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

kyfdx

'88 Porsche 928S4 in the paper.. 91K miles.. Manual shift.. (rare, right?)

Asking $10K..

andre1969

Must be kinda rare I'd guess.

I'd guess they probably made about 4-6,000 Chrysler wagons in 1955 and again in 1956. Back then, I think they broke production out by 2-seat versus 3-seat models, and the Windsor and New Yorker both offered wagons. I think production figures for each style/series came out to around 1000-1500.

I think wagons back then, especially the medium-priced models like a Chrysler, were pretty pricey, and considered luxury vehicles.

bhill2

because it was mercifully rare but far from classic. I saw a last-generation C-class Mercedes, black, with what looked like dub-dubs on it (highly chromed of course). What's worse, I was in a restaurant eating (well, up to that point; after seeing this abomination I was mostly trying not to uneat what I had already eaten). Anyway, sometimes you wish it was legal to make a citizen's arrest, confiscate the car, and give it to someone who deserves it. Kind of like finding new homes for abused pets.

Mr_Shiftright

A.S.P.C.A.?

Porsche 928S4 -- a little cheap for a nice 1988 S4, which should retail around $12,000. 928s are like used cars, the newer they are, the more they are worth, the older--the less.

Hmmmm...I wonder why the "4" key on my keyboard is the same as the $$$$ key? Should be the Porsche 928 $4?

kyfdx

I'll probably never find out.. 9 MPG doesn't thrill me.. I thought 91K was pretty low miles, though..

Most 928s have automatics, right?

Mr_Shiftright

9 MPG? Somethings wrong with it. On the highway, 928s get very good mileage.

There do seem to be a lot of automatic 928s, but I have no idea of the ratio to stickshift. Probably 50/50. In many ways it's a lot easier to drive with an automatic but it kind of kills the fun of it. I'd say take an automatic over any of the early dual-disk clutch cars, and then a stick shift for the later single-disk clutch cars. The S4 is a single disk clutch.

Just about any 928 clutch is going to have to come out every 10,000 miles or so.....but it's only $2,100 for a new one, so no biggie.

kyfdx

Ouch.. Even my 911 clutch was cheaper than that.. Of course, that was in 1992..

boomchek

I added a bunch of pictures to my carspace here with more oddball cars we had in Poland.

boomchek's garage

danf5

"All "anecdotal" means is "reported without methodical scientific measurement, proof or controls". You see plane crash and call me up, that's anecdotal. It's on the news with video and ID numbers of the aircraft, that's proof. "

Um, Shifty, I didn't just see the plane crash. I crashed it and survived. I'm reminded of a rule not much applied by referees of papers. Only research results that have been published elsewhere can be cited. This is silly, if applied strictly no new results could be published.

I drove the miles, logged the odometer readings at each fillup and service, paid all the bills, and reported accurately here. Since August, '84 I've driven nearly a million miles in my Hondas. You may not like this news, but if you can dispute it you're calling me a liar.

I've had a number of obscure cars. Won't go back to them even though I keep thinking that a Lancia Fulvia in good order might almost be the very car for today. My 1,3 Sport returned 38 mpg at 85 mph. Eyewitness account, again. But it was't as quick or as fast as, didn't handle as well as, and was a lot more rust prone than my current Civic. And it didn't have a/c. A couple of cars ago I thought about getting another Scimitar. Same story, nice old cars just aren't as nice as nice new ones.

fintail

Interesting stuff, your dad has some widely varying tastes

fintail

This morning I saw an odd car carrier with 6 vehicles on it. On the top level was a light yellow ca. 1966 Chevelle 2 door HT, a black ca. 1948 Chrysler convertible, and a white 1962 Pontiac convertible. On the bottom was just 3 normal cars, a CRV and a couple of plain sedans. Weird mix.

andre1969

but I did see something oddly amusing on tv this morning. I tuned in to catch "The Rockford Files". At the end of the episode, Rockford and another guy were forced at gunpoint to get into a '68 LTD 4-door hardtop at a motel. Rockford got in the front seat and slid over, and the gunman got behind the wheel.

Well, the car backs up, and just as the driver puts it into Drive, Rockford puts his foot over, stomps the gas pedal, grabs at the steering wheel, and they end up in the swimming pool!

Now I was always under the impression that the only car that could float for any reasonable length of time was a VW Bug. (or an Amphicar). But this LTD actually seemed to glide right across the water, smacked the far end of the pool, rebounded a bit, and stayed afloat for quite some time.

I figured that something like that would've nosedived the instant it hit the water! I wonder if they put something under the car to make it more buoyant? Nowadays they could accomplish the same effect with a combination of live action and CGI that you wouldn't even notice it wasn't real, unless you Tivo'ed it and played it back a few times, but they didn't have that kind of capability back in the 70's!

boomchek

Interesting stuff, your dad has some widely varying tastes

Yeah he is really undecisive. When I worked at Honda and my folks came in to buy a car, they went from a Civic coupe to an Accord coupe, to an Element before I sorta made them buy a Civic.

As for the other cars it's just whatever his flavor of the day is.

The white Tempo that we had, he bought because:
a: the horn worked
b: the radio worked
c: it was semi decent looking for the time :surprise:

Mr_Shiftright

I'd suggest you start a new discussion called "High Mileage Claims" and we can all discuss pros and cons there. This is off-topic here I think.

I love Lancias, except for the late stuff marketed through Fiat in the 80s. Those were a disgrace to a once fine name IMO

andre1969

I saw an early 60's Studebaker Lark 2-door parked along the road. It had a little johnboat looking thing on a trailer hooked up behind it.

It looked like it was in good shape. Pale sky blue color.

british_rover

Yellow testarossa..

Ugh why did I ever like those.

fintail

My dad has a similar history, random choices. When I was little, he had things varying from a Plymouth Horizon to an Audi 5000 turbo to a S-10 Blazer. He's also had minivans, pickups, and old cars. His latest car is a Town & Country.

We even had a Tempo once too, back in the day, as a long distance commuter for my mom.

boomchek

My parents for some reason don't like Audis at all.

Don't know why but they just don't like them.

andre1969

My parents for some reason don't like Audis at all.

They didn't end up with a Fox back in the day, did they? Or get scared off by 60 Minutes or whomever tieing down the accelerator pedal on the 5000 models? :surprise:

boomchek

No they didn't broadcast 60 minutes in those dyas in communist poland. :P

Mr_Shiftright

I'm sure communist Poland would have loved it--60 minutes often had the same level of credibility as Pravda when it came to Audis:P

danf5

I can certainly agree with you that Lancia Lancias appeal.

I've always thought that the Farina-bodied Flaminia coupe was the prettiest of Farina's slab-sided cars. Think Austin A40, Peugeot 404, Fiat 1200/1500 spiders, ... Farina's Flaminia coupe, at least to my eyes, just exudes class. But for here and now they have poor acceleration and, alas, no a/c. And they rust. I remember going out to look at one on Long Island in 1975, with serious intent to buy, and walking away because it was too rusty.

Fulvias and Flavias are a little quicker, but still rusty. I also remember that one of my colleagues with a plain 100 bhp 2002 could out drag, but not out-corner, my 85 bhp Fulvia. And that it needed serious welding done to replace structural rot.

Thinking of 404s, the 404 cabrio was also quite a pretty car. And with fuel injection they were, for their time, fast. A friend in Germany once took me for a run in hers; she topped 160 kph on the autobahn, passed everything else that was out there with us. This in 1970.

Mr_Shiftright

I'm more partial to the Peugeot 403. The 404 has vestigial tail fins as I recall---I really don't care for tail fins on cars (sorry fintail, but you've forgiven me previously :P ). The 404 reminds me a bit of the Austin Cambridge, which in turn reminds me of the later MG Magnettes. I wonder who it was in Europe that started the tail fin thing?

fintail

My dad always had a thing for them...the one we had was the pre-aero look, and he has always claimed he never had trouble with the car, which means he got the one good example, or he is stretching the truth. As far as I know he never had a problem with the Horizon either. Strange. The Blazer though was a piece of crap. Subsequent cars have been pretty OK, save for his first T&C puking up a tranny at 6 months old.

fintail

I think the BMC Farina cars may have started it. These came out in 1958 IIRC, and the fintails not until 1959. I know I have read somewhere that MB had originally talked to Pininfarina to design what would become the fintails, but when they saw that design, they backed out and did it themselves. That angular finned look was all the rage in Europe until about 1965 it seems.

Mr_Shiftright

Well at least they did show some restraint. I've actually owned fintail Mercedes and a finned Magnette, so I'm tolerant enough....even a Studebaker Golden Hawk, which was tres finny indeed....

fintail

I think fins can add character and are a good parking aid. They reflect the time when the cars were made. Wouldn't work on a new car of course, a new fintail would be a scary sight.

andre1969

I think fins worked on some of the older cars that would have normally just had rear-ends that would have been droopy, or mundane at best. Plus, with cars getting longer and more linear, it added a look of motion, as the front-ends dropped down and the fins helped add lift to the rear.

And if you think about it, that's pretty much how cars are now...front-ends that are low (but bulking up in recent years), beltlines that rise towards the rear of the car, and a high rump.

andys120

While pedestriating downtown I was passed by a
Lincoln Premiere which looked a lot like this car (same colors)>



The car in the pic is a '56, the one I saw was slighly more upright so perhaps a '54 or '55.

I also spotted a maroon '66 or '67 Pontiac GTO h/t sitting in front of an auto glass place w a FOR SALE in the window, it looked like it was in nice shape except it rode a little higher than stock. :confuse:

mazda6iguy

While perusing the sales lot at the local Ford dealer after work, I spotted a pristine condition 1979 Lincoln Continental Mark V Givenchy Edition. Looked perfect. It would make an interesting entry at any classic car show. It looked similar to this car.... except it had all it's wheel covers.

fintail

Camaro for the discerning

And if that wasn't enough

Nice hood ornament, stupid

Timber

I like the resto rod idea, but lose that steering wheel

Anyone want a nearly new bustleback?

This was a great idea

Red

What am I missing?

This is an oddity

Beware of termites

Mr_Shiftright

Hmmmm...the magnificent Phantom convertible---he wants $23,500 and the entire world has offered $7,100 after 7 days of bidding....well then seller, hasn't the public spoken?

HOw odd that both Phantoms (Phantii?) are bid to the exact same amount!

Daimler non-Benz: He wants 45,000 British pounds for this lump of iron that has, (on top of being a Daimler I mean) suffered the indignity of a Mustang 4 cylinder engine? He's high on something, he is seriously deluded.

47 Buick Woody: Should go higher than a measly $50K....

Cadillac Seville: Asking $6,000, with 0 bids. I think that says it all for this monstrosity.

El Classico: I'd better just keep my mouth shut on this one...

60 Dodge convertible: What are you missing? You're missing your turn on the huge bong these bidders are passing around. Good lord men, check your price guides!!!

74' civic ragtop: I want it!!

46 Pontiac Woody: too much wood, bleh...too much of a good thing. Can this be correct? It doesn't look right to me.

kyfdx

The D-500 thing must mean something on a '60 Dodge.. Ever heard of it?

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah, it's the cross ram intake engine with dual 4 barrels, one on each side of the engine.

Great option but the engine is missing, as in "gone"...so someone will have to fake it or piece it together and then forget to tell the next buyer no doubt that it's a "bitsa" car...bitsa this one and bitsa that one....

I'm sure someone will scare up a date-code-correct B block from some junker and buy a manifold and carbs at a swap (for a bloody fortune).

But still, how could you ever get ahead on this car? It's such a mess.

Well if you want to spend $100K to make $40K, have at it.

texases

Apparently a Dodge model like the Chrysler 300 series. More here: D500 history

british_rover

I saw a yellow Challenger convertible yesterday. That is probably worth a pretty penny.

andre1969

the D-500 was a 383 with dual quads and cross-ram induction (one carb on either side of the engine, instead of both of them in a row on top). It had 330 hp.

Back in those days, Dodge didn't do a limited edition "Supercar", like the DeSoto Adventurer, Chrysler 300 Letter Series, or Plymouth Fury. They just offered a hot engine, called the D-500 that was theoretically available across the board, although I dunno if anybody ever ordered a 4-door sedan or station wagon with it! In earlier days, the D-500 was a Dodge Hemi, and in 1957 there was an even hotter D-501 that used a Chrysler 354 Hemi.

I think the '58 D-500 used a 361 dual quad, and a 383 dual quad for 1959. By that timeframe though, even a 383-2bbl was pretty potent, with 305 hp. I think the 4-bbl had 325, so the dual quad didn't add much over that, although no doubt it gave you that power and torque across a much wider band.

Still, I'd imagine that '60 Polara, especially without the engine, is really pretty worthless, as is?

Mr_Shiftright

Well it's a potentially valuable car but it's so far gone I can't imagine coming out anywhere near whole on it. But I've seen even more worthless cars in worse condition brought back by lunatics with a LOT of time on their hands, so hey, if that's your particular insanity, this is the land of the free and the home of the brave, so go for it.

kyfdx

It seems that if the only thing that makes the car extra valuable is the engine... and the engine is gone... then, it would just be a clone?

If you had the original block and rebuilt the engine, I could see it..

Seems like a joke.. but, they were bidding it up, so what do I know? (rhetorical.. no response required..lol)

andre1969

just checked my old car book, and it looks like the Polara came with a 383-4bbl standard that year, with 325 hp. It was the DeSoto Adventurer (no longer a "supercar", but sort of a replacement for the old Fireflite, offering a 4-door sedan and 2- and 4-door hardtops) that had a 383-2bbl, and 305 hp.

Dodge only made about 17,000 Polaras total in 1960, which includes 4-door sedans, 2/4-door hardtops, wagons, and the convertible. So I'd imagine that they built, at the most, 1000 Polaras? The Plymouth-sized Dart made up the lion's share of Dodge sales in 1960. What had been the more "traditional" sized Dodges was relegated to the Matador and Polara lines for 1960 (essentially replacing the Royal and Custom Royal) and they were poor sellers in general. The Matador was cheaper by a few hundred bucks, and sold about 26,000 units. For 1961 Dodge only offered the Polara as their "standard" sized Dodge, with the slightly shorter Dart still taking most of the sales.

kyfdx

In Cincinnati.. The Concours d'Elegance..

I'm on overload.. Just the one mile walk through the parking area would have made a great car show..

Saw a Porsche Carrera GT.. and that wasn't even in the show.

More later..

andre1969

I saw two oddities on the way in. First, out on the road, I saw an Isuzu Vehicross. Pretty rare to begin with I guess, but this one was a color I'd never seen one in before, a dark burgundy. Seems like every other one I've ever seen was either silver or that boy-racer/schoolbus yellow.

Then, in a parking lot at work, I saw a Pontiac Phoenix notchback coupe, around a 1980-82 I guess. It had kind of a fussy, frilly grille, wherease I think the '83-84 had a smoother grille where just the outlines and the center split were chrome, and the rest was blacked out. It had wire wheels and a landau top, and was white. Looked like it was in tip-top shape which is rare for any ~25 year old car, let alone a GM X-body!

kyfdx

Coupe.. 426 with dual 4-bbls., one on each cylinder bank.. I didn't see anything posted about "D-500", though..

He fired it up for about a minute.. Very nice sound..

kyfdx

A Lotus ('65?) with a Cosworth engine.. A turbine from '68. When he fired that up, it was like moths to a flame.... By the time he had it running for 2 minutes, there were probably 200 people gathered around. And, a '70 model..

kyfdx

Maserati Khamsin (not in the show.. in the parking lot)

Two Saab Sonnetts

'71 BMW 2002.. by the owner of the local BMW dealer. I'm pretty sure it was his personal car from the '70s.

3 late '50s Porsche Speedsters.

A real 289 Shelby Cobra.

Porsche Carrera GT.. the supercar.. owned by Mike Valentine of radar detector fame. In the parking lot.

One of the special exhibits was the GM Futureliner.. sort of a bus.. It must have been from 1956, because there was a whole display of 1956 models across from it, including Lincoln Mark II and a Dodge La Femme..

Various Morgans... from the '30s to the '60s.

I'll think of some more later... I should have taken notes.

andre1969

I'm not sure, but I think that 1961 was the last year for the D-500 naming.

kyfdx

Ahh... The double 4-bbl set up looked sort of crude.. But, wow.... what a great rumble when they fired that thing up..

texases

I did see a picture of a '64 Dodge Polara 500 coupe, so maybe it lived on that way.

kyfdx

..the guy with the Lamborghini Gallardo started his and revved it up around 9000 RPM.. Even at 500 HP, it was no big deal..

Might be a different story if he blows by you on the road, though..

andre1969

I probably should have clarified in that last post. The D-500 name went away, but the hot engine didn't. I think in 1961, the "hot" engine for Dodge was a 383 Crossram (dual quads, offset) with around 330 hp. In 1962, Dodge threw out their 118" and 122" wheelbase cars and came up with a downsized 116" model, fielded in both Dart and Polara lineups. I think this was the first year they started shoving 413 Wedges under the hood.

I don't know what they called the performance package that year, though? Was that when the SuperStock Dodges first came out, maybe?