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

stickguy

took a lap around my office building at lunch (it is a sprawling place, so a good distance). Nice way to check out what is parked in other sections! Some exercise too...

only oldie of note was an off-white Pontiac Catalina. 4 door. I would guess 1964 (maybe a 3 or 5, but pretty sure not newer than that.) Looked in OK survivor shape, probably repianted at some point, though had a little body damage on the side, but no signs of rust. Aftermarket wheels I think. Not a bad looking piece overall, and not as bloated as a late 60s/early 70s land yacht.

Funny thing though, it was parked in a "compact only" spot. Actually 2 of them (and pushing four since it almost spilled into the pair next door!). It was parked cnetered front to back, so not fully filling them both.

to be far, it was off by itself, so not a big deal. Nothing else really in the corner of the lot.

lemko

...dark green metallic 1967 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham at Rising Sun and Longshore in NE Philly. NICE!!!

andre1969

Speaking of old Pontiacs, I went home during my lunch break and got my '67 Catalina started. I forget when the last time was that I had run it. Probably a few months. Anyway, started up on the third try, which isn't too bad I guess.

Beautiful weather today for dropping the top and taking the long way back to work!

explorerx4

I saw 2 more RX-8's today! One was red, so maybe I saw that one before.
Also, a black early 70's Corvette with the T-Tops removed.

texases

Andre - with your stable of cars, do you ever have problems with old/stale gas?

andre1969

Don't jinx me on this, but so far, so good! That being said, I looked at the Catalina's fuel log, and the last time it was filled up was a few days after the GM show in Carlisle last year...so late June! I'm probably going to fill it up this weekend, to help mix up the gas.

fintail

Today - facelift Dodge Daytona, early RX-7, 82-85 5th Avenue, 84-87 Cavalier convertible.

uplanderguy

I can just picture that Fleetwood. I'm a fan of greens and it sounds really nice.

I tend to like the '68 grille a bit better.

Since you are a Caddy guy, do you like the '67 or '68 better, and how do you compare them looks-wise to a '65 or '66? I know you like '69 Fleetwoods. My favorite Caddies are '65's, although those separate cornering lights always seemed to droop in a few years! Love the instrument panels and interiors. I also like '62 Caddies. The '63's and '64's, not too much but it sure seems like they sold a bunch and they held up, as even a few years ago I still seemed to see a lot of them.

lemko

I think the 1967 and 1968 Cadillacs look more aggressive with the forward thrust of their front ends. The 1968 model seems to have a cleaner look.

I absolutely love the 1969 Cadillac Fleetwood and a 100-point concours classic is my holy grail!

explorerx4

A white VII with a saggy left side suspension and dark green VIII filling up at a gas station.

andre1969

I think if I could have any one-year Caddy, it would be a 1962. There's just something about the '61-62 style that really appeals to me, and I think they hammered out some details that made '62 better than '61, such as more tasteful rooflines and such.

fintail

Saw a nice red Karmann-Ghia out in the rain today, as well as a GT trimmed 66 Mustang.

lemko

One small detail I've liked about the 1961-62 Cadillacs is that ever so slightly curved A-pillar. That feature appeared on the 1959-60 Eldorado Brougham while the rest of the Cadillac lineup still had the dogleg A-pillars.

fintail

All of the larger GM cars in 61-62 had that pillar, right? I like that touch too, somehow delicate and detailed for such a car.

lemko

I believe so. My Dad's 1961 Chevrolet Biscayne had that feature.

uplanderguy

Pretty sure we've talked about this before, but in '61-'63 you could get 'short deck" Caddys (perhaps to compete with the smaller Lincoln). They were called "Town Sedan" in the Sixty-Two Series and "Park Avenue" in the deVille series. I really don't like them as well as the 'normal' cars but I sure do like their rarity. You almost never see them today at shows.

I think the '62 Fleetwood Sixty Special is a gorgeous car. I know a big part of it was safety standards, but the last Caddy instrument panel I really liked was the '66. After that, you had no metal/chrome showing, and in a few years you even had black steering wheel and instrument cluster no matter the interior color. That said, the cars continued to grow outside I think (it least it appeared that way).

I liked the '71 Caddys when they came out a lot...looked very modern I think. I thought the side window treatment of the Fleetwood was unique and original, and I loved the brush metal panel on the dash and doors of deVilles, but apparently no one else did, as it got changed to fake woodgrain mid-year!

fintail

My mom had a 61 Impala convertible as a used car in the late 60s - white with a red interior. Wish that one could have been stashed away.

uplanderguy

'61's are one of my very favorite Impalas, and you don't much see them at shows, compared to '62-64's it seems to me.

jljac

I like the 1961 Impalas very much especially the one used in the movie Goodfellas. The image below does not do the car justice, but it is the best I could find.

fintail

The curved A-pillar works well with the bubbletop style, too.

It seems around here 63-64 is much more common than 62.

ab348

I liked the '71 Caddys when they came out a lot...looked very modern I think. I thought the side window treatment of the Fleetwood was unique and original, and I loved the brush metal panel on the dash and doors of deVilles, but apparently no one else did, as it got changed to fake woodgrain mid-year!

I also thought the side window treatment was very creative and was a throwback to the original Sixty Special design of years before (done by Bill Mitchell himself I believe). I never saw the brushed metal appliques and the brochures I have found online do not show it either. I wonder if it was real metal or plastic?

I remember seeing this vintage was often used on '70s TV shows like the Rockford Files as transportation for members of the mob and other assorted bad guys.

uplanderguy

I'm guessing the brushed metal applique was probably plastic, but I liked it anyway. Maybe lemko would know:

http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/1970-1979-cadillac-3.jpg

I've mentioned this here before, but Bill Mitchell grew up in my little hometown of Greenville, PA (born in Cleveland, OH though). I'm proud of that.

That town has gone through a lot with the closure of various heavy industries, but was never more than 10K population, and was not a suburb of anything, just a small town. The parents of John Dean (Watergate fame) lived there in the '70's, as did the parents of actor David Soul (Starsky and Hutch) during the same time period. I always thought that was pretty amazing. I have to attribute it to local, small liberal arts school Thiel College (1,200 students).

jdshifty1

Saw a silver chevette that looked brand new today. the styling seemed fine and not ancient

lemko

Heck, even as a plain-Jane Biscayne, I thought my Dad's 1961 Chevrolet was a looker too. It was a more subdued cream color with a gray cloth and vinyl interior, but Dad's car was dressed up a bit with full wheel discs and whitewall tires. I thought the 1961 Chevrolet full wheel discs were beautiful.

lemko

Joe Pesci's character drove that car early in that movie.

fintail

Saw an orange Vega wagon today - railroad tie bumpers, so a later model. Looked to be in good shape.

fintail

When I was a kid, I found a 58 Chevy full wheel cover at a yard sale - one like this:



It was mint and I was proud to have found it. I don't know what happened to it - my mother had a big blowout yard sale when I was away at school, I suspect it went then.

uplanderguy

My sister had an orange '76 Vega wagon bought new. I know the Pinto had more cubic feet of space, but I always thought the Vega was a good-looking little wagon...my favorite Vega bodystyle.

uplanderguy

Both the '58 and '61 Chevy wheelcovers were sporty and fairly ornate, I think. I like them (and the cars they went on), both.

lemko

Here's a picture of the 1961 Chevrolet full-size wheel cover for reference:

fintail

I think the Vega wagon, especially the smaller bumper, is pretty sharp for what it is. Too bad about the issues.

jljac

I think the Vega wagon, especially the smaller bumper, is pretty sharp for what it is. Too bad about the issues.

I agree that the Vega wagon was the best of da woist of that lot. That high tech overhead cam engine must have seemed like a good idea at the time. I still see Pintos sometimes, but not Vegas.

berri

Didn't Vega refer to it as a Kambach (or some such) instead of a wagon?

texases

Yes, it was the Kammback, named for the German aerodynamicist Wunibald Kamm, who in the 1930s found that you could basically chop off the back end of a shape and not suffer much bad, drag-wise.

jrosasmc

I found these two beauties not too long ago:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/26-000-mile-near-virgin-1991-Alfa-Romeo-164S-Spor- tivo-/190648884814?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item2c638f1e4e

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FL-ONE-OWNER-34K-MILES-LIFETIME-FIND-OXFORD-ED-ST- ERLING-SUNROOF-ALL-ORIGINAL-V6-/251014247113?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item3a719d72- c9

I bet you'd go for the Alfa before you even looked at the Sterling

Mr_Shiftright

Well a heart attack is also a "once in the lifetime" event. :P

That Alfa is definitely the way you want to buy one. None of that "all it needs is a ....."

Very strong price for a 164.

fintail

Ambitious goals for the best Sterling left in the world. Alfa looks like a fair deal seeing what the repairs would be on a dog - but you couldn't drive either car much without running into problems.

tomer123

I cannot believe the amount of blind spots on the 2010 corolla.
The center strut dividing the front/rear side windows makes it hard to see traffic when making any turn other than a 90 degree one. The front seat headrest block your views also. I have to believe that there is insurance record data on this issue. What really surprises me is that I didn't see anyone complaining about it.

texases

Unfortunately the Corolla is no different than many current cars, the crash standards and styling trends have conspired to result in many cars having very poor visibility.

Back to cars I've seen lately, an Audi Coupe, always reminds me of a jumbo Scirocco:

fintail

I wish the Corolla was an obscure car :shades:

I'd love to have an old UR-Quattro, I think I'd make it into a replica period rally car. Hard to get cooler than that.

Oh yeah, and it would have to talk and be digital

As someone who was a kid in the 80s, I'll admit I love this stuff

This morning, saw a 65 Mustang convertible - red of course, an unrestored looking mid 60s Stingray convertible, and a rare SL65 AMG in a nice steel grey.

Mr_Shiftright

"I'm sorry Dave, I can't let you do that".

tjc78

I love 80s digital dashes. I get to relive a little bit of it with my HUD in the LaCrosse.

fintail

Oh yeah, HUD is very cool. I wish more cars had it. I think I saw a Lacrosse ad that touted it - I'd choose that option for sure.

In Germany, both BMWs I have rented had it. The BMW setup also shows speed limit on the road, and gives directions - no tach though:

tjc78

I think BMW and a few GM models are all that has it. The LaCrosse does the navigation instructions as well as whatever song comes on the radio. It really makes it so your eyes never leave the road.

It has been around awhile. I know my buddies mid 90s Grand Prix GTP had it.

Edit: 201 KM/h.... 125 MPH nice!

fintail

I remember it in those GPs. I think it might have actually started in late 80s Corvettes...but I am too lazy to look it up.

New Lexus GS is supposed to offer it, I think.

I actually went a little faster in that car, but that was the fastest HUD pic I took. It was a diesel car, so high speed acceleration was gradual.

andre1969

The BMW setup also shows speed limit on the road, and gives directions - no tach though:

Wow, they've come a long way, baby! My 2000 Park Ave has the HUD, but all it shows is the speed limit, when you put your turn signal on, and if you let it get low on fuel, it shows "Check Gages".

fintail

For a 12 year old luxobarge aimed at the octogenarian set, having such an option is pretty remarkable. I wonder how many were built with it.

"Gages"....uugh

stickguy

A '79 or '80 AMC spirit. 2 door hatchback. Not in bad overall shape. A few dents and faded paint, but no sign of rust.

Had a bunch of HS kids in it (and I followed it into the HS parking lot). Sounded ok, seemed to run fine. Not smoking, but did smell like the old days! Definitely the old straight 6 (not that new fangled Porsh-a engine!)

hpmctorque

I think that "that new fangled Porsh-a engine" was a VW engine. The AMC 6 was a better choice, even after considering the lighter weight (and resulting better weight distribution) and fuel economy advantage of the 4-cylinder.

tjc78

A '79 or '80 AMC spirit

My Grandfather had one of those as his work commuter when I was a kid. No radio, no A/c, and vinyl interior. It was rust colored with some sort of stripe. He bought used for a few hundred and drove it for quite a while. I don't know how he got into that thing every day when there was a brand new 85 Town Car in the driveway!