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

andre1969

Thanks guys, that's about what I thought. Unfortunately, my friend was at fault...made a left turn in front of the F350. He's still kicking himself about it, but it was just one of those things where, for whatever reason, it didn't register with him until it was too late. Fortunately, nobody was hurt. And, if it's any consolation, the F350 had to be towed, too. The bumper got bent, the front left tire got popped, and the fender was messed up.

And yeah, I was thinking that maybe he could try to sell it to someone who would replace the stuff that bolts on, bang out what needs banging, and it would soldier on as a taxi.

As for a replacement car, he briefly thought about trying to find another used Panther. I tried to talk him out of that...as much as I like them, the newest ones would be eight model years old now. Plus, they are popular with the cabbies, and the yo-boy/wanna-be-thug crowd, so they tend to get snatched up quickly. I just did a quick search on Cars.com, and within a 50 mile radius of my zipcode, a whopping 9 Crown Vics show up...4 of them ex police cars. 13 Grand Marquises, and 13 Town Cars. So, there's not exactly a glut of them. But, if he really wanted one and was willing to travel, he might be able to find something he likes.

stickguy

maybe a couple of year old Charger instead?

thebean

Love the license plate on that Grand Marquis - double 666's. That should be worth $50 all by itself.

andre1969

thebean said:

Love the license plate on that Grand Marquis - double 666's. That should be worth $50 all by itself.

Oh, I gotta confess...I did that. Photoshop

explorerx4

Blue and white Ford pickup. guessing around a 58. Nice condition and had a little rumble to it. White steering wheel.
Also, a silver Honda S2000, top up and a nice blue MGB, top down.

fintail

Saw a Z8 with hardtop on the road.

tjc78

andre1969 said:

Thanks guys, that's about what I thought. Unfortunately, my friend was at fault...made a left turn in front of the F350. He's still kicking himself about it, but it was just one of those things where, for whatever reason, it didn't register with him until it was too late. Fortunately, nobody was hurt. And, if it's any consolation, the F350 had to be towed, too. The bumper got bent, the front left tire got popped, and the fender was messed up.

And yeah, I was thinking that maybe he could try to sell it to someone who would replace the stuff that bolts on, bang out what needs banging, and it would soldier on as a taxi.

As for a replacement car, he briefly thought about trying to find another used Panther. I tried to talk him out of that...as much as I like them, the newest ones would be eight model years old now. Plus, they are popular with the cabbies, and the yo-boy/wanna-be-thug crowd, so they tend to get snatched up quickly. I just did a quick search on Cars.com, and within a 50 mile radius of my zipcode, a whopping 9 Crown Vics show up...4 of them ex police cars. 13 Grand Marquises, and 13 Town Cars. So, there's not exactly a glut of them. But, if he really wanted one and was willing to travel, he might be able to find something he likes.

If he really wants another Panther, check out EBay. Lots of low mileage Florida examples. Stay away from Vic’s and look for loaded Marquis. If you find one with the wood steering wheel 90% chance it’s not an ex rental.

Here is what your looking for. Southern car, all options (even has the handling package, based on the wheels). This is probably the holy grail of late run Panthers.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercury-Grand-Marquis-1-OWNER-83K-LS-ULITIMATE-EDITION-HEATED-LEATHER-LOADED-MAX/263872537573?hash=item3d700763e5:g:MtQAAOSw7BNbdMNP&vxp=mtr

ab348

stickguy said:

well, got me down the rabbit hole.

wish it was original colors, but man, I would love this. Not that I could ever afford the final price.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-porsche-911sc-12/

Hey Stick! This closes in 5 hours and is only $24K!!!

Mr_Shiftright

That would be a steal at that price, even though there was a color change. I wonder if there is a reserve on the car?

stickguy

Doesn’t say no reserve so must have one. I doubt it is met. But that site really should indicate if reserve isn’t met yet.

stickguy

And, I found this. So cool!

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1988-mazda-323-3/

ab348

It doesn't say but I suspect there is. The car is for sale at a dealer in Portland, Or called the "Avant Garde Collection", which is a Porsche specialist.

fintail

Too bad the 911 doesn't still have the Gemballa kit, I'd like to see that.

stickguy

And one of my HS dream cars! Yeah, I was automotively weird back then.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-mercury-capri-2/

stickguy

And finally, who wanted a prelude? Here’s your chance, to be like Bradd!

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2000-honda-prelude-8/

kyfdx

stickguy said:

And, I found this. So cool!

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1988-mazda-323-3/

I owned one of these in '93-'94. It was very nice.

stickguy

I knew someone around here had one of these.

stickguy

That white 911 was a reserve not met at $39,000. Ouch.

Mr_Shiftright

Given the color change, that final bid was very astute, and right on the money. Seller should have taken it.

jpp75

Wow. $400k already

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1967-toyota-2000gt/

stickguy

I was in at $375,000 but that was my cap.

Maybe I should stick with the Gremlin or the 1972 Capri they have running? More my speed.

jpp75

stickguy said:

I was in at $375,000 but that was my cap.

Maybe I should stick with the Gremlin or the 1972 Capri they have running? More my speed.

Ha! I say go for the Capri.

andre1969

stickguy said:

And one of my HS dream cars! Yeah, I was automotively weird back then.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-mercury-capri-2/

I always thought those Capris were pretty cool, when I was a kid. In an era when a lot of small cars looked cheap, weird, or both, I thought they looked pretty nice. Probably a fun car to toss around on a back winding road.

texases

The 'coming this season' ad for Wheeler Dealer shows them working on a Capri 2.

But that BAT is a Capri 1, as it says in the ad. Wonder why the link has "capri-2"...

fintail

Toobad the Capri isn't a preserved low mileage car - it'd probably bring 50K+ on BaT these days.

texases

Is the Capri Mk I the 'Ur-Merkur'?

ab348

stickguy said:

And one of my HS dream cars! Yeah, I was automotively weird back then.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-mercury-capri-2/

Like the song by The Northern Pikes, those Capri's ain't pretty, they just look that way.

Mr_Shiftright

jpp5862 said:

Wow. $400k already

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1967-toyota-2000gt/

It should bid to around $850K. The LHD models are worth about $100K more than RHD in the appropriate countries. The Mt. Everest of 2000GTs would be a 1970 with the SOHC engine & LHD combination. Only 9 of those were made.

jpp75

ab348

Kamo Karmann konvertible.

andre1969

A Roger Corman fan should buy that Karmann Ghia and build one of these...

uplanderguy

Seen last night at Discount Drug Mart near us, in a handicapped spot. Sure looked nice compared to all the silver and gray jellybeans near it, including mine.

Had a gold velour interior--not pillowed or loose-cushioned, but with buttons. Second-hand on the clock was still moving.

I'm guessing--I know it's a '77-79 but I don't remember the small details. But....that looks the most to me like a 1977 color as I remember full-size Chevys in that identical color.

ab348

The giveaway on the year would be a front end shot. My '79 Electra had a 1-year only front end that was pretty flat without the stepped-back look the headlights on the '77-78 had.

uplanderguy

A car friend and I were talking Sunday about how nice we thought the '77-79 GM full-sizes were. At a cruise was a '78 Catalina four-door sedan, in very nice original condition. What made it more neat was it had a 400 and the trailering suspension from the factory. Ordered by the current owner's grandfather.

Although I like the '78 and later midsize GM's, we both thought that GM did a better job overall with the full-size cars. The mid-sizes were even more dramatically shrunken, had features like no-roll-down sedan rear windows and compact spares, and as my friend pointed out, had the wheel cylinders that clipped in/on. His parents had a '78 Grand LeMans Safari wagon that he did like though. To me, the GM mid-sizes were nicer than Ford's but I think they were more expensive than Ford's.

omarman

Even in profile it looks like a '79 with the vertical leading edge of the fender. Very nice.

explorerx4

I want a Snickers bar.

andre1969

Yeah, I think that is a '79. The more slicked-back style of the '77-78 even carried over to the front edges of the fenders, I believe. Personally, I prefer the '77-78 style. I guess it was too similar to the LeSabre though, so Buick bulked the Electra up a bit and made it look more prominent for '79.

In the past, I used to hate brown cars, but my attitude on them has softened considerably in more recent years. I think it might depend on the shade of brown. To me, that one above looks nice. But, it might also have just enough chrome to complement it and tone it down, and the landau roof is a nice contrast.

ab348

This is my long-departed '79 Electra. This was a one-year-only front end. Back in 2001 I had to try to find a headlight door for it and that wasn't easy, but early internet searching eventually came up with one.



Fabulous car, but the auto climate control would sometimes go haywire on wet days and occasionally the windshield washers wouldn't shut off until you turned off the ignition. Never could figure those two out.

Being the Park Avenue level trim, it had the most incredible loose-pillow velour seats. As the late Tom McCahill famously wrote, it was like riding in a wheelchair upholstered in cream puffs.

omarman

ab348 said:

This is my long-departed '79 Electra...Being the Park Avenue level trim, it had the most incredible loose-pillow velour seats.

Brings back good memories, good times. My first impression of the new-for-1977 down-sized GM sedans was in a new Buick Park Avenue Limited that my aunt bought in '78. After that, I couldn't imagine not having the Park Avenue interior trim! It's funny what impressions stick with you about a new car but for me it was the door pulls.

iluvmysephia1

Plush interior, man!

tjc78

The late 70s high line Buicks were plush, but I think the last run Continental seats were awesome too.

Those pillow tops were thick

andre1969

I think a lot of high-line Ford products, in general, had really nice interiors around that timeframe. I remember one of my cousins having a 1979 Thunderbird, one of those designer trim levels like "Heritage" or "Jubilee" or something like that. The carpeting in the TRUNK would put most luxury car interiors to shame! And the interior was really plush and ritzy.

uplanderguy

Although they weren't pillow seats, I can remember the first new '77 Caprice Classic I'd seen, a coupe in two-tone gray/charcoal outside and bright red velour inside, with the chromed escutcheons around the inside door handles and velour on the door panels and thick carpeting everywhere. It was out back of Bob Mayberry Chevrolet in Sharon, PA, along with a Caprice Estate wagon. Both cars had a small crowd around them. I couldn't believe a Chevy could be so luxurious--previous ones weren't. Little did I know the 'pillow' thing would come in full-force shortly, although I don't think Caprice Classics had that look until the "Brougham" model of I think '86 and later.

uplanderguy

Was the look of the interior of ab348's '79 Park Avenue referred to as 'shirred'? I seem to remember that somewhere.

texases

Drove to work next to a '62 - '66 Beetle, looked good, had that mechanism on the trunk (hood?) that opens it at the top for added airflow. Not a bad idea for Dallas driving, assuming it works.

ab348

Nice day here today after a week of crummy weather and the Friday before a long weekend (Canadian Thanksgiving) so it seems a lot of people are taking the day off. I was out for a couple of hours running errands, etc and spotted a surprising number of old cars out and about.

The first was this 1941 or thereabouts Studebaker pickup, on display at a Home Hardware store, done up in their livery. Registered in the neighboring province of New Brunswick so it seems to be in good running order.



After that they just kept popping up. On a used car lot, a very nice looking 1980 Camaro RS claiming 60K miles, no rust and being completely original. I found the ad and it seems to be a pretty good buy at $9995CDN although it is just a 305/automatic car.




No pics on the rest, but shortly thereafter in a mall parking lot someone driving a 1967 Ford Custom sedan that looked very original but freshly painted pulled in as I was leaving. In that pastel non-metallic blue (Arcadian Blue I believe) so popular with Ford back then. Unusual to see such a basic car in such good condition.

A bit later, in another parking lot, a late '60s Ford Pickup, also very nice looking, higher-level trim with lots of moldings, white over yellow. The topper was when I was almost home and got to the intersection for my street, across from me at the stop sign was a Nash Metropolitan! I have not seen one of these in years here, much less out running around, blue over white. A good day for sightings!

stickguy

I’d like the Camaro, if it was a manual.

ab348

stickguy said:

I’d like the Camaro, if it was a manual.

You could drop a LS engine in it!!

fintail

At under 8K USD the Camaro is priced quite fair if it is as good as it looks. Seems to be some demand out there for nice ones even of the malaise years.

berri

Personally, I always though the early versions of those second gen GM pony cars were the cleanest styled ones. The latter second gen ones seem top get a bit fat. But they got more powerful and sold very well for a long time.