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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)
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Frances Bavier actually drove her own Algonquin Green '66 Studebaker Daytona Sports Sedan (2-door) on Mayberry RFD. I remember seeing it once...I wish I could find that show on TV Land, but no such luck.
That car was sold after her death for $20K (it was about a $2K car) to a couple guys who would display it as "Aunt Bee's Studebaker" in county fairs, etc.
"Aunt Bee" actually joined the Studebaker Drivers' Club in 1972--she is listed in Siler City, NC (where Bavier retired) in that year's S.D.C. club roster!
Supposedly she told a N.C. Stude driver she had met at the time, that she had always had Studebakers and wept at the news of their closing. A guy on the S.D.C. forum says he worked at Frost and French Studebaker in L.A. and she'd bring in her '62 Lark for service.
So I guess that wasn't her black '55 Ford Sunliner in the Griffith show episodes she used to be seen driving!
http://bringatrailer.com/2010/12/01/brumos-museum-piece-pristine-1978-porsche-92- 4/
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260695581712&viewi- tem=
Fintail, I included the second ad because I thought it'd be a great idea to show you an immaculate diesel fintail, which is hardly seen these days. As the last year of that series, it still looks pretty modern doesn't it?
Also, what is the model number designation of the G-Class suv series? I used to know it but I can't rememnber it for the life of me. I'm surprised they're still marketing them here in the U.S. (albeit at very high prices)
Man, I'd love to have one of these cars. Did Ford ever road test a prototype?
This car had it all-uber-cool styling, gullwing doors, and no deed for a differential hear-though I imagine the handling would be a tad iffy!
I really miss the 1960's period-American car companies were so willing to experiemnt and float new ideas-whereas today, cars (American, Euro, Japanese) all look like melted ice cubes.
Shifty-and additional info on the Gyron would be sincerely appreciated!
The G we have received is the W463. Early model numbers are lower in W46x.
That 924 has to be the best in existence. I've read they are pretty crappy, but that's not a lot of money for the best of something of that brand, certainly cheaper than restoring one.
First I looked at this old Toyota pickup, I thought the condition looked pretty good and the wheels suit it well
Then I look at this old Buick...with strangely enough, what looks like the same wheels
Weird
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
I agree about 50s and 60s styling---while some of it was great, some grotesque, some silly, it always had "vitality", and even humor. Today's cars can be quite nice but they are generally humorless. We seem to have swung from one extreme to the other----from styling that actually impeded function (overhang, weight, lack of competence in handling and braking, etc) to the other extreme of a somewhat sterile, gadgety engineer's wet dream.
If I had a classic I was concerned with keeping stock-looking I would install a radio in the glove box and put speakers in stock locations. With remote controls and repeater devices you would probably never even have to open the glove box to use it. (except to change CDs or plug in your Ipod)
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
I don't think I would want a G Wagen - too big and heavy for me. Although I wouldn't mind having an old Euro-spec one , diesel 2-door with a removeable top.
I know that's an unfair edit of your post, but you were talking about a 70s 924 so I think we're even on the "unfair" scale! Haha!
If you want to buy a Porsche for keeps then the "cheapest" one over the long run will probably always be a 911. Miled up but well-kept and maintained it will endure.
But if you just want to get in and buy a "cheap" Porsche then see the 70s 924 and the 80s 924/944. :lemon: Those will also be the most ratted out and neglected Porsches on CL too. What's the best 197x Porsche 924 in the world worth? That's like "what's the best Billy Beer collection worth?" :sick: I'll pass on both.
The late 80s 924S was built with the running gear of a 944 at a cheaper price to buy - but not cheaper to repair!
So find a decent one like maybe this one and enjoy until it begins to collect needs. And it will need things. Sell the bones and get out before you join a driving club and wind up buried under your hobby car just like the new friends you've made!
Oh well. It's only $2K. To get started that is.
I remember reading somewhere that those Buicks (or maybe it was the Olds Delta 88) actually got about 1 mpg better in testing with the 455 versus the 350. I thought I even saw it in some company memo or advertisement! Doesn't seem like that would be possible though. Now I know in some instances, particularly Mopars in the late 70's and early 80's, you were usually better off getting a 318 than a slant six, but then I think part of the problem there was that the slant six did not take well at all to emission controls, and the cars it were going in were so heavy that it really had to struggle. For instance, a ~3400 lb Mirada might be somewhat tolerable with a 120-130 hp 318 that was still putting out around 245-250 ft-lb of torque, but an 85-90 slant six would work its butt off with the maybe 160-165 ft-lb it was putting out. Plus, to move all that weight, they had to force the slant six to do something it didn't like to do...rev. I think they tended to put 2.94:1 axles in the slant six cars by that time, while the 318's were getting loafy 2.26:1's (but with slightly different first and second gear ratios to compensate).
I'd think a 350 would still be enough engine to move a '75 LeSabre or Delta without too much trouble though. I mean, it wouldn't be a rocket, even if Olds was calling their engine that! But it wouldn't struggle, I wouldn't think.
Mid to late 50's had the most grotesque designs. Look at huge tail fins, some straight up, some sideways, two-tone paint jobs, wrap around front windsheilds, garish senseless chrome splashed on sides, gobbed up in grilles.
Designers came to their senses in the early 60's, especially at GM. Look at garish 58 full size Olds and Buicks, 59 Cads, late 50's Pontiacs also 57-58 Chrysler, Desoto and compare to clean lines of say 62 Pontiac Grand Prix (based on Catalina) or 63 Grand Prix in dark blue or 64 GTO. Also clean clasic lines were the 63-65 Buick Rivieras. And Ford had some nice designs as others have pointed out with 65 Ford Galaxy Hardtop. Of course, Ford had great design with 67-68 Mustang GT fastback, and brought that design back in 2005-2011. These Mustangs have signature timeless design.
Front engine Porsches (944, 924, 928) tend to be even more expensive to keep running...
An air-cooled 911 can be relatively expensive to acquire, but is probably the cheapest way to go, considering maintenance, depreciation, reliabilty and driving enjoyment... The 944 Turbo is a great handling car that would cost a fortune to keep in running order... You can buy 924s cheap, and also spend a fortune..
Of course, I have no idea how much it costs to keep an old Ford or Chevy going..... :surprise:
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Check out the length of this rear quarter panel
This sweetie's for Andre
This one is talking to me
An even bigger rear quarter panel
This 50's Mopar or this one?
How many of these are left?
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2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
That '65 Chrysler is pretty sweet, too. I think 1965 was a magical year in general...I don't think there's ever been a time since then that there was so much, so new, all in one year. And just about everything looked good that year, although I'm not so crazy about the '65 Mercury, and I gotta admit the '65 Dart/Valiant were kinda goofy. I wonder if we'll ever see another year like that again?
It's interesting, comparing that '55 DeSoto to the '55 Imperial. They both used the same roof, windows, doors, etc, but you can really see how they stretched out the wheelbase, moving the rear axle out beyond the C-pillar, to make it look much more important. The '55 Imperial was only a 4" stretch though...130" versus 126" for Chrysler/DeSoto, but it really shows up in those pics. The '56 Imperial was stretched even more, to a 133" wb.
Porsche 924 -- "VW performance at Porsche prices"
Rebuilds for a 911 are now at $12,000. Fortunately, unless you buy a rat, you won't need one.
Repair and maintenance on a Porsche versus an American car depend on a) what Porsche, and b) what part. If it's a 928, it's usually 3 to 4 X the cost of repairs on an American car. (clutch $2200; radiator $1200, water pump $1600, engine rebuild $12K--$15K)
If it's a 911, it's usually no more than double. Kinda depends on what breaks and how hard it is to dig it out of there.
If it's a 924, I wouldn't even bother fixing it, personally.
A 944 can be expensive to maintain, about the same as a 911, but it is far more maintenance-intensive than a 911.
A 914 has a VW motor, so that's good in terms of repairs, and lots of VW sourced parts, but there's also a fair amount of Porsche stuff in there, like the transmission. A solid, clean 914 wouldn't be too bad to keep running.
The 911 is really the Porsche to own if you want the least risk and the most fun in combination.
And I have always liked this in white (all except the fender skirts).
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Still, i'd drive that thing around. It is what we might call euphemistically "period attractive".
The Olds? I don't think so, personally. Think of what Photoshop could do just to the rear end portion
Design is always a personal thing. I didn't think all the mid to late 50's cars were garish (although some were). I think 57 was a pretty good year for Ford and Chrysler looks wise.
As for the 60's, cars did get cleaner and simpler in design, and Bill Mitchell at GM was always one of my favorite designers. The only possible drawback to that period is that some of the cars got a little bit "look alike" again. One thing you can say for mid to late 50's is that each car was pretty easily identified!
If I had to pick my favorite 60's car, I might actually go for the original 66 Olds Toronado. Very unique and interesting vehicle for its time. Although its hard not to pick a 63 Sting Ray.
Mayberry was a nice show, but too much Ford focus. If you want to watch a TV show with lots of old cars, go to Hulu and watch Broderick Crawford and Highway Patrol. The cop cars (done in a California Hwy Patrol motiff) tended to be Buick, Dodge or Mercury coupes, but most of the filming was done around southern California so you really see an assortment of vehicles.
When I say "garish" I'm really thinking 1958-59 and the mid 50s Hudsons, Ramblers, etc. They seem to violate every principle of design.
The "art" of design is not entirely subjective. There are some basic rules you are supposed to learn in design school, or else there wouldn't be design schools. Some things just "work" time and time again, regardless of period and even culture.
Nobody builds doorways that are triangular for instance. (except the Krell). Arches and rectangles, since the dawn of time. Things like that.
I like the '60 Olds, too. Minus the skirts, of course.
One design feature I always notice is where the base of the C-pillar falls, in relation to the rear axle. If the c-pillar is too far back, it makes the car look goofy, but if it's too far forward, it just makes the car look too exaggerated, like it's trying too hard to be big.
'65 was a year of a lot of automotive styling changes. In my mind I always put a big break between '64 and '65 for car styling...like the '64 was still an extension of the late '50's, and the '65 styling was the start of the cleaner look that went into the '70's. I tend to do the same with pop music--early '60's pop was still a lot like '50's pop, until the Beatles changed everything.
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The real decade doesn't seem to start until a few years into the calendar decade, for music, car design, style or fashion in general.
STYLING: 1955 was a watershed year in American automotive styling history, no doubt about it. Really, the '55 Chevy, it could be argued, was the first modern car after WW II *in totality*----previous cars had *parts* of modernity, but the '55 Chev sort of put it all together in one package---it was fast, had a modern engine, was relatively lightweight, good looking, functional, clean, very affordable, full of colors, cheap to run, cheap to fix, offered lots of options, and appealed to families and hot-rodders alike, and crossed all income ranges. I mean, what's not to like here?
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I remember as a kid that some of the teenagers and young adults (at least in the Chicago area) would drop those big Chevy engines in their cars and then remove the 409 (or other V8) emblem and replace it with a 6 emblem to fake out the competition when looking to drag race. Like you couldn't tell from the sound it wasn't a six, but heck it was just all a part of growing up in that era.