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

magnette

I'd like to drive in it, too, but with the youngest cars eligible having been built before 1905, it is a little expensive to get a runner...

If any of you guys ever get the chance to come over to see it, it's always on the first Sunday in November - the actual run starts in Hyde Park at 7:00 am, with cars leaving until about 8:15, and they start to arrive in Brighton from about 10:15.
On the day before, there is a Concours in Regent Street, for about 100 of the runners, but the actual run this year had nearly 500 cars taking part the oldest being an 1895 Peugeot, indeed there were 43 cars entered from before 1900...
Although many of the cars are regulars, there were about 50 or so that were first time entrants this year, apparently, so although we generally go every year, there were plenty we hadn't seen before.
It's just great to see such old cars clanking and chugging along - and it is such a variety - steam and electric cars as well as petrol, with about 100 different makes and loads of literally unique models - the Salvesen steaming so cleanly over Westminster Bridge was the only one of those ever built, for a start...

magnette

This was a 1901 Adler - I love the way the modern traffic is mixed in with these old girls - the regular passengers on the passing buses get the whole show on their way to work or whatever...

Mr_Shiftright

Looks considerably more posh than my 1964 Morgan was. :P

fintail

When was the last time there was any kind of incident between a modern car and one of the veterans?

I'd make the run in a nice Mercedes Simplex, of course.

I've seen several youtube videos of the event...the old cars make such entertaining noises.

magnette

They have had incidents - the last time I saw the after effects of one was about six years ago, when one of the old cars had been hit by a modern one, as it turned right at a junction - the modern appeared to have driven into the back of it. It was quite badly damaged, but the modern car - a small hatchback - was worse.

I think every year there must be a few near misses, although the police along the way tend to wave the old cars through traffic lights etc..

fintail

I am sure the insurance claims rep loved getting a call about an incident with a 100+ year old car :surprise:

Around here I have only seen runs of maybe 20s-30s cars, as they can keep up in 30-40mph suburban traffic.

magnette

It used to be worse, when the support vehicles, etc tended to follow the same route - you would get a parade of 4x4's with trailers, as part of the problem. About ten years ago, they started to instruct them to go by a different route - with mobile phones etc it is always possible to call for assistance, and the old cars just run on the old roads, not the motorway, which goes a good stretch of the way from south London to north Sussex. The old cars run on the original Brighton road, through the towns along the way - they even pass through pedestrianised bits in some towns. And they go right past Gatwick airport - the old A23 road runs down the eastern boundary, directly under the flight path, and past the main entrance... I've only ever seen it in London, either in the suburbs or at Westminster Bridge. I did try the start once, but it was too crowded, whereas you get a pretty good view on the bridge - and its quite an iconic spot, right next to Parliament, with the chimes of Big Ben, etc...

fintail

I'd want to hang out at the bridge too, as you say, the backdrop makes the difference, and it would make for some good photos and video. I like seeing the vast differences in cars of that period, and how technology jumped ahead so quickly. The little carriages with their tiny putt-putt engines alongside gigantic chain driven beasts that drone along.

lemko

If you recall, Chalmers and Skinner tried to pry the "H" off Kearny's Hyundai as a replacement.

lemko

I had a boss who had a teal blue 1984 Honda Accord. He was the best boss I ever had.

kyfdx

1) Early '70s Mercury Comet (Maverick clone).. Had the Grabber package (not sure what it's called for the Mercury.. that's the Ford name). Pretty nice shape, definitely had a 302.

2) Late '80s Civic wagon thing... the one that looked like the Tercel wagon..

fintail

Oh yeah...



And the Accord:

oregonboy

The restored Opel I think is the same model that Car and Driver knocked back in the 70s really badly, causing GM to get upset

No, that was the earlier Opel "Kadett", the Mini Brute :P
C&D actually liked the later, Opel Ascona wagons.

boomchek

Thanks for the correction. I don't have my past issues hadily available for reference as my place is tiny. They're in a storage locker downstairs.

oregonboy

The hidden-headlight Accords were sold in the USA 1986-89. At the time I really wanted a hatchback Accord, but I didn't like the pop-up headlights because I always drive with my lights on. They not only look bad when up, but they must be an areodynamic disaster.

oregonboy

Sad to say that I tossed out my old issues from 1969 through 1999.

fintail

Was the hatch made for all four years? I never see those, but I do see a coupe or sedan now and then. And yeah, the pop up lights can't help aerodynamics, and theere is always the danger of the car becoming a winker.

Shame on you for tossing those magazines! :P

Mr_Shiftright

Do you have any IDEA what an elephant could actually do to that car? Find a big one with his ears flapping, large tusks and stamping on the ground....oh YEAH, goodbye Opel.

54 Chrysler 4-door sedan, in primer, back sagged way down, doors ajar, spewing black smoke, trunk tied with rope....but running down the road. Not sure if it was heat-seeking or radar controlled but I'm sure it will hit something soon.

boomchek

I agree with Fintail, too bad you tossed the magazines! Oh well what can you do?

oregonboy

Yeah, I know... but 30 years of magazines makes a heck of a stack...
Road and Track, too.

fintail

Every time I go to a second hand store I look for old magazines...rarely find any.

I once had a big pile of 50s car magazines...sold them on ebay when I was in college, as cash appealed more than old paper. I also had a few boxes of 70s and 80s examples which my mom sold at a garage sale when I was in school. :sick:

fintail

Perhaps ebay was the wrong venue for this...certainly it didn't actually sell

Odd rat rod

Back to England with ye

Going out of business in style

Not many of these left

Ambitious project

Has to be one of the best left

Quality restoration

Another milestone car, one of the first links to modern motoring

Interesting use of resources

Maybe a good driver for the money

Limo with presence

For the more subtle pimp

Another rig from the police car seller

Andre-mobile, shame about the colors

Finally, a cool hybrid

Fuelie

andre1969

sold them on ebay when I was in college, as cash appealed more than old paper. I also had a few boxes of 70s and 80s examples which my mom sold at a garage sale when I was in school.

Oh great, that makes me feel old...I didn't even know what the internet was when I was in college! :surprise: And on a similar note, my roommate was talking about going trick-or-treating as a kid, and his best friend's Mom taking them around in her minivan. The minivan hadn't even been invented until after I got too old for trick-or-treating! :P

Mr_Shiftright

It's a Duesie! But a re-bodied one (most of them are actually). Coming from harrah's will help the price but people who buy these cars will check every fact you post, in triplicate, and roast you alive if you're lying.

51 Hudson -- what a bizarre creation and what a terrible thing to do to a nice Hudson. Ah, well, it's different!

Daimler Century -- forget England...drop it in the ocean on the way over. Hideous!

74 Opel -- "not many of these left" -- well that's comforting. :P

60 Lancia -- save every pre-Fiat Lancia, please! I love these cars, they are such little jewels of craftsmanship back in the day.

A 1980 toyota celica "Grand Prix Limited Edition"? Well that just rendered those words meaningless.... :mad:

1912 Cadillac -- you gotta love it. The car that single-handedly sunk steam and electric cars overnight, and for 100 years to come. Significant car. Self-starter and battery/coil/breaker point ignition is introduced to the world!

Supercharged '78 Seville-- just shoot me now. :sick:

Hybrid UNIMOG -- Go, California!

'78 Buick Le Sabre for $2,700? Yer pushin' it, but you might get that. Not on most people's radar and never will be in our lifetimes. The beginning of the End Times for GM.

57 Pontiac Fuelie Bonneville convertible --- *very* rare and I'm sure *very* pricey car. The top of Everest for the Pontiac collector. GTOs are chicken feed compared to this. (presuming it's real...ahem...)

andre1969

The write-up for that '79 5th Ave amuses me "Extremely rare limited edition". Umm, right. On any given day, if there's only one Mopar R-body on eBay, it's a '79 5th Ave. The car looks like it's in pretty nice shape, looks like it's in better shape than my 5th Ave. Actually, if I had any sense, I'd buy that one and then either unload mine, or just keep it around for parts. But I've had mine for 7 years now, and kinda got attached to it.

The 5th Ave is the most upscale of the Mopar R-body, but unfortunately it only came in that two-tone creme for 1979. They sold about 15,000 of them in 1979, which was the most popular year. They did offer additional colors for either 1980 or 1981, but they also only sold a pittance compared to 1979. I think the 1980 New Yorker as a whole only moved about 13,000 units, while the 1981 was down to around 5-7,000. So needless to say, if you really have your heart set on a 5th Ave, be prepared to settle for the 2-tone creme!

Even thought it's a cheaper car, I'm just as happy with my "Nightwatch" blue base NYer, because I like its color scheme better. I'd really love to find one of these beasts in the 2-tone green they offered. I imagine that would be rare, especially one in primo condition.

That '78 New Yorker is a nice looking car, in that dove gray. But by this time I think I prefer the 4-door, which was a real hardtop. You could still get a true hardtop coupe, but that padded roof/opera-window mess was an extra-cost option, so most of them came that way.

That '75 Monaco copcar is way cool. I'd have fun with something like that! :shades:

I'd be all over that '78 LeSabre coupe if it had a 350 or 403. But I'm still leery of the Pontiac 301.

texases

That Unimog hybrid wannabe has my BS meter pegged. Sure, these guys are going to build a one-off plug in hybrid, something GM's spent, what, one BILLION dollars on? Gotta see it!

Mr_Shiftright

Well there are some very tech-savvy people in CALIF. Remember these guys don't have to warranty their home-built hybrids, and if they catch fire and/or blow up, that's your problem, or if their range is actually 9 miles, also your problem GM has to cover all those bases.

fintail

It's funny, I am only 8 years younger than you (I think)...and it's hard for me to remember a time before minivans. I have car memories before 1984, but not as obsessive as after that time. My earliest showroom memory is looking at a Renault Fuego...that might have warped me into the mess you see today

I didn't know that about the 5th Ave color schemes...guess I will never have one of those! I am really not a fan of whitish and beigeish color schemes, and I am very attracted to blue/grey/silver and variants. I'll admit that the factor that made me stop and look at my current car when it was for sale is that I had never seen one in that color (grey).

fintail

In the little town where my mother lives, someone has a 57 Pontiac fuelie convertible...but when the car was young, something went wrong with the engine and a normal carbed unit was installed :sick:

Regading the Unimog...GM isn't exactly the most efficient organization, and am sure that homebuilt machine has some quirks.

Mr_Shiftright

'57 Pontiac engine swap -- well that was about a $100,000 mistake !!!

fintail

I saw it at a little local cruise-in show, and the owner had paperwork that supposedly proved the car. It was pretty much identical to the one in that auction - same colors. I guess in the early 60s the FI engine died, and they just dropped a normal engine in to replace it. Doh!

Mr_Shiftright

You should congratulate him. That was about the most expensive engine swap in collector car history!

boomchek

I like the cars in the background of the Dusie pictures. My garage should look like that.

The Lancia looks rough but neat. So does that aluminium Daimler.

The Celica is nice too. I don't think that run of the mill Japanese cars like these will ever fetch high numbers in the future. To every car person they're pretty much economy cars and nothing more. Not sure if I'd lust after one.

Desoto Firedome: I like the pictures. I tried to copy one or tow but they're copyright protected :mad: Otherwise, eys nice resto. The panel gaps in it are really off though, were cars built like that in the 50s? Was that the norm?

Supercharged Seville: You wonder why there's no bids? $70k to build? I'd stop at $5k and cut my losses.

Sellers of the New Yorker also have an awesome collection. Everything looks like new from a distance. It would be neat to see and drive them. Like toy companies always say: "Collect'em all!!"

explorerx4

in fairness it says that it was built for a movie.
they haven't changed much over the years.

is this a good deal?

barn find

Mr_Shiftright

'72 BMW 3.0 CS -- No, price is way too high by nearly double. Not a prayer of selling it. No need to look at it, even a $150,000 restoration would probably not bring that price. Ask $25,000, take $20,000 in a red hot minute in today's market, would be my fatherly advice. These cars are a tough sell in the best of times. Most come back from auctions unsold.

38 Packard -- neat old car but it's a 4-door and it's an 8 not a 12. I'd say $12,500 is all the money, but depending on how he advertises and sells it, he might get a bit more. It is a CCCA classic though, he's right but it needs everything and everything costs much more than what the car is worth. So I'd clean it up, get it running and drive it--if the price was cheap enough.

explorerx4

i knew the CS was priced off the planet.
surprised that it is on the local craigs.
had no idea about the packard, but there have been plenty of worse cars for sale.

Mr_Shiftright

Packard---well old barn finds are going to need brakes, tires, probably some electrical, front end work no doubt, exhaust system and sounds like a valve job---so there's plenty to do even if you don't attempt any cosmetic restoration. You should be able to buy this car all clean and shiny for the price he is asking.

I saw a very decent '37 LaSalle for sale for $12,000 and that's a comparable.

Oh, BTW, that year Packard still has wood in the body, so you know what THAT means.

texases

"in fairness it says that it was built for a movie."

Well, it hasn't been built yet. This is just a Unimog, not a hybrid:

"This 404 is being built for a film called "Out of Gas". This is a unique auction in that your purchase of this vehicle will be part of the film, as will the construction of the Diesel-Electric Hybrid system that will go into this Unimog. "

So it won't become a hybrid until someone buys it, then they get to be part of a movie...just sounds kind of odd. Who pays for the conversion? I assume the movie makers, but that's not clear. Given how many batteries a plug in Prius uses, imagine what it'll take to move this beast! And that other one you had was $15k, not $110k...helping to pay for the movie?

andre1969

You should congratulate him. That was about the most expensive engine swap in collector car history!

I know this isn't nearly as sacreligious of an engine swap, but back in the early 70's, my Dad blew up the engine on one of his cars. I think it was his '62 Corvette, but it might have been his '64 GTO. Well, my Granddad put another engine in for him, just some generic, boat-anchor Chevy 400.

I guess if it's any consolation, that '57 Bonneville was just a used car back in the 60's. Nobody ever thought about the possibility of it being a collectible 40-50 years into the future.. Sure, the engine swap ultimately hurt its value, but probably saved the car in the long run. I imagine most people would have just junked the car at that point.

Mr_Shiftright

the '62 Corvette engine swap would be a bigger mistake than a '64 GTO engine swap but neither one is catastrophic, and that can be corrected. But re-stamping a date correct Pontian block from '57 and finding the fuel injection and all the little other bits, well good luck...you will pay through the nose in the elephant sense of the term.

I suspect that in 1957 most people with fuelies knew that they had something unusual.

fintail

I saw a 1961 Imperial convertible driving eastbound on I90 today. Those have to be pretty rare today. It was yellow with a black top. Maybe the pinnacle of Exner's weirdness - the standup headlights with big odd fins.

I also saw a tectite grey W210 E320 with sport package - uncommon, and a black W210 E55 AMG.

andre1969

one of my officemates spotted this graceful beast out on the highway.

bumpy

...of that big Pontiac coupe I posted a few weeks ago.

Also saw some kid changing the transmission (or maybe the clutch) on a mid-90s Civic in the Home Depot parking lot. :sick:

andre1969

Did that Buick look like this style?

I think that style with the big triangular rear windows looks really good, especially without a vinyl roof. The Catalina/Bonneville and LeSabre all shared that same coupe roof, although it was common for the Bonneville to be optioned with an opera window/landau roof setup that was pretty awkward. It was also offered on the Catalina, but didn't seem nearly as common.

uplanderguy

Andre, you were wondering a couple weeks back if other GM B-bodies of the late '70's/early '80's could be had with bucket seats, besides the Bonneville. The Olds Delta 88 "Holiday" model had buckets and console, and I believe the LeSabre T-Types did, also. But the Bonneville was the nicest package of all, with buckets and console, in my opinion. Like the Grand Prix models of more than a decade earlier! I wish the Caprice Classic of the late '70's offered buckets and console.

Bill

dinorino

An odd way to use time and money:

Chrysler LeBaron SL AMG

fintail

Ha! Wow, what a great use of time and resources indeed. :lemon:

A genuine early 90s R129 in pristine condition is worth in the low teens...funny car to copy. Of course, it was probably done 15 years ago...but still.

I like how the ad copy reads "AMC conversion"...that's more accurate. That thing wearing an AMG badge should be a criminal offense.

boomchek

Ouch, funny looking conversion. :lemon:

I agree about the AMG badge...who are they trying to fool?

It's funny how the front fenders bulge, it look like an SL that gained extra weight from overeating.

Mr_Shiftright

What a bizarre idea....trading one problem for another.

How did they do that? Is this a body kit you buy or something? From 100 yards away, it looks credible.

bumpy

The hatchback was replaced (in the US anyway) by the coupe as part of the '88 refresh.