Just purchased the car from relative who purchased it new,...just had a new carb put in and complete tune up...everything was original so spending 500 bucks..which included replacing the back brakes seems dirt cheap to me...
It still doesn't idle properly and gets about 25 miles per very pampered mile,...its 20 yrs old with no miles on,...rattles and shakes like there is no tomorrow, but so far has always started. I bought it as a through away car and will drive it 'til the wheels don't go anymore.
I bought one of these cars new and it was a horrible ownership experience. Every single mechanical device on my car broke except the major engine components, and that's because the major engine components were made by Mitsubishi. The fuel system is junk. The carburetor must have been was designed in a high school vo-tec class. It is also worth noting that fuel containing ethanol ruins the gaskets in the carb, and causes it to run rough and eventually fail.
I bought an '82 TC3 in 1991 for $700.00 certified and it was not a bad car for what is was. Mine was blue on blue with the little 1.7 L and 4 speed manual. She got me around for a couple of years, cheap on gas and cheap insurance (for an 18 yr old) back then. The car did over time need 1 clutch replacement, then later the starter ground half the teeth off the flywheel. So with not having much money I always parked on a hill so I could "bump" start her if need be... ha ha.
When I traded her to a friend for an '82 Skylark, the carb started having various problems, but he had her up and running properly in 1 week. He had her for a few more years without too many problems after. I still have some good memories of that little TC3, with the Craig tape deck, Sparkomatic EQ/booster, and house speakers in the hatch! Fun days!
I had a 1982 Plymouth 2.2 Horizon Turismo model, and it was the worst car I ever owned. I had it for 10 years.
The only decent part of the car was the 2.2 engine block and cylinder head, and they were made by Mitsubishi. I replaced every other part on the car at least once.
I replaced the carb 4 times and it never ran smoothly. One thing about the 2.2 carb is that it doesn't like ethanol in the gasoline, since it destroys the carb gaskets. If you have a 2.2, try to only use gas without ethanol (which is almost impossible to find these days). Because of this car, I will never buy another Chrysler product as long as I live.
But, you drove it for 10 years... the worst car ever?
Okay...
Maybe you'd have been happier if it died within a year so you could have bought something else?
The 2.2 liter engine in the 82 Horizon was a Chrysler engine, not Mitsubishi... they were other engines, not the 2.2.
Note: A Comments RSS Feed is available. New comments appear in the Members Area before the main site