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

fintail

My E55 has 18"s - not so huge anymore, but with the low profile (and very expensive) tires, ride quality suffers, especially with the stiff tuned suspension. On smooth roads it is great, but I find myself dodging every bump and utility cover. It corners very well for a car of its size...that must be the tradeoff.

magnette

I was browsing in a bookshop on Saturday, and in a book of photos of London in the thirties was a picture of Hyde Park Corner in 1935, at the time of the Jubilee celebrations for George V. The whole road was jammed up with cars and buses, all upright things, mostly British, but including at least one Mercedes and a Citroen, and I tried to identify the various makes ( without much success).There was a revolutionary car in the middle of the traffic jam, though, and it stood out as being twenty years ahead of everything else there - a Chrysler Airflow. They even assembled those at Kew for a couple of years, I believe, and I saw a RHD slightly later one at a car show two years ago, but it was a rare car in Britain when new, even in London.
Wish I'd bought the book, now, but actually most of it was very routine pictures, and it was overpriced.
Actually I have just found a link to the picture, although I don't think the Citroen was right - the Airflow stands out though...

www.jamd.com/ image/g/2672977

texases

Neat photo, that Chrysler really stands out. Just drop the space before 'image' in the url.

fintail

That's a great shot, the Airflow looks like an alien space pod set into a sea of 1920s-style black boxes. I think I see a MB or two as well...but in that era some can be hard to distinguish, when some models went to the flat radiator shell. I didn't spot a Citroen in that menagerie.

I remember seeing a shot of a Lincoln Zephyr parked on a main street during some celebration in 1936/7...it's kind of odd to think of those in England. I think that pic was shown in 'Practical Classics' in their street scene section many years ago.

And I just made a little screen cap of an obscure car in a movie. I remember the last time I watched "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" that there was a brief shot of a fintail, during the fire escape scene. Here it is:

andre1969

How did you do that screen capture? Do you have special software to do it? Only time I've ever done it was the crude, old fashioned way...just take a picture of the tv screen! Like this! I have a bit 50" widescreen hi-def plasma now though, rather than the 32" tube tv that was taken on, so it would probably come out better nowadays.

oregonboy

And, of course, the greater rotational inertia has a similar effect on acceleration. It takes a lot of energy to get those heavy wheels spinning up to 60 MPH (or more). :sick:

It's the old adage about a fool and his money. :P

fintail

It's easy...I play the DVD on the computer, pause it where I want it, use control-print screen to take a screenshot, then paste it to an image editing program where I can crop out the piece I want. Save it as a jpg and I am all done.

andre1969

I've tried that with my computer, but when I do it the part of the screen where the dvd image is actually shows up blank. :confuse:

**Edit: well I'll be damned. Just tried it again, and it looks like this computer CAN make a screen capture of a DVD! This one's from "V: the Series". That limo is about to get blown up. You can tell because this was shot in 1984, yet that limo is like a 1973, at best. If it was brand-new, you'd know they wouldn't have the budget to blow it up.

fintail

There you go. And what an early 80s street scene...Ford Fiesta, Mk 1 Accord, and the Caddy followed by a Malibu. The good old days?

andre1969

There you go. And what an early 80s street scene...Ford Fiesta, Mk 1 Accord, and the Caddy followed by a Malibu. The good old days?

Yeah, funny what a nostalgia trip it is these days. I remember watching that show when it was new, and now all of a sudden that's almost 24 years ago! You can't really see it from that shot, but there's a green '69-70 Caddy DeVille, behind the Accord.

Oh, and as for the good old days? Well shortly afterwards, after the Caddy makes a turn, a guy pulls a 1980 Malibu across the street behind it, closing it off, so that it can get blown up without any innocent bystanders getting in the way. Cops show up and the guy claims that the Malibu just stalled out on him. Hey, back then it would've actually been plausible! :shades:

One thing I thought was odd, is that it was a 1980 Malibu, base 4-door sedan. Yet it appeared to have bucket seats! I didn't think they built 'em that way, but I guess it's possible that they were put in later.

And just to show how common the Accord was even back then in California, in that street scene, another Accord hatchback shows up parked ahead of that Fiesta. And when the Malibu's blocking the road, another Accord from the same generation, but this time a sedan, pulls up to it and starts honking.

boomchek

The Volga is based on a BMW 850, it acutally is an 850 except for the exterior body panels.

I think Car & Driver or one of the mainstream magz had an article about 4 years ago or so. Pretty cool. I like the fusion of new tech with old looks. Sorta like i enjoy listenign to classical music mixed with techno. old and new.

boomchek

I watched a couple flicks yesterday with some old cars in them: Goodfellas, which had it fair share of Cadillacs and Lincolns driven by gangsters (including a new pink Coupe Deville).

And one of my favorite classics: The original Gone in 60 Seconds from late 70s I believe. Ton of neat old cars in there.

fintail

The good old days look less good in hindsight. I know it was mentioned before somewhere, but cars really don't stall out anymore,and they sure did then. That alone is worth something.

Out here on the west coast, those Accords were pretty common and can still be seen from time to time.

fintail

Yeah,that one had some interesting cars

texases

"The good old days look less good in hindsight. I know it was mentioned before somewhere, but cars really don't stall out anymore,and they sure did then. That alone is worth something."

Yes, it's been over 100 for several days here, and you still don't see many overheated cars by the side of the road. I remember that being much more common in the 60s and 70s.

boomchek

:surprise: Yup, and a ton of crashes, some unintentional that made it into the movie. Very enjoyable to watch as many of the chase scenes are done on normal highways, amid traffic.

fintail

I can't remember the bad old days, but I do remember when I was a little kid in the early 80s the 70s T-Bird my mom drove required the hood to be raised from time to time. When it was replaced with a Ciera, this never was an issue again. The POS S-10 Blazer my dad bought around that time did fail him a few times though. My mother bought a generic Taurus almost 9 years ago, and it developed a little issue where it would sometimes stall when put in reverse when cold, and once the starter died so it stranded her. Nothing more in nearly a decade.

My first car, a 66 Galaxie I was driving in 1993, loved to stall and give me issues, but it was an old car even then, so I guess I can excuse it. However, my fintail is even older and it has stalled on me maybe a few times in all the years I have owned it, and not for more than a decade now.

fintail

And sometimes it kind of hurts to see a cool old car ruined, even if it was just an old heap at the time.

I need to make some screen caps from "Slaughterhouse Five", where the crazy woman backs up her ca. 70 Eldo on a highway and nails a mint looking fintail. Ouch.

andre1969

And sometimes it kind of hurts to see a cool old car ruined, even if it was just an old heap at the time.

Yeah, especially if it's a car that you own, or once owned and liked. For some reason, the movie Maximum Overdrive always sticks in my mind. There was an off-white 1980 Malibu sedan in it, driven by a newlywed couple. I forget the guy, but the girl was the voice to Lisa Simpson, and was in an episode of "Mama's Family".

Anyway, there were a lot of cars and trucks crashing and blowing up in that movie, but Stephen King really seemed to have it in for that Malibu. First it got its tail-end crashed in by an old Mack truck. Then it got hit by another semi, and flipped up onto its roof. Hearing the "voice" of Lisa Simpson start cursing is actually pretty amusing. :shades:

Anyway, after that a beer truck circles around and whacks the Malibu, not once but twice. And towards the end of the movie, a bulldozer squashes it flat. I guess one reason it really sticks in my mind is because I saw that movie when I had my 1980 Malibu!

For some reason, seeing all the '77 LeManses get smashed up in "Smokey and the Bandit" never really bothered me. Probably because when I first saw that movie I was just a little kid and it would be decades before I bought my '76. Plus, I later found out that they really only had like 2 or 3 of them, and they'd just smash them up and then put them back together again for the next stunt. Thinking back on it now, I don't think they even smashed them up that often as it seemed like, when I was a kid. Off the top of my head, in addition to Buford's LeMans getting more and more torn up through the movie, there was one that went into a river, a red civilian one that Buford drove up on top of when his car was up on jacks, one that got launched onto a flatbed truck, and one that got rolled down an embankment. Oh, and one that got smeared by a '74 Olds 98 that was done up to pass off as a copcar at the end.

It must have been a nightmare to keep up with the continuity of that movie, using only 2 or 3 of those cars and constantly repainting them to simulate the police cars from several different states, wrecking them and putting them back together, etc.

fintail

I just remember her screaming "Curtis!!!"

The Bandit films are amusing when the continuity changes and a different car appears in a scene.

fintail

Today I shot a little pic of Andre's west coast relatives. This guy usually has a menagerie of 5-8 cars, which is something as he lives in a ca. 1500 sq ft house on maybe an 8000 sq ft lot and a 2 car tandem garage. Of course that's still worth a good 500K in this stupid place. Anyway, this guy has similar tastes to Andre. Today I noticed he had his big ca. 67 Chrysler 2-door HT out, and the car was looking very good. He also has a red and white 75-76 Eldo he drives a couple times per month, but it wasn't there today. There's the W126 with the dumb wheels, the sport model 84-85 Civic, the modern Civic. He had a 61 Ford 2 door post sitting in the driveway a couple months ago, but it's been gone for awhile, I think it was too much of a project. He also had a really used looking maybe 73-77 Chevy pickup awhile ago, but I think it finally passed away as it has been gone for some time. The pic is zoomed in and was taken from a building a block away, so the angle isn't the best.

boomchek

The Civic is identical to the one I had back in 97-00. Same blue color and same hubcaps. It's a 96-97 Civic sedan. I miss it a bit as it was my first brand new car, and it was fun to drive too. Wish i still had it.

explorerx4

that civic looks like a guppy that is about to get swallowed up by the great white/yellow/cream shark behind it.

kyfdx

White rubber bumper MGB... Top down, doing about 75 mph in interstate traffic..

Mr_Shiftright

Top speed, in other words

(no, that wasn't a joke).

kyfdx

Yeah.. that's why I mentioned it.... She sure didn't seem to have any trouble keeping up that pace, even up hills... I was wondering if she had a lower ratio rear end in it... It had the look when it hit expansion joints, like it might have new shocks... or an aftermarket suspension.. nice and firm with no bobbing...

Mr_Shiftright

Yes people replace the engines, supsensions, etc. I've seen all kinds of modifications.

The problem is that the engine cannot breathe. The power is still in there, somewhere. Just replacing the silly single carburetor would help immensely, and removing the catalytic, which of course is illegal.

lemmer

One word - Weber!

My '77 had one, and it would hit 100 mph. It got terrible gas mileage, maybe 15 around town.

...and yes I was going downhill when I got it up over 100 mph.

Mr_Shiftright

You must have bought the factory-tuned 'special' to go that fast, or maybe you just got the typical MGB speedometer.

Keep in mind we are talking about (in 1980 models) 63 horsepower and 88 ft. lbs of torque in a 2,400 vehicle. 100 mph would be quite an achievement.

Yes a Weber and aftermarket manifold would certainly help, although it would suck gas pretty badly.

fintail

I wonder how this neat little thing came over

For the very very very brave (read description)

Looks like the Bburago 1:18 model I had as a kid

Why???

Go all the way for the last ride

Fun

Maybe an Andre-mobile

Mr_Shiftright

Methinks one has to know what one is doing before firing up an 80 year old steam car.

They are collectible though, albeit a bit primitive.

boomchek

The Saab looks like a nightmare only a mother, or a Saab collector could love. Exactly why?

Mr_Shiftright

A FWD stretch limo must be amusing to drive

bumpy

...that someone dragged out of the woods. Really, it had a pile of dirt and pine tree branches under the front end. I had forgotten just how atrocious '70s cars actually were.

andys120

I was driving down a straight stretch of two-lane when I saw an old-fashioned looking car waiting at an intersection on the left. As I got closer and could make out the details it became clear that I was looking at a mid-late 1930s Chrysler Airflow.

What a thrill, it was in beautiful (restored?) shape with medium brown paint and fender skirts. It looked almost exactly like this one only it was a darker shade.

imidazol97

I saw a 1961 Olds Starfire convertible with the large chrome piece along the side in dark metallic brown w/ white top. It was like this '62

andre1969

I don't think I've ever seen an Airflow out on the streets. Must have really been a sight. I'll see them at car shows occasionally, but even there it's not an everyday occurrence.

kyfdx

..up to my in-laws.. Always see some interesting stuff parked in yards along the state highways...

AMC Spirit (circa 1980?).. the replacement for the Gremlin..

Karmann Ghia body.. Just the body.. under restoration, it looked like...

About a dozen old Camaros and Firebirds... none of them worth over $300. (not all at one place... just spread out over 70-80 miles).

hpmctorque

Do names matter? I'm wondering whether the legacy, and perhaps sales, of the Gremlin would have been better if it had been named "Spirit" from the get go. I mean, wouldn't it have been easier to decide to take out a loan or write a check for a Spirit than a Gremlin?

kyfdx

Good point...

I don't think the Gremlin ever had that problem, though... This was before the movie of the same name... and, even though the definition was well known, I don't remember the negative connotation attaching itself to the car..

Being fairly young at the time, I remember thinking the Gremlin was pretty cool... Remember the Levi's edition with the denim seats?

It was a competitor of the Pinto and Vega, with the added advantage of having the engine option of either of two inliine sixes, or a V-8!

I'm pretty sure the Spirit actually did worse in sales... of course, by then, they had downsized it to a 4-cylinder..

Of course, I was a teenager then, and saw things through a different lens..

regards,
kyfdx

andre1969

I dunno if calling the thing "Spirit" from the get-go would have helped or not. When the Gremlin came out, those cutesy cartoon character themes were in, like the Roadrunner, the little whirlwind on the Duster that looked sort of like the Tazmanian Devil when he's spinning, the little devil on the Demon (which didn't go over too well in the Bible Belt), etc.

My old car book is spotty with regards to AMC sales, but it looks like the Gremlin was actually pretty popular for a time. They sold about 130,000 of them in 1974. Now that's low compared to the Pinto's ~540K or the Vega's ~450K, but still pretty commendable for an independent company that was probably fast running out of cash.

Now sales fell sharply for 1975, down to about 45K. But that year they launched the Pacer,which sold 72K units and probably cut into the Gremlin's sales. Alas the Pacer had one good year, 1976, where it sold 117K units. It was down to about 57K for 1977, 21K for '78, 10K in '79, and maybe 2K in 1980...most likely re-serialed leftovers?

The Gremlin was down to about 21K units for '78. The '79 Spirit sold better, with about 50K units moved, and around 70K for 1980. I thought the Spirit was rather attractive, especially when you consider its source material. But by that time I guess it was just too outmoded to really sell. I imagine their EPA ratings weren't too high. At some point they started using Pontiac Iron Duke 2.5's, which probably weren't too bad, but these were heavy little cars. I imagine the big AMC 258 six was a bit of a guzzler. I think the automatic transmission used with both engines was the Chrysler Torqueflite. I imagine that was a lot of transmission for a little 2.5 4-cyl to deal with.

toomanyfumes

I had two Gremlins, a 1970 and a '74. The '70 had the 232cid six, and a Borg Warner three speed auto, IIRC. The '74 also had a six, I think it was the 232, but I'm not sure. It had the Chrysler automatic.

I think the mileage in both of them was in the upper teens, I remember one getting 18 MPG when I checked. The cars were kind of beat up by the time I had them, and I was a teenager, so that probably didn't help the mileage much.

My uncle had a Spirit, and it seemed to have better quality than the Gremlin did. It was a pretty new car at the time, though. At least the thing had carpeting, something neither of my Gremlins had.

bumpy

but I did see a Virginia Bicentennial plate this morning. Pretty rare sight these days.

lemko

Olive green metallic 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass two-door hardtop with matching roof on Verree Road in NE Philly at lunchtime today.

lemko

R-body Bluesmobile:

andre1969

Oh that's just wrong...but funny! Actually, there was a beat-up R-body Newport for sale in 2007 at the Mopar show in Carlisle, that someone had painted up to look like a copcar. It had a green interior too, which that one appears to have...unless my monitor is flaking out or my eyesight is failing me.

I wouldn't mind getting ahold of a '79 St. Regis or Newport ex-police car. They had a 195 hp 360-4bbl and were pretty quick for that time. Or at least pretty "un-slow" as Shifty might say. Another neat project might be to find one and drop a 440 under the hood. Even though these were never offered with a big-block, the car's basically just a '71-79 intermediate under the skin, and could accommodate just about any engine Chrysler ever built.

andys120

I saw a '65 Valiant sitting on a lawn, offered for sale @ $6000(!). It was a green four-door, paint shot, body and chrome appeared OK from the road. Apparently a nearby local bodyshop bought it. It's now sitting on their lawn with some even older cars.

Mr_Shiftright

You can watch the grass grow around it for the next 25 years.

explorerx4

i think i've seen that car at universal studios amusement park in orlando.
one of my bil's jumped in with jake and elwood during one of their dance routines.
they seems to enjoy the company.

andre1969

but obscure today, I guess. On the way into work, I saw an '85-88 era Toyota Cressida wagon. Gray, looked like it was in pretty good shape.

And in the parking lot at work, an '88-91 era Olds 88 sedan, kind of a goldish-brown color. Paint was faded, but the car seemed to be holding up. I've never noticed this one at work, and usually if an old car shows up, it'll catch my eye. There were also two '90-93 Accord sedans nearby, parked next to each other. One was dark blue, one was kind of a champagne color. You could tell they were the United States built ones, because the clearcoats were fading, paint looked horrible. And the blue one had some pretty bad rust behind the rear wheels. Hardly a scientific survey here, but the Olds did seem to be holding up better. Of course, with cars this age, how they're cared for is more important than whose name is on the badge.