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

Mr_Shiftright

Ford Taunus: how could you spend 10 years restoring a car and not bother to hook up the electrical system AND still ask top dollar and then some for your opening bid? What are people thinking? "Cake + Eat It Too"

'61 Bonnie convertible: handsome car. Looks like about a #3 car so he's doing very well in the auction, probably due to originality of it.

REST OF IT: Lotta old Iron you posted there. I see many Chinese tea pots sitting in Cost Plus in the future.

boomchek

The Omega's gotta be hard to park in due t the massive blind spots. Plus the ergonomics in it looked messed up with the radio being on the passenger side. Funny.

kyfdx

Rare sighting, around here..

This car looks better and better to me, as time passes..

boomchek

I always liked the looks of them.. Timeless deisgn imo.

IF BMW would have come out with it today, it would still look sharp.

andys120

The 8-Series is a rarity anywhere and I agree, like like then even better now than when they were new.

fintail

They are a very pretty car and haven't aged too poorly. But I have read they are like keeping an old V12 Jag on the road - money pit to make an old S-class look like a Camry.

andre1969

I hadn't noticed the radio on the passenger side until you mentioned it. IIRC, the Citation had the radio mounted vertically, whereas on the Omega it looks like they have the HVAC controls that way.

That thing's just quirky and offbeat enough that I hope somebody saves it.

fintail

Wasn't there once a car movie/film thread?

Anyway, I thought I would share this...The entire 'Hitchhiker' episode from "Creepshow 2" has been uploaded to youtube (in three parts - car isn't seen until 4:48 into the link)...this is the one with the MB W126 destruction..."thanks for the ride, lady!"

I watch it now in detail, and can see there are two distinctly different cars seen, as one has leather and one has cloth. I can assume they wrecked a lowline grey market car for the crash scenes, as there are many shots of a Euro model car. There are also a couple times when the V8 badged (380SE) car doesn't sound like a V8. This really got to me when I saw it as a kid, as even then I had a thing for those cars and thought it was a big shame to wreck one. This is one of the individual car scenes in a movie that has stuck in my mind the most. There's also a few short shots of a very nice looking BMW E24 6er, maybe a 635CSi.

fintail

Now here's a real truck

In England this would be restored already

These have a cult behind them

Something like this will never exist again

Restore it and let it rot away, good plan

Can't be many left like this

Turbo

Not for the shy

Fintail that the owner can't figure out - from what I can tell it was built in calendar year 1960, and the color was actually made under that code through 1965/66 (it's my color as well)...very nice looking example, too.

The "rare and beautiful" andremobile just can't find a new home

Big black beast

Of all the things to preserve

Mr_Shiftright

re: 64 or 60 fintail. Back then if you couldn't sell the car the DMV let you sell it as the next year's model. I've even seen these cars listed two years newer. One often finds older Benzes registered as the wrong year. No harm done really.

fintail

Maybe in areas with lax registration rules things got fudged a little too. And of course if it was a grey market car, anything can happen. Nobody but an expert can tell a 60 fintail from a 64, so who would know. They are essentially the same cars through their powertrain runs, with only minor changes.

In 62/63 the cars also got dual circuit brakes, which I can see this car lacks.

Mr_Shiftright

I'd say that about 1 out of 3 old Benzes I look at are registered as the wrong year, according to the VIN #s. Nobody seems to care, even the collectors, unless there was some SIGNIFICANT difference year to year. Which often there wasn't.

bumpy

I like how that '74 Catalina is displayed in a Hyundai dealership.

boomchek

I noticed that too (Hyundai dealership).

Seeing how there's some undriven,preserved, or restored car for sale all the time, I wonder, and actually believe that for all the cars ever made, there's still gotta be a at least one mint condition example out there somewhere of every make and model ever made.

Anyone care to comment?>

Shifty sees a fair share of old rides out there, and barn finds. Any thoughts on that?

Mr_Shiftright

Probably, for any car that was in actual production---either there's one that's restored, or if it's really rare, one that somebody re-created.

But there were well over 2,000 different makes of cars made in the USA, and I don't think they ALL still exist, no. Some cars have disappeared forever.

I do see the strangest cars, though. How about a 1938 Peugeot 402BL with retractable hardtop? How many of THOSE can there be? Or a 1938 Maybach Spohn Roadster (one of two known to exist).

boomchek

Or a 1938 Maybach Spohn Roadster (one of two known to exist).

Wow, how do you put a price on that? Find the next closest model and add a few hundred thousand because it's so rare? Or just appraise it as "priceless"

I see it's for sale for $3.5m. wowsers. For Sale here.

Edit: find the next closest model and add a few million because it's so rare

Mr_Shiftright

I guess you could comp it against Mercedes 540Ks and the like, but really one never knows with a car like this until you put it up at auction.

In reality the price is probably set by the last bidder to drop out.

explorerx4

i hate it when a car 'just shows up'. leaves a big gap in it's history.
maybe it's indisputable.

explorerx4

sales pitch might work around here

nice alfa

mopar muscle 1

i tihnk i am missing something

classic bird

mopar muscle 2

good story bad ending

plowing details remind me of 'confession'

i should have expected it to look like this

little camper

nice, but how much?

i think they misspelled 'trouble'

Mr_Shiftright

'57 Bird -- asking price is market correct if car is a clean 3+ or 2- . Smart seller, good ad.

'85 Alfa -- we need to put a magnet on its nose to see how many times it's been run over by the back bumper of an SUV. I used to get hit once a year, right on schedule.

Honda Prelude-- "outhandles a Ferrari" Yeah, right. Maybe inside some cones going 5 mph on a driver's test.

STAG: Nice thing about a Triumph Stag is that it's worth about the same restored or not.

EUROVAN -- that would be a killer camper with a turbo diesel, wouldn't it?

94' Corolla -- seller is delirious and overheated. Apply cold compresses to forehead, then try $4,000 and all people be happy.

83 5000 Turbo -- buyer is doomed, doomed. There is no hope, no rescue, no salvation. Welcome to eternal night, welcome to HELL.

explorerx4

not sure of color combo or price

trees in background match roof color

still for sale

seldom seen amx

wow, a subtle looking charger

wow, a subtle looking gto

not an andre color

driven by the 'little old lady' from newburgh

a big mustang

magenta tr6

not subtle 280C

right color mgb for a fall drive

not subtle duster

another big mustang

300 good for snow or go?

'nicely' pimped maverick

color matches foreground and background

hey andre. it's marked down. no kidding

bandit mobile

305?

ot much payback on this

i kind of like this

86 alfa convertible

andre1969

I REALLY like that '64 Catalina. If I ever get another cheap-ish old car, I want it to be a 4-door hardtop. I like that teal/greenish-blue color.

Actually, I sort of like that lavender/silver Dart. I used to hate the '63-66 Dart when I was younger, but nowadays I sort of appreciate their goofy charm. The 273-4bbl is supposed to be a pretty hot little engine, too.

Mr_Shiftright

TR6 -- a magenta paint job is about a $4,000 discount. Too bad.

280C -- is there a worsecolor for an old Benz than red (except a 300SL).? Magenta?

86 Alfa -- pricey--it had better be good....REAL good.

70 Chrysler 300 -- I'd actually pay to sit and watch this car in the snow.

'65 Impala SS -- papers schmapers, it's still an Impala and it's still a coupe. $38K? I don't think so. That's drop top money. And this is October 2008, not 2006.

64 Catalina --- question is, if you leave it running, will it run out of gas before you finish filling it up?

andys120

not sure of color combo or price
Coral and grey is a classic 50s Chevy color scheme and if $49K is too much you can't afford a Nomad, they don't come cheap.

wow, a subtle looking gto
Those weren't unusual, a vinyl top and plain wheel covers would be even more subtle but not unheard of.

-Big Mustangs
Way too big, I once drove a rented '71 from LA to SF, loved the drive,
hated the car and I'm a Mustang fan. Coupes had really bad visibility.

Magenta TR6
Good price and it's better than the muddy brown they came in.

-'86 Alfa
By the '80s, those had all the spirit sucked out of them, nice looking though.

andre1969

70 Chrysler 300 -- I'd actually pay to sit and watch this car in the snow.

Heck, the dang thing is heavy enough, it would probably dig in!

64 Catalina --- question is, if you leave it running, will it run out of gas before you finish filling it up?

Well this one's just a low-suds 2-bbl; it might be relatively economical. The 400-4bbl in my '67 Catalina would get around 17-18 on the highway if you keep your foot out of it, so I imagine this might even be more economical?

andys120

Our '64 Catalina 389/2v used to get around 9mpg in town, I don't remember what it got on the highway but I doubt it was any better than the 17-18 yours gets.

lemko

...cream colored 1965 Dodge Coronet 500 sedan yesterday at the Acme supermarket.

Mr_Shiftright

I remember that around town the mileage is pretty brutal on those cars. As for 17 mpg, I'd have to see it to believe it but of course the skilled and careful driver might be able to do it. But you know, with that big-[non-permissible content removed] V8 and throaty mufflers, who's going to keep their foot out of it? I guess you could drive an aircraft carrier carefully and save nuclear fuel, but what's the point? :P

texases

"...cream colored 1965 Dodge Coronet 500 sedan yesterday at the Acme supermarket. "

Too bad it wasn't a Plymouth...Road Runner... :P

fintail

Speaking of mileage...I am on a little road trip right now in my own somewhat obscure car, and the E55 is still delivering respectable mpg. This image is from the first leg of my trip - which included a mountain pass and some fairly hilly roads. Not as good as a flatland reading, but I still can't complain,. It also includes 2 short stops, and there was one little burst up to about 110 in the run.

explorerx4

maybe they were there to get some bird seed.

parm

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Pontiac-Catalina-1964-PONTIAC-Catalina-Hardtop-A-- C-PS-PB-16-mpg_W0QQitemZ220293298884QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item220293298884&_trkpar- ms=72%3A727%7C39%3A1%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245

I'm a sucker for American Mag/Torque Thrust wheels and I love the color, though I've seen similar examples with a white hardtop - which I'd prefer to see on this car. This one has been on ebay a few times before with a similar asking price if I recall. Seems kind of pricey for hardtop. The ad says "16 mpg". Gee. Nobody on ebay would fib about something like, would they??

Mr_Shiftright

Very pricey. $15,000 should be more than enough for it.

boomchek

That is decent mileage for a performance V8. I remember my mileage in the C240 was decent as well.

Plus it had a super accurate fuel gauge, something that can't be said for other cars I've owned.

fintail

My gauge is accurate too, better than in many domestics I have experienced where you can drive forever on the first 1/4 tank, and then 5 miles later you are in the bottom 1/4. I also have a readout for tank content, so no surprises at fill-up time.

Tomorrow I am driving for about 350 miles, with a stretch across a longer mountain pass...I'll try to get a shot after that too.

lemko

...Triumph Spitfire painted in some unusual blue and red racing livery.

fintail

I had another longish drive today - this one primarily over secondary and rural highways, with a horrible two lane mountain pass thrown in...I got stuck behind a chip truck/trailer and motorhome for what seemed like an eternity. My obscure car put up decent numbers though...not bad for some mountain driving.

boomchek

Sounds like a fun drive. Some people here take the Sea To Sky Hwy from Vancouver to Whistler for a fun twisty drive, but too many accidents and deaths forced the cops to set up permanent speed traps.

andre1969

on the subject of fuel economy, wanna hear something really sad? I just filled up my '76 LeMans the other day, and it averaged 11.5 mpg on that tank. But the REALLY sad part? That's actually good for that car! Now granted, that's been mostly driving back and forth to work, and almost no highway driving. Just to give my old cars more driving time, sometimes I'll take a longer route to work. Normally it's about 3.5 miles, but I've actually pushed it out to 10 or more on occasion. I know it's wasting fuel, but I'm sure it's gotta be better for the cars than those ultra-short trips.

texases

Somehow I think I'd pick your car over the Azera I rented last week, round trip from KC to Topeka, 75 mph, FLAT, 26 mpg...

Mr_Shiftright

I'd get about 9 mpg on fintail's AMG. Put me behind some horsepower and I put the boot to the boschware. I just can't help myself.

fintail

Yeah, it's like the sea to sky...but with a lot less volume and worse condition road surfaces. However, the volume that does exists are idiot tourists and inbred truck drivers who don't like to use slow vehicle lanes.

Oh...and on this entire trip I have seen very few interesting cars, must be the season/weather. In well over 300 miles of driving yesterday I saw only 2 cars that stick in my head - a 62 Imperial languishing away in a field, and a ca. 1950 Chevy fastback rotting away by an old house.

fintail

On surface streets I can hit 15mpg only if I take it easy and drive like an old lady. I often get about 12mpg if I drive with any spirit. The high torque engine really relaxes at cruising speeds.

fintail

That's very unimpressive. My last relatively flat drive from Vancouver - Seattle I got 25.9 mpg according to the car.

fintail

And what does that thing put out, like 170hp? :P I wonder what a fuel injected engine of that type would get.

andre1969

yeah, either 165 or 170 hp, can't remember which now. 170 "sounds" better though, so I'll go with that one. I've wondered about fuel injection, myself. Probably not worth it from a cost standpoint, but an interesting what if, I guess. If I drove the car all the time and racked up a lot of miles, I might be curious to try finding ways to improve its economy. I've put a whopping 3000 miles on it though since I bought it ~3.5 years ago. Who knows? With fuel injection and a 4-speed overdrive automatic, it might not be too guzzly.

The best economy I ever got with that car was this past summer, driving back from the GM show in Carlisle PA. I got something like 17.5 mpg. Which, considering the car, isn't that bad I guess. I remember my Mom saying that her '75 LeMans, which had a 350-2bbl and 155 hp, would only get around 15-16 at best. She was tickled pink that its replacement, a 1980 Malibu with a 229 V-6, could break 20.

More than likely, I'll be driving my '67 Catalina up to the GM show next year. I'll be curious to see how it does, compared to the LeMans, and especially if I can still get the 17-18 mpg that I swear I used to be able to get with that car back when I first got it.

Mr_Shiftright

A Fiat X1/9 1500 cc, apparently moving under its own power on Highway 1. I verified this using the Shiftright Credibility Test for UMOs (Unlikely Moving Objects), which is to cut in front of it. I encountered no invisible tow wires or any magnetic fields.

boomchek

Are you sure it wan't being pushed from behind?

Mr_Shiftright

No I was behind it. And it was level ground at the time. It MUST have either been running on its own or was an electric conversion vehicle perhaps. The driver was a big guy---he was stuffed into it, like when you put your sleeping bag in that little sack.

fintail

I think FI is the key factor to make a big engine efficient. Big FI V8s usually do very well on the highway. I remember my old Galaxie with a 390/4bbl was lucky to hit 14mpg or so - on the open road. In town single digits were common.

The little FI I6 in my fintail can easily get 22mpg or so on the highway - and it has to be revved a lot. FI has to be a key.