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

fintail

When I was little, my sister's boyfriend had a yellow 924 with white sheepskin seat covers. I thought it was a cool car. Little did I know...

Tomorrow I am going to look at a 1984 Monte Carlo diesel for a friend of mine (who is a Monte Carlo fan). I bet there's not many of those left, and deservedly so.

This isn't from an obscure car, but today at a yard sale I found a pair of new old stock still in original boxes hubcaps for a 64 Galaxie, for $5. They've got to be worth something.

gagrice

I spotted a 2005 RX400h in Hilo Hawaii. I understand they are here making Promo videos for the release. It's the hybrid for rich people.

andre1969

about a mile or so from me currently has this on their lot:

It can be yours for only $28,550! I like the '58 Impala, but on this one I don't like the mirrors, wheels, or color.

They also have this:

for $6995. Judging by the trees in the background, it's been on their lot for quite sometime, as in a few months the trees will look like that again! Wonder if that means they'd be willing to deal?

I always liked the Monte SS, but I think $6995 for an '87 with 117K miles on it is an awful lot. I remember looking at them back in college, when they were only like 3-4 years old, with maybe 40-60K miles, and they weren't much more than that! And I don't think a Monte SS is anything that's ready to shoot up in value, at least not yet.

fintail

Wow, both are overpriced, the Impala much more so. With the weird mirrors (is it an export model or something?) and those wheels, I shudder to think what else is wrong on it. I sense a velour interior out of a 1989 Chevy truck, and a detuned 1970s 350 under the hood.

The Monte isn't too far off, if it is nice, and it looks decent in the pic anyway. My Monte Carlo obsessed friend bought an 85 SS in black with a dark red interior 4 years ago. He paid $6100 for a fairly pristine car with 60K on the clock, I told him it was a good deal. He's been happy with the car. It's not the highest quality item though. The interior fabric is OK, but the plastics are third world, and the doors rattle for about 30 seconds if you shut them with the windows down. That feel is what helped people run from GM.

fintail

Ebay time:

Of course, I really like these. I'd prefer a prewar car, though

Not many of these on the road

And as it is ebay, here's another

I don't think it's a bad car per se....but "collectible"...maybe just a little...and IN ENGLAND!

Healthy bidding on this

I know of the name, but I've never seen one of these homely beasts

It's a funny thing, but I really don't think people are actually restoring them yet, and they likely never will

Earlier Airflows are cooler than this late one, but nice grille no less

Much nicer than usual Alfetta

Lovely M100

Value increases every year?? Not with that frontal rust.

Sad fintail, needs a backyard DIYer to save it

This is really weird. A lowline W110 190 with top of the range velour like out of a W112 300SE or Adenauer. Interesting. Very nice looking car too.

An almost "new" car for Andre

andys120

That's quite a collection Fin, Humbers, Tatras, Borgwards
...couldn't you find any Citroens?

I'm a fan of Alfettas and Tatras (if you're gonna go weird, go for the really weird!)

Mr_Shiftright

Humber Super Snipe:

Personally the regular Snipe would be adequate for my needs. I mean, why Lord it over your neighbors with a "Super" Snipe. And besides, that Super model can get away from you.

-------------------------------------------------

Renault Le Car:

I'm surprised the reserve has not yet been met at $152.50. If I had to nominate the most worthless, hopeless, mechanically diabolical car ever produced by the hands of man, it would be either this one, a Maserati Bi-Turbo, A Triumph TR7 or a Chevrolet Vega. I say "diabolical" because all of these cars have a certain charm or appeal, as well as a low low price, which makes them all the more deadly to their hapless prey.

--------------------------------------------------
Mercedes 200

Increases value every year? Not if you adjust for inflation!

--------------------------------------------------
Mercedes 190

First off, his starting bid will kill his auction right off. DUH...you don't post near-retail price on a damaged car.

Definitely save-able, but that line about $500--$1,000" is out of line unless you happen to own a Mercedes salvage yard and a body shop; otherwise, even with scrounging parts and begging friends to help, I don't think I could fix this car up for less than $1,500 if I was lucky. For the average "Joe" (as opposed to exceptional Joes), more like $4,000 if you give it to a shop. And this presumes that the fenders have not been pinched into the doors and that the lower pan isn't distorted.

Iffy at best but I hope someone tries. The 190s are my favorite fintail, as I think simplicity suits the car and the design.

Real value as it sits? Maybe $750.

--------------------------------------------------

The other 190

This is a Euro car so that's why it's weird. I'd be very wary of RUST on this baby. Germans send us all their junk.

--------------------------------------------------

Borgwards

I see these more often than not in California. I suspect two reasons for this: one, they imported a lot of them to the West Coast and two, they are pretty durable and well-made cars. Borgward could have been BMW in America were it not for its very eccentric owner/CEO/tyrant dictator, Mr. B.

fintail

There were no Citroens of special merit (like a nice two tone pre-60 DS 19 or something).

There is this funny little van though, a good business write-off

I agree with the value of that wrecked 190. It's a shame, hopefully it will be saved. I know of a 200 in my town with more severe front damage...it was absolutely mint before the crash, white with red leather. The owner is just now starting to get it back on the road.

The velour on that other 190 is just so weird. I didn't even know that was a normal option. I've never even seen it in a W11, just in 300 series cars. Maybe the original owner worked for MB or had a connection. Those seats would be worth a pretty penny to a fintail person, if they are nice.

andys120

I can't see a 2CV van without thinking of Inspector Clouseau, That's another one that's so funky it's cool.

Maybe we could use it for a station vehicle at my radio stations.

Mr_Shiftright

Now here's a case of two obscure cars being auctioned with the photos telling one story and the description obviously relating to some other imaginary cars! Read the "body" description especially on the "silver car" but don't do it with something in your mouth or you'll make a mess.

Trust me, I wouldn't lie to you!

Sold to the lucky new owner for a mere $2,550.

fintail

Any car with a corrugated metal body has to be good

For a Fiat, that thing isn't too rusty, Shifty. It's all relative. Maybe the guy also has a Brava, and he's just comparing.

I saw the Monte Carlo diesel today. It wasn't in terrible condition, mainly straight and clean. It could be had for maybe $950 I bet. I don't know how it runs though.



Apparently they have a 4 year old wax their cars

None of the fintails on ebay seem as photogenic as mine. It got its fair share of comments and looks today

Mr_Shiftright

Not too rusty? NOT TOO RUSTY?!!!

It's about to break in half is all....those are load bearing structures that you see...er...don't see...anymore.

-------------------------------------------------

Your Car: It's the color. It's flattering to a fintail, which is generally a bit dowdy in most colors but rather lively in blue. Perfect color for the car. I'd like to see one in coral someday, and a sea mist green. White, black, gray, burgundy---not so good. Well black is't bad. I had one in a Ford "white", which was kind of creamy, and it looked very nice.

-------------------------------------------------

fintail

It's a Fiat. Don't Fiat people just patch n go? I once saw a Fiat 128 that was so rusty, you could have broken the A-pillar with your bare hands. I saw a 70s Lancia Beta that was similarly rusty too. Those were the ones made of cheap Russian steel, weren't they?

I do like the color of my fintail, and I like how my 126 matches it in a way. I'm glad it's not black or white or brown. In my town there is a mint green fintail in decent shape, and a medium red one that looks decent too. Last year a lowline W111 (220b) changed hands in my area for about $3500...it was rustfree, and the same color as mine. Someone got a fair deal.

Mr_Shiftright

The problem with rusty cars like that, which people NEVER think about, is that if they get hit, they often break into pieces. I've seen it more than once.

Mint green would be nice in a fintail. I don't think ANY Benz ever made looks good in red personally.

fintail

A darker red can be OK on 111 coupes and 6 cyl fintails. But there are better choices, yes.

I certainly wouldn't intentionally choose a rusty car, or even a once-rusty car. I've seen the structural damage

andre1969

at that '87 Monte SS yesterday. As luck would have it, I went to visit my Dad, and he told me of an old Buick convertible that he saw in a mall parking lot, that had been there for awhile, and had a tow sticker on it. Well, I kinda wanted to see it, and he wanted to see the '58 Impala, so we drove by both places.

The '58 Impala wasn't there...probably locked in a garage somewhere. This place is closed on Sunday, so they might do that with some of their rarer, more valuable stuff. I saw the Monte though, and it looked good...at first! Inside though, the dash was just starting to crack. Both the soft, padded part and the hard plastic on the top of the pod that houses the gauges and idiot lights. It also had crank windows, and was missing a screw cover on the door pull strap. And it had one of those aftermarket radios with the removeable face plate.

The body and paint looked good, though, and the interior didn't show any obvious signs of leaking, from the T-tops. And the burgundy mouse-fur still looked pretty good. Usually it'll fade on the tops of the door panels, and the top of the back seat, but this one still looked good.

And now that ya mention it, Fintail, I remember that rattle! The one when you slam the door with the window down. My '80 Malibu, '82 Cutlass Supreme, and '86 Monte all did it. I remember my Mom's old '75 LeMans doing it, too. She was always hollering at me not to slam the door, because she hated that noise. And it was worse if you did it with the window about half-down.

I remember, years ago, seeing a kid slam the door shut on a '70's 4-door Lincoln. He got out and gave it a good hard slam, and the window shattered into tiny fragments. I bet his dad wasn't too pleased with that!

andre1969

that '79 5th Avenue is really sweet. Probably one of the nicest ones I've seen, although a few years back, at Carlisle, I saw one with about 55,000 miles on it that looked brand-new, except for a sagging headliner. I dunno if it ever sold, or what it sold for, but they had been asking $5900. I wonder what the reserve is on that one on eBay? I'm curious to see what it sells for.

lemko

Spotted yesterday:

A beautiful black 1967 Buick Electra 4-door hardtop. Good God, I wish Buick still built cars that gorgeous! This car looked like it just left the factory!

A 1972 Ford Ranchero. I can't recall the last time I saw a 1972 Torino, let alone something like this. I was missing its hubcaps, but the bodt was solid - something rare for any early 1970s Ford in the NE.

A 1967 Dodge Charger fastback in pretty nice condition. This one was sort of a dark green.

fintail

I can't imagine that Chrysler being more than 5 grand or so. Nice car, but so little demand.

My friend's 85 SS has the fading starting at the top of the back seat, but the interior is otherwise pretty mint, if not a little cheap and brittle feeling. It's not really a bad car...and he has a nice exhaust system on it, so it sounds decent. But you can tell expenses were spared.

My brother did that door slam window break on a 60 Ford wagon my dad had. Try finding glass for one of those!

jlawrence01

A perfectly restred Messerschmidt would bring about $30k I am told. That one went for $16.7k which was not too bad.

That Velorex is too far gone to really warrant much of a bid.

stickguy

So, how does the Buick convertible look in your yard? Were you able to scrape the tow sticker off?

andre1969

I forgot all about that Buick while I was typing. Well, when we got to the mall, it was gone. So either the owner got it or it got towed. And looking in an old car book, my Dad thinks it was a '75. He said it was a dark blue, but the paint looked crappy, and the passenger side window was at a funny tilt, like maybe someone had pulled it out to try breaking in. Probably better off towed, than sitting in my yard, but I still wanted to see it!

I did leave a note on an abandoned car once. It was a midnite blue NYer, I think an '80 or '81. I was driving down the highway one day and saw it on the other side of the road. It had plates on it, but looked broken-down. Well, on my way back, it had moved about a quarter-mile, and there was a big wet spot underneath and behind it. The plates were gone by now, though. And it was just sitting there, with the front windows down. I left a note that started off something like "To the owner, or whomever ends up towing this car", and saying that if they were interested in selling it to give me a call. Never heard anything, though.

lemko

...Messerschmidt at NAS Willow Grove. It was an ME-262!

Mr_Shiftright

I drove one of those once. Pretty frightening.

I think the "micro-car" market is kind of over and stabilized or sliding. $16K was plenty and then some for that car.

jlawrence01

To be honest with you, that market generally consists of a lot of folks who have the $$$ to buy anything that they want. They buy more out of a love of the vehicle than an ROI calculation.

Mr_Shiftright

Well that could hold true for 99% of "collectible" cars....there is rarely a ROI. But for a while there micro cars were bringing crazy prices and now people are sobering up a bit, realizing that 'cute' doesn't necessarily mean "usable".

Some micros are usable though. The Fiat Jolly and Austin Mini-Moke can actually hold 4 people, sorta kinda, and make a nice car for the Hamptons 8,000 sq. ft. summer cottage. The Nash Metropolitan will put the fear of God into you. The Fiat 600 is a cute car, I like 'em a lot and they are competent road cars.

My current favorite micro is the Berkeley.

jlawrence01

I like the Fiat 500 ... a lot. However, I don't drive manuals so that limits my ability to really drive them.

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah, but just two cylinders and an air-cooled engine, whereas the 600 is a water-cooled four.

The nirvana of micro cars might be an Fiat-Abarth 600.

andys120

what the heck is a Berkeley, one of those British three-wheelers?

andyman73

As a young child, I had a matchbox car, or some other make, of a Fiat Abarth. I don't remember if it was a 600. I always thought it was pretty cool. I wish I still had it, could park it next to my 85 Countach(sp?) matchbox, that I bought in Germany, in 86.

Mr_Shiftright

Not a bad guess because it has some connection to a 3-wheel freak, but actually the Berkeley was a very neat little...and I mean little....sports car.



Read all about it here and see a prettier version.

http://www.microcarmuseum.com/tour/berkeley-b65.html

Oddly enough, I still see them for sale from time to time, usually owned by someone who has 9 of them in pieces in the basement.

fintail

The Matchbox Fiat Abarth was a Fiat 131, I had the same car. I still have most of my toy cars, but I don't know if I have that one.

andyman73

I was living in Germany when I got that Fiat Abarth, but that was @ 10 years earlier.

I saw one of those turbo awd trucks made by the General in the late 80s, it was the suv version, either a Typhoon or Cyclone.

Also saw the West Coast Choppers rig on the highway, the other day. It's the one you see on their show.

michaellno

I think the SUV version was the Cyclone ... there is a Typhoon (aka S-10 pickup) at the house down the street from me.

I don't remember all the specs, but I think it was powered by a turbocharged 4.3L V6 and was as fast to 60 as a Corvette!

andys120

starting in the fifties and well into the 70s. A guy named Al Cosentino, d/b/a FAZA imported the Abarth and other go-fast goodies into the US. The 124 Abarth Spider was a big player in rallies of the time.

Carlo Abarth also made a version of the Porsche 356B thats one of the best looking Porsches ever...

http://www.supercars.net/garages/PeP/28v2.html

seminole_kev

Actually, IIRC that suped up GMC Jimmy was the Typhoon and the S-10 version was called the "Syclone" (note that it begins with "S" rather than "C". I believe that's because Ford owns the "Cyclone" with a "C" name.)

Being that I was a kid in the 80's and car obsessed, I remember this usless carp!

jrosasmc

I saw a pristine BMW 2002tii at the grocery store this morning. Although it most likely had been restored, it looked really great, and it was probably a '72 or '73, before the ugly big-bumper style that set in for '74.

Also, I doubt the owner would take it to Midas or Jiffy Lube to have a technician set up the mechanical Kugelfischer injection system.

Mr_Shiftright

I saw a 200Tii abandoned on a side street with a tow-away sticker on it! Of all things. But I'm not going to intervene because it's full of rust. No upside on that one.

andys120

a tall split window model with a short stepside bed, I'd guess early 50s vintage. It's amazing how tall those were, a 2wd being every bit as tall as a current (stock) 4wd model and a lot shorter giving proportions that are odd to our eyes.

tarik

...a Packard Clipper on a flatbed, hopefully being trucked to a restored future. It must have been the '57 model, and its looks aren't all that bad, albeit a bit awkward.

Mr_Shiftright

Well it's a free country but it's a shame to waste all that time and money on such an unattractive and "bogus" car. I'm hoping it's going either to the wrecker or Norway where I won't have to look at it:)

jrosasmc

Ok guys I just got back from one of the best, if not the most entertaining, car rides ever. A few friends and I went to a meeting in my buddy Eamonn's '85 MB 300D TD and I should say that car is pretty fun. Yes, it was pretty gutless, and yes it took a while for the glow plug light to go off, but it was great because the sunroof was down, the windows were down...you get the idea. Oh yeah, it's got 241k miles on it and the body looks pretty disheveled, but for a 20-year-old car it was amazingly solid. I mean solid in the Teutonic sense (a/c and Becker radio are not working though!).

fintail

That was a TD as in a wagon, right? They can bring respectable money if they are immaculate. They seem to have a cult around them.

Today I saw a c.70 Chrysler full sized "fuselage" 2 door hardtop, it looked pretty strippo so it was probably a Newport I guess. No vinyl top or anything. I loathed those 69-71 Chryslers when I was little, as a relative had one, and I was always embarrassed to ride in it when we visited. It wasn't cared for very well, and it was just so ugly. They aren't so bad now though.

andyman73

I saw a Dodge Aspen today, looked remarkably well cared for, paint was shiny no visible rust or dents. Lady driver could have been original owner. It was a dark green and the chrome was still shiny.

baxter225

I saw a '68 or '69 full size Ford convertible outside a local watering hole. XL? LTD? Galaxie? It was sort of a robin's egg blue with black stripes running along the rocker panels, with a "GT" badge just behind the front wheel well, and a "428" near the front side marker lights. It had hide-away headlights and appeared to have been restored to some degree, although there were a couple of waves in the paint - not perfect, but awfully nice. Really sharp compared to the LTD's of just a couple of years later.

jrosasmc

Actually I was abbreviating TD as in "Turbodiesel." My buddy's car was actually just a regular 300D 4-door sedan.

fintail

The only "GT" I can think of from that time would be a Fairlane/Torino. I think those could be had with a 428.

Those old diesel sedans have some following too. They last forever...they take real neglect to fall apart even at like 250K. The really mint ones are still in some demand, but not like the wagons.

seminole_kev

..now I didn't see it in person, but thumbing through the back of "Car" I ran across this the first time. I'm sure others have seen it before, but I hadn't
- Daihatsu Copen -




Neat looking little guy. Now it probably is terribly uncomfortable, and not a hot performer, but I like how it the little thing looks.

Mr_Shiftright

I was sorry to see Daihatsu go under in America. I thought they were pretty darn good little cars.

300TD Wagons are a hot ticket out here in California. The regular 300D sedans non-turbo are enjoying a little "bounce" in price with the bio-diesel craze, which will evaporate when more hybrids come out I bet. Big heavy slow smelly expensive to fix cars are still big heavy smelly slow expensive to fix cars.

They ARE solid though. You got that right! I hit a small boat with one once (it fell off a truck) and demolished it, and only suffered $1,600 damage to the 300D. I'll try and dig up the photos. Very funny.

turboshadow

...it was all just a Charade ;-)

Turboshadow