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

fintail

Well, finding a couple of 300SLs makes me hotter than finding a 53 Chevy sedan

fintail

A few odd cars here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kLoKWErmRQ

I think the second Caddy is actually a 46-47, and the Packard a 38

lemko

A Cuban 1957 Chrysler 300-C could actually be powered by a Belarus tractor engine.

Mr_Shiftright

Very true, and what's worse, they often chop these cars up to do that work, so body metal and structure are heavily compromised and probably irreversibly damaged.

texases

This kind of remids me of that huge junkyard/classic car collection that went up on Ebay what, 2 years ago? Piles of assorted parts of every kind, lots of pure junk, a few worthwhile cars an parts scattered around, but you'd spend years trying to figure it all out.

Mr_Shiftright

I have *never* heard of someone finding a car in Cuba and flipping it for some huge reward. Not sure you could even get one out of the country, but you know, with a little reward, anything is possible.

What I have heard about, which is kinda nice, is car clubs in the USA sending parts over to Cuba to keep the old cars running.

fintail

Most of the Cuban cars aren't particularly rare or valuable even if in pristine condition...there's no upside with mining that old car goldmine, the 300SLs etc are not going to pop up often. It's kind of like what happened in the 90s when Russia opened up and the old cars were discovered there...mostly old Opel Kadetts and Pobedas with questionable repairs. But, the lure of finding an open MB or a Horch etc kept people searching.

lemko

Well, here's one way of getting your classic car out of Cuba. I believe this was once a 1959 Buick.

Mr_Shiftright

I can't imagine the gas mileage.

I saw one of those Subaru Brats today, but rather wished I hadn't

dieselone

Well, here's one way of getting your classic car out of Cuba. I believe this was once a 1959 Buick.

A Buick being used as a boat! That is to funny, they just aren't land yachts are they!

omarman

After their Buick was boarded and sunk by the Coast Guard, the truckonauts (media term coined after their previous attempt) were repatriated back to Cuba. However they returned to seek U.S. territorial waters once again, this time in a 1949 Mercury. No relation to Mercury Marine other than all that water. Rafael Diaz Rey and family were taken by U.S. authorities for questioning and then admitted to the United States.

<img src="http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a123/hoyvin/Truckonauts.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"

texases

Driving home saw 2 interesting ones - a Maserati Biturbo Spyder, running under its own power, actually looking good. Right after passed a 1980ish Chrysler Learon, also runnning, but stalling.

Mr_Shiftright

Boy, there are two cars that beat the odds by a long ways. :surprise:

Usually these cars expired like old-time flash bulbs.

fintail

It's a shame that Buick had to be sunk. But I wouldn't expect anything else given the powers that be.

That weird sedan, maybe an airport car or a taxi when new, is a 46-48 Mercury.

uplanderguy

In regards to the Packard Clipper in your second link...my good friend is the son of my hometown's Studebaker-Packard dealer (in business in their family for 40 years). He had given me permission to make from slides he had, the following color prints of the 1956 Packard Caribbean they sold new (only 276 built)

http://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/myalbum/viewcat.php?cid=58

They were rightly proud to deliver a Caribbean in our small hometown.

Bill

fintail

Another one of those weird CLS has come up, this one close to home...price is pretty steep, but that color is just fantastic to me. I won't be tempted though...I don't want to become involved in a long term (5 years or more) note when I am just escaping the E55's financing...and I won't crack open the retirement fund to buy a car. As I am getting older, I am growing a little more fiscally conservative.

dieselone

That is a stunning looking car. The 48k doesn't scare me, but the other unknown hidden costs to keep that baby humming could definitely give me heart burn.

fintail

AMG cars don't scare me too much, all accounts I know of have them holding together pretty well. 48K is pretty rich though, more than I'm comfortable with. FWIW, the car was ~130K new.

boomchek

Looks nice and sharp! Wait 2-3 more years and they'll be in the $20-$30k range.

hpmctorque

Yeah, but by that time it may have 96,000 miles on it. Would it be worth ~$25,000 then, given that average yearly maintenance and repair expenses only rise with age?

fintail

If it had 100K on it, it wouldn't be worth that in 3 years. A 7 year old E55 with 100K on it might just pass 20K if immaculate and fully serviced.

I'd want to find it in similar condition to my E55, which is 8 years old and I think is about to roll over to 44K.

lemko

...black 1954 Chevrolet 210 sedan crossing Robbins Avenue at Lawndale Street in NE Philly.

Mr_Shiftright

Personally I wouldn't touch these cars if they are miled up. Too expensive to repair major components if they fail, and fail they may, given high mileage.

Geez, even a stinkin' little BMW MINI with the CVT transmission---$6500 for an exchange rebuilt transmission---and that's not from the dealer....AND...doesn't include labor. So on a 2003 base MINI with a bad trans---the car is totaled.

Often, the more OBSCURE a car is, the more difficult to repair, naturally. I've owned some very weird cars but before I buy I check to see what the parts networks look like. Among the best networks are VW, MG, Alfa, MINI, Porsche, Mercedes and BWM.

ghulet

re that MINI.....eeek. I can envision some young thang fresh out of college, buying an early MINI on payments, then having to face THAT.

Spotted yesterday, a nice-as-possible bustleback Seville, in a dark burgandy (did they call that Black Cherry?), and not even two-tone.

More Hawaii Five-O sightings (sorry, this being Chicago, I rarely see classic cars, so forgive me for living vicariously through old TV):

67 Bonneville convertible, Montreux blue with white interior and power windows, in a chase scene which ended with it being stuck in sand. Probably not the best choice for a getaway car. I mean, quick enough, but a little ponderous.

66 GTO coupe, Reef Turquoise with white top and interior (EXTREMELY sharp combo, I practically cried), complete with those cool faux-mag hubcaps, being used as a cop car to haul away to criminals. Yeah, that's likely.

lemmer

I got curious and googled the MINI CVT. I figured you were right about the cost, but I didn't realize that the CVT commonly fails.

It also kind of surprised me that people with seven year old cars with 100K on them think they should sue the manufacturer if the car fails. Years ago, I had an RX-7 engine with 80K on it grenade while I was driving along at a steady 40 mph. My only thought was "sucks for me".

Mr_Shiftright

The CVTs drop like flies. Added to that is the very clunky base engine on the MINI, a 6 cylinder unit out of Brazil.

andre1969

eez, even a stinkin' little BMW MINI with the CVT transmission---$6500 for an exchange rebuilt transmission---and that's not from the dealer....AND...doesn't include labor.

Ouch! Makes me feel a lot better about the $650 the owner of the local transmission shop said it would probably cost to rebuild the THM350C in my pickup if it ever fails...or even the ~$1800 it would cost to do the Park Ave's transmission.

Sometimes, simpler is better. BTW, why IS a CVT so expensive? I thought they were actually pretty simple, as far as transmissions go? Isn't it basically a belt with a tensioner that adjusts to change the ratio?

ghulet

I just paid $495 for the trans (reman, w/one year warranty) for the BMW, though admittedly cuz it's in the shop, I don't know how much for labor yet (I think he told me $600, but it's been a while so I don't remember).

hpmctorque

I think you mean 1600 cc. The first generation engine was made in Brazil, but I think the new one, developed with Peugeot, is sourced elsewhere.

boomchek

The CVTs drop like flies. Added to that is the very clunky base engine on the MINI, a 6 cylinder unit out of Brazil.

A 6 cylinder in a Mini? :confuse: :P

Mr_Shiftright

1600 cc---yes, yes....typing too fast....man make errurs wit big thumb---ugh!

michaellno

I'm glad that MINI switched over to a 'regular' 6-speed Shiftronic automatic, since that is what is in my daughter's car.

OTOH, my son and DIL recently bought a used '07 Caliber ... with the CVT. We'll see how long it lasts (has 4x,xxx miles on it now).

andre1969

So around $1100 installed, for a BMW trans? That actually sounds cheap to me! I figured something like that would be really expensive!

Heck, I remember back in 2002, when my buddy's '98 Tracker ate its transmission, We found a used one for around $650, and had a shop put it in for around $400. Or, something like that. I remember it was just under $1200 total.

andre1969

OTOH, my son and DIL recently bought a used '07 Caliber ... with the CVT. We'll see how long it lasts (has 4x,xxx miles on it now).

My Mom and stepdad have an '08 Altima with the CVT. I think they still have under 20,000 miles on it though. I'll be curious to see how long it lasts. Their '99 Altima ate its 4-speed automatic at around 35,000 miles, which intially made me think the car was crap...but it has well over 300,000 on it now, so trans #2 has more than redeemed the car.

dieselone

I think Nissan has had some issues with their CVT. At least they've stepped up to the plate on extending coverage.

Per Nissan's website

Nissan has extended the Nissan New Vehicle Limited Warranty for the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) to 10 years/120,000 miles (whichever occurs first) for CVT transmission repairs, replacement, and related towing on all 2003-2010 model year Nissan vehicles equipped with the CVT. The remainder of the powertrain warranty coverage for components other than the CVT transmission remains unchanged. All other warranty terms, limitations and conditions otherwise apply.

My wife had an 06 Ford 500 that used an Aisin CVT. She only had it to 40k or so, but it never had any issues, though it would act funny sometimes.

stickguy

Pretty sure some of those earlier ones were Gm sourced? And later ones were another maker, maybe jatco? Getrag? In any case, not particularly sophisticated, and not exotic German overengineering. So in theory, it should not cost that much to get a reman.

and install has to be easier, being a nice straightforward RWD w/longitudinal inline 6.

hpmctorque

From what I understand, Audis and some VWs are more difficult to do big jobs on, such as replacing transmissions and timing belts. That's largely because the engine is placed longitudinally instead of sideways.

One very competent mechanic that I've used for many years, and is highly regarded, says he can't recommend any German car, from the standpoint of maintenance and repair. That said, BMW is generally the best of the bad. He says German cars are needlessly complex, and that Hondas, Acuras, Toyotas and Lexuses are designed for easier maintenance and repair.

What I wonder is whether the more gratifying driving and ride proposition of the German cars is attributable to their complexity. I'd feel better about it if I knew it was.

ghulet

I think it helps that the car is 22 years old (and they made that model for 7 years, though the first two had 3-speeds), not particularly rare, so parts are generally not a problem. I'm pretty sure the trans is made by ZF (German company). And has been stated, it's not a sophisticated car by today's standards (straight 6, no ETC, blah blah, though it does have ABS, which works great).

I did have some trepidation about doing it, but it beats trying to find another beater, which may have issues. Crossing fingers.

lemko

...very nice maroon 1967 Chevrolet El Camino on Rising Sun Avenue near Tyson in NE Philly on my way to work this morning.

Mr_Shiftright

So anybody ever seen a Ford Durango?

lemko

There's one that shows up at Carlisle all the time. It's basically a Fairmont with a pickup bed.

andre1969

There's been one showing up at the Carlisle PA swap meets for several years now...pale yellow IIRC. Kind of a clunky looking thing in comparison to the El Camino of the era. I think the problem is that it looks like it's on the same ~105.6" wheelbase as the rest of the Fairmont lineup its based on. The Malibu was a bit longer, at 108.1", but the El Camino was a stretch of that, to 117".

Must not be much demand for 'em, if this thing keeps coming back year after year without selling.

lemko

...very ratty red 1978 Cadillac Sedan DeVille with a tattered white viny roof and a very nice beige 1979 Buick LeSabre sedan.

Mr_Shiftright

Spotted a 1995 Mercedes 300D sedan---rather rare car in most parts of the country.

Ran well but I could smell it 100 feet away.

euphonium

That car inspired the bumper sticker

YOUR NOISY DIESEL STINKS!

fintail

The very last of the W124s. I saw one of that series (94-95) the other day.

I'm in podunk right now...have seen a few oddities. A Model A sport coupe (the fake landau bar type), early 50s Buick, weirdo early 30s Ford pickup rat rod, Subaru Justy, early 80s T-Bird with dog dish hubcaps, a couple early Z cars, forlorn red "cigar" T-Bird sitting near a garage, with a broken windshield.

jrosasmc

Have you thought about buying and owning one of those '95 300Ds, Shifty?

After all, it is a Mercedes and among the last of the old-school models (W124). Could be a great addition to your fleet.

Mr_Shiftright

I'm really not a Mercedes kinda guy any more :shades:

I'd consider a VW Diesel Sportwagon however.

explorerx4

i saw that and was going to link to it, but you beat me there.
i was too busy talking about fire extinguishers.

hpmctorque

Interesting, because your comments in the past suggested that you wouldn't consider a VW, for reliability reasons.

FWIW, my daughter drives a '02 Jetta 2.0 manual with 62,000 miles, and it's been reliable. It also drives, steers and handles well. Oh, the catalytic converter had to be replaced about a year ago, but that was was covered by the factory warranty (until 80,000...that might be a federal law, but I'm not sure). I think the Jetta drives better than either a Civic or a Corolla. I can't compare it to a Mazda 3 since I haven't driven or ridden in a Mazda in about 10 years.