Project Cars--You Get to Vote on "Hold 'em or Fold 'em"

stevedebi · November 2015

Wow, I should have know I needed to be more precise. It was a 1972 wagon, and I was told it was a Type 2. They said the Carmon Ghia was of the Type 1 pattern, if that helps. And yes, I believe that means the body style. This is Eruo specs, not US.

OK, final edit here. According to the pictures on Google, it was a type 4.

On another note, how about a garage find...

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/11/25/ian-fleming-bentley-r-type-rediscovered-in-la-garage/?intcmp=hpff

Mr_Shiftright · November 2015

Oh that model Bentley is the only one to have from that era. In that condition, price is silly, no matter who owned it. I'd guess it should go off at public auction for around $700,000 or so. It's one car I'd love to own--not this one, though.

fintail · November 2015

I read the URL and saw "R Type" and thought "so what", and then clicked and saw it is an R Type Continental, Such a different thing.

Mr_Shiftright · November 2015

Gil Nickel who owned Far Niente Winery and was an ace vintage race car driver, owned one of those. Some time ago, I helped him track down restoration parts for it. I wonder what happened to that car--it was called "Black Beauty" for obvious reason.

isellhondas · November 2015

I'll bet it's been 20 years since I've even seen a 411 or a 412~

Mr_Shiftright · November 2015

Let's hope for another 20. Oh, I suppose we should save one for a museum...okay...

stever · November 2015

I'm trying to recall a car I briefly looked at one day umpteen years ago. I think it was a Saab but maybe it was a Volvo. The most memorable feature was the floor shifter that appeared to be a good three foot long or more. Image searching hasn't prodded my memory. Anyone?

Mr_Shiftright · November 2015

Volvo PV 544?

stever · November 2015

Looks about right. Must have been tire-kicking one back in the 70s for some reason that escapes me now.

Thanks Shifty!

bhill2 · November 2015

Mr_Shiftright said:
Let's hope for another 20. Oh, I suppose we should save one for a museum...okay...

There is a winery in Calistoga named 'Castello di Amorosa'. It is housed in a detailed replica of a castle; complete with torture chamber (furnished). That would be an appropriate venue to display a 411/412.

isellhondas · November 2015

Mr_Shiftright said:
Volvo PV 544?

Yep, a PV 544! Great little cars that were as tough as a box of rocks!

Some friends of my parents were about to buy a new VW Beetle in 1965 or 1966 and they just happened to stop and look at a PV 544. I think they said it was about 200.00 more so they bought it instead.

They did SO much better!

Mr_Shiftright · November 2015

Virtually indestructible car, except by the tin worms of course. It was said to be a scaled down '48 Ford, and it certainly looks like one. This is a 'classic' that you can actually use as a daily driver, no problem.

isellhondas · November 2015

No tin worms in So. California but I've seen a lot of rust on them. Even up here where they don't use salt except rarely on Seattle's steepest hills.

They were so much better cars than Beetles in every way. That B 18 engine was wonderful!

Mr_Shiftright · November 2015

Great engine. Put a B20 cylinder head on it, (breathes better) an IPD camshaft (factory ones are soft and wear quickly), and a steel rather than fiber timing gear, (for obvious reasons) and you're good to go for life. I have never seen a B18 throw a rod.

stever · November 2015

I was mostly afraid of parts and service (still foggy, but I think the one I went to look at was in TN). Another guy showed up soon after I went to look at it so there definitely was interest in it.

Mr_Shiftright · November 2015

Easy cars to repair, possibly (aside from a 6 cylinder 1st generation Mustang), the easiest car in the world to fix. The only special tools you'd ever need would be a hub puller for the rear brakes and a Uni-Syn tool to synchronize the SU carbs. There's no power brakes, power steering, power anything. It's a rugged pushrod engine.

isellhondas · November 2015

I owned a couple PV 544's when I was quite young. I remember that cool LONG gearshift and the wonderful sounds from the engine and transmission as I shifted through the gears.

Don't see very many at all running around. Last year was 1966.

I didn't know about the B20 head but I do seem to remember the soft camshafts.

fintail · November 2015

There's a red 544 I often see in downtown Bellevue, I believe it is used as a daily driver by a cultist. I also often see a 122/Amazon wagon, possibly the same guy.

isellhondas · November 2015

If that 122 wagon is light green, I've seen it too.

Mr_Shiftright · November 2015

Be careful of Volvo 122 drivers. Do not make eye contact. If they approach, make yourself look big.

ab348 · November 2015

^^^ Why's that?

My brother had a 122 way back when and I really liked it. Felt like you were riding in a tank.

Mr_Shiftright · November 2015

Oh, they like to talk and go on and on. Think "Irv Gordon".

fintail · November 2015

That might be it. I am sure it was green, can't remember the shade.

Here in the PNW, no Volvo demographic is intimidating

isellhondas said:
If that 122 wagon is light green, I've seen it too.

bhill2 · November 2015

Mr_Shiftright said:
Oh, they like to talk and go on and on. Think "Irv Gordon".

I had a 122, a '62. Um, I'd better leave it at that.

stever · November 2015

Pipe? Tweed jacket? With elbow patches?

fintail · November 2015

I like the 122 series. When I was about 14 or 15, I wanted a coupe as my first car. Andre has pointed out they kind of have scaled down 55-56 Mopar styling, and the way the door handles are so high on the doors always caught my eye when I was young. They seem to be good cars.

Mr_Shiftright · November 2015

Very Mopar-ish differential/axle/hub assembly.

stickguy · November 2015

I would be quite please with a nicely resto modded 122 2 door. A modernized sleeper. Yeah, that's the ticket.

andre1969 · November 2015

I used to work with someone who had a Volvo 122 wagon briefly. He had "short attention span theatre" when it came to cars, though. Got bored with it, and after a few months he sold it and bought a '62 Ford Galaxie 4-door sedan. I also remember him going through a ~2008 Corolla, ~2008 Tundra, 2009 Accord LX, and finally a 2009 Accord EX-L. All of that, in the roughly one year I worked with him.

The Amazon wagon was a light beige color, and looked good at a quick glance, but I seem to remember it having some rust in the door jamb/rocker panel area

stickguy · November 2015

they all had rust in that area.

bhill2 · November 2015

stever said:
Pipe? Tweed jacket? With elbow patches?

I'm not going to answer that. Too embarrassing.

stever · November 2015

lol, that's fine so long as you don't ask me how I know.

fintail · November 2015

Look who came out to play today:

Idle for 6 weeks, I think. Started on the first turn, but stalled after a few seconds. Second turn and there on, it ran fine. There an intermittent rattle from around the radio area, this seems new - I'll have to get under there the next time I drive it. Local road conditions which are a symptom of the lowest bidder mentality and probably the firm desire of some to differentiate the US from Europe were making it obvious.

The horn works fine, too, don't ask how I know.

xwesx · November 2015

Fin, you have to tell us how you managed to get some of your paint on the asphalt there.

stever · November 2015

lol, caulk it up to Seattle's frequent rain?

Mr_Shiftright · November 2015

These old 220SEs are so fast that if you aren't careful you can actually tear the paint off the car from windshear.

texases · November 2015

Nah, just needs a 'wheely bar'...

Mr_Shiftright · November 2015

I once raced a '51 Dodge Cranbrook in my 1960 220Sb...two straight sixes toe to toe. One overhead cam, one underhead cam (uhc). It was awesome. I think they still talk about it in Rockaway Beach.

fintail · November 2015

Yep that's it, mine being an SE is the hot one, and the paint just melted off due to speed

It actually isn't that slow. Even at its age, I am certain it can pull off 0-60 in around 12 seconds without destroying itself. Just gotta keep it revved up.

Mr_Shiftright · November 2015

That's pretty good! My 300D did 0-60 in about 19 seconds.

fintail · November 2015

300D non turbo is maybe 90 hp? Per the manual (I think) the fintail is 134hp, one hp per cubic inch, fire breathing horses

andre1969 · December 2015

I still remember a lame drag race I did back in college. I had my Mom's '80 Malibu coupe, with a 229 V-6. I've never seen a road test of that particular car, but I'd guess 0-60 in about 15 seconds, if Consumer Reports had tested it. Maybe a bit quicker if MT or C&D put it through the paces. Anyway, one of my friends had just gotten a new '89 Escort LX. I forget what engine it had now...a 1.9 liter? It had an automatic transmission, I'm guessing just a 3-speed?

Anyway, it was late one Saturday night, and I was on my way home from my part time job at Denny's. My friend happened to pull up next to me at a traffic light, and we were both the lead cars in our respective lanes. We started ribbing each other, revving our engines, and when the light turned green we stomped on it. As I recall, the Escort was a bit quicker up to around 45-50, but then I started to catch up. When we hit 60, my friend gave up and backed off.

I saw him at college a couple days later, and he was calling me crazy for going so fast. Sad to say, I think that Escort was one of the quickest cars he had driven, up to that point in his life. His family never bought anything all that fast. They had traded in an '83 Stanza on the Escort, and it was a POS by that time...everything that Japanese cars of that era get praised for, this one was just the opposite. They also had a '72 Dart sedan with a 225 slant six that got scary if you took it over 50 mph or so, a mid 80's K-car wagon, and a first-gen Caravan/Voyager.

Not exactly the good old days, even if I do wax nostalgic on them every once in awhile.

ab348 · December 2015

Regarding the Volvo PV544 - anybody interested in a brand-new one?

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2015/12/01/you-dont-look-a-day-over-50-check-out-this-brand-new-4-5-mile-1965-volvo-pv544-sport/

Mr_Shiftright · December 2015

are those highway miles?

ab348 · December 2015

Not sure. I've been wondering if they are "original" miles, or the reproduction kind.

isellhondas · December 2015

All I can say is WOW!

stickguy · December 2015

reading the story and looking at the pictures, I believe it.

just watched the latest episode of chasing classic cars off the DVR today. Wayne bought a 1978 Nissan 280Z with 2,200 miles on it. Bought new, guy drove it during the summer, put it away for the winter in the garage, and never took it back out. Even had the original wheels/tires with it (that had been taken off when new for a set of wire wheels).

too bad it was a 2+2. Novelty factor I guess, but who really wants one of those? Plus, not worth hoarding, so makes no sense to pay extra for the low miles, if you plan to actually drive it! Would love to know what he paid for that (and later sold it for).

hpmctorque · December 2015

Mr_Shiftright said:
I once raced a '51 Dodge Cranbrook in my 1960 220Sb...two straight sixes toe to toe. One overhead cam, one underhead cam (uhc). It was awesome. I think they still talk about it in Rockaway Beach.

Not that it would have mattered much, other than the fact that the 220SB probably cost about twice as much as the Cranbrook, so maybe it wasn't a fair comparison, but Cranbrook was a Plymouth trim level. I'm guessing that a '51 Chrysler with the 331 c.i. V8 hemi, or a '51 Olds or Cadillac, would have left the SB in the dust.

Okay, the Mercedes brakes and suspension were far better than what Detroit offered in those days so on a winding road the SB had a strong advantage.

By the way, Sb or SE?

Mr_Shiftright · December 2015

Oh yeah, could it have been a Dodge Meadowbrook? Or something like that? It had fluid drive, I remember that. Old fintails are hard to speedshift. I'm sure I could have top-ended him given an empty jetport runway.

stickguy · December 2015

got me looking at 122s. Found a sharp looking one on Ebay. Too bad it is a slushbox! I think it is the same color (or close) to the 144 we had.

but man, this picture brings back memories of our 144, with the handbrake on the left. I remember going out a few times after my dad or I parked it to get it released for my sister or mother.

between that, the manual steering and brakes, didn't need to go to the gym!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Volvo-Other-122s-/281865869230?forcerrptr=true&hash=item41a083d7ae:g:FvEAAOSwp5JWU~yX&item=281865869230

Project Cars--You Get to Vote on "Hold 'em or Fold 'em"

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