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

sda

ab348 said:

Well, I finally pushed the button:

https://my1968oldsmobilecutlass.wordpress.com/2021/07/13/my-1968-olds-cutlass-is-for-sale/

A very honest description. I wish I could be the new owner. I would love to come up there to meet you and provide a nice home for your Cutlass. Good luck. I feel your pain as you say goodbye. I felt that when I handed over the keys to the new owner when we sold my grandmother’s 68 Cutlass S some years ago.

stickguy

nice looking car, and exceptional ad. I assume that is $18K US? If so, seems like a very good deal especially with all the spare parts you are including. Hopefully it goes to somebody that has the facilities to do everything at one time and get it "finished" and will then enjoy it. seems like a good candidate to take out and use since it is not overly expensive, or some rare collectible model.

I also thought that style Olds was one of the better looking mid size cars of the period.

ab348

The $18K price is in worthless Canadian dollars, about $14,300 greenbacks.

texases

Good luck! I always liked those.

stickguy

even better deal in that case. Seems like a bargain to me. Not that I know anything. Good luck with the sale.

jpp75

Good luck with the sale @ab348 I can tell it's tough to part with it, hope it goes to someone who will appreciate it and continue to work on it as you have.

xwesx

ab348 said:

Well, I finally pushed the button:

https://my1968oldsmobilecutlass.wordpress.com/2021/07/13/my-1968-olds-cutlass-is-for-sale/

Certainly a fine ad. I think anyone reading it can tell you really care about (and cared for) the vehicle during your ownership.

fintail

Good luck with the sale ab, I know it hurts to sell, but you also want to the car to be enjoyed and not waste away. I'd imagine in these inflationary times, and with the eye appeal of the car, it is a pretty fair deal and should find a buyer - that's not a lot of money for such looks.

Michaell

I’m not sure what happened; I was reading the ad and some dust got into my eye.

So glad you have been able to love and use the Cutlass for close to 30 years - like @sda, I wish I was in a position to take the mantle of ownership.

Here’s hoping for a quick sale to someone who will cherish it just as much as you.

uplanderguy

Great photos and descriptions, Greg. Sorry you feel the need to sell but I can understand--I was in a similar situation with kid's college expenses a decade ago which had me put my beloved '63 Lark Daytona up for sale.

Wonderfully honest description and many great pics--the way a seller gets the most out of a sale.

Good luck on the sale and also with your health.

tjc78

Good luck with the sale. I hope it finds a great home. I’m sure it’s tough letting it go.

kyfdx

Good luck with the sale. Nice ad!

explorerx4

Must have been old stepside day. First a late 60's green C-10. A 50's 2 tone brown/tan Dodge with a 8 foot bed and finally an early 50's tan Ford. A classic stepside hat trick!.

fintail

Been going back to the office a bit lately (nice facility, but I hope it can be a "flexible" thing soon), in the parking lot today was a first gen Dodge Stratus, in white, with a bodykit and 90s style custom wheels. It was very clean, clearly somebody's baby. I'll have to get a pic if I see it again.

kyfdx

Member needs help

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/66790/general/x/what-kind-of-car-is-this#latest

uplanderguy

Wish I could help. No idea.

stickguy

It’s old. I have no clue but I was amused about the baby plopped down to play in, and apparently eat, the road mud (which I assume also has horse poop mixed in).

texases

Thread is open again. My guess is a 1920 Buick.

ab348

I can no longer open the original picture, but when I saw it earlier it appeared to be a Model T.

texases

Something wrong with that link, try this one:
https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/66791/general/x/can-anyone-identify-this-car#latest

ab348

That's a different post and pic than the one that was up earlier.

texases

? Same one I saw. Maybe I missed the first one.

texases

You're right, try this link, looks like a Model T.
https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/66793/ford/x/would-this-be-a-model-a#latest

sda

@ab348 , Any serious interest on the Cutlass? A bunch of tire kickers?

ab348

sda said:

@ab348 , Any serious interest on the Cutlass? A bunch of tire kickers?

Two serious potential buyers. One is a strange situation, a German kid from a well-to-do family, who supposedly is buying it for his parents to cruise in. Via a broker in Florida he has dealt with previously, it would be put in a container and shipped overseas. Lots of moving parts but no quibbles on the price and the broker seems legit. The other is a more local guy 200 miles away but he doesn’t want to pay the asking price. Would be a much more straightforward transaction though.

sda

ab348 said:

sda said:

@ab348 , Any serious interest on the Cutlass? A bunch of tire kickers?

Two serious potential buyers. One is a strange situation, a German kid from a well-to-do family, who supposedly is buying it for his parents to cruise in. Via a broker in Florida he has dealt with previously, it would be put in a container and shipped overseas. Lots of moving parts but no quibbles on the price and the broker seems legit. The other is a more local guy 200 miles away but he doesn’t want to pay the asking price. Would be a much more straightforward transaction though.

Keep us posted. I imagine the ATS is cheering on the sale so it can be garage kept.

fintail

Saw a yellow Lancer wagon this morning, those are pretty scarce now.

fintail

This guy's collection of immaculate original relatively ordinary cars continues to impress:

https://youtu.be/_2sPUz8JVC0

Every time I see an Eagle woody wagon, I think "Jennifer!".

ab348

I was just about to watch that one. I watched this earlier today - close to the pinnacle of GM engineering and quality. We can quibble if the same model year Caddy or Olds was better in some respects. According to the channel owner, the 1971 big cars from GM were a distinct step back in terms of materials and design all in an attempt to cut costs.

https://youtu.be/4XJZTZP0tb8

texases

We bought a '84 XJ Jeep Cherokee Chief about the same time a friend bought an Eagle wagon. That Eagle had a lot less headroom, not very big on the inside.

sda

A beautiful 60 stock looking Corvette. Medium blue with white two tone. Spinner wheel covers, white walls. It looked like the driver was enjoying the drive. I followed him for a while and he wasn’t dogging it but he did accelerate briskly. Top down, wind in the hair.

tjc78

@fintail said:
This guy's collection of immaculate original relatively ordinary cars continues to impress:

https://youtu.be/_2sPUz8JVC0

Every time I see an Eagle woody wagon, I think "Jennifer!".

As you should. Lol

fintail

The guy with the big collection even mentions interior room isn't the best, but I think AMC did a decent job given the age of the Hornet platform (MY 1970, I think), and the amount of money they could spend. Kind of like Studebaker, at least they made an effort.

I think this would have been a brand new car at the time of filming:

tjc78 said:

@fintail said:

This guy's collection of immaculate original relatively ordinary cars continues to impress:

Every time I see an Eagle woody wagon, I think "Jennifer!".

As you should. Lol

uplanderguy

RE.: '70 vs. '71 full-size GM's--at the time, and for the most part, still, I thought the '71's, which got longer and heavier, had more-modern styling than the '70's. I loved the big sweeping windshield with narrow pillars covered completely in bright metal. I liked the door panels better, with the integrated armrests, although I know the lower panel was hard plastic. On the Impala, I liked the flush wheel openings and wide full-length rocker trim. I was never too crazy in general with any of the '70 full-size GM instrument panels.

That said, in general the interiors were cheapened across the line I think, in '71.

I had a high-school friend whose family had a '70 Impala and a '71 Impala, at the same time. The '70 was a four-door pillared sedan, and the '71 was a Custom Coupe. He often said that the '70 was a more solid car. I do know that even though I goof on fake woodgrain inside, it's preferable to hard, crinkle black plastic which was prevalent on the instrument panel of the '71 Impala.

That seating on the '70 Electra 225 Limited is absolutely gorgeous; top-quality.

RE.: The Eagle--I always thought Studebaker did more with less than AMC, including a full truck line through the end of U.S. production, and I carried that thought throughout the rest of AMC's life. My uncle had a new '72 Hornet, and a couple 4WD Eagles after that. He liked them, and that's all that mattered I guess. Unlike a '64 Hawk, I can't say I think the Hornet styling was so timeless it lasted into the eighties, but I do have to give AMC credit for doing what it felt it had to to hang in there. Sadly, word is that Chrysler got rid of their inventory of AMC parts at some point.

My best man was a Chrysler field service rep in the '80's. He said that Kenosha built Fifth Avenues better than Chrysler did.

sda

Dad’s 71 Catalina coupe had multiple issues in the 2 years he had it. It had multiple rattles and squeaks from new. Exterior fit and finish was not great. The body side moldings didn’t line up from panel to panel. The ac drain line was kinked and flooded the passenger floor carpet. Dad didn’t realize this initially as the carpet was covered by the rubber floor mat. The car always smelled musty afterwards. The fan switch had to be repaired multiple times as it wouldn’t allow the fan speed to blow higher than the low setting. It developed an exhaust manifold leak and the left hood hinge bound up which bent the hood when someone closed the hood with too much force. The car did not have easy duty. Dad drove it on many back roads of southern Louisiana and when it was replaced for a 73 Catalina 4 dr sedan, the 71 had almost 60k mi. The 73, though not as nice looking, was a much better car. No issues, quiet, no rattles or squeaks. Horrible mpg from the 400 2bbl. The 71 had the 350 2bbl.

andre1969

That '70 Electra is a nice car. One nitpick though...he say's its "Not a 225". But, technically, aren't they ALL 225's? My understanding is that the name is actually Electra 225 if you got a base model, or Electra 225 Custom if you got the step up. And then, the Limited was an option package for the Custom?

Definitely, a nice car though! Those old brocade fabrics didn't always hold up so well over time, but when they've been well cared for, or re-upholstered, they definitely look nice.

kyfdx

My mother went from a '67 Bonneville to the '71 Grand Ville. She hated the '71, and traded it a year later.
Not sure why.

fintail

On that 70 Buick Limited, I notice it is a fully loaded car and claimed as such, but no passenger mirror. Was that an option.

uplanderguy

Yes, passenger-side mirror would've been an option. On Chevys, the only right-hand mirrors I recall were the 'Sport Mirrors', body-colored on both sides. In 1982 they started putting mirrors on the right-hand door as standard equipment as I recall. I'm nearly certain my '82 Monte Carlo demo came with a manual right-hand chrome mirror.

uplanderguy

To me, all Electras of that era were "225" models. The Custom, and Limited, were upgraded trim models.

A bad thing that Buick did then, IMHO, is on the Electra 225 Custom models, and in fact on Wildcat Custom models earlier, is that the cars said "Custom" no place--inside or out. If you see a front-seat center armrest, it's a Custom. I can only wonder how many buyers were screwed on their trade-ins later by salesman who figured the Custom cars were base models since there were no Custom nameplates anywhere.

uplanderguy

I just watched the entire video. Sheesh, anybody else notice how dirty his fingernails were, LOL?!

The car is in beautiful condition. I always liked that brown that seemed to be an early '70's GM staple, with a light-colored interior.

ab348

fintail said:

On that 70 Buick Limited, I notice it is a fully loaded car and claimed as such, but no passenger mirror. Was that an option.

Big discussion of that in the comments. According to the site owner none was available from the factory. There was some question whether a matching one was available as a dealer-installed accessory.

fintail

One good thing about watching YT on TV rather than the computer - don't have to see the comments, for better or worse lol. Weird that there was a mirror issue, maybe a supplier problem. None of the old Fords my dad had were equipped with a passenger mirror, I am pretty sure my dad's Horizon also lacked one, of course the fintail also lacks one like 99% of them, but it does exist as a period accessory.

Saw this on fb, amused me - and I think that license plate frame is from the same dealer where the fintail was sold new:

kyfdx

My '82 Accord came without a passenger mirror. Higher trims had it, though.

fintail

I recall when I was in high school and would drive our Tempo, another kid had a Tempo, a same year (85) car, basic "L" model with wheelcovers, vinyl interior, manual, no power options. The car was probably pretty unusual - red on red, and it was actually pretty pristine, and he had some pride in it (only maybe an 8-9 year old car at the time), It lacked a passenger mirror, this sticks in my head as memorable as our car was a GLX with nearly every option - it had the mirror, and this caught his eye, along with the other stuff.

Thinking back, this kid also sometimes drove a yellow Gremlin X, which I think belonged to his dad, so there was an odd car thing in his family, too.

ab348

Probably 20 years ago, I snagged a NOS passenger outside mirror for my Cutlass. Even had the template in the box for drilling the door. These were oddballs in that they required two fairly large keyhole-shaped holes in the door to attach it. It is basically useless as a mirror though as back then they still used flat glass. I don't know when the convex "Objects in Mirror are Larger Than They Appear" type came along.

explorerx4

Rogie, not your typical goalie.

uplanderguy

Something else that may just substantiate the reduction in quality in GM cars from '70 to '71--I'm old enough to remember that the warranty went from either 5/50 or 3/36, down to 1/12. My Dad was irritated by that I remember.

kyfdx

uplanderguy said:

Something else that may just substantiate the reduction in quality in GM cars from '70 to '71--I'm old enough to remember that the warranty went from either 5/50 or 3/36, down to 1/12. My Dad was irritated by that I remember.

My first new car in '77. 12mo/12K.
Next new car in '82. 12mo/12K.

tjc78

Wasn’t it Chrysler who started the warranty wars around 1985 or so? I remember 5/50 power train was a big deal and then 7/70 came later.