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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)
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-juice
are based in the UK as are most of the teams involved in big time sports car racing and WRC. I'd bet the likes of McLaren, Cosworth, Lola etc.
employ more people and generate more revenue than the "cottage" builders like Lotus, Marcos, TVR and Morgan
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Funny, I hadn't seen one in a few years, and now I see two in the course of a few days!
Oh yeah, Fintail, here's something you could probably answer, since you know your Benzes...
I know someone who has a 1952 Mercedes, but I forget the model. I do know it's a small one, about 15 feet long. Reason I know that is I'm going to help him store it, and I asked him how long it was. Anyway, any idea on what model it might be, and about how much one would weigh? I'm just thinking in terms of if we have to push it!
That MB would likely be a 170...and it probably doesn't weigh a huge amount...3000 lbs maybe. Lots of open empty space. It's more or less an updated prewar car.
Enjoying getting to know you.
I recall that Mercedes made a diesel powered truck off the 170 chassis immediately following the war. The 170's dies were about the only tooling that wasn't destroyed.
I know I've seen the big '74-78 Mopars in silver, and silver was a very common color on the small M-body NYer/5th Ave from '82-89.
Today, a spotless white Merkur XR4Ti.
Nothing fancy but kinda cool.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
I've been trying to get him to buy a new truck, but he refuses. He says he wouldn't be recognized anymore -- between the color and the muffler (some sort of cherry bomb) you can hear/see him from several blocks away.
It was fun driving that truck as a kid ... putting your foot into it kicked the tranny down a gear, opened up the other two barrels and, BAM, you were gone.
I actually did a TSD rally in it once .. boy, was that a hoot!
I saw something else big, old and 70's this morning, but for the life of me can't remember what it was! I'm beginning to worry, because that's just not like me! Guess all the OT I've been pulling this week has been getting to me!
I think the 75 Seville was the first modern looking American car of the 70s. It still has a clean elegance about it...shamefully, it is usually seen in a faded and neglected state today. It'd be nice if they came with a less bordello-like interior too.
2-Datsun 280Z, pre-zx w/ looooong stick out bumpers.
Neither of the doubles were "nesting" together.
1-ratty late 60's or early 70's Nova
1-VW Rabbit Pickup to go with the one last Friday. That's weird, I haven't seen one in ages and I see two in good condition a week apart.
In the truely obscure department, does anyone recall a car called a Mohs?
The local auto mart magazine runs an ad for the heart association slaes lot (they apparently retail some of the donations). Among the many fine choices:
a 1975 Lancia "Scorpian", soft top, and restoration ready. Your's for the princely sum of $350. Wonder why it's at the donation center?
ALso the place to go if you need a Volvo 740 turbo wagon that needs exhaust work, but that's someone elses problem.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Looked pretty good, hadn't seen one with the top up before. It integrates well.
Was a Mohs a really old car, like 1920s and before?
The '80-85 Seville was the "bustleback" model, and was really more of a "personal luxury sedan", than an import fighter. A 4-door Eldorado or Riv, if you will. Sales did cool to just under 40K for 1980, but also consider that we were also tumbling into recession, and would soon pass through some of the bleakest years in automotive history. Also, the price skyrocketed, jumping from about $16K in 1979 to an astounding $20K in 1980! I think the Seville may have been the first mass-produced domestic car to break the $20K barrier, although some of the low-production Fleetwood limousines were flirting with $20K by 1977.
The 2nd-gen Seville bottomed out at around 20K units in '82, although by '84-85 sales were back to around 40K. Still, back then people really didn't know what to make of a personal luxury sedan, and the Eldorado consistently outsold the Seville by a wide margin.
As for "retro", well back then they called it "Neo-classic", and Bill Mitchell admitted to it. In responding to criticisms that he ripped off certain classic Jaguars with that Seville rump, he responded "Hell, I ripped off Rolls-Royce!! If you're going to rob somebody, you might as well rob Fort Knox and not a piggy bank!"
And to be fair, that style did influence the rest of Detroit. Just look at the '81 Imperial and '82 Continental sedan. Neither were high volume lines, both flopping when it came to sales, but both did represent the flagship of their respective companies. I've also heard some debate as to whether the Imperial really was a copy, because in only coming out a year later, that wouldn't have been enough lead time. Still, I'm sure that Chrysler, and Ford, knew what GM was doing long before anything hit the showroom floors. I can't imagine they keep things THAT secret in the auto industry!
No such thing as a 1952 220D that I know of. There was a 220 that came out in 51, but it was a gas, and was just a 220...a warmed over prewar looking design with more modern fenders. If it's a diesel, someone has replaced the engine.
If he has a 220 gas sedan, he does have a somewhat rare car and a minor "collectible", but if it is shabby, the cost of restoration far exceeds its value and therefore I would recommend parting it out to save the 220a and 220b convertibles of that era.
If he has a 170D, again a minor collectible but again not worth restoring. It's a very slow car and somewhat nasty to drive. A long shot on a 170D or 220 sedan from the early 50s would be to see if anyone in Europe wants it, as they can now buy our collectible cars at a healthy discount, due to our weak dollar. Cars are starting to flow to Europe again---but usually only the nice ones.
Value of a very nice 1952 sedan? Maybe $7K-10K to the right buyer. Not an easy sell however. A 170D sedan probably less.
MOHS -- rather amazing if somewhat tasteless cars. Really interesting specifications. I've never seen one but I did go on a wild goose chase for one reported to be stashed somewhere in the Bay Area. I didn't want it but someone hired me to be a detective. Turned out to be some kind of stupid kit car which I could not identify. Definitely not a Mighty Mohs.
Some of the specs I just dug out of a book included rear-entrace only, built in roll bars and side collision bars, bucket seats that swung on turns, a refrigerator, gold plated inlay dash, velvet upholstery and a butane carburetor. The automatic transmission was water-cooled and the tires were filled with nitrogen gas. An 8997cc V8 was optional! The main model, called the "Ostentatienne" (I'm not making any of this up) was 246 inches long (!!) and in 1967 cost up to $25,000 (price of a nice house back then).
The designer was Bruce Baldwin, who owned the Mohs Seaplane Corporation out of Madison Wisconsin, so the vehicle did have some serious engineering behind it.
As I recall, it's not too pretty. Photos anyone?
BTW, about how big is a 220 sedan? Anybody know the specs, like overall length, wheelbase, etc. My friend says it's 15 feet long, which comes out to 180 inches? Are they really that small?
First, a '55 Chevy station wagon. 2-door, but not a Nomad. Then, a '71-72 Chevelle 2-door hardtop, faded silver with black SS stripes, but coulda been a clone. These days, who knows?
And finally, a '63-64 or so Valiant 2-door sedan, in pale blue, with a for sale sign in the windows. I dunno how much he was asking, as it went by too fast.
http://mclellansautomotive.com/photos/B25827.jpg
This had to be the Pimpiest of the 70's Pimpmobiles, as if you couldn't tell from
the name alone. I first read of it in Road
& Track, I thought for sure it was one of their spoofs, then I saw it at the NYIAS!
Oh the horror! Kids pray you never have to live thru anything like the '70s!
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Also, interestingly enough, the sucker does have a "D" on its rump!
My friend told me that it had to have been put on sometime after the fact though, since, like you guys said, there was no 220D in '52.
Also, I found out that this thing is just a parts car for my friend, so he doesn't have any delusions of grandeur about restoring it. He has one that's in pretty good shape at home, but just no storage space. This one's pretty far gone, having almost as much rust as the typical Vega did after a winter or two! ;-)
Also, looking at these pics, I could almost see Jeff Foxworthy making a joke about the results of a mixed marriage between a redneck and a [non-permissible content removed]!
the D is Deutschland, probably part of a registration doohickey. Much too clumsy and out of proportion for a Mercedes signature.
Where was this car parked, the bottom of the Caribbean?
It could have an old radio worth a few hundred in it. That's the best potential I can see there. Looks pretty sad.
That Mohs is atrocious
Today I saw a Citroen DS wagon, a showroom-looking Olds X-car, a really early Mini, a Fiat Spyder, and a pretty fintail . Oh wait, that's mine!
I need to clean out the garage and get my '67 Catalina out. It's packed in pretty tight, though. Damn I'll be glad when I can get a REAL garage built!!
Oh yeah, the tow truck that brought the 220 over to my place was a Dodge Ram! Haven't seen a Dodge truck set up for work duty (as in non-pickup) in a long time, now, unless it was a real old one. Interestingly, 2 of this tow company's 3 trucks were broken down today. I wonder if the other two were Dodges, or some other brand!
Nice weather here too...I had 3 people come up and talk to me about the fintail when I was stopped at stores and a gas station. More than normal
And a writeup on the beast...http://www.hemmings.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/articles.obg- /id/47
Along with the Opera Sedan, these things were actually based on International trucks, and used International engines. I wonder if that would qualify them as pre-historic crossover vehicles?!
These have to be the best pics ever shown for an ebay auction. I like the item description too. I wonder what it costs to rebuild a M189. Shifty? The radio and AC are worth a couple hundred a piece if working.
33 grand is a lot to spend on a relic, but this has matchless brand cachet, and attractive period bodywork. I think it's worth it, just to say you own one
You don't see these every day...for good reason. Is it sitting in a salted parking lot, still full of salt? Oh no!
300SE -- definitely the boneyard. As you say, some good parts. A money pit that would swallow $25,000 on the FIRST gulp. Did you catch the part about the air suspension and the rust....ooohhhh, run away, run away!
STUTZ--Stutz is a highly respected car. Problem is his opening bid for this #3 sedan is already top dollar and maybe over top dollar. He is high by about $10,000 and I think the bidding, which has been ZERO, reflects no great enthusiasm. Maybe he'll hook someone but they'll be in too much and ten years ahead of the market.
RENAULT-- At $600, bid is already just about right. No need to go higher...well maybe $750. you can always fill it full of bullet holes.
I like the Stutz. It's such a historical old name...I think it would carry more clout than a period Packard or Pierce Arrow. If I was bored, rich, and had a huge garage/aircraft hangar to store cars, I'd want it. I kind of like it as is too. Maybe detail it out...but that would be one crazy driver.
Also saw a pre-1975 Oldsmobile Omega 2-door, white, restored-looking, with fat tires on the back and skinny ones up front. It was such a nice day that I got my Catalina out and drove around the neighborhood a bit, and saw saw a '74 full-sized Pontiac 2-door hardtop (couldn't tell which series), and a '77-78 or so Firebird in the same yard. Also saw a '54 or so Willys, which has been sitting in the same spot under a carport for years now.
70s cars are still plentiful in California. They are bought, sold and driven regularly as used cars, and cheap, too. Nows the time to corner the market on Gremlins.