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

fintail

I like pop up lights as a retro throwback, but they seem impractical. 60s style hidden lights are cool too, looked good on the Ford LTDs and cool on Rivieras.

Coolest/weirdest pop up lights are on the Porsche 928 - the car doesn't look like it has pop up lights, but then they come up and are freestanding, almost like a neoclassic styling element:



https://youtu.be/v18E-boy_Wc

fintail

Woolery Wheel, January 1976. First car shown, this nice Buick - entire car wasn't fit into the space, no MSRP:



Fancy prize car was this 450SL on hubcaps (Bundt wheels were an option then), 21K MSRP, a chic thing in the 70s:



Showing the ravages of inflation and currency issues, the 1986 equivalent of that SL was a little over 60K, IIRC.

uplanderguy

No spoiler! I guess I tend to like the '78 Silver Anniversary one, two-tone silver and gray paint, probably best for looks (obviously not performance) of the C3 gen. I said here before that despite the best performance, I do not like the '70-72 with the veritable egg crate vent on the front fenders, LOL.

ab348

fintail said:

Fancy prize car was this 450SL on hubcaps (Bundt wheels were an option then), 21K MSRP, a chic thing in the 70s:



Showing the ravages of inflation and currency issues, the 1986 equivalent of that SL was a little over 60K, IIRC.

Chic indeed. It was THE car for Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and anyone who drove one seemed to at least think they were very special, even if they weren't.

I remember in the early '80s being astounded when I learned that a 50-something, rather rough-around-the-edges woman I knew from work in a fairly mundane clerk's position had one. Turned out she had gotten a decent-sized inheritance and decided she wanted one. It just never fit the image I had of her.

uplanderguy

Although I think that Buick is a Special (V6), that is probably my favorite-styled Buick of the Colonnade years! You never see them!

I always wondered if they could be optioned with the wheel opening moldings and rocker moldings, a la Regal. I'd like to think so but I never saw anything online that confirmed or denied that.

That '76 reskin was very clean and tasteful to my eyes.

andre and I have discussed this, but that fastback roofline was designed with the large triangular quarter windows in mind--great visibility. When GM started making some of the cars with the opera window in '74, it left a big blind spot and while the public liked them better, I was always glad that Buick and Olds remained building cars with the original window style and still a fairly plush interior if you wanted it.

Michaell

uplanderguy said:

No spoiler! I guess I tend to like the '78 Silver Anniversary one, two-tone silver and gray paint, probably best for looks (obviously not performance) of the C3 gen. I said here before that despite the best performance, I do not like the '70-72 with the veritable egg crate vent on the front fenders, LOL.

A friend of my (then) girlfriend's dad has one of those Silver Anniversary Vettes. Got a ride in it, once - he had disconnected the speedo/odometer cable to keep the miles off of it. All I remember was the large front fenders that made it feel like you were "aiming" the car down the road. Was a fun ride, when you're 18 and into cars.

fintail

Buick was called a "Century", no other details, it and the MB were not won on the show, just shown off.

I too like the triangle window, visibility and it looks good. But by the mid 70s opera windows and other pretentious cues were the way to go. That Century almost seems sporty compared to some of the broughamified designs.

uplanderguy said:

Although I think that Buick is a Special (V6), that is probably my favorite-styled Buick of the Colonnade years! You never see them!

I always wondered if they could be optioned with the wheel opening moldings and rocker moldings, a la Regal. I'd like to think so but I never saw anything online that confirmed or denied that.

That '76 reskin was very clean and tasteful to my eyes.

andre and I have discussed this, but that fastback roofline was designed with the large triangular quarter windows in mind--great visibility. When GM started making some of the cars with the opera window in '74, it left a big blind spot and while the public liked them better, I was always glad that Buick and Olds remained building cars with the original window style and still a fairly plush interior if you wanted it.

fintail

Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes-Benz.

I suppose then, the price of something like that relative to incomes or mainstream cars wasn't as insane as in recent times, either. When the new SL debuts next year, it'll probably be in the mid 100s.

ab348 said:

Chic indeed. It was THE car for Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and anyone who drove one seemed to at least think they were very special, even if they weren't.

I remember in the early '80s being astounded when I learned that a 50-something, rather rough-around-the-edges woman I knew from work in a fairly mundane clerk's position had one. Turned out she had gotten a decent-sized inheritance and decided she wanted one. It just never fit the image I had of her.

andre1969

Actually, I don't find the view out of the opera-window Colonades to be all that bad, at least using my '76 Grand LeMans as a reference point. Here's an old picture, that the guy I bought the car had taken for me, back in 2005 just before I bought it...



I do like the large triangular windows better, though. Pontiac actually got rid of them completely for '76. Even the cheapest LeMans coupe still had opera windows.

uplanderguy

I always thought the rearward visibility from the driver's seat with the triangular windows was great....different angle than this. Not a fan of the louvered windows either.

Chevy had the triangular windows 'til '76 on the base Malibu, but the interiors were so completely pedestrian from '74 to '76 on those cars, even the triangular window couldn't get me to want one.

The bargain-basement '77 Malibu had the opera windows.

Speaking of blind spots--even the B-pillar in my '17 Cruze, which doesn't seem all that big, will hide a car coming down our street as I'm backing straight down our hilly driveway. More times than I care to admit, I see nothing coming the whole way down the driveway from that direction until I'm beeped at at the bottom of our driveway. It's almost like some kind of geometric thing going on...I'm going backwards down a hill while a car below me is coming from the south, headed north. That oncoming car is freaking invisible behind my B-pillar until I'm at the very bottom of my driveway.

andre1969

Yeah, I don't mind a base LeMans, Century, or Cutlass, but the Malibu just goes too far with its...basicness!

I'm not sure, but I think with the Cutlass, even the cheapest trim level had cloth inserts and carpeting on the door panels. At least, around 1976-77 perhaps.

But, on the flip side of the base Malibu being too cheap, in the earlier years of the Colonade, I thought the Luxury LeMans wasn't ritzy enough. But, I guess I could just be jaded, because when they turned it into the Grand LeMans, and used the Grand Prix dash, it dressed the interior up considerably. I think my '76 uses the same door panels as the '73-75 Grand Am, as well. So, maybe the Luxury LeMans wasn't that bad, for the time, it's just that cars in general got a bit ritzier in later years. For instance, I think the Cutlass Supreme Brougham and Regal Limited in '76 were probably more lavishly trimmed than the top Regal and Cutlass from '73 or '74.

roadburner

texases said:

By 'the '74 rear-end revision', you mean replacing the chrome bumpers with the tapered plastic one? I like the chrome better.

I'd like to find a 1973 coupe and put a decent crate motor in it backed by a 5 or 6 speed manual. I love the combination of the smooth nose with the split rear bumpers.

uplanderguy

I like how the '73 Luxury LeMans had the triangular windows, but I didn't love the base LeMans instrument panel, or the skirts on the Luxury LeMans. Seems that they're rare to see for sale now.

Yeah, other than they had carpeting, starting in '74 the Malibu became, really, what was the fleet-like "Deluxe" in '73. What's really weird to me is they offered swivel bucket seats in that bargain-basement trim in the '74-76 years (not just in the Malibu Classic).

I think the '76 base Malibu coupe they show in the brochure that year looks nice, even up front, but I simply cannot get past that interior.

Could I have gotten a '76 Malibu Classic with the triangular window, and a delete option on the hood ornament, I'd have been all over that. But GM would've told me to take a hike, LOL.

As we've discussed, often one design feature will make me want or un-want a car, LOL.

uplanderguy

I always thought Pontiac had a very wide LeMans line in '73-74. Base, Luxury LeMans, LeMans Sport Coupe, and I'd throw Grand Am in there. There was the LeMans GT, I think basically a stripe and appearance package. Pontiac used to be the king of choices I think; their mid-sixties full-size lines and then these later LeMans lines.

fintail

IMCDB claims this car seen in "Poltergeist" is a 73 Luxury LeMans, but no skirts?

fintail

TPiR 1986, a few cars in this episode. First, a (likely somewhat basic) Dodge Daytona, MSRP ~10K:



Followed by an Omni, automatic bumped the price up to ~7100:



Then in the showcase, a pair of Thunderbirds. At least moderately equipped - V8s, power everything, seemed to have wheels that reminded me of the "porous" type on our Tempo. By the other stuff in the showcase, I'd estimate these were around 15K apiece:

uplanderguy

That is a '73 Luxury LeMans, as only that model had the bright trim between the taillights. As the cars came with skirts, someone had removed them from this car.

fintail

Ah, I was thinking the slight fender flare wouldn't allow a skirt but now that I look, that's right. I see why one might have removed the skirts.

uplanderguy said:

That is a '73 Luxury LeMans, as only that model had the bright trim between the taillights. As the cars came with skirts, someone had removed them from this car.

sda

I had forgotten the 73 Luxury Lemans had fenderskirts. I was thinking 72 was the last year for those. While looking it up I found one that was the same (ugly) color of our 73 GrandAm. With ours having factory tinted glass and buckskin interior that toned down the color a bit.

stickguy

Those skirts, not a look I care for.

explorerx4

Love the whitewalls.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpkvAuW6fCc

uplanderguy

I think that triangular quarter window looks so natural in that roofline.

fintail

Those Pontiacs are so spear-shaped, the skirts emphasize it. That style also still makes me think of Buford T Justice.

texases

I'm not a fan of cars with skirts that have that lip. They look tacked on.

tjc78

explorerx4 said:

Love the whitewalls.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpkvAuW6fCc

Want!

uplanderguy

It seems to me that the pointy shape of the rear of the LeMans would have negatively affected trunk space compared to the other GM mid-sizes, but I don't know. But I do know the very next year, the decklid was raised some, with the taillights on a lower plane.

uplanderguy

Maybe andre can chime in, but I think later LeMans models in the Colonnade era didn't have that lip on the rear wheel openings.

ab348

uplanderguy said:

Maybe andre can chime in, but I think later LeMans models in the Colonnade era didn't have that lip on the rear wheel openings.

That's true. They kept the lip on the front openings but the rears became smooth. Odd.

andre1969

Wow, shows how observant I am...I've had my '76 since 2005 now, but never really noticed that the front wheel opening had the lip, and the rear didn't! Here's a pic that somebody took of mine, at the GM show in Carlisle PA, back in 2005, the first year I had it in that show...



Incidentally, you could get rear skirts on the Grand LeMans, through 1977. They were, thankfully, optional though. At least, by 1976!

Here's a sedan in the '76 brochure, showing them off...

And, in a stroke of good taste, they were finally consigned to the history books when the midsized cars downsized for '78. I think a '78 LeMans would look HORRIBLE with them!

fintail

TPiR, May 1984 - only 2 cars. First something rare and cool, a Shelby Charger, MSRP just under $9100:



And something seldom-seen, a Pontiac 1000. Well-optioned, MSRP not much under $7500 - not sure if that was a great value. Nice color and wheels anyway:

sda

The fender skirts on the 76 Grand Lemans sedan look nice, gives it a more formal look. I do think they look out of place on the 2dr. I like that color on it too. When my parents bought the 76 Cutlass in forest green they were also looking at a Delta 88 Royale in the same color as the pictured Grand Lemans. I was actually wanting them to get the 88 ( it had the 455) but they went for the Cutlass Supreme wagon.

andre1969

Would this be the Forest Green, or whatever Pontiac called its rendition of it?


I always liked those forest green / sequoia / dark emerald type colors.

explorerx4

@tjc78,
Here is another Mark III video.
Pretty funny, has power windows and manually shifted with a column shift.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvzKbDPisnA

tjc78

I find myself liking the III more and more lately.

tjc78

fintail said:

TPiR, May 1984 - only 2 cars. First something rare and cool, a Shelby Charger, MSRP just under $9100:



And something seldom-seen, a Pontiac 1000. Well-optioned, MSRP not much under $7500 - not sure if that was a great value. Nice color and wheels anyway:

That Shelby in silver is pretty rare. I haven’t seen one in the wild ever even as kid when they were new.

My Dad had an 86 in black.

sda

andre1969 said:

Would this be the Forest Green, or whatever Pontiac called its rendition of it?


I always liked those forest green / sequoia / dark emerald type colors.

Correct and it had a decent amount of metallic in it which really made it pop when it was freshly waxed.

kyfdx

explorerx4 said:

@tjc78,
Here is another Mark III video.
Pretty funny, has power windows and manually shifted with a column shift.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvzKbDPisnA

The headlight covers are vacuum controlled, not electric. Trivia

roadburner

kyfdx said:

explorerx4 said:

@tjc78,
Here is another Mark III video.
Pretty funny, has power windows and manually shifted with a column shift.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvzKbDPisnA

The headlight covers are vacuum controlled, not electric. Trivia

Yes. Dad's Torino GT had hidden headlamps and there was a vacuum release valve under the hood that allowed the headlamp doors to open.

sda

roadburner said:

kyfdx said:

explorerx4 said:

@tjc78,
Here is another Mark III video.
Pretty funny, has power windows and manually shifted with a column shift.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvzKbDPisnA

The headlight covers are vacuum controlled, not electric. Trivia

Yes. Dad's Torino GT had hidden headlamps and there was a vacuum release valve under the hood that allowed the headlamp doors to open.

I imagine it was similar to the round dial located on a vacuum line up front near one of the headlight buckets on dad's 77 Grand Marquis. Twist the dial and the headlights remained open.

roadburner

sda said:

roadburner said:

kyfdx said:

explorerx4 said:

@tjc78,
Here is another Mark III video.
Pretty funny, has power windows and manually shifted with a column shift.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvzKbDPisnA

The headlight covers are vacuum controlled, not electric. Trivia

Yes. Dad's Torino GT had hidden headlamps and there was a vacuum release valve under the hood that allowed the headlamp doors to open.

I imagine it was similar to the round dial located on a vacuum line up front near one of the headlight buckets on dad's 77 Grand Marquis. Twist the dial and the headlights remained open.

Exactly.

fintail

IIRC those Fomoco products had a canister in the engine bay to hold the vacuum pressure needed to operate the lights.

sda

fintail said:

IIRC those Fomoco products had a canister in the engine bay to hold the vacuum pressure needed to operate the lights.

It resembled a black coffee can.

tjc78

Yep. Coffee can!

fintail

TPiR 1986 again, 3 car show, there were some special episodes that year with better than average prizes.

First, a Z - MSRP a dollar under 19K:



Then a Caravan, not loaded but not stripped, MSRP surprisingly low at around 12.6K:



Then another one a few here might enjoy, Cutlass Supreme Brougham, pretty loaded - V8, power everything, deluxe trim, several other things mentioned, part of a large showcase so MSRP hard to determine (maybe 15-17K range then?):

ab348

fintail said:

Then another one a few here might enjoy, Cutlass Supreme Brougham, pretty loaded - V8, power everything, deluxe trim, several other things mentioned, part of a large showcase so MSRP hard to determine (maybe 15-17K range then?):

Nice syncopated arm action by Dian and Janice.

fintail

Apparent matching outfits, too. Maybe to go with the two-fer cars featured on some shows.

ab348 said:

Nice syncopated arm action by Dian and Janice.

fintail

TPiR 1986 again, YT is loading these into my suggestions I guess. Another 3 car show.

First, a Wagon Queen Family Truckster. LX model, long option list, MSRP in the 17s:



Then a new style RX-7, "luxury package", MSRP in the 16s:



And in the showcase, a pair of Mustang convertibles. They had some options, but I suspect were 4cyl models:

uplanderguy

Lady posted this pic of her '65 Impala SS on another site today. She got it in 1970. Blows holes all through my 'I'm tired of red/I like offbeat stuff' mindset. What perfect, restrained styling IMHO--nice inside too. I'm not sure any other car since has sold one million copies of one series of car in a model year, like the '65 Impala.

At Mopar, I think the '68 Satellite hardtop has similarly perfect styling, even emblems and such. The '69 Coronet 440 hardtop and 500 hardtop and RT are an extremely-close second.

fintail

I wonder if that Impala is red on red - that would work for the car, I think. A lot of red, but those interiors looked fantastic.

The Galaxie equivalent of the Impala also sold like hotcakes - I want to say the 66 2 door HT alone sold 200-300K units, and I suspect the 65 was likewise. Between the Impala, Galaxie, and Mopar equivalents, you're probably looking at 2MM+ of these stylish mass market large cars sold each year, at least for awhile. The zenith of the American working/middle class expressed in automotive form.

xwesx

I was thinking that the front end of that Impala was all torn up, but maybe it's just a plant of some sort. Must be a warm climate.