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

Mr_Shiftright

560SEL--he dropped it from $24K to 16K and he'll have to go to about $5K unless he wants to buy it a birthday cake once a year. What does he think he has here except an old Benz money pit that will suck gas like a whale eats krill?

boomchek

He must have spent about $1200 having it advertised for over a year already.

fintail

Pretty Adenauer, price is wacky

andre1969

were all of those Adenauers 4-door hardtops, or did they ever build one with a post? The other weekend, when I went to visit my Dad and we went and looked at some old cars, I do remember seeing a big old Benz outside a repair shop. It was pillared though. Looked to be late 50's.

fintail

Yep, the previous Adenauer had a post, and it was more rounded.

I saw a cranberry red-ish Contour SVT today, not many of those around.

chuck1959

lime green late 70's Chevy p/u truck. It had white striping. Weren't these special editions? IIRC they also offered in blue and orange?

british_rover

I saw a Purple Morgan Aero today. Not sure what year as they all look the same.

kyfdx

boomchek

Why?

I wonder how long the hydraulics will hold up the heavy doors

Not much left there if he'll pull the motor/tranny out

I'd rather have this for $1500 than the previous one
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british_rover

I always see a lot of neat cars on the way to this one clients house.

I saw a Miura



1963 split Windo Corvette.

An original Audi Quattro in pure white with all of the graphics and in perfect condition.

fintail

A Muira? Wow

fintail

A car that has vanished into the depths of autodom

Maybe the oldest 'car' ever on ebay

Never seen a convertible one of these before

Another almost unique car resto-rodded

Ummmm

Someone rounded off the fins of a fintail. Maybe to make it look less dated?

When 'your father's Oldsmobile' wasn't an insult

And it wouldn't be complete without an Andre-mobile

Mr_Shiftright

Rounding off the fins was quite common years ago. There was a big uproar when the '68 Benzes came out, because people who bought brand new '67s wanted their money back. I think there was even a class-action lawsuit--which failed of course, since automakers are under no legal obligation to announce styling changes in advance.

It was all very silly.

fintail

Very amusing. Those people should have just bought W108s instead of the last lower line fintails, then they would have had a current look til 1972. I suspect it was known well in advance that the '68s would be updated too, as MB is known for early intros.

explorerx4

i'm more interested the the story behind the marker plate than the rarity of the Panhard.

magnette

That 1897 Leon Bollee is great, there were 4 of these on the London Brighton last weekend, two 1897, and two really new from 1898 !

Liked the Panhard - the convertible must be really rare, never remember seeing one either..

The Muntz is great, there is an article about finding one in Classic and Sportscar this month (or maybe Thoroughbred & Classic, ), somewhere in California I think, but again this is a car I have never seen because they were never exported...

fintail

I am trying to see what you mean, and am getting ebay errors. They make so much money and do a negligent job with their system maintenance...

That Leon Bollee is interesting, I bet it sounds charming but I'm not sold on belt drive!

fintail

Wow, my obscure car will really move with the governor disabled

explorerx4

LAGNIAP.

boomchek

How fast did you push yours so far Fin?

fintail

Hmmm maybe I'm slow today...I don't get it.

I've only had my C43 to about 120

explorerx4

some posts are getting mixed up. i don't need to know the top speed you have taken any vehicle to.
i was referring to the plate on the Panhard.

andre1969

Well backwards that would be "PAINGAL". Perhaps some chick whose into chains and leather and whips, oh-my? :shades:

fintail

Doh...I was replying to two posts at once...

So...LAGNIAP or PAINGAL...

andre1969

just for kicks I googled LAGNIAP, and it came up with a few things. There's an eBay member that goes by that name. I also saw the word "lagniappe" come up alot. Turns out it's Louisianna/Missisippi French, and I found these definitions...

1) A small gift presented by a storeowner to a customer with the customer's purchase.

2) An extra or unexpected gift or benefit.

So maybe this Panhard was given originally as a small gift with purchase? Like someone bought something nice like a Lincoln or Imperial or Cadillac back in 1960, and the dealership threw in this Panhard as a lagniappe?

I still like the "PainGal" angle better though. :shades:

fintail

LOL yeah same here. And, if you had one of those things, I am sure you'd be in pain now and then, too.

fintail

I suppose this is kind of unusual

lemko

...green 1973 Dodge Dart Swinger.

kyfdx

2nd generation.... and, it is for sale!!

Hmmm...

Mr_Shiftright

1st gen is prettier I think.

kyfdx

Oh.. I think so, too.. I was shopping for my first new car in '77, and was in love with them... but, alas, didn't have the funds for that one...

But, I see the 2nd gen occasionally... Probably ten years since I've seen a 1st gen model..

kyfdx

...to add insult to injury... Instead, I purchased a '77 Mustang Cobra II... :surprise:

I learn something new from every car purchase, but that was one tough lesson..

magnette

Driving past outside my office today -

- 1967 Ford (UK) Corsair 2000E, immaculate condition, and quite a rare sight.
- 1973 Renault 15 - I've only seen one other of these in years

and the most unusual here in Uk
- some sort of early sixties Plymouth, or a close relative - I only saw it for a moment as it disappeared behind a bus, so it wasn't a proper look, and only from rear 3/4s - but it looked like a 1962 Plymouth, not the Valiant, but a bit bigger, so I thought maybe the Fury. It had the straight through crease above the rear wheel arch leading to the boot/trunk lid edge, but I only saw it so briefly, so I can't be sure. I sit by a window looking out onto the traffic so if it is local to my office I would imagine I will see it again....( I do work sometimes, honest).

andre1969

I only saw it for a moment as it disappeared behind a bus, so it wasn't a proper look, and only from rear 3/4s - but it looked like a 1962 Plymouth, not the Valiant, but a bit bigger, so I thought maybe the Fury. It had the straight through crease above the rear wheel arch leading to the boot/trunk lid edge

That sounds like a '62 standard-sized Plymouth, like a Belvedere or Fury. The '60-62 Valiant had a crease that ran to the rear, but it kind of rolled up over the rear wheel opening and to the back of the car, whereas the standard '62 Plymouth's crease was straight and higher up, more toward the beltline. The standard Plymouths also had a higher, flatter rear deck, while the Valiant's sloped downward. IIRC, Valiants only had a single taillight on either side, while the cheaper standard Plymouths had two, and the Fury had 3. A ripoff of Chevy, perhaps?

Wasn't there a European DeSoto for 1962? Something like a rebadged Dodge or Plymouth? I know they rebadged the Dart to make the '60-61 European DeSoto, so maybe they continued it into 1962?

fintail

Neat little freakshow

Wow, this is hilarious, but in a cool way

Nice history, anyway

Loud colors and a nautical theme for a 4 wheeled boat

Early import, or so it claims

This should be worth good money

Was this really called anything close to "sport"?

Healthy bidding here

andys120

Neat little freakshow

That F12 looks a lot like an Amphicar from behind.

This should be worth good money

I guess so w a high bid of $55k already.

Was this really called anything close to "sport"?

By 1955 standards dual 4bbl. carbs and twin exhausts were pretty sporty for a Cad. That's a sweet lookin ride anyway. :shades:

ghulet

...today I saw an early-mid '80s Supra, white, very nice, and also a white notchback Celica GT-S of around the same vintage. Kinda cool, and look far more, I dunno, substantial maybe, than newer Celicas. I also saw a largish early-70s Toyota coupe (Corona, I'm guessing) with vertical, sorta waterfall taillights. Haven't seen one in a while.

Last, the newer things I spotted were a Guards Red with tan interior Porsche 968 convertible, quite nice, and a (late '90s, I think) Range Rover 4.6 HSE 'Callaway' (didn't look like it had any custom body work or paint color(s), other than the Callaway badges)...any history or knowledge on this one (LR, you out there)?

boomchek

The 38 SL Class is really neat. Seems like the seller has lots of Benzes (in the background) or has a shop but too bad he doesn't have very good english skills.

fintail

I have to wonder why the guy called it an "SL"...it's anything but.

I noticed all the MB too, a late model CL, a 123 and a 116 I think. Interesting car...I think that landaulet style was popular at the time in Europe as a taxi. If it did come stateside right before the war, I'd be interested to know its history, who brought it and why. Owning a German car in 1939 couldn't have been a cool thing in the US.

fintail

I saw a real oddball today....travelling on westbound I-90...an Oscar Mayer Wienermobile...

prosa

So the DFW has been in storage in Roswell, New Mexico ... I wonder who - or what - has been driving it ...

Mr_Shiftright

The '38 Benz is an ugly car isn't it? I'm surprised anyone would want to look at it.

The 300SC coupes are quite rare, especially in the "SC" derivative, so I'm not at all surprised at the prices being bid.

Buick GS--not an expecially desirable car or year but the build sheets and other documentation boost the value to probably more than it's really worth. But then, maybe this is a car on the upswing somewhat---we'll have to see if the '73s are suddenly more popular. This doesn't say if it's a "Stage 1" which is worth a bit more.

fintail

I kind of like that 38...ugly, but honest. It wasn't meant to be pretty.

What's a good SC coupe worth? 200K? More?

Mr_Shiftright

Gee, pricing an SC coupe is hard. They made so few of them, and finding a good one is even harder. I don't think 200K is a normal price....maybe $160K-175K for a real winner?

38 Benz--I looked again, it's still ugly. The coachwork is just so clunky... I wonder if that's a factory body or if some butcher got his hands on it?

lemko

Beautiful green 1970 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight two-door hardtop with black vinyl top. Unfortunately, its owner put these really hideous aftermarket wheels on it.

Nice black 1948 Ford F-1 pickup truck.

Rough 1946-48 Mercury sedan on a flatbed. Possible restoration?

Nice black and white 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air two-door hardtop.

Yellow 1966 International Travelall.

fintail

I am sure that blue SC being at Imperial Palace has an asking price 30% over retail.

I think that prewar car is factory...I've seen many other cars in that style, even RR. It was a European theme that didn't really catch on here.

Mr_Shiftright

Well all the pre-war Rolls were coachbuilt bodies, so maybe it's the same culprit body-builder.

fintail

Nah, I think the Rolls' carried it off better. That MB is a lowline car and I would bet was most often seen as a taxi or some other for-hire vehicle.

That style is a laundaulet/landaulette. The Daimler 420 and MB 600 had variants, and I think Packard and Caddy made them in the late 30s too. Of course, the general idea of the little fold down rear section predates the automobile.

magnette

The M-B 230 is interesting with that landaulette coachwork. According to the only book I've got on M-B, the 230 was available in a couple of wheelbases in 1938, but with that body, it could really only be the longest of them, so its not a 230SV chassis, or 230S. This model of 230 was the W 153, and they built 4210 between 1938-44, although most of the wartime ones would have been for govt. or military use. As a saloon, it was the first standard steel body style M-Benz ever made, but the laundaulette would have been very unusual, I would imagine, by then. It tends to turn up on large, imposing cars of that era, and also just post-war, not on the more basic models, although makers like Austin made a few for wedding hire etc, even then.
If it got to USA in 1938, or 39, then it was probably either connected with the German Embassy or they sold it cheap for foreign currency, but after Sep 39, presumably surface shipping between US and Germany would have stopped. Of course, the papers may say 1939, but it might have been liberated after WW2...

fintail

Embassy car...that might expain the coachwork too.

That 'liberated' idea might have something behind it...I know quite a few cars made it to NA right after the war, and in the 60s there were many ads in collector publications of neglected K series MBs etc languishing away in American backyards and garages.