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

berri

Well, it got one thing right - that CHP VHF whip antenna, no UHF or cell phones back in those days!

scscars

Everything is all wrong on the Ford, including the license plate which is definitely not a New York plate, much less one from 1968. A real NYPD cruiser from that era would have been most likely a Plymouth Fury I or Fury II.

fintail

That's a 90s era Montana plate - the car was probably bought with a bunch of cheap survivor cars to send to Europe, and was gussied up once there.

stickguy

a car I have seen in a driveway many times, so now I know it runs.

a Mercury Maurader X100. Looked like this one, but in a decidedly non-OEM electric blue (at least, I really doubt it was).

berri

I always liked the mid 60's Marauder's. This vintage is my favorite. Like you said, not sure about that color, but it's a sharp car.

texases

Back when Mercury was something special compared to a Ford. This one looks like the one Darth Vader would choose...nice!

fintail

This morning saw a ~64 Dart convertible, a burgundy 2002tii, XJ-S convertible, and dropped my old beast off at the shop. The facility shares room with a lot of other activity, so odd cars are always hanging around:

andys120

A real NYPD cruiser from that era would have been most likely a Plymouth Fury I or Fury II.

You rang!



The NYPD did use a smattering of other makes but they were mostly Plymouths for most of the 60s and the prowl cars all had the tri-tone green/black/white

andys120

Wow, your blue beauty is flanked by an E46 M3 and a 356A Speedster, that's three fantastic cars that couldn't be more different even if they're all German.

fintail

I'd bet the Speedster is a reproduction, but yeah, they contrast with each other pretty loudly. Couldn't resist snapping a pic.

andys120

I'd bet the Speedster is a reproduction.

Yeah, Speedsters have become so rare and valuable that they're like Cobras, if you see one on the street it's probably a replica. I'm old enough to remember a guy in college driving one that was a heap: torn top, dents, scrapes, rust, a real beater. Back in the early 60s it wouldn't have been worth $500 in that condition.

fintail

And today, that one with "patina" would be sought after. Back then, you could also pick up a decent used gullwing for maybe 4-5K. Would have been a good investment. And I won't even get into the 50s era Ferraris. Or some Matchbox cars. Hindsight...

Spotted a W126 300SD in a kind of bright gold, not the champagne color. Looked to be in very good condition.

robr2

And today, that one with "patina" would be sought after.

IMHO, the dramatic rise in prices for unrestored cars or cars with patina is a joke. Somehow I think some major collectors got together with Bonhams, Christies, et al and said "We're tired of spending $100K to restore a car just to sell it for $80K. How can we market these wrecks as they are for even more money? Ha - I've got it!! Let's compare them to art, textiles and furniture - patina makes them worth more."

explorerx4

Sitting at a light a Delorean. Don't those very often.
Also, a custom whale Caprice done up like a tri 9 Impala SS.
Looked nicely done, but I didn't like the eggplant color paint.

fintail

It's kind of a funny movement. I think it is a combination of two things - collectors not wanting to spend endless sums on restoration, and a backlash against some of the overdone better-than-new restorations of the past. There's also a little romanticism about original parts.

And then you get the rat rod types who fake patina - let it sit outside and rust, chemically treat the metal, etc.

I don't mind it, lowers any pressure to restore my own old car. Old car, old paint, old interior, old chrome, etc - it can be something for pride.

And I like the idea of having an driving a somewhat weathered example of a valuable car. An unrestored kind of worn gullwing or 540K or something, cooler than a concours example.

robr2

A weathered survivor is one thing. I'm talking about the "ooohh look at the tattered seats, dust, seized motor and flat tires....it's so historical - he parked it in this barn in 1953 and it hasn't moved since then - the stories this car could tell - we need to leave it as it is - don't even clean it - swoooooon."

fintail

Oh yeah, the old car needs to be roadworthy and not a biohazard. Clean off the bird droppings and sweep out the rodent remains, give it some elbow grease. But if the paint has wear, the interior is a little shabby etc, oh well.

explorerx4

Forgot to include the word 'wagon' after Caprice. That changes everything.

berri

Mint condition dark red 64 Malibu SS convertible driving around top down with a Beach Boys song type young blonde babe behind the wheel. All very sweet!

explorerx4

a bunch of ordinary cars and a mid 60's red corvette convertible!

fintail

Malaise day today - a gold 78-80 Monte Carlo, and a Datsun 310 like this:



These have to be pretty rare today.

explorerx4

Not to mention that 79 or so Cutlass behind it.

uplanderguy

I knew as soon as I saw the guy, he seemed like a doofus. 5,040 units of the Aztek? 940 Studebaker Wagonaires? Can't speak for the Aztek, but the 940 Wagonaires was for the final '66 model year of the company only. When introduced in '63, nearly 12,000 were sold. Sheesh guys, if I did my homework at work like this, I'd get fired. But of course on the internet, homework doesn't need to be done...anybody can say anything and it becomes instant fact. Sheesh.

andre1969

At first I mistook that for an F10, something else that I haven't seen in ages. Now that I think about it, I can't remember the last time I saw a 310. Didn't that ultimately become the Pulsar?

I actually do remember seeing an F10 in one of the parking lots at the University of MD back when I was in college. I guess that's an indication right there of how rare those things are, if I can actually remember seeing one 20+ years ago! Don't think I've seen one, since.

I also remember a '77 LeMans Safari wagon in that same parking lot, in sort of a caramel brown with a buckskin vinyl interior.

fintail

AOL, need one say more? Not much cred there on any subject.

fintail

They are rare here too, that's saying something. The one I saw was brown, and was actually on the highway - far right lane, of course, but moving along just fine and looked to be in sound condition. I could see the evolution from it to Pulsar.

I remember the F10, been ages since I have seen one. When I was in grade school in the mid-late 80s, I knew a kid who's mother had an early 200SX, the weird fastback thing Like this - these are virtually extinct now.

Speaking of period Pontiacs, I noticed this survivor in a free car rag

And this Poncho barge linked to local CL might appeal to Andre or Lemko

fintail

And the 83-86 Cougar beside that, all but gone now.

Time moves on, now 80s vintage street scenes can be interesting.

andre1969

Hmm, if I'm doing the VIN decode correctly, that '79 Grand LeMans has the somewhat uncommon 301-4bbl! At least, according to the Firebird VIN decoder I found, that's what the "W" engine code stands for.

I'm sure it doesn't make it any more desireable, especially in that color! But, kinda neat that someone thought to order one of the stronger engines. Most of them probably just had Buick 231 V-6es, and the V-8 option was usually a Chevy 305-2bbl, or Pontiac 301-2bbl.

That Parisienne is a really nice car. Not so crazy about the fender skirts, but the two-tone burgundy is nice, and I like the fact that it doesn't have a vinyl roof.

au1994

Seems like an awful lot of the Grand LeManses (sp??) were that color brown.

I vaguely remember seeing a few of the 200SX of that bodystyle when new. Looked waaay futuristic compared to the domestic offerings of the time.

andre1969

I've noticed that too, about the late 70's Pontiac LeMans. It seemed like more of them ended up being brown, than Malibus, Centurys, or Cutlass Salons. Back when I was still in college though, I do remember a girl who drove one of those aeroback Cutlass Salons, and it was brown. Had flower stickers all over the back of it. I guess she was a wanna-be hippie who was born a couple decades too late!

When I was a kid, some friends of the family had one of those early 200SX'es, and a Maverick. However, this was in the early 80's, and by that time, to me at least, that 200SX just looked weird and alien. I don't know how long they kept it though. My grandparents sold them their 1972 Impala for $600, and that replaced the Maverick, I remember that much.

ab348

That Parisienne looks sweet! West coast car, likely largely rust-free. They were really good drivers.

andre1969

I wonder what engine that '79 Parisienne would have? I know that once upon a time, Canadian Pontiacs used Chevy engines, as they were essentially Chevies with Pontiac bodies dropped down on them. But, as some point, didn't the Pontiac engines make their way into the Canadian cars?

If it was a corresponding US model, which would have been the Bonneville, it would've had a 231 Buick V-6, 301-2bbl Pontiac V-8, or a 350 Buick V-8, which I think was a 4-bbl, but still choked down to around 155 hp. I think California/high altitude US cars got the Chevy 305 in place of the 301, or the Olds 350 in place of the Buick unit.

jljac

I replied twice to that AOL video. My first reply noted that Avanti production was higher than the 1960 Edsel where only 2,846 vehicles were produced when there were no production problems that limited the number that could be built. I add here that the Avanti was only a model of Studebaker while the Edsel was a division of Ford. The 1960 Edsel made the Avanti look like a huge sales success.

Next I commented on the number of rich and famous people who were proud to own Avantis in 1963 by directing them here http://www.theavanti.net/celebrity.html

uplanderguy

Good points, jl.

I also believe his Aztek number was only the last model year, but he leaves that out. As anyone who reads me here on Edmunds knows, I hate when folks leave largely-relevant stuff out of a discussion.

ab348

I'm pretty sure it would be either a 305 or a 350 SBC. I knew a guy locally who had a '77 Pontiac Laurentian (stripper model) like this that had a 250 inline 6 under the hood, but I don't know if they even offered that by '79, and probably not in a Parisienne. I like this one because it doesn't have a vinyl roof. Pretty uncommon.

At this time in Canada GM was putting Pontiac through a transition, offering the Catalina and Bonneville model alongside traditional GM Canada models like the Laurentian and Parisienne. A friend of mine had a '79 Catalina as a company car that was fairly plain jane, resembling a '79 Impala in terms of interior trim level.

fintail

Speaking of Mark VIIs from the other day, I went to a sale this morning, and saw this:







1984 model (build date 12/83), second owner, 65K miles. Always garaged. Chatty old man was fond of it, but was moving into a retirement home and couldn't keep it. Said he would take "no less than $2500" for it. It needed a good paint restoration and interior detail, but it seemed genuinely nice. He claimed he had all records for the car. Didn't seem to be the most loaded model, but it did have digital dash, tape player, climate control, etc.

texases

Looks pretty good. Not the 'LSC', I guess? If I got one, I'd want the LSC version...

bartbarter

That seems like a really good deal.

bartbarter

Saw a Carrera GT the other day.

fintail

Not an LSC. This was more of a grandma model. I would want leather, too - although the velour in that car had aged really well.

Mr_Shiftright

Given the paint defects, seems a bit overpriced to me. If you like it, I'd offer $1800, which is more than fair.

fintail

Oh I don't want it - no place to keep it. Although if I was needing a cheap driver, I'd be looking at it - well cared for, unusual, comfortable, more fun than a miled up 1995 Corolla.

I am certain I could have the paint looking near-new, but it would take a full day of elbow grease. It hadn't been waxed in a long time, and that dark color showed every little flaw.

No doubt the owner would change his tune if you produced a small roll of $100 bills.

ab348

Those Mark VIIs are odd in one sense. The exterior design is all Jack Telnack-era Ford, with flush glass, rounded corners and aero influences. But the interior looks like it is still stuck in the Gene Bordinat-era of Ford design, which the big, blocky, bluff-faced dash, square corners everywhere, and crushed velour luxury.

berri

I think that Lincoln Mk is a nice looking car on the outside, but it is so Fordish (e.g. chintzy) in the interior. Ford has fortunately really picked up their game in interiors more recently however.

berri

I think Telnack is under appreciated by many. He really helped save and turn Ford around, and has to go down as one of their best stylists in my book.

fintail

Out on foot, saw an Opel GT, a Sterling, an older whale tail Porsche, an early 450SL, and a big ~73 Impala/Caprice 2 door HT.

ab348

Wow, I could not disagree more regarding current Ford interiors. I think they are one of the weakest parts of their current offerings. Almost all are coal-mine black, all are full of cheap-looking hard plastic bits, and they really seem to be of poor design and quality overall. Ford does not make much that appeals to me regardless, but their interiors are the main reason I would not consider one.

kyfdx

My aunt had an '85 LSC, that I helped her pick out. It was a pretty nice ride, and not at all like that non-LSC model. Very "euro" inside and out.

She loved that car. T-boned by a stop-sign runner in 1992. Replaced it with an Acura Legend.

berri

I think that is probably true of many domestic and Asian vehicles today that aren't in the luxury class. I've rented a couple of Ford's lately that have had really comfortable seating (even if the dash ergonomics were kind of screwed up).

fintail

Saw a red E24 M6 today, immaculate, appeared to have a mild body kit on it.