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

imidazol97

I finally made it to a weekly cruise in for the last show of the season. Very nice. I had never realized how many cars it attracted... until reading write ups this summer. It was a "fur piece" from home, but XM and my cooler of coke and bottled water made the drive pleasant. Plain City at Der Dutchman.

I had parked across the road in a shaded spot at the restaurant (Amish buffet) and the Rolls and Bentley crowd had migrated their cars across the restaurant lot. Strange seeing Bentleys and Rolls, some older, scattered among other modern cars as I left.

I was amazed at the Bentleys and Rolls Royces that were there. Of course the show is closer to upscale Columbus areas so clubs for those two vehicle brands would be normal.

Another person has pictures with their write up. Some of these may be interesting to someone here. There were others in the group that aren't pictured.

http://carshowtalk.com/cruisin-tee-jayes-and-the-north-hills-church/#jp-carousel-13429

fintail

Another fun period pic, an Air Force family with their 220S fintail in Germany, 1963:



That whitewall width looks very close to mine - MB appears to have used several tire suppliers.

The car still exists, and has been kept in the same family:

stickguy

that been restored I assume. Either that or they put it in a time capsule, since it looks new!

fintail

Either a preserved baby or a restoration. I notice the hubcaps lost their center paint, not an uncommon occurrence as when it ages off on some cars, some will just remove it all.

berri

@imidazol97
Looks like a fun, diversified old car show

fintail

Spotted again at work, pic taken from many floors up:

fintail

Just got a chance to see your link, quite a diverse show, the best kind. Surprised to see all of the Rolls-Royce/Bentleys there too. Those cars take dedication.

imidazol97 said:

I finally made it to a weekly cruise in for the last show of the season. Very nice. I had never realized how many cars it attracted... until reading write ups this summer. It was a "fur piece" from home, but XM and my cooler of coke and bottled water made the drive pleasant. Plain City at Der Dutchman.


http://carshowtalk.com/cruisin-tee-jayes-and-the-north-hills-church/#jp-carousel-13429

imidazol97

If someone is into Porsches, this Dayton collection for Taj Mah Garaj just sold

Lots of pics on Sotheby's page here
https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/tg19

This article lists the top 10 prices for the on-site sale
https://www.daytondailynews.com/business/here-how-much-famous-dayton-porsche-collection-sold-for/SYA5rrS637wV3a2GO6OXIK/?utm_source=newspaper&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=9837846&ecmp=newspaper_email&


https://www.daytondailynews.com/business/rare-dayton-taj-garaj-car-collection-auctioned-sotheby/oUjr3Pue4RyK0y5LKbxP2K/

This is the party venue where some of these cars were part of the atmosphere for your
private party. You can see lots of pics if you browse these pages.
http://www.tajmagaraj.com/

And the Sotheby's catalog of paraphernalia and the cars
http://catalogue.rmsothebys.com/books/sgrx/#p=15

If I'd known the cars were being auctioned, I could have gone and bid on something to replace my Cobalt... LOL

imidazol97

@fintail @berri
The cruise in near Columbus was a nice collection of over 150 typical cruise in cars but add the Bentleys and RR's and it was different. I know nothing about which of the RR's were significant, but I saw the reviewer's post and decided to link it.

One Studebaker Lark.
NO Mercedes that I can recall

kyfdx

@imidazol97 Did you eat there?

imidazol97

Never have.

I had heard the name mentioned occasionally. Likely mentioned in car context because of the Porsches.

If the car collection sold, I wonder what's inside now?

kyfdx

Vinyl roof is unfortunate

stickguy

if it is a 350 4 speed, I will overlook it. at least colors blend.

I like this, And always makes me think of Jim Rockford.

sda

75-76 Firebird. Quad rectangular headlamps were introduced in 77. Formula it is. I admit to looking more at the curved backlight and single pod headlights and not the hood. Rockford drove a Espirit.

kyfdx

The hood isn't a tip-off?

andre1969

stickguy said:

if it is a 350 4 speed, I will overlook it. at least colors blend.

I like this, And always makes me think of Jim Rockford.

Yep, as soon as I saw it, the theme from "The Rockford Files" went through my mind. FWIW, I think that's a 1975 Firebird Formula. In googling pics, it looks like the '75 had that somewhat-exposed bumper with the black rub strip, whereas the '76 seems all body-color, and covered in plastic.

kyfdx

kyfdx

I think there is a good chance the emblems are off an earlier model. Was there even a Formula 400 available in ‘75?

I thought it was a 350 that year. And, the emblems look “tacked on”.

omarman

Missing some door trim, bumper trim and wheel center caps. Looks like a tired old respray with some rust creeping through at typical F body spots. Still, it's tagged and driven on the street. But the Historical Vehicle plate is a mistake. It's only 44 years old and I still can't get used to an antique car which was built in the 70s.

ab348

I believe that is a '73 Formula 400 Firebird. The later model years had a more "lantern jaw" front bumper that protruded more at the bottom and a more massive rear bumper as well.

omarman

"The untouchables" ad from 1975.


Went looking for a good clean pic of the '75 Formula front view and found this:


Why is the pic posting function so clunky today? Had to refresh the page several times to get the drop down menus to work.

sda

I read in Autoweek, search Rockford, Garner’s cars started out as a Formula, but they dressed it down to look like a Espirit. For 79 Garner did not like the revised front end redesign, so they found a way to alter the newer cars to keep the 77-78 look. It’s a brief and good read.

sda

omarman said:

"The untouchables" ad from 1975.


Went looking for a good clean pic of the '75 Formula front view and found this:


Why is the pic posting function so clunky today? Had to refresh the page several times to get the drop down menus to work.

22500 miles before spark plug changes, which was quite the improvement over the then typical interval of 12000 mi. I complain the Q5 has roughly a 36k requirement. I have certainly been spoiled by the 100k requirement of most cars today.

omarman

That was a good article. I like how the author splained "James Garner’s Jim Rockford" alter ego car. Garner needed a powerful Formula Firebird for TV production. But Rockford was on an Esprit budget and mission.

Interesting that the VIN decodes to the Olds 403/185 hp engine instead of the Pontiac W72 400/220 hp. I've read elsewhere that 21,384 W72 automatic Trans Ams and Formulas were built during the 1978 model year, but apparently this was not one of them.

Also learned that the Rockford car sold at BJ auction for $115K. Wonder what Garner (or Rockford) would think of that?

ab348

omarman said:

Also learned that the Rockford car sold at BJ auction for $115K. Wonder what Garner (or Rockford) would think of that?

He would just shake his head and give a wry smile at how fools and their money are easily parted, and wish he had thought of it himself first.

andre1969

kyfdx said:

I think there is a good chance the emblems are off an earlier model. Was there even a Formula 400 available in ‘75?

I thought it was a 350 that year. And, the emblems look “tacked on”.

I looked up the sale brochure. There was a Formula 350 and a Formula 400 that year. According to my old car book the 350 had 175 hp, and the 400 had 185 hp. These were both 4-bbls, but not really high-output 4-bbls. The 2-bbl versions of those engines were rated at 155 for the 350, and 170 for the 400.

kyfdx

andre1969 said:

kyfdx said:

I think there is a good chance the emblems are off an earlier model. Was there even a Formula 400 available in ‘75?

I thought it was a 350 that year. And, the emblems look “tacked on”.

I looked up the sale brochure. There was a Formula 350 and a Formula 400 that year. According to my old car book the 350 had 175 hp, and the 400 had 185 hp. These were both 4-bbls, but not really high-output 4-bbls. The 2-bbl versions of those engines were rated at 155 for the 350, and 170 for the 400.

Thanks. I agree that it is a ‘75

ab348

Forever I was under the impression that the front and rear bumpers on the Firebird pictured were ‘73 model year only, with the lantern jaw style arriving for ‘74. But I also looked up the brochures and discovered I was mistaken. Turns out the original 70.5 Endura design was sturdy enough to meet the new ‘73 bumper standards so it carried on. Then the style in the photo was used for ‘74 and ‘75, before the more protruding style appeared for ‘76. That was a one year only front end as the rectangular sealed beams arrived in ‘77. Things you learn...

andre1969

ab348 said:

Turns out the original 70.5 Endura design was sturdy enough to meet the new ‘73 bumper standards so it carried on. Then the style in the photo was used for ‘74 and ‘75, before the more protruding style appeared for ‘76. That was a one year only front end as the rectangular sealed beams arrived in ‘77. Things you learn...

I was surprised that the 1970.5 style was able to pass by 1973 standards, as well. I read that, for the Camaro, they had to do some "creative reinforcement" to make it stand up to those regulations. I wonder if Pontiac had to do something similar, and was able to get away with having it masked behind that Endura nose?

FWIW, I think the 5 mph requirement simply means that that car is still legally driveable after a 5 mph hit...no breakage of any lights, no damage to the radiator, most likely no damage to the horn, either. So the car could actually still be damaged...just not to certain components.

And while 5 mph doesn't seem like much, some cars back then were surprisingly fragile. I seem to recall CR running a Chevy LUV into a block wall at only a few mph, and it managed to puncture the radiator!

ab348

andre1969 said:

And while 5 mph doesn't seem like much, some cars back then were surprisingly fragile. I seem to recall CR running a Chevy LUV into a block wall at only a few mph, and it managed to puncture the radiator!

Mention of the LUV was serendipitous as just yesterday I came across this pic in a group of many posted on FB of the car cruising scene on Van Nuys Blvd in the L.A. area from 1972. Two young guys in front of a Chevy showroom window with a LUV in the background. That doesn't look like much of a truck bumper!

stickguy

Vega looks tougher. And those LUV wheels don’t look stock.

fintail

Spotted on a MB forum, W108 wagon conversion, never seen one this nice before. Pretty cool:

stickguy

that is a clean looking conversion. Could be factory

ab348

I had the same thought. I wonder where the tailgate, roof stamping, D-pillars and side glass came from.

stickguy

Usually the roof on these has a big bump, like on an old vista cruiser. This looks like one flat piece.

Visibility out of that thing must be amazing.

fintail

To me that W108 is reminiscent of a Crayford (UK) conversion, but much more well done. The Crayford cars, mostly W116, had similar rear side glass:



But had a kind of ungainly lump where the edge of the trunk would be:



I found this image, without details, which may be Crayford, and is based on a W109. Again, the lump:



I find no record of a Crayford W108. I suspect that car is either a very high quality period one-off, or a modern custom by an obsessive and monied owner.

imidazol97

The rear of that vehicle has an "Aztek" appearance. I never thought I say that about the usually
calm designs of the MB's meant for the average motoring public.

explorerx4

That black wagon is WOW.
Did the rear fenders get extended or is it my imagination?

fintail

On the first wagon I posted, the rear fender tips (where fins would be) have definitely been modified.

None of these wagons are actual MB designs - MB didn't have an in-house wagon until the 1979 model year.

tjc78

At Home Depot this morning ... saw 95-97 Town Car. Not really obscure but a well preserved example in two tone white/grey over grey.

My son saw me looking at it and asked what kind of car it was.

I told him and he asked “why, does it go into Town?”

fintail

I always liked the 95-97 TC refresh, kept the car relevant. I recall when I started working after school, my boss had one, it was a pretty silvery blue with a light grey interior, quite attractive.

tjc78

88-89 is my favorite, but 95-97 is runner up

90-94 was the same basic shape but never loved the front end.

90s are cool because they are a one year only 5.0 in an aero body.

kyfdx

I’m partial to the ‘72 model I learned to drive on.

texases

kyfdx said:

I’m partial to the ‘72 model I learned to drive on.

And you got the harbor pilot license at the same time😄

kyfdx

texases said:

kyfdx said:

I’m partial to the ‘72 model I learned to drive on.

And you got the harbor pilot license at the same time😄

On the day of the driver test, the only car available was my father’s ‘74 DeVille.

explorerx4

A 75 chocolate brown Gran Prix being unloaded from a car carrier.
Also, a metallic gray 63-65 Buick Wildcat(?) that looked great.

stickguy

at a light, a very nice yellow 65 or 66 Mustang drove by. A GT, or clone, with the driving lights in the grill. Looked nicely restored. and the top was down!

sda

On my drive to watch my daughter’s marching band, color guard team compete I saw a clean, black Buick LaCrosse Super. That’s the rare model with the V8.

uplanderguy

This Cutlass Supreme, '86, is for sale at a dealership not terribly far from here. I'll say first off that the price seems insane to me, but otherwise, what a nice car IMHO, other than the things added near the door locks outside to keep keys from scratching.

I know the Thunderbird and Cougar of the same year, same place in their maker's lineup, were modern, but to an old-skool guy like me, they don't compare with the jewel-like touches and elegant styling of this Cutlass.

https://www.bluelineclassics.com/cars-for-sale/1986-oldsmobile-cutlass-supreme

ab348

The low mileage and condition mitigate it somewhat and the colors are handsome but still, that price is insanity. Especially for a column shift car.