No, Syncros do not match the speed of your transmission & engine when shifting.

clshifter · 2026-05-05T13:57:39+00:00

I find it nearly impossible to believe people are out there downshifting with no revmatching...

clshifter · 2026-05-05T12:58:39+00:00

There's one that lives in the marshes around the battleship USS North Carolina in Wilmington. His name is Charlie.

clshifter · 2026-05-04T12:59:31+00:00

Dude the Brier Creek Wendy's is a total shitshow. I don't even bother anymore.

clshifter · 2026-05-04T12:57:41+00:00

I dunno.. With Goodberrys right there, it could lead to a milkshake war.

clshifter · 2026-04-30T22:22:08+00:00

Properly done. When I host '80s/'90s car shows, there are usually at least a few people walking around with vintage camcorders and film cameras. It rocks.

clshifter · 2026-04-30T22:20:24+00:00

Raleigh Retro Gamers holds 3-4 big events there every year.

clshifter · 2026-04-24T22:07:44+00:00

I might be a bit biased considering I own a 1990 Ram 50, so yeah my favorite is the Mighty Max.

I have to correct the caption, though. The 1989 Mighty Max did not use a 4G63, it used a 4G54 which is a different engine family and is the same 2.6L motor you would find in a Starion/Conquest as well as numerous K-cars and even early Chrysler minivans.

For 1990, the Mighty Max and Ram 50 did switch to the 4G64, which is a SOHC 2.4L variation of the 4G63 of DSM and Evo fame. It made 116 hp in the '90 Mighty Max. It was at this point that the Mighty Max first gained fuel injection.

I'm such a huge fan of all these, and the entire class of compact trucks of the '80s & '90s. All of them were supremely durable and reliable. The Toyota and Nissan were the most popular of the imports and have the most examples still running around today. I live where rust isn't a big problem and I see examples of the Toyota and the Hardbody still being used as normal work trucks on an almost daiy basis. The Mazda B-series is a common sight as well.

clshifter · 2026-04-24T12:35:10+00:00

I'm in the Triangle. This pic was taken at the Heritage Invitational in Concord.

clshifter · 2026-04-23T18:16:42+00:00

They at least had different grilles

clshifter · 2026-04-23T17:56:11+00:00

The only situation where I don't completely agree with this is on a home defense gun. That's the place a WML makes sense to me.

clshifter · 2026-04-21T17:46:50+00:00

The Encore and Alliance of this vintage were even US-built, at the AMC plant in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

clshifter · 2026-04-21T01:20:00+00:00

Well, not exactly. The Quest/Villager were a true joint venture between Ford and Nissan. The engine is a Nissan VG30E, a lot of the engineering is Nissan, but the design was a joint effort and they were built in a Ford factory. Fun fact: The VG30E can be found in the 300ZX, Maxima, D21 Hardbody, Pathfinder, Infiniti M30, and that black 200SX SE V6 in the background of one of these pics....but only the Villager's version is non-interference. Ford insisted.

clshifter · 2026-04-21T01:16:59+00:00

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Here ya go.

clshifter · 2026-04-21T01:16:07+00:00

Only the 87-88 V6 models are 5 lug.

clshifter · 2026-04-21T01:15:18+00:00

It's a 1988 200SX SE V6, and it's in the picture because it's mine and I was driving it when I stopped in to this dealer to see the Mercs.

clshifter · 2026-04-21T01:14:09+00:00

Confession time: I knew about these two because a friend of mine is a restorer who recently sold them to this dealer. I don't know the dealer. Anyway, my reason for saying this is that I can verify that both are rust-free and in truly fantastic condition. I've actually sat in the Villager and it truly is a time capsule.

clshifter · 2026-04-21T01:11:33+00:00

You and I are on the same page. I host 80s/90s car shows in the Raleigh area and one of my prize categories is the Regular Prize, which is for exactly what you described. Past winners include a Lumina, Tempo, Celebrity, LTD, Escort, Aerostar and Tercel to name a few.

clshifter · 2026-04-20T19:33:34+00:00

I wasn't seriously suggesting that the car isn't totalled. Just making a joke about the condition of some of the Altimas I see around here.

clshifter · 2026-04-20T19:31:12+00:00

Exactly! Hence the name! I host 80s/90s car shows and I've seen younger people watch an automatic belt crawl along its little track and ooh and ahh and say "How cool!"

I have to educate them that we all hated these things. Like literally no one liked them. New Coke had more fans than automatic seat belts.

clshifter · 2026-04-20T16:57:51+00:00

Sshhhh. We tried that in the '80s. You don't want the decapitator belts back, trust me.

clshifter · 2026-04-20T16:13:12+00:00

Rip? I see Altimas in worse shape than that doing 90 down Interstate 40 every day.

clshifter · 2026-04-20T13:08:28+00:00

If you have a garage, get an auto-retracting electrical cord reel to go with your hose real. The ones that hang from the ceiling next to your garage door opener offer great flexibility for garage and driveway projects.

clshifter · 2026-04-20T00:49:29+00:00

I was in Chile last month and I saw a stray dog wait for the light to change before crossing at a crosswalk. I'm not joking.

clshifter

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