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

Mr_Shiftright

It's a transition year. He really should have a 390 in that truck according to Chilton's. But earlier Jeep trucks had a Buick 350 that's right---but only up to 1970, says Chiltons'

So who knows? More to the point, what does it matter? Looks like the engine has been underwater for 50 years anyway.

lemko

Wow. Imagine a Coronet 500 or a Galaxie 500 - "Gee, George! A Dodge an' a Ford wit' Cadillac engines!" I wonder what he'd think of the AMC Ambassadors with the 770 and 990 cube engines!

toomanyfumes

The poor guy that bought an Electra with the 225 slant six

andre1969

that numbering scheme worked on on a domestic car was on the Dodge Dart 170. From 1963-1968, the standard engine in the Dart 170 (as well as the 270 and GT) was a 170 CID version of the slant six. It was really underpowered, only putting out around 115 hp, so most of them were equipped with the 225 slant six. So, it was possible to get a Dart 170 with a 170 CID motor, but it's rare that the numbering actually works out like that.

andre1969

that's sick! But I like it! :P

kyfdx

Mid '70s BMW 2002.. broken down on the freeway...

And.. a mid '80s Porsche 944 Turbo... These had 247 HP, which was really something in the '80s.. My '84 911 only had 200 HP...

Mr_Shiftright

Nice car a turbo 944---a real sleeper that can outhandle and outrun many a modern car, for not a lot of money (unless you buy a bad one )

fintail

That Mopar dope would love something like an Audi 5000 or a Saab 9000 or a Pontiac 6000 etc...

kyfdx

I'd guess.. even if you get a good one, it will make your wallet cry.....

From what I can tell, they are more expensive to keep up than a comparable 911?

regards,
kyfdx

debaser853

Saw a Jeep Honcho, same body style as the ebay auction, but a stepside, creme colored with big graffics all over it including the word "Honcho" in 10 inch tall letters.

I took a second glance becuase I swear I had a hot wheels car like that when I was a kid!

Mr_Shiftright

Dunno, never had a 944. I've had really good luck with 911s. If you get a good one and do the maintenance religiously (and have a good honest shop), they don't cost much to run at all. 911s are incredibly sturdy cars, that's why you see so many old ones on the road today. You rarely see any other sports cars with 200K-300K on them but you frequently see 911s with that mileage.

Obscure 911 spotted: targa with "sportomatic" transmission.

kyfdx

Yeah... but you buy the really old 911s.... I was thinking more of the '84-'89 Carreras vs. the 944 Turbo.. I used to get the aftermarket parts catalogs, and the 944 Turbo prices were scary.. even compared to the 911 parts...

Which reminds me of the old joke... "Why do they call it a 911?

"Because that is the price to replace one factory wheel"

Mr_Shiftright

Well you don't bash 911 wheels into curbs. If you do, you should be arrested and put into a Honda.

I think the 944 prices were higher because of the economies of scale. More people want, and drive, older 911s, so it is more economical to make larger quantities of aftermarket parts for them. You have to remember, the 911 has been around, in various forms, since 1965! It's one of the most successful designs in history. Why do you think Corvette parts are so cheap? Same idea. But not if you bash your Corvette into a mailbox.

"Porsches punish the foolish".

andre1969

that some police jurisdictions had to take "9-1-1" lettering off their police car because blondes kept stealing them, thinking they were Porsches! :P

lemko

...beautiful light green metallic 1970 Chevrolet Impala Custom two-door hardtop. The badges on the front fenders suggested a 400 CID V-8. This time the number really designates the engine size.

davem2001

I always liked them alot. Back in the early to mid 80's I'd have to say they were my favorite car of all.....

lancerfixer

My sister-in-law's boyfriend's got a 944 Turbo that is still in pretty good shape. It's his daily driver. There's one for sale in my neighborhood...non-turbo, and completely dogged out. Looks like's it's been neglected since Pearl Jam was relevant.

OTOH, I saw a really nice looking 968 coupe in blue today. Also a Model T pickup.

kyfdx

A non-turbo 944, while a great handling car, is dog slow... I think 150 HP... The 968 has over 200 hp, but not the smoothest four cylinder going...

ghulet

...for the record, I think the 'regular' (non-S) 944 Turbo had 217hp, while the Turbo S (made '88-89 only, I think?) had 247hp. NA 944s aren't too fast, though at least tolerable with a 5-speed; sadly, quite a few were made with automatics (the country club wives Porsches). NA 944 engines seem pretty sturdy (my mom's has around 250k), so not too bad to maintain, but things like clutches, A/C compressors and miscellaneous junk (can't remember exactly, but have heard enough stories) cost big bucks. Not worth it to me, even a super nice newer ('86-88) example probably won't crack $10k, you can find decent examples for $5k. Throwing $2k repairs at it over and over sounds like good money after bad, especially for a car that can get dusted off by your neighbor's Accord.

kyfdx

You are correct... the 247hp was for the Turbo S.. I knew that number seemed high when I threw it out there....

ghulet

....you're pretty quick on the draw tonight!

Let's see, I went on one long errand today and saw a few interesting things:

68 Chevelle 300 Deluxe (a rung below Malibu) 4-door sedan, very nice, green
A nice late-70s Corolla liftback (not the flat roof with horizontal taillights type, but the more rare fastback with three vertical taillights), in a bright yellow-orange.
An icky brown Olds Firenza hatchback (J-body)

kyfdx

The Corolla reminds me of other late '70s cars, that we really liked at the time..

The '77 Celica liftback and the 1st generation Scirocco... Had I been making more than $2.30/hr. at the time, I would have rather had either one of those, than the Cobra II that I ended up with..

ghulet

....I learned to drive stick (well, sort of, I kinda gave up after the fifth time my dad yelled at me) on dad's '81 Scirocco S (red with a cool two-toned gray striped interior). Nice car (nice looking, better built than you'd think an '81 VW would be) and surprisingly fun to drive for a car with ~80hp, great front seats (bolstered and tilt-height adjustable), but not my favorite back seat for road trips (he bought it when I was twelve, exactly the wrong time). I ended up learning stick on a friend's mom's '85 Civic sedan without any adult instruction/nagging, a much easier proposition (drive an old VW stick then a Honda, big difference).

kyfdx

Was the '81 the second generation.... the more rounded one? Yeah, I bought an '82 Accord hatch brand-new, and drove it for 12 years, so I'm pretty familiar with Honda manuals.... Much easier than a VW, but definitely not as cool as a Scirocco.... I liked the 2nd generation as well.... 130K on that Accord, and it was still on the original clutch...

ghulet

...I was checking out eBay to see if I could find an example of that Corolla hatchback (or maybe it was just a fastback coupe?) I was talking about--no dice, but I ran across this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6059&item=4546846241&rd=- 1

I can't help but think about what other, actually MODERN, economy cars I could buy for $4000-4500 with things like PS and A/C, maybe even power windows/locks and a CD player (97-98 Corolla/Civic, 99 Protege, 96 Accord, 00 Cavalier, I could go on and on); does this guy really think Starlets have some collector value? :confuse:

ghulet

....Scirocco. True to form, my family usually ends up buying the last year of any generation of car, usually rendering it unsalable for at least a couple years. That said, I never thought the 2nd gen Scirocco had as much style as the first, though I'm sure it was better made, had more room, better creature comforts, etc.

kyfdx

Just like over in Car Classified Chuckles.... Rare

No kidding...

kyfdx

True... I always liked the first generation better.. The first one I saw was the '77 in the showroom... It was that navy metallic with the tan (orange?) interior that we thought was such a great combo back then... $5250 base price... "We sell at MSRP".. Pretty tough to tote that note on a $100/wk salary, even if you are living at home...

fintail

That Starlet must be a joke

Here's a very pretty 112 coupe....overpriced, but obscure and nice to look at

andre1969

must've been foreign car day! First, in the parking lot at work I saw a first-generation (at least it's the first-gen I can remember) Datsun 200SX. The one with the funky, recessed headlights, kind of a reverse-slant thing going on with the rear side windows, and hardtop styling. Kinda styled to look like something out of "Space: 1999", "Starblazers", "Planet of the Apes", or some other 70's pre-StarWars movie! It was in pretty good shape, surprisingly. Although I guess at this point, the only ones left are going to be the ones that people took care of. It was a funky two-tone red and white.

Also saw a 1985-ish Toyota Celica that had been made into a convertible. The top was up, and it looked horrible in that pose. It was black, and the style that had the wedge-shaped front with the pop-up headlights. Looks like it might've been a good looking car with the top down. And it if was fixed up a little!

davem2001

A non-turbo 944, while a great handling car, is dog slow... I think 150 HP... The 968 has over 200 hp, but not the smoothest four cylinder going...

It's all relative .... back in it's day, it was plenty quick.. we're taking about 1982, 1983 timeframe...the Rabbit GTI had 90hp...the Mustang 5.0 GT had 157hp...

kyfdx

Well... let me adjust my statement..

For a $25K car in '84, it was dog slow... Any Celica with a stick could take it in 0-60..

Other than that, a fantastic car... and I'm not being sarcastic....

regards,
kyfdx

andre1969

the 924? Back when I was in high school, those things seemed like they were all over the place. I remember this one kid drove one, and he thought he was a hot little stud because he had a Porsche. I dunno how lucky it got him though, because he was kinda nerdy and annoying, as I recall. Wasn't the 924 basically a 944 with a weak motor?

davem2001

Yeah - from what I understand, the 924 was originally intended to be a VW (to replace the Kharman Ghia?)... then at the last minute VW changed their mind... So Porsche went ahead with it. It had a 2.0L 4 cylinder engine...Again, it's all relative...we're talking about the era when a Corvette had 195hp or something pathetic like that.

The 944 had a 2.5L 4 cyl - one half a bank of the V8 from the 928....much improved from the 924

kyfdx

The 924 pre-dated the 944... the 944 was basically it's replacement.. However, they brought back the 924 later, as a budget alternative to the 944... But, they had the same running gear... Just different bodies..

The 944 has the flared fenders, and the 924 is flat sided...

On another note, the 944 S, had the 944 engine with the 944 Turbo brakes and suspension...

EDIT: The later 924 had the same engine as the 944.. Had a different engine in it's first iteration.. I think they came out in '77?

davem2001

That's true for a lot of Porsche's actually - even today - a Mustang GT could probably give a Boxster a good run for the money 0-60 at half the MSRP.

kyfdx

A Mustang GT would blow the doors off a Boxster in 0-60...

I don't buy many cars for the 0-60 time... but faster is always better...

andre1969

but I think this particular 924 was a 1984-85.

davem2001

I'm not a huge Porsche fan, but I do like the old 944 a lot...that's a real "nostalgia" car for me....I'd love to have a pristine 944 from the early to mid 80's.

Anyone remember the movie "16 Candles"? teen flick from the 80's with Molly Ringwald. The main character has a nice guards red 944.

kyfdx

Fyi. .. it was the 924S in '86-'88 that had the 150hp 944 motor....

fishtook

If you spot a car all bandaged up with covers, etc. Those are next geenration vehicles the manufacturers don't yet want the public to see what it looks like.

I believe "Car & Driver" pays $100 if they accept your photo, they use it for their sneak peek columns.

andre1969

maybe I'll throw a car cover over my DeSoto, snap a pic, and see what I can get away with! :P

fintail

Claim it's a new retro-styled Polara...or even a rebirth of the DeSoto name...

andre1969

after all, if you throw a cover over a 300C, what you get doesn't look too far off from a Diplomat...

gmginsfo

Here in SDiego on the way to work! Used to see 'em all the time growing up in Chicago in the '50s, but it's been quite a while. Now, they seem pretty dangerous with no front-end protection and just 3 wheels. But it brought back memories and made me smile.

ghulet

...ah yes, Jake, I think he had an earlier 944. I think they changed the dash in mid-85 (before that, the interior was basically a carryover from the 924) and made available those oval-slotted (someone help me with the nickname here) wheels from the 928. Mom's has those wheels, and is the ubiquitous Guards Red with black interior. She originally planned on getting a 924S (this was October '86, they had just been reintroduced, and I think were like $24k base) but drove one, hated the interior and decided on the 944 instead.

GM, you saw an Isetta on the road? I don't think I'd be daring enough to drive one, except maybe to the grocery store a couple blocks away. Kinda cute, but scary now.

davem2001

This is maybe blasphemous to Porsche fans, but I always liked the front engine/water cooled models like the 944 (968) or 928 better than the 911...never much of a 911 fan

Isetta - yeah, that thing is like a deathtrap on wheels...I'd be scared to take it on the road. If you get into any kind of front end collision, if you were lucky enough to survive the initial crash, you'd be trapped in the darn thing....

andre1969

have a top that popped off, or something, so that you could hop out in case of an accident that left the front smashed in? Of course, I guess that just adds to the "tin can" analogy...

Mr_Shiftright

RE: Mustang GT vs. Boxster --

not a good run on a race track, though....look mom no brakes!

944s are incredible handling cars...put on a sway bar and some good tires on an ordinary clean used 944 costing $6K and you can probably pull 1G.

It's true though, the engines can be a bit rough and if you need major component work you might as well throw the car away, unless it's a later turbo model, which are still worth something.

Supply and demand, that's what makes the price.

kyfdx

Yes.. blasphemy!!

911 was always my dream car..

It was the '85.5 944 that got the upgraded interior....