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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)
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2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
Saw a red 67 Camaro on a flatbed today, it was a convertible, and the top was down. It was raining. Oops!
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http://www.flickriver.com/groups/2224087@N22/pool/random/
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I kinda liked the dash layout of these cars. Nothing fancy, but functional. However, I guess they were a little too "corporate"...whether you got a stripper Fury/Monaco, or a fully decked-out Cordoba or Magnum XE, it was the same basic dash. I always liked the fact though, that they'd at least throw in a temperature gauge, and I believe an amp gauge, as standard equipment.
I didn't realize they were still using a 2.71:1 axle as late as '77. It's hardly a musclecar, but that might at least let it rev up some, and pleasantly surprise you on occasion. My '76 LeMans is stuck with a 2.41:1, and wnen you stomp on it, you can tell it WANTs to go faster, but that gearing just won't cooperate.
For the most part, I didn't like these cars when I was younger, because I tended to associate them with police cars, taxi cabs, and just cheap, basic cars. Ford and GM seemed like they did a beter job of making their competing cars seem upscale...even if it was mostly just marketing and styling. But, I think the '75-78 B-body coupe style is pretty attractive, and actually looks upscale. I guess they restyled it so that it could share more of its architecture with the Cordoba, and that's how it got that personal luxury coupe look.
A 60s or 70s Citroen 4 Door. A 1970 vetted in a driveway. A cobra, almost positive a real one. And a red 1960 Porsche 365. Other than the vette, all just driving around.
Going to the auto museum tomorrow.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
But I never pass judgement on wearing plaids or the white shoes/white belt look for guys trying to look like a model or a movie star.
They'd go with a 70s Caddy for sure.
That movie never gets old.
Oh, Ed Higgins from "The Family/Mama's Family" and Herb Tarlek from "WKRP in Cincinnati" also wore white shoes, so Clark was in good company, when he put those shoes on! Plus, Herb drove a 2nd-generation Cordoba, so you know he was a classy guy
I still use that one at mealtime at family gatherings.
One may remember at Cousin Eddie's house, there's a 67 Imperial Crown in the driveway, a rare car, but just an old dinosaur then.
Here's the Imperial (and Dinky) courtesy imcdb:
Happy Father's Day weekend to all.
And some cool 50s cars at the auto museum.
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We aren’t attending ... way too nice to stay off the beach.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
It took me back, for sure. For some reason, in that era big Chevy, it seems '72's are more-often-seen than '71's, which I think might be due to the big strike GM took in the '71 model run.
My 21-year-old daughter, who has seen a Studebaker in our family for more years than not, said, "That car looks ridiculous". I guess in width and length, it would, compared to anything she has been used to seeing on the road. But I was happy to see it.
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For '68 you could order special instrumentation for V8 models which included tach, ammeter, temp and oil gauges. But in 1969 you could only get either a tach or a clock for the right side of the IP. My brother's '69 Impala had a blank "clock face" on the right and fuel gauge on the left of the speedometer. But at least it had an "all transistor" radio.
I've read that there was something new for the '69 Impala/Caprice which I've never actually seen: headlight washers. Optional across the big car line but standard for cars with hidden headlamps.
I thought the '69 body was a decent design but the track was too narrow for those bulging fenders, and the dash was a step backwards from '68 and especially the '67.
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I think the '67 instrument panel, though, was the best ever in a full-size Chevy.
I might also be biased, because my grandparents had a '72, and I loved it as a kid. But, I liked the lower grille that made it seem sleek and sporty...kind of upscale but without going pretentious. And with the taillights in the larger bumper, there were fewer pieces to get misaligned. Plus, the gap between the bumper and the trunk lid was pretty big, so even if it WAS misaligned, it wasn't as noticeable...
I think the '73 was probably my least favorite. I didn't like the front-end, with the heavier bumper and full-width grille with the "floating" headlights in it. The rear treatment seemed more awkward as well, with the taillights now separated...and not always aligned evenly. It just seemed pimpy and not too tasteful, overall. I still think I'd take an Impala over a Galaxie or Fury that year, though.
The '74 was a definite improvement, I though. The grille/headlight treatment is more attractive, to my eye, and while the taillights were back above the bumper, the rear seemed more finished-off, than the '71 did to me.
I do like the '75-76 as well, although I do lament the passing of the true hardtop coupe, which saw its last appearance as the '75 Impala. But, I like the front-end treatments, which were basically a carryover of the '74 and '75 Caprice, respectively, just with simpler grille designs. One thing that does seem a bit off to me though...with the more squared-off 4-door sedan and especially the 4-door hardtop roofline, the rear decks just seem stubbier than in '71-74. I think it's because the roofline might cut back a bit further in the later models, so the rear window meets the rear deck a bit further back.
Going back to the whole "upscale without being pretentious thing", that might be one reason why I like big Buicks so much from '71-76. I think the only year Buick I really don't care for in that timeframe is the '74. I just don't like the widely-spaced headlights. That would probably be the one year I'd pick a Delta 88 over a LeSabre, or a Ninety-Eight over an Electra.
And, even though I tend to lean towards Pontiacs, I think they're my least favorite, in general, of the '71-76 GM big cars. The styling was just too over-done, trying to evoke a little Grand Prix, maybe some late 30's style, still trying to be sporty but just coming off as over-styled and pimpy. And the Grand Ville always bugged me. I wonder how much effort they wasted trying to force-fit a C-body roof onto a B-body. It might have been easier to just let Pontiac use the C-body, although I guess the folks at Buick/Olds/Cadillac wouldn't have liked that. And, to be fair, the Grand Ville actually sold fairly well, in '71-73 at least. Anyway, with these beasts, it's the '75-76 style that I like the best, as I think the squared-off, more formal look worked better than the overly curvy '71-74 models. But, performance was way down by then, and they started trimming models. Catalina lost the 4-door hardtop after '74, while Bonneville got the Grand Ville treatment, and in the process lost the 4-door pillared sedan. Bonneville/Grand Ville also lost the hardtop coupe after '74.
Oh, and as for sales, they definitely made more '72 Impalas (and probably just about everything else) than '71. The convertible sold 4576 in '71, 6456 in '72, and, as the Caprice, 7339 for '73. The '73 increase was especially interesting, as the move to Caprice caused its price to jump around $365. In comparison, other models just went up around $50-60 for the most part. Also, as a Caprice, it still just pretty much had the Impala interior, rather than the ritzier interior that other Caprice models had. So, I don't know what actual content you really got, to justify the price. Did the Caprice come with a bigger standard engine back then? Maybe the Impala's base V-8 was a 350, while the Caprice may have been a 400?
In that truck, it looked really odd, because the interior was mostly red and burgundy, and about as upscale as a pickup got in those days. So that black steering wheel just looked out of place. But, that's how it had always been. It had just been awhile since I had been in the truck, and I had forgotten, I guess.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I had actually seen this house two years ago, when it went on the market, and remembered seeing this car under a tarp back then. Well, the house got taken off the market, and I wasn't quite "there yet" financially, so it just wasn't meant to be.
Gotta admit, this time around, I'm mildly considering it. It's on 6.5 acres, and actually looks like the kind of place you could let a car sit, forget about it, and the county wouldn't get on you. I know most people probably don't consider that a selling point, but then I'm not most people
I like the front and rear of the '72's probably the best, and I liked the Impala's seat trim that year better, but I hated how the Impala got a standard body side molding but had no rocker trim at all. I liked the '71 wide rocker trim--the car could even get away without the optional wheel opening trim then I think. Even the '72 Biscayne and Bel Air had smallish standard rocker panel moldings and could be optioned with more exterior trim than Impalas. WTH? LOL
I have to confess though, that I kinda like the clipped corners of the '75/76 models, although I remember seeing a '75 Impala hardtop coupe for sale at Carlisle a couple months ago, and it just struck me as a really handsome car. I thought it really stood out, and showed how even a "cheap" car in those days was still something that you could be proud of. Something about the proportioning of the front-end just seems "right" to me. The grille just seems like the proper height and width, and a decent texture, headlights seem properly placed, creases, fender blades, even the shape of the bumper, just all seems to come together right. In contrast, I don't find the front-end of a '75 LTD, or Gran Fury Brougham, to be nearly as pleasing to my eye. I do like the base Gran Fury, the one with the quad headlights and more full-width grille. I think it looks really attractive, but doesn't have the "upscale" look that the upright grilles of the other cars were going for.
Everyone's tastes are different of course but I really did not like the '72 styling at all. Even the '73 looked better to me. The '74 and '75 Impala front ends were good. Didn't care for the slanted headlights in '76. I agree that the '74 sport coupe looked good to me, better than the custom coupe.
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My great-uncle had a '74 Impala with the 400. I think it was the Custom Coupe, but can't remember for sure. He used it to tow a 30 foot Terry camping trailer. Around 1984, he gave it to his neighbor, who pulled the engine out and junked the body, which was pretty rusty by that time. He rebuilt and hopped up the engine, and threw it in a race car. I didn't know that the 400 was a good engine for that...I'd always heard it was a weak block because it was bored out so far, and was siamesed so cooling could be an issue.
The Impala gave way to an '84 Monte Carlo with a V-6 that couldn't tow anything, but by that time they were using an '80 Chevy 3/4 ton pickup to tow the trailer. It had a 350. I know the 350's were all 4-bbl in cars by that time, so I'd presume they were in trucks, as well?
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Chevrolet/1975_Chevrolet/1975_Chevrolet_Brochure/1975 Chevrolet Full Size-06.html
I have to laugh; there's a page in the brochure making a big hubbub about the new glued-on side moldings. I plainly remember ones a year old with the moldings having fallen off, LOL.
Not a fan of the '75 Impala's full wheelcovers--resembles a moon with trim ring. Although I don't love them, I'd have had to buy the optional wire wheelcovers on an Impala that year--and I wouldn't have ordered the skirts as shown on the car in the brochure.
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