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

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  • oregonboyoregonboy Member Posts: 1,650
    Strange, he makes no mention of performance. Does it accelerate like a tomahawk missile, or is it just to discourage tailgaters?
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,676
    the VW bug if he doesn't open a window before turning on the jet engine and it sucks the windows in? Or does it have an air intake through the floor?

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I think he said he sucks air through the rear window vents.

    I'd imagine you can just throttle gently and gain speed gradually. Hitting full thrust is probably suicidal.

    I hope he doesn't wear a hairpiece.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,024
    that the cops can't find some way to make that Bug illegal to drive. If nothing else, that jet engine sticks out over the bumper and plays hell and pretty much makes any rear-end crash protection that VW engineered into that car a moot point.

    If he gets rear-ended, that jet engine is most likely going to come out through his mouth.
  • prosaprosa Member Posts: 280
    If you make the winning bid for that '32 Pierce Arrow, do you also get the top hat on the back seat ;)
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,024
    but I kinda like that AMC Matador! Don't ask me why, call it a guilty pleasure I guess. There is nothing whatsoever tasteful, classic, or timeless about it. And as much as I admit to loving the style of many cars from that era, even I'll admit that beast is ugly!

    But for some reason I still like it. I think part of it is because it's a 60's car they were trying to pass off as a late 70's car, and it's an interesting exercise in showing what a desperate, sinking company would resort to try and keep afloat. And hey, I do kinda like those seats. :P

    The rims on it are actually prett cool IMO. They remind me of the rims on my Silverado. Chrysler had a rim similar to that in the 70's that was common on some of the big cars, too.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,024
    from a car show in Macungie, PA that Grbeck, Lemko, and I met up for. Be forewarned, this album might warrant a PG-13 rating because, for some reason, a lot of people felt compelled to show off their woodies! :P Beavis and Butthead would've had a field day.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,024
    here's a few pics I took a couple weeks ago, when my LeMans was in that movie shoot.

    There were a lot of cool cars there, and I didn't take as many pics as I probably should have. I also got bored and started taking pics of the local wildlife (don't worry, no hookers, winos, pimps, or gangbangers :P ), the sky, etc. There's also a pic in there of my buddy with the Mark V, in a really groovy 70's shirt they gave him to wear. And way too many pics of my LeMans. Oh, and the third pic in, if you really, really focus, you can see Don Cheadle toward the center of the pic, wearing kind of a neon green shirt.

    They gave me a 70's shirt to wear too, just in case they decided to have me driving around in any of the scenes, but it wasn't nearly as gaudy as my buddy's. It was itchy though. And didn't breathe well. With clothes like that, no wonder nudist colonies and streaking and stuff was so popular back then!
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,431
    Wow, some cool stuff there...non big-3 cars! A ponton with a weird grille guard, a blue fintail, a Kaiser-Darrin among others...stuff you don't see all the time. And that gargantuan ca. 1948 Buick woodie looks like a real monster, wow.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Yet ANOTHER zero-bid Zimmer on eBay. Yep, the crowds really bust through the yellow caution tape on these, dont' they?

    MATADOR---looks like the bull won this round.

    RHD PONTON --- oi vey, why do people try to sell RHD cars in America?

    Once again, here's the rule: "the only RHD car you can sell in America for any kind of reasonable money is one in which they only CAME in RHD...e.g., MG-TC. Otherwise, plan on offering a 50% discount".

    49 Buick Sedanet --- love that car, great lines!

    DYNA -- if we could only park a Plymouth Cricket in front of it and watch what happens...
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,431
    Oh yeah, and it's cool how some of those movie cars do appear to be kinda worn and used - as they would have appeared back in the day. Not liking those wide whites on that T-Bird though.

    Today I saw a ca. 1966 Continental convertible. White on white, not the best combo as it makes the car look even bigger than it is. Looked to be a good unrestored car.
  • chuck1959chuck1959 Member Posts: 654
    I agree with you Andre. I always thought AMC had cool, if not unusual cars. Over the years my dad bought a few...a'72 Hornet S/C 2 door, a '73 Gremlin X with Levi interior, '74 Ambassador wagon and a '75 Hornet 4 door with the 232 6...I belive the only options: A/C P/S Auto. in '75 my Dad and I restored a low number '68 AMX...loved that car! Ah what memories! :)
  • martianmartian Member Posts: 220
    Saw a mint one, yesterday-can you even get parts for these today? I understand it was a pretty hot car-but repair was a nightmare!
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I think there are a few people who sell parts but it ain't easy to find 'em or pay for 'em. Pretty much a monopoly kind of thing, and you know what THAT means.

    They are fun to drive. It's kind of hard to get used to them though, because the steering does not "auto-return" when you take a turn...you have to re-center the wheel yourself after every turn.

    Only the drivetrain is Maserati I think...the rest is French.
  • gsemikegsemike Member Posts: 2,413
    Cool pics. Nice cross section of cars. Did you find out anything about the movie being shot. We're talking DC in mid to late 70s? The untold story of Gerald Ford maybe?
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Ad for the 1916 hearse show read "Ask for Herman or Grandpa." I love that 1974 Cadillac!
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,024
    Did you find out anything about the movie being shot. We're talking DC in mid to late 70s?

    The movie is called "Talk to Me", and is about the life of Petey Greene, a local ex con, radio talk show personality, and civil rights activist. It's supposed to span from the early 60's to the early 80's. At least, for the scene my car was in, it was supposed to be 1982. From what I heard, most of the movie was actually shot in Canada, but then they came down here to do some location shots.

    There was one car, a green 1973 Dodge Polara 4-door, that looked like it was in good shape except for some body damage to the right rear quarter. Oddly though, it had similar damage on the left rear quarter when I saw it from that side. Yet the trunk, rear bumper, etc seemed fine. I wonder if it got rear-ended in a peculiar enough way to cause both rear quarters to buckle in, but not do any other damage?

    Or maybe the dude was just unlucky enough to get hit on both sides at different times? :confuse:
  • jlawrence01jlawrence01 Member Posts: 1,757
    Those Dodge Polaras were absolute tanks. I cannot count the number of low-speed fender benders that my siblings and I had the that vehicle with little noticeable damage (to our vehicle).

    If they weren't such rust buckets ...
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 53,390
    Not rare, but this was a CJ-7, complete with the little blue/white AMC badge on the back. It was in pretty good shape, as best as I could tell from behind it.

    Just rare these days to see an AMC version running around, or maybe you just have to get stuck behind one to notice the badge.

    Also, a tired looking 70's vintage Datsun, 210 I think. Kind of a chunky hatchback. You hardly see any of that vintage running around anymore, especially here in the NE, since most of them rusted away by the early 90's.

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Saw a Triumph Stag parked under a tree in an industrial parking lot, one flat tire, bird crap all over it. Guess the owner finally wised up. Sad part is that nobody even bothers to molest it apparently. You'd think that another Stag owner would at least have the decency to steal the trim parts or something. Maybe somebody will rescue it just to have the only one on the block.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    I saw a image

    Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 Spyder Veloce

    In a cream color that looked nearly perfect. Really was a hot car.

    So how much of a nightmre are these???
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    oh no nightmare at all. Very easy car....simple, simple.... parts everywhere...delightful automobile in every way. Even dry in the rain! Probably you're most annoying issue would be slow 1-2 synchros and of course Italian electrics (mostly poor grounds is the issue).

    You'd love it if you had one. They are very charming cars. One of the top ten fun cars ever made in all automobile history.

    Of course, the one in the photo is no longer cheap! A "real" Veloce would set you back $35,000 if it were sharp.

    But you could find a "normale" with a few needs for much less.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,431
    Today I saw a ca. 1991 Lotus Elan, that smooth-wedge shape. The guy driving it wasn't good at driving a stick on a hill...he got close to rolling back into the car behind him.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    Oh thats good to know. The one I saw looked nice and straight but I have no idea of the year or the trim level. The wheels looked kind of like cheap steelies but it was hard to tell in traffic.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    These are type 101s I think they call them.

    This little Alfa was amazingly modern for a 1956 design....alloy twin cam, bucket seats, 5 speed transmission, a convertible top that opened and closed like a dream.....doesn't this sound like a Miata 35 years ahead of its time?

    If I had extra cash, it's the first car I'd buy as a new hobby car--probably the coupe version, the Sprint.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Light yellow 1977 Chevrolet Caprice Landau - the two-door coupe with the huge convex rear window.

    Light blue 1968 Ford Mustang with the "Cobra" wheels and black vinyl top and stripes.
  • chuck1959chuck1959 Member Posts: 654
    Today I saw a red Alfa 164 not sure what year model though.

    Also a very old Saab wagon
    1960ish? It was a fat looking thing!
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,431
    Today I saw a beautiful slate blue 560SEC and a really nice looking blue-green W126 300SD
  • oregonboyoregonboy Member Posts: 1,650
    Last night I watched an old movie (1962) called "Advise and Consent". The movie wouldn't appeal to most people, as it was a political potboiler about the confirmation of a Secretary of State (played by Henry Fonda).

    movie review

    What would be interesting to this group was the exterior shots around Washington DC that featured dozens of cars from the fifties and early sixties. Buick seemed to be the ride of choice for congressmen of the day. (Well, they weren't all men. One senator was played by a very young Betty White!!!)

    james
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,024
    Wow, I'd like to check out the movie just for Betty White! I always liked her, but do have trouble picturing her in a dramatic role. I guess I'll always remember her as Sue-Ann Nivens, Ellen Harper-Jackson, or Rose Nylund. Or the foul-mouthed old lady in "Lake Placid". Or the foul-mouthed old bigot lady in that movie with Queen Latifah and Steve Martin that whose title escapes my mind right now.

    IIRC, Betty White was kind of a babe back in her younger days. It'd be interesting to see some of those old exterior shots of DC, too.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    One of my proffesors in college did several plays and I think a couple of features with betty white. He had pictures of her and him in his scrapbook back when they were both in their earl to mid 20's. Very cool pictures.
  • lemmerlemmer Member Posts: 2,689
    I saw a Suzuki X90 driving in traffic today. Apparently they do not attract the hotties as much as you might think. The driver was a young man of around 125 lbs. His female copilot was approximately three to four times as much.

    Funny thing is, from a distance it didn't look like a little SUV as much as it did ten years ago. From behind, it blends in with the current crop of really tall narrow subcompacts.
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,670
    and in the course of a few hours I saw not one but TWO different '65 Pontiac GTO convertibles at two different detailing establishments.

    The light blue one was in fair shape but need a repaint and a good interior cleaning and perhaps a new top. It was a four speed.

    I only got a glance at the freshly washed maroon one but it looked in very good shape.

    I also spotted a '67 or '68 Mercury Cougar, black vinyl over whit, looking very rough with primer spots all over various parts of the body.

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    ...spotted a blue and white 1959 Chevrolet Corvette outside of Pennsauken, NJ.
  • grbeckgrbeck Member Posts: 2,358
    ...a modern tow truck with a 1953 Ford Customline sedan on the hook. The Ford, which was light green with a dark green roof, was very worn but complete. It could still be used for parts.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,431
    Today I spotted a beautiful looking 55 Ford Crown Victoria glasstop, two tone white over a lavender blue, going east on I90.
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 266,005
    Fiat X 1/9.. One of the later models... restored condition.

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  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Fun cheap car the Fiat X1/9...don't ever buy one that "just needs a water pump" however; it's 7.7 hours labor in the flat rate manual. And if you want to drive yourself completely nuts, try replacing the cable driven window lifters.They are spring-loaded regulators, which you "arm" by releasing a safety, and you get one, and only one, chance to hook it up and release it. If you miss, you buy another regulator. Interiors are, of course, biodegradable junk, but the later ones with 1500 cc FI engines are really fun. People over 5' 8" need not apply for this car.
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 266,005
    This one had a big BERTONE logo across the front edge of the hood..

    Didn't they sell them as Bertones, after Fiat had closed up shop in the US? That's what made me think it was a later model...

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  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    yeah that would be the later model, mo' bettah.
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 266,005
    New white paint, new top...

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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,024
    seeing those two '58 Buicks and comparing them. I think I actually like the green 4-door hardtop better! Part of it might be the color. The black coupe is probably a more broadly appealing color, but I think that green is a nice period color.

    Plus, I just like the look of the 4-door hardtop roof. The coupe looks a bit disproportionate to me, like they just used the roof off of a '58 Impala, but on this car it looks too small. I think the 4-door just seems better balanced.

    I kinda like that '72 Catalina, too. Kind of a weird shade of washed-out green, but somehow I think it works.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    Looks like a nice Eldo right here. Might be a bit overpriced.

    Anyone interested???
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Price is fair retail for a clean driver.
  • bumpybumpy Member Posts: 4,425
    A kinda ratty-looking '72 Monte Carlo, a first-gen Honda Accord wagon, and the real prize: a Studebaker Hawk with the giant tail fins and the Mercedes-looking front end.
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,670
    the chromed fender skirts on that '58 Buick. I've never seen that before. I'm usually repelled by over-chromed 1958 MY cars but for some reason I find that one attractive.

    I must be getting soft in the head. :sick:

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,024
    I'm usually repelled by over-chromed 1958 MY cars but for some reason I find that one attractive.

    Could it maybe be because it's solid black, instead of a two tone? I think that's one thing that goes a long way towards making the car look a bit more restrained. I've also noticed the effect with 1958 Oldsmobiles. Normally, I think the '58 Olds is about as bad as styling got for 1958, but I remember seeing one in a medium/dark blue single-tone at the GM Nationals, and that color reduced the eye-strain considerably.
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,670
    Yeah I think the one-color scheme helps a lot and I've always liked the way black sets off chrome so nicely. ;)

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

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