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

uplanderguy

Marion Lorne's character in "Bewitched" was an endearing character. She was almost 80 if I remember correctly when she was on that show.

Mrs. Kravitz was hilarious--"Abner, Mrs. Stevens is levitating again!". Of course, by the time he got to the window, she wasn't anymore. There were two different actresses who played her, too. The first died and was replaced. Like 'Darrin', the first actor was better IMHO.

Speaking of "Bewitched"--I bought my fifteenth new Chevrolet since January 17, 1981, this past Saturday. Really for my wife. A '19 white Equinox LT. I'm not used to buying popular vehicles (LOL) so the deal didn't strike me as good as others I've gotten. But she's very happy. She says she'll still drive the PT Cruiser to school and downtown where parking's an issue, since we just really don't care, LOL.

stickguy

Congrats on the new wheels.

uplanderguy

I would've bought the Ivy (green) metallic, but my wife hated it. Neither dealer within ten miles of us had even one in inventory. Where we bought, said that the last one they had, sat...and sat...and sat....

stickguy

Just looked it up. I like green, but that one does not look good on the build it web. Maybe looks better in person?

fintail

Congrats on the new car upladnderguy, I am sure you still got a deal.

Regarding rhe old TV shows, I might be odd in that I preferred Jeannie to Bewitched. Both were still in syndication when I was a little kid in the 80s, maybe the Jeannie humor was more aligned to the tastes of someone under 10. The Pontiac show brought forth by huge product placement was also interesting.

ab348

I was the same as a kid. While I watched both, the married-life stories of Bewitched didn't interest me as much as the far more silly Jeannie tales. I liked Hagman, Daily, Eden and Roarke better than the Bewitched cast as well, though later in life I came to recognize Elizabeth Montgomery as one of the most beautiful women around in those days.

uplanderguy

I did like the Pontiacs on '...Jeannie'.

I thought almost every character on "Bewitched" was great....Sam, Darrin, Endora (Agnes Moorehead was an established serious actress), Paul Lynde, "Aunt Clara", "Mrs. Kravitz", and on and on.

I still call my wife "Gladys Kravitz" if she's looking out the window trying to figure what's going on outside, LOL.

uplanderguy

The Ivy Metallic reminds me of 1972-73 GM's color Chevy called "Bright Green Metallic", although possibly a little bit darker. I just like that's it's not gray, black, white, or maroon.

To my dismay (personal reasons; nothing else) I saw that many Equinoxes were built in Mexico; some in Canada. Canada bugs me much less, as I've seen new Chevys from there at local dealers 45 years ago. So, I shopped online among ones with VIN's that started with "2". The one we bought was built in Oct. and was originally shipped to a dealer about 15 miles east of here, but was dealer-traded to the dealer in Tallmadge we purchased from.

andre1969

If I recall correctly, Endora and Maurice had something even more "forward-looking" back then...what they call an "Open Marriage" nowadays!

"Bewitched" ran through the 1971-72 tv season, so you'd think there would be a sprinkling of 1971 and 1972 cars here and there. However, the newest I can recall in the show, was a few 1970 full-sized Chevies. I remember them being used as police cars, and I think Darrin had an Impala Custom Coupe. And, of course, there were a few full-sized '70 Pontiac convertibles in the Salem episodes of "Bewitched".

The IMCDB does show a 1972 Impala convertible, again in "Sequoia", like the one Paul Lynde drove (but white seats instead of light brown). But, I can't remember it.


I wonder if it got cut out of the prints they show in reruns? Back in that era, a half-hour show was around 24-25 minutes, plus commercials (before that I think it used to be 26-27, and sometimes the actors actually broke the fourth wall and hawked the products during the show), but in the late 80's they started trimming them, and they've only trimmed more since then. So, I wonder if some of those shots simply got cut out to put in more commercials?

Usually, they were just an establishing shot, of a character pulling up in the car, and getting out, so it's not like any plot was lost. Still, it's nice to see those old cars, as new.

uplanderguy

You know, I always liked the '72 Chevy grille and seat trim, but boy did they decontent the Impala's trim down the sides from '71. No rocker trim at all--even though the Biscayne and BelAir had it! And the standard side molding was all metal....the vinyl-insert one was optional. It wouldn't have killed them to put the small rocker trim most every other big '71 GM car had.

uplanderguy

I know this isn't the site for this, but here's our new Equinox:

stickguy

Nice. My neighbor has a new loaner traverse in that color. Looks very similar. Just bigger

uplanderguy

It really looks like just about everything else out there, but it is nice to have a new car again.

ab348

My dealer had an early Ivy Green Equinox parked out front for a long time. I hven't seen one yet on the roads here and none are in stock currently.

uplanderguy

If I recall correctly, Endora and Maurice had something even more "forward-looking" back then...what they call an "Open Marriage" nowadays!

Now that I think about it...I think you're right!

andre1969

Congratulations on the new ride! I've been trying to hold off on the urge, myself. Thankfully my Dad's old '03 Regal keeps kicking. Heck, just the other day, one of the rear windows, which quit working about 11 months ago, suddenly started again. Of course, once I rolled it down, it wouldn't go back up! Eventually it did, though, but now I'm afraid to mess with it any more!

stickguy

No need to roll down a back window. At least not both. So don’t mess with success.

How’s the new house doing? Sell the old place yet, or still using it for old car Storage?

andre1969

True...my grandparents didn't have that luxury with their '82 Malibu wagon...so if they could get by without it, I can do without one! One thing that was really annoying though...when the window was stuck open, I had to roll down one of the window up front as well, otherwise there was an annoying, headache-inducing resonance that got worse, the faster you went.

I first discovered that resonance with my 2000 Intrepid, but since then noticed that just about all cars with a rear window that doesn't roll down all the way do it. I think the more aerodynamic and modern the car is, the worse it is, but my Intrepid put my ears in tune with it, so now I notice it even in an older car. I haven't tried it in the DeSoto yet, but now I'm kind of curious.

The new house is going great, so far. A few minor issues, such as one toilet developing a minor leak, another toilet needing a new gasket to keep it from running, and a bathroom tile popping loose. But, nothing to make me regret it!

I still have the old house, mainly because I need the garage space. If my finances cooperate, I plan on getting a garage built at the new place sometime this year, but we'll see. For now, the new house only has one covered spot that I don't know what you'd call it. Better protection than a carport, but still not quite a garage. I have my 5th Ave in it right now. It barely fits. Here's a couple pics...




And, here's a pic I took of the house from up by the mailbox...

stickguy

You need a snow plow I think.

andre1969

We have a snowblower...but it's back at the other house. And hasn't been started since 2016. That year, we had one storm that dropped about 19 inches, and the snowblower was a lifesafer.

However, this one is a bit more driveway than the old place. Luckily, this last snow only dropped around 7.5". I was on furlough and didn't have to go out. My housemate still has his Xterra, and it had no trouble getting out. The driveway goes up a hill, to get to the road (steeper than it looks in that picture), and I thought it might present a problem. But, the hill faces to the south, so when the Sun comes out, it actually melts the hill (and the driveway), pretty quickly.

I think those big blizzards are infrequent enough around here, that I can just get away with parking the car up by the road, so it's easier to dig out. Of course, I say that now...watch me regret it the next time we get a "real" storm!

xwesx

andre1969 said:

I think those big blizzards are infrequent enough around here, that I can just get away with parking the car up by the road, so it's easier to dig out. Of course, I say that now...watch me regret it the next time we get a "real" storm!

Oh, you will.... and you will!

In the meantime, it looks like a nice place, and it is definitely better situated than your previous house.

berri

Now that I think about it, I don't recall that buffering resonance with back windows when they were open as a younger person. Good thing, because most didn't have A/C back then. You may be on to something with the aerodynamics, OTOH it may be that the old cars weren't nearly as tight so the pressure didn't build up as much inside.

texases

Same here, no buffeting growing up. But one explanation I read ('modern cars are more aerodynamic') doesn't work - one of the worst of my cars was an '86 Jeep XJ Cherokee Chief, all the 'aero' of a brick.

berri

Hmm.. probably wasn't built all that tight either

uplanderguy

No buffeting in cars when I was growing up.

Nice place, andre!

stickguy

probably had more air leaks! The helicoptering is really bad if you just have the moonroof open. Definitely need to crack a window too.

I remember back in the days when I had the Odyssey there were some owners all up in arms that their precious kids were being traumatized by the buffeting effect when they lowered their slider door window. Apparently the driver was not smart enough to crack another window at the same time.

ab348

andre1969 said:

Congratulations on the new ride! I've been trying to hold off on the urge, myself. Thankfully my Dad's old '03 Regal keeps kicking. Heck, just the other day, one of the rear windows, which quit working about 11 months ago, suddenly started again. Of course, once I rolled it down, it wouldn't go back up! Eventually it did, though, but now I'm afraid to mess with it any more!

The GM W-body sedans of that era had that as a known problem. My '02 Intrigue had the RR window stop working at one point. Of course nobody ever sat there so it hardly ever was used. I did some digging and learned about the problem. Apparently a couple of sharp blows on the door panel near the switch could fix it. I tried it, and hey presto! It worked again.

andre1969

After my 2000 Intrepid put my ears "in tune" for lack of a better word, with that buffeting, I started noticing it in other cars where I never had before. For instance, my grandmother's '85 LeSabre, and my '89 Gran Fury. On the Gran Fury, the windows rolled down almost all the way, sticking up maybe an inch and a half, but I could still pick up on it a little bit.

But, in the overall scheme of things, those are still relatively "airtight" cars, compared to stuff from the 60's and earlier. Even a lot of 70's cars, as sloppy as the workmanship, were pretty "airtight". You have to slam my '76 LeMans pretty hard, for example, when its windows are rolled up all the way. In contrast, with my DeSoto, Catalina, or the Darts I had, you could be a lot more gentle.

Oh, one other thing that might make that buffeting worse on newer cars...sometime in the 70's, they started making window glass thinner, to save weight. Maybe that allows it to flex and vibrate more?

stickguy

I think that the more aerodynamic a car is, the more of an issue buffering is. On an old brick with all kinds of protrudences, the airflow is far from smooth anyway.

uplanderguy

On eBay now....who'da thunk it?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1976-Chevrolet-Other-Chevette/163516881819?hash=item26125d9b9b:g:58gAAOSw3NpcUknF:rk:1:pf:1&vxp=mtr&frcectupt=true

In '76, the Chevette and the Vega hatchback started at the identical price, $2,895. Then, and now, I'd rather have the Vega...and the '76 Vega was what the '71 should've been.

sda

This is the first time I've seen an Eldorado that is in great shape and is very similar to the 79 that dad had. Exact color two tone and saddle brown leather interior. The engine emblems over the cornering lights should be under the Eldo script but otherwise looks correct. Dad had the typical and heavy wire wheel covers. The leather was soft and supple, unlike today's stiff leather, yet held its shape without stretching. It was a Diesel, went thru head gaskets like clock work every 30k. Dad considered converting it to an Olds 350 gas, he decided to cut bait. I would have loved to have bought it but was a recent college grad barely making ends meet. For a Diesel, it ran strong with a good V8 intake moan. It got a solid 20 mpg around town and 30 mpg on the interstate. His Eldo is behind my Sunbird which I was preparing it for paint. I did in acrylic lacquer, color sanded and buffed. Sorry for the duplicate pics and out of order sequence, one day I will learn how to get this right!

uplanderguy

Styling-wise, I've always been a big fan of the '79-85 Eldorados. Completely different in concept, and to my eyes, more elegant, than the concurrent Marks--even the new Mark VII which used a sedan-style door. Too bad the Cadillac engines, except the '79 and '80 V8's, were so lame. I'm reminded of the '67-70 razor-edged styling in these cars.

I noticed the diesel emblem in the wrong place immediately, even before I read your post. Why do people just roll the dice on stuff like this? How hard would it have been to look at a brochure photo, or take a pic before the car was repainted? And how do you correct this, now? That's a huge pet peeve of mine. It's something that starts out small, but ends up near-impossible to correct afterwards.

A friend of mine will send me pics of cars he looks at with emblems in the wrong place, or applied crookedly, just to get a rise out of me, LOL.

Anyone who knows those cars...and is a potential buyer...would notice that right away.

That kind of thing would just slap me in the face every single time I climbed in a car. I can see that even farther away than orange-peel paint!

fintail

Would the "diesel" be under the "Eldorado" emblem on the fender (and trunk)?

30mpg from one is impressive, that's MB W123 diesel territory, taking it easy at the lame 55 mph of course.

uplanderguy

Yes, s/b under the fender "Eldorado" emblem and I believe (although would check) under the "Eldorado" nameplate on the trunk too.

Something I like, style-wise, that Cadillac started doing in '84 I believe, was using a body-colored side molding with no chrome beading. It gave the clean look of no body side molding smack down the middle of the side of the car. But even though I like the look, I wouldn't trade a '79 or '80 for that 4.1 engine in the '82 and later.

A friend of mine says the 8-6-4 used in '81 only really wasn't bad and better than the 4.1. I don't know about that.

fintail

Yep, they cleaned up the later cars that way:



Although it seems to me I see more later cars with continental kits, gaudy grilles, iffy wire wheels etc than earlier models,it is almost like some rebelled against the cleaner look.

When I was a kid, a friend (sadly, passed away at the end of last year) of the family had an 8-6-4 that he kept up until the late 90s, and it was pristine, dark blue with blue interior. He claimed it almost never had any issues. Unfortunately, he sold it in the late 90s and replaced it with a Windstar, of all things (his last vehicle was a Ranger).

uplanderguy

Man, I love the looks of that Eldo. I'm not familiar with that emblem on the roof, but you see what I was talking about how the revised side molding cleaned things up.

In GM brochures, in the '70's at least, they almost never showed a photo of the car with the then-optional body side moldings...even cars like Electra 225's. They knew the cars looked better without them, even though virtually all of them that made it to dealers had those optional moldings.

ab348

My '79 Electra Park Avenue had the moldings, which were different from most in being abut an inch wide and having the color-keyed vinyl insert separated by a thin silver strip down the middle.

uplanderguy

Very nice! I'm thinking until maybe '73 or '74 you couldn't get those wheels on an Electra, just the LeSabre and Centurion, but they are the best-looking factory wheel put on a car in my lifetime I think.

For some reason, I especially remember the '72 Buick brochure. Electra Limited coupe on cover with no side molding.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1972-Buick-Riviera-Electra-225-LeSabre-Centurion-GS-Skylark-FL-Sales-Brochure-/362168888614

fintail

The later run Eldos make me think of the underrated "Starman", where one is featured near the end of the movie. This was a brand new car at the time, here driving off the lot with its cleaned-up side trim, maybe real wire wheels, and a gaudy grille:



And at rear, of course:



This scene was in Vegas, which I guess is close enough to Florida in terms of refined sensible taste.

uplanderguy

Really, Vegas and Florida are probably similar in general tastes, at least then.

fintail

I'd definitely call it the "Florida Package", all it needs is a set of curb whiskers.

The car might look better driving out to Meteor Crater, the dust dulls the bling:





Haven't seen this movie in eons, should look it up again, I remember I really liked it when I was younger.

ab348

andre1969 said:

Here's the site I found the pic at. Lots of cool old prototype sketches and photos...
http://www.forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=29648&posts=182&mid=266168&highlight=&highlightmode=1&action=search

The current (April 2019) issue of Collectible Automobile has an excellent article on '60s styling exercises from all the Detroit studios of ideas that were proposed for production that didn't quite make it. It has sharp photos of some of the Exner Chrysler Corp. designs shown in that message board thread that became the "plucked chickens" when the downsizing was mandated, along with "Flitewing" designs of the Imperial and other big cars that did not get produced after all. Also has design workouts by Ford and GM too. Recommended.

xwesx

fintail said:

Would the "diesel" be under the "Eldorado" emblem on the fender (and trunk)?

30mpg from one is impressive, that's MB W123 diesel territory, taking it easy at the lame 55 mph of course.

Yeah, but that's about max speed for a diesel back then!

Probably gearing, but that was DEFINITELY max speed for my HS friend's 1979 Rabbit 5-speed.

fintail

A 240D probably tops out at no more than 75 mph.

If the Rabbit had AC, hitting the switch was probably akin to opening the parachute behind a dragster.

xwesx said:

Probably gearing, but that was DEFINITELY max speed for my HS friend's 1979 Rabbit 5-speed.

xwesx

fintail said:

A 240D probably tops out at no more than 75 mph.

If the Rabbit had AC, hitting the switch was probably akin to opening the parachute behind a dragster.

xwesx said:

Probably gearing, but that was DEFINITELY max speed for my HS friend's 1979 Rabbit 5-speed.

I would definitely agree to that! However, no such luxury in this little beast! It could pretty much go anywhere, though. It could even fly! LOL

Mr_Shiftright

One time in my Mercedes 300D I was parked on an incline in Aspen at about 9500 feet. I started the car, stepped on the gas, and it simply wouldn't move. It could not overcome gravity.

omarman

And that was downhill? Gravity is a [non-permissible content removed].

Just for fun click on this link for a C/D review of the all new 1977 Rabbit Diesel.
Results: [non-permissible content removed]

Zero to 60 mph: 16.8 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 20.5 sec @ 65.6 mph
Top speed (observed): 82 mph

fintail

I have an old Consumer Guide yearbook from 1981 I think, where one of the cars they tested was a Volvo diesel wagon. Automatic. 0-60 was something around 25 seconds.

Mr_Shiftright

You really have to treat an old diesel as if you were driving a car from the 1930s. At least the Benz turbo-diesels were torquey, but they ran out of breath pretty fast.

Diesel passenger cars are dead, let's face it.

roadburner

@Mr_Shiftright - any guesses as to what this puppy is worth? Being a 2+2, a Series 1.5, and an automatic should depress the price somewhat, I'd think...