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

Mr_Shiftright

It's a modern steering post, looks like.

PF_Flyer

Like I said, hopefully it's still there when I take the wife's car for an oil change tomorrow and I can get more details and better pictures

PF_Flyer

Well it was still there, plus another

Assorted shots

PF_Flyer

And the other "sighting"

kyfdx

The Toronado is cool.

Spotted a boat tail Riviera (with vinyl roof... ugh) sitting outside a high-end Euro repair shop in Lexington, KY yesterday.

fintail

Both of those are cool sightings, that little steering wheel makes me uncomfortable, somehow. I like big steering wheels in old cars. When I was a kid in the late 80s, I remember someone at the local post office had a Toro exactly like that as a daily driver, I always noticed it parked there. Even then, an unusual car.

Latest sighting - 86-88 Accord 3 door, with louvers on the hatch.

ab348

I'd take that Toro in a heartbeat. It seems to be a very nice example to boot.

The thing that troubles me about the steering wheel in the '41 Cad is that the horn ring is misaligned with the crossbar on the wheel. OCD I guess.

PF_Flyer

Both cars are owned by the same guy, and I think he has at least a couple of more. So maybe more will show up soon

PF_Flyer

ab348 said:

I'd take that Toro in a heartbeat. It seems to be a very nice example to boot.

The thing that troubles me about the steering wheel in the '41 Cad is that the horn ring is misaligned with the crossbar on the wheel. OCD I guess.

Nah, it's not OCD... it's OFF. Those small things kinda bug me too

texases

I'd have to really have a 'thing' for '40 Caddys to own that. Just seems an odd combination of old and new to me...

uplanderguy

In the Little Italy part of Cleveland, returning home from the Cleveland Museum of Art Sunday, we passed parked on the street, a unibody Ford pickup ('61-63). I always liked the looks of those a lot, better than the '64-66 as I always liked that the rear wheel openings on the unibodies mimicked the fronts. I've read they didn't hold up but they are not often seen. This one was weathered but still a handsome design I think. Those, and the '56 Ford pickup with the wraparound windshield, are the best-looking Ford pickups IMHO.

PF_Flyer

Interesting side effect of the '66 Toronado. When it came out, we were big into slot cars, and my Dad, being an engineer, was influenced by the front wheel drive of the Toronado and we flipped the chassis of my Chaparral slot car to put the drive wheels in front and move the electric motor and center of gravity closer to the pickup shoe. Car didn't want to slide as much around turns and suddenly I owned all the track records

That was a VERY cool looking slot car

texases

If you happen to have some extra time in Midland, TX, go to the Petroleum Museum. GREAT Chaparral exhibit, lots of cars (real, not slot) and info.

berri

Toronado is a gorgeous car!

omarman

PF_Flyer said:

Interesting side effect of the '66 Toronado. When it came out, we were big into slot cars, and my Dad, being an engineer, was influenced by the front wheel drive of the Toronado and we flipped the chassis of my Chaparral slot car to put the drive wheels in front and move the electric motor and center of gravity closer to the pickup shoe. Car didn't want to slide as much around turns and suddenly I owned all the track records

And you continued this pattern of abuse without facing consequences so that you could:
become a respected forum Moderator,
drive a Versa,
and live in Pennsylvania Furnace.
Own all that, you...you abuser of slot cars!
What's the statue of limitations there?

From The Desk Marked For Storage Of,
Senator Not-For-Much-Longer Al

roadburner

PF_Flyer said:

Interesting side effect of the '66 Toronado. When it came out, we were big into slot cars, and my Dad, being an engineer, was influenced by the front wheel drive of the Toronado and we flipped the chassis of my Chaparral slot car to put the drive wheels in front and move the electric motor and center of gravity closer to the pickup shoe. Car didn't want to slide as much around turns and suddenly I owned all the track records

That was a VERY cool looking slot car

I had a Cox GT40:

PF_Flyer

Now you made me go into the BOX

We had a dedicated drag strip at our hobby shop, and this was one of the faster dragsters we had. Motor was rewound and it ran HOT. Only good for straight line. Couldn't get around a turn for love or money. Lighter fluid to goop up the tires and make them stick. And a Corvair to boot!!





I guess it is the time of year to go down memory lane! Dang, this was from over 50 years ago!!!

ab348

This discussion about slot cars may be making my memory play tricks on me. But I had at least 2 slot car sets when I was a kid in the mid to late '60s. I know one was a Strombecker, not sure about the other which I think was earlier. Eldon(?) comes to mine if that was a brand but I'm not sure.

But I do remember getting a Toronado slot car. It wasn't one of the ones that came with the set but was bought separately a bit later on. I do seem to recall that one of the cars that came with the Strombecker set was a Chaparral. I never got the idea to make the Toro FWD, so it always got beat by the Chaparral, which was a favorite of mine.

PF_Flyer

There are ALWAYS mods... even with slot cars...LOL

uplanderguy

My slot car set when a kid was one that you bought at the Dodge dealer's, circa '68. I must've seen it on TV or something as the Dodge dealer was never a place my Dad ever took me, LOL.

stickguy

Lighter fluid and a hot motor. What could possibly go wrong there?

ab348

I seem to remember using oil of wintergreen to make the slot cars stick better in the curves. Not sure if I put it on the track or on the tires. Made things smell good though.

PF_Flyer

stickguy said:

Lighter fluid and a hot motor. What could possibly go wrong there?

There may have been a 1/24 scale fire now and then

explorerx4

Maybe the Cadi is in to have the horn ring aligned.
The Toro looks pretty great.
Those slot cars remind me that we used to have a place that had about 5 of those tracks set up.

berri

I do remember Eldon slot cars. I think they were one of the early entries.

fintail

Quite an assortment on city streets this afternoon - 67 Mustang, W116 450SEL, 80s S10 Blazer, 2 door Pathfinder, nice early W126 with a handicap placard (either 300SD or 380SE - gave me the "grandma's baby" vibe), 3 spots down from that a later E30 with the big air dam/front spoiler (325is?) wearing Purple Heart plates, 3x W201 190E - including a 2.3-16, an abruptly modified 240SX that probably emitted vape smoke instead of engine exhaust, and an E36 hatch roadburner special (sans sunroof) that looked like it had lived a full life.

fintail

Today's Christmas image from the Mercedes-Benz Museum - fitting, as I have the old car out today:

explorerx4

All those gifts must be heavy looking at the rear wheel camber.

sda

I saw an early model black Ford Contour SVT in very nice shape. I can't remember the last time I've seen a Contour or Mystique let alone an SVT.

kyfdx

sda said:

I saw an early model black Ford Contour SVT in very nice shape. I can't remember the last time I've seen a Contour or Mystique let alone an SVT.

There is a tired looking SVT that shows up at our local Cars N Coffee on most Saturday mornings.

Michaell

fintail said:

Today's Christmas image from the Mercedes-Benz Museum - fitting, as I have the old car out today:

The last time you posted a photo from that site, I liked their page. Some very nice pictures of old MBs get posted.

The caption on the post was something like "Would you rather have the presents in the trunk or the car itself?"

fintail

There's something about the rear suspension on those cars, they often seem to sit like that - my car does it too. I don't know if it is a combination of the swing axle and independent suspension or something. I assume it straightens up when in motion, as there's no odd tire wear.

MB Museum is pretty active on social media, and they do a good job presenting their endless material. Here's another obscure vehicle Christmas-themed shot from a few days ago:

Mr_Shiftright

explorerx4 said:

All those gifts must be heavy looking at the rear wheel camber.

Spare parts!

ab348

fintail said:

MB Museum is pretty active on social media, and they do a good job presenting their endless material. Here's another obscure vehicle Christmas-themed shot from a few days ago:

That is a hilarious picture. Not posed or anything obviously.

fintail

You never know what might be found in the German countryside

ab348 said:

That is a hilarious picture. Not posed or anything obviously.

uplanderguy

I might've posted it in the past sometime, but there's a pic online of the DVP's of the various divisions of Studebaker, getting out of one of those M-B vans at the Proving Ground Mansion west of South Bend. Totally appropriate as Stude was the N.A. distributor of M-B in that time of course.

roadburner

This was my Holiday Card picture back in 2013...

uplanderguy

To have interiors this color again, sigh:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210915492299407&set=pcb.2053560851566771&type=3&theater&ifg=1

uplanderguy

Not really a big-car guy to speak of, but think this is an interesting Caddy--no A/C. Obviously ordered as it was delivered the same month as built, and what dealer would stock a '72 Cadillac with no air?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cadillac-Calais/172966015419?hash=item284593f1bb:g:NPAAAOSwI8lZ~6i7&vxp=mtr

Interesting oddball Caddy for sure. Price seems crazy but that's just off the top of my head.

I always thought it was unusual that that era Calais had "Cadillac" written on the side of the car, very unusual for the '70's. It said "Calais" on the decklid--where other Caddys had "Cadillac" written. I guess that enabled them to make fewer "Calais" nameplates, on what was probably a low-volume model.

fintail

I wonder what they thought of such an oddball European thing, if Stude guys liked MB or weren't fond of it. One of those vans would be worth good money today, too. I know there's at least one in WA.

Speaking of interior varieties, the highline fintails had an interesting option:

uplanderguy said:

I might've posted it in the past sometime, but there's a pic online of the DVP's of the various divisions of Studebaker, getting out of one of those M-B vans at the Proving Ground Mansion west of South Bend. Totally appropriate as Stude was the N.A. distributor of M-B in that time of course.

ab348

uplanderguy said:

Not really a big-car guy to speak of, but think this is an interesting Caddy--no A/C. Obviously ordered as it was delivered the same month as built, and what dealer would stock a '72 Cadillac with no air?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cadillac-Calais/172966015419?hash=item284593f1bb:g:NPAAAOSwI8lZ~6i7&vxp=mtr

Interesting oddball Caddy for sure. Price seems crazy but that's just off the top of my head.

I always thought it was unusual that that era Calais had "Cadillac" written on the side of the car, very unusual for the '70's. It said "Calais" on the decklid--where other Caddys had "Cadillac" written. I guess that enabled them to make fewer "Calais" nameplates, on what was probably a low-volume model.

I bet the dashboard A/C vent block off plates were an even lower-volume item. That is really rare and not in a good way either. Too bad about the poor quality rattle can paintwork on the engine.

uplanderguy

I can remember one new '72 Calais four-door at our dealer's in town. Black. It quickly disappeared and I never saw it around town. It had zero options--zero. No A/C, blackwalls, and no radio! Black cloth interior. I remember as plain as day---the bottom of the sticker was $6,480. By that time, power windows were standard on all Cadillacs.

I find Calais models sort-of neat as they are so rarely seen.

I can see why some people bought them...the cheapest way to get into a Cadillac. It can be logically argued that a similarly-priced Ninety-Eight or Electra 225 had nicer trim or whatever, but for those for whom that name "Cadillac" really impressed...I can get it. The front clip of a Ninety-Eight or Electra was similar to a Delta 88 or LeSabre, but a Caddy is a Caddy. A Stude buddy of mine's parents had a string of new Cadillacs in Cleveland (they owned a bar and lived above it). Friend said they had Series 62 models which were renamed Calais in '65, and they also had a '65 Calais. They had Sedan deVilles after that though.

tjc78

uplanderguy said:

To have interiors this color again, sigh: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210915492299407&set=pcb.2053560851566771&type=3&theater&ifg=1

Ford did some Willow Green interiors in the early 90s on the Taurus/Sable and Panthers (maybe across the line, not sure).  Certainly much more subdued than that teal, but probably the last green interior since. 

uplanderguy

I can remember a friend's '87 Turbo Thunderbird having navy blue cloth inside too, very nice.

uplanderguy

Ford I think did stick with more interior colors than other makers, for longer.

I do think GM did interior door panels better than anyone for a long time. I always liked chromed door handles and power window switches. That Crown Vic above has plastic body-colored door handles. Not a fan. But of course, much-more common nowadays.

ab348

GM went through that same phase until the early to mid 2000s. My '02 Intrigue had interior-color plastic inside door handles. In fact there wasn't a single bit of bright trim inside that car. The infamous GM "sea of grey".

In terms of interior colors, GM offered a blue interior choice in Buick Centurys and Chevy Impalas until the mid-2000s. But it wasn't a '70s blue, being somewhat dark and muted.

fintail

My mom had a 93 Taurus in white with a blue velour interior (I called it the government fleet special although it was optioned better than a fleet car). The Tempo also had a blue interior in the fancier fabric. Blue interiors seem to be gone today other than on high end cars.

Mr_Shiftright

I remember seeing very early Karmann-Ghias with a corduroy interior.

kyfdx

My 911 had navy blue leather.

Mr_Shiftright

The ultimate pragmatic interior: