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

berri

I guess it must have been hard to find the Desoto stack replacement. That car just has a nice, solid look to it with pretty clean lines. Hard to believe it's on the streets, in winter yet. But I'm glad the driver is enjoying it and letting others see it too. You only live so long...

fintail

Nice to see you Lemko. Hope you get the Fleetwood out on sunny days.

explorerx4

A friend of mine gave me the August 2015 Monterey Auction catalog.
Fun to look at, but just insane. I'm not sure if he's trying infect me with the classic car bug.

stickguy

I just watched the latest episode of chasing classic cars last night. Janice Joplin's Porsche sold at auction for $1.6 million. Must be nice to have that kind of money to spend!

imidazol97

lemko said:

Good to see a post from you Lemko. Great catch with that picture. I loved those Chryslers
with the massive taillight lense. I built a model car of that 56 Chrysler when I was a kid.
It's been that long. Wow.

PF_Flyer

All I have on this is that the photo was taken in new Zealand in Sept 2015. The photographer supplied no other details

fintail

On the cover of the new issue of the MBCA magazine "The Star" is a nice wide-whitewall fintail:



Out on the road, an 80s era 4 door G-Wagen in an ugly and wonderful green that is perfect for the vehicle. Something to upstage the sketchy no-questions-asked money riding around in new G63s.

toomanyfumes

Red Lincoln Versailles, looked to be in good shape, driving on the salt crusted roads.

ab348

Surprisingly poor panel fit on that Fintail.

Michaell

PF_Flyer said:

All I have on this is that the photo was taken in new Zealand in Sept 2015. The photographer supplied no other details

Looks like an early 70's Holden Commodore. 

Mr_Shiftright

ab348 said:

Surprisingly poor panel fit on that Fintail.

Might be a 300. My fintail had narrow whites and I preferred that style.

explorerx4

A Nova with a 71 Mustang nose on it.

texases

Isn't that an Australian Ford? '75ish Falcon?

stever

First generation Ford Bronco in primo condition although I couldn't see the front bumper well from my position. They may have just blacked it out - they were pretty small to begin with.

fintail

MB didn't go to narrow whitewalls (from the factory) until roughly model year 1965 - prior factory pics will show wider whitewalls. The pictured car is a W112 300SE, which was a top of the line car, quite rare today.

explorerx4

I wonder what happened to Edmunds long term 1966 Corvette? The updates just stopped.

ab348

Doesn't it say "FORD" on the hood?

stever

explorerx4 said:

I wonder what happened to Edmunds long term 1966 Corvette? The updates just stopped.

"No, we're not going to sell it. Just the opposite. We've decided to keep this Corvette forever. We've decided to permanently display it within Edmunds new office space along with a 2015 Corvette convertible, which we just purchased.

The idea is simple. Edmunds began in 1966 and the two Corvettes will serve as an artistic representation of our company's 50-year journey alongside the automobile itself, as both have navigated, evolved and thrived, and transitioned from an analog to a digital world over five decades.

Construction of the new Edmunds office space, which will remain in Santa Monica, has already begun and is scheduled for completion next spring. Sadly, this means taking the Corvette off the road."

1966 Chevrolet Corvette: From Open Road to Office Space

explorerx4

I scrolled to the bottom of the blog, but then scrolled up to the second to last entry.

fintail

Third from the last is amusing too.

Some exec types get very wound up about the appearance of their headquarters.

Mr_Shiftright

They could fill the Corvette with geraniums. That would give the interior space a nice color accent I think.

fintail

Turning what was a nice running car into a planter is pretty much on that - might as well use it for a magazine rack or coffee table, too. I guess HQ is cash flush right now, all these ad banners must be profitable

I read about that fintail on the cover I posted - it's a resto-mod. 10 year project, owner put a 560SEL engine in it, replaced the complex air suspension with a modern system, slightly larger wheels (these had 13" wheels which some don't like), otherwise stock.

fintail

On the road today - 80s XJ6, 2nd gen MR2 with T-tops removed, 123 300TD in unusual "China Blue" color - it needed a good bath, SWB later run W126 - probably a 300SE but maybe a rare 350SD, first gen Audi S8.

Michaell

Not classic (yet) - Ferrari FF in the parking lot of the local rec center.

fintail

Another rainy day - 86-91 Supra, early W140, that same gold wheel Accord at work parked near an 85 (I think) Camry that is always there too, and a very clean early 70s Ford Camper Specia..

berri

Saw a 64 Dodge Polara 2dr HT. I always liked the roofline and C pillar on the 64 Dodge and Plymouth. I felt it was unfortunate that it was only a one year design.

fintail

Saw a decent looking maybe 67 Fury III sedan in traffic this afternoon.

xwesx

I thought this was interesting not so much because of the make/model, but because of the fact that I saw not one, but two within a few miles of each other:

AMC Eagle (wagon - early 80s vintage?)

Michaell

xwesx said:

I thought this was interesting not so much because of the make/model, but because of the fact that I saw not one, but two within a few miles of each other:

AMC Eagle (wagon - early 80s vintage?)

The original Outback!

I remember seeing them in my hometown in SoCal when they were new ... never understood why folks would want AWD when all we got was a little bit of rain now and again.

stickguy

At the PO, an original owner early tempo. Looks so small now. Especially low.

xwesx

stickguy said:

At the PO, an original owner early tempo. Looks so small now. Especially low.

There was something about Tempos. They always looked "old" to me even when they were not. Maybe "homely" is the right word.

fintail

Saw a clean looking MK 2 VW GTI in the rain today.

Ah the Tempo - I thought the sedan was OK - modern when new but became frumpy, and the second gen didn't really seem any more modern. Some trims of the coupe can might have odd proportions to modern eyes, the greenhouse was relatively big.

berri

Tempo coupe - the beginning of the high back tennis shoe look. Should have had a Converse or Keds model

roadburner

stickguy said:

At the PO, an original owner early tempo. Looks so small now. Especially low.

My mom had a 1984 Topaz coupe. What a piece of cr@p.

ab348

My brother bought an '89 or '90 Topaz sedan. I drove it, just awful, even worse than my dad's K-car. But my brother just loved it.

andre1969

My stepdad had an '84 Tempo GL coupe. It was white with a gray contrast on the lower body, which helped tone it down a bit, I think. Still, I hated that car. I drove it once. Slow as molasses. But, it wasn't a horrible car. It had a few issues, but made it to around 160,000 miles, when they traded it on a '91 Stanza which was, oddly, less reliable than the Tempo. There was something about the coupe's styling though, that definitely made it seem chunkier than the sedan. I think part of the problem may have been the roofline, which seemed a bit too big in proportion to the rest of the car. When the C-pillar of a car falls too far back, in relation to the rear axle, I think it looks awkward.

I kinda liked the 1988 refresh of the sedan. Even if it wasn't as bold, it just seemed less rounded and fat. Almost like it got a slight hint of GM angularity in there. Ford did a similar thing with the Taurus for 1992...made it a bit more angular, better-proportioned IMO...little details like the headlights seeming to be more properly sized to the front of the car. But, it just seemed more generic, and less bold.

fintail

That's what I see in the Tempo too - the roof seems too big for the car. 160K miles is admirable for one of those, inconsistent quality of both the vehicles and owners didn't help many have a long life.

I remember looking at a new Tempo coupe with my dad, I was maybe 8 or so. It was a loaded one with a plush looking patterned velour interior. He said it was like "a smaller T-Bird" (!) and wanted to get one for my mom. Later, a "medium Regatta blue metallic" Tempo GLX sedan was in the driveway. When it finally left the family, it had 190K on it and hadn't needed any major engine or transmission work, but the front end was worn out, and it had regular engine computer issues after 130K miles or so. For a 1985 domestic, probably not so bad.

The 92 Taurus facelift was pretty modern looking, hard to believe those are 24 year old cars now. I think the ovoid Taurus is also less offensive now than before, maybe because like with Lexus time dulls the pain, or that it seems less odd with so much recent oddness. The first ones are 30 years old now, amazing compared to a 30 year old car in 1986.

andre1969 said:

My stepdad had an '84 Tempo GL coupe. It was white with a gray contrast on the lower body, which helped tone it down a bit, I think. Still, I hated that car. I drove it once. Slow as molasses. But, it wasn't a horrible car. It had a few issues, but made it to around 160,000 miles, when they traded it on a '91 Stanza which was, oddly, less reliable than the Tempo. There was something about the coupe's styling though, that definitely made it seem chunkier than the sedan. I think part of the problem may have been the roofline, which seemed a bit too big in proportion to the rest of the car. When the C-pillar of a car falls too far back, in relation to the rear axle, I think it looks awkward.

I kinda liked the 1988 refresh of the sedan. Even if it wasn't as bold, it just seemed less rounded and fat. Almost like it got a slight hint of GM angularity in there. Ford did a similar thing with the Taurus for 1992...made it a bit more angular, better-proportioned IMO...little details like the headlights seeming to be more properly sized to the front of the car. But, it just seemed more generic, and less bold.

texases

"the front end was worn out" -
While some folks miss the old zerk fittings, modern sealed suspensions sure seem to last a lot longer. There was a transition period, where the sealed joint failed pretty quickly, but now that's a rarity, it seems.

tjc78

In all reality the Tempo was a pretty crappy car, but it was on par with the other crappy cars at the time!

@Fintail
I had a 93 Taurus I bought in 98, and yes I can't believe it was that long ago. I still think the 92-95 was a nice looking car. The interiors weren't that bad either, especially in LX trim like I had.

fintail

My mom had a 93 as well, white with blue interior. Blue interiors don't seem to be a thing anymore. She got a good 10 years out of it. It had a 3.8, so you know what became of it.

My uncle had a couple of first gen cars, an 86 and a 91. The 86 was an "L" with manual windows and disc style hubcaps. I remember it had a cool digital clock, I think it glowed green or light blue. It was a 3.0. I bet you can guess what happened to it, too.

tjc78 said:

In all reality the Tempo was a pretty crappy car, but it was on par with the other crappy cars at the time!

@Fintail
I had a 93 Taurus I bought in 98, and yes I can't believe it was that long ago. I still think the 92-95 was a nice looking car. The interiors weren't that bad either, especially in LX trim like I had.

roadburner

tjc78 said:

In all reality the Tempo was a pretty crappy car, but it was on par with the other crappy cars at the time!
.

Funny thing; several years later I bought a 1985 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe(manual) that I drove as my work beater for several years. While it had its share of issues it was actually a pleasant car to drive. The brakes were truly horrible, however- one 80-0 panic stop and they were toast.

tjc78

I like those Tbirds, if you check online there is quite a following for them. 

Mr_Shiftright

Last year I saw a T-Bird turbo coupe like that all tricked out, but tastefully. Black on black, lowered, nice exhaust note, nice aftermarket wheels---it was pretty attractive.

explorerx4

My first new car (not a demo) was an 83 Turbo Coupe 5 speed stick. Black with Bordello Red interior and a sunroof.
It had cornering lights which I feel is an under rated feature. Much cheaper than swiveling headlights, but effective.

tjc78

I love cornering lights.  Not sure why they aren't common.  I miss them when I drive the Enclave even though that has Xenons which light up the road better.  My LaCrosse had the articulating Xenons, gimmick at best IMO 

ab348

tjc78 said:

I love cornering lights.  Not sure why they aren't common.  I miss them when I drive the Enclave even though that has Xenons which light up the road better.  My LaCrosse had the articulating Xenons, gimmick at best IMO 

I really like them too. First car I had with them was my big old '79 Electra Park Avenue. I didn't know it had them until one night when I signaled a turn and it looked like another headlight came on pointing left. Awesome feature. My '02 Intrigue had them too, but they were not as bright as the Buick's. Wish more cars had them.

omarman

ab348 said:

tjc78 said:

I love cornering lights.  Not sure why they aren't common.  I miss them when I drive the Enclave even though that has Xenons which light up the road better.  My LaCrosse had the articulating Xenons, gimmick at best IMO 

I really like them too. First car I had with them was my big old '79 Electra Park Avenue. I didn't know it had them until one night when I signaled a turn and it looked like another headlight came on pointing left. Awesome feature. My '02 Intrigue had them too, but they were not as bright as the Buick's. Wish more cars had them.

My first car with cornering lights was a used '71 LTD Brougham sedan which I bought in late '78 as a work car. Most of the time it never caught my attention - unless driving in an unfamiliar, poorly-lit area and then my feeling was, Why don't all cars have this? The first and maybe oldest car I ever saw with cornering lights was a neighbor's '62 Cadillac. Funniest thing I've read about that option was on a Corvette forum: HELP! Both the rear cornering lights on my [C-4 Corvette] will not turn on and never have!

Rear cornering lights? The OP was relieved to find out that his C-4 had cornering lights up front and side-mounted back up lights in the rear.

stickguy

I had a couple of bombers where the lights were sort of in permanent cornering mode, but that was not intentional.

explorerx4

Comparison of 1977 Royal Monaco, Chevy Caprice, Ford LTD.
I still have a Colman steel belted cooler like the one in the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBiJX0uC-cE

stever

Brought back memories. Of last month - was just in Palm Springs and at the Art Museum (didn't drive around on any golf courses though).

My '99 Quest had cornering lights - they only came on when you used the turn signals.