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

andys120

I saw an Isuzu Stylus (mid-90s?) the other day in average driver shape. It was really a decent-looking little car.

michaellno

Spotted in downtown Denver as I was walking back from lunch. Silver in color

Andy: I do remember the Stylus, but I think it was a late 80's, early 90's release. At one point, I owned two Isuzu's (a P'up and a Trooper) and really lusted after the Stylus that had the Lotus tuned suspension and 125 (!) HP DOHC engine.

seminole_kev

...at SAMS Club of all places I saw a beautiful black Maserati Quattroporte sedan. Just a wonderful looking sedan. It was in black.

Did I mention that it was beautiful? ;-)

PF_Flyer

At my Sam's Club they usually only have a Suzuki on display!

stickguy

Friends had one of those. The happiest day they had was when it was stolen. Actually, that was second. 1st was when it was recovered 1 day after they got paid out by the insurance company, so they didn't have to take it back.

Isuzu did have handling by Lotus though.

seminole_kev

well it was in the parking lot. I guess I did leave myself open to that one.

turboshadow

Porsche 914, in lurid urnge
Isuzu Stylus
1960 (?) Dodge Phoenix

Recently seen in Cayce:
1960 Plymouth Fury
1984 Colt Turbo
1970 Monte Carlo
Late 60s AMC Ambassodor--daily driver for 90 year old man

Turboshadow

210delray

a 1959 Buick 2-door hardtop, red and white two-tone. It looked to be in good condition.

1959 - The year the General went wild.

andys120

1959 - The year the General went wild.

The General and everybody else, ever seen a '59 Lincoln?

http://www.hemmings.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/classifieds.cardetail/id/2179779

fintail

I saw two of those early 90s Aussie Mercury Capri converts today

A friend of mine likes this Monte. I wonder what he could get it for. Nice checkerboard wheels

fintail

I am sure Shifty and maybe some others will get a kick out of these....pristine W123 diesels

This one is pretty nice, but slow

I think this one is gorgeous...like a time warp car...and look at the bidding

kyfdx

$17K??!!

Mr_Shiftright

Well gee it's like a new Mercedes diesel for 1/3 the price. Still, what do you do with it? If you drive it, you depreciate it at about $1 a mile. If you don't drive it, and keep those 38K on it, what's the sense of buying it? Storing a Mercedes diesel for the Smithsonian? don't think so.

Anyway I hope whoever ends up with it drives the hell out of it and uses it up for the next 20 years. That's what I'd do, and get my money's worth out of it.

I wouldn't mind having it, for about $7,500.

210delray

...one of those hideous 70s Lincoln Continental Mark V's converted into a pickup, in medium green.

Mr_Shiftright

Finally something useful for that car. A luxury El Camino, not a bad idea. I applaud the builder.

stickguy

A CTS. Not that rare in itself, but the color was nasty. A weird light metallic pea green. Can't imagine anyone giving that color the thumbs up at GM, or why someone bought it.

Of course, this might be why it was sitting on used car row at a Ford dealer.

lemko

...similar to the one fintail posted that has been parked on the street for two years with a "For Sale" sign in it. Guess the guy is also asking too much for it like that green example.

utter

Mya not be that rare, but I saw a BMW M5 and it was a beaut. Rare for me to see those.

fintail

I don't know what the point of that pretty grey 300D is either, and I could see some crazy diesel nut push it closer to 20K. A shame to wear it out, but a shame to let it rot. You don't see really nice ones so much anymore, and there seems to be at least a slightly growing demand. A wagon would bring even more.

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah, but...but.....For that money I could restore one and be a lot more sure of what I spent $20K on! What are the seals like in a 30K transmission that's 22 years old? Or the head gasket on an engine that just sat there all those years? What about suspension rubber, tires, calipers, etc.?

I do know that some of the worst collector cars, reliability wise, that I've come across have come out of museums, and they are often low miles cars.

So very low miles in an old car is absolutely not a guarantee of trouble-free operation.

lancerfixer

http://www.duffys.com/results.asp?stocknum=4304

fintail

That's the best point, Shifty. For the 18.7K that 300D bought, you could do a nut and bolt restoration on an existing one, and in the end have what would likely be a better car as the electrics and seals etc would all be new. Unless there's a rogue diesel museum out there snatching up all these mint but boring cars, people are being crazy.

That's not a bad looking Packard, as far as rods go. I like those Packard woodys.

Today I saw a woman who looked to be about 300 years old driving a pristine Rabbit. She was actually moving along at a very respectable pace. Go granny go.

andre1969

but the first word that pops into my mind with that Packard is "Queer". Now I mean that in the way that my grandmother would probably mean it, and not the way it gets thrown around today. Of course, another word pops into my mind..."Tribeca" ;-)

Mr_Shiftright

I wonder if the person who rodded that car knows how much it was worth as a stock restoration? BAD choice of car, a very RARE car, to ruin forever. Philistine!

The Rule of Value in hot rods is "Add up All Receipts and divide by 2".

andre1969

that violates your guideline of "loved when new, loved now"? They might be rare and they might be valuable, but man are they FUUUUGGG-LY! And from what I've read, pretty much reviled when new.

fintail

Woodies have been pretty hot for several years, it seems. Personally, I prefer the prewar style models, like pre-49 Fords/GM/Chrysler, and a few others. I don't mind the bathtub Packard woody however, even though it is a lot less elegant than what it replaced.

I bet the money sunk into that resto rod could get a better return with a good restoration. Rods are based on personal taste, and I think it is usually hard to find someone with the same taste and money as you.

I saw a decent looking first series Celica today. Orange, of course.

Mr_Shiftright

WEll yes it does kind of violate my rule, except that woodies were always better loved than plain-jane sedans...so maybe not (did I squirm out of that one?).

But right now, woodies are REALLY loved. I think you could see a Packard woodie all day long for $50K, but it's the rare rod that will bring that money, and with far fewer buyers interested.

If it were a Ford woodie, $65-70K is possible right now, for an outstanding resto.

fintail

Ebay time again:

I don't know why anyone would want to. Apparently nobody does

Someone in England might go nuts for it

Could be a good driver...very unusual anyway

Possibly the worst thing on ebay right now

These wagons are seldom seen anymore. My grandpa who was a Corvair nut had one

Shifty mobile

This should get a nice reaction from seminole_kev

When I was about 5 I had a poster of one of these - no joke. I had a strange attraction to the Fuego, and the dealer was more than willing to pawn off a bunch of advertising material on me

Speaking of bathtub Packards...I don't care for the design as a sedan, but I do like these fastbacks. The last gasp of 30s modernity. GM did the fastback thing better, but these are still cool. Lovely car, as well

And here's another, strangely enough. I've seen just a couple of these on ebay over the past year, and now two identical ones are here

Yo Mr. C!

I'd like to find a nice '60 Country Sedan to give to my dad, but I doubt he'd want it like this

I know these have been on before...but I thought I'd post them again, as they are so nice to look at

andyman73

Coming to work this eve. I was passed by a young brunette flyin low in one of them early 80s E 500s, was a cherry example of that massive coupe, in....midnite or navy blue.

andys120

http://hemmings.com/images/classifieds/D22FC259-02E8-40FB-AE147028B10FE5AF.jpg

Mr_Shiftright

Ah, Andy the oft-maligned MGC. Not a bad car really, but a rather poor bit of marketing by BMC. They are nice cruisers but even with that lazy 6 cylinder in there, they are only a teensy bit faster than a regular MGB, with a lot less parts compatibility.

But they don't deserve the bad rep they generally have among MG enthusiasts. Someday they will be rehabilitated.

DKW Universal---oh, I'd love to have that car. Why are they ALL in upstate New York (a beautiful but harsh place). That's funny, I never knew that the club magazine for these 2-strokes was called "Blue Cloud".

Maybe I could get a job with the Marin County mosquito abatement district?

seminole_kev

Gaaaaah! Why did you have to put that in there Fintail?!?!

In my best mafioso impersonation to that Jag "You're dead to me! You hear me? You're dead!"

Why did they have to do that? Both inside and out. Ugh.

Mr_Shiftright

The Frankenjag ad had a funny line in it:

"As with most chevy motors it leaks oil"

maybe he thinks the Jaguar motor is still in there?

andys120

I look at it this way Kev, I'd rather see them trash a MkVII or IX (I can't tell which it is/was) than junk up a Mk I or II. Remember that hideous E-Type I posted a couple of months ago?

Mr_Shiftright

Anything is better than a stock Mk VII...big old clumsy boat. However, you can strip the brakes and suspension off a Mark IX and use it to restore your XK150!

I trust no one will do that to a Mk II...that would be a shame, although a Type S wouldn't break my heart if someone modified it.

seminole_kev

The show is for new cars, but they have a smattering of old cars there for show.

As far as Jags go (while we're on the subject) they had a Mk X sedan, an original "S" sedan, 2 E-types, a XJS and one of those 80's XJ sedans with the aero, one piece headlights that look awful (to me) on those. I'd take any of the 60's Jags on display (even the "S") and be a happy man.

Oh and the jerk dealer had all its new Jags locked so you couldn't get in (as well as MB and Volvo that it sells....friggin' Volvo of all things down to the S40!). Last year they didn't do that. Not real happy with that. What's the point of the car show then? Why not just walk around a parking lot instead for free? I understand doing that with the Maybach and Ford GT that were there, but a Volvo S40? Can you tell I'm not happy about it?

lancerfixer

At the Chicago show, the Volvos, BMWs, and Benzes were all unlocked. The Jags were locked, however, which irritated me mildly. IIRC, the Audis were, too.

stickguy

A BMW 524td. I can't remember if it was 2 or 3 body styles ago (mid-late 80s or early-mid 90s). The owner must work at the bowling alley I sometimes go to, since I've seen it there numerous times.

Were those ever sold officially in the US?

lemko

...if somebody's going to rod a 1948 Packard woody, why not duplicate that Happy Days episode and hot rod a 1947 DeSoto?

kyfdx

Yup... that was the E28 body style.. '82 to '88, I think.. Not sure the actual years they imported the diesel, though.. I'm thinking '84-'86? But, they were definitely US models...

fintail

Yep indeed, they sold it here.

Remember the M5 they made as that style came to an end? That'd be an interesting car to find. I had a poster of one of those when I was a kid, it was a Pirelli ad IIRC.

And about that MB coupe andyman...the 500E/E500 was the super-sedan E class of the early 90s. You probably saw a 500SEC, the big graceful W126 hardtop coupe.

chrisducati

I don't know what year it is but there is a Black Peugoet 504 diesel down the street. It is very square and long but narrow. has four square headlights.

kyfdx

'88... Yeah, it was a Pirelli ad.. With the car suspended a little above the ground and the tires glowing gold..

In, Spring of '88, I was delivering to the county administrator in a small town in Southern Ky, and one was parked at the curb outside the building..

I walk into his office, and there is a young man sitting in there with him.. early-mid 20s..

I asked him... "Is that your car outside".. sheepish grin... "Yes"... "Do you have the poster". another sheepish grin... "Yes".

Turns out.. he was the administrator's son, and had just graduated from Vanderbilt with a business degree the previous Spring..

So, I went home and cried in my pillow....lol

You can still find those M5s for sale...

andys120

Remember the M5 they made as that style came to an end? That'd be an interesting car to find.

A guy took me for a short ride in the original M5, it was an '88 and lordy it flew!

The first M5 was essentially an E28 five series with an M1 motor. There are still some around but there were also E28s that had the body kit wheels and badges from the M5 but the motor from a 535i or 528i.

debaser853

I'm guessing late 80's early 90's 300CE outside my window for a few minutes this morning. Factory roof, black, chrome wheels, 2 door. Sharp looking car, for its age.

kyfdx

256 Hp, which was really incredible for '88..

They came with TRX wheels, though.. the Michelin metric ones.. Most have been converted to 16" or 17" now, because finding TRX tires is tough and expensive..

A lot of those M-badged models are gray-market cars...

regards,
kyfdx

Mr_Shiftright

Most M cars of that era have very short-lived motors. If you hit 60,000, you'd be lucky. Too stressed, basically. Also not worth much anymore.

fintail

That was the poster, I remember that. I wonder if it is still packed away in my packrat pile back home. I liked that car. I also remember some people a couple blocks down from us had a souped up 5 series from that era, it was an 'Alpina' car. Were those sold here or would it be grey market?

'Sharp looking car, for its age.'

Most old MB tend to age that way, if they are cosmetically maintained. MB had some timeless styling back then. The 124 and 126 have aged well for what are now 20 and 25 year old designs. Non-car people usually think my '89 S class is a much newer car.

andys120

The Alpinas are tuner cars, souped up by an independent German specialist in go-faster BMWs

German cars seem to attract this type of specialist, among others are Hartge and Hamman
for BMW, Lorinser and Brabus for Mercedes and Oetinger for VW/Audi as well as Ruf for Porsche.

AMG was a tuner-specialist for Merc until it was bought out and recast as the go-faster division of M-B ala M-Sport.

These may be gray market cars or legally modified after being imported to the US.

Mr_Shiftright

The tuner cars always suffer in the marketplace once they age because what is older than old technology?