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

fintail

Saw an oddity today - a ~69-70 Mercury Cyclone 2 door HT kind of done up to resemble an old NASCAR racer. It was very loud and the driver was fast. It also played along when I got in a little street race with a G37. Neat car.

stickguy

on the same errand run. An orange beetle convertible (looked like about a 70).

and a yellow 70-71 Olds. Might have been a 442, or at least a GS (had hood nostrils, black out paint, etc.).

andthe real oddity, a 64ish Caddy convertible in a shopping center parking lot.

ab348

GS was/is a Buick model.

omarman

If it's stock then that yellow Olds could be a 1970-only Rallye 350 which were all painted Sebring Yellow and had the W-25 hood like the 442. Hemmings has an article and pics here. There was also an "SX" option for the Cutlass Supreme back then but came without the hood scoops.

stickguy

certainly looked like that one.

I knew GS was a Buick model. Just couldn't think of what the equivalent Olds was!

fintail

I just found this fun site - "Old Parked Cars", odd cars park on the streets of Portland - as the weather there is similar to Seattle and the region in general, this is representative of some of the material laying around this area too.

Mr_Shiftright

"You kids get away from that Rambler. I'm gonna restore that car someday!"

LOL!

berri

That was fun!

fintail

The archive there is huge, too, something for everyone. I found the site while searching for a pic and found This sad sighting

stickguy

That will buff right out.

fintail

Sad thing is, that's probably the response given when asking about many of the old heaps pictured. I wonder how many cars have been lost to such claims.

Mr_Shiftright

one of the very few kinds of people who IRK me are that type, who, in some perverse need to exercise their very small amount of power, will prevent a car in their stewardship from being restored because it's too much for their ego to admit that they failed to do it, and will NEVER do it.

fintail

We can only hope those types die off before the car is lost. Unfortunately, if the car is exposed to any elements, the car will likely be ruined by that time :sick:

Mr_Shiftright

It's especially sad for cars like that Rambler, where parts are already unobtainium. At least with an old Chev or Mopar you can get a lot of what you need. But when somebody allows a car to rot so badly that even the trim pieces aren't any good anymore, and where all the glass is busted out, the car is probably too far gone for restoration---unless it were super-rare AND valuable (those two don't always go together, as you know).

fintail

The cars sitting outside in the rain for years can really ruin the trim. Those Ramblers are probably only good for patterns now - can't recall the last time I saw one of those earlier models in roadworthy condition.

Thinking back to when I was young, I remember a few cars where the owner was doing nothing but wouldn't budge. Two were cars I wanted for my first car - 63 Falcon Sprint HT, red on red, that the original owner wouldn't sell because his son was going to "fix it up". Well, it never moved until the old guy passed on and the house was emptied. Then there was a 63 Galaxie convertible that the owner was going to "restore someday" - but it just sat there for years and then vanished with an empty house. At least both cars were in carports. There was also a 66 Fairlane GT HT in an alley carport not far from home that was waiting for "someday", and only moved when the estate was cleared. I have no idea what became of any of them, but I am pretty sure they didn't move on as intended. I also remember a blue and white 58 Ford wagon that my dad spotted and wanted - "gonna fix it up" of course, but it was far from home, never saw it again.

On the other side of the coin, when my dad happened upon the 60 Ford Country Sedan, he knocked on the door and asked about it, and the owner couldn't have been happier to see it go - that deal was made in 5 minutes, so I guess you can get lucky too.

andre1969

will prevent a car in their stewardship from being restored because it's too much for their ego to admit that they failed to do it, and will NEVER do it.

I'm glad that I never developed that attitude with my '68 Dart, once it quit running and I parked it. Had that guy not come by in the summer of 2008, and offered to buy it, I was planning on just calling the local junkyard, who specializes in old Mopars, and have them take it away. I'd rather the thing get parted out and go to some good use, rather than just rot away. And sadly, it was deteriorating fast, once I quit driving it.

I remember back in late 1994, soon after I had bought my condo, I went for a walk through the neighborhood. I saw a 1976 LeMans sedan, in a caramel brown I think they called "Buckskin", parked in front of a house. Judging from the leaves gathered under the tires from runoff, and the "ring" forming on the pavement around the car, of debris settling around it, it hadn't been driven in awhile.

I knocked on the door, but no answer. So, I left a note with my name and phone #, said I was interested in the car if they wanted to sell it. That evening, I went by the house, and knocked on the door. A cranky old lady hollered "who is it?!" through the door, without opening it. I told her I was interested in her car, wondering if she was interested in selling it. "WE HAVE OTHER PLANS FOR IT!" she hollered back, in a pissed-off tone. And, that was that.

Car sat there for maybe 6 more months, and then, one day, was gone.

Probably for the best, though, as I'm sure it needed a lot of work. And, soon after that, I got married, got divorced, damn near went bankrupt, and probably would've ended up losing the car, anyway.

Sometimes though, I do wonder what happened to that car. It was probably a $500 car at best at the time, and would never be worth anything. And, only a car that I would love! But, at least I would have appreciated the car, and TRIED to do something with it. I have a feeling that it ultimately got junked.

fintail

This morning: 90-91 ES250, 85 Ciera woody wagon, 77-79 Caprice wagon.

fintail

Went out in the old beast today - in the driveway of the house where it lives was parked a W126 500SEL Euro, on Centra wheels, looking very used but still plying the roads. Went to my local MB specialist to make an appointment for E55 servicing, and saw a W220 S55 AMG that had suffered an airmatic failure - front end on the ground.

And what a fiasco...go over to move the old car as the guy who owns the garage called me last night and asked, as a repair has to be made to the building. I take time out, go over there, switch cars, then learn the repairman flaked out. Oh well, put a few miles on the old car. Idle for more than 3 weeks, started up on the first turn of the key as always.

Mr_Shiftright

Saw a very rare car today--so rare they never even made ONE! 1963 Studebaker GT convertible. Didn't look too bad, either---more like a Chrysler Lebaron. The rear deck is not really conducive to convertible design. Saw the hood up---uh oh, Chevy engine. Turns out the owner bought this car to use the engine in an Avanti restoration but then decided the donor car was too nice to junk, so he put a 350 in it and chopped it. Did a pretty good job, too, and even fitted a soft top which I was told fits fairly well.

Also: 1962 Corvair Station wagon! Yours for $700 bucks if you want it. Rare piece. This one is kind of a mess, but it's all there

1964 Lincoln Continental convertible, baby blue---fantastic condition, show quality throughout. These cars are extremely difficult to restore. They had a lot of problems even when new.

fintail

Corvair wagons are fairly handsome for what they are, very few left in roadworthy condition. It would be a labor of love, but probably cheap to restore if it is complete.

Mr_Shiftright

you now, if it wasn't so rusty in the floors, I would have bought it. It was totally complete and intact. Even had that scary "gas heater" in the front trunk.

Let's see here what Hagerty's "Cars That Matter" price guide says (they are the only price guide that shows Show Car Values).

So the best '62 Corvair wagon in the world is worth (theoretically) =====>

$9700.

Talk about rare---the '62 Corvair 700 station wagon was produced in the grand total of 735 cars!

PERFECT example of how rare does NOT equal valuable.

uplanderguy

I like Corvairs generally, and I could enjoy a Monza station wagon...bucket seats in a compact wagon!

uplanderguy

I like Corvairs generally, and I could enjoy a Monza station wagon...bucket seats in a compact wagon!

fintail

Were the floors bad but the structure fine? Someone out there would want it for the right price, which is probably just above scrap value.

Mr_Shiftright

Couldn't tell but I think the structure was okay, judging from the rest of the car. Seats are all shot, look like someone lobbed a hand grenade in there.

$700 is the price if you know anyone. The car is in northern CAL, near Santa Rosa. Nice people own it. They only bought it to save it from the crusher, which was both noble and stupid I guess. (fine line between those two). :P

They also had what seemed to me to be the best 1958 Chrysler 2D hardtop I've ever seen in my life. WOW. Not only not rusted, but NEVER rusted. Bring to sick to the site, to be healed.

fintail

Sounds reasonable enough esp if you need hard to find parts. If it was something like a fintail Universal in similar condition for $700, it would be a screaming bargain.

If I had land, I would be doing things like that, saving oddballs from the crusher.

explorerx4

Over the last few days, I've seen a light metallic blue brick Volvo with CT 'Early American' plates, a beige Super K, a light metallic blue Buick Skyhawk, and a fwd light brownish Buick 'woody' trim.
The woody Buick looks brand new. Actually, none of them looked bad.

wevk

"A 2005 Chrysler 300C said to be the one Barack Obama drove before becoming president failed to sell in an eBay auction that ended late last night. As Driver’s Seat reported yesterday, the minimum bid was $1 million. The car drew no bids."

wevk

The link:
http://blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/2012/02/02/obama-chrysler-on-ebay-no-sale-at-1- -million/

fintail

What would a Cordoba owned by Jimmy Carter be worth? This will hold about the same cachet.

omarman

I've seen pics of both Jimmy Carter and LBJ driving amphicars. I used to see a white amphi around Buckeye Ocean when I was a kid but no sign of any famous politician at the helm though.

fintail

Now a Jimmy Carter Amphicar is a different story - because people pay crazy money for those things. A Billy Carter Amphicar would probably bring the same money :shades:

Odd cars today: 80s El Camino, early Rabbit, ~1970 Beetle, and a W220 S65 AMG.

Mr_Shiftright

Nobody wants the car a celebrity drove BEFORE they were famous. This is fundamental common sense.

jljac

What a rip off! One million dollars for an old Chrysler to too much. You could get three Mercedes Benz cars owned by Hitler for nine million.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/29/three-mercedes-benz-hitler-cars-on-sale-for-9- -million-w-video/

I guess that proves that Mercedes Benz cars keep their resale value than Mopars. I can thiink of no other reason for such a great price disparity. :P

jljac

I might add that President George H.W.Bush 41 drove a 1947 Studebaker from Connecticut to Texas before he was famous. It is in this museum now.

http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/bush_library_museum/7/

Too bad it is not the original one he drove. We might be able to compare its value to the Obama and Hitler cars.

uplanderguy

Ronald Reagan also had a '47 Studebaker. I've read that--and I think this is hard to believe--Eleanor Roosevelt actually had a Studebaker Scotsman. That's the one with painted bumpers and hubcaps, and cardboard interior door panels. Although, I guess no one would accuse Eleanor of being flashy!

fintail

I'd buy em if I had the money and they were normal passenger cars - I don't like those quasi-military things. But a 540K or a 770K, yes please. The history doesn't turn me off, if anything, I can re-ennact one of the funniest underrated movie scenes in recent memory:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41imMO7XpFg

Mr_Shiftright

Apparently Hitler could not drive. There is no known photograph of him behind the wheel of a car.

berri

Of course, the actress who played Aunt Bea on Mayberry owned a Studebaker when she died. I forget the year, maybe around a 62?

fintail

Here's the car

berri

Whoa - only saw it in B&W before. That color is kind of rude!

uplanderguy

Of course, the actress who played Aunt Bee on Mayberry owned a Studebaker when she died. I forget the year, maybe around a 62?

Aunt Bee, Frances Bavier, had at least a '62 Lark and had a '66 Daytona Sports Sedan (same model I now own) when she died in the late '80's. The car was Algonquin Green (think light pea green) with a black vinyl top and was seen being driven by her in at least one episode of Mayberry, RFD.

The car was worn out at her death and was expected to fetch around $2K. Being it was Aunt Bee's, it actually sold for $20K.

A fellow on the Studebaker Drivers' Club forum online worked at Frost and French, a large Packard, then Studebaker, dealer in L.A. He can remember Miss Bavier bringing her '62 in for service.

She is actually listed in the 1972 Studebaker Drivers' Club member roster. At that time she lived in Siler City, NC...a case of life imitating art I guess.

berri

I was wondering why she bought that 66 when Studebaker was going under. Kind of neat that back in those days a lady was a car club fan.

jljac

Here is the story about Aunt Bea's (short for Beatrice) Studebaker

http://www.studebaker-info.org/Auntbea/auntbeastude.html

Not only was the 1966 Daytona Sports Coupe her personal car, she also drove as her own car it in the Andy Griffith- Mayberry RFD TV shows, so the car has that history as well.

There is more interesting information about Aunt Bea and her Beamobile in the latest Turning Wheels Studebaker Driver's Club magazine. She owned Studebakers for forty years as of 1972 and wanted to keep it running as long as she could. Now she is long gone, but the car is still here.

Interesting how this message board got from cars owned by Obama and Hitler to Studebakers owned and driven by George H. W. Bush and Aunt Bea.

Mr_Shiftright

I'm sure someone out there will devise the common thread---LOL!

dieselone

I was dropping my daughter off at school yesterday and I saw a teenager driving to school in a Tempo with a v6 badge. Wow, can't be many of those left running around. It appeared to be in good shape too.

I though I had it bad driving an '85 Tempo around in the early '90's!

stickguy

Didn't think any still were out there, but driving around an early (looked like 70s vintage) Toyota camper (the compact camper on a Hi Lux PU chassis). Looked to be in OK shape.

fintail

I remember those V6 models, only made em for a few years, probably didn't sell many. I bet they are decent off the line for the end of malaise era, anyway. Probably only approached in rarity by the AWD models and the odd "sport" model from around 85-86.

My family had an 85 Tempo kicking around for various uses until 1999. I drove it in high school a little in between my first car (Galaxie) and the fintail, so around 1993-94. It looked a lot better than a similar year K-Car or Cavalier, to my eyes - more modern and nicer inside, but ours was a fairly loaded GLX in decent colors.

dieselone

anyway. Probably only approached in rarity by the AWD models and the odd "sport" model from around 85-86.

The Sport model was kind of neat for the time. A friend of mine bought an '86 Tempo Sport 2dr 5 speed in '90 or so. It was a decent performing car for what it was. Unfortunately he only had it a few months until someone pulled out and front of him and he totaled it.

It looked a lot better than a similar year K-Car or Cavalier, to my eyes - more modern and nicer inside, but ours was a fairly loaded GLX in decent colors.

I agree. At the time, the Tempo certainly was competitive among it's domestic competition. It didn't drive bad. It handled well enough, rode decent for a small car. The raspy 2.3 OHV 4cyl and lousy 3 speed auto were it's weak spots.

A 5 speed manual really improved the car. My dad bought an '85 Tempo GL new. It lasted until '92 and had 110k miles or so. He gave it to me to drive when he upgraded to a '92 Crown Vic LX. Now that was an upgrade.

uplanderguy

I thought whatever year they did the redesign of only the four-door Tempo and Topaz, was an improvement. I never liked the chubby look of the two-door and first four-doors, and their smallish wheel openings. The Topaz looked worse than the Tempo IMHO and I always remember them for their motorized seat belts.