My '91 Dakota had a bad 02 sensor. It blew black smoke and the fuel mileage took a nosedive. I think it effected the catalytic convertor. At the test station, they said it'll have to be replaced, before the next emissions test.
I sold it to a friend, who only drove it for four years.
He installed a universal convertor, so it met emissions standards. :yes:

Be american drive american

Used to be my parents line of thinking...Until mom got a new '89 Chevy Baretta. That car was the worst lemon I've ever seen. It had problems with the steering column right off the bat, electrical issues, and it was always having engine troubles. If we ever put in anything other than AMOCO mid-grade it would need a service within a week. That thing had blown an engine gasket by the time it turned 30K! The paint was going bad not long after it left warranty. It probably spent around a quarter of the time I rode in it in the local repair shop.

Meanwhile my uncles 80's Honda civic(I think it might have had the highway gearing option that gave it 60MPG highway) was doing fine at 100K without ever having had any service NOT EVEN AN OIL CHANGE!

It was obvious to my folks at this point who their next cars should come from.

Every few months I see a Baretta on the road and wonder what sort of witchcraft keeps what few of them remain in existence on the road. Those cars were starting to become scarce before Y2K!

Here's my fleet recently.

I sold the '57 chevy (with 76,000 original miles) and the '75 Dart (62,000 orig.) a couple years ago. Trailers get used for radio meets, auctions, and estate sales.

I kept the '67 Coronet with only 23,000 original miles, and my Sienna van just hit 110,000 miles this week.

Nice cars! Love the Coronet! Awesome car! They sure drive nice.

I like that Dart, 74 or 75 my dad had a 74 318 and it had a neat gas saving feature I read about for the 75 model. If you put your foot in the gas too hard, the blinker bulb out on the fender facing the driver would light up. A little then more as you gave it more and more gas over what it thought it should get to accelerate the car. It was tied to a vacuum gauge somehow.... Well his was a 74 and PS magazine had this thing as a new feature for 75 Dodge cars, like the Dart.

That Coronet is cool too. We had a 70 440 but it had a 225/6 Mom said she almost ordered it in Plum Crazy, but we had Brown. Then me and brother read this article in something like Carcraft For $38. more we coulda got a 440! Pretty funny, as kids we were say'n Dad! you coulda got a V8! But then it also didn't have tinted windows, A/C, air bags, power brakes, and a buncha other stuff. But those 4 wheel drum brakes could put ya through the window and still not lock up and skid.... It was a very good station wagon... Now I see from the morning news a few days ago CBS I think, they are collectors items now..

Yeah, I can't even remember the last time I saw a Coronet...They used to be fairly common, but now they're all gone.. Of course, the fact that they're gettin' close to the 50-year old mark, MIGHT have sumpin to do w/it...

'59 Rambler station wagon
'61 International C-100 pick-up
'04 Chevy Venture van (daily driver)

I've sometimes daydreamed of using a Rambler wagon for a daily driver, instead of a small pickup w/ cap.

Really an eclectic collection we have on VK!

dieseljeep, username1-that 87 did have a Holley 2 bbl. Had it rebuilt and it ran a lot better but I was forever messing with the choke. About time I had it set the way I wanted it, the weather would change. The 96 has Holley fuel injection and has been very reliable. I've needed a few O2 sensors along the way. The last one I only replaced because it completely rusted out and made the exhaust noisy. Today I had to go to Baltimore about a job prospect, over 4 hours on the road, 18 y.o. truck with 251k going 70mph down the beltway and the check engine light is off...I'm happy!

When I got my 1969 Lincoln sedan in 1982, it sorta became my "Go-To" car, because my 1982 Chevy Suburban K2500 6.2 Diesel turned out to be such an unremitting POS, & spent so much time in the shop..The Lincoln was utterly reliable, ALWAYS "Went", & was an EXTREMELY comfortable ride while doing it... It had power galore, having a 460, even though the 460 had a LOT of weight to haul around..It STILL could give a very good accounting of itself against the dreadful weak-kneed JUNK of the early Eighties... That & the fact I had it painted, & it was SO pretty, & had such clean lines...Well, it WASN'T a hardship to use it..Biggest problems were the A/C didn't work, & a couple of the power windows didn't, either..Ford used a nylon gear in the power windows, & after 15-20 years, they kinda crumbled...

The GM 6.2 diesel wasn't much better than the Oldmobile joke of a diesel.
I talked to a few Chevy 3500 truck owners and they said that engine barely went over 100K, without a overhaul or replacement.
Diesels are supposed to last over 500K miles. :sigh:

Part of the problem w/the 6.2 Weasel, the Urbanizer had a 4.11 rear end in it, which drove the Weasel a LOT faster than it wanted to go..GM said it WASN'T, but it was basically a "Big-Block" dieselized gas motor, just like the 350.. Altho they HAD learned a few tricks that made the 6.2s a LITTLE better than the 350s..If you remember, NOBODY then made "Small" V-8 diesels....Diesels for automotive applications were 4s, 5s, & 6s, all INLINE motors... Generous Motors was NOT smarter than the entire rest of the industry...I remember a few years ago over yonder at AK, we started talking about the notorious 350 Weasels, & some guy said, IIRC, that his dad was a developmental engineer at GM in the late Seventies when they were doing the 350 diesel programme, THEY knew the engine was a Dawg, but the Big Shots ran the motor thru anyway...And kept their fingers crossed..

When I bought my 2000 Dodge Dakota, I inquired if it was USA built. The salesperson's reply was that all the Dakotas were built in Warren, Mi.
My reply was: "I wont pay this kind of money, for a truck built with cheap labor".
I have no problem with a Canadian built product. :thmbsp:

wow everyone else says were over paid.

The finest MoPar (that brought home most of my TVs) was our 1975 Fury wagon with a 318, it was built in Hamtramk (Detroit plant) and had rusted-out quarters fixed twice because it was such a great car.

My folks bought MoPars for almost 40 years, beginning with a 1969 Polara wagon 383-2V, ending with the 2005 Voyager minivan when their micro-dealer had to surrender the franchise.
Suffering the usual electrical, carburetor and transmission issues along the way, the "little dealer" fixed them all, hence the repeat business.