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

Mr_Shiftright

The trick would be to by an older Saab 900 5-door, throw away the motor and transmission, and install a later 16V motor and rebuilt 5-speed manual. For maybe $10,000 bucks you'd have a highly functional, roomy, fun car.

You're right, Saab automatics back then were complete junk. You'd be lucky to get 30,000 miles out of a rebuilt one.

fintail

I noticed the paint on that car too...and any MB with ebay-bought chrome headlight rings (not to mention the cheap Chinese ill-fitting projector lights) is a note for caution. You can find a very nice W210 E55 for 15K these days...why spend money and time to make a fake? I don't get it.

explorerx4

how about this one?

Mr_Shiftright

Might be fun. I wonder how much that cheesy chassis will flex, though? Well, no more than a 5.0 Mustang I guess. That's a sleeper all right. Should have painted rims and doggy dish hubcaps though, to complete the deception.

boomchek

Noticed the lights too. I thinkthis was some kind of a salvage rebuild that where a shop had access to cheap appearence parts and they rebuilt it cheap. I can't see anyone in their right mind spending that kind of dough ($40k) on this 20ft looker when they could have a real AMG for less dough.

fintail

That's probably it, a moderate accident victim that someone turned into a pet project. Maybe people think the old school E55s cost more than they do. They are really a performance sedan bargain. Heck, 07 model year W211 E63s are getting down to around 40K here now...which is a better use of money?

I also have to say, when I went to a little Euro car get togther a few weeks ago, my E55 was a hit - I was shocked people liked it, especially guys who I saw as kids (probably no older than 20-22). I call my car "grandpa's E55" as it is so stock. But it went over like a much more expensive car.

fintail

Today's oddballs - early 70s Vette, another Toyota Camry 5-door, Mazda GLC wagon, and what I think was a BMW 1600 or 1800.

ghulet

....Datsun 210 hatchback, ca. 1981, with silly Japanese-style front fender mounted mirrors.

Another 528e (burgandy, light tan vinyl interior, automatic, '86 or later, in decent shape, about two blocks from home)

first-generation Audi A8. Black, of course. Boring, I know, but rare around here.

I didn't spot this, but it's the most bitchin' station wagon:

link title

Mr_Shiftright

Certainly, in terms of restored square feet per dollar (the RSFD ratio), quite a good deal.

toomanyfumes

Cool wagon, It would be even better without the woodgrain.

uplanderguy

Cool wagon, It would be even better without the woodgrain.

It wouldn't be a Caprice then!

Bill

ghulet

.....I actually like the woodgrain (then again, the first car I ever rode in was a '69 Kingswood Estate, that Caprice's direct predecessor, so I'm a little sentimentally partial). I do find it a little strange that the Caprice wagons essentially had Impala interior trim, then again, that sorta delicate cloth they used on other Caprices back then wouldn't hold up.

fintail

The early glass covered headlight Alfa Spider that I see now and then drove by a while ago...top down, with that slight misfire heard when downshifting down a hill. Also saw a silver W210 E55 AMG.

andre1969

I like that '79 St. Regis. I'm impressed that the bidding got up to $2200! I always liked that corduroy style cloth they used as the upgrade in these cars. It's nice, thick, and durable looking, yet still comfortable. Nicely padded too, so it doesn't have that cheap, inadequate look you often found in cars of that era.

Those big '77 Gran Fury copcars are cool too. I didn't like that style with the single headlights as much as the quads they had in '74-75, but it's still nice to see one hanging around after all these years. Those cars weren't popular when new, and most of them went into police or taxi fleets, so for the most part they got used up pretty quickly.

ghulet

.....the color combo, it's loaded and it's so similar to the one I had in high school/college:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1978-Chevrolet-Caprice-Classic-All-Original-Nice-- Car_W0QQitemZ260548408498QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item3ca9e534b2

I don't even think the BIN is so bad, either. Then again, with all the salt used on the roads here, it'd probably look like hell after a couple years.

andre1969

I like that '78 Caprice too, although the rust along the lower doors bothers me a bit, and makes me wonder if it might have other issues, too. I ran a VIN decode, and that engine is a 305-2bbl, so it's enough at least to get out of its own way. I know they started putting 267 V-8's in these cars too, but that might not have been until 1980, maybe? That thing would be awesome though, if it had a 350!

I like the fact that interior is still red. At some point along there, I think GM started using more of a magenta/raspberry color instead.

ghulet

....the car isn't minty fresh or anything, but nice enough to be a respectable driver, while not having to 'worry' about it.

I think you're right about the 267, it didn't go in til at least 1980, perhaps even later. The 305 is a decent engine, and not bad on gas, either, for a V8; of course, it only put out something like 145hp, IIRC. Pretty durable cars; I bought mine in '86, it had a little over 100k, then traded it in (dealer had one of those $1000 for any trade deals) in either '89 or '90, it then had about 155k (it made many, many trips from Chicago to St. Louis to DeKalb in college). I did have to replace the transmission once (cuz I stomped on it), but that was only about $500 including labor (try that now), and when I traded it, it needed a water pump and front suspension work. I probably should have just kept it and had it repaired, but I was 20 and wanted a cooler car (a so-so '85 VW Golf 5-speed sedan). :sick:

andre1969

...spotted out behind my house:

fintail

If that car was some mint 40K mile original with pristine cosmetics, in that color combo and option list, it would be pretty cool. It seems the Chevys just weren't preserved like the higher line cars. You can find a mint 78 Sedan DeVille or Fleetwood, or even a big Buick or Olds easily.

fintail

Is that today?

hpmctorque

Re the '78 Saab, true, few survived, especially with automatics. Any pretense of sportiness would have been lost with that 3-speed automatic.

I like that '35 Hupmobile. Hups of that era had kind of a European look to them. Also, the model shown looks somewhat small for an American car.

andre1969

I took that pic Sunday morning. I'm going to try and get back there tomorrow morning to get another pic to compare. I lost track of how much more snow we got today. Last weekend's total was around 24", but with this one, it's been blowing around so much it's hard to keep track. I'd guess at least 12" though.

fintail

Yeah, there is a definite continental look to the Hupmobile. I think they were shorter than the average period domestic too.

fintail

I'm envious of that weather, I could use a snow day. My employer has an office in PA, which fulls similar roles to where I work. As they are closed, my workload is more. Oh well.

tjc78

it's loaded

I don't think I have ever seen a Caprice with the "comfortron" auto temp control.

ghulet

Funny you mention the Comfortron; the seller didn't even mention it in the ad until someone sent him a note on the "Ask the Seller a Question" section, absolutely gushing about how rare an option it is. I don't think the 'take rate' on that option was that high, but it's not like it's a big deal, either. I mean, 660,000 full-size Chevrolets were sold in '77 alone, and probably a similar number in '78, so how rare could it be? It probably cost a hundred or two more than the already-pricey A/C, but in a car with this many options to begin with (split power seat, locks, windows, tilt), it's not unexpected.

Plus, believe it or not, Chevrolet began offering Comfortron in either 1966 or '67 (Cadillac began selling it in '64, as Comfort Control, renamed Climate Control in '66), so it's not like it was some new-fangled thing.

berri

like that '79 St. Regis

I liked the looks of that car too. Unfortunately, I think they didn't sell too well because of a deserved or not reputation for bad quality.

As for mid 70's Fury, I actually liked the Fury coupe looks better than its upscale brother Chrysler Cordoba, but I was probably a small minority on that!

ghulet

....the Fury, Cordoba and ('75-79) Charger all pretty much the same car (i.e., based on the same chassis)? They sure looked alike, save for interior trims, probably some engine choices, etc.

berri

I like that '78 Caprice too

I thought Chevy did a nice job on the downsized big cars, but I'm partial to those early 77/78 Bonneville and LeSabre coupes before they squared off the rear windows.

berri

....the Fury, Cordoba and ('75-79) Charger all pretty much the same car (i.e., based on the same chassis)? They sure looked alike, save for interior trims, probably some engine choices, etc.

I guess I preferred the simple lines of the Fury to the overdone vinyl topped Cordoba. I actually liked the mid seventies Mopar coupes better than the GM colonade coupes, but then bought a 76 Cutlass Supreme because of resale value. I wished I had the better Mopar seating though, that Cutlass had like zero lower back support on a long drive.

Mr_Shiftright

for the same price as a mediocre 60s fastback:

http://myhotcars.com/inventory/mustangs/?vin=1FAFP42XX2F163770

stickguy

I' not a big mustang fan, but I like that one. As long as the seats are more comfy than the standard ones of that era.

ghulet

.....hard to argue against that one for a.) speed-to-cost ratio and b.) possibility of future collectibility, IMO. I was never all that crazy about that body style, and it's a little flashy for me, but still......and I like the low miles, and I would think it would be fairly easy, for the most part, to have it repaired at any local Ford dealer (I could be wrong about that).

texases

Nice looking Mustang. I'd sure like one Roush has worked on, rather than something somebody, say me, has put lots of 'neat' stuff on from a half dozen catalogs. But yeah, too flashy. I'd rather have this one, same money

fintail

Like these things?

I always thought they did look pretty handsome with their angularity and relatively clean presentation.

ghulet

I do, then again I'm pretty much a GM guy. Those look like the 'sporty' version (well, as much as you could get back then), which I'm pretty sure were called "Sport Coupes" (as opposed to the base and Custom versions), which were first V8 only, then available also with the turbo 3.8 V6 (distinguished mainly by the black-out grille, Buick mags and some interior differences.

andre1969

among GM's downsized big cars was the 1977 Catalina. Preferably in coupe form without the landau roof, like this...


But I like the 4-door version, as well...


The Catalina wasn't all that ritzly-appointed, as Pontiac had the Bonneville and Bonneville Brougham for that, but it was still an attractive looking package IMO. I always liked that split grille with the single bold horizontal bar...kinda like an early version of the Dodge crosshair grille. It still looks sporty for a big car, something that was increasingly difficult to pull off in the late 70's, with that formal look being all the rage.

In a similar vein, I usually preferred the Impala to the Caprice. Even though the Caprice had a nicer interior, I just preferred the grille details of the Impala better. I usually liked the more horizontal grille elements of the Impala, compared to the more vertical themes of the Caprice.

Overall though, I like all of GM's downsized big cars as well as the Mopar R-bodies. But for some reason, the Fords just never did it for me as much. Maybe it's because their downsized cars were just TOO boxy. Plus, I never cared for that single-headlight look the cheaper Fords had.

fintail

Those are simple enough to look decent too, not overloaded with too much malaise bric-a-brac. The worst thing they can have is fender skirts, which seem to make the cars look like they are twice as large and heavy as they really are...nice to see those one lacking them.

berri

Thanks Fintail, that's exactly the coupe look I'm talking about. I also thought that gen Buick and Pontiac had nicer dashboards than most cars of that era.

berri

I forgot that they still had the Catalina for a few years after downsizing.

I think the downsized Ford looked a bit better as a Mercury Grand Marquis. Actually, I think the best looking of those downsized Fords may have been the Mercury Colony Park wagon.Maybe because it was one of the last cars with some throwback to the old Detroit styling like a fair amount of chrome, decent looking fake wood and even things like outside coach lamps between the doors on the upscale LS model.

ghulet

.....when I was a kid bought a brand-new Grand Marquis coupe in '79 (white with green vinyl half-top). The interior on that car was QUITE sumptuous inside, it had the cushy, kinda wrinkly green velour, power everything, an AM/FM stereo and factory CB, and it had this cool chime like you'd hear at a fancy department store. Her previous car was a '73 Malibu, so that was quite a change. Funny, she's 66 now and drives an Acura RSX, her tastes kinda went in the opposite direction.
Her ex-husband worked for GM, and was constantly bringing home new cars: I remember him having a '77 Fleetwood, then a Toronado, an Eldorado, an '83-ish Park Avenue, then an IROC-Z. He must've quit GM, because the last car I remember him having was an '86 Town Car (burgandy w/tan leather and power roof). I was more than a little jealous!

hpmctorque

Even the interiors of the Hupmobile, including the dash, could pass for that of a European car, or am I wrong on that? Of course, there was a lot of diversity among pre-WWII German, Italian, French, British and Czech cars. In my eyes, though, the smaller Hupmobiles fit within the range of that diversity.

The name is definitely American, though, but I suppose it could also be British.

tjc78

I find it funny that he worked for GM, allowed his wife to buy a Grand Marquis then ended up in a Town Car. Must have known something about those GMs...

ghulet

they've been divorced since '73, though.

ghulet

....yes, I broke down and took the car out, it's really not so bad in snow, for a RWD automatic car with no TCS (and I discovered the ABS works quite well); anywho, saw two first-gen Mazda Proteges (one of my favorite cars), an '80-85 'box' Caprice (I only know cuz it had the square taillights), with requisite ghetto 20"+ rims, and a major oddity anymore, an '86 SAAB 900S four-door, white, and in surprisingly good shape. It was even moving under its own power, and had the ugly rear spoiler and sunroof deflector, as did mine. Hopefully this one wasn't an automatic, too.

fintail

Every few days for the past several weeks, I have seen an odd car drive by in the evening - an old Bentley Mulsanne. I will guess it is from about 1990 - dark blue with chrome factory wheels, tinted windows. It's a strange mix of sinister and boring. It doesn't appear to be especially immaculate...as if someone is actually commuting in it.

fintail

The Youtube user who has all of the old Motor Week clips just uploaded Andre's new car: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XUNaqrrdeo

imidazol97

91 miles per hour in a quarter mile. That'll hurt that 30+ gas mileage.

I was surprised at only 7.5 sec for 0-60.

The talking head did say that power was consistent throughout the quarter mile. No peaks and slumps.

andre1969

Hate to say it, but I haven't seen anywhere near 30+ mpg. However I have seen 0-60 in ~7.5 seconds a couple times, so that might be why! :shades: One morning, while merging onto the main road, I punched it from about 25 mph, and it chirped the tires, so the old gal definitely has some kick to her! Speaking of which, I thought traction control was supposed to keep you from being able to chirp the tires?

However, I also haven't seen a good highway run. I did take the car out to the beach a couple weeks ago, just on a whim, but even that trip had a lot of back roads on it. That tank was my best fuel economy, something like 22 mpg. Which, considering there was a lot of local driving, plus that trip, ain't too bad.

On my current tank, the computer says I'm getting a whopping 14.3 mpg. However, with the back-to-back blizzards we've had, my Park Ave has done a lot of idling, a lot of sitting in traffic jams, etc. I was really looking forward to taking the car up to PA for the Philly auto show, but Mother Nature had other plans.

Oh, and Fintail, thanks for posting that video...I actually learned a few things about my car...like how to turn the traction control off! That would've been helpful on Tuesday night. I had parked close to the road in anticipation of the second blizzard coming through, but in the middle of the night it turned to freezing rain. The car was parked under a walnut tree, which usually does fine in regular snow, but tends to have limbs snap off in freezing rain. Well, backing it down the driveway, I got a little off the driveway and stuck against the snowbank. Well, the car "knew" it was stuck and wouldn't let me rev up fast enough to break free. It held the rpms at around 1600, no matter how hard I stomped.

Watching that video, I saw the traction control on/off button on the end of the gearshift lever, but behind the wheel of my own car, I just never noticed it! Plus, it was dark when I needed it, and the button isn't illuminated.

I also noticed in that video that you can raise and lower the part of the seat that has the upper anchor for the shoulder belt. I never knew you could do that. Guess I need to read the owner's manual, but the thing is about the size of the unabridged version of Stephen King's "The Stand" :P

ghulet

....you have an Owner's Manual; mine didn't come with one, and I'm just not willing to spend $50 on eBay to purchase one to find out how to work a ca. 1988 'trip computer'. There are some other things I wish I'd have known, though....