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

uplanderguy

Boy, as you know I'm by far a domestic-car guy, but an XK-E will throw that right out the window for me! Stunning design.

Mr_Shiftright

The E Type is beautiful (I'll let you into the Insider's Club--one must never say "XK-E" to a purist). They drive well, too, on modern roads but you know, with ignition points, 3 carburetors and a granny-tranny, they can be fussy. Overheating needs to be addressed as well, and cockpit heat. All solvable issues.

Wherever you park, you'll steal the show from just about any other car.

fintail

Well, it's technically a British design from 1960 - maybe growth was stunted from wartime/postwar austerity

And yeah, I bet they misfired when new. Another one that was undervalued for a long time, and now premium examples can go for amazing sums.

Mr_Shiftright

Very expensive car to restore properly! I think they peaked out a few years ago. Pretty flat right now in value.

fintail

They seem to have done the 190SL thing in being worth 3-4x what they were 20 years ago. I think the early E-Types, 1961 cars especially, are really sought after. In British ads, I see six figure prices often.

texases

At least I can understand it with the E type. The 190SL, nope.

fintail

I think the 190SL is riding on the halo of the 300SL, as they look similar - and the 300SL roadster is another that has tripled or more in value in 20 years or less.

sda

This one for andres3--got behind a first gen Neon, complete with peeling paint and smoking so bad I thought I'd have to turn on my headlights and wipers.

Mr_Shiftright

fintail said:

They seem to have done the 190SL thing in being worth 3-4x what they were 20 years ago. I think the early E-Types, 1961 cars especially, are really sought after. In British ads, I see six figure prices often.

Yes, early "flat floor" E-Types are quite pricey--but even those have gone "flat". Of course, the level of flatness is still pretty high/flat.

The 190SL has actually gone down in value from a 2015 peak. That bubble is leaking.


The 190SL was the 300SLs cute little brother.

The E-Type was an earth-shattering moment in postwar automobile history.

explorerx4

I just drove by a local dealer who has a bunch of those E Types sitting out front.

fintail

I think the 190SL still has a big bubble, too. Something bought in 1996 for 30K that might have peaked at 125K and is still worth 115K is insane too.

The E-Type reminds me of something like a McLaren or even higher for Corvette money, it must have been seen as a bit of a bargain for what it was relative to the rest of the automotive world, at least in 1961. But if I was a playboy type then, I think I might have gone after a 300SL roadster - maybe more expensive, but just as modern if not more so, and probably easier to live with in everyday driving.

Mr_Shiftright said:

Yes, early "flat floor" E-Types are quite pricey--but even those have gone "flat". Of course, the level of flatness is still pretty high/flat.

The 190SL has actually gone down in value from a 2015 peak. That bubble is leaking.


The 190SL was the 300SLs cute little brother.

The E-Type was an earth-shattering moment in postwar automobile history.

fintail

On the road in the terrible damp gridlocked commute (drizzle! let's go 10mph, scary!) a decent looking 2nd gen Cressida and a couple of little old ladies in a W126 300SD.

Mr_Shiftright

fintail said:

I think the 190SL still has a big bubble, too. Something bought in 1996 for 30K that might have peaked at 125K and is still worth 115K is insane too.

The E-Type reminds me of something like a McLaren or even higher for Corvette money, it must have been seen as a bit of a bargain for what it was relative to the rest of the automotive world, at least in 1961. But if I was a playboy type then, I think I might have gone after a 300SL roadster - maybe more expensive, but just as modern if not more so, and probably easier to live with in everyday driving.

Awesome car the 300SL roadster--my friend owned one, called "Brutus" and I would drive it around all the time. Very heavy-feeling car, pretty quick---biggest complaint was the spark plugs fouling constantly unless you revved the crap out of it. So any collector today who plans a low speed parade life for this car better invest in the Bosch Spark Plug Co.

The 190SL isn't much of a performer at all---but I think they did rally them back in the day.

Mr_Shiftright said:

Yes, early "flat floor" E-Types are quite pricey--but even those have gone "flat". Of course, the level of flatness is still pretty high/flat.

The 190SL has actually gone down in value from a 2015 peak. That bubble is leaking.


The 190SL was the 300SLs cute little brother.

The E-Type was an earth-shattering moment in postwar automobile history.

fintail

Would it be any worse than finicky carbs and electrics in an E-type? Maybe I am used to it, as my FI fintail also responds best when revved. It does get a new set of plugs every other year or so, even at the low mileage I drive it.

MB seems to have rallied everything back in the day - fintails were amazing rally performers, winning dozens of events, including Monte Carlo multiple times. I've also seen rally 113s, 107s. etc.

Mr_Shiftright said:

.

Awesome car the 300SL roadster--my friend owned one, called "Brutus" and I would drive it around all the time. Very heavy-feeling car, pretty quick---biggest complaint was the spark plugs fouling constantly unless you revved the crap out of it. So any collector today who plans a low speed parade life for this car better invest in the Bosch Spark Plug Co.

The 190SL isn't much of a performer at all---but I think they did rally them back in the day.

Mr_Shiftright

Lots of foreign cars were finicky in the 1960s. On my fintail, the point gap was .12". Not .13, not .11. It was a lot more reliable than any Jaguar however. (ask me how I know).

SUs are great carburetors--the "problem" with them is that Americans did not understand them, and constantly messed them up, or didn't repair them properly. Two secrets--selecting proper jet needles and re-bushing the throttle shafts.

fintail

I think I would rather just keep the revs up than have to adjust the carbs every time the seasons change

No more worries about points with my car, I changed to electronic ignition 15 years ago. Little maintenance is required now, and it is much happier in cold or damp weather.

Mr_Shiftright

With modern aftermarket products, you can make just about any old car much more reliable than it ever was new.

roadburner

My 2002 already had a Delta Mark Ten B capacitive discharge ignition and a Bosch red coil on it when I bought it. It still had breaker points, but they were only used to switch the box as opposed to carrying ignition current. In the eight years I had the car I never touched the ignition system.

fintail

Ignition updates are a no-brainer on old cars used as drivers, IMO. They are reversible, and make things so much easier to live with. That with my car's reliable (knock on wood) FI make it feel closer to a modern car than any other 60s car I have experienced.

sda

A very nice looking '60 Thunderdird. Red body with white top. It looked to be the same color red as fintail's dad's wagon. The driver of the T-bird looked to be enjoying himself as he accelerated briskly from the stop light.

fintail

I've seen that Ford red called "tomato red". I remember it had a knack for oxidizing, and I waxed the car numerous times.

At the supermarket this morning, I fell into a little time warp - saw an early 80s Toyota Starlet, and a Grand LeMans sedan (think Smokey and the Bandit) of the same era.

stever

Wow, been years since I've seen a Starlet.

ab348

Interesting conversation today with my friend Steve. He is 72 years old and going through a fairly significant life change, selling his house, ridding himself of a lifetime worth of stuff (and it is a LOT of stuff), and moving into a brand-new apartment with all new furniture. Adding to that is a recent diagnosis of colon cancer, apparently caught in its very early stages and with a good prognosis, but which will require surgery which is scheduled for a week or two from now.

Amidst all this he is dealing with his 3 cars. He has a 2006 M-B S550, a 1994 (?) E-class, and a 1993 Lexus SC400. He uses the old E-class, a 1-owner well-maintained low mileage car prior to his purchase a year ago, as his daily driver. It displaced the S-class from that role which now is largely unused. The real interesting one here is the Lexus.

He bought it new in '93, used it for a couple of summers, then basically parked it, taking it out once a year in early fall for a week or so of exercise and dealer servicing before sending it back to the garage for another year of rest. Dark blue metallic with tan leather, it has 15,000 miles and is utterly as new. Even the tires are original, though that is not really a selling point if you want to drive it. Just a beautiful car.

He loves the old E-class and so he intends to keep that. He is likely to be OK selling the S-class. But with the Lexus, he has become convinced by local appraisers that it is only worth about $12,500 Cdn and seems willing to part with it just to simplify his life, though grudgingly. That number seems ridiculously low for such an original, low mileage car, but perhaps it is the local market. Any sense of what these go for elsewhere? I was trying to convince him to list it somewhere that would give visibility to a wider audience. I hate to see him give it away, which has happened to him with cars before. Any thoughts?

kyfdx

I don't think an old SC400 is worth much. No matter the miles or condition. Is that about $9K USD? Seems more than fair.

But, the first time I saw one, I thought it was stunning!

stickguy

I always wanted one of the SC300 stick shifts. Just, because.

kyfdx

stickguy said:

I always wanted one of the SC300 stick shifts. Just, because.

Same

Mr_Shiftright

ab348 said:

Interesting conversation today with my friend Steve. He is 72 years old and going through a fairly significant life change, selling his house, ridding himself of a lifetime worth of stuff (and it is a LOT of stuff), and moving into a brand-new apartment with all new furniture. Adding to that is a recent diagnosis of colon cancer, apparently caught in its very early stages and with a good prognosis, but which will require surgery which is scheduled for a week or two from now.

Amidst all this he is dealing with his 3 cars. He has a 2006 M-B S550, a 1994 (?) E-class, and a 1993 Lexus SC400. He uses the old E-class, a 1-owner well-maintained low mileage car prior to his purchase a year ago, as his daily driver. It displaced the S-class from that role which now is largely unused. The real interesting one here is the Lexus.

He bought it new in '93, used it for a couple of summers, then basically parked it, taking it out once a year in early fall for a week or so of exercise and dealer servicing before sending it back to the garage for another year of rest. Dark blue metallic with tan leather, it has 15,000 miles and is utterly as new. Even the tires are original, though that is not really a selling point if you want to drive it. Just a beautiful car.

He loves the old E-class and so he intends to keep that. He is likely to be OK selling the S-class. But with the Lexus, he has become convinced by local appraisers that it is only worth about $12,500 Cdn and seems willing to part with it just to simplify his life, though grudgingly. That number seems ridiculously low for such an original, low mileage car, but perhaps it is the local market. Any sense of what these go for elsewhere? I was trying to convince him to list it somewhere that would give visibility to a wider audience. I hate to see him give it away, which has happened to him with cars before. Any thoughts?

I think the appraisers might even be a tad generous.

The value of an older used car has nothing to do with its merit. It is driven by the equation of supply and demand.

One has to ask oneself--who is likely to buy such a car? A "collector"? Nah. A rich person? Nah.

It will be bought by someone who will use it---maybe for the vacation home in Florida.

You can buy these cars all day long for $2500. For $12,500 you can buy a very nice LS430 from 2005-2006, no problem with under 75,000 miles on it.

fintail

The SC has a cult following, but mostly by kids who modify and beat the heck out of them. No real collectible value yet. Nice cars, but 9K for a beauty seems right to me. It just might sell at that too, but I can't imagine much more. We'll need another 15 years or so.

S550 would be 2007+ (W221), they seem to hold up well given their complexity. The W124 is the kind of old fashioned car that will last forever if you take care of it.

Mr_Shiftright

If someone offered him $12.5K, he should take it. Besides, low miles is often not very good for a car.

Here's one with 35,000 miles, asking price $15,900.


It's been viewed over 1200 times, so it's been up for a while.

If it were a Toyota Supra Mk IV with those miles on it, it would be gone in ten minutes at 2X the price. Collectors know what they want.

kyfdx

12.5K CDN

Mr_Shiftright

Whatever...take it! The buyer niche for this car is very very slim. Or counter-offer $15K CDN.

fintail

If the car is the right color with the right features, I could see it selling. Eventually.

Today on the road: 2 door soft top Kia Sportage, 90s era LR Discovery with the raised roof part cut off, and what appeared to be plexiglass or similar replacing it.

berri

So your predicted Snowmageddon brought out some of the old 4 wheelers

texases

I think it's the SC300 that gets more interest from the tuners. More like the Supra. 

toomanyfumes

In the last few days, a Lumina, a Corsica, and a Cutlass Ciera, all looking clean and maintained, but not perfect. Looks like people have the winter beaters out.

uplanderguy

I'll be the first to admit, I'm an old soul, car-wise. A friend's parents bought a new SC300 some 20 years ago. For what it cost, I was left pretty cold. My friend kept it after his parents were gone and said it was a good car. I had to laugh--a mutual friend would never ride in the back of my Cavalier coupe to a Stude meet in eastern PA--too cramped. He was willing to ride in our friend's SC300. I enjoyed showing him that the SC300 coupe had either the same or a sliver-less rear seat legroom than my Cavalier coupe, LOL! It's all about perception, naturally. Of course, I don't pretend to compare the rest of a Cavalier interior to a Lexus!

andre1969

Yesterday evening, leaving work, I saw a red '56 Buick Roadmaster convertible, top down. It was coming from the opposite direction, but made a U-turn. I tried to get a pic of it, but it never caught up to me in the rush hour traffic. Looked like it was in pretty good shape.

fintail

Hey, Andre's back.

Re: SC300, I remember when these debuted. I think one would have been nearly 40K in 1992, not small change. I remember the mother of a "rich" (it doesn't take an obscene fortune in a small town) kid in school who I was barely an acquaintance with got one brand new, black, it really had some presence on the road then. Today, they are either beat to hell or are babied by older people. IIRC Bill Gates had an SC for a long time.

Around here where cars age slowly, I still see 2nd gen Luminas and later Cieras relatively often. Older ones, and Corsicas, are getting a little thin on the ground.

No doubt the over-hyped threat of snow brings out the old trucks.

andre1969

Didn't realize I was gone that long. But I guess I've been lurking and not really posting. Anyway, in the past few days I spotted these relics...



I spotted the New Yorker in DC on Sunday, and the Benz I saw yesterday, chugging and puffing away, while running errands on my lunch break.

PF_Flyer

I've always liked noticing the "stuff" in movies, like this 1967 Dodge Polara wagon that I ran across in this morning's background movie in my "office"

fintail

That W123 looks to be a mess, but still moving along. They can take a beating/

Polara - Close Encounters?

roadburner

PF_Flyer said:

I've always liked noticing the "stuff" in movies, like this 1967 Dodge Polara wagon that I ran across in this morning's background movie in my "office"

CE3K- I saw it the day it opened, and I've since lost count of how many times I've watched it in the theater and at home.

PF_Flyer

fintail said:

That W123 looks to be a mess, but still moving along. They can take a beating/

Polara - Close Encounters?

Close Encounters... which also had a Ford LTD wagon going off road

sda

andre1969--how is the Desoto progressing? Will you be driving it soon, perhaps a Spring unveiling?

andre1969

sda said:

andre1969--how is the Desoto progressing? Will you be driving it soon, perhaps a Spring unveiling?

It's been a few months since I've checked, but at this point I think it just needs some brake work, a few interior bits put back together, seatbelts installed, and new tires. I'm trying to get those wide whitewall radials, but they're getting hard to find. Apparently there's not a whole lot of demand for them, so the manufacturer only makes a batch of them when they get enough orders in. Anyway, hopefully it'll be Spring. The weather's starting to get a bit nasty here, and I'm sure it won't be long before they start salting the roads, so I'm hoping the mechanic doesn't call me in the middle of a snow storm and say "come get your car!"

fintail

From where have you been shopping for tires? I actually had no problem getting wide whitewall radials for the fintail, and they are an odd size.

andre1969 said:

sda said:

andre1969--how is the Desoto progressing? Will you be driving it soon, perhaps a Spring unveiling?

It's been a few months since I've checked, but at this point I think it just needs some brake work, a few interior bits put back together, seatbelts installed, and new tires. I'm trying to get those wide whitewall radials, but they're getting hard to find. Apparently there's not a whole lot of demand for them, so the manufacturer only makes a batch of them when they get enough orders in. Anyway, hopefully it'll be Spring. The weather's starting to get a bit nasty here, and I'm sure it won't be long before they start salting the roads, so I'm hoping the mechanic doesn't call me in the middle of a snow storm and say "come get your car!"

fintail

I also remember Teri Garr's character had a 70 LTD Country Squire, kind of a cool looking wagon with the hidden headlights.

PF_Flyer said:

Close Encounters... which also had a Ford LTD wagon going off road

andre1969

fintail said:

From where have you been shopping for tires? I actually had no problem getting wide whitewall radials for the fintail, and they are an odd size.

I had checked Coker Tire, but they didn't have them at the time. However, I just checked again, and there they are! Maybe they finally got enough demand to make some more. What size does your Fintail take? The OEM for my DeSoto was 8.50-14 in bias ply. Coker recommends a 225/75/R14 wide whitewall as the closest fit. However, I think a 235/75/R14 or a 225/80/R14 would actually be closer, although I don't think they make those sizes.

fintail

I ordered mine From here - mainly due to the price with shipping, as most other places are on the other side of the country, and shipping can add up.

I am pretty sure my car is 175/80/R13 or 185/70/R13, I can't recall.

explorerx4

Cool, but the price!
http://www.msn.com/en-us/video/tunedin/want-to-own-jackie-os-car-you-can-have-it-for-a-price/vi-AAleIuF?ocid=DELLDHP