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

stickguy

on a used dealer site I was poking around on (in my daily evening cruise through Craig's), they had a 2004 Maxima (the new style that year), with a stick shift. I was shocked that by that time they still offered one.

jljac

Thank you so much for putting the Billy Joel song "Moving Out" in my head.

Day and night I hear Cadillac ack-ack-ack-ack-ack-ack. . . . over and over again like a broken record. Nothing could make it stop until I found this. http://www.yeli.us/Flash/Fire.html Studebaker and Edsel are mentioned in this Billy Joel song.

fintail

Yesterday I visited some family and while killing time dug through some old photos. This one caught my eye. I know the people in the pic are my grandfather and great-grandmother, and I think that was my grandmother in the back. I know the car is a gigantic green ~71 fuselage Chrysler he had, I don't think it was terribly old when the photo was taken. An 80 year old woman likely took the pic, so you get the finger coverage too. Just look at the thickness of those doors! There's like 4 Accents or Yaris in each one.

Mr_Shiftright

I wondered what they did with the metal from old WW II battleships.

uplanderguy

The '67 Corvette was supposedly the best-assembled 'Vette to date--something St. Louis wasn't particularly known for. I do like the ones with the 'stinger' hood (427) and in a dark color, although the Rally Wheels IMHO were cheapened by them being available on any other Chevy only a year or two later. I do like the aluminum wheels, whatever they called them.

A guy at a local cruise I frequent is the original owner of a silver '67 Corvette coupe. He complained when he got it, that on the '67 Chevy deleted the cutout 'grab bar' above the glove compartment. Now how much could that have saved?

uplanderguy

It's that ubiquitous green, inside and out, too! Lots like that.

Funny, IIRC, the Newport Royal was a lower-priced car than the regular Newport!

I recall reading that in the Harry Truman home and museum in Independence, MO, is Harry's last car--a '72 Chrysler Newport Royal. Harry was a Mopar guy from way back --supposedly even drove Bess home in a Mopar product after they left Washington D.C. in '53!

fintail

It's a period color for sure. I know a red 65 Chrysler was traded in on that car, and the newer car was more troublesome. One of those cars bought just before the gas crisis, my grandpa spent a bit keeping it going, then sold for pennies after the gas worries. Not always the good old days.

It was a 4 door HT, which is cooler than a post, anyway.

fintail

I know it was nicknamed "the tank"...very fitting.

andre1969

For some reason, that picture is making me think of "Duel". It sorta reminds me of the spot where Dennis Weaver tried to push-start the school bus with his Valiant, just outside the tunnel.

Which, incidentally, was the same area where they rolled an old Willys Jeepster (or whatever they called the 4-door) in "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World".

fintail

Oh yeah I know the Jeep scene. I don't know where the pic was taken, probably on one of their trips to MT or Yellowstone, an area my grandfather liked. I think that car had a 383.

Here's another old pic, I guess this dirty thing is a 52-53 Ford, I don't know the model but I see it has whitewalls. Date unknown, but by the look of my mother in the pic, I would guess around 1955. This car was replaced by a 57 or so Ford.

wevk

A trip down memory lane:
http://www.adamsforums.com/forums/lounge/16008.htm

fintail

Fun stuff, although Joan Crawford's car is actually a 34 Ford roadster. Laurel and Hardy's car looks like it was several years old at time of photo, interesting. Al Jolson made a very left field choice for the era.

Mr_Shiftright

And do you know why Errol Flynn's car is a RHD?

Answer: Because he was an _____________________

berri

I always thought those 52-54 Ford Motor Company vehicles were all nice and cleanly styled, better looking than a lot of the GM and Chrysler stuff of the same period in time. Of course, by the latter 50's and 60's Ford conservatism in styling (especially after Edsel) made a lot of their stuff kind of boring.

fintail

Equestrian?

fintail

The 61-62 Fords are especially boring in their own way. Even in the year of psychotic visions, 1958, Ford was less out there than any other big seller.

bhill2

I'll say because he was an Aussie.

Mr_Shiftright

is a Tasmanian an Aussie?

michaellno

is a Tasmanian an Aussie?

Kind of like asking if a resident of Florida is an American.

Tasmania is a state in Australia.

andre1969

The 61-62 Fords are especially boring in their own way. Even in the year of psychotic visions, 1958, Ford was less out there than any other big seller.

I always thought the most radical looking Ford of that timeframe was the 1960. Yet, compared to the 1959 Chevy that it seems to mimic, I think it looks downright tame.

Of the '57-59 Fords, I think the '58 is actually my favorite, although I'm sure I'm in the minority. I just don't like the jutting, bug-eyed look of the '57, although in some color schemes, it seems to tone it down. And the '59 is just too glittery and heavy-handed looking, and when viewed from the rear, looks really top-heavy to me. For '58, the only thing I really don't like is the taillights.

Mr_Shiftright

Is a resident of Florida an American? :P

SPOTTED TODAY:

A 1965 Buick Riviera with hand-cranked windows!! (didn't know they made 'em like that)

1953 Tomato Red Chevy Pickup (my dream truck).

1951 Plymouth Cranbrook 2D Coupe, faded paint, chipping chrome--blown engine--I inquired about buying it, they said $4000, I said "yeah, well, good luck with THAT")

texases

Here's what $4500 buys in a '51 Plymouth.

Mr_Shiftright

Exactly! I would have offered them $1000 and only that much because I know of a used engine in good shape. The only reason I was interested was that it was the very cool "closed coupe" style with only door glass--no rear quarter window.

lemko

...beautiful dark blue 1967 Pontiac GTO with a white vinyl top on Oxford Avenue in NE Philly.

lemko

The 1960 Ford to me looks like a cross between a 1959 Chevrolet and a 1963 Plymouth.

texases

Oh, so it looked like this? I guess those would be harder to find.

Mr_Shiftright

yeah that's it--no sun visor though.

ab348

When I was 3 years old, the folks bought a '59 Ford brand new, a white-over-black 4-door. I only remember a bit about it, like a trip we took from Nova Scotia to New York state in the summer of 1960. Sometime after that, it was parked in front of our house when it got rear-ended pretty hard. Dad had come home for lunch when we heard this big noise outside. The car that hit it was impact-welded to the rear of our Ford and quite a crowd was drawn to watch the festivities as the tow truck drivers tried to get them apart. During all that my arm was burned by a cigarette carelessly being held by a passerby, which is probably why I remember that so well as it hurt like hell.

After the car was repaired the folks complained it didn't seem the dsame, so they ended up trading it in on a '61 Meteor, which they ended up not liking very much because it seemed to drag its tail. I think that was a common problem on big Fords of that era, the rear leaf springs being too soft or set for too low a ride height. The Meteor was all white in color and looked like this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/autohistorian/3817306864/lightbox/

I remember being with my dad at the dealer when he bought the '61 - he told the the sales guy he didn't like the star between the headlights and the guy went through the motions of seeing if the star could be removed and the lights relocated. In retrospect that is hilarious.

I like the 1960 Ford the best of all, even if the styling was supposedly compromised by the use of much of the '59 inner bodyshell. Apparently the original prototype 1960 Ford had a lower cowl and beltline and looked far more swoopy.

fintail

Those tail lights/rear gingerbread trim are pretty cool. The headlights and front detail kind of reminds me of a 59 Olds.

My dad rescued a 60 Ford Country Sedan in the early 90s, it was a pretty cool car, red and white with matching interior. The car out of all the project cars that he wished he never sold.

andre1969

I like the 1960 Ford the best of all, even if the styling was supposedly compromised by the use of much of the '59 inner bodyshell. Apparently the original prototype 1960 Ford had a lower cowl and beltline and looked far more swoopy.

I've wondered about that, myself. I used to think that the 1960 Ford was all-new. But then, I heard it was just a new body dropped down on the '57-59 frame. This is the first I heard that it used the inner body shell as well.

I wonder if that would mean that the '60 Ford was a bit short on shoulder room, as well?

I always thought those Canadian models like the Meteor and Monarch were kinda cool. Stuff that we didn't get in the U.S. And, even if it was just badge-engineered Fords and Mercurys, at least it was still different!

I always thought the '59 Mercury was an attractive car. I think its Monarch derivative is pretty neat looking, as well...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/carphotosbyrichard/4479177800/sizes/l/in/photostrea- m/

ab348

Here's a good overview of the '60 Ford and its development:

Haste Makes Waste

andre1969

Wow, small world! It was from reading that article by Greg that I first read about the '60 Ford using the old '57-59 frame.

BTW, in the background of that first pic, that's me in the center, Lemko in the white shirt, and in the blue shirt is my buddy who has the '78 Mark V Diamond Jubilee! If I'd known we were gonna be in pictures, I would've dressed nicer! Oh well, at least I wasn't wearing a beer-stained wife beater or something... :P

berri

I think that blue interior pic in your article is the interior I learned to drive in. Hadn't realized until I read the article and saw the pic that the automatic shift lever looked like the manual I learned on. I remember that the seat was very low so your [non-permissible content removed] seemed like it road on the ground. It was a very reliable car, but just awful tinworm problems, especially in areas like the rocker panels. Our neighbor had either the Fairlane 500 or Galaxie version of the Fordor sedan which had a flat rear window instead of the somewhat bulbous one on the Fairlane we had. By the way, what in the hell are Andre and Lemko doing at a "Ford" show???

fintail

Very interesting article, I had never seen that prototype before. If you look at some Euro or British 61+ Ford models you see similar styling, too. Also faintly reflected in the 61 Continental. A very tightly managed design team. I forgot about that exposed shift linkage too, I remember that bugged me, I thought it looked like a floor shift to column conversion.

kyfdx

Either a '61 or '62... black.. in pretty nice shape..

Pretty ugly car, though...

fintail

A few oddities today - a primered 56 Ford 2 door post, a nice clean early MB W114, the local VW dealer has a very clean 73 SLC sitting on the lot - couldn't find a speck of rust or any cosmetic trouble areas, at 7K could be worth it after typical negotiation as the later huge bumpers and emissions related problems aren't there. Highlight was a yellow 1980 Maserati Merak SS at a highline used lot - guy came out to move it, first try it stalled, second it started with some smoke. Malaise exotics, gotta love em.

andre1969

I drove my '85 Silverado to work today, and as I was backing it into the parking spot, I noticed a lady smoking a cigarette, who seemed to be paying an awful lot of attention to me. As soon as I got out of the truck, she hollered over, "What year is it?"

Well, we started chatting a bit, turns out she's actually pretty knowledgeable about cars and working on them. But, I don't think she's too hip when it comes to values. She said that if I ever decided to sell my truck, that someone will give me "big money" for it. I tried to tell her that it really wasn't worth all that much because it needs a lot of work, and you could just go out and buy one already done up, for probably not a lot of money.

Well, she went on to tell me about a friend of hers who bought a '57 Chevy that had been sitting for so long, it had a tree growing up through it. She didn't specify where, but I guess the hood was open or off, and it was up through the engine bay. Anyway, in her words, this guy cut the tree down, hauled the car out, put $5,000 into it, and now it's worth $80,000.

Needless to say, I'm a bit skeptical. I'd imagine there aren't too many configurations of '57 Chevy that are even worth $80K in showroom new condition. I just did a quick value check using a NADA guide, and got $148,800 for a Bel Air convertible with a/c and fuel injection. Base value was $96,000, and it said add 50% for fuel injection, 5% for a/c. I doubt that too many Bel Air convertibles had a/c though. In those days, you either got a convertible, or you got a/c, but rarely both unless it was a luxury car. And since fuel injection was a performance/racing thing, I'd imagine not too many convertibles got it (mainly 2-door sedans, or the occasional hardtop perhaps). Heck, I guess it's possible that a/c wasn't even offered with fuel injection? I know sometimes in those days, if you went with a high-performance option (like the 426 Hemi), often "luxury" items like a/c weren't available.

Mr_Shiftright

was there a brown paper bag next to her on the front seat?

The "tree growing through it" has all the earmarks of an urban legend aka tall tale.

Variations include a) cab had a snake in it b) old lady's son died in Vietnam and left in the garage c) bought it for X and sold it for 20 times the amount d) former famous owner's ID found under seat e) rare prototype supposed to be destroyed but escaped the factory....want more? :P

fintail

I agree with Shifty - tall tale. Fun though. Reminds me of random people who talk to me about the fintail and are certain it has to be worth 50K+ and pretty much don't believe me when I tell them it's not even close to five figures.

Speaking of SLCs from yesterday, I was looking around and found this - apparently long sold, but it's a beauty That interior color - perfect for the period, and the location is one of the best you can hope for if you want preservation

michaellno

She said that if I ever decided to sell my truck, that someone will give me "big money" for it.

Not bloody likely, but you knew that already. I'm curious what we'll get for my dad's '70 Chevy 1/2 ton when the time comes. Apparently, he's been offered either $8500 or $10K (stories differ) to sell it over the years. I've suggested that he take the money and run - the truck doesn't get driven all that much anymore. However, my son has professed interest in it.

Well, she went on to tell me about a friend of hers who bought a '57 Chevy that had been sitting for so long, it had a tree growing up through it.

Back when they were first married, my folks had a '57 Chevy. I think it may have been a convertible. Either way, it got totaled on the 101 south of Santa Barbara when my dad either ran into, or was hit by, a cement truck. Could be worth a bit of money by now, but oh well.

Mr_Shiftright

An SLC is a very hard sell. They aren't worth much and never will be, either. Not a bad car, really, but the top don't go down and the gas gauge does.

70 chevy pickup---depends entirely on the condition. $5K for a decent driveable one, $10K for a super sharp truck. Options matter, too.

stickguy

should have told the lady to pull out her checkbook and make an offer, then flipped her the keys!

andre1969

Not bloody likely, but you knew that already. I'm curious what we'll get for my dad's '70 Chevy 1/2 ton when the time comes. Apparently, he's been offered either $8500 or $10K (stories differ) to sell it over the years. I've suggested that he take the money and run - the truck doesn't get driven all that much anymore. However, my son has professed interest in it.

My roommate, who drives my truck to work sometimes, told me that one of the customers at the restaurant he works at has offered to buy my truck from time to time. Supposedly, even offered $3,000 for it. I don't believe it for a second, but I told my roommate that if he sees that guy and he makes that offer again, to take it! Needless to say, my roommate says he hasn't even seen that customer since September or October. About the time, coincidentally, that I was really getting fed up with the truck. :mad:

Oh, I actually do have a snake-in-the-cab story. When the weather's warm, and there's no forecast for rain, I'll usually leave the windows in the truck cracked a few inches when it's parked in the yard, and often open the sliding window in back. Well, one morning I got a call from my roommate, from his cell, on his way to work. He asked me not to leave the windows rolled down like that anymore, because a big black snake had crawled into the cab! He hadn't discovered it until he was about two miles down the road! Fortunately he didn't panic, but he pulled over, opened the passenger side door, and sort of shoo'ed it out with a stick.

andre1969

Whoah! What site is that SLC on? I just tried clicking it at work, and got a big red banner that says "RESTRICTED" on it! Do the pictures have naked women mud-wrestling in the background, or MMA wrestlers doing suggestive poses on the hood or something? :P

fintail

Weird. It is just a page on a very legit looking small business site that sells various artwork - a page that links to various cars the owner has owned in the past or present. Some of the sculpture shown does feature nudity - but nothing really inappropriate to me, typical artsy stuff - however net [non-permissible content removed] might disagree.

The SLC is a mint 55K mile car in silver grey with an olive green interior. Owner also has a wedgwood blue Versailles and a couple of downsized 86+ Caddys, among other oddities.

michaellno

70 chevy pickup---depends entirely on the condition. $5K for a decent driveable one, $10K for a super sharp truck. Options matter, too.

I've posted pictures of the truck in the past. Dad spent around $5K a number of years ago to 'refresh' the truck. New rubber gaskets for the windows, new or refurbished trim work, new paint. It looks 4 years old, not 40.

I used to drive that truck a lot when I was a teenager. Loved it when the second set of carbs opened up when you floored the throttle, and the sound it made with the custom muffler my dad had installed.

I drove it a couple of years ago and was, frankly, scared. Brakes were real 'grabby' - drums all around. The noise was still the same, though.

fintail

SLCs have kind of grown on me, for their disco era image, I guess. Would have been a very chic thing to have in the 70s, and they are still worth nothing as you say. Picking up that linked car for 7-8K would be the way to go, surely couldn't get a dog close to that for the money, and by getting an early car you avoid the bumpers and emissions junk in later cars. 15mpg average might get tiresome, but it would be a sunny Sunday driver, not a commuter.

michaellno

My dad had a friend who was a heart surgeon who owned an SLC. That was the ne plus ultra of vehicles back in the late 70's, at least to me.

lemko

Eric Roberts' character in the movie "Star 80" drove a Mercedes SLC.

Mr_Shiftright

You'd be lucky to get 15 mpg. More like 12. Right now in CA that would cost you about .30 cents mile to drive.