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

Michaell

Our Outback has cornering lights that come on when the steering wheel is turned past a certain threshold.

ab348

If you were buying by price per pound, the Royal Monaco would be the choice. It is a very large vehicle, too large really.

I never drove one of them but did drive a Chrysler of this vintage, and I have to think the Caprice would be the more satisfying car to drive. I did like the Royal Monaco styling and preferred it to the look of the Ford, but inside I am not so sure it did as well as either.

omarman

explorerx4 said:

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

Other than family truckster duty which would be your choice for police interceptor? I'd probably take the downsized Chevy if it had the 9C1 option. BTW here's a link to sample questions for police officer testing. My score ranked me as high as unarmed neighborhood watch material.

xwesx

explorerx4 said:

I still have a Colman steel belted cooler like the one in the video.

Hah; wow! Yes, I still have one of these as well! It is terrible as a cooler, though, and doesn't hold cold worth a darn. I generally use it for holding fish down at the beach when we're dipnetting.

bhill2

omarman said:

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

Other than family truckster duty which would be your choice for police interceptor? I'd probably take the downsized Chevy if it had the 9C1 option. BTW here's a link to sample questions for police officer testing. My score ranked me as high as unarmed neighborhood watch material.

It looks like I will be joining you on that watch. 

xwesx

What's that? Am I ready? No thanks.

fintail

That youtube user has a huge collection of interesting material - you can really go down a rabbit hole browsing through it.

This is interesting, I thought this brilliant campaign was print-only:

https://youtu.be/B2NGPnyqTOk

explorerx4 said:

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

Mr_Shiftright

Those two cars are more similar than one might think. While there is no comparison in build quality, both were gas hogs, heavy and clumsy. Both are cheap to buy today.

ab348

Mr_Shiftright said:

Those two cars are more similar than one might think. While there is no comparison in build quality, both were gas hogs, heavy and clumsy. Both are cheap to buy today.

Yeah, that style of Benz was absolutely prototypical of the 1970s/80s, often associated with moneyed ladies using it to go to lunch or to shop. I remember in the early '80s being super-impressed by an older lady co-worker (older to me then as being in her 50s) who drove one, which seemed impossible to me on her salary. Turned out she was the beneficiary of an inheritance and spent some of it on that.

fintail

Would a SLC be any more clumsy than an SL? They both were boulevard cruisers, not sports cars.

fintail

Crazy resto-mod at the local high end specialty dealer. Cosmetically, it is amazing - as new, or better. The wheels aren't the best choice, but they are reversible, the car sits on modern air suspension. Interior is better than new, with stock looking upholstery and a lot of subtle added leather. Huge price (150K I think) someone's labor of love.

berri

Love that chrome, puts an orthodontist to shame - where are my sunglasses

andre1969

I think it was Consumer Guide who summed up the Granada/Monarch perfectly. I'm ad-libbing here, but "almost overnight, the public embraced the car with the same warmth of a model that was 20 years old. And, in many ways it was...notably its handling, fuel economy, etc".

Back in the late 1990's, I knew someone who had a '79 Granada he wanted to sell, and only wanted a few hundred bucks for it. I drove it around the parking lot, and well, Consumer Guide was definitely right about the handling. A Granada is actually a bit small even by compact standards of its era (Nova, Dart/Valiant towards the end of their run, Aspen/Volare), but it wallowed and heaved and hoe'd with the best (or worst) of them!

Oh, and back in the early 90's I dated a girl who had a '77 Granada 4-door, with a 302. She let me drive it a couple times. With the V-8 it didn't seem too bad. Still wallowy and vague, but at least it had a little kick to it.

kyfdx

andre1969 said:

I think it was Consumer Guide who summed up the Granada/Monarch perfectly. I'm ad-libbing here, but "almost overnight, the public embraced the car with the same warmth of a model that was 20 years old. And, in many ways it was...notably its handling, fuel economy, etc".

Back in the late 1990's, I knew someone who had a '79 Granada he wanted to sell, and only wanted a few hundred bucks for it. I drove it around the parking lot, and well, Consumer Guide was definitely right about the handling. A Granada is actually a bit small even by compact standards of its era (Nova, Dart/Valiant towards the end of their run, Aspen/Volare), but it wallowed and heaved and hoe'd with the best (or worst) of them!

Oh, and back in the early 90's I dated a girl who had a '77 Granada 4-door, with a 302. She let me drive it a couple times. With the V-8 it didn't seem too bad. Still wallowy and vague, but at least it had a little kick to it.

My 302 in a '77 Mustang was rated at 135 HP. Fortunately, I had a 4-speed.

Mr_Shiftright

fintail said:

Crazy resto-mod at the local high end specialty dealer. Cosmetically, it is amazing - as new, or better. The wheels aren't the best choice, but they are reversible, the car sits on modern air suspension. Interior is better than new, with stock looking upholstery and a lot of subtle added leather. Huge price (150K I think) someone's labor of love.

Well it certainly has curb appeal. Probably would stand out pretty good at the local show 'n shine.

fintail

They've listed it on their site now

Wheels and ride height aren't to my taste, but I was impressed with it - pretty close to perfection in terms of finishes. I cringe to think what someone spent on it.

texases

According to the ad: "Over $700k has gone into this one-of-a-kind custom build."

That is flat-out crazy!

Michaell

texases said:

According to the ad: "Over $700k has gone into this one-of-a-kind custom build."

That is flat-out crazy!

So, less than 25% return on the investment.

Mr_Shiftright

I've seen a couple of restorations that claim to have 4,000 man hours invested! I know that one of Ralph Lauren's restorations cost him $1 million bucks.

texases

Mr_Shiftright said:

I've seen a couple of restorations that claim to have 4,000 man hours invested! I know that one of Ralph Lauren's restorations cost him $1 million bucks.

I can see that kind of time/cost for a true classic, but a '57 Imperial? What do you think it might be worth?

I do like those 8 carbs - Strombergs?

fintail

I can see spending a million on a high end Ferrari/Bugatti/540K etc. 700K on a 57 Imperial is pretty crazy. If the number is true, ROI will be even less as I bet it won't sell for full ask..

Mr_Shiftright

It's hard to value. It would have to go to some high profile auction and then let the world decide what it's worth.

That's a powerful price for a 50s /4-door rod. Generally 6 figures are reserved for some very radical, high tech creations done by famous builders.

xwesx

I think the wheels work pretty well with the car; if they were a few inches smaller in diameter (like a 15 or 16"), they would actually look nice. I thought the car was a deep cherry color in the first photo, but after going to the site, it is black. Boring.

uplanderguy

Spotted a firethorn (that's what Chevy called the color then, anyway) '76 or '77 Cutlass Supreme Brougham coupe late yesterday afternoon. It was starting to get dark and I can only identify for certain the year by looking at the front. It had the body-colored Super Stock III wheels, and no vinyl top, which struck me as odd, but had the little emblem up there and the plastic molding around the opera windows were still there. Tons of blowing salt on the roads up here too, really too bad.

andre1969

GM's marketing department must have run out of imagination by then, because Pontiac was calling that color "Firethorn" for 1976, as well. It's the color my '76 LeMans originally was. Just out of curiosity, I looked it up, and for '76 Olds simply called it "Red poly", but then for '77 Olds called it "Firethorn red poly".

I know once upon a time, each of the divisions would have their own name for what was the same color, but I guess that got to be too much work, after awhile! "Firethorn" was a pretty color, though. Looking at the paint charts, it looks like it was a Cadillac exclusive for '75, expanded to all five divisions for '76, but the Caddy gave it up for '77, moving on to darker hues.

Mr_Shiftright

What's this Dodge Truck I saw called a "Rumble Bee"? Looks like it had factory logos on it.

roadburner

Mr_Shiftright said:

What's this Dodge Truck I saw called a "Rumble Bee"? Looks like it had factory logos on it.

It's a special edition; much like the Charger Daytona package that was offered a few years ago.Basically it was just a trim package.

Mr_Shiftright

Ah, the ol' "decal and badges" routine.....thanks!

stevedebi

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 

Our 2014 Passat TDI has an interesting system. They turn on a single fog light when the turn signal is activated. The fog light illuminates just a bit of the direction you are turning.

uplanderguy

but then for '77 Olds called it "Firethorn red poly".

At the time, Firethorn was my favorite Chevy color, followed by 1976 "Mahogany".

My Dad bought a new '77 Impala in bright red (non-metallic). In the showroom was a car similarly equipped, except in Firethorn and with the 350 4-barrel instead of the 305. It was $200 more than the car we bought. My Dad disliked the 350 4-barrel more than he liked Firethorn--darn it!

About not being able to tell a '76 from a '77 Cutlass Supreme from the rear and in profile--for some reason, I remember that the "Oldsmobile" script on the grille was in cursive in '76 and block print in '77. I remember telling a friend's brother that at Hershey several years back and him just looking at me and shaking his head, that I could remember something like that. As a young guy, I absorbed stuff like that like a sponge. Unfortunately, I never learned to turn a wrench. I can also tell a '76 from a '77 by certain new colors for '77, like the light and very dark greens that were new in '77.

I will say, knowledge of stuff like that makes me able to point out non-original stuff on certain makes, models, and eras of cars, right away, which even the best mechanics might not otherwise pick up on.

fintail

My E has some kind of cornering light in the LED system, not the directional lights. I notice it when I am in a parking garage etc, a sharpish turn of the wheel produces extra light off to the side.

Spotted today, the same Volvo Amazon I see now and then.

toomanyfumes

Our MKX has HID headlights that move in the direction you're turning. You can really notice them in the sharp corners in our subdivision when they swing back and forth. I read in the manual that the lights and motor are one assembly that has to be replaced if the light burns out. I asked the service advisor how much to replace one, he said he could look it up but I probably didn't want to know.

stever

Not classic but spotted an older MPV today and two Smart cars in a row at a red light.

Mr_Shiftright

One towing the other perhaps?

stever

lol, no, and they went their separate ways at the light.

Mr_Shiftright

Bring the sick and troubled to that intersection and let them be healed.

fintail

Here's something you don't see every day:



Very clean, old guy got into it soon after I snapped the pic. And not more than a few minutes later I saw an immaculate VW Squareback that I imagined would be driven by a young enthusiast - nope, little old guy. I guess they are still out there.

Mr_Shiftright

Shame about those bumpers--I wonder if anything could be done about that?

ab348

That is perhaps the worst rendition of a 5 mph impact bumper I can recall.

Mr_Shiftright

Almost as bad:

fintail

Oh, you like bumpers?





I think for these cars and the Z, one could convert them to an older/ROW style if they wanted to invest the time and money.

Mr_Shiftright

I'll see your hideous bumper, and raise you with THIS one:

stickguy

80's day, around town. First an Isuzu Trooper II. Quite the box. My BIL had one back then. Kind of fun, even with the 4 cyl thanks to the 5 speed stick. An honest utility truck.

then a Civic tall wagon bopping around. It was a different time!

berri

80's day - lots of big hair

texases

Mr_Shiftright said:

I'll see your hideous bumper, and raise you with THIS one:

I'll see your battering rams and raise you this:

berri

Those things could be police cars in the north with the bumper made for pushing broken down or stuck vehicles off the road!

ab348

I have been trying to keep my dinner down while watching the ridiculous hype-fest that is Barrett-Jackson, but a M-B Ponton ("pontoon" according to the clueless commentator) convertible just crossed the block that I really liked. Two tone blue and beige, beige inside, very nice. $85,000 I believe.

stickguy

I am watching too. A few things I like. But not at those prices.

the '34 Caddy is an odd duck. And over $210K!

texases

stickguy said:

I am watching too. A few things I like. But not at those prices.

the '34 Caddy is an odd duck. And over $210K!

That one had me really scratching my head. With a Northstar V8...wonder if a replacement warranty was included?

ab348

Lots of odd ducks. Secretly glad to see that even the rubes bidding didn't seem to think much of the Gas Monkey Garage "customs" when they went across the block.

As a bit of a preservationist, I was rather dismayed to see my man Wayne Carini shilling for a Chysler 300B stick car that had its original drivetrain ripped out and replaced with Viper bits. Shameful! At least the original engine and transmission went with it.