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

Mr_Shiftright

Gold Star for obscurity!

Here's everything you ever wanted to know about the Austin Champ, and in fact, more than you want to know:

http://www.austinchamp.com/extras/photogallery/History.htm

andys120

It makes the '70 Malibu SS I saw seem commonplace.
This coupe was a dark (non-metallic)green w white stripes and looked in pretty good shape. I didn't get a look at the engine designator.

IMO these were the best looking and most desireable of the musclecars and are reputed to be the fastest in stock trim (w 454/LS6)

jrosasmc

Now here's something really obscure: While on the interstate returning from a job I did out of town I came across a Jensen Interceptor Series III convertible. It was very clean-looking and appeared to have been restored. The convertible version of the Interceptor appears to be a rare bird, as I do not recall seeing one in my lifetime. Are any Interceptors worth much on the market today? I see to remember that Jensens of the '70s had their share of problems and defects.

Also, if I remember correctly they used Chrysler 440 V-8 engines.

andre1969

at the repair shop, and noticed a few cool old cars out in back. One I had seen before, a few months ago when I had it in there before. It was a '66 Olds Delta 88 convertible, in kind of a beige/putty color. Sounds like a boring color, but on that car it STILL looked beautiful. One note of interest was that it had historic tags from PA, that had expired way back in 1999. Kinda makes me think what's wrong with it? And while common sense tells me to stay away, I wonder if the owner might be interested in selling it?

There was also a '66 (I think, might've been a '65) Electra convertible, a little rattier than the Delta, but still looked decent enough that I wouldn't be ashamed to drive it. It was kind of a gold-ish color, and you could see rust coming through the re-paint.

They also had a '68-70 Cougar Eliminator, yellow with black accents, that looked very sharp!

Oh yeah, on Saturday I saw a beat-up '78 Malibu station wagon with historic tags. At first I was thinking what is the world coming to? But then I had to stop myself, since I have historic plates on my '79 New Yorker. I guess those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones! ;-)

Still, it just seems weird, to think that cars that I remember being new when I was a kid have now reached historic/antique status! To me, they just don't seem that old! Did any of you older guys feel the same way, when cars you remembered being new as a kid were suddenly antiques?

seminole_kev

Did the Cougar Eliminator come with a 351 Cleveland? I can't remember. I have no idea on what the modern day value is on one, but it might be one of the last pony car/muscle cars that you could get in on for a reasonable amount of cash. Is it in good shape? If it is, and the price is right, it might not be a bad investment/toy.

andre1969

unfortunately I don't know that much about Ford/Merc products from that era, but that sounds about right! This one looked to be in really good shape, too. I dunno if it's for sale, but when I go to pick up my truck, I'm going to ask them about it.

I always loved the style of the first-gen Cougar, and I think I'd actually rather have one of them than a Mustang! Not that I have anything against the Mustang, but it's just that they're all over the place, where those Cougars are considerably more rare. IIRC, the Cougar came with a few really nice standard features too, like standard leather seats.

seminole_kev

I always liked the hidden headlamps. Thought they looked sharp. I remember looking at (if I remember it right) a 1968 Cougar when I was in high school. It was too beat up though. Ended up getting a '66 Mustang to tinker on. The Mustang was one of those where you could see the road through the floorboards, and I chose it over the Cougar. That should give you an idea of what kind of shape the Cougar was in! ;-)

I'll have to go look up the value of one of those eliminators....

seminole_kev

Those are already creeping up in price. Way to many options and years to pin down pricing without more info, but I just chose 1969 and it shows the Eliminator being available with the 351C, 390 and the 428CJ.

seminole_kev

..that's being built and just saw a Green Jag Mk I sedan parked at a business. My boss turned around so we could go look at it. 1955-59 model. Looked to have a whole new (different) interior with headrests put in. Outside shape was decent. Badging showed it to be a 3.4. Probably someone's daily driver by the looks of it.

wimsey1

saw a first gen Cougar last month also, that was a cool looking car IMO also.
there is 500SL Merc from the last of the "pagoda roof" bodies in town also (across the street from the Austin Champ), aren't those a bit rare.
I saw a 350SL with euro headlights and a 4-sp manual last summer.

kyfdx

I was at the county clerks office getting plates today and saw this one. The guy just bought it. It had a special monochromatic paint job.. kind of an orangey-red. Everything was painted.. the grill, the windshield wiper arms.. he said even the underside was painted red. (I know that sounds goofy, but it looked great).

blh7068

last week at a local cruise one evening. Sharp car, off white with blue interior and a 390. Oh, dont forget about the unique rear sequential turn signals! That was a slick feature!

andys120

the nice weather brings 'em out. Today I saw:

-'73 Volvo 1800ES (if I have the correct nomenclature), the wagon version of the P1800.
This one looked clean and straight but hardly perfect. FOR SALE @ $10,800 (are you out there Jrosmac?) Looking very 70s in bright orange.

-'62 Volkswagen Bug, very similar to the '65 I owned only the S/R was cloth. Faded paint (Red natch) and nasty looking non-stock white spokers
but other wise straioght and complete.

-'69 Camaro SS convertible, silver/black stripes
couldn't see the engine badge but this car looked like a nice one, apparently restored.

jrosasmc

$10,800 for a '73 Volvo 1800ES? If it's hardly perfect it would be sensibly priced much less than that...the owner must be out of his mind.

Speaking of which, that's about what '70s Jensen Interceptors are worth (from what I'm guessing); are they any fun to drive?

jrosasmc

Oh yeah, forgot to add...saw a rather ratty-looking early '70s Triumph GT6 at the grocery store earlier this evening. And why do these things look just like the Spitfires?

andys120

with a permanent fastback grafted on and a small I-6 in place of the Spit's little four.

Sunbeam did the same type of thing with the Alpine and grafted a top on with a fastback and made just enough (100?) to homologate them to run in the GT class at LeMans. It was called the Sunbeam Harrington LeMans.

It looked pretty (unlike the GT6) but used the stock 1.7 liter 4 cyl.

jrosasmc

Let me guess...the GT6's straight-six was the exact same unit found in the more common TR6.

Mr_Shiftright

Nope, came from the Triumph Vitesse. I wish it had the TR6 engine. The GT6 is a nice affordable sport coupe if you are about 5' 8" or smaller. Not a great car, but if you buy one at least you'll know why the Datsun 240Z made it instantly unsaleable. Parts are available, and $3,500 should be plenty for a decent one.

Jensen-Healey Interceptor Convertible should be worth about...if clean but not show...about...$25,000. That's a rare car you spotted if it was a convertible...only made about 500 of them. Another textbook case of rarity not particularly equaling value. Interesting car, but parts could be a real problem aside from powertrain.

Volvo P1800ES -- if it was clean but had some needs his price of $10,000 is exactly double retail value. Not a great marketing effort, but hey, maybe he's just trolling or just exercising his First Amendment rights.

lemko

...in Philadelphia - a rather rusty blue Nissan Axxess. It was either a late 80s or early 90s vehicle judging by the styling. This vehicle looks like a mini-minivan. These might be common elsewhere, but they're scarce here. Any info on the Axxess?

michaellno

The Axxess was, IIRC, the first minivan to have two sliding doors, one on either side. A great idea, just 5-10 years too early.

No clue what they had as far as an engine, but I would guess a 4-cyl of some sort. Woefully underpowered.

andre1969

but I think the Axxess was based on the Nissan Stanza, and had whatever engine the Stanza was using at the time. Just a wild guess, though.

IIRC, they also had no B-pillar (if there is such a thing in a van!) I think you could open the front doors and slide back the rear doors, and have a nice wide opening. But then I wonder how the front doors would latch, and it seems like it would be a death trap in an accident, with all that rigidity lost.

When those pickups with the "suicide" rear doors first came out, they'd usually crumple up horribly in crash tests, with no B-pillar for support. At least back in the day, hardtops still technically had a B-pillar, but it just ended at the beltline instead of going all the way to the roof. They've improved pickups since then, but I remember a crash test a few years ago with an extended cab Ram, F-150, Tundra, and Silverado, all with those rear-opening doors. Only the Tundra scored well.

jaserb

Driving and appeared complete but needed restoration in a bad way. I was kinda surprised, since most ratty 1st gen Camaros you see are lower end, less valuable models not Z28s. It had hideaways, not sure if all Z28s had these or if it was a separate option.

Also, in the parking lot where I work there's an early 70's Mustang Grande in a period olive green. Complete and original but kinda shabby all around: cracked dash, nasty vinyl roof, worn interior, tired paint, some bubbling around the wheel wells. It's for sale, too! Marked down from $3900 to $3300, which still seems like waaaaaaaaaay too much.

-Jason

andre1969

I know those were part of the Rally Sport (RS) package on the Camaro, but don't know if they came standard on the Z-28 or not.

Back in high school, I knew a guy who had a '69 Camaro SS/RS Pace Car convertible. It was white with orange accents, and had the hidden headlights. The motors were burnt out, so when he turned on his lights, he had to stop the car, get out, and slide the covers open himself!

jrosasmc

Was this Mustang you saw the big, bloated body style of 1971-73?

andys120

I saw a BRG Spitfire today, haven't seen one in years but there it was, far from perfect but looking like a great ride for a nice day.

It was better looking than I remember them being.

seminole_kev

I seem to remember the RS option was the only way to get the hidden headlamps, but I could easily be wrong. (By the way, I love the look of those hidden headlamps on the 67-69 Camaros.)

jaserb

And yes, it was Grande indeed.

-Jason

jaserb

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&cate- gory=6161&item=2481930903&rd=1

So there ya' go. It must have been a pretty highly optioned car but it sure had gone to pot. And no, I don't think it was a fake-o Z28, just a ratty original.

My dad still talks about how much he loved his blue '67 RS convert with the hideaways and the white stripe around the nose of the car - is that what they call a bumblebee stripe? Good looking cars, even today.

-Jason

kyfdx

I'm pretty sure the RS package got you the hidden headlights.. I think you could add it separately to any Camaro.. So, you might see Z28s and SS models with or without the hidden headlights, depending on whether they had the Rally Sport package.

regards,
kyfdx

stickguy

RS package came on any model, so you could have a 6 cyl RS if you wanted.

Hey, the dude that owns the Camaro got $492 on trade for a '62 FOrd Sunliner. Wonder what that would be worth today?

michaellno

I believe you are correct; my cousin had a '69 Camaro SS and it had the exposed headlights. 350 with an auto tranny. He got into quite a bit of trouble with that car!

BTW, on my way home from work I saw a Ford Scorpeo (?) RS. Navy blue, LHD, in pretty good condition. It looked like the Merkur XR4Ti, which I thought was a rebadged Sierra.

kyfdx

I believe that is the next model up in the Merkur line-up.. A mid-sized sedan. It looks like the XR4TI, but its bigger... A pretty nice car, actually...

andre1969

the XR4Ti, because it looked too much to me like a Ford Tempo! The Scorpio, from what I can recall though, was a pretty nice looking car. Aerodynamic yet angular. IIRC, it looked a bit like those Acura Legend-based Sterlings that were sold here for a few years, although it actually shared nothing with those cars.

kyfdx

Exactly.. although, I believe it was a hatchback.. but very similar to the Legend/Sterling.. though rear wheel drive.

regards,
kyfdx

andys120

XR4Ti/Sierra, No!

Mr_Shiftright

If you got a Z-28/RS, you didn't get the RS badging though, so you have to look closely for other clues.

A lot of the fakes have had the front clips switched.

fintail

XR4Ti = Sierra

Scorpio = Scorpio

It always amused me to see what were middle class everyday cars in Europe sold here as special upmarket exotics.

kyfdx

Yeah.. but they still tried to sell them at Mercury dealers. They never had a chance.

regards,
kyfdx

fintail

Yeah, that wasn't probably good marketing, nor the "Merkur" name itself.

I remember I liked those back in the day, and really wanted my dad to get one.

michaellno

The car I saw most definitely had "Ford" badging on in.

I know the Scorpio was the uplevel 4-door sedan sold in Europe (similar, I would guess, to the Taurus here in the states). Wasn't one iteration soundly criticized for its front end design?

IIRC, it died a slow death due to the popularity of the BMW 3-Series and Audi A4.

fintail

Maybe someone shipped a Scorpio over, or rebaged a Merkur as a Ford. On ebay a while back there was a Sterling 825 rebadged as the Rover it started as.

The 95+ Scorpio had a weird fish face and unhappy styling that I think contributed to the demise of the model. That and the resale on those things made a new Taurus look like a Lexus.



I actually found a site on them too:
 
http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk

tarik

This car never enjoyed a huge following in Europe, except on the British isle.

It was born as a hatchback, a body style that did not sit well with upscale car buyers. Understand, that the Scorpio was considered a full-size car in Europe, even though its size about equals the Taurus. It took on the likes of 5-series, E-Class, and A6 - a tough competition!

Anyways, years after its conception, the designers finally gave it the sedan look, but it was too late already. Once the reputation was ruined, not even the dramatic re-style with the weird nose and the thin-lipped tail lights could stop the demise of the Scorpio.

It vanished from the showrooms as the car that never made it because its blandness, although it was a great workhorse. Never liked it myself...

The Sierra XR4i was the spoiler-prepped version of a standard-fare midsize contender, and well accepted in rallye circles. Although visually "loud", it sold well overall.

Mr_Shiftright

Wasn't there also a Sierra that was a real killer-type rally car?

I think the problem with the Scorpio is that the Europeans treated it like an oscure American car and the Americans treated it like an obscure European car.

kyfdx

Exactly.. my little boy has a Matchbox car .. Ford Sierra.. in full rally trim.

That means it has to be true...right?

regards,
kyfdx

kyfdx

http://www.supercars.net/cars/1986@$Ford@$Sierra%20RS%20Cosworthg- .html

Mr_Shiftright

Careful of that link. Lotsa pop-ups and other issues.

Basically what it said was that the rallye Sierra RS had a Cogsworth head, turbo, etc., putting out 200HP. Didn't do too well in Group A but a fairly fierce road car for the times, with 150 mph and sub 6 times 0-60?

Now wasn't there an AWD version or am I growing dim here?

lemko

...I just got a flyer from the Danbury Mint advertising a scale model for a 1958 Packard Hawk. Why would anybody want a scale model of perhaps one of the ugliest, most-forgettable cars ever built? This grotesque Packardbaker was not only the car that killed Packard, but desecrated its corpse and then burned it.

kyfdx

Yeah.. . you have to jump back out of that link pretty quick... I think I almost crashed my company's server..LOL.

I thought that was the 4X4?

regards,
kyfdx

kyfdx

I'm wrong.. but, when I googled to find that, there were quite a few other links that had the 4X4 version.. Just not the concise info and picture that the above one has.

regards,
kyfdx

Mr_Shiftright

Vicious website they got there--LOL!