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

PF_Flyer

My brother-in-law has a Dodge Daytona that he restored and will drive it around to show it off. Mopar madness??

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andys120

into those old tanks, we once got 10 into a '58 Olds but realistically they were six passenger cars for any trip of more than 10-15 miles.

The middle seat wasn't much fun.

michaellno

...while taking my son to work, I saw a pristine Aston Martin Lagonda sedan in bright red. Weren't they made in the late 70's? I was stunned at how good it looked. Does anyone here have a picture that can be posted?

andys120

Ya gotta love Google:

http://www.astonmartins.org/v8/amlag_s2.htm

I've never seen one of those oddballs, I'd sure remember if I had.

Lagonda was once a separate marque, a good deal older than Aston-Martin which is known as Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd.

The sedan with that name was the ultimate expression of the folded and creased styling in vogue during the 70s. Don't know if they were officially imported to the USA.

michaellno

thanks, andy, for the link. Picture it in bright red, and there you have it. I can't imagine too many of those were ever brought into the US. Seeing one in a little town in Colorado, at 6AM on a Sunday morning is pretty amazing.

magnetophone

Wow, look at that interior! Well, for that matter, the exterior too. I always have a soft spot for electronic interiors that failed too soon.

oregonboy

I've been away for a week, so excuse me if my comments are untimely.

Andre - I also have a particular affection for 1957 Desotos. My parents owned a Navy blue Fireflight sedan with a very strong V8 and an Earl Schibe paint job when I first got my driver's license. I remember driving with my buddy through the Cascades with great enthusiasm but moderate skill.

Regarding the BMW 2002 vs Volvo 122s comparison: no contest. My first car was a BMW 1600. The 2002 was simply a 1600 with 25% more displacement. When Car & Driver first tested the 2002, they wondered where the extra 400cc's went. They commented that they didn't think that the 2002 was worth the $400 (I think) premium over the 1600... which sold new for $2,700 in 1967.

Anyway... I had a friend who owned a 122s, and compared to my 1600, it was crude, noisy, and much less fun to drive.

My favorite year for the 2002 is 1973. It's the last year for the lighter (and more attractive) chrome bumpers, emission standards (and engine performance) changed in 1974, and (as I recall) the 2002 received a cylinder head upgrade in 1973 to the tri-hemispherical design of the 2800.

I think that I would go for a standard 2002 over the tii, but that's just me. The biggest problem with early BMWs is RUST.

Shifty - I can't believe that no one commented on your dino vs Daffy comment. Too funny !!!

On topic: I saw an AMC Rebel "getting on it" in downtown Winston Oregon. That is not a good idea, small town cops have little to do and will sometimes stop you for the slightest of reasons. I was once stopped for a burned out license plate light. It turned out not to be out at all - just a little dirty.

The Rebel looked pretty sharp with it's red, white, and blue paint job. I only got a brief look at it, as I was going the other direction, but it looked like someone had spent some money fixing it up. I wouldn't think that an AMC would be a great investment (except perhaps an AMX).

-james

lemko

...was AMC's stab at the muscle car market called the Rebel Machine. They also had a special red, white and blue AMX and S/C Rambler.

danf5

Seen 8/28 on I-70 east of Columbus, OH. Fine two-tone paint, not one of the original schemes, I think. Alloy wheels, front disk brakes. Ohio plates Y B AVG.

ajvdh

We had a BMW club autocross down in Colorado Springs yesterday. The fantasy ride for the day was certainly the black Z8. Just a stunning car. Unfortunately even with 400HP of motivation, 3500 lbs. and a relatively long wheelbase don't do much for autocrossing.

Also making an appearance were two very tired 2002s, along with an immaculately restored one. All of them were round-tailight cars.

logic1

1. A beautiful silver BMW Z8. Oddly, the driver had the removeable hard top on. It is somewhat hot in Chicago today. Still, there are not going to be too many topless driving days left.

2. A Brown and white Triumph Herald. With the steering wheel on the right side. Brown and white because the owner had patched a door on. Apparently in the midst of a restoration. This sweetheart was topless. The dash was basically a flat board of something dark with holes for guages. I am not familiar with the Herald. I'ld guess the car dates from the 60s by the look of it.

andys120

they were imported to the US around '60-'64. They featured a sedan engine and chassis in a convertible (or coupe IIRC) body that bore a resemblance to the TR-4 with which it shared few parts.

There were never many around and I don't recall ever seeing a brown one.

logic1

primer. This vehicle was definitely a work in process. Some hobby though!

ajvdh

I saw a Triumph Stag on Saturday, in Niwot (N. of Boulder CO). I couldn't believe there was actually one still running. It was BRG, and looked to be in very good shape. I wonder if it still had the self-destructing V8.

ateixeira

Spotted a first-year Corvette convertible the other day, right next to a new 911 GT2, the drivers conversing.

I think the Porsche owners was negotiating a swap! :-)

-juice

Mr_Shiftright

If they were swapping about 4 for 1, that'd be fair, money-wise. You'd think a 1st year Vette would bring mega-bucks, but they don't. People are turned off by the automatic and the 6 cylinder engine. By the way, the very first Corvette built (serial #1) is STILL MISSING! I believe #2 is accounted for.

Wow...a *running* Triumph Stag AND a running Triumph Herald, on the same continent! The sick should be brought to the site for healing.

The Lagonda has this really crazy electronic dashboard, and I'd hate to have to be the one to fix it. You can buy these cars really cheap by the way, if they are just a little bit shabby. Most older Astons are going up in value but not these Lagondas.

lemko

...would a DB-5 go for? I remember Sean Connery drove one in "Goldfinger."

logic1

but she got it there and drove it off, so it was definitely running!

Mr_Shiftright

Nasty little cars---even a bit of a joke in England.

I once owned an OBSCURE car...ever hear of a Bond Equipe GT?

It was a fiberglass car built on a Triumph Herald chassis and running gear. It was somewhat "frog-eye" cute and not un-fun to drive, but in terms of road noise and body integrity, it felt like someone had made it in their back yard out of varnished U-Haul cartons.

jrosasmc

Just curious- did you ever own at least one car that was really bad in terms of chassis flexibility and strength? If so, what was it?

logic1

I have never seen one in person. I kind of had the feeling look at it, that it was cooler on the page than it would ever be in metal and oil.

I gather maybe I should have followed the woman in the Herald and suggested she spend her restoration dollars elsewhere?

bksward

Most of the oddities I see are exotic European stuff, but last night I saw an Impala SS, a 1961 I think. Twentysomething girl driving it. From the way she was pulling from stoplight to stoplight, she was probably getting much less than 10 miles per $2/gallon of gasoline here in San Diego...

lemko

Holy Smoke! Now there's a rare bird! This car is the stuff of legend! Impala SS production really didn't get cranking until 1962. Did her car have the really cool spinner hubcaps?

fintail

I know of an even rarer bird...an old bf of my sister had a 61 Impala SS sedan (hardtop) in very nice condition, inherited from his grandfather. Never seen another.

lemko

...a much more plebian 1961 Biscayne two-door sedan. Heck, even this Plain Jane looked pretty sharp with its full disc wheelcovers, whitewall tires and minimal chrome. His car was sort of a cream color with a gray cloth and vinyl interior. It was powered by an inline six mated to a 3-speed column-shifted manual.

andre1969

only like 453 Impala SS models were built in 1961. In contrast, that shot up to over 100K units for '62, peaked at around 239K units for '65, and then declined as people went to smaller musclecars like the GTO and such for their performance.

lemko

..."Super Sport" spelled out on the lower edge of the front fenders. I beleive the last, (classic) Impala SS was the 1969 model. How many Impala SS's came with the legendary 409? You could also get the 409 in the lesser Bel Air and Biscayne.

andre1969

but in 1962, 15K of the 100K Impala SS'es had the 409. Yup, 1969 was the last year for the SS, at least until the '94-96 version came out. The '69 only came with a 427, and 2425 were built.

That's not to say that there weren't some pretty quick big Chevies after that, though. You could get a 455 in them on up through 1976, and before emissions controls started strangling everything and gear ratios went taller to fake out the EPA mileage tests, some of those engines could be pretty quick.

andys120

full size Chevy from '61-'65 IIRC. In those years the SS package was mostly cosmetic. Performance options including the motor were extra.

The real performance geeks ordered their 409s in
2-door Biscaynes with few options to save weight.

Little known fact: there were Impala SS models equipped with the Stovebolt 6 from '61-'63.

Mr_Shiftright

The 409 was a truck motor. It didn't stay around very long. Chevy made much better motors than that one.

Chassis Flex: Lessee, a car I owned with the worst chassis flex....hmmmm....well of course it would be a convertible....I'd say it was a toss up between a Triumph TR4 and a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado.

I was going to mention some pre World War II cars I drove but that's not really fair, as most chassis of that time were pretty bad in open cars.

Triumph Herald: Well, you can restore whatever you damn well please, but on a list of 1,000 cars, that one would be about 999 on my personal list for "saving". Better to buy cars like that from old folks and put them in the Obscure Car Museum, so that mankind has at least one to remember. But restoring them? I don't see any point to it.

andys120

I guess I'd have to agree. My TR-4A ('66) was a
real Flexible Flier, as loose as any car I've ever owned.

I can't imagine why anyone would restore a Herald
but those Brits are so wacky about saving old cars you can bet there are still thousands running around the UK in various states of "restoration" including some that are better than new (how hard could that be).

If it hadn't been for the Beach Boys the 409 would probably be little regarded. My recollection is that most in the go-fast crowd at the time preferred a "breathed-on" 327 to the 409. The 327 was the engine to have in the early 60s, even if it's little remembered today.

fintail

Now that I recall going through family photos, my mother had a 61 Impala convertibe....bought it used c.1967 or so for like $800. She liked that car a lot...but got rid of it for a Z car in 70 or 71. When I look at those old Chevies and look at what's on my local lot today...it's sad

Mr_Shiftright

They should drag GM execs in chains over to a classic car auction and watch people go nuts when a '57 Chevy or a Nomad or a GTO comes up to the stand...point to it and say "there, build something, ANYTHING, that does that to people".

TR4--I remember watching the windshield separate from the cowl on hard bumps.

Anyone remember the JEEPSTER? An odd duck, not unlike GM's new car/truck--what's it called---the SSR?

stever

Loved the Jeepster -- had center gauges, just like the new Quest (no pod though). Family friend had one.

0-60 in 21.9.

Steve, Host

stickguy

spent last weekend wandering around the Boston and ALbany NY areas, and saw a few interesting ones:

- A nice black TR4 in downtown Boston
- An S/C Rambler in Newton, complete with Red white and blue paint job
- A MGA in Amsterdam, NY (much less common than the usual rusted out 1980's GM product usually found there)
- A whole garage littered with ratty looking BL products (mostly Triumphs and MGs) in Brookline or Newton. Have to make a return trip and explore that one.
- A flatbed with an original Mini and a 1950s vintage ice cream truck (open cab), on the Mass Pike

and some others that I can't remember, but that made an impression at the time.

andys120

I saw a '64 Impala SS HT at an old car dealership this PM. It looked nice and straight with a turquoise top over white bodywork. There were no engine badges, I wonder if it was a six-cylinder
(per my post above).

ateixeira

My buddy's grandma had a Chevy Nomad, totally original. She'd get cash offers on it all the time, but refused to sell. She was the original owner! She's in her 80s now.

Bummer, though, she got in a really bad collision and it was a total loss. She cried for days!

IIRC that's a 2 door wagon, right? Hers was blue, beautiful!

-juice

andre1969

the original, '55-57 Nomads were 2-door wagons, not to be confused with the cheaper, more upright, utilitarian 2-door wagons of that era. Chevy called them "hardtop wagons", although they really weren't. Mercury, Chrysler, Oldsmobile, Buick, and Rambler did offer true hardtop wagons though, that lacked a B-pillar.

The name "Nomad" was used after that though, like maybe '58 through the late 60's, to denote a trim level of their 4-door station wagons. The '55-57 Nomads are sought-after collectibles nowadays, but the later ones, no more so than any other wagon.

lemko

...keep its hardtop wagon in production through 1964?

I believe the last Nomad wagon was the 1968-69 low-line A-body Chevrolet. The upper level wagon I believe was called Concours.

When was the Kingswood Estate nameplate first used? I believe they stopped using it after 1976, though I could be wrong.

Mr_Shiftright

Names like that always make me laugh. "Yes, we are taking the Chevy wagon up to our Estate. You've heard of Kingswood, haven't you? Right next to San Simeon".

lemko

...I like names like "Kingswood Estate" better than the alphanumeric gobbledygook of today. I'd imagine they'd name the car a KW-ST8

oregonboy

I detest the alpha-numeric non-names given to so many cars today. In my view, when Acura threw away the Legend, Vigor, and Integra names and replaced them with... um... something, something, and RSX (I think), they committed one of the greatest marketing blunders in automotive history.

-james

ateixeira

'57 sounds about right for hers. It was cool.

Remember Donnie Brasco? Bro-HAMM.

-juice

magnetophone

oregonboy, I agree with Acura's names. Legend, Integra, and Vigor were good names. However, "Brougham", "LeSabre", "DeVille", etc. are even worse than alphanumeric names, because they are blatant examples of how out of touch a car manufacturer is.

Cadillac's making a big mistake by going to letters. The only recently cool Cadillac name was Eldorado and Escalade. De Ville's always been my least favorite. "Of the city?"

However, GM has also had some of the best names... Toronado, Tempest, Wildcat, etc.

andys120

Can we have a picture of one of those pillarless wagons, can't remember them (it was 45 years ago)?

ajvdh

I saw a black Panoz AIV Roadster in Boulder, CO yesterday. He was two cars back in the lane to my left. I was darn lucky not to run into the guy in front of my as I was ogling it in my mirror. We got to a T-junction, I turned right, he turned left.

My 11 year old said, "That's cool, but I still want an M-roadster."

See: http://www.panozauto.com/

fintail

GM Hardtop wagon (Buick Caballero - now there's a name)

http://www.stationwagon.com/gallery/1957_Buick_Caballero.html

And a beautiful Chrysler hardtop wagon

http://www.stationwagon.com/gallery/1961_Chrysler_New_Yorker.html

There's an old blue haired lady in my town who has to be pushing 80, if not more...she drives an immaculate pale yellow '69 or so Kingswood...with a 396 badge on it...very cool.

ateixeira

The Chrysler looks cross-eyed. The rest of it looks good, though.

Wild, both are 4 doors, check out those C-pillars!

I wrote a letter to Autoweek about how I liked the Panoz, it got published! :-)

-juice

mhansen1

The Kingswood (and Kingswood Estate) names were last used on Chevy's big wagons in 1972. Thereafter, they were known simply as the Impala (and Caprice Estate) wagons respectively. The same holds true for the Townsman (BelAir version) and Brookwood (Biscayne version). Those names also met their fate after 1972.

Overall ... I am neutral on the alpha numeric names for cars. I actually think Cadillac is doing the right thing because they had to rebuild their image and names like DeVille and Seville are not part of that image anymore.

With Acura ... I understand that they went to the RL, TL etc monikers because the name 'Legend' had more recognition than 'Acura'. Acura then thought they wanted their cars to be known by the brand name rather than the model name. I wish though (in this case) that they kept the Legend, Integra etc names.

andys120

Those HT wagons were rare birds. I don't remember even hearing the name Buick Caballero before (I was taking HS Spanish at the time).