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

seminole_kev

actually those are fairly rare (not valuable mind you, but rare). I don't think they made many of those at all. Didn't the Monte Carlo also have that window as an option?

Mr_Shiftright

old Mazda trucks: you mean the old B2000? So-so trucks. They had a diabolical carburetor. If that goes goofy you might as well ditch the truck for all the luck you'll have fixing it. I guess you could buy a new carb for a gazillion dollars. Toyota of that era mo' bettah.

Lessee...today I saw....a Benz 3.5 coupe, listing dangerously.....a Mitsubishi "Tredia" whatever that is, about boneyard-ready.....a VW convertible, circa 1970, that was four different colors, none of them pretty, about boneyard-ready.... a beautiful medium blue 1950 Chevy 3100 pickup, totally restored to the max and then some. All out there chugging along.

jrosasmc

Yes, those, but I also meant the B2200s from 1987-93. My dad's '87 had a real nasty carb.

jrosasmc

Oh yes, one more note: The '93 B2200 was the last passenger vehicle ever sold in the U.S. with a carburetor when everything else had switched to FI. What do you make of that?

fintail

They made a Monte like that yes, the "Aerocoupe"

I saw a pair of Saab 9000s, one right behind the other, at a stop light today. Also a Diahatsu Charade.

lancerfixer

The "last carb" dubious honor went actually to the '94 base model Isuzu P'up. Dad's 2 Mazdas, a B2000 and then a B2200, never had a hint of carb trouble, but maybe that's because the bodies rusted away and they failed MA state inspection first.

Mr_Shiftright

I think what I meant wasn't that the Mazda carbs were bad, but that IF they went bad, God help you.

As strange as it sounds to my own ear to say this, the Charade was a pretty good little car.

fintail

There's also a Rocky that shows up at the parking lot at work now and then. That came abour 10 years too soon.

Horrible name for a car...'Charade'

lancerfixer

I'll take "Things One Never Expects Shifty to Say" for $1,000, Alex.

Mr_Shiftright

I always respect a car I sincerely tried to kill and couldn't. It's a kind of "cockroach-respect" I inherited I suppose from living in Manhattan.

ghulet

...that was a bit shocking, though for as few Charades as were sold (and I don't think they were ever even sold here in Illinois), I do still see them occasionally, which is a lot to expect of ANY economy car built, what, 15-18 years ago?

fintail

I think they date from around 1990

Kinda obscure, here's the most beautiful 6.3, love the color : http://www.dhc.net/~pmhack/mercedes/6-3693.htm

And a gorgeous 6.9 in the worst color combination : http://www.dhc.net/~pmhack/mercedes/6-977.htm

lancerfixer

I owned a '77 Corolla like that, Shifty. It was cheaper than buying winter tires for the Integra I had at the time and it simply would. not. die. (had 3xx,xxx on it when I bought it. Sold it to another airman when I left the service in '97 for what I paid for it...$50. Last I heard, as of a year ago, it was still being passed from airman to airman who needed cheap wheels, always still for $50.)

andre1969

the Grand Prix aerocoupe actually is pretty rare, at least, in comparison to the Monte SS Aerocoupe. The Grand Prix version was called the 2+2, and was only offered in 1986. They made 1,118 of them. The Monte SS Aerocoupe was offered in '86, when they only made 200, and again in '87, when they made 6,052.

The GP 2+2 was somewhat of a ripoff, though. The Monte SS at least had a hopped-up 305 putting out 180 hp. The GP 2+2 just had the stock 305-4bbl, that put out 150 hp in intermediates and 165 in full-sizers. Yet for some reason, the SS only started off at $14K, whereas the 2+2 was $18K! Now maybe that's a misprint, but if it's not, it's definitely a ripoff! Heck, back then even the Grand National, one of the baddest cars around at the time, only started around $14K! That's about what the Cutlass 4-4-2 started off at, as well.

Mr_Shiftright

6.3 will put you in the poor house pronto. I had use of a black one for a few weeks. It was deadly fast for its time but of course nowadays not such a big deal.

andre1969

does anybody know what was the last car to have a carb? (not truck). I know the Olds 307, which was last used in 1990 in the Caddy Brougham and Chevy Caprice/Olds Custom Cruiser/Buick Estate wagons, had a 4-bbl. And the Mopar Gran Fury/Diplomat/5th Ave used a 318-2bbl in civilian applications, and a 318-4bbl in police pursuits. Did any cars use carbs after that?

andre1969

but in "450SEL" what does the "450" stand for, if it has a 6.9 liter engine? A few years back, one of my co-workers had a 1973 or '74 450SL, and that's what it had in it, a 4.5 V-8.

fintail

The 6.9 was a limited run engine on the largest S-class of the time, which was the 450SEL. There have been a few MB which did not adhere to the badge designations...like a 280SE 3.5/4.5 and such. The 450 on that car really doesn't mean anything.

I know a 6.3 has endless systems that can fail, but there has to be a well sorted one out there. That one in that link looks perfect.

I bet the last carb'd car was a GM product

seminole_kev

Man was that a great car. Had some rust problems late in life (around late 1990s is the last time I saw it before we sold it outside the family), but that thing ran forever and was solid. 3spd auto and RWD if I remember correctly.

andre1969

this girl at a part time job where I worked had something that's always been a rare body style...a 1980 Corolla hardtop wagon! I think it was basically the Corolla 2-door hardtop with a wagon rear-end grafted on.

I hadn't seen one in years, but then a few years back, when I was still delivering pizzas, a driver for a competing company was driving one, too! It was kinda ratty, but still getting the job done. I remember a kid who worked for Pizza hut delivering in a Chevette with...get this...historic plates!

seminole_kev

that's funny, I worked with a guy in the military who delivered pizza as a second job (hey, you know the military, just rollin' in dough!) and he drove....drumroll please - a Chevette as well. We use to give him such hell about his ('Vette) as he'd call it.

fintail

Is this the Corolla 2 door hardtop wagon, or am I thinking wrong?

andre1969

that's it! I always thought they were neat little cars, but then I've always had a soft spot for hardtops. I always thought it was interesting that the Japanese offered true hardtops after the domestics gave up on them. FWIW, I think the last "true" domestic hardtops might have been the big '78 Chryslers.

The Japanese hardtops all seemed to disappear after 1983 or so, though...the Corolla, Madza 626, Datsun 200SX, and the Plymouth Saporro/Dodge Challenger. BTW, did Mitsubishi ever sell a version of that car under their own nameplate?

fintail

I can't think of an American hardtop after those Chryslers either. But were the 79-85 Eldos a hardtop?

Those coupes never made it here as a Mitsu that I know of, but I know they were sold as such in other markets...Mitsu Sigma/Scorpion in Australia

andre1969

and Toronado, and Riviera, were hardtops in that they lacked a B-pillar, but the little rear quarter windows didn't roll down. So that's why I don't call them "true" hardtops. A few other cars of this style were the '80-83 Cordoba/Mirada, '77-79 Mark V (some Mark IV's had fixed windows, too), and the '77-79 LTD-II coupe and Cougar XR-7. The midsized Plymouth/Dodge and Mercury Grand Marquis coupe also were pillarless, but as the years wore on, I think they made roll-down rear windows an extra-cost option, and by '78 they were probably all fixed.

I think today, only Mercedes offers hardtops, although the BMW 8-series was also a hardtop.

fintail

Ah cool...I didn't know the windows didn't go down. That's lame. I rode in one of those Eldos many times as a kid, but I paid more attention to the auto-latching trunk than anything else.

MB is the only hardtop that comes to mind now. In fact, now that I think of it...I don't know if MB has been without a hardtop since 1961 or so. Maybe they will come back...they do look good.

jrosasmc

If knowledge serves me correctly, the last cars to use carbs were the GM B-bodies, Toyota Tercel, and Honda Prelude (base models only). This was all for the 1990 model year. After that, you could only get a carb- if you so desired- on Mazda B2200 pickups, Isuzu P'ups, and the aged Jeep Grand Wagoneer, which, by the way, still used the old AMC 360 V-8 with a 2-barrel.

wimsey1

I have memory gland trying to tell me the last was a Ford Escort, but I wouldn't bet anything against the General either.

andre1969

one thing that was kind of annoying on some of those old "fake hardtops", as I'd call cars like the Mark V, Mirada, '79-85 Eldo, etc, is that they'd often have a button on the rear armrest that was shaped just like a power window switch! However, it would be for the reading lights in back. A nasty little trick, I always thought, and I'm sure it fooled a few people!

One of my buddies, who's on a quest for a Mark V (he found one out west somewhere, and is going out to look at it in a few weeks) didn't realize the rear windows were fixed. That is, until I told him to *read* what it said under what he thought was the power window button!

fintail

I wonder why they were like that...was it too much to spend that extra $5 per car and put in a motor? Especially on a highline car? Now it just seems unbelievably cheap and lame. Nobody cuts costs like the big 3.

A few weeks ago I saw an immaculate 80-81 Continental coupe at an estate sale. I think those had a pillar too.

wimsey1

AMC Encore last night...obscure, with good reason.
There is a good looking X 1/9 around town, probably hibrenating, I don't think Italian cars start below 40 deg. F.

mrwhipple311

Saw a decrepit Opel Gt and first Gen. Honda Accord (God that seems weird, a rare accord)hiding under snow at a lot around the corner from work. A 77(?) LTD II 2 door with the racing stripes down the road from that.

fintail

I went to an estate sale this morning, and the estate car was kind of unusual. It was a 1980 Lincoln Continental coupe, one of those slightly downsized angular things with the weird gill air vents on the front fenders that I think were only made for a couple years. It was in really nice shape, and I am sure could have been had for a song...but not my kind of thing. I am sure it has a 302 putting out like 140hp.

You don't see many 1st gen Accords anymore, even here, where they don't rust as fast. But as the first year models would now be 28 years old, that isn't surprising. There's an old couple here who has a very early one, or at least I think it is early, as it has these odd bumper rails that must act like grille guards...it just looks older. The car is mint, it looks like it just came from the showroom. It's silver, and I would actually drive it, it is that clean.

There is also another old people Honda here, an early CVCC style Civic, maybe 1977 or so. It's a little white coupe, odd automatic, and it is mint too. I went to a sale there a few years back and actually asked if they were gonna sell it. They said no...but they never drive it, they have a newer car. I am sure some Honda nut out there would like it.

This place makes a good ebay oddball dumping ground as well...so here's what I have noticed lately

Beautiful 126, if it is as nice as it looks, it is worth the buy it now: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item- - - - - - - - =2457179779&category=6332

Fintail owned by a dreamer: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item- =2456813317&category=6329

Nice color for a lowline fintail, and I really like those period looking medium width whitewalls: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item- =2457194388&category=6328

This is a very charming old Ford: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item- =2457167386&category=6472

I've never seen a convertible Facel like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item- =2457383357&category=6472

Not for the queasy...but one for the pimps: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item- =2456422585&category=6472

This is pretty cool and weird: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item- =2456808742&category=6183

andys120

of the photography in those EBay ads. You can't even make out the shape of that Citroen because of the alternating light and shadow pattern on the car(perhaps for a reason?).

It's probably the same seller with the F-V, that picture is a little better but not too great (interesting car tho).

fintail

That's the beauty of ebay...such a huge gamble. I know that photos of my fintail seem to hide all the little dings and imperfections...photos can really lie.

Mr_Shiftright

A used 560SEL can be a very scary thing. One major problem, like defective climate control or a transmission failure, and you are bottoms up for life.

That car looks pretty nice, though, and seller feedback is good. Probably fair market value is around $7,500 but I wouldn't pay that on the blind. I think the current bid is the smart bid.

The owner of the Citroen is completely nuts on the price. This is a $1,500 all day long. I especially like the line "AC works great but needs freon".

And it's on a French title never registered in the US and with European specs.

Oh my God.......

fintail

"And it's on a French title never registered in the US and with European specs."

I thought you'd like that. I am sure the DOT [non-permissible content removed] could have a field day with that car.

That Citroen is pretty neat, though. I see an appeal, strange as it may be.

tarik

...that Citroen is one heck of a car to enjoy, at least its ride. The self-levelling hydropneumatic suspension, borrowed from its predecessor, the [i]DS[/i] ("Desse" is French for goddess), was almost able to make up for its other shortcomings. Like the quirky steering and on/off brakes, two of the trade marks of Citroen cars back then...

Somebody must have been importing those cars earlier, more reading is here.

tarik

...an MB G55 AMG, the $94,000 iteration of Mercedes' rock-crawling Geländewagen. Nice unicolor black with tan leather, all the creature comforts you can imagine, and an exhaust system that dumps right underneath the left rear door. Better have some nomex protection on when riding in this seat, grilled calf is not everyone's favorite.

That big square box makes even the old RRs look decent!

lancerfixer

That first 560SEL you posted looks like it's had either the passenger's front fender or the front door repainted...look at the 3/4 front view of the passenger's side. That seems a pretty big color variation from one panel to another to be accounted for by sunlight.

fintail

I noticed that too, the door is darker. I know that color is one that can look really odd in different light and angles, but I had to think given the condition of the rest of the car, that it is just a bad pic. If the paintwork is that bad...that's not good.

I have yet to see a new G wagen...although I have seen a few grey market 80s ones.

There's a place in Vancouver BC that ships over Citroens and other oddities. I can't remember the URL, but I know they have a site somewhere. Anyone want a Citroen Ami? Didn't think so. I know the big CX sedans were imported in some way during 86-87 I think.

andre1969

that Stutz is a horrible thing to do to a Pontiac Bonneville! One question though...which 350 is that under the hood? Something about it tells me it's not a Pontiac 350. Now Pontiac's last 350 was either in '79 or '80, but sometimes, these aftermarket builders would order their engines well in advance, and have them sitting around for when a vehicle was ordered. Similarly, the last Mopar big blocks were in '78, but Travco and Champion motorhomes had them up through 1980 or '81.

Mr_Shiftright

Lessee here...the book says Stutz started with a 455, dropped to a 403 and then in 1980 got ahold of the 350.

fintail

I am sure the 350 in that Stutz is the weakest one available at the time.

andre1969

or the cheapest! I heard that the main reason the Chevy 350 was the only 350 to endure was because it was the cheapest to manufacture. The Olds 350 was sturdier, torquier, and could be built-up more, which unfortunately was why it was chosen for the miserable honor of being converted to a Diesel. The Pontiac 350 was pretty decent too, but Pontiac V-8's tended to run cool (although both of mine actually ran hot!), so it became progressively harder for them to pass emissions testing. I dunno much about the Buick 350, except that by the time the late 70's came around, it was usually rated the lowest in hp, usually around 155, compared to 160-170 for the Olds and Pontiac 350's, and a consistent 170 for the Chevy 350.

The light blue on the valve covers of that Stutz does make me think of a Pontiac engine, although it looks like it has more of a greenish hue than both of the Pontiacs I've had. But I dunno how they did their coloring over the years...they might've switched up in the 70's, just for the sake of change.

wimsey1

yesterday. Several odd things about it.
1. No apparent rust, looked original unrestored.
2. It was a shortbed fleetside, nobody bought those, you either got the long one to haul stuff or the stepside because it was cheap.
3. It wasn't beat to rubbish, old trucks were bought to be worked to death (at least around here).

wimsey1

Lambo's offroader of about 20 years ago?
I think it had 6 liter V-12, was pretty fast and they only made a few.

Mr_Shiftright

Ah, yes, the LM002. Over 6 feet high, 1 foot ground clearance, weighing 6,780 lbs., a V-12 with a top speed of 118 mph.

The original design story is interesting. Lambo had a contract with an American company called Mobility Technology International to design a substitute vehicle for the U.S. Army Jeep, which the Army called a High Utility Mobile Military Vehicle, or HUMVEE. Well, apparently MTI got into a legal squabble with FMC (eventual builder of the HUMVEE) and the Lambo prototype went down the tubes. It was called the "Cheetah" and used a rear mounted Chrysler 360 V-8. This was in 1977. I guess the Cheetah was a real dog. But from all this came the LM series.

There's one running around in Marin County. I'd love to have it, just to defend myself against SUVs with drivers talking on cell phones.

jrosasmc

And how good is this LM002 as a daily driver?

Mr_Shiftright

Never drove one, don't know. Probably as bad as a Hummer, maybe worse.