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

kyfdx

A Rolls on the way home last night..

Mid-'70s? Mid-80s? Just the basic four door sedan with the big grill.. The really plain looking one.. The ugly bumpers reminded me of the mid-80s BMW 528e... If that helps you place it...

In pastel yellow...

Mr_Shiftright

Probably a Silver Shadow

kyfdx

Yeah.. RRs never have model designations...

fintail

Horrible color for one too

Here's a Fiat 600

chuck1959

Oh yeah and it was moving on it's own power!

boomchek

Wow, took me a good hour to catch up on all the posts.

A friend just gave me a 1977 Chevy Impala 4 door with 99500kms (60k miles). These cars were abundant just a decade ago, now I don't see them anymore. The car is in very good condition, the back seat never sat in, and I'm the third owner. Just need to replace the front grill and light housing due to a fender bender by the previous owner. For some reason I love these big ol' domestics cause they float like big boats and you can turn the overboosted steering wheel with one finger. Should I keep it cause one tankful costs as much as one month of insurance ($80CDN)

Mr_Shiftright

Can't beat the price.

Using the Shiftright Formula For Old Car Justification we can see that a free car burning one gallon every 12 miles will use 1,000 gallons per year, while your most basic reliable Economy Car costing $3,500 will burn only 500 gallons per year.

Therefore, the Old Pig costs you in USA dollars $1,250 more per year to drive.

This means that all other things being equal, it will take approximately three years to justify the purchase of the Economy Car before it saves you any money at all, at which time you could be dead or earth could be hit by an asteroid and then wouldn't you feel foolish.

fintail

I spotted this in the grocery store parking lot this morning



You don't see these every day. It looked like a very nice original car too, I am pretty sure the paint and interior were original.

ghulet

That would be a '53 Mercury convertible, right? It's amazing how much Mercurys of that era look like Lincolns, considering how totally different one looked from the other three years later. I've always like those salmony tones used on mid '50s cars.

fintail

Yep, 53 Mercury. It's the same type of car from "The Long Long Trailer" if I am not mistaken. I should have got a look at the odometer.

fintail

A 'Spyker'...good name

But this is what I usually think of when I see 'Spyker' - the round-grilled car from the hokey old London-to-Brighton themed movie 'Genevieve' that I saw on TV at a young age and got me hooked on early cars

Here's an interesting veteran

Probably the only way to make one of these reliable

Neat old wagon...I like it, although I prefer the styling cues of 66 over 65

British woody, less hunchbacked than some. Good idea on the powertrain, too, now it can be driven at real world speeds

Possibly the best one of these left, an early product of 'Export or Starve'. I kinda like it

Niiiiiiice Pontiac

Cheaper than a new one. Funny that the seller deals in boats...this is a real boat

Neglected divider Adenauer that doesn't look half bad...but a lost cause no less

I don't like seeing this meet this fate. I hope it was an absolute wreck before

I wonder where you'd dock this ocean liner. Could do worse I guess

Nice old boat...I actually kinda like the medium width whitewalls. Weird interior, looks very plain

Nice color for this, pretty car

Like new K-car

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boomchek

True, haven't thought about the cost that way. Anyways on my way to work today, one of the steering control arms (tie rod ends?) popped off while I was on the freeway (doing 60mph) and so the money pit just opened up. Good thing I didn't kill myself or someone else as I couldn't steer. Towed the Impala to the AutoMall where I work. Back to my 93 Civic for now.

Back on topic: Got a ride in my friend's well kept 85 Suzuki Samurai Hard Top. What a funky tin can of a car. It's so basic that it's actually fun. No sound insulation, hard suspension, rattles everywhere, but it's a neat little car.

ghulet

.....until you get in an accident or flip over in one (sorry, boomcheck), cuz that's how many of them met their fate. They are dangerous vehicles.

andys120

the convertibles are especially nice. There ought to be a law against butchering that old DeSoto Airflow that way. :mad:

ghulet

....but I think those wide whites have to go, even if they are period correct (which I don't think is the case, anyway).

fintail

Yeah I think for then a normal whitewall would be a medium width, maybe half the width on that Pontiac. I think 60 was the last year wide whites were seen in any big numbers...save for MB which carried them on through 64.

andys120

They could be a little wide but M-B wasn't alone in carrying wide whites into the 60s,
Jags had 'em (including E-Types!) and so did some other cars.

'62 Facel Vega


Even some fairly humble ones

'61 Fiat 100TV

kyfdx

'56 Belair... restored condition.. nice..

Dodge Charger R/T... I'm not too up on my Mopars, but I think it was a '69 or '70... Hood scoop said "440 Magnum". It had new paint... suitably jacked up in the rear with fat rear tires.. I have no way of knowing if it was "real" or a clone...

fintail

Wide whites on an E-type...I forgot about those. That was an odd look, especially on the coupes.

I also spotted a nice 56 Chevy 2 door HT today, a maybe 51 Chevy convert, and a 70s-era customized 60s Stingray, a weird lowered all black thing.

lemko

...blue 1953 Chevrolet 210 four-door sedan. This one's for sale.

lemmer

over the weekend for the Porsche 250. I went through the Museum, so I have seen 6 floors of obscure motorcycles.

They also had a few cars in the basement, like a Lotus Mark VI, a Lotus 1 recreation, about 10 other interesting Loti, plain jane 928 and 914, and a aluminum Cobra shell.

People sometimes drive their cool weekend cars to the track. Not this weekend - the parking lots were full of what looked like rental cars. I did see a really nice Alfa 164 sedan that somebody wrecked in the museum parking lot badly enough that it had to be towed. Vault Cola brought one of those new huge International pickups. Someone had a lime green Lotus Exige, the first one I have seen. Not much else.

fintail

Last night as I was feeling ill, looking out my window, a beautiful looking silver-grey 63 Riveria drove up my street....like some kind of ghost or time warp car. It was pretty cool.

kyfdx

What a coincidence...!!

I saw an old Riviera yesterday.. not positive of the year, but definitely in the '62-'65 range... It was for sale.. only problem was the chrome dubs... It actually looked like a decent driver... A very attractive car...

regards,
kyfdx

andys120

I can recall a buddy looking to replace the OEM Dunlops on his '67 E-Type 4.2 coupe.

I asked him if he was going to switch to sportier looking blackwalls, as I had done w
my TR-4A. He wasn't, he replaced them w another set of whitewalls, at least by then the white part had gotten a lot skinnier.

Some years ago I built a 1/24th scale E-Type and decided to put WWs on it, just because it looked more "period".

fintail

That Riviera was a very elegant machine. It's amazing GM was making so many attractive products at one time.

I guess the E-type, debuting in 61 IIRC, can justify wide whites on the early models anyway.

andre1969

one of my neighbors had a '63 Riv. IIRC it was silver with a light blue interior. Beautiful car. He ended up selling it and buying a '66 or '67, which was brown with a beige interior and beige vinyl top. While the '63 was more "classic", the second one was optioned up much better, and that's what he really wanted...the options.

mazda6iguy

Just yesterday at the Canton Hall of Fame Kickoff Parade one of the cars carrying one of the dignataries, the Mayor I think, was riding in either a 1975 or 1976 Pontiac Grand Ville convertible.

mazda6iguy

At the same parade (Canton Kickoff parade) I also sighted a 1967 Dodge Coronet 440 Convertible with 20" wire wheels. It was copper color (sort of).

ghulet

...but Friday I saw a super minty fresh '91 BMW 318i sedan, the likes of which I haven't seen since about '93 condition-wise, 5-speed (IIRC, the only way they were made), red (weren't they all red, white or black?) with perfect gray cloth, even had the factory hubcaps, with NO SUNROOF.

kyfdx

Sedan? or coupe?

I think it was the coupe that only came in three colors.. and only as the sport model....

I think the 318i sedan was available in a lot of different colors, etc...

Mr_Shiftright

I just saw one today too, (318 coupe) oddly enough. It was in a friend's shop. Apparently the clutch exploded and blew the bell housing into shards and punched a hole in the floor. Weirdest thing. Never saw that happen this side of a drap strip. Apparently somebody in mud trying to back up in reverse up a hill. Musta cooked it as the flooring looked like it had been burned as well. Car was also minty-mint shape. Car might be totalled I'm told.

ghulet

....I've never seen a coupe without a sunroof, or with factory hubcaps. The sedan was particularly non-sporty, while the coupe was sold in 'iS' form only, with the lacy alloys and sport seats, IIRC. And honestly, I don't think I've ever seen a '91 318 (except convertible) that was any color other than white, red or black. Never seen a metallic; the 325s were available in all kinds of colors, but apparently not the 318. I have a series of '91 BMW brochures around here somewhere (one for each series), so I can probably find out and get back to you.

Regarding that clutch, ouch!! I can imagine between the mechanical repair and the hole it burned in the floor, the car could be easily totalled. I mean, those cars in wonderful condition are worth, what, mmaaaayybe $3500?

Mr_Shiftright

I was ready to offer $500 for it but the insurance company insisted on junking it....oh well, no big deal. I had a source for an entire used transmission (with mayhem like that underneath, I wouldn't use the old tranny), so figure $750 + $250 clutch parts plus $500 labor I'd be in $2,000 for a mint 318. If I didn't like it I could ditch it for that.

Yeah, $3,500 on a good day with the stars all lined up right.

SPOTTED: a '61 ?? Pontiac wagon...haven't seen one of those in a long long time. Were they still called Safaris then?

jrosasmc

What year was that 318i, anyway?

Mr_Shiftright

Ummm...not sure, '91 maybe? It was pretty...green with tan interior, soon to be coming back to America as a turkish teapot or a Hyundai I'm afraid.

jrosasmc

So it was the boxy E30 model, right, and not the newer E36 "aero" style?

fintail

This morning I saw a 70s model Porsche Targa...it had chrome headlight trim I believe, and the black and chrome wheels. It was yellow, and it looked like it just came off the assembly line, spotless.

Before that a pristine looking greenish grey W140 S600 sedan drove by my window...I need not to be tempted by a V12 car.

Also a Catera with a landau top and chromes and vogues...too bad that isn't more obscure.

Mr_Shiftright

Actually it was more of the "aero" style, yes.

A 1986 Mercury Sable on a hiking trail...down a ravine...looks like it will be hell to get it out of there....why do people DO that? No skeletons inside, darn it, I never get to do anything exciting.

lemko

...there were no skeletons clutching briefcases full of money and precious gems!

mazda6iguy

Saw another Geo Metro convertible on the way to work today. Looked like it was in good shape, but the engine sounded a bit loud.

fintail

Today at lunch I spotted an immaculate 84-85 Audi 5000, in a period pale yellow. Not many on the road at all anymore, especially in nice condition.

I also spotted a couple MB 450SLC at different times...a clean looking later model in brown, and a really nice looking very early model in a blue-grey, with non-DOT bumpers and color coded hubcaps.

mazda6iguy

Do you still see Hyundai Pony cars around? Last time I was in Canada we saw quite a few of them. Also, I wish we got the Acura EL.

fintail

Yep some of those mechanical cockroaches are still around, esp in BC where things rust more slowly. Still a few Ladas and Chevettes around too.

I know someone who wanted to come to Canada and buy a new EL. He was told they couldn't sell one to him!

jlawrence01

I spent 10 days in British Columbia, mostly on Vanscouver Island. I saw a ton of old Chevettes, Suburus, and Toyotas. I saw perhaps one Hyundai Excel but not a single Hyundai Pony.

I haven't seen one in years in my trips to Canada ... and I would be interested as I was in canada when Hyundai first offered them.

fintail

Tonight I saw one of those pimpy 77-78 Toronados, with the wraparound rear glass. White on white.

On 'Mythbusters' tonight they rammed a c.68 Plymouth Fury sedan into a barrier at 65mph

Mr_Shiftright

and what was the myth that got busted exactly?

andre1969

and couldn't find anything on running a Fury into a barrier, but they did try to do a driveshaft "pole-vault". Supposedly there's a myth that if your driveshaft fails and falls out behind the tranny, it could hit a pothole and "pole vault" the rear of the car!

The best they could do was get the driveshaft to come loose and punch up into the trunk of the car. And to do that, they had to really weaken the heck out of it first. When a driveshaft fails, what part usually fails, anyway? I replaced the driveshaft in my Dart when I swapped in a larger rear end, and I'd imagine the U-joint at the rear end would be what would fail first. Up front at the tranny, it's not phyically bolted to it...just slides in, and has a bit of play to compensate for the up and down movement of the rear axle, which would make it slide in and out of the tranny a bit. Now, there is that other joint, between the driveshaft and the part that sticks into the tranny. I just have a feeling that it's the rear one that would fail first, allowing the driveshaft to just drop at the back and then slide harmlessly out of the tranny.

au94

~73 MB 280 C coupe for sale in a front yard. Pale yellow in color, looked like brown hides. Didn't stop to see how much they wanted. Needed paint, but otherwise looked ok from the road, but then again that describes many a car...

Always liked the look of these though...

kyfdx

One of the original Suzuki Samurais from the '80s.... the one that CR pilloried..

In a 2-door hardtop.. it actually had racks on the top, as if it were a work truck for an electrician or plumber..

Scary small and narrow.... No wonder they had a tendency to turn over.. I didn't think there were any of these left...

regards,
kyfdx

fintail

The myth was something about someone being killed when a projectile in their car - a bobble head doll or a tissue box or something - stuck them in the head during a crash. I wasn't paying much attention, save for when they wrecked the old beast. It actually crashed pretty well, too.

The next show was better...TopGear, with their £1500 Porsche competition. Three people had £1500 apiece to buy a Porsche and see how it would hold up. One bought a 924, one bought a 944 (I think this guy won), and one a 928, which started burning oil and was parted out. It had those checkerboard pattern seats.

"Always liked the look of these though..."

You should find one...they are pretty cheap for what you get.