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

ab348

This came via a link at Bring A Trailer:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/5916576536.html

A 1975 triple orange Eldo convertible! Ridiculously overpriced of course.

But 40 years ago someone thought this looked good, and I'm not going to judge them by today's "50 shades of gray metallic" standards. It's actually rather cool.

uplanderguy

Would I buy it? No. But I like it, and I remember that color!

texases

I was about to compliment the nice hubcaps (as opposed to fake wire wheels) when I clicked on the link - the seller has real wire wheels included. Big waste of money, IMHO....

stickguy

I love it. The colors. Would never drive it.

uplanderguy

I always admire 'bone stock', and in that pic, this car appears to be all that.

Long story short, a doctor in my hometown had a Firethorn '76 Eldorado convertible. About six or seven years ago I was stopped at an intersection back there and saw it, top down, looking some worse-for-wear and the Doc was behind the wheel! He died maybe five years ago.

Fast-forward; his daughter was in my class and lives several miles away from me now. We are Facebook friends. I got the nerve to ask whatever happened to the Eldo. She said it was on flat tires and needed work and they sold it cheaply and said, "If I knew you remembered it, I'd have probably just given it to you". Don't know what I'd have done if that did happen, but nice to think of it.

tjc78

I could never in that color, but I'd rock a white over red or blue in a heartbeat.

For years, a waitress at a diner we used to frequent (@Stickguy the old Five Points in Deptford) had an Eldo coupe in those same colors. It was always parked out front. Every week when we saw it, my Grandfather would say he hated the colors. This was coming from someone who had a pale yellow 76 Coupe DeVille.

Mr_Shiftright

He's at least $10,000 overpriced, and the values on these cars has been flat for years. No investment here.

Is the color a detriment to the sale? Maybe, maybe not. It's not like you can accuse buyers of these cars of being overly sensitive about aesthetics.

One drive in this car would convince most people that they don't want one.

explorerx4

Might have some luck selling it in Austin

imidazol97

Saw a Benz that looked like a Fintail on a car hauler. It stood out because the color was a light green that almost glowed because it was light. Looking at Heckfloss color charts it looked like Pearl Green.
http://www.heckflosse.nl/excol4.htm

The car hauler had 3 chevy pickups, one was a chassis with no bed and others were just old 50s or 60s. There was one or two other cars besides the Fintail that were older, classic cars. I was trying to study the Fintail so I missed the others' ID. The trailer had been stopped by two Ohio State Patrol truck inspectors where the interstate ramp split off. The officers had just been in Chick-Fil-A with two other officers--all in their own vehicles when we had lunch there. Odd that both were on the stop apparently as soon as they left the restaurant. Likely drug possibilities or stolen vehicle checks. The carrier looked older and likely an independent so may have been faulty, hence the OSP safety check. But two officers present is unusual.

fintail

I think I may have seen one in that green, many years ago. Very much an early 60s style color.

On the road today - nice E24 M6, clean 80-83 Civic wagon (didn't catch the front end), clean ~80 Camaro Berlinetta looking period correct on stock style rally wheels and whitewalls.

sda

A clean medium blue '82 El Camino and a '66 red/black top Mustang convert. The fender/door fit seems to be an issue on those. Like so many that I've seen the gap was wide at the bottom and narrow at the top of the door.

texases

sda said:

A clean medium blue '82 El Camino and a '66 red/black top Mustang convert. The fender/door fit seems to be an issue on those. Like so many that I've seen the gap was wide at the bottom and narrow at the top of the door.

Convertible '65-'66 Mustangs are about as bad as convertibles come regarding body strength. When doing a 'rotisserie' restoration added bracing is recommended to prevent permanent damage!

fintail

I saw that same 75-79 Corolla again this morning - someone must have recently unearthed it, as I have never seen it before recently.

sda

fintail said:

I saw that same 75-79 Corolla again this morning - someone must have recently unearthed it, as I have never seen it before recently.

Is it dark metallic brown? That's all I saw around campus when I was in college. A friend had a base 2dr in that color, with a beige vinyl interior with matching vinyl flooring, no carpeting. It was a hard riding noisy thing but reliable. I think it had an AM radio, that's it.

fintail

It's a dark color, could be the darkest brown or a black. I initially thought it was primer, but as I looked at it, could tell it was paint, just kind of grimy and in need of some TLC. Clean it up and market it well, and I think it would quickly find a buyer these days - old Japanese metal is finally a legitimate player in the "special interest" market.

I imagine most of those dissolved on the east coast before 1990.

sda said:

Is it dark metallic brown? That's all I saw around campus when I was in college. A friend had a base 2dr in that color, with a beige vinyl interior with matching vinyl flooring, no carpeting. It was a hard riding noisy thing but reliable. I think it had an AM radio, that's it.

fintail

Saw a "diminished expectations" 86-91 Seville today, and a couple of 87-90 (pre-belt buckle emblem) Camrys.

sda

A very tired, unloved, rear bumper missing, 300D. It hurt to see it.

Mr_Shiftright

That's the vast majority of them. Too expensive to fix up.

fintail

After being on the road for 35 years, it doesn't owe anything. They are diverging into two clear paths now - worn and neglected, or pampered.

Mr_Shiftright

It's a familiar story with some formerly high end cars. As they rapidly depreciate, they fall into the hands of people who cannot possibly afford to take care of them. So the only ones to survive will be the ones that avoided that fate from the start.

fintail

For most, it has happened already. W140, W210, W220 are all there now - most survivors either have needs, or are pristine. Not many "average" cars, as I guess the average ones usually become the needy ones of tomorrow.

I think for W123 it might be a little different, as they are much older and more simple. They all depreciated long ago, and I think a neglected one can soldier on longer than most abused cars. Now is the time when the ones that had needs some time ago are really wearing out and leaving the road.

Mr_Shiftright

They are rather immune from the vagaries of the "collector car" market---none of these are investment grade vehicles that you "put away", so the people who own them are either apt to drive a beater until it dies, or to carefully maintain (and use) a survivor without putting much money into it if they can help it. Both strategies work in their own way.

Say FIN, what's the LeMay Museum like?

stickguy

son sent me a link to a used car for sale at our local Jag dealer. A 2000 Prowler, with a whopping 6K miles on it. At what seems to me to be an ambitious $30K asking price. No clue what real world on these is.

http://www.cherryhilljaguar.com/used/Plymouth/2000-Plymouth-Prowler-0b7f51ab0a0e0ae77948e5c879711ab4.htm

fintail

And there are always the handful of low miles babies that come out for the occasional club meet or Sunday drive. Cars like W123s will never bring huge money, but the best of the best won't be cheap.

LeMay is cool in that it is very diverse. Lots of unrestored or possibly incorrectly restored material, especially as you get deep into the museum. LeMay wasn't a connoisseur of anything specific, I think - he wanted it all. The collection is more than what is seen in the museum, there's also a facility just south of Tacoma with more cars.

I suspect that Prowler is a normal retail price. Maybe deduct for the pinstripe lettering on the trunk.

fintail

Out in the rain this evening, thought I saw an old 911 from a distance, ended up being what I assume was a 240Z.

sda

While running errands yesterday a man in an older Porsche speedster wasn't paying attention while he was backing up, I think he was using his door mirror to back up by, and just about backed straight into me. I gave a quick toot on the horn and I think he jumped two feet. Luckily he then saw me and pulled back into his parking spot. If he had hit me, bah humbug to that.

Mr_Shiftright

stickguy said:

son sent me a link to a used car for sale at our local Jag dealer. A 2000 Prowler, with a whopping 6K miles on it. At what seems to me to be an ambitious $30K asking price. No clue what real world on these is.

http://www.cherryhilljaguar.com/used/Plymouth/2000-Plymouth-Prowler-0b7f51ab0a0e0ae77948e5c879711ab4.htm

Hard to give those things away, but I'd say real world is between $22K-$25K for a perfect one.

explorerx4

A white/white Dodge Shadow ES convertible. Don't those often anymore.
Also a 528e in pretty good shape. Didn't blow anything out of the tailpipe as he tried to stay ahead of me.

tjc78

Those Shadows with the Mitsu V6 were actually pretty quick for their time. Lots of torque steer.

kyfdx

'90s Capri, with hardtop on.
'84-'87 Camry (I never see these)

sda

We are having pretty good weather today, sunny around 55 deg. Several old cars running about, a '70 Caprice convert, blue w/white top, '85 Merc Grand Marquis, white on white, a big bumper MGB-GT also white.

ab348

tjc78 said:

Those Shadows with the Mitsu V6 were actually pretty quick for their time. Lots of torque steer.

They were indeed. The convertible models got the shimmy shimmy shake too.

fintail

My brother had a Sundance Duster with the V6 (can't remember when I last saw one). He loved it, but it ended up being claimed by some kind of catastrophic engine failure. In typical 90s Mopar fashion, the clearcoat failed too.

stever

Tracker "Jeep" and a lowrider show at the state museum in Santa Fe. Mostly photos and this Chevy.

fintail

Saw a red 928S4 out in the snowy rain today.

roadburner

Saw a 1972 442.

Mr_Shiftright

fintail said:

Saw a red 928S4 out in the snowy rain today.

I miss my 928 (sometimes).

kyfdx

Mr_Shiftright said:

fintail said:

Saw a red 928S4 out in the snowy rain today.

I miss my 928 (sometimes).

Every time I see an air-cooled 911, I have deep pangs of regret, for selling mine. Pretty sure that is never going to stop.

Also, when I think back five years ago, and thought those people were fools for paying $35K-$40K for a 993 (which I lust after), the pangs double. It's a wonder that I can even get out of bed in the morning.

explorerx4

My neighbor up the street has a low mileage last year air cooled 911 with a custom exhaust.
It sounds and drives great. I could post a picture, but it would seem kind of cruel.

Mr_Shiftright

993s--the last of really good "classic" Porsches. Lovely sounds and noises that vibrate in your skull and down your spine. Nothing quite like it from 1999 onwards IMO. I thought the sloppy engineering and cheesy interior of the 996 was a bit disgraceful for Porsche.

fintail

In the small town world today, saw a Nissan by Datsun Maxima, Citation, 900 convertible (maybe a turbo), Nissan NX, early 80s 911 Targa, cigar Bird on blocks, very neglected 2002.

texases

The Citation is the most surprising one...

fintail

It looked to be on the road, but not exactly pristine. It was a 5-door. Also saw a 3000GT.

Mr_Shiftright

Many a starry-eyed teenager has fallen prey to the 3000GT aka Dodge Stealth, right?

uplanderguy

We've discussed this briefly here before, but a friend who knows how I feel about short hood/long deck styling sent me a pic of what is really a very nice '64 Bonneville two-door hardtop, taken in profile, where the rear overhang is evident. I replied that to me, I cannot think of more-evident rear overhang than the 1962 Pontiac Star Chief, perhaps accentuated by the 'stars' on the rear quarters:

http://topclassiccarsforsale.com/uploads/photoalbum/1962-pontiac-star-chief-vista-barn-find-44000-miles-2.jpg

To my eyes, that is just ridiculous!

That said, I'm a big fan of the interiors of big Pontiacs of that general era.

kyfdx

'62 Star Chief is the first car I can remember in my family. My mother's car in light blue. Kept it until she bought the '67 Bonneville coupe.

fintail

Saw a Datsun 210 - not the funky fun 70s one with honeycomb hubcaps, but the ~1980 one that was still a fastback, but not as cool. It had a lot of "patina", but was moving along, and had Collectors license plates.

And yeah, a lot of younger guys have fallen for the 3000GT. I have a friend who had one in the early 00s - I don't think it was a perfect relationship.

fintail

Speaking of big rear ends, the fuselage Mopars have always amused me for their huge trunks, especially the Chrysler coupes:



As the trunk and the hood appear to be the same length.

uplanderguy said:

To my eyes, that is just ridiculous!

That said, I'm a big fan of the interiors of big Pontiacs of that general era.

roadburner

I always thought a 1970 Sport Fury GT would be a cool cruiser...

ab348

I still love Fuselage Chryslers, but used to love them more than I do now because I have learned a lot about them in the last few years. You can get virtually no C-body specific parts for them, and they were poor quality when new, even by the low standards Chrysler had back then. Most are basket cases now so you need to find the ultra-rare mint condition survivor.

Everything about them was big.