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

lemko

...beige 1960 Dodge. Couldn't tell what model, but it looked like a more upscale one. Also spotted a red 1966 Chevrolet Malibu convertible.

lemmer

looked perfect from 20 feet away going 20 mph. It had a 6.3 badge on the passenger side of the trunk, but I could not read the other side quickly enough maybe XXXSEL.

I also spotted an old lady driving a very clean Valiant in the richest part of town.

andre1969

Lemko, do you remember if the tailfins on that Dodge went all the way to the end of the car, or if they stopped short? On the Darts they went all the way to the end, but on the Matador and Polara, they stopped short of the rear.

lemko

I didn't really look at the fins, but focused on a trianguar piece of trim on the left rear door. Maybe if I saw a picture it would jog my memory

andre1969

Sounds like that might have been a 1960 Dodge Dart Pioneer, which was the mid-line trim level in the Dart lineup. Here's a 1960 Dart brochure that has some pics and artwork. Looks like the low-line Seneca was pretty plain, while the Pioneer had a triangular trim piece on the rear door. On the top-level Phoenix, it looks like it used a similar piece, but it stretched out all the way to the back of the car.

I found some Matador/Polara pics online, and it looks like they were actually relatively clean when it comes to side trim. Mostly unadorned except for a few chrome strips here and there. They made up for it with those massive fins, though!

lemko

Must've been the Pioneer. I recognize the trim piece on the back door.

bhill2

I wouldn't have mentioned it, but I wanted to post the 10,000th message on this topic.

andys120

a late BMW 2002 (big bumpers, square t/ls ergo '74-'76) in very nice, but not concours, condition. This car was a darkish blue-gray
and reminded me what a superb little car the 2002 was.

chuck1959

Ah yes my favorite Caddy!

Today on my way back from New Orleans. I saw on a trailer what looked like some kind of Morris??? Help my guys what could it have been? From what research I have done maybe late 50's early 60's?

nolid5

1970 Olds Ninety Eight convertible

fintail

I'll guess it was a Morris Minor as many made their way to NA.

chuck1959

Yep that looks like it. Thanks.

oregonboy

I loved the BMW 2002. Much preferred the look of the pre-1974s though. Actually, even earlier, pre-side-marker-reflectors were even cleaner looking.

james

vwbussmann

I found a 1962 Morris right hand drive up For Sale 15 minutes from my home.What do you guys think, should we add it to my collection?!
Dave and Cassandra

Mr_Shiftright

As long as you get it very cheap and realize it will never be worth much...the only Morris Minors that bring any money or appreciate (a bit) in value are the convertibles and woodies.....also RHD is the kiss of death for resale.

Make sure that first gear isn't noisy...typical issue with MM.

And don't expect to drive on a modern freeway without major anxiety.

My opinion: A nice "ice cream car" to take the kids 4 blocks to the store.

lemko

red 1966 Dodge Dart 270 two-door. It kind of had a fastback roof.

stickguy

a bright yellow TR-6, chrome bumper (no black nodes). Very shiny.

This has always been my favorite old sports car for some reason. I just really like them.

british_rover

Over the past couple of days...

BMW 2002 probably a 1975 or 76 as it looked kind of dumpy and was in rough shape.

Subaru SVX in very nice shape. I always liked that car pity it wasn't made with a manual and a little bit lighter.

For Torino Cobra. Also very nice with period correct wheels and lots of grumbly exhaust.

Side note for Shifty.

My email is screwed up for some reason and I can't log into it, which is very bad because it probably means I am losing money, I should know something about that D110 tomorrow.

fintail

I saw a pristine bustleback yesterday. It was single tone grey, and surprisingly enough it had no carriage or vinyl top, no fake RR grille, no continental kit or trunk straps...it was very uncluttered (save for the basic design). I'm sure they drive terribly and I know 1980 is the only year you want...but I kind of like them.

andre1969

I'm kinda the same way about those bustleback Sevilles. I know some people would say that they have no redeeming qualities whatsoever, but I always liked 'em. They do look good with a plain, exposed roof.

I did drive one that was at a used car lot, oh, about 15-16 years ago. It wasn't an '80 though. I forget the year, but it had the aluminum 4.1. Its handling didn't do anything to scare me, but then again, I was used to bigger cars like that anyway.

Funny though, leave it to the domestics to come up with something that's FWD, has an independent rear suspension, 4-wheel disc brakes, and STILL gets ragged on!

imidazol97

Does anyone have a site for pictures of old Saabs so I can identify one? I saw it bouncing along Wednesday evening> It looked like the Citroens did, tapered toward the rear like a fish. It reminded me of why foreign cars had the reputation they did in the Midwest back in the 70s and 80s.

lemmer

Try Google images "Saab 99"

martian

I was watching the old James Bond flic last night (THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN" and it seems that AMC sold a lot of cars in thailand, in the 1970's. i once heard that this was because the thais hated the japanese-and would not allow the importation of japanese cars. so is thailand the place to go to buy an old AMC? is it an asian version of Cuba (where old American cars stay alive)?

kyfdx

I think it is because AMC paid to have their products placed in the film.... there is even an AMC dealership that they crash out of (into?)...

Mr_Shiftright

Sounds more like a Saab 96 V-4.

explorerx4

on the highway. it looked showroom fresh from 2 lanes away. glossy dark gold paint and a stack of 2x4's strapped to the roof!
a nice '69 camaro, dark blue with wide white hood stripes.
a dark blue/back top bathtub porsche (356?) convertible. classic plates. i can't be sure, but it looked like the exhaust was routed through the rear bumper.
things are finally looking up!

british_rover

I saw a Bug Eye Sprite that was Right Hand Drive. Really through me when I first saw thought i was on the wrong side of the road.

imidazol97

The front looked like this


Onone of the pages I found it was like a 75 96. Something about an extended front when they quit putting in 2-cycle(!) motors.

Mr_Shiftright

Yep that's a 96. Actually pretty tough old cars excluding the fragile transmission. I once came upon an accident where one rolled over on a mountain road and down an embankment, maybe 5-6 rolls. They winched it up, put in oil and water and off it went---banged up for sure but still drivable, and the doors opened and closed.

A 2-stroke Monte Carlo model is worth some money today. The V-4 96s are pretty much worthless except perhaps to those few in the cult who love them. A very rough engine with a column shifter and formidable torque steer isn't everyone's cup of tea. And the "one transmission every two years" get tiresome.

fintail

This heap should be back home

No resale value here

Mopar oddball

Strange name, strange car

Odd things end up in Canada

Nice Packardbaker

Dopey 2CV

This is neat

Fantastic car, fantastic (in size) price

If you like white, look here

Neglected early Airflow

Christine's sister

[non-permissible content removed]-mobile with provenance

Atrocious

I wonder if it is legit

Nice clamshell wagon

Cool "wide track" sedan

Mr_Shiftright

Fakey-Doo 300SL -- that is PAINFUL to look at. Only thing worse than a fake is a BAD fake.

andys120

"Atrocious" is too good a word. That $48k bid has to be as fake as the car because anyone with
that kind of dough would recognize that abortion has a street value of zilch.

prosa

The '76 Seville is okay, but that house it's parked outside of is just stunning!
I got a laugh out of the first car on the list, the Daimler, with the soap-on-window writing more typical of Billy Bob's EZ-Credit Preowned Emporium

fintail

I assume that Seville pic was taken in San Francisco...I always associate those grand old stone houses on steep streets to be SF. The location was certainly chosen to add to the car, and I suppose it doesn't look out of place.

Slow day around here...oddest sighting was a fairly pristine looking 70s Granada coupe, in black.

fintail

I saw a nice one this afternoon...it was a later series LWB W126. It looked completely as-new, down to the wheels...it was immaculate. It was also kind of odd...it was that white/creme color you often see on 124s, and the lower two tone part was tan. I've never seen that color on a late 126. It was debadged, so I don't know what it was...I'll assume a 300 or 420 as people seemed to like to show off the 560. I am amazed by the condition this car was in...it was even clean by my obsessive standards. Old couple riding in it, of course.

stickguy

probably about a '70. Looked freshly done, yellow with Rallyes and a bumble bee stripe on the tail. I wanted it. DIdn't get it for fathers day.

Also a gigantic Buick. 4 holer Electra 225, I wuold guess about a '68? Nice shape, and quite the V8 rumble. 4 door. Made my Accord look like a Smart car.

nolid5

Yuk! I think I cringed when the pics opened up. Are the bumpers really painted body color? I believe the saying "a fool & his money are soon parted" applies here.
Really like that Star Chief certainly more my price range. I also don't know if I could even afford the rug under that Eldorado :P

magnette

Re strange name strange car, the Singer Chamois, the hopeful vendor is claiming only five were made in 1965, which seems a little unlikely as it was in production from 1964 to 1970 and they cranked out 40678 in total...
Loved the De36 Daimler though, although it would be juicy with a 5460cc straight eight....

magnette

My first car was a 68 Minor 1000 Traveller, and here (UK) the RHD was quite useful...
Tough old car too, it went offroad a few times, not usually intentionally, but it survived well enough.. It is good having an estate car when you are young.....

explorerx4

hey 'fin, you really dug up a jewel with the white seville post.
that was robert vaughn's home in the movie 'bullitt'.
i have the movie on dvd and played chapter 3 about 10 times just to be sure.
if you post some pictures of a car taken in the south of france or paris, i'll let you know if it was in 'ronin'. :shades:

fintail

Cool. You're right!

Pic from Bullitt

Pic from the ad

andre1969

Wow, that's cool! About the only thing remotely similar I could offer is that I have a picture of the '99 Olds Alero rental I once had parked outside the tunnel used in "Duel", "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World", and countless other movies and tv shows I'm sure.

blov8r

This picture isn't a 1961 Dodge Dart Phoenix .. it's an artist's rendition of something that bears a resemblance to the Phoenix but only a remote one. Somewhere I have pictures of a REAL one ... mine ... the exact car (powder blue convertible) that Elvis drove in "Blue Hawaii". Wish I had that scoundrel now! Saw one in Northbrook, IL, in the summer of 2000 ... fully restored and flawless. Bart

andre1969

That car I posted last year was out of one of the "Grand Theft Auto" videogames. I always thought it had kind of a '61 Dodge front-end, but the rest looked kinda Oldsmobile-ish. Also in the games there's a car that has a '55-57 Oldsmobile style front-end, but check out the rear, with its reverse-slant tailfins! (**EDIT: I originally tried to just post the car picture but it wouldn't let me, but it's in the upper LH corner of this page). I'd say that the '61 Darts definitely served as the inspiration for this car! I thought it was pretty cool for something like that to actually show up in a videogame!

fintail

If I ever end up on holiday in CA, I'll pay the obligatory visits to movie sites. There's a website with a whole Back To The Future tour, and some others I'd like to see.

About those video game shots...the roadster at the bottom sure looks like a 107 SL

andre1969

I had to look up "107 SL" to see exactly what that meant, as I'm not that well-versed in my Benzes, so I only knew these cars as the 450 SL, etc. But yeah, that's what I thought it was, too!

And I like the way some of the car names in the game are spoofs of the real car. For example, there's one called the Esperanto (late 70's El Dorado-ish looking thing), Picador ('71-72 El Camino), Yosemite (a late 80's/early 90's Sierra/Silverado looking thing), Sabre (a '68-72-looking Cutlass) etc.

I first discovered the area where "Duel" was filmed, accidentally, back in 1992 while on Spring Break in CA. It was actually scary how little the area had changed from the time "Duel" was filmed. Many of the signs, back roads, etc were still there. Last time I was out that way though, a few things had changed. For one, the railroad crossing where the truck tries to push Dennis Weaver into the train is no longer there, having been replaced by an underpass for the road.

I'm sure it's not the movie site that most people would pay tribute to, but I kinda had fun doing it! The first time I was out there I had a '91 Civic rental, and I parked it in a lot of the places where Dennis Weaver's Valiant had been. Unfortunately, I also discovered that a Valiant is a better off-roader than a '91 Civic! Thankfully I didn't do any damage...at least none that the rental company found out about! If I can dig up those pics, I'll post them sometime.

fintail

That kind of sightseeing sounds pretty cool.

I'm a big BTTF fan...I'd like to see these sights if I ever end up down there

The same site has some other locations too

It's cool that those video game designers actually go to the work to make the cars reflect reality, at least as much as they can do without being sued i'm sure.

fintail

And speaking of old MB, I saw a pristine 6.9 this morning.... brown of course.

andre1969

my roommate bought a horror-genre video game called "Silent Hill 2", where a great deal of it involves walking around a deserted, decaying town while trying to avoid various evil creatures. One day while he was playing it, one of my friends was over and we started watching it. And before too long it was like "Ooh, look, there's an early 80's Skylark!" "There's a '76 or so Ventura!" "There's a late 70's LeBaron!". "Ooh, can you go over there and check out that car...it looks like a '76 or so Chevelle wagon".

Finally he paused the game, frustrated, and hollered "Okay people, this is a VIDEO GAME, not a car show!" :P

As for spotting "famous" houses, here's another one that's pretty obscure, but I swear I saw the "Mama's Family" house in a recent T-Mobile commercial. Not the one they use now in the syndicated shows, but the one that they used back when it was on NBC, which you can also see in a few episodes, like when Mama learned how to drive, bought a car, ran for mayor, etc.

mazda6iguy

On the DVD commentary, they said there never was an AMC sales arm in Thailand. AMC paid the most to have their product placed in the movie.