Bartolucci Cars (and Bikes) Page
After I decided to sell my Porsche I saw the need for a vehicle I could drive year-round. I've always wanted a Jeep and came across this one which was for sale in north-central PA in the Fall of 2016. 4.0 straight six; 4" lift and 33" tires. Basically rust-free with all the cool features I wanted.
The classic car that replaced the 61 Nash I inherited from my dad. This Mustang features a Pro-charged 5.0 and a 5-speed, a clean Car Fax, and 88k original miles.
All of the cars I've owned, past and present
- 1975 Ford Torino. My first car. It had less than 50k miles and a brand new engine. Payed 1500.00 for it back in 1980. Unique in that it was a police package car ordered through the Sheriff's Department by the original owner (460 V8; posi-traction; heavy duty suspension; calibration certified speedometer). I blew the motor up and replaced it with a used 429. I wish I had this car today the way it was when I bought it.
- 1976 Chrysler Cordoba. Bought this car from my parents around 1982. This was a beautiful car - Corinthian leather and all power options!
- 1978 Pontiac Trans Am. The car from perdition. It was a magnet for trouble. I had the car no more than 3 years. During that span: 1) While driving on a rural road one night I had someone deliberately hit the passenger door window with a rock shattering it into my wife's lap. 2) At 65 mph I hit a drunk pedestrian who was wandering in the middle of a dark highway at night. 3) A drunk driver plowed into the car while it was parked and unattended. In the process of hitting my car and one other, she parked her car (literally) inside of a church. This TA was fun to drive when it wasn't looking for trouble! A 401 V8 with the W72 performance package. I know that this motor wasn't rated for all that much horsepower, but apparantly no one told the car - it was one of the fastest cars I've owned.
- 1981 Chevrolet Citation X11. My first car that didn't have a V8. It was a really cool-looking car and it was in excellent condition as one can see from the pictures. 80s V6 = poor performance. 80s V6 = poor quality. In the short time I had the car it spun a crankshaft bearing and developed a bad oil leak at the main seal.
- 1984 Mitsubishi Tredia. This was a nice, reliable car. The first real economy car I ever owned. Bought it from a place called "All Japanese Auto" in Tempe, AZ (if I remember right, the owner's name was Tim). They ran a salvage yard and restored totaled vehicles. I'd never heard of a "Tredia" before, but this one was like new with a fresh coat of white paint. Sure, it had a salvage title, but no worries here. The manual transmission featured a "high-low" lever that gave you 1/2 a gear jump in between the standard 4 (or was it 5?). It was a good car - until one day, on my way to college, I was in a chain-reaction accident on Pima Rd. in Phoenix (back when Pima Rd. was a nightmare). All Japanese Auto took it in on trade for another salvaged Tredia (below).
- 1987 Mitsubishi Tredia. This is the newest car I ever owned. It was less than 2 years old and had something like 18k miles when I bought it from All Japanese Auto. This is the car I owned when Lois and I got married and it served us well for a decade. We put lots of miles on this car and sold it when it had just about reached the end of its useful life (the clear coat was gone, the paint badly faded, the interior worn, the clutch shot, and the motor weary with well over 150k miles). It no longer could pass the Maricopa County emissions inspection standards, so we thought we'd drive it up to my wife's folks ranch in northeastern AZ where we could fix the clutch and sell it there as Navajo County had no emissions requirements. The clutch gave out on the mountains during the drive up so we had to tow it the rest of the way. Here's a picture of the weary car arriving at the ranch. We sold it to a local who got some good use out of it.
- 1980 Chevrolet Citation. My wife's first car. I inherited it when we married in 1989. Had the 2.5 liter bullet-proof 4 cyl. No AC. I was driving this car in the city on the day that Phoenix set an all time record of 122 degrees. After many years of use, the 4 speed transmission lost first gear, then third. We sold it to a transmission shop.
- 1982 Chevrolet S-10 Pickup. It was the first year for the S-10, a replacement for the venerable Chevy LUV. My dad ordered this "everything delete" yellow truck for his pool business. No radio, no factory air conditioning, no power steering, brakes, transmission, windows, cruise, etc. etc. (you get the picture). It hardly even had an engine. When dad upgraded to a Nissan Hardbody, I bought it from him. Powered by a 1.9 liter Isuzu 4 cyl. and a 4 speed transmission, it had a top speed of 75 mph. But the little carburated 4 banger got over 30 mpg.
- 1970 Ford Maverick. I bought this from a friend for 900.00. With the rest of the money from the sale of the S-10 I swapped the straight 6 for a 302 V8 and added lots of performance upgrades. I blew the motor and ended up selling it as is for a big loss.
- 1992 Ford Explorer. This SUV was a gift from my wife's old boss. We got it in 2000 just as the 87 Tredia was about to go to the big salvage yard in the sky. Little did we know at the time that God was preparing us for an upcoming move to New York where the 4x4 would get lots of use. We still use it as our winter vehicle. It was in outstanding condition when we got the car (can't find a good picture of it, however). It experienced enough NY to show its "northeastern status." We planned to keep this truck until it was ready for the salvage yard, but it was destroyed when my daughter and I were hit head on by a drunk on Christmas Eve, 2015: car crash.
- 1966 Chevrolet Impala. After I sold the 70 Maverick I decided that I'd go with a classic car that was pretty much turnkey. Big, black, powered by a 396 and less than 55k original miles. I payed 5400.00 for it. At the time I sold it, I had this car longer than any other, from 1999 to 2013.
- 1968 Chevrolet K-20 Pickup. AKA "The Beast." It was a 3/4 ton 4x4 flatbed with a 4 speed (3 speed and a granny). I saw it in a field behind a relative's farm in PA. They said I could have it for free. Did I say 'free'? I ended up putting 1,500 into it (the link will take you to an entire page devoted to the transformation). I thought a straight 6 would get decent gas mileage. How about a consistent 6 mpg? I really enjoyed 'restoring' and driving this old truck - it was an experience! I would have kept her had the fuel mileage been anything like the 14-18 I'd expected. I sold it at a big loss (as my wife will quickly point out, this is a too-familiar pattern with me and cars). It's back on a farm as a work truck. At least I gave it new life.
- 1997 Honda Accord. Speaking of gas crunch, we had a 66 Impala that got 11 mpg and a 92 Explorer that got 14. We decided to look into something economical. I wanted an economy car with two things: a manual transmission and a sun roof. The hardest thing to find was the manual transmission. Came across this Honda at a used car lot. One owner, 74k miles. V-TEC 4 with a 5 speed. We sold this great little car in 2016.
- 1977 Porsche 924. In August of 2013 I finally sold my 1966 Impala. Decided that I would replace it with another car, if: 1) I'd come out ahead in cash; 2) the car was smaller; 3) the car got good gas mileage. Presto, a Porsche 924 with less than 70k one owner miles. A VW Beetle looks big in comparison and the Porsche gets 25 mpg. Sensing a need for a year-round vehicle to replace the Ford Explorer, I sold the 924 in the Fall of 2017.
- 1961 Nash Metropolitan. This microcar was inherited from my dad in April, 2017. After lots of work upgrading the car throughout, I sold it to a couple from NC in July 2023.
- 1997 Yamaha V-Max (and other bikes I've owned). The V-Max had been my dream bike for a dozen years before I acquired this one on September 8, 2011. I sold the bike in the Fall of 2021 because I no longer enjoyed riding. In fact, I was downright paranoid out on the road, a by-product of my devastating car crash on Christmas Eve. 2015. Giana loved to ride and it was also a painful reminder of her.
- 2017 Subaru Forester. This is the first vehicle we've owned that was built in the 21st century. Premium model with a 6 speed manual transmission and Aftermarket rims. The official vehicle of Western NY. We traded it in after a few years for the larger Subaru Ascent.
- 1991 Jeep Wrangler Renedade. Fun in the summer and winter. The bullet-proof fuel injected 4.0 has over 210k miles and still runs like a top.
- 2021 Subaru Ascent. This is the second vehicle we've owned that was built in the 21st century! We traded in our 2017 "Subie" once we moved my mom out from Arizona (subsequent to adopting two new daughters). We needed a third row seating and love this SUV. Turbo-charged 4 cylinder and automatic. Subaru's trademark all-wheel-drive with class-leading 8.7" ground clearance. Hoping thjis vehicle will last us many years to come.
- 1989 Ford Mustang GT. About the time I sold the Metropolitan (July, 2023) I purchased this Supercharged Fox Body Mustang from Illinois Motors.
