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

stickguy

Wow. That Lasalle description has to be the most words ever in one listing. The Fairmont must be the least.

The Cadillac is going to give me nightmares tongiht. I may not be able to sleep.

The '55 Mercedes is what a classic car is supposed to be. Sure don't make them like that anymore!

andre1969

but I hope those spiky heels didn't leave any marks in the roof! And depending on the time of the month that one pic was taken, I hope they gave it a good wash and wax afterwards! :P

fintail

Today I spotted a Morgan , a MGTD, a very original unestored c.57 Chevy pickup, and a 70s Aston Martin

lemko

...You most definately have to pick up a copy of the October 2005 issue of "Collectible Automobile" now on sale at any Borders Books or Barnes & Noble. It has a "Cheap Wheels" article on the 1979-81 R-body Chrysler New Yorker Fifth Avenue. It also has a feature article on the 1971-76 full-size Chevrolets. Didn't your grandparents have a 1972 Impala? My grandfather had a 1974 Impala and my best friend's Dad had a 1973 Impala.

lemko

Great pictures! Wish I could've gone. I love that white 1974 New Yorker on the first page. It looks like a new car! How much were they asking? It might seem strange, but I love those big old cars from the 1970s. That particular car looks like one my neighbor owned before he switched to Cadillacs.

andre1969

do you mean that white coupe under the tent that had the American flag on the antenna? That one wasn't for sale. It was on the show field in the "Survivor" category, reserved for well-preserved originals.

I'll definitely look forward to that issue of Collectible Automobile! And yeah, my grandparents had a '72 Impala 4-door hardtop. It was a forest green color with a white vinyl top. Green cloth (well, "brocade" or "jacquard" or whatever they called it) interior. 350-2bbl. I loved that car when I was a kid, and told my grandparents I wanted it when I turned 16. They told me there was no way the car would last that long, though! And they were right. They sold it to some friends in 1982 when I was 12. It was running okay but was horribly rusted, and the top was peeling. Granddad had done a valve job to it around 70,000 miles, and by this time it had around 100,000. It probably would've gone on, mechanically, but by 1986 when I got my learners, I'm sure the body would've really looked bad!

lemko

...was that dark forest green as well sans the vinyl top. He traded it for a black 1980 Impala. His car was in pretty good condition when he traded it but for a dented hubcap where he hit a high curb. The engine was the 350/2bbl.

My best friend's Dad's car was brown, (try selling a brown car today) with a plain roof. It also had a 350/2bbl. He later had a 1971 Impala he used as a beater car. I really liked the styling of the 1971 full-sized Chevrolet. It resembles the 1969 Cadillac - a car I absolutely love.

kyfdx

In the parking lot at work today...

Porsche 928.. I couldn't figure out the year by looking at it.. guessing mid-'80s.. fairly pristine.. Red with white interior.. back seats looked almost new, but the fronts had sheepskins... automatic, of course..

One of the best looking examples that I've seen..

regards,
kyfdx

Mr_Shiftright

You can tell by the front end and the spoiler more or less what years they are. I think 1982 on up have the spoiler. My ideal 928 would be a 1980 (cleanest body) with a sunroof and a 1987 or newer clutch system for the 5 speed.

Most of the ones you see are beaters, sad to say.

Complex car + low resale value = extinction.

kyfdx

It has a front spoiler.. No rear spoiler..

I can usually tell the older ones... this one is very nice.. no cracked lenses, scratches, etc.. It has a body side molding that is body color... it sits right on the door crease.. looks factory, but I couldn't tell for sure.. and has sort of slotted Porsche alloy wheels...

Really.. looks nice.. I guess slushboxes are pretty common in the 928..

kyfdx

So.. I googled it... then went out and looked at the VIN number.. (If I ever decide to become a stalker, I'm getting good at it)..

It is a 1985 model, 928S... 288 HP...

Mr_Shiftright

You ARE good.

Actually, for most people, a slushbox on a 928 would be preferable to the early twin-disk clutch. Twin disk clutches are, of course, modeled after racing car clutches, and they are impossible to slip---so that's good---but they also don't release very easily. So you are in traffic and everything's getting hot under there, and unless you like gorilla shifting (I don't mind, I feel manly yanking that shifter back like I was launching a torpedo), you're gonna get annoyed with that clutch. And you'll be pulling it out every 10K for SOMETHING or other.

You can convert a pre '87 928 from twin disk to single disk but it costs around $3,000 to do it.

I once saw a photo of a prototype 928 TARGA that I thought was pretty nice. I think the factory also built one 4-door for laughs.

ghulet

.....a sort of psychedlic checkerboard cloth interior on a 928? I think it was like the first year of production, or maybe just on prototypes, but I swear I've seen one.

Today I saw a couple of kinda cool things: I chased what turned out to be a Chevrolet Monza (not the kind we had here in the '70s), it's a small four-door, kind of resembling a Suzuki Esteem, probably a few years old, with plates from Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Also saw a pastel yellow Crossfire convertible (definitely not my first-choice hue), a rust/orange Prowler, top up in the rain, and a pre-87 SAAB 900S hatchback, quite nice considering what a PIA those are to keep on the road. For some reason, most of the decent repair shops for those have closed down in Chicago; there's basically one SAAB-exclusive repair shop left on the north side; needless to say, they're generally slow, crowded and expensive.

fintail

I recall that checkerboard interior in my 'World Cars 1978' book that I read endlessly as a kid

Mr_Shiftright

I liked that checkerboard backing. It had a sense of humor and heaven knows German cars need to laugh now and then. :P

There's a guy in Berkeley Calif who takes the older Saab turbo 5-door hatchbacks and restores them and puts newer Saab motors in them. People end up spending $12,000 or so but they have a very room and Finally Kinda Reliable practical hatchback that is also fun to drive and good for a family.

jrosasmc

When you say older Saab hatchbacks with newer motors are you talking about the older 900/9000 from the '80s or the more later ones?

The 900 five-door hatch wasn't revived until 1994 with the new generation, which is practically a Euro GM model for all intents and purposes. The 9000 survived until 1998- or should I say limped along.

fintail

I wonder if I could put an AMG 6 like out of a C32 in a fintail. It's not so big as the V8s.

I am sure I could put just about any powertrain in a tank like a 126...AMG V12 twin turbo...oh yeah.

kyfdx

I really like that pastel yellow on the Crossfire...

I would describe it as "Butter Cream"..

andre1969

the pastel yellow you guys are talking about?
http://www.in.gr/auto/dokimes/pr_dokimes_ae/foto_big/ae_Chrysler_Crossfire_Convertible_801- - _011.jpg

I think it could look good, if the car used more real chrome and less of that VCR plastic-gray stuff. The shiny chrome would really highlight they yellow much better, IMO. But then, maybe it's just this particular picture. In fact, something about this pic just looks touched up to me. Or maybe I'm just so used to all these pics we have to fake at NASA, that I'm seeing fakery everywhere, even where it's not! :P

kyfdx

I don't know if that is the same... in "real life", it is much softer than that picture..

Not a "sporty" yellow at all.. More like a '60s sedan pastel yellow...

Mr_Shiftright

Better if you just lowered a fintail body shell onto a complete AMG--otherwise you'll give your remaining drivetrain and suspension and brakes a serious coronary!

SAABS ---yep, these are the older 80s Saab 5-doors with the 8 valve motor (keep a stack of head gaskets in the trunk) -- he puts in 16 valve motors, rebuilds the trannies while he's at it (better do it NOW), and works up the suspension, etc. People seem to love this combination. He was doing a brisk business but after all this is Berkeley not Kansas.

kyfdx

Hey, Andy...

Help this guy out...

Old Chryslers are more fun

fintail

Well, I was thinking the AMG 3.2 engine. It's not so big and heavy. Surely you'd have to bring along the transmission and brakes and maybe engineer some kind of special engine mounts...but otherwise, I think it could fit. A 349hp fintail? Now that would be something. You could dust all the rice rockets anyway.

I think a larger engine could easily fit in a 126. With the same drivetrain mods, you'd have a real sleeper.

highender

a red and white Ford GT on I- 580 going towards Livermore ....

nice...

Ilike 928s....... will always stare at one when it shows up....

they are selling some nice ones on ebay...but going for upwards of $50,000.

andys120

and I saw a Chevy Vega parked in a driveway looking for all the world like it was 1978.
It had no rust or dings and good paint (reddish orange).

At first I didn't realize what I was looking at :confuse: How did this one survive while all the others have long since rusted away or been junked due to blown motors etc :confuse: :confuse:

ghulet

.......sort of rusty root beer color on Vegas (some friends mom traded in a Rambler on a Vega GT, of all things, that color, which was later traded on a Citation; some people consistently pick loser cars, what can I say?). I think the rust color was popular for a reason, y'know?

I think the pastel yellow is more successful (though we're talking a much lighter tint) on the New Beetle convertible; I also like the cream color and light blue I've seen on them. I think the pastels are fitting, since it's already a pretty feminine car; not so the Crossfire, I just think it's out of place there.

andre1969

I'll stop over and see if I can think of anything useful to say. If nothing else, there's not much difference between a 5th Ave and a Gran Fury or Diplomat copcar, so there is some performance stuff out there. I think a cop spec 5th Ave could be kinda fun :shades:

poppag

Mr.shiftright,, I was directed here in hopes you could help me find out the dimentions of a 1951 chevy pickup truck,My brother is restoreing one and needs to load it on a tailor,the truck is in Colorado and he is in Utah,he has a trailor that is 6' wide between the fenders and needs to know how wide the truck is outside the running boards...TIA..GaryD

chuck1959

I spot one today. A Ford Freestar or is that Freestyle? The names are so simliar I forget which one is which!

andre1969

I tried doing a quick Google search to find some specs, but couldn't come up with anything. However, 6 feet is only 72 inches, which would have been pretty narrow for a vehicle back then, especially a truck. I'd imagine that a '51 Chevy would be around 75" wide, but that's just a wild guess. How high are the fenders on the trailer? You might be okay if the truck sits high enough that the running boards clear the trailer fenders.

lemko

There was a syndicated show on television in the late 1980s called "The Judge." It was similar to People's Court or Judge Judy, but featured an older, more conservative judge. Anyway, during the opening credits he's shown pulling into a driveway in a 1985-89 Chrysler Fifth Avenue.

jrosasmc

I remember that show very vividly. The opening credits did show that Fifth Avenue. I used to watch it all the time when I was a small toddler- believe it or not it was that very show that inspired me to pursue law as a career. Where can I get reruns?

jaserb

The factory color on my '74 Alfa Spider is very close to the yellow on that Crossfire, or on the New Beetles I've seen. Right now it's pretty faded, but I plan on repainting in the original color probably next year. I think it looks very nice on that vintage of car, with the black interior and plenty of chrome. There was a yellow on the early '90s 300ZX that was almost identical. Interestingly, Alfa used three names for the same color.

Giallo Canario - Canary Yellow. Okay, I can see that one.
Giallo Prototipo - Prototype Yellow. Well, maybe they had a show car they painted that color. A lottle more obscure, but OK.
Giallo Pagoda - Pagoda Yellow. This is the name on the color plate of my car. Whaaa?

-Jason

kyfdx

I think the Crossfire yellow is slightly more yellow than the New Beetle yellow.. still, pastel...

I always thought of the Crossfire as a chick car... I guess that is why I like the color on it..

poppag

thank you andre for the response, the fenders on the trailor are about 11" high and dont believe the the running boards will pass that,

stickguy

I bet the last thing Chrysler was trying to create with the Crossfire was a "chick" car.

Although at least most women will fit in it, something I can't do!

fintail

An MGTD just drove by my window, followed a few minutes later by a pristine looking early 90s XJS ragtop, top down.

lemko

...nice-looking blue 1967 Pontiac Firebird. Last night I saw a 1965 Oldsmobile F-85.

kyfdx

I kind of like the Crossfire.. but, I wouldn't want to buy the winter tires and wheels for it.. I just don't have a spare $2500 laying around for that..

I especially like the roadster.. for my wife.... I would drive it on the nice days..

andre1969

about the first 2/3 of the Crossfire. It's just the rear portion behind the doors that I don't care for. The roadster does kinda help tone it down, though. Still, too small overall for me. Now if they just took that shape and blew it up to something more respectable, like around 180-185 inches, I'd probably like it better.

It's one of those cars that, while it looks impressive in pics, the second you see one in person, or parked next to another car, it just comes off looking like a toy.

andre1969

scratch that last wish! If they blew up the car to 185", to keep it in proportion, it would end up being about 80.5" wide, which would make it technically illegal to drive in just about every state! It would also end up about 60" tall!

So, just make the thing big enough for me to fit in, and I'll be happy! :shades:

fintail

Saw a couple goodies this evening. First a restored looking 60 Mercury Comet sedan, red and white. That year had the bizarre looking fins/rear end. Can't be many good ones left.

Soon after I saw a restored looking c.64 Nova wagon, also red and white. It looked to be in great condition, and was very eye-catching. Neat car.

While watching traffic on I90 from my office, I spotted a early 70s Eldo convert, white of course, cruising along in the fast lane. Elvis is in town.

ghulet

lemme think, here's a few silly things I saw:

80s Audi 80 Quattro sedan, decent red body, rasping along like any 5-cyl Audi of the day

76 Chevy Monte Carlo, gorgeous brown repaint, no vinyl roof but nice tan vinyl swivel buckets

68 Cadillac convertible, also great brown repaint but missing trim, looked great anyway (almost cleaner) and had blingy 20"+ rims, not correct but stunning

74 Pontiac Grand Ville 2dr HT, black with black cloth, no fender skirts, wearing correct Rally II wheels, looked almost muscular; would be an ordinary big GM 70s tank, but a bit cooler; you don't see too many Grand Villes, let alone 74 two-doors, the last with true hardtop styling and roll-down rear windows; also interesting that Pontiac was really the only GM division with three trim lines (Cat, Bonne, GV) other than Chevy, if you count the ailing BelAir (the car you of choice for Police, Taxi or if you wanted a 4300lb car with a six), or Cadillac (the Calais, which nobody remembers). OK, never mind.

85 BMW 325e sedan (white, red leather), as beat as you'd expect, nothing special but you don't see them at all any more; no 3 sedans at all in 84, and no third brake light, hence 85. 86 had two 325 sedan trims, the base '325' (cloth, crank sunroof, no trip computer) and the 325e (aka 'Luxus' in the sales catalog) with leather, rear headrests, power roof and trip computer. 87 of course brought the 'i' (168hp, woo hoo!!) and the rest is history. How exciting.

chuck1959

I saw a Yugo this morning and it was in mint condition! It looked like it could have come off the showroom floor. Must be one of those raer decent....I use the word "decent" as non were ever "good"! LOL

lemmer

Was it moving?

lemko

...a blue 1970 Plymouth Road Runner with a Superbird spoiler. Could you order the "regular" Road Runner with a Superbird spoiler or did this owner just install one on his car?

fintail

Some obscure cars here





Yeah, I'm a dork

andre1969

here's something I need help identifying. I took today off, and kind of just goofed off. I found some old cars scattered in the woods...a '64 full-sized Chevy wagon, a '63 or so Chevy II wagon, and a '64 or '65 AMC Rambler intermediate, like a 770 or 990 or whatever that was resting partially on top of the back of the Chevy II. Anyway, there was another car there that was so rusted away that there was very little left of it.

It was rear-engine, so at first I thought it was an old Bug, but the engine was an upright 4-cyl, and not a flat one like the Bugs had. It had 4-lug wheels with very little offset, almost like FWD or Bug wheels, and little dog-dish hubcaps. Looked like it might've been about the size of a Bug, too, but with what little sheetmetal was left, it looked like it had a less sloped-off front and rear than a Bug. Oh, and up front, the steering looked like it used CV joints, like on a FWD car. If I had the camera with me, I would've taken a pic, but there really wasn't much left. It was sitting in an old spillway for an abandoned textile mill, where it probably stays damp constantly. There was just a little bit left of it around the front axle, and a little left around the rear axle, the bulkhead behind the rear seat, and the engine.

Is that enough to go on, for anyone to venture a guess?

fintail

Sounds Fiat-ish, maybe a Fiat 600, which could also explain the deteriorated body

Mr_Shiftright

Methinks A Renault 4CV