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

fintail

A few oddities in the late afternoon: 86-88 Toronado - again that burgundy color, 87-88 (maybe) Sedan DeVille, I think maybe the "touring" model as it had wheels, looked to be in mint condition, and a red Testarossa, earlier model than the one I saw several weeks ago.

andre1969

The scene my car was ultimately used in was set in the early 80's, almost at the end of the movie. Just to show how obscure my LeMans, as well as all the other cars used in that scene were, here's a pic of the general area:


We were out on the DC National Mall, near the old Smithsonian building, and the cars were parked on the street in the background. There were only four of them: my LeMans, a late 70's Trans Am, an early 70's Firebird, and a 1971-73 Mustang.

The shot was actually shown through grainy, hand-held camera footage that panned down at the last second, so you could barely see a quick glimpse of the back of my car. And, IIRC, they panned a little too wide, so you could actually see one of the production company's white vans, and a couple other modern cars. But, it all shows up so quick on the screen, you really have to know what to watch for.

IIRC, the shot from around 1973, where they originally wanted my LeMans, would have shown the cars mainly in side view, so it probably wouldn't have stuck out all that much.

Here's the trailer from the movie, if anyone's curious about it. Apparently there were other inconsistencies in the film. For instance, there's one shot at the beginning of that trailer, around the 9 second mark, where you can see an early 70's Eldorado convertible, as well as a 1959 DeSoto Firesweep wagon, with the US Capitol in the background. I think that was when the main character, DJ Petey Green, first came to DC. But, according to Wikipedia, that should have been 1966.

I've read that the movie played fast and loose with a lot of reality though in general. Even though it was based on a real life person, a lot of various scenes and incidents were completely fabricated. But, that's Hollywood, I guess!

fintail

Fun stuff. Sometimes it is easy to find automotive anachronisms in film and TV.

Did the Lincoln guy get to have his car used?

On the obscure car topic, saw a W124 500E this morning.

kyfdx

Is that the model with the Porsche engine?

fintail

Yep, that's the one. ~80K back in 92.

Caught a break in the weather today, had my old car out (ran sweetly, no complaints), but saw few other oldies. Only old cars I spotted were a 67-68 Mustang and an early 70s 911 with Fuchs style wheels.

Also browsed a highline used lot, most interesting to me were a 99 Bentley Azure and a 76 450SL in silver-green with olive interior, I still think that's a great combination.

fintail

Pic from today - I have warmed up to the ostentatious tires, they fit well with the fins and chrome (lots for a German) of the car. It's something I could imagine in a street scene in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, or elsewhere in Camelot:

andre1969

Those tires look great on that car! But, since you've been used to seeing it for so long with the other tires, I can understand how it takes some getting used to.

fintail

Thanks, and I never thought of it that way - I was so used to the car looking as it did (I've had it for over 18 years, and it always had the same brand and style of tire on it until the new set) that I was just used to the previous look. It'll be interesting to see how it goes over at the club meet this year.

uplanderguy

Looks great and period-correct, but weren't you going with the narrower whitewalls that went up to the wheel? Or were those too crazy-priced?

uplanderguy

Just curious. I'm going out for all day Wed. April 24 with an old buddy of mine.

If you see a short guy with an electric blue windbreaker that says on the back, "Ohio Region Studebaker Driver's Club", with a red ball around the "S" in "Studebaker", shout out "Hey, Uplanderguy" and say 'hi'! (Or shouting "Bill" will do!)

andre1969

I'll be there, but unfortunately just on that Saturday, which I think is the 27th?

fintail

These do go to the wheel. I think they are 2 3/8" - that was the only type available for the tire size ...there might have been something else in a bias ply somewhere, but I didn't want to go that route as the car is driven a bit. There was a slightly narrower (2 1/4" I think) available, but on a narrower tire that I don't know would have worked with the wheel. The tires on it are the exact same size as the previous set.

uplanderguy

I was thinking there was a narrower whitewall that went right to the wheel that was being reproduced...maybe not. Looks great regardless.

fintail

There are different widths on different tire sizes. I think an odd European brand has something slightly narrower too, but I am unsure of the exact tire size. I won't do a wheel conversion to get a specific tire.

Here's a cool timeline showing a wide whitewalled fintail

uplanderguy

Frankly, I wish I was going to Carlisle later in the week. Saturday the 27th I'm going to the 175th anniversary parade in my old hometown, where I helped set up a lady who rode with the Mayor in an open car in the 1938 Centennial parade, to ride with the Mayor in this parade, 75 years later!

I'm riding with a friend to Carlisle so I have to go when he wants to go.

I'm hoping there's stuff to see on Wednesday.

lemko

I'm planning on being there on Saturday the 27th.

uplanderguy

Well, the dealer has never gotten back to me with their asking price, or the serial no. I requested.

They did reply that they'd 'get with me' on the serial number, and did I know it was the only 4-speed supercharged wagon built that year?

I'm always surprised what people on eBay, or even worse, old-car dealers, will spout! If ever there was a good reason to believe 'caveat emptor', it's that business!

I can't find my detail listing of Avanti-powered '63's, but if my club magazine showed there were 25 4-speeds out of both R1 and R2 powered Wagonaires that year, I doubt 24 of those 25 were in R1's!

Oh well. An interesting car just begging for a first-class resto IMHO...for the love of the offbeat, not to resell.

andys120

Wow, Fin IMO those whites look fantastic on your car and very period-correct (on a NA-spec car). We tend to forget how commonplace whitewalls were back in the day. All sorts of cars wore them even sporty European cars. I've seen factory photos of a Porsche 356A with fat w/walls.

Here's a '61 E-Type with 'em>



I don't know how common whites were on Euro-spec cars of the era but I suspect they werenot uncommon..

fintail

Nice. I love E-types with wide whites, something so goofy about it, but it works. The style of 1961 was much different than that of 1965.

Wide whites on any MB then were an option, no matter the location. There are plenty of period promo pics with them, so they existed in some numbers. The whitewall width is my issue - some pics look almost like mine, some are a little narrower. But that's probably an issue of tire supplier, which might have changed over a several month timespan. I think they work on my car, with its early 60s style color, the fins and chrome - and I would wager a lot the car had wide whites when new simply as it is a NA spec 220SE.

tjc78

Today's spottings are an 85ish Monte Carlo SS with what appeared to be 26" wheels and lift kit.

Burgundy colored Corvair

early 80s AMC Concord 4 in a perod rust color.

2 box body Grand Marquis

Mr_Shiftright

It would be a very cool car to own--I wouldn't mind having one. I don't think I'd blow $75K on a restoration though. I'd drive it like it was, that way a) I wouldn't have to worry about, and b) I wouldn't be condemned to the lawn chair circuit at car shows.

Mr_Shiftright

Wow. My two least favorites things on an E-Type---white walls and chrome wheels! Double play!

uplanderguy

At least sheetmetal, emblems and bright trim, and NOS interiors still available comparatively cheap (except for front fenders--NLA for a '63; stacks of them available for a '64-- and I'm not sure about the tailgate).

Of course, if there's rust I can't see from the photos.....

One would think a dealer would answer a question about price, when the ad says 'call for price'. Oh that's it; I emailed instead of called!

andys120

I imagine you'd have to look long and hard to find an S1, or S2 E-type without chromed wires. Did they even import such a thing?

I'd prefer painted wheels myself but the chromies work well enough IMO.

hpmctorque

""My two least favorite things on an E-Type..."

My two least favorite things about an E-Type, by a wide margin, are the poor reliability and, related, the cost-to-own. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?

In the case of the E-Type the play redeems itself because the car's positives outweigh its negatives. It was a gorgeous, technically advanced car, with brilliant performance. In addition, it was reasonably priced for a high end sports car, and has aged very well. Because of this combination of attributes, the E-Type was a ground breaker, as was the XK-120 before it. Both deserve a special place in automotive history.

ateixeira

Worthy successor?

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1083557_2014-jaguar-f-type-first-drive-video

I gotta say, that the sharpest looking Jag in a long, long time.

Mr_Shiftright

Depends where you bought it. In Europe, chrome wheels on an E-Type were special order--in the USA, they came as standard equipment. That's rather a wry comment on American tastes I think---sort of like pulling your left cuff up so that people can see your Rolex while you sip your drink. :P

The serious collector, or vintage racer, paints his E-type wheels in 'stoved aluminum'. This was the color also of the optional 'racing wheels' you could get from the factory.

White walls are for "formal" cars, such as yours.

lemko

...red 1965 Chevrolet Impala with black top on Rising Sun Avenue just south of Cottman in NE Philly. This one was really dragging its butt.

uplanderguy

Those may be my favorite Chevrolet of the '60's. They tended to have a bit of 'butt dragging' stance even when new, but not too much.

I can see why they sold like crazy...over one million Impalas alone (not even counting Biscaynes and Bel Airs).

If a '61 SS and a '65 SS in equal conditions came up at the same price, I'd probably take the '61 but I'd take a good hard look at the '65! Of course, I believe '61's would be more expensive than '65's.

fintail

Saw a shiny red Reatta and a very clean 83-85 Prelude.

andys120

So it's just as I thought, E-types were never sold here without chromed wires. I can understand why you prefer the grey-painted wires, I would to but I've never looked at an XK-E and said "gee those chromed wires really spoil it."

As for white walls, it's just as Fintail said, they're kind of goofy but interesting in an odd way, I still recall that Jaguar magazine add showing an E roadster sitting outside a cafe in Paris with wide whites looking tres chic. I couldn't find it but here's a different ad from the dark ages.

BTW I've heard that the claimed 150MPH top speed couldn't be obtained without aerodynamic or engine mods.



My TR-4 came with whitewalls, surprising for a mid-60s (1966MY) sports car. They were soon replaced with radial Dunlop red-stripes, I wish they'd bring those back.

lemko

That is one gorgeous car! The price is in Cadillac territory. I can see a young "Don Draper" type driving that car back in the early 1960s. Heck, you could look like Quasimodo and get a lot of female attention in that ride!

fintail

1963 and still wearing them - the Euros held on to wide whites longer. MB used them through model year 1964. Fun ad.

That base XK-E roadster would be roughly 40K in today's money, heck of a bargain for a supercar of the time.

ateixeira

F-Type will cost about double.

Mr_Shiftright

I think they were catering to their perception of the American market. No, chrome wires don't "spoil" an E-Type, but I think they cheapen it considerably. That's the problem with chrome--a little goes a long, long way.

andre1969

Even the Jag that Trixie cruises past in the closing credits of Speed Racer had wire wheels. No whitewalls though. It comes up around the 43 second mark. And, oops, they make you sit through a commercial first. :mad:

The Jag in Vanishing Point was a confused, tortured little beast. It had wire wheels, but a mix-and match of whitewall and blackwall tires. You can't see it in the main pic, but if you scroll down, there are more.

I guess I've just seen them WITH wire wheels so often, both on tv and in real life, that to me it just seems "normal".

Mr_Shiftright

Wires are great looking on an E-Type, but I prefer them painted. Silver or Black seems to work best--I've seen red wires, but wasn't so keen on them.

lemko

The hearse conversion from "Harold and Maude."

lemko

This one's sporting chrome wires and red-stripe tyres.

andre1969

I almost forgot about that Harold and Maude hearse! I saw that movie in the theatre a couple months ago. There's a place out in Annapolis that shows old movies on the weekends. Going to see this little gem this weekend...

andys120

That's an Aston-Martin DB-2/4 being driven by Tippi Hedren in The Birds.

fintail

Mercedes displays at Techno Classica Essen - which is a major German/European classic car event. A few fintails present. They must not cause corporate shame anymore :shades:

Mr_Shiftright

Not Your Father's Oldsmobile

warning: This link will expire soon.

ateixeira

All it needs is a long board on top.

tjc78

Man, that woody is sweet. Supercharged too!

bhill2

my question is whether a stock Hydra-Matic can possibly handle the job behind a blown 371.

kyfdx

What a coincidence! I spotted an Olds woody wagon today, as well...

It looked just like this one..



Appeared to be a daily driver... same color and patina.. Almost like they were twins!

berri

Years ago I worked with someone who drove that very same looking car. Personally, I always thought the Ciera wagon looked better than the other versions (now I didn't say gorgeous!).

uplanderguy

That Ciera reminds me that there's a real nice '77 Caprice Estate wagon on eBay now, with the plastic scooped-out spoked wheelcovers I always liked. I should have brought the link here.

Over on the Studebaker forum, courtesy of jljac, was posted this old article about the impending closing of AMC's Kenosha, WI, plant by Chrysler. Posting here because I had mentioned not too long ago about my friend's opinion that AMC built better Fifth Avenues than Chrysler! This article mentions those cars but also mentions that Omnis and Horizons were built there before Chrysler even bought AMC--I didn't know, or at least didn't remember, that.

http://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/29/business/time-runs-out-at-old-car-plant.html

uplanderguy

Here's that Caprice wagon I mentioned. Not perfect but pretty nice IMHO:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Woody-Wagon-Super-Low-Miles-Excellent-Condition-R- - - - oad-Ready-Beautiful-Car-/221214275215?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item338165f68f

Andre, for a moment I thought it escaped the dash pad crack syndrome of those cars, but there is one on the right side (sigh). Since some guys like that era Chevy as a 'glass house' car, I wonder if someone is reproducing those pads. I couldn't stand a nice car with a dash crack. I wonder if it could be repaired...well, that is. Mine never got one (built in Oct. '76; sold Jan. '81) but I knew a guy in college whose black-interiored-one had a dash crack before May '80, when I graduated!

A small thing, but I wish Chevy didn't make you buy the "Custom" (deep velour) interior on the coupes and sedans to get the chromed plastic escutcheons around the interior door handles. I think that dresses up the interior so much.

I honestly didn't remember the body side moldings being available with the woodgrain.