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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)
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Subaru Brats are still a funny sight
Most people removed them immediately, and put caps on instead.
Our Subaru club had a run in the Pine Barrens and a couple of them showed up, one was set up for off road use and even made it through a mud pit there, it was pretty cool.
They can be setup nicely for off road use, being extremely light and small, and with a low range.
-juice
I remember an article in R&T ages ago about a old Rolls that somebody rebodied as a "boat-tail" speedster and the rear deck was wood trimmed. It was simply stunning, one of the few (the only?) Rollers I've ever lusted after. I doubt if I would have given a rip for the original body.
So it was common to switch them, junk them, change them, whatever. For the well to do, changing the body was no more a violation of originality than painting the house.
Also tastes changed, and there was no sense trading in a perfectly good Rolls just because the body was not up to modern trends. Off with the boxy 20s body style and on to a boat-tail!
Probably that old Delage body is so deteriorated it is really scrap metal at this point. If it were more attractive, it would make a great pattern for a new body, but I can't imagine anyone reproducing that one.
Besides, he's not going to make any money on this. I doubt anybody even wants his old body and it's going to cost him a bloody fortune to make a new open body for his chassis.
You can't preserve every old thing, there has to be discrimination based on aesthetics, rarity, etc. otherwise car collecting turns into junk collecting real quick.
Can say why I think that, just a memory impression.
Last week, in Iowa, I saw a good looking approx. 1950 Ford panel truck. Black w/ yellow flames.
I can't remember ever seeing one before. Dad & a cousin both had pickups of that breed, some of my drivers ed. happened in that '50 Ford with a flathead V-8.
I can't imagine someone doing that to a car like that Delage if not for gain. If you're going to spend a fortune get a higher make.
Old panels and sedan delivery cars are pretty sought after nowadays.
Probably just needs a trip through a car wash and it will be mint
coachwork:-- I've seen modern reproduction coachwork that is absolutely perfect and undetectable from the original. Same metal, same skill level, patterns taken off a real car. It's an exact duplicate. But yes, even with a real chassis underneath, it isn't quite the same at the original. Still people will pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for modern re-bodies if they are well done. Why? Because there are often no more left of the originals to buy, and people want to own them and other people want to look at them.
Besides, many a 'restoration' uses just a few panels and re-creates the rest. At what point is George Washington's axe still George Washington's axe if you replaced the handle in 1850 and the head in 1950?
I can understand why people would want a rebody. An open car is always more fun for most people than a dowdy sedan or coupe. I am simply talking about historical value and a vehicle being genuine. I think a new body strips a vehicle of much of those factors.
I think the guy has a nicer period body stashed somewhere. He's just dumping the ugly duckling. If he's got a nice open Delage body from the period, then he's doing the right thing IMO. Maybe the coupe body doesn't even belong on there you never know.
that nice fintail you found on Ebay is up to $1,825 and there are still 4 days to go.
so what's the Edsel wagon doing?
I think the S1 is a parts car. The Wraith might be salvagable but I don't think they are worth all restored what that guy thinks they are worth. He's off by half at least IMO.
The Edsel has stalled out at $8100. It is in that lull that seems to happen in the period from about a day after bidding starts to a few hours before it ends.
If that fintail is as nice as it looks, market should be like 5 grand on it anyway, and it would bring double that in Europe. It looks like an excellent car, and the seller seems to be trustworthy. The same seller also has some other nice "obscure" cars up at the moment:
A lovely 280SE 3.5 low grille cabrio, in very nice colors
A very pretty 67 Vette 427/390...although lacking the docs collectors like
A nice and unusual Mercury Montego
Now, that DeSoto link doesn't work at all. I have had that happen too. Ebay...
Anyone know anything about these XT6 cars?
I used to see the XT's around on a regular basis, but haven't seen one in awhile now.
Pretty sweet. Good shape and I've always liked the 390 motor. If the price doesn't go up much that looks good. If I had the money laying around (which the Jag pretty much wiped out) I think I might have to pick that up. Hmmmmm. Wonder if I could convince the wife to buy that as "her" car........
I belive Frank Curtis' son will also still build people a Kutis 500S. Now, is that still an "original"? If done well I would think it is worth more than a replica by others, but not as much as a good older one.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
First one I saw they did up some kids Dihatsu Hi-Jet van. The second one I saw was a girls mid to late 70's Cadillac (one of those BIG ones).
Car was absolutely falling apart. They gutted the interior and but in new everything. Put a running water fall in the back seat area, DVD screens, sound system. On the outside they repaired it, put one of those Rolls Royce grills, gave it a deep pink paint job and 22" rims, and of course, slammed it.
While wouldn't be anything I'd drive, it is a fun show to watch. Oh, and they put a powered shoe rack in the trunk. (she had a ton of shoes strewn around in the trunk)
Couldn't help but watch.
I liked that Montego convertible. A bit obscure, not all that great looking, but I like the rarity, relatively low price and managable size. Oh yeah, and that one is loaded (power windows and seat even) and has a white interior. Quite nice. A friend of mine had a fairly similar '68 Torino GT convertible in that cool period gold-green, but with a 302 (which really is preferable to a 390, IMO).
Bet it runs another 3 months then the engine dies.
-juice
(or lack thereof judging by the results. Still fun to watch for some reason.)
I know there have been very good reproduction Mercedes gullwings and SLRs (1955 style, not new) made too, that are very accurate down to every dimension.
My first car was a 66 Ford with a 390. That thing could burn gas like no car I have seen since.
RE: reproductions -- they have their place but they aren't good investments and you won't be welcome at the club meets or car shows. But for rare cars, where there just aren't any to be had, it's one way of enjoying ownership.
But any reproduction that doesn't use factory engines and drivelines just doesn't cut it--that really is more a "fake" and you, therefore, are a pretender. But a loving and costly re-creation with superb authenticity might be considered more of a tribute.
The "bathtub" Porsche replicas, for instance, are on a modified VW chassis and engine and while they really look like a 356, they don't feel like one or drive like one; on the other hand, something like a Lynx, a D Jag reproduction in alloy, really does look and feel like the real thing.
I wonder what the Bugatti replicas are running underneath there? I do know that people are repoducing Bugatti engine blocks in their entirety, so maybe that's it.
The good fake Mercedes I have seen have had the inline 6 out of the E class in them. Not a bad choice.
I remember when I was about 9 years old the local Ford lot had a blue Bugatti replicar on their lot. It was VW powered. I suppose it could be fun...I liked it then, but I would pass on it now.
This all reminds me of the Shay Ford A replicas, that I believe were based on the Pinto. Nowadays you can get a real A roadster for less than a fortune...making one of those look foolish, esp if one bought one new. I think model As sold for more 25 years ago than now.
Someone had to show me this....never seen this trim level before
While on the subject of pimpiness, I finally got a chance to see my buddy's '78 Mark V Diamond Jubilee. Got to ride in it and then drive it, actually. As a passenger, this car scared the crap out of me. My buddy's other car is a current-gen Passat, with a V-6 and a manual tranny. Well, needless to say, he drives this car about like you'd drive a Passat...taking corners too fast, waiting until the last second to brake, etc. It felt something akin to setting the Queen Mary loose in a harbor full of dinghies, with a good, strong hurricane whipping thing around.
One thing that I was impressed with though, is this car's passing ability. Merging onto the highway, my buddy stomped on it from around 45-50, and there was a nice, healthy kick as it downshifted and threw us back into the seat, easily getting up to the flow of traffic and beyond. Who needs all that DOHC crap when you got 460 cubes with gearing that seems to put it right in that sweet spot when you punch it around 50! ;-) And who cares if it's a noisy, antiquated pushrod...between the sound insulation and the BeeGees blasting on the 8 track, the engine is going to be the LAST thing you hear!
Once he let me behind the wheel though, I saw that the car is really more "in control" than it might feel to a passenger. And while the car might be 230 inches long, most of that is in front of you, so if you can pilot what you see through traffic, there really isn't that much car left behind you to worry about! My biggest complaint was that headroom in this car is non-existent. But it's also something like 53" tall, and has a floor sill that's probably higher than most car-based SUV's, so that's really not too much of a shock. It also has a sunroof, which cuts into headroom a bit. Front legroom was very good, but the back looked pretty tight. I didnt try it out, though.
Another thing that impressed me about this car is that just about all the trim that would normally be vinyl on a luxury car was actually leather on this one! The dashboard was leather. So was the padding on the armrests. Genuine leather, not that soft-touch molded foam-backed junk like what Cadillac used, that was famous for cracking and flaking off after a few years. The center console had a leather armrest on top, and had leather trim on other parts, as well. This sucker even has a leather-encased owner's manual and tool kit! About the only thing bad about this car was the fake wood. As far as fake wood goes, it's not too bad, but it just doesn't go well with the deep pile carpet, thick velour seats, leather trim, etc.
Overall though, it felt more nimble than you'd expect 230 inches of beast weighing in at 4800+ pounds. It did remind me though, of why I prefer Chryslers. Even when they were at their pimpiest, gaudiest, and most flambouyant, Chryslers just felt like they were at least TRYING to give you some handling and road feel. Maybe they'd sacrifice a bit of ride comfort and isolation, but overall I think they struck a better balance.
Still, a neat car overall.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&cate- gory=10076&item=2467868400
Was that Lincoln as good as expected for the money?
My buddy's Lincoln feels like it's in good shape mechanically, but cosmetically it's a little "rough around the edges" when you look closely. The paint is a mix of original and touch-up (it had hail damage in the past). From about 10 feet away it looks good, but there's a lot of fine "spider-webbing", or "crows-footing", or whatever you call it, on the trunk. There are also little dents and nicks here and there, and one crack on the rear bumper that's rusting. Inside looks pretty good, except that on the Diamond Jubilee, they covered everything that would have normally been plastic (a-pillar trim, some trim on the doors, trim around the windshield and rear window, etc) in felt that matched the seats. It looks great when it's new, giving the car an upscale, posh look, but it also fades quicker than the material on the seats and door panels, which is thicker.
Truthfully, the Lincoln that Grbeck and I, and my buddy, saw up in Carlisle back in the fall seemed in better shape, but I guess as long as my buddy is happy, that's the important thing!
-juice
That was actually the first car with a coefficient of drag below .30 (it was .29), that explains the wedge shape.
-juice
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item- - =2467427477&category=6417
How many Bonneville 4-door hardtops do you reckon were built with buckets and a floor shift? I've never seen one, most I see from this era have the 'strato-bench', while Catalinas usually have a regular bench and a column shift. Strangely, this one appears to have an aftermarket a/c (check passenger side below glove compartment), factory 8-track, power windows but no tilt wheel. Kinda interesting. This goes back to the virtually endless option combinations of options for cars of this era. I just wish this auction had better photos.
new Scion b
Oldsmobile Delmont in the HS parking lot similar to this one
except in green.
It's a jungle out there. Beware of giant spiders dropping from trees.
That 380SEL in 1981 was the equivalent of a S500 today, it was the top of the mass produced range, and I don't think the 500SEL made it here til around 83. I have a R&T road test on one from Jan 81 and indeed the sticker was $45453, 155hp, 0-60 in 10.1. Expensive, but undoubtedly the best upper end lux sedan of the day. That was the year Euro models could be had with both an airbag and ABS.
That Bonneville is really an odd combination. Someone will save it.
What was the Porsche problem...botched accident repair?