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

fintail

I recall years ago seeing a clean low mileage Mark VI coupe at an estate sale, could have had it for a pittance. But on something like that I assume a 302 putting out 95 hp, 80 mph speedo, etc.

When I was a kid, I thought the Mark VI sedans were just early Town Cars before they went with the vertical quarter window.

kyfdx

fintail said:

I recall years ago seeing a clean low mileage Mark VI coupe at an estate sale, could have had it for a pittance. But on something like that I assume a 302 putting out 95 hp, 80 mph speedo, etc.

When I was a kid, I thought the Mark VI sedans were just early Town Cars before they went with the vertical quarter window.

My '77 Mustang II with a 302 V-8 was rated at 135 HP. Hard to see the Lincoln being less than that. Still, decent torque, but the carb was a thimble.

fintail

I was being a little facetious

But yeah, in the days of 55 and somewhat expensive fuel, I am sure it was more than adequate, and was smooth and quiet enough to suit the car.

kyfdx said:

fintail said:

I recall years ago seeing a clean low mileage Mark VI coupe at an estate sale, could have had it for a pittance. But on something like that I assume a 302 putting out 95 hp, 80 mph speedo, etc.

When I was a kid, I thought the Mark VI sedans were just early Town Cars before they went with the vertical quarter window.

My '77 Mustang II with a 302 V-8 was rated at 135 HP. Hard to see the Lincoln being less than that. Still, decent torque, but the carb was a thimble.

andre1969

C&D or MT did a test of a 1980 Mark VI sedan and it was good for 0-60 in 10.9 seconds, but it had the 351. Probably all of 140 hp, but I'd imagine it was pretty torquey. I don't think the 302 would be *too* horrible. Ford was a fairly early adopter of the 4-speed overdrive automatic, and they tended to use somewhat aggressive axle ratios, while GM tended to use taller ratios and focus more on fuel economy.

Also in that test was a 1980 Seville with the 368 V8, and 3-speed automatic. It was good for 10.5. It only had around 145-150 hp most likely, but again, probably had some decent torque. They also had a New Yorker 5th Avenue Edition, but unfortunately it was stuck with a 120 hp 318-2bbl, 3-speed automatic, and tall axle ratio. 0-60 was 14.1 seconds. Considering the size and weight of the car and the drivetrain, that's probably not bad. But, it's still a bit embarrassing for a car in that class (plus I have a soft spot for them, so I feel the embarrassment rubbing off on me )

tjc78

The Mark VI coupe, and the GM/CV all shared a common wheelbase. The Town Car and Mark VI sedan were longer.

I guess the Mark was slightly more upscale than the TC with the hidden headlights and Signature Series option. On the Mark VI the SS was a significant upgrade over the base. The designer Marks were only offered on coupes.

tjc78

@andre1969 said:
Was the Mark VI sedan smaller than the regular Continental? I thought it was on the same 117.3" wb as the Continental coupe/sedan? I know the Mark VI coupe was a bit shorter, on the 114.3" wb shared with the LTD/Marquis, but I thought the sedans were the same?

It actually sold better than I had thought. My old car book doesn't break out '80 production figures to compare, but for '81 they sold 27,904 Town Car sedans, and 17,958 Mark VI sedans.

Price-wise, the Town Car sedan started at $14,068, versus $17,303 for the Mark VI, and $22,838 for the Mark VI Signature. So, despite the fuel crisis and economic turmoil back then, I guess the "Let 'em Eat Cake" crowd wasn't doing too bad.

One model from that era I haven't seen in ages is the 2-door version of the Town Car. They weren't too popular when new though; I think most buyers just splurged on a Mark VI if they wanted a coupe. I know the Mark VI takes a lot of criticism for being too squared off, but it makes the regular Town Coupe look like the box the VI came in!

Here's a Curbside Classic article on the 2-door. Boxy as heck, but it looks like a luxurious, comfortable, well-built car.

The two door Continental (Town Coupe) was pretty rare. On the Panther forums a few guys have them. I always thought it was an awkward design. One of the rarest Panther models over the years.

kyfdx

tjc78 said:

@andre1969 said:

Was the Mark VI sedan smaller than the regular Continental? I thought it was on the same 117.3" wb as the Continental coupe/sedan? I know the Mark VI coupe was a bit shorter, on the 114.3" wb shared with the LTD/Marquis, but I thought the sedans were the same?

It actually sold better than I had thought. My old car book doesn't break out '80 production figures to compare, but for '81 they sold 27,904 Town Car sedans, and 17,958 Mark VI sedans.

Price-wise, the Town Car sedan started at $14,068, versus $17,303 for the Mark VI, and $22,838 for the Mark VI Signature. So, despite the fuel crisis and economic turmoil back then, I guess the "Let 'em Eat Cake" crowd wasn't doing too bad.

One model from that era I haven't seen in ages is the 2-door version of the Town Car. They weren't too popular when new though; I think most buyers just splurged on a Mark VI if they wanted a coupe. I know the Mark VI takes a lot of criticism for being too squared off, but it makes the regular Town Coupe look like the box the VI came in!

Here's a Curbside Classic article on the 2-door. Boxy as heck, but it looks like a luxurious, comfortable, well-built car.

The two door Continental (Town Coupe) was pretty rare. On the Panther forums a few guys have them. I always thought it was an awkward design. One of the rarest Panther models over the years.

My mother had two of them. '72 and '76. Even rarer? Hers were the "base" model. No "Town", just Coupe. The '72 didn't look bad, but the '76 had a real "tank" look to it. I learned to drive on the '72!

tjc78

@kyfdx said:
My mother had two of them. '72 and '76. Even rarer? Hers were the "base" model. No "Town", just Coupe. The '72 didn't look bad, but the '76 had a real "tank" look to it. I learned to drive on the '72!

I was thinking more the 80-81 Panther based models. The older ones were much more popular. I had a ‘79

Here is a nice example of a 1980

fintail

I am pretty sure I posted here several years ago, a friend's dad had a 78 (I think) Town Coupe, 25K mile car. Unfortunately, it sat outside for probably 20 years, and although the interior was still very nice, the damp weather eventually harmed the paint and exterior trim. I think her mom sold it for like $1200 just to get it out of the backyard.

Early Panther TCs always make me think of this:

https://youtu.be/bd1aoOckQwQ

I also noticed the rear end treatment mimics the 61 Continental.

sda

tjc78 said:

@kyfdx said:

My mother had two of them. '72 and '76. Even rarer? Hers were the "base" model. No "Town", just Coupe. The '72 didn't look bad, but the '76 had a real "tank" look to it. I learned to drive on the '72!

I was thinking more the 80-81 Panther based models. The older ones were much more popular. I had a ‘79

Here is a nice example of a 1980

I may be the exception, I liked those when they were introduced.

tjc78

@sda said:
I may be the exception, I liked those when they were introduced.

I like pretty much anything based on a Panther so yeah I kinda like it too even though I don’t think it’s the best design. One of the only things I hate is the Mark VI models that have those awful fog lights over the head light covers.

That Coupe I posted also has an awesome color combo.

uplanderguy

It was my hometown's Heritage Days Super Cruise this past Saturday. About 800 cars registered and a beautiful, upper-70's weather day.

I spotted this original/authentic '79 Malibu Classic Landau on the way out of town. I always liked these (although preferred the '78's diagonal-cut wraparound taillights). As we've discussed, these GM cars were small but still felt like a big car as far as quiet, ride, etc., at least IMHO.

This car had the red cloth bench and linear speedo with idiot lights. I much-prefer the 50/50 front seat with dual center armrests and the round instruments, optional. Worst thing about the interior was the plastichrome on the door panels inside was starting to peel, pretty typical for these.

roadburner

A clean 1957 Thunderbird pulled up behind my 2er at a light yesterday. My dad's old law partner had one in the '60s and always regretted selling it. He bought another in the '90s. I never saw the allure; all show and no go(excepting the F-Code cars). I'd take a 1957 Corvette over the Thunderbird all day long(or better yet, an XK150).

fintail

That Malibu seems more attractively packaged than the competitor intermediates from Ford and Mopar. GM was good at downsizing. Would have it competed more with a high spec Fairmont, or a LTD II coupe? Makes me think of the blue on white one seen apparently more than once on TPiR. Those rally wheels look too basic IMO.

Thinking of a 57 Bird, IIRC, if one is somewhat tall or built, those cars aren't the best place to be. If it's 1957 and I want a flashy roadster, the new open top 300SL, please. It may cost twice as much, but you got what you paid for.

And speaking of TPiR, recently saw an episode from 1997. First up, a Signature Series Jack Nicklaus edition Town Car (you can always tell when a model is closing out, silly special editions). MSRP 45K (!):



Then a Windstar. This one was amusing because of an unfortunate mishap, the door came off its track - I bet Ford was not pleased to see this on TV. MSRP 21K:



And a Camaro convertible in the showcase, V6 of course:

tjc78

They had the Jack edition earlier in the 90s too.

Lots of green. I know the interior pic doesn’t quite show it, but the carpet is green.

ab348

fintail said:

That Malibu seems more attractively packaged than the competitor intermediates from Ford and Mopar. GM was good at downsizing. Would have it competed more with a high spec Fairmont, or a LTD II coupe? Makes me think of the blue on white one seen apparently more than once on TPiR. Those rally wheels look too basic IMO.

Heh. I had a set of those wheels gathering dust in my garage for 25 years. When I first bought the Cutlass in '93 I was looking for a set of Olds SSII wheels. While the Cutlass was at the body shop being painted, leaving me with no transportation for a few weeks, a guy I worked with who lived an hour out of town said that he knew a guy who had a set. I gave him the cash (I think $150) and he delivered those wheels you see - Chevy wheels. At the time I wasn't totally sure about whether they were ever used by Olds (they weren't) so I kept them but never used them. They were heavy steel 14x7 wheels. The centers were plastichrome. A couple of years ago I hauled them out of the corner of the garage, cleaned them up and posted them online. They got snapped up very quickly. Chevy used them on Novas and Camaros as well as Malibus.

fintail

Yikes. The interior isn't too bad, but that exterior color scheme on the older one, wow, not for me.

And that Ford corporate steering wheel, seen in what seems like everything other than Tempo/Escort/Festiva of the era. Still remember it clearly on my mom's 93 Taurus.

tjc78 said:

They had the Jack edition earlier in the 90s too.

Lots of green. I know the interior pic doesn’t quite show it, but the carpet is green.

fintail

I think those wheels actually look fine on a slightly older car like yours, but somehow they seem a little off on the Malibu. I guess maybe to me they look a little too "muscley" for a Malibu Classic. The 60s style rallys would look better IMO, maybe it's having more bright surfaces.

ab348 said:

fintail said:

That Malibu seems more attractively packaged than the competitor intermediates from Ford and Mopar. GM was good at downsizing. Would have it competed more with a high spec Fairmont, or a LTD II coupe? Makes me think of the blue on white one seen apparently more than once on TPiR. Those rally wheels look too basic IMO.

Heh. I had a set of those wheels gathering dust in my garage for 25 years. When I first bought the Cutlass in '93 I was looking for a set of Olds SSII wheels. While the Cutlass was at the body shop being painted, leaving me with no transportation for a few weeks, a guy I worked with who lived an hour out of town said that he knew a guy who had a set. I gave him the cash (I think $150) and he delivered those wheels you see - Chevy wheels. At the time I wasn't totally sure about whether they were ever used by Olds (they weren't) so I kept them but never used them. They were heavy steel 14x7 wheels. The centers were plastichrome. A couple of years ago I hauled them out of the corner of the garage, cleaned them up and posted them online. They got snapped up very quickly. Chevy used them on Novas and Camaros as well as Malibus.

imidazol97

In the Entresto (prescription drug) commercial, there is a red convertible being driven by a couple
near the end of the commercial. Does anyone know what it is?

EDIT: Stumbled onto the solution.



https://www.jeffreysward.com/editorials/entresto.htm

uplanderguy

Those '78 and '79 (only) Chevy Rally Wheels are my least-favorite of the four iterations over the years. Body-colored with the chromed cutouts. In a '78-81 Malibu Classic, I'd choose the scooped plastic Sport wheel covers.

tjc78

@fintail said:
Yikes. The interior isn't too bad, but that exterior color scheme on the older one, wow, not for me.

And that Ford corporate steering wheel, seen in what seems like everything other than Tempo/Escort/Festiva of the era. Still remember it clearly on my mom's 93 Taurus.

Ford and GM both got a lot of miles out of the same basic steering wheel. GM probably from the late 90s all the way to the end of the Enclave/Traverse run in 2017. Too lazy to look up a picture but I’m sure everyone knows which one I’m talking about.

andre1969

I'm not a huge fan of those 6-slot wheels on that Malibu Classic either, but I think for me, the issue is they make me think of a Mopar copcar wheel. So, it just makes me think of a more basic, utilitarian car. My '89 Gran Fury had those copcar wheels...but then again, it was supposed to!

There was a later rally type wheel, that I tend to associate with S-10 pickups and Monte Carlos, that I thought was pretty sharp.

Something about those 6-slot (and the 5-slot) Chevy Rally wheels just seems like it didn't translate well to the newer cars. In contrast though, I thought the Pontiac Rally 2, the Buick "Magnum" rally, and the Olds Rally (at least, the one I'm thinking of from my '82 Cutlass Supreme) seemed a bit more timeless, somehow. They'd probably look a bit out of place on a brand-new car, though!

**Edit: Here's the Chevy wheels I'm thinking of:

uplanderguy

Yeah, that's the '80-88 Chevy Rally Wheels, much better IMHO. I generally don't care for body-colored wheels like the '78 and '79 had.

Rally Wheels were always a steal on the option list. I think right up to the end they were only a $56 option.

andre1969

I had my '79 5th Avenue in the shop, getting a checkup, as the Carlisle PA Mopar Nationals are coming up this weekend. Here's a video I made, coming home...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXUOpicxKcs

As I get closer to the house, before veering off to the right, you can sort of see the beginnings of my garage. Slowly but surely, it's finally sprouting!

stickguy

You should pave that driveway. And a patch of your side yard!

I just have a thing about parking on the grass.

andre1969

On the way out to get my 5th Ave, we were stopped at a traffic light behind this...


Final-generation Park Avenues are getting less and less common, but they're still out there in pretty good numbers, it seems, considering their age now, and the fact they didn't exactly crank them out in huge volumes.

When I got to the shop, I noticed my 5th Avenue was with good company...

stickguy

One of the Witchita YouTube crew(Jake) has a park ave ultimate project hooptie. Pretty interesting seeing the tech on it.

sda

andre1969 said:

I had my '79 5th Avenue in the shop, getting a checkup, as the Carlisle PA Mopar Nationals are coming up this weekend. Here's a video I made, coming home...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXUOpicxKcs

As I get closer to the house, before veering off to the right, you can sort of see the beginnings of my garage. Slowly but surely, it's finally sprouting!

Looks and sounds good. Did it get a clean bill of health. I thought those were handsome cars.

sda

Though not car related, I do believe it qualifies as a 'classic'. This is my Schwinn Varsity that I bought in 1974 for $156. Dad paid half and I paid the remainder. A lot of lawns mowed to save for the bike!
It needs new tires, I clean it up periodically and keep it under a cover. It is heavy as a Cadillac.

texases

And that one's fully loaded! Speedometer, generator lights, the works! We were amazed by the gearshift, never heard of a derailleur before.

But they weren't exactly lightweights.

kyfdx

@sda Nice bike. It's amazing you still have it.

I had the next model up, the Continental. Pretty sure I got it in 1974 for my 16th birthday.

In the '60s, I had a Stingray, with a speedometer.

texases

Here's more that you want to know about the Varsity:
https://bikehistory.org/bikes/varsity/

And here's the Schwinn 1970 catalog, including the Varsity and the Continental:
https://bikehistory.org/catalogs/1970.html

kyfdx

texases said:

Here's more that you want to know about the Varsity:
https://bikehistory.org/bikes/varsity/

And here's the Schwinn 1970 catalog, including the Varsity and the Continental:
https://bikehistory.org/catalogs/1970.html

It's weird how they kept the same model names for decades.

kyfdx

IIRC, the Continental had center-pull brake calipers, while the Varsity had side-pull.

roadburner

sda said:

Though not car related, I do believe it qualifies as a 'classic'. This is my Schwinn Varsity that I bought in 1974 for $156. Dad paid half and I paid the remainder. A lot of lawns mowed to save for the bike!
It needs new tires, I clean it up periodically and keep it under a cover. It is heavy as a Cadillac.

Nice!

roadburner

This is the Raleigh Grand Prix that I bought new for $125 back in 1973. I had not ridden it for years, but when my wife and I wanted to start riding again I had it restored and upgraded by the shop where we bought my wife's bike. It now has Shimano front and rear derailleurs and an Avocet seat. I guess I was a contrary little cuss even back then; I wanted a bike that you didn't see every day...

xwesx

roadburner said:

I guess I was a contrary little cuss even back then; I wanted a bike that you didn't see every day...

Some things change.... and some don't!

xwesx

Those are both very snazzy bikes. I think it's rather impressive that you both still have them.

texases

roadburner said:

This is the Raleigh Grand Prix that I bought new for $125 back in 1973. I had not ridden it for years, but when my wife and I wanted to start riding again I had it restored and upgraded by the shop where we bought my wife's bike. It now has Shimano front and rear derailleurs and an Avocet seat. I guess I was a contrary little cuss even back then; I wanted a bike that you didn't see every day...

Small world, I had just looked up photos of my Super Grand Prix that I bought in '78, it's up in the attic, looks just like this:

stickguy

I got a Raleigh back in the 70's too. But it was a Record.

fintail

I remember the wheel with downward pointing spokes from around that era, I call it the "frowny face wheel". I think the GMT900 style wheel was also used in everything.

To be fair, even MB did similar, from the mid 70s into the early 00s, a very similar wheel could be found in all models.

tjc78 said:

@fintail said:

Yikes. The interior isn't too bad, but that exterior color scheme on the older one, wow, not for me.

And that Ford corporate steering wheel, seen in what seems like everything other than Tempo/Escort/Festiva of the era. Still remember it clearly on my mom's 93 Taurus.

Ford and GM both got a lot of miles out of the same basic steering wheel. GM probably from the late 90s all the way to the end of the Enclave/Traverse run in 2017. Too lazy to look up a picture but I’m sure everyone knows which one I’m talking about.

fintail

Looks like it is healthy. How long is the drive?

One of these days, you'll have to take the DeSoto.

andre1969 said:

I had my '79 5th Avenue in the shop, getting a checkup, as the Carlisle PA Mopar Nationals are coming up this weekend. Here's a video I made, coming home...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXUOpicxKcs

As I get closer to the house, before veering off to the right, you can sort of see the beginnings of my garage. Slowly but surely, it's finally sprouting!

fintail

Thinking of bikes, I am still very leery to bike on public roads due to local driving talent - if I wanted to get a retro ride, it might be something like this, a 24" BMX style - as my childhood saw chrome frame BMX being the coolest rides, before mountain bikes took over:



Blue tires and matching grips pushed my buttons back in the day.

On the road today spotted one of the last Saab wagons, Suzuki SX4 hatch, white on white Continental Mark IV.

andre1969

Stickguy: Funny you'd mention paving the driveway. One of my friends said the same thing the other day and I just said "Hell, I ain't got money for that kind of crap!" He motioned to the under-construction garage and started to say "Umm..." and I cut him off with "Exactly, that's why I ain't got money for that kind of crap!"

Much of that grassy looking area actually is driveway...it's just that it's gravel, and has slowly been returning to nature. I'm planning to get it redone, once the garage is finished, but probably just going to go with gravel again. I dunno...I'll check into the pricing. But I'm not a huge fan of asphalt because it gets hot in the summer, and with as much area as I'd be paving over, I'd also worry about diverting rainwater in unexpected directions. But, it melts quicker in the winter, and you don't have to worry as much about Mother Nature reclaiming it, as you do with gravel.

Years ago, one of my neighbors at the old place, who moved down to Southern MD back around 2000 or so, once said that when she got a house with a paved driveway, and a red Cadillac, she'd feel like she had finally arrived! She and her husband had the new house built, and, indeed, had a paved driveway put in. And, at some point she ended up with a red DeVille, of the 2000-2005 generation.

SDA: Thanks! It got a clean bill of health. Well, it has its issues, but nothing that would make it likely to break down, or be unsafe to drive!

Fintail: thanks...yeah it's still kicking, and still feels pretty strong. Well about as strong as 150 hp can feel! I think it's about 115 miles each way, so not too strenuous, I guess. I'll probably get the courage to take the DeSoto up one of these days. I guess I'm just leery of going too far in that car, just yet, even though it hasn't given me any issues yet.

fintail

These days the 5th Ave might be more rare than the DeSoto, I have to believe the survival rates are pretty low. For the older car, you had some bodywork done, right? Get a chance to polish and wax that red paint?

andre1969 said:

Stickguy: Funny you'd mention paving the driveway. One of my friends said the same thing the other day and I just said "Hell, I ain't got money for that kind of crap!" He motioned to the under-construction garage and started to say "Umm..." and I cut him off with "Exactly, that's why I ain't got money for that kind of crap!"

Much of that grassy looking area actually is driveway...it's just that it's gravel, and has slowly been returning to nature. I'm planning to get it redone, once the garage is finished, but probably just going to go with gravel again. I dunno...I'll check into the pricing. But I'm not a huge fan of asphalt because it gets hot in the summer, and with as much area as I'd be paving over, I'd also worry about diverting rainwater in unexpected directions. But, it melts quicker in the winter, and you don't have to worry as much about Mother Nature reclaiming it, as you do with gravel.

Years ago, one of my neighbors at the old place, who moved down to Southern MD back around 2000 or so, once said that when she got a house with a paved driveway, and a red Cadillac, she'd feel like she had finally arrived! She and her husband had the new house built, and, indeed, had a paved driveway put in. And, at some point she ended up with a red DeVille, of the 2000-2005 generation.

SDA: Thanks! It got a clean bill of health. Well, it has its issues, but nothing that would make it likely to break down, or be unsafe to drive!

Fintail: thanks...yeah it's still kicking, and still feels pretty strong. Well about as strong as 150 hp can feel! I think it's about 115 miles each way, so not too strenuous, I guess. I'll probably get the courage to take the DeSoto up one of these days. I guess I'm just leery of going too far in that car, just yet, even though it hasn't given me any issues yet.

uplanderguy

This particular Mopar I'd been admiring since I was in sixth grade (and I'm 63). It belonged to my sixth-grade teacher Mrs. Miller--who still owns it! It was on display at my hometown's big Heritage Days Super Cruise last Saturday....'65 Satellite, first-year of Satellite, bought new at Conway Motors in Baldwin, L.I., NY as a college graduation gift by her parents. I like the color and it sort-of foreshadowed the Firethorn GM offered a decade later I think.

explorerx4

Saw this driving through New York on the way home.
Nice and straight. Plymouth, I think?

uplanderguy

That’s a ‘65 Dodge Coronet 440, same basic body as the Satellite.

andre1969

Explorerx4, you're close. I think that's a '65 Dodge Coronet. Dodge version of the Satellite convertible Uplander posted just before you.

explorerx4

I had a 50/50 shot at it.