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

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Comments

  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,204
    First gen Old Bravada, white with gold lettering.
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • tjc78tjc78 Member Posts: 15,817
    Gold lettering.... glad that died. Now the black wheel phase needs to go!

    2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve

  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,122
    edited April 2019
    This pulled up beside me at the stoplight on a rainy Seattle type day. Bad lighting.
    Buick Estate Wagon 1970?


    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 18,979
    Later than that, between '74 and '76. Must be pretty rare these days.

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  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,204
    Was that one of those that had the tailgate that lowered under the car?
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • sdasda Member Posts: 6,920
    It was referred to as a clamshell. The window retracted into the roof and the tailgate into the floor.

    2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,072
    Those clamshell wagons are pretty cool. Would be even better on the period Buick 5 spoke wheel.
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,204
    I've seen this at the grocery store and took a picture today.
    Nice step side F150


    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,122
    edited April 2019
    Another sighting this week was a Montego.
    The wheels and tires have been urbanized, but I love the car. I followed off my route hoping to get a picture.
    I think it's a 1973.


    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,382
    in traffic today, a fairly clean looking 75ish Nova. Red 2 door. odd sighting.

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,638
    That Montego has got to be a rare car. I don't remember them being very common, even when they were new-ish.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,638
    That Buick Clamshell Wagon Imidazol97 posted is pretty cool. But, I can also see why people hated on those bulky 5-mph bumpers so much. I think they actually worked well on some cars, but on that particular Buick, I don't think that rear bumper looks like it accents the car very well.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,122
    edited April 2019
    andre1969 said:

    That Montego has got to be a rare car. I don't remember them being very common, even when they were new-ish.

    The Torino was cheaper. This Montego was a light green color. A pretty color.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,122
    andre1969 said:

    That Buick Clamshell Wagon Imidazol97 posted is pretty cool. But, I can also see why people hated on those bulky 5-mph bumpers so much. I think they actually worked well on some cars, but on that particular Buick, I don't think that rear bumper looks like it accents the car very well.

    The car looks like it's ready for the destruction derby at the county fair with that heavy bumper.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • tjc78tjc78 Member Posts: 15,817
    edited April 2019
    The earlier models looked so much better, with normal bumpers.


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  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 18,979
    I wonder if back in the day when they were relatively plentiful in junkyards if it was easy to retrofit an original-style rear bumper to ones with the battering ram style.

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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,072
    Saw a first gen Jetta sedan in traffic today, those are pretty thin on the ground these days. It was obviously cared for, no doubt by a VW cultist. Also saw a W123 and W126, nothing else of interest which surprised as the weather was nice.
  • tjc78tjc78 Member Posts: 15,817
    ab348 said:

    I wonder if back in the day when they were relatively plentiful in junkyards if it was easy to retrofit an original-style rear bumper to ones with the battering ram style.

    Not so sure. Looks like the taillights are different due to the size of the bumper. Other models you may have been able to.

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  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,747
    fintail said:

    Those clamshell wagons are pretty cool. Would be even better on the period Buick 5 spoke wheel.

    It has five-spokes.... maybe not Buick five-spokes (I'm not up on my wheels)?

    Either way, it looks nice; especially for the period from which it hails.
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,122
    edited April 2019
    I don't recall having seen anything like it in car shows around here. But that looks like may have been in car shows.

    I agree about the original Buick wheels. But I do tolerate folks who go to the chromes and mags that are typical of what people would use to "soup" up a car in those days, if they could afford them.

    The only wheels neater are the 6-lug Pontiac wheels. I'm not sure of the years for those. But I hope someone else is and will post them.



    I'm not sure if these are the Pontiac wheels or not. They have 8 lugs.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • omarmanomarman Member Posts: 2,702
    edited April 2019
    That wagon looks pretty good considering that it's wearing Ohio plates.

    A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,122
    omarman said:

    That wagon looks pretty good considering that it's wearing Ohio plates.

    Agree. If I ever see that car again at a show, I'll see if the owner is with it and find out where it has been all its life.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,072
    Yep those are the Buick wheels, great design in general and they really fit the car, along with many other cars.



    I agree about the original Buick wheels. But I do tolerate folks who go to the chromes and mags that are typical of what people would use to "soup" up a car in those days, if they could afford them.

  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 18,979
    8 lugs for the Pontiac.

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  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,122
    ab348 said:
    8 lugs for the Pontiac.
    Yes. You're right.  I love seeing those at a cat show. 

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,669


    ab348 said:

    8 lugs for the Pontiac.

    Yes. You're right.  I love seeing those at a cat show. 

    What, on a Cougar? :D
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,122
    That should be at a car show.  This keyboard on my Samsung...

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,638
    I forget what year the Pontiac 8-lug wheels started, but I think the last year for them was 1968. As I recall, the brake drum was actually built into the design of the wheel, so that made them a bit expensive, come replacement time. Disc brakes became more common starting in 1969, and I believe, if you got disc brakes, you needed to go to a 15" wheel because the 14" couldn't clear the caliper, or something like that. 1969, I believe, is when Pontiac started offering the Rally 2 wheel in the 5-on-5 full-sized B-O-P bolt pattern.

    I always liked that Buick 5-spoke magnum wheel (or whatever they called it...Mopar had a similar style a few years called "Magnum"). And it looks really sharp on that '75 LeSabre wagon.
  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 18,979
    andre1969 said:
    I always liked that Buick 5-spoke magnum wheel (or whatever they called it...Mopar had a similar style a few years called "Magnum"). And it looks really sharp on that '75 LeSabre wagon.
    Buick made them in different varieties of both 14” and 15”, and in 5x4.75” and 5x5” bolt patterns. In the late ‘60s they even made a very good replica of it in a full wheel cover. First time I saw those they fooled me. 

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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,638
    Did Oldsmobile ever offer a version of their Rally wheel on the 5x5 bolt pattern? I've seen them in the 15" size, but only on something like a '73-77 Cutlass, or the downsized '77+ Delta 88 coupe/sedan, so it was still the 5x4.75 pattern.

    And, for some reason, the center cap on the Delta 88s was broader, and spread out to cover the lug nuts, which I thought looked odd.

    I think about the closest thing to a Rally wheel I might have seen on an Olds in the 5x5 pattern was actually a Buick mag, with Olds center caps? At least, that's sticking in my mind. For some reason, I'm also getting a mental image of an 80's Delta 88 wagon using the Buick Rally wheel that was kind of common on Electras and Estate Wagons in that timeframe, but just with an Olds center cap?
  • tjc78tjc78 Member Posts: 15,817
    Yeah, Olds has the same wheel with different caps.  

    https://barnfinds.com/family-rocket-1973-oldsmobile-custom-cruiser/

    Olds also copied the other Buick wheel into the 80s early 90s

    https://barnfinds.com/truckster-survivor-1990-oldsmobile-custom-cruiser/

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  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 18,979
    edited April 2019
    tjc78 said:

    Yeah, Olds has the same wheel with different caps.  

    https://barnfinds.com/family-rocket-1973-oldsmobile-custom-cruiser/

    Olds also copied the other Buick wheel into the 80s early 90s

    https://barnfinds.com/truckster-survivor-1990-oldsmobile-custom-cruiser/

    I'm pretty sure those are Buick wheels on that Custom Cruiser. If the caps have an Olds rocket they are ones someone cobbled together.

    Olds did offer a rally wheel of sorts on the big cars in a 5x5" pattern in '71 and '72 but it was a unique wheel they called the SS IV.




    http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Oldsmobile/1971 Oldsmobile/1971_Oldsmobile_Prestige_Brochure/1971 Oldsmobile Prestige-36-37.html


    As @tjc78 noted, Olds and Buick wagons in the last few years of the downsized square-rigger era up to 1990 shared an alloy wheel design with unique center caps for each make. These were handsome wheels.


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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,026
    edited April 2019
    Those Pontiac wheels are called "Eight lug".

    I love the looks of them, but I'd actually pick the Buick wheels over them. That Buick wheel has to be the longevity king, as I believe they were used from '64-87--maybe even longer as I think the full-size Estate Wagon was built after that.

    Those Pontiac eight-lug wheels could not be had with disc brakes, as the hub was part of the brake drum IIRC.

    EDIT: Sorry, I see some of my points have already been made here.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,122
    This looks like the little brother to Fintail's Fintail.
    Car looks perfect.









    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,382
    that car has all around visibility you don't see today!

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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,072
    I think that might be a shade lighter than mine (and several years newer), but nice car.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Euro model.
  • tjc78tjc78 Member Posts: 15,817
    My 79 Continental was that same baby blue.

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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,072
    That 280SL also has sidemarkers, so either a very federalized car, or a US car with Euro lights added later, I wager the latter is the case here.
  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 18,979
    That is a great color for a 280SL.

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  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 18,979
    edited May 2019
    When I was a kid I was ga-ga for these and really wanted my dad to buy one, with zero luck.

    https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1970-mercury-marauder/

    This one has some issues that make me go "hmmm" like the fitment of both rear quarter windows. I know wiper switches for these are likely made of unobtainium but the solution chosen here would concern me. There are enough little things that I would be hesitant, but OTOH, you do not find these very often.


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  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,382
    There’s an electric blue one of those that lives near me.

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  • tjc78tjc78 Member Posts: 15,817
    Like that Mercury. 

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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,638
    Remember those old Volvo ads where they used to brag about how strong the roofs were? Wonder if they got the idea from this?



  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Could have been a good candidate for the Darwin Awards.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,072
    Those strong Briggs bodies.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,638

    Could have been a good candidate for the Darwin Awards.

    Not to mention, who wears high heels and dresses up that nicely to go to the junkyard!
  • omarmanomarman Member Posts: 2,702

    A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Oh, I don't know. A little sweep up, some curtains.....
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,122
    andre1969 said:

    Could have been a good candidate for the Darwin Awards.

    Not to mention, who wears high heels and dresses up that nicely to go to the junkyard!
    Maybe to an upscale pick-n-pull?

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

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