. I didn't manage to get more than 100m before the workers caught up with me. :grumpy:

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These are very common here and being that my local shop has one for deliveries I've had a go on this. Slow and boring, but definitely strange.

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That's terrible.
 
Oldest I've driven was my old 5.0 Mustang. It was a fun car for an 87 and was in near mint shape too. Got quite a lot of looks for how well it was.
 
plenty of goes with Series One Land Rovers. Now, it's a hoot and so straightforward but I really don't get on with the gearstick :lol: Always took me a few stirrs and couple wiggles to find any gears.
 
Oldest is a mid 90's Camry, really not very odd in any sense. I guess as far as odd cars goes, my dad's VW Touareg TDI would probably be it. Not very odd, but there aren't too many diesel SUV's in Canada.
 
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1934 Alvis. Had to do major maintenance on it, and take it for a 4 hour shake down, as the car would be used in a rally in Eastern Europe. 180kmh in a car with bicycle tires. FTW.
 
I got to drive the only Fuldamobile in Mexico around the block when I went to photograph it, it looked EXACTLY like this car, color and all.

e56yuer5yr5y.jpg
 
Oldest car? Probably original Fiat 600, which also is the oddest.. The sheetmetal on that thing is so thin that it flexed if you rested your arm on it.
 
zedextreme8177
^ What...is...that...thing? :odd:
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Basically this:

homeforsummer
It's what passes for an RV in China. A bike with a shed on the back. Winnebago eat your heart out!
Click to expand...

It's hard for the poorer folk to afford truck so they have just replace a donkey and cart with a motorcycle and a flat-bed. :)
 
UD_Banner-694x288-sugarcane.jpg


Oddest thing would be that ^^ Or close enough to it - a UD CW385. Doesn't look big in the pics but I found it to be huge, and rather tricky trying to learn a road ranger gearbox.
 
I've driven a pretty sizeable front-end loader. It was long ago and I'm not proud of the circumstances under which it happened. At least I wasn't the one who "gained access" and started it... I've also flown some planes and stuff, if that counts.

Oldest... I actually haven't driven anything all that old. I don't think anything before the late '70s, a 1st gen RX-7 is probably as far back as I've driven. I'm dying for a '60s-style euro sporty car, but it hasn't ever been in the budget. I might have driven a 240Z or 280Z at some point but I honestly can't remember, haha.
 
I drove a 1939 Chrysler (I think :P) yesterday.. Was pretty cool :)
 
A 1940's tractor we found stashed in the barn when my parents bought the farm. Scariest thing I've ever driven, I thought it was going to fall over when I was driving on level ground. :scared:
 
For my strangest entry, only a ruddy Peel!
50551903.jpg

potential death trap, left pretty quickly when I tested how easy it was to get onto 2 wheels :lol:
 
My parents have a 1983 Mercedes Benz 240D they bought new. Still cranks up everytime. Brand new it was 65HP, so we estimate today it has less than 40. The top speed is 65mph downhill, with a tailwind. To reach 60 from zero, you need a 5 mile straight. It's pretty insane.
 
I'd say a Skidder qualifies as the strangest:
Skidder.png


I think the oldest is my brother's 1967 Mustang. I've ridden in a Ford Model A, but I didn't drive it.
 
Oldest is a '68 GT500KR. I detail cars on the side and the owner of this particular car lets me take it up and down the street once in a while to "get the fluids moving." Very cool car and owner. This is me backing it out of the garage.

0620111636.jpg


Strangest would have to be a '71 Karmann Ghia that a friend of mine used to own. Rear engined and manual everything. Very different from anything I've ever driven.
 
Opel Kaddet 1985
 
I've driven my Grandfathers 1957 Chevy Pickup. All parts are original, except the heater, which was an Aftermarket part, purchased in 1957. Hello, no leg room.
 
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