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

andre1969

the buy-it-now on this 1957 DeSoto Firedome 4-door hardtop seems just a touch optimistic.

I especially like this line... " A fully restored one brings BIG BIG Money. I saw several sell for over 50,000 last year at regular weekend auctions. Put in "Barrett Jackson" condition and WOW!! Could quckly go over 100K there!! "

Might be kinda fun to buy for $1500-2000 and drive around. I imagine that it would really move out with that non-stock 392-4bbl installed. Heck, Consumer Reports actually griped about the 341 having too much power back when these cars were new. They probably peed their pants over the 392!

fintail

50K+ for a DeSoto 4 door? I bet if you asked the seller for the auction lot number on that, he'd become indignant.

That car doesn't look bad, but the seller is another matter.

lemko

Yeesh!!! What little I could discern in these lousy photos scare me, especially from what I could see on the left quarter panel. I hope your DeSoto is in better shape than this one. It would take close to $20K to put in a condition up to my standards. By the time I was done, I'd have $34K+ "invested" in it. :P

explorerx4

how about if they threw in the airplane? maybe a deal then?

fintail

Interesting in its unrestored state

Back to England with you

Odd things seem to make it to Florida

Same here

Big bucks brass

Economical

Could be fun

Wow

Probably worth more back home now

Good name for a car

Unusual limo

Some what of an andre-mobile

I usually don't like fakes, but I wouldn't mind having this

Curvy

I can't see how this is street legal or drivable

kyfdx

I know a guy with a 1904 Olds.. I'm surprised it's only $75K..

stickguy

That must be pretty close to where he lives. I can see him in that baby!

fintail

I'll admit even I kind of like that Buick, even though 70s land yachts usually aren't my thing. It's a reasonably attractive bodystyle (for the period), perfect color combo, and excellent state of preservation.

explorerx4

a red subaru svx, brownish alfo romeo 164.
today almost a barn find.
my wife and i worked an annual event to help out needy people in town.
the lady we were assigned is 96 years young.
we painted a couple things for her and ate lunch together.
it was a lot of fun.
she said the historical society calls her when they need to know something!
there is a 70's brown corvette in her garage.
she said it had been sitting in the same spot for 25 years.
i looked pretty clean under the dust, but it was just a small block mid 70's vette.

Mr_Shiftright

I don't understand the bidding on this car. It's not even a real D500 and the photos show a number of small flaws. I think whoever bid on this is going to eat $$$ big time.

andre1969

Oops, I guess I need to read the details a bit better. I just looked at the pics on that '59 Dodge auction, but didn't really read it. So I missed where it says it was originally equipped with just a 361-4bbl

andre1969

Uh-oh...I didn't even notice where that '73 Centurion was located! Yep, Upper Marlboro is only about 15-20 mins from me. That's where I bought my Intrepid.

That is a pretty sweet car, too. Nice that it has the 455. That engine was standard on the '71-72 Centurion, but for '73 they made it optional. My car book lists two 455's... a 225 hp version and a 250 hp version? Since the ad says "high compression", I guess this could be 250 hp version? If I had the play money for something like that, I'd be interested (note to self...do NOT raid home equity! :P )

lemko

I really like that Centurion as well, but the $10K+ "buy-it-now" price seems way to steep for such a car. The LeSabre limo is kind of neat, but the trailer hitch immediately scares me away from ever considering it.

andre1969

I really like that Centurion as well, but the $10K+ "buy-it-now" price seems way to steep for such a car.

Yeah, I was thinking that, too. I mean, it IS a nice car, but I'm still of the mindset, I guess, that the only 70's barge that's worth $10K or more is a nicely equipped convertible in good shape. I keep thinking of cars like this as more like $5-6K, tops, as a hardtop coupe, and less as you get down into 4-doors and fixed-window coupes.

explorerx4

white with a red top, heading east in the left lane heading toward a merge to one lane.
i was driving west. it was all shined up and looking good.

fintail

Took the E55 in for an oil change this morning, and there were a few oddities hanging around the garage of my indy mechanic

This old beast was in very nice shape, MY 1982 or 1983...in that odd extremely dark brown one sometimes sees from that time

And this little menagerie off to the side. The wagon has something like 400K on it, and the owner of the ponton drove it for awhile after the head gasket blew (or something like that)...and now the engine is out

andys120

There's a '70-'71ish T-Bird for sale on a road near me. It looks to be in fair shape except for a hideous color scheme, black vinyl over mustard yellow with inserts in the wheel covers to match the body....very '70s looking but rather unattractive IMO.

I got a quick glimpse of a Sunbeam Alpine ca. 1962 (S2) in baby blue (very popular for sports cars back then for some reason)......white stripe down one side. I couldn't remember when I'd last seen an Alpine.

bhill2

Back in the early '80s I tried like crazy to talk myself into buying a 240D like the white one in your second picture. Coincidentally, it was the color of the wagon in that picture. It was in great condition, and I could have gotten a really good deal. I just couldn't do it. I am by no means a performance freak, but, in the words of Will Smith's character in Independence Day, "Damn. I mean...DAMN".

fintail

0-60 in maybe 25-30 seconds...that about says it all...

But the earlier diesels were even slower!

bhill2

Actually, I can testify to that. My mother's (and aunt's) cousin had a '62 190D that he willed to the aunt. She used it to putter happily around the small town that she lives in. I got a chance to drive it. That car was built like a finely crafted piece of furniture, and had approximately the same acceleration.

fintail

I think those rigs put out 55hp...and were not geared to take advantage of any of the power nor torque.

michaellno

Yep, me too.

In 1980 or so, my folks bought a '72 220D. 65 whopping horsepower and about a ton and a half to drag around. Once you got up to speed it was great on the highway, but you needed a calendar to measure the 0-60 time.

Was so bad that for Christmas one year I got them personalized plates:

REAL SLO

Worked great until they transferred them to the car after the Benz - an '84 Celica.

Which is the car I was driving when I got a speeding ticket on the PCH with my aunt in the car.

andys120

This afternoon what do I see going past on the opposite side of the road but a pristine
Mercedes 300SL Roadster in a beautiful medium tan (Tobacco Brown?) with a black top. Likely it belongs to one of the prominent collectors in the area perhaps Lee Herrington of Herrington's Catalog or Bob Bahre, former owner of NHIS both of whom own multiple top rated classics.

I think it was the prettiest SL Roadster I've ever seen. :shades:

fintail

I once saw a good plate on a W123 diesel, in a joke photo section of a mainstream car magazine.

It was '2(*)NSLO'

(*) = mystery letter

And it actually made it past the censors of this free and open society.

fintail

Tobacco brown was a dark kind of crappy brown. There were simple 'tan' and 'beige' colors available at the time, along with special order metallic copper and dark bronze colors.

Heck of a sighting though, I've only seen one of those on the road before, but I have seen the same car a couple times. Nice to see them driven.

mazda6iguy

Spotted this morning while on the way to work.... as I passed the local Kia dealership's used car lot I spotted a 1980 Dodge Aspen. From the side of the road, it looked like it was in ok shape. It was a cream yellow color. My grandfather once had a similar car. His was a 1978 model though. From what i could tell looking at the car while at the stop light, it looked as though the car came from some estate sale (like it was sealed away in a vault somewhere). It looked like it was new, but I couldn't see it up close.

mazda6iguy

Wow, that Buick Centurion! That car brings back a memory when I was 10 years old when my Dad took me to a Buick dealer where he bought a '72 Buick Estate Wagon (pea green color as I recall and with the 455 V8 and Sonomatic AM Radio). I remember that day all the cars that were parked inside the showroom were white. And I remember they had a Buick Centurion there. I think it was a convertible. While my dad was negotiating with the salesman I was left to 'play' with all the cars in the showroom, and I remember liking the Centurion the most.

kyfdx

The previous generation.. attractive.. had the full treatment. .but, nicer than a Saleen.. fairly restrained, considering all the mods... In a dark metallic gray..

Mr_Shiftright

Did you get a close look? There are fakes of the 300SL Roadster out there.

fintail

Yep, it's actually owned by a local MB dealer...sometimes it is in the showroom but it is taken out now and then. So it's real, or a really good fake! :P

Mr_Shiftright

Some of the fakes are REAL good (and expensive). They aren't "kits", they are extensive reproductions. I believe one or two even use tubular framing, like the original. Some company in LA builds 'em. They even use original 300SL parts (also reproduced). So handles, instruments, etc. look really good.

And then of course we have the abominations:

http://www.exclusiveautonetwork.com/reproductioncars.html

imidazol97

1960 Chevrolet two door hardtop with the thin back rails. Color is the light blue and white top. A perfect example of popular color choice for that car in those years, I'm told...

lemko

For real abominations, check out the Shay and Glassic Model A replicas:

http://glassicannex.org/compare.htm

Mr_Shiftright

What beats me about these replicas is how they can go through all this trouble and make the car SO WRONG. These people have no sense of proportion, and they mix up different decades as if there was no difference between 1925 and 1955. I mean, you take a body that requires 18" or 19" wheels, designed in 1928, and then add pimpy 14" wires from a 1985 Monte Carlo----GEEZ!

fintail

Those are hilariously bad. I like the fake Auburns the most though, for tacky value.

I remember when I was about 8 years old, the local Ford dealer had a Shay roadster for sale. I thought it was pretty cool. The same place also later had one of those VW-based replicas of a Bugatti T35...I liked that much more...to my eyes it looked accurate, and it was cheaper. Kids...

fintail

I want to think the gullwing I saw driving on a local highway was one of thise high dollar fakes. It sure looked real to me, but I can't imagine someone risking it with the way people drive here.

kyfdx

What was the one they did in the '70s? Some sort of gull-wing looking thing.. Not a copy of anything... just a kit car..

We loved those things when we were kids..

andys120

If the 300SL Roadster I saw was a fake it was a damned good one. I've built a couple of scale models of the SL so I've got a good idea of what it's supposed to look like.

I still can't get over the unique but seemingly period correct color.

Mr_Shiftright

Some of the fakes were damn good. Here's some photos of a replica roadster:

http://www.californiaclassix.com/archive/62_MB300SL_c78.html

explorerx4

'...classix' should be a clue.
pretty car, though.
i saw many convertibles yesterday: '80's brick color mgb. black porsche 968(?). '68 light blue chevelle(not ss). a couple of yellow mid 90's mustang gt's, 1 with top up (DORK). a black 90's SL(AMG?), followed about 2 minutes later by a red one. the black one looked a little 'sharper'. that's why i think AMG.
a few sebrings. what the heck, it was just a great top down day!

andys120

I have to admit that replica would have fooled me, in fact if I could afford it I'd seriously consider it.

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah it's pretty nice. It's a long way from a "kit car"!!

The exception rather than the rule I'd say.

kyfdx

Just remembered the name...

Bradley GT..

Remember those?

texases

Yep, they even have a web site www.bradleygt.com

andys120

Remember those?

Sure do>

kyfdx

I love the internet..

andys120

-MGC-GT with the big hump in the hood to clear the long Healey 3-liter Six.
in decent but not great shape, a medium metallic beig-y color,,,er...colour.

-Dodge Stealth, great shiny black paint, probably just waxed, at the local auto spa.

-Not old but certainly obscure, a Lotus Elise wearing a hardtop (not the Exige
with a non-removable h/t).

Mr_Shiftright

Good spotting. Rare to see any Lotus on the road.

Oh, the engine in the MGC isn't a Healey. It was an Austin 3 liter block, quite different from the Healey powerplant.

british_rover

They guy knows how to market a car thats for sure and he knows what sells with those handful of suggestive photos with the model... :P

andys120

Oh, the engine in the MGC isn't a Healey. It was an Austin 3 liter block, quite different from the Healey powerplant

Thanks for straightening that out, I knew it was an Austin 3 liter and I guess I just assumed it must be the same one they used in the Big Healeys.