Big cars with two doors.

Maybe it was the G-Body days that I grew up in, but I've always liked two door cars and bigger two door cars in particular. They are generally impractical compared to a four door, but whatever. I even had one as my first car. 

The 1992 Chevy Lumina Euro (not my car, but this is exactly what it looked like)

The 3.1 in that thing had some decent guts down low. Of course with the way they mounted the engine you had to disconnect a motor mount and pull the engine forward to change the plugs, but whatever. It was a huge car overall. My friend bought a 1970ish Cadillac DeVille convertible on a lark to drive it down and back to Vegas for a friend's wedding and when we measured the two the Lumina was only an inch or two shorter bumper to bumper than the Caddy.

Of course I also lusted after the massive 210hp of the Z34 version of the Lumina. Look at those hood vents! I lost my desire for this after seeing a plethora of them broken down on the side of the road over the years.

But by the time I had some money together I ended up getting one of these. A 1987 Buick Grand National (that is my former car in the pic). Unfortunately due to life circumstances I was only able to keep it for a couple of years before it moved.

I also love this thing, but never owned one. The Lincoln Mark VIII of the late 90s.

Most of these are FWD excepting the GN though so my big two door car fantasies have migrated to things like this. The Mercedes-Benz CL55 AMG. These get really cheap (relative to initial cost) as they age, but I get nervous about the part cost and special gizmos required.

The mid 90s Buick Riv.       I had the Olds Aurora (4 door version).    Very nice ride, electrical nightmares.

Yes! When I saw those, I was like, supercharged, gimme one! Then later, not so much. I think I would try to get a Mark VIII instead if I got into one of those boats.

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I had a 70 Ford XL convertible in high school/college, I swear the doors were 4' long on that thing. 

70's Ford LTDs

1988RedT2 said:

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I'm more of a Camaro / Mustang guy, but yeah totally. Make mine a Hellcat.

The 3.4 dohc in the z34 was not disappointing.  Especially when it had ported heads/intake, higher CR, retimed cams, and free flowing exhaust.  It ate transmissions though.  I had a 94 3.1 euro that i put a 3.4 into, +70hp is very noticeable.  Then later had a 93 z34 with the above engine with everything done to it.  Was going to 5 speed swap it for $2005 challenge but when i was pulling the trans i found structural crash damage that make me dump it. 

In the 70's, big 2-doors were pretty much what everybody drove.  I didn't get my '76 Olds Cutlass until the 80's, but those doors were plenty big and heavy.

Harvey said:Most of these are FWD excepting the GN though so my big two door car fantasies have migrated to things like this. The Mercedes-Benz CL55 AMG. These get really cheap (relative to initial cost) as they age, but I get nervous about the part cost and special gizmos required.

The Mark VIII is rear wheel drive.. and I think they're pretty cool for the prices they trade for!!

I loved my 71 Eldorado.  Two doors, and longer than a Suburban!  500cid of excess!  

Pete Gossett said:

I had a 70 Ford XL convertible in high school/college, I swear the doors were 4' long on that thing. 

Weird, the doors on my father's '67 Galaxie 500 convertible are like 7 foot long and weigh 400lbs a piece.

dculberson said:

Harvey said:Most of these are FWD excepting the GN though so my big two door car fantasies have migrated to things like this. The Mercedes-Benz CL55 AMG. These get really cheap (relative to initial cost) as they age, but I get nervous about the part cost and special gizmos required.

The Mark VIII is rear wheel drive.. and I think they're pretty cool for the prices they trade for!!

Nice, I had thought they were all FWD from that era. That makes it the definitive boat choice! If I had time I'd definitely aristocrat that for a 20xx challenge.

I've posted about this before, but I used to have a Mercedes-Benz (C124) 300CE coupe with the 24-valve engine. They were known as the 300CE-24 in Europe. Kind of a forgotten model. But it was a beautiful car. Loved the lack of B-pillars.

AMG versions were badass

And we shouldn't forget BMW's E24 6-Series

LanEvo said:

And we shouldn't forget BMW's E24 6-Series

Whoa there buddy!  This is supposed to be family friendly, don't post porn like this.

Then there's the big brother to the 300CE-24. The 560SEC coupe. Again, AMG widebody, dechroming, and 3-piece wheels makes everything more better

A final oddball big coupe from Mercerdes was the (C107) 450SLC. Kind of nerdy in stock trim. Pretty badass when modified nicely

In reply to LanEvo :

The "Mercedes Appreciation" thread on Stanceworks....my fav thread ever!

Had one of these when I met the future Mrs. 914, tough girl to impress....

They made these through 1987. I almost got one of these instead of the C10 earlier this year. 

Jaguar XJS?

Bobcougarzillameister said:

They made these through 1987. I almost got one of these instead of the C10 earlier this year. 

I had the Pontiac version. It was a 1980 Bonneville. 

NickD said:

Pete Gossett said:

I had a 70 Ford XL convertible in high school/college, I swear the doors were 4' long on that thing. 

Weird, the doors on my father's '67 Galaxie 500 convertible are like 7 foot long and weigh 400lbs a piece.

They could have been much longer, but that was 30 years ago & memory is fuzzy. 

Edit: I do remember the fear of getting a limb caught in it when you'd heft the door closed. I'm pretty sure with that much weight and momentum you could fairly easily break a bone if not sever your limb. 

I've always wanted a fuselage C body. 

And a mandatory must own at some point in my life 

My dad had one, 79 XE, beige with tan interior and T tops. 

Sorry for the size and quality, but this thread reminded me of this pic - of a dapper young Woof and his 74 Regal

2dr is still my first choice.

Here are all of the big 2 door cars I've had. I don't have pictures of my actual cars so I stole these off the internet.

1980 Pontiac Bonneville

1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass

1977 Chevrolet Monte Carlo

1985 Buick Riviera