I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today!

imidazol97

uplanderguy said:

Erie gets pretty harsh winters, but I took this pic off the porch of our friends’ house last Saturday near sundown.

WOW. Nicely done. It turned out really great for the contrast and brightness which is hard to do facing a light source.

explorerx4

That's Lake Erie, the water looks cold.

uplanderguy

Sunday it only got to 63 in the afternoon. It was in the low 50's overnight so I bet that water was cold!

uplanderguy

The transaxle from James Dean's Porsche brought $382,000.00. Sheesh.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/gearbox/?fbclid=IwAR19YXDkcGXnD5rryeh8fZG4n_pu92Fi9ENSdAWrtTXZrXwCJ1CyZ3y-JeI

xwesx

That's nuts. Clearly, provenance matters.

fintail

Surprised it wasn't more, given other speculative insanity these days.

On the oddball car front, spotted a pristine Hyundai XG300, and then a nice enough Kia Amanti, both becoming rare in decent shape.

stickguy

today saw an Aspen and a Monterrey.

But the new versions. Chrysler Aspen (aka Durango) and Monterrey van (aka a Freestar)

benjaminh

1954 gas station in Toledo, Ohio.

mrwhipple311

benjaminh said:

1954 gas station in Toledo, Ohio.

Nice pic, now my desktop background

uplanderguy

I always say it seems like life itself was more colorful then.
Generally not a fan of that era Ford, but you gotta love the glass top.

fintail

54 Ford (Crestline) Skyliner, always liked those and the Mercury Monterey Sun Valley sibling.

uplanderguy

I always liked the '54 Merc taillights.
Yesterday, southbound on I-71 north of Ashland, OH, I spotted a medium-blue '57 Plymouth four-door sedan, low-line, probably a Savoy, moving right with modern traffic. It was headed the opposite direction from me.

fintail

I know I've posted it, my paternal grandparents had a 54 Mercury back in the day (big child age ranges in my family, I was born in the 70s, yet they had grandkids in the 50s):

xwesx

@fintail Same is true in my family. I have cousins as old as my father and many first cousins "once removed" (i.e., children of cousins) that are older (some significantly so) than me. If I recall correctly, my father's oldest sibling is 21 years old than him, and he was 30 when I was born. Generationally, I didn't stand a chance.

stickguy

out driving around local today, passed a mid-60's F100 PU. very rat-rod patina looking. Sounded much "healthier" than it looked though.

uplanderguy

My father was 2 1/2 years older than his uncle.
So, my father has cousins that are younger than me. We called them my 'second cousins' but I think that might fall under the 'once removed' thing, I dunno.
I was the youngest of my cousins on my Dad's side, and had male cousins from seven to nine years older than me, and sons of friends of my parents were about that much older than me too. I think I got my car interest from those guys. Guys born postwar and into the early fifties, at least where I lived, seemed to all be into cars. By the time I came along ('58), seemed like very few guys my age were into cars....non-stop football mania seemed to have taken over by then.

fintail

I have a few cousins who are ~25 years older than me, due to the age gap between my dad and his sisters, and my dad having me later in life. Some of those cousins have kids older than me. I also have an aunt who I think is nearly 90 years old now.

When it comes to getting car interest, I can say it was all from my dad, who was "silent generation" - born in the 30s, pre-boomer. He loved 50s and 60s Fords, but liked old cars in general.

Pleasant not-hot weather today, saw a few things out there - Spitfire, there's a Vanagon Carat in the parking lot of my building, absolutely concours looking maybe 51 Buick sedan, 63 Impala on wire wheels, couple of mid 60s Mopars, 60 Coupe deVille still sitting in front of casa de Lark.

xwesx said:

@fintail Same is true in my family. I have cousins as old as my father and many first cousins "once removed" (i.e., children of cousins) that are older (some significantly so) than me. If I recall correctly, my father's oldest sibling is 21 years old than him, and he was 30 when I was born. Generationally, I didn't stand a chance.

xwesx

I recall eastern Washington and Oregon as being, in general, fairly solid hot spots for auto restoration/modification. My dad had a friend in Burns, OR, who would churn out a couple of them a year (typically pre-war bodies highly modified and just incredible to behold). He was retired and did this as his second career, basically. We also had a guy from the Pullman area who stored cars in our quonset hut. All kinds of stuff. I remember there was a horseless buggy of some sort, a later Pierce Arrow, a couple 60s el Camino SS, an old Volvo (but I always forget the designator), and, for a short time, a tricked out Galaxie. He would move other cars through on a fairly regular basis, but I didn't see many of them, and I don't recall many others. The buggy, PA, and Volvo were long-term residents.

xwesx

uplanderguy said:

Guys born postwar and into the early fifties, at least where I lived, seemed to all be into cars. By the time I came along ('58), seemed like very few guys my age were into cars....non-stop football mania seemed to have taken over by then.

That's funny. I thought that the focus was on cars up into the ~25 years ago timeline, when everyone started getting enthralled with tech. Nearly everyone I knew growing up (male, anyway) was into cars in one way or another! However, I did grow up in a very rural area.

andre1969

That gas station pic makes me think of an old swindler at a gas station/choke'n'puke/motel out by the train tracks overcharging the Ricardos and Mertzes for some stale cheese sandwiches, on their way to Hollywood. But, at the same time, the pic looks surprisingly modern, almost like it was taken from a fairly recent movie that took place back in the 1950s. I wonder if the pic was restored and modernized, somehow?

benjaminh

Cars parked in Fort Lauderdale in 1961.

explorerx4

Someone did a road trip in that red Tbird.

fintail

The climate helps, and as long as something is kept under cover, the sun won't hurt it either. Old cars are probably as easy to find here as anywhere in the world. I remember what it was like in the 80s when I was a kid, in Moses Lake, there was still plenty of 40s and 50s material around, some of it still being driven regularly, and 60s cars weren't usually noteworthy at all. I recall a friend's grandparents had some old Cadillacs, including a huge ~1920 pullman style limo/sedan that fascinated me. I also remember a large car hoard in Bickleton, adjacent to some kind of museum - I think gone now, but it had a ton of old stuff in an outbuilding and much just sitting outside. Also something in Oregon, I think down around maybe Shaniko or Fossil, there was a large assortment of old cars sitting in a building, not open to the public, but you could kind of "peek in" if you pulled off the road.

xwesx said:

I recall eastern Washington and Oregon as being, in general, fairly solid hot spots for auto restoration/modification. My dad had a friend in Burns, OR, who would churn out a couple of them a year (typically pre-war bodies highly modified and just incredible to behold). He was retired and did this as his second career, basically. We also had a guy from the Pullman area who stored cars in our quonset hut. All kinds of stuff. I remember there was a horseless buggy of some sort, a later Pierce Arrow, a couple 60s el Camino SS, an old Volvo (but I always forget the designator), and, for a short time, a tricked out Galaxie. He would move other cars through on a fairly regular basis, but I didn't see many of them, and I don't recall many others. The buggy, PA, and Volvo were long-term residents.

fintail

Good pic for the Mystery Car Pic topic. I see a 105E Anglia parked in the distance, and an old woody (I suspect a Ford) driving near it.

benjaminh said:

Cars parked in Fort Lauderdale in 1961.

benjaminh

Not a classic, but a 3-minute report from 1979 on the then all-new 1980 Oldsmobile Omega.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1juoQKTP5P4

uplanderguy

Interesting, thanks for posting.
I think it's no wonder the X-cars sold well; they were differentiated in styling from one another, and were unlike anything else being offered in that size. I knew someone who waited seven months for their ordered Citation to come in. Cranking 'em out probably added to the bad rep of the first couple model years, but I still think they were a bold and interesting move at the time.
I seem to remember them only being built in Tarrytown, NY and Ypsilanti, MI--at least those that came into dealers I visited.

texases

One of those Omegas replaced my step-mom's '69 Cutlass. She hated the Omega, found it unstable in the rain.

Michaell

uplanderguy said:

Interesting, thanks for posting.
I think it's no wonder the X-cars sold well; they were differentiated in styling from one another, and were unlike anything else being offered in that size. I knew someone who waited seven months for their ordered Citation to come in. Cranking 'em out probably added to the bad rep of the first couple model years, but I still think they were a bold and interesting move at the time.
I seem to remember them only being built in Tarrytown, NY and Ypsilanti, MI--at least those that came into dealers I visited.

My cousin's husband worked at the Tarrytown plant until it closed.

Then they moved to Oklahoma City and he worked there until that plant closed.

Then he commuted from OKC to Arlington, TX and worked at the truck plant there until he retired a few years ago.

fintail

Saw a likely 70s Alfetta GTV in decent running driving condition on the road today. That reminds me, maybe a week ago I saw a Milano running and driving. Also saw a pastel blue Geo Metro convertible today.

fintail

I stumbled upon this, a drone shot of the PNW MBCA gathering a few years back. Probably some obscure cars here (not the best resolution, but I take what I can get):

xwesx

I see a familiar color and profile at the lower right 2/2 up and left.

fintail

Yup your eyes are accurate

Post-2000 cars at top, 80s-90s cars at left, oldies at bottom, "featured" cars (prior winners and dealer displays) at right.

xwesx said:

I see a familiar color and profile at the lower right 2/2 up and left.

fintail

Van day today - 2x Vanagon Westfalia (parked at the same house), and a AWD LWB Aerostar.

uplanderguy

Hearing 'Aerostar' reminds me that my friend who bought the silver '64 Super Hawk last year, used to have an Aerostar passenger van with stick shift. I'd ridden in it a couple times, and remember a looonnnggg shift lever on the floor.

fintail

I recall around 1987, family friends got a new Aerostar. I recall it had headphone jacks for rear passengers, which seemed amazing.

Another odd van spotted - a GM Dustbuster , uncommon in itself, but the cargo variant with blanked out side windows - has to be pretty rare.

fintail

And to beat the rare van, saw something even more obscure today - a Suzuki Swift notchback sedan - effectively a trunkback first gen Geo Metro. Can't be many of those still on the road - looked to be in excellent condition, too.

Michaell

fintail said:

And to beat the rare van, saw something even more obscure today - a Suzuki Swift notchback sedan - effectively a trunkback first gen Geo Metro. Can't be many of those still on the road - looked to be in excellent condition, too.

Around the corner from me there is an Aerio sedan.

andre1969

Yesterday morning I went up to the mailbox to put a letter in, and walking back to the house I heard something go by with a nice, deep rumble. Turned around, and only caught a quick glance at it, but I think it was about a 1958 Chevrolet Cameo Carrier. White with some red contrast, so the view I got looked about like this:


I've seen it go past before, but almost always from a distance, so I've never gotten a good look at the front to see if it has quad headlights. For instance, sometimes I'll hear its rumble, from the house, look out the window, and see it drive past, but I'm only catching it from the side, and about 350 feet away. For some reason though, I pick up a '58 vibe from it. So maybe I have caught a glimpse of it from the front in the past, but just don't remember?

fintail

I remember when those were new - cheap, so probably treated as a disposable car, have to be getting thin on the ground now. Also was the "Reasonably Priced Car" on now-vintage Top Gear.

I see SX4 here and there, I think they sold well here due to AWD.

Michaell said:

fintail said:

And to beat the rare van, saw something even more obscure today - a Suzuki Swift notchback sedan - effectively a trunkback first gen Geo Metro. Can't be many of those still on the road - looked to be in excellent condition, too.

Around the corner from me there is an Aerio sedan.

fintail

If that Cameo rumbled, I wonder what might be under the hood. With trucks being hot, that could make a stylish resto-mod.

Michaell

fintail said:

I remember when those were new - cheap, so probably treated as a disposable car, have to be getting thin on the ground now. Also was the "Reasonably Priced Car" on now-vintage Top Gear.

I see SX4 here and there, I think they sold well here due to AWD.

Michaell said:

fintail said:

And to beat the rare van, saw something even more obscure today - a Suzuki Swift notchback sedan - effectively a trunkback first gen Geo Metro. Can't be many of those still on the road - looked to be in excellent condition, too.

Around the corner from me there is an Aerio sedan.

I had a thing for the SX4 when it was released. Then I found out you would be lucky to get 200 miles to a tank of gas.

mrwhipple311

fintail said:

And to beat the rare van, saw something even more obscure today - a Suzuki Swift notchback sedan - effectively a trunkback first gen Geo Metro. Can't be many of those still on the road - looked to be in excellent condition, too.

I never knew these existed. May be an import? Never saw one in the midwest. Canadian market maybe?



Googled "1990 Suzuki swift sedan" if the pic is local to my machine

fintail

I am pretty sure it was USDM, probably sold 20 of them in CA, maybe a dozen in the rest of the country. Here's one from the 1990 Swift brochure:




The hatches are not as rare, I know I have seen a few.

mrwhipple311 said:

fintail said:

And to beat the rare van, saw something even more obscure today - a Suzuki Swift notchback sedan - effectively a trunkback first gen Geo Metro. Can't be many of those still on the road - looked to be in excellent condition, too.

I never knew these existed. May be an import? Never saw one in the midwest. Canadian market maybe?



Googled "1990 Suzuki swift sedan" if the pic is local to my machine

stickguy

waiting at a light today, a Caddy coupe d'ville drove by. Bright yellow with a brown top. I thing mid-070s.

quite the boat.

explorerx4

This place has a lot of interest vehicles.
Tjc78 special. price is insane.
https://www.vanguardmotorsales.com/inventory/4181/1979-lincoln-continental-collector-series

fintail

Seems reasonable to me

Old guy next to me has something probably rare - late 90s Tacoma single cab 4x4 shortbed. He garages it, but it is definitely not kept clean. Should ask him if he wants to sell.

On the road today: ~75 Regal with steer horns out front, Plymouth Prowler, 31 (I think) Model A with a very "restored in the 70s" color scheme - pale yellow with green fenders.

texases

Driving around San Diego today, a Nissan NX drove by. Haven’t seen one of those in years.

stickguy

fintail said:

Seems reasonable to me

Old guy next to me has something probably rare - late 90s Tacoma single cab 4x4 shortbed. He garages it, but it is definitely not kept clean. Should ask him if he wants to sell.

On the road today: ~75 Regal with steer horns out front, Plymouth Prowler, 31 (I think) Model A with a very "restored in the 70s" color scheme - pale yellow with green fenders.

probably more plausible than the Lincoln. Still absurd though.

tjc78

@explorerx4 said:
This place has a lot of interest vehicles.
Tjc78 special. price is insane.
https://www.vanguardmotorsales.com/inventory/4181/1979-lincoln-continental-collector-series

Wow that’s pricey. I’ve seen a few with even less miles and original radio for much less than that.

roadburner

I saw a red '58 Impala. Heresy, but I always liked the '58 better than the '55-'57 models.