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

explorerx4

i saw a blue 340 demon, a couple of cuda's(one black, the other purple) and a blue GTX. my daughter, whom i just picked up from her driving lesson said 'I want a cuda. i love their colors'. as far as the blue car goes, i didn't get a good look at it, but she told me it was a hemi gtx, so i guess she knows what to look for.

Mr_Shiftright

I think it was more about weight and fuel. American cars were really wasteful in space utilitization. Often you'd see huge overhangs front and rear, for no useful purpose. You could put two suitcases between a Cadillac's radiator and front grille, and a "continental kit" had to be the worst idea since talking seatbelts.

hpmctorque

Turning from Lancias to Jaguars for a moment, you recently indicated in a comment that you're not fond of the X-Type. How do you feel about the S-Type, especially the '04 and newer ones, which were several modest, but worthwhile improvements.

Regarding the "X", I know it's bit of a poseur model, in that it's based on the Ford Mondeo, but having driven a manual 3.0, I felt that the suspension, steering, and the driving dynamics, in general, are satisfying. I've never driven or ridden in an "S", though, but I rather like the interior and exterior styling.

Sorry for discussing recent models on this forum, but I'd be interested in knowing why you don't like the "X, and how you feel about the "S."

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah we should probably discuss modern cars in the modern Jaguar section. I mean, a Host has to practice what he preaches! :P

hpmctorque

I understand. Thanks.

lemko

This weekend I spotted a 1967 Buick LeSabre four-door hardtop rotting away in the Mayfair Center shopping plaza on Frankford and Sackett. It's this nice teal-green metallic color I'm sure andre1969 would appreciate. Must belong to the owner of the plaza because the car would've been towed away a long time before it was allowed to sink into the pavement on two flats.

lemko

That big Lincoln was looking good until I saw the right rear 3/4 view.

stickguy

meaning 1 guy owns them all!

A guy that lives just outside my neighborhood has a driveway (single car, must be hard to move them!) strung full of old stuff. Usually covered, but i walked past this AM and they were all exposed.

Must like Mopars. He has (at the end) a 74ish road runner, in OK shape, that I see him driving. Next was a nice looking plum purple plymouth ('69 or '70), but not sure which model. Kinda looks like a GTX body style.

Next up was an early 60's (maybe a '58-'59) T Bird, from the little I could see it needs some work.

And at the top, under a lean to, was what I think was a late '50's plymouth 2 door (Christineish) that was missing some front end parts (this one was backed in, the rest were nose in). Could have been a Caddy, but I don't think so.

Some interesting stuff, but definitely looked like he spread his time too thin with that collection, especailly considering it didn't look like he had a real garage.

british_rover

Well with the way Jag's sales collapsed in the first part of this century I think they do count as obscure at the very least.

Mr_Shiftright

I always said they should have gone in the Porsche direction but instead they went in the Lexus direction. Hard to believe this was a company that won Lemans and used to make an E-Type.

lemmer

I suspect Generation X and younger only know Jags as somewhat stodgy second rate luxury cars. I understand that they used to have a different reputation back in the day, but it is kind of hard to compute in my brain. The same goes for Cadillac. Apparently they had a great reputation long before I was born, but I grew up in the days of new Cimmarons and ugly land yachts

Mr_Shiftright

Well at least both companies left EVIDENCE of their one-time greatness. We can test the old codgers' :P stories and see if they were true.

british_rover

Jag will get themselves turned around just wait and see. I have driven most of the new Jag products, including the XF, and it beats the Germans handily.

Caddy is already getting themselves back together and I actually really like the looks and specs on the new CTS. I haven't had a chance to drive one yet but I am sure someone will trade one in before too long.

fintail

But your meal ticket is aided by sales of those cars, right? :P

I will say a used loaded XJ LWB looks to be a bargain.

fintail

Yesterday I saw a multicolored Lamborghini Diablo. It was really pretty lame. The Countach has now, in my eyes, went from an 80s cliche to a cool retro supercar...I don't think the Diablo will ever do this.

british_rover

Not really as our dealership is Land Rover only without a Jaguar component. I guess if Jaguar is doing well and Land Rover doesn't have to carry them as dead weight like they have for the past four or five years then indirectly that will help me.

Honestly though I don't know how much longer I will be in my current position. I started looking for something different a few weeks ago for a variety of reasons.

back on topic somewhat...

2003 SWB XJs with average miles are wholesaling for under 12,000 now and 2004 XJs aren't going for much more. By this time next year I would expect to be able to bu a 2005 XJ8L or Vanden Plas for mid teens CPO from a Jag dealer.

fintail

I was just teasing you. I wouldn't want to be a car salesman right now.

04 was the first year of the new body, right? I have seen 04 XJ LWB with nav here in the low 20s. From all I have read they seem to be very well made, and that's a lot of car for the money. I'd take that over a boring pigsnout Camry any day.

I am always thinking out to my next car...I've been thinking it will happen maybe in 2011 when my warranty is up on the E55. I was thinking maybe an E55 wagon...but with gas prices, I can't justify this. So I will have to look for something more efficient, yet obscure.

andys120

Yesterday I saw a multicolored Lamborghini Diablo. It was really pretty lame. The Countach has now, in my eyes, went from an 80s cliche to a cool retro supercar...

I dunno, Fin, there's a difference between Retro and dated, I've always liked the Diablo, except for the Miura, it is the best looking of the mid-engined Lambos. The Countach just looks dated to my eyes.

I don't think a Diablo would be suited to more than one color though, where did they separate the colors?

british_rover

Yeah 2004 is the first year of the Aluminium Body XJs or X350 in Jag speak.

The NA X350s were rated at 28 mpg highway by the 2007 and under EPA tests and I know you can get 30 mpg or above with the right driving style. The XJR took a big hit down to 24 or so I think but still better then all the other 400 plus horsepower Luxury cars.

At one point I thought I wanted a Super V8 XJ but I never really realized how long they are. A LWB XJ is over 205 inches long so it would barely fit in my garage. I would much rather have a regular XJ or XJR but they are still pretty long at just over 200 inches.

lemko

I was born in 1965 so I don't know if I'm the last of the Boomers or the first of the Gen-X'ers. I always held Cadillac in high regard and still do despite some of its fumbles. I am extremely happy with my Cadillacs!

fintail

It had kind of a swooshy design on the side, and I think the lower part of the car was different. I think this was some kind of later limited edition. It also had a big spoiler. It was pretty tacky.

I rememeber when the Diablo was new, I bought a Bburago 1:18 model of it, as I thought it was a fantastic looking car.

A Countach is very dated, but I see it in a cool old way, like a widebody AMG car. It's an old legend. Maybe time will make the Diablo into this too.

lemmer

I agree. I look at a '70s 911 or 308 and I think they still look great. I look at a Countach, and I see them more like a C3 Vette, hopelessly outdated.

fintail

I can get 25mpg out of my E55 if I drive it right. But in town, I can easily get it below 15mpg, especially in gridlock traffic or if I race around. Now that it has the x-pipe, it sounds very good, so I lay into it a little more than before.

If I ever bought a Jag, it would probably be some kind of tuned car...I like to have something unusual. I just think the LWB cars look better.

lemmer

Was your Dad a Cadillac man? My Dad was always mercenary in his car buying, so I have no family allegiance. I do remember that my Dad hated his GM company cars througout the '70s and early '80s and swore off all GM products until he gave them another shot it the mid/late '90s.

british_rover

A Super V8 would be the way to go then as it is the LWB plus all the interior upgrades from the Vanden Plas and the performance upgrades from the XJR. I doubt they make more then a few hundred Super V8s a year either.

andre1969

If I ever bought a Jag, it would probably be some kind of tuned car...I like to have something unusual. I just think the LWB cars look better.

Actually I think the stretched Jags look better, too. I think back in the day they built the shorter one first and the stretched one was just sort of an afterthought, and it looked it. Maybe they do it the other way around these days? Build the long one first and then just chop a few inches out of the back seat for the short one?

I always thought they were pretty cars, but have always been leery of long term reliability, and repair/maintenance costs. But if the new Jags really are better, maybe that's an unfounded concern?

I'm actually surprised that the extended Jag XJ is "only" 205 inches! That's about in line with my 2000 Intrepid, or my old '89 Gran Fury, but it just looks like a bigger car to me.

fintail

Interesting. Who knows what will happen in a few years. I like the rarity idea. Like with my E55, the grey is a very rare color, with about 80 units sold that year per the E55 group I know. That's a good number. The W210 cars are much rarer than W211s as well. Even if its not a collectible, to have something that you don't see every day is attractive to me.

fintail

I think that's right with the previous XJ, the LWB was an afterthought.

I have the same thoughts about S-class and 7ers as well - the LWB looks better. It seems to have a better proportion. Although with the W126 I think they both look fine, of course.

british_rover

Well if you want to go super rare the Super V8 Portfolio would be the way to go. AFAIK they only made them for the US market in 2006 and they only made 145 in two colors.

You either got Black Cherry or Winter Gold.

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FirstDrives/articleId=107154#10

Oh and they only sat four as the rear bench was replaced with two bucket seats and a center console with all kinds of toys.

andre1969

I've seen a few Lincoln Town Cars and Ford Crown Vics with a 6" stretch, and oddly, the difference isn't even that noticeable. I guess when you get up to cars that big though, what's another half-foot? :P

One car I always thought would've looked good with a 6" or so stretch would've been the 1979-81 New Yorker. I think the cheaper R-bodies look fine, as is, but on the New Yorkers, the back doors just don't look right with the big, thickly padded opera window built into the rear part of the door, and relatively tiny sliver of a roll-down window. I did up a stretched one in Photoshop once, but dunno whatever became of the file. If I get the ambition, maybe I'll do up another one, to see if it looks as good as I remember.

magnette

During this weekend's dash to/from Wales, actually saw a few old cars, although I was really early going down on the Sunday morning and came back with rush-hour commuters on the Monday evening...

Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn - one of the later ones, the equivalent of the R-Type Bentley, with the larger boot/trunk
MG TC Midget.
Porsche 911, early enough to be pre-wide-wheels, but hot enough to have a wing - it was going the other way, but I would guess it was an early 70's Carrera.
Jag XK140 FHC
Didn't get a chance to do anything with the Magnette this time as I was sorting out problems with the house - if you think the car needs work.......

lemko

My Dad was definately a Ford man. My maternal grandfather was a Chevy man. The only family member besides myself who had a Cadillac was my Uncle Daniel who was a banker. I'm on my fifth Cadillac and couldn't be happier.

fintail

Ooh, that sounds pretty cool. I'm a geek for 4-place seating options in large cars, too. This was optional in W126 and W140 cars, but is impossible to find. The gold sounds like the better choice...too bad there was no light blue or light grey.

I like this old Edmunds review of the E55, makes me feel good about my car

bhill2

I was born in 1965 so I don't know if I'm the last of the Boomers or the first of the Gen-X'ers.

If you actually want to know, you are the very first of the Gen-X'ers. The Boomers are generally considered to be those born between 1946 and 1964. I remember the 1964 because the last 2 digits are the reverse of the first year for Boomers. Why I remember that 1946 is the first year for Boomers is less obvious, even to me.

oregonboy

1946 is 1 year after the GIs returned from WWII :surprise:

hpmctorque

"...they only sat four as the rear bench was replaced with two bucket seats and a center console..."

Regarding your comment in your message #13899 about the Jaguar Super V8 Portfolio, I really dislike rear bucket seats divided by a console arrangement. I know that space utilization is a low priority for buyers of high end luxury cars, but this type of back seat configuration would be a deal killer for me, even if I won a big lottery.

Mr_Shiftright

I did an appraisal today on one of these: (haven't seen one in quite a while)

andys120

Just out of curiosity can you tell us how much one of those is worth? IIRC muscle car values have declined a bit.

PS, I'm amused to note the misalignment of the hood/fender on the left. That's typical of cars of that era--I owned a 1970 GTO Convertible and that hood didn't line up either. :sick:

lemko

...yellow 1968 Chrysler Newport sedan on Tabor Road in Lawncrest in lower NE Philly.

Mr_Shiftright

Having seen a few originals from this era, the build quality is rather shocking by modern standards, and it's often even worse on these "farmed-out" models that went to a subcontractor for adding the extra bits. You'll see blatant overspray, lots of goo and glop on the inner body panels, and panel and door misalignment is a given. However, given the utter simplicity of these cars, no real harm done. I'd hate to see a Porsche built this way, though. It probably wouldn't even run.

Many fanatic restorers will duplicate all these errors, by the way, and search for years for parts that didn't even work very well when new.

A #1 '69 Hurst Olds should crack $60K no problem. They only made about 900 of them, which is rare by American car standards, and they have that big juicy 455 block so they can move along once the freight train gets moving.

You can fake these Hurst/Olds, too but finding a few of the bits like the ram air filter assembly would be tough and very pricey. I think an air cleaner went for $2,500 on eBay recently, or so I was told.

andys120

Many fanatic restorers will duplicate all these errors

I got a 1:18 Scale '67 Shelby GT-350, something about it looked a little off, then I realized it cuz the hood lined up perfectly. :sick:

Mr_Shiftright

Spill some coffee on it and drop it once or twice and it'll be great :P

andre1969

One thing I'll say for this scale Kojak police car replica, is at least they were pretty accurate in mimicking the fit and finish! :P

kyfdx

Looks like a '74 Skylark or Malibu..

fintail

Aah yeah the Corgi toy



They must be reproducing it.

british_rover

I am not a big fan of them either but I haven't been in a Super Portfolio before so I am not sure how well they pulled it off.

explorerx4

if you look at the back of the car, i think you can see the inspiration for the 'whale tail'.

Mr_Shiftright

Olds claimed it actually exerted real downforce. Most people who put them on their cars don't realize that they actually slow the car down in most cases.

andre1969

Pretty and pricey. Well, okay, pretty for a '59 Dodge! :shades:

Kinda funny that this thing is basically Dodge's flagship for that year, yet it has crank windows. A friend of mine who lives about a mile away has a '59 Coronet hardtop, yet it has power windows.

I wouldn't mind having this sucker, although I prefer the '57 and especially the '58. I think Dodge was one of the few cars that looked better in '58 than it did in '57.

fintail

70K...wow...someone is bailing

It has to be one of the best in existence...I don't know if I like the black top though.