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

uplanderguy

I've seen a few '55's in that color combo over the years (melon-y and dark gray) and like that too. Although not a fan of the combo, ever see a '56 Chevy in yellow and black two-tone? Looks like a bumble-bee!

First car I can remember my parents having was a '56 Chevy Two-Ten 2-door sedan, dark gray lower with white upper, full wheel covers, six with stick. I was born in '58 so for me to remember it pretty plainly, they had it a long time! I used to think it was neat there were loose-hanging assist straps, like on a bus, on the center pillars inside, to presumably help you get in the back seat.

imidazol97

My cousin had a 1956 black and yellow 210. I can't find a picture of one on the web.

It came with two knee impressions in the lower dash. The previous owner didn't wear his seat belt when he crashed his new car. My cousin bought it from the repair shop.

The 56 black and bumblebee yellow was an eye-catching color for those days. But I still think the colors of almost blue and creamy white were typically the prettiest in my Midwestern upbringing. The pict I posted had the chrome wheels that were typically put on by some owners in the day, as well.

imidazol97

This has the bumper close to the body so it's an earlier VW, but who can tell what year?

Mr_Shiftright

Hard to say exactly from one side photo, but it is at LEAST a 1971 or newer. (tip off include outside gas door, rear vent behind back window).

lemko

...drop-dead gorgeous 1965 Pontiac Catalina Safari wagon in teal blue on Rhawn Street near Ryers in NE Philly! Andre1969, you should've seen this one! It's probably the nicest one on the planet. Looks like it fell through a time warp!

uplanderguy

I don't know if there was ever a more-gorgeous full-size car made than a 1965 Pontiac. Beautiful from every angle and a great interior too. The big Chevys that year I think were beauties, too.

martian

The NY Times had an article last week about a guy in LA who has one-what a weird car! Rear engine, all-aluminum V-8 engine! A three piece windhsiled, and three headlights-this car is so strange looking. Did TATRA build very many of these cars? I imagine it was a very expensive car-and a V-8 engine in europe meant that it was a luxurybarge. At any rate, has anyone here ever driven one (Mr. Shiftright?)-the car appaelas to me-I would buy one if I had the money.

texases

Tatras were unique, highly-engineered cars. Do a search on 'Tatra' in Classic Cars, I think there are several discussions. Very neat cars!

lemko

Yeah, and UNLIKE recent Pontiacs, the 1960s Pontiacs were a clear step up from a Chevrolet. The big Chevies from 1961 through 1970 were all very beautiful cars.

fintail

A few thousand T87s were made, the car was built both before and after the war. The T87 is the one that German soldiers were eventually advised not to drive due to its dicey handling. It would have been an expensive car sold to technology fans. I know quite a few were exported to the Netherlands after the war, and survival rates seem to be high - people knew they had something special. A good T87 should be worth around 100K-ish today.

I actually prefer the T77, the older (1934) and in my eyes even crazier looking car:



These are much rarer and I can't recall seeing one ever hit the market.

bumpy

painted about the same pastel blue as that VW up there, with a medium dark blue roof.

Also saw a '70s-looking Isuzu I-Mark diesel coupe this morning.

au1994

I'd like to see a drag race between the I-Mark diesel and an early 80's Escort diesel. Woo-hoo!! A combined 120 hp screaming down the track!!

Mr_Shiftright

I have been driven IN a Tatra but never drove one. Reports from the owner, as I recall, were that this was not a car you dared to be frisky in. If not "luxury", certainly upper middle class by European standards. Not a Bugatti or a Voisin---perhaps more like the same class as a Citroen Traction Avant. I think they also made a Tatra with a 3.0L four-cylinder (!!) which is big for a 4-banger, and probably a bit of a rough-running engine with that displacement and pre-balance technology.

michaellno

...and an early 80's Escort diesel.

Funny, I almost bought one of those Escort diesels back in 1985.

I was in my last semester of college, and had the misfortune of totaling my car in an accident (my fault, of course). I got $2K from the insurance company and started car shopping.

Found the Escort (new) at a local Ford dealer .. since I was still a few months away from graduating, they told me they would defer payments until after I graduated and had found a job. I believe the payments were something like $150/mo.

My parents talked me out of it, since they didn't think it was wise to get into debt without a secure source of income. I ended up buying a '77 Olds Omega to drive the last couple of months, then sold it the day I graduated college.

occupant1

I had never seen a 4-door 70s Subaru before. It's in the junkyard in Elm Mott, TX, looks like a nice car other than the fact it's in a junkyard. I knew they made coupes and hatchbacks and Brats and wagons but I had never seen a 4-door sedan before. This one had automatic and air, was blue in and out, the bumpers were gone, and the engine had been pulled already. I should have taken a picture. But that and the powder blue '82 gas Rabbit were the two oldest imports they had other than various diesel W123 Benzes. Another small oddity I hadn't seen in awhile, first gen Escort wagons. One was a black '83 wagon, automatic, and the other was a silver '81 wagon with a 4-speed and no air. Oh, and a '80 Chrysler Newport, pasture fresh with a 2-barrel 318 and plenty of cow droppings in the trunk.

tjc78

Saw a first generation SHO (1989) on the way in this morning. Rough shape but moving along pretty good. Amazing that Ford dropped the ball on those, the later years were never the same.

Just read that 0 - 60 was 6.6 seconds. Commonplace today, but in 89 pretty darned quick.

texases

A friend had a 4-door Subaru from late 70s, I think. I was always surprised that the engine was so buzzy, given the supposed benefits of a flat-4. Of course, nobody ever accused the old Beetle of being smooth!

Mr_Shiftright

I had one of those old Subarus when I lived in Colorado. I think it was called an "FF1"---is that right? This of course was in my younger days, while the earth was still cooling...

It was a crude but sturdy car, and I remember getting good use out of it for one winter.

fintail

Just saw a red and white 63 Fairlane wagon pull away from the "local Andre" who lives within sight of my front room window. This guy also recently dragged home a 60 Ford 2 door post, needing TLC. His red Eldo coupe also has a for sale sign right now, wants $1500 for it.

Saw a black TR7 or TR8 this morning, moving under its own power. Saw a nice ca. 52-ish DeSoto sedan yesterday.

hpmctorque

I think you see more collector cars on a daily basis, or almost, than I see in a week, or more.

lemko

...dark orange metallic 1974 Plymouth Valiant sedan with a black vinyl roof that appeared to be in very nice condition behind a light blue late 1960s or early 1970s VW Bus. on Rising Sun and Tyson in NE Philly.

fintail

It's the climate here. I am shocked at the amount of 80s metal still in daily service in this region.

Yesterday I visited my grandmother, down the street from her is a 63 Impala 2 door HT, red, which has been sitting outside for as long as I can remember and maybe as long as I have been alive. It's very oxidized, but I don't see any rust bubbling or holes at all. It's still sad...but the car is still together.

Here's a bad image I grabbed from street view....I am sure I have talked about this car before. It has been sitting outside for at least 25 years, maybe more. I've always had a theory about this car, left as a memorial to someone killed in Vietnam or something like that.

Mr_Shiftright

There's a ton of them where I live in California. I could walk around my neighborhood and spot a dozen here and there---depending on how one defines "collector" of course.

Yesterday --- spotted an early Karmann Ghia, ratty, "for sale", corduroy interior!! Also a '68 Dodge 3/4 ton "Camper Special" ($2000), a 50 Plymouth coupe in a driveway.

ncskibum

Coming out of the movie last night, there was a mid 60s VW transporter. You know the van nose with the flat bedback and drop side panels. It was in pretty rough shape but must still be running. The other day I spotted a late 60s karmin gia. Obviously refinished but still painted the original orange. Also saw an earlier model karmin that was black and red. Really sharp.

texases

If it wasn't for one of the guys at work, I'd see nuttin' here in Dallas. He has a '61 Beetle he bought used in '62, and a '62 Karmann Ghia he just finished restoring, looks pretty nice! Other than that, older cars are extremely rare, aside from shows.

fintail

Speaking of VWs....just got back from a walk to the post office, maybe 20 min round trip, and saw two different early (round light) Rabbits, both silver. Weird coincidence. One was very stock and looked clean, the other was modded with an internal roll cage.

Also saw a nice looking 560SEL, white and light grey 2-tone, factory chrome wheels.

fintail

Went for another walk, in a crazy coincidence to an earlier mention saw an excellent looking early 500E, a C43 AMG, a mid 80s 535i, and a 90s Viper coupe with a poorly maintained black paint finish.

explorerx4

good vibe yesterday
video with background music
not so good today

kplacer

The "Mini Cuda" stalled out at $1525, but the owner has relisted it. Just for context, it has been listed continuously on Kijiji for the last few months... at $11,700 most recently.

Good luck.

fintail

Gotta be an extra digit somewhere in that price...

Out for a walk today on a warm and somewhat muggy day...saw a W124 Cabrio, a Vanagon Syncro, 65 Lincoln Continental convertible with wide whites and the hood up - in a parking lot luckily, and an ~80s Alfa spider.

Mr_Shiftright

'56 (57?) Porsche Speedster---yeah, it was real. Looked pretty good--I knelt down to check underneath, didn't look so good. Nothing $100K couldn't fix right up.

Mr_Shiftright

Here's a tasty future classic (perhaps). Since 2001, it has undergone about $125K in depreciation (considering the options put on it), and yet is new enough and low miled so as to have plenty of life left in it.

http://www.ferraris-online.com/pages/carintro.php?reqcardir=FE-550B-124377

At $125,000 depreciation with only 12,000 miles on it, that was a rather expensive journey into Ferrari-Land for someone--about $10 a mile.

For $125K you could probably live really well in some countries for ten years.

toomanyfumes

Spotted a new Bugatti in downtown Chicago yesterday. Not sure if it was a Veyron or Grand Sport, first I've ever seen other than pictures. Shoot, I was nervous driving my Outlander in Chicago traffic, nevermind something like that.

Mr_Shiftright

Well at 200 mph+ you only have to worry about what's in front of you, not behind you. I don't think that even a helicopter could catch you. Unfortunately, police radios do travel at the speed of sounds, so, alas......

fintail

I'm sure it's in gorgeous condition and has to be a rarity, but 190K can by an already classic/vintage Ferrari too, in many cases with money to spare. If I was looking for a Ferrari, I might go the older route. The modern car probably still has a little depreciating to do, too.

From the same seller...looks pretty nice, and a lot more affordable than a Berlinetta Lusso/500/or even a Daytona

The Veyron is one car I have yet to see on the road.

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah but the older Ferraris are so fussy and money-hungry. The maintenance and repairs never end, and they aren't much fun to drive on everyday side streets. A modern Ferrari will sit in traffic all day if it has to and not complain, and the AC works, AND it will still go 190+ mph.

Mr_Shiftright

Hey Fin here's your parts car:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/1881381565.html

lemko

...white 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle two-door hardtop on Rhawn Street turning right onto Oxford in NE Philly.

fintail

Is at 10 year old model as competent as the brand new ones?

That fintail could be worth dealing with, maybe an engnie swap would cure it, a franken car project if it is as otherwise nice as the owner claims. In Europe, if it really is that sound and free from rot, there'd be people fighting for it (maybe literally) at that price.

michaellno

The Veyron is one car I have yet to see on the road.

+1 on that statement, though it may change as Carmelo Anthony (Nuggets' forward) bought himself a Veyron as a birthday present not too long ago.

Of course, he's got a 3 yr / $65M contract extension waiting for him to sign, so I don't think the $1.5-2M price of the car will hurt his bank account.

Mr_Shiftright

Maybe, but it's 6000 miles from Europe unfortunately...and they aren't buying and shipping project cars from America at the moment anyway.

A year 2000 Ferrari? Oh yeah, they are very modern cars.

fintail

With the sputtering dollar, they might do it again :shades: :sick:

Nearly 200K seems steep for that 10 year old model...it's just tough for me to handle when I can get a newer one or a couple older ones for the same money.

From the same seller, I've never minded these cars...seem like a bit of bang for the buck now

Mr_Shiftright

Pretty special:

http://www.hymanltd.com/search/Details.asp?stockno=4181&recordCount=0

fintail

For that money it better be wonderful...I know its a cool and historic car...but wow.

Today's sightings: yellow VehiCross, and a dark green or black 356...wasn't very close to it so I couldn't get any details, but it had pre-1963 plates and gold badging.

kyfdx

When I was in Chicago, last summer, the downtown Bentley dealer had a Bugatti on their showroom floor...

fintail

Odd one today...Datsun 810 wagon, maybe 77-78. Silver, just like one my uncle had when I was a kid. And it was pristine. Every inch of it looked like new. Someone obviously restored it. Crazy.

imidazol97

Make that an unusual Mercedes for this area.

It was a 220SE. It was 2-door and had an unusual flair to the C-pillar. The trunk was long, disproportionate to the car. The rear fenders were smoothly rolled over with no signs of a ridge or fin. The car was a beautiful, aged off white.

No picture because my wife and I had gone to the local posh area for her to visit Chico's. The car rolled by on the service street and parked at a Starbucks. I was hoping the nonstandard Ohio plates were ones that told the year but it turned out they were Florida plates for antique cars.

I have not seen a car like this before. I've tried searching the web for pictures to determine the year.

Is there somewhere the just stores pictures to scan to try to find this car's age?

andre1969

Did it look like this?

andys120

I saw a well-preserved TR-3A pull into a Starbucks with very good BRG paint, and chrome (including chromed wires). The seats were covered w towels probably indicating that the leather was not as good as the rest of the car.

Also parked with a For Sale sign I saw a '69 ish MG-B roadster, dark blue with Minilite-look alloy (Panasport?) wheels, good body, chrome, top and paint.

wevk

My wife snapped this beauty on the way to dinner yesterday, The hood was tastefully adorned with steer-horns.(Houston) The trunk lid was rigged to open remotely and equipped with a mirror which reflected the image of huge bass speakers which emited a thunderous blast upon opening

http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd244/WEVK/caddy/?action=view&current=DSC0771- 4.jpg