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

berri

Ford's seem top still lag in mpg in more than a few auto reviews I've read. When I was in college I'd see a lot of early 60's Ford's around. Nothing empirical, but it did seem like the 63's smoked and had starting issues and the like more than the 64's (and neither were young vehicles at that time). The real reason I saw so many was probably more attributable to the fact that used Ford's and Plymouth's were cheaper to purchase than a comparable Chevy back then.

omarman

Are you guys talking about Ford Autolite 2100 and 4100 carbs? My family had at least 3 new Fords with those carbs and several more used ones during that era. I don't remember any thing troublesome except for the fact that they were/are "carburetors." I think the Autolite brand of today is no longer a Ford/Motorcraft brand. I rebuilt an OEM 2100 2bbl carb for my dad when his Mercury had about 90K miles from new. Simple hand tools and few parts in the rebuild kit from Ferd Hack's. Worst problem I had was that my dad wanted to watch me work and smoke a Salem at the same time. The car started and ran fine on the first start after the rebuild. By the time he had rolled the odometer over 100K the next year he traded in for a "new" dealer demo Dodge Monaco wagon. The dealer resold his old car and he and I both spotted it driving around town a couple times after that.

fintail

Thinking of carbs, I remember the 66 Galaxie with a 390 had constant carb issues, especially cold starting and cold running. You really had to take it easy when cold, or it would stall. My dad worked on it as much as he could, but it never ran right when cold. Once warm, it was fine, albeit very thirsty. The 60 Ford with a 352 and the 68 with a 289 didn't have any similar issues.

On to Stude again. This was an interesting car for me, an early hardtop (pillar is removable) made in China. Some time ago I read about prewar cars in China, and remembered this one, it was cool to see in person:



And the drive-in:

Mr_Shiftright

I seem to recall the choke systems were balky and that they developed air leaks, but generally the Ford people seem to regard them as being decent carbs. Perhaps I have a bias. I don't think much of any postwar Ford products until the Mustang and the 289 engine.

bhill2

The best solution to cold starting and running problems I came across was a manual choke. I had a couple of cars with those, and you learned how to adjust the choke during the warm-up procedure to maintain optimal running. Actually, the first Volvo I owned had a manual choke and, in lieu of a thermostat, a window shade that could be adjusted to control air flow through the radiator. I learned to play that choke and shade like a piano.

Mr_Shiftright

I remember those shades! You pulled a little chain by your left knee and once you got the shade to where you wanted it, you notched the chain into a slot to hold it at that "setting". The shade worked from the bottom up, the opposite of most window shades.

Those old Volvos were perfect for the U.S.A,, unlike contemporary VWs, Renaults, Fiats, or British cars. They had two options missing in most foreign cars of the time---good heaters and American-level reliability and ruggedness.

berri

Md dad had a 54 Desoto Firedome. That small hemi was a smooth engine, but it was a bear in very cold weather. My dad carried a small wooden wedge to hold open the butterfly valve in order to start it in very cold temps. After a string of bitter cold Chicago winters, he finally traded it on a 60 Ford six cylinder with a three on a tree and hand choke. Quite a come down in lux, but no matter what, the thing always started. Might have initially puffed a cloud of black soot like a steam locomotive once in awhile, but no fighting with it in bitter winter weather anymore.

fintail

Saw a hardtop-optioned Geo Tracker this morning. I remember I knew a girl in high school who drove one, the first car that gave me the "it's going to roll over and we'll all die" vibe.

xwesx

fintail said:

Saw a hardtop-optioned Geo Tracker this morning. I remember I knew a girl in high school who drove one, the first car that gave me the "it's going to roll over and we'll all die" vibe.

I loved those early 90s Trackers. I wanted one for years...

Oddly enough, my favorite vehicles through the 1990s were the Tracker and the Lincoln Town Car. Hhahahha

fintail

I liked the 90s TC too, especially with the 1995 facelift that smoothed it out. I didn't have the 4x4 itch then, I probably would have rather had an 80s 4Runner.

In the 90s, I was really into the (then current) W/C 140 series MBs, especially V12 models. These were really the thing in the mid 90s:

(really rare color on this)



Now can usually be had for a pittance, but I don't see myself rushing out for one anytime soon.

xwesx said:

Oddly enough, my favorite vehicles through the 1990s were the Tracker and the Lincoln Town Car. Hhahahha

xwesx

I like the look of most 90s MB now. At the time, though, the front ends always reminded me of the second gen Ford Tempo (and that was NOT a good thing!).

andre1969

xwesx said:

fintail said:

Saw a hardtop-optioned Geo Tracker this morning. I remember I knew a girl in high school who drove one, the first car that gave me the "it's going to roll over and we'll all die" vibe.

I loved those early 90s Trackers. I wanted one for years...

Oddly enough, my favorite vehicles through the 1990s were the Tracker and the Lincoln Town Car. Hhahahha

One of my friends had a '98 Chevy Tracker convertible, that he bought new. I remember one time though, it wouldn't start, and he popped the hood and asked me where to jam the screwdriver. I couldn't figure out what he was talking about, at first, but then it hit me...he had seen me do that with my '89 Gran Fury a few times when it would get cranky in cold/damp weather,and I'd stick a screwdriver down in the throat of the carb to hold the flap partly open. Unfortunately, I had to tell him that didn't work with fuel-injected cars.

It actually wasn't a bad little rig for what it was, although I do remember it seemed to have transmission troubles around 20K, 40K, and just before 60K miles. The warranty, I believe, went to 60K. I always wondered if the dealer just did the bare minimum to get it going again, in the hopes of it getting beyond the warranty period.

Anyway, it went bad again, around 86,000 miles. I had it towed to a local transmission shop, and they got it going for around $60, I think, but the guy at the shop said he couldn't guarantee how long it would last. Well, it went out again around 92,000. That time, we had a used one put in, from a '95 Sidekick, I believe, with around 55,000 miles on it. That did the trick, apparently, as he had no more issues, with the transmission at least, up through 134,000 miles, when he traded it on a 2006 Xterra.

berri

Where those Trackers Izusu, Suzuki or Korean?

Mr_Shiftright

Suzuki/GM out of Canada.

xwesx

berri said:

Where those Trackers Izusu, Suzuki or Korean?

Geo was a sub-brand of GM, and there were a couple different partnerships. I believe that the Tracker was Suzuki, along with the Metro. The Prizm was by another maker... maybe Toyota?

xwesx

So, I wrote that a couple hours ago and just figured posting was easier than digging into Drafts and deleting it. Sorry for restating what Shifty already answered.

berri

Hey, those nights are getting long up there!

fintail

I really liked those when new, then didn't like them because they seemed so severe compared to the more elegant 1980s models, but have liked them again for some time. The last no-nonsense S-class without needless frills and attempts at new posh.

And yes, the Prizm was a rebadged Corolla, a NUMMI car. The first gen Prizm was even offered in a 5 door Corolla bodystyle not sold here by Toyota, but sold as a Corolla in other markets.

xwesx said:

I like the look of most 90s MB now. At the time, though, the front ends always reminded me of the second gen Ford Tempo (and that was NOT a good thing!).

kyfdx

The Tracker was a re-badged Suzuki Samurai, right?

mrgrtt123

Tesla invasion begins in this photo.

Mr_Shiftright

Uh-oh. Pretty soon we'll all be slaving in huge Tesla factories, being whipped by our Musk-built robot overlords. I knew this was coming.

stickguy

I believe the tracker was a rebadged sidekick.

fintail

From MHRV, some Stude content:



And one of those very involved conversions with a normal vehicle front clip:

bhill2

Mr_Shiftright said:

Uh-oh. Pretty soon we'll all be slaving in huge Tesla factories, being whipped by our Musk-built robot overlords. I knew this was coming.

Could be sooner than we think. Musk says he is considering buying the factories that GM is closing.

Mr_Shiftright

He doesn't have that kind of money invest I don't think. He's spreading it all pretty thin as it is.

fintail

Some streets around here can look like that in terms of Tesla count. Can't wait for the wackadoodle tax gift to expire, and see if it really was to help the product, or just more trickle down nonsense for those who need it least.

On the road this morning - a soft top Chevy Tracker to go with yesterday's car, a very clean 86-87 Corolla, and a FL40 Landcruiser.

fintail

A-C-D again, they also have a few 'furrin cars:



And one of their interesting exhibits, a study on gauge fonts and designs - a lot more work went into this than on modern cars, I suspect:

ab348

What's also odd is that none of them are white on black as has become the standard. I have had experience driving a couple of cars with gauges having black numbers on silver faces and they were always difficult to read at a glance.

ab348

This is about as far from a modern-day Ferarri as you can get. Not sure these were all that well-loved back in the day anyway. And I'm not sure I like it either. Looks just a bit sedan-ish.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1984-ferrari-400-3/

fintail

I've always liked the simple angular lines of the 400 series cars, and didn't mind that they were a GT car rather than a supercar. They used to be the cheapest Ferrari alongside a Mondial, although in this speculative new world, I am sure prices have doubled in the past decade.

Make mine blue:

texases

Pretty common 'look' in the mid-'80s:

fintail

No doubt some inspiration there. Although the design goes way back to the mid 70s, those Ferraris make me imagine a Duran Duran loop plays on the radio whenever it is on.

ab348

Curious to see the different variations - body color bumpers and no side trim, black bumper and no side trim, or double black bumper and black side trim.

I like the blue one better than the red one I posted. Blue seems like a more appropriate color for one of these.

texases

Double bumper one is a Bitter.

berri

Plymouth Acclaim. I don't think those boxes were around very long?

kyfdx

texases said:

Double bumper one is a Bitter.

I think we discussed the Bitter, a couple of weeks ago.

texases

Isn't there another Italian coupe with that look? Fiat/Alfa/Lancia from that period?

kyfdx

texases said:

Isn't there another Italian coupe with that look? Fiat/Alfa/Lancia from that period?

Maserati?

fintail

Maserati Kyalami has a somewhat similar shape, not as rakish:



DeTomaso Longchamp too:

ab348

texases said:

Double bumper one is a Bitter.

So that would explain it. They must have used the same tooling!

xwesx

That 300SL is up to $885K with an hour left.

Some insanity.

Mr_Shiftright

xwesx said:

That 300SL is up to $885K with an hour left.

Some insanity.

Total nuts, bats, loony, incomprehensibly stupid.

Mr_Shiftright

RE: Ferrari 400 --aside from the Mondial 8 coupe, the Ferrari 400i is the cheapest Ferrari you can buy. Values are completely flat and they aren't going anywhere either. Figure about $40K for a 400 and around $30K for a Mondial. This would be for decent cars, not wrecks and not pristine.

xwesx

Mr_Shiftright said:

xwesx said:

That 300SL is up to $885K with an hour left.

Some insanity.

Total nuts, bats, loony, incomprehensibly stupid.

You want to talk about incomprehensibly stupid? Check THIS out!

That thing was bid up to $1.1M, and RESERVE NOT MET!!!!

fintail

Funny. I know the unrestored thing is a trend, but IIRC that car did not have entirely original finishes, so it wasn't a complete preservation piece.

One should be able to get a car that is ready to go for 1.2-1.3MM, it seems. Bid should have bought it and then some.

xwesx

fintail said:

Funny. I know the unrestored thing is a trend, but IIRC that car did not have entirely original finishes, so it wasn't a complete preservation piece.

One should be able to get a car that is ready to go for 1.2-1.3MM, it seems. Bid should have bought it and then some.

That's my thinking, too. That seller should have had reserve quite a bit lower than the final bid. If so, he'd be laughing all the way to the bank today!

fintail

I wonder if they do post-auction deals like at traditional auction houses. For that bid, he should take it and run, it's a nicer lottery jackpot even better than the lucky ones who bought real estate in once bland now trendy areas here 30-50 years ago.

xwesx said:

That's my thinking, too. That seller should have had reserve quite a bit lower than the final bid. If so, he'd be laughing all the way to the bank today!

texases

I wonder how much $$$$$ he has in it?

fintail

I think the car was bought by the owner's father 50 years ago (when you could get something like that for 5K, I suspect) and was an inherited heirloom. Effectively, no outlay for the owner.

texases

So either bad advice/research, or emotional attachment, maybe.