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

fintail

Looks similar to the Ballard Driving Academy car:

https://youtu.be/nyz6mkvlEgA

Which is also the Ballard police car:

https://youtu.be/hGlDVmBLibg

berri

Maybe a 63 Chevy II or Nova?

iluvmysephia1

'63 Chevy Nova II

fintail

I saw a Chevette on the road today, in aged but OK condition. I think it was around a 1980 model, had the updated rear end but the front kind of looked older.

andre1969

I was watching the local classic tv station this morning, and just noticed...the new Chevies are out!!

berri

I always associate My Three Sons with Pontiac, forgot they had a few years with Chevy.

fintail

When that show was in reruns when I was a kid in the 80s, I always thought the credits with the cars were an obvious ad. Maybe the sharpest product placement among all of the period shows (Mopar for Leave it to Beaver, Ford on Dennis the Menace, Pontiac on I Dream of Jeannie, etc).

andre1969

I always associated My Three Sons with Pontiac, as well. I think that's because, when I was a kid, they only showed reruns of the color episodes, and by that time, they had switched to Pontiac as a sponsor. But, for the first few years, it was Chevy.

MeTV is currently running season one. Mr. Douglas is driving a '61 Chevy wagon, and it's featured fairly prominently in a lot of episodes. The oldest kid, Mike, drives a 39 Chevy convertible that's been rodded. That was another thing I had to get used to, when I got older, and saw the black and white episodes for the first time...Mike, Robby, and Chip as the sons. Oh, and William Frawley as Bub. I always grew up with it being Robbie, Chip, Ernie, and then Dodie, as the kids, and William Demarest as Uncle Charley!

Some of those old tv shows were quite amusing, with their product placement. I recall an episode of the old Burns and Allen Show where they don't even cut to a commercial. Right there, on the set, they'd start talking to the audience, and talk about Carnation condensed milk and their contented cows and whatnot! I want to say that there were some episodes of "The Donna Reed Show", where they'd show cans of Campbell's Soup in the closing credits. And even in "The Twilight Zone", they'd slip some kind of product placement into the closing credits every once in awhile, but I can't recall what it was.

IIRC, "I Love Lucy" used to have Phillip Morris all over its credits, when it was first-run. But, all that's long since been altered, as the now-famous opening showing the silk heart was added decades ago, in syndication.

Oh, yeah, almost forgot...caught a few minutes of Beaver this morning as well. Mr. Cleaver was driving a '62 Plymouth. I always thought it was interesting, too, that in the first two seasons of Leave it to Beaver, Ford supplied the cars. Yet, Ward always drove the same 1957 Custom 4-door sedan. Beaver also came out in the fall of '57, so they actually had Ward driving what was about to become last year's model! No doubt they did that because, when filming started, the '58's probably weren't out yet. But, Ward never did get a new car. In the second season, he still had the same '57, as far as I can remember.

But then, when the show switched production companies (and networks, and automotive sponsors), suddenly he was getting a new Plymouth every season! Seems like Ford didn't use the show to show off its cars, like Mopar did.

I believe the town of Mayberry switched loyalties later on, as well. During the run of "Andy Griffith", it was always a Ford town, but when it became "Mayberry RFD", it went to Mopar. Oh, and while we always tend to associate "Green Acres" with a Continental convertible, there was an episode of "Petticoat Junction" that had Lisa Douglas in it. But, since Mopar sponsored that show, they put Lisa in a '68 Chrysler 300!

PF_Flyer

berri said:

Maybe a 63 Chevy II or Nova?

'63 Chevy II it is... from Seven Days in May... and the one in the background of this still IS an obscure one for you to chew on

ab348

andre1969 said:

Some of those old tv shows were quite amusing, with their product placement. I recall an episode of the old Burns and Allen Show where they don't even cut to a commercial. Right there, on the set, they'd start talking to the audience, and talk about Carnation condensed milk and their contented cows and whatnot!

Back in the 1950s that was quite common as sponsors produced a lot of the shows, so they integrated themselves into the presentation. If you ever see clips of old "What's My Line" shows on Youtube, things promoting the Remington shaver are all over the set. Even into the '70s you would have Ed McMahon doing live commercials on-set of the Tonight Show for Alpo dog food, which sometimes became funny.

andre1969 said:

I believe the town of Mayberry switched loyalties later on, as well. During the run of "Andy Griffith", it was always a Ford town, but when it became "Mayberry RFD", it went to Mopar. Oh, and while we always tend to associate "Green Acres" with a Continental convertible, there was an episode of "Petticoat Junction" that had Lisa Douglas in it. But, since Mopar sponsored that show, they put Lisa in a '68 Chrysler 300!

I always found that Continental odd. Green Acres and Petticoat Junction were from the same production company that did The Beverly Hillbillies (which started it all). That show was always affiliated with Chrysler Corp. of course, which made the Lincoln seem strange. I don't know if they gave Ford a reference in the credits in Green Acres the way they did with Chrysler on Hillbillies.

Of course the all-time automotive company relationship with a TV show was Ford with "The F.B.I." starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr.. They had a whole fleet of vehicles, both current model-year and older ones, all Fords, that they used in the show, even big Ford trucks. Only rarely if they were doing a location shot would you see other makes in the background.

stickguy

That a corvair van in the still shot?

PF_Flyer

stickguy said:

That a corvair van in the still shot?

Ding ding!

fintail

Car with door open might be a 63 Galaxie, assumed a hardtop, which is an unusual choice for a police car.

PF_Flyer

Hard to tell, but I don't think it's the rampside pickup version

fintail

When I was a kid seeing these old shows in reruns, I didn't care much for My Three Sons, but I liked Dennis the Menace and Leave to Beaver - both were also good for car spotting.

Looking at imcdb, I found a shot from an episode I remember. Beaver and his friend were playing in Ward's parked car, they moved it out of gear, and it rolled back out of the driveway. Wally moved it back, and got in trouble. A 61 Plymouth 4 door HT has to be insanely rare today:

PF_Flyer

fintail said:

Car with door open might be a 63 Galaxie, assumed a hardtop, which is an unusual choice for a police car.

Hardtop for sure

ab348

fintail said:

Looking at imcdb, I found a shot from an episode I remember. Beaver and his friend were playing in Ward's parked car, they moved it out of gear, and it rolled back out of the driveway. Wally moved it back, and got in trouble. A 61 Plymouth 4 door HT has to be insanely rare today:

That thing is so ugly it's cool. I'd love to have one like it.

kyfdx

Just spotted a GMC Syclone, this morning.. that has to be a rare occurence

andre1969

One of my friends actually did that, when he was a kid. I think the car was a '68 Pontiac Catalina. It was in their driveway, and I don't think it had tags on it. Well, he and one of his friends were playing in it, got it in gear, and it rolled out into the street and blocked it.

I don't think the cops got involved, but Code Enforcement did. This was in Bowie, Maryland, which some of the locals joke about being the country's largest HOA. There actually is no "official" HOA, but they do have city government, which throw a whole bunch of rules at you beyond the county level, and they have their own code enforcement office. Anyway, I think as a result, they ended up getting rid of the car.

sometimes, watching those old tv shows, it's interesting to see the things that society didn't think twice about, that would be mortal sins nowadays. For instance, there was one episode of "My Three Sons", where some new neighbors moved in across the street. They had a '61 Chevy wagon, identical to Mr. Douglas's. Well, the moving van was in the way, so when he came home, he parked in front of the new family's house. The new people had a baby, and to keep the kid out of the way, they had the mother in law actually take the baby and put it out in the back of the wagon, so it could sleep quietly! The mother in law put it in the Douglas's wagon by mistake, and the usual comedic antics ensued.

Still, WHO DOES THAT? Car's sitting out there, at the curb, unlocked, rear window open. Just imagine the outcry if someone left an infant in the car like that today!

berri

I recall that the old Broderick Crawford TV series "Highway Patrol" had this 57 Ford 4dr sedan that sometimes was a bad guys car and sometimes a plain wrapper cop car. The show really had a series of different cop cars including Mercury's, Olds and Buick's. Actually I thought it was a decent cop show, but just the vehicles alone were worth the viewing.

explorerx4

Seven Days in May, I was going to say that, but I was thinking to myself, I couldn't possibly figure that out from 1 picture.

andre1969

I've caught a few episodes of "Highway Patrol". Toward the end of the run, they seemed to show a lot of "Forward Look" era Mopars. I remember when they'd show the occasional chase, the Mopars seemed to handle well, corner flat, remain stable, etc, but the other cars seemed to toss so bad you could almost get seasick just watching it.

berri

In the earlier episodes he mostly drove a Buick, but sometimes an Olds or Mercury. You may have seen replica's of his '55 Buick at old car shows. What I remember most about police cars from those days is that the Illinois State Police had these huge whip antennas that curved down over the rear quarter panel. I think communications was mostly VHF back then. so distance meant greater antenna length. They looked kind of cool though to a kid.

imidazol97

I remember watching Crawford with the '55 Buick. I was in love with that program.

fintail

Ward's previous car, another quite rare one today:



On the unusual TV car note, I am reminded via imcdb that there were several 60 Fords on Dennis the Menace. One oddball I like is the Galaxie 4 door HT ("Town Victoria") with the unique notch at the C-pillar. I remember this episode, too:



I don't think I've seen a 60 Ford 4 door HT in person

ab348 said:

That thing is so ugly it's cool. I'd love to have one like it.

andre1969

There was actually an episode of Leave it to Beaver where, thanks to the use of stock footage, they showed Ward pulling up in his '60 Plymouth (might have even been that same shot above) but then, they cut to him pulling up and stopping in front of the garage, and getting out of a '61!

PF_Flyer

explorerx4 said:

Seven Days in May, I was going to say that, but I was thinking to myself, I couldn't possibly figure that out from 1 picture.

Trust the Force

Mr_Shiftright

imidazol97 said:

I remember watching Crawford with the '55 Buick. I was in love with that program.

"OK YOU PUNKS. OUTTA THE CAR!"

andre1969

I just looked up "Highway Patrol" on youtube, and they actually have complete episodes! One of the first cars I saw, after the opening credits, just had to be this...



How DeLightful

fintail

The 61 Plymouth 4 door HT episode also had a fun continuity quirk.

The car is obviously a hardtop, as shown here:



But in this scene (dig that square translucent wheel), voila, it's a pillared car:

kyfdx

Mr_Shiftright

They got the steering wheel right, though.

berri

Oh that Whitey, always getting the Beav in trouble. Must have hot wired the neighbor's car! Wonder where his friend Larry Mondelo went after a couple of years?

So kyfdx, did that continental kit strike you as a target bulls eye?

fintail

Saw an older (early 90s style ) Mazda MPV on the road today, in good shape, with the kooky old man package - numerous bumper stickers, and whitewalls!

andre1969

Something about that interior doesn't look right. The pattern on the door, shape of the windows and C-pillar make me think of a 1961 Ford! But, a Ford wouldn't have that funky steering wheel, would it?

On the flip side of that though, I recall seeing an episode of "Andy Griffith" not too long ago, where the police car was a '61 or '62 Ford when they showed the exterior, but something about the interior made me think of a pillared 60-62 Mopar 4-door.

kyfdx

berri said:

Oh that Whitey, always getting the Beav in trouble. Must have hot wired the neighbor's car! Wonder where his friend Larry Mondelo went after a couple of years?

So kyfdx, did that continental kit strike you as a target bulls eye?

I’m always disappointed when I see a Continental kit. That rig passed me, as I was waiting to pull out of a parking lot. Really nice looking car, other than that.

fintail

I think you are on to something. A quick google shows no images of a 61 Plymouth with a similar door panel. But one of the first results for a 61 Ford shows this:



The window shape really resembles a 61 Ford, and we don't see the dash, so the steering wheel might just be a loose prop. The seat looks like a period Mopar style, with the higher back drivers seat. But the car really looks like a Ford.

andre1969 said:

Something about that interior doesn't look right. The pattern on the door, shape of the windows and C-pillar make me think of a 1961 Ford! But, a Ford wouldn't have that funky steering wheel, would it?

On the flip side of that though, I recall seeing an episode of "Andy Griffith" not too long ago, where the police car was a '61 or '62 Ford when they showed the exterior, but something about the interior made me think of a pillared 60-62 Mopar 4-door.

explorerx4

Not a fan of continental kits.
This one looks like it has gutters for bowling balls.
https://newlondon.craigslist.org/cto/d/1962-ford-galaxie-500-sport/6685316653.html

imidazol97

Continental kits were more common on T-Birds in this area than on other vehicles. My high school buddy's uncle had a T-Bird with the kit. We got to take it for a night out cruising from small town to small town from one drive in snack place to another (Like Frisch's/Big Boy with car hops).

ab348

For a while, continental kits were like spotlights. It seemed everyone who restored a 'late '50s car threw them on. Thankfully I am seeing much fewer of them of late. Can't saw I ever thought one of them looked good on a car.

ab348

fintail said:

The window shape really resembles a 61 Ford, and we don't see the dash, so the steering wheel might just be a loose prop. The seat looks like a period Mopar style, with the higher back drivers seat. But the car really looks like a Ford.

I think you are right. Add to your info the funky-looking steering column which looks like the one Ford had in those days. Here is a shot from the '61 Ford brochure that gives another view of those door panels.

ab348

explorerx4 said:

Not a fan of continental kits.
This one looks like it has gutters for bowling balls.
https://newlondon.craigslist.org/cto/d/1962-ford-galaxie-500-sport/6685316653.html

I didn't know that Ford offered a factory continental kit for the '61 Ford. No mention of one in the '62 brochure though. probably because of the bumper design and the effect you describe. The '61 version didn't even actually contain the spare if you read the copy.

Mr_Shiftright

explorerx4 said:

Not a fan of continental kits.
This one looks like it has gutters for bowling balls.
https://newlondon.craigslist.org/cto/d/1962-ford-galaxie-500-sport/6685316653.html

The car looks to be something of a rat.

stickguy

was in cape may this weekend, and saw a few interesting cars out and about. A 1960 something Jeepster, a 65+ Corvair convertible (dark red, looked really sharp), and what I believe to be a real Porsche 356 drop top. did not see badging though. Along with a few C2 vettes, and a 1970ish beetle.

sda

My first car was a '62 Galaxie (basic) just like this one except in ming green with the turquoise interior similar to the one pictured here and the same color that fintail showed with the '61 interior shot. I think the only options on my '62 was the 292 V8, am radio, heater and full wheel covers. Manual steering, brakes, 1 speed wipers, no back up lights, driver door mirror, or seat belts. Not sure what rear axle ratio it had, but the 292 was hardly quick and tended to run hot. For $100 it served me well.

texases

Just got back from a driving vacation in Ireland. While driving north of Galway we passed a number of old Rolls Royce classics, including a number of pre-WWII models, going the other way. The wife asked 'what happens if one breaks down?' Five minutes later we passed 3 on the shoulder, one with the hood up.

Turns out it made the news. Very neat!
https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/ghost-tour-30-vintage-rolls-royce-cars-are-travelling-ireland-354476.html

explorerx4

@texases
30 old Rolls on a tour must have been a sight to see! Next year's tour in New Mexico will quite a change.

explorerx4

I think I mentioned seeing this car a while back. Saw it in the same place today, so I thought I'd take a picture, although not a good one. White sticker says Powered by Holman Moody.


Also saw a very nice 69 red Mustang fastback. No Mach 1 decals, but sounded better than stock.

berri

The red 62 Galaxie w/ continental kit looked a bit like a large piece of lawn equipment

omarman

Looks like 1970 Ranchero 500 (GT?) with, I think, a 351 fender emblem. Can't be many left. I like it