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

fintail

Went to the local show and shine this morning. Forgot to upload into an album, so here are some links to what I saw as highlights, with vague descriptions to make you click:

Sedan for the country

Original paint and pristine original interior

Cruise the turnpikes

Hood ornaments at front and rear for added class

Long and low

There is such a thing as over-doing it

Sunroof

I don't recall ever seeing one of these in real life

Saw this last year, kind of wild

98 Ninety Eight

Saw this last year too, thought it was neat

Needs at least medium width whitewalls, but the ownership demographic is still in 1975-85


See above, maybe original paint

I believe this was original paint, these are handsome

Gee our old ******* ran great

Unexpected

Odd somewhat rat rod, took the pic for a friend who's mother just sold one of these

Neat matching set

Even a vintage motor

Another view, car is lightly restored with factory air

Pickup, unrestored

Van, unrestored

I see a few of these in the region. Claimed to be 1 of 1 in these colors with cruise control

Unrestored and honest

Cat

I saw this on the road yesterday, unrestored 60K mile car

Oddity in the parking lot

Rarity of the show, see the fender badge

It's one of these

stever

I like the Coke Bug - would lose the eyelids.

berri

Always got a kick out of those Buck Rogers Mercury Turnpike Cruisers. The Econoline, like it's early Chevy and Dodge, were kind of different looking things. Never understood that backwards hood like on the 57 Ford. It's a Ford, so I'm guessing it was cheaper to manufacture it that way? I remember some neighbors cursing it while they were working on their car though!

ab348

I believe Ford touted it as a safety feature in that the hood could not blow open and block visibility at speed. But I remember other stories, perhaps urban legend, that in front end accidents the back edge of the hood could come through the windshield and do great harm. I would think serviceability would certainly be reduced.

roadburner

BMW used to claim that they hinged their cars' hoods at the front as a safety feature- and offered barrier crash photos that showed that the hood was designed to either crumple or else ride over the passenger compartment in a front end impact.

fintail

As far as I know, the reverse hood thing was only on 57-59 Fords, so the value wasn't seen in the long term. I think Ford trucks of the era had the same thing.

imidazol97

fintail said:

As far as I know, the reverse hood thing was only on 57-59 Fords, so the value wasn't seen in the long term. I think Ford trucks of the era had the same thing.

Those front-hinged hoods were darned obnoxious to work around. I Had a '57 Ford with it.

andre1969

My first thought on the '57 Ford was that the forward-hinged hood would make it easier to get to the distributor. Except for, d'oh, the distributor is at the front on the engine on a Ford V-8!

imidazol97

andre1969

Oops...guess I was thinking about the later Ford V8's, how the distributor was up front. When I googled a '57 Ford engine bay though, I found a pic with the distributor up front. Maybe it was a transplant? Or it could have been mislabeled. I think the later FE engines, which debuted for '58, had the distributor up front.

As for serviceability, in that pic above, it looks like everything is more accessible than I thought it would be. I guess maybe if you had to take the radiator out, it might be a bit of a hassle. And messing around with the belts, you might have to keep going back and forth from side to side, whereas on a rear-mounted hood, you'd just stand in front for the most part, moving off to either side as needed.

I seem to recall GM's '85-90 Electra and '86-91 LeSabre having a forward-opening hood, but I don't think the Cadillacs did it, I don't think the equivalent 88/98 models did it, either. I've seen the hood up enough on my grandmother's cousin's '89 Coupe DeVille to know it's hinged "normally", but I can't recall the '85-88 style.

I have a feeling it was just the Buicks, as they have sort of a "clamshell" hood that overlaps the fenders, whereas the Olds/Caddies have a more "normal" hood.

berri

Growing up as a kid in the 50's and 60's, a lot of people in our neighborhood worked on their cars. The general impression I got when something was difficult listening to them was (although I have no idea whether it was really valid): If it was a Ford it was made cheap, GM was engineered overly complex or stupidly and Chrysler, well they just did stuff different sometimes.

bhill2

andre1969 said:

I seem to recall GM's '85-90 Electra and '86-91 LeSabre having a forward-opening hood, but I don't think the Cadillacs did it, I don't think the equivalent 88/98 models did it, either. I've seen the hood up enough on my grandmother's cousin's '89 Coupe DeVille to know it's hinged "normally", but I can't recall the '85-88 style.

I have a feeling it was just the Buicks, as they have sort of a "clamshell" hood that overlaps the fenders, whereas the Olds/Caddies have a more "normal" hood.

I had forgotten that; you are absolutely right about the Buick. I can't answer for the Cadillac.

andre1969

berri said:

Growing up as a kid in the 50's and 60's, a lot of people in our neighborhood worked on their cars. The general impression I got when something was difficult listening to them was (although I have no idea whether it was really valid): If it was a Ford it was made cheap, GM was engineered overly complex or stupidly and Chrysler, well they just did stuff different sometimes.

My Granddad used to work on cars, and his preference was always GM. He hated Fords with a passion...although he didn't have a problem picking up a used '64 Galaxie as a spare car for us when I was a little kid. I guess he knew a deal when he saw one, regardless of the car. And, his very first car was a used Model A Ford 2-door sedan. I think it was a 1932, but I don't know what year he bought it. I think he had a 1940 Chrysler Royal when he met my grandmother in 1946.

I don't remember Granddad saying why, exactly, he hated Fords, but I know he didn't like working on them. And, he knew most of the acronyms for "F O R D". He never really said anything either way about Chrysler. While they always stuck with GM as their primary car (at least after that 1940 Royal), Grandmom and Granddad did pick up a few Mopars as second cars. Granddad's first "pickup truck" was a 1939 or 40 Plymouth sedan that he bought, cut off the back part of the body, and built a home made truck bed. In 1978, Granddad bought a '53 DeSoto Firedome 4-door from his brother-in-law. By this time, Granddad really didn't like the direction cars were headed...complicated, expensive, hard to work on, unreliable, etc, so he figured that DeSoto might make a nice second car if he fixed it up some, and they could delay having to get a brand-new car. But then, in 1981, they bought a Dodge Ram D-50 pickup, to use as a second car. And also around 1980 or 81, for whatever reason, Granddad bought a 1971 Chrysler Town and Country wagon....but didn't keep it long.

jpp75

While the car itself isn't terribly old or obscure I saw an early 2000's LeSabre today. What made it classic was it had 6 passengers, 3 in the front bench seat and 3 in the back. An older gentleman was driving and an older lady was in the right rear with the 4 others being of varying ages, but it sure looked like a family outing.

I can't recall the last time I saw 6 passengers in a large sedan with a bench seat but I do remember riding like that a lot when I was growing up. In fact back then it was probably more than 6 passengers.

Michaell

Spotted yesterday - MGB with chrome bumpers and an early 70's Capri (gen 1)

fintail

Just saw a 65 Galaxie convertible, couldn't see the engine badge. Looked like a nice original, original hubcaps, in that light yellow color sometimes seen on Fords of that era.

imidazol97

stickguy said:

somewhere between 68-72 from the bumpers. Considering it has added wheel flares, i doubt the hood is original, so it could be anything under it, and probably not what came there originally.

I didn't pay much attention to the Vette, but decided I'd include it in the original shot. I went back by the tire store today to see if it was still there for service. It was inside which I had expected.

I couldn't get a side shot because I was shooting through the garage doors.

stickguy

out running errands, 2 interesting ones. first was an early Jag sedan. I guess it was a 60ish Mark II, but it looked a little lower to me, but it was parked so did not get to analyze as I drove by. light, mint green. Looked quite "dainty".

then driving, a 55 Chevy 210. Looked like a 4 door. clean but not restored looking condition. based on the rumble, it was not a stock drivetrain!

stickguy

man, I have a serious case of the hots for a 1975ish Corvette convertible. something like this, just not brown. I'm sure I will get over it soon. though if I saw one locally for sale, might just go take a look!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevrolet-Corvette-convertible-/171841110136?forcerrptr=true&hash=item2802874078&item=171841110136

roadburner

The C3 I want in a 1973 coupe with a four speed L82;I like the smooth nose coupled with the twin chrome rear bumpers.

stickguy

that would work too, but I actually like the rear endura bumper too. I'm flexible.

I like the idea of a nice mild crate 350, maybe with a 5 speed stick, all cleaned up without all the primitive emissions crap.

if I am getting something like this, it will be a nice day toy, and would have to be a drop top.

ab348

The C3 coupes of are not much fun to drive in traffic. Visibility is terrible, like sitting in the bottom of a large washtub.

The '74 had that odd one-year rear plastic bumper cover that had a split in the middle. Almost never see them now.

texases

'70s C3...erf...they were such a disappointment back then. The C4 was a HUGE improvement. But I guess if it's had the engine swapped out, and the interior in good shape...

bhill2

fintail said:

Just saw a 65 Galaxie convertible, couldn't see the engine badge. Looked like a nice original, original hubcaps, in that light yellow color sometimes seen on Fords of that era.

If it had a badge it had at least a 352 c.i. I believe that the displacement section of that badge was blue. The 390c.i. had red in that area. I never saw one with a 427 c.i.

fintail

I forgot about that! My first car was a 66 Galaxie with a 390, and it had the red stripes on the badge. Exactly like this:

bhill2 said:

If it had a badge it had at least a 352 c.i. I believe that the displacement section of that badge was blue. The 390c.i. had red in that area. I never saw one with a 427 c.i.

roadburner

There wasa C3 at the last HPDE I instructed at. The first day the student spun in almost every session until it was discovered the guy had an aftermarket rear ARB set at full stiff. After that things calmed down a lot.

stickguy

I never really cared for the C4. not sure exactly why, but they do nothing for me.

bhill2

fintail said:

I forgot about that! My first car was a 66 Galaxie with a 390, and it had the red stripes on the badge. Exactly like this:

bhill2 said:

If it had a badge it had at least a 352 c.i. I believe that the displacement section of that badge was blue. The 390c.i. had red in that area. I never saw one with a 427 c.i.

Just for giggles, does anyone know the color of the badge on the 428 that was newly offered in '66? I think I know, but invite input.

andre1969

jpp5862 said:

While the car itself isn't terribly old or obscure I saw an early 2000's LeSabre today. What made it classic was it had 6 passengers, 3 in the front bench seat and 3 in the back. An older gentleman was driving and an older lady was in the right rear with the 4 others being of varying ages, but it sure looked like a family outing.

I can't recall the last time I saw 6 passengers in a large sedan with a bench seat but I do remember riding like that a lot when I was growing up. In fact back then it was probably more than 6 passengers.

I actually can remember the last time I had 6 passengers in one of my cars, so I guess that shows what a rare occurrence it really is. It was in my 1989 Gran Fury ex copcar, on a Saturday night, after I got off work, from delivering pizzas. So that had to have been sometime in 1999, as any more recent and it would have been my 2000 Intrepid.

I've had 5 people in my Intrepid, as well as the Park Avenue. I remember one of my relatives remarking at how roomy the Intrepid's back seat was, even with three people. The Park Ave does have a bench seat in front, but I've never had anyone in the middle spot.

kyfdx

I think the last time was 1982.. Of course, one of them was laying in the hatch area..

stickguy

7 or 6 is nothing in a minivan, you don't start remembering until 8 or 9! My odyssey actually had seating for 8 too.

roadburner

We had a bunch of kids(6 or 7) crammed into the X3 a few years ago. We were on a mission trip in downtown Louisville driving to several sites and one of the drivers went AWOL.

hpmctorque

andre1969 said:

"My car has a bench seat..."

Ah, I think you just answered something I'd asked you about your Park Avenue Ultra shortly after you bought it; namely, does it have the upgraded suspension (or whatever Buick called its optional handling suspension)? Do you remember discussing this at the annual Rockville Collector Car Show? What prompted me to ask you was that you questioned whether the springs and/or shocks/struts were worn on your car. Neither of us knew the answer regarding which suspension your car has because until Bob Lutz made the firmer suspension standard equipment on supercharged Ultras, the firmer suspension was an option on naturally aspirated and supercharged PAs. You could get the naturally aspirated or supercharged 3.8 with either suspension. Later, maybe a couple of years before the platform of your car's generation was discontinued, Lutz decided that PAs with bench seats would get the soft suspension, while bucket seat equipped versions would get the firmer suspension. As I understand it you couldn't mix and match anymore, as you could on your model year. My guess is that your car has the standard Buick (Dynaride?), because most people didn't bother to upgrade.

I suggested asking a Buick dealer if you wanted to know for sure.

My nephew inherited a 1997 supercharged PA equipped with bucket seats from his grandmother, and he's sure his has the standard soft suspension. Since he wanted to firm the ride and handling without spending much he replaced the original shocks/struts with heavy duty ones. While the resulting improvement in ride and handling were on the modest side he feels the investment was worth it. About a year ago he bought a 1998 Corvette, so his PA is now his winter beater.

imidazol97

hpmctorque said:

Lutz decided that PAs with bench seats would get the soft suspension, while bucket seat equipped versions would get the firmer suspension. As I understand it you couldn't mix and match anymore, as you could on your model year. My guess is that your car has the standard Buick (Dynaride?), because most people didn't bother to upgrade.

I suggested asking a Buick dealer if you wanted to know for sure.

The suspension description is on the RPO code list on the sticker on the underside of the board over the spare tire in the trunk or it's on top of that. Do some looking at lists of RPO codes on the net to decipher which is which. F41 is the firmer suspension, but there's an FE2 and FE1 which are the more normal (mundane) ride parts.

Here's one list from the net for 2002:
http://www.longroof.info/pdf/rpo.pdf

ab348

Was at my barber today, he wanted me to check out his "new" car parked out front, a 2007 Buick Lucerne. He bought it from his neighbor, an 80 year-old guy who bought it new. Only 20,000 miles, pretty much base model (CX), white with beige cloth inside. Split-bench seat, 3800 V-6, column shift! Looks perfect though dull as dishwater. He paid $4900 Cdn. I was always rather indifferent to these and when I was looking at it today I was struck by the disappointing design of the dashboard. It almost looks like an last-gen Impala dash with acres of textured plastic everywhere. My guy likes it though and just took it on a road trip this past weekend with good reviews.

I assumed the previous owner had given up driving. Not so. He also has a 2012 Camaro convertible which is for now his only car. Golden years!

andre1969

Looks like mine does have the F41, at least according to this...


At least, I'm seeing an F41 in the top row, 8th column toward the right.

uplanderguy

Someone on the Studebaker Drivers' Club forum posted about this video and I immediately thought of andre and also the recent discussion on here about Fifth Avenues--this is a 31-minute video of the last day that Kenosha operated, Dec. 21, 1988. I did not know that Omnis and Horizons were being built there as well as Fifth Avenues and the Dodge and Plymouth versions. Most poignant I think, starting around the 23:15 mark. Also, funny sign put on the inside of the decklid by "Dawn" at around 19:30!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo8kq263nCU&feature=youtu.be

NBC News had a guy sneak into South Bend the last day they operated and got video of the last car that is now in the Studebaker National Museum. I wish I could see that video and I've tried; it is not on you tube anywhere.

andre1969

I got to see this oddity, around 3:30 in the morning...


I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep, so I turned on the tv and caught an old episode of "The Outer Limits". This old beast was dressed up as a police car, and trying to be passed off as high-tech in the year 2025!

The episode also had a pretty cool looking, customized '63-65 Riviera, that had a bit of George Barris in its blood...

roadburner

Ah yes- The Duplicate Man. That was a pretty good episode from an under-appreciated show that was decades ahead of its time.

jpp75

uplanderguy said:

Someone on the Studebaker Drivers' Club forum posted about this video and I immediately thought of andre and also the recent discussion on here about Fifth Avenues--this is a 31-minute video of the last day that Kenosha operated, Dec. 21, 1988. I did not know that Omnis and Horizons were being built there as well as Fifth Avenues and the Dodge and Plymouth versions. Most poignant I think, starting around the 23:15 mark. Also, funny sign put on the inside of the decklid by "Dawn" at around 19:30!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo8kq263nCU&feature=youtu.be

NBC News had a guy sneak into South Bend the last day they operated and got video of the last car that is now in the Studebaker National Museum. I wish I could see that video and I've tried; it is not on you tube anywhere.

What a great video, thanks for posting. I love the sign "Dawn" hung in the trunk.

andre1969

roadburner said:

Ah yes- The Duplicate Man. That was a pretty good episode from an under-appreciated show that was decades ahead of its time.

Yep, one of the later episodes from the seemingly less-loved, short-lived second season. BTW, looks like the Riv actually WAS a George Barris creation, called the Villa Riviera. There's some mention of it here: http://psautomobilist.blogspot.com/2012/01/buicks-with-barris-touch.html

explorerx4

@uplanderguy,
Interesting video. That one lady was a hoot. Also, who was that Lee Iacocca stunt double?
Spirits were higher than I expected. They could have painted the last couple of cars red.

fintail

Today saw a red sunroof Porsche 356, a 66 Mercury convertible, and a MB C140 V12.

imidazol97

1960 Ford, Galaxie Town Sedan in Oxford Clay.
I can't recall ever seeing a '60 Ford in that color at any car show.

bhill2

imidazol97 said:

1960 Ford, Galaxie Town Sedan in Oxford Clay.
I can't recall ever seeing a '60 Ford in that color at any car show.

My only quibble is that it is a Starliner, not a Town Sedan.

imidazol97

bhill2 said:

My only quibble is that it is a Starliner, not a Town Sedan.

LOL. You're right. The picture was to show the color, a violet/purple tone. It was a high line 4-door sedan with the post chromed to look like a hardtop. It was going 60-65 mph backwards because it was on a car hauler with one other classic. I caught sight at the last second as it went by on interstate in opposite direction. I don't even know what the other car was I was so taken with the 1960 Ford.

I've learned to keep my eyes open when driving to and from Columbus on I70. There are more and more haulers with classic cars on them these last two years.

bhill2

imidazol97 said:

bhill2 said:

My only quibble is that it is a Starliner, not a Town Sedan.

LOL. You're right. The picture was to show the color, a violet/purple tone. It was a high line 4-door sedan with the post chromed to look like a hardtop. It was going 60-65 mph backwards because it was on a car hauler with one other classic. I caught sight at the last second as it went by on interstate in opposite direction. I don't even know what the other car was I was so taken with the 1960 Ford.

I've learned to keep my eyes open when driving to and from Columbus on I70. There are more and more haulers with classic cars on them these last two years.

Got you. That is a, um, noteworthy color.

Mr_Shiftright

I didn't see anything like that on the color charts.

fintail

60 Ford Town Sedan is a rare bird. Don't know if I've ever seen one in person, don't think I have.

Saw an oddity - an 89-92 Fleetwood coupe - convertible. Not a cabrio top, but an actual convertible conversion. Also saw a 57 Bel Air 4 door post with heavy patina but moving along just fine.

jwilliams2

A friend of mine had a Ford that color. Think it was called Orchid Gray. Different.....