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

fintail

Yep, this one was the notchback coupe, which may be the rarest pop up light generation we received. The hatch is also seldom-seem these days, but I seem to notice them more than coupes, maybe just because of the now-unusual style.



These were once everywhere here, and the sedans are still not a terribly rare sight on the roads, which says something for a car that stopped production in 1989.

Michaell said:

fintail said:

Also an 88-89 Accord coupe.

Ooo, with the pop up headlights?

Had a co-worker who had an '87 LX-i (one of the first fuel injected Accords). I got to drive it once, when she needed to borrow the Isuzu P'up we owned at the time.

Her Accord was a stick, and I remember the clutch being quite fiddly. I had an '85 Accord with a stick, and it was much easier to drive. Might have been an issue with her car in particular.

fintail

Probably not an issue in this climate, but then again, with the traffic. Can't recall the last time I saw (or noticed) a no-grille model, the 6 windows as a whole are thin on the ground anymore.

Definitely a difference between a revvy little Honda engine that probably needs to be past 3000 rpm to make power, and a mellow V8 that would be driving reckless at that rpm.

tjc78 said:

Yes, 92 only.  Poor public response and actually reduced airflow that made them prone to overheating in some climates.  

My Brother’s first car was an 87 Accord LXi.  I hated that car, I honestly thought it drove like crap.  I was driving an 89 Grand Marquis at the time, so worlds different for sure.  

ab348

tjc78 said:

fintail said:

Forgot to mention I saw a no-grille aero Panther Crown Vic, model year 1992 only? It looked a little worse for wear, but still on the road.

Also an 88-89 Accord coupe.

Yes, 92 only.  Poor public response and actually reduced airflow that made them prone to overheating in some climates.

I liked the look of the no-grill Crown Vic. Reminded me of a bigger, sleeker Taurus. Hard to believe they didn't do enough warm-weather testing to determine the reduced airflow could result in overheating. The tacked on grill they later added looked exactly that to me, especially with the chrome eyebrow across the top which I found particularly unattractive.

texases

Separated at birth?

tjc78

ab348 said:

fintail said:

Forgot to mention I saw a no-grille aero Panther Crown Vic, model year 1992 only? It looked a little worse for wear, but still on the road. Also an 88-89 Accord coupe.

Yes, 92 only.  Poor public response and actually reduced airflow that made them prone to overheating in some climates.

I liked the look of the no-grill Crown Vic. Reminded me of a bigger, sleeker Taurus. Hard to believe they didn't do enough warm-weather testing to determine the reduced airflow could result in overheating. The tacked on grill they later added looked exactly that to me, especially with the chrome eyebrow across the top which I found particularly unattractive.

It wasn’t a super big problem, just something that comes up from time to time on Panther forums.  

I was also a fan of it.  I would love a P75 92 Touring Sedan.  One year only “sport” model.  

fintail

If we want to embrace the no-grille modern car, we can go back even before the Infiniti to a couple of landmark designs. 1986:



1982:

Mr_Shiftright

Mr_Shiftright

Speaking of......what was this in its former life?

texases

FTW (nothing new under the sun):

kyfdx

Ohio plates. That figures..

explorerx4

A 68 Ford Fireplace? I mean Galaxie.

stickguy

a living up to its name (twas loud) Dodge Ram rumble bee PU.

stickguy

explorerx4 said:

A 68 Ford Fireplace? I mean Galaxie.

fenders certainly look Ford, but the grill really looks like a Malibu.

texases

Yep, Galaxie:

Michaell

Mr_Shiftright said:

Speaking of......what was this in its former life?

A Weber?

explorerx4

@tjc78.
Not sure I've ever seen one of those Lincolns before. Will definitely keep my eyes open, although chance of me seeing one isn't great.

fintail

Saw a chrome bumper MGB on the road, out in the damp - someone is brave. No turn signal use, but maybe they don't work . Also saw a pre - 1985.5 Escort wagon zooming down the carpool lane at about 65.

uplanderguy

RE.: That gold '64 Avanti--I like Studebaker Avantis a lot, but I literally can't stand the mirrors out on the fenders. I'd rather have no outside mirror (which was standard) if the optional mirror isn't mounted on the door.

stickguy

Uplander, there is an old Stude near me that I have seen for years in a driveway, and now has a for sale sign on it. Looks to be in tired condition, but all there. in a light green color, very period. Looks likely original. Based on pictures, I think it is a 51 champion, like this (4 door):

fintail

Windy drizzle must be bringing them out, saw a white Saab 900 Turbo loaded up with stuff (Saab parts?) and a pristine looking first gen Olds Bravada.

uplanderguy

Thanks for posting, stickguy. I'm a product of my age, mostly, I think. My favorite Studebakers are 1963 and 1964 model years--best-looking Lark-types and Hawks IMHO, and I even like the entire truck line then. Avantis too of course. Performance engines available even in the most pedestrian Larks.

uplanderguy

On Dec. 20, it will have been 54 years since the last regular production-line U.S.-built Studebaker was built (Avanti and truck production actually ended a week later). Here's the car, and it makes me drool when I see it...it is absolutely a NOS Studebaker in every way. 28 miles--I've stuck my head in the window when no one was looking, LOL. 240 hp (good for a domestic compact), 4-speed, disc brakes, full instrumentation including in-dash tach, 50/50 split front bench seats. A '64 Daytona Hardtop is among the top four or five Studebakers to collectors, and rare--only 2,414 made between South Bend and Hamilton, Ontario--and this one is the best of the best.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7214/7143686819_eec71a05d2_b.jpg

uplanderguy

Photo from another angle:

https://i2.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/1964Daytona.jpg

PF_Flyer

Seasonal movies in play

stickguy

That stude is a nice looking car, especially for the time period.

stickguy

A checker. Now that was a real cab.

PF_Flyer

Yea, we have cabs here, but they're all just "normal" vehicles with stickers

Mr_Shiftright

stickguy said:

A checker. Now that was a real cab.

I had a Checker Marathon for a while. It was never a cab. Three-speed stickshift with overdrive, and a Continental 6 cylinder engine--a flathead design originally but with an overhead valve cylinder head slapped on top of it Idle speed? 300 rpm, all day long if you wished. Acres of room inside (except, oddly enough, for the driver), jump seats in back. The very last Checkers had Chevy V-8s.

PF_Flyer

At least the cab in the movie made it past the K car safely

I was working at Kmart when the K cars came out, and as a promotional tie-in, they put one on the sidewalk in front of our store. They removed it when every fluid that was in the car leaked out onto the sidewalk. They never brought one back to replace it

uplanderguy

That stude is a nice looking car, especially for the time period.

I knew I'd been in the Studebaker hobby for a long time when last summer I saw a '64 Falcon two-door hardtop and it made me grimace, LOL. Obviously, styling is subjective but it struck me as so sculptured or chiseled down the side, had to my eyes a lot of trim on the side, and the most egregious thing to my eyes, was the roof seemed too small for the body.

But of course a lot of folks like those Falcons and none of them care what I think.

EDIT: Looking online, it was a '65--same car; different side trim.

A Falcon I sort-of like, is a style I NEVER see anymore--the '66-69 two door post. It's actually long-hood, short-deck...from what I remember, anyway.

uplanderguy

RE.: Checkers--I worked a week in Kalamazoo, MI in the early eighties. I saw Checkers everyplace--including with vinyl tops and wire wheelcovers and whitewalls.

The old story is that Nate Altman, the man who bought the rights to the Avanti and whose family continued to build the car for eighteen years after Studebaker dropped it, went to Morris Markin of Checker to see if he was interested in partnering-in. Markin said, supposedly, "Do you expect me to build a car as ugly as that?".

Altman left and in recounting the story would say, "Can you believe that? He built the Checker Marathon!", LOL.

Mr_Shiftright

The Avanti was faster and more luxurious, but the Checker was more beautiful!

uplanderguy

As they say, there's no accounting for taste.

Mr_Shiftright

That's true enough. Classic Cars even had an article about the Mercury Bobcat. Proves your point.

explorerx4

Checker assembly plant was in a movie.

ab348

uplanderguy said:

A Falcon I sort-of like, is a style I NEVER see anymore--the '66-69 two door post. It's actually long-hood, short-deck...from what I remember, anyway.

We lived on a street from 1973 to 1983 where the neighbors a couple of doors down from us had one of those in the driveway. Red with a black roof as I recall. I think it was the Futura trim as it had stainless around the side windows. Good-looking vehicle. They seemed to drive it very little which must have been why they had it so long. Still, it shared the same crummy Ford compact chassis as our Maverick and the early Mustangs, so I find it hard to generate much enthusiasm for it. Maybe the Falcon was built better than the Maverick we had, since that would be a pretty low bar to surpass.

Re. Checker: the company stayed around for a long time after they stopped making cars, as a panel pressing subcontractor to GM and possibly other makes. So an '80s Chevy could be part Checker.

roadburner

Thoroughbred and Classic Car had an article on the Avanti a few months back; I'd like to find one of the last steel bumper cars(1983?) and massage the SBC a little...

uplanderguy

My best man (although we are no longer in touch) applied for a job at Avanti when we stopped in South Bend to see the old Studebaker Museum and Avanti was still in operation there, although the announcement of the Youngstown operation had already been made. He was hired for Youngstown. He was in the office and did a little bit of everything.

He said that when they started using the Monte Carlo chassis (108.1 inch wheelbase versus 109 for the original Avanti, which made the rear wheel in the wheel opening look weird), guys in the plant referred to them as "AvantiCarlos" or "MontAvantis", LOL.

uplanderguy

ab348, is the Maverick the same chassis and wheelbase as the Falcon right before it? Those Falcons seem larger to me.

uplanderguy

I've not ridden in a Checker, and I do find them interesting. But for all I hear about how stout they are, I've seen my share in my parts with big holes at the tops of the rear fenders.

Checker and I-H used Studebaker full wheelcovers--actually, the '63 Hawk style and also the '64-65 style--after Studebaker was gone. Only the centers were different. Both Checker and I-H were pretty close to South Bend geographically--for whatever that might have been worth.

Mr_Shiftright

Be Careful What You Wish For

uplanderguy

Two years later, and nothing.

There have been a couple guys out to revive the Studebaker name, and absolutely nothing has come of it. Dreamers.

At least the Avanti successor companies actually built cars for sale, although to me after the Altman cars, they were largely caricatures of the earlier cars and I really don't even care much for the Altman cars as they lost the original's rake and the front wheel openings were made smaller, both things done to clear the Chevy engine although Nate said he "never liked to see all the pieces underneath from the rear" on the originals. Sounds like sales talk to me (LOL), although I've spoken to a couple people who bought new cars from him and said from the customer-service standpoint, he was the best.

Mr_Shiftright

Someone needs to tell those Checker people that "No, there isn't any global demand for a Checker El Camino".

PF_Flyer

Or a low rider Checker

Mr_Shiftright

The 6-door might be saleable however.

uplanderguy

54 years ago today--New York Times photo of that last red Studebaker above, on the transport truck outside the plant before the decision was made to keep the car, give it to the City of South Bend, and fill that customer order with an unsold car in stock by adding and deleting options:

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2013/12/21/automobiles/21STUDEBAKER-top/21STUDEBAKER-top-jumbo.jpg

PF_Flyer

At my buddy's tire shop/garage this morning



Interior shot not as good with the window reflections. But I have to stop back tomorrow and if it's still there I'll try for some better shots

fintail

1941

I have seen a few of those as resto-mods with 70s running gear. That one appears to have hubcaps from a late 50s car. Odd steering wheel, can't place it.

PF_Flyer said:

At my buddy's tire shop/garage this morning

Interior shot not as good with the window reflections. But I have to stop back tomorrow and if it's still there I'll try for some better shots

ab348

The wheel covers are '57 or so Cadillac items. Not sure about the steering wheel given that it is mounted on a modern column, maybe it is some sort of aftermarket thing.

fintail

Funny, the steering column didn't catch my eye. The steering wheel also looks far smaller than a vintage unit. I have seen resto-mods with 70s-80s era Caddy steering wheels, this has to be modern item, kind of a semi-accurate replica of a 40s style wheel. The seat also looks relatively modern.