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

uplanderguy

I'd personally never turn that original of a car into a 'street sleeper'--but then, I'd never pay $22K for the car either! My take is that they're only original once.

RE.: The instrument panel, sda--the '68 is a one-year-only panel. The '69-74 was different, with the the heater controls vertical to the right of the wheel. A bit odd that they changed it after one year.

Mr_Shiftright

Well sure, each to his own taste. Since it's a stripped down car, rather pedestrian, I rather fear for its fate, whereas as a mild custom it could live on. I tend to be somewhat realistic and take the position that not everything is worth saving. There are so many '68 Chevys still around that I don't think it's necessary to preserve this one for posterity. If museums were only filled with cars like this, no one would visit them.

stickguy

I would love that Nova (always liked that style) if upgraded correctly. But, this one is way too expensive to start with. Unless you want to pay that much for a (in theory) zero rust car. Losing the 6 cyl PG would not break my heart!

a small block, 5 speed, disk brakes, suspension package, and decent seats, with a nice set of rally wheels, and good to go!

uplanderguy

This car is rather unusual in one way--it has the Custom Exterior trim, which most SS's got although it was also optional on them. By '68, the SS was primarily engine and equipment, but could be had in total plain-jane-ness in and out.

I can tell you, I haven't seen a '68 Chevy II this stock in probably 40 years. On the other hand, I've lost count of the number of them I've seen modded/rodded.

I don't know why this is, but I have seen more low-mileage, stock '69-72 Novas than '68's.

A friend sent me this same link fifteen minutes after we discussed it here. He was a Chevrolet dealer service writer in 1969 and he said they replaced many '68 and '69 Nova two-door rear window regulators.

This car has the standard 230 six. It's funny, you could still get an optional six, the 250, then, but you could identify it by the emblem on the front fenders encircling the side marker light--same as seen on V8's.

My head is full of stuff like this, particularly for Chevys. I hated sports, playing and watching, and spent so much of my time poring over brochures, catalogs, and new cars then. My wife said I should 'delete some files', LOL.

sda

I hated sports, playing and watching, and spent so much of my time poring over brochures, catalogs, and new cars then. I believe I'm your lost southern brother as I was the same, and still am! I have an large but random collection of new car brochures, magazines, etc. from the early 70s and onward.

uplanderguy

Do you like me, dread college-football season and going to a big gathering where that's all that is talked about? If so, you MUST be my brother-from-another-mother! LOL Very few of us out there!

sda

uplanderguy said:

Do you like me, dread college-football season and going to a big gathering where that's all that is talked about? If so, you MUST be my brother-from-another-mother! LOL Very few of us out there!

Yep, I've learned to tolerate it and don't converse much in those gatherings, unless, someone wants to talk about cars!

ab348

stickguy said:

I would love that Nova (always liked that style) if upgraded correctly. But, this one is way too expensive to start with. Unless you want to pay that much for a (in theory) zero rust car. Losing the 6 cyl PG would not break my heart!

a small block, 5 speed, disk brakes, suspension package, and decent seats, with a nice set of rally wheels, and good to go!

That's the problem. The seller has it priced as a much more desirable car whereas really all he is selling to someone doing a makeover is a rust-free car with questionable mechanicals that likely would get thrown away anyhow.

I too would fall along the side that would keep it original but you would need to detail that engine compartment and likely do work to the suspension and brakes too. So in the end you have a stripper Chevy II that is pushing $30K.

fintail

Saw a ~70 Eldo in traffic today, probably the same one I see from time to time. I could grab a clip of it from the dashcam, but I am kinda lazy

bhill2

sda said:

uplanderguy said:

Do you like me, dread college-football season and going to a big gathering where that's all that is talked about? If so, you MUST be my brother-from-another-mother! LOL Very few of us out there!

Yep, I've learned to tolerate it and don't converse much in those gatherings, unless, someone wants to talk about cars!

I am your third brother. I once took a job where, it turned out, the entire upper management were sports nuts. I couldn't figure out why I never got anywhere. Finally, one of the secretaries took pity on me and told me; they thought I was a freak. I left, and did much better in my next job.

uplanderguy

I see a new Edmunds' sub-group coming up, "Car nuts who don't care about sports", LOL!

Mr_Shiftright

To care about sports you have to care about who wins. If you don't have a favorite team, watching sports is very boring.

berri

NFL game - 4 hours elapse; 1 hour in the official game time and less than 15 minutes of real action on the field. MLB, used to be a little over 2 hours or so, now add an hour. It just starts to get long and boring sometimes. I think you have to read a magazine or newspaper while the game is on to help make the time go by. Maybe that's why so much beer is sold at the games!

Mr_Shiftright

Just record it and then play it back while zipping through the commercials. If you FF and see a score change, then back up to see what happened. Ball game in 1/2 hour----done!

laurasdada

In the parking lot of Gillette Stadium, during the warm weather months, they have regular "Cruiser" car shows. Free, many interesting older and custom cars. So, I've stayed on topic here and can write:

Go Pats! Drive for 5! One for the thumb! Show the other 31 owners that they have to beat you on the field, not with some ridiculous, made up "scandal." Maybe they'll suspend the entire offensive line for the year next year...

uplanderguy

I used to lie about it. I haven't for some time. I know people who know nothing but sports. To me, they're afraid to go left or right of 'center' in their interests. That's too bad! A guy I work with looks at me quizzically and says, "How many people go to your national Studebaker Drivers' Club meets?". I said about the last one I was at, "something like 2,000". He looked perplexed. But then, this guy heard Bob Dylan on the car radio and asked who it was, LOL. And he's 60 years old!

As far as absorbing so many minute details of Chevys, and Pontiacs, when I was a kid, and Studebakers subsequently, my wife, a teacher, has said that I would probably be considered "on the spectrum" today, LOL. It surprises my family that I never use a calculator to balance our checkbook; I do it all in my head. If I have to subtract $281.37 from something, I do it in my mind as subtracting $300, then adding $18.63 back. An old buddy told me once, "That's a Rain Man thing", LOL.

"'57 Studebaker Golden Hawk, 275 horsepower", LOL.

berri

I'm not sure most of the country will be seeing it your way and instead going for the underdog Falcons - but good luck While people don't always like them, Brady and Belichek are consistent winners and I think both are eventually going to the Hall of Fame. Color me Atlanta red for this one though! Speaking of which, and related to cars, I think Ford closed down their Atlanta plant by the airport?

uplanderguy

When Belichick was coach of the Cleveland Browns, he actually had a local program called "The Bill Belichick Show". The guy is a complete flat-liner, LOL.

laurasdada

Coach Hoodie ain't much fun when he's in pre or post game interviews. But, when he's just talking football on a local show, a bit more animated. We don't pay him to be Steve Martin!

I know most of the country has no great love for the Pats. Because, this country loves an underdog, loves a winner, but other than localities, will turn against a dynasty!

Totally worth a Pats win to see puppet Goodell hand over the Lombardi to Kraft et al. Of course, for $30-40mm/year, I'd be your puppet too!

Michaell

If all goes well, I'll be meeting a fellow Edmunds poster on Sunday. Don't care either way about the game.

xwesx

Michaell said:

If all goes well, I'll be meeting a fellow Edmunds poster on Sunday. Don't care either way about the game.

Oh, wait..... is the game *this* Sunday?! It might be a good time to buy a new TV. My wife made me give away our old Trinitron back in November, and we still haven't replaced it.

fintail

Saw a W116 300SD, Mk 2 Jetta, and late 80s Mitsu pickup this afternoon.

fintail

Beat this: Lancia Beta Coupe (probably no sedans still on the road). Very nice condition, likely restored as these things started decomposing while on the truck out of the factory to the shipping port.

ab348

Man, this must be rare these days:

http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1977-dodge-ram-charger/

Even when new I seldom saw these. The Plymouth version would be even more rare of course.

This is a '70s time machine for sure. Love the interior. A gazillion pics and a video at the link.

sda

A red second gen Infiniti G20. It seemed all of one piece and straight, but hadn't been washed in years with black mold/mildew on all the painted surfaces. No love.

jpp75

I saw this while driving around a couple of weeks ago. Not the best quality picture but the car looked like it was being driven at least semi-regularly.

uplanderguy

Gotta say, I love that Ramcharger! Looks great, and authentic for the most part!

That turquoise '64 Thunderbird--it's funny; a friend and 30-year-coworker of mine has always told me of his bachelor uncle in Burbank, OH who had his '64 T-Bird in turquoise with no vinyl top. He had worked at a small Ford dealer back then and bought it new.

My friend told me probably in the last six months, "My uncle finally sold that Thunderbird".

Chances are slim it's the same car, but nice to think.

jpp75

uplanderguy said:

Gotta say, I love that Ramcharger! Looks great, and authentic for the most part!

That turquoise '64 Thunderbird--it's funny; a friend and 30-year-coworker of mine has always told me of his bachelor uncle in Burbank, OH who had his '64 T-Bird in turquoise with no vinyl top. He had worked at a small Ford dealer back then and bought it new.

My friend told me probably in the last six months, "My uncle finally sold that Thunderbird".

Chances are slim it's the same car, but nice to think.

You never know, but I took this in Charlotte, NC, so doesn't seem likely but in this day anything is possible!

berri

I kind of like that T-Bird color. Sort of unusual.

ab348

berri said:

I kind of like that T-Bird color. Sort of unusual.

Me too. What makes it doubly nice is that not only is the paint color attractive, it likely also has a turquoise or aqua interior to go with it. Today, if you could even find a new car with something close to that paint shade on it, it would have a black interior.

berri

...and I hate black interiors. It isn't just the hot weather issues, but that color interior shows every speck of dust, dirt, hair, whatever.

sda

ab348 said:

berri said:

I kind of like that T-Bird color. Sort of unusual.

Me too. What makes it doubly nice is that not only is the paint color attractive, it likely also has a turquoise or aqua interior to go with it. Today, if you could even find a new car with something close to that paint shade on it, it would have a black interior.

ab348 said:

berri said:

I kind of like that T-Bird color. Sort of unusual.

Me too. What makes it doubly nice is that not only is the paint color attractive, it likely also has a turquoise or aqua interior to go with it. Today, if you could even find a new car with something close to that paint shade on it, it would have a black interior.

IIRC that color is called Ming Green

ab348

berri said:

...and I hate black interiors. It isn't just the hot weather issues, but that color interior shows every speck of dust, dirt, hair, whatever.

Mr too. Ironically, both of my current cars are afflicted with black interiors.

uplanderguy

I hate grey interiors most of all. Screams "rental" to me. Both my wife's and my car have black cloth interiors. When available, I used to get beige interiors, but it seems like even those are hard to find anymore. Of course, I really miss the days of red interiors and even my '81 and '82 Monte Carlos had light turquoise color interiors, nice for the time I thought.

A friend's mid-eighties T-Bird Turbo had a navy blue cloth interior I thought was striking.

sda

I miss not having a greater selection of interior colors. With few exceptions current colors are black, gray, or beige. I like a medium color for an interior such as saddle brown. It isn't too dark like black, it adds some warmth, richness to the interior and hides soil well. I like red and blue as well.

berri

Saddle is a great color, especially for leather. Seems to be mostly gone today.

fintail

Black and beigegrey could not be more boring. It seems black is the standard choice for higher end cars these days, and beigegrey for mainstream. It makes me enjoy my brown interior that much more. My prior car, which had a very light grey interior, also wasn't bad, it really brightened things up.

berri

Well, I suppose the one thing going for grey is that it tends not to show dirt and stuff a lot. Seems that more and more you get black or grey inside, and the steering wheel will be black. Period

tjc78

uplanderguy said:

I hate grey interiors most of all. Screams "rental" to me. Both my wife's and my car have black cloth interiors. When available, I used to get beige interiors, but it seems like even those are hard to find anymore. Of course, I really miss the days of red interiors and even my '81 and '82 Monte Carlos had light turquoise color interiors, nice for the time I thought. A friend's mid-eighties T-Bird Turbo had a navy blue cloth interior I thought was striking.

My 89 Town Car had navy blue interior.  Looked great with the white outside.  

fintail

Ease of maintenance is definitely the driver behind black and beigegrey. It can get dusty, but not so dirty. The light powder grey in my prior car would show rubbing from denim - but was easy to clean with mild detergent and very light magic eraser application (Tex, not leather).

My mom's 93 Taurus was white with a blue interior, kind of a vintage combination that had a little character. MB had a blue interior at least into the early 90s too, nice look.

tjc78

Our light great leather gets the blue from the jeans on it.  Lexol removes it effortlessly.  It could be i keep a pretty good coat of conditioner on it from new.  

imidazol97

My Malibu has light tan seats, leather inserts. My wife wore slacks of blue jean like material when we drove it to TN last year. Got home and I could see the blue on the seat. I grabbed what I thought was Meguiars leather conditioner. Instead I picked up Mother's liquid carnauba wax (California wax). Worked perfectly. Took it out. Rubbed off. Then I realized I had the wrong product. But no damage.

berri

Funny how sometimes a mistake ends up a discovery! You appeared to have noticed the issue pretty quickly. I wonder if that would have worked if it had been awhile?

The denim thing doesn't seem to affect cloth upholstery. One of our vehicles is a CRV with light grey leather seats. it doesn't seem to have that blue rub-off issue. But one of my kids has a similar colored light grey leather Highlander that does get it. The worst I saw of that was several years ago at the Chicago auto show on leather Volvo's and a couple of Lincolns on display. I suppose an interior gets the equivalent of several years wear during a high attendance show like that. I also wonder what kind of dye or coloring they are using in China on jeans - hopefully not a carcinogen.

tjc78

Almost all the cars at the Philly auto show with light leather were blue stained.  

ab348

berri said:

Well, I suppose the one thing going for grey is that it tends not to show dirt and stuff a lot.

That's because grey looks dirty even when it's clean.

fintail

A Datsun 210 liftback (not a B210, but the ca. 1980 model) just drove by my window. Gotta love the west coast.

imidazol97

tjc78 said:

Almost all the cars at the Philly auto show with light leather were blue stained.  

berri said:

Funny how sometimes a mistake ends up a discovery! You appeared to have noticed the issue pretty quickly. I wonder if that would have worked if it had been awhile?

Thanks for letting me know it's not problem unique to my wife's clothes and our car. I decided it was because of moisture from sitting on the seat for 3 hours at a time between restroom breaks. BUT my blue Wrangler jeans never have left a stain on the driver's seat. I don't recall that any of them were new. They had all been washed several times.

So the people getting in and out at the auto show left blue on the seats... I recommend Mother's California Gold carnauba liquid wax. LOL

sda

Those B-210s were hit with an ugly stick. Yet they sold a bunch of them.

uplanderguy

My uncle had a B-210 Honey Bee. I thought someone gave the designers a directive to make a car as *!#^&)(@ ugly as possible. Mission accomplished!

kyfdx

Design feature of the B-210: No need to lift off the gas while shifting. Even in neutral, the engine can't manage to pick up speed.