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

kyfdx · October 2012

My mother had a new '67 Bonneville fastback coupe... White over white..

She was one styling schoolteacher.... that thing looked like a spaceship.

uplanderguy · October 2012

I can just picture that Bonneville. Nice car!

stickguy · October 2012

they were a topic in mystery car today, and I think I found a guy with 2 of them. Next town over, in a poorer area, I saw the back of 2 that looked just like '58 hawks parked in a driveway. Not at all restored looking either!

stickguy · October 2012

this one, I needed a picture of. Saw it driving around while I was doing errands. Sounded like it had a 6.

Hard to describe, but it was a '62 Impala 4 door "custom". Had a pipe sticking out of the hood (looked like a chimney made out of PVC). And it appeared to have had DIY wheel well expansion (not flares, diameter) and to have been lowered down over the wheels. And there were some funny things on the back end too.

I would have loved to see the interior on this piece!

Mr_Shiftright · October 2012

looks very stock---standing tall on skinny tires, just like in the old days. Dark blue, top down, with that mellow V8 sound. Young drivers, which is always an encouraging sign for the hobby.

fintail · October 2012

Caught a nice dry day today, but saw almost nothing of interest. Saw a 64-65 Chevelle 2 door post that looked to be undergoing restoration...and that's about it.

uplanderguy · October 2012

There has never been a one-year model with higher production than a '65 Impala (over one million Impalas, not even counting Biscaynes and Bel Airs), so it's not obscure...but it's a beautiful styling job indeed. I think it would've been hard to sell a leftover '64 once the '65's started showing up on dealer lots.

I have a friend who has wrenched for years and he says if I looked underneath a '64, versus a '65, I'd like the '64 better. I told him I didn't think so! LOL

Mr_Shiftright · October 2012

Fairly obscure actually, by American standards at any rate---it was an SS model (sorry if I didn't mention that), so only 27,000 of them made in convertible. The SS during that time was a separate model from the regular Impala. But you're right, '65 was a very popular year--almost 1/2 million 4-door full size Chevys were made (!!!) and even '65 convertibles topped over 72,000.

The REALLY obscure car for 1965 Chevys would be this one, which I doubt any of us will ever seein person (maybe as a rod):

fintail · October 2012

27000 isn't too rare, is it? If it is, both of my cars are rare, cool. E55 sales back in the day were only in the mid triple digits, and 220SE fintails are uncommon in any condition.

My first car was a 66 Galaxie 2 door HT - something over 300K units sold. Not rare. My dad had a 60 Ford Country Sedan that was/is pretty obscure, not the lowest production, but very low survival rate.

I don't know if I have ever seen one of those Chevelle 2 door wagons.

Mr_Shiftright · October 2012

27,000 is a relatively low production rate for a separate model American car. I don't think I'd call such a car truly "rare" however.

I was just commenting on that I don't see '65 Impala SS convertibles very much, even at shows.

But certainly, you can go shopping and find one.

If you can find a car on a local Craigslist, it probably isn't "rare" :P

uplanderguy · October 2012

There was a navy blue '64 2-door Chevelle wagon on eBay last year, that was beautiful and authentic (restored as original). We "discussed" how rare it was then! It was a 283 4-speed. Only 2,700-odd of those built (Chevelle 2-door wagons for '64, in total) IIRC--them's Studebaker numbers!

We had a family friend who in the late '60's had a '64 Chevelle 2-door wagon, six with stick, and a '60 Lark VIII 4-door. Before my appreciation of Studebakers was fully-formed then (!), I kidded the owner about the Lark. I remember him saying, "That Lark will run rings around the Chevy".

Not sure about numbers, but as posted above, the two-door Chevelle wagon continued into the '65 model run. I'd imagine it was even rarer then than in '64. Too bad it was only offered in the cheapo 300 series, as it had rather Nomad-like side window treatment. Handsome cars.

texases · October 2012

...of this discussion that's a bit too restrictive. I know many posts here (mine included) are for cars that are neither 'obscure' nor 'classic'. More of mine are just pre-1980 cars I'm surprised to see on the road.

uplanderguy · October 2012

The whole discussion began with how "obscure" a 9,900 mile 1971 full-size Chevrolet with six-cylinder and three-speed on the column was. I think any old (I'm with you, pre'80 seems like a good starting point) car is worthy of discussion here, regardless of make, model, or units sold.

Mr_Shiftright · October 2012

Well one reason some cars are "obscure" is that nobody wanted them when new. "Obscure" is not necessarily a complimentary term all by itself. Some of the worst, ugliest, worthless, most incompetent cars in the world are "obscure".

Perhaps the actual flavor of this topic is the amazement of seeing some of these old clunkers still on the road.

Naming "obscure" cars is easy, but actually seeing them running is another matter entirely.

"Obscurity" in our case seems to be more a compliment to the car's endurance rather than it being anything special in itself---although the two can go hand in hand as well.

fintail · October 2012

Maybe "obscure" can be defined as something like "not often seen on the road". As time goes on, once ordinary cars become unusual.

A few odd cars this morning - late Porsche 944, Saab 9000, 300TD wagon, ~1989 Riviera, 85-88 Cressida.

hpmctorque · October 2012

This is the only time I've seen the last generation Saab 9-5 on the road. This one was being driven. I don't know how many of these Saab made before the company shut down, but it must have been a small number. It looked larger and more upscale than the previous generation 9-5.

berri · October 2012

I never really thought of Seattle as a place to see old cars, but a couple of years ago while on vacation in Oregon I saw more than a few, so I guess it makes sense. People always think of LA or Arizona when you mention old cars and the West, and there are quite a few. But the town where I consistently noticed a lot of old cars being driven is actually around San Francisco. I'd have never equated that either until I saw it multiple times (but not so much in San Jose - go figure).

Mr_Shiftright · October 2012

yeah that's what I keep telling people--some of the cars posted here I see on the streets all the time, just bangin' away in daily use. I really should take more photos of old beaters on the streets in San Francisco.

I see a lot of Darts, old Volvo 122s and occasional 544s, VW bugs, VW vans, 70s wagons, lots of old pickups, fintail Benzes and plenty of W123s---that sort of thing.

stickguy · October 2012

the beauty of a land that never discovered road salt.

fintail · October 2012

Seattle is similar - mild climate is wonderful for old cars. Cars will rust here, but it usually takes 30 or so years for anything to set in, and by then most uncared for cars will be worn out naturally.

I too see some slant 6 era Mopars regularly, W123s are a daily sight, several W114/115/116 cars still running around, 70s and 80s Japanese stuff, W110 fintails aren't unknown, old VWs and Volvos have their cult, and any old domestics aren't unusual.

uplanderguy · October 2012

The old cars I see most regularly in rusty NE OH are B-body GM's from the '80's and '90's--mostly Caprices, but also Roadmasters, LeSabres, etc.

Mr_Shiftright · October 2012

Another phenomenon of the west coast that's tough for "salt state" folks to get their heads around is that many of these 70s and 60s cars, especially the 4-doors, are still dirt cheap. Even some 50s cars are roaming the streets, or parked in alleys, and while hardly pristine, and often beat up, are still very restorable and complete and also dirt cheap.

fintail · October 2012

And often, old material still ends up at the crusher here.

Some odd things that might not survive in many places - a few random malaise era survivor oddballs picked from CL:

Not many of these left

Nor these

Dreamer, but maybe the best survivor

Longest ad ever

And another

This is "obscure" due to it being a weirdly optioned Euro model

Once common, now hen's teeth

Project car hell

Glass house

Big

Period colors

ab348 · October 2012

The Caprice is about the only interesting thing there. Nice car.

Why would someone use "The Club" on a '79 Datsun 210? I would think a sign saying "Please steal this car" would be more appropriate.

fintail · October 2012

Some kind of hipster irony, maybe.

Not much of interest in the list, yes, but stuff that mostly didn't survive in harsher climates.

uplanderguy · October 2012

That is a very nice Caprice, although the Rally Wheels aren't period-correct and it has the typical dash pad cracks. Rest of the interior looks great though...that's the optional Custom interior and doesn't appear to have the usual color fading. I wonder if the dash pads are being reproduced.

At the time, those cars drove beautifully, especially with the F41 suspension. Smooth but taut, and incredibly quiet inside.

One would think the dealer would've removed the $1,995 stickers from the car before advertising it online for $3,000!

The four-door Cutlass Salon is sort-of interesting to me. Good suspension pieces for the time. I think two things about it are unusual: vinyl interior instead of the usually-seen corduroy, and column shift. The body side molding, outside, appears added later as factory moldings that year weren't that wide. I always thought it was odd that GM would offer you bucket seats but make you take the console and floor shift as a separate option from the buckets. When I see a '60's or '70's GM with buckets and column shift, it always makes me think that whomever ordered the car thought the console came with the bucket seats and the salesman wasn't any smarter.

texases · October 2012

I love that Saab ad: "I have a 79 99 gl saloon that is a good running car just needs the clutch replaced which I have and paid $200.The water pump leaks a little water (Cant be driven far because of this, but I can trailer it to your house )."

So "a good running car" that "just needs the clutch replaced" and "cant be driven far" because of a bad water pump... :sick:

Mr_Shiftright · October 2012

Well it's okay if all of them go to the crusher. These aren't precious works of art after all. We can't save every car made just because it's old. If the old car is still useful, I hope someone buys it and uses it up, as intended. What better fate for a faithful old car, but to expire while in service?

There's no sense storing or restoring any of these cars, that I can see. None have any particular historical significance worth mentioning.

michaellno · October 2012

None have any particular historical significance

I think that is the crux of the argument. Most old cars are restored not because of their potential historical significance but rather for emotional reasons.

For example, I would love to get hold of a 1967 Mercury Monterey coupe, because that's what I remember my grandmother driving when I was younger. I was able to drive it on a few occasions and have fond memories.

Was it a great car? Probably not. Historical significance? Hardly. It was a boat, equipped with a 390 ci V8 and a 3 speed auto.

Just would be cool to have one to drive on warm summer evenings.

Mr_Shiftright · October 2012

Well in that case better to find a running survivor--you'll end up paying less and enjoying it more, than if you went through an expensive restoration where you'd be bottom-up for life.

michaellno · October 2012

Well in that case better to find a running survivor--you'll end up paying less and enjoying it more, than if you went through an expensive restoration where you'd be bottom-up for life.

I have little skill to do a restoration, so I'd certainly find a nice one to clean up and drive.

uplanderguy · October 2012

I actually had a driver, body-on restoration done on my '63 Lark. I was a little upside down in it, but not too much when I sold it last year. Of course, the fact that I didn't have over $900 in NOS bumpers and guards, door handles, headlight rims, doors, rear quarters, trunk lid, rear bumper panel, grille surround panel, plus another $300 in NOS soft interior trim didn't hurt. These were all things I found out after buying the car for purely emotional reasons. All that stuff is higher now, of course. I found a guy three hours away who specialized in Studebakers, had done several AACA Junior and Senior First cars as well as First Place S.D.C. award winners, and who at the time charged $21 an hour (early '90's). He did a beautiful paint job in Deltron, which isn't legal anymore, and did quite a bit of rust repair (mostly floors). I think I was lucky at that time.

A full-size '67 Mercury coupe is a handsome car. I'd imagine nice ones are out there. Good luck!

hpmctorque · October 2012

NOS, NOS, I should know what it means and will probably give myself a dope slap when you tell me, but what does it mean?

robr2 · October 2012

New Old Stock

hpmctorque · October 2012

Thanks.

bhill2 · October 2012

Did it strike anyone else that the list contained several mid to late '70s smaller model Japanese cars and all but one of them were automatics? An automatic transmission was not common in these cars. Perhaps an automatic resulted in less stress on the engine, making it more likely to survive. Of course, it is also possible that anyone who got an auto in one of those cars sure as heck wasn't going to drive it hard trying to extract maximum performance from it. It didn't have any performance to offer.

fintail · October 2012

To be fair, I didn't post those cars because they are cool or worthy of restoration - I posted them because they survived, and in 90% of the country, they were off the road 20 or more years ago. It was to show the stuff that survives here. Yes, nobody is going to miss a 79 Datsun sedan, but there are probably more still on the road within an hour of me than in the entire northeast or rust belt.

fintail · October 2012

That's not a bad theory. And also, those autos were often not very durable - so that might make the cars even less common.

jljac · October 2012

I gotta say, Stude somehow, in their Lark, Hawk, and Avanti, found ways to squeeze all the instruments in the cluster in front of the driver

I always liked the Studebaker dashboard/ instrument panels, especially the 1955 Speedster panel I posted earlier. By comparison, here is the 1955 Thunderbird instrument panel

In defense of the T-Bird, they had bucket seats first. A neighbor had a 1958 or 59 T-bird and I thought the bucket seats were so cool.

uplanderguy · October 2012

I like two-seat 'Birds--who doesn't?!--but I think their instrument panels aped the big Fords. A panel I always liked was the '56 Ford--simple and elegant and functional. I like '56 Fords, overall, a lot too...'57 and '58's too (I know I'm alone on that last one!).

berri · October 2012

The 56 Ford was a nice IP. Some of the mid 50's Mopars like De Soto also had good looking interiors and IP's, as did Buick and Olds. I wish they'd bring those back. Most dashboards are really boring today. But heck, I liked the looks of old jukeboxes too, but they haven't made a 45rpm record for what, a decade or two!

lemko · October 2012

...spotted a 1988 Acura Legend sedan on Harbison Avenue near Torresdale in NW Philly. That car looks downright petite compared to today's Hondas and Acuras.

fintail · October 2012

Plenty of those still around Seattle. The coupe was a fairly nice design, they really show how cars have bloated, too.

On the once common theme, this morning I saw an 86-91 Supra turbo, and a Ciera woody.

stickguy · October 2012

not in person, but on last night's new episode of chasing classic cars.

a 1978 (or 79) Benz 240D. Strippo, with wind up windows and no RH outside mirror (can't believe by then MB even made it that way).

kicker is, it had 20K original on the clock, and the damned thing looked brand new. No dents/dings, not a speck of rust (in CT of all places), and the trunk looked like it was never opened. Even the tire tools were in the original plastic, never opened.

I know it is worthless as a usable car, but as a time warp piece, I doubt you will ever find another like it.

also had a '29 Pierce-Arrow barn find. totally original, but not in a good way, after spending 50 years locked in a garage! Needed a total resto, but again, the original stuff was on there.

texases · October 2012

I'd like to hear from CCC guy how things are today in CT/NY/NJ et al., I imagine a number of classics have been damaged

stickguy · October 2012

he might not be too bad. Portland is pretty far east and in the middle. His stuff I am sure was all inside!

could be quite a few classics from close to the shore though that are going to need some work.

fintail · October 2012

I saw that, great find. It was also an automatic, so even less useful as an everyday car - just too slow. 240D was the lowest model sold in NA that year, not surprising it was so sparsely equipped. W123s have a cult around them now, one like that in nice colors with that mileage will easily go past 10K, and judging by the prices on Wayne's dealer site, he will ask high market for it.

The Pierce Arrow was charming in its decayed state, reminded me of the Lincoln from "The Money Pit". I'd get it mechanically sound, maybe clean off the bad grime, and drive it as-is. Original cars like that are desirable now, patina is king.

Mr_Shiftright · October 2012

The 240D would be an okay city car---probably pretty economical. I'd offer $4K for it if it's that nice.

The Pierce-Arrow is probably not worth restoring--at best, a break-even proposition if say it were the more desirable 4 passenger convertible coupe.

explorerx4 · October 2012

3 Ford Probes in about 15 minutes.

stickguy · October 2012

from the commentary on the show, I believe Wayne is thinking more like 20K for the Benz, since it is a museum piece.

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

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