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

berri

I think there may be a 57 Lincoln and a 59 Ford Country Squire, as well as a some year Porsche. Hard to tell, but I think the red Chevy wagon is a base level 59. But the Lincoln Limo seems to be more like a mid 60's model.

bhill2

Yes, the Lincoln is early '60s. I can't date the Porsche, but the Lincoln is the latest model American iron.

fintail

Visiting in podunk, people next door who have a thoroughly modified late 90s A4 now also have an Allroad, not many of those left in working order. Also saw a ~50 Mopar 2 door sedan of unknown brand which had been turned into a hardtop, and a clean enough first gen 4Runner on the road. Plenty of old cars here, and I'll see more on this trip.

xwesx

I drove my van to work this morning. Fifty years old this year, and it probably hasn't been in this good of working order for decades. I'm pleased.

fintail

Saw a soft top Daihatsu Rocky this morning, going to be hard to beat that.

PF_Flyer

xwesx said:

I drove my van to work this morning. Fifty years old this year, and it probably hasn't been in this good of working order for decades. I'm pleased.

Don't things become antiques at 50?

xwesx

PF_Flyer said:

xwesx said:

I drove my van to work this morning. Fifty years old this year, and it probably hasn't been in this good of working order for decades. I'm pleased.

Don't things become antiques at 50?

I don't know.... why don't you tell me, Walt!

Well, I do have historic vehicle plates on it.

fintail

Out again, saw a 2 tone blue later run Fairmont wagon in reasonably good shape.

andre1969

Here's one for the "dang, has it been that long?!" files. A friend of mine, who was car-less, moved back to Michigan over the summer. He just came back to Maryland. Driving a 2000 Toyota Echo. I asked him if it's Maryland-inspected, and he said its Michigan plates are good through 2020, and then he can get Maryland historic plates for it.

Who would have thought...an ECHO, with historic tags! It used to be 25 years in Maryland, but about 10 years or so ago, they changed it to 20.

I warned him to be careful, though. Maryland recently passed a law banning you from driving a car with historic tags to school or work. In the past, they used to be pretty lax about it...if they caught you with some other infraction, they would pull you over, and THEN question you about your tags. For instance, I got busted awhile back, for driving my '79 5th Ave. However, I got pulled over because I didn't have a front tag on the car. And then, the cop started asking me where I was going, coming from, etc. My guard was down, so I let it slip I was on my lunch break, without even thinking. I also had my work badge on. That was when he reminded me about the limited use of historic tags. If I hadn't had my badge on, and said that I was bringing it back from the mechanic or something like that, I probably would have been fine. The cop just gave me a warning.

But now, I'm just not taking the risk. If the car got hit in the parking lot at work, I'm busted. And, my old cars are going to stick out like a sore thumb in modern traffic, so I'd probably draw undue attention to myself during rush hour.

As for an Echo with historic tags? That just screams, "I'm trying to skirt the law", so it seems to me that a new-ish car with historic tags is going to draw attention to itself, as well. The difference, I guess, is that a '79 New Yorker, '57 DeSoto, etc, would stick out from a mile away, figuratively speaking. Whereas you wouldn't notice an Echo had historic tags unless you were close enough to read the tag.

xwesx

andre1969 said:

As for an Echo with historic tags? That just screams, "I'm trying to skirt the law", so it seems to me that a new-ish car with historic tags is going to draw attention to itself, as well. The difference, I guess, is that a '79 New Yorker, '57 DeSoto, etc, would stick out from a mile away, figuratively speaking. Whereas you wouldn't notice an Echo had historic tags unless you were close enough to read the tag.

Quite true. Things are similar here in Alaska. Historic tags limit the use of the vehicle to "exhibition purposes only." Well, I can tell you with certainty, any time I use my van, it is truly an exhibition! It turn heads everywhere.

But, seriously, the point is to limit the vehicle to occasional use, meaning that they exempt the vehicle from normal processes because it is used so rarely that it does not represent the normal hazard of a vehicle used for commuting or even leisure purposes. In that regard, I definitely am within the spirit of the law.

andre1969

xwesx said:

But, seriously, the point is to limit the vehicle to occasional use, meaning that they exempt the vehicle from normal processes because it is used so rarely that it does not represent the normal hazard of a vehicle used for commuting or even leisure purposes. In that regard, I definitely am within the spirit of the law.

Yeah, same here, actually. When I lived at the old house, I was only around 2.5 miles from work. I'd drive the 5th Ave, Catalina, and LeMans to work occasionally, on a nice day. Or, if it was a day off, sometimes I'd run some local errands as long as it didn't take me into a crowded area or iffy neighborhood. But, now that I'm about 15-20 miles from work, depending on which way the GPS takes me, and in heavy traffic on a regular basis, I definitely leave the old cars alone. These days, the longest trip the old cars usually take is to go the the mechanic for a yearly checkup, and then going to a car show.

I can remember, back when I used to deliver pizzas, there was a round-headlight Chevette I'd see fairly regularly in the neighborhood, with historic tags. It was being used for delivery service! Now, that's really taking a chance!

sda

andre1969 said:

xwesx said:

But, seriously, the point is to limit the vehicle to occasional use, meaning that they exempt the vehicle from normal processes because it is used so rarely that it does not represent the normal hazard of a vehicle used for commuting or even leisure purposes. In that regard, I definitely am within the spirit of the law.

Yeah, same here, actually. When I lived at the old house, I was only around 2.5 miles from work. I'd drive the 5th Ave, Catalina, and LeMans to work occasionally, on a nice day. Or, if it was a day off, sometimes I'd run some local errands as long as it didn't take me into a crowded area or iffy neighborhood. But, now that I'm about 15-20 miles from work, depending on which way the GPS takes me, and in heavy traffic on a regular basis, I definitely leave the old cars alone. These days, the longest trip the old cars usually take is to go the the mechanic for a yearly checkup, and then going to a car show.

I can remember, back when I used to deliver pizzas, there was a round-headlight Chevette I'd see fairly regularly in the neighborhood, with historic tags. It was being used for delivery service! Now, that's really taking a chance!

Of your older fleet, which one is your favorite? I think I’m partial to the Catalina convert, DeSoto, 5th Ave, LeMans, in that order. Did I leave any out? Park Ave is too new and know its days are numbered.

andre1969

sda said:

Of your older fleet, which one is your favorite? I think I’m partial to the Catalina convert, DeSoto, 5th Ave, LeMans, in that order. Did I leave any out? Park Ave is too new and know its days are numbered.

I'd say probably the DeSoto, then the Catalina, LeMans, and 5th Ave. Although, the 5th Ave and LeMans are actually better daily drivers, as they feel more like a modern car and they have a better driving position, and more comfortable seats. The DeSoto, since it's had a lot of work done on it, actually feels a bit more "modern" than it probably should. Handling's not bad, acceleration is pretty good. The seats, however, are low and flat, there's not much headroom, and the steering wheel is big, and close. Legroom isn't bad, but is better in the 5th Ave. And oddly, when it comes to front legroom, the LeMans is the best of all. With the Catalina, the seating position is higher, but the seat doesn't go back very far. And the steering wheel is kind of close.

There's a car show in Macungie, PA that I go to once per year, and I normally take the Catalina. It's about 200 miles, each way. By the time I come back home from it, that car has me worn out. I used to drive them all a lot more, when I was younger (well, the DeSoto, before it had that years-long period when it was laid up). But I've found that, what seemed perfectly comfortable to me when I was younger, isn't so hot by modern-car standards!

stickguy

I imagine that the stuff like a Gremlin and Duster I drove in HS/college, if I sat in one today for very long, I might not be able to walk after.

stickguy

a few oldies out running around today (was nice weather and not too hot). 65 mustang and 70ish Vette convertibles, both top down, bopping around. and in the WallyWorld parking lot, a red Nissan 300x. the really square ones. looked pretty clean and stock, other than an oversized tailpipe. this vintage

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/nissan/300zx/2316832.html

ab348

I had the Cutlass out this afternoon, trying to burn off last fall's gas (it has been barely used this year due to my health). Being a nice fall-like day, lots of old stuff out. Included a '72 Cutlass like mine, also red, which I had never seen before, going the opposite way to me on a downtown street - we waved and said hello to each other as we passed. Also out in the suburbs, a fellow in an old late '20/early '30s sedan, a largish one, and I suspect perhaps re-engined or maybe even an entirely different chassis under it, but it looked decent. The usual '60s Mustang, plus a '68 Beaumont 4-door (!) and a '57 Meteor for a couple of Canadian-market cars.

fintail

Long highway drive today, saw an E-Type coupe buzzing down I-5 at maybe 75 mph. Also a couple of rodded 55 Chevys, a Suzuki Equator (in Oregon of course), ~88 Mustang GT Convertible, IROC Camaro, immaculate looking mid 90s LHS, weird custom MB W113 (60s SL) with wires, odd ride height, 70s orange color.

ab348

One sighting I forgot from my cruise in the Cutlass yesterday: a mid-'70s Pinto (the slant-nose style) with a blown V-8 and no hood, naturally raked and fitted out with big tires in back. It was quite impressive to see that big blower standing proud on top of the engine, though I cannot imagine how it must be to drive such a thing.

This isn't it but it's not too far off:

stickguy

a 1/4 mile at a time in a straight line should not be too bad.

I always liked some of the Pinto and Vega V8 conversions. Preferably a wagon! But something a lot more mild than this one.

texases

First time I’ve seen a Zimmer in the wild, yesterday leaving a Lowes. Or maybe one of those look alikes.

ab348

Ford demonstrates how to make a ponycar look as big and as heavy as possible:




I never liked the mottled vinyl Ford used in a lot of their early-70s interiors either. Color matching on the console is a bit off:




https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/mercury/cougar-xr7/2306978.html

imidazol97

1958 Chev Biscayne two-door sedan with the chrome over the post and around the windows to make it look sort of like a hardtop. A burnt Orange with white top. I wonder if it was faded red... but the car had been slightly urbanized. Front bumper was in need of rechroming. Dull.

berri

Long ago had a neighbor with a 58 Chevy Del Ray 2dr sedan. By then that level was major stripper model. I actually kind of like the one year 58 Chevy station wagon style.

fintail

On the mostly rainy road today - stock 39 Ford Tudor, stock 56 Chevy 4 door HT with a continental kit, several old VW vans, VW thing, 64 Fairlane 2 door HT

andre1969

I was at the DC Arboretum yesterday, and saw this old Land Cruiser. Looked like a pretty thorough restoration.

stickguy

Looks nice. Probably goes for quite a bit in that condition.

fintail

Yes that's something of a trendy desirable vehicle now. I think that LWB variant would be FJ41, I bet 30K minimum if it is as nice as it looks.

xwesx

I parked my Econoline next to a SWB version of the FJ. Not as nice, but still a fun looking rig.

ab348

I am clearly out of touch with the pricing of vintage Ferraris:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-ferrari-308-gts-8/

A '78 308 in unusual (but bland) colors, in OK but not pristine condition, sells for $66K. I always thought the 308/328/348 was not particularly well-regarded. 14" wheels, just over 200HP, hardly a world-beater. What am I missing?

fintail

A rising tide lifts all yachts (except Mondials). I remember when old 308s were under 30K all day long. Final run 328s are strong too IIRC.

omarman

That second sentence, "Its carbureted 2.9L V8 is paired with a five-speed manual transaxle." The market loves the 4 Weber carb 308 models.

edit: There used to be a guy who could splain the market for exotic cars on the boards but he's probably got a life now.

imidazol97

One of the editorials in Classic Car by Hemmings has the wrong name for DKW. They say it means Das Kline Wunder instead of Das Kleine Wunder. Another article has a glaring mistake in sentence structure as well.

I find it humorous that they misspell the name of the topic of the article. The article is about Studebaker's little wonder.

My favorite magazine. I pass my issues on to a classic car owner I know.

ab348

I used to subscribe to Hemmings Special Interest Autos, which I enjoyed a lot, but it likely had a limited potential audience. I didn't like Hemmings Classic Cars when they transitioned SIA to that format and it started coming on my old SIA subscription, but I stayed with it. I think that all occurred around the time Hemmings was bought by the publishing company in the midwest. HCC has improved somewhat over the years but something about the editor always rubbed me the wrong way, not sure I can pinpoint why. Some of their "Driveable Dream" articles grate on me as it sometimes has really tatty, occasionally apparently unsafe cars to be featured, something I find hard to understand from an owners POV, but whatever. I much prefer Collectible Automobile but understand that is a much different type of magazine.

berri

I think CA has better photographs and in depth write-ups, but I like how HCC includes things like interviews with people that worked in the industry, as well as restoration projects. I subscribe to both because I feel that they compliment each other very well.

ab348

I had the ATS at my dealer group's flagship facility today. On that site they have a Toyota, a Nissan, and a Hyundai franchise, each in separate buildings, along with a used car showroom for their better-condition used vehicles. It is a large space, larger than what the business requires apparently, so under that roof they also have a cafe for customers and they make use of the back 1/3 of the space for the dealer principal's car collection.

It is a bit of an odd collection and I suspect there is at least one other storage facility elsewhere, as I have seen other cars that were not there today. This dealer began decades ago with the grandfather starting a rural GM dealership, and over time they have bought or created a fairly large group of franchises - GM, Toyota, Lexus, M-B, BMW, VW, Nissan, Infiniti, Hyundai, Kia, Mini, and Subaru. The car collection I saw today was mostly GM, M-B and a couple of Toyota products. There was also a '76 Stutz and a Rolls Corniche convertible in there.

I took some pictures but Vanilla won't let me post anything easily so it probably made sense to put them up online, here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Hzt7QX1sfzGuH6m39

Not pictured were a couple of '50s Cadillacs, one a limo, and also a mid-90s Cadillac Orca-era limo in red.

The blue Cutlass SX was one I coulda/shoulda bought a dozen years ago when my friend sold it to them, but offered it to me first. Lovely car that I just could not swing at the time. I actually did some work on it for him. The Lexus SC400 pictured was also his, as was the M-B 450SEL. The M-B 280 shown was very clean and well-preserved. The collection is a bit unusual in that the owner and his family drive most of the cars occasionally so they are not totally pristine. My friend is quite offended whenever he visits because his former cars are nowhere nearly as well-kept as he maintained them, although they would be clean enough for most of us.

stickguy

Nice looking cutlass. But I really want the mid 70s yellow celica hiding among the mastodons.

berri

I still like the blue Cutlass

imidazol97

@ab348 Thanks for posting the pictures. That Cutlass is a beautiful, rich blue. Original wheels. Perfect.Lots of MB's in the pictures.

I visited my third orphanage group on Sunday. This time the Oldsmobile of Central Ohio group had their annual show in Columbus. The oldest Olds there was a 4.

I'll try to pick some pictures and post. Earlier I saw the Pontiac national group in Dayton and got many pictures. And a mixed orphan group has an annual show at a location near Yellow Springs. Any orphans welcome.

fintail

Saw a number of things today, typical for the arid climate of eastern WA. A couple of 70s Toyota pickups, a very clean late 70s Squarebody with a period camper (almost a little too clean, maybe a retro thing going on), tin top Samurai, countless "ran when parked" 50s-60s American cars probably here when I was looking at such cars when I was a kid, numerous similar era pickups. Funny thing, drove by a house I recall belonged to one of my best friend's grandparents ~35 years ago. Apparently they are still around, I remember they had Cadillacs back in the say, and in the driveway and detached open door garage I spotted a 70s Eldo, 80s Fleetwood, 90s Seville all appearing very clean.

And something maybe boring, but maybe becoming scarce, and I thought it was unusual:



This is the Stratus belonging to my 87 year old aunt (some wide generation gaps in my family, my dad was ~40 when I was born, and there is a 20 year range in his siblings, makes for some odd ages). She's incredibly active for her age, and could pass for 10-15 years younger no problem. I think this "cloud car" is a 97, but I don't recall for sure. She's the original owner, and as it is cleaner than 99% of these I see, I assumed it is low miles. I was wrong - it has 170K on it, and still going strong. She mentioned she wants a new car (and she could afford it), but she is leery of complicated ICE. Pictured with the rental sled to compare width, as they were parked at roughly same distance from the curb.

tjc78

I don't think the cloud cars were quite as bad as people made them out to be. They were cheap transportation and most likely neglected more often than not.

andre1969

I'd almost forgotten about it, but on the day I bought my 2000 Intrepid, I also sat in a Stratus sedan they had on the lot. It was better-equipped than my Intrepid, with alloys, leather seats, and a sunroof, but was about the same MSRP, around $21,000. But, the Intrepid, even though it was a base model, seemed like more car for the money. Plus, they were offering 0.9% financing on the Intrepid, but not the Stratus. And back then, interest rates were around 6-7%.

Even though it was a smaller car, the Stratus actually felt like it had a better driving position. It seemed like the seat went further back. As for quality, back then the biggest issue with these was probably the transmission. It was more common for it to fail in the bigger, heavier cars with torquier engines, but these weren't without their fault. And, when you compare them to the other cars that were out there at the time, I think they competed favorably. I'd take one over a Malibu or Contour of that era. An Accord was a nicer car, to be sure, but they still felt like compact cars to me, even though I'm sure the EPA, and Honda itself, was insisting it was a midsize.

That was kind of a transitional timeframe, though. In my opinion, only Ford really had a "traditional" lineup, of subcompact (Escort, until it was dropped at least), compact (Contour/Mystique), midsize (Taurus/Sable) and fullsize (Crown Vic/Grand Marquis). GM and Chrysler sort of seemed stuck in between, where the Neon seemed a bit big for a compact, but then the Cloud Cars seemed a bit smaller than what a midsized car should be, while the LH cars were about halfway between midsize and fullsize. And GM started trying to make some of their platforms serve double-duty. For instance, the N-body, or whatever they called it by then, served as a compact (Grand Am, Achieva, Alero, Skylark), and a midsize (Malibu). The W-body served as a midsize in every other application, but Chevy tried to pass off the 2000 Impala as their full-size. Meanwhile, the Japanese were taking traditional compact cars, and trying to move them up to midsize, but they didn't feel like they were quite there, yet.

tjc78

I would have taken a Stratus/Cirrus (what was the Plymouth?... Breeze?) over the Contour/Mystique as well.

One car I did like from that era was the Alero. I used to get those as rentals and the Olds spec was actually pretty nice. The interior felt very anti-GM at the time. Olds even used double-din radios when most of the GM line was using that odd 1.5 din size. Much of the Alero was trying to copy the Japanese competition and it worked IMO... the buying public didn't agree!

stickguy

I got a cirrus rental in Orlando when they were fairly new. Somewhere in late 90s I guess. I really liked it, enough I considered going shopping. Helps that it was brand new 100 or so miles) and oddly loaded, with perforated leather, power seats, even a moonroof. V6 I think. Drove really nice.

tjc78

Let me guess... Hunter green over beige with gold accented wheels.

stickguy

White over beige. Might have been the first white car I actually liked..

andre1969

Thinking back, I had a '99 Alero coupe for a rental on a business trip to California. It was green. It had the DOHC 4-cyl, rather than the V6, but it definitely had some kick to it. I liked that car a lot. It's amazing that, as much of a joke as the Grand Am seemed to be, with its overly done Playskool interior and "Body By Fisher Price" ribs & wings, the Alero seemed the direct opposite of that.

I had to go on another business trip in 2001. I ended up with a Malibu with the V6. I really wanted to try out a new Stratus, as they had just been restyled, to look a bit more like an LH car, and were now using the 2.7 V-6 instead of the 2.5. But, they didn't have any in stock. That Malibu showed me just what the whole pushrod versus OHC debate was all about back then. It seemed quick enough, say, from 0-60. But, out on the highway, or just about any type of passing situation where the transmission had to downshift, it just seemed winded. It actually wasn't too horrible, from a comfort perspective. It was a passable enough 4-seater. But, the interior really had a low-rent feel to it. One of my co-workers got a Mitsubishi Galant for a rental. It was definitely more cramped inside, especially in the back seat, but the interior seemed nicer. I thought it was a nicer style, too.

Now, a couple years later, when my Dad wanted to buy a car, we looked at a new 2003 Stratus sedan. Base model with the 4-cyl. Took it for a test drive. Dad did not like it at all. It's funny how 140-150 hp seemed perfectly adequate in a big, old loafy ~5 liter V-8 in a full-sized car, but suddenly, a similar amount of hp in a new midsize just seemed lame. I think part of it was simply that I had gotten used to better, faster cars, so this Stratus seemed a step backward. But, sometimes those old cars would feel faster than they really were, because you felt the torque right away, whereas the newer cars had to wind up a bit first. Still, it just seemed slow, and stressed out. And the interior, seemed pleasant enough for a base model at a quick glance, but still, there was a cheapness about it. Anyway, that same day, he bought the '03 Regal, that I'm driving to this day. Now that Regal was cheap, in its own way. But, it still had a more substantial, solid feel than that Stratus did.

tjc78

The torque really made all the difference in the large sedans. They felt faster off the line than they really were. The Ford 5.0 was better overall than the 307. Everything I ever drove with the 307 did feel kinda slow, but so smooth.

fintail

On the road today: Mercury Topaz, another tintop Samurai, Citation 5-door, ~67 Polara 2 door hardtop, 59 Ford Country Sedan.

ab348

Out in the suburbs today spotted 3 oldies in a short time: a massive 77 or ‘78 Mercury Grand Marquis Brougham, brown vinyl roof over pale yellow, pristine; a sad-looking ‘67 or ‘68 Cougar rotting away in a driveway; and a nicely restored ‘66 Chevy Impala 2-door HT just up the street from the sad Cougar.

Michaell

Out and about today, spotted a very clean E30 4-door in red. Caught a glimpse of the trunk lid and it was an ix model.