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

fintail

andre1969 said:

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.

Yep, it earned a mention on imcdb:

sda

andre1969 said:

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!

Is the DeSoto speedometer back lit by outside light during the day or is that a white face with black numbers?

andre1969

I think it was white, but translucent, so while you couldn't see through it, light would still get through.

andre1969

I was just looking at GM dashboards from that era to refresh my memory. A lot of them were still overdone, but I think GM was cleaning them up a bit, compared to Chrysler. But wow, the '61 Buick's dash almost looks like a work of art!

sda

Translucent was the word that I was thinking of but didn't pop in my head. The Vista dome instruments in the Chryslers were magnificent. I'm surprised they made it production as I imagine the bean counters had a fit.

uplanderguy

I had totally forgotten what a '61 Buick dash looked like. Very symmetrical. I never was crazy about clocks or tachs tacked onto the dash though.

andre1969

I'm not so crazy about those tack-on things either, but on that LeSabre, somehow It manages to work, I think. Just to throw some Ford representation into the mix, here's a '61 Mercury Monterey dash...

I don't think this one's bad looking...not as overdone as the Dodge/DeSoto dash, but to me it looks a bit old fashioned by '61. Actually, it makes me think just a bit of the '57 DeSoto dash, in its basic shape. And, Ford had gone "corporate" by then too, as that's basically the '61 Ford dash, just with some trim differences.

sda

It has always bothered me that Ford made little effort to integrate AC into the dash like GM and Chrysler. Those under dash hang on units look clunky and did not provide very good air distribution. Only Lincoln or Thunderbird had the ac vents integrated to my recollection. I think it was the 65 year when Ford/Mercury (full size) finally integrated the ac system into the dash though the intermediates still used the under dash unit.

uplanderguy

It appears that Merc didn't use the two separate shafts/columns inside, yeah!

I always kind of liked '61 Mercs, in that it seems I rarely saw them. I kind of like the '60 Lincoln-esque tail treatment, although it always bothered me outside that they had wheel opening moldings only on the rear wheel openings, but not the front. Huh?!!

imidazol97

Strong family relationship between the Ford and Mercury dashes for 1961.

ab348

uplanderguy said:

It appears that Merc didn't use the two separate shafts/columns inside, yeah!

I stand to be corrected but I thought the auto transmission columns got an integrated column/shift rod whereas 3-on-the-tree manual shift Fords retained the exposed shift rod until about 1963.

fintail

Heavy carryover from 60, I remember some elements of this clearly from my dad's car even though it sold probably 30 years ago now:



Looking at some of these, the 60 Ford was an example of simple elegance, it's all relative,

imidazol97 said:

Strong family relationship between the Ford and Mercury dashes for 1961.

uplanderguy

The '61 Ford automatics still had the two columns inside. Looked at a Mecum auction one but wouldn't let me copy the photo.

Growing up on Chevys, I noticed in fin's photo that the turn signal and shift lever handles are painted metal instead of chrome which strikes me as unusual, although lower-line Larks had them like that but upper-line models had them chromed.

uplanderguy

Just saw this on FB. I always liked the '61 (and '62) Chevy instrument panel, with the center glovebox, and I like the '61 steering wheel seen here. I HATE the pushbuttons that spell "CHEVY" on the '61's though--cheesy I think. It's a 'Chevrolet', not a Chevy van or Chevy II!

I remember my Dad once bemoaning that nobody did a center glovebox anymore.

andre1969

Could be worse, just imagine if GM had done that with Cadillac... "C A D D Y"!

That chrome trim on the edges of the seat really dresses up that Chevy's interior nicely. I think the dash is nice, too. It at least looks up-to-date for an early 60's car, in my opinion. Meanwhile, the Ford/Mercury dash still says "1950's". And the Plymouth says "The Outer Limits!" Although maybe "Tales from the Dark Side" is more appropriate...

uplanderguy

The "CADDY" thing is similar in my mind, but would indeed be more egregious due to Cadillac image!

I'm serious about the pushbuttons; I'd have to look for one with a straight-line tuning radio!

andre1969

Or how about it Studebaker had done it? "S T U D E"

uplanderguy

I'd hate them all!

uplanderguy

On the '61 Impala, on the otherwise blank area where most cars had a glovebox, they had the crossed flags with the Impala animal as an emblem. I like that too. That changed in '62.

stickguy

@andre1969 said:
Or how about it Studebaker had done it? "S T U D E"

Better if they only had 4 preset stations.

andre1969

stickguy said:

@andre1969 said:

Or how about it Studebaker had done it? "S T U D E"

Better if they only had 4 preset stations.

That had crossed my mind!

uplanderguy

I wouldn't even approve of "OLDS" on four buttons!

ab348

So, it's probably safe to say you hate this one too?



That's the factory radio that my '64 Skylark convertible came with. I always thought the pushbuttons were cool.

andre1969

I'm guessing Uplander's cool with "B U I C K" as that's the proper name. It's just nicknames, slang terms, abbreviations, etc that riles him up.

I guess GM could have gone corporate with "D E L C O".
When did they finally get rid of those CONELRAD triangles on the dial? Around 1962-63?

uplanderguy

"BUICK" is fine to me. It's not slang.

Good question on the Conelrad symbols. I'm thinking our '62 Fairlane had them but our '67 Chevelle did not.

I'm not even sure what's in my Studebaker.

fintail

RIP Pele, good taste in cars too:

uplanderguy

Today I was a couple cars behind a trailer carrying a 1950 Ford two-door sedan ('Tudor'). I know it was a '50 as I saw it pull out of a side street and I could see it had the Ford emblem on the hood instead of "FORD" there like the '49 had.

It was a creamy, very light yellow, and appeared stock.

I still appreciate those cars. They must have looked amazingly fresh and modern when introduced, compared to everything else.

uplanderguy

5,377 mile '69 Mercury Monterey Custom for sale. Very nice Merc. I like it better than the Marquis that year--no hideaway headlights. Nicer interior than I remembered too. I like the instrument panel better than that year's Ford, too. I love original cars.

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/mercury/monterey/2558047.html?fbclid=IwAR2cwOV1IeUEVZmwiTqdIo94r7YPe85C9KDi9mthJHVn6rlYxCC6eiGSFto#&gid=1&pid=29

explorerx4

If you are into the 70's:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1974-gerstenlager-camelot-cruiser/

stickguy

explorerx4 said:

If you are into the 70's:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1974-gerstenlager-camelot-cruiser/

that thing is wild. never heard of them before.

tjc78

That truck and trailer is absolutely wild. A time capsule to the 70s. Wow

andre1969

For the most part I never got all that excited about big Mercurys in the 60's. Although for some reason, I do like the '62. I kind of like the weirdness of the small fin, with the taillight tucked into it and the front-end is handsome enough, if a bit Buicky.

I do like the Marquis models, with the hidden headlights which I think started in '69. My fondness for them probably harks back to when I was a little kid and they were somewhat common. That front end seemed kind of exotic to me.

Still, that '69 Monterey is nice, and that color really shows it off well. I prefer the dash to the Ford as well. I'm just not a fan of the way Ford tried to do that "cockpit" style dash. The dash makes me think just a bit of a full-sized Mopar. The front and rear of the car seem to have just a hint of Mopar in them as well, to my eye. Part of it may be that heavy chrome piece across the top of the front, that gives the illusion of a loop bumper, although I don't know if the Merc is a true "loop" in the Mopar sense, or not.

Michaell

My maternal grandmother had a '67 Monterey coupe with the 390. I was lucky enough to drive it quite a few times in the couple of years where I had my license but before she passed away.

My mom and uncle thought about giving it to me, but they passed on the idea. Kinda bummed, as I really liked that car.

kyfdx

When we were in San Antonio, we ate at a restaurant named The Monterey, and this car was out front..

kyfdx

It was just for show.. you can see the electrical conduit. In the evening, the parking lights would glow. 🙂

fintail

uplanderguy said:

5,377 mile '69 Mercury Monterey Custom for sale. Very nice Merc. I like it better than the Marquis that year--no hideaway headlights. Nicer interior than I remembered too. I like the instrument panel better than that year's Ford, too. I love original cars.

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/mercury/monterey/2558047.html?fbclid=IwAR2cwOV1IeUEVZmwiTqdIo94r7YPe85C9KDi9mthJHVn6rlYxCC6eiGSFto#&gid=1&pid=29

Great colors! I saw the pic and first thing I thought of was "Marti report", as it has to be a rare combo. I wasn't disappointed. However, I like hideaway lights, LTDs of that era are pretty sharp with them IMO.

Price is a little dear, but if you have to have the best one in the world, that has to be it.

When I lived on the west side, there was an immaculate black 61 Mercury 4 door HT I would see every blue moon - has to be a unicorn today.

fintail

explorerx4 said:

If you are into the 70's:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1974-gerstenlager-camelot-cruiser/

Looks like some monied hipsters are into bidding, too. Wow.

I like the vintage snowmobiles - if I had somewhere to store them and wanted to deal with transporting them, I could get into those.

tjc78

@kyfdx said:
It was just for show.. you can see the electrical conduit. In the evening, the parking lights would glow. 🙂

The diner in my old town used to have this in their vestibule. When they added the bar on, they moved it outside. I’m sure @stickguy knows the place.

uplanderguy

When I was a kid, an older lady friend of my mother's had a light yellow '62 Monterey convertible with black top and interior. I think it was probably the first convertible I remember riding in with the top down.

The taillights always reminded me of a dog's, well, you know.

Other family friends had a '63 Monterey Breezeway four-door sedan, and I did think that was a neat idea if not necessarily stylish.

fintail

I know I have posted it before, but it's a good angle - the Dennis the Menace episode where Mr. Wilson (Gale Gordon) and Mrs. Elkins get in a "crash":



Here's the "damage":

stickguy

I know where that diner is. just down from the Toyota dealer!

uplanderguy

Speaking of 'Marquis' a few posts up, does anybody remember when Car and Driver would have their annual 'New Car' fall issue (no need for that anymore, sigh) where for Mercury they'd list, "Still working on the 'deSade' option on the Marquis"? They did it for years!

roadburner

@fintail The 2022 Matchbox Global Series contains a 1962 220 SE:

laurasdada

uplanderguy said:

Speaking of 'Marquis' a few posts up, does anybody remember when Car and Driver would have their annual 'New Car' fall issue (no need for that anymore, sigh) where for Mercury they'd list, "Still working on the 'deSade' option on the Marquis"? They did it for years!

The joke has shifted, somewhat, to the Mach-E...

fintail

roadburner said:

@fintail The 2022 Matchbox Global Series contains a 1962 220 SE:

Fun stuff, I haven't seen that color yet. I have a few examples of the casting, in different liveries (racing) and packaging - the model was introduced for the Rosqvist commemoration, I think. A couple examples can be seen here in part of my mountain o'stuff:

andre1969

uplanderguy said:

Speaking of 'Marquis' a few posts up, does anybody remember when Car and Driver would have their annual 'New Car' fall issue (no need for that anymore, sigh) where for Mercury they'd list, "Still working on the 'deSade' option on the Marquis"? They did it for years!

Yep, I definitely remember that running joke. I think the first time I saw it, I was too young to know what it meant! Funny thing is, I swear I've seen a Grand Marquis with "DeSade" badging on it! I wonder if one of those coach/carriage roof aftermarket companies might have offered it, as a spoof? Or, for whatever reason, perhaps there's a "DeSade" badge out there, from something else, and someone glued it on?

andre1969

Happy New Year, everyone!

uplanderguy

RE.: Hideaway headlights, discussed here fairly often--I think I wouldn't mind them so much if they were truly hideaway! You end up having a big visible seam around them! LOL

And to my eyes, they usually look like hell when open. Worst offender in this regard is the C2 Corvette IMHO.

uplanderguy

I guess GM could have gone corporate with "D E L C O".

For some reason, I think I might have a vague memory of that showing up on some year and model.

I know I remember seeing some cars with a small "Delco" script in the corner of the dial.

uplanderguy

Just lovely '71 Vista Cruiser on the Mecum site.

Someone posted that it had been updated/upgraded with 15 inch wheels, but sure appears original/authentic.

https://www.mecum.com/lots/FL0123-536485/1971-oldsmobile-vista-cruiser/