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

imidazol97

My niece and her husband had one. ROOM galore inside.

lemko

...I love those 1967-68 full-size Plymouths' aggressive front ends! The car looks like its angry "don't mess with me!"

friendinthebiz

We saw a nice midsized sedan badged "Acura" and "Inspire" It had a late '90's look (window shapes and mouldings, etc.) and was in nice shape. Thought I knew the line-up: Legend, Vigor, Integra...is this a Canadian model?

fintail

My fintail has an unusual smell to it, but I think it is good. It seems to be from the laminated straw the seats are stuffed with and the expanses of wood that I clean with lemon oil every year.

andre1969

went into their '67-68 restyle of the '65 body much better than the Chryslers and Dodges did. While they all got chunkier for '67, the Plymouth was the only one, IMO, that kept a sporty, aggressive look to it. The big Dodges actually had kind of an aggressive, all business, don't mess with me look for '65-66, but just got kinda confused and over-adorned for '67. And there's something about the '67-68 Chryslers that just looks kinda Mercury/Lincolnesque, and much more heavy-handed than the chiseled, slimmer '65-66 models.

I measured my '67 Newport with a tape measure once and got around 220". In contrast, my '67 Catalina is only around 215". I'd guess a '67 Fury, while still pretty beefy, would be around 211-212"?

chuck1959

"Were these the ugliest Toronados"?

IMO not those were not the ugliest Toro's! I actually liked that one, especially the "panoramic" rear window and the power "T"-top. The ugliest Toros go to the 1990-92 can't tell if it's coming or going (front and rear looked the same) models. Of course this caused the demise of another great legend that GM let die, and for what?

explorerx4

that front end is familiar from some of those late 60's/early 70's ny cop movies. maybe french connection, perssico(sp?), the 7-ups, coogan's bluff.

bumpy

The Acura TL is sold as the Honda Inspire in Japan, so an "Acura Inspire" is the product of the same brilliant minds who put 'Skyline' badging on their G35 and leave the Infiniti logo intact.

ghulet

...the '67 Plymouth in question cannot be both a Sport Fury and VIP, they're separate models; it would be the equivalent of being both an Impala SS and Caprice, or Galaxie 500XL and LTD, at the same time (VIP was the 'fancy' Plymouth back then). So, given that it has VIP badging, it isn't a Sport Fury, not that it makes a ton of difference in value. What's the interior like (does it have buckets/console or a bench)? Production was 7912 for the VIP hardtop (offered only with the 'formal' roofline), as compared to 28448 total for both roofline styles of the Sport Fury.

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah that's why I was asking for the VIN so we can clear this up for the expert dealer :P

lemko

...a sleek black 1947 Cadillac Series 75 limousine on my way home from work. This car was drop-dead gorgeous! Too bad I didn't have a digital camera to capture this rare beauty.

lemko

...I had a car similar to the one in Photo 102 - a 1979 Buick Park Avenue. That one looks top be an Electra 225 with a cloth interior. Still a beautiful car by any means. Did that one have the 403 V-8?

themoon77

I assumed it was the Sport Fury because of the body style. An old friend of mine had a Sport Fury with the same body--I don't know much about Mopar particulars, so I assumed this was also the Sport model. My mistake! I haven't actually talked to the dealer--I have been going by after closing to look at it.

This car, for sure, has a front bench seat. I should be able to get the VIN this afternoon.

Edge

andre1969

yeah Lemko, it had a 403 in it, and I think it was a Park Avenue too. It had the original window sticker in it. I think it MSRPed for around $9850, which to me sounds cheap. I remember in the breakout that the 403 option was only $70.00!

Oh, BTW, this beauty was at Carlisle a few weeks ago, and the seller had it marked down to around $1995. It's probably a good thing that I bought that '76 LeMans earlier in the year, because if I hadn't, I could see myself buying this! I prefer the '77 to the '79, mainly because the front appears to be more slicked back and a bit less heavy-handed. This was also a very basic Electra, with cloth seats and vinyl on the door panels. It had the 403 though, which is the engine I'd want if I ever come home with an Electra or Ninety-Eight!

themoon77

Saw one of these on the Interstate (I-40) in NC over the weekend. It had been converted into a "truck".

Also saw a red late-80s Chevy Celebrity with a body kit. Perfect condition. How strange.

Edge

themoon77

Were they like this from the factory? Sorry the pic is so small.

ghulet

The image you posted isn't working.

I do remember those Celebrities, I think it was called the 'VR' or something, it was a step above a Eurosport; I think they were only offered in '87-88, one or the other. Kinda nasty looking.

fintail

You can tell a line is dying from the mainstream when the special editions come out.

I also recall a similarly decked out Ciera from the same timeframe, but I forget the model designation

andre1969

with what I think is that special edition Cutlass Ciera. It has "FE-3" on the decklid, which I think is the code for the suspension upgrade (Kinda like F41 for the RWD GM cars). And I remember that it had a badge on it with a whole bunch of various countries' flags. I want to say it was called the International Series, but then I'm thinking that was what they called the W-body version. In the '70's, before the downsized aeroback models, the Cutlass Salon had a badge with flags on it.

This particular Ciera has the 3.8 V-6 and just enough blackout/grayout trim to make it look about as sporty as a Ciera can look. It's pretty gutsy, too. I think it only has around 165 hp, but is pretty torquey. Later Cieras ended up with only a 3.3 option, and I think in the final few years the Chevy 3.1 took over. Neither one had the torque of the 3.8, even if they did have the hp.

stickguy

maybe around early 80's? It was one of the Buicks (I think) with the extreme fastback (looked like a hatchback, although it had a trunk). Kind of a nasty green, and looked all original, and not in a good way.

lemko

The reason I thought it might be an Electra 225 or a Limited is that it had regular wheel covers. Mine had the Buick factory chrome wheels with the large center though I suspect many Park Avenues had the wire wheelcovers. I still have the 1979 Buick full-line catalog that was in the car when I bought it.

fintail

I think they were called "International Series", that rings a bell. I remember they had kind of lacy wheels, pseudo ground effects, maybe a dorky little spoiler on the 2 door model. I think all of them had the flags emblem though, I am pretty sure ours did, and it was an 83 IIRC.

Ours was a carb 3.1 I believe...I remember it was a carb from looking at it as a kid. It had hilarious fake wire wheel covers that always rattled, a perpetual squeak in the dash from day one, and a passenger door handle that broke off in my 7 year old hands.

gsemike

I think that those fastback looking Buicks were Century-s of the late 70s. It was like a Regal from the front doors up and had a long flat hatchback silohouette in the back. Maybe a hatch was offered but most were trunks. It probably had an extended wheelbase as compared to the Regals.

andre1969

were called "aerobacks", and while they looked like hatchbacks, they weren't. Olds and Buick both offered them as 2-doors from '78-80 and 4-doors from '78-79. Sales on them were miserable. For 1980, the sedans were given a more formal roofline similar to the '75-79 Seville, and sales skyrocketed. The aeroback coupes were simply dumped after 1980, with no direct replacement. Considering the LeMans and Malibu dropped their coupes after 1981, GM probably saw no need to replace the Cutlass Salon and Century aerobacks with anything, as the personal luxury Regal and Cutlass Supreme coupes were still hot sellers.

The wheelbase on all of them was the same, 108.1 inches (I've also heard 108.0 inches, but that might be due to rounding...maybe it's really 108.5 or something?)

Now the Nova and its various clones, which were about the same size as the aerobacks, did offer a hatchback. The coupe version of this body style was already very rakish, so the hatchback blended in pretty well.

fintail

I remember when I was in high school a local had an aeroback 442 for sale for like $3500, and I thought it was very nice and was tempted by it. It was absolutely mint. I never thought it was too awful...at least it was daring, but the target market for those brands is anything but daring. I am sure build quality was awful and the engines were emasculated, too.

stickguy

the one I saw was a 2 door. Now that FIn mentions it, I remember the 442 model. That one didn't look too bad

ghulet

...of Cutlasses in particular during the 1978-80 period is dizzying (not surprising, I guess, given that it was the most popular car in the U.S. at the time). Several different engines, interiors from spartan to pimped out (I remember a navy and tan two-tone velour in a zig-zag pattern) and many different body styles and trim levels.

andys120

for some reason or another I've seen a couple of 318ti h/b coupes just in the past couple of days. I thought I'd try to steer the conversation away from discussing ugly barges of 70s vintage. :P

ghulet

Today I saw a yellow Lamborghini Diablo cruising down Clark Street in the Loop; a bit strange a sighting for mid-October in Chicago.

Also, it appears one of my neighbors has obtained a rather nice Mercedes 280CE; not only does it appear to be rust free (it's black), but it has a beautiful palomino interior with an aftermarket three-spoke steering wheel with a three-pointed star center and what appears to be a factory cassette storage unit in the console. Strangely, it has non-DOT bumpers, compostite headlights, a Zender chin spoiler, AMG badging in the back, and unfortunately, those damn chrome fender moldings and 8-hole 90s wheels. Started off nice, anyway.

chuck1959

Speaking of oddities, I actually saw on land and water a Ampicar! Also a BMW (?) Isetta!

fintail

That CE sounds cool, a grey market car. Shame about the fake AMG badge and those wheels and trim. I bet it would look good with old style BBS wheels or maybe old style AMG 5 spokes.

lemko

On my way home from work I spotted a late model black Bentley Continental GT and then later saw a very rough yellow 1966 Chevrolet Impala two-door hardtop.

jlawrence01

I have a friend who owns an Amphicar and three Isettas. Most people that still have Amphicars do not put them in water as they are not water-tight anymore.

Some Isettas were produced by BMW, while others were produced in Italy.

grbeck

FE-3 was the "handling" suspension for Oldsmobile during those years.

andre1969

I had almost forgotten about the 4-4-2. IIRC those things just had a Chevy 305-4bbl by then, although with the Olds Rally wheels and a black-over-gold paint scheme, they actually looked pretty sharp for still having that aeroback body style.

What was the high performance (in a relative sense) Olds from that same era that used the 350 and personal luxury notchback roofline? Was that the Hurst? I always got the 4-4-2 and Hurst mixed up.

au94

I liked the areoback look myself, to bad it was gutless. I've always been a fan of "fastback" body styles, esp the early Mustangs.

Andre--Are you thinking of the W-30 package? I think it was basically the Hurst package, just no Hurst name on it. It's hard to keep track of all the different models of cutlasses in that time period there were so many offered. Plus since factory performance wes a no-no, many seem to be just graphics packages.

gsemike

I remember from back when I was a kid, there was a game show called tic tac doe. One of there things was that if you won 5 days in a row, they would give you a aero back Century. So this air force guy named Thom McKee came along and set what I think was the record for consecutive wins on any game show.

He was the Curt Jennings of his day although the show was phenominally easier the Jeopardy. When all was said and done, he had a 7 or 8 week run and accumulated that many ugly base model Century aero coupes. I think I remember seeing a pic in People magazine of the Thom at home surrounded by these monstrosities. I wonder what the heck he did with them.

andre1969

yeah, I think that's it. Here's an example of what I'm thinking of. I kinda like 'em because they still used Olds 350s. And while they weren't all that powerful, maybe 160-170 hp, the cars weren't that heavy. In contrast, I think you could only get 301s and 305s in the downsized LeMans and Grand Prix, while Buick Centurys and Regals used 305s and 231 turbos for optional power. I've heard that the only downsized Malibus that had 350s were the copcars and the 1979 wagons, but I've seen a few coupes with them...maybe you could order them with the 350, but it just wasn't widely publicized? Or you just had to have connections?

jrosasmc

Yes I do remember the game show "Tic Tac Dough..." it was hosted by Wink Martindale. I saw all of the Thom episodes on Game Show Network. He was good at that game!

gsemike

Thom fondly recalls the Buicks:

http://www.tvgameshows.net/thommckee.htm

Most of them were sold to a Buick dealer.

That W-30 is a decent looking car. It's not nearly as desirable as the seller thinks it is, but wouldn't be bad for a cheap build up. I used to have a garden variety Cutlass Supreme in that gold color with the 231.

kyfdx

Rubber bumper MGB in Golf Yellow... with a horrid luggage rack on the rear deck lid... stood about 12" high....

Rubber bumper MG Midget... good shape, in that ugly orange color..

Nice looking black Porsche 944..

Old Falcon convertible in restored condition... but, bright yellow paint.. I think '63-'65 era...

andys120

I'd begun to think that all the small bumper Fiat 124 Spiders had all rusted away but I happened to spot a pretty nice one today. It was similar to my old '71, lemon yellow with black upholstery and the bodywork was in very good condition with no debts or scrapes and good paint that looked as if it might be original. As the car was parked I was able to give it a good look-see.

I checked for rust bubbles in the obvious places and there were none :confuse: . The car appeared to be a '72 or '73 with the double bumps on the hood that indicated the 1800cc engine as opposed to the earlier 1600cc or 1300ccmotors. It was like seeing a friend you haven't seen in a decade or so.

explorerx4

an '80's(?) bmw M-6. bmw red with gold bbs rims. driver was a total butthead. i was parked waiting to pick up one of my kids after school at the athletic fields. this car pulled up next to me and kept 'blipping' the engine. i didn't turn to look. then they rev it up and drive over to a nearby gravel covered area, stop, then spin the tires, turn around and leave. i was sitting in my explorer(not too obscure).

Today, saw a vw, larger than a bug. there was a wagon model of it called the 'squareback'. i remember that much. this looked more like a fastback. it looked brand new and had an antique plate. for some reason 412 rings a bell.

andys120

Yeah, the Squareback wagon had a Fastback sibling. It looked like
this>>

These were also known as 412 and in the VW world as Type IIIs.
Interestingly enough, it wasn't a hatchback.

stickguy

the 411/412 was a unique, later model from the fastback/squareback, which basically resembled slightly overgrown bugs (which I assume they were). the 411/4121 came in fastback and wagon styles too.

with the type iiis, I seem to recall a trunk version 2 door also, in addition to the fastback, which was pretty rare I guess.

themoon77

Someone in this area has one of those Volkswagens. I wondered what it was exactly. It is close to a mint green color--looks very nice--and it appears at cruise-ins frequently. Has a "heartbeat of Germany" tag on the front.

andre1969

on the way to a classic car show, Grbeck and I saw a 2-door sedan version of that squareback style on the highway. It was the first time I'd ever seen one. As a kid, I remember the hatchbacks and wagons seemed to be all over the place. They never did make a 4-door style of the old squareback, did they?

Just to show how common VWs in general once were, there's a place up the street from where my Granddad lives, that used to be common for dumping cars. It was where a school property backed up to a branch of the Anacostia River, with some forest scattered around. Anyway, at one time, there were two Bugs, a Karman Ghia, and two Squarebacks (one wagon and one hatchback) scattered about down there. The domestic showing included an old early 60's Falcon 2-door sedan that was actually in the river, an early 60's Corvair 2-door sedan that had the roof peeled off to the side, like it was used for practice by the fire department, and an old '58-64 GM full-sizer with the X-frame that was so stripped down it was unidentifiable...only thing left was the frame and the cowl!

andys120

IIRC the trunkbank version of the Type 3 was not officially imported to the USA.
It must've made for some pretty hot luggage! :P

And, yes, the 411/412 was a Type 4 introduced ca. 1968.

andre1969

in reading that encyclopedia entry on the VW 411/412, it says that it was the first VW to have unitized construction? Really?! So the Bug and the Squarebacks were body-on-frame then?

andys120

Yep, Bug bodies were often stripped to create Dune Buggies, you can't do that with a unit body.