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

uplanderguy

One last thing about that Studebaker--when they announced on Dec. 9 that the assembly line would run through Dec. 20, Studebaker thought they would be dealing with all kinds of problems, including deliberate sabotage. It didn't happen. I think I read that at that time, the average age of the Stude factory worker was 53. I met a guy in South Bend a few years back who hired on in September '63 as an 18-year-old. He enjoyed his few months employment. The engine plant in South Bend ran through summer '64 supplying engines for Hamilton, ON assembly; after that, the GM engines were used in model year '65 and '66 cars.

sda

I was behind this right hand drive Toyota on my drive to work this morning. Could not
make out the model as the ladder hid the name plate. I followed it for a few blocks and it parked in the same building as I do. Not sure what floor otherwise I would have tried to get a better look.
Toyota Granvia?

fintail

sda said:

I was behind this right hand drive Toyota on my drive to work this morning. Could not

make out the model as the ladder hid the name plate. I followed it for a few blocks and it parked in the same building as I do. Not sure what floor otherwise I would have tried to get a better look.

Toyota Granvia?

yep looks like Grandvia. As time has passed to allow the 25 year rule to let more modern and useful vehicles in, there seems to be a flood of JDM material.

andre1969

Mmkay, here's a sign that I watch too much tv. Perry Mason was on this morning. I wasn't paying much attention to it, as I was on the computer, but then I looked over, and a this scene caught my eye...
I swear I had deja vu, as it was almost a dead ringer for a scene out of "Bewitched." So, I went and found that episode, online, and took this screen capture...Different car, but I swear that's the same stretch of road! Perry Mason was driving an Electra convertible, a '61 I believe. I think that car in "Bewitched" is a '59 Ford. BTW, if that scene from "Bewitched" looks odd, it's because it's one of the early black and white seasons, which traditionally weren't shown that often as reruns. And at one point, they were colorized. Anyway, it's stock footage from something, but I don't know what. It was supposed to be Larry and Louise Tate driving up to a mountain cabin, but you know full-well Larry wouldn't be caught dead in a Ford product! The sponsors probably wouldn't allow it

uplanderguy

I also think that’s a ‘59 Ford at bottom.

andre1969

At a quick glance, it almost looks Mopar-ish to me. But I think that's because the sunlight/shadows are playing tricks and exaggerating the tailfins. And while Dodge did have their turn signals in prominent round chrome surrounds in 1958-59, they were a bit more inward, and not at the extremities of the bumper. Plus, there's that spear that runs across the front fender and gets a bit broader at the door, and it looks like some trim that extends out in back, past the rear wheel opening, like on a '59 Ford.

As I recall, in that episode Louise and Larry showed up in something like a '66 Caprice, so there's some really bad continuity there. Although, I'm sure the producers never figured that nearly 40 years later, someone would be psychoanalyzing that scene.

Although, it looks like I'm not the only one! https://www.reddit.com/r/TVDetails/comments/p9ibde/in_bewitched_season_2_episode_16_the_magic_cabin/

fintail

Fin pods look right. Unusual color, assuming it is original.

And yeah, has to be the same road. Sharp eye - I thought I was the crazy one when I recognized Clark Griswold's childhood home in Christmas Vacation as the Bewitched house.

uplanderguy

Wishing for this out in the garage, my favorite model year, model, and color Studebaker. Not holding my breath. Those are the same wheel covers my Cruiser has....while I like them, they are a nightmare as originally they were held on by multiple clips and you can't check the air in the tires without pulling the cover away there, which I can't do on my car as I don't have the clips, apparently lost along the way.

Still, I would kill for that car.

It's miserable here now; I don't think we'll leave the house today or tomorrow in this sub-zero cold.

sda

Sharp color combination and handsome car. Temp is falling fast here, with strong wind gusts. Though not as cold as up north we will dip down to 11 tonight.

andre1969

That is a gorgeous color. It's amazing how green can be the best of colors, and the worst of colors, depending on the hue. As for temps, it got up to around 54 here...at like 12:01 am! By the time it was light out, more like mid 40's. Now (~11:39 am) it's around 30. I think we're supposed to get down to around 10 tonight! I was caught outside when a front came through...winds were so bad I actually had to hunker down a bit and lean into it!

While out running around, I did see one of those old 60's, flat-faced Econoline vans, painted up with advertising for the local RV dealer. It always sits out there, but for some reason today it caught my eye. Here's a screen shot off of google street view...

xwesx

Yeah, sorry about that, guys! You're getting our arctic air pushing down on you. It was -45(F) at it's coldest here this week, and it is now a (comparatively) balmy zero (-18C). So, good for me, bad for you.

sda

I don't know how you handle -45. I assume your house is extremely well insulated with 12 inch thick walls? It is only around 30 currently and I feel the cold bleeding thru the windows.

fintail

I'm sitting at the airport waiting for a flight delay now (thanks Alaska x2, and Seatac for appearing to be moving a bit slow).

I think it was maybe -8 at my house yesterday morning, cold for Spokane. Had the thermostat set at 63, and the furnace didn't seem to be working hard.

xwesx

sda said:

I don't know how you handle -45. I assume your house is extremely well insulated with 12 inch thick walls? It is only around 30 currently and I feel the cold bleeding thru the windows.

It's not super-insulated, but it is insulated well. Our walls are R30, roof is R60, and windows are triple-pane. We have hydronic heated floors throughout the house, which keeps the heat even and comfortable. I have the thermostats set at 66 downstairs and 60 upstairs, and that's where the rooms stay (regardless of the temp outside).

Now, our Conneaut house, that's another story. It might be about R7 overall (which is to say, it's not insulated at all). We only have about 66% of our heat pump system up and running at the moment, set at 62 (which is the lowest the system will let us go for some reason), and the temperature on the main floor of the house is currently 45F while it is -1F outside. If we were living there, we'd certainly have the heat pump installation on the upper floor complete. We also have a wood stove for secondary heating in that house.

xwesx

Yeah, fin, the flights have been a bit of a nightmare through both Anchorage and Seattle for a good week now. Anchorage has unusually high snowfall accumulation right now, and it's causing all sorts of havoc for aircraft.... probably moreso with freight than people, since Anchorage is one of the busiest air freight terminals in the world (IIRC).

Here's to getting to your destination (and back) safely!

uplanderguy

Your Conneaut house? It's particularly miserable up that-a-way today!

xwesx

uplanderguy said:

Your Conneaut house? It's particularly miserable up that-a-way today!

Looks that way! I was taking a peek through my cameras earlier, and it looks terribly windy, which isn't a fun thing when it is zero degrees (ambient). We have zero here in Fairbanks with about 20 mph winds, and, frankly, I'd rather have -40 ambient again. LOL

uplanderguy

The "Bewitched" house made me think--did that show not have some of the most memorable characters? Endora--Agnes Moorehead was born to play that role. Still blows my mind that she played Velma the housekeeper in 'Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte' the same time she was playing Endora!

Mrs. Kravitz (the first, especially)--great character. I still call my wife 'Gladys' or 'Mrs. Kravitz' if she is looking out the window to see what's going on out front.

Aunt Clara was a kind and lovable character, and she was in her eighties (or darn close) at that time!

And of course, Paul Lynde.

Lots of actor changes--Darrin, Mrs. Kravitz, and Louise Tate come to mind.

andre1969

Down to 14 degrees out there now. I just came in from outside, to look at a dead tree from the neighbor's side that fell down, hit another dead tree, and both of them came down into my yard. It didn't come down anywhere near anything in the yard, but looks like it's going to be a mess to clean up. I think I'm going to try and figure a way to tie it to the Ram wrap the rope around another tree trunk, and pull the trunks back over to the neighbor's side! And, as I feel the blood return to my ears, I'm reminded, that in this type of weather, a hat is probably a good idea!

I don't know what made me think to do this, but I looked up Acton, California, which is where they filmed "Duel" in 1971. 61 degrees and sunny!

xwesx

uplanderguy said:

Your Conneaut house? It's particularly miserable up that-a-way today!

They weren't kidding about that blizzard warning! This is one of my cameras there, and it's just a swirl of white dots....

uplanderguy

Ohio Turnpike closed at least when I went to bed last night--50 car pileup near Fremont headed west; both sides closed as they brought cranes in to move vehicles. One fatality last I heard. UPDATE: NBC is reporting four fatalities now, but also reporting it was in the eastbound lanes which is different from all the local news reports yesterday here.

uplanderguy

I find 'Barn Finds' annoying a lot of the time for some reason, but here's an interesting '73 Grand Am 4-door with 455 and 4-speed. The price is absurd, and my huge pet peeve--the engine displacement badge was placed on the wrong side of the decklid after the repaint (this isn't hard; why do shops screw it up so often? Almost impossible to correct once it's done). But, interesting and rare bird.

https://barnfinds.com/4-speeds-4-doors-1973-pontiac-grand-am/?utm_source=Comment+Notifications&utm_medium=email

sda

uplanderguy said:

I find 'Barn Finds' annoying a lot of the time for some reason, but here's an interesting '73 Grand Am 4-door with 455 and 4-speed. The price is absurd, and my huge pet peeve--the engine displacement badge was placed on the wrong side of the decklid after the repaint (this isn't hard; why do shops screw it up so often? Almost impossible to correct once it's done). But, interesting and rare bird.

https://barnfinds.com/4-speeds-4-doors-1973-pontiac-grand-am/?utm_source=Comment+Notifications&utm_medium=email

I saw your corrective comment out there and important if you’re not in the know and looking to purchase. I had forgotten that in addition to having reclining buckets which was still rare in a domestic it also had adjustable lumbar support. Our 73 Grand Am which was modestly optioned up and had the standard 400 2bbl single exhaust was quite peppy and had a very nice balance of good ride and handling. I really liked driving that car. Gas mileage was a sore point in the 10 mpg range.

uplanderguy

I don't believe I ever saw a four-door Grand Am in the flesh. Certainly bold in its day.

Lots of comments there about "rare doesn't mean valuable", and I get that--I wouldn't pay his asking price--but I like rare/odd for rare/odd's sake sometimes. And that car is that!

I've long-thought that is the best 1970's instrument panel, period. I'm gently reminded of sixties Pontiac panels in the upper models.

andre1969

I learned this morning that my garage has some small degree of insulating capability. It got down to 7.9 degrees just before sunrise, according to the thermometer in the kitchen, that has an outdoor sensor. I went out in the garage, out of curiosity. I have a small digital thermometer out there. It read 18.3 degrees.

Still too damn cold for my tastes!

On the subject of the Grand Am, I just read something interesting about its cancellation. Now this was on Wikipedia, so naturally take it with a grain of salt. But, while slow sales were the main reason for dropping it, apparently, the folks at Pontiac didn't want to invest in the retooling of the front-end, to go with the rectangular quads that came out for 1976.

Years ago, Collectible Automobile did an article on the Colonade LeMans. I remember one of the concept pics that had, showed a '76 proposal that had a slicked-back front end that bore a resemblance to the '81 LeMans. It was pretty cool. I tried to see if I could find any pics online, but no luck. Oddly, if I google "1976 Pontiac LeMans concept" the first pic to come up is a Buford T. Justice police car replica. The second pic is one that someone took of my car, back in 2005 at the GM show in Carlisle PA!

uplanderguy

The second pic is one that someone took of my car, back in 2005 at the GM show in Carlisle PA!

Isn't that funny? Just the other day on my FB feed was a station wagon page that had an unidentified pic of my local friend's '61 Lark wagon. It was absolutely his from some of his personal touches. Similarly, when Champ pickups show up on FB, my friend's red '64 with cap often comes up.

Pontiac I think held onto that wonderful idea of offering a lot of individual options, way past when Chevy stopped doing anything at all like that. Look at the '73 midsizes--not even counting Grand Prix--LeMans, LeMans Sport, Luxury LeMans, and Grand Am. I found out that the '74 LeMans GT could be had with the louvered quarter windows or triangular ones, and the Luxury LeMans seating could be ordered. I might be remembering wrong, but I think the GT could be ordered with the regular LeMans or LeMans Sport.

In '78 they offered a Grand Am again, which might be a bit superfluous but nice touch anyway. I liked them, and not often seen.

fintail

xwesx said:

Yeah, fin, the flights have been a bit of a nightmare through both Anchorage and Seattle for a good week now. Anchorage has unusually high snowfall accumulation right now, and it's causing all sorts of havoc for aircraft.... probably moreso with freight than people, since Anchorage is one of the busiest air freight terminals in the world (IIRC).

Here's to getting to your destination (and back) safely!

Arrived at Seatac around 1830 - was originally slated to arrive around 0700. Picked up the rental car and was at my destination around 2200, a long day. And I was one of the lucky ones with a rebooking - original flight was cancelled and I saw quite a few stranded people at GEG and SEA. Now I am out on the coast with 50F and heavy rain. Mother nature is having fun with us.

roadburner

uplanderguy said:

I don't believe I ever saw a four-door Grand Am in the flesh. Certainly bold in its day.

Lots of comments there about "rare doesn't mean valuable", and I get that--I wouldn't pay his asking price--but I like rare/odd for rare/odd's sake sometimes. And that car is that!

I've long-thought that is the best 1970's instrument panel, period. I'm gently reminded of sixties Pontiac panels in the upper models.

I just thought four door sport sedans were oddly cool. Not the place where you expected to find bucket seats and a floor shift.

sda

I liked the 78 Grand Am. I thought it to be a little more sporty with a touch of european influence where as the Grand Prix was doing the luxury coupe thing.

sda

fintail said:

xwesx said:

Yeah, fin, the flights have been a bit of a nightmare through both Anchorage and Seattle for a good week now. Anchorage has unusually high snowfall accumulation right now, and it's causing all sorts of havoc for aircraft.... probably moreso with freight than people, since Anchorage is one of the busiest air freight terminals in the world (IIRC).

Here's to getting to your destination (and back) safely!

Arrived at Seatac around 1830 - was originally slated to arrive around 0700. Picked up the rental car and was at my destination around 2200, a long day. And I was one of the lucky ones with a rebooking - original flight was cancelled and I saw quite a few stranded people at GEG and SEA. Now I am out on the coast with 50F and heavy rain. Mother nature is having fun with us.

You’re there safe and sound. That’s a good thing! Enjoy your visit with your mom and family.

fintail

A classic, Merry Christmas! Santa's swing axle sleigh is hauling some goods.

stickguy

On my walk today a house with a somewhat ratty tri 5 Chevy 2 door wagon. But I don’t think a nomad. Also had a C3 vette with plastic rear end under a tarp.

andre1969

Saw this in another forum, and thought it was kinda cute...
Hope everyone's having a Merry Christmas/happy holidays!

andre1969

Dumb question, but does anyone know if the back windows on this home-market Nissan Cedric roll all the way down?


It's actually a true hardtop, in that it lacks a B-pillar. It's not one of those fake-me-out "pillared hardtops" where the windows are frameless but there's still a central pillar. It may look like it has a somewhat recessed B-pillar, but that's just the seatbelt shoulder straps. I have a feeling, that the window goes down at an angle, and most of the way, but you still have a large triangular piece sticking up, kind of like those ES300s and Subaru Legacys used to. It just looks like too much window, and not enough door.

Still, pretty cool in my opinion.

kyfdx

I don't see how it's possible, due to the rear door geometry

kyfdx

https://www.jdmbuysell.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/image9.jpg

kyfdx

It's close, but not quite

andre1969

Wow, that's still pretty impressive, all things considered, that they got the window to go down as far as they did! Especially when I see much larger cars, even with spacer windows, where the back window only goes down about half way.

I guess you could consider the window in the C-pillar a "spacer" window though, just in the pillar, rather than the door. However, they could have simply made that a thicker C-pillar, if they wanted to.

kyfdx

andre1969 said:

Wow, that's still pretty impressive, all things considered, that they got the window to go down as far as they did! Especially when I see much larger cars, even with spacer windows, where the back window only goes down about half way.

I guess you could consider the window in the C-pillar a "spacer" window though, just in the pillar, rather than the door. However, they could have simply made that a thicker C-pillar, if they wanted to.

Yeah, they would have needed a bigger spacer window, to clear the sill. Even this one looks like it rotates quite a bit to get down that low.

fintail

At my mom's with "the boomer channel" on in the background, just saw the Leave It To Beaver where the boys somehow puncture a tire on the family car, it was this heavily styled beast:



There's also a Mopar heavy street scene that also featured a Simca.

ab348

andre1969 said:

Wow, that's still pretty impressive, all things considered, that they got the window to go down as far as they did! Especially when I see much larger cars, even with spacer windows, where the back window only goes down about half way.

I guess you could consider the window in the C-pillar a "spacer" window though, just in the pillar, rather than the door. However, they could have simply made that a thicker C-pillar, if they wanted to.

The only way I think that could have been done while retaining reasonable access to the rear seat for passengers would be to do a R-body New Yorker kind of design with the C-pillar extension mounted to the door.

andre1969

For some reason I was thinking the late 80's Galant Sigma tried that R-body treatment, but I just found one online, and nope...

I knew they still had a B-pillar, but I couldn't remember how they handled the spacer window. One thing that's interesting, is how far the door skin extends back, compared to the actual opening. I remember Consumer Reports complaining back in the 60's about some car like that, saying it was inviting people to slam their hands in the door when they closed it because they'd grab that back edge and close it. I think It might have been a Chrysler or full-sized Mercury.

In my 52 years on this planet, I don't know a single person who has ever grabbed the door, and held onto it as they slam it shut. Usually you just take your hand and sort of fling it shut, without any bodily contact on the door when it actually closes. Now, there have been times in the past, where the door wouldn't shut completely, and I might shove myself against it to close it all the way. I put a slight dent in the passenger side of my '80 Malibu doing that, as I recall.

uplanderguy

'60 Plymouth tops my personal list of most bizarre early-sixties Mopar styling. That front wheel opening!

andre1969

I remember that Beaver episode...I think it was called "Tire Trouble." I think it was one of the few episodes to actually feature a '59 DeSoto actually in the episode, and not just that stock drive by shot they used in the closing credits. At one point, I seem to recall the tire rolling out into the street and both a '59 DeSoto and '59 Plymouth slam on their brakes to avoid hitting it.

andre1969

With Mopar styling, I think I look at both the '60 and '61 Plymouths as roughly equal, as a low point in Mopar styling. But, for different reasons. With the '60, there are parts of it that I think are attractive, by themselves. For instance, I think the rear of the car looks nice, minus the fake tire imprint in the trunk, and almost looks too expensive for that class of car. But, unfortunately, it also looks too big for that size of car. It looks to me like it belongs on a much bigger car. Similarly, other details like the grille texture, front bumper, etc, I don't mind, by themselves. But it just seems like the designers threw all these elements at the car, and then went with what stayed stuck to it.

The '61 just seems ugly in every respect to me, but somehow, it all manages to flow together better. So for me I guess it's the '60 is more awkward and disjointed, whereas the '61 is just plain old ugly.

Still, looking at them through somewhat modern eyes, I can appreciate them both for taking a chance, and being bold and daring.

uplanderguy

I'm going from memory here (not always reliable of course), but I seem to think the '60 and '61 instrument panels seemed disjointed too.

I guess it was an effort to differentiate itself from other cars, but the instrument-panel-mounted rear view mirror, steering wheel shapes, and the driver's seat back being higher than the rest of the seat are things that to me didn't age very well.

I think a '60 DeSoto two-door hardtop is nice looking, which means a '60 Chrysler is too. I know everyone bags on the '61 DeSoto, but I don't find the two-door hardtop bad at all.

andre1969

In '60 and '61, the Plymouths had those weird dashboards where the speedometer was in a separate pod that was mounted on top of the dash. It was bad enough for '60, but in 1961 it really went off the deep end... The 1960 DeSoto was nice, but that year it started sharing its dashboard with the Dodges, yet another sign it was on its way out. The '61 used the Dodge dash, as well. Even though the '60 DeSoto was almost indistinguishable from a Chrysler that year, there's one little styling detail that I preferred on it. I liked the way the grille flared out below the headlights, and housed the turn signals. I think it filled out the front end a bit better, than the Chrysler grille.

Even though the '61 DeSoto is easy to rag on, I actually don't mind it. It makes me think a bit of a '58-60 Lincoln, just not quite as hulking.

texases

Wow, that is bizarre!

sda

It almost looks like a boom box (left and right) speakers mounted on top of the dashboard, kind of like the tablets mounted today!

andre1969

For comparison, here's the '61 DeSoto/Dodge dashboard (shown here in a DeSoto). I think it's still a bit much, but definitely toned down compared to the Plymouth!