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

andys120

That sucker resembles a Frua-bodied Glas 1700 GT except for some reason the grille has been blanked out :confuse: .

It shoiuld look like this>



Glas, the maker of Goggomobils was absorbed by BMW in 1966, the old Glas plant in Dingolfing has been cranking out BMW's ever since. A version of the Glas GT was sold as the BMW 1600GT.

Mr_Shiftright

Not a bad looking car, especially from Frua.

andys120

Real Model As are nice looking cars which are reasonably driveable on modern roads (but not fast enough to maintain interstate speeds( ans easy to work on.. As the age group that remembers them from the 20's dies off there should be a surplus of nice cars available for hobbyists.

I believe it is possible to build one from NOS parts.

Mr_Shiftright

My favorite A is the town sedan because it's the only one that has room for a modern driver. People must have been a lot smaller in 1928. They are very cramped behind the wheel. Hey maybe that's why these big guys buy kit cars?

lemko

Is that the same beautiful dark green Model A John Boy's idiot siblings painted yellow with a brush?

andre1969

My favorite A is the town sedan because it's the only one that has room for a modern driver. People must have been a lot smaller in 1928. They are very cramped behind the wheel. Hey maybe that's why these big guys buy kit cars?

People were a little smaller back then, but it's not like they were munchkins or anything. I think it's really more a matter of people not yet grasping the concept of having a big, roomy comfy car with plenty of stretch-out room that can effortlessly gobble up hundreds of miles of freeway. Just the idea of having something that could move you without a horse or pedal power was a luxury!

My guess is that it wasn't until the mid 1950's that cars started getting big and comfy inside...and even then, you still had a problem with the steering wheel that was usually uncomfortably close to you, ready to spear you or take off your face in the slightest of impacts.

A few years back, I remember sitting in an early 1950's Buick, and being uncomfortably cramped. It's not a car that I could have driven for more than a few minutes. I also remember sitting in a few 1956 Chrysler products, and they're not exactly generous with regards to legroom. The seat sits up high, and the driving position is somewhat pickup truck-like. With my '57 DeSoto, the driving position is much further back from the firewall, so there's more stretch-out room for my legs. However the seat is also a lot lower to the floor, which might be uncomfortable for some drivers.

andre1969

No, John-Boy's Model-A was a closed coupe with a rumble seat that Grandma liked to ride in. Jim-Bob's was a roadster. I think it still had a rumble seat, but the car was a piece of crap. He started off with a stripped carcass that someone gave him, I think, and then assembled it, bit-by-bit, with pieces he bought from the junkyard.

andys120

My guess is that it wasn't until the mid 1950's that cars started getting big and comfy inside

I recall a guy that drove a hand-me-down 1948 or so Chrysler fastback that was incredibly roomy inside and possibly even better for tall drivers than a mid-50s tank with it's lower roofline. I've been in DeSoto Taxicabs from the late 40s that could seat up to eight (extra seats folded into the floor like on a Checker). I think most cars
from the mid 30s on were pretty roomy inside, they were designed for people wearing hats!

Mr_Shiftright

50s Corvettes are very cramped, too. Many collectors, having grown in girth, can no longer drive their old Vettes.

lemko

Funny picture:

fintail

I remember I once sat in a Model A Tudor and it seemed roomy. Of course, I was about 10 at the time :P

I like the big deluxe A sedans, and the Victoria. The cabrio with laundau bars is nice too, along with the rare 2 door touring car style. I wouldn't mind having an A sometime.

Mr_Shiftright

That is funny indeed, although I never thought of the Corvette as the object of envy. Well I guess if you are really poor and young, yeah. But a Vette, especially used, is a very attainable car for most working stiffs.

andre1969

I've been in DeSoto Taxicabs from the late 40s that could seat up to eight (extra seats folded into the floor like on a Checker). I think most cars from the mid 30s on were pretty roomy inside, they were designed for people wearing hats!

Yeah, they're designed for people wearing hats, but not necessarily for people with long legs! So if you have a long torso you're fine, but if you have long legs and like to stretch out while you're driving, probably not gonna happen. And usually it seemed like most of the accommodation was made for back seat passengers, not necessarily the driver.

I think another thing is just that I'm getting older, and it's just not quite as easy for me to bend into some of these cars like I used to. This past weekend, I sat in a friend's Mini. Not the new one, but a REAL Mini, from the 60's. Getting in wasn't TOO bad, but getting out was another story. I had to bend my left leg (RHD car) into positions it wasn't meant to go, to maneuver myself out from around that steering wheel!

boomchek

Stick 7 series

Although it is rare, I don't think anyone cares enough to fix it up from it's accident state. Might have been an interesting buy had it not been wrecked.

Mr_Shiftright

Looks like a parts car to me.

They are clunky to drive anyway with a stickshift. It's like shifting a 2X4 in a barrel of clay. The reason they are rare is because nobody ordered them that way. It's a mismatch of purposes in a big 7.

boomchek

I wouldn't be surprised. Maybe more common in Europe though.

Mr_Shiftright

Probably for gas mileage purposes and also to keep the purchasing cost down. I bet the Euro stickshift cars had cloth seats and possibly roll up windows, too---used for livery service in Greece or some such. It's such a bizarre combo for a big luxury car. Can you imagine a stickshift Mercedes 560SEL? A friend had a manual shift 735 and I used to work on it for her now and then. Hated driving that thing in slow traffic. 1st gear was like from 0 to 50 mph. You had to race it to get it off the line. I wonder if they even bothered to change the differential ratios with the different transmissions.

lemmer

How about on a 535? The car magazine people used to love those with a manual.

fintail

MB did make manual W126 in the I6 models all the way through 1991, never sold over here of course.

Mr_Shiftright

Well to each his own I guess. I never "got" the rationale behind any heavy 4-door sedan with a stickshift. In traffic they are tedious because it's hard to "point and squirt" in them, and on the twisties, you have to be realistic about how fast you can hustle 3600 lbs and 16+ feet around turns while on public roads. I'd rather just hit cruise control and point the heavies in the right direction and enjoy the comfort and stability of a "gentleman's express".

The M5 is pretty popular I guess, so what do I know?

berri

usually it seemed like most of the accommodation was made for back seat passengers, not necessarily the driver.

Actually, kind of sounds like the current Taurus!

andys120

andys120

In the space of a few miles I spotted a '67 Mustang 'vert painted Resale Red with a replacement top that didn't fit quite right, body looked pretty straight though and the rear window was good.. No engine badges, so likely a 6 cyl.

Later sitting in a wrecking yard, a pair of Mercury Cougars, a '67 and a '69, both in wrecked, parts car condition.

magnette

I think I've seen details of a Glassic that had Ford Type A coachwork, with an I-H Scout or something underneath. This would be about 1971. The one I read about -- which was over here - had tartan pattern upholstery and was also sold as a Highlander, or something like that....

fintail

Saw a few oldies on the roads today...Fiero GT, 80s Escort GT, Jag XK120, 70s custom 55 Chevy, and a neat 49 Ford convertible on a secondary highway this morning. Neat little shoebox.

And I saw a Cimarron yesterday...woo hoo.

Mr_Shiftright

Old International Scout, all jacked up, in very good condition---tan with a black roof.

kyfdx

Red over black leather...

Looks like it's still in the wrapper... Parked on the street with a for sale sign.

Wonder what that's worth?

Mr_Shiftright

In this dreadful market, I'd say $16000 to $20000 if the gods are smiling and if it's super sharp. But finding a buyer....tough, very tough. These cars unfortunately like to catch fire. You see all kinds of pricing on these things but I doubt anyone realizes them unless they are fairly new Esprits like an S4---then they get pricier.

Fun ride though. Go REAL fast for cheap.

lemko

...1970s Triumph Spitfire in red and blue racing livery.

explorerx4

maybe it was a stunt car for the 'Transporter'
been out to Ohio and back since the end of last week.
most unusual sighting was a new looking tan LeCar for sale at a chrysler dealership
in new milford ct.

magnette

Just seen a Talbot Horizon pass the office, clearly still in everyday use - registered in 1985/6. I think you had this as a Plymouth Horizon.
Last weekend, we went away for a few days in the country, and I saw a few nice old cars along the way;
MG TC
MG A coupe
Austin Cambridge A55
Several Morris Minors - not just the ones in usual daily use, but old 50's versions with split windscreens etc.
1967 Austin Mini - the Mk 1 with sliding windows
Early Porsche 911 - about 1968/70.
Several Morgans - we were near their factory in Malvern...
Ford Cortina Mk III
Jaguar XK 140 Coupe - this was next to us at our hotel - very nice motor in perfect condition.
and a Sunbeam Alpine in my street this morning.

andre1969

when dropping my Intrepid off at the mechanic, I spotted this little beastie...


Really looks out of place, among all those rusting mastodon hulks.

Oh, and today on my lunch break I picked the Intrepid back up, and spotted an early 1960's Continental sedan, in an antique looking white...looked spotless. Also a dark green '65 or so Mustang hardtop, looking pretty sharp.

jrosasmc

What year do you think that Omni is, give or take? My best guess would be it's either a '78 or '79.

My mother's uncle bought one of the first Omnis brand-new back in '78. I remember the car well and he was always having trouble with it, in terms of driveability and emissions. On one occasion it even died inside the Lincoln Tunnel, in the middle of rush-hour traffic! He got rid of that turkey not long after that incident.

andys120

I guess you've found the right guy to wrench your cars Andre, that's quite a selection of old MoPar iron he's got.

andre1969

My first thought was a 1979, based on that color. I think it's what was called "Teal Frost", and it was a common color that year. However, I looked up some old paint charts at www.tcpglobal.com, and it turns out that color was used in 1980 as well. Plus, there was a 1978 color called "Mint Green", which also looks close. And a 1981 color called "Light Seaspray Green". Chrysler dropped anything resembling that color for 1982.

I took a look inside this car, and the sucker appeared spotless, like a brand-new car. It almost doesn't seem just, that something like this would look so good 30 years later, while cars like the '55 Imperial and '56 300B in the background have become Mostly Old Parts And Rust.

fintail

Mopar yachts and Volvos, unusual combination

Is the Omni all original, or did someone actually restore it?

kyfdx

'72 Karmann Ghia... and, just a little ways down the street.. an early '70s MG Midget..

fezo

Saw a ratty old Pontiac 6000 wagon poking along today. Fine stick on wood grain.

Rolling advertisement for cash for clunkers...

andre1969

I asked my mechanic about the Omni today when I went by there again, this time to drop off my '79 New Yorker with the leaky power steering. I managed to shock the mechanic by saying "let me guess...it's a '79?" He said yeah. And then I said "And that color is "Teal Frost Metallic?" He said hold on, went back and got a little paint can, read the label, and said yup, Teal Frost Metallic!

It just seems like that color was really popular on Chryslers in 1979, but then almost disappeared for 1980, although it still shows up on the color charts. Anyway, the car was mostly original. The owner recently bought it, and paid $1200 for it. My mechanic had to repaint the hood. Someone had stuck a hood ornament on it at one time, and as a result it had a hole in the hood, that he fixed, and then painted. And tomorrow he's putting a steering rack in the car. So I guess there actually is someone who cares about these cars! :P

And yeah, I always thought old Mopars and modern Volvos was an odd mixture, but he's a Volvo specialist. I'll have to ask him sometime how that ever came to be.

fintail

As a labor of love, an Omni might not be the worst thing in the world. Parts have to be cheap. It seems people either have very fond or very unpleasant memories of the Omnirizon.

Old 240s and Amazons etc are kind of like Swedish equivalents to slant 6 Darts and the like...maybe that's where he makes the link.

andys120

Parts have to be cheap.

If you can find them.

andre1969

I think mechanical stuff, for the most part, should be easy to find. I guess the early engines, which were VW or Peugeot-sourced, might be iffy, though. Later models used the Mopar 2.2 though, first as an option and then standard across the board. I'm not sure what manual transmission they used, but the automatic was the same basic 3-speed used in just about every K-car ever produced, and finally used in the Neon around 2001 or 2002. The running joke at the time was that the Neon's automatic was Chrysler's most reliable transmission, because they'd had 20+ years to work the kinks out!

Now interior stuff? Well, if your dashboard cracks or something pulls off the door panel, good luck finding it in a matching shade of green. Maybe there's something to be said for the 2-3 interior choices they offer today. If something breaks on the interior of my Intrepid, chances are I can go to the junkyard, and have my pick of several Intrepids in the same color.

I wonder how hard those 13" tires are to find, nowadays? It was getting hard to find proper-sized tires for my '67 Catalina, which originally had bias ply, but the closest radial equivalent was a 215/75/R14, which I think is more or less defunct these days, except for use on trailers. That was one reason that prompted me to go to the 15" Rally 2's currently on the car. Well, that and the car had a tendency to chuck hubcaps and I got tired of chasing them down. Especially since the last one ended up in a poison ivy patch!

Mr_Shiftright

Old Volvos were the most American of foreign cars back in the 60s through 80s. I think most American mechanics would have been more comfortable working on them rather than on a Japanese or German or Italian car. Nothing sophisticated about them.

fintail

Yeah, some trim pieces will be hard to find, which is why I guess it is best to get the nicest one available...$1200 isn't a huge investment. I bet most of those have been crushed for at least 10-15 years now.

My fintail has 13" wheels, but for the life of me I can't remember the tire size. Never had a problem finding tires for it though, even when the kingpins were worn and it would eat front tires every 4-5K miles.

magnette

A couple of days ago passed a mid 20's Austin, possibly an Austin Twelve or a Light Twenty, but it was broken down on the other carriageway of the motorway,with a repair truck from the RAC there to fix it, and one side of the bonnet was up.

ghulet

Didn't they use VW engines for a while (at least optionally, or for a limited time)?

Today, I saw a running, quiet, not even spewing off-color smoke, later ('77-ish) Ford Pinto, in a nasty goldy-rust color. God, those look so oddly proportioned now (small yet bulbous, with tiny wheels and tires); also, a neighbor is selling a '62 Thunderbird hardtop, pretty basic (crank windows, no vinyl top) but very nice (white w/blue interior).

Now looking at a really cool light-yellow with light tan interior '70 Pontiac Bonneville convertible (on an episode of 'Bewitched' set in Salem, MA).

fintail

I think earlier models had a VW engine as base equipment, yeah

fezo

Yeah, they did. So it not only looked like a Rabbit but it had the same engine.

fintail

More metal in the front clip than 3 Camcords combined

Malaise muscle

Neat veteran

Maybe an Andre color scheme

I doubt many royals in Monaco had these

A new big car

Odd recipient of a labor of love

Project car

I could see lemko in this

Good old name

Sporty

Classy

Mr_Shiftright

ZIMMER -- I really like the Ford steering wheel and the dual horns from JC Whitney. And the gold knock-offs on the tiny little wire wheels that probably came from a MINI----real nice.

As Dolly Parton once said, god bless her: "It costs a lot of money to look this cheap".