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

sda

I finally got around to scanning some old pictures today. I have probably bored many of you with my reminiscing about the Sunbird that I drove while I was in college. Well here are some pictures of it. The last picture is at the Mazda dealership when I bought the 80 626 coupe. Yes the wheels on the Sunbird where changed out about a year before I traded it. The poly rims that came with it were literally falling apart, so I bought used Vega GT rims, and put the Pontiac centers on them. I repainted the Sunbird in 82, sold it in Aug 84. It had 82000 miles on it, V6, 5sp, a/c, luxury interior (white/blue).

sda

And my 71 Vega GT, before the Sunbird and my sister's 73 Gran Am that they drove(actually dad's) .

sda

ab348--this is for you. 68 Cutlass S that my grandmother special ordered. 350 2bbl, a/c ps, pb, rear defrost, am radio, tinted glass, oyster white interior. Last picture is me in 1990, as the new owner was getting ready to drive it away. 45000 miles.

uplanderguy

Thanks for posting! I know I'm old-skool, but I like the looks of these cars better than the ones sitting around your old Sunbird in the one pic.

I always thought that that era and model Mazda reminded me of the '78 two-door Chevy Malibu.

Michaell

@sda - nice pictures. Reminds me of the Sunbird I had in HS/College.

Mine was a '79 coupe with the "Iron Duke" 4-cyl, a 4-speed manual, vinyl seats and no A/C. Pretty basic. Tan with tan interior.

I remember we paid something like $3850 for it in 1982 - it had less than 12,000 miles on the odometer.

I had the car almost a year before I left for college. In that time, my cousin and I installed an aftermarket sunroof, a killer AM/FM/Cassette stereo and a couple of speakers mounted on brackets on the rear panel (no room to cut holes for traditional 6x9's). Also mounted both fog lights and driving lights under the front bumper. I really thought I was sylin'!

In February of 1983 I moved from Southern California to Phoenix to attend college. No cruise control, but of course the speed limit was 55 back then.

As winter turned to spring, the lack of A/C and vinyl seats were becoming a bit of a problem for my personal comfort. Checked into installed A/C - I think the quote was around $1000. The other option was a nice set of real sheepskin seat covers. $350. Mom and Dad popped for the seat covers, and the rest of my comfort was covered by the 2/55 method - 2 windows down, 55 MPH.

Sadly, I was involved in an accident not too long after arriving in Phoenix. While the body work was repaired well, I think there were some mechanical issues that never got addressed, and caused the car to run poorly ever after. In addition, it suffered from a hot start problem. Randomly, I'd get no spark or starter turnover when I turned the key. Wait a few minutes, then it would crank up. No idea what the root cause was.

Repaired the heater core, then I started having transmission problems. I suspect it had to do with broken engine mounts from the accident, and the engine twisted enough to screw up the linkage to the tranny. Had a hard time finding reverse from time to time.

Only a few months from graduating in 1985, I was taking it to a shop to be looked at one last time when I was involved in a second accident. This one did enough damage to have the insurance company write it off. Got a check for $2000.

I liked the car, despite the unreliability. Took me on a number of road trips - often to Yuma, where I had family, and one trip back to CA between semesters.

uplanderguy

Loving these old photos--the '68 Cutlass sure had pleasing lines all-around, and I like the large wheel openings.

texases

We had a similarly-equipped 2-door '69 Cutlass growing up, that thing could scoot, even though it just had the 2 bbl. This was one of those body styles that looks much better with 2 doors, IMO. Wagons were fine, too.

Michaell

Our next door neighbors had a Cutlass of that vintage as well. Early 70's, IIRC. Dark brown, inside and out. They bought a '73 or '74 Corolla in the same color, as well.

uplanderguy

I was ready to gush about the rust-free condition of that '71 Vega GT--'til I noticed no "GT" emblem on the front fender, which would indicate that this is most likely a replacement set of front fenders.

berri

I liked the looks of the Vega, but like the Kamback wagon even more. But my favorite picture posted is the Olds. Late 60's and early 70's GM intermediates really were nice looking cars.

sda

uplanderguy said:

I was ready to gush about the rust-free condition of that '71 Vega GT--'til I noticed no "GT" emblem on the front fender, which would indicate that this is most likely a replacement set of front fenders.

You are observant! That fender came off a 73 Vega, the rest of the car was rust free. I still have the GT badge in my tool box! I have couple more pictures. Let me see if I can find them Sunflower yellow--just as in the 71 ads. Not my favorite, but for $500, I overlooked the color.

uplanderguy

Me too on the Kammback. They were built 40 miles from where I lived in PA at the time, and people in our town worked there. I can't think of a car introduced to more promise...sigh. I could still like a '75 GT Kammback, red, white side striping, white-lettered tires, stick, Custom interior. I don't think there are any survivors like that though.

uplanderguy

My grandparents bought the very first Vega our small-town dealer got in...really. They went from a '67 Impala Sport Coupe to a dark green Vega sedan (notchback), pumpkin-colored cheapo interior, rubber on the floor, 3-speed, only options AM radio and white-stripe tires! It served them well as they hardly ever drove. Theirs was such an early production car that it had the rubber-surrounded quarter windows, which very soon in production got changed to painted metal. My cousin and her husband (newlyweds) bought a much-nicer new dark blue '71 Vega Hatchback, automatic, 2-barrel engine, blue Custom Interior, wheel trim rings, whitewalls. They traded on a new '72 Impala Sport Coupe as their family started growing rapidly. He worked at Packard Electric which I think got a GM employee discount, too.

sda

sda said:

uplanderguy said:

I was ready to gush about the rust-free condition of that '71 Vega GT--'til I noticed no "GT" emblem on the front fender, which would indicate that this is most likely a replacement set of front fenders.

You are observant! That fender came off a 73 Vega, the rest of the car was rust free. I still have the GT badge in my tool box! I have couple more pictures. Let me see if I can find them Sunflower yellow--just as in the 71 ads. Not my favorite, but for $500, I overlooked the color.

A couple more pictures. The front had been bumped thus the poor repair job and stripe that isn't rounded, but comes straight down. I took these just before picking up my Sunbird, 9/26/78.

sda

And for an encore, or should I say Alliance...my 85 Alliance DL convertible. It was fully loaded, had the 'powerful' 1.7L. Bought it in 12/86 with 20k, sold with 44k. Needless to say it was less than trouble-free. src="https://us.v-cdn.net/5021145/uploads/editor/3v/dinl63uae6mm.jpg" alt="" />


It was as a fun car in its own way. I loved how it would go over speed bumps with its French soft suspension.

sda

sda said:

I finally got around to scanning some old pictures today. I have probably bored many of you with my reminiscing about the Sunbird that I drove while I was in college. Well here are some pictures of it. The last picture is at the Mazda dealership when I bought the 80 626 coupe. Yes the wheels on the Sunbird were changed out about a year before I traded it. The poly rims that came with it were literally falling apart, so I bought used Vega GT rims, and put the Pontiac centers on them. I repainted the Sunbird in 82, sold it in Aug 84. It had 82000 miles on it, V6, 5sp, a/c, luxury interior (white/blue).

uplanderguy

Renault Alliance..."The One to Watch"!

explorerx4

Today I saw a couple of red cars. Early 70 Cutlass 442 W30 and a 1980 or so Corvette with black T tops. Corvette was for sale, some kind of papers under the windshield wipers. It was for sale last year, too.

ab348

sda said:

ab348--this is for you. 68 Cutlass S that my grandmother special ordered. 350 2bbl, a/c ps, pb, rear defrost, am radio, tinted glass, oyster white interior. Last picture is me in 1990, as the new owner was getting ready to drive it away. 45000 miles.

@sda : Awesome! I love that parchment interior - actually I thought of converting mine to that color but it is a ton of work to do. Beats the heck out of black, as mine is. I'm not sure but the paint color might be the same as mine was originally. They had 3 different but similar shades that year - mine was Ocean Turquoise originally. Had those same hubcaps too. It looks to be in fine condition in 1990. I bought mine in 1993 with 28000 miles, but while the interior was excellent, the body had suffered some from the Nova Scotia climate.

fintail

I like how the Olds, Pontiac, and Mazda are all a similar color.

andre1969

awesome group of pics, SDA. Thanks for posting! That Sunbird was a nice little car...love the color. It's somewhat similar to my 1980 Malibu coupe. GM did have a flair back then for making its small cars look good.

That Grand Am is pretty cool...you don't see the 4-door sedan very often.

kyfdx

I love the '70s-'80s porn stache... I'm still rocking that look!

Mr_Shiftright

kyfdx said:

I love the '70s-'80s porn stache... I'm still rocking that look!

A porn stache is required if you own a Corvette.

sda

andre1969 said:

awesome group of pics, SDA. Thanks for posting! That Sunbird was a nice little car...love the color. It's somewhat similar to my 1980 Malibu coupe. GM did have a flair back then for making its small cars look good.

That Grand Am is pretty cool...you don't see the 4-door sedan very often.

I enjoyed going thru a large envelope of old pictures, can't believe time has flown by. Took a while to scan some of the pictures. I have a whole lot more that I may share at a later date.

Even when we had the Grand Am in the early 80s, not many 4 doors were around. It really drove well for a car of the era. A tight and comfortable ride, quiet and roomy. The bucket seats, console, and real wood veneer on the dash gave it a bit of sport and luxury. Even with the standard 400 2bbl and single exhaust it was eager to move out. Gas mileage was awful, around 9-12 mpg. It did like to over heat from time to time. The mechanics changed the radiator, fan, water pump, etc. with little improvement. Dad instructed my sisters to keep an eye on the gauges and turn off the a/c when the temp gauge approached hot. I guess it was the nature of the beast yet gave many years of good service.

fintail--it was certainly coincidental that the Cutlass, Sunbird and 626 were of similar color.

kyfdz--no the stache went away in 93! Unfortunately I've gained some pounds and gray hair in the meantime, thou I still have a full head of hair! I will be 57 a week from tomorrow.

stickguy

In a driveway in McLean VA, a nice clean looking 1970ish LTD wagon. Odd sight.

kyfdx

sda said:

andre1969 said:

awesome group of pics, SDA. Thanks for posting! That Sunbird was a nice little car...love the color. It's somewhat similar to my 1980 Malibu coupe. GM did have a flair back then for making its small cars look good.

That Grand Am is pretty cool...you don't see the 4-door sedan very often.

I enjoyed going thru a large envelope of old pictures, can't believe time has flown by. Took a while to scan some of the pictures. I have a whole lot more that I may share at a later date.

Even when we had the Grand Am in the early 80s, not many 4 doors were around. It really drove well for a car of the era. A tight and comfortable ride, quiet and roomy. The bucket seats, console, and real wood veneer on the dash gave it a bit of sport and luxury. Even with the standard 400 2bbl and single exhaust it was eager to move out. Gas mileage was awful, around 9-12 mpg. It did like to over heat from time to time. The mechanics changed the radiator, fan, water pump, etc. with little improvement. Dad instructed my sisters to keep an eye on the gauges and turn off the a/c when the temp gauge approached hot. I guess it was the nature of the beast yet gave many years of good service.

fintail--it was certainly coincidental that the Cutlass, Sunbird and 626 were of similar color.

kyfdz--no the stache went away in 93! Unfortunately I've gained some pounds and gray hair in the meantime, thou I still have a full head of hair! I will be 57 a week from tomorrow.

We are about the same age... While my hair is still mostly brown, the stache is definitely all gray/white, now.

I've only shaved it off twice, since I was a teenager. The last time was about 7 years ago, and my wife and son both said to let it grow back (lol).

sda

stickguy said:

In a driveway in McLean VA, a nice clean looking 1970ish LTD wagon. Odd sight.

I always liked the 69-70 LTD Country Squire and 69-72 Mercury Colony Park that had hidden headlights. Chevy, Dodge and Plymouth also wagons during this time frame that had hidden headlights. I miss that feature, made the cars look somewhat elegant and mysterious.

bhill2

sda said:

stickguy said:

In a driveway in McLean VA, a nice clean looking 1970ish LTD wagon. Odd sight.

I always liked the 69-70 LTD Country Squire and 69-72 Mercury Colony Park that had hidden headlights. Chevy, Dodge and Plymouth also wagons during this time frame that had hidden headlights. I miss that feature, made the cars look somewhat elegant and mysterious.

That is, until one of the vacuum lines failed. After that they looked awful because they weren't designed to have exposed headlights, much less one exposed headlight.

tjc78

My 79 Continental's headlight doors would raise up a half hour after it was parked.  The vacuum motors were leaky.  

fintail

Saw a Lancia Montecarlo parked at the local high end special interest lot - it looked nice, I assume it moved there under its own power.

stickguy

the one I saw had a clean nose. no hidden headlights. so it might have been a slightly different year. but right around there!

andre1969

There were a couple Benz sightings in my neighborhood over the past couple days. Nothing *too* erotic, but not exactly everyday occurrences, either. I do spot them both every once in awhile, but finally captured them on film. Well, okay, digital...

Caught this one at the local Safeway parking lot on Saturday. Didn't look too bad from a distance, but up close, the paint is a bit faded (and filthy, but the color hides it well). Some body damage around the front wheel opening, and it looked like someone tried to fix it with bondo.


Spotted this one on the way into work this morning. Despite being a Diesel, it had no trouble keeping up with the stop and go traffic. Much better than the Escalade EXT in my rearview mirror...which actually ran a stop sign to get in front of me, and then proceeded to go extra slow, delayed too long every time the stop-and-go traffic moved forward (probably on the cell phone), and seemed to do everything possible to add to the congestion. Anyway, this Benz was also bit rough, some rust along the lower door edges. And also pretty dirty, although the combination of that color, plus being wet, made it more photogenic.

fintail

Old MBs of that era can go at the wheelarches like in the pic, especially after 25 or so years of use. The W126 is 1986 or later, impossible to tell what model - I suspect US sales in descending order for a LWB car would be 420SEL, 560SEL, 300SEL, 300SDL, 350SDL. The wagon is 1981-85, and I suspect the performance of that old Escalade was not atypical.

xwesx

I make no claim to this being a classic, but it is certainly "obscure." You may need to zoom in a bit to see what is "off" about this smexy beast!

stickguy

I give up. Gold package? Or is it a badge scam? The taillights look more like an old sable to me! Or you don't like the spoiler?

Michaell

stickguy said:

I give up. Gold package? Or is it a badge scam? The taillights look more like an old sable to me! Or you don't like the spoiler?

There is an MB tri-star badge on the trunk plus an AMG badge. I can't read the nomenclature on the left. 

xwesx

stickguy said:

I give up. Gold package? Or is it a badge scam? The taillights look more like an old sable to me! Or you don't like the spoiler?

Haha. I'll give it a little more time, but you're not on the wrong track.

stickguy

I think the left is S450 or SL450. put it all together and that is why I thought it was not even a benz but a cheap car with those badges slapped on.

xwesx

stickguy said:

I think the left is S450 or SL450. put it all together and that is why I thought it was not even a benz but a cheap car with those badges slapped on.

Yeah, it's badged as an MB S-series AMG, but it is actually a Ford Crown Vic. I couldn't get a shot from the side before it was my turn, but those wheels.... Somebody was sure dreaming on that one! LOL

fintail

Funny, it appears to say "S450 AMG" - which doesn't exist in any form, either MB or Ford.

I see the pic was taken from a nowadays kind of obscure car, too.

xwesx

fintail said:

I see the pic was taken from a nowadays kind of obscure car, too.

What? No. I see myself coming and going all the time. Bit annoying, really.

Yeah, that badge did say S450, which didn't ring any bells for me, but I figured that was just part of the gag. I mean, one might be able to pull off a 450, but everyone would see right through a 550.

fintail

The V8 in those later CVs is a 4.6, right? Pretty close to the badge then, maybe he was aiming for accuracy

xwesx said:

What? No. I see myself coming and going all the time. Bit annoying, really.

Yeah, that badge did say S450, which didn't ring any bells for me, but I figured that was just part of the gag. I mean, one might be able to pull off a 450, but everyone would see right through a 550.

berri

That white car - at first I thought it was an old Crown Vic with a spoiler

tjc78

Why would someone do that do a nice Crown Vic.......

(Spoken from the only member on Edmunds who likes Panthers)

andre1969

Didn't Ford offer a trim package for the Crown Vic called LX-Sport, or something like that, for a few years? IIRC, it was the same time as the Mercury Marauder was offered, and it had bucket seats and a console/floor shift. BUT, it just had the regular 4.6, and not the hotter 4.6 the Marauder had.

and no, tjc78, you're not the only member here who likes Panthers! Every once in awhile, I've thought about getting one. And, I still haven't replaced my Park Ave yet, although I'm starting to lean more towards a V-6 Charger when that time comes. Nothing's set in stone, though.

Mr_Shiftright

Not a car, but I saw a Cushman motor scooter today.

Looks like it was designed in prison.

texases

Kind of like this Yamaha:

Mr_Shiftright

I rode motorcycles for many years----and I always tell the young 'uns never to buy a motor scooter. They are really dangerous compared to a big wheel bike.

Today I'm going to see a pretty obscure car---a 1969 Citroen DS21. I'll take a few pix.

fintail

I kind of like scooters, but not how the small wheels deal with decaying roads. Really, I like the small bike experience without constant shifting.

berri

Panthers - I owned the Mercury Colony Pak version once. My last hurrah with an old fashion rwd V8 and some "real" chrome! Not a bad car until it got up around 70K miles, then the repairs started.

I remember Cushman from the parking ticket cop scooters years back.