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

kyfdx

I was eleven years old when that Mustang came out.. and I thought it was really cool.. But, I'm betting that someone 7-10 years older than me probably hated it...

Looking back now, I don't like them so much...

But, what do I know? My first NEW car was a Cobra II.. LOL

regards,
kyfdx

andre1969

in a perverse, twisted sort of way. The Mercury Cougar that was on that platform was the one I really hated though. The '67-70 Cougar was absolutely timeless, but the next generation, it was like Mercury wanted to jump on the personal luxury coupe bandwagon, so instead of just pimping up a Montego, like they finally did for '74, instead they tried to pimp up a Stang!

andys120

the "timeless" 67-70 Cougars were pimped up 'Stangs as were they all until Ford decided the named belonged on a four-door sedan. (?)

Jros, if there's one thing a Mustang shouldn't be like it's a T-Bird. In retrospect the beginning of the end was the '69 Mustang Grande.

andre1969

I know the '67-70 Cougar was just a guzzied up 'Stang, but I always loved that style, with the hidden headlights, sequential taillights, spruced up interiors, and slightly longer length. Occasionally I'll see one at work. It's light blue with a white vinyl top. I've been working here since late '92, and I remember seeing it around even back then. Sadly, I've seen it deteriorate over the years. One of the local repair shops had a '68 or so Eliminator parked around back, yellow with black graphics. Now that one was really sweet!

turboshadow

I drove a 67 Cougar XR-7 GT (oddly enough, you COULD combine these option packages) with a 390 and a four speed. Sounded just like Bullitt's Mustang!!! It was a nice driving car, but I passed because the guy selling it seemed a little shady. I wonder where that car is now.

I did have a 73 Torino with the 351CJ/toploader. The rear brake cylinders were specific to that combo and were made of unobtainium....

Turboshadow

alfox

'67 Cougar, don't remember the model. It was a smooth-rider but access to the back was tight. The rollover headlights were a real problem from the start. They weighed about 10# each, and were vacuum-operated, which is a recipe for disaster (remember vacuum-operated wipers? If you had to go up hill in the rain you could either maintain speed or see - but not both! lol) The headlight assemblies tended to not open all the time, and one of them would occasionally shut and then re-open on its own. I wondered if people thought I was winking at them or something. Before the car was a year old he had them both locked open.

The goofy sequential flasher tailights was a hoot too. If you turned on a turn signal, and then the 4-ways depending on where the turn signal was in the cycle both tail lights would either flash sequentially outward or inward. Really wierd!

andre1969

used to have a '66 Charger with roll-over headlights. They wouldn't always roll over. I guess those types of lights were just troublesome in general? I've had two cars with hidden headlights: an '88 LeBaron and a '79 New Yorker, but they're a simpler system where the headlights are stationary, and the covers just drop down. I guess maybe that system is simpler and more reliable?

However, I do remember on the '77-79 T-birds, it was common, as the cars aged, to see one "winking" at you, with one headlight exposed and the other covered.

andre1969

I never got to experience them, thankfully. Oldest car I can lay claim to is my '57 DeSoto, and they're electric. When did vacuum wipers finally get eliminated, anyway?

alfox

were electrically operated covers that weighed less than a pound each. Simple, effective. I always worried about systems where the lights moved, Corvetter pop-ups, rollovers etc., because they were heavy and prone to misalignment. But to operate them with vacuum was goofy. Most of us old enough to remember vacuum wipers were glad to have progressed beyond that foolishness. I'm thinking their use ended by 1950 or so. Shifty?

kyfdx

I think the unreliability comes from the vacuum system.. Works great for power locks, but maybe headlight covers are too much weight.. That said, we had three Lincolns ('72, '76, '76) with the vacuum operated headlight covers and never had a problem.. A pretty girl gave me a ride home one night from the bar, and when we got to her '80s vintage Firebird (this was the '80s, lol), she pulled an allen wrench out of her pocket and cranked open her left headlight (on her car!!). I got a laugh out of that, but I had a few beers in me.

regards,
kyfdx

alfox

the Cougar shut BOTH lights on me on a back road at about 50 mph - luckily it had good brakes....

andre1969

I knew a guy with a '69 Camaro RS/SS Pace Car. It had the hidden headlights, but on this one the covers slid sideways, inward, to expose the light. I dunno how they originally worked, but he had them disabled, so he had to manually push them aside at night when he turned his lights on. These covers weren't solid, either, so they still exposed part of the light, even when they were over it. He said it made a cool effect at night when he turned on the lights but forgot to open the covers!

andys120

I didn't get a real good look at it but I think I
saw a Chrysler Imperial LeBaron with a Phaeton body (ca. 1935) in two shades of light blue. I the same vein I spotted a two-tone Model A Coupe which was two shades of brown.

lemko

...had vacuum-powered headlight covers. Another peril of covered lights was ice that would freeze them shut in winter. Ford provided plastic clips near the vacuum lines to pinch them shut if you wanted the headlamp doors open all the time. My Dad drove with the doors up all winter.

alfox

Didn't think about that. That's probably a problem with all moveable lights/covers I would imagine.

andre1969

because in the wintertime I keep the NYer off the streets and drive my Intrepid "beater" ;-)

turboshadow

My 69 Charger had vacuum light covers. You had to check the vacuum line to the intake because it would back off, causing loss of vacuum and the lights to close. Lady I bought it from said it happened to her one night and it was so scary she made the line check weekly. I did the same.

Furthermore, there were a lot of plastic Ts in the vacuum set up and they would age and break. Replacement Ts wee as close as the nearest aquarium supply store. Not correct for car shows, but much cheaper than trying to get them NOS.

Turboshadow

andre1969

I didn't even think of trying an aquarium supply store! One of the plastic tee's in the windshield washer fluid line of my NYer broke recently. Thanks for the tip, Turboshadow!

wimsey1

I know my parents had at least one car I drove with vac wipes. Probably the '67 Rambler wagon.

Moving headlights-seems to depend on who makes them and how they operate. My Miata's have never been a problem, even with ice crusted on the hood to break through, nor can I remember seeing one winking. Older probes on the other hand seem to normally have problems there.
I remember reading a road test of a Saab Sonett III where the lights would pop up at about 100mph. This slowed the car down making the ability to crack 100 theoretically possible but not practically achievable! Chuckle.

chestnut

I had a 1970 AMC Hornet that had vacuuum vipers. I think that was the last year that any American car used them.

turboshadow

andys120

I had an '85 Prelude for around 15 years. In all that time the only issue I had with the flip ups
was a suspicion that the car actually looked better with them up. They never once failed mechanically. The car was garaged so ice was not an issue but I'd guess the motor was strong enough to break thru a coat of ice.

Sturdy little cars, the second Gen Preludes.

Mr_Shiftright

I do remember AMC cars with vacuum wipers well into the 1960s at least and I believe the early 60s Americans even had a flathead engine. It might have been about the cheapest car you could buy in 1961 or so (or close to it)...I recall that the instrument panel labels for lights, wipers etc were actually decals that were pasted on. Now THAT is penny-pinching.

andyman73

In the parking lot today at work I saw a dark blue with white top El Dorado, maybe late 60s. Other than needing a wax, looked pretty good.

lemko

...on my work today - a white 1965 Lincoln Continental sedan. It appears to be in pretty nice condition. I've got to check that baby out!

jrosasmc

Spotted just tonight: a clapped-out '73 Ford Galaxie 500 being used as a driver on a back mountain road. Why anyone would drive a full-size '73 Ford daily is beyond me, as the things are scary at speeds over 40.

fintail

I saw a pair of Subaru SVXs today

lancerfixer

Andy- my '89 Integra had a switch to disable the motors and keep the lights up at all times (which I did during the winters in Denver and South Dakota.) I recall the Accords of the era having the same switch...I'm surprised your Prelude didn't have one (or did it?)

wevk

Very nice condition, silver, non stock wheels, on a trailer in Houston.

WVK

chestnut

Penny pinching is right. That 70 Hornet even had a foot operated bellow for the windshield washer. I don't think it had more than 4 fuses for the whole car.

andre1969

has the foot-operated bulb for the windshield washer fluid. My '69 GT had an electric washer, though. Come to think of it, that GT also had something else that many cars that were much newer didn't have...3-speed wipers!

andys120

Yeah, you could park the h/ls in the up postion on my 'Lude whether they were on or not, Lancer.

Sometimes I did that for "cosmetic reasons but I could never make up my mind whether they looked better up or down.

Us Libs are just flip-floppers, y'know.

fintail

Today I saw a 63 Sprite for free at a yard sale, a sad looking lowline fintail, and a lovely restored 57 Bel Air 4 door post in kind of a melon color and white, wide whites and all.

fintail

I also saw an old Nissan Patrol, which kind of looks like a cross between a Landcruiser and a Jeep. It was of 60s-70s vintage for sure, and was in a period beige color. It was what you would see the "authorities" driving around in in an old Japanese sci-fi movie. And although this isn't obscure, today I saw a really clean Ford Fairmont. I know it's not rare or collectible or even interesting, but it's not every day you see a sharp one.

andyman73

I saw something even less thought provoking than that Fairmont. It was a first gen Ford Aerostar. The paint was shiny, the trim was black, not a dent anywhere on it. I pointed it out to my wife, and she said big deal. I told her to look a little closer. Then she realized what I was saying. She said that it looked brand, 18 years old, new. I haven't seen any that nice since the late 80s.

lancerfixer

A right hand drive RSX/Integra...surely someone didn't import a JDM version of a car already sold here... (?)

fintail

Ebay time again. Oh, and there won't be an ebay posting from me next week, as I'll be in Vegas for the holiday weekend. So don't panic when nothing shows up LOL. I hope you can all live without it...

Back to England with you!

The color scheme is a little gaudy (and I like blue), but this is a classic if there is one

Another freakshow for Shifty...I've never heard of this one before either

A nice alternative to a Kia Rio, if you never go on the highway

Great looking classy deco car, but it's too expensive

Nice brand, but weird body, back to England with you too. Is that a Delahaye I spot in the background?

From the same seller, this is pretty nice

Ummm....OK....

Last year Packard, what a gut wrenching end to a great marque

One of the best of these remaining, I am sure

Late DeSoto...is it that hard to get proper hubcaps and wide whites?

One of the most unhappy designs in automotive history

Looks like a worthy fintail

Sad Euro fintail

Wow look at that freaky under-dash AC. That's where GM designers got their vent ideas!

fintail

And a couple messes I spotted this morning. Both are Mopar interest...


Nice paint eh, Andre?

Big 'n cheap Plymouth

Mr_Shiftright

Fintail: Let's all agree that the "last" Packard was in 1956, in tribute to a once fine marque. That "thing" in 1958 is 100% Studebaker and should be called out as such if you ask me.

MAICO: Made by Heinkel I think (the people who brought you World War II). I'd LOVE to have it but I did some research and it's wider than 55" (almost 60", tubby little thing) so I'd have to remove the double doors and door frame from my building--which might annoy the landlord. Being a 2-stroke, I wonder if a water cooled Suzuki motorcycle engine would fit in there sideways? Oh, forget it.

LANCIA: I'm actually amazed how many Lancias I run into in California. They seem to be mostly stashed, but I swear hardly a week goes by that I don't hear about another one. Big problem for these cars is parts, which are somewhat unobtainium, and hence the cars are off the road awaiting...well...I don't know what they are awaiting exactly....very technically interesting cars and nice drivers, but you'd better have a garage full of parts & books and other Lancia freaks nearby.

andys120

I was really drawn to that Lancia, what a cool little car and very good looking for a Berlina of that era. I'll bet it's fun withat two carb set-up as well.

The Graham sedan is pretty too.

kyfdx

Well.. I just got DSL service this week, so now I can see what I have been missing... nice job, Fintail.

Stopped by a local car show today... a lot of stuff, but a couple that caught my eye.

'62 RR Silver Cloud II Limousine.. really nice shape.

Dodge Challenger R/T convertible.. with 340/4bbl
nice original condition.

andre1969

what hath they done to that poor New Yorker?! I also like the custom passenger-side window! Honestly, the things aren't that hard to replace, as I learned with my own NYer, which had one bum motor when I bought it, and then had another fail.

I was out running errands today with my roommate, and he spotted an old car in a parking lot, pointing it out to me. It was a '67-68 Imperial convertible! Looked to be in pretty good shape. I also spotted a '73-74 Nova 2-door, and a '73 or so Cutlass Supreme coupe, both in nice shape. Also saw an old Maverick coupe, in that nasty color that looked like a cross between butterscotch and a school bus. Nasty color, but nice shape.

As for the wheels on that '60 DeSoto, I guess that's one of the curses of having such a common bolt pattern...anything under the sun might end up on there! Believe it or not, the rims from an Intrepid/Concorde/300M would also fit, and I believe the Magnum/300 rims would, as well!

fintail

I took the fintail out today and saw several old cars. A nice 53-54 Pontiac 2 door hardtop, a 50 Ford coupe that almost pulled into the road right in front of me and gave me a weird James Dean association, a 53-54 Chevy 2 door post, a 71 or so Mustang convert, a 68 Chevelle 2 door HT pulling a trailer, an otherwise stock looking Model A roadster in an ugly 70s metallic gold, and a 111 250SE MB coupe.

I also saw something odd parked at a full line GM dealership. It was this 85 LeSabre 6 door limo. Odometer read 42K, and given the condition of the car and the pristine interior, I will wager it is actual miles. I think the paint is original too...definitely not new, but still nice I would have guessed this was made as a funeral home car, but in white? Maybe some kind of corporate fleet. It was immaculate. Being a GM dealer, I bet the price is very negotiable, too...LOL

Click here for pic

Click for another

MB has done a similar thing regarding bolt patterns. I know there's about a 30 year plus time span where you can interchange MB wheels. I've seen fintails on 123 bundt wheels, 111 coupes and 108/109 cars on 126 new style wheels, 116s on 140 8 hole wheels, etc...wheels 25 years newer than the car itself.

ghulet

....that Buick looks ultra clean. Did you see the inside? To me, that's usually where you can tell how miley a car is at least as much as by the exterior. Not a bad price, it could almost be a fun car to own if you had somewhere to park it! I imagine one of those would be a lot less hassle to keep on the road than a newer Cadillac or Lincoln limo. Too bad older limos have no real use--too old to be used commercially for the most part, but too big, silly and cumbersome to just drive around. Old limos are kind of the strange orphan of the old car game: yeah, they're rare and flashy, but the rarity (and size, natch) usually make restoration a daunting task. Like most old cars, it's just better to buy one in nice shape to begin with.

That second-to-last ('sad Euro') fintail you posted didn't really look so bad. How rare is a factory sunroof for that era? The car actually looked like it could clean up nicely, the panels were mostly straight, the interior was certainly dirty but salvagable, and it didn't look like it had any serious cancer. Still, it certainly would take more money to make it roadworthy than one would likely get back.

Today, I saw a nice, original '73 Malibu two-door 'colonnade' in burgandy, a '68 Mercury Park Lane four-door hardtop, a '73 Marquis Brougham four-door hardtop (no pillars, I hated those pillared 'hardtops' Ford did during that era), and an 8-door '68 Pontiac airport limo.

Unfortunately, the last three were on an episode of 'Hawaii Five-O'. Dammit.

fintail

The tint was too deep for me to really see in back, but I could see the front, and it was immaculate. Looked new. It was that plush velour that one would see in 80s cars, dark blue. I bet it could be had for 5 grand anyway, probably not the worst way to spend money, especially if you need to seat several people or want something odd to take to a GM show.

That white Euro fintail has visible rust on the outside...so who knows what is underneath. To its credit, the rockers and front fenders don't look too bad, but I would want to see the floors and trunk, and the rear fenders look a little crusty. That car would want maybe 4-5 grand in body/paintwork to look decent. You'd have a $5000 car with the body, interior, and engine sorted out. I can see that the wood looks shot too. It's a big gamble. A sunroof is very desireable though, and they have a beautiful action...you pull a handle down, twist it, and pull back. I wish mine had one.

andyman73

My church hosted it's 2nd or 3rd annual car show today. What a turn out. Probably 500 or more of all makes and shapes and sizes. Plenty of street rods and hot rods. Wide range of muscle cars, some set up for drag racing. Bunch of rednecked trucks, and a few really nice classic p-ups. Let me see, cars of real interest. Several cherry Panteras, blue Lambo Diablo, little bitty Lotus...someone said maybe an Elan..looked 60s. One sweet "O G"(original gansta) Beatle. Saw all of Andre's dream cars, several were powered by lesser hemi's like the 413 and smaller. A Buick Sport Wagon...some other nice wagons. Oh...a nice Marauder(sp?) it was 63.5 year model. A few nice Corvettes, some from early 50s. One silver and maroon 57 Bel Air, so beautiful, would have my vote as best of show. An original Mach 1, and some 04 Mach 1s. A few Austin Healys. There was one ...T-bucket does that sound right? Best street rod there. Really sharp Monterey(sp?). The only import tuners were in the parking lot, none on display this year. Had the wife and 3 year old with me, and had to go to work also. So, didn't get any pics or detailed list of worthy cars. Had a great pit bbq beef sandwich.

Andy

andre1969

that '85 LeSabre 6-door limo. I wonder how much a conversion like that would have cost originally?

And one thing I've always wondered...on that type of limo design, does the window in the center door roll down? Every once in awhile, I've seen Buick LeSabre/Electra hearses at the various swap meets in Carlisle, PA. They've all had Olds 307's, but for some reason, their owners always swear up and down that it's a Chevy 305! It would've been nice if GM would put a sticker under the hood that would say "307" or "305" instead of just "5.0"!

andre1969

yesterday I also saw a black 1959 Chevy Bel Air 2-door sedan. Looked really sharp.

andys120

the local wrecking yard has a '64 Pontiac two-door pillared coupe that's badly rusted out. This wasn't nearly as good looking as the pillarless h/ts but the split grille is still handsome with the stacked headlights.

kyfdx

At the car show yesterday.. a '59 Edsel wagon.. in original, unrestored condition.. very nice!!