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

Mr_Shiftright

Michaell said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

fintail said:

Spotted a 70s VW Transporter pickup pulling a little trailer. It was in the right lane, of course (lane discipline here isn't too bad - it's in the cities where people become idiots).

Even worse, saw an original Scion xA pulling a pop up camper. That poor car didn't look like it was having a good time.

People down here have some kind of fetish with towing things, same all over the south maybe.

I bought one of those brand new. They are great little cars, kind of forerunner to the CUV, but way down on power. They were wound tight at 75 mph, probably due to low gearing.

My daughter and I test drove one before we bought the ION for her to take to college. The lack of cruise control was a deal breaker, given that a majority of her 100 mile drive to school was on the interstate.

I looked into adding CC to my xA but decided that the poor thing couldn't pull 5th gear very hard anyway, so probably not a good idea. I wonder if that's why Toyota didn't offer it?

Michaell

Mr_Shiftright said:

Michaell said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

fintail said:

Spotted a 70s VW Transporter pickup pulling a little trailer. It was in the right lane, of course (lane discipline here isn't too bad - it's in the cities where people become idiots).

Even worse, saw an original Scion xA pulling a pop up camper. That poor car didn't look like it was having a good time.

People down here have some kind of fetish with towing things, same all over the south maybe.

I bought one of those brand new. They are great little cars, kind of forerunner to the CUV, but way down on power. They were wound tight at 75 mph, probably due to low gearing.

My daughter and I test drove one before we bought the ION for her to take to college. The lack of cruise control was a deal breaker, given that a majority of her 100 mile drive to school was on the interstate.

I looked into adding CC to my xA but decided that the poor thing couldn't pull 5th gear very hard anyway, so probably not a good idea. I wonder if that's why Toyota didn't offer it?

Possibly. We drove the automatic version, which was decidedly un-fun in just about every way possible.

Not that the ION was a sports car, but it had 140HP, so it could hold its own on the highway.

Mr_Shiftright

I think the Scion xA was 108 HP, and 108.5 when equipped with fart can muffler and K&N filter.

texases

Mr_Shiftright said:

I think the Scion xA was 108 HP, and 108.5 when equipped with fart can muffler and K&N filter.

And I thought my GTI's 90 hp was hot stuff!

Mr_Shiftright

It was ok to drive but passing anyone required serious planning.

uplanderguy

The '74 Chevelle my friend has on eBay now has 100 net horsepower, LOL.

My sister had a new '73 Chevelle Deluxe wagon with that engine, and I drove it. I had my foot in it at all times just to keep up.

berri

...and probably were lucky if you saved a nickel on gas

stickguy

well, my first new car (1985 Colt 1.5l) was putting out a snappy 68 HP and IIRC 82ish torque. You downshifted a lot to try and make it up the big hills on a highway.

Mr_Shiftright

"hill-charging" is now a lost art.

sda

stickguy said:

well, my first new car (1985 Colt 1.5l) was putting out a snappy 68 HP and IIRC 82ish torque. You downshifted a lot to try and make it up the big hills on a highway.

Did that generation Colt have the Twin Stick? A friend had an '82(?) with the Twin Stick. It was like having 8 speeds (low range and high range) and worked pretty well. It was a neat little car.

stickguy

First year of redesign. Lost the twin stick.

fintail

Today on the road saw a Vanagon era Transporter pickup - sitting high so maybe a Syncro, some typical FL "grandma cars" - some minty later CV/GMs, a brand new looking mid 90s Olds 88 sedan, and an immaculate early 90s Cutlass Supreme coupe - for such cars to survive here, they must be babied. Highlight was on A1A north of Daytona, a 64-65 Imperial 4 door, creamy beige with black top, looked mint.

fintail

Imagine towing a popup trailer on I-95 with one of those.

Mr_Shiftright said:

I bought one of those brand new. They are great little cars, kind of forerunner to the CUV, but way down on power. They were wound tight at 75 mph, probably due to low gearing.

fintail

I think my fintail is rated around 130hp,but I bet it weighs a bit less than a Chevelle wagon. As Shifty can attest to, you have to drive with your foot in it a bit too, especially if you want to accelerate like a modern car. But once it hits a certain point, it will move along and just keep going, kind of like how I imagine a steam powered vehicle building up momentum.

uplanderguy said:

The '74 Chevelle my friend has on eBay now has 100 net horsepower, LOL.

My sister had a new '73 Chevelle Deluxe wagon with that engine, and I drove it. I had my foot in it at all times just to keep up.

fintail

I could make some observations about the south, but I will refrain

I am in Florida aka Crazyland now. The most relaxing time of my trip, beach at the off-season.

sda said:

People down here have some kind of fetish with towing things---easy now Where are you headed next? Sounds like you're covering a lot of ground, hopefully having a great time.

uplanderguy

GM (and I think the domestic industry) started rating horsepower in '71 or '72 as "net", as installed in the car, instead of "Gross". That 250 six was 155 (gross) hp in 1970, then down to 100 in '73 and later. In '73 and '74, the two-barrel 350 was 145 (net) hp. The 307 was 115 (net) hp in '73 and was gone for '74.

I'd bet your fintail is rated at 130 gross hp. I know the Studebaker OHV six used through '64 was rated at only 112 gross hp.

fintail

That's right. I know the car also has the magical 1 hp per cubic inch benchmark that was a big deal at the time. Of course, the car doesn't have a lot of cubic inches, which might make it easier

This is a spec sheet from June 1959, notice there is an "automatic clutch" (Hydrak) listed, not a full automatic, as that was still a few years off:

berri

Careful Fin, those diagrams are making me recall the old 60's Rambler X-ray comparison brochures

kyfdx

uplanderguy said:

GM (and I think the domestic industry) started rating horsepower in '71 or '72 as "net", as installed in the car, instead of "Gross". That 250 six was 155 (gross) hp in 1970, then down to 100 in '73 and later. In '73 and '74, the two-barrel 350 was 145 (net) hp. The 307 was 115 (net) hp in '73 and was gone for '74.

I'd bet your fintail is rated at 130 gross hp. I know the Studebaker OHV six used through '64 was rated at only 112 gross hp.

Pretty sure that '72 was the first year for net hp. We had a 460 Lincoln that was only rated at 220. Down about 100 hp from the '71 gross hp rating

stever

Our '89 Voyager was 100 hp in the 4 cylinder version. Didn't much bother me since I drove a '69 Bus for most of a year back in the day. Going to 170 horses in the '99 Quest was a torquey headsnapper though!

sda

fintail said:

That's right. I know the car also has the magical 1 hp per cubic inch benchmark that was a big deal at the time. Of course, the car doesn't have a lot of cubic inches, which might make it easier

This is a spec sheet from June 1959, notice there is an "automatic clutch" (Hydrak) listed, not a full automatic, as that was still a few years off:

That's cool. Interesting that the dimensions of fintail area very similar to the current mid-size cars. Compared to the Accord, fintail is about 3 inches longer, 1 inch taller and 3 inches narrower.

uplanderguy

Nice wheelbase.

I like a car about that size. All three of my Studebakers were 109-inch wheelbase, with what I consider a full-size interior. Not gargantuan like some other cars back then were. Tidy to drive I think.

tjc78

stever said:

Our '89 Voyager was 100 hp in the 4 cylinder version. Didn't much bother me since I drove a '69 Bus for most of a year back in the day. Going to 170 horses in the '99 Quest was a torquey headsnapper though!

My Mom had a 92 with the 100HP, I once had it fully loaded with 7 and the AC on. It didn't like hills that day.

stever

Mine was a 5 passenger so it was a trick getting 7 people belted in with the lawn chairs in the back.

No AC on our (it was an Anchorage rig).

fintail

It only took others about 50 years to catch up to the fintail (in terms of size)

Must have been fun selling them - for a nicer 220SE anyway, it still had Stude/Rambler size and looks, but cost as much as a nice Buick that was the size of a decent subdivision. It took a special buyer.

fintail

On the road today saw a neglected 80s El Camino SS, a ~65 Dart sedan, a late run Grand Marquis "Ultimate", and two almost identical 70s Grand Prix coupes. One was parked, one was being driven, saw them just a few minutes apart - they have to be related. Both looked to be in excellent condition.

explorerx4

Gotta love these 70's exterior decal/paint schemes.
http://www.caranddriver.com/flipbook/mondo-macho-special-edition-trucks-of-the-70s-k-billys-super-badge-and-stripe-jobs

Mr_Shiftright

I like that stuff! At least somebody had a sense of humor then. Now any designer with a nudge toward wry wit is lashed with a horsewhip. At best we get the occasional Japanese acid-trip.

Of course, they still make unintentionally funny cars.

berri

Well Shifty, don't many Japanese cartoons use Anime?

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah, and.....???

sda

Here's a classic. Camry LE complete with rear spoiler and carriage top, plastic wheel covers, and leather interior.

uplanderguy

All of a sudden, a Buick Century looks elegant. Well, maybe not.

Michaell

I'm guessing the dealer made a killing on the aftermarket roof and leather interior.

fintail

"Florida Package" Camry.

On the highway today saw an older Viper coupe, 3 car haulers in a row loaded with old cars - but common hot rod stuff, most memorable to me was a stock 62 Impala sedan. Saw some old cars parked for sale off the highway in FL and southern GA too, all American 50s stuff, a bullet nose era Stude sedan sticks in my mind most.

And the highlight, in a nice neighborhood in north Atlanta, a pretty light-medium blue 62 Ford convertible, top down, correct whitewalls and hubcaps, enjoying this amazing weather,

Michaell

First snow today, but yesterday saw an E-Type roadster with the top down.

Mr_Shiftright

As it should have been! Proper British car owner etiquette.

fintail

Spotted this dusty but decent old beast parked on the street near Georgia Tech. Maybe a 72? It looked as stock as can be, nice color too:

uplanderguy

'71. Probably had the optional skirts too, since the rear wheel opening moldings, which it would have without skirts, are gone.

stickguy

you can get some good survivors in that region. Weather helps preserve them, unlike moving more into the NE area where salt kills them off.

texases

My favorite version MC. I always got a laugh at how far back the engine was from the radiator and grill when I checked the oil:

fintail

I think that specific MC must have spent most of its life garaged to be so clean in the sun here. Maybe a student who couldn't find covered parking. Nice looking old car though, haven't seen a ton of survivor style material on the roads here - the fast highway speeds and harsh sun hurts them, I think, I was amazed to see a pop up headlight Accord yesterday, but it looked abandoned.

Oh, saw another 300CD today, in nice shape, but many of those are cherished and cared for.

ab348

I liked those much more than the next generation. That is a fan shroud for the record books, but OTOH it must have been a great vehicle in a crash with all that crush space.

I just mentioned in another post a friend who bought a new '72 Delta Royale. He tells the story of how a year or two earlier, he test-drove a Monte Carlo SS454 at the same dealer but was turned off by the harsh ride. He never lived that one down.

uplanderguy

Those Monte SS454's were awesome. I bet I haven't seen five in my lifetime. They were all business, as the only way you could tell from the outside was a tiny "SS454" emblem waaayyy at the bottom of the front fenders, and also they had a black-accented panel between the taillights.

explorerx4

I'm basically a Ford guy.
What is a Monte Carlo SS 454?
Chevelle SS 454, that I've ridden in.

fintail

Monte Carlo SS454 is like a Chevelle SS454 in a fancy suit, I think.

I remember back around 2000 or so, when a friend of mine had saved a little money and wanted a Monte SS. He was likely to get an 80s model, but I remember he came across a very nice SS454 for sale. It was an excellent car, and they wanted something like 12-15K for it back then. Although I tried to talk him into going for it, it was out of his budget. He ended up buying a 50K mile 85 SS for I think 6K. He still has that car.

stever

Late 80's third generation Mitsubishi van. Wagon really, since it looked like it would hold passengers and the "van" was sold as a commercial vehicle in the US per Wiki. The pointy one, kind of like this, but in brown.

uplanderguy

Here's a page showing some early Monte Carlo SS454 models:

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/chorwedel/tags/montecarloss/

I always remember the deep blue one in the '71 brochure, but the pic of the car is over two pages and only one page shows at a time.

Many owners have white-lettered tires on them now. Without checking the brochure, I am nearly certain they weren't available from the factory on a Monte SS as they were available on Chevelle SS's. The brochure photos showed thin white-stripe tires on the SS. But then of course, there were only very subtle SS graphics on the Monte and no stripes available, either.

explorerx4

@uplanderguy,
Thanks for that link.
Just surprised I has never heard of it before.
There is a big GM heritage locally, including lots of 60's 70's cars.

imidazol97

fintail said:

Spotted this dusty but decent old beast parked on the street near Georgia Tech. Maybe a 72? It looked as stock as can be, nice color too:

Good picture. And it is a great color combo for that car typical in this area.

berri

Stever - on your way to the Tokyo airport