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

sda

Wow, the weather must have been good to have folks out with those! Charlotte has the Auto Fair in mid April at the Speedway. I am hoping to attend for the first time in several years.

fintail

Yeah 50F or so today, mostly cloudy but pleasant. Winter was long this year, so people are itching to get out, I think.

andre1969

fintail said:

uplanderguy said:

Well, I found out I can't use my GM Card earnings on a Corvette, which I find irritating.

You'll need to keep us updated with every step of this process.

Now you have time to get the outfit completed - jorts, tucked in T-shirt, socks nearly to the knees with white sneakers, maybe a fanny pack or conspicuous phone holster, complain about nobody wanting to work, etc

Oh crap, I forgot that memo, about jorts being a fashion faux pas now. Guess I'd better break out the cargo shorts!

fintail

andre1969 said:

fintail said:

uplanderguy said:

Well, I found out I can't use my GM Card earnings on a Corvette, which I find irritating.

You'll need to keep us updated with every step of this process.

Now you have time to get the outfit completed - jorts, tucked in T-shirt, socks nearly to the knees with white sneakers, maybe a fanny pack or conspicuous phone holster, complain about nobody wanting to work, etc

Oh crap, I forgot that memo, about jorts being a fashion faux pas now. Guess I'd better break out the cargo shorts!

Hey, mullets seem to be having a resurgence for some, maybe jorts are next!

tjc78

Cargo shorts are back in style…. Good thing I never stopped wearing them

@fintail
The sneakers have to be Nike Monarch or New Balance to really complete the look

stickguy

cutting off jeans with holes in the knees, then pulling strings out to make fringe. Man, that brings back memories of the early 70's!

uplanderguy

Stude buddy let me borrow a 1959 magazine he bought recently at a swap meet, called "Popular Science Guide to Economy Cars". The only domestics in it are the Lark and the American.

I'm always amazed that for BMW's image the past several decades, in 1959 they were still building the Isetta. I didn't know there were two models to choose from then, one with 15.5 hp and the other with 26 hp!

uplanderguy

This is the color (and standard wheels) I want but almost assuredly will be discontinued after 2023:


My friend has a 2022 in Competition Yellow. I've driven it before (chickened out on their local roads at 89), but friend got it to 114 with my wife in the car. She was impressed with how it was comfortable and docile if you didn't choose to drive it like a hot rod. He also recently bought an '01 Viper and he said in contrast, it's actually hard to drive.

Why not pick a Caffeine one from a dealer somewhere now? I want the wait time actually; plus, dealers are still adding ADP. Where I'm dealing, it's MSRP. Plus, we want the Bowling Green delivery experience which almost everyone says is wonderful.

Some of the options are things I wouldn't spend the money on, LOL. One thing that is cool, but not at $700, is they take color photography of your car at every stage of assembly, put it in a bound leather book with a bunch of information, and give it to you, signed by the Plant Manager and somebody else who escapes me. That's like a wedding album, LOL.

Interior and color I'll choose:

kyfdx

My local indy mechanic just has one guy working for him now. Two man shop. I was picking up my car, and the mechanic he had working for him, said: "No one wants to work any more".

He appeared to be about 24 yrs old...

uplanderguy

I do wonder where everybody who worked service jobs four or five years ago, are working now.

ab348

fintail said:

uplanderguy said:

Well, I found out I can't use my GM Card earnings on a Corvette, which I find irritating.

You'll need to keep us updated with every step of this process.

Now you have time to get the outfit completed - jorts, tucked in T-shirt, socks nearly to the knees with white sneakers, maybe a fanny pack or conspicuous phone holster, complain about nobody wanting to work, etc

Fortunately we have @driver100 elsewhere on these forums to provide expert advice on that question.

uplanderguy

explorer4, re.: your Mustang.....I know you're relatively recent to your area, but do you have an independent shop or a Ford dealer do work on the car? Reason I ask, a friend is getting tired of finding service for his two Larks and is thinking of a later-model Mustang convertible. He may be looking at later than yours, but not five or ten years old or anything. Wondering if Ford dealers still handle parts for those cars. He wants ease of service.

uplanderguy

andre, how close are you to Gaithersburg, MD? The guy who's handling us works at Crisswell Chevrolet there.

Michaell

kyfdx said:

My local indy mechanic just has one guy working for him now. Two man shop. I was picking up my car, and the mechanic he had working for him, said: "No one wants to work any more".

He appeared to be about 24 yrs old...

I think most of you know that my wife and stepdaughter own and run a kids cooking studio, here in the Denver suburbs.

The business is doing well (we like to say we're as busy as we want to be...), but finding staff to help us with events is becoming harder and harder, after COVID.

We have 8 or 9 people on the payroll, but most of them only work one shift per pay period, if at all. These are all HS kids. Some of them have other activities they are involved in, and my wife is good about scheduling around them, but we worry that one of them will "call in sick" on any given day they are supposed to work.

All but one of them is making $14/hr, and one is making $15/hr (minimum wage in CO is $13.xx/hr).

Very frustrating!

kyfdx

uplanderguy said:

I do wonder where everybody who worked service jobs four or five years ago, are working now.

We have an Amazon warehouse, and the Prime Air hub sorting facility, nearby. Thousands of jobs starting at $22/hr.

Some people start out in the service industry and inertia or ignorance keeps them there (generalization). When a lot of those jobs went away, some of them found employment opportunities that they never knew existed.

A steady 40 hrs/week with a regular schedule is a big improvement in lifestyle, as well. Downside: less free time to get baked. 😏

stickguy

I can't remember who said it, but there is a quote on the whole fantasy of "people don't want to work" (they do) that basically says "they don't want to work for you".

meaning they won't take jobs for lousy pay, poor and erratic hours, not benefits and crappy work if they can find anything else. Or be treating like chattel.

and for a long time, employers primary response was along the lines of, "if you don't like it, get an education/skills and find something better". Well, turns out when forced to, they did (after many of them were fired during the pandemic).

service industry depending on exploiting people with no other options. there aren't as many people to exploit, so they have to pay more/treat better the ones that are left. If they won't, someone else will. Cutting back on immigration also hits some businesses hard.

right now there are plenty of us looking for jobs. there is just a mismatch of skills and openings in many areas. And a lot of people can't afford to take a minimum wage job (if they have kids in daycare, etc.) because they probably are taking a new loss. Same for older people that used to fill a lot of these jobs. They figured out they don't have to work, and don't want to put up with it any longer.

stickguy

kyfdx said:

uplanderguy said:

I do wonder where everybody who worked service jobs four or five years ago, are working now.

We have an Amazon warehouse, and the Prime Air hub sorting facility, nearby. Thousands of jobs starting at $22/hr.

Some people start out in the service industry and inertia or ignorance keeps them there (generalization). When a lot of those jobs went away, some of them found employment opportunities that they never knew existed.

A steady 40 hrs/week with a regular schedule is a big improvement in lifestyle, as well. Downside: less free time to get baked. 😏

the people that got most upset by the whole "millenials making up new jobs (influencers?" shift were employers whose business model was paying them $8.00/hr to work nights and weekends doing manual labor jobs. Entrepreneurship is a great concept until it costs them their workforce.

uplanderguy

Here's the cover of that 1959 magazine I mentioned above. What an assortment of cars. I won't put an adjective before "assortment", LOL.

i'd said earlier that only the Lark and American were domestics covered in the mag, but I forgot that King Midget was a domestic....and built right here in Ohio, LOL.

uplanderguy

uplanderguy said:
I do wonder where everybody who worked service jobs four or five years ago, are working now.

We have an Amazon warehouse, and the Prime Air hub sorting facility, nearby. Thousands of jobs starting at $22/hr.

Nothing new or large here since the pandemic, but still, no place can get help, even at starting wages notably higher than a few years ago.

explorerx4

@uplanderguy,
Ford doesn't carry many parts for a car as old as mine anymore.
I've had my Explorer serviced twice, first dealer over filled the oil, which left a mess in various places almost 600 miles away when my wife took it back to CT for a visit.
2nd one seems to have at done that correctly.
I change the oil in the Mustang myself.

stickguy

it is probably easier to own a 1960's mustang than a 1990's one. The aftermarket supposedly has every part needed to build the old one from scratch. the 90's version likely has an assortment of modules and electronic parts that no longer exist new and nobody is reproducing.

laurasdada

I don't think I want to work anymore. Of course, I've been doing it (mostly!) since 1976.
Just turned 25 at my current job. Good company, so much change. No doubt I've curbed my career and earnings by staying, but that's what happens when you blink; life passes you by.

stickguy

I can relate to all of this. Can confirm not working is relaxing. Just pays terribly.

andre1969

On the "Nobody wants to work anymore" tangent, I can definitely relate. Hell, I had my 30th anniversary last October, although, although it took 5 different companies to get to that point. Our contract goes up for renewal, every so often, and if a new company wins the bid, they usually pick up all the current employees, and our seniority carries over. Sometimes they'll use a contract change to get rid of a few people they've been gunning for, for whatever reason, but luckilly I haven't been on their radar for that.

Still, I'm looking forward to the day I don't have to work anymore, even if pay won't be so good! Usually, around this time of the year, with the weather getting nicer, car show season coming up, and so on, the urge to retire gets really strong!

texases

Back to car spotting, saw an odd couple a few days ago, a pagoda 280SL, then a Dodge Omni a few minutes later. Which one would you like?

stickguy

depends. Do I have to pay for it?

uplanderguy

Seen in the Mopar showroom of a classic car dealership in Blairsville, PA this past Monday. I really don't even care for these cars, but funny to see them lined up. Friend and I drove to Blairsville to visit the shop of the fellow who restored my '63 Lark thirty years ago. Saw a dozen beautiful late '50's to '66 Studes there, but didn't take any pics.

xwesx

uplanderguy said:

This is the color (and standard wheels) I want but almost assuredly will be discontinued after 2023:
Interior and color I'll choose:

Impeccable taste!

uplanderguy

2022 production....'Caffeine' is a sales loser, although I love it.


Torch Red was once again the most popular color choice for 2022. The complete color lineup is as follows:

Torch Red 4,147
Arctic White 3,603
Hypersonic Gray 3,291
Red Mist 3,274
Black 2,766
Rapid Blue 2,261
Elkhart Lake Blue 1,412
Amplify Orange 1,375
Ceramic Matrix Gray 1,202
Accelerate Yellow 1,193
Silver Flare 922
Caffeine 385

fintail

Out today saw I guess an 86-87 Cutlass Supreme coupe - a "Euro" style front clip with flush lights etc.

roadburner

@uplanderguy
It's never too early to start putting together your outfit for when you pick up your C8:

uplanderguy

I think I actually posted that pic some time back, LOL! The wife looks in better shape!

I do think the engineering, in total, is more impressive than virtually anything out there, especially at the price. It's had a couple J.D. Powers awards for the past couple years in a row, according to the Corvette site (I know, J.D. Power gets paid or so I've heard).

I do think that unlike a Challenger or even current Mustang or Camaro, the C8 isn't a 'mullet' kind of car. And I have some mental images of particular foreign performance car owners from my experience here (LOL)....usually based on driving beyond safe distances and weaving in and out of traffic.

fintail

Yeah, C8 is not a mulletmobile. I think that is reserved for the C3, later variants especially (but they can be cool in the right trim). C8 is a performance car bargain, and you picked a cool color combo uplanderguy.

texases

If I remember I'll post a pic of the C8 that just started showing up in our work garage. Similar color, even.

uplanderguy

Saw this near my local donut shop a couple days ago. I'd never seen it before. Missing some bright trim. '64 Chevelle Malibu SS.

I'm not much of a fan on the styling of these--blunt in front, blunt in rear, droopy rear wheel openings--but I can see why they sold well. I think they probably appealed to people who thought the full-size Chevy had just gotten too big. These have the general size and shape of the beloved '55-57 Chevys.

I do like the two-door Chevelle wagons of '64-65. Few built and they have that Nomad-thing in the way the rear edge of the doors, and the sliding side windows, are shaped.

uplanderguy

We discussed this car here a few years back. Bought back by son of original owner. '64 Chevelle 300 wagon, four-barrel 220 hp 283 (biggest engine available at beginning of model year), 4-speed. I want to say at Mecum back then, it brought $30K, much to Mr. Shiftright's consternation. It was a complete nut-and-bolt restoration IIRC.


I would love to own this particular car.

In '64, there seems to be almost no difference between an entry-level Chevelle 300 and a Malibu. The two-door wagon was available only on the 300, but even the Malibu's trim outside was nearly identical, and the interior of the Malibu was not all that. The SS dressed things up though.

stickguy

I like that wagon too. Get some rallye wheels on it, and some underneath improvements (disk brakes, etc.) for basic safety and driveability, and good to go.

xwesx

uplanderguy said:

2022 production....'Caffeine' is a sales loser, although I love it.


Torch Red was once again the most popular color choice for 2022. The complete color lineup is as follows:

Torch Red 4,147
Arctic White 3,603
Hypersonic Gray 3,291
Red Mist 3,274
Black 2,766
Rapid Blue 2,261
Elkhart Lake Blue 1,412
Amplify Orange 1,375
Ceramic Matrix Gray 1,202
Accelerate Yellow 1,193
Silver Flare 922
Caffeine 385

Perhaps, but it looks to me like it is a leg-up thirty years from now, when it is billed as the rarest of the rare....

Michaell

Hagerty advertisement in 2042...

Only 1 of 385 C8's produced in the rare Caffeine color for all of 2022

fintail

Michaell said:

Hagerty advertisement in 2042...

Only 1 of 385 C8's produced in the rare Caffeine color for all of 2022

To be more stereotypical, it will be at a show with a large professionally made sign touting the rarity statistics, and alongside that one of those weird timeout dolls that a certain demographic thinks are amusing.

(no offense uplanderguy, there's just a car culture around such things that some find amusing )

uplanderguy

I had to look up 'timeout dolls'. I've never heard of or seen them, but the nearest cruise-in I frequent doesn't have them, or signs. I will say, it sounds like things I'd see at big shows 20 years ago, along with blaring '50's music (ugh), women in poodle skirts, and things like tiger tails sticking out of GTO trunks, drive-in trays with plastic food, and fake hands sticking out of trunks, LOL.

fintail

uplanderguy said:

I had to look up 'timeout dolls'. I've never heard of or seen them, but the nearest cruise-in I frequent doesn't have them, or signs. I will say, it sounds like things I'd see at big shows 20 years ago, along with blaring '50's music (ugh), women in poodle skirts, and things like tiger tails sticking out of GTO trunks, drive-in trays with plastic food, and fake hands sticking out of trunks, LOL.

That's exactly the scene I am talking about. Maybe fading now, but it seems to have bridged the gap from 50s fins and chrome to muscle cars. I swear I went to a show (forget where) and saw several of those dolls.

explorerx4

This scene is alive in well in Joisey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_NVYRoJ42E

stickguy

backing up that Eldorado must be fun

fintail

When those Pimpmobiles were new (as there were period customs), who bought them? Actual pimps? Showbiz types?

andre1969

I always thought those little dolls were supposed to represent little kids playing hide and seek. Basically the one you see at the car is "it" and in the process of counting. But, when I heard "timeout doll" I knew exactly what it meant!

I've never seen one from the front...is this really what they look like?! Eww, that's kind of creepy!

My house mate would hate this thing. Hell, he gets skeeved out at reruns of that old "Thunderbirds" kids show with the marionettes!

And I have to question whether they were really called "time out dolls" in the 1950's. In the 1950's, they hadn't invented "time out" yet. Instead, you usually got a session with one of these!

stickguy

weird doll there.

uplanderguy

That doll is creepy.

I'm reminded of George's fiancee's doll that looked like George's mother.

fintail

Perfectly normal I tell ya:

uplanderguy

The audio to that clip is hilarious too, although I'll admit in most episodes she was kind to George and only talked to Frank in that tone, LOL.