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

kyfdx

That is a great story.. reminds me of a two-week vacation in '69 down to Florida.. down one coast, and back up the other.... Six of us in a Bonneville... Mom, aunt, uncle, grandmother and my 18-year-old sister.. Basically, 5 adults and an 11-year-old... We drove on and stayed in a different place every single day...

Vacations were a lot different then...

andys120

A/Ts were optional on Squarebacks and Fastbacks, the first to be offered by Volkswagen. These weren't to be confused with the Semiautomatic clutchless manuals later offered on VWs and some Porsches (I think).

stickguy

I know the 412 my grandma had (not sure of the year, but probably early-mid 70s, when they had the seatbelt interlock so it buzzed whenever the belt wasn't fastened) had a true AT. nasty piece too, with hard shifts, and slow as a snail.

chuck1959

Thanks for that explaination! I thought I was going crazy...I knew my 1972 Squareback I had 10 years ago had a fully automatic!

explorerx4

didn't harrison ford drive one in the movie 'witness'?
with the bad weather and all, haven't seen too many 'obscures' lately, so this will have to do.
black excursion with a huge lift kit and a big orange harley sticker in the back window, tailgating a 'little' F150.

imidazol97

a car I don't think I've even seen before.
1962 Jaguar Mark II Salon. Tidy little thing as the Brits would say.
I might be off on the year. But it was a mild brown color.

chuck1959

You are right about that.

andys120

-a Triumph TR-7, ca. mid-70s in derelict condition with a portion of the top missing. looked like it hadn't moved in a decade.

-A Mitsu Starion/Chrysler Conquest (didn't get close enough to read the badge) from the mid-80s looking fairly clean and straight.

themoon77

A guy I know "collects" Conquest Tsi's, for what reason I don't know. He says they are sweet handling and fast, so I guess he has driven and enjoyed one before (none of his 5 are running). Ever seen the interior of one? The dash looks as if it were lifted from a mid-80s Plymouth Voyager. The Mitsu Eclipse (1G) was a much better effort IMO.

jaserb

Conquests are rear wheel drive, so there's one big advantage over the Eclipse. It uses the same block design as my pickup, so in the twisted corners of my mind I've thought about swapping a turbo / intercooled Starion engine into my little Ram 50. As you mentioned, it's not too hard to find junkers.

-Jason

gsemike

Back in the early 90s I had a friend that really regretted trading in his Conquest for an IROC Z. He said that the only advantage the IROC has was in a straight line and that the Conquest was a much more fun drive and more reliable. He also indicated that it had power everything and leather standard whereas some of these items, especially leather, were extremely hard to find in an IROC/Trans Am.

I think that given the era, the Conquests and Starions were pretty damn good cars and a forrunner of the fast and furious thing.

andys120

I saw a '58-'60 T-bird. Cars from the late 50s are real time machines, they couldn't be from any other era, the Square Bird was one of the more sane designs, lacking the tons of chrome on most cars but the rear end with six tailights is a mess. If they'd excersized
a little restraint it could've even been good looking but restraint was not exactly in style back then. :shades:

I once rode in a Square Bird belonging to Edward R. Murrow (long story).

imidazol97

I believe the 1958 had 4 taillights. Then 59 or 60, for sake of change, had more lights but middle were actually backup lights, IIRC. Maybe they were just keeping up with the 58-59 Buick with the jukebox effect. My undergraduate college buddy had a 1960 Gold T-Bird. I drove it home one weekend.

He also had a 64 Chevy with 350/350 and 4 on the floor. I don't recall if it was a Muncie transmission with the specific gearing (we were in Muncie). Two door dark blue hardtop. Don't believe I've seen one at the cruiseins the same color even thought that was one of the popular colors.

andre1969

handle like pigs, and aren't nearly as fast as the hp numbers would suggest, but I've always liked the '58-60 T-bird. I think the 60 is actually my favorite; I like its more intricate grille design better than that billeted look (or whatever they call it) on the '58 and also better than the horizontal grille of the '59.

lemko

...had a white 1960 Thunderbird, but that was long before my time.

andys120

I believe the 1958 had 4 taillights. Then 59 or 60, for sake of change, had more lights but middle were actually backup lights

The car I saw was a '59 or '60 then, with four tailights and an equal sized back up light between each pair of t/ls. Total overkill IMO.

OTOH I saw a clean looking '66 or '67 Pontiac Tempest 'Vert with the stripe on the side that indicated the Sprint model (DOHC 6). Pretty good looking car!

imidazol97

>between each pair of t/ls. Total overkill IMO.

All those openings in the back for the jet exhaust indicated power and speed in those days...

andys120

All those openings in the back for the jet exhaust indicated power and speed in those days...

I know, I'm a product of the Jet Age myself. I still think if the T-Bird's styling was a little more restrained it would have been as classy as the Continental MK II,

imidazol97

I'm glad someone recalls the jet influence. Others might think I'm looney. We had a 1950 Studebaker with it's obvious jet influence in design of the intake grill.

fintail

I spotted a 61-62 Corvette out today, it's hard for me to tell them apart. Red of course, and it was obviously restored. Top down, it must be fun.

I've also had the fintail out today, and that thing is turning more heads than I've ever noticed. Most people have probably never noticed such a weird Mercedes.

On to the heaps:

Funny, but you can't do much with it

Still more elegance and class than any new model from this maker

Seldom seen, my dad would find it very attractive (maybe save for the color)

Odd to see one so shabby. Is the Carson top really period?

Now this is what a hearse should be

Or this...I like how the period design exists even in the back

Every one of these ends up on ebay, just like 58 Packards and 60 Edsels

I like the originality of this...a true "survivor"

Another big old wagon...I am not sure if this is one seen before

PIMPY

It's cool, but just a little steep

Cool wagon with very interesting history, and impressive bidding

Andre-mobile in nice colors

Big unusual top of the line boat

This must be unusual...the seats are cool

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andys120

I like the '39 DeSoto even tho it isn't an Airflow. It's still got nice streamlining.

The '61 Poncho wagon is truly unusual. One just didn't see big wagons with TriPower motors and Aluminum wheels back in the day.

It's just about impossible to tell a '61 'Vette from a '62. There are minor differences in grille detailing and in the shape of the scoops in the coves, I can't remember what they are

Mr_Shiftright

Well biggest thing is that the coves were not outlined with trim, so you couldn't order two-tone paint for the coves. Also it has rocker panel mouldings and the '61 doesn't.

ghulet

....to tell a '61 Vette from a '62 is the engine (283 versus 327); of course, that doesn't help unless the hood is open or someone happens to tell you which engine it has

ghulet

....I wonder if that '54 Pontiac was formerly in Chicago, I remember seeing a car exactly like that several times in my old neighborhood (Andersonville/Uptown/'New Chinatown'); there can't be more than a couple orange '54 Pontiac coupes left in the whole country, right?

chuck1959

Excuse my ignorence, but what is a "cove."?

fintail

A cove is the concave part just behind the front wheel opening, often painted white in older models.

The one I saw was one-tone and had narrow band whitewalls - I bet it was a 62.

Mr_Shiftright

Those are two tip-offs that you are probably right.

stickguy

I like the 442. WOuldn't mind taking a flyer on something like that if it was cheap enough, but I'm not sure if cheap enough is much more than the current bid, since it has needs, and I bet the reserve is a lot higher. But, it is in the right state, and has a 4 speed.

On the Fiat, the bell is to wake up the hamster in case he falls asleep at a traffic light.

fintail

An old friend is in town tonight, and we went out this afternoon and browsed some high end lots. I saw A LOT of oddball high end cars, including a 300SL roadster that I of course was drooling over. But I found something more practical to hold my attention - a 1993 500E. With 18K on it. It was in virtually new condition, a legitimate time warp car. Whoever drives it must be small, as the drivers seat looked as new. Not a scratch on it. It was beautiful. They wanted a hilarious price for it....40K. But it was fun to look at anyway.

My friend likes W140 S-class, and the MB has a 60K mile 1997 S420 in an odd color - Nevada Silver. I don't think I have seen hardly any in that color. Kind of a grey, looked good on the car. It was also pristine, no damage at all. Price was high - 20K, but you get what you pay for with those things.

lemko

...blue 1972 Buick LeSabre sedan with a black vinyl top near Front and Olney in North Philly. It looked to be in pretty good condition.

lemmer

I saw a Porsche speedster yesterday (the old kind). Is it real? I have no idea, but it was coming down the driveway of a $10 million dollar estate.

Mr_Shiftright

They make some pretty good fake Speedsters, but they aren't so terribly valuable that you wouldn't drive a real one around--also they made a fair number of them (over 4,000) so you might see one on the street, it's possible. Usually on the fakes the interiors are all wrong, and of course most of the fakes are fiberglass. But some of the fakes are really good...it takes me a minute even up close.

andys120

I can't remember the last time I saw an honest- to-God Porsche Speedster that was made by Porsche GMBh and had a metal body. I might've seen one at a car show this summer but it was so clean and straight it almost hadda be fake.

It might be different on the Left Coast, the original Speedsters were Kalifonia Kars, if there ever was one.

snakeweasel

Delurking here for a moment just to say "Hi" to everyone and to say that I saw a Citroen CV2 here in the western burbs of Chicago. Actually saw one (maybe the same one) not to far from where I saw this one maybe 10 years ago. Man that is one ugly car.

Back to lurk mode.

andys120

If you saw something like this>>

You saw a 2CV (not a CV2) It is ugly but in a charming way.

jlawrence01

My friend has one of those Citroen 2CVs. Is it really any uglier than the VW Bug that everyone gets all enamored over?

What scares me about the vehicle are the front seats. The frames are made of bent tubing like they use in lawn chairs. I would hate to be in a collision in one of those beasts.

Mr_Shiftright

Nah, you wouldn't hate it because you'd be dead already and you wouldn't care

andys120

I saw a '56 Bel Air parked next to the boat ramp near my house, white over red, stock looking except for Cragar style wheels, fairly straight looking but with paint faded just enough to think it might be original.

I see this car around town often enough to believe that it's regularly driven, perhaps even a DD. Not bad for a car that turns 50 next year.

snakeweasel

Nope, it looked exactly like that (but gray) and while its ugly I will debate you on the "charming way".

And I apologize I thought it was CV2

andre1969

the name is Deux Chevaux, which translated literally, is French for Two Horses. Keep in mind that's a gross rating though, net horsepower is more like 1 and a half ;-)

I think they're actually kinda cute, in a perverse sort of way. The older ones with the round headlights were better looking, though. I don't think it's any uglier than a VW Bug, but there's something about it that just looks flimsier and more homemade than a Bug.

mazda6iguy

Didn't James Bond roll one down a hill in For Your Eyes Only?

andre1969

I remember that! I think the bad guys were driving Peugeot 504's or something like that?

Mr_Shiftright

The 2CV is strictly a back lane kind of car. They are really frightening on an American freeway. Great way to meet the ladies though...you'll get the same fatal attraction mileage as you would with a Ferrari. Some owners insist they are "simple" but I found them a nuisance to work on.

jrosasmc

You found those two-stroke 2CVs hard to work on huh? I bet it would make even an old Subaru look like a toy car by comparison.

Mr_Shiftright

I mean access and where you have to jam your fingers, etc, and some of the procedures. It's tedious to work on. They aren't two strokes, that would make them easier.

andys120

The 2CV is strictly a back lane kind of car.

That's hardly surprising since when it was designed France was still mostly an agrarian country and the 2CV was designed as a kind of French Model T that would be affordable to farmers and versatile enough to allow them to transport crops, livestock and poultry to local markets.

I wouldn't drive one on a freeway on a bet.

lemko

...a blue-green metallic 1964 Chevrolet Impala hardtop coupe and a dark gray Honda Insight.

kyfdx

Maroon Buick Reatta coupe..

stickguy

1930's vintage, but not sure what. I saw it drove through the parking lot at my office, which was a bit of a shock. Very nice shape though, I think it was a 2 door sedan. Thinking Lincoln for some reason, but I'll try to find out.

Guy I was talking to knows who the owner is. Seems he also has a '65 Caddy 2 door, and a mid-60's Vette coupe in original condition.

Scuh problems some people have. Just surprising that he drives them all to an office building and parks in the outside lot.

Mr_Shiftright

Well the Vette could get stolen so that's risky but a '65 Caddy is fine as a driver---not particularly rare or valuable and easy to fix (most things).