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

andre1969

back around 1979-80 my grandparents bought 10 acres of mountainside down in the Appalachians. A few years back Grandma signed it over to my uncle and me. I haven't been down to see that property since around 1980, but I remember there being an old '59 Edsel wagon on it, and an old portholed Buick, like late 40's/early 50's. Both of them looked like they'd been there for years, even back then, and were riddled with bullet holes and totally beyond salvage. I'd be curious to see what they look like today!

Anyway though, does this make me an Edsel owner?

Mr_Shiftright

Legally? No, you aren't an Edsel owner. But you COULD be with a bunch of paperwork.

lemko

...had a grandfather who was the owner of a very small Kaiser-Frazer dealership back in the late '40s/ early '50s. He still had land that was dotted with the carcasses of numerous old Kaiser sedans. There were also plenty of 1940s and early '50s Mopar products. There's something to be said for those old Briggs bodies. Even after sitting for 20+ years, there was barely any rust on 'em and they were structurally intact.

Unfortunately, the land was sold about 15 years ago following the grandfather's death and each and every one of those cars was carted off to the crusher.

fintail

I wonder if these have any following

andys120

I wonder if these have any following

I've discovered that no matter how obscure or crappy every oddball car has it's following.

Even the Greenbrier :confuse:

lemmer

Somebody just had an estate sale consisting almost entirely of a huge Corvair collection, most of it junk. They covered it in Sports Car Market, I think. It included all of those weird Corvair variants. Some of the cars couldn't even bring a $10 opening bid.

andre1969

Life Magazine did an article on the best and worst cars of all time. The Edsel made the worst list. I remember in their write-up of the Edsel, they had a picture of a guy who collected junk Edsels and stored them. I think he had like 200 of them. I remember at the time (I was around 15 I guess) I thought it would be cool to contact the guy and see if he'd be interested in the '59 on our property down in VA. I figured that way the car would at least carry out its decaying years with some dignity and appreciation, instead of sitting on a mountainside.

I'm really curious to get down there sometime though. I'm curious to find out what sitting in the woods for 25+ years can do to a car! One other thing I remember is that there were a lot of pine trees on the land. I dunno if that would make much difference compared to deciduous trees which would drop their leaves, accumulate, and trap moisture. Plus, the acids in the leaves. I guess pine needles can trap moisture too, though!

imidazol97

Aren't the pine needles acidic? That would really build up corrosion on the body from needles dropping and sitting; but leaves wouldn't be much better. I'll be it's bedded down above the rocker panels having sunk in to the ground.

Mr_Shiftright

I think the Rampsides are quite popular. I always wanted to run one with a 3.0 Porsche turbo motor and tiptronic. You can all take out life insurance policies on me.

fintail

Not obscure, not a project, could be a money pit waiting to open...but I like the looks

Mr_Shiftright

Nice looking car, but the miles are scary---gee, 16 year old German electronics and 156,000 miles of wear and tear.

Also overpriced to the sober buyer---$5,500 would be all the money and fair market IMO. A smart buyer wouldn't pay more than $4,000 or so.

As with all forms of gambling, don't bet more than you can afford to lose.

kyfdx

Original model Suzuki Samurai... Hardtop model..

Wow, are they narrow!! This one was pulling a little home-made trailer on the freeway... Looked like an accident waiting to happen..

It was in amazingly good shape, though..

fintail

Yeah you're right on that price and the verdict. I just like those 126s. I got 5K out of my 182K mile 300SE with no hassle.

Maybe it's the weather here, but I still see a Samurai now and then. I can't imagine highway driving in one.

boomchek

My landlord/coworker has a hard top Smaurai that's a daily driver. Funky little car. It feels like a tinbox inside cause there's no sound insualtion at all.

bumpy

That car's sibling is sitting up at the local Chevy dealer, a slightly grubby-looking tan color. Probably traded in on a Deville or something.

Mr_Shiftright

In a Samurai, better wear a tooth guard--worst riding modern car I've ever been in.

lemko

...white 1988 BMW 535
...white VW Corrado
...white early '50s MG. TC? TD? Sorry, I don't know MGs as well as GMs.

fintail

I just spotted a white Subaru Brat hauling quite a bit of lumber

Mr_Shiftright

The TC is the good looking one :P

imidazol97

I saw a car carrier with a 1963 Chevrolet red convertible. Good shape. The paint looked dull but no rust.

It also had a car from the 50s? that I can't identify. It was maybe a Hudson or Nash? It had narrow chrome vertical rails that formed a tailfin that ran from the beginning of the trunk to the back and increased in height to about 4 inches. The car was black on the window level down to the middle of the doors and a blood red on parts of the lower car. The paint was perfect.

I recognized the colors but I can't recall the car. It was somewhat squared in shape--a little like a 53-54 Chevrolet bloated on steroids.

What was it? I've browsed some picture sites but haven't found anything.

bumpy

Black Hawk Tercel at the grocery store.

andre1969

Imidazol97, I can't really picture anything, given that description, but if it helps in your search online, AFAIK there were no cars other than Cadillac, prior to 1956, that really had what you'd call a tailfin.

If the tailfin was blade-like, and started on the trunk, as opposed to ahead of the C-pillar, and slopes upward, that sounds like it might be a Cadillac. The Eldorado had a fairly modern, blade-like tailfin starting in '55, which was different from the regular Caddies that just had the bump at the very end of the quarter panel. IIRC, the Eldorado had a different tailfin from '55-58. The '57-58 Plymouth also had a similar tailfin.

As for Hudsons and Nashes, they got tailfins and a boxy style for '56-57, and black/red was a common color combo on them.

imidazol97

I think it was this car... I checked again with the reminded that tailfines were 56-57.
http://www.nashcarclub.org/nccaphot/fifty/35787-2.html

It was on a car carrier going the other direction. A couple miles later a full size carrier with 6 cars on it that were collectables went buy. Not quite as unique as these three were.

lemko

...got to see the original "Gone in 60 Seconds" on Speed Channel last night. There are so many obscure car spottings in that film, it isn't funny.

What was the orange "Manta" car? Was there really a car like that back in 1974 or was that a kit car? I know there was an Opel Manta, but it looked nothing like that car. I think I spotted a Lamborghini Miura in the warehouse scene. I couldn't get over the awesome early '70s Cadillacs in this film. I could've cried when they burned the white Eldorado.

fintail

I wonder how or why this freakshow came over. Nice seats.

They all end up on ebay. I guess if you want one, the wagon is the one to have

I like these with the top up, and this example looks gorgeous. Kind of expensive though!

This is a cute thing, shame that glass will be impossible to find

Rare bird

A real minivan

Odd story, odd car...good for body panels I guess

Back when a limo meant something

Somehow I like this, pretty cool

Here's a cool project

Yeah

Surprising bids on this

Now if you *really* want to be cool, buy this

Not as cool as a 49 but still interesting

Another neat 1950 fastback

Nice enough looking old beast, but I don't know if its "antique"

Mr_Shiftright

300SL---nothing like starting an auction by opening the bid at full retail plus/plus..."gee why did I get 0 bids?"

MB 219 --shocking bids---hard to believe---did you see that grungey engine? Geez Louise, some people don't know what they are doing....if real, someone is going to be REAL disappointed trying unload that car for half the price.

58 Packard-- I didn't think you could make a '58 Packard uglier, but YES! You can make it a wagon!

300G convertible-- it'll fetch a good price...when restored they can bring over $80K if done well. This car seems to be priced out right even early in the auction at $30,000. Hard to say what it's worth without assessing real condition. Maybe worth $40K, after that you're pushing it because you need a full resto. Can you do body/paint/top/interior/chassis/drivetrain for $40K? Kinda doubt it.

But as they say "well, go find another one". They only made 337 of them!

andre1969

that '77 Bonneville coupe the other day. I kinda like it, even in that color. I just wish these chumps would list WHICH engine it has! I mean c'mon, how hard is it to read the little sticker on the radiator bracket? :mad:

I tried to do a VIN decode, but unlike Mopars, for some reason GM VIN decoders aren't as easy to find online. I know the 5th character is the engine, and according to a Firebird decoder I found, "p" means it's a 350-4bbl. I guess the code would be the same for the Bonneville, as the Firebird in the same year?

andre1969

I kinda like the '58 Packard. Oh I'll be the first to admit that it's ugly, but I still see a perverse sort of charm to them. Now the Packard Hawk is really an ugly beast, with that exaggerated front-end, but the "regular" Packards aren't quite as horrid. I think the biggest problem is the desperate attempt they made to try updating these cars to 1958 standards. The quad headlight setup was a last-minute thing and it shows. So were the tacked-on tailfins. Too bad they didn't just design the fenders in 1957 to be able to accept single or quad headlights, like Ford, Mercury, and the entire Mopar lineup did. That way they really didn't have to redesign them for '58.

For some reason, the 1958 Studebaker didnt come off nearly as bad as the Packard, although it's still pretty clunky. But the 1957 Stude was truly outstanding in its field. :P

fintail

Yeah on that ponton, it all has to be fake bids. It's the most unloved model, and it's done all wrong. That engine is no cleaner than the one in my unrestored fintail. Lots of the interior looks wrong, and even the rear badge looks broken.

I'd like to stumble upon a project like that 300G.

And yeah, those Studes and Packards from those late years show how out of money the company must have been. You look back at them and for the most part wonder why they bothered. Without the Lark, 58 would have about been the end of the line.

imidazol97

Looking back at the designs and comparing to the big 3 they look really bad. They were the death throes.

That 1950 Olds caught my interest. I can't remember ever seeing them in the area where I grew up. Chevies were more common and Buicks and probably Pontiacs. Then in 1953 the Oldsmobiles caught on. Probably was related to a change in economy after the war that gave people the ability to spend more on a car.

Thanks for posting the items from Ebay. It's fun.

prosa

Yeah on that ponton, it all has to be fake bids. It's the most unloved model, and it's done all wrong. That engine is no cleaner than the one in my unrestored fintail. Lots of the interior looks wrong, and even the rear badge looks broken.

The seller didn't even get the description right; he calls it a "fifty-eighy year old vehicle" when it fact it's a MY1958.

I hope someone picks up the 1958 Packard. The seller claims that he'll have to scrap it if it remains unsold, due to lack of storage (but why then does he have a reserve?)

fintail

A lot of craigslist people do that too...they'll have a non-exotic car in heap condition suitable for a parts car at best...then want a couple grand for it and claim they'll crush it if it doesn't sell.

If I had something I knew I could never get back on the road, I'd just about give it away...I am a strong believer in parts cars saving the lives of other survivors.

Mr_Shiftright

I just can't imagine having to look at something so ugly every day, as that '58 Packard. I guess some people are into being MCs at freak shows.

fintail

Last night I saw a Peugeot 604 (unsure if gas or diesel) being used as a pizza delivery car. Probably not the best choice, although I will admit I kind of like how those look.

lemko

...a beautiful blueish-gray and white 1957 Plymouth Belvedere four-door hardtop in a parking garage at 1500 Locust Street in Philadelphia and a nice black 1965 Pontiac GTO hardtop with the Pontiac dog dish wheelcovers in West Chester, PA.

imidazol97

65 GTO = cool!

fintail

Today in the miserable cold rain I spotted a Sterling 827 hatch, a couple of 65-66 Mustangs - one a nice looking fastback, a ca. 70 Ambassador, and a 450SLC with a weird period looking ground effects kit

explorerx4

first i want to say thanks again to 'fintail' for his weekly ebay posts. i always look forward to them.
ok, i saw a 1970 ford torino squire gt! (i'm no too sure about the 'gt', but the badge was on there.)
it was immaculate, white with woody side trim, dual exhaust and a 'fairlane club of america' surround on the rear license plate.
pulled up next to it at a light to check it out. he actually left on me when it turned green. i didn't push the issue, being more than happy to enjoy any view of it i could get.

fintail

A GT wagon...I don't know if there is such a thing, but if it existed that sounds cool.

I spotted an oddball not long ago tonight...I just happen to look out my window, and what should pass by in the dark rain but an immaculate looking 61 Mercury 4 door HT, wearing those medium width whitewalls that were in style then. It was black and it silently coasted down the street, like a ghost. I bet there are very few of those left.

lemko

...spotted on a very lousy day:
Grayish-silver 1969 Buick Skylark four-door hardtop with a black vinyl roof and a white 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS hardtop.

lemmer

I often see an older LR Discovery on my way to work. I don't know if it is some sort of 'Serengeti' edition or some similar or if they rigged it up himself.

It is bright yellow with black wheels, and has every imaginable kind of rack and brush guard. Additionally, it is covered with all kind of supplier stickers as if it were some sort of race vehicle.

It really stands out in traffic.

PF_Flyer

I know TV doesn't count but we've been watching the Barrett-Jackson auction on Speed channel over the last couple of days.

Now they had some RARE stuff!

PF Flyer
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au94

I watched a lot of the coverage over the weekend. Some fantastic sites and some serious $$ for cars.

I thought it was interesting when Brock Yates read and e mail that asked what cars would be on stage in 20 years. He said basically "Who knows". They had just auctioned a SS Chevelle for 300k!! His point was 20 years ago no one would have thought you could get 300k for a Chevelle, 454 SS ir not.

He did say that he did not think it would be souped up Honda's!!

fintail

Heck, 20 years ago 30K for a perfect Chevelle would have seemed insane. IIRC back then those cars were maybe special interest, nothing more.

I think a lot of boomers and current muscle car people will still be around in 20 years...I think the same cars will be bringing big bucks. I can't think of many moderns people will covet so much.

themoon77

A friend of mine has a real nice 61 Newport, I was reminded of it when I saw the 300G. He bought it from the original owner. There is a cruddy picture of it and other cool Mopars on this page.

http://www.geocities.com/mountaingatewaymopars/member-rides-2.htm

Edge

PF_Flyer

Another interesting comment was when a 31 Ford or something like that came up and they noted that there were not a lot of younger bidders for what many folks think of as "classic".

au94

I tend to agree with you. Muscle cars, customs and the like will still rule the market. A pristine Vette might fetch a pretty penny, a Viper, but other than that I just don't see anything currently that is going to demand huge $$.

Just brainstorming, but one of these in perfect, low mile condition might get some consideration even if it is for the oddity factor:

PT Cruiser
Crossfire
Cayenne
MB SL series
05 Mustangs

Who knows...Its all what the market will dictate.

fintail

From what I can see, Model A prices are around where they were 20-25 years ago. The enthusiasts are dying off, demand is falling. 1920s common cars are faring even worse. Fancier cars and very early cars seem OK though.

This will happen to muscle cars too, but in 25+ years.

fintail

I can see high end Mustangs being worth a little...bit IMO PTs are too common, Crossfires too odd (maybe like a modern Avanti), Cayennes too ugly, and SLs too complex.

AMG tuned cars might have special interest status, along with M cars, S cars, V cars, etc.

au94

I'll throw out an M3 and an M5 as potential collectors.

Maybe even the 850i coupe.

Lots of people subscribe to the theory of "unloved now, unloved later" when it comes to identifying potential collectibles. If thats the case, and the general commonality of cars today, this hobby could be in for dark days.

Seriously, could you ever see someone paying huge $$ for an 05 Accord V-6 with 1500 miles?