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

berri

Those Ranchero's certainly ran the spectrum in models and vehicle size.

explorerx4

@omarman,
Yes, 351 badge on the front fender. Hood was gloss black which didn't match the finish on the shaker.
Bias ply tires?

Mr_Shiftright

texases said:

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

The pre-war Rolls are pretty sturdy and reliable cars but the post-war models broke down all the time.

fintail

Another fun shot from the same episode, via imcdb. In this one, Wally is getting out of the 61 Plymouth, and this time it is actually a Plymouth:



Good view of the door panels. One can see a funny thing, there appears to be false B-pillars stuck inside the car, maybe to provide continuity for the scene apparently filmed inside a Ford?

ab348 said:

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

In today's edition of "Crazy Overpaying on BaT" we offer you this:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-ford-econoline-2/

A really nice example but I mean really... especially with 3 on the tree.

Mr_Shiftright

Brutal gas hogs. An automatic would have been a better choice but I guess this is as good as it gets for an old Econoline.

I mean, what other kind of van could you buy for a mere $34,000? Oh, actually....a 2018 Honda Odyssey.

xwesx

ab348 said:

In today's edition of "Crazy Overpaying on BaT" we offer you this:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-ford-econoline-2/

A really nice example but I mean really... especially with 3 on the tree.

Whew! I sort of like it... except that it is a slider. Man, those sliders were so horrifically problematic back then. Bay doors, like mine, were and ARE the way to go on these vans! All in all, given the choice between this one and my own, I would keep mine. And, $34,000?! OMG that guy would be considered a thief if the buyer was not of his own free will.

sda

A college friend's parents had a '69 Chateau in medium blue. It was fully equipped including a/c. I remember riding in it when it was extremely hot out and asked my friend if we could turn on the a/c. He said his dad took the belt off the compressor because the engine would overheat when the a/c was used. He also mentioned that he always kept a large distance between cars because the brakes were horrible. It was an automatic with the 302. Was the 302 the largest engine you could get? I always thought it was a neat van.

xwesx

sda said:

A college friend's parents had a '69 Chateau in medium blue. It was fully equipped including a/c. I remember riding in it when it was extremely hot out and asked my friend if we could turn on the a/c. He said his dad took the belt off the compressor because the engine would overheat when the a/c was used. He also mentioned that he always kept a large distance between cars because the brakes were horrible. It was an automatic with the 302. Was the 302 the largest engine you could get? I always thought it was a neat van.

I'm pretty sure the options were the 302 V8 or a straight six. Transmissions were either the three speed manual or three speed C4.

Mr_Shiftright

They rattled like crazy, too. Mostly from the doors.

Mr_Shiftright

I saw something interesting today--a Tesla Model S on a flatbed, crushed almost flat. Looks like a tree fell on it--at least I hope nobody was in it at the time. I checked local news for an incident but...nada....

ab348

Now here's something you don't see every day. Or maybe any day.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1962-humber-super-snipe/

PF_Flyer

andre1969 said:

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

There certainly would be enough fodder for "Highway Patrol 2018" This was early Saturday morning here. It used to be a Vette

fintail

I guess that's a Humber Super Snipe, that design lived well into the mid 60s. Ah Britain.

Trees have an uncanny way of winning vs cars.

andre1969

When I was younger, I didn't realize that a Humber was a real car. My first time even hearing about one was from this excerpt...
"A rat trotted lazily, lousily, across the cracked and blistered cement of the street. Across the way, the ancient and rusted skeleton of a 2013 Humber stood on decayed axles. It had been completely stripped, even to the wheel bearings and motor mounts, but the cops didn’t take it away. The cops rarely ventured south of the Canal anymore."

I'll just leave it there, to see if anybody knows what that's from...

xwesx

fintail said:

Trees have an uncanny way of winning vs cars.

Ugh; that poor tree! I don't know about "winning." I suspect that tree received fatal injuries. I see the damage on the front side there is definitely down to the heartwood, so fungal infection follows and, when weak enough, a slight breeze takes it down. Except, being along a road, they will probably just remove it before that happens.

xwesx

Mr_Shiftright said:

They rattled like crazy, too. Mostly from the doors.

I haven't noticed that. Of course, I don't even have any insulation in mine, so it is not exactly a quiet ride....

roadburner

PF_Flyer said:

There certainly would be enough fodder for "Highway Patrol 2018" This was early Saturday morning here. It used to be a Vette

Evolution in action- unfortunately it also destroyed a nice C7.

ab348

xwesx said:

fintail said:

Trees have an uncanny way of winning vs cars.

Ugh; that poor tree! I don't know about "winning." I suspect that tree received fatal injuries. I see the damage on the front side there is definitely down to the heartwood, so fungal infection follows and, when weak enough, a slight breeze takes it down. Except, being along a road, they will probably just remove it before that happens.

Normally I would question a large tree like that being so close to the curb, then I look and see a pretty narrow residential street and I conclude the Corvette driver was a total moron to be driving that fast in such a place.

omarman

The preliminary investigation suggests speed was a factor in the crash, police said.

ab348

According to the site linked, initial reports at 4:22AM said it was a car-motorcycle crash. It wasn't until the fire department arrived that they saw it was a single car split in half.

Michaell

I guess I'm surprised it wasn't a Mustang just a block from a Cars and Coffee...

Mr_Shiftright

"If you are a bad driver with a 200 HP car, you're going to be really awful with a 400 HP car"

roadburner

To quote Harry Callahan: "A man's GOT to know his limitations."

fintail

Poor tree then, but it did its job. With how close those houses are to the road, I suspect they weren't planted for shade.

xwesx said:

Ugh; that poor tree! I don't know about "winning." I suspect that tree received fatal injuries. I see the damage on the front side there is definitely down to the heartwood, so fungal infection follows and, when weak enough, a slight breeze takes it down. Except, being along a road, they will probably just remove it before that happens.

kyfdx

I bet they were a lot smaller, when planted.

Mr_Shiftright

There are some cars in which you do NOT slam the brakes or punch the gas unless you are pretty much pointed straight.

explorerx4

Some people love their Mustangs.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news/kids-buy-back-dads-beloved-mustang/ar-BBNttHr?li=BBnbcA1&ocid=DELLDHP

berri

That is a nice story. Sometimes we can lose sight of the good in this country.

ab348

Here's an interesting find on BaT, a 449-mile '72 Ford Gran Torino Squire wagon:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-ford-gran-torino-4/

Colors don't do much for me and Ford interiors left something to be desired back then, but what a time capsule!

explorerx4

@ab348,
I hate when you guys post stuff like that, it's everything I can do to resist going down that BAT rabbit hole.
Would have been a perfect car to live out a previous dream to deliver my kids to college in a (fake) wood sided wagon.

stickguy

I suppose I could read the write-up, but of all things to put away and never use. that is certainly one of them.

explorerx4

If you win a bid on BAT, I assume you can get an inspection done?
Really like this, although don't like the exhaust modification and too much effort put into the sound system(not needed).
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1983-porsche-911sc-18/

stickguy

I don't know what the terms are (and if they can hold you to anything) but I assume it is you win, you bought it. if you want an inspection, do it before you bid.

stickguy

man, I love that 911. I wish I had money to blow on it. Or even more money to blow on this one (which probably s a silly price for a clone)/

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1980-porsche-911-rs-tribute/

fintail

Talk about period colors. I can feel my thighs burning on that vinyl from here.

ab348

I don’t recall Ford interiors like the one in that Torino. “Ginger” vinyl upholstery in an unappealing mottled style, high-back front seat W/O a center armrest, black steering wheel, dark brown dash, and either black or dark brown carpet. Weird. 

andre1969

fintail said:

Poor tree then, but it did its job. With how close those houses are to the road, I suspect they weren't planted for shade.

xwesx said:

Ugh; that poor tree! I don't know about "winning." I suspect that tree received fatal injuries. I see the damage on the front side there is definitely down to the heartwood, so fungal infection follows and, when weak enough, a slight breeze takes it down. Except, being along a road, they will probably just remove it before that happens.

Heck, judging from the size of the trees, and the style of the houses, I wonder if they might have been planted back in an era where everybody thought the horseless carriage was just a passing fad? It also looks like a small-town residential neighborhood that should have a 25 mph or so speed limit.

Back in my soon to be old neighborhood (I'm not severing ties completely until I get a garage built at the new place) the telephone poles are right along the edge of the road, so close that they get hit from time to time. And, on the narrower parts of the road, there are trees growing right at the edge of the road...just natural forest.

At the new house, the roads are pretty rural, and again there are trees that are right along the road's edge. Most older neighborhoods actually seem to have the trees right at the curb like in that wreck scene above, usually separating it from the sidewalk. But, the difference seems to be that most of those neighborhoods have enough room to park a car at the curb. I think once buried utility lines became more common, that's when they quit planting the trees so close to the street in neighborhoods.

fintail

Also maybe the street has been widened. My mom lives in a small town with a lot of residental development during the first part of the 20th century, when they maybe didn't know how cars would take off. Some blocks have quite wide parking strips, but others have been narrowed, to allow 25 mph traffic and more parking.

andre1969 said:

Heck, judging from the size of the trees, and the style of the houses, I wonder if they might have been planted back in an era where everybody thought the horseless carriage was just a passing fad? It also looks like a small-town residential neighborhood that should have a 25 mph or so speed limit.

Back in my soon to be old neighborhood (I'm not severing ties completely until I get a garage built at the new place) the telephone poles are right along the edge of the road, so close that they get hit from time to time. And, on the narrower parts of the road, there are trees growing right at the edge of the road...just natural forest.

At the new house, the roads are pretty rural, and again there are trees that are right along the road's edge. Most older neighborhoods actually seem to have the trees right at the curb like in that wreck scene above, usually separating it from the sidewalk. But, the difference seems to be that most of those neighborhoods have enough room to park a car at the curb. I think once buried utility lines became more common, that's when they quit planting the trees so close to the street in neighborhoods.

Mr_Shiftright

stickguy said:

I don't know what the terms are (and if they can hold you to anything) but I assume it is you win, you bought it. if you want an inspection, do it before you bid.

Correct. A bid is supposed to be a contract, although I doubt that you could actually press that in court. eBay specifically states that bids on cars and real estate are NOT binding legally. However, reneging on a bid could get you kicked off eBay and/or banded as a deadbeat. Of course, that's also hard to enforce.

Interestingly BAT does not cover the subject of deadbeats; however they do state that no bid will be cancelled and that inspections are done prior to your bidding. I would never buy a car without an inspection. I've seen it done, I have friends who've done it, and 9 out of 10 times there's an issue---most "correctable" without severe pain, but a couple of real clunkers. I had one friend pay $110K for, let's say, an "exotic" car of sorts, and he's now into an engine rebuild. He's not totally bummed or anything, but now he's in deeper than he wanted to be.

PF_Flyer

omarman said:

The preliminary investigation suggests speed was a factor in the crash, police said.

That whole stretch of road is a 35mph residential zone. From the direction he was headed, this is the approach



The crash site is about 2 blocks past the crest of the hill. Going back from the accident scene, it's a 35 mph zone for well over a mile with multiple traffic lights. So I assume he was blasting along, got a little wide on the right hand bend, came over the crest of the hill a little light and lost it.

fintail

Series III XJ6 on the road, nice.

Mr_Shiftright

'85 & '86---the only XJ6 you'd dare even attempt to own.

ab348

Mr_Shiftright said:

Correct. A bid is supposed to be a contract, although I doubt that you could actually press that in court. eBay specifically states that bids on cars and real estate are NOT binding legally. However, reneging on a bid could get you kicked off eBay and/or banded as a deadbeat. Of course, that's also hard to enforce.

Interestingly BAT does not cover the subject of deadbeats; however they do state that no bid will be cancelled and that inspections are done prior to your bidding. I would never buy a car without an inspection. I've seen it done, I have friends who've done it, and 9 out of 10 times there's an issue---most "correctable" without severe pain, but a couple of real clunkers. I had one friend pay $110K for, let's say, an "exotic" car of sorts, and he's now into an engine rebuild. He's not totally bummed or anything, but now he's in deeper than he wanted to be.

BaT sellers (at least reputable ones) encourage inspections pre-sale. One thing I notice on there often is that the cars are known to people commenting who are local to the sale, and sometimes they offer to look one over for a prospective bidder. How many are truly impartial vs. seller shills I cannot say but my impression is that most are solid. I don't hear too much dissatisfaction with the place.

That said, a month or two ago I witnessed someone who was participating and commenting on a car actually win it, and he then promptly disappeared. BaT refunded the listing fee, re-listed the car, and banned the deadbeat bidder.

ab348

Today's cool BaT find is this 1946 Hudson Big Boy pickup:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1946-hudson-bigboy-pick-up/

I like Hudsons anyway and the pickup version is pretty rare. The dash is very period and lovely. Not sure how good they are as a truck (they remind me of a 1940s version of an El Camino) but really, who cares, you'll have the only one in town



.

xwesx

Neat truck! That hood though.... dwarfs the rest of the vehicle!

texases

'you'll have the only one in town'-
I think it'd be in the state, if not better!
How many restored, running ones are in the country?

fintail

No too old, but rare - Chrysler 200 retractable.

berri

Retractables - seems they had a run and disappeared like back in the late 50's?

fintail

Retractables seemed to be on the radar again around the turn of the century, stretching well into the 00s. I think the MB SLK brought the fad back in 1997, then the R230 SL in 2002, then there was a host of other less expensive models like the Eos and Volvo, and a couple Euro and Japanese cars not sold here.

On the obscure car note, another not old oddity - an Impala SS. Not the cool mid 90s version, not the oddball late 00s V8 FWD model, but the early 00s version, which was more of a trim package with I believe a 3.8. I remember seeing one on a lot around 2001-02, hadn't seen one in ages.