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

jrosasmc

Hey, you'll like what I'm about to say- While reading the latest issue of Motor Trend Classics I saw this excellent article about three Mercedes models that I know you're familiar with: '67-'71 300SEL 6.3, the mid-'70s 450SEL 6.9, and the '92-'94 500E. I recall you commenting a while back that these cars are not for the do-it-yourself owner and that they are super-costly to fix.

And it still applies even to this day, I presume?

fintail

I've never seen this body on one of these...but it's shot now

IF you've lost all your taste...

Something not sold in the states IIRC

Cheap way to go to Brighton

Shifty-mobile

I just don't get it

Elegant, the last gasp

Odd thing to wind up on this continent

1957 sides + 1959 front

Now that's a dashboard

Yeah it might be the best in the world, but talk about throwing money away

I'm surprised the top fits so well on this chop job

No bids...I wonder why

Back when a limo meant something

It's the 70s condensed in vehicle form

Andre, get it before they demo it!

Yeah, but wow

Could be the best ponton sedan in existence, but let's get real

Look who's back

Not many of these around

Just change the paint and add Jackie Gleason

Nice early downsize survivor

fintail

6.3 and 6.9 are even worse than the Porsche-built 500E, I bet.

I was once visiting my old MB specialist, and I was admiring a 6.3 parked nearby. He told me not to go there.

Mr_Shiftright

be afraid, be very afraid. The 6.3 motor in the 300SEL is the same motor as the 600 limousines, so you know where this is going to go. You need a waterpump. Mercedes will be glad to "MAKE" you one....(gulp!).

Mr_Shiftright

Hey somebody kicked that Mercedes SB at $10K....musta sobered up...wonder what it'll get this time...

'38 LaSalle: I really had to laugh at that one...the car is worth maybe $250....I really like the comment about the fenders being "usable"....yeah, for target practice. This car is not so very valuable even in nice shape.

Love that '54 Pontiac wagon but the buy it now price is downright silly.

Ditto the gorgeous Ponton. People really need selling lessons on eBay....

Also loved that '41 Packard...wouldn't that be cool with a modern engine, power steering and brakes, all very well hidden....?

british_rover

or do the pictures of that SL look fake?

It looks like it is a model or something.

I really like that Cord too.

fintail

Yeah something like that Packard could make a good resto-rod. Keep the ride height/seating/colors etc stock, just update the mechanicals. There's just nothing modern with that kind of coass.

That SL has blurred image backgrounds, I've seen that in German ads before. Maybe they are hiding something...

Woo hoo a Nissan Skyline just drove by my window

andre1969

to the transmission shop to give them the keys to my uncle's pickup (couldn't find their night-drop when we dropped the truck off yesterday), and I spotted a whole bunch of old stuff.

Lessee...

1970's Caddy Seville, a really pale green with a dark green top, for sale in a church parking lot. Looked nice from a distance.

1968 Plymouth Valiant sedan, in burgundy, its paint worn but the car itself still looking solid

1965 or so Plymouth Valiant Signet 2-door hardtop, light metallic blue. Looked good at quick glance, but at certain angles you could see a waviness in the sheetmetal, and it looked like bondo coming loose around the rear wheel opening

1968-72 Chevy Nova coupe, light gray, faded but solid looking

Early 60's Chevy pickup, light blue, with its nose poking out beside a house. Couldn't see enough of it though to tell if it had a wraparound windshield or not, or if it had the white contrasting roof that was popular back then.

1970 or so Buick Special hardtop coupe, gold, and all beat-up, parked at the transmission place. It was there back in 2004 when I last had my tranny serviced, so I think one of the guys there owns it.

One of those fat 1971-73 Mustang fastback coupes, in red, appearing to be in good shape

1980's vintage Dodge Ram pickup

Late 60's/early 70's Chevy pickup. Went by too fast to really get a good look and ID it

1984 or so GMC Sierra pickup, almost a twin to my Silverado, in red with a black roof.

1969 Plymouth Roadrunner hardtop, parked out in front of a junkyard/towing company/repair shop, in yellow. Looked to be in good shape, but it was on jackstands in back and had the rear wheels off. Someone painted the brake drums YELLOW to match the car!

1969 Dodge Coronet 4-door sedan, dark metallic blue, for sale. I actually know this guy. Works in this same complex, and years ago had a 1979 black Volare coupe with a 360-4bbl that he only wanted $500 for. I would've bought it, but that was a financially tight period for me. At one time he also had this light-colored tan/beige 1973 New Yorker 4-door hardtop that was in really nice shape, but I don't know if he still has it or not. I haven't seen it around in awhile.

I'd almost be tempted to check out the Coronet and see what he wants for it. IIRC though, at one time he pulled the back seat out and built this homemade subwoofer that took up the whole back seat area. And while I don't remember the car having any rust on it, it looked like it had a recent hit to the rear door/quarter panel area. And I have no idea what engine it has in it. Probably had a 318 originally, but for some reason I'm thinking he put a 440 in it.

mazda6iguy

My dad had a 1981 model. I remember the color was firemist red. I drove it a few times. I remember he did not keep it that long, only a couple years, so it may have been a leased car.

andre1969

I missed this list earlier, but there's some stuff I really like in there.

I'd almost be tempted to try saving that '79 New Yorker, if nothing else to keep around as a parts car if mine ever suffers any body damage. But I dunno if I'm willing to go all the way out to Iowa for a car with a bid that's only up to $225. I went to Ohio for my '76 LeMans, and I think that's about my limit! And at least with the LeMans, I had a good feeling about it. I dunno if I'd want to drive 1000+ miles in a car where the seller is listing a demo derby as an option!

I like that '59 DeSoto Firesweep, too. I think that year they finally got the Firesweep style right. It finally looked like a "real" DeSoto, with DeSoto front fenders, instead of the '57-58, which had Dodge fenders and a Dodge hood, and a DeSoto grille awkwardly stuck on.

That '78 Delta looks really nice, too. I like that color...light blue with the matching velour interior.

I like that '77 LeMans Enforcer, too. Could be a neat period piece for anybody who's into old police cars. That's another one I'd almost be tempted to rescue, but I do prefer my cars to be running, at least! I wonder how those things competed, as police cars? I vaguely remember an old C&D or MT police car test where it didn't accelerate very quickly, but handled well. But then looking around on the web, I found this blurb...

In Sacramento County, you could choose the older 1986 400
CID Pontiac Lemans Enforcer (in fact, one of the most predictableand forgiving cop cars I’ve ever driven) or the newer 1988 Pontiac 350 Bonneville — and you’d choose the Lemans. There was nothing like burying your foot in the Lemans accelerator and hearing the transmission kick down, the carbs open wide and suck air through the cleaner, the cover of which you’d flipped upside down at the beginning of the shift and then wing-nutted back down. (**Edit: I'm presuming the author meant to say "1976 LeMans" and "1978 Bonneville )

blh7068

"or do the pictures of that SL look fake?"

Nope, I was thinking the same thing. It looks like some sort of die cast model was used in a few of the photos.

bhill2

I have to admit that if I had the money to spend and I lost what little sense of taste that I presently have, I would consider buying that Cadillac Talisman. I mean, if you are going for wretched excess, the wretcheder the better, right?

Mr_Shiftright

You might as well roll in it, yes...

imidazol97

a gold Yugo on expressway in Cincinnati tonight. I don't know years? Were there different years?

I wouldn't let my wife drive that one on I75 in the suburbs alone... Too prone to failure.

british_rover

Pugeot 505 V6 sedan this morning with a dealer plate on it. :confuse:

Mr_Shiftright

now there's a car a man would want to run away from....

gabete

Last saturday I had a ride in a Hummer limo, it was my sister birthday here in Chicago, it was stunning, very nice limo, we had a lot of fun and the driver was really cool.Very professional, I'm gonna use these guy for my wedding, too! My sister rented from link title
That's http://www.chicagosuvlimo.com

ghulet

Can't think of something I'd less like to drive around city streets than a Hummer limo, but that's just me.

I would like this somewhat tacky thing. I don't even care about the 14k mileage (actually, I'd prefer the thing to have been driven a bit). I love the disco velour interior, the 400 four-barrel, the gauge set, all the stuff you'd want in a GM of this era (actually, I'd settle for a 350 in one of these):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/14K-ORIGINAL-MILES-Pontiac-Bonneville-Brogham-197- 7_W0QQitemZ4623584139QQcategoryZ6417QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

andre1969

I always knew you were a man of impeccable taste! :shades: I would LOVE to have that thing too! I think it's funny, looking at those options, how some of the "real" stuff, like the 400-4bbl ($157) and the Rally wheels ($73) were relatively inexpensive, yet the AM/FM 8-track stereo was $341 and that landau top with the formal quarter windows was $277!

Just out of curiosity, did they offer a 350-4bbl in these cars, or were they all 2-bbls? Seems like most of the 350 Pontiacs I see from this era are 2-bbl. I wonder if that's because they usually offered a bigger optional engine, like the 400/403? Meanwhile, with Chevy, by the time they downsized the biggest engine you could get was a 350, so they just made it a 4-bbl?

I drove a local '79 Bonneville that the owner was going to donate, but said he'd let me have first dibs at, a few years back. It had a Buick 350 under the hood. I think it was a 4-bbl but can't remember.

I always thought that "Valencia" interior trim was really groovy.

fintail

ROFL oh my, the interior on that thing. I just about fell out of my chair. It has to be worth it for a 70s freak (and they are out there). Really looks loaded too.

andre1969

It has to be worth it for a 70s freak (and they are out there).

Uh-oh, looks like I've been outed! :P I have to admit that I'm REALLY liking that '77 Bonneville. I'm just happy that it's 2000+ miles away from me, otherwise I'd be sorely tempted into violating that "No more vehicles for two years" vow I made in another forum.

Yeah, yeah, I know there's always shipping.

Actually, my dream B-body from that era would be a 1977 Catalina coupe. I always liked the Catalina front end better, because it seemed a bit sportier and less showy. And the '77 in particular had kind of a Dodge-like crosshair look going. These cars also looked really nice without the opera roof treatment, which gave you larger quarter windows and a roofline that was just slimmer in general.

I definitely wouldn't mind having one of these, preferably with the 400.

mazda6iguy

I think it would be interesting to have a Parisienne or Laurentian from that period. It would be rare to see one here (at least the laurentian).

lemko

...nice red 1966 Corvette coupe.

Heck, I wouldn't mind that 1977 Pontiac Bonneville myself. One of my college roommates had a green 1977 Bonneville sedan and a huge 1972 Catalina sedan.

fintail

Those big coupes look A LOT better without the pimpy top treatment.

I remember seeing a Buick version with the factory wheels, it didn't look bad for the time.

andre1969

Canadian full-sized Pontiac brochure from 1978.

By that time it looks like their Parisienne was basically our Bonneville (except theirs had a 305 standard, versus a 301 here). Oddly, a few years earlier, in Canada they were selling both Parisiennes AND Bonnevilles at the same time, which seems overkill to me.

It looks like their '78 Catalina is the same as what ours was, with the '78 Laurentian being a step below. And again, with Chevy engines (Catalinas here in the US used a Buick 231 as their base engine, then the 301, Pontiac 350, Pontiac 400, and Olds 403 in Cali/high altitude areas).

Was there really that much of a market for big Pontiacs in Canada to have a spread like this? Here in the US, Pontiac could have easily just killed the Catalina when they downsized, and sold nothing but Bonnevilles. I think the Catalina in downsized form peaked its first year, 1977, at around 50,000 units, but the Bonneville was more like 150-200,000 units in the '77-79 timeframe.

The Laurentian almost seems like a Pontiac version of what the Chevy Bel Air or Biscayne would be here in the US. I think the Biscayne was dropped after '73 and the Bel Air after '75. It looks like it might be just a bit more basic than an Impala, which itself I always viewed to be a bit downscale from a Catalina by that time.

Did Chevy continue the Bel Air for a few more years in Canada, after dropping it here? I know in Canada Pontiac was considered more of an equal to Chevy, instead of a step up. So if Chevy was still doing the Bel Air/Impala/Caprice route, then Pontiac may have thought it necessary to go with a Laurentian/Catalina/Parisienne lineup.

I don't think I've ever seen a Laurentian in person, from any generation. Every once in awhile though, I've seen a '60's Parisienne show up at Carlisle. The 60's ones are really kinda unique, because in addition to running Chevy motors, they were on Chevy wheelbases so they were smaller than a "real" Pontiac. By 1971 though, I think Canadian Pontiacs used the same wheelbase as their domestic counterparts, even though they still ran mainly Chevy engines.

explorerx4

a 70's nice jeep grand wagoneer(?) white with wood sides. on the same carrier a jeep commander. it was too early to figure it out.
also a loud 70's duster with a big hood scoop. wheels looked original, so i'm guessing a 340.

toomanyfumes

A friend of mine had a '77 Catalina with the 400 4bbl. It was surprisingly quick for such a big car. I know the motor was rebuilt at some point so that might of helped. It was a light blue 2-door like the picture you linked to, but it had Pontiac rally wheels.

fintail

"Fabulous"

Uh yeah...right

Interesting thing to do to a PT

I've always liked the tread on those old tires

People are insane

Canada got even worse crap cars than the US

Interesting survivor - these are beloved in England

This is cool

"Patriot Edition

I've never seen seating like that in one of these battleships...good color combo

Nice car, not my first choice in color

This is a nice example

Why??

"Custom" is a nice way to put it...eyesore

Someone really wants to restore this Slobmodel

Very nice

Excellent survivor...I like it

imidazol97

What're the chances that's really Eisenhower's golf cart?

Love the Electrc and Chrysler. I don't remember that watermelon pink color.

stickguy

A Sterling sedan, moving under it's own power on the highway no less.

chuck1959

What an interesting array of cars this time on e-bay time! What a mess that 98 convert was! I always liked the old Pacers! I had a 1976 that was a great car...until it got t-boned and totaled! I always said I was going to get another one. The reason for the low mileage on the Yugo was because it was probably in the shop more than on the road? you think? I wasn't aware of "patriot editions AMCs. Will someone please fill me in on those? Were they similar in concept to the "Spirit of Americas Chevies?

british_rover

last night but it was dark and the model number on the Right side had fallen off so not sure which mode.

It has some body cladding on it and looked fairly sporty.

I am pretty sure the last number in the model type was 6.

jrosasmc

Was the Alfa a two- or four-door? If the last number in the model type was 6 then it was more than likely a GTV-6, a model that was sold here from 1981 to 1986. It was really an updated Alfetta with a V-6 engine and still carried the usual Alfa traits such as electrical bugs and rust problems.

Shifty can fill you in more about this car.

british_rover

Well it was a sedan so Four door. :shades:

stickguy

a 156 (later the Milano)?

andys120

The Alfa 156 did not become the US-Spec Milano
The Milano was based on the RWD Alfa 75.

Alfa 156 (FWD)-


Alfa 75


Alfa Milano

stickguy

then what model did we get before the Milano (that looked like it)? 165? some number like that...

I do like that 156 though. Looks like a stylish Acura TL

explorerx4

maroon with a black top. at a repair shop with the hood up. no suprise there.

kyfdx

Before the Milano? I think that was the Alfetta GT?

Lots of question marks.. don't quote me... :surprise:

stickguy

that goes way back. I'm thinking of the big 4 door that I think had a number name before the Milano, or maybe it was a different/bigger model, but in the same timeframe (80s?)

Shifty will know!

british_rover

looked kind of like the Picture you have of the Alfa 75. That is a pretty bad [non-permissible content removed] looking car but I bet it is slow.

lemko

...a beautiful green 1973 Buick LeSabre convertible with white top and factory chrome wheels. Really odd was the light blue 1974-78 Mustang II in fairly decent condition. I didn't believe any of them survived. It was driven by a girl who was probably born 10 years after that car went out of production.

andre1969

Love the Electrc and Chrysler. I don't remember that watermelon pink color.

I've seen a few Mopars of that era that were kind of a salmon color, which is kind of a pinkish-orange, but I don't think I've ever seen one that sways more towards the pinkish-purple like that '58 300D!

I REALLY like that '75 Electra! I don't think I've ever seen a '75 Park Avenue. I've seen plenty of Limiteds though, which had a really nice, plush interior that was kind of a zig-zag corduruoy pattern. I wonder if that bucket seat/console setup was the same one used in Cadillac's Fleetwood Talisman? Maybe they did that to spread out the costs a bit?

andys120

Before the Milano? I think that was the Alfetta GT?

The Alfetta Berlina preceeded the Milano,
This is a '78>>

AFAIK there was no Alfetta GT but there certainly was a GTV.
1985 Alfetta GTV2000>>

andys120

I'm thinking of the big 4 door that I think had a number name before the Milano, or maybe it was a different/bigger model, but in the same timeframe (80s?)

You're thinking of the Alfa 164 which came after the Milano (late 80s/early 90s)>>



It was FWD (based on the platform used in the Saab 9000) but by all accounts a very sporty sedan, Shifty had one IIRC.

andys120

Both at a local detailing joint, looking very spiffy and wearing their hardtops:

-Lotus Elise roadster in metallic purple (very cool!)

-2003-05 Thunderbird/black.

The yin/yang of present day sportscars. :P

british_rover

Yup that is the car right there the 164 in a very nice, at least in the dark, red color.

kyfdx

I think the Alfa 164 might possibly be the best looking 4-door sedan ever...

jrosasmc

I've heard the 164 can be extremely fun to drive if it's running properly.

stickguy

I had it right that there was a 1 and a 6 in the name.