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

Mr_Shiftright

I would keep the interior and exterior completely stock, but I would add a 4 or 5 speed transmission, fuel-injection, better camshaft and cylinder heads, headers, better shocks, bushings and swaybar, power steering, LED brake lights and directionals, hidden sound system (or vintage look alike), electric cooling fan, electronic ignition, aluminum radiator, dyna-mat flooring, radial tires.

ab348

Keep it original except maybe for an electronic ignition, disc brakes, modern carb, radial tires. That is assuming all of the 1970s "customization" can be reversed and the missing parts are available.

Otherwise just take the body off the frame and drop onto a C3 or newer chassis, put an LS in the thing and be done with it. You either have a restored car with minor upgrades for safety and reliability, or you have a restomod frankenstein. I am of the view that if you want it to drive like a modern car you are better off buying a modern car. Not a whole lot of middle ground to stake out there.

fintail

Oh hello there:





(file under man of a certain age with too much money and/or free time)

Mr_Shiftright

ab348 said:

Keep it original except maybe for an electronic ignition, disc brakes, modern carb, radial tires. That is assuming all of the 1970s "customization" can be reversed and the missing parts are available.

Otherwise just take the body off the frame and drop onto a C3 or newer chassis, put an LS in the thing and be done with it. You either have a restored car with minor upgrades for safety and reliability, or you have a restomod frankenstein. I am of the view that if you want it to drive like a modern car you are better off buying a modern car. Not a whole lot of middle ground to stake out there.

Oh yes, disk brakes. Well these mods are for safety and comfort and really, none of them are all that hard to do---bolt-ons, really.

omarman

When you first look at the head it seems familiar but then...

fintail said:

Oh hello there:





(file under man of a certain age with too much money and/or free time)

explorerx4

@Omarman,
That is hilarious. Can't wait to show it to one of my kids.

xwesx

explorerx4 said:

@Omarman,
That is hilarious. Can't wait to show it to one of my kids.

LOL That was one indignant horse!

fintail

Another vintage pic with vivid colors, this one being George McFly's brother and his kid inspecting a fintail. Looks like a lot of plumbing under that hood, I suspect this is a rare air-suspended W112 300SE:



And a mystery car to the left.

Michaell

fintail said:

Another vintage pic with vivid colors, this one being George McFly's brother and his kid inspecting a fintail. Looks like a lot of plumbing under that hood, I suspect this is a rare air-suspended W112 300SE:



And a mystery car to the left.

Looks like a Mercury.

roadburner

I have to say that I like the 1 Series '02 conversion:

fintail

The BMW-based custom I like most is the Volga-themed coupe made by a Russian tuner a while back, basis car is an E63 6er:

Mr_Shiftright

roadburner said:

I have to say that I like the 1 Series '02 conversion:

too much freeboard. Looks like a hot tub.

explorerx4

That Faux-lga has a lot of 50's Chrysler in the roofline.

Michaell

Mr_Shiftright said:

roadburner said:

I have to say that I like the 1 Series '02 conversion:

too much freeboard. Looks like a hot tub.

Freeboard?

Mr_Shiftright

FREEBOARD -- the height of a ship's side between the waterline and the deck.

e.g. --"his vessels have more freeboard and interior volume than most"

A sailboat with lots of freeboard is sometimes called "a dry boat".

sda

I just attended the Auto Fair at the Charlotte Speedway and have a couple of pics that I think will be of interest. The weather was great and it was quite crowded. Unfortunately some of the pics are not that good because I had to work around the crowd.

sda

More pics from the AutoFair.

sda

Pictures continued.

sda

sda

I have several more that I will post later. My phone just froze so I had to pull out my I pad. Some of the cars were exceptional, better than new, true trailer queens. I wouldn’t want mine that perfect as I would drive it when I wanted. You can see me as a shadow in the rear window of the Buick Sun Coupe. Glamour shot, not.

sda

 I tried to capture some of the interior upholstery and condition because they were like new. I especially like the dark metallic blue Buick GS. That was always one of my favorite colors but I'm also partial to medium metallic blue as well.  And no black, gray or tan interiors!  The red leather interior of the Reatta in a previous post was all original and extremely nice.

ab348

You would have enjoyed my buddy's '70 Olds Cutlass SX. A SX was essentially a Cutlass Supreme notchback body with 4-4-2 engine and chassis. His was Twilight Blue metallic with matching vinyl roof and blue interior. The interior was just stunning in person. Had a chance to buy it when he was simplifying his life but did not, still regret that.

imidazol97

Thanks for the pictures, sda and ab348.

fintail

That second series Eldo Brougham is a really rare bird, something like ~100 units per year maybe.

sda

fintail said:

That second series Eldo Brougham is a really rare bird, something like ~100 units per year maybe.

Yes, and it was gorgeous inside and out. The interior looked like it had never been sat in, all the chrome switches, trim, dash pad, flawless.

imidazol97

As catchy as the Dodge and Desoto convertibles are, I like the blue Seville hardtop Desoto.

sda

ab348 said:

You would have enjoyed my buddy's '70 Olds Cutlass SX. A SX was essentially a Cutlass Supreme notchback body with 4-4-2 engine and chassis. His was Twilight Blue metallic with matching vinyl roof and blue interior. The interior was just stunning in person. Had a chance to buy it when he was simplifying his life but did not, still regret that.

I know I would have. As you know I am an Olds fan and my parents, family and I had many including my grandmother’s 68 Cutlass S that she specially ordered and mom’s 72 Cutlass Supreme that I drove to pass my first drivers license.
.

explorerx4

The GM mid size cars from back then all looked pretty good.
Some great pics, sda!

omarman

Great pics which really enlarge to show lots of detail. That Buick GS looks like 2 different cars? Top pic is the '69 GS convertible with white interior and the pic below it looks like a blue interior of a different GS.

The silver '68 Hurst Olds engine is missing the stock air cleaner for the 390 hp Rocket 455 - or at least has the wrong label on the air cleaner top. Missing the vacuum lines for the auto therm flappers too. Can't tell if the engine is correct but looks like the right color.

Really nice '70 Cutlass SX and you could get the Y-79 "SX" option on both the hardtop and convertible. In 1970 Olds put 3 (!) different 455 engines in the SX. First was the L-33 455/320 hp with a 2-bbl carb. Like a "turnpike cruiser" set up with low (ratio) rear axle gearing. The L-31 455/365 hp was an option at first and then became the base engine. Then came the much stronger W-32 455 which was also rated (on paper at least) at the same 365 hp but peaked at a higher RPM for both hp and torque. I think that was the standard engine for the 1970 442.

sda

omarman, you are correct, the interior shots of the GS was of two different cars. I had already taken a pic of a white interior and liked the blue one as it reminded me of mom’s 72 Cutlass Supreme, same color but cloth. The exterior of her Cutlass was Nordic blue, a medium metallic blue same as the Skylark Sun Coupe, though her car had a black vinyl top. She loved that car.

explorerx4

Funny, I just saw a Aqua blue/white top GS convertible.
Also, a slightly darker blue 67 Malibu SS, both were in great shape.

ab348

omarman said:

The silver '68 Hurst Olds engine is missing the stock air cleaner for the 390 hp Rocket 455 - or at least has the wrong label on the air cleaner top. Missing the vacuum lines for the auto therm flappers too. Can't tell if the engine is correct but looks like the right color.

It just looks like the wroing decal, along with an slightly incorrect PCV rubber grommet for the breather pipe. It doesn't seem to have the clamps on the air hoses going to the air cleaner either.

Really nice '70 Cutlass SX and you could get the Y-79 "SX" option on both the hardtop and convertible. In 1970 Olds put 3 (!) different 455 engines in the SX. First was the L-33 455/320 hp with a 2-bbl carb. Like a "turnpike cruiser" set up with low (ratio) rear axle gearing. The L-31 455/365 hp was an option at first and then became the base engine. Then came the much stronger W-32 455 which was also rated (on paper at least) at the same 365 hp but peaked at a higher RPM for both hp and torque. I think that was the standard engine for the 1970 442.

This one was built later in the model year so it had the 4-bbl engine. Not sure which one. It had a 3.23 rear gear.

stickguy

not that old, and certainly not classic, but an oddball. A Malibu MAXX.

also, a nice red Valiant convertible. maybe a 63? pretty sure it was a 3 on the tree based on his arm movements!

kyfdx

Dang, I knew I should have snapped a picture! There was a MAXX parked in front of my house, yesterday.

ab348

I never cared for that generation Malibu (though the one I had as a rental drove very nicely) but I always liked the Maxx. And the Maxx SS was even better. Recently this website had a very dubious article written by someone who apparently only knew cars from what they read online which had the Maxx on a list of the 50 worst cars ever. A shamefully bad piece.

fintail

That generation Malibu was definitely a step up from what it replaced. The Maxx was a cool Euro style idea, maybe not promoted enough.

Recently gleaned from fb. My late uncle was a big Ford truck guy - he always had one when I was a kid, and apparently long before. These are my cousins (big age gap in my family) with his cool 50s hot rod style ~33 Ford ca. 1955-57:



The truck was sold in the 70s, I think, and the family knows of the current owner.

jpp75

ab348 said:

I never cared for that generation Malibu (though the one I had as a rental drove very nicely) but I always liked the Maxx. And the Maxx SS was even better. Recently this website had a very dubious article written by someone who apparently only knew cars from what they read online which had the Maxx on a list of the 50 worst cars ever. A shamefully bad piece.

I worked with a guy back in the early 2000s who owned the late 90's Malibu. He hated that car with a passion and when the new Maxx came out we all agreed it was a better car but he was too soured by the first Malibu to ever drive another one. The last time I saw him he was driving a Focus.

omarman

Those car show Buicks and Oldsmobiles paint an interesting picture of that era. A friend had a 1970 442 W-30 which cranked out well over the factory advertised 370 hp but needed frequent maintenance and tuning. After HS I had a thing for Oldsmobile Delta 88s. Last one was a '78 Delta 88 sedan and I still miss it even though it had no where near the power of my '72 Delta 88 coupe with the Rocket 455.

I know today's minvans can smoke the old Detroit iron but it's the whole 70's package that I miss. The colors, style, character and comfort was all very appealing. And even the glitches reminded me to pay attention to the sounds, smells and feel of my cars to keep them reliable. I never felt like I was driving a throw away appliance back then.

xwesx

jpp75 said:

The last time I saw him he was driving a Focus.

Did he hate the car or himself?!

Naw, I jest. However, I hope that he did find more satisfaction with his later choices.

ab348

omarman said:

Those car show Buicks and Oldsmobiles paint an interesting picture of that era. A friend had a 1970 442 W-30 which cranked out well over the factory advertised 370 hp but needed frequent maintenance and tuning. After HS I had a thing for Oldsmobile Delta 88s. Last one was a '78 Delta 88 sedan and I still miss it even though it had no where near the power of my '72 Delta 88 coupe with the Rocket 455.

I know today's minvans can smoke the old Detroit iron but it's the whole 70's package that I miss. The colors, style, character and comfort was all very appealing. And even the glitches reminded me to pay attention to the sounds, smells and feel of my cars to keep them reliable. I never felt like I was driving a throw away appliance back then.

I had a 20 year old 1978 Delta 88 in the late '90s. When I lived downtown and worked nearby I just had the '68 Cutlass as my driver for a few years (not a daily driver, more like a weekly driver to go shopping was about all since I walked to/from work) but when I moved and bought the house in '97 I needed a car. But the house ensured I was broke for a few years so I picked the Delta up cheap - I think I paid $2500 for it. After addressing a few cosmetic needs (they were still plentiful in junkyards back then so most parts were easily and cheaply obtained) it was a very good and dependable car for the next 6 years. They were so smooth and quiet to drive.

berri

Some nice looking stuff including a sister car for Andre's 57 DeSoto coupe! I like that blue Buick Skylark "sun coupe".

tjc78

@ab348
Was your Olds an AC delete car? I’ve never seen one without it.

ab348

tjc78 said:

@ab348
Was your Olds an AC delete car? I’ve never seen one without it.

The Delta did not have a/c. Not all that unusual for here back then. The typical vent openings at either end of the dash had plasti-wood blockoff plates.

tjc78

That makes sense, I forgot you were in Canada. Looking closer I realize the instrument cluster too.

ab348

tjc78 said:

That makes sense, I forgot you were in Canada. Looking closer I realize the instrument cluster too.

You can see it better here. That is not a 130mph speedo!

andre1969

Not to get nitpicky, but that '59 DeSoto Firesweep Seville is incorrect. Still, an attractive looking car. The blue the Seville used was a more washed-out hue, with a tint of purple. I believe they called it "Bradenton Blue". And the interior fabric had sort of a large checkerboard pattern, of varying shades of blue.

Here's a website that has a bunch of pics of one that, while a little rough, appears to be original... http://www.forwardlook.net/images/desoto/

Honestly, I don't know much about the '59 Seville, except that it was offered as a "Spring Special' on the low-end Firesweep and the mid-range Firedome. I guess it's possible they offered a few colors, but the light, washed out blue is the only one I've ever seen. DeSoto had used the Seville nameplate once before, in 1956. That year it was a stripper version of the Firedome hardtop coupe and hardtop sedan...kind of ironic that it was the "budget" DeSoto, the same year Cadillac started using "Seville" as a trim level for their loftiest model!

By 1959 though, I think the Seville package was a step up from the regular Firesweep or Firedome. Considering DeSoto was on the skids by 1959, I'd imagine they were pretty rare. I'm sure finding Seville fabric would be an exercise in futility. It would probably have to be re-created, like what they did when I had the interior re-done for my '57 Firedome.

Interestingly, the '59 DeSoto has a higher survival rate than the '57 or '58. At least, when I used to be in the National DeSoto club, there were more '59's on the roster than '57 or '58. And sales had dropped off in each successive year...about 117,500 for '57, ~49K for '58, and ~46K for '59.

andre1969

ab348 said:

You can see it better here. That is not a 130mph speedo!

That reminds me...on the 1979 Mopar R-bodies, the metric scale of the speedometer goes up to, oddly, 137 kph. I don't know if I've ever seen a speedometer where the numbers ended in anything other than 5 or 0.

I can't remember if all Mopars did, or just the R-body. And I think they might have changed it for 1980 or 81.

stickguy

Well, that’s the conversion for 85 MPH so I assume that is why.

fintail

That makes me think, what is the lowest top speed indicated on a speedometer? Maybe limit it to postwar gas/diesel normal production passenger cars. I have seen many that max out at 80, can't recall any lower.

kyfdx

Another question. Have you owned a car with a sub-80 mph top speed?

Say, post-1960.