Horror stories

I was surprised to see the Top ten in the August issue, in part because the subject matter was a forgettable period in American automobiles, and partly because I have history with half of them. I owned a 1977 Ford Granada (below) in 1999, for just long enough to extract the 5-litre V8 and transmission, and drop them into my grandma’s old 1960 Falcon. I drove the Granada to the shop that performed the operation in comfort, but feeling like a small boat on rough waters.

In 1971 I drove a ’70 Chevy Vega fastback in the same sick yellow as the one in your picture. It handled well, was quick enough and small enough to perform, so I forgave it the rust starting to show in the fenders after less than a year.

As for the GM diesel, a workmate bought a new Oldsmobile Cutlass 5.7-litre diesel in 1982. Within two years he’d pulled the diesel and replaced it with a gasoline version, and was much happier. The diesel was a gas engine with modified timing, fuel distribution and offset pins in the pistons to handle the diesel cycle, and was a total failure. It was noisy, powerless and costly.

My brother bought a ‘classic’ Seville in 1981, being a Cadillac man who liked classic cars of the ’30s. It had GM’S experimental 4-6-8 V8, with variable timing controlled by an arrangement of complex mechanical and electronic mayhem. He had it deactivated.

Finally, the Mustang II. A friend had a 1975 car that had the head replaced or rebuilt three times due to rapid overhead-cam wear. He moved it on after two years. Another friend with whom I shared my commute was bought a new 1976 Mustang II Ghia by her parents. It was a pretty thing, with all the ‘luxury’ options including a vinyl top and tiny opera window. I guess the Mustang II was a child of its times… but aren’t we all? Tom Day

Cincinnati, Ohio, USA