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

Mr_Shiftright

I'd guess around $50K, since it appears to be in very good condition. But, as you say, being an automatic knocks it back at least 10%, and being a 2+2, it's a rather awkward design.

roadburner

I'd be sorely tempted if it stayed under $30K, but I suspected that would be much too low...

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah, I doubt it would be that low because it's been refurbished. Last thing you want is to buy a rat E-Type.

roadburner

That's the truth.

explorerx4

We are having an ex neighbor who used to live around the corner for many years, visiting for the weekend, and is thinking about moving back.
Our kids grew up together and we have each been to the kid's weddings(long way to travel for both families).
Husband got a job where he can live where he wants and does a lot of travelling.
Last night some of the other women that are friends with her came over a get together.
One of them mentioned she and her husband are heading to NC to pick up a Porsche they are buying from someone they know there.
My friend, the guy buying the car, already has a last year air cooled and is probably going to sell it.
Beautiful condition and about 22k miles on it.
I have no idea where the market is on those.
Having driven it a few times, I would love to have it.
He didn't say anything about it when we delivering a snow blower I helped him sell last week, so I'm thinking he wants top dollar for it.

kyfdx

993 model 911?

I’m in!

bhill2

fintail said:

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.

Believe it or not, that was about the 0-60 of the '60 Falcon with Fordomatic that I drove to college for about two years. No kidding; I found an old road test. They got it up to 82 MPH. I can't figure out how. For what it's worth, it gave me valuable training for driving my aunt's 190D.

stickguy

am I the only person that actually likes these? A little ratty, and needs a 4 speed, but still cool.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-dodge-aspen/

And it must be cheap car week on BaT. They currently have a plain Jane B210, and a VW Fox running. Not the usually stuff.

explorerx4

Here's a picture of it I took a few years ago.

kyfdx

explorerx4 said:

Here's a picture of it I took a few years ago.

You really should look into it. Besides being great cars, the value will only increase. I'm usually bad about predicting future collector values, but I knew at the time, I should have bought one 5-10 years ago.

It's a stick, right?

berri

I like the look of the Volare/Aspen wagon as well. They probably would have been much better sellers if Chrysler hadn't so messed up the quality reputation. They threw out the window in a short period of time their reputation for building tough small cars.

ab348

Speaking of classic cars, I watched "The 24 Hour War" on Amazon Prime last night. Just an excellent way to spend 90 minutes. It's a well-done documentary about the competition between Ford and Ferrari in the 1960s with lots of commentary from Edsel Ford II and Henry Ford III along with some great archive footage I had not seen previously (Carroll Shelby seemed to have a film crew following him around for a while in the mid-60s) and plenty of photos. I learned a lot that I did not know before.

kyfdx

berri said:

I like the look of the Volare/Aspen wagon as well. They probably would have been much better sellers if Chrysler hadn't so messed up the quality reputation. They threw out the window in a short period of time their reputation for building tough small cars.

I saw a couple with stick-shifts, back when they were new.

explorerx4

Yes, a 6 speed stick. Has nice semi custom exhaust in addition to those nice wheels.

Mr_Shiftright

ab348 said:

Speaking of classic cars, I watched "The 24 Hour War" on Amazon Prime last night. Just an excellent way to spend 90 minutes. It's a well-done documentary about the competition between Ford and Ferrari in the 1960s with lots of commentary from Edsel Ford II and Henry Ford III along with some great archive footage I had not seen previously (Carroll Shelby seemed to have a film crew following him around for a while in the mid-60s) and plenty of photos. I learned a lot that I did not know before.

Who says money can't buy happiness? Ford proved otherwise.

Mr_Shiftright

explorerx4 said:

Yes, a 6 speed stick. Has nice semi custom exhaust in addition to those nice wheels.

With those low original miles, and being the last of the 993s, I'd guess it's going to be close to $100K. Howver, values have flattened out on these and he might have to settle for around $85K. This all presume a rather pristine, original car.

Why don't you buy a 996? In most respects, it's a better car, and even with a new IMS upgrade and a full service, you get a Porsche for 1/3rd the price of a 993.

explorerx4

Water cooled? no way, I'd rather have a Mustang. Air cooled or nothing.

Mr_Shiftright

An air-cooled Mustang? See, there are holes in your story!

explorerx4

I looked at the completed sales on BAT and found a similar car.
It sold for 65K, which is more than I'm willing to pay.

kyfdx

explorerx4 said:

I looked at the completed sales on BAT and found a similar car.
It sold for 65K, which is more than I'm willing to pay.

Find out what he is asking.

Black interior?

explorerx4

If he brings it up, we'll talk about it, otherwise I'll just let him tell what he did with it.
We are friends and I don't want to complicate things.
It does have a black interior and it's spotless.

Mr_Shiftright

explorerx4 said:

I looked at the completed sales on BAT and found a similar car.
It sold for 65K, which is more than I'm willing to pay.

Same miles? Also last year made? Those are two biggies in terms of value adjustment. It's possible I'm too optimistic on pricing, but I think your friend's car, if exceptional as you say, will bring more than $65K. I presume it's not an S"?

sda

It was cloudy, cold, and threatening to rain and I saw three very clean vehicles within 30 minutes out for a Sunday cruise. A 72 triple white Hurst Olds Cutlass convertible, a very nice firethorn red 89 Cadillac Sedan DeVille with the correct alloy wheels and whitewalls, and a mid 60s Jeep pickup in a medium brown, kind of a bronze tint to the color. All driven by men in their 50-60s.

explorerx4

My friend's has about 2/3 of the miles of the one I saw on BAT. I think he is the second owner.
Not sure if it an 'S', drove it in the fall. but I don't remember.

andre1969

I kinda like those high-performance late 70's Aspens and Volares. With the 360-4bbl, they were probably about as close as you could get to a musclecar in those days. My biggest beef with them has to do with the body style in general. I don't like how the coupes were on a shorter wheelbase, which made them really cramped in the back seat. I know you don't buy a car like that for the back seat, but I just prefer a bigger car.

In retrospect, it probably wasn't any worse than the back seat of a Nova or Granada, so they were about what you'd expect for a compact. And, up front they felt a bit more midsized to me. Not in shoulder room so much, but with seats that were a bit thicker, better legroom, etc. I guess it's just that the sedans and wagons were actually pretty space-efficient, for their time at least, that the coupes seemed a bit of a letdown to me.

uplanderguy

The best styling in those coupes, to my eyes, was the original styling. I think that's generally the case about styling--first model year was integrated, and subsequent years were changed for the sake of change. The taillights on those cars got big later in the run, and there was stuff like louvered quarter windows, etc. The first may have been the worst, but I think it was the best-looking.

They were the only ones offering a wagon in that size class at the time.

ab348

It's a shame that Aspen Super Coupe is looking so ratty. Would be an interesting car otherwise.

In the fall of '77 the parents were in the market for a new car and wanted a wagon. We test drove a top-line Aspen wagon, a '77 LTDII wagon (no Fairmonts were yet available) and the '78 Grand LeMans Safari. The latter seemed like the nicest car of the 3 and that's what Dad bought, though it was not a very well-built car as things turned out.

I remember driving the Aspen wagon and liking it reasonably well, though it understeered very badly.

berri

Tell me about that era GM midsized - had a 79 Monte Carlo: The windows kept popping out of place leaking air and rain. One door never fit and sealed properly. Trim pieces were glued on and fell off while on the highway. The gauge package occasionally had all the gauges dancing together before returning to their proper settings. The purchase turned out to be a big mistake, especially because none of the Chevy dealers cared to, or had the ability to, fix it all properly. Between the car and the Chevy dealerships, never owned a Chevy after that. Had a few more GM vehicles though. The Olds dealers seemed a bit more competent.

omarman

My sister and her husband both got new 1979 Malibu cars at same time from the same dealer. My sisters Malibu wagon had a few issues from the beginning. The worst was a poorly fitted windshield which she said took 2 trips to the dealer body shop to correct. And the little flipper vent windows never seemed to vent properly but always caught the rain efficiently! My brother in law's Malibu Classic coupe didn't have any obvious defects after delivery but he traded it after 1 year on a new Datsun.

uplanderguy

I always liked the '78 Malibu Classic coupe, if equipped with the 305, honeycomb wheel covers, 50/50 split front seat with dual armrests, and the Monte Carlo gauge cluster. Never had one though.

To me, those GM midsizes drove like small big cars. Ford's and Chrysler's seemed like big small cars.

uplanderguy

My parents bought a new '80 Monte Carlo in a very nice dark metallic military green with painted gold pinstripe . I remember it being well-assembled. In fact, I can't recall Dad ever taking it back for anything. And, he was sort-of a grumpy sort.

One apparent 'goof' that I was glad about, was althought it had no A/C, it had an A/C vent, chromed plastic, on the right side where usually was stuck a big plastic block filler. It looked a lot better. I had to show my Dad that no air actually came out of there, LOL.

uplanderguy

I could like this very Malibu Classic, but impossible to find one now I'm sure.

http://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/vintage-review-1978-chevrolet-malibu-classic-car-and-driver-goes-crazy-for-f41/

I like the 'taut' look--no wasted space nor the 'prestige' long hood of the Monte Carlo.

Until '81, every Monte Carlo built in that third-generation came with the F41 suspension and 205-70 tires as standard equipment.

P.S.--Now that I read the article, I see they used the term 'taut', too!

Not that they look alike, but I also like the '64 Studebaker Daytona two-door hardtop for the same reason--not an ounce of fat on it. The Daytona and the '78 Malibu Classic were only an inch apart in wheelbase.

fintail

Funny memory. When I was a little kid, like 4-5 years old, the family of a girl down the street had one of those Malibu coupes, I seem to remember it was a pleasant light-medium blue, a color that seemed to go on maybe half of production. During this era there were also Malibu police cars, and I remember her dad was a policeman. From that connection, I put together in my mind that anyone with with one of the squared off Malibus must be a cop or connected to one, and I always thought of them as a police car.

stickguy

I like those actually. Though the mentioned Can Am is better. But, that Malibu with a few tweaks, dandy! Or even better, an el Camino modded.

thebean

I saw this Morgan the other day - license plate says it’s a ‘66. About a half mile after this pic, one of the wheel trim rings comes flying off and rolls down the road and into a parking lot. The driver noticed and immediately pulled over and started walking back to retrieve it.

thebean

Same trip, this Ford F-100 (early ‘60’s ?) pulled up next to me. It turned left, so I wasn’t able to get a better shot.

uplanderguy

That's the '57-60 body.

fintail

Saw a Mk 2 Scirroco in the snow yesterday, and a late 80s Corolla wagon just zoomed up my street, maybe an AWD given the sloppy slushy snowy mess right now.

explorerx4

That truck has a nice red.

uplanderguy

Ford reused that bed in '62 and '63, when their handsome unit-body truck was found to be not holding up. The styling didn't match the newer cab but it worked.

ab348

Here's one that @uplanderguy will appreciate. Spotted a few years back in Hyannis MA featuring a certain pop singer and her car:

stickguy

Is that Carly Simon? Odd car choice.

when I was a kid (a long, long time ago!) there was a little old widow lady that lived a few houses down, and she had a white civilian checker like that. For some reason, I think it was a 3 on the tree. Did that even exist? Or I am just making that up.

uplanderguy

I remember her saying years ago that they had a Checker, since "...we're such a leggy bunch"!

If I could ask her a question, it would be about her memories of that car.

I always thought she was underrated. "Smoky contralto" voice (as I read it described once); a writer; plays piano and guitar, and maybe most of all--has always been 'under the radar'.

She's absolutely my lifetime favorite artist. So many great obscure cuts.

I think her voice is gone now, but I'll give her that. She'll be 74 in a few months.

uplanderguy

In '81 or '82 I was in Kalamazoo, MI, Checker's hometown, on business. I was impressed seeing 'civilian' Checkers with vinyl tops and wire wheelcovers!

PF_Flyer

Some movies come on and make me stop and watch

I really like the "time machine" aspect of movie locations and noticing all the details of what a place used to be like, AND setting you folks a car ID challenge. So... back in NYC... in 1967... there were these two guys...

fintail

Big young childhood memory for me is my parents listening to Carly Simon. Makes me think of my mom's T-Bird. I didn't know she was into Checkers.

uplanderguy said:

I remember her saying years ago that they had a Checker, since "...we're such a leggy bunch"!

If I could ask her a question, it would be about her memories of that car.

I always thought she was underrated. "Smoky contralto" voice (as I read it described once); a writer; plays piano and guitar, and maybe most of all--has always been 'under the radar'.

She's absolutely my lifetime favorite artist. So many great obscure cuts.

I think her voice is gone now, but I'll give her that. She'll be 74 in a few months.

uplanderguy

'65 Dodge Custom 880 or Polara; '63 Chevy station wagon

andre1969

Just out of curiosity, I looked up the published back seat legroom specs for the Volare coupe and a few of its peers. Here's what I found...

Volare coupe: 32.9"
Nova coupe: 32.4"
Granada coupe: 33.9"
Fairmont Zephyr: 32.6"
Fairmont 2-door notchback: 35.3" (to be fair, this was actually a 2-door sedan, so it was identical to the 4-door).
AMC Concord: 35.7" (again, this one's listed as a sedan).
Malibu coupe: 35.1" (I threw this one in here because, while a midsize, it was similar in overall dimensions to the other two, and was most likely cross-shopped to some degree).
Diplomat coupe: 34.1" (guess that longer wheelbase paid off a bit. FWIW, this only applies to '77-79; for '80-81 the coupe went to the shorter Volare coupe wheelbase).

So, in the overall scheme of things, I guess the Volare coupe isn't *that* bad in the back seat. FWIW, I think my '76 LeMans is also rated 32.9" of legroom in the back. I've tried sitting in the back of my LeMans, and while I wouldn't want to be there for a long time, it's not as bad as I thought it would be.

And, of course, these are just published specs...your mileage may vary!

PF_Flyer

uplanderguy said:

'65 Dodge Custom 880 or Polara; '63 Chevy station wagon

Custom...you are GOOD

stickguy

What movie is that? I can’t make out the faces on my iPad. Too fuzzy.