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

tjc78

I watch the MW all the time. Great time waster!

uplanderguy

I had posted a pic here about three months ago, of a Scenicruiser bus I saw at Hershey in October. Somewhat-related, a friend from Indiana forwarded me this very-recent Hemmings blog about bus travel, and the last pic down in the link is a bus with signage on the side, in Europe, 1963, "Thiel College Choir, Greenville, Pennsylvania", which was in my small hometown. What's the chance?


https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2019/01/20/riding-the-dog-memories-of-greyhound-trips-past/?refer=news

fintail

That's like finding a Greenville PA fire truck at a car museum in Germany

berri

I rode some different Greyhound's, including the Scenicruiser while in college. You came into the Randolph Street terminal via lower Wacker Drive in Chicago and then a connecting tunnel to the terminal. Kind of neat back then. I also remember those vintage GM buses that the CTA and various suburban transit lines used. The old electric trolley buses were more interesting and ornate inside though. I got a kick out of that article UP - maybe it made me feel young again

bhill2

In the day I did a lot of riding on the electric trolley buses in Seattle. They weren't ornate, however, just rather elderly city buses that were powered from overhead lines.

ab348

uplanderguy said:

I had posted a pic here about three months ago, of a Scenicruiser bus I saw at Hershey in October. Somewhat-related, a friend from Indiana forwarded me this very-recent Hemmings blog about bus travel, and the last pic down in the link is a bus with signage on the side, in Europe, 1963, "Thiel College Choir, Greenville, Pennsylvania", which was in my small hometown. What's the chance?


https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2019/01/20/riding-the-dog-memories-of-greyhound-trips-past/?refer=news

The author of that piece responded to your comment there with an invite to contact him for a story he wrote.

uplanderguy

I saw that...and I will.

Like a lot of rust belt small towns off the interstate, Greenville had had some rough economic times with industries leaving and the population declining. That said, Main Street still looks nice and Thiel College, small but long-standing, continues to be there, as is a University of Pittsburgh Hospital which was just "The Greenville Hospital" when I was born there.

I've mentioned that GM Styling VP Bill Mitchell grew up there, as did the fellow who engineered Space Mountain for Disney. In the '70's, the parents of Watergate figure John Dean lived there, as did the parents of actor David Soul. Pretty remarkable for a small town (never more than 10K) that wasn't a suburb of anything.

I remain proud to be from there. A lot of really solid folks were part of my growing up.

I know that most people enjoyed where they grew up, of course.

A fashionable thing seems to be dissing where you grew up, if you moved someplace else...and bigger.

That's a cheap and easy shot, IMHO. If you feel it, why on Earth would you post that on a class page or hometown page? But people do. Sheesh.

uplanderguy

An amusing side small story about Greenville, is that it was the very first U.S. stop of the first U.S. tour, of the band Emerson, Lake, and Palmer! They "hit" between when they signed the contract to play at Thiel and the time the show was scheduled, and tried to get out of it, but couldn't.

I think we also benefitted from being right on the mainline of the Erie-Lackawanna railroad, and until Jan. 6, 1970 one could take a passenger train from Greenville to Chicago or NYC daily....or to one of the many cities and towns serviced by the Erie in-between.

kyfdx

I've never been to Greenville, but I've seen ELP in concert!

uplanderguy

To me, they are cerebral for a rock band!

Love "From The Beginning", like "Lucky Man", and I think "Father Christmas" is one of the best Christmas tunes from a rock band but I never hear it on the radio anymore.

kyfdx

uplanderguy said:

To me, they are cerebral for a rock band!

Love "From The Beginning", like "Lucky Man", and I think "Father Christmas" is one of the best Christmas tunes from a rock band but I never hear it on the radio anymore.

Funny... I just heard Father Christmas on Sirius/XM Classic Vinyl, about a week ago.

Late '70s when I saw them, I think.
Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati.

Carl Palmer's drum solo was amazing, and that's not usually a thing I go for.

uplanderguy

I was only 13 when they came to Greenville so I didn't go. I haven't seen any combination of them live. I think Palmer is the only one still alive? I'm not sure. He has played our local small theater in Kent, OH in the past few years. I should've gone.

Actually, I don't remember that they were in Greenville, although some people I know mentioned it and I'm like "no way!". I googled their first U.S. tour, and there it was!

kyfdx

uplanderguy said:

I was only 13 when they came to Greenville so I didn't go. I haven't seen any combination of them live. I think Palmer is the only one still alive? I'm not sure. He has played our local small theater in Kent, OH in the past few years. I should've gone.

Actually, I don't remember that they were in Greenville, although some people I know mentioned it and I'm like "no way!". I googled their first U.S. tour, and there it was!

I've been trying to quit the "nostalgia" shows, where the artist is 70+. Mostly, they are disappointing. It does make me wish that I'd had more money in the late '70s, so I could have gone to every show. When I think back on who I didn't see...

I've been to some great shows, though...
Instant cred with my son:
"Yes, I saw Zeppelin on back-to-back nights in 1977."

uplanderguy

I'm an old soul, and proud of it, LOL. I'll admit that I started tuning out new/popular groups about 1980, when I got my first real job. I still bought albums by older artists I liked, right up until maybe a decade ago. If my parents had said they liked albums I did, I'd have been embarrassed, LOL. I have liked some newer bands' tunes on the radio, but not enough to buy them.

This past year I've decided to see artists I've liked, whom I figured wouldn't be touring, probably, in the near-future. I tend to like the softer sounds/folk/songwriters, etc. most. We saw Art Garfunkel about a year ago--he was shaky, but I'm still glad we saw him. We hadn't seen him live, solo, in like twenty years. We saw Judy Collins, whom I've always admired, a few months back. She was very good but short of great. I'd seen her five times before over the years. I tend to like 'under the radar'. I wanted to see David Crosby when he came to town a month or so ago, but his tickets were quite expensive. I should've gone as I've heard he and his band were great. My wife said "David Crosby and Friends? For that price, his friends better be 'Stills, Nash, and Young', LOL.

I want to see Al Stewart next time he plays our local small theater, even if I go by myself.

I did see Robert Plant in his "Honeydrippers" phase, in the '80's. I enjoyed him.

berri

The problem with a lot of rock shows these days are some people want to listen and watch, while others either want to talk through it (with each other or via the cellphone) or jump up and down dancing while obstructing the view. The worst I ran into was a Heart concert in Vegas. People were drinking, then swearing and fighting with each other over things like above. I think it may be better to watch concerts on cable .

kyfdx

berri said:

The problem with a lot of rock shows these days are some people want to listen and watch, while others either want to talk through it (with each other or via the cellphone) or jump up and down dancing while obstructing the view. The worst I ran into was a Heart concert in Vegas. People were drinking, then swearing and fighting with each other over things like above. I think it may be better to watch concerts on cable .

The key is to attend shows with old people.

We went to see Alison Krauss. She was given a rousing welcome, but then everyone stayed seated, except to stand and applaud at the end of each song. I think it helped that at 60, I was below the median age attending.

By contrast, my son and I went to see ZZTop, last year. And, stood for the entire show.
(definitely, not a nostalgia show. Top-notch performance).

uplanderguy

At the risk of straying a bit off-topic--and this will be my last Greenville-related post--but I bought this on eBay a few years back for I think four bucks. It's a first-year Impala keychain with the local dealer from which my grandfather and father bought many a new Chevy, and I bought my first two new--long-gone now of course:

kyfdx

That's cool..

berri

Maybe "the" car for nostalgic back to the 50's shows

uplanderguy

Overtrimmed, but I like '58 Impalas. No skirts or continental kits, though! I like the light silver-blue color they had that year.

fintail

Where were you in '62?

uplanderguy

Impressive connection to 'American Graffiti' there!

omarman

"What did you say? What did you SAY?!"

fintail

I've associated the 58 Impala with that movie since I saw it when I was a kid - even more than the T-Bird. Also makes me think of 61 Ford police cars.

ab348

It is interesting to see how the '58 Impala 2-door HT looks so much sleeker than the '58 BelAir HT.

Mr_Shiftright

What does anyone know about a 1956 Mercury model called the "Medalist"?

ab348

One year only bottom of the line model.

http://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-1956-mercury-medalist-–-the-big-m/

uplanderguy

What ab348 said--the bottom-of-the-line.

uplanderguy

I could like a '58 Bel Air two-door hardtop--but the added length of the Impala and the unique roofline, not to mention the all-important three taillights on each side--really do make the Impala special.

I could live without striped upholstery and I really wish they'd have left the chrome "comb" off the rear quarter panels--but I still like the car a good bit.

roadburner

kyfdx said:

uplanderguy said:

I was only 13 when they came to Greenville so I didn't go. I haven't seen any combination of them live. I think Palmer is the only one still alive? I'm not sure. He has played our local small theater in Kent, OH in the past few years. I should've gone.

Actually, I don't remember that they were in Greenville, although some people I know mentioned it and I'm like "no way!". I googled their first U.S. tour, and there it was!

I've been trying to quit the "nostalgia" shows, where the artist is 70+. Mostly, they are disappointing. It does make me wish that I'd had more money in the late '70s, so I could have gone to every show. When I think back on who I didn't see...

I've been to some great shows, though...
Instant cred with my son:
"Yes, I saw Zeppelin on back-to-back nights in 1977."

I saw Rush and the Who a few years ago; they were both decent concerts.

Mr_Shiftright

ab348 said:

One year only bottom of the line model.

http://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-1956-mercury-medalist-–-the-big-m/

Looks like I'll be appraising one. Looks like they made 4 styles--a 2D and 4D sedan, and 2D and 4D hardtop.

fintail

The air vent thing above the rear windshield on a 58 Impala has always caught my eye:

Mr_Shiftright

These cars aren't all that attractive to me, but they look good in black--probably because it mutes some of the unfortunate lines. It's a very chunky car--tries too hard I think. Certainly doesn't have the grace of the later bubbletop.

fintail

1958 isn't known as the zenith of restraint and good taste. Most 1961 cars are like minimalist architecture compared to their baroque counterparts from 3 years prior.

kyfdx

roadburner said:

kyfdx said:

uplanderguy said:

I was only 13 when they came to Greenville so I didn't go. I haven't seen any combination of them live. I think Palmer is the only one still alive? I'm not sure. He has played our local small theater in Kent, OH in the past few years. I should've gone.

Actually, I don't remember that they were in Greenville, although some people I know mentioned it and I'm like "no way!". I googled their first U.S. tour, and there it was!

I've been trying to quit the "nostalgia" shows, where the artist is 70+. Mostly, they are disappointing. It does make me wish that I'd had more money in the late '70s, so I could have gone to every show. When I think back on who I didn't see...

I've been to some great shows, though...
Instant cred with my son:
"Yes, I saw Zeppelin on back-to-back nights in 1977."

I saw Rush and the Who a few years ago; they were both decent concerts.

We’ve seen Rush three times in the past eight years. Great shows.

If you went to the same Who concert I did, then we disagree. That was mostly 😞

uplanderguy

That blue is the color I would choose on a '58.

I like the '61 Impala Sport Coupe a lot. The only thing--I'd have to get the non-pushbutton radio as I hate the "CHEVY" buttons, LOL. A "Chevy" is a Chevy II, or a Chevy van. An Impala is a "Chevrolet"!

'61 GM full-size hardtop coupes make me think of the space vehicles on "The Jetsons".

uplanderguy

RE. The "Medalist"--I'm surprised they built it in a four-door hardtop--and even a two-door hardtop, for that matter. Strippo model.

fintail

The bubbletops were a really nice design. The curved A-pillar on 61-62 GM cars has always caught my eye:



Those whitewalls are maybe just a touch too wide, but the car is blue, so it has that going for it. It amuses me to think that before I was born, my mom had a white on red 61 Impala convertible, bought as an ordinary used car in the late 60s. I think it might have ended up as a trade-in when she bought a Beetle in 1970.

berri

58 or 61, I always preferred the Bonneville personally. I think the 61 impala is under appreciated sometimes though.

omarman

Worst thing that happened to the !961 Impala value was the cleaner 1962 style.

fintail

Maybe the most famous use of a 61 Impala in a movie:

stickguy

The big W!

uplanderguy

Hot Rods to Hell?

uplanderguy

I like the '61 Impala better than the '62 myself, but I think most folks don't.

I like the '62 Bel Air Sport Coupe myself...'62 lower body with bubbletop.

I think every single one has been converted to 409, sigh. I'd take a 283 or 327 with Powerglide, whitewalls, and full wheelcovers and be happy.

fintail

"Where did you get that funny accent? Are you from Harvard or something?"

The same movie has an identical car to my dad's 60 Ford in a brief scene:



Has to be one of the best car spotting movies ever.

ab348

uplanderguy said:

I like the '61 Impala better than the '62 myself, but I think most folks don't.

Same here. The scale of appeal for me on early '60s Chevys is in chronological order: '61 most appealing, '64 least appealing (what were they thinking with that one?).

uplanderguy

Oh, "Mad" etc.!

Had to laugh, watched a rerun of 'Modern Family' recently where Cam was participating in a father/kid show at school. The sign out front read "It's a Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad World", LOL.

uplanderguy

In GM cars of the sixties, mostly the later sixties, I liked how you could get a luxury car in a non-formal roofline (Bonneville, Delta 88 Custom and Royale, Wildcat). I prefer the Delta and Wildcat, and even into the '70's, the Delta Royale and Centurion to the Ninety-Eight and Electra 225 models. Then, at some point, someone decided formal tops and opera windows meant "luxury".

uplanderguy

ab348, I grew up Chevy and I just don't like the '64 at all.

fintail

Centurion and Wildcat are still great names.

When I was a young teen, I had a thing for the 64 Impala SS, I thought it just looked right with the extra trim and unique hubcaps.