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

fintail

Now that I think about it, I possibly saw an RX-2, but I think it had that distinctive C-pillar/window trim of the RX-3 (it was from about 3/4 block away, and I was in a doctor's office, but I wanted to jump out the window to get a pic). I think a number of those cars had their rotaries swapped out at a relatively young age. I've seen pretty decent asking prices for nice ones today, most survivors are fairly modified, as the rotary enthusiast set is into that. Japanese cars of that era were unloved old used cars when I was a kid, and I disregarded them then, but find them interesting now.

omarman

It's funny but I've always thought Green Acres producers wanted Eddie Albert cast as Mr. Douglas due to his inspired performance in The Teahouse of the August Moon as the U.S. Army shrink Captain McLean. McLean is sent to evaluate Captain Fisby (Glenn Ford), who is suspected of going native after ignoring his orders to build a school shaped like a pentagon (!) and instead decides to build a teahouse which the village wants.

Fisby explains his plan to also introduce the locals to modern farming including the use of DDT. McLean objects to those plans - not because it's against orders, however. McLean reveals himself to be an aspiring organic farmer and quickly abandons his orders to perform a psych eval on Fisby so that he can better advise on the natural approach to horticulture. Fisby is delighted.

Fisby: You're just the man we've needed down here. You're a genius!
McLean: I'll want plenty of manure.
Fisby: You'll get it.

ab348

We had a Mazda dealer here early on - I'm thinking 1970 or '71. I remember visiting it with the parents. They were unimpressed with the cars. Understandable - the upholstery looked to be about as robust as a plastic garbage bag.

stickguy

Back in early college days I saw the piston version of an RX (I forget which one). Didn’t go back to the AMC dealer it was at to drive it though. Really should have.

uplanderguy

A guy I knew some from school talked his parents into trading their '67 Dodge Polara wagon on a new Mazda station wagon--couldn't tell you what model (I still like names, not numbers, LOL). I remember it was fast, real fast, but I didn't like the at-the-time typical Japanese look and feel--smelly plastics inside; doors felt like an inch thick. And it had pretty serious engine issues a couple or so years later IIRC. To be fair, the kid drove it hard.

stickguy

If it was fast, must have been the rotary wagon.

fintail

Engine issues - must have been a rotary. I'd love to find a rotary wagon with its original powertrain - such a weird thing. Probably a chore to keep on the road though, and even here they eventually dissolved.

Rotary wagons also wore different funny badging depending on year, for some reason these badges are very amusing to me:





Thinking of thin metal - back around 2003, my dad picked up a fairly decent Datsun 610 from an estate for something like $100. Installed a battery and it fired right up, he now had his cheapest ever hobby car. I remember riding in it, and the door thickness alarmed me, especially coming from the usually vault-like door feel of MBs - it felt like it was made from a pop can. Ran like a sewing machine, but if you crash, good luck.

Going through some old pics, I found a pic of the Datsun:



After my dad passed, his cars were sold as nobody really had the time or space to take them on. I heard a rumor that the next owner of the Datsun crashed it, but couldn't confirm it. I don't want to know. A pretty rare car now, I hope it survived.

roadburner

We had a Mazda dealer in KY back in 1973.

uplanderguy

I didn't mention this in my original post, but this Mazda would've been a '73 or '74 most likely. I can't say I remember the funky "Rotary Wagon" nameplate. But he knew I liked cars, as did he, and when he gave me a ride when he saw me walking, he ran it though the gears quickly for me. It was an olive-y green IIRC.

I don't know where his folks bought it, as at that time the only import sold in our town was Subaru by the Pontiac dealer, and he dropped it in '74 or so.

fintail

In the OH/PA area, I bet it rusted wildly and might not have been around at all by 1984.

uplanderguy

We had a Mazda dealer here early on - I'm thinking 1970 or '71. I remember visiting it with the parents. They were unimpressed with the cars. Understandable - the upholstery looked to be about as robust as a plastic garbage bag.

Compared to mine, your parents were progressive!

My mother never drove, always said she didn't care what Dad bought but in later years did say "I do like the Monte Carlo" and they had two of them.

My Dad, a Korean-era active duty vet (although always served stateside) and 30-year USMC Reservist, wouldn't have even looked at a British car.

He's rubbed off on me--but I have always liked Jag E-Types, LOL.

ab348

The only reason they went to the Mazda dealer was because I was pushing them to do so. The reason I was doing that was because back then I had a subscription to Road Test magazine which really liked the Mazda. Some may remember that Road Test was a different sort of publication back then. It did not take advertising (at least at that point, I think it changed later) and boasted that as a result, it was objective in its reviews of vehicles, unsullied by filthy auto manufacturer advertising dollars. Now that may have been an admirable position especially considering the times, where Motor Trend basically sold their COTY award. But Road Test had its own biases, as they never met a Japanese car back then they didn't like. They gave them a very soft time in their reviews. The subscription was paid for by a cheque from my parents account, and back then the cancelled cheques were eventually mailed back by the bank after they cleared. I remember seeing the Road Test cheque returned, and it was cashed by them at the LA branch of the Bank of Tokyo. Hmmm.

uplanderguy

That is very interesting!

roadburner

I convinced my parents to go test drive a Bavaria in 1972. It was a stick and while Dad could drive one he didn't wan't to drive it and possibly grind the gears. Instead, a British salesman took us on a demonstration drive- which included proving that it would cruise comfortably at 120 mph. That drive-and DED Jr.'s iconic article Turn Your Hymnals to 2002 established the automotive trajectory of my life- although it was an interminable eleven years before I bought my first BMW.
It was a Bavaria, of course.

roadburner

There's a Saleen S282 Saleen Gurney Signature Edition on BaT. I loved those.

fintail

That makes me think - my dad was a Ford fan, but not loyal - he had things like the S10 Blazer and a couple Mopar minivans. My mom was more into Ford probably via my dad, but jumped ship to Toyota in the 00s.

I am most amused by my WW2 vet grandfather, who had no loyalty at all - he had all of the big 3 at random times along with a VW and a couple Toyotas (the latter company cars, but he chose them). I think he liked his big Chryslers most, but not enough to only buy the brand.

My siblings also have no real loyalty, although my brother likes Toyota trucks more than others. And then comes me, with a penchant for German cars and oddball cars.

uplanderguy said:

We had a Mazda dealer here early on - I'm thinking 1970 or '71. I remember visiting it with the parents. They were unimpressed with the cars. Understandable - the upholstery looked to be about as robust as a plastic garbage bag.

Compared to mine, your parents were progressive!

My mother never drove, always said she didn't care what Dad bought but in later years did say "I do like the Monte Carlo" and they had two of them.

My Dad, a Korean-era active duty vet (although always served stateside) and 30-year USMC Reservist, wouldn't have even looked at a British car.

He's rubbed off on me--but I have always liked Jag E-Types, LOL.

uplanderguy

I broke out the Stude for the first time this year today. Washed it. I put NOS full wheelcovers on it a couple years back since the wire caps it was built with seem loose to me.

I use ethanol-free gas exclusively. Since I've done that, it seems to me that the car has an underhood smell in the garage that is not the typical pungent gasoline smell, but almost like an exhaust smell, while the car is sitting, not running, but after it's been running. This smell lasts several hours.

Anybody else use ethanol-free, and if you do, do you think it doesn't smell like regular gas?

fintail

Out for a drive today, hoped to see some obscure rides, but didn't see much. Cruising in the fintail through a nice mid-century neighborhood, I did see a couple old cars slumbering in garages - a 67-68 Mustang, and a "Gran Torino" type Torino fastback in yellow - probably somewhat rare. Also saw an 80s custom style Beetle that looked like it could use some TLC.

Stude is looking good. I think our gas here has a little ethanol.

uplanderguy

Thanks. Original paint, original interior, unrestored, 26.8K miles.

fintail

Looks like it got wet in the rain? When it gets wet, do you wipe it dry or let it air dry?

I always wipe my car down if it gets wet, as it ends up being covered. Speaking of obscure cars and covers, the 66 Toronado that slumbers beside the fintail got a new car cover.

uplanderguy

Nah, I had just washed it. It had a coat of dust on it from the storage space. I'm a nutjob about not having it out in the rain, and especially not driving it in rain. A Stude buddy of mine says "It's not going to melt", but the car is so original and solid, why risk that?

explorerx4

When I was a kid, I guess I saw the sister to the T'Bird in the picture.
Neighbor of my best friend worked for a steel company and we saw it in the driveway.

ab348

The 3 stainless Fords are being sold by the successor to Allegheny-Ludlum, who originally commissioned them.

uplanderguy

I'm nearly certain there is a Squarebird like that at the Crawford Museum in Cleveland...I've seen there more than once over the years.

ab348

Was out in the ATS for a bit and got behind a late-70s Jeep Cherokee Golden Eagle like this in traffic:



This one was the same color as in the pic and looked to be a well-preserved original, or possibly one that was redone many years ago. All the original graphics were present and accounted for. Rare sighting for these parts, made me smile.

fintail

Do you cover it? I dust and then give my car a quick wipe with a spray detailer almost every time I drive it. No rain for the fintail either, don't need to encourage decay.

For that Jeep Golden Eagle, something like that is worth decent money today, the retro 4x4 lifestyle accessory cult would go nuts over it on BaT.

uplanderguy said:

Nah, I had just washed it. It had a coat of dust on it from the storage space. I'm a nutjob about not having it out in the rain, and especially not driving it in rain. A Stude buddy of mine says "It's not going to melt", but the car is so original and solid, why risk that?

uplanderguy

No, I do not cover it. I had a cover for my old white Skytop, but it went with the car to Australia.

fintail

I find the fintail ends up looking like a barnfind if it spends more than a few days uncovered - maybe as it lives in a residential garage with a little traffic - kicks up the grime. When the car goes in for its annual service/checkup and sits out for a week or two, the first thing I do when I pick it up is wash it, the barnfind aesthetic takes over quickly (maybe exaggerated by my clean car OCD).

explorerx4

Beautiful car. Only problem I have with it is that the hood does not sound very dignified when being closed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6QPlZaT204

ab348

I have to wonder how original some of those finishes actually are. It would need to have been kept in a vacuum chamber for some of those items not to deteriorate.

explorerx4

@ab348,
Some of the claims in the video had me raising an eyebrow too.
For some reason I've watched several videos of Cadillac's of that era.
That one is my favorite, so far.

stickguy

now that is a serious barge.

AB, they did say some pieces were refinished, but still original in many ways.

uplanderguy

I'm not a fan of the excesses of the '59 and '60 Cadillac, but that said, an Eldorado Seville (or a Fleetwood Sixty-Special, for that matter) all through the sixties, intrigued me. I always really liked how they had rocker trim, no body side moldings (clean look), and the block "ELDORADO" or "FLEETWOOD" lettering low on the front fenders. Just oozed 'class' to me.

I wish they'd have made an Eldorado two-door hardtop in the '61-66 years.

I guess on the '60, they did put the lettering on the front of the front fenders, didn't they.

fintail

59-60 Eldo Brougham, very rare, didn't have lettering either. Also looked ahead of its time, due to a more 60s looking greenhouse:



For 59-60 regular Caddys, make mine a flat top.

ab348

stickguy said:

now that is a serious barge.

AB, they did say some pieces were refinished, but still original in many ways.

Yes, I heard that. I remain dubious, however.

I know a local restorer who has an assortment of factory style grease pencils and ink stamps to give his restorations that factory-original appearance. And I have never seen a 1960s GM trunklid jacking instructions decal that wasn’t crinkled in some way, or chromed pot metal trim that hadn’t begun to deteriorate.

uplanderguy

I'd love to see a '60 Eldorado Brougham in person. Never have in my almost-62 years.

andre1969

I think I might have seen a '59-60 once, at the Hershey PA car show, but that might just be my mind playing tricks on me. I know I've seen the '57-58 style every once in awhile.

uplanderguy

I've seen a handful of '57-58's, but never a '59-60.

fintail

I don't think I have ever seen one either. I think I recall a 57-58 at Gilmore and have maybe seen another one of those locally, but no later. With production of maybe 100 units per year, they probably aren't seen much.

ab348

First-gen Supra out and about today, lowered, newer wider wheels but looking stock otherwise. Driven by a vapebro type. Car looked handsomer than the driver TBH.

fintail

First gen (79-81 IIRC) Supra is thin on the ground even here.

Looking out my window, just saw a pristine LWB W126 and an equally clean and stock looking teal 92-95 Civic coupe - few of those have survived without being ruined by kids.

kyfdx

fintail said:

First gen (79-81 IIRC) Supra is thin on the ground even here.

Looking out my window, just saw a pristine LWB W126 and an equally clean and stock looking teal 92-95 Civic coupe - few of those have survived without being ruined by kids.

I was never a fan of the 1st Gen Celica Supra. Loved Gen II, not a fan of Gen III, loved Gen IV.

texases

One review of the 1st gen Supra called it a 'Japanese Buick'. A bit harsh, but it wasn't sporty back then.

tjc78

texases said:

One review of the 1st gen Supra called it a 'Japanese Buick'. A bit harsh, but it wasn't sporty back then.

Ha! So that comment wasn’t new when they used it on the Avalon.

fintail

When I was in high school around 1994, I knew a guy who was gifted a 1st gen Supra. It was white (pearl, I think) with a tan leather interior, and it was immaculate. I thought it was pretty cool even then, I liked the wheel design. But definitely a luxury Celica rather than anything really sporty.

fintail

Saw a Saablazer this afternoon, oh, GM

roadburner

Sunday I saw a '67 Barracuda convertible; it looked to be in great shape. I always thought the '67-'69 Barracudas were much more attractive than the 1st. Generation F Bodies. GM redeemed itself with the gorgeous 2nd Generation models, but the styling of the early Camaros and Firebirds always struck me as uninspired.

andre1969

Considering the '67-69 Barracuda was just a prettier version of the Dart/Valiant, rather than a purpose-built pony-car, I thought the end result was downright sexy. It had an almost exotic look to it, compared to the more angular, upright Darts and Valiants. Although, I'll admit I do like the '67-69 Camaro/Firebird, as well.

But then, I never was a fan of the 1970-74 Barracuda (or Challenger) because to me, they looked like a ripoff of the '67-69 F-body! In fact, in the movie "Vanishing Point", where a white Dodge Challenger is basically the main star, a '67 Camaro stands in, for the crash scene at the end. So even at the time, the producers must have seen enough of a similarity to have one as a stand-in. Of course, in those days, nobody ever thought of the concept of endless tv reruns, being able to pause it, run it in slow motion, screen-capture it, and so on.

Over the years though, I've learned to like the '70-74 E-body more, although of the two I prefer the Challenger. They were almost more musclecar than pony-car though, and in fact were based on the midsized platform rather than the compact. They did at least have the advantage of being designed from the get-go to take any engine Mopar had to throw into it, including the 440 and the Hemi. The '67-69 wasn't really designed for that, although they were shoe-horned in, in small quantities. And, in typical revisionist history fashion, more of them probably have 440s or 426'es now, than they did when they left the factory.

tjc78

fintail said:

Saw a Saablazer this afternoon, oh, GM

I can't remember the movie but it was with Diane Lane and she had one of those. I always thought it was an odd movie car choice.

stickguy

Out driving today, passed a local lot. Fairly big, been there forever, seems to change names regularly. New one since last I passed. Checked inventory, looks like nice stuff, later model mostly in the $13-26k range.

Point of this, at the end of the row along main road, a 67 or 68 cougar. Hood scoop and rear wing. Tired looking paint. Didn’t find it on their website.