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

lemko

...Matchbox made a pretty nice Mercedes ambulance back in the '60s. I'm sure you have that one! Did you ever hear of a company called Gama from Germany? I have a BMW 528i diecast, but it's pretty beat as it fell off a shelf and got dented in the corner. Funny, the dent looks like a mishap that would happen in a real accident.

fintail

Yep, that was the 'Binz' ambulance, offered as both a regular and large car. It's a W110 fintail no less, and is well done.

Gama made a very cool large plastic fintail that I still try to locate now and then. I have a 1:35-ish promo model of a W126 that I think might be Gama - I'll have to check it out at home. It rolled off my desk some time ago and the grille got all smashed in, it too looks like something from a real accident.

themoon77

I have a photo that my mom took of me playing with one of those cougar wagons. I was probably 4, sometime around 1981. I remember that car well. Seeing it here brought back memories!

Edge

lemko

...had that Cougar Villager wagon! I still have it too! Must've been one of their more popular toys. I remember that old 1968 Mercury wagon with the dogs sticking their heads out the tailgate window. My cousin had that one along with numerous others.

As for scale models - I have at least 24 of the Danbury and Franklin Mint models. They are quite expensive but well worth it if you're into it. I wonder if they'll ever be worth anything or when I die my beneficiaries will say, "What the heck are these things? I dunno, they look like toys. Give 'em to the kids!"

fintail

There was also a sedan version of that 68 Mercury too, it remained in production for many years.

Some of those 'limited edition' mint cars have appreciated, especially the more expensive individual models as opposed to the sets. Check ebay sometime...I found one at a yard sale once and sold it there, and got like $40 for it.

Mr_Shiftright

Saw that rare Edsel convertible again. Man, that thing is so ugly it could make a baby jump right out of its carriage.

fintail

"WILL NEED TO REPAIR RUST BEFORE IT FLOATS---" = "It'll sink like a stone"

Healthy bidding on this tin can

I kind of like this in its semi-ruined state

They all end up on ebay

Cute little oddball

I could see my dad in this

Decent survivor for a smaller battleship

Kind of a handsome old beast, Andre-mobile perhaps

Pimpmobile

Pretty early hardtop

Pretty later hardtop

Nice survivor, but that interior color is nauseating

Probably one of the best left, the buy it now is amusing

Can't be many of these left

Like-new Dart

Wow

Lovely fintail in my color - now this is a car

I bet I know what's wrong with it...might be an easy fix

Nice Slob-model

Good looking Toro

These always get attention

Like a new car

These Andre-mobiles are coming out of the woodwork

grbeck

Interesting...Matchbox really seemed to like Ford products, both American and European. There were regular-wheel models of the Ford Anglia (the car used in the Harry Potter movies), the Ford Zephyr, Ford Cortina and Ford Zodiac, as well as numerous Ford trucks.

andys120

Oh yeah, that Lancia Appia is adorable.

gsemike

I saw quite a sight heading East on the Belt Parkway yesterday. There was a convoy of police cars with lights on. I looked over expecting to see the Mayor's suburban, but instead of that, I saw a row of six police cars and 4 were old school.

One was a 68 Chevy. There were two Mopars. One was an early 70s Monoco in solid black with a white stripe and the other was a later grand fury. It was the one with quad stacked headlights. I guess that it was downsized for the time. There was also an early Crown Vic. It was very upright and had chrome bumpers.

All of them looked to be in excellent shape and had lights blaring. It was quite a sight. I looked around on the news sites but didn't find any mention of it. I wonder what was going on.

Mr_Shiftright

Probably a movie...but if they weren't real cops, they'll lock you up for using lights and siren on a private police car. They don't like that, at all, no way no how.

fintail

And there were even a few Ford/Fordson tractors too, along with a Ford Prefect and the early Zodiac came in sedan and convertible form. Very little Mopar and GM influence.

andre1969

If that Fury had stacked headlights, it would've been a '77-78 model. It was really just the old midsized Coronet/Satellite with a full-sized name, a lame attempt to make people think Plymouth had downsized their cars. It was 1975 that Plymouth started putting the Fury name on these cars. The ad copy read something like "The New, Small Fury! The Car a Lot of People Have Been Waiting For!"

I didn't think there were any left. Between "The Dukes of Hazzard" and the "A-Team", and just about every other tv show of the 80's whose script called for the wrecking of a police car, I figured they'd all be used up by now!

stickguy

a nice looking, but not seemingly restored, early COrvair convertible (I would say around a '62). Not something you see very often driving around, expecially on a cold day.

Not clasic, bu a Corsica 5 door hatch. Just obscure.

grbeck

Matchbox offered a few Vauxhalls and an Opel Diplomat, but that was about it for GM.

I always thought it was interesting that Matchbox never offered a Mini until the early 1970s...or over a decade after the car debuted in real life.

fintail

Other than the American cars, yeah. I have a couple of Vauxhall Crestas and Victors.

I am not too familiar with Brit commercial vehicles, did GM hold any interest in those makes? Matchbox made a lot of Bedford and Commer trucks, along with some other oddball makes like ERF, Karrier, Trojan, Albion.

prosa

I love that '56 Imperial Coupe. What a beauty. Ah, if I only had the money ...
Looks like the seller of the T&C Woody has lowered both the reserve and the buy-it-now price.

chuck1959

I hope it's ok to post this here. But I actually saw 2 Buick LaCrosses on the way to the grocery store.

imidazol97

Are they really that rare where you are?

I think sometimes the car blends in when seen from angles as it goes by. From the rear it looks like a Camry that lost its jukebox taillights; from the side it looks like??I'm not sure; and from the front a LeSabre.

fintail

A good odd sighting today...in the rain I spotted a black CLS55 AMG, followed direcrly by a pristine looking 64 Chevy II/Nova wagon, in red and white. What a pair. It looked right out of the 60s, it even had one of those weird full width rear mudflaps/dust deflectors. Neat little car.

Also spotted a grey AMC Concord coupe, not what I could call pretty.

And on the Matchbox tangent...this somehow tugs at my heart, but look at the price!

Mr_Shiftright

AND the reserve has been met!

supply and demand, supply and demand, makes the world go 'round....

fintail

No supply and just a little demand is all you need for a little goldmine.

chuck1959

It's true for Buicks in general and I am in Houston.

andre1969

It's been a few years since I was in Houston, but I remembered the most common modern vehicle being the full-sized pickup/SUV. I also remember an awful lot of Hyundais. There really didn't seem to be too many newer domestic cars, but there were tons of older ones. The most common Buick was probably the 1983 Century!

On one hand, stuff should last longer down there since the roads don't get salted and the winters are mild (it tried to snow when I was down there in January of '01 though). But then on the other, wouldn't the high humidity be something to worry about?

scott1256

with all the patina of age. The car was parked so the suspension was settled way down.

The driver was sitting in the car. It was in a Dairy Queen parking lot in central Minnesota.

I haven't seen a DS wagon in a long, long time.

themoon77

Not really an obscure car overall, but there's a funny story too.

So I pull up to a red light yesterday, and I notice the black Z34 in front of me is reeeal loud, so I rolled down the window a little to see if the driver had anything to be proud of. As we sat there, I noticed the large, chrome exhaust tips common on Mustangs of the last 15 years, and a sticker on the bumper saying "Too loud? Too bad!" Okay, so I know these things came with a high-tech V6, and now I'm even more curious. As we sat some more, I noticed the driver was acting fairly impatient, rolling forward a bit every second or two, and it became obvious to me that this Lumina was a 5-speed. I had no idea the cars could be had with manual trannys.
The light turns green, and this guy puts the hammer down. Unfortunately, it then became obvious that the poor car was firing on maybe 4 of its 6 cylinders. Just before he got first gear all tach'd out and shifted (at a speed of maybe 20mph), dark gray soot/smoke was absolutely pouring out of those pipes. I noted that at high rpm the misfire made the car sound like a blatty small displacement V8--and then he shifted into second. The sound that came from the car when he let off the gas sounded strangely human--after a nice dish of refried beans or cabbage stew. If you'll note the nature of the suspension of those early to mid 90s GMs, imagine the rear end getting oh-so-close to striking the ground as he obviously power shifted into second, chirping the front tires just a little. As he wound out second gear, I actually feared the car was going to blow--you should have seen the black smoke coming out, that little V6 popping and cracking with all its might. I actually thought about following the guy, possibly attempting to suggest that he has a neat car, just please get the thing tuned up! Just then, a town police officer sped past me--he had been behind me to the left and saw the whole thing just as I had--and pulled in right behind the guy, followed him maybe a quarter of a mile to a supermarket, and the fun was then over if you know what I mean.

Wish I could have filmed the whole thing--the noises/visuals would have given you guys and gals a VERY good laugh.

Edge

lemko

...yesterday I spotted a drop-dead gorgeous silver 1967 Buick Skylark two-door hardtop. This one was silver-gray with a black top.

fintail

A few goodies today...on the way home I spotted a black 63 Impala SS convertible. Then when I was home I looked out the window, and the lovely maroon 220S fintail I see now and then drove by, followed directly by a yellow old style Mini. Then a few minutes later a nice W126 500SEL drove past, followed directly by a clean 86 Monte Carlo - two different versions of 80s machinery.

lemko

...white 1965 Mustang with louvered rear windows and dual gold stripe. Don't know if this was a special model as I saw no markings and am not a Mustang expert.

au1994

sounds like to could have been a GT350H. Shelby Mustangs that were sold to Hertz as rentals. More than a few were rented, raced and returned in less than pristine condition.

Think about that next time you get a Taurus as a rental.

au1994

actually, I need to correct myself. The GT350H was black with gold stripes, not white. Sounds like you may have seen someone's attempt at a clone.

gsemike

I saw a pimped out Merkur yesterday. It was a very metallic light green, had at least 18s, a mesh grille and a wing that went half way up the rear hatch and was molded into the back window (connected).

I guess at least one person digs Merkurs. Wish I had a camera phone

kyfdx

Ford Contour SVT.. in great shape...

I wouldn't mind having one of these..

andys120

IIRC the Hertz Shelbys eventually became available in other colors besides black, tho they all sported the gold stripes. Louvered rear windows were not stock on any 1965-66 Mustang but could be found in the aftermarket.

stickguy

the other day, I saw (heard first!) a '68ish Mustang notchback (cold have been a '67, but don't think so). Anyway, it looked super clean with a nice rumble.

Bright orange, but it had what looked like boss 302 stripes on it, but weren't those all fastbacks? Maybe it was mach 1 stripes, but I don't recall ever seeing that style of them, so maybe it was just a knock-off decal.

fintail

I'll be away from home for a few days, so no freakshow today. Just imagine links of 70s behemoths, imported orphans, and unloved domestics. Or post some here...

prosa

Here are a few:

Given its condition, the fact that it was a hearse is somehow fitting

I rather think the name of this model was considered inappropriate within a decade

This, boys and girls, is what people called "Detroit Iron"

Nice, but that "buy it now" price is unreal

Just give the poor thing a decent burial

It looks more like a high-tech basketball sneaker than a car

These must be getting pretty rare

I owned one of these in the early 1990's - a surprisingly good car

kyfdx

What is ironic about the Daewoo... It would be worth the same amount, even if it were undamaged.. :surprise:

Mr_Shiftright

Deloreans -- I think every one made is wagging its tail for a new owner. For a "rare" car, you sure sell them for sale everywhere. Owners think they are worth $20-25K, buyers think they are worth more like $14,000 if really nice. Buyers win.

andys120

ubbermotor

While wandering around an antique store yesterday I discovered a "Peerless" badge, a pair of Hudson Terraplane hubcaps and a dealer promotional edition 1968 Plymouth Barracuda Hotwheel ($65).

In the "real" car world; '62 Imala sedan, 68 Lemans conv. and a very early MGB.

Mr_Shiftright

Peerless was once part of the "Three Ps" -- considered the best/finest/highly crafted three cars America ever produced....Peerless, Pierce Arrow and Packard....and in my opinion that is correct.

ubbermotor

Yep, aluminum bodied, V-16 cars, went under in '32. I couldn't tell you what year the badge was from.

fintail

A Peerless badge would be pretty cool

fintail

Today I saw a (I think) 74 Chevy Laguna S3, in a very immaculate looking red and silver. It had that plastic looking front end.

kyfdx

When I was in high school... we thought those were very, very cool...

mazda6iguy

I remember when my grandpa was looking to buy a Chevrolet Malibu of that year, I remember wishing he bought an S3. Yeah, I thought it was cool back then too.

lemko

The S-3 is a Naval aircraft used in anti-submarine warfare.

gsemike

I remember a Laguna by me when I was growing up. The back was jacked up and he had riduculously baloon-ey looking rear tires mounted on Cragars. The tires must have been like 265/14/40s. At the time, I thouhgt it was cool as well. I still don't think I've seen another car as jacked up as that was.

With the Daewoo, there's got to be some schill bidding going on. How how how could that even approach $500??? The car has 66k on it, so would it be worth $2500 if it weren't destroyed?

bumpy

The only way you can get parts for old Daewoos is to take them off other old Daewoos, so if you really need something from a wreck then you have to win it to keep yours going.