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

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  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    God protects fools and....how does that saying go?

    I can't believe the other fool turned DOWN the $12K. Smells fishy, don't it? :confuse:
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,023
    od protects fools and....how does that saying go?

    I can't believe the other fool turned DOWN the $12K. Smells fishy, don't it?


    I just hope the high bidder doesn't do what I did with the two cars I found on eBay...contact the seller and come to an agreement that's somewhere between the top bid and the buy it now price!

    I don't regret doing that with either of the two I bought. But then, my '79 5th Ave had a buy it now of $1900. I was the top bidder at $703, and we agreed to $900. And with my '76 LeMans, Shifty, I remember you saying $2500 was reasonable for it. I was the top bidder on that one too, for around $2600 I think. IIRC, the seller's buy it now was $4500. I ended up paying $3K for it. I've been happy with the car, and If I overpaid by $500, I don't mind. To me at least, the car's worth it.

    However, if I was paying between $12K-$14K for a car that might only be worth $5-6K, and then found out how much I overpaid by, I'd feel like a fool! But, maybe the seller had a shill or two planted to try driving the price up...who knows? I have a feeling it's not that easy to prove something like that.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    There's no "one price". $500 "over" isn't really "over" at all---every car is different and that price might be entirely justified. As you say, it's when you pay double that you need to start smacking yourself in the head, for not researching the market and just believing the seller.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    ...1954 Chevrolet Bel-Air hardtop in unusual yellow and green two-tone.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,675
    >yellow and green two-tone.

    Those were a very popular color combo in the Indiana/Ohio area back in their day--so I'm told. Green w/ light green in a blue green tone was also good.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I'd love to have that 510. They are great little cars.
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 11,107
    Wonder about that "new" '70 Chrysler - engine looks like it was resprayed in blue (a/c compressor, accessories, etc.). Or did they come that way?
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,023
    I've had a '67 Newport and '68/69 Darts, all with that same V2 compressor, and they were all black. I can't remember what color the big-block valve covers were. My '69 Slant six was light blue, and the '68 318 is red.

    Plus, with the way that PCV valve hose is painted, and the throttle linkage, I really think it's been resprayed. It just looks too sloppy to be factory IMO.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,023
    I could actually go for something like that '75 Delta. I ilke that interior cloth pattern...it's pure 70's but without going full-blown disco inferno. I also like the fact that they went through the effort to put matching cloth inserts on the door panels. Often low-line cars with cloth wouldn't do that. You'd just get vinyl on the doors.

    The 350 on these cars had 175 hp, and I think it was a 4-bbl, as most 2-bbls were down to around 140-160 by this time. It might not be *too* thirsty with that engine, and might still be strong enough to move it around with some dignity. My grandparents had a '72 Impala with a Chevy 350 2-bbl, and it would get around 14 mpg in local driving, maybe 19 on the highway if you were gentle on it. Of course, a lot changed with emissions controls between '72 and '75! My '76 LeMans would struggle to get 16 on the highway with a 350-4bbl, but I think the Olds engine took much better to emissions controls than the Pontiac. Not sure how the Chevy engine compared in that regard...probably better than the Pontiac, not as good as the Olds.

    That '83 LeBaron really shows how Chrysler brought luxury, or at least what passed for it in the early 80's, to the masses. It's Louisiana cathouse pimpy by today's standards, but back then, it's exactly what a lot of people wanted! And for being just guzzied up K-cars, these things were pretty popular for awhile.
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,670
    1970 Chrysler Newport. I wonder how you would go about registering/titling a car with no VIN plate. :confuse: :sick:

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

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Okay obscurantists!

    What was the LAST YEAR that GM made a true pillarless hardtop car?

    (this is somewhat of a trick question).

    There is no quibbling, there is no arguing, it is just one year as the correct answer. However, there are TWO body types that the last true pillarless appeared on, so there are two answers for the body type but only one answer for the year.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,023
    I don't know about foreign markets, but in the United States it was 1976, with the full-size B- and C-bodies. You could still get a hardtop coupe in the Catalina, LeSabre, and Delta 88 lines, although the Bonneville, Impala/Caprice, and Electra/98/DeVille coupes were all opera windowed. You could get a hardtop sedan across the board though.

    Now from 1979-85, the Eldorado/Toronado/Riviera coupes lacked a B-pillar and had a hardtop look. However, the rear windows were stationary. I'm sure you could pull them out if you put your mind to it and make the car look like a hardtop, but that's not a true hardtop in my book.

    I don't know much about the foreign markets, but I could imagine something like Holden in Australia offering a hardtop Monaro for a few years longer.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    76 is correct; however TBMK, these were all 4-door pillarless cars in the B and C bodies.

    If Cadillac comes out with their new CTS coupe in 2010, it will be the first GM pillarless in 34 years!
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,023
    GM still offered hardtop coupes as well in '76, but it was that "colonade" style where you had a small roll-down window and then a stationary window behind it. Here's a pic of a '76 Catalina hardtop coupe:
    image

    By '76 GM was only offering it in the Catalina, Delta 88, and LeSabre lineups. They started phasing out the big hardtop coupes after 1973. For '74, the Coupe DeVille had a stationary rear window, as those landau roofs and opera windows were becoming all the rage. The 98, Electra, and Grand Ville could be had with a roll down window and no B-pillar, or an opera window. The Impala Sport coupe was still pillarless, but the Caprice coupe was stationary. It had a thick B-pillar and a long, narrow quarter window that ran back to a narrow C-pillar. 1974 was also the year that the "colonade" style hardtop roofline was adopted for LeSabre, Delta, Catalina, and Bonneville coupes. 1974 was also the year that the Riviera went pillared, but I'm not sure about the Toronado.

    In 1975, GM's hardtop sedans adopted that new roofline with the more squared-off C-pillar and the triangular quarter window set in it. Also that year, the Electra/98 coupes were pillared only, with stationary windows. The Grand Ville was the same, and this year the Bonneville adopted the Grand Ville, rather than the Catalina roofline. I think the Impala hardtop coupe also went away for '75. At least, all the '75-76 Impala coupes I've ever seen have been pillared. So that left just the LeSabre, Catalina, and Delta coupes offered as a hardtop for '75-76.

    I'm a bit disappointed that the new Challenger isn't a hardtop. The concept that was making the auto show routes was, but the production model has a flush-mounted stationary rear quarter window that hides the B-pillar. I guess most people really don't care if the back windows roll down or not, but I think it's a cool feature. That's one reason why I like both generations of Legend coupe.

    That would be way cool, if Cadillac really does make a CTS hardtop coupe.
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,670
    What was the LAST YEAR that GM made a true pillarless hardtop car?

    2002, the last year for the Fourth Gen F-bodies (Pontiac Firebird & Chevy Camaro), neither had B-pillars so threy were in fact hardtops.

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

  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,023
    Actually, how would you define the pillar on those cars? If anything, I'd say they had no C-pillar, and just a thick B-pillar with no quarter windows. Or sort of a combination B/C pillar. But the F-body hasn't been offered as a true hardtop (roll down rear windows, and no pillar between the front and rear windows) since the first-gen.

    If you were going to call the 2002 F-bod a hardtop, well isn't the current Corvette closed coupe pretty much the same theme?
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    The Buick Reatta would have met that too

    Speaking of hardtops, that's one styling cue MB has kept...I think there's been at least one hardtop in the Mercedes lineup since 1961.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,023
    Speaking of hardtops, that's one styling cue MB has kept...I think there's been at least one hardtop in the Mercedes lineup since 1961.

    Yeah, I thought it was cool that BM did that. Especially once they came out with that more reasonably-priced hardtop. The CLK I think it's called? I mean, it's still probably around $50K, but I imagine that's still a drop in the bucket compared to the big one!
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Nah, don't think so. A 2-door hardtop has two doors and four windows, all roll down, no opera windows, no extra windows, just one clear space from A pillar to C pillar. So I don't think anything fits that bill after '76. The design was conceived to look like a 5 passenger convertible with the top up. That's what 2DHT means IMO, at least to the automotive historian. You'd lose that argument with Petersen's Auto Museum or the Henry Ford Museum.

    A Camaro would be a 2D Coupe. Nobody ever calls it a 2D hardtop. The technically accurate name for a Camaro would be 2D "closed coupe".

    A 2D with a post or fixed window should really be called a 2D sedan IMO. Sometimes they call them club coupe.
  • jrosasmcjrosasmc Member Posts: 1,711
    I just picked up the new issue of Classic Motorsports magazine and they had a few comments about several cars that you would be very surprised at:

    91-93 Alfa Spider: The last of the Spiders are very reliable vehicles that can be used without much worry.

    75-80 MGBs (rubber bumper cars): They may not have the cachet of the earlier chrome-bumper versions, but these can be excellent daily drivers. A good buy.

    80-81 Triumph TR8: Though some may not like the styling much, these cars are perhaps the best Triumphs ever built. The exhaust note can be very satisfying.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    Yeah you can get a basic CLK for 50K...but the AMG model can get pretty close to 100K without a lot of effort. That's about where the big CL bases out. The big coupes have been odd cars since 1992 - very nice at some angles, weird at others.

    I think back ca. 1983 a 300CD would have been about 30K, with a SEC (both hardtops) being about 50K, so I guess it is relatively equivalent.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    I'd think a TR8 would be less than pleasant to own due to lack of build quality...or can the bugs be ironed out with age? I'll admit when I was really little I liked the looks of the wedge. My 1981 Consumer Guide rips into the TR8 they tested, noting "ridiculously poor quality control and suspect body rigidity" and summing the car up with "There may always be a Britain. If our Triumph is any indication, there may not always be a British auto industry" (somewhat prophetic)
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Oh I always regarded the last Alfas highly, and in fact always regarded most Alfas as very reliable daily drivers---having driving them daily and reliably myself for a number of years. Sadly, most people's first encounters with an Alfa is a clapped out, worn out example further mutilated by meat-fisted mechanics.

    TR8--well, okay, everyone's entitled to their opinion but I have to agree---the car has the build quality of an Italian frozen TV dinner tray and the engine is a slug unless you spend $$ to breathe on it pretty heavily. A Honda Accord would slap that car silly.

    Rubber-bumper MGBs -- I'm sorry, ugly is forever. You want a cheap drop-top, buy a Miata and be happy.
  • magnettemagnette Member Posts: 4,229
    Seen in West London, Friday;

    Daimler Double Six coupe but a convertible. This was a conversion carried out by Avon, apparently the did about a dozen Daimlers and somewhat more of the Jag - basically they chopped the roof off an XJ-C. The owner reckoned there are only a couple of the V12 Daimler version, and he's probably right...

    Also saw an Austin 1100 MkII, which used to be Britain's best selling car, but is virtually extinct now.

    Porsche 911S - with American style huge rubber bumpers - particularly the rear which looked like a sofa stuck on the back !

    Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn long-wheelbase limo - Park Ward.
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,670
    80-81 Triumph TR8: Though some may not like the styling much, these cars are perhaps the best Triumphs ever built. The exhaust note can be very satisfying

    Styling is subjective so we'll leave that out. I'm sure the exhaust note on a TR8 is sweet but that's characteristic of most V8s fitted with a sporty exhaust system.

    The best built Triumphs were the TR-250s and TR6s (1968-1973). My brother's 250 had much fewer problems with poor bodywork , carbeurators and electrical components than my TR-4A built only two years before. The six, while not especially sporty is refined and smooth compared to the earlier 4. TR-6 bodies were built by Karmann. They were bound to be tighter and longer lasting than earlier British built bodies which were astonishingly crude even by 1960's standards.

    The Wedge cars have a terrible reputation as some of the worst built sports cars ever to grace these shores..

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

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I had a TR 250. I really miss that car more than almost any other I ever had.

    I guess in the UK they called it a TR5?
  • magnettemagnette Member Posts: 4,229
    My understanding is that we got the fuel injected TR5, while US market got the TR250 with carbs, for emissions reasons....
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,670
    My understanding is that we got the fuel injected TR5, while US market got the TR250 with carbs, for emissions reasons....

    Yep, I believe yours was called the TR5 P.I. (Petrol Injection). Ours had dual Strombergs, just like those on my '66 TR4A. I've gotta believe the Fuelie was a real sweetheart to drive and IMO the Michelotti style was prettier than the somewhat incoherent Karmann styling of the later TR6.

    I am a charter member of TA (Triumphs Anonymous). If you ever get an overwhelming urge to buy a Triumph call us at 1-800-LUCAS-SUCKS. ;)

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

  • magnettemagnette Member Posts: 4,229
    I passed my driving test in a Triumph - a Toledo, as it happens...
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    ...dark blue 1941 Ford sedan.
    ...white 1971 AMC Ambassador sedan with black interior and dog dish hubcaps.
    ...horribly pimped-out red and black 1969 Cadillac Coupe DeVille.
  • bumpybumpy Member Posts: 4,425
    I love this part in the seller questions:

    "Does it come with air conditioning? Will you take my Grandma in partial trade? she has a few good years left in her. Good cook and can do laundry but dont climb stairs too good anymore."
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 20,723
    in my driveway. it was my neighbor stopping over with his new track toy, although still street legal. just about everything on it was massaged in some way.
    he had me take it out for a drive. :shades:
    i felt like i was in a ww11 fighter. loved how the fenders kept you focused straight ahead. i could see the tach, but the speedo was blocked by the steering wheel.
    i took it up to about 5500 at one point, but that was enough for me.
    the bottom hinged pedals were a little weird at first, but i just adjusted the part of my foot i used for the clutch.
    i am defintely going to have to come up with a nickname for it.
    2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 265,580
    In the parking lot at work..

    '87 BMW 325is.. red.. great body.. typically worn tan leather interior.. Looked great for 20 years old.. smelled of gasoline, though..

    On the way home..

    '85-'87 BMW L6... that's the luxury edition 6-series.. Pretty rough... If they put about $15K into it, they'd have a nice $6K driver... :surprise: .. Surprised they could even afford to keep it running..

    Last night.. in town..

    Early '90s Subaru wagon... RHD.. rural mail carrier vehicle... In white.. NICE!!

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  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 265,580
    This morning..

    '86-'89 911 Carrera coupe.. in mint condition..

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  • jspagna1jspagna1 Member Posts: 34
    Well, it was pretty nice this past weekend in CT., still cold. I took the Mustang out and came accross an older woman driving a Red 66' Corvette
    http://www.corvettefever.com/featuredvehicles/corp_0704_1966_chevrolet_corvette_- c2/photo_10.html
    & a guy driving a 71' Mach 1 Mustang.
    http://www.mustangreview.com/1971mach1.htm
    Spring is just around the corner, probably another month before the good weather.
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 11,107
    '71 Mustang - that's the year they 'jumped the shark' for me - no longer very good looking, IMHO.
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 20,723
    also in ct, thanks for the links to the pictures.
    over the weekend i saw a similar style mustang headed east on I-84. dark green and not a mach 1.
    it was warm enough today that i decided to start up my '91 mustang.
    i wait until the sand is picked up to start driving it.
    the landscapers are out working on the lawns, so spring must be on the way!
    2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,023
    '71 Mustang - that's the year they 'jumped the shark' for me - no longer very good looking, IMHO.

    Nah, they were too fat and heavy to actually jump it...they sort of just teetered and fell into the pool and got the sharks so sick they threw up. :P
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 20,723
    someone around the corner has an audi 5000.
    i think of those as a german version of the chysler fuselage cars.
    it was in pretty good shape, but one day i drove by it and one of the fenders was dented pretty good, and i thought to myself, 'well that car is totaled'.
    i have to give the owners credit, it's fixed and looks pretty good again.
    2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 53,345
    but a motorcycle. A vintage triumph, in well used shapre. Not sure of th emodel, but a smaller street bike, either from the 60's or maybe early 70's? Not something you see that often (OK, never).

    Funny thing is that I live in Jersey burbs of Philly, and the bike had PA tags, so he must have even crossed the bridge on it!

    Stinky though. I assume it was a 4 stroke running rich or burning oil?

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

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Could be any number of variants, depending on high pipes or low pipes, single carb or dual carbs.

    These are wonderful bikes to drive, as they are light, very torquey and handle extremely well. You can buy really nice clean ones for around $6,000--$7,000, turn key all ready to go. The perfect twisty road bike that you can fix using discarded items you find on the street. No motorcycle freak should die without having owned one.
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,670
    Shifty, I'm not familiar with any two-stroke Triumphs although burning lots of oil wouldn't be uncommon. They are British after all. :P

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

  • toomanyfumestoomanyfumes Member Posts: 1,019
    One of the best looking bikes ever made, IMHO. :D
    2012 Mustang Premium, 2013 Lincoln MKX Elite, 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,023
    I spotted a red '66 T-bird, one of those awful landau coupes with the huge rear pillar that eliminated the roll-down rear windows. I always thought these were beautiful cars, EXCEPT for that thick pillar.

    I guess that's what the public must have wanted back in the day, though. Seems like I see the Landau version more often than the true hardtop, so I guess the buying public actually WANTED those thick roof pillars.

    Oh, and this one had oversized rims on it, too. Not quite 22 or 24", but still way too big. Maybe an 18"?
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    I've been out on the streets of Vancouver BC a bit for the past couple days, and have seen some insanely odd stuff. Most common oddballs are JDM anything - from tiny vans to big vans to sportscars to boring dated faux-hardtop sedans to microcars. Also lots of Euro spec MB and BMWs from the early 90s. And some old American iron too... a 63 or 64 Pontiac Bonneville hearse can't be common.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    No, no two-strokes in big bikes. Probably just another neglected Triumph Twin with worn out carburetors and no competent person to rebuild them.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Did this one have the fake landau bars as well?
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,023
    Yeah, it had those fake bars stuck on that oversized rear pillar. As a convertible or a real hardtop, I think the '66 T-bird is a beautiful car. But I just don't like that landau style that did away with the roll-down windows in back.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    In Vancouver this morning I saw a Nissan President (!) and a RHD MK III RX7
This discussion has been closed.