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

PF_Flyer

BTW, the '76 Seville belonged to bail bondsman Max Cherry in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown

PF_Flyer

Not obscure, just odd. From the Florida Keys, the Nautilimo, "the World's first Cadillac style Nautical Stretch-Limousine on the water!" Whatever floats your boat

stever

Here's a Caddy pickup with your name written all over it, Sneakers. And it's not even photoshopped.

berri

Now I like those two Caddy jobs. Kind of humorous. I suppose the Aztek was too, but those colors...

fintail

The 57 Caddy is probably a flower car?

Mr_Shiftright

never understood why dead people needed so many flowers....oh, well.

fintail

Not a current model anymore, so I guess it counts - saw an SLS AMG today.

stickguy

A 2 fer of land rovers. Old school. I assume defenders. One a long one with a huge canvas roof. White defender diesel with hood mounted spare. Looked like tired original. 2nd was older and the pick up style. Both parked on the street, at the jersey shore.

tjc78

Haven't seen one of those in a while

fintail

Saw an early/chrome bumper 911/912 today, looked immaculate but not new, maybe a very nice original car.

stickguy

Another 4 door canvas roof LWB model. Too much money down here. Also a nice restored big Healey at the golf course.

jpp75

Saw a first gen Subaru Justy while traveling in the mountains. Also saw a last gen Corsica, light blue and surprisingly in good shape.

fintail

Dropped the old car off last Sunday (I walk from the shop to pick it up, as I store it about a mile from there), and parked the new car by its elder, a good 35 year generation gap shot:

fintail

One I forgot - the other day in the visitor parking area at work, was a pristine and obviously restored ~1960 Beetle convertible, wearing year of manufacture plates (the old white on green) and wide whites. Eye catcher among all of the modern boxes.

berri

I always found the convertible boot on those VW's and Karmann Ghia's to kind of stand out. Personally, I liked the look, but I remember a lot of people thought it was cheap or tacky too back in those days.

xwesx

berri said:

I always found the convertible boot on those VW's and Karmann Ghia's to kind of stand out. Personally, I liked the look, but I remember a lot of people thought it was cheap or tacky too back in those days.

I agree on liking the look. My brother bought one of these for his wife a few years ago as her fair-weather cruiser. It's the only car they own that gets to live in the garage!

berri

Then I guess we're both "cheap and tacky". Hey, I've certainly been called worse

fintail

Drove by the shop where the fintail is hanging out right now - out front was an R63 AMG sitting very low in front. That can't be good.

carlooker6

Was looking at vintage pictures of car shows online today and came across a pic from old Geneva auto show. Can any body help identify the car in the pic.

ab348

Looks like a Fiat 2300-S.

http://cartype.com/pages/3778/fiat_2300-s_coupe__1961

roadburner

I think that it's a Fiat 2300 Coupé or 2300S Coupé:

texases

Saw a very nice 944 Turbo yesterday, for once not red. Looked like this, except for the wheels:

Michaell

Nice.

omarman

Spotted a very well kept 1985/86 Mustang GT convertible on the way to Westerville this morning. Black with black convertible top. Maybe gray interior but didn't get close enough look. Looked all stock original like this pic I found online.

ab348

Took the Cutlass to a drive-in tonight where there was a bit of a show going on. These two impressed me. A '57 Meteor convertible has to be rare pretty much anywhere. The '58 Impala is a bit more common but this one is lovely, though I would prefer it in a color other than all-white.

roadburner

I always liked the '58 better than the 55-57 cars. The '58 had a glitzy late '50s vibe that the earlier cars lacked. I usually tend to think that less is more- but not in this case.

imidazol97

ab348 said:

Took the Cutlass to a drive-in tonight where there was a bit of a show going on. These two impressed me. A '57 Meteor convertible has to be rare pretty much anywhere. The '58 Impala is a bit more common but this one is lovely, though I would prefer it in a color other than all-white.



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Thanks for posting.

Nice 58 Chev AND the 63 Ford next to it. The Impala in white was common in this area among those who went for the more expensive hardtop versions. Saw one just like it at a recent show.

Only negative thing is fender skirt. Don't like those. At least the owner didn't add on the continental tire kit that often is added by the folks restoring these gems. My pet peeves there.

ab348

imidazol97 said:

Nice 58 Chev AND the 63 Ford next to it. The Impala in white was common in this area among those who went for the more expensive hardtop versions. Saw one just like it at a recent show.

Only negative thing is fender skirt. Don't like those. At least the owner didn't add on the continental tire kit that often is added by the folks restoring these gems. My pet peeves there.

I didn't take a pic of the Ford because it had too much unnecessary junk on it - side pipes, spotlights, and some modern LED headlights that the owner left turned on because they had bluish "rings" illuminated around each one. Ugh.

I am not a fan of either continental kits on most '50s cars or skirts on most cars that didn't have them from the factory, but my real pet peeve are spotlights. I don't understand why people do that - drilling significant holes in A-pillars and fenders. I don't remember cars having them back then unless they were official vehicles of some sort.

There was one other car that showed up later on that also illustrated another pet peeve. A '67 Dodge Monaco 500 hardtop with a 383/4-speed that seemed original and in overall very good condition. But the owner had installed the most obnoxiously loud exhaust I have ever heard - it may have even been straight pipes - that jutted well out from behind the rear bumper and was hung low. I have never understood the appeal of super-loud exhausts other than to annoy other people and this seemed really inappropriate given the type of car it was on.

benjaminh

roadburner said:

I think that it's a Fiat 2300 Coupé or 2300S Coupé:

I think that Fiat is a really nice looking car.

iluvmysephia1

That Fiat rocks!

tjc78

roadburner said:

I always liked the '58 better than the 55-57 cars. The '58 had a glitzy late '50s vibe that the earlier cars lacked. I usually tend to think that less is more- but not in this case.

My uncle has a 58 Bonneville, what a beautiful car.

bhill2

tjc78 said:

roadburner said:

I always liked the '58 better than the 55-57 cars. The '58 had a glitzy late '50s vibe that the earlier cars lacked. I usually tend to think that less is more- but not in this case.

My uncle has a 58 Bonneville, what a beautiful car.

In 1959 my dad got a great deal on a left-over 58 Chevy Bel-Air four door hardtop; pretty stylish for the time and our neighborhood, especially me and my fellow pre teen crowd. I had a good time lording it over my buddies until my best friend's father bought a car with power windows. Damn.

stever

G-Wagen of unknown vintage.

Looked like it was in showroom condition.

Maybe it was, hard to tell from a casual observer's viewpoint. But it did have skinny bumpers, so maybe I saw an original '79.

fintail

Quite a few private import G-Wagens out there now. And back in the day before MB sold them here officially, there was a private importer who was based in NM, I think - I believe they still exist.

On the road today - a red Karmann Ghia, and a black Saab 900 turbo cabrio.

berri

My uncle has a 58 Bonneville, what a beautiful car.

Personally, while the 58 Impala has the nostalgia factor, I always thought the 58 Bonnie pulled it off better. But both are really nice cars to see.

sda

fintail said:

Dropped the old car off last Sunday (I walk from the shop to pick it up, as I store it about a mile from there), and parked the new car by its elder, a good 35 year generation gap shot:

I have to say that Mercedes always seem to age gracefully. Even when they are 20yrs+ you know they are still something special. When do you get fintail back?

fintail

Fintail should be ready this afternoon. Was supposed to be done Wednesday, but the mechanic thought it wouldn't hurt to replace the rear brake lines (inexpensive) while everything else was being done, as they appeared to have decayed, and they took an extra day to arrive. Tomorrow I plan to clean the car in anticipation of the yearly MBCA gathering.

sda said:

I have to say that Mercedes always seem to age gracefully. Even when they are 20yrs+ you know they are still something special. When do you get fintail back?

fintail

At the MB indy shop this afternoon amongst all of the normal cars was a C43, a W140 S600, and a W140 S500 "Grand Edition" - the final run of W140 sedans. I was told the S600 car just had to put 5-6K in it, pristine looking car anyway. The lowrider R63 was still there, too.

On the road 80s day, saw a NUMMI Nova, a Nissan/Datsun Sentra coupe, and an Audi 4000.

stickguy

driving around near my house, a big fin Mopar. Somewhere aroung 1960, 2 door. Had the faux spare tire trunk lid. I think it was an Imperial. Odd to see in traffic.

berri

In Chicago back in those days, we called that fake trunk lid a toilet seat

PF_Flyer

OK Porsche IDers. This was in the parking lot at a Hoss's Steak & Seahouse, which normally contains a lot of minivans, pickup trucks, and assorted Buicks and Oldsmobiles

Michaell

That's a 928

roadburner

Severe depreciation placed a lot of 928s in the hands of idiots who lacked the intelligence and/or finances to properly maintain them. Values are beginning to go up on some years and models.

fintail

928 before 1987, likely a 928S after 1982 or so.

uplanderguy

That side window treatment was really first seen on 1973 GM intermediate coupes, and later, on Chrysler Lasers. I cannot think of a treatment even remotely like that before the '73 GM's. Of course, the GM's quarter windows were smaller.

Mr_Shiftright

Love the 928. Expensive to maintain and not even most Porsche shops will work on them. Very high cost per mile. Never buy one with needs.

isellhondas

Fintail, I keep expecting to see you some Sunday at the Triple X here in town.

Today I was shocked to see a PRISTINE 1955 Nash! It said Le Mans on the rear fender. Never heard of that?

It was the top of the line model turquoise and white with a beautiful interior that was bone stock. It had factory air conditioning! I don't care for continental kits but his car had one that looked like it belonged there!

I took a picture with my iPhone but I have no idea how to post it here!

stickguy

email it to yourself, open it on the computer, and copy/paste into the box where you post pictures.

fintail

A quick google shows LeMans to be an engine-based Nash trim line - never heard of it either.

Here's one spotted in Portland, same car?

I've only been out to Triple X in the fintail once, I think, for a MB club event. Iffy weather and other plans kept the old car indoors today.

Next Sunday is the annual MBCA gathering, up in Lynnwood at the Nile golf course.

ab348

Something unexpected happened today. I got a call out of the blue from a fellow I had been talking to at a car show a couple of weeks ago. He was all ga-ga over the Cutlass and after looking it over and asking a lot of questions about it, asked me if I wanted to sell. I had never seriously considered the idea before but he was persistent so I gave him my number.

He called today and wanted to bring his brother around to take a look. The brother would be the actual buyer. They show up as promised and I get to meet them. They are from 90 minutes out of town and in addition to the guy I talked to, who appeared close to my age, the brother and his wife were a nice couple who seemed 50ish. They had looked at another Cutlass just prior apparently, and mine seemed better to them in every way. After they looked it over, not very intensively, they then asked if I could take them out for a drive. I did, and everything seemed great to them.

We got back here and he popped the question: how much? I told him I hadn't been trying to sell it and I would need something close to the insurance appraisal to consider it. That would be a crazy number to my mind but he did not seem bothered by it. They went away saying they would be in touch.

This is a dilemma. I have had the car 23 years and it has been a big part of my life. But I barely use it now and it is getting to the point where I am going to need to redo some things. The temptation to simplify my life is real. Plus I may need another surgery sometime over the next year and who knows how that will turn out.

Going into deep think mode on this one.