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

andre1969

here's a '68 Fury...


And here's a '69...



Actually, I might have to retract what I said about those "fuselage" '69-73 Mopars. I think this '69 looks pretty sharp, and not as fat and overly rounded as I was mentally picturing!

lemko

...used those big Furies in 1968. I would like to restore a '68 Fury I in NYPD's unusual green, white, and black livery of the time.

Very obscure cartoon reference - in the early 1970s there was a Saturday morning cartoon called "The Barkleys." They were a family of dogs based on the Bunkers from "All in the Family." The father dog, Arnie Barkley, had a blue sedan that very much resembled a '68 fullsize Plymouth.

ghulet

Very near my home sits a '68 Fury III (likely a 'Sport Fury') 2-door hardtop (much like the new Impala Custom Coupe, it has a large c-pillar and more formal roofline than earlier 2HTs of the era) in pale yellow, just begging to be restored.

None really 'obscure', but I travelled a bit this week and spotted:

59 Ford Galaxie 2-door sedan, clean and nice (and with good body chrome) save the parcel shelf, in two-tone white and pale green

65 Chevrolet Impala SS convetible, red in and out, clearly restored but very pretty, complete with '283' badges and correct tri-spinner hubcaps

66 Pontiac Catalina 2-door hardtop, in that period greyish pale green (not aqua), pretty nice

6? Mercedes 220S fintail (hello!!), dark blue, decent looking but sitting idle at a repair shop and with dark tinted windows (ick!)

lemko

...I used to pass this gas station on my way there from my home that had both a green 1958 Plymouth Savoy and a green 1968 Fury II parked out front. Both cars looked pretty solid. I would've liked to have either of these cars, but as a cash-strapped freshman, that was out of the question. Another car I encountered at the time was a 1950 Buick Roadmaster that ran well but needed a lot of cosmetic work. The owner wanted a mere $600 for it. Ah, the one that got away!

andys120

The Fiat 850 that I reported earlier moldering in a yard near where I work has been joined by other cars. Near it are parked another 850 Spider which you can't see much of, it's under a tarp and two Corvette C4s which are in running condition (they get moved around).

The polar opposites of sports cars would be the tiny, rear-engined 850 Spider and the massive front-engined Corvette.

jrosasmc

I came across a mint, great-looking '88 BMW 325i convertible at a local dealership this afternoon. It is a two-owner car (I knew the second owner very well), automatic, 133k miles, and looks to be in great shape. There are no cracks in the dash, the upholstery is spotless, and everything seems to be there. The dealer only wants $2k for this Bimmer.

Now here's what I'm afraid of: This car has been in Vermont its entire life, and I really do not know what to expect from a 16-year-old German car with this high of a mileage. Any suggestions or comments?

fintail

Went on about a 700 mile road trip this weekend...and saw surprisingly little of interest. Sticking in my head are a decrepit looking 41 Ford sedan, a 69-70 Mercury convert that appeared to have hidden headlights, a couple of 66-67 Chevelles, a Mercedes 108 flying down the highway, a pretty 56 Chevy 4 door hardop, a convertible-ized c.1984 Accord, and in a weird 80s time warp moment that doesn't involved rare cars, on a fairly dead stretch of highway there were a pair of Pontiac 6000s side by side, and a K car in front of them. Stuck me as odd.

About that BMW...talk to the previous owner/s and have it inspected. If it checks out...you could do a lot worse for 2 grand.

kyfdx

If the BMW checks out...$2K is pretty cheap for a convertible... But, even if it is in good shape now... It won't be cheap to own. Great cars, but everything is expensive and the convertible tends to be a real trouble spot.

regards,
kyfdx

Mr_Shiftright

I have a great test for $2K used cars. You get in, stomp on the gas and drive like a maniac for 1/2 hour. Then you get out and look for steam, oil and bad noises.

If there are none, the car is probably fine.

"If it'll go 50 hard miles, it'll go 5,000 easy ones"

BMW 325i "dirty tricks" are: cracked heads, top mechanisms jam halfway up or down (TRY THIS BEFORE YOU BUY!).

Also you may not fit in it---it's a very cramped car inside.

andre1969

when I went down to Southern MD to see my Mom for Mother's day. My uncle drove, so I had a chance to look around at the scenery.

First thing that caught my eye was one of those little Mitsubishi-built '79-83 Plymouth Saporros, sitting in someone's side yard, with grass growing up around it.

Little while later, a '73 LeSabre convertible, in a faded, thinning burgundy, with a tattered top, in someone's back yard along a fence.

Also spotted a nice looking '70-72 Monte Carlo out on the road, and a like-vintage Cutlass Supreme convertible, top down as it should be!

Also, a couple of old Benzes. One was a sedan that had "280SEL" on the left-side decklid. Looked to be in good shape, but here's a dumb question...it had a 4.5 on the right side. But now, if this sucker had a 4.5 V-8, shouldn't its proper name be "450SEL"?!

The other was a 560SL convertible, top down, with two middle-aged, but still decent looking women, in a "Thelma and Louise" sort of way. I was too busy looking at them when my uncle said "there's an old one". We passed by some old late 40's/early 50's car, but he didn't notice what it was.

Lastly, I also saw a '79-81 New Yorker, about a mile from my Mom's, in Nightwatch Blue. It looked like it was in pretty good shape, but the hood wasn't closed all the way. It was parked beside one of those metal 2-car carports that you can buy for like $895, and under the carport was a '72 Dart or Demon...all I could see was the front-end.

andys120

Mercedes nomenclature would follow rigid rules according to engine displacement but it does not.
There are plenty of exceptions. BMW does the same thing, some 325s run 2.3 liter motors IIRC. Help us out Fintail.

kyfdx

for Mercedes.. I think at some point they were trying to get some continuity in their model numbering system.. So, the 280 SEL was the same car all around the world.. regardless of engine size. Didn't they even have a 6.9 litre engine in the big sedan? I don't think they called that one the 690.

I've seen a lot of those 280 SEL with the 4.5 designation.

regards,
kyfdx

kyfdx

BMW was the other way around.. They were running 2.5 motors in the 323. Around '96 or '97, they bumped up the 325i to the 328i, plus offered the 4-cyl 318i. 4-cylinders weren't selling, so they decided to make a smaller six as the entry level. Even though it was 2.5 litres, they thought that it would cause too much confusion, with the old 2.5 model and named it the 323i. They didn't change back to 325i until '01, at which point they bumped up the 328i to 330i.

Shewww.. Now you can see why Mercedes stuck with 280SEL and just made a note of engine size on the deck lid.

regards,
kyfdx

fintail

Yeah, MB has done that a few times. I don't know why they did it. I think on those old cars it was because MB had some new V8s and they didn't want to change the old model designations for them (?). I know between 1969-1972 production years, you can get a 280SEL and 300 SEL with a 3.5 or 4.5 or 6.9 depending on year, and the 6 cyl cars were still around too. I can also think of the 190E 2.3 and 2.6, the 450SEL 6.9, and there was a 300E that actually had a 3.2.

Another oddball I saw over the weekend was a really nice 70-71 Monte Carlo...which passed me on the highway when I was going about 80 in a 70. Then a couple hours later I got passed by a 68 Impala 4 door hardtop while I was going the same speed. Those old cars must cruise.

andre1969

I saw a '68 Impala 4-door hardtop yesterday, too! It was a strange customized mix of white and blue, with tinted windows that had to be illegal, and some bling-bling (but not oversized) rims. Body looked good, but it appeared to need some chrome work.

We had a '68 Impala 4-door hardtop when I was a kid. It's the first car I can remember. It was kind of an aqua/turqouise color, and I think it had a black vinyl roof.

Mr_Shiftright

60s and 70s American cars aren't bad at all at high speed if you a) put on modern radials and b) do not stop or turn quickly.

They are geared rather low, though (usually) and aerodynamically are pretty hopeless, so maybe 115-120 mph is tops, even for the muscle cars. Things get pretty scary there, too.

fintail

I remember my 66 Ford would run fine at 70-80, but when you slowed down to normal speeds like on an exit, the car would quickly get too hot and even overheat. The car had some issues. The fintail will glide along at 70-80, but if you get above 90 it too gets warm.

It's time for some weirdos:

This is kind of neat...nice colors

Can't be a lot of these left

Never heard of this model before

Freaky

Pretty little Simca

Neat and unusual

I prefer this style Packard to the sedans of the same style. I like the earlier (42-47) fastbacks even more

Airflow, but the front isn't as wild as some

Low mile DeSoto with cool upholstery pattern

Odd project with interesting parts

4600 orig miles are claimed

Ford Starliner is a nice looking car

Pretty color fintail

Someone has an odd sense of humor

Awesome combination of marginal car, marginal boat, and high price

andys120

I'm reasonably well versed on post-WWII Triumph lore as a former TR-4A owner but I've never heard of the Triumph T-100 sedan.

Wasn't there a Triumph bike with a similar name?

bhill2

fintail,

I don't want to make too much of what was obviously just a slip on your part, but the big engine in the 300 SEL body was a 6.3, not a 6.9. I knew a Mercedes mechanic who owned one, and I got a chance to drive it. It kind of raised the bar for performance sedans.

Mr_Shiftright

Oh, I REALLY want that Lloyd!

Marmons were decent cars. First car to win the Indy 500 was a Marmon Wasp.

Peugeot 204--I actually had one of these cars. Pretty cheap (as in cheaply built) little car. I was not impressed. It's no Mercedes 280SL. It's not even an MGB. Most interesting features were 4-speed column shifter (ugh!) and an alternator belt that both twisted AND went at a 90 degree angle to the engine pulley. It's a FWD car also.
Parts are unobtainium.

Chrysler Newport---obviously bidders are not buying that story!

Amphicar --- SELL IT ALREADY!! Bid is high enough! Take the money man! Is he really going to turn down $24,000 US dollars? Yikes!

fintail

Yep, the 6.3/6.9 thing was a typo. A local MB specialist had a lovely 6.3 here a few years back. Pity about the colors though, it was tobacco brown with a tan interior. I've never driven one though.

Shifty, you should buy the Lloyd. You need a project

jrosasmc

Was the Peugeot 204 convertible the same car that Lt. Columbo drove in the TV show?

fintail

Colombo's was a 403....prettier car IMO

This afternoon I saw a clean metallic blue 68 Bonneville 4 door hardtop, a Peugeot 504 wagon, and a Mercedes 123 in maybe the worst color...I'd call it cantaloupe.

fintail

Here's a nice old BMW with no reserve

kyfdx

YEEHAH... I had one of those... same year and everything. Bought it in '85 and sold it in '90. It was like having a 2002, only cooler....

regards,
kyfdx

Mr_Shiftright

rust and solex carbs are your two biggest enemies with this type of car. I'm guessin' around $9,000 will take it--maybe we should add the 25% over retail for Ebay.

kyfdx

Now, mine had a '69 engine, so I might be wrong... but, I thought the '67 came with mechanical fuel injection.. not that it would be working on any of them now.

And the price? That is a nice looking example..especially the wood. And no rust? I would be dubious of that claim. But, I think it already has the 25% markup in there now... I can't believe anyone would pay over $6K. These aren't nearly as popular as the six cylinders.

regards,
kyfdx

P.S.: Did you notice the two power window switches? Only the rear windows are power. And the knob above the window crank on the doors. You turn the knob to open the vent windows.

Mr_Shiftright

I thought for injection the car would have to be a CSi.

Well if it's injected that's really good news for the next owner.

kyfdx

I kind of doubt that it would still be injected.. My guess is that it would have been converted to carbs long ago.

Mine had these monster Webers that came off someone's old 911. It would bog really bad taking off in first and a little in second, but once you got moving, it went like crazy. I was never mechanically inclined enough to swap to something more suited to the engine.

regards,
kyfdx

Mr_Shiftright

Dell'orto made a nice Weber copy for a lot less money. But they're out of business, so....

andys120

I saw a lineup of historic Fords at a local dealer yesterday, there was a car from each decade
from the 1920s to the 80s. My favorite was a 1935 Rumble seat V8 rumble seat cabriolet in a beautiful shade of Forest Green.

As I was admiring it I looked at the 1924 Model T Touring next to it and I realized that the Cabrio from 11 years later had more in common with it's 1955 equivalent than it did with the Model T.

We are used to living in a time of rapid technical progress but it's amazing to see how cars progressed in one decade from mid-20s to mid- 30s from essentially horseless carriages with crank starters and gas headlamps to real automobiles capable of modern highway travel.

Mr_Shiftright

"My favorite was a 1935 Rumble seat V8 rumble seat cabriolet in a beautiful shade of Forest Green."

You and just about every other early Ford lover.

andre1969

even had a car something like that in "The Waltons", but I think it was more like a '32. It was that nice dark green with just a hint of blue, and I think the fenders were black. It was a beautiful car, until those damn inbred kin of his took a paintbrush to it, and painted it up in a pale creamy color!

Wait, actually that wasn't a convertible, just a closed coupe. But it did have a rumble seat!

andys120

(showing my age again). It was on Cape Cod the summer of '55 in back of a Duece (roadster IIRC).

seminole_kev

you don't have to be old to ride in a rumble seat (hey! I'm not old yet....right guys? uhhhh)

Anyway, friend's father when I was younger had an old (and forgive me as I always get confused between a Model A and Model T) Model A that he loved. Rode all through Atlanta in the back of that thing. As a kid I thought the rumble seat was the neatest thing ever! This would have been around 1985-1988

andys120

it was likely a Model A. The T was basically a horseless carriage.

Mr_Shiftright

You can still buy Model As very cheap but not the lovely 1930s V-8 coupes anymore.

I saw some kind of fastback Isuzu diesel. Nasty little brown thing, looked like one of those Buick-Opels that were made in Japan and then stuffed into a sack.

Saw a Nissan Patrol without any doors ("door delete" option?). Painted red and green, so Christmas must be just around the corner.

70s Chrysler wagon---looked like a small aircraft carrier--one of those "escort carriers" used on convoy duty.

Fiat 124 Turbo Spyder (rare car eckually and worth some money).

Lamborghini SUV -- Ugly but had such nice delicate allow wheels on it! Strange.

Some kind of Chinese bicycle with a gas motor on it, but not driving a roller on the tire; rather, hooked up with a clutch to the chain sprocket!

I might have to have one of those to go with my electric bicycle and my "real" mountain bike. This way I'll have a weapon for all occasions.

 
3 (count 'em, three) banged-up new Ferraris at a Marin body shop! Either a)one BAD driver; three separate unlucky drivers, or an act of random violence at the Ferrari dealership?

andys120

I'm not sure a turbo would actually work well in that car. I had a '71 (1638cc) and though power was modest there was a directness to the controls
that wouldn't translate with a turbo.

Refresh my memory as to the power rating of the 2.0 Turbo model.

kyfdx

My biggest regret ever (involving cars).... When I was 18 years old in '76, a doctor at my church was selling his '71 124 Spider. 40K miles.. he wanted $2200. It was perfect. Red with black hides. 5-speed and that little back seat. Instead I bought a new '77 Ford Mustang Cobra II for $4400. Oh well.. what do teenagers know?

regards,
kyfdx

Mr_Shiftright

I don't know the HP of the 124 turbo. I never pay attention to HP ratings. I drive 'em and either I like 'em or I don't.

The 124 turbo is pretty quick for its time, feels like about an 8 second car, maybe a bit less. Certainly WAY faster than an n/a 124. I think both the injection and the turbo help this car, as opposed to its carb-ed brethren.

Worst thing about a 124 is the awful driveline slack. It must have rubber band engine and trans mounts. Maybe I need to drive a totally restored one.

downside of a 124 Turbo--it really looks difficult to work on. There is zero room in there to do anything. But I guess once you get practiced in taking out hundreds of pounds of componentry with an air wrench to change a fan belt, it isn't so bad.

jrosasmc

So I test-drove that '88 BMW 325i convertible I told you guys about and here are the results:

A/C doesn't work at all
Radio needs to be reprogrammed
In dire need of brakes as the pedal goes almost all the way to the floor
Needs an ABS module as the light is on in the dash

All in all, it wouldn't make sense for me to purchase this car for $2000 and then sink another $2000 into it. Oh yeah, are BMW parts and repairs of that 3-Series vintage pricey?

ghulet

The ABS module is likely a $1500 job by itself (my brother's Blazer needs one, too, and that's what we were quoted, can't imagine it's any cheaper on an oldish BMW). Regular old brake job can be $400-600, and if it needs lines (sounds very likely), add more. The radio, no big deal, replace it or get the factory code. Does the blower fan work? I've yet to see a fifteen plus year-old car (especially Germans) on which the A/C works properly unless it's been diligently maintained ($$$), at least it's a convertible, right? Does the top work? How is it cosmetically (and what color is it, BTW)? Auto or stick? Does it run OK? In any case, I'd be prepared to regularly sink some bucks into a car like that, but still, if it's otherwise sound (engine/trans/body), $2k is cheap, could make a nice summer toy. You'd probably be better off with a decent old Miata, though.

jrosasmc

It was a black 325iC, the top does work, no rust except for the door bottoms, runs fine, and it's an automatic

Mr_Shiftright

I'd say you're in the hole $2,500 in repairs from the get-go, if you do the repairs "right".

If it was a very very VERY sharp car otherwise, might be worth bargaining on it.

I got a LOT of parts for my BMW on Ebay and aftermarket. The A/C repair was the hardest to fix. I know exactly what's wrong with "yours", too.

mazda6iguy

The other day I saw a Geo Metro convertible.

ghulet

I made the BIG mistake of riding home in one of those, top down, driver (brother's girlfriend at the time) very drunk (I offered to drive, it was after work, I was totally sober), on the Dan Ryan Expressway during rush hour. That was literally the most frightening car ride of my life. Cars as small as Metros scare me anyway, then you cut off the top and I'm betting it's a deathtrap!!

fintail

This morning I saw an old Mini wagon, a really nice Mercedes 114, probably a 240D, in grey and white two tone, and a showroom looking Maserati 425 (I think that's what it is, like a 4 door biturbo).

Yesterday I saw a gorgeous Mercedes 108 sedan of some kind, in like a light beige....it was a little ahead of me in traffic, and when it got a break, it took off so fast I had no chance of catching up.

ateixeira

Saw about 6 of these, driving in formation, on RT 50 in MD. Must have been a club meet.

These are rare, so imagine my shock when I saw half a dozen back to back!

-juice

Mr_Shiftright

And actually running, don't forget that. Not the sharpest tool in Mitsubishi's toolbox. I like the looks, however.

I call cars like the 3000GT "femme fatale cars". They are good-looking, cheap, and deadly. I'm not sure what the male equivalent is---maybe boy toy or something.

andre1969

I saw a Corolla station wagon...judging from the front-end, I'd guess '93-97. Wasn't it '98 that they jiggled them around a bit? Anyway, it had been so long since I saw one, I forgot they were making Corolla wagons that recently! I guess they killed them in favor of the RAV-4?