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

omarman

It is kind of jarring when old school shows up among the new stuff. Late this afternoon headed toward Westerville, I spotted a really sharp 1957 Chevy station wagon in the gold/beige two tone color. As I craned my neck to look at all the gleaming re-chromed trim, one of those newer ('07-'09) Shelby Mustang GT500s swooped in close behind, white with blue stripes. Nice car too. Together they looked cool but from 2 different planets!

lemko

...went to the store later and saw a rough-looking black 1965 Pontiac LeMans two-door hardtop with a 6-cylinder as denoted on the badges at the leading edges of the front fenders.

texases

I was in LA picking up my son from college, he suggested we go to the Petersen Museum. Smart kid! I hadn't been there, it's a great collection with lots of 40s-50s-60s-70s US and European, worth seeing if you're in LA some time.

oldbearcat

That's funny. Anyway - I spent this afternoon working on a red 48 Fleetmaster, and, getting her cleaned up. She was covered with dust from sitting all winter.

Regards:
Oldbearcat

kyfdx

It's open house week for local builders, so we went to see one close by, that an architect designed for herself.... Contemporary and LEED certified... pretty cool... She and her family have already moved in..

So, of course, I check out the garage, and on the other side of the Range Rover, I see a turqouise color peeking out...

Nash Metropolitan... neat.. and tiny..

ab348

I find it ironic that a designed/owner of a LEED certified house drives a Range Rover. Talk about champagne environmentalists...

Mr_Shiftright

Well at least the owner is being punished for owning one....BY owning one.

kyfdx

Well.. .she has a husband... Haven't any of you ever been married?

Anyway, it's a really cool house... Got some great ideas for cable railing and PVC decking for our porch...

andre1969

Well.. .she has a husband... Haven't any of you ever been married?

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. And the divorce, and the 5 year CCCS plan to recover from the debt she left me in. :P

I'll never forget when her mother, in an attempt to help her out, went to a lawyer and tried to make me sound rich by saying "He has FIVE cars and my daughter doesn't have ANYTHING!" Lawyer got all excited and everything. Alas, she neglected to say that those five cars were:
1) a '57 DeSoto that was in my grandmother's name at the time for insurance purposes;
2) a '67 Catalina convertible that needed a new top, a lot of work, and tended to overheat;
3) a '69 Bonneville 4-door hardtop that was dead in my grandmother's yard;
4) a '68 Dart with over 300,000 miles;
and 5) an '88 LeBaron coupe that I bought from my uncle for $2,000 for the wife to drive, and was planning on letting her have, anyway!

Needless to say, once the lawyer found out all the details, and the fact I probably had a negative net worth at the time, he politely declined to take the case! :shades:

Mr_Shiftright

So when (not if) the Range Rover breaks down, she's never in it? Oh, you mean she forces HIM to drive it...well okay, that sounds like a marriage deal. :P

But you know, we can't judge a person's creations based on everything ELSE they do in their life...if we did, we'd never have a favorite songwriter or author or athlete.

I like Nash Metros, as long as we remember to drive them very very carefully.

fintail

I see those types around here too. One car in the garage a Prius, the other a Rover/Cayenne/X5 etc. They don't grasp how ridiculous it looks.

Oddball sighting today, a black and yellow 2CV heading north on 405 in the carpool lane, going faster than the dopes going under the limit in the other lanes.

mediapieuk

Hi there, I found your posting about the Knebworth classic car show. You mention an AMC Pacer being on display. This a real long hot but I am trying to locate one for a photo shoot. Do you happen to have any further details on the owner. I have a photo I hope the Pacer in question, cream and red? Do you know where the owner came from, first name etc, whether he takes it to other shows? I know it was 3 years ago but you are the only strong lead I have. Hope you can help. Kind regards Chris

imidazol97

I would suggest trying the owners clubs. I realize this one has a pond between your location and the cars... Is there an owners group closer to you?
http://www.pacerfarm.org/pacers.htm

lemko

...very nice white 1986-91 Mercedes W126 leaving work yesterday.

oregonboy

While searching to confirm that redline on my 1st car was 6500 rpm, I stumbled across this astounding collection of instrument cluster photos:

instruments :surprise:

fintail

Of all the things to preserve

Lemko-mobile

Pimpy

Great structural rigidity no doubt

Aptly named self torture device

Early invader

Big red

Failed project

Quick bankruptcy

Can't believe my mother drove something like this once

Something to be driven in

Neat pair

Be unique

You want that much for something with sketchy looking history, and the guns aren't included?

Early slushbox

Early "V8"

Good name, good bids for a project car

Soviet Packard with claimed provenance

fintail

They left out the fintail, one of the weirdest ever.

Speaking of lemko's W126, I still see those daily out here. They'll never make em like that again.

ab348

That Lemko-mobile, the '78 Park Avenue, is a pretty rare color combo. Didn't see too many in silver and black back then. The black interior is pretty unusual too. My '79 had that exact same velvet-upholstered loose-pillow ("Shar-Pei" style) interior, but in baby blue. I have to say the interior of mine was in much better condition than this one appears to be. Still, the mileage is very low which perhaps explains why it is up to $3500.

That '50 Packard wagon and matching boat is too cool for words. Just lovely.

The '41 Olds is a very nice example as well. I always liked the 2-door fastback body they offered.

tjc78

That Lemko-mobile, the '78 Park Avenue, is a pretty rare color combo

Yeah, who would have thought 30 years later almost every other car is silver/black. I myself am fed up with the lack of color options. Does every car have to offer only beige, black or grey interiors? I wouldn't mind at least a nice blue (looks great with a white car IMHO).

fintail

My mother had a white 2nd gen Taurus with a blue interior. Not so great looking, I called it the government fleet car. :shades:

In the 60s, a white MB SL with blue interior was very chic especially around 1964-66 or so.

Mr_Shiftright

To say nothing of plaids, (MB 300SL) corduroy (Karman Ghia), etc. The Germans just kicked their heels up back in the 50s and 60s (instead of clicking them together I mean).

For gorgeous interiors, you just can't beat 50s American cars.

ab348

The lack of interior color choice is a pet peeve of mine and has been for some time. When the Detroit 3 realized that imports were selling well despite usually having no color choice inside (most were gray although some did offer a muted red or blue in the 80s) they cut back as well. The last incarnations of Detroit red or blue interiors were so dark they might as well have been dark gray since they had little color vibrancy.

While silver wasn't all that popular a color choice in the 60s and 70s, when you did order it you could pair it with some color inside - bright red was often selected, but it looked good with blue too and Ford offered a very nice light gray knit cloth for a time that was almost silver in tone. Of course when you offer a blue or green or red interior you are looking at building very small numbers and the bean counters put the kibosh on that. My silver Allure has light titanium gray leather inside which I prefer to black, but it would have been even better if I could have had another choice or two. I am surprised that some makes now seem to be offering a brownish interior (I think of the Malibu's "brick" interior and I think Nissan also did that) since that seems very limited in appeal. I also used to love the white interiors they offered in the late 60s/early 70s on many Detroit cars, which when they get offered now really seem to be executed in a very heavy-handed manner and are not right in terms of either the tone or the details.

andre1969

Does every car have to offer only beige, black or grey interiors? I wouldn't mind at least a nice blue (looks great with a white car IMHO).

When I bought my 2000 Intrepid, I was actually pleased that it had a charcoal interior, which seemed somewhat rare at the time. For the most part, it seemed like interiors were either gray, beige, or sort of mixed together for a putty color (although they'd call it something nicer sounding). The ceiling and roof pillar trim was a light gray, so it gave it a bit of a two-tone effect, and helped lighten up the interior.

I think the most recent car I've seen with a blue interior was my buddy's 1995 Grand Marquis GS. It was dark blue, with a matching cloth interior. I thought it looked pretty nice. His 2004 Crown Vic LX is a color that I'd call not-quite silver, not quite gray, and with a grayish interior. Even though it has leather, it just seems like it was cheapened, compared to the '95 Grand Marquis.

After having a silver Intrepid, a silver Gran Fury, a silver and gray Monte Carlo, and a gray LeSabre, I think I'm done with gray/silver. Probably wouldn't do white in a modern car, either, unless it was a pearly color. On older cars, where you could get a contrasting roof/interior color, it could be sharp though. My '68 Dart was white, and the interior was originally burgundy with white vinyl seats/door panels. Must have looked pretty sharp back in the day, but by the time I got ahold of it, the interior was pretty trashed. I put the black vinyl interior from a totaled '69 Dart GT that I had held onto for parts.

tjc78

. Probably wouldn't do white in a modern car, either, unless it was a pearly color. On older cars, where you could get a contrasting roof/interior color, it could be sharp though.

My 89 Town Car was white/blue cloth top with blue interior. IMO it was one of the better looking combos for a boat like that. The blue top really set it off.

andre1969

I like that '76 Dodge Royal Monaco. Normally I don't like red once cars get too big, but I think it looks good on that car, probably because it's a deeper, richer red. For something that has "Royal" in its name, the interior doesn't look all the fancy, but IIRC, this year "Royal Monaco" was roughly an Impala or Catalina trim level car. Just plain "Monaco" was cheaper, probably more of a Bel Air or Biscayne trim level (which, IMO, a step-up car like a Dodge shouldn't have, but these were popular with the police and taxi fleets), and then Royal Monaco Brougham was around the Caprice/Bonneville price point.

ab348

Wasn't "Monaco" the intermediate-size former Coronet? Royal Monaco was the big car, and Royal Monaco Brougham was the Caprice/LTD equivalent trim level, wasn't it?

andre1969

Dodge made that change in 1977, rebadging the Coronet as a Monaco, and making all the big ones "Royal Monaco". Plymouth was a bit ahead of the curve, doing that for 1975, when they renamed the Satellite/Sebring as "The New, Small Fury", and calling all the big 'uns "Gran Fury".

With the big '77 Dodge, they went down to two trim levels: Royal Monaco and Royal Monaco Brougham. The Royal Monaco was priced a bit below the downsized Impala, around 4700-4800, while the Brougham was a few hundred $ more, about level with an Impala.

uplanderguy

That Monaco is a nice car. I always say this, but it has so many styling cues from a '71 or '72 full-size Chevy I think....the peaked front fenders, the huge curved windshield with thin pillars covered entirely in chrome, the shape of the rear door glass and door. I graduated high school in 1976 and it would be fun to take such a car to our reunion in three months.

ab348

$4100 and it could have been yours.

I do remember that generation of big Mopars as being very GM-like, especially the Plymouths.

andre1969

Heck, if I had seen that thing earlier, I would've been tempted to bid on it! My favorite with these big brutes though, is the '74-75 Plymouth models with the quad headlights. I believe that was all Furys in '74, and then in '75, it was all Gran Furys except for the Brougham, which had the single round headlight and vertical turn signal, and looked a bit clumsy. Then in '76-77, all Gran Furys went to that look.

And yeah, I always thought those cars had a strong GM resemblance...I always saw a lot of Buick in them.

fintail

Fun thought, a period car to take to high school graduation. I graduated nearly 20 years after you, so there's not a lot of coolness from that era. Maybe show up in a final run W124 E500 or a 928GTS. Even most Ferraris of that time are kind of boring. I suppose a Bentley Continental or a Diablo or a McLaren F1 would be worthy.

ab348

Here's one for you. Earlier in the week this had a price of $39K, though that seems to have been removed:

1997 Bentley Turbo R

No idea if $39K for one of these is good, bad or indifferent.

fintail

It's like the movie "The Money Pit" in vehicle form. Condition looks nice and it's a later model which is a good thing. Price is probably indifferent.

Mr_Shiftright

No, that's way too high. High retail would be in the low $30s, smart money says $27,500 is real world. It's a long wheelbase car, and that's just a big lump of a car for most people to drive. Maybe a livery service would want it for weddings or some such, if they could afford the shocking, flesh-peeling, eyes-bulging, internal-bleeding maintenance and repair costs.

Neat car in its own way...I'd pay $17,500 wholesale for it.

omarman

Went for a walk with a neighbor just in time to spot an obscure, rarely seen red Honda CR-X. :P
It was one of the second gen, late 80s versions and I look every time. For 1988-89 the EPA rated the CR-X HF at 50 miles per gallon in the city, 56 on the highway. Stickered under $9K then and probably equal to about $16K now. That's about the base price of a new Honda Civic today with more room+safety, but less fun or mpg than the old CR-X.

lemko

Spotted a beautiful white 1957 Oldsmobile Super 88 two-door hardtop travelling east on Rhawn Street near Halstead and a drop-dead gorgeous dark blue metallic 1967 Pontiac GTO at the Sunoco at Rhawn and Verree in NE Philly. Also, spottede was a silver 1966 Buick Riviera travelling west on Rte 63 outside of Bethayres, PA.

fintail

Today I saw a TR-6, 2x MB C140 - one a V12, a highline muscle car style ca. 71 Torino GT, black, kind of Max Max-ish, a couple of semi-donk 70s boats at a repair shop - but I forget what they were, and this old beast



Now with a cable hanging below it

fintail

Oh yeah, I also saw one of these today:



Same colors. It was unbelievable, looked fairly immaculate, almost like someone restored it.

ab348

I always marveled at how those early Winnebagos were built with not just a disregard for aerodynamics, but seemingly thumbed their nose at them and did the exact opposite of what principles would suggest.

lemko

At least the GMC Motorhome showed some regard to aerodynamics. A friend of my Dad had one of these a long time ago. I remember seeing it for the first time when I was around ten or eleven and being quite impressed.

andre1969

those GMC's look modern even by today's standards. If anything, modern motorhomes have pretty much reverted back to that old "toaster on wheels" look.

Another motorhome that was pretty sleekly styled was the old Dodge/Travco, which I think first came out in 1963. However, they have sort of a jumbo Twinkie on wheels look, and I don't think they've aged as gracefully. They just scream '60's, or maybe a '60's idea of what the future might have looked like. In contrast, they could just put some composite headlights on that GMC, integrate the bumpers a bit better, and it would look like a brand-new product.

fintail

I'm amazed that any have survived in roadworthy condition, not to mention excellent looking condition. I doubt build quality was amazingly high, and they tend to be stored outside.

Those GMC motorhomes are pretty cool, way ahead of their time, and they are minor collectibles now.

uplanderguy

Just last week I was inside a GMC Motorhome at the RV Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN, and saw another one at a campground near South Bend I was at with longtime friends of mine there. The panoramic view from the driver's seat is amazing. They are based on the Olds Toronado underpinnings (front-wheel drive). At the RV Hall of Fame they also had a Winnebago quite like the one in the photo above.

I took my friends to the Studebaker National Museum and also to Studebaker International's South Bend (parts) location. Their stash of NOS parts, including vast amounts of sheetmetal, is utterly amazing.

It was also a national meet of Antique Truck owners at the South Bend fairgrounds. Lots of big trucks of all makes, but too wet to walk around and look...we did drive through though, on Wed. afternoon (show officially started Thursday).

Mr_Shiftright

shocking gas-hogs, though. At today's prices, I'd guess it would cost you about .60 a mile to drive one. So to drive from San Francisco to San Diego would cost you about $325. I guess if you factor in that you aren't paying motel bills, it's not too bad--although I wouldn't want to drive one of those things on the Pacific Coast Highway! And Route 5 is just what Hell will look like when they pave it.

fintail

Ah Elkhart, IN...when I was a kid a friend of the family had a decked out conversion van as was trendy in the late 80s, and it was an Econoline based "Country Cruiser", made in Elkhart, IN - I remember the spare tire cover said so.

A vintage motorhome would be cool in a way as survival rates are low but everyone remembers them - especially a powered motorhome like the GMC or one of those freaky Winnebagos, and not just an Airstream which survived in much greater numbers.

Mr_Shiftright

You'd have to get used to the interior aesthetics, though. Are you okay with orange print upholstery and brown shag carpeting?

And they do rattle like the bats of hell when you're driving.

fintail

Oh, I wouldn't want to own or drive one, but it could be fun or funny to look at. There's a butt for every seat, so I bet somewhere, someone is obsessive about those old beasts.

jrosasmc

I thought I might share this story with you - while at a car show in Maryland the other day I spotted a Mercedes Fintail that looked like yours. It was in decent, but not concours, shape. Nevertheless I went over to the owner (a nice elderly gentleman) and inquired about the car. It is a 1965 220SEb, and he is the original owner - he bought the car brand-new in 1965 and has been its caretaker ever since. I mean, how often do you find a one-owner Fintail, let alone one in unrestored, survivor condition? I thought that was very cool! He answered all my questions about the car and noted that he has only used genuine M-B parts in its entire 46-year life. It has done 490,000 miles and the engine and transmission have never been rebuilt.

And I have a few questions for you about the Fintail: 1) What does the letter 'b' mean at the end of the model designation? And 2) If you know the mileage of your own car, is it the original mileage, and is the odometer still working? The old guy said he's had his odometer replaced twice.

Mr_Shiftright

490K and never rebuilt? Yeah, sure.

fintail

The (b) means it is the second series to use the numeric designation, the letters don't actually appear on the car. A 220SE could also be an older ponton car, so the (b) just differentiates it.

Fintails only record mileage up to 5 digits, so keeping track can be hard on cars without records. My car is at about 250K from what I can tell - there is a record gap of something like 13 years between about 1977-1990, but the wear on the pedals tells me the car was driven a bit, I can't believe the car was driven zero during those years. 490K is a huge mileage and I have to smirk at the "never rebuilt" claims too. Of course it could just be a play on words - never fully rebuilt, but overhauled a few times. It's cool that it is a one owner car with known history and was at a show, very slowly but surely the cars have attracted just a little interest. I had mine out yesterday and it behaved as well as anyone could hope.