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

uplanderguy

andre, when I was a teen and absorbed all kinds of stuff from the Chevy brochures, I can remember that our '73 Nova coupe supposedly had 33.4 inches of rear-seat legroom, compared to 32.9 for the Chevelle. That always surprised me. The Nova was only on a one-inch shorter wheelbase. You got nearly the car for a lot less money with a Nova. Of course, they were a sub-frame and leaf rear springs, drum brakes, etc. for those savings.

omarman

I'm the "concierge". My husband used to be the "concierge", but he's dead. Now I'M the "concierge".

Mr_Shiftright

stickguy said:

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.

No, you are correct. I owned a Checker in Colorado---three on the tree with overdrive, Continental 6 cylinder engine. Very roomy, very slow, very uncomfortable to drive (cheap bench seats, high "bus driver" steering wheel).

Mostly I remember that the idle speed was 350 rpm.

Very sturdy car. If you had an accident, you wouldn't really know it unless somebody called your house later.

andre1969

uplanderguy said:

andre, when I was a teen and absorbed all kinds of stuff from the Chevy brochures, I can remember that our '73 Nova coupe supposedly had 33.4 inches of rear-seat legroom, compared to 32.9 for the Chevelle. That always surprised me. The Nova was only on a one-inch shorter wheelbase. You got nearly the car for a lot less money with a Nova. Of course, they were a sub-frame and leaf rear springs, drum brakes, etc. for those savings.

The 32.4" number I found was for the '75-79 style. Perhaps they moved the back seat up a bit, to account for the swoopier roofline? There's an episode of "Mama's Family", where the Mama character buys either a '73 or '74 Nova coupe, that she nicknames "Blue Thunder". At one point, they actually show six characters squeezing into it...Mama, Vint, Naomi, Aunt Fran, and the kids Buzz and Sonya. It looked a bit tight, but they made it!

One other detail I liked, about the '73-74 Nova, is that you still got a roll-down rear window with the coupe. Not so with GM's "Colonade" intermediates. However, the doors were bigger on the midsized cars, so you might have still gotten pretty good air flow back there with the front windows down, anyway. And, I guess an intermediate was more likely to be ordered with a/c than a compact.

I was also surprised that the rear legroom for the '78+ Malibu coupe seemed a bit low. When I had my '80, I sat back there a few times, it it felt like it had plenty of room, to me. And I'm 6'3". But, sometimes I do question how they actually measure legroom numbers. My Dad's '03 Regal is rated at 36.9", but where I have the front seat adjusted, you can not put another person behind me. Unless they sit sideways. I think legroom is affected by two things though...how high the back seat sits up, and how far the back of the front seat is. So a car with a tall seating position, but not a lot of fore-aft room, could have the same legroom measurement as a car with a lower seating position, but more fore-aft room. The fore-aft room will give you more clearance for your knees, but the higher seating position will give you better thigh support.

fintail

Classic episode. I remember Mama goes to the used car lot wanting a blue car. The salesman (Fred Willard, I think) tries to get her into a blue 70s Eldo convertible, but it is too expensive, so he sets her up with the Nova, which ends up being a lemon. Unfortunately, I find no better screen caps:

PF_Flyer

stickguy said:

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

Almost don't need faces

The Producers. That's Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder

stickguy

ah. I thought that was Wilder. I forgot about the original version of that

andre1969

I have Mama's Family on DVD, and the NBC episodes are actually the original, uncut ones that have the old Harvey Korman/Alistair Quince introductions. I'll have to pull that episode up sometime, to see if it's any higher quality.

EScott

machiavelli said:

This isn't anything exotic, but it was somewhat surprising -
I saw a newer Saturn SC coupe with the full "rice" treatment - giant rear wing, coffee can muffler, clear tail-lights, lowered suspension, etc... It's the first time I've seen a Saturn like that.

Wow!!!! I would love to see something like this! It's so sad that I cannot add into this thread as I haven't really seen any obscure cars around

bhill2

PF_Flyer said:

stickguy said:

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

Almost don't need faces

The Producers. That's Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder

One of the funniest movies I have ever seen. They were both brilliant.

PF_Flyer

Mr_Shiftright

Probably putting skirts on the FRONT end of a car wasn't such a great idea. But in other ways, this model was quite innovative.

ab348

Not sure why it has cargo trailer wheels on it.

Mr_Shiftright

Possibly just to move it. It doesn't really look like a runner.

texases

I've seen those aftermarket wheels on a number of SUVs and pickups some years ago...

fintail

Yep I remember those as a popular cheap wheel option in the mid-late 80s.

kyfdx

Needs ID help

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/54362/general/x/what-kind-of-car-id-this#latest

explorerx4

This one is almost exactly like the one my friend has.
A year newer and different interior color, but no wheel or exhaust upgrade.
Definitely more than I am willing to pay!

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1998-porsche-911-carrera-s-3-6-7/

kyfdx

It makes me sad to think of having the perfect car, and only driving it 1000 mi/yr.

Plus, I have no interest in paying a premium for super-low- miles. Give me a 70K-90K mile car for 2/3 of the price.

Speaking of that... has your friend said what he is asking?

explorerx4

@kyfdx,
I think he away this weekend picking up his next one.

fintail

Fun one from the facebook fintail group:

https://www.facebook.com/marianne.thamm/videos/10155036677491707/

uplanderguy

I'm reminded of the old Wendy's commercial with Clara Peller driving and her elderly friend riding as Clara whips around corners.

imidazol97

"Where's the beef?"

fintail

Speak of the devil, here's a clip from an underrated classic 80s movie, and a car you might like:

https://youtu.be/F_XP_zTI6gE

uplanderguy

'68 Impala Sport Sedan which looks pretty clean and original! Well, other than that dent in the RR quarter...

What movie is that? Oh, I see...'Moving Violations'. I have heard of it but have never seen it. I'll admit I didn't watch many movies in the '80's as I was starting my 'career' then in a job with a lot of travel, a lot of turnover and was always attempting to hold onto my job! LOL

tjc78

I haven't seen that movie in years, but remember it well. Great 80's movie

texases

There's a mid-'80s Rolls Silver Spur (I think) parked on the street not far from me, day in, day out. Wonder if it's their 'daily driver'...

Mr_Shiftright

No old Rolls Royce could possibly be a daily driver

fintail

Yep, Moving Violations - the kind of low budget slapstick silly stuff that isn't made anymore. I'd probably put it in my top 10 comedies - mostly ignored today, but if one is looking for something funny and mostly harmless, it is a good one. Lots of good one-liners, too. I remember I taped it on VHS when I was a kid, and when it hit DVD, I bought it at release - I think it is out of print now, at least that version. It is also so forgotten now that the full movie is on Youtube, and nobody cares enough to claim it:

https://youtu.be/XqB3FC-Q1KY

Silver Spur always makes me think of Cannonball Run II, another one that is completely stupid, but watchable, for us children of the 80s anyway,

tjc78

I made my (wife who hates everything 80s) suffer through the Money Pit last night.  I still laugh even though I’ve seen it dozens of times.  

texases

Interesting they didn't credit Robert Conrad for his outstanding work...

fintail

Money Pit, another 80s classic. has a few interesting cars, including a quick glimpse into a MB showroom ~1985. Also some good lines:

https://youtu.be/lJhHjACjJjA

tjc78

Yes.... period Caddy and Corvette make appearances too.  

explorerx4

Drove by a user car dealer that had 6 Pontiac Fiero's that I could see, while waiting at a light. A couple for sale, others maybe parts cars.

Michaell

tjc78 said:

Yes.... period Caddy and Corvette make appearances too.  

RIP Alexander Godunov

fintail

I gotta be me:

https://youtu.be/dO9nxRjIv2A

The showroom:



Buy a house, get a Lincoln free:

xwesx

fintail said:

Speak of the devil, here's a clip from an underrated classic 80s movie, and a car you might like:

Hah! When they were heading out onto the airfield behind the luggage car, the plane in the background was painted Western. I used to fly on Western 747s back in the 80s when we would travel to Alaska to visit my grandparents.

berri

Delta became a true national carrier when they bought Northeastern and then Western.

fintail

I have an old Western Airlines laminated card/pass on a lanyard, that I found at an estate sale a long time ago. They must have had some service in Seattle.

berri

In the old days United dominated Seattle along with Northwest. Alaska's N concourse was originally United's. I never understood a lot of United's moves, especially after they merged with Continental. More than a few strategic blunders, like losing share in places like SEA , LAX and DEN.

andre1969

Depending on which way the GPS routes me, I pass by this 1963 Galaxie hardtop on the way to work in the morning...


Sorry for the bad picture quality. The car actually looks like it's in pretty nice shape, although sitting out like that, I wonder what kind of issues it might be developing? I'm not sure how long it's been in this same spot...I first noticed it about 5 months ago.

texases

I can hear the rust flakes hitting the ground on the '60s Ford here, in Dallas!

uplanderguy

I always remember sitting in an A&P parking lot with my Dad, waiting for my Mom, and we were parked behind a '63 Ford. My Dad felt betrayed by our '62 Fairlane, but I remember him saying, "That's the way taillights should be on a car....big and round", LOL.

Michaell

berri said:

In the old days United dominated Seattle along with Northwest. Alaska's N concourse was originally United's. I never understood a lot of United's moves, especially after they merged with Continental. More than a few strategic blunders, like losing share in places like SEA , LAX and DEN.

United is still the largest airline in Denver, but Southwest is closing fast.

When they planned the new airport in the late 80's, there were three airlines using it as a hub - United, Continental and Frontier.

By the time the airport opened in 1995, it was down to United.

But, since then, the airport has exceeded all expectations and new gates are being planned, as is a total overhaul of the Jeppesen terminal.

A 7th runway is also being discussed.

stickguy

Saw a tired looking jag XKS convertible today. Parked in a lot, no plates, in a poorer area. Trouble written all over it!

Mr_Shiftright

You mean an XKR-S or an old XJ-S?

stickguy

XJ. Looked like an early one too.

Mr_Shiftright

Never did warm up to those things.

texases

Drove in next to a R230 SL550, early 2000s, I'd guess. Nothing special about that, but I did notice the wheels/tires - they looked small, made me think of a Miata. My, how wheels have become huge...

kyfdx

Just replaced 19" runflats on my wife's car, yesterday. Yikes!