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

Mr_Shiftright

I really doubt it. You don't see people collecting very many Japanese cars from the 60s and 70s, and even if you do, the prices aren't very high.

 

But you might see some specialty Japanese cars worth money in the future, like turbo Supras, 3rd gen. Mazda TT RX-7s, Acura NSXs...but not run of the mill civics I don't think.

 

Muscle cars are all about the engines...the POWER and the mythology of being so "bad-[non-permissible content removed]". Civics have none of this out of the box.

 

Case in point--the difference between a Mopar 318 V8 and a Hemi in price is astronomical.

lemmer

I have a client that donated his car to charity - a 1992 Ford Tempo with 26,411 miles.

 

What a shame that such a specimen wasn't driven more over the years. I guess they were preserving it in anticipation of the $1100 charitable deduction.

Mr_Shiftright

I didn't know you could rack up 26,000 miles on a Tempo.

lemmer

I didn't say it was the original engine. If you replace every part on the car over time, sometimes repeatedly, you can even get a Tempo to go 26,000 miles - unless you were like a friend of mine who had two Tempos burn to the ground when they were almost new.

fintail

I think those specialty Japanese cars will be collectible too. But there's not a whole lot else from this time or even the 90s as a whole. When even a boring 57 Chevy sedan will be wanted by someone somewhere, I doubt anyone in 2040 will want a 1995 Lumina or Corsica etc.

 

And as there are always outliers...an 85 Tempo my mom bought new had 190K on it when it was finally disposed of...never had the engine or transmission touched, and it was beat on by 3 kids when it got to be an older car.

fintail

Nothing odd on the roads around here this rainy day, but there's a good load of ebay stuff:

 

Stanley with interesting history, worth saving

 

Dreamer

 

These bathtubs are funny things...alas, this one is probably beyond redemption

 

These were the talk of the car guys when I was in junior high. I never gave these things any respect, as they seemed a bit 'kit car' for my tastes. Looks like I wasn't wrong, given some of the detail shots. Hilarious dash, I love the digital cheesiness

 

Real Auburn, fake body, still kinda pretty

 

Is this what Princess Grace was killed in? Or was it the later design with the hatchback, SD1 or whatever?

 

It's a commie 55/56 Packard from 20 years later

 

And a lovely real one for comparison

 

I really like this, for an old beast...the patina, the originality...is that dash made of catalin? It really shouldn't be touched

 

Should be worth saving

 

You rarely see these in this condition. Kind of a hamdsome old tank

 

Pretty DeSoto, if you like fins

 

Early DS. I wonder if any of the very early cars with translucent roof panels made it to NA

 

When Chevy can have something with this much style, GM's "might" will have returned. Until then, I'll take this over just about any new offering

 

Why?

 

Ghostbusters!

 

The elegance that Caddy once was. Early sunroof is cool. Lovely old car.

 

Cool way to get a 113 back on the road, seeing as so many are beyond feasible restoration anyway

 

And a pretty Mirada for Andre. The 81 Cordoba my sister had as a beater as a kid was this color, but with a pukey creme vinyl top

jlawrence01

That Nash Rambler west of Boise was advertised about three months ago ... obviously, no one is beating the door down to get it ...

andre1969

it was one thing when you were finding cars I like that were on the other side of the country! But now you're hitting too close to home here, like that '78 Bonneville in VA or the Mirada in Philly! ;-) I don't know where Gladys VA is, but Philly's only about 2 hours away.

 

If that Bonneville had any V-8 other than the 301, I'd be really tempted. But I've just heard enough bad things about the 301 to fear it. Although I guess if it's been well taken care of and pampered, it should have plenty of miles left.

 

I REALLY like that Mirada! I don't know if I'd brag about a "numbers matching" 318 though, as a correct stock 318 from 1980 only has 120 hp!

 

That '59 DeSoto's a really nice car too, and has the swivel seats! I wonder if it's fairly rare for one not to have the roof-matching spear down the side? For the most part I didn't like the turn Chrysler styling took in 1959. The Plymouths just got ugly, while the Dodges were just too overdone up front. The Imperial front-ends got a bit clunky, and somehow, I think the '59 Chryslers just got boring looking. I always liked the '59 DeSoto, though. It's a bit heavy-handed compared to the '57-58 models, but I still wouldn't mind having one!

jrosasmc

Hey guys- I saw the comment earlier about many cars from the '90s not being desired in the near future.

 

But I was thinking...what about some cars from the early '90s with "semi-classic" styling like, say, a '91 Buick LeSabre or Cadillac Eldorado? Would you consider those downsized GM models to be future collectibles at some point? I think those two are some of the only GM cars from that era to have styling that's in good taste.

 

Well of course, then you have early '90s Ferraris and Bentleys, that is but another story.

andre1969

no on the Caddy, and hell no on the Buick. Those Eldorados were unloved when new, and probably even less so nowadays. Now a '79-85 Eldo/Riv/Toronado would have some limited collector appeal. Not high-dollar appeal now, but enough that people seem to hang onto them.

 

Now there is some demand for big RWD GM cars fromm the early 90's, like the Caprice, Roadmaster, and Fleetwood/Brougham, but something like a LeSabre is so diminutive in comparison, that it's really not much more than a Taurus or similar car from that era. People like the big GM cars because they're big, RWD, and V-8, and kind of a throwback to simpler times. In contrast, an Eldorado or LeSabre are just a product OF their time. Small, FWD, V-6, and not that memorable. Space-efficient, but space efficiency and good fuel economy do not a collector car make.

 

Now that I think back on it, wasn't the '91 LeSabre still the angular, squared-off one? IIRC, they went to the rounded style in '91 for the Park Ave, and '92 for the LeSabre.

andys120

a great color combo on the best year ('56) for the Nomad. Yer darn right it beats the tar out of any GM now made and buries any current Chevy.

 

We were discussing Princess Grace's Rover in another topic and one poster thinks that she was killed in a Rover 3500 which is the V8 version of that 200TC you found. I thought it was the later Legend-based V6 hatchback.

fintail

I wondered if I had seen that Rambler before...I hope I don't repeat cars, as some sellers list them over and over, and I can never remember for sure.

 

One of these days, I'll find something you end up buying, Andre...

 

I remember when I was much younger, I had a car book that showed a Nomad in "Sierra Gold and Adobe Beige", and I thought it was a great combo for the car. I usually loathe 70s-ish colors like gold and brown etc, but that's an exception. That Nomad reminds me of it. The colors work.

 

I googled the Princess Grace car. It was indeed the V8 version of the one I posted. The hatchback design that came out in 76 or so was also a 3500, the basic design of which carried on to the Rover Sterling about 10 years later.

jrosasmc

Andre- You're correct on that one, the '91 LeSabre was the final year for the angular squared-off generation. I'd say that the '92 was the year in which the model became the best-selling full-size car in America (and the start of that particular generation).

jrosasmc

Wait Andre- So those early '90s RWD GM B-body could fetch some serious money 10-15 years down the road?

Mr_Shiftright

They'll be worth the same 10-15 years down the road as 1980 Cadillacs are worth now, which is...well, you know.

kyfdx

In 2015...

 

Supra turbos

300ZX turbos

MR-2 turbos

Impala SS

 

Possibly Acura Legends (probably not, I'm biased)

 

  

 

Anybody think of any others? I purposely left out expensive Euro imports like Porsches, BMWs, Mercedes, Ferrari, etc....

Mr_Shiftright

Anything really fast, or glamorous and stylish in the extreme, and without 4 doors, might make it. If the top goes down, the price goes up. Rare & exclusive helps as well but isn't always necessary.

 

You can easily tell about Porsche and BWMs by looking at how the 80s cars are doing---and most Benzes, Porsches, BMWs and Ferraris of that era are just nice used cars with no collectibility and a very modest Blue Book value---especially the sedans.

 

Legends? Hopeless I'm afraid, but sometimes the worst cars are made collectible and the best ones not. It has nothing to do with merit, but rather desirability---like movie stars.

jrosasmc

So a car like a '93 Alfa Spider Veloce could possibly make it?

Mr_Shiftright

doubt it. By 1993, the car was a travesty of an Alfa Romeo. Slow heavy and totally obsolete. A very far cry from the 60s Alfas, which were technically advanced for their time.

 

The last USA spiders depreciate year by year right now, so they are acting like used cars, not collectibles. They'll probably bottom out around $7,500 if they are nice and stay there for a decade or two, finally rising slowly---like the Datsun 240Z has done. But you've still got 20 years of storage to go.

bumpy

Civics and 240SXs with JDM motor swaps.

stickguy

I get a kick out of the ad. Advertised as "never seen snow", but the pictures show it parked in (or at least right next to) a snowbank!

 

Hard to imagine a car like this being kept inside for the winter, although it's possible it lived it's life down south.

 

Does look like a nice example though, if you like them!

andre1969

does that '80 Mirada look like it has leather seats or vinyl? At first I was thinking they were just vinyl, but something about them looks plusher than the vinyl seats of the Cordoba LS that I checked out over the summer. And in the pic of the driver's seat, the way the seat is wrinkling makes me think a bit more of leather than vinyl.

 

I know the CMX was an upper level trim package for the Mirada, but I'm not sure what all it added. I always thought the CMX had the carriage roof! Maybe those alloy wheels and the bucket seats and floor shift were part of the CMX option?

 

Dammit I shouldn't have gone back and looked at it! I feel a bid coming on...

fintail

Even 60s Euro sedans and many coupes aren't worth a whole lot. I can't think of much from the 80s that will ever get people going...no MB apart from maybe early AMG or other tuner cars...maybe the M model BMWs...but maybe not. Even specialty cars like the 500E are still acting like expensive used cars rather than collectibles. Porsches and more exotic makes will always be worth something to someone...but as most cars, they'd be a dumb investment. I don't think anyone on this forum is looking for that though.

 

I saw a Legend 6 speed coupe advertised in a local rag. Interesting in a way...but no upside, just a nice car to drive.

 

I think Impala SS and Supras will be sought after, but not to the insanity that high end muscle cars have today.

 

That looks like it could be leather, Andre...

Mr_Shiftright

I don't hold much hope for early tuner cars. The bottom seems to have fallen out of old Ms and AMGs, probably because of the now dated and rather ghastly pimped up styling. Also these older tuner cars are all "gray market" so that's a big minus in value.

 

But anything with a BIG engine and/or high HP (stock I mean) will eventually be worth some money, even (hard as it is to believe) my Porsche 928. So Supras, 3rd gen RX-7s, they will have their day.

 

I'm not so sure about engine-swapped cars. I mean, they will be worth SOMETHING because they are fast and fun, but they will IMO always remain 2nd or 3rd tier collectibles---what you buy when you have a little spare cash, not what you comb the country for, for years on end to realize a dream.

 

Part of collectibles is a real passion for them. If you can find them in the local pennysaver, that kind of kills the joy of the hunt.

 

And as we boys know, pursuit is most of the fun of the game

kyfdx

Forgot about the RX-7s... Also, the VR-4 model of the Mitsubishi 3000GT...

 

ZR-1 Corvettes just because they are rare.. They kind of killed that market some, when they upgraded the basic Corvette..

 

How about the FWD Lotus Elan? I know, I know.. heresy, but do you think there is any value there?

Mr_Shiftright

Oh, I wouldn't count the RX-7 TT too short. Someday people are going to wake up to the fact that you can buy a cherry RX-7 TT, which is a REAL sports car in the mid 5 second range (or less), a superb handler, best looking Japanese car of the 90s, for a lousy $15,000? And it'll absolutely cream many cars costing 4 times the price?

 

C'mon, this car is a steal right now.

 

FWD Lotus Elan is going nowhere. It's not a real Lotus, it's not a real Elan, it's not pretty, and it's never been respected by anybody I know. So there are a lot of things against it.

 

ZR-1s should do well.

kyfdx

I said "forgot" about it, not "forget" about it...

 

I agree completely about the RX-7..

 

What about the first generation Lexus SC400?

Mr_Shiftright

oops, I got defensive there, didn't I? Sorry about that.

 

No Lexus yet built will ever be collectible if you ask me (which you did, so there!) Good, really good cars, and totally boring to look at and drive IMHO.

andys120

there was a sporty Tempo, sold as a Mercury. I'd forgotten about this one....

 

http://hemmings.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/classifieds.cardetail/id- /2176793

kyfdx

Well. Mercury always had the Topaz..

 

I'm not surprised that I never heard of the "sporty" Topaz... talk about oxymorons...

michaellno

buys a brand new 1988 Topaz and only drives in 8500 miles in 17 years?

 

Did this person really think that the low miles was going to make this car more valuable?

fintail

XR5...I honestly have no memory of that. It's not worth nearly that price, but intetesting in an 80s crap kind of way.

 

You don't think something like a big LWB 126 with a tuned engine and faux Testarossa side scoops will be worth anything? LOL

 

RX7 and Supra will certainly be there

andys120

about the original FJ Land Cruisers....

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/14/automobiles/14CARS.html

 

For some of us those are still the real L/Cs.

andyman73

What about the turbo and V6 models? Or the AWD ones? I have seen the the 6 and awd, but only heard of the turbos.

 

Twin bro has an 85 Tempo w/@290k miles. Has the metal bumpers! Has the 2.3l H.O. motor in from factory. Has new motor, when getting it replaced(original lump lasted 265Kmiles) mech asked if it was the turbo or not. Said they offered it with a turbo option.

fintail

I've seen those Landcruisers with big asking prices, approaching 15-20 grand for mint original ones.

 

I can't recall a turbo Tempo. I do recall a diesel variant, along with the V6 in later years. The 85 sedan my mom had was that 2.3, and it was the highest optioned one I have ever seen. It had power everything including seat, wheels that looked like the kind on an Escort GT, headlight covers from new that I never saw on another one, deluxe interior (the sub-model was GLX), etc. It was at 190K when she finally got it out of her driveway...the engine and transmission were never touched, although some of its prehistoric computer controls failed many times. The paint even held up pretty well, it was a pleasent enough medium blue.

andyman73

Perhaps the mechanic wasn't thinking of the Tempo when asking about the turbo, like in the TurboCoupe Thunderchicken.

 

Bro bought the car for 2K, at 260K miles. Looked good for year and miles. Still shows no rust or normal wear in the interior. I can't recall what trim level it is. But the normal plastic bits are reaching the end of their lives.

 

Before he replaced the motor, it was driven on 3 pots for 20-30k miles. He just thought it was wimpy due to age and 3 speed slushbox. Ran much better with new motor.

 

A coworker has a 93 Tempo w/2.3l listed for $450. Has about 120K on the clock

fintail

That could be it...I think the T-Bird Turbo had a variant of the same engine. You see a lot less of those an early Tempos even.

 

The Tempo my mom held up relatively well too...no rust except for the tops of the doors where it curves into the roof, and it was just surface stuff visible when the doors were open. The upholstery aged pretty well, especially seeing as it was driven hard by high schoolers for many years. I also remember now that the power windows on the rear doors got weak...they would roll down, but needed help going back up. I remember the interior plastics would chafe easily too. Oh well. When I people go on about how bad Tempos were, I am always surprised, given the car we had. It really had little maintenance apart from oil changes.

andyman73

I served with 2 Marines that owned Tempos. They never had any complaints. The one, she had a 425 Rocket powered Olds, that I tried to buy from her, for 500clams. Car ran and drove, and was in overall decent shape, dummy me, didn't take it.

andre1969

but I think the T-bird turbo actually used the little Brazilian Pinto/Mustang/Fairmont OHC 2.3 4-cyl. The 2.3 used in the Tempo/Topaz, and I think the Ranger pickup, was actually the old inline OHV 6-cyl with two cylinders removed, an engine that dated back to the old Falcon 144/170 6-cyl.

 

My stepdad bought a Tempo, brand-new, in 1984. It was an ugly looking thing. A 2-door GL, IIRC. It was white with a gray lower accent, and some hideous looking alloys. It had some issues over the years, but they ran it to around 160,000 miles, when they traded it for a '91 Stanza. It was still on the original engine and tranny, but I don't know what other work had been done on it. They got $600 in trade on it.

 

IIRC, the Diesel Tempo used a 2.0 Mazda unit? And in later years, they put the Ford Vulcan 3.0 in the Tempo, which had 140 hp. That must've been a gutsy little car for the time.

fintail

I think you might be correct about those engines. I never kept track apart from displacement.

 

We're discussing Tempos...never thought I'd see the day

michaellno

I don't recall the Tempo/Topaz being available with the diesel, but I do remember the V6 option .. and yeah, I seem to remember that it was pretty quick for the time.

 

I do remember that the Escort/Lynx had the option of a diesel engine, as I almost bought one back in 1985. I was just a few months from graduating college, and my beloved '79 Sunbird had been totalled by my insurance company .. I had $2K to use as a down payment. The dealer offered me a 3-door Escort diesel for the $2K down and, I think, $150/month. They would even defer the payments until after I graduated.

 

My folks talked me out of it, telling me that I didn't have a job lined up post-graduation, and that it was silly to commit myself to car payments when I wasn't sure about future income. Reluctantly, I agreed and ended up buying a '76 or '77 Olds Omega with a 306 V8 for $1000.

 

When I met my wife 8 years ago, she was driving a Tempo that she had bought new in 1986 .. it had 96K on it and was starting to look pretty ratty. Gave it to her sister when we got the wife a new Escort.

lemmer

I Googled Ford Tempo Diesel.

 

Apparently there was one, and someone loves them enough to devote a web page to them.

 

There is also a Tempo/Topaz car club. I can't fathom why.

Mr_Shiftright

We must have run out of everything else to talk about ?

 

Yes! The old Toyota Land Cruisers, the FJ40s I mean, not so much the wagons, are VERY collectible right now. They don't bring "big bucks" but they are worth more say than an early Mustang plain coupe and are in small block Camaro territory already. They can easily bust $10K and run up to $15K for nice nice ones.

 

Many have been molested with American V8s but with a utility vehicle this may not affect value, if a nice job was done.

jrosasmc

But what's so spectacular about an FJ40 Land Cruiser, other than being a truck?

ghulet

...the first of the four-door Land Cruisers (pre-91), other than 'ugly'? I saw TWO of them within three minutes early this morning on the way home from work.

 

Hopefully this will be among the last post(s) on these, but I can attest to the existence of both diesel Escorts (a friend in HS and my grandpa had one, AND a diesel Chevette) and diesel Tempos, I've seen plenty.

andys120

FJ40s, unlike those oversize tanks they call Land Cruisers today, are simple rugged off-roaders that can and do go just about anywhere. Serious boulder buster off-roaders generally start with one of two vehicles a Jeep CJ or an FJ40 L/C because they are both compact and sturdy and there's no question that the Toyota is the better built of the two.

 

They're famous all over the world for their ruggedness and their offroad capability, they're the real deal.

andyman73

Don't forget the AWD Tempos!!! LOL!

 

I saw one of those xA 1.0 today. Even tho it's new, they're only making 2K of them, or less, so is obscure. Looked better than the original model.

Mr_Shiftright

FJ40s are very macho---simple, rugged...it's cowboy coffee rather than a Starbuck's latte.

Kirstie_H

Don't forget tonight's member-to-member chat - it's open mic night, so come and discuss whatever's on your mind.

 



 

http://www.edmunds.com/townhall/chat/townhallchat.html

 

6-7pm PT/9-10pm ET. Drop by for live chat with other members. Hope you can join us!

wimsey1

A buddy of mine used off-road an old 'cruiser and chuckle about all the times he pulled big V8 SUV's out of holes.
It was quite a truck. Came out in '48 didn't it?