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

fintail

REPUs and other old Mazdas are cool cars, but weren't they pretty thirsty and high maintenance?

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah but modern aftermarket items can fix a lot of that.

andre1969

berri said:

OK, thanks. Never could make my mind up about those 4dr T Birds. In a way they made no sense, but in another way they were kind of cool too???

I kind of like the 4-door T-birds, up through 1969 at least. I liken them to sort of an early attempt at a Cadillac Seville type of car...luxurious, but more compact than the typical luxury car of the era. They were about the size of a Seville too, 115" wheelbase, and around 209" long. IIRC, the '75-79 Seville was on a 114.3" wb and the '80-85 was 114.0", and both were around 204-205" long. But, I guess if one of those 4-door T-birds was altered to have 5 mph bumpers both front and rear, that would add about 10" to it?

I really didn't care for the '70-71 refresh though, with its exposed headlights and beaky front-end. Those beaks could be kind of hit-or-miss on Pontiacs, but some Ford products ('70-71 T-bird, some of those early 70's Montegos) really took it to an extreme.

fintail

It's almost like they exaggerated the beak in period literature, too:



I think the 67-69s are a lot cooler looking, with hidden headlights.

Re: 1974 cars - wasn't this about what cars would have been a good choice when new? Any number of 1974 cars could be improved by replacing stock bits with 25 year newer bits.

Mr_Shiftright

An RX3 or RX4 wouldn't have been a good choice if fuel costs were a major concern, but if low-cost fun were a priority, they might be. Reliability was more about getting them serviced properly. If you did, you were OK.

stickguy

Thirsty and high maintenance? My kind of woman! Car!

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah, it's almost....ITALIAN!

andre1969

I always thought one 1974 car that came off as really handsome was the full-sized Plymouth Fury. It had a nice, clean, almost muscular look to it, and avoided a lot of the faux-luxury cliches that auto makers were sticking on cars by then.

That may have been part of their downfall though, because buyers WANTED that faux-luxury stuff. And, while the cars did have a muscular stance to them, they also had a heavy, bulky look about them that seemed to scream "I guzzle" moreso than an Impala or LTD. Plus, 1974 really wasn't a good year for full-sized cars in general, so it was probably a bad time to introduce an all-new one. But, considering what great years 1972 and 1973 were, how could they have known it would all crash for '74? Plus, it was time to redesign these things, anyway, as the C-body's last redesign was 1969.

bhill2

fintail said:

It's almost like they exaggerated the beak in period literature, too:



I think the 67-69s are a lot cooler looking, with hidden headlights.

Re: 1974 cars - wasn't this about what cars would have been a good choice when new? Any number of 1974 cars could be improved by replacing stock bits with 25 year newer bits.

That Bird has definitely had a beak implant.

ab348

andre1969 said:

I really didn't care for the '70-71 refresh though, with its exposed headlights and beaky front-end. Those beaks could be kind of hit-or-miss on Pontiacs, but some Ford products ('70-71 T-bird, some of those early 70's Montegos) really took it to an extreme.

At the time I didn't like them much, but with the passage of time I have come to appreciate those Fomoco beaks. I especially like the Cyclone/Montego version. Maybe in 20 years I'll have a desire for a beak-nose Acura, who knows?

You mentioned the '74 Fury being a good design. I agree:



It had a bit of a GM look to it to my eye, but was very clean.

berri

I kinda remember the Fomoco beak trend back then. As I recall, the earlier 70's Mercury Montego (Ford Torino equivalent) had one as well for awhile.

I thought the mid 70's big Mopars were nice looking too, but badly timed given the gas shortages. A bit hard for me to distinguish the Plymouths from the Dodges though. I also liked the interior seats on the big Mopars and Ford's during that era.

Mr_Shiftright

I saw a 1997 Subaru Outback---no big deal, right? BUT.....it was right hand drive !!

Guy said it was an old postal vehicle.

Beat to crap BTW

stickguy

I remember those. a lot of rural mail delivery was private cars of some sort, and Sube sold cars for that. Pretty easy, since they just had to bring over the JDM model.

andre1969

That all-brown '77 New Yorker posted earlier was a sharp looking car, and, literally, a lot of car for the money! And yeah, while brown isn't my favorite color, and I prefer the true hardtops, the rest of that car is nice enough to make up for that!

As for the '74+ C-bodies having a GM-ish look, I think the '74 Monaco had an even stronger GM look than the Gran Fury! Looks kinda like a heavy-handed '72 LeSabre to me, with its low grille between the headlights, and it even has a Buick-ish swoopy crease in the side sheetmetal that carried over into the quarter panel..

I always thought the 4-door hardtop version of the Fury/Monaco had a strong resemblance to the '71-74 GM B-body. Interestingly GM changed their own 4-door hardtop roof for '75-76. And the 2-door hardtops made me think of a Ninety-Eight/Electra in the C-pillar area.

I think the Monaco and Fury did look too much alike though, at least in the early years. When they went to the hidden headlights for the Dodge and the single headlights for the Plymouth, they did stand out a bit more. They also had, IMO, too much of a "corporate" look on the inside, like they tried to share as many interior components as possible. I think the dashboard is the same across the Plymouth/Dodge/Chrysler, and even Imperial lines, although they probably threw more woodgrain on the more expensive cars.

The Fury also seemed to come up a bit short, in being sold through Chrysler-Plymouth dealers. As a result, it seemed like it could never be *too* upscale, because it would cannibalize sales from the more profitable Newport. As a result, it seemed like the top levels (Fury Gran Coupe/Sedan for '74 and Gran Fury Brougham for '75-77, IIRC), never seemed quite on par with the likes of a Caprice or top-end LTD.

sda

ab348 said:

andre1969 said:

I really didn't care for the '70-71 refresh though, with its exposed headlights and beaky front-end. Those beaks could be kind of hit-or-miss on Pontiacs, but some Ford products ('70-71 T-bird, some of those early 70's Montegos) really took it to an extreme.

At the time I didn't like them much, but with the passage of time I have come to appreciate those Fomoco beaks. I especially like the Cyclone/Montego version. Maybe in 20 years I'll have a desire for a beak-nose Acura, who knows?

You mentioned the '74 Fury being a good design. I agree:



It had a bit of a GM look to it to my eye, but was very clean.

And thankfully Chrysler shed the oversized bumper guards from the year before.

Mr_Shiftright

Old FJ 40 Land Cruiser....the new darling of the "aren't I just too cool" outdoorsy-set. This one had a for sale sign on it. I stopped and looked it over, and I have given it the coveted Shiftright Certified Rusty Appalling Pile Award.

Price? Only $15,000. Hurry or you'll miss it!

uplanderguy

I always thought the '74 Monaco, especially, looked like a '71 full-size Chevrolet...as on the Fury above, the wrapping windshield with full bright-metal-covered A-pillars; peaked front fenders on the Dodge, and the shape of the rear doors on the pillared four-doors was similar to the big GM's too.

I remember reading in the '74 Monaco brochure, how some of the design ideas and features were the result of consumer clinics. I did like the center glovebox on those cars.

andre1969

There was a '77 Gran Fury hardtop coupe for sale at Carlisle a few years back...one of the true hardtops too, not the more common style where they stuck the landau roof and opera window treatment on it. It was light blue, had a 360, in fairly good shape. I'd say more or less about an Impala-equivalent trim level.

I sat in it, and thought it was pretty comfortable. The seating position was a little bit low by today's standards, but legroom was excellent and no headroom issues for me. And being unitized, it didn't have the big frame rail intrusion at the door sills. I'm trying to recall how a '71-76 GM B-body would've been in comparison, but it's been ages since I've sat in one. I do seem to recall they had a taller seating position, but the seat didn't go back as far, and the steering wheel was a bit too close for comfort. And I can't recall much about the '73-78 big Fords, except the seating position was pretty low.

berri

I always liked the looks of the somewhere around 76 intermediate sized Fury coupe. I don't think it was a real big seller for Chrysler, but I thought it was a bit classy looking.

hpmctorque

ab348 said:

There's a part of me that would pay the asking price for this in a heartbeat if it was located closer to me:

http://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/cto/5624859924.html

Check out those seats! Seems like a bargain.

I love the seats in that Chrysler.

stickguy

I don't have den furniture that nice.

explorerx4

Had the Mustang out today. Nice afternoon to drive it.

stickguy

looks nice. I remember test driving a new 5.0 hatch back around 1987 or so, but did not pull the trigger.

kyfdx

Very nice!

fintail

Up to 30K miles now right?

roadburner

I also posted this in Cars and Conversation; my 1973 Bavaria is still going strong. The current owner tipped me off that it is the lead picture in the Petrolicious article on The Vintage.

fintail

That's definitely obscure in 2016, I suspect they have a lower survival rate than fintails 10 years older. Maybe parts supplies were tougher back in the day, I haven't seen one on the road in a long time.

I saw a similar car at a local auction last year, an early small bumper car. It was in OK shape, but had been off the road for a long time.

roadburner

The 1973 had small bumpers but extended them out an extra few inches so that they could meet the 1973 standards. The 1974 standards required much tougher and resilient bumpers- hence the "diving boards" fitted from 1974 on.

stickguy

that is a nice looking car. Classic and elegant BMW styling, when the cars were simple!

Ashville is beautiful country too.

fintail

Here's the car I saw, I thought I had a pic:

roadburner

stickguy said:

that is a nice looking car. Classic and elegant BMW styling, when the cars were simple!

Ashville is beautiful country too.

I loved mine; I did a "rolling restoration" of it from 1984-1988. I sold it because I wanted something motre suitable for track events- although it did spend a day at Watkins Glen.

Michaell

roadburner said:

stickguy said:

that is a nice looking car. Classic and elegant BMW styling, when the cars were simple!

Ashville is beautiful country too.

I loved mine; I did a "rolling restoration" of it from 1984-1988. I sold it because I wanted something motre suitable for track events- although it did spend a day at Watkins Glen.

The older sister of a girl I carpooled with in HS had a Bavaria. Was quite exotic for 1980, for sure. Loved the airiness of the interior - very thin pillars all around.

Then, I dated a girl who's father owned a stick shift 5-series - 530i? It was 1982, but I don't remember the year of the car. He towed his TQ midget racer (like a dirt track sprint car, only with a 750CC motorcycle engine) behind it and the BMW still loved to pull. I remember a trip to the now extinct Ascot raceway in Gardena to watch him race.

hpmctorque

A nice, clean, straight black Chrysler LeBaron 4-door hatchback, being driven on the Washington beltway. I'm guessing it was a '86, '87. or '88, in remarkably good cosmetic condition. Couldn't tell whether it was a turbo. I hadn't seen one of those in any condition for quite some time.Those Chryslers and Dodges looked good, to my eyes, and this black one still looked sharp.

One of the headwinds those Mopars faced in the marketplace is that you could get a Taurus or Sable, which were bigger cars on new platforms, for about the same money. Iacocca still managed to sell a lot of them.

berri

My dad almost bought one of those and I think they were kind of sharp lookers for the times. But he decided the ride was too firm and went with a Sable instead.

fintail

Today spotted a mid 90s huge spoiler Supra that looked very stock save for wheels, and a Porsche 964 Targa.

stickguy

I never liked those Supras. Just got too bloated.

I seriously lusted after the 1984ish vintage ones. Should have dug deep back in the day and scraped up the $ to get one.

fintail

I like the wedge Supra too, If I found a mint one in a pretty silvery blue color I have seen before, I would be seriously tempted. The 80s were Toyota's peak of cool. The bloated Supras aren't pretty, but are an icon. Eventually, untouched Turbo ones, far from cheap today, will be worth a lot more.

Today spotted a red Allante.

explorerx4

Just watched The Man From Uncle movie. Pretty campy, but entertaining. Took place in 1963, so lot of good 60's and earlier cars, etc.
Totally forgot about Mr. Waverly.

kyfdx

fintail said:

I like the wedge Supra too, If I found a mint one in a pretty silvery blue color I have seen before, I would be seriously tempted. The 80s were Toyota's peak of cool. The bloated Supras aren't pretty, but are an icon. Eventually, untouched Turbo ones, far from cheap today, will be worth a lot more.

Today spotted a red Allante.

My friend had an '84 Supra. When I commented on it, he said his wife's Saab 900 turbo (mid-late '80s?) with an automatic was much, much faster.

roadburner

explorerx4 said:

Just watched The Man From Uncle movie. Pretty campy, but entertaining. Took place in 1963, so lot of good 60's and earlier cars, etc.
Totally forgot about Mr. Waverly.

I liked that movie a LOT, especially since the setting was the '60s instead of a modern day "reboot."

magnette

On the motorway to Cambridge today passed a small pick-up truck carried on a low-loader - it was an Austin A40 pickup from the early fifties.

stickguy

took a drive up to NY. saw a few things.

out driving local on a beautiful day, a 1970ish vette convertible top down. and an early 50s Ford PU hot rod. Screaming bright yellow.

at a Turnpike rest area (just glimpsed from the road) a gaggle of late 60s midsize GM models. a few Olds cutlass rears, and some chevelle/malibus. Must have been at least 6-8 that I saw with a quick glimpse.

and my favorite, travelling on the Garden State Parkway, a Volvo 120 Amazon wagon. tan, looked original. Or more accurately, 50 years used.

fintail

In the holding/delivery area of the MB dealer today, a 69 280SL, obviously restored, quality car with an under-dash FrigiKing air conditioner. Pretty good money for something like that these days.

explorerx4

A gunmetal blue/ray top Karmann Ghia convertible.

kyfdx

Pontiac Solstice Coupe..

Asked my son, who was with me, "when was the last time you saw one of those?".

"How about never?"

hpmctorque

I saw a Solstice or Saturn Sky roadster this weekend, but I couldn't tell which of these two it was from the side and rear quarter panel view. I wasn't close to it, but it was being driven.
However, the Solstice coupes are indeed rare. Will the few remaining ones be valuable collector items one day?

Michaell

hpmctorque said:

I saw a Solstice or Saturn Sky roadster this weekend, but I couldn't tell which of these two it was from the side and rear quarter panel view. I wasn't close to it, but it was being driven.
However, the Solstice coupes are indeed rare. Will the few remaining ones be valuable collector items one day?

The Solstice is more rounded, while the Sky is angular in shape.

PF_Flyer

Had to run an errand downtown this morning and took the camera since you never know what you'll see. Like an '87 Audi Quattro

texases

Looks like a "Coupe Quattro", the low power (non-turbo) version of the Quattro turbo:

PF_Flyer

It had all those "corners" on it.