What's The Slowest Car You've Owned? Did You Enjoy It?

[alsancle]

My HS car that my dad got me because it was slow.   49 Plymouth Special Deluxe 2 door.   It would do 70mph if you dropped it out of a plane.

 

[Harold]

The slowest car I ever had was a '71 Ford Pinto with an automatic transmission that I bought for $25.00 to save it from the junkyard.   I'd go through red lights to avoid stopping short and getting hit in the rear!

[1932 plymouth pb sedan]

I had a mid 70s Datsun B210 in high school, slower than death and used more oil than gas. All my buddy's would put their beer in my trunk because they knew that I would never get pulled over for speeding (as we were heading out to party most likely in the woods somewhere)I did have some of the guys lift the back end of the car to see if we could smoke the tires, which worked pretty well until they dropped it and then it just sputtered till it stalled. Eventually my little brother got it as a hand me down and I think he smoked the clutch and then he finished it off by running over it with a bulldozer.

[zepher]

I think it would have to be the '72 Datsun PL521 Pickup truck I owned in the mid 80's.

 

The 1600 cc engine was very anemic but it was one of the most reliable vehicles I have ever owned.

[zipdang]

My 1958 Citroen 2cv Van gives people plenty of time to ponder it's uniqueness in this area as I drive by.

[intimeold]

Renault Dauphine, not even close to anything else. If it did get up to 45 mph downhill, it was unsafe, as it would not handle safely.

[nickelroadster]

Other than the several brass cars that I have now [seems like that would be cheating] the slowest car would be the 1960 corvair.  It got really good gas mileage [about 28-29 mpg] but was hard to push up to highway speeds.

[Borough Essex]

Of the "moderns", 1963 VW Beetle had a sweet spot of 53mph on the highway; anything more you had to concentrate too much. Essex is, as expected, my slowest ever; 30-35 mph comfortable, over 35 mph the margin for error reduces, especially as your biggest worry with older cars is IMHO metal fatigue and the vagaries of modern traffic.

[Frank DuVal]

10 hours ago, CarlLaFong said:

My brother had a Subaru 360. It was a ton of fun to zip around town in with is funny shift pattern and the ring-a-ding exhaust note

 

Me too! Loved the ring-a-ding exhaust note.  I removed what was left of the muffler when I got it due to rust and ran a new tail pipe off the exhaust chamber. Passed state safety inspection that way. 

 

Shift pattern was normal, just had OT instead of 4 for 4th, since 4th was overdrive, i.e. Over Top.

 

But slowest may have been my experiment with a '64 230 cu in Powerglide  Biscayne a friend drove with a bad head gasket long enough to eat the head and block, so I bought it, pulled the push  rods out of cylinders 2 and 3 and drove it s a four cylinder. Ran OK with the slight miss feeling like a Buick odd fire V-6, but ssssslllloooowwwwww acceleration. It would do 70, if you had enough time!😅 

[Frank DuVal]

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Edited August 21, 2021 by Frank DuVal
Duplicate Post (see edit history)

[plymouthcranbrook]

Probably the 1961 Beetle my brother coned me into buying from him back in 1970 or so.  Don't remember much about it(memory block I suppose) except it took forever to get to 45 or 50 and in cold weather when you pushed the brakes the pedal it stayed down and you had to reach down and pull it up. I didn't have it long. sold it for $75.00 and the buyer called up the next day wanting his money back as the front end was worn out.  I told him good luck, it was a $75.00 car. 

Edited August 21, 2021 by plymouthcranbrook (see edit history)

[mrspeedyt]

my first car. 1959 fiat 600 sedan. sloooooowwww.

(i think maybe my 23 buick 4cylinder was faster.)

yes. i enjoyed it. both of them.

Edited August 21, 2021 by mrspeedyt (see edit history)

[jpage]

My slowest car was my 1928 Ford pickup, which cruised best between 45 and 50 mph. Slow by today's standards, especially for a trip on the PA turnpike. I loved it though; you could drive the back roads. relax and take a good look at the surroundings. Today, everything is so fast!

[hook]

1977 240D Mercedes! In the Mercedes work book it gave the actual proper acceleration of 0 to 100 kilometers per hour (about 62 mph) as 27 seconds. Do you have any idea how long 27 seconds is when your pulling on to an interstate highway? Are you familiar with the Lords Prayer? At least with a slow antique you don't drive on interstates. 

[Restorer32]

My 1964 International Scout would not go over 55 mph even if you dropped it from a plane.  I loved my Scout but what a slug !

 

 

[bill witmer]

1910 Schacht Model K. The most fun you will have at a shade under 20 miles per hour! 

[1912Staver]

Morris Minor 1000 Woody. OK in town but hopeless on the freeway . Hard to believe they were a big step up in power from the original MM flatheads of the late 1940's - early 1950's.

[TexRiv_63]

My Mom's 65 VW Beetle. We used to say it was the fastest accelerating car off the the line - for the first 10 feet. The slowest car I ever owned was a 1994 Honda Civic, total base model except for auto transmission and dealer-installed air conditioning. We needed a car when we first moved to Texas and this was all we could afford. If you were on the highway with the air on  you had to floor it if you saw a hill ahead unless you wanted a semi to push you up the hill! 

[SC38dls]

My brothers 48 Plymouth convertible 6 cylinder that only had 4 pistons!  First car I drove legally in Lincoln Nebraska. We found out the pistons were gone when it needed a new head gasket. If it could do 45-50 it was really screaming. 
 

[Century Eight]

My ‘31 Chevy was pretty worn out by the time I got it(wish I still had it) and I couldn’t stand the thrill of driving it faster that 50 mph.  But I must tell you about the time I won the “slow race” in my ‘50 Buick at an antique car show about thirty years ago.  

 

All the cars lined up on a grass field and the idea was to be the last car to get to the other end, without putting on your brakes, and there were judges watching for your tail lights to come on.  Most of the cars like the A’s and T’s just walked away though there was a Corvette near me with an automatic trans that was pretty slow.  However, with my dynaflow I actually had to give it some gas after I put it in drive, otherwise it would just sit there!  I had to give it some gas because it wouldn’t even creep on the grass. I got a nice big four dollar trophy for my efforts!

Edited August 21, 2021 by Century Eight (see edit history)

[Terry Harper]

 

Most fun at 8 mph I have ever had. Fuel economy? We won't talk about that.

 

[Marty Roth]

Our 1964 Citroen 2-CV with the smaller 435 cc opposed 2 cylinder engine.

Top speed might have been 55 mph, but only downhill with a tailwind, and took all day to get up there,

 

although my wife's 1967 Toyota Crown station wagon with the overhead "6" could never get over 60 mph, even in overdrive.

[JCHansen1]

I just drove a Mercedes 240D sedan a couple weeks ago. Something like 55 horsepower from its diesel engine. Absolutley pathetic 0-60 time of around 30 seconds with the AC on. Floor it down hills and hope for the best on the way back up. 

[wayne sheldon]

1 hour ago, Terry Harper said:

Most fun at 8 mph I have ever had. Fuel economy? We won't talk about that.

 

I was wondering when you would chime in here with those beautiful beasts!

 

 

2 hours ago, Century Eight said:

 But I must tell you about the time I won the “slow race” in my ‘50 Buick at an antique car show about thirty years ago.

 

I won the slow race hands down once, with my model T speedster. It was all era correct accessories and looked good. In overdrive, the car would run 70 mph for miles and miles and miles and miles! However, in Ruckstell (low), Muncie auxiliary reverse, and Ford planetary reverse, engine at high rpm was a slow walk! At idle? Barely moved. One demonstration and the race was cancelled! I offered to bow out and let everyone else run it, but was told that I couldn't get out of it that easily. If I didn't run, nobody would.

[keithb7]

Enjoy it? That’s quite an understatement, saying the least. 
 

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by keithb7 (see edit history)

[95Cardinal]

Slowest I've ever owned; the 1909 Buick Model 19.

It's happy at 32-35 MPH. But SO MUCH FUN!!!

 

I know it has a higher top speed, but I don't have the courage to find it...yet.

 

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by 95Cardinal (see edit history)

[J.H.Boland]

Slowest is my '21 490 Chevy. Cruises about 28 MPH, once had it to 42 MPH which nearly took off the top and windshield  ! Still enjoy an occasional drive with it.

Slow race (and teeter-totter) winner was my '46 Chevy 1 ton with bull low. 

[Pfeil]

Slowest car ever owned; 

Two and I still have them.

1964 type 113 U.S. export deluxe beetle, 1200cc 40hp. 34mpg with 10% ethanol, 38 mpg non ethanol top speed at 5,000 feet ( elevation where I live ) level ground 72 mph. I've owned it 47 years

 

  

 

1965 European Beetle type 111, 1200 "A" Custom ( a 1200 Custom is a subset model of the 1200"A" ) 1200cc 36hp engine, 38mpg on 10% ethanol, 42mpg on non ethanol 87. Top speed 72mph same conditions as other car. I've owned it 53 years.

  

Edited August 22, 2021 by Pfeil (see edit history)

[Larry Schramm]

6 hours ago, 95Cardinal said:

Slowest I've ever owned; the 1909 Buick Model 19.

It's happy at 32-35 MPH. But SO MUCH FUN!!!

 

I know it has a higher top speed, but I don't have the courage to find it...yet.

 

 

 

Did you have a picture?

[95Cardinal]

18 minutes ago, Larry Schramm said:

 

Did you have a picture?

 

Here's a representative photo of my lack of courage. 🤣🤣

 

 

[mobileparts]

Had a three (3) Wheel B M W Isetta --- gathered a lot of attention  -- but couldn't  go above 30 - 32 Miles Per Hour, and you didn't  dare go that fast around curves or corners....

 

They go for big $$$ today, too....

[PONTIAC1953]

the slowest car i have ever owned and drove, is a cute little 1962 Hillman Minx, pretty gutless, it would struggle to drive over the 101 freeway from Hollywood to North Hollywood. 

[Erska]

My slowest car was this 1973 VW Squareback, with a 1600 cc engine rated at 65 horsepower.  It was (and is) solid and reliable.  Bought new in college, driven as first car then backup car for about 25 years (covered about 200,000 miles, but always well maintained), then in "dry, covered" storage for about 20 years.  Refurbishing almost completed.  The paint and interior are mostly original.  Squarebacks (aka Type 3 VWs) once were common (at least here on the west coast) but now are very scarce, and largely forgotten amidst the Beetles (Type 1) and Buses (Type 2).  Looking forward to taking it to a few shows next year!

[Frank DuVal]

1 hour ago, mobileparts said:

Had a three (3) Wheel B M W Isetta

Thought every one of them (except prototypes) had 4 wheels, just the rear two were close, 19 inches apart. 😉

 

I had a friend who used to drive them between Richmond and Alberta (Virginia, not Canada, Ha!). 45 MPH on US Rt 1. Maybe downhill.....😄

Edited August 23, 2021 by Frank DuVal (see edit history)

[dictator27]

34 minutes ago, Frank DuVal said:

Thought every one of them (except prototypes) had 4 wheels, just the rear two were close, 19 inches apart. 😉

 

I had a friend who used to drive them between Richmond and Alberta (Virginia, not Canada, Ha!). 45 MPH on US Rt 1. Maybe downhill.....😄

Isettas sold in the UK had three wheels so they could be insured as motorcycles.

[Chris Paulsen]

I put quite a few miles on our 1913 Little Giant at a top speed of about 18 MPH. With the back loaded with kids headed for ice cream, or hauling tables around a show field, it was an absolute blast!

 

[Bryan G]

Slowest might have been my 83 GMC full size van with the naturally aspirated 6.2 diesel & 700R4. Accelerate really wasn't the right word for what it did. The previous owner suggested it be driven like a semi, meaning, when you come to a hill get in the right lane and throw the blinkers on! Sidling Hill was mentioned earlier; 35mph was its limit. Nowadays I have a Ford/Winnebago with a V-10 that weights 15k pounds and will take that hill running 70. Ah, but that GMC got an honest 20 mpg no matter how loaded or fast. 

[wayne sheldon]

3 hours ago, Bryan G said:

Ah, but that GMC got an honest 20 mpg no matter how loaded or fast. 

 

I am jealous! On the 'fastest' thread I mentioned the 1988 3/4 ton Chevy Suburban that wasn't the fastest I ever owned (Audi TT roadster), but probably the fastest I ever drove. Empty or pulling six thousand pounds. It got eight miles per gallon of regular gasoline.

 

Back to more 'slow' stories!

[Pilgrim65]

1958 Thames van , horrid 

1960 Morris traveller  , slow but fun 

1952 austin A40 Somerset , definitely not suitable for hilly country , very stressful when traffic building up behind you. 😊

[Brass is Best]

1912 Brush Liberty Runabout. Travels around 20 mph. More fun per mile than can be measured!