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

explorerx4

The Cardinal refers to a tree, thus the mascot.

omarman

explorerx4 said:

The Cardinal refers to a tree, thus the mascot.

Excerpt from the gostanford.com site:
Since 1981, Stanford has been known as the Cardinal. Stanford was known as the "Indians" from 1930-72. As for the mascot, Stanford does not officially have one. The "Tree," which is a member of the Stanford Band, has been mistaken as the school’s mascot, but it is not.

The Nickname: The nickname for Stanford is the Cardinal – in reference to one of the school colors (and is therefore in the singular).

uplanderguy

Some deja vu for me today. I loved these cars when new, although it's from the era of ridiculous use-of-space. The Grand Prix had it all over it in instrument panel, but I thought the exterior of these cars was the best of all four GM coupes--personal opinion only of course. Only the Grand Prix and Monte had the four-inch longer wheelbase (116"), which of course was all up front.

This one is bone-stock, and I know these cars from new. Factory vinyl top--the moldings around the rear window is vinyl; many of these where I'm from had dealer-installed vinyl tops which didn't include that feature. I like that it has the optional bumper strips which cover all those bumper bolts. To me, these cars looked better without the optional side molding this one has, just slapped down the side, but most of them came this way.

I always liked the five-slot Rally Wheels, which only Chevelles and Monte Carlos were using by that time. The Rally Wheels on Camaros and Novas were a different style. The more-expensive Landau model Monte Carlo came with those urethane wheels which to me don't look as good.

Too bad there's some perforation in front of the one wheel opening.

The Custom Interior option was plusher inside. This is the absolute standard interior.

IMHO the '76 was the best of the '73-77 run. I like the stacked headlights (although I know many don't); I like the full-height taillights, and the lack of a hood ornament. (The car is 'baroque' enough to not need one!) Where I'm from, a lot of these cars were the 305 but this is the 350.

To me, too, this is how all online ads should be, in terms of pictures.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1976-Chevrolet-Monte-Carlo-100-pics/163345832513?hash=item26082b9a41:g:e6sAAOSwBgZb2QNU:rk:3:pf:1&vxp=mtr&frcectupt=true

fintail

When I was a kid in the mid 80s, our backyard neighbors had a 76-77 Monte, dark blue with matching interior. I assume it wasn't a landau, as it had those same rally wheels. It was the wife's car, but the husband was very proud of it, I swear he washed it every other day. They also had a fancy trim mid 80s GM squarebody pickup in a similar dark blue. Funny, I can't remember some things I did last week, but I remember what neighbors drove 30+ years ago.

Too bad that car didn't live in the PNW, there might be no rust repairs. When I see PA, I think "tough on cars".

uplanderguy

PA, at least NW PA where I'm from, was indeed tough-on-cars. It's surprising this car looks as nice as it does. A friend to whom I sent this ad, who buys and sells cars, said it must not have been outside much either as that color is 'fragile'.

I like that it doesn't have the so-often-applied aftermarket pinstriping. If it did, the seller might-well claim it as 'original', LOL.

When I was at Hershey, walking through the car corral, the stuff I heard coming out of sellers' mouths about "Totally original" (on a car I know in my sleep and it wasn't original interior); "Original paint" (black late-'40's car that looks like a mirror), etc.! "Caveat emptor", indeed.

uplanderguy

Just noticed in the pic of the right C-pillar, this car has a "Landau" emblem on only that side.

Again, that is a factory vinyl top. Sad to say, that kind of thing was not all-that-unusual then. I could rattle off far-more-egregious things of that nature I saw make it to the dealer.

tjc78

fintail said:

When I was a kid in the mid 80s, our backyard neighbors had a 76-77 Monte, dark blue with matching interior. I assume it wasn't a landau, as it had those same rally wheels. It was the wife's car, but the husband was very proud of it, I swear he washed it every other day. They also had a fancy trim mid 80s GM squarebody pickup in a similar dark blue. Funny, I can't remember some things I did last week, but I remember what neighbors drove 30+ years ago.

Too bad that car didn't live in the PNW, there might be no rust repairs. When I see PA, I think "tough on cars".

I know alot of the neighbor's cars growing up;

some highlights:

86 Chrysler 5th Ave
86ish Alfa Spider Veloce (same house as 5th Av)
first gen Taurus wagon
78/79 Grand Marquis
80's Corolla
Lot's Chrysler Minivans in varying trims

roadburner

I'm sure I mentioned this before, but I bought(with the help of my dad) a new 1974 Monte Carlo Landau with the base 350 2V. I think Car and Driver timed its 0-60 time in the mid 12s. A real yawner.

I re-curved the distributor and installed a Mallory Unilite pointless ignition(the idiot dealer had deleted the HEI on the order sheet to save a few bucks). I also added an Edelbrock Performer two-plane manifold and Q-Jet, a Crane Hi-Torque cam, Blackjack 1 5/8" headers. a 2 1/2" dual exhaust with Cherry Bomb Q mufflers, a B&M Trans-Pak shift kit, a Hayden 15,000 lb. GVW cooler, and a 3:42 rear gear set.

I also upgraded the lighting(Cibie "off road only" Z Beam 7" H4 halogens), and the audio system(Pioneer in-dash AM-FM w/Dolby Cassette, 6X9 20 oz. coaxials, and an AD-304 power amp with a whopping 15 wpc!).

I left the suspension alone except for adding Michelin tires, since even Road & Track thought it handled pretty well.

The result was very quick for its time(1974-1983 or so). It would chirp the tires on the 1-2 upshift at 35 mph and on the 2-3 upshift at 70 mph. Not bad for a 4200 lb. barge. I sold it in 1989 and it was still running strong...

fintail

Yeah, some people confuse "original", with "restored to original" (which isn't the same as "restored", which can have incorrect materials). To me, "totally original" means only consumables have been replaced - finishes and materials are original to the car. Restored to original means original colors and materials.

I suspect some of those Montes at 40 years old are like they were in PA at under 10 years old.

uplanderguy said:

PA, at least NW PA where I'm from, was indeed tough-on-cars. It's surprising this car looks as nice as it does. A friend to whom I sent this ad, who buys and sells cars, said it must not have been outside much either as that color is 'fragile'.

I like that it doesn't have the so-often-applied aftermarket pinstriping. If it did, the seller might-well claim it as 'original', LOL.

When I was at Hershey, walking through the car corral, the stuff I heard coming out of sellers' mouths about "Totally original" (on a car I know in my sleep and it wasn't original interior); "Original paint" (black late-'40's car that looks like a mirror), etc.! "Caveat emptor", indeed.

fintail

I can think back to when I was 4 or 5 - next door was a downsized Caprice sport coupe, next to that was a new Subaru GL, family across the street had a RX7, Blazer, and Vega wagon, other neighbors had a Volvo wagon and Jeep, I think.

tjc78 said:

I know alot of the neighbor's cars growing up;

some highlights:

86 Chrysler 5th Ave
86ish Alfa Spider Veloce (same house as 5th Av)
first gen Taurus wagon
78/79 Grand Marquis
80's Corolla
Lot's Chrysler Minivans in varying trims

fintail

Saw some fun cars last night, as I watched part of CHiPs, then Amityville II.

CHiPs had a lovely Excalibur Series II in a period color (I had an interest in neoclassics when I was a kid - most I thought were terrible, but Excaliburs were somehow fine)



Also the stripe package Accord Andre mentioned:



This episode also featured a T-Bird restoration shop, apparently already a thing in the late 70s:



Amityville featured a family who liked Fox cars, with a Granada wagon:



And a Continental:

Mr_Shiftright

The very early Excaliburs (Series I, late 60s), can fetch a decent price even today.

uplanderguy

As you know, Studebaker had an interest in the Excalibur early-on, and an early prototype, at least, was built on a Studebaker chassis with the supercharged Stude V8 and was called the "Studebaker SS". Brooks Stevens, Excalibur's creator, had designed the '62-64 Studebaker Lark and Hawk models.

https://auto.howstuffworks.com/excalibur.htm

kyfdx

On I-75 in Lexington, KY, today... 1984 Fiero Indy Pace Car Edition

On a flatbed, orange Charger in full General Lee trim.

uplanderguy

I could list all our neighbors' and relatives' cars from when I was about five or six to adulthood. Too many to list here, but the oldest I can remember is my aunt's '50 Chevy.

We lived on a pretty busy street (state route) and my parents would have me identify cars by year, make and model to impress visitors, LOL.

xwesx

fintail said:

Amityville featured a family who liked Fox cars, with a Granada wagon: And a Continental:

Yeah, and looked what happened to them! I think there is a lesson here....

PF_Flyer

The things you find on that darn interweb

fintail

That kid had a Jensen-Healey, keeping something like that on the road would drive you insane, too!

xwesx said:

Yeah, and looked what happened to them! I think there is a lesson here....

explorerx4

@PF_Flyer,
A Simca and a Mini about to joust?

omarman

What's the longest time your friends or family held on to a daily driver or back-up/beater? Not a "collectible."

The mention of your aunt's '50 Chevy brings back memories (not all bad!) of my mom's 1950 Chevrolet Deluxe. She bought it used from a friend in 1953 and learned to drive with it. After moving on to newer and better things she parked the Chevy and kept it until 1977.

After 24 years all of us kids (except my sister) had learned to drive on that car and later used it (only) when needed. After I graduated, my mom and dad bought a retirement home and didn't want to take the '50 Chevy with them. But none of us ungrateful kids wanted it either!

berri

Not ungrateful - just refined tastes

explorerx4

@Omarman,
Your source is much better than mine, sports announcers.

xwesx

@Omarman - I think my Econoline falls into that category. I have had it for 27 years now, and it is in my family since 1971 (new). I would call it a daily driver for the first ten years of its life, occasional use after that until 1995, then daily driver use again until 1998. Since then, I don't think "occasional" would even fit the bill. I would call it more like a "mobile shed" at this point, though I do plan to teach my son to drive with it next summer.

uplanderguy

I'm hard-pressed to think of a family member or friend or neighbor who kept a car for a really long time. My aunt was widowed at a young age with three kids, and my grandfather was always finding her cheap used cars over the years. She may have been driving a '50 Chevy in 1964 or 1965 or something, but she probably only had had it a couple or three years by then!

We had our '56 Chevy 'til '64, and it was pretty rusty by then. In our part of the country, rust was an issue. Maybe that's why I don't remember a whole lot of old cars. But then, I remember a few Chevys of the pre-'55 era. I think they were pretty sturdy cars if largely plain.

fintail

Saw what I think was a nice looking blue 67 Continental sedan out on the road, maybe out for Halloween stuff.

My family never kept cars too long, but my mom had a Taurus for around a decade, and has had her Camry for 9 and a half years. The Tempo was around for a long time, too. I've had the fintail for 23 (!) years now, maybe a family record. It was my everyday car when I was a student.

kyfdx

Nissan GT-R. From early '90s, I think.. right hand drive

andre1969

The '63 Plymouth always seemed a bit Ford-ish to me. I guess that would make sense, since former Ford stylist Elwood Engel was at Chrysler by this time, and was trying to de-Exnerize the Mopar styling. I think it's the inset headlights, which are a bit similar to a '60 Ford, some of the creasework along the sides, and the taillights make me think of squared-off Ford lights.

andre1969

uplanderguy said:

I'm hard-pressed to think of a family member or friend or neighbor who kept a car for a really long time. My aunt was widowed at a young age with three kids, and my grandfather was always finding her cheap used cars over the years. She may have been driving a '50 Chevy in 1964 or 1965 or something, but she probably only had had it a couple or three years by then!

We kept my Granddad's '85 Silverado in service until late 2015/early 2016, when it just got to the point it needed too much work. The final straw was when the throttle got stuck and wouldn't kick down to save its life, so once the thing got started, it would immediately rev as fast as it could. If it was on pavement it wasn't too bad, but on gravel or grass, it would peel out and dig in and get itself stuck in no time. I didn't feel like messing with it any more, so I used my Ram to drag it to where it was more or less out of the way, until I decided what to do with it. In early 2017, one of the neighbors wanted to buy it. I tried to talk him out of it, but he wanted it really bad, so I let it go. He moved, about 5 miles away, and one of my former house mates moved in with him, along with some other people. I dropped by there a couple months ago to drop off some mail that came to my house by mistake, and the truck was still there, in the yard. I talked to my former house mate though, and he said the guy let the insurance lapse on it. Yet, it was still tagged. I smell a major fine a'brewing. To top it all off, I heard they all might be getting kicked out of that house, and if so, I have a feeling that Silverado isn't long for this world. Kind of a shame too, because the kid I sold it to fixed it up a bit. A lot of it was "lipstick on a pig" (bondo, spray can paint, etc), but it didn't look half bad, from a distance.

Right now, I'm using the '03 Regal I inherited from my Dad, as a beater, I guess, but also as the primary car. Since I moved, my commute went up considerably, so I've been driving the Regal a lot more than the Ram. I plan to keep the Regal around as long as it's feasible, but if something major goes on it, like the transmission, it's outta here.

uplanderguy

I did own my white '63 Studebaker Lark Daytona Skytop for 23 years. Forgot about that!

RE.: '63 Plymouths--as a kid I remember thinking, "Why does the '65 look more like the '63 than the '64 does?". At the time, I didn't realize the '65 Belvedere was essentially the '63 full-size body shell (andre, is that right? I think it is).

I did always like the '64 Fury two-door hardtops. Nice, conservative but stylish instrument panel too, with the four large round dials.

omarman

xwesx said:

@Omarman - I think my Econoline falls into that category. I have had it for 27 years now, and it is in my family since 1971 (new). I would call it a daily driver for the first ten years of its life, occasional use after that until 1995, then daily driver use again until 1998. Since then, I don't think "occasional" would even fit the bill. I would call it more like a "mobile shed" at this point, though I do plan to teach my son to drive with it next summer.

My dad bought several vans in the 60's for his company and after his business was sold I kind of missed having a delivery van around. My dad moved on with his career and never opened another business or had any fleet vehicles again. But I tried talking him into buying a van just for personal use in the early 70's. He laughed and had no other comment.

When I was 12 y/o my first van also was a 1971 Ford Econoline. It came with the "Twin I-Beam" front suspension, working doors and windows and a clear plastic oil pan. In 1/20 scale though. It was the most fun with a van that I ever had before getting my driver's license! Your son will have a great time with the big van.

ab348

Want a tri-five Chevy? How about a 64-70? A'70s/'80s Chevy pickup? Or a Malibu colonnade? If so then Humble, Texas is the place for you:

http://www.vanderbrinkauctions.com/catalog/?auction=4058

This is really odd. Lots of parts cars or ambitious restos, lots of failed customs, some worn originals, a few decent vehicles. The question as always is "Why?" and as usual I'd guess there is no good answer. But interesting nonetheless.

stickguy

Now we know who was hogging all the early-mid 70s Malibu’s. And Chevy PUs.

fintail

That one is definitely into hoarder territory.

http://www.vanderbrinkauctions.com/lot-item/28tx72/

I think this one might be "Sierra Gold" and "Adobe Beige", nice. I once saw a 56 Nomad in that combo, it was stunningly nice.

andre1969

uplanderguy said:

I did own my white '63 Studebaker Lark Daytona Skytop for 23 years. Forgot about that!

RE.: '63 Plymouths--as a kid I remember thinking, "Why does the '65 look more like the '63 than the '64 does?". At the time, I didn't realize the '65 Belvedere was essentially the '63 full-size body shell (andre, is that right? I think it is).

I did always like the '64 Fury two-door hardtops. Nice, conservative but stylish instrument panel too, with the four large round dials.

Yep, that's right. The '65 midsized Plymouths, and the Dodge Coronet, were just the '62-64 "big" models, re-marketed as midsized cars. Supposedly the '66-67 models, were actually heavily revised '65 models, although they looked noticeably different.

I think the '64 Plymouths look nice, as do the '65 Belvedere/Satellite. But, to me it just seems like they kind of lost their identity. The '60-61 had looked like evolutions of the '57-59, just on an acide trip perhaps. The '62 seemed a bit turbine-car inspired, but not in a good way. The '63 picks up a strong Ford vibe, while the '64 makes me think a bit of a '63 Chevy. And then the '65 just seems kind of Ford-ish again.

berri

The greenhouse on the 64 Plymouth/Dodge coupe always appealed to me. Dash was good too. Overall a cleanly styled "one year" model.

berri

I remember 60's/early 70's Econoline's from my military time. Kind of sat up over the steering wheel with not much in front of you. OK, reminds me of the Guess Who tune "Bus Driver".

uplanderguy

fintail said:

That one is definitely into hoarder territory.

http://www.vanderbrinkauctions.com/lot-item/28tx72/

I think this one might be "Sierra Gold" and "Adobe Beige", nice. I once saw a 56 Nomad in that combo, it was stunningly nice.

I don't know for sure, but I'm thinking that's not the colors of the car on the Vanderbrink site. I'm thinking the "Sierra Gold" is a medium copper color, and the "Adobe Beige" is, well, a light tan.

It disputes my liking offbeat stuff, but I could surely like a nice '56 Bel Air, as long as it's not all cluttered up with skirts or worse.

I can remember when I was a kid, Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs, elderly couple who lived on the street behind us, had a '56 Bel Air in black over yellow. At the time I thought it was odd, but I kind-of like it now. It was bold. It was traded on a new, beige '65 Impala four-door sedan. We used to joke that it appeared Mrs. Gibbs looked through the opening between the top of the steering wheel and the bottom.

roadburner

kyfdx said:

Nissan GT-R. From early '90s, I think.. right hand drive

I saw one in Charlotte, NC when I was down there to watch the Roval.

omarman

Here's a '56 Chevy in "Calypso Cream and Grecian Gold."


edit: Just found a listing for a completed auction for a "1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Nomad Sport Wagon." "Beautifully finished in its as-delivered Calypso Cream and Grecian Gold paint."

Wow. Very nice.

berri

I'm guessing that was a somewhat uncommon color combo back the

sda

Right now, I'm using the '03 Regal I inherited from my Dad, as a beater, I guess, but also as the primary car. Since I moved, my commute went up considerably, so I've been driving the Regal a lot more than the Ram. I plan to keep the Regal around as long as it's feasible, but if something major goes on it, like the transmission, it's outta here.

How many miles on the Regal? Have you given up on the Park Ave? My neighbor has '98 Regal LS 50th anniversary edition that he bought new. He babies it, garage kept, only driven occassionally. 40k, black, tinted windows, sunroof, GS style wheels. It still looks great. The other two vehicles are not as loved, look it and stay outside.

fintail

Maybe it's the cream and gold as omarman showed - still a great color combo, refreshing change from the typical red or turquoise and white.

uplanderguy said:

I don't know for sure, but I'm thinking that's not the colors of the car on the Vanderbrink site. I'm thinking the "Sierra Gold" is a medium copper color, and the "Adobe Beige" is, well, a light tan.

uplanderguy

I have to say I have always liked the turquoise and white, which I wouldn't doubt was the best-selling scheme back then. Of course now, in collector-car times, a fair amount of whatever has probably been repainted red and white.

fintail

I like blue in general, but if I had a dollar for every turquoise or red tri-Chevy I've seen.

I like that gold/cream car being stock too, not another cloned 70s/80s/90s style custom/restoration with mag wheels, odd ride height, billet steering wheel, SBC, and one of those creepy little dolls for the wingadinga car show.

andre1969

sda said:

Right now, I'm using the '03 Regal I inherited from my Dad, as a beater, I guess, but also as the primary car. Since I moved, my commute went up considerably, so I've been driving the Regal a lot more than the Ram. I plan to keep the Regal around as long as it's feasible, but if something major goes on it, like the transmission, it's outta here.

How many miles on the Regal? Have you given up on the Park Ave? My neighbor has '98 Regal LS 50th anniversary edition that he bought new. He babies it, garage kept, only driven occassionally. 40k, black, tinted windows, sunroof, GS style wheels. It still looks great. The other two vehicles are not as loved, look it and stay outside.


It's up to around 80,000 miles, so in theory it should have plenty of life left. My Dad bought it used, at the end of '03, with about 19,500 miles on it. When I took possession of it around May/June of last year, I think it had around 66-67,000. It's not exactly pretty to look at, but at the same time, not too offensive, I guess. It's missing all four hubcaps, and I never did know the reason for that. It had them when Dad bought the car, but then I can recall at one time, visiting him, and noticing they were missing. I can't remember if I asked him, or not. He did buy a set of replacements, but they were those cheap, ugly things you get in the auto section of WalMart or whatever. He never put them on, and when we cleared out his house, they were still in the box. I have them in my garage. I don't want to just throw them away, but I'll probably never use them...hell, the car looks better without any hubcaps, than those things!

It also has a couple minor dents, but overall, the silver paint is still shiny. As for the Park Ave, I still have it. It's at my grandmother's house. I need to get rid of it, but just had too much other stuff going on. At one point it sat for about two years, but I put one of those quick jumpstart things on it and it fired right up. I move it around in the yard every once in awhile now, just so that it doesn't look too abandoned. But, it has no brakes, bad shocks in the rear, driver's side door is stuck closed, it's rusting, leather driver's seat is ripped, paint is going bad in places, and it has a variety of electrical glitches. The last time I started it, for a moment I thought hey, in about a year and two months, this thing will qualify for historic tags! And I could just put a bare minimum into it and start driving it again. But, realistically, that ship has sailed, and I'd just be throwing good money in after bad.

uplanderguy

RE.: '56 Chevy...I like them better without the optional 'hockey stick' molding which the pics here show, but at least they don't have continental kits and skirts, LOL.

Who doesn't love a Nomad, but I really like the '55 best of those, with the big rear wheel openings. I like the '56's next. Really, I like the '57 Chevy the least of all three years, just because they've been so hyped for decades. They were actually outsold by Ford that year. I do like the 'Dusk Pearl' (metallic lavender) color on '57's, and I also like the cheapo "One-Fifty" model, which doesn't have that fanned-out trim on the rear quarters.

xwesx

andre1969 said:

It also has a couple minor dents, but overall, the silver paint is still shiny. As for the Park Ave, I still have it. It's at my grandmother's house. I need to get rid of it, but just had too much other stuff going on. At one point it sat for about two years, but I put one of those quick jumpstart things on it and it fired right up. I move it around in the yard every once in awhile now, just so that it doesn't look too abandoned. But, it has no brakes, bad shocks in the rear, driver's side door is stuck closed, it's rusting, leather driver's seat is ripped, paint is going bad in places, and it has a variety of electrical glitches. The last time I started it, for a moment I thought hey, in about a year and two months, this thing will qualify for historic tags! And I could just put a bare minimum into it and start driving it again. But, realistically, that ship has sailed, and I'd just be throwing good money in after bad.

Yes, get rid of it! You have a pretty solid collection of cars, but it doesn't take much to become that hoarder guy who gets a link posted here now and again.

ab348

fintail said:

I like that gold/cream car being stock too, not another cloned 70s/80s/90s style custom/restoration with mag wheels, odd ride height, billet steering wheel, SBC, and one of those creepy little dolls for the wingadinga car show.

I agree totally. However I don't think the interior in that car is stock. It looks rather like an upholstery shop made up a set of generic covers when the original upholstery gave up. But today of course the correct style upholstery is readily available, and would be an early upgrade by the likely buyer.

omarman

Not sure how well this will post but the lower left pic of the black/white upholstery was supposed to illustrate the standard two tone interior for the Nomad

berri

19,500 on a used 03 Regal sounds like it may have originally been a rental back in those days. I got more than few Buick's from Hertz during that era. My experience at least was that Hertz actually maintained their cars.