On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 18:23:55 GMT, "Paul Stamler"
wrote:


wrote in message
roups.com...

I see a lot more twenty, thirty, forty and fifty year old American
cars than any other vehicles of that age though. Other than at car
shows and vintage road race events the only old foreign cars I see very
often are Volkswagens and the occasional diesel Benz. (I did see,
believe it or not, a two stroke three cylinder Saab last night. First
one I've seen on the road in probably two decades plus.)

One reason is that Japanese carmakers didn't lick the rust problem until
sometime in the early 90s, so that earlier cars, if they were still around,
would be motors and frames surrounded by swiss cheese. The motors -- at
least on Toyotas -- ran and ran and ran. They were originally copies of
Chevy motors, I'm told, with evolving divergences as the years went on.

Peace,
Paul

The OP left out Volvos. There are tons of them around, especially from
the 80s, which was a time that American cars weren't particularly
well-built in general. Of course, they have their issues as well, the
main one being a wiring harness apparently built from compressed dust.

Volvos are certainly overengineered to a fault. Plus, their engines
are extremely easy to work on because they are very accessable. Lots
of room to work and components placed in areas that are easy to get
to. On the 740 for instance, you can change the oil filter by hand
from the top.