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

berri

Nice!

Mr_Shiftright

Really dislike those cars. Don't get me started !

stickguy

There is a classic Mercedes brown 560SL living in my neighborhood now. Or on long term visit. Looks to be in nice enough shape. Wearing the hardtop.

fintail

107s aren't so bad, just avoid 75-76 models, expect 15 mpg on good days, and know that it is a German Buick style cruiser rather than a sports car.

Mr_Shiftright

I find them overweight, gas hungry, boring to drive, unreliable, a devil to work on, and utterly soulless. Other than that.....

Michaell

Mr_Shiftright said:

I find them overweight, gas hungry, boring to drive, unreliable, a devil to work on, and utterly soulless. Other than that.....

Don't hold back - tell us how you really feel!

Mr_Shiftright

If I do think of a redeeming quality, I'll let you know right away.

fintail

They are probably easier to live with than other cars at the same price point from the same era.

In the past day I have seen 2x MB W123, 2x MB W126, 1x MB C126. These things keep going.

ab348

fintail said:

I've seen that color before, most likely a 1975-80 car. I assume it was badged 450SL. The wheels are 1980s "Centra" brand, a popular aftermarket item back in the day. Whitewalls and wheels seem wrong now, but they were a thing back then.

The pic below is not the same color but it reminds me of some '70s shades like on the Benz. There is one of these on the lot at our local Porsche dealer and this pic by former Edmunds editor Karl Brauer would suggest it is a standard-order color. Porsche's take on Ford "Grabber Blue"?

fintail

I think the non-metallic paints have that retro feel. The brightness of the Porsche does give it a "grabber" vibe.

Here are some late 70s style MB non-metallic blues:

Mr_Shiftright

Benzes seem to look best in "metal" colors--silver, gold, platinum and don't do well in some of the bright primary-derived colors like red or yellow or orange. For some reason, blues and greens seem to work OK.

texases

But what about all of those red 450SLs?

Mr_Shiftright

Like a fat guy wearing horizontal stripes.

fintail

I think the bright primary colors clash with the generally traditional styling of most MBs. They aren't boldly styled cars, bold colors can be out of place.

In the mid 70s, when bold colors were a fad, they were frequently seen on MBs, too. Orange, yellow, green, all are known on 70s models.













I suppose these would fall under "period colors".

berri

It is nice to have some variety in blue shades. Only the Germans seem to do that on a routine basis. Of those three, I like the middle one best followed by the top one. Both are attractive to me. Don't care for the bottom baby blue as much. Maybe it belongs on a convertible instead.

Michaell

@fintail - that second picture (orange) looks just like the '72 220D my folks owned when I was in HS. Minus the fog lamps.

There was a definite love / hate relationship with that car. My mom hated it. Dad was likely on the fence, since it needed an engine rebuild not long after we bought it.

I liked the solid feel of it - was able to take it on a few trips to LA (60 miles) and the family took it to Sacramento (300-400 miles).

I've mentioned this before, but it had the stiffest throttle spring I've ever encountered. And, with no cruise, the drive up I-5 was painful (literally).

fintail

Orange is a fitting color for those, esp with a brown or tan tex interior. I saw a kind of Fiestaware-green late run 300D at a used car lot a few years ago. Not the most subtle color, and a nice old car, but it had a bit of rust. A 220D would barely be suitable for interstate driving even during the dark days of 55.

The stiff throttle spring is still a thing. It doesn't seem so bad on the fintail, maybe because the car predates the feature, or it is just old, but the throttle seems stiff on every modern MB I have driven. Compare it to an 80s era domestic, especially GM, where a slight throttle input will shoot you forward.

texases

"Dad was likely on the fence, since it needed an engine rebuild not long after we bought it."

But..but..they run 500,000 miles all the time, right?

fintail

Not without absolute by the book maintenance, and a gentle climate.

ab348

I think that Butterscotch color paint was on about half of the Benzes sold locally here in the '70s. We had a similar shade on our family's '68 Volvo 144.

Michaell

fintail said:

Not without absolute by the book maintenance, and a gentle climate.

This was SoCal, so the climate was good.

Can't tell you about the maintenance, nor how many miles it had on it when we bought it. I think Dad thought it was a good deal.

Mom hated the glow plugs.

fintail

Did that car have the old starting method where you pulled a knob? Or the modern simple turn of a key?

On the road today, an E46 M3 Dinan, probably pretty rare. Looked brand new, and driven in a way that perfectly befits the BMW stereotype.

fintail

Out in the fintail today, saw a number of old cars. Orange Rabbit, unrestored 60 Chevy 4 door post on the highway, unrestored heavy patina but nice running early Dodge Sweptline stepside, ~50 Chevy pickup, late 60s Buick convertible seen from a distance, ~70 Chevelle, 80s Monte Carlo SS, Camry liftback, 70s Ford and Chevy pickups, Z3 clownshoe.

fintail

Forgot a couple - 64 Galaxie in traffic, and on the highway, I noticed a 60s era Land Rover merged in not too far behind me. I was hoping we might be able to drive kind of close for awhile, but he never quite caught up, and I lost sight of him in about 10 minutes.

kyfdx

Dodge Stealth. R/T twin turbo. As new.

Mr_Shiftright

Always liked those. They are a grenade with a loose pin but kinda sexy.

fintail

Stopped by the local specialty dealer to devour a few spare minutes. Lots of the typical stuff at retail + 25%, oddball might have been a nice driver quality 57 Eldo Biarritz convertible with apparent Belgian documents still in it - I wonder if the weak Euro, esp 6-8 months ago, saw some cars repatriated.

Mr_Shiftright

What's he asking? Seems like it should sell for around $100K. I had thought that year/model was very rare but I looked it up and...not really...they made 1,800 of them. Still, uncommon to be sure.

fintail

No price, it's not on their site, but it had an inventory sticker, maybe a new arrival. It was far from perfect, but looked good enough to drive without shame, or take to a cruise-in. I don't know if I had ever seen one before.

Mr_Shiftright

Can't be more than a few hundred of them left in the country---not a cheap car to restore,, by any means.

imidazol97

Mr_Shiftright said:

Can't be more than a few hundred of them left in the country---not a cheap car to restore,, by any means.

Bunch of them for sale.

https://classiccars.com/listings/find/1955-1957/cadillac/eldorado-biarritz

Mr_Shiftright

'57 is a bit more rare. Average price the last few years at auction--around $120K.

fintail

It's on their site now, but no pics, and price is "Call Us". It might be the only one I have seen in person before, if not, not more than a few.

fintail

On the road today: Murano CrossCabrio, 94-95 E320 Cabrio, 90s era JDM 4 door pillared HT with Alberta plates (couldn't make out any badges, but I think it was a senior Nissan), oxidized red 928S4, creamy yellow 65-66 Mustang convertible.

stickguy

passed a house again that has a nice enough looking 75ish Olds Cutlass 2 door parked out front. no plates on it. No clue if it runs or not, but body looks clean.

berri

I bought a 76 Cutlass Supreme years back because I liked the square headlight look. But these days looking back I think the single headlight probably looks cleaner in retrospect. But people definitely have their own opinions on that subject

fintail

On the road this morning, 2 911 cabrios, an early 90s one and an 80s one. The 11 year old version of me in 1988 had the 911 cabrio on the dream car list, preferably in white with a whale tail, slantnose optional.

Michaell

Spotted a RHD R33 or R34 Skyline today.

explorerx4

A BRG MGB with a dog hanging out the passenger side window. I should have taken a picture.
Also, a couple of TR6's. One mostly under a tarp, exposed white paint looked good. The other was Maroon.
Lots of high end older Mercedes convertibles with their tops down.

ab348

I was out in the Cutlass this afternoon, and at a stoplight what pulls up next to me but a '59 Oldsmobile Holiday Coupe, beautifully restored, painted exactly like this one:



I talked to the owner last year at a cruise-in but don't know him otherwise. Nice fellow. Talk about a big car! We cruised around together for a little while and this was one of the few times when my car took a back seat in getting the attention of people we passed by. It was just spectacular to see that thing driving around.

fintail

I heard something old sounding outside my window, took a peek - obviously restored MG-A, immediately followed by a 190E 2.3. Gotta love the west coast.

berri

I always thought that Olds was one of the better 59 GM design visually. Gotta say that red and white color combo is a little different from what was mostly on the road back then though. I'd expect it to be more likely on a Chevy.

imidazol97

The 1959 Olds is not to be mistaken for another other cars on the market. When the 59 Chev has the huge gullwings, this is tasteful. I actually like the 58 model better. It's not loaded up as badly as the Buick was. There are two 1959 Oldsmobiles in bright, lemon yellow that show up together at car shows in a certain area.

Mr_Shiftright

fintail said:

I heard something old sounding outside my window, took a peek - obviously restored MG-A, immediately followed by a 190E 2.3. Gotta love the west coast.

190E 2.3---worst Mercedes ever IMO, except for the 2.3 16 valve, which is worth a look.

Mr_Shiftright

@fintail -- can you take a guess how much the Designo/Launch Edition option might have added to the MSRP of a 2003 MB SL500?

fintail

I'm not sure, several grand though. I will guess $7500. Adds a lot less now, of course. IIRC, those cars were "desert silver", a silver with kind of a yellow or gild tint, MB was really into that color for awhile.

Regarding worst MB, I can't see how a 4cyl W201 is worse than many other 4cyl models. I have to look at it through the eyes of 1983.

Mr_Shiftright said:

@fintail -- can you take a guess how much the Designo/Launch Edition option might have added to the MSRP of a 2003 MB SL500?

Mr_Shiftright

The car was cheaped out to the max. I don't think it was worthy of the MB badge.

fintail

You should take a spin in an early W203.

Mr_Shiftright

Was that the Mercedes Corolla?

Mr_Shiftright

Thanks for the Designo info!