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

jrosasmc

Mopar time again...do correct me if I'm wrong, but I've always believed that the General Lee used in "The Dukes of Hazzard" was a '70 Charger 500.

lemko

...may have been overpriced and unreliable but at least they weren't ugly. Look at this grotesque monstrosity:

http://www.autoweek.com/cat_content.mv?port_code=autoweek&cat- _code=specials&loc_code=index&content_code=08617418

andre1969

I always thought the General Lee was supposed to be a '69 Charger (and not the 500, which had exposed headlights and a flush rear window, which made it a bit more aerodynamic on the racetrack). It's been ages since I've seen the Dukes, and they actually used Chargers from '68, '69, and '70 for that show, but the one I remember seeing the most (and that I see the most at Mopar shows) is the '68 model, which had the split grille.

tarik

jaserb, can you re-send - I did not receive an e-mail.

seminole_kev

I don't know. I find those old "Chinese Eyes" Rolls pretty ugly. (Not being offensive, that's what they're are actually refered to as.)

tarik

Sorry it took so long to get them up, I am traveling (with a @#^*& 56k modem...).

Here they are (in small):

lancerfixer

IIRC, I think I read somewhere that the producers originally wanted to use a Charger Dayota or a Superbird as the General Lee. They quickly realized there weren't enough of them around.

jlawrence01

Nice Isetta picture ... but what a hideous color ...

Mr_Shiftright

The last photo looks like a BMW "Dixie".

An old Rolls will drop you to your knees in repair costs. You'd better know what you are buying. Let's say you see a decent one that only needs brakes and 4 hub caps. Well that's $7,500 right there IF you get lucky.

andys120

That's the color I'd want for my Isetta, that shade of yellow/green (chartreuse?) gives maximum visibility under all light conditions.
Some firetrucks are now painted that color because red has little visibility after dark.

michaellno

Datsun 2000 roadster ... red, with an aftermarket rollbar installed. Great condition, top down.

My uncle had one of these at one time (his was white and needed a bit of work); I tried to get him to let me drive it, but to no avail. Sadly, he passed away several years ago and it was sold, along with all the old Volvos he used to keep. Afterwards, my aunt bought a brand new S-10 pickup -- I think it was the first new car they had in 15 or 20 years.

Mr_Shiftright

The 2000 roadster had some chronic problem but I forget what it was...I keep thinking something with the cylinder head.

andys120

This car features prominently in the newly released DVD of Monsieur Ibrahim with Omar Sharif. The Aronde was a small sports car with styling similar to a Fiat 1200 Spider except for the American-style wraparound windshield.

There are many glimpses of other oddball French cars in the movie which is worthwhile even if there weren't some nifty cars in it. MI is set in the mid-60s.

jrosasmc

I was on a website pertaining to Jensens not too long ago (can't remember the name) but I saw some of the parts prices and repair costs and they almost made me want to cry. The engine and tranny repairs are not too bad because they're Chrysler items, but the a/c and brake systems, ugh! (These were Interceptor things)

jaserb

Yes, I think that was a Dixie. (One of the) first cars BMW ever produced, I believe. The Isetta color actually looked OK in person. My wife thought it was so cute she wanted to slip it into her purse and take it home.

Isn't that 507 beautiful? Looks more Italian than German, almost.

-Jason

jaserb

scanty

A blue Fiat X 1/9, in driveable condition. Only had rust on the rear skirt. Didn't the 1/9 signify the ratio of road time to shop time for one of these?

kyfdx

I think it was your chances of surviving an accident.

scanty

next to a Saturn sedan, and the Saturn dwarfed it. Looked like a child's toy. I couldn't remember if it was a Playskool or Fisher-Price, but then I saw the Fiat badge.

Mr_Shiftright

If you can find an X1/9 with the later fuel injected engine, and if you can find one that someone actually took care of, and if you can actually fit in it with the targa top in place,and if you are handy with tools and patient with tedious, knuckle-bleeding tasks, and if you line up some parts sources....well, then, you can have a lot of fun for next to nothing. They are very good handling cars.

If you want to recoup your money when you sell it, you shouldn't actually buy one, but just wait for someone to give it to you.

tarik

Anytime jaserb, no problem.

And the 507 - easily one the most beautiful cars ever conceived, thanks to Graf Goertz.

fintail

BMW Dixi was originally a built under license Austin 7 (by a company called Dixi that was bought out by BMW), which is funny...Germans copying the Brits. Now the Germans own them.

I saw one of these today

andys120

Oh it's wonderfully Ironic, Fin, when you remember that the original Mini was also built by Austin, the new Mini is built by the same BMW that began in the car business by building Austins.

That photo is of a Dino 308GT, built by Ferrari.

andys120

seen on a used car lot in NH, one of the big fastback sedans in black. This one was black, could've used a repaint but was straight, clean and had decent chrome.

I've been in one of these because a buddy of my brother drove one in the 60s, they are absolutely huge inside. Like-bodied DeSotos formed the bulk of the NYC Taxi fleet in the early 50s. They'd hold more people and luggage than a Checker.

Also, a Saab Sonnett III in bright orange going down the road, looking very good.

fintail

Very funny about the Mini. Things really go full circle. Hmmm...early Hyundais were Fords, and early Daewoos were GMs...

The 308GT4 I saw sounded very nice. Kind of a heavy-handed 70s design, but at the same time...not bad for it.

Those old Chryslers are handsome. They really can be classy if they are highline cars with a lot of chrome. Those are "dad" cars for me, as my father has always had a thing for big Mopars of the late 40s and early 50s.

Mr_Shiftright

The 308GT4 and the Mondial 8 coupe are the two cheapest Ferraris you can buy. Most Ferrari people shun them, and if you shop you can pick them up clean and running for under $20,000.

The problem is that unattractive and plentiful models of Ferrari cost just as much to fix as beautiful and rare models of Ferraris.

fintail

I don't like the Mondial somehow, but I can tolerate the 308. I was thinking today, a later 308 or 328 could be fun, and can be had pretty cheaply too, under 30 for an immaculate car. There's a dose of 80s nostalgia in them too....but at the same time, I don't know if I'd wanna spend 30 for something that's still just a little cheesy, because of the Magnum PI image.

andyman73

Ferrari 512, Ferrari testa rossa(sp?) Audi RS6, upgraded 911 Turbo with wheel and exhuast upgrades. 2, yes two Renault Le Cars collecting pigeon poop in a barn, but now they are gone. Co-worker has a red new Pontiac GTO. And an immaculate '62 Thunderbird, a creamy beige color. Saw on here a picture from Ebay had a Simca listed. My mother's first car was a manual tranny Simca. Her parents bought her the car, and said here, go teach your self to drive it. Several months later got backed over by an 18 wheeler. Mom wasn't hurt. My grandparents upgraded her to a Chevy II in SS trim and a 4 on the floor. You can guess which car mom liked better.

PF_Flyer

Thursday Chats!

Thursdays are a double header chat night now. First up from 5-6pm PT/8-9pm ET we have the brand new Saab Enthusiast Chat. Stop in to meet and greet fellow Saab enthusiasts and your fellow Town Hall denizens and take your favorite automotive topics LIVE in our chat room.

Saab Chat Room

Then immediately following...



Join the Subaru Crew every Thursday evening for a chat session from 6-7pm PT/9-10pm ET. The chat room opens about 15 minutes before the scheduled start time, so stop on in, even if it's just to say Hello! All things Subaru is the general theme, but anything automotive is fair game too. Come on in and get to know some of your fellow Town Hallies better! See you there...

Subaru Crew Chat Room

PF Flyer
Host
Pickups & News & Views Message Boards

lemko

"I've been in one of these because a buddy of my brother drove one in the 60s, they are absolutely huge inside. Like-bodied DeSotos formed the bulk of the NYC Taxi fleet in the early 50s. They'd hold more people and luggage than a Checker."

I believe these cabs also had a sunroof for the backseat passengers. I've seen these DeSoto cabs in a lot of old movies including "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." I've even seen an old Popeye cartoon where Bluto is driving a cab that's drawn to suggest one of those old DeSotos.

As for recent obscure car sightings - these are fairly new cars - a Plymouth Prowler and a Mitsubishi Evolution, (VIII?) spotted last night.

andre1969

there was a '46-48 DeSoto Suburban for sale at the used car lot up the street from me. Massive green thing with a light brown interior made out of thick vinyl that would probably put most modern materials to shame for ruggedness. It had 3 rows of seats, but the back row, like any station wagon, SUV, or minivan, was still strictly for the kiddies. I tried squeezing back there, and could actually fit, but wouldn't have been happy back there for long.

This extended-wheelbase bodystyle was offered through 1954, but the majority of them, for DeSoto , at least, were sold in the '46-48 timeframe, when about 7500 were built. From 1949 onward, I think they only built a few hundred a year. Then for '55, Chrysler determined that only Imperials should offer a long wheelbase, so the extended DeSotos, Chryslers, Dodges, and Plymouths were dropped.

lemko

...There's a nice dark blue 1953 DeSoto Firedome extended wheelbase sedan in a garage in a small town in NE Pennsylvania. I remember seeing this car. The body is solid and the chrome is immaculate. The trouble is, it's been sitting for at least 30 years.

andre1969

look vaguely familiar?



Oh, and speaking of rare, oddball DeSotos, I got to see this one at the Mopar Nationals a couple weeks ago...
http://user.ilinkadv.com/evooa/57black.jpg
(warning, big pic)

The owner let me sit behind the wheel. Unfortunately, because of the conversion with the partition, the front seat doesn't go back nearly as far as it normally would. I was squeezed in there about as bad as I'd probably be in a '75 Civic!

lemko

It's got the suicide doors like the one pictured above and the same wheels and hubcaps. I believe it was once used by a long defunct funeral home.

Another find in this little town was a 1947 Cadillac hearse also used by another defunct funeral home. Trouble is, this car is now gone and the buildings are demolished since I last was up there.

Years ago, they were auctioning off the estate of a beloved baseball coach from that little town. Among his property was a 1940 Packard Ambulance. Too bad I missed the opportunity to own this gem.

seminole_kev

Briefly looked at a 1979 Lincoln Towncar that's for sale down the road yesterday. No not for me, but oddly enough for my little brother (he's 25). He loves those old boats and saw it for sale when he visited a few weeks ago. So I briefly looked it over to give him some info.

Looks in pretty good shape except for some very small rust on one rear wheel well. Soft yellow with full, white vinyl roof (doesn't look quite as bad as it sounds....maybe). Supposedly runs fine and the interior looks intact, but sun faded.

Anybody know much about these? It looks to be one of the last, truly big Lincolns (although this is far from my area of expertise!). Would it still have over a 400ci motor in 1979 (maybe a 460?). If any of you know much about 'em. Help me out if you don't mind.

andys120

It just so happens I rode in a 328GTS recently, it belongs to a regular poster in the Ferrari topic (CC&SC). It was really cool, a very different experience from riding in ordinary cars.

The maintenance is of course hideous but it certainly provides a Ferrari driving experience, which is surely worth plenty to a driving enthusiast.

The 308GT4 was an odd duck for a Ferrari in that it was bodied by Bertone, not Pininfarina. It certainly lacks the timeless beauty of the best Pf designs which is why they sell cheap.

andre1969

1978 was the last year for the 460, so that '79 should just have a 400-2bbl, which might have about 166 hp. Wheelbase is around 130", give or take, and overall length is around 233". Big, comfy, cushy car, weighs about 5,000 lb.

A buddy of mine has a '78 Mark V Diamond Jubilee with a 460-4bbl, that's even been mildly hopped up a bit, with dual exhaust and a quicker than normal rear end (forget the ratio, though). It's not that impressive in acceleration from a dead stop...I'd guess 0-60 in about 12 seconds or so. But one area where it really shines is if you get it up to about 50 mph and then punch it. It'll positively fly when merging onto highways, and traffic magically clears out of the way when they see that beast coming!

And yeah, 1979 was the last year for the really big Lincolns. They were downsized in 1980, 3 years behind GM's lead. Back then, Cadillac swamped Lincoln in overall sales, but there seem to be a fair number of nice late 70's Lincolns still around. I'm guessing that since Cadillac was the car to have back then, people bought them, but then traded up whenever the next latest thing came out. Where maybe with Lincoln, people who really wanted one of the last american dreadnaughts bought one and decided to cherish it for eternity. As a result, those Lincolns are still cherished and cared for, while most of the Caddies from that timeframe have been beat to hell? I also notice this with Chrysler. Chrysler really didn't build that many of their luxurious New Yorkers from '76-78 (the years it had to take over for the Imperial) but a fair number still seem to be around, and in pretty good shape.

seminole_kev

Was curious about engine options. Car seems to be pretty cared for except that small rust spot. Waiting to hear back from my brother about proceding further. They're asking $1500 by the way.

Mr_Shiftright

Is this rust perforated? Can you stick a pencil into it? If so, I'd put the car on a lift before buying it.

jrosasmc

I remember you saying once that the '79-'81 generation of Gran Fury/St. Regis/Newport had their chassis based on the Mopar intermediates from '71-'78. So if I drove, say, an '81 Newport, I'd basically be driving the exact same car as a '71 GTX?

seminole_kev

I didn't investigate it to much because I walked onto their property to look real quick without an invite. Around here that can easily get you shot, so lets just say it was a real quick look around and writing down of information.

Rust looked to be a couple of small patches (say silver dollar sized maybe?) of surface rust, but again I'd have to check it out much further.

Believe me, my love of British cars makes me very weary of rust, no matter how small it might *seem*.

andre1969

where is the rust spot at? And does the car look like it's been repainted? Usually the first place they'll rust is in the rear quarter panels, but the rocker panel (especially where it joins the front fender or the rear quarter, or any other seams), the rear wheel openings, any trim around the windows, and the bottoms of front fenders, behind the wheel, are all prime spots. Also, sometimes at the base of the C-pillar, where there's usually a piece of trim.

And this stuff isn't Lincoln-specific, but just generic for where ALL old cars seem to rust out!

seminole_kev

rust is on the drivers side rear wheel opening. Just about the 12 O'clock position right above the opening. Paper said original paint, and it looks it. No signs of respray, but again, was a real quick look over.

Rust spot looked like where you'd probably get some road salt rust out.

Mr_Shiftright

I was mostly concerned with rust entering the places where the suspension is anchored to the body. This is the death knell for rusted cars and they should be scrapped if this is what's happening.

But surface rust can be patched up fairly economically.

I know it's small comfort, but shooting harmless trespassers is against the law and should land someone in prison for life (hopefully). Tough to explain all that however if you are on the wrong end of a 12 gauge however, so don't go there--lol!

seminole_kev

Oklahoma is actually THE friendlist state for being able to shoot people on your property. More so than even Texas if I remember correctly. As it is, I don't want to end up being mentioned in a land-mark case concerning property owner's defense rights ;-)

Yeah, my biggest rust concerns are suspension points and wherever the battery is mounted in a car.

lemko

...had a big 1975 Lincoln Continental. What an awesome car that was! He traded it in 1979 for a new smaller Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme and I always viewed that car as not just a step down from the Lincoln but falling several tens of floors through an elevator shaft. No doubt his decision was due to the gas shortages of the time as that 460 V-8 was a pig.

My high school classmate's father had a beautiful green 1979 Lincoln Continental. Several years after high school another classmate got married and they used it as the bride and groom's car.

I had an opportunity to buy an immaculate 1977 Lincoln Continental, but didn't because I was concerned about fuel economy. Ironically, I ended up getting a 1975 Cadillac Sedan DeVille with a larger 500 V-8. I imagine the Lincoln's styling made me think the car was really heavy and would affect fuel economy whereas the Cadillac looked leaner. One thing I remember about that Lincoln was the speedometer. It didn't have a conventional needle, but a red bar below the numerals that would progress in the manner of a thermometer.

andre1969

is that comparing those battlecruiser Lincolns to competing Caddy and Chrysler models, the Lincolns seemed to be fitted together better. Might not last any longer in the long run, but the workmanship just seemed to be better. I think Cadillac probably had better engines and transmissions though.

Lemko, I agree that those big Caddies did have a much leaner look to them. I think that's attributable mainly to the hardtop styling on the sedans, and the open, airy greenhouses. Especially in '75, when they added that triangular window in the C-pillar. Similarly, the Lincolns, being more squared off and bulky, just seemed heavier.

I notice that Lincolns tended to be done up in dark, formal colors as well, that may have made them seem bulkier. Black, dark blue, dark green, etc, seemed to be really popular colors. In contrast, I see old Caddies in just about every color under the sun!

A few years ago, I saw a '75 Buick Electra 4-door hardtop for sale in a mall parking lot. It was black with a gray-and-black interior. Now that was a classy looking car! I think of all those big 70's battlecruisers, I like the '75-76 Electra the best. Not as pretentious as a Caddy, Lincoln, or those Chryslers with the hidden headlights and the waterfall grilles, but still a bit sleeker than an Olds 98. Yeah, I know, I'm probably splitting hairs here! Still, I wish I had about $1400 burning a hole in my pocket that day! (well probably less, since that was his asking price)

lemko

...when I bought my first car, a 1968 Buick Special Deluxe, there was a beautiful 1975 Buick Electra Limited 4-door hardtop on the lot. That car would've made a truly awesome first car, but they wanted $3,500 which was an astronomical sum to a 16 year-old kid in 1981.

kyfdx

on my mother's '72 Lincoln Town Coupe.. Thats right: A big old two-door. She traded it in on a '76 that was even bigger with the big fat bumpers.. She drove it until 1985. Both had the 460, but the '72 was much faster... I could smoke the Bonnevilles with the 455 (lol).

regards,
kyfdx

andys120

the appeal of a massive car with seating for six and just two doors.