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

andre1969

This evening, while doing a run to the grocery store, I spotted what I think was a 1979 Pontiac LeMans, 4-door sedan. I only saw it quickly, and I'll admit, that for being a Pontiac fan I'm not all that brushed up on differentiating the '78-80 LeMans. It had an eggcrate grille, but sort of a fine texture. IIRC, the '78 had larger grille openings, while the 1980 had a stronger horizontal theming. And, of course, the '81 went to quad headlights and a more sloping front that resembled the '77-78 Firebird, which looked great on the coupes, but perhaps a bit too sporty on the sedan and wagon. Anyway, here's a '79...


The one I saw looked like it was a faded deep purple. A little rough, but looked like it still had plenty of life in it.

Oh, yeah, I also saw that white 80's Phoenix 2-door earlier today...the one that looks almost showroom new, with the exception of a dent on the passenger side. I've mentioned it before, and even caught a pic of it a month or so ago.

stickguy

I liked the demon, B and camaro convertible.

roadburner

We visited my wife's hometown Tuesday and went to her county fair. We ran into one of her high school classmates. He has two-TWO-1970 Superbirds- a matching number Hemi and a non-matching number 440 Six Pack. Oh yeah, he also has a 1967 Dodge Coronet Hemi- a Super Stock with an altered wheelbase. I told my wife she should have married him; his net worth is already through the roof...

kyfdx

roadburner said:

We visited my wife's hometown Tuesday and went to her county fair. We ran into one of her high school classmates. He has two-TWO-1970 Superbirds- a matching number Hemi and a non-matching number 440 Six Pack. Oh yeah, he also has a 1967 Dodge Coronet Hemi- a Super Stock with an altered wheelbase. I told my wife she should have married him; his net worth is already through the roof...

What county?

roadburner

Boone.

kyfdx

roadburner said:

Boone.

Thought so... used to see those Birds down off Burlington Pike, past the courthouse. He has been into those for at least 20-25 years, if not longer.

Boone County Fair used to be excellent, but I haven't been in 30 years.

On another note, multi-class reunion for 1970 decade is coming up on August 29th. Is your wife in that decade? Did she go to BCHS or Conner?

fintail

Today's sightings: older guy in a W113 of unknown model, not going too fast. Old guy in an XLR-V going a normal speed.

stickguy

a funky looking early bug "hot rod" (well, lack of rear bodywork, and a big exhaust). Plus it had the canvas roof, folded back.

roadburner

kyfdx said:

roadburner said:

Boone.

Thought so... used to see those Birds down off Burlington Pike, past the courthouse. He has been into those for at least 20-25 years, if not longer.

Boone County Fair used to be excellent, but I haven't been in 30 years.

On another note, multi-class reunion for 1970 decade is coming up on August 29th. Is your wife in that decade? Did she go to BCHS or Conner?

Yes, '75 from BCHS.

kyfdx

roadburner said:

kyfdx said:

roadburner said:

Boone.

Thought so... used to see those Birds down off Burlington Pike, past the courthouse. He has been into those for at least 20-25 years, if not longer.

Boone County Fair used to be excellent, but I haven't been in 30 years.

On another note, multi-class reunion for 1970 decade is coming up on August 29th. Is your wife in that decade? Did she go to BCHS or Conner?

Yes, '75 from BCHS.

Hmmm... that's funny.

fintail

Saw an 80-81 Z28 (think Fast Times at Ridgemont High), weathered paint but looked very straight and not particularly abused, just old. What caught my attention is that it was a manual, and a very calm looking middle aged woman was driving it. Not what I expected.

uplanderguy

By that time, a stick in a Camaro or Firebird was a rare sight. My memory is that you'd be more-likely to see a three-speed stick-on-the-floor on a low-end six-cylinder one than in a V8-equipped car.

Michaell

fintail said:

Saw an 80-81 Z28 (think Fast Times at Ridgemont High), weathered paint but looked very straight and not particularly abused, just old. What caught my attention is that it was a manual, and a very calm looking middle aged woman was driving it. Not what I expected.

 For 10 extra bonus points, who played the owner of that Z28 in the movie? 

kyfdx

In the parking lot at work... a pristine Geo Metro LSi convertible. Really nice shape with a newer top.
And.... an automatic transmission. All it was missing was the 300 lb. twin sisters delivering newspapers.

10 minutes later, I went back outside to take a picture of it, and it was gone..

stever

Lots of Mercedes bangles hanging on this today.

jpp75

andre1969 said:

Between Friday and yesterday, my '67 Catalina and I made the roughly 400 mile round trip from here to Macungie, PA, for their annual "Das Awkscht Fescht" car show. Here's the pics from it. Hope y'all like!

I know I tend to gravitate toward the big'uns, but I tried to get a little variety in there.

Great pictures andre! Thanks for sharing them. The yellow LTD is identical to one my grandparents had in a light blue color.

fintail

Ah, a Gazelle. VW or Pinto (maybe Mustang II?) based, probably.

stever said:

Lots of Mercedes bangles hanging on this today.

fintail

Some random pics from today's Seattle MBCA gathering - not every car, just those I found interesting for one reason or another.

Surprise was the ponton Binz wagon, that's a rare bird, never seen it before and didn't know it was around. Quite a few oldies this year, which was nice.

stever

fintail said:

Ah, a Gazelle. VW or Pinto (maybe Mustang II?) based, probably.

I was looking for the VW pipes but they didn't seem to be there. Appropriate that it had knock-offs.

texases

Driving across TN today, saw 2 Austin Healys, one on a flat bed, one driving, both in good shape it seemed. But the shocker was an old Fiat 500 wagon putting along at 50 mph max in the middle of 75-80 mph traffic, almost became a hood ornament. Man it was SMALL!

stickguy

On the NY thruway, a nice red middle years Alfa convertible.

In Saratoga, some sort of fancy 30s-40s 2 door. Just saw it turning. Maybe a roller. Pretty sure it was English.

ab348

fintail said:

Some random pics from today's Seattle MBCA gathering - not every car, just those I found interesting for one reason or another.

Surprise was the ponton Binz wagon, that's a rare bird, never seen it before and didn't know it was around. Quite a few oldies this year, which was nice.

That Ponton wagon would look like a factory-built hearse if it was painted black. Wonder how many of those were ever made? Never even saw a pic of one before.

I don't know the proper nomenclature, but I like the large mid-60s/early-70s Benz coupe and convertible shown a few pics later on, built on the sedan platform.

fintail

The wagon was likely a private import when new - I am unaware of them being sold here officially. The owner said he found it in Alaska, and it was a rusty mess - but was worth saving. It won the old car section (voting).

That style coupe and cabrio is usually a W111, although the dark blue one with wider whitewalls is a W112 300SE, another fairly rare car. Those coupes and cabrios have been well-regarded for a long time, maybe almost thought of as modern classics from new.

ab348 said:

fintail said:

I don't know the proper nomenclature, but I like the large mid-60s/early-70s Benz coupe and convertible shown a few pics later on, built on the sedan platform.

hpmctorque

andre1969 said:

This evening, while doing a run to the grocery store, I spotted what I think was a 1979 Pontiac LeMans, 4-door sedan. I only saw it quickly, and I'll admit, that for being a Pontiac fan I'm not all that brushed up on differentiating the '78-80 LeMans. It had an eggcrate grille, but sort of a fine texture. IIRC, the '78 had larger grille openings, while the 1980 had a stronger horizontal theming. And, of course, the '81 went to quad headlights and a more sloping front that resembled the '77-78 Firebird, which looked great on the coupes, but perhaps a bit too sporty on the sedan and wagon. Anyway, here's a '79...


The one I saw looked like it was a faded deep purple. A little rough, but looked like it still had plenty of life in it.

Oh, yeah, I also saw that white 80's Phoenix 2-door earlier today...the one that looks almost showroom new, with the exception of a dent on the passenger side. I've mentioned it before, and even caught a pic of it a month or so ago.

You're right; the '78 LeMans had a wider grille mesh than the '79. I owned a dark green '78 4-door, base (not Grand LeMans), but with upgrades, such as a ding protection strip (the correct term for these escapes me at the moment) on the sides,305 V8 and the handling suspension. I rarely see this generation LeMans anymore, and it's been years since I've seen a '78. They were appealing cars in their day, in terms of styling, proportions, space efficiency and fuel economy. Points of weakness were the transmission and front suspension. My guess is that many went to an early grave due to the weak transmission. Mine got totaled at 114,XXX miles when it got hit on the right side by a van that blew through a red light. My daughter was driving, no passengers in either vehicle, and fortunately only minor injuries.

hpmctorque

texases said:

Driving across TN today, saw 2 Austin Healys, one on a flat bed, one driving, both in good shape it seemed. But the shocker was an old Fiat 500 wagon putting along at 50 mph max in the middle of 75-80 mph traffic, almost became a hood ornament. Man it was SMALL!

I think the top speed on those air cooled 2-cylinder 500s was ~55, 60 (maybe, although the wagon was a little heavier than the more common 2-door) on a good day, on a flat surface with no wind.

andre1969

About the only place I'll see '78-81 LeManses anymore is the various shows at Carlisle, PA. Every once in a blue moon, one will show up at the spring or fall swap meets. I vaguely remember seeing an '81 show up at the GM show one year.

Another weakness of the LeMans is that most of the engine offerings were not GM's finest. The Buick 231 V-6 was the base engine, and in those days it was pretty junky. Oddly, for 1980, the Chevy 229 V-6 was the base engine for 49-state cars, although CA still got the 231, and they all went back to 231's for 1981.

Also, V-8's could be a crap shoot. in 1978, they played engine roulette, offering the Olds 260, Pontiac 301 (2- or 4-bbl), and 305-2bbl. For 1979-80, the Pontiac 301 was the only V-8, except for California where the 305 was used. Interestingly though, for 1981, Pontiac finally cleaned up its V-8's that California let them in the state again.

I've heard the 301 isn't a bad engine, as long as you take care of it, don't neglect it, and don't make it work too hard. But, a lot of people didn't.

ab348

Dad's '78 Grand LeMans Safari had the Chevy 305 and it moved the car quite well. It was actually almost fast. Tempted to say it was the best part of the car except that every so often you would start it from cold and it would go to full throttle immediately, pretty scary. But it wouldn't do that consistently. Luckily we had no problems with the THM200.

Here is the '78 grille:

fintail

Saw a Volvo Amazon wagon, a non-Sundance Duster, and that same white Eurosport wagon today.

lemko

Spotted this brown 1970 Buick LeSabre two-door hardtop outside a repair shop in NE Philly.

Michaell

lemko said:

Spotted this brown 1970 Buick LeSabre two-door hardtop outside a repair shop in NE Philly.

I remember some friends of my mom and dad's having almost this exact car (4-door, not 2-door) when I was a kid.

andre1969

I think the '70 Buick is a pretty handsome looking car, and even with that Pontiac-ish split grille, it still manages to maintain its identity as a Buick.

Interesting that both Buick and Olds started playing around with split grilles in the late 60's...'67 for Buick and '68 for Olds. I wonder if they went for that look to capitalize on Pontiac's success in the 1960's?

I like that '69-70 B-O-P B-body roofline, too. It's not too upright and conservative, yet at the same time, not so radically overdone as the '67-68.

imidazol97

lemko said:

Spotted this brown 1970 Buick LeSabre two-door hardtop outside a repair shop in NE Philly.

Beautiful. The roof line on the two-door is elegant. The colors of the tan
roof and the darker body look great together. That's probably a color
combination out of the brochure that that car, it looks so good.

As to the grill, I think the one strong vertical element in the middle
keeps it from looking like a large open mouth. I don't see it as a
Pontiac emulation. On the other hand, putting more strong vertical
elements would make the grill/bumper look heavy like a 55 or 56 Buick.

Full wheel covers! But what's with the hanging tubes or wires
underneath next to the oil drain pan. Is the engine out of it?
Power steering pump out?

imidazol97

Here's one I saw recently that's a standard equipped car with a
roof line almost as good, but it's a 4-door.

ab348

The '70 Buick is one of my favorite GM designs. I like the '70 Olds too, though not quite as much.

Apparently that center bar in the grille has an emblem on it that is almost always broken because of its position and is made of unobtainium.

andre1969

With the 1970 Olds, I think it's the headlights that spoil it for me...the way they have the square bezels around them and are spaced out enough that you have body color between them. It's not horrible, but just seems a bit conservative and toned down, compared to '69, which seems a bit more aggressive.

andre1969

That New Yorker is a beautiful car...love that shade of blue. By this era, I think the 4-doors were actually better looking than the 2-doors. The 2-door hardtop in this style is fairly nice looking, but pretty hard to find, as most of them were optioned with the thickly-padded landau roof.

uplanderguy

'70 was the last year for the Wildcat, too. I always remember from the brochure that year, that that was the last year you could get buckets and console in a full-size GM (not counting Riviera). Delta 88 Royale and Wildcat offered that arrangement, but in the Wildcat, buckets were only available in black and on the coupe, but not the convertible (?).

uplanderguy

I know lemko likes these, and a Studebaker friend (who was a Service Writer at a Chev-Olds dealership in the summer of '69) sent me this a couple days ago, speaking of full-size '70 GM's above. It is a nice car although I'd prefer Black Cherry or Misty Turquoise that year:

http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/chevrolet/caprice/1763794.html

fintail

Why does that New Yorker have those little dog dish hubcaps? Did people order them like that?

texases

I guess the current owner likes them, I really doubt it came that way.

uplanderguy

Yeah, no way did a New Yorker come with dog-dish hubcaps. I doubt even a Newport did by then.

andre1969

I had to really zoom in to see for sure, but those little dog dishes are Plymouth hubcaps. I'm not sure what year they're off of, but here's what the logo looks like, close up, from another hubcap...

Mr_Shiftright

Well it beats garish wire wheel hubcaps.

andre1969

I think New Yorkers of that mastodon '74-78 vintage look really good with the road wheels that were offered at the time...

Mr_Shiftright

These cars are quite attractive. It's really too bad that they are so enormous. These monsters just don't fit into a modern world.

uplanderguy

I like their 'Rallye Wheels' or 'road wheels' or whatever they were called, too. I don't remember a two-tone like that.

andre1969

Mr_Shiftright said:

These cars are quite attractive. It's really too bad that they are so enormous. These monsters just don't fit into a modern world.

What?! Shifty saying something NICE about one of these 70's mastodon loveboats?!

imidazol97

andre1969 said:

I had to really zoom in to see for sure, but those little dog dishes are Plymouth hubcaps. I'm not sure what year they're off of, but here's what the logo looks like, close up, from another hubcap...

Here's an enlarged pic of the hubcap from the original on my computer. Is
that the same image? The hubcaps don't have the indentations like the one
in andre1969's pic but I can't tell if the logo is a hexagon or not. If I see
that car at another car show, I'll get a good photo of the hubcap. Some
old guys only go to certain car shows and this was owned by an elderly
gentleman, so I don't know if he'll be at the big one at the cemetery or not
in a couple of months. I may hit up a couple of smaller shows just to see
if he goes there.

andre1969

Here's a few screen captures from my computer screen...




It pixellates more on the side shot, but at the front angle shot, it shows up fairly clear.

imidazol97

andre1969 said:

Here's a few screen captures from my computer screen...




It pixellates more on the side shot, but at the front angle shot, it shows up fairly clear.

Yes. It's hexagonal.