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

lemko

...forgot one. I saw a green 1950 MG last night? Is is a TC or a TD? Not familiar with MGs of this period.

fintail

1950 should be a TD I believe

Mr_Shiftright

TC is lovely right hand drive version with large wire wheels, TD is the left hand drive ruined version with 16" wheels which make the car look silly. That's should help you! :P

andre1969

How'd my car get on eBay?!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4575427325

If it weren't for those alloy wheels and the fact that it looks to be in better condition, I'd swear this was my '67 Catalina! I think this is the first time I've seen another one in the same color, although I think I saw a movie ages ago called "Angel Town" or something like that, where they had a '67 my color that got beat up.



Yup, it was "Angel Town"

ghulet

....I saw a '67 Catalina (I think; it could have been a Bonne, but I don't think so) convertible on an old episode of 'Hawaii Five-O (half the reason to watch that show is for the funky music, fashions, but most of all, the cars).

This apparently is old, worthless, low-line week here on the north side of Chicago. A couple days ago, outside my local neighborhood redneck bar, was an early, repainted (that burgandy, almost purple that was popular) Maverick, sans bumpers. Then, less than an hour later, I saw a very early (small bumpers) blue Pinto coupe (trunk), with a very old man at the helm, who was clearly unable to drive. Today, on the way to work, I saw a pukey gold Valiant four-door sedan, I'd guess around a '72 or so (what was the last year those were built, anyway)? It had small bumpers, but the newer front end with the turn signals in the grille.

kyfdx

I saw a Pinto yesterday.. or maybe it was a Mercury Bobcat..

One of the later ones, with the hatch that was mostly glass... In pretty nice shape, too... with the factory stripes..

ghulet

...that there are two running Pintos in the midwest.

PF_Flyer

I didn't see it running, but I DID see someone getting into a Pinto outside of an auto parts store today! Looked like they had every intention of trying to start it up and drive it as well!

mazda6iguy

Spotted a red 1986 Pontiac Fiero last night at a Pontiac dealer... It was parked in what I call the "premier" parking spot (on a small concrete platform that was surrounded by lights that beamed up from the sides of the platform). Not in the used car area. It was parked in the middle between the new Torrent and G6 coupe.

ghulet

......oh wait, is that the new split nosed version of the Equinox? I thought GM was trying to get away from this, we now have that and the Saab 9-7 (TrailBlazer) and the Buick (name every GM minivan and SUV built). Sickening. Will they ever learn? Sure, get rid of Olds but give EVERY nameplate an SUV, just as gas goes to three bucks, the usual 'right on' GM timing.

andre1969

I shouldn't be encouraging GM to keep doing this kind of stuff, but I actually like the Torrent better than the Equinox! My roommate is thinking about buying a new car in about 6 months to replace his aging (125,000+ miles) but still-reliable-for-the-time-being '98 Tracker convertible. Some of the vehicles he was thinking of were the Xterra, Equinox, Liberty, Grand Cherokee (until I told him what they cost...he had no clue), and more recently, an HHR after I pointed one out to him, and then showed him some info on the internet.

Overall, I think the Equinox is probably the best overall bet for him, because it gives a good blend of price, size, affordability, fuel economy, and then factor in that he does like it. I'm just trying to talk him into the Torrent, because I think it looks better! Now if I can just convince him that he doesn't need 4wd! I guess though, after being used to a 2300 lb RWD vehicle that has tires on it the same size as my '79 NYer (and thruthfully, the 235/70/R15s I have on it are one size too big), I can understand how he's been conditioned to THINK he needs 4wd! :surprise:

lemmer

69 targa

stickguy

looks nice. Think how expensive it would be if it was a 911.

ghulet

....out of those SUVs you mentioned, I think I'd take an Equinox, hands down. I think they're car based, unlike any of the others listed, so I'd bet anything it will get better mileage than any others (especially the Liberty, which is a guzzler, supposedly). The HHR looks OK, but since it's new won't cost much less than an Eq, and that roofline looks claustrophobic. My neighbor (landlord's son, all of 19 years old) has an Equinox, its interior is quite nice and it looks well made, especially for a GM product.

michaellno

Sorry, I've got to vote for the Equinox's cousin, the Saturn VUE. Having looked at both, the rear cargo room in the VUE is larger, plus it comes with a more powerful (250 vs. 185HP) V6.

A FWD V6 VUE would run probably $20-$22K; as an added bonus, the exterior and interior received a minor redesign for the '06 model year. While I'm still grappling with the exterior changes, I really like what they've done to the interior (although, to be honest, all I've seen are pictures).

Mr_Shiftright

Geez, the guy should stop the auction, hug the $13,000 bidder by the ankles and accompany him to the bank under armed guard. This is, after all, a 4 cylinder model approaching the price of far better 6 cyllinder Targas with double the HP. This is not a highly desirable Porsche, as nice and pleasant and attractive as it may be. I'm thinking $13,500 is all the world's money for this car----but it looks like it might go a bit higher. Well, okay $15K....but don't plan on making any money on it and be prepared to be dusted by a Honda Civic (automatic trans, with teenager driving while talking on cell phone).

fintail

A big beige 66 Mercury convertible just drove by my window

andre1969

or the day before, maybe, I saw a white '65 Ford Fairlane 4-door. Looked to be in good shape. I never really cared for these (I like the '63-64 though), but it was still nice to see a decent one running around.

lemko

...old lady in a faded red low-line 1966 Dodge Dart. She didn't see the red light and locked-up the wheels.The car looked like it was skating on the pavement for 30 feet. Good thing we have something called ABS on modern cars.

lemko

Black Subaru BRAT - looked like a later model.
Black Mercedes G500
Yellow 1972 Ford LTD convertible
Ratty-looking orange-red 1973 Mercury Cougar with peeled white top

fintail

I'm at home this morning...a yellow Murcielago just drove by. You could really hear it, sounded like some kind of F1 car.

fintail

For the pimp in all of us...hilariously bad

I think this is kind of cool

Mopar Ute

I am sure someone likes these...somewhere

Shifty-mobile

I love the "One Eighty" script on these 40-42 Packards. This is also a very pretty car. End of an era...after the war, the custom bodies died off and it was all downhill.

Poorly detailed later Airflow...but still an interesting dash

In the dictionary under "obscure"

Probably one of the best of these left

I wonder what this thing has seen

It's very pretty....but something doesn't seem right. I don't know Gullwings as well as I do the more normal models...but the interior seems odd and these are much better with those Rudge wheels

Nice sunroof W111 fintail in an uncommon color

Fintail mobile

"Futuramic" sounds pretty cool

Andre-mobile

This is like the police cars in Blues Brothers...although this is civilian of course. Not many left like this

Pretty Pontiac sedan

Some cars were just too big

Chrysler did the slanted light thing much better

A new diesel Caddy

New 78 Caddy

Mr_Shiftright

That Gullwing looks pretty good to me...not a concours car but all the bits and pieces seem correct. Price is getting close...$225K should be enough for a car without bellypans or Rudge wheels.

One would be totally insane not to have this car inspected of course.

49 Olds -- boy a two-door version looks SO MUCH better than this dumpy thing. Maybe it's the neaderthal eyebrows. I'd love the fastback myself.

BUGAZZI -- yeah they're really lining up for this one --LOL! I guess somebody will think it's either really cool or really bad, which are two good reasons to own one I guess.

'78 Caddy -- well, now we know what a mint low mileage '78 Caddy is worth---the same as a high mileage one.

Caddy Diesel -- 13 brave souls bid it up to $3,500. May God have mercy on their souls.

FINTAIL -- never paint a Mercedes sedan red, ever, ever.

Looks like a lot of these "classics" are taking a beating in the auctions. Sometimes an old car is just an old car.

fintail

You like this one?



Or the smaller one?



i am pretty sure that red fintail is a factory color...I've seen 2 others the same color. It's rare.

andys120

I love 'em both, my late Uncle Charlie had a black one ('49 Olds '98).

Seen today on a 300 mile road trip-

-Black Ferrari 360 Modena GTB looking impossibly wide and low and sounding very cool.

-Mid-70s Mercedes S-Class sporting a British plate and RHD!

-Black Bentley Continental GT seen after dark so I couldn't make out much but the tailights and the Bentley emblem on the trunk.

BTW- IIRC Rudge wheels were quite exceptional on 300SLs, I'd be surprised if more than one or two of every ten were so equipped. The over-restoration of certain cars with desireable options can lead to skewed perception of how they really looked back in the day.

I don't remember more than a handful of '63-'67 StingRays being equipped with the now almost universal side pipes.

andre1969

like that chrome trim under the headlights that made those Oldsmobiles look kinda sad and droopy. The '53 and '54 Buicks did a similar thing, which I didn't find attractive either, and the Chryslers had a similar effect from around 1952-54.

Otherwise though, I like that '49 Olds. Both the big Ninety Eight sedan and the two coupes pictured. I think the Ninety Eight would look better without the skirts, though. And in a different color. Red just doesn't do that car justice. And IMO, unless it's a small, sporty car, a red car usually needs contrast to it. That's one reason that red convertibles usually look good, because they have a black or white top. I think a deep, dark burgundy would look good on that car, but not that nuclear afterglow red!

andys120

I was about six when my Uncle acquired his Rocket 88. He'd take us for rides and we'd feel the surge when it kicked down during acceleration. Wanting more we'd cry out in unison "Do the Rocket, Unca Charlie, do the Rocket!"

That's how car guys are born.

fintail

I guess if the Gullwing didn't have the knock-offs from new, it shouldn't have them now. I just think they look better. I also swear I've seen one with like a half cloth interior, and it was plaid. That's what I think of for a gullwing interior now.

When I was little, I also had an uncle with a car I thought was cool...but as I grew up in the dark ages, the cool car was an 82 Supra.

Yesterday I saw a MB 500E, c.1992. You can always see one coming because of the ride height and the flared fenders. I still think these are very cool.

fintail

Here's a goodie I found referenced elsewhere, that shows the risks of ebay

280SE 3.5 low grille cabrio

Looks like a really nice car, right? These things are very sought after and command tons of money. 50-60K is easy for a genuinely good one.

Well, the details aren't so good. That AC unit is probably out of a late 60s W108 sedan. It has roll up back windows - typical of a coupe - a cabrio would have all 4 power. And the VIN tells the story. 111.024 is a 6cyl coupe. 111.027 would be a 3.5 cabrio. So it's a chop job with an engine transplant. albeit a very well presented example.

stickguy

Well, from the registration shown, the state of CA certainly thinks it's a V8 3.5

Mr_Shiftright

chops are not uncommon on these cars.

Red Fintail -- I was talking to the factory, too, when I said "don't paint 'em red".

GULLWING -- those Rudge wheels are EXPENSIVE and boost the car value probably $20,000 alone. Bellypans add value, too. One thing I liked about the Gull that was pictured is that the owner didn't chrome the valve cover and pimp the car up in any way. It is supposed to have a black valve cover, as it does.

Yeah, I liked the Rocket 88 coupe. I don't like the sedan at all. It looks ancient and clumsy to me.

fintail

Maybe that cabrio is some kind of pieced together car, maybe a real one with missing parts poorly replaced, and a front clip (where the VIN is located) from a 6cyl coupe. But something is not right...MB data books don't lie, and a MB VIN/serial # can tell if a car is real just as any domestic VIN.

I think that fintail is OK in red, would look good with period wide whites.

Rudge wheels are really worth that much? Damn, I had no idea.

Mr_Shiftright

Yep Rudge wheels really look great on the car in 3D.

BENZ-- if the VIN # says 6 cylinder coupe then absolutely it's a chop.

ghulet

....I don't think that fintail looks too bad in red, but I do agree, in general, that most Mercedes don't look so good in red. There's a dead red fintail at a mostly-Mercedes repair shop a few blocks from my house. Exceptions are 450/380/560SLs and 80s E-class (I've seen a couple Signal Red 300Es, I think they look pretty cool). I've also seen a couple 126 sedans in red, not good.

I also don't like the red on that Olds sedan, but otherwise I don't think it's a bad looking car, for 1949, anyway; far nicer looking that most pre-war sedans. But, yes, those postwar GM fastback coupes are very cool, particularly the Olds and Chevy versions (the Cadillac is nice, too, though the fins definitely look like an afterthought on this body style).

chuck1959

I didn't realize the Equinox and the VUE were built on the same platform. Please correct this for me.

lemko

Yellow Lamborghini Diablo.

lemko

...I saw a nice blue Daihatsu Rocky at King of Prussia Mall last night. The driver had the bass on his stereo turned up so loud it was rattling every body panel like an electric football toy. I'm sure he's gonna be deaf by 30.

lemmer

911 RS America

Not all that obscure, but I saw a Viper GTS coupe with a personalized license plate "Bad Asp."

merckx

My accross the stret neighboh(he's the owner of a First Gereration Camaro parts company) let me drive a kind of car I've always scoffed at. He's got a 1997 30th anniversity Camaro SS convertable with manual trans-he said only 258 were made in this combination.
He also pt a cat-back exhaust his company makes. I found the power(and Sound) to be positively addicting! A really amazing,and I really didn't get that crazy with it either.

It's always interesting to have your preconceptions changed around a bit..

For Mercedes wheels, I think,on ANY car,the painted wheelcovers look best,even the SLs and Gullwings...

I used to see a bright red 1977 240D,and it looked wonderful against all that chrome..

Mr_Shiftright

I drove a '99 Z28 the other day and I have to say I thought it was the worst piece of junk I have driven in the last 20 years. Fun, though, once you duct-taped all the pieces falling off and didn't break anything by touching it. The chassis "craftsmanship" looked like the work of a Montessori school that specialized in teaching arc welding and painting cars with a vacuum cleaner. It felt like it was made in eastern Europe. Yikes, no wonder we don't see a high survival rate.

I have to say though it shifted so much smoother than my Porsche---that really bugged me.

jrosasmc

That '99 Camaro you drove says a lot about GM craftsmanship huh?

merckx

Yes,and the poor quality always made me instantly dismiss it;that,and the absurdly small back seat.

But I must admit that the drive was truly memorable-Thr press seemed to typically write of a "truck-like" clutch...It wasn't at all,though. And the SS stock short-throw Hurst was really smooth.

I was just surprised how much I'd liked it....I THINK I'd still rather have a base,even though perhaps underpowered, BMW coupe,though....

Mr_Shiftright

I'd buy one for like $2,500 and beat it to death, that might be fun.

jrosasmc

I'll tell ya one thing...a Camaro sure won't match any Volvo in terms of product durability. Put an '86 Volvo 240 next to an '86 Camaro and you'll see what I mean.

Mr_Shiftright

Oh, I don't know...80s Volvos like to shed pieces, too, and they are squeekers and rattlers. I don't think I would hold up a Volvo as the epitome of build quality representing the entire continent of Europe. You could do better.

If I had to drive into a tree, I'd choose the Volvo however.

andre1969

at least had a Dodge Dart-like solidity about them. Nice, solid thunks when you slammed doors, trunks, etc. In contrast an '86 Camaro has a sound about it when you slam a door or the hatch that can only be imitated by slamming the door of a frameless-windowed mid 70's GM product with the window rolled half-way down! :P

I remember an old movie where a character in an ad agency came up with a slogan for Volvo... "Buy Volvos...they're boxy but they're good!" Forget the movie, though.

Mr_Shiftright

I dunno...maybe we are talking about two different cars named "Volvo". None of these kind memories seem to be coming back to me. I remember slamming a Volvo tailgate and listening to it THWANG for 2 minutes or the door glass richoceting around in there for a while.

It is amusing to compare a Volvo and Camaro from the 80s though...between them you could probably combine attributes to make one good car. We could take Camaro drivetrain and styling and Volvo chassis strength and then ship all that to Japan for assembly :P

lemmer

We had a '82 240 GLT Wagon replaced by a '84 760 GLE. The latter seemed more solid than the former.

lemko

Silver BMW 850 coupe.

andre1969

I saw two old BMWs. I know I'm going to get them mixed up now, but one was an old 1600 and one was a 2002. One of 'em was a little red convertible that looked like it was in good shape, but the other was this ratty little green thing that looked like it should've been put out of its misery around the time Carter got sworn in.