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

texases

Really odd commute sighting - a woody wagon, real wood, not close enough to tell make/year.

Just got back from a trip to Maine - saw more interesting classic/sports cars in the drive up Route 1 in one day than I see in a month or more in Dallas.

PF_Flyer

uplanderguy said:

Not a "classic" by any stretch, but saw an older (rusty in places) Toyota Tundra down the road from me with obviously a broken ball joint--LF tire separated from the car, ugh.

Guess it could have been worse... a little trip down memory lane from my days hosting the Pickups board

Mr_Shiftright

That's an odd way for a dump truck to operate......

PF_Flyer

But it can go over some odd obstacles now

fintail

Saw a DeLorean in traffic this evening, definitely sounded like a stock engine.

uplanderguy

A week or so ago, I saw a current-iteration Ford Fusion, black aftermarket wheels (I'd suspect), where the RF wheel and tire were laying flat on the road and the car was sitting down on the RF disc. There, I'd suspect an 'oops' in tightening lug nuts rather than a broken ball joint. Luckily, it was right in front of a Firestone store!

uplanderguy

In today's paper there is a picture of a current-looking Lincoln MK S, sitting in the Cuyahoga River. The owner called police to say it was in the river. There were no keys in it and nobody in the car. Police are investigating. That's an odd one; I'll be curious to hear how it happened.

roadburner

No great loss.

Mr_Shiftright

IA --- Intentional Acceleration?

Maybe went around a turn too fast---they are kinda "boaty".

Mr_Shiftright

I didn't personally "spot" this obscure little car but I wouldn't mind having it:

https://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/cto/5774345651.html

That's a pretty honkin' 4 cylinder motor so it can get out of its own way.

fintail

Wow, that's pretty rare in that condition, don't think I have ever seen one so nice.

I like how ads from the rust belt make it a point to show pics of the rockers and sill areas.

uplanderguy

It's funny you posted the pic of that '62 Tempest. I commented on that exact ad when someone posted it on Facebook in the past couple days.

I love the looks of the '62 Tempest LeMans Coupe, but I'd want one with the aluminum 215 V8, which was optional but I have never seen one in the flesh. They mostly went into the Buick Special and Skylark. I know the styling is similar, but I like the details of the Pontiac design better. I saw online once that only 1-2% of '62 Tempest production was the 215 V8.

I remember those fours being noisy and rough as all get out. A friend of mine who has wrenched for 50 years told me I'd have to be a masochist to want a rope-drive Tempest, LOL!

A nice driveway in the early '60's would've had a Grand Prix and one of those Tempests in it!

berri

Didn't those 61/62 Tempest's have that unusual drivetrain?

ab348

Yes, the transmission was in the rear and instead of a conventional thick driveshaft they were able to use a much thinner, somewhat flexible steel shaft.

berri

Thanks. I always wondered why Pontiac did that while I believe Buick and Olds did not.

bhill2

berri said:

Thanks. I always wondered why Pontiac did that while I believe Buick and Olds did not.

You know, that's a good question. At the time I assumed they wanted to share components with the Corvair, but I don't remember seeing anything to corroborate that.

berri

As I recall many of those year Tempest were four bangers. However, I wonder if they were built to handle the cutoff Pontiac V6 from their V8 engine (or was that done later - can't recall). Maybe that created the need for more clearance up front? But your Corvair comment makes plenty of sense for that time in GM history.

Mr_Shiftright

You still don't see too many large displacement 4 cylinder engines---they become difficult to balance.

fintail

I think the most successful "big" 4 might be the Toyota 2.4, which can make a 00s era Camry feel mildly sprightly (probably weighs 1000 lbs less than a 2017).

Mr_Shiftright

You still don't see too many large displacement 4 cylinder engines---they become difficult to balance.

ab348

Biggest one I remember seeing in common use was the Mitsu 2.6 used in K-car derivatives. GM is making a 2.5 these days.

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah, I think there were a few larger 4 cylinders (Tatra maybe?) but after 2.5 or so they get unruly.

Michaell

Didn't Porsche offer a 3-liter 4 cylinder back in the late 80's or early 90's?

Mr_Shiftright

Yes in the 968, for a short time. Kinda gas-hungry for a Four, as I recall.

PF_Flyer

Another sighting in an episode of Columbo. It won the 1972 Motor Trend Car of the Year award in the US. Been a long time since I've seen one of the brand on the road

roadburner

Believe it or not, but there's a shop near Lexington that specializes in the Citroen SM- Excelsior Motors.

PF_Flyer

roadburner said:

Believe it or not, but there's a shop near Lexington that specializes in the Citroen SM- Excelsior Motors.

Pretty cool. Was certainly a unique looker in 1972

fintail

There were a few of those sold as federalized imports at the time - you can see the pictured example appears to have US spec lights. I can't imagine what it was like keeping one of those on the road as it aged.

Fun background sighting, there's an SM in the background of a scene in the original 'Smokey and the Bandit':



Must have been an odd sight in Lithonia GA in 1976.

sda

fintail said:

There were a few of those sold as federalized imports at the time - you can see the pictured example appears to have US spec lights. I can't imagine what it was like keeping one of those on the road as it aged.

Fun background sighting, there's an SM in the background of a scene in the original 'Smokey and the Bandit':



Must have been an odd sight in Lithonia GA in 1976.

Wow, you're observant! Parked next to two Cordobas. I wonder what kind of reinforcement (if any) they did on the poor Pontiacs that lost its roof or doors. They certainly went through a bunch of them.

explorerx4

Reinforcements? They said, "Just hold onto your hat!"

roadburner

sda said:

Wow, you're observant! Parked next to two Cordobas. I wonder what kind of reinforcement (if any) they did on the poor Pontiacs that lost its roof or doors. They certainly went through a bunch of them.

You'd probably enjoy reading Hal Needham's autobiography Stuntman!: My Car-Crashing, Plane-Jumping, Bone-Breaking, Death-Defying Hollywood Life. He describes the making of Smokey and the Bandit in some detail.

And don't forget The Longest Yard; the first reel features a Needham-scripted police chase involving an SM- and it ends when driver Paul "Wrecking" Crewe(Burt Reynolds) rolls the car off a pier.

ab348

Then there was the XM in the original version of The Longest Yard:



I believe it met a watery grave.

uplanderguy

This is a salesmen's film short about selling the 1966 Chevelle SS396 against the GTO and Fairlane GT. So bad it's good. It's a (poor) takeoff of a Bond movie; called "From Chevrolet With Love". It's like a car wreck; I can't look away!

http://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/2016/09/25/from-chevrolet-with-love-gms-bizarre-1966-promotional-film/

fintail

It was listed on imcdb, but I noticed it before. There are some odd cars in Smokey and the Bandit, the book roadburner mentioned might be cool. The Dodge Colt hardtop in that pic also catches my eye.

No doubt they had a fleet of Pontiacs, sometimes you can tell when cars change. If Andre is still reading things here, he no doubt knows details.

Smokey even had a couple fintails spotted in background scenes, maybe unusual in 1970s GA, but it was near Atlanta:



The one here is behind what looks like a BMW 2002, appears to be the same color as my car:

sda said:

Wow, you're observant! Parked next to two Cordobas. I wonder what kind of reinforcement (if any) they did on the poor Pontiacs that lost its roof or doors. They certainly went through a bunch of them.

xwesx

My grandmother's neighbor has a decent driver-quality Corvette that they parked in the driveway....

I was going to post a pic, but realized that I don't have the image on this computer.

PF_Flyer

I don't remember '61 Impalas looking this cool

fintail

Kind of reminds me of a 60 Ford wagon:

Mr_Shiftright

Beautifully done, that Chevy!

PF_Flyer

Sure is. I might like it better if it wasn't lowered so much, but it's still slick

sda

fintail said:

Kind of reminds me of a 60 Ford wagon:

I love the names of some of the old cars. Ranch Wagon fits that Ford perfectly. A fairly basic hard working wagon. Country Squire for the wagon that gets pampered and pampers its owners.

berri

Now that 61 Chev is a custom I could live with. They seldom seem to come off that clean. I see the 60 Ford resemblance, but think it is more Audi like. In any event, Toyota should hire whoever put that one together to de-uglify its Toyota/Lexus lineup.

fintail

Heck, the 60 Ford design team could de-uglify the Toyolex lineup.

Ranch Wagon for hard work, Country Squire for suburban cruising, and Country Sedan for function and a little flash. I know I have gone on about the 60 Ford my dad had in the 90s - if I could find a nice identical car, it would be tempting. I bet I wouldn't love how it drives though.

stickguy

I think after 1 time around the block, unless I wanted to just park it for display, I would be commissioning a full resto mod of sorts. Suspension, tires, brakes, steering. Can also do it all without changing the looks if you want.

sda

Back up lights were optional on many cars until the mid '60s and the Ranch Wagon does not have them. Neither did my '62 Galaxie or mom's '63 Olds Dynamic 88. When we lived in rural VA and I had my Galaxie I quickly realized the benefit of back up lights when I had to back up in pitch black. The light coming off the tail lights (headlights turned on) did not give enough illumination to see. It made for some anxious moments as I tried to back up and not hit anything or end up in a ditch. I learned to have a flash light for these situations!

texases

Thanks for reminding me - our 64 1/2 Mustang didn't have backup lights, either. My dad put on a BIG one, great to see by, but I wouldn't have wanted to be behind it when I went in reverse.

PF_Flyer

Passed a Delorean in the fog on my way back from the gym. Second time I've seen it in the last three days, so he must live close by. Maybe I can loan him a flux capacitor in exchange for a ride

fintail

My dad's 60 Ford didn't have reverse lights either. Fintail has them of course. The 66 and 68 Fords had them.

A mild restomod might be a thing to do with a wagon, as something of that size and mass needs all the help it can get. Keep it all hidden, keep stock ride height and wheels/tire size etc. I remember when I was a teen, I liked the older cars more than the newer ones - the 60s cars were "cool", while it was a lot harder to be cool in a Tempo or Taurus or S10 Blazer or Caravan etc. As I had little experience, I didn't realize how the older cars were from a different world. Even driving the fintail was a slight revelation, it felt a lot more like a "normal" car than the old Fords, easier driveability - no warm up fussiness, more consistent handling

I check google now and then to find something similar to that Country Sedan, or maybe the same car. I recently found pics of a similar car. Same colors, but my dad's was on stock hubcaps and the pictured car appears to be missing the aluminum (?) trim on the rear quarter panel. Still, haven't seen another like it:

sda

texases said:

Thanks for reminding me - our 64 1/2 Mustang didn't have backup lights, either. My dad put on a BIG one, great to see by, but I wouldn't have wanted to be behind it when I went in reverse.

A lot of things we take for granted were optional not too long ago. In addition to not having back up lights, my '62 Galaxie and mom's '63 Olds did not have a driver's door review mirror and had one speed electric wipers, but no windshield washer. At least the wipers were not vacuum. A heater was optional as well. I've shared this before. Mom's '63 Olds Dynamic 88 was special ordered by an elderly man from Bert Smith Olds in St Petersburg, FL. It was the Holiday coupe with two tone paint, light green body, white top. Tinted glass, full wheel covers, white walls, cloth interior, PS and factory AC. It did not have a heater/defroster. While that was fine in St. Pete, it made for a very cold car when we moved to New Orleans. My parents bought the car with less than 5k in '65 at the same dealership. The elderly man was given orders to no longer drive.

This was the body style and color combo of the Olds. Wheel covers like the stock picture.
http://classicoldsmobile.com/forums/members/1pdq55-albums-1963+olds+dynamic+88+holiday-picture6844-front-driver-side.jpg
http://www.noneckschevelle.com/images/carpics/curtripple63olds88a.jpg

sda

Here is a picture of the dash (same color as in mom's). Notice the ac controls and separate heater controls. On hers there was a chrome plate the covered the area where the heater pushbuttons would have been.

http://car-from-uk.com/ebay/carphotos/full/ebay407995.jpg

fintail

I've never had a car without a driver's mirror. The 60 Ford had vacuum wipers, I remember those clearly. Heater delete but with AC is a funny thing to imagine, but in the PNW we have another quirk. It is unusual to find locally delivered cars from before the mid or in some cases late 70s with AC - nobody bothered. I think the low frequency of use and not being accustomed to it (even today you can easily buy a million dollar house here without AC) didn't justify the price.