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

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  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261

    At the same house in which I spotted the 1956-57 Continental, (which has its wheelcovers back on) - a bright red and maroon Lincoln Continental Mark V cut down to a two-seater with a convertible top on some really ill-fitting rear fender skirts. Money obviously didn't buy taste back in the late 1970s!

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481

    Nobody with bad taste knows they have it, that's the problem! :)

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,131

    Spotted a pristine silvery blue late 70s Town Car today, along with a clean Expo LRV, and an XLR.

  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,700

    Followed a '69 (so said the license plate) Ranchero home today. And not a hobby car, it had a company logo and tools in the back. Quite an unusual work truck!

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited September 2014

    Nice, I'm a big surprised that I haven't seen any out here yet, or a few El Caminos at least. Give me a bit more time, it's only been four days. :)

    There are tons of clean old pickups doing daily duty and I've seen several pics in small cafes where owners have won trophies for their pickups at local car shows.

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,131

    In Spokane today, saw a nice black on red 62 Impala convertible, about a 62-63 or so Mercury Comet convertible, an obviously restored Kaiser Manhattan, numerous old VWs (maybe a local event going on), lots of 70s-80s cars and trucks going back to the 50s - the climate here is fairly kind.

  • jpp75jpp75 Member Posts: 1,535

    Spotted a red 1969 Olds 442 Convertible last week with red interior. The guy was taking his kid to the neighborhood pool and left the top down, looked to be in great condition and had the Hurst shifter.

  • bhill2bhill2 Member Posts: 2,471
    edited September 2014

    @fintail said:
    In Spokane today, saw a nice black on red 62 Impala convertible, about a 62-63 or so Mercury Comet convertible, an obviously restored Kaiser Manhattan, numerous old VWs (maybe a local event going on), lots of 70s-80s cars and trucks going back to the 50s - the climate here is fairly kind.

    The Comet convertible had to be a '63 (or later). There was none in '62. I always thought the '63 cnv was quite nice looking.

    2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])

  • berriberri Member Posts: 10,165

    I always thought the 62 Chevy's were very clean looking. These days I'm leaning a bit toward the 61's though. I also liked the looks of the 69 Cutlass, but seldom see them at car shows for whatever reason.

  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,073

    @berri said:
    I always thought the 62 Chevy's were very clean looking. These days I'm leaning a bit toward the 61's though. I also liked the looks of the 69 Cutlass, but seldom see them at car shows for whatever reason.

    I prefer the '68, though I'm biased since I own one.

    2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,131

    I just remember it had little fins. It was a neat little car.

    In the Tri Cities sprawl today - one one street in Richland, I saw a Morris Minor and MG at one house, a 70s Corvette, MB 380SL and 450SLC at another, and a later run Jag XJS at another house. The neighbors must be competing for project car hell. I also saw numerous old 40s and 50s era trucks parked at old farms, as I took the rural state highway down here from Spokane. I saw a definitely unrestored lowline Ponton in Kennewick, too.

    @bhill2 said:
    The Comet convertible had to be a '63 (or later). There was none in '62. I always thought the '63 cnv was quite nice looking.

  • berriberri Member Posts: 10,165

    I prefer the '68, though I'm biased since I own one

    That's the one with the stretched out headlight placement?

  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,073

    @berri said:
    I prefer the '68, though I'm biased since I own one

    That's the one with the stretched out headlight placement?

    Correct. Olds had that styling theme for a year or two in the late '60s.

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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,673

    I thought it was interesting that Olds would try those widely-spaced headlights way back in 1959, with the turn signals in between, but then abandon it until 1967.

    I wonder what made them decide to try giving it a shot again?

  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342

    That '66 Pontiac had the optional 8 lug aluminum wheels. The centers of those wheels were actually the brake drums. Very nice to look at but VERY expensive and probably impossible to find now. I remember in the mid 70's they were still available but only through the dealers and they were over 100.00 each back then!

    And, those heavy Pontiacs were VERY hard on brakes.

    So, today if someone needed some new brake drums for one of those cars they might be totally out of luck. How many NOS ones could there still be?

  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,293
    edited September 2014

    Saw an A4 on a flat bed trailer. :smile: ) Unfortunately, it shows up upside down. :(

    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,131

    Saw lots of old stuff just sitting out on farms or near old houses in central OR today, lots of 20s and 30s material - long past redemption, but still eye catching. Also saw a very clean Maverick sedan, Vehicross and Samurai, MGB-GT, Amazon/122, restored early 50s GM truck on a flatbed.

  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,673

    @isellhondas said:
    So, today if someone needed some new brake drums for one of those cars they might be totally out of luck. How many NOS ones could there still be?

    >

    According to this site: http://www.pontiacparadise.com/parts-id/8-lug-wheels.php it looks like you can get your 8-lug drums re-lined for $275 apiece, plus postage.

    Pretty brutal price, but unless you're auto-crossing your classic Pontiac, or putting it through hard daily use, there's a good chance you'll only have to do it once. I can't remember how much a more generic brake drum would cost, in comparison. I do remember buying one for my '68 Dart and paying about 50 bucks I think. It was new, at the auto parts store. But this was also probably close to 20 years ago. I remember something on my '79 Newport costing about $90 apiece, but I think that was the front rotors. I dunno...been awhile now. That would have been 1997.

  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,673

    Holy Chrysler!! 1958 DeSoto Firedome convertible recently hit $192,000 at auction!

  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261

    Spotted a green 1973 Oldsmobile 442 behind a house on the NE corner of Ripley and Tabor in NE Philly.

  • laurasdadalaurasdada Member Posts: 4,722

    Yesterday, on the road with what I'm guessing is a circa 1978 Pontiac Grand Prix. Looked to be in fine shape, a bright green color with the always desireable white half vinyl roof.

    '21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481

    A total trailer queen, but lovely. Greg Groom is known for restoring prize-winning Chrysler 300s. I would guess that at $192,000, minus the auction and seller's fees, that if you handed Greg Groom a totally destroyed 1958 Desoto like that, you'd be lucky to break even.

    @andre1969 said:
    Holy Chrysler!! 1958 DeSoto Firedome convertible recently hit $192,000 at auction!

  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,673

    I remember years ago, seeing a '58 DeSoto Adventurer convertible at Hershey. I remember it as being sort of a greenish-gold color, but heavier on the green. It was one of the few surviving examples that had been equipped with fuel injection, that had not been converted back to dual quads. That had to have been extremely rare. I know there were only 82 Adventurer convertibles built in 1958, total. According to http://chrysler300country.com/rise_and_fall_of_fuel_injection.htm , 35 Chrysler 300D's, 12 Dodge D-500's, 5 DeSoto Adventurers, and 2 Plymouth Furys were equipped with fuel injection.

    Hmm, in reading further into that page, it mentions that in 2002, a '58 DeSoto Adventurer convertible with the Bendix fuel injection was restored, and is supposedly the only driveable '58 Mopar with fuel injection left in existence today. So, I guess that's the one I saw! It also mentions that the original fuel injection system was removed and it was fitted with dual quads. However, the fuel injection parts were kept around in an attic, and re-united with the car 44 years later.

    So, that takes a bit of mystery out of it for me. I had heard that every single one of the fuel-injected '58 Mopars had been recalled and refitted with dual quads. So for about a decade, I'd wondered how this one had slipped through the cracks. The answer...it didn't! The owner just lucked out, big-time, and found the fuel injection parts. Although that, in and of itself, is a bit of a miracle.

  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,146
    edited September 2014

    The Firedome Convertible is beautiful. Really a great car representing cars that were actually on the road at that time. The colors are ones I liked on those Chrysler company cars. The story talks about SC and Tennessee. I wonder if the pictures were there because the background looks like some areas of the Smokeys. But the plates are Montana.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,673

    There used to be a '57 DeSoto Fireflite 4-door sedan that I'd see locally on occasion, that was a 2-tone green. The body was a dark green they called "Tamarack" I think. And memory's failing me, but the roof and spear were either a light, minty green, or possibly even white. Very nice car, I thought.

    If I had my choice, I would've gotten my DeSoto in one of the blues or greens from that era, rather than its more stereotypical red and white. But, when shopping for a '57 DeSoto, 34 model years after they were built, I guess you can't be too picky!

  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342

    @andre1969 said:
    Pretty brutal price, but unless you're auto-crossing your classic Pontiac, or putting it through hard daily use, there's a good chance you'll only have to do it once. I can't remember how much a more generic brake drum would cost, in comparison. I do remember buying one for my '68 Dart and paying about 50 bucks I think. It was new, at the auto parts store. But this was also probably close to 20 years ago. I remember something on my '79 Newport costing about $90 apiece, but I think that was the front rotors. I dunno...been awhile now. That would have been 1997.

    Interesting article Andre! Thanks for posting that.

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,131

    I saw a beautiful Hudson pickup on the road today, just north of Medford. A very eye catching vehicle. Also saw lots of old metal quietly returning to the Earth along the way - it's a slow process here. I wouldn't doubt if some of these old things have been sitting for 50-60+ years.

  • berriberri Member Posts: 10,165

    If I was loaded, I'd like to take that Firedome and graft on the Chrysler 300 front end - perfect combo for me at least!

    Saw a mint Studebaker Lark today, around a 62 I think. But it wasn't green and I didn't see Aunt Bea behind the wheel either.

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481

    Rare Bird:

    http://www.city-data.com/forum/automotive/664197-oddball-gm-drivetrain-options.html

  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261

    Spotted a really nice green 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge on Rockwell Avenue near Ridgeway in NE Philly.

  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,293

    From the Mecum Dallas auction. Amazing Ford GT prices.

    A rare black 1969 Chevrolet Corvette drew the top bid in the Dallas Mecum Auction last weekend, selling for $680,000.

    The top-selling Corvette was a black convertible with a black top, equipped with the barely streetable 427 cubic-inch L88 V-8.

    It was one of only two black-on-black L88 convertibles built and was ordered new by renowned L88 racer Tony DeLorenzo.

    American iron drew nine of the 10 top amounts at the Dallas Mecum Auction.

    The other vehicles were:

    1967 Chevrolet Camaro, $300,000

    1969 Chevrolet Yenko Camaro, $285,000

    2005 Ford GT, $280,000

    1967 Chevrolet Corvette convertible, $270,000

    2005 Ford GT, $260,000

    2006 Ford GT, $255,000

    2005 Ford GT, $255,000

    1971 Dodge Hemi Challenger R/T, $250,000

    2013 McLaren MP4-12C Spyder, $215,000

    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,131
    edited September 2014
    Typical of the old vehicles sitting around in central Oregon:

    image

    This was in the small town where "Stand By Me" (I am a filming location geek, after all) was filmed.

    In Eugene today, I saw a rare MB - a W116 280S. That was the last carbureted MB sold in the US, I think - in the US market until maybe 75 or 76. This one was very clean, the bright 70s gold color opposed to the muted 80s gold. Also an Audi Fox still on the road, a nice first gen Monte, a 65 or so Chevelle,a maybe 47 Caddy convertible - custom, VW vans by the bushel.
  • omarmanomarman Member Posts: 2,702

    @explorerx4 said:
    From the Mecum Dallas auction. Amazing Ford GT prices.

    1967 Chevrolet Camaro, $300,000

    1969 Chevrolet Yenko Camaro, $285,000

    The Camaro story here has me wondering. Apparently, that '69 Camaro is an authentic YSC big block listed in the registry. But the '67 Camaro is actually a very well crafted Yenko "tribute" car...and sold for $300,000! From the story I read, that '67 Camaro was originally delivered to the Yenko dealership with a 327/automatic and later "at some point" was raced in Ohio with a 427 rat under the hood. Does anybody know the whole story on that car? Seems incredible that a low-option Camaro which passed through the Yenko dealership could later be "cloned" and pull the same money at auction as the real deal.

    A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Very foolish to spend that kind of money on a "tribute" car.

    The Ford GT is one of the rare modern cars that sells for over its MSRP.
  • laurasdadalaurasdada Member Posts: 4,722

    A black Alfa Romeo Milano. 

    '21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    '65-'67 Ford Galaxie, white over blue. Spacesaver tire RF, half flat RR tire. It was cruising, hopefully to a tire shop!
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,131
    edited September 2014
    Saw a 55 Chevy convertible on the road today, the same yellow Pontiac Astre fastback I've seen parked for months, a nice looking earlier Corvair Monza, a couple of Tempo coupes - one an early likely 1984 model, an early 80s Olds intermediate wagon, a W126 300SE I've seen parked under a carport in an upscale neighborhood (where I am now, that means 150K houses instead of 50K houses) for at least 10 years - I'd wager it hasn't moved, an MG Midget and 80s XJ6 parked at the same house, an immaculate TR7/8 convertible on the road (risky!), and a very clean 85-88 Maxima.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,131
    On I5 south of Tacoma - a BC plated RHD JDM Honda CRV - with all of the funny addons - foglights, extra front mirrors, bullbar, weird mirror on the rear. If only the US didn't have the most repressive and asinine private import laws in the developed world...

    Also saw a very clean mid 70s Coupe Deville, a Mazda 323 zipping along at 70+ in a 60 (very fast for the PNW), a pristine looking later Tempo, and a 56 Dodge wagon with AZ plates.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,673

    I saw something really sad today...a W126 in a gorgeous turquoise color. At least, it was gorgeous, once upon a time. I was behind it, so I didn't get a good look at the front, but it had some kind of battle damage, because I could see the orange cornering/side marker light hanging loose, and jutting out pretty far. It was also sitting really low on the rear axle. It made a left turn in front of me, and as it did, it seemed to list a bit too far to starboard, and I could hear something dragging on the pavement. Wasn't the exhaust, unless some of these had dual exhaust, because I could see that hanging a bit too low on the left side.

    The really sad thing? It had some kind of company logo sign on the front doors. I wasn't close enough to read it, but I imagine it was one of those "We buy homes for Ca$h!" or some shady MLM venture. I'd think that if I was advertising my own business on a car, I'd want something that gave the illusion of success...not desperation.

    Other than the body damage up front, which I couldn't tell how bad it was, the body actually looked decent. Paint was still shiny. But, I imagine it's too far gone at this point. Anybody who really wanted a W126 would probably just seek out a really nice one.

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,131
    edited September 2014
    W126s had an immense amount of available colors, like old American cars. Here's a basic list

    And one with some pics

    Restoration costs would be immense, like restoring an old house. They can soldier on with a lot of neglect before they finally break down, so they can look pretty sad towards the end. And yes, some would have a dual exhaust, but tips only on one side.

    I saw a really nice looking debadged LWB W126 last night - kind of a grey-green, I think.
    andre1969 said:

    I saw something really sad today...a W126 in a gorgeous turquoise color.

  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    I spotted an Obscure Classic Car Part!

    A new (used) Battery Positive Box for my 1989 Cadillac Brougham came in today all the way from Justin, Texas! These things are pretty much unobtanium.



    If you recall, I had a tire blow out on the NE Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike last October 20th which took out a good portion of the plastic inner wheel well. The original box was where you see that gaping hole. I was able to locally locate a used inner wheel well, but no luck finding the red box until last week.


  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,073
    lemko said:

    I spotted an Obscure Classic Car Part!

    A new (used) Battery Positive Box for my 1989 Cadillac Brougham came in today all the way from Justin, Texas! These things are pretty much unobtanium.




    Maybe you should send that out for someone to tool up a repro part.

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  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,489
    what the heck does that do? some sort of fuse box?

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 17,341
    It's a junction box to provide multiple taps off of the positive terminal.

    Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Bet you could get one 3D printed.

    In a few years I bet you could get one printed at a reasonable cost.
  • omarmanomarman Member Posts: 2,702
    stickguy said:

    what the heck does that do? some sort of fuse box?

    Here's an outside/inside pic for a battery junction box sold online.

    A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Dang! If I only knew what that thing was called I could've got that aftermarket piece! I haven't seen it in any of my other Cadillacs or other GM vehicles, so I thought it was exclusive to 1977-92 Cadillac RWD models.
  • berriberri Member Posts: 10,165
    Lemko, don't know if your get Hemming's Classic car magazine, but I saw a short review of a new book about postwar Cadillac convertibles. Something you might be interested in.
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,700
    How about these instead?


  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    texases said:

    How about these instead?


    That's what's there right now. It looks really ghetto.

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