It's a 1996 Opal Opalescent Mark VIII

A short story. I decided to buy a Mark VIII from CA and send my son and his girlfriend from Pittsburgh, PA to San Jose, CA to pick up the car and drive cross-country back home to WV.

My son Justin(middle), his girlfriend(left) and seller(right) posing with the car.
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So begins the journey to insanity. :D

Nice!!!!!!!!!!

lose the girl, keep the ride. :p

looks like you found it up to spec. HID's, 5% tint on the 3 back windows... Crager SS's... nice lookin car

I saw that car for sale on another forum. Did you get it with or without hte stereo?

Mods to the car.
HIDs
18 inch rims.
245/45/18 tires
13 inch Cobra Calipers and Rotors up front.
newer front shocks.
chip for crisp shifts.
newer rear shocks and rear shock mounts.

Sony headunit capable of playing MP3s, 4 Infiniti kappa speakers and an Infiniti amp.
Subs are Audiobahn 10inch audiobahn 900watt RMS each, 1 Farad Audiobahn capacitor, HCT2200 Audiobahn amp.

Just like my 1st MarkVIII. I miss it.

The Black on black LSC took its place.

nice ride very nice ride

congrats on the new arrival ahve fun gettin nuts with it

Good Lookin car.... Have fun with the California Ride:I

Sweeeeeet! Congrats on the find!~

Nice car, and nice pics.
I bet they had a good time driving cross-country in a Mark VIII.

Mods to the car.

The best Mod you could have made was to step up to a 2nd Gen. ;)

What are you afraid of? Too much class cruising the back-hill country?

Nice car. Love the rims (of course:) ) Those Audiobahn's SLAM!!!!!!!

The best Mod you could have made was to step up to a 2nd Gen. ;)

What are you afraid of? Too much class cruising the back-hill country?

Wasn't really looking for either Gen2 or Gen1... it just came up and I decided to take advantage of it.

I guess I must just have a Gen1 personality? :D

Gen 2's are slow.... :p

Gen 2's are slow.... :p

all mark8s are slow. (gotta mod em to be anywhere close to fast)

all mark8s are slow. (gotta mod em to be anywhere close to fast)

You're too young to remember slow cars. Fact is, most new cars are pretty damn fast, even the slow ones.

The Mark VIII is a fast car, regardless what standard you use. A 0-60 in 7 second, 15 second quarter mile car is fast, regardless the era. Especially when it's a 2ton luxury car.

The car at the start of the thread looks great.
Just curious- how much would I expect to pay for a '96, with the HIDs, in that condition?

That's my friend's Max's old car... I have seen it in person and it is really clean and in excellent condition. The HID's were an aftermarket addition they didn't come stock.

You're too young to remember slow cars. Fact is, most new cars are pretty damn fast, even the slow ones.

The Mark VIII is a fast car, regardless what standard you use. A 0-60 in 7 second, 15 second quarter mile car is fast, regardless the era. Especially when it's a 2ton luxury car.
The car at the start of the thread looks great.
Just curious- how much would I expect to pay for a '96, with the HIDs, in that condition?

I remember reading some article a while back comparing today's "fast cars" to what people remember as "yesteryear's" fast cars. Fact is most(no not all - just most) of the cars people thought were fast were actually significantly slower BUT were also immensely larger, heavier, louder and rode so rough and handled so poorly you just THOUGHT they were fast. :p

Regardless of the quickness of the Mark VIII, to me it is the uniqueness. Very few cars garner the admiration these cars do, whether it's on the road, at the track, at the gas station or at the local convenience store. Also remember these cars have features that while common today, were cutting edge technology back when they were produced.

As far as value(suffice to say it is very regional), the WV DMV informed me for taxation purposes it was valued at $4500. Of course that is their interpretation sight unseen based on solely on year, make, model and mileage.

Here's an article comparing some "fast" cars to... a Honda Minivan:
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/2456/performance6it.jpg

[QUOTE=Calabrio]Here's an article comparing some "fast" cars to... a Honda Minivan:

Is that with the "soccer mom" driving it, or a "professional driver on a closed course"? :lol:

Gen 2's are slow.... :p


IF IT SLOW ..IT MUST NOT BEEN TAKEN CARE OF MY FRIEND..I HAVE A 98(HAD IT FOR OVER 3 YRS NOW) AND IT'S UP TO PAR,LIKE WHEN I FIRST GOT IT AND IT'S ALL STOCK(MECHANICALLY SPEAKING)
WELL EXCEPT THE RIMS RUBBERS N STERIO BUT
TODAY I JUST GOT MY OILS AND FLUIDS DONE...AND MY GUY AT THE DEALERS SAY THAT MINE IS THE BEST IN MAINTINANCE,AND LOOKS WISE THAT HE HAS SEEN COMMIN THRU THOS GARAGE DOORS COMPARED TO MOST FOLKS THAT COME IN ALL GRRRIIIIMMY!

I BELEIVE THAT MAINTINANCE IS KEY..REGARDING PROFORMANCE..NOT ALL CARS RUN THE SAME ..IT'S THE FAULT OF THE OWNER...NOT THE CAR IT SELF

Yikes That Poor Hood..get Her Off Of It...lol Shame On You!

Car Is Ok...treat It Right And It Will Treat You Right In Return ...good Luck! ;)

Here's an article comparing some "fast" cars to... a Honda Minivan:
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/2456/performance6it.jpg


Comparing apples to oranges. Those cars are all basically 50 years old. I need not even talk about the technological advances. The Honda's cup holders are probably more technologically advanced than all those cars put together. Hp was also measured different. Thats like comparing a F86 to a F15 :rolleyes:

Dream Car Garage (on Speedvison) took several 60's era cars....bone stock, great condition....and dragged em. They all ran high 13s/very low 14s. All the big names 70 Chevelle SS 454, Hemi Cuda, Hurst 442, etc. Very respectable. The Hemi woulda ran mid low 13s but the tranny was slipping and the rear gear was too high (the driver commented on all the passes). The fastest was a Boss 429 Mustang. All these were on 60's era 14/15" tires. Alot of people think those old cars aren't fast which is wrong. BTW a 15 second slip is not fast.

Comparing apples to oranges. Those cars are all basically 50 years old. I need not even talk about the technological advances. The Honda's cup holders are probably more technologically advanced than all those cars put together. Hp was also measured different. Thats like comparing a F86 to a F15 :rolleyes:
No, but that's the point. A minivan is faster than most of these old cars that a remembered for their performance. Of course, the technology is the main reason why. But what's interesting is how our memories of these old cars are far more flattering than need be.


Dream Car Garage (on Speedvison) took several 60's era cars....bone stock, great condition....and dragged em. They all ran high 13s/very low 14s. All the big names 70 Chevelle SS 454, Hemi Cuda, Hurst 442, etc. Very respectable. The Hemi woulda ran mid low 13s but the tranny was slipping and the rear gear was too high (the driver commented on all the passes). The fastest was a Boss 429 Mustang. All these were on 60's era 14/15" tires. Alot of people think those old cars aren't fast which is wrong. BTW a 15 second slip is not fast.
That's another thing that annoys me. People talk about the great muscle cars of the past, and then they compare performance numbers to these limited production models at the end of the muscle car era.

Most people didn't have those cars, nor have they even ridden in them. There are a few exceptionally fast, high production models, but you didn't list any here.

Let's take the 1970 Chevelle SS 454. Out of the 634,000 Chevy's produced that year, only 8,733 were '70 SS 454s. But clearly, of the cars you just mentioned, this was the most common.

They only built 781 Plymouth 426 Hemi Cudas.

They made 906 '69 Hurst Olds 442.

And only 859 1969 Boss 429 Mustangs were produced.

So comparing those cars isn't representative of the era.

nice addition JP... congrats and good luck with it!

all mark8s are slow. (gotta mod em to be anywhere close to fast)
Yeah, I think you watch 2fast2furious and the speed channel WAY too often. Marks are fast compared to most of the cars in my neighborhood. Ive been keepin up with mustangs and small block chevys. Most of us here with our gen1's have run well into the 14's which IMO is pretty damn fast.