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

andys120

...a 1966-'67 Chevy ElCamino SS/396 in restored condition spoiled only by a fussy black vinyl roof and chromed spoker dub wheels.

...1956 Ford Fairlane Crown Victoria Red over White, concours condition, riding on a flat bed trailer.

fintail

Just saw the same oval window Beetle I spotted a few days ago

tjc78

Saw a mid 60s (64?) Plymouth Valiant 2 dr hardtop puttin along on RT 73 in NJ today. Looked pretty ratty though.

toomanyfumes

Went to a local mini-car show, few cars due to rainy weather. Coolest car was a 1959 Fiat Abarth in great shape, but looked like it was driven. I never got to look at one close up, he had the hood open, too.

fintail

I saw 2 fairly pristine Vanagons today (one was badged "Multivan" as well), a few nice 70s-80s vintage Porsches, an idiotic looking ca. 70 Cutlass on what must have been 24" wheels, a model A sport coupe, and I went and took a look at that AMG trimmed W126 I mentioned in another thread. Not nearly as nice as it looks in the pics, needs a lot of TLC.

explorerx4

Citroen SM headed in the opposite direction on I-84 in CT.

explorerx4

Citroen SM headed in the opposite direction on I-84 in CT.

fintail

Neat view of my old beast through the hardtop of a 560SEC.

And said 560SEC with a crazy Japanese style custom W140

I am still kinda disappointed That AMG trimmed W126 turned out to be less than pristine. It had a lot of needs...filthy engine bay with who knows what lurking underneath, delaminated rear windshield in need of replacement, passenger side trim loose, side curtains missing (good luck finding those), small dash crack, paint needs serious TLC, wheelarch trim suspect...it did start up fine and seemed to idle OK. It's worth a lot less than that asking price with those needs.

Mr_Shiftright

Spotted--- a 1967 Mercedes 200 for sale in Aspen Colorado. Looked pretty nice from a distance, asking price $5000.

merckx

Does $5,000 seem reasonable to you? Whenever I see a Fintail for sale, even in mediocre shape, they seem a wee bit pricey...

fintail

Was it a 200 or 200D? 5K for a genuinely nice car isn't bad, but I'd seek 6cyl cars over the diesels especially. 5K should be able to buy a nice enough driver fintail of any model other than a 300SE.

lemko

...reddish 1988 BMW 528e.

Mr_Shiftright

It was a gas car. Of course, I never got to inspect it to see if there were problems. At 8500 feet, this type of car would not be all that much fun to drive.

fintail

Today's oddball - 86-87 Cavalier convertible, some kind of RS or Z24 package - had wheels, body cladding, and the unmistakable hoary drone of a 2.8 Little old lady driver...very small, barely able to see over the wheel. Car was white with a burgundy velour interior, top down. Looked almost brand new, wearing the plate frame of a now defunct local dealer.

fintail

Saw a red 944 cabrio not long ago

oldcem

Couple of days ago,on I64, I passed a pickup pulling a trailer with a cherry looking Crosley Woody Station Wagon on it. Haven't see one of these thing in years.

Regards:
OldCEM

andys120

Saw a red 944 cabrio not long ago

That reminds me I saw a blue 968 Cab in average condition.

bhill2

Every time you post a picture of your 'beast' it reminds me of the 190D that my aunt had in the same color. Her cousin had willed it to her because he knew she would take care of it (he was right). She drove it all over the small town that she lives in, but I don't think she ever took it beyond, so the lack of performance wasn't a problem. I drove it a couple of times. It was, of course, impossibly slow. But it was the most magnificent piece of automotive craftsmanship that I ever saw, and I remember it with fondness and respect.

fintail

My car has a bit more than twice the power of a 190D...so it is a little more beastly :shades: ...although tepid off the line due to small displacement and 2nd gear start. Those cars are amazingly well built...it feels more solid than my nearly 40 year newer E55.

andre1969

spotted on a safety poster at work, wrapped around a locomotive with the caption "When it's a tie at the crossing, YOU LOSE!"

I didn't realize they made a 4-door Laguna? I know there was a 4-door Grand Am though, so I guess it would make sense for a 4-door Laguna as well? Still, I can't recall ever seeing one.

omarman

Never saw one either, but went looking on the internet and found a Laguna station wagon instead. Not a great color and the factory paint job must be 15 y/o old or so at the time of the pic, but not a bad looking wagon. And the owner history is positive. Well, maybe even rose-tinted. :P I like it.

toomanyfumes

Not a bad looking wagon, I'm calling BS on the 5 second 0-60 time, though.

Mr_Shiftright

I'd say about 8.0 and 15.7, once the beers wear off.

fintail

GTA

Good bids for a fishbowl

Prize winner

Almost new

Daredevil pickup

Homer Simpson's brother owned a company by this name

Restrained and elegant

Franken-jag

Loadrunner

"MINI CUDA"

Driver fintail

Stylish

Not bad looking Frenchie, think I've seen it before

Some bids here too

Early model

Nice clamshell getting some attention

Odd Canuck

Parts must be easy to find

kyfdx

once the beers wear off.

Unfamiliar with that... :surprise:

kyfdx

Seville pickup.... where can I get whatever makes you think crap like this up?

Slant-6 Jag?.... Uh.. they started doing Chevy 350 V-8 conversions in the late '70s...

Plymouth Arrow.. Almost bought one of these new in '77.. never heard anyone refer to it as a MINI-cuda.. All cars from the late '70s sucked.... but, only 11K? Continuously operating, except when broken down?

I'm digging the Peugeot and the Pontiac wagon...

euphonium

Thank you for finding the '41 Buick Century. I think the Century was the Special, with the Roadmaster engine. 320 c.i. was considered a lot in those days.

andys120

'41 Packard- What an elegant car in an era when most cars were pretty frumpy
(IMO)

'56 Powell Pickup- I've never heard of these, I wonder if it's related to the Crosley which was built by Crosley Powell. Unfortunately there's no info in listing.

'75 Peugeot 504 Coupe- A nice example of Pininfarina styling. We have seen it before.

Nice variety this week Fintail.

tjc78

The "Daredevil Pickup" I do not believe to be a 76. It looks to me to be a 78+ Nova based model. A 76 was still the monster with the 500 V8 IIRC.

The Corolla is probably being bid-up by someone wanting to use it for a "drift" car.

andre1969

I'd say about 8.0 and 15.7, once the beers wear off.

I don't think I'd even give it that much credit. I think I saw that 0-60 and 1/4 mile time once for a 454 coupe, either a Laguna S-3 or a '73 Chevelle SS. But the Chevy 400 smallblock, from what I've heard, wasn't much of an engine. They were mainly choked down 2-bbl units putting out 150-180 hp depending on the year, and I think the 400-4bbl was a California-only option, so you know it's not going to be much, either.

My great-uncle had a '74 Impala with a 400, and once it was badly rusted enough, he gave it to my neighbor, who junked the body and pulled the engine and threw it in a race car. I've heard they actually make good race engines, BECAUSE of the siamesed cylinders (? I always thought siamesed was a bad thing?)

My guess would be more like 10-12 seconds in 0-60, if you're lucky. Those wagons were heavy, a good 500-700 lb or more than the coupes. I also don't believe the part about it getting "nearly 20 mpg" on the highway. Maybe on level ground, at a very steady 55-60 mph?

andre1969

The Seville actually came out in mid-1975. I've heard they were all titled as 1976 models, but my old car encyclopedia has a listing for 1975, and Wikipedia says the car came out as a mid-75, in April of that year, and they built about 16,000 before the '76 came out.

I wonder, if you could squeeze a 500 into one of those Sevilles, if it would have done much for performance? There really wasn't much of an hp difference. The Seville's Olds 350 had 180 hp, while the 500 had around 190-210 hp, depending on year, and whether it was carbureted or fuel injected. I'm sure the extra torque of the 500 would have been felt, though!

tjc78

The Seville actually came out in mid-1975

I am an IDIOT!!! I was thinking of the Eldorado. I guess the coffee hadn't kicked in yet this morning!

Mr_Shiftright

No, alas.... the 500 engine was a pig.

andre1969

Slant-6 Jag?.... Uh.. they started doing Chevy 350 V-8 conversions in the late '70s...


I can't even wrap my mind around that one. A 1983 slant six has all of 85-90 hp. And I'd imagine that Jag weighs as much as the Ram that engine came out of. So you end up with a Jag that performs, well, like a 1983 Ram pickup! :confuse:

I had a 1969 Dodge Dart GT with a slant six. It only weighed around 3,000 lb, and had 110 hp (145 gross). It was tolerable in that car, but you weren't going to win too many stoplight battles. Although I did blow off my college buddy's '86 V-6 T-bird, and another one, who had an '89 Horizon, tried to blame me for messing up his car because he said it never ran right after he tried to race me once.

I can't imagine a heavy car with one of those choked down slant sixes, though.

Mr_Shiftright

The whole POINT of the Jaguar dohc-6 was its silky smoothness. When you cram an agricultural crate engine in there, it might sound great and have plenty of power, but you essentially ruin the character of the car. A Chevy 350 is reasonably smooth for what it is, if you want a British Impala, but a Slant-6 is one rough puppy. Also you have to eliminate the Jaguar transmission mount system, which contributes a lot to the smooth powertrain effect.

Ironically, the Jaguar 6 was the best part of an XJ6---by getting rid of it, you throw away the most decent part of the entire automobile. It's the cooling and electrics that need replacement, not the engine.

The jaguar-6 of that era was one of the most long-lived engines in automotive history---about a 40-year run. Hardly the sign of a defective engine.

jrosasmc

Or Shifty - Here's a car I saw when I was browsing YouTube earlier:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxVUGhggQW0

Is that car (250SE) part of the Fintail series?

texases

That looks post-fintail, but I don't know which 'W' it is...

fintail

That's a W108 - replacement for the W111 fintail, the 250SE was an earlier car eventually replaced by the 280. Probably something in the cold start system needs adjustment - a FI car like that shouldn't need pumpage like that to start. Looks like an average driver quality car - way beyond reasonable restoration. Nice to see it's a 4 on the floor anyway, uncommon.

I like the wide whites on the ponton in the background.

Mr_Shiftright

A W108, just after the fintail.

Basically a nothing car--I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole and if I won it in a contest I wouldn't even bother to go get it.

MONEY PIT!

kyfdx

'57 Chevy ... in turquoise... with a blower sticking out of the hood...

TR-3.. In near perfect shape..

explorerx4

Same type weather here in CT today. Saw an orange Porsche 914 with the targa top removed. Good thing, I don't think the driver would have fit in the car with it installed.
Right after that, a 90's red with white top convertible Lebaron, Top was up for some reason.
Also, a verty good looking silver with black top Mercedes convertible. Late 90's/early 2k with some nice mono block type wheels.

kyfdx

Austin - Healey 3000...

michaellno

'57 Chevy ... in turquoise... with a blower sticking out of the hood...

Wow, I saw almost exactly the same thing last night here in CO, except the one I saw was white and turquoise. Much larger blower sticking out of the hood and what looked like wide slicks in the back ... almost like it was a sleeper drag car.

andre1969

I saw a '55 Chevy 2-door sedan yesterday...white over turqoise. Saw it parked in a driveway when I went to a pool party. Looked good at quick glance, but when I drove past it on the way home, I looked closer. Bondo-galore.

In an odd sort of way, it was refreshing to see. By now I figured most of these '55-57 Chevies were either over-restored or modded, or rusting away in the woods somewhere, undiscovered. Been ages since I've seen one that's just an old beater.

imidazol97

andys120

Actually I've seen a couple of Tri-Chevies being used as drivers near here. There's a '56 four-poster sedan wearing what look like Tor-Q Thrust alloys, red over white and occasionally a '55 or '57 that passes thru in similar shape.

andre1969

Yep, that's the color scheme. I think it's really pretty. I used to know someone who had a '59 DeSoto Firedome that was white with a turquoise roof and spear...really sharp. Sometimes, I wish my '57 Firedome was one of those period blue/turquoise/green colors, rather than the cliched red and white. But, when shopping for '57 DeSotos, some 33 years after they left the showroom floor, I didn't exactly have a wide choice to pick from!

uplanderguy

That is my favorite color combo on a '55 Chevy! Looks nice and stock except for Cragars and the exhaust, and I can live with those.

The '55 has always been my favorite of those three years...no fins, neat Corvette-inspired dash pods, simple grille. The '57 is my least favorite, and '56 in the middle as it's more like a '55 than the '57 is.

I grew up in a Chevy family but have two Studebakers as collector cars; always say that Chevys and Fords are too common. However, a sharp, mostly-stock '55 (or '56) Chevy will always stop me in my tracks and blows my 'too common' snobbery right out of the water!

uplanderguy

I didn't realize they made a 4-door Laguna?

Oh, yes. There wasn't a Malibu Classic in '73; the Laguna was the luxo model with the integrated front bumper and body-colored rear bumper. They could be had in coupe, sedan, wagon, and Estate wagon versions. In '74 and later the Laguna was called 'Laguna S-3' and replaced the SS in the lineup.

I was (still am, to a degree) a big fan of '73 Chevelles when they came out. They were larger than a '72 and all the mags said how much quieter and tighter they rode and better they cornered than a '72. I didn't even mind the big front bumpers on the non-Laguna models, when mid-year they started using body-color bumper fillers instead of silver-gray. Nice simple grille. I always liked the glassy coupe roofline with zero blind spots. I hated how in '74 and later, to get a Chevelle coupe with a decent interior, you had to get the opera window on that fastback roof with a humongous blind spot! In fact, first half of the '74 model year, you had to get a vinyl top on a two-door Malibu Classic and Laguna S-3, I assume to cover up whatever bodywork they had to do at the factory to fill in the large triangular quarter window.

My Dad had a '67 Chevelle and was talking about getting a new one in the fall of '72, so I was keenly aware of all the changes coming that fall in the Chevelle line. Dad always liked the '71 and '72 Chevelle Sport Coupe styling, and just hated the '73 when it came out! He bought a Nova instead.

Andre, were you aware that Chevy offered an SS wagon in the Chevelle line for '73? A one-year only. On Google there are photos of a few, most notably a maroon one with silver stripes. Interesting.

A good friend in my hometown bought a used (in '78) bright green metallic '73 Chevelle SS coupe with silver striping and black vinyl interior. I loved it. Sporty but comfy like a big car.

andre1969

That is my favorite color combo on a '55 Chevy! Looks nice and stock except for Cragars and the exhaust, and I can live with those.

Yeah, that's a gorgeous color combo. For some reason though, whenever I think of a '55 Chevy, I get a mental image of a pinkinsh-peach body, with a gray rear and roof (unless it's a convertible). It's actually more attrractive than it sounds...