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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)
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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.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
I believe it is possible to build one from NOS parts.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
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.
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!
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
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.
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!
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.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
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.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
The M5 is pretty popular I guess, so what do I know?
Actually, kind of sounds like the current Taurus!
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Later sitting in a wrecking yard, a pair of Mercury Cougars, a '67 and a '69, both in wrecked, parts car condition.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
And I saw a Cimarron yesterday...woo hoo.
Looks like it's still in the wrapper... Parked on the street with a for sale sign.
Wonder what that's worth?
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Fun ride though. Go REAL fast for cheap.
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.
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.
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.
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.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
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.
Is the Omni all original, or did someone actually restore it?
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Rolling advertisement for cash for clunkers...
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.
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.
If you can find them.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
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!
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.
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).
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
As Dolly Parton once said, god bless her: "It costs a lot of money to look this cheap".