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

andys120

cuz there's no close ups of rust prone areas. Those are often included on rust free cars.

Mr_Shiftright

What am I missing here?

A 200 diesel that has rust, needs shocks, has no heat, has body damage, engine smoking, bad floor mats, inoperative for the last 20 years, and needs a paint job for $4,000?

That's pretty delusional. I think $400 sounds about right, for the parts horde that goes with it. A man with a good 200D might be able to find some good pieces there. Cars in that condition need to be donors for the healthy survivors--it's the best way to use them IMO.

If the 280SE Euro car has not DOT/EPA papers, I wouldn't go near it. Just because it is registered doesn't mean it's legal now.The Feds do not "grandfather" illegal cars!

tarik

Talking about legally operting an imported car, I have something for you. A friend of mine has an MB A-Class on the boat already! Although I had recommended to him that he'd get in writing all the promises the local DMV (here in SC...) gave him, he went by their word, purchased the car and had it shipped. They said that used cars are not going to be an issue as opposed to new and foreign ones.

Cars which have been offered in the US at one point must be easier to register than those that are completely unknown (emissions, crash testing), I figure. Which nasty surprises is he in for...?

Waddaya mean, Just because it is registered doesn't mean it's legal now. The Feds do not "grandfather" illegal cars? Doesn't registration take care of the legal aspect, or in other words, how can I register a car that's illegal???

I'm telling you, if he can get that thing through, I will immediately become the second owner of a legally admitted A-Class on the US soil. This little car is such a blast to drive, especially the rear-wheel driven, governed at 155mph A 32K, which uses the 3.2l I6 AMG engine for propulsion...oh, the horror <insert> grinning smilie with hair standing up straight in awe </insert>.

Click on the picture below to see the whole story including pix, but make sure you scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the turning arrow to view the second page, too. Yumm!

lancerfixer

I know next to nothing when it comes to importing grey-market cars, but wouldn't this data plate seem to indicate that it was imported legally (along with the crappy DOT headlights, of course.)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item- =2440947728&indexURL=5&photoDisplayType=2#ebayphotohostin- g

fintail

It's easy to tell when a fintail is starting to go. Those rusty spots at the bottom of the door skin mean the whole lower door has gone. And that area behind the fender...cut that off, and there's a big rust hole, I am certain. I didn't read the description closely...looking at what it says about shocks smoke paint etc....Shifty is right. This car, although it may look OK, is probably more economical as a $400 parts car or weekend fixer for someone with a sentimental attachment more than anything else. For 4 grand you could get an immaculate 200D needing nothing. It's a 55hp car...there's little demand.

That 126 doesn't look too mint...it looks like a period grey market car by the weird badge on the door...the early (pre-86) ones do rust...still not worth a lot save for as a curiosity. 5 speed, Euro bumpers, and weird German controls = cool...not much else does.

fintail

More obscure ebay material

A quattroporte of sorts:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item- =2440620105&category=6472

Very neat but I bet you have to work on it a lot:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item- =2440285732&category=6472

A nicer more reasonable 200D fintail
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item- =2440956573&category=6329

Someone doesn't know their old MB
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item- =2440901957&category=6329

lancerfixer

Next time you link to a Stutz, fintail, post a warning. :-) I very nearly threw up.

magnetophone

tarik, I have also explored the option of getting a Euro car over here. My thought is not to go via Europe, but to go via Mexico. They sell A-classes, Peugeots, Renaults, Seats, etc. there. My idea was to buy it in Mexico and take it over. Or keep it registered in Mexico.

andre1969

looking at that Stutz, all I can think is Gawd, what a horrible thing to do to a 1980 Bonneville! At least, that's what I think Stutz was butchering by that time to make their cars (dash has the same basic shape).

lancerfixer

Tarik, I think your friend might be in for some grief. I recall reading an news article several years back about how Bill Gates couldn't get his Porsche 959 registered, due to the fact that they'd never been federally crash- or emissions- tested. This is the same reason the Lotus Elise is (for now) sold as a "track use only" car. It'd be nice if the A Class were sold here, but unless Mercedes wants to further blow its image in the US market as a maker of "luxury" cars, they should badge it as a Chrysler or Dodge or something.

Matt- I've seen a couple Fords Kas up here in Iowa. Both had Mexican plates (I couldn't fathom the idea of driving a Ka from Mexico to Iowa!)

tarik

magneto/lancer,

I am afraid so, too. I remember Gates' story re the 959, what a bummer. Whether or not a car that's registered outside can be driven here is out of the question - as long as the driver is from out of the country, too. The issues are: for how long can you do that, and can you legally drive it with an US driver's license. Sometimes, laws allow holders of foreign licenses such things, but since you cannot drive for more than 90 days with a foreign license in SC before getting a domestic one, this seems to be the limit either way. Well, we'll see VERY soon...

jlawrence01

I have seen a few Ford Kas here in Chicago - all with Mexican plates. Interesting cars.

stickguy

if it has a VIN plate, maybe it happens to be a one-off that is a legit US car. The car and engine are certainly US compliant (since they were sold here), although the 5 speed might casue a problem, although maybe it just kinda snuck through.

Id buy a big MB with a 5 speed, but I have a problem that way

lancerfixer

"Id buy a big MB with a 5 speed, but I have a problem that way"

LOL...Yeah, I have the same problem. :-)

fintail

I was thinking the same about the Stutz...what a waste of a perfectly good big old GM car. Couldn't tell what it was though, didn't quite look like a Caddy.

I like the cheesy "Stutz" font on the speedo best...looks like some semi-skilled backyard mechanic made that thing in his shop.

I saw a Stutz coupe at an auction here a while back...the kind based on a Monte Carlo or whatever...and it had a clock in the steering wheel hub. Luxury!

That 5 speed S class is not a legit US car (not that that's a bad thing). MB never offered a manual in a 126 S class for this market. That car also has Euro bumpers, it is a classic grey market car wearing the ugly old DOT lights. The 5 speed was offered throughout the 126 lifespan (80-91) in the 6 cylinder cars (260/280/300). It was ordered in maybe 5-10% of them from what I have seen...they turn up on the German ebay site now and then. Would have been cool here...

stickguy

well, if it has a Vin and a legit registration/inspection from NY, they must have gotten it trhough somehow. Maybe because it is a car normally sold in the US it slipped through, but who's going to lok at it now?

Boy, wouldn't that 5 speed confuse the hell out of the valet parker at the country club.

fintail

I don't think the W126 280SE was ever sold as a US model. I might be wrong, as even I get some of the designations confused. Maybe somehow the euro VIN is compatible with the US one. The grey market cars were legally imported. And that's exactly it, nobody will look at a 20 year old car now.

I think a lot of people would be taken aback by the 5 speed, especially if that car was cleaned up. I have the car that replaced the 280SE, and I think it would be very cool with a manual. I'd have an auto for normal driving, and a stick for fun.

stever

I read in the news (AutoWeek?) a month or three ago about it coming out of bonded customs storage and getting modified so that it's now street legal. I seem to recall that another 3 of those have been or are in the process of getting modified.

Do you want this guy going 190 mph in your neighborhood?

Steve, Host

ateixeira

There is a "back door" for grey market cars - diplomats.

In our garage at work (World Bank), we have a diesel Discovery and a Renault minivan.

You gotta be able to pull a lot of strings, but it can be done. Next time you come to DC, take a drive down Mass Ave where the Embassies are, you'll see as many Renaults as you will Chevys.

Now I don't know what the rules are for 2nd owners. I bet that S class belonged to a diplomat, however.

-juice

lemko

...a nice yellow 1970 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight convertible.

Mr_Shiftright

EPA laws are byzantine, complex and treacherous. I wouldn't even begin to advise people except to say that if you don't have EPA/DOT papers in your hand, you are in grave danger. Don't presume that "reason" is going to work. Would you like to hear about the customs officials who couldn't get the hood open on a 60s Ferrari and so opened it with a crowbar? No, I didn't think so.

wonderwall

Sunday, i spotted a TINY white car with Mexican plates that was labeled "Chevy" and had the bow tie on it. It was shorter lengthwise than a Metro but a little taller. I couldn't make out the model name. Anybody know what it could've been?

lancerfixer

I've seen one of those, too. I think it was just called a "Chevy." I didn't see any other badges on it. It was scary-small, like a Ka.
(as much as I like small cars, I simply wouldn't feel safe or comfortable driving on US roads in anything smaller than, say, a Golf.)

andys120

a rebadged Daewoo or Opel of some kind, possibly a Suzuki Metro sucessor.

ateixeira

Could also be the new Aveo. That's the new Chevy being made by Daewoo in Korea.

-juice

michaellno

I think is what it is. Offered primarily in Europe, but also sold south of the border. Try this link to the UK Vauxhall site:

http://vauxhall.co.uk/showroom/search/brand.jhtml?brand=Corsa&amp- ;vehicleType=Car

ateixeira

They have those in Brazil. Pretty funny, they have the Corsa, then Astra, then Vectra, and all of those are a little smaller than the Saturn L series (itself basically a stretch Vectra with an Omega V6 engine).

-juice

michaellno

Question -- isn't the new Chevy Malibu Maxx the same thing as the Vectra Signum in Europe? I started thinking about it the other day, when the new C&D came in the mail. Stretch wheelbase, adjustable rear seats, the "sport hatch" design.

Methinks GM is developing a "world car"!

ateixeira

Yes, but I think we get an extra window along the side where they have a wider C-pillar.

-juice

andys120

Good looking in front and side. I couldn't see the rear.

tarik

...I saw a baby blue Citroën Dyane6 with SC tags. Didn't know those ever existed here...

magnetophone

Today in traffic, I saw a muddy Mondeo with Coahuila licence plates. That's about all

lancerfixer

I saw this "Chevy" with Mexican plates in New Hampshire back in '99.

Mr_Shiftright

Maybe a Sprint?

lancerfixer

Wasn't a Sprint, at least not the model sold in the US. It was actually smaller.

lancerfixer

It was a Chevy Joy.

http://www.carsmexico.com/catalogo/descripcionplus.asp?ID=28810

andys120

Corsa, Astra?

tarik

...stop to figure this one out, it's a "Zimmer". $15,000 (!) to spare, anyone???

lancerfixer

I dunno, andy, but I was goofing around and found a four door sedan model that looked pretty Suzuki-ish. Don't know the Joy's true origin.

tarik- $15,000? About the only praise I can give that vehicle is that it ain't no Stutz.

andys120

I wonder how many appetites you've ruined w that one Tarik.

Oh the horror, the horror!

jrosasmc

In reading the new issue of the UK mag Classic & Sports Car, they had a very good article about the Volvo 122 series (Amazon). They said this about the car: "Amazingly, the four-door 120 is actually lighter in weight than the P1800. Its robust mechanicals make for great durability and reliability."

Although I have little experience in '60s Volvos, I have been in an example of the 544, 1800 and 122 each. The 544 is the lightest, in my opinion, followed by the 122, and then the heavy for a sports car 1800.

fintail

On the road a bit this weekend...saw what I believe was an Austin 'Big Seven' (like a 1930s Austin 7, but a larger 4 door), a big slug c.1950 Hudson Hornet tailgating a maybe late 80s Lotus Esprit, Peugeot 604, 59 Impala, VW Quantum wagon...that's all I recall.

tarik

...Zimmer, why should I be the only one on a diet, Andy...?

lemko

...the Zimmer is really a Pontiac Fiero.

nolid5

or does that Zimmer look alot like a Buick Riviera?

ateixeira

That was an Opel Corsa derivative, BTW.

Chevy held an event for the Malibu this weekend, but they also had an SSR there. Looks good in person, but the headlights had condensation in them and the gas cap didn't lock. At that price it's a strange omission.

They also had the new pickups, both regular and double cabs. Those look much better than the current pickups, no more sea of gray buttons inside. No locking gas caps, either.

And yes, they had the Chevy Aveo there, too, which is what reminded me to post this. Funny thing is this, the cheapest one, had a locking gas cap. It's positively *tiny*!

OK, that photo is the first time I regretted having LASIK done. Eek!

-juice

fintail

Out in the pouring rain here this morning I saw an Opel Manta and a big mid-70s Olds wagon in pretty decent shape.

ateixeira

OK, I need some help.

Saw what I think was a TVR coupe. It had historic plates, must have been more than 30 years old.

It was mustard colored, some rust on the decklid, definitely a coupe 2 seater, with pop-up headlights.

-juice

ateixeira

Bummer, I went to catch a photo with a borrowed digicam and he was gone.

The car was debadged completely. Google searches pointed me mostly to newer TVRs, and the squared off models they used to make. The car I saw had soft edge, the pop ups were oval shaped IIRC.

-juice

andys120

is a job best left to experts, now try to find one! For a small company they used an amazing variety of body styles and powertrains.

Paging Shiftright!