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Usually, that happens when they look bone-stock even up-close, and it's somewhat of an unusual model.
andre, truth be told, I typically don't like the added length of the longer wheelbase, and you really notice it when you compare a Catalina to an Executive as they have quite-similar exterior trim, and you're right, it seems to be right around the rear wheel opening. I tend to really notice it on four-door pillared sedans, as until '68 there wasn't a Bonneville in that body style on the longer wheelbase. I didn't know there was added length in addition to the wheelbase. I'd prefer a Ventura, but that said, the Executive seems rare, overall, in Pontiac-land. The Ventura is pretty rare too in '66 I think but I'm guessing the Executive may be more rare. I know the Ventura was just an option on the Catalina--in '66, it gave you the Executive interior plus extra exterior moldings up to Executive-level, and in '66 only it gave you fender skirts. It also gave you the block letters on the front fender, which I like better than the huge script "Catalina" nameplate there. I know I'm digressing, but the Ventura and the 2+2 had "PONTIAC" written on the dash above the glove box. Apparently Pontiac didn't expect enough volume with either to make their own identification panels there.
I like the '65 instrument panel better than the '66, as I like the round center instruments as opposed to square. But the '65's, except Grand Prix and Bonneville, all were black below the pad and I see in '66 this area was color-keyed (good!). I do think there's something a bit odd or square about the panel around the speedometer. All that said, I could very much enjoy owning this Pontiac.
I'll be following to see what this car ends up bringing.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
However, the one 4-door hardtop I had, a '69 Bonneville, felt pretty solid. The doors had a nice, solid feel and sound when you closed them, regardless of whether the windows were up or down. And I don't remember seeing any flex to the body while driving, or when a door got slammed. The only area where that car seemed cheap was the trunk lid. It felt a bit thin, and sounded tinny when you closed it. Now that I think about it, my '67 Catalina convertible's trunk lid is similar, in that regard.
Personally, I've always been a fan of 4-door hardtops. But it's probably best to find the nicest one you can, because it's going to cost a fortune to restore one with needs...especially if it's something that's not so common. If that thing was a '66 GTO, you could probably go online and order all the interior parts for it, and they'd be in stock. But with an Executive, especially a 4-door hardtop, you might have to have it custom-ordered, and that's going to get expensive.
Unless I missed something (definitely possible), that carpeting looks good to me.
A widow of a friend from my hometown put their '65 Studebaker Commander two-door sedan on eBay last week. It was sold new in our hometown by my dealer friend and has been in the area its whole life. It had an amateur restoration done by the owner's son, but the family hadn't had luck trying to sell it in the area for a couple years. It was sold on eBay with an asking price or best offer, within twelve hours. In fact, I found out about it by chatter on the Studebaker Drivers' Club site. Good pics, honest description, and reasonable price will sell them quickly every time I think.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
And I'd second Uplanderguy. If I was in the market, I'd pay $7100 for it. Maybe even $7200.
The crank windows on the convertible didn't used to bother me, when the top motor didn't work. I had to get out of the car to put it down by hand, anyway, so while I was out of the car, I'd just reach in and put down the rest of the windows. And, same with getting the top back up, and putting up the windows. But, ever since I got the top fixed, the crank windows have annoyed me a bit.
The black nylon Brougham interior looked great, but I remember thinking the seatbacks felt thinly padded for such a plush car. They were those bucket-back seats which were somewhat hard. But that interior looked new all those years later.
That Bonneville's seats seemed pretty thick, almost over-stuffed. In contrast, my '67 Catalina's seats seem a bit thin in spots, but I think that's because they're just getting old.
I miss that Bonneville sometimes. I only paid $400 for it, back when I was still in college, but had to cut it loose at what was probably the lowest point in my life, financially, just weeks before I took a second job delivering pizzas, and a couple months before I started divorce proceedings. Remember that scene from "Gone with the Wind", where Scarlett O'Hara digs a scrawny radish out of the ground and says "As God as my witness, I'll never go hungry again!" Well, that was about where I was, when I got rid of that car.
Put the battery charger on the Mustang for a few hours later this afternoon.
It stayed solid red the whole time, but I decided to start it anyway after about 4 hours.
No problem, started and idles great.
Car shows are starting early. First local one is next week.
Won't be putting the insurance back on that soon.
At some point, this car is going to be worth some money(10-15 years?), but not sure I want to hang onto it that long.
It's 24 years old and just turned 38k miles.
Looks showroom new but does have some expensive issues, A/C doesn't work and rear seal has a small leak.
I have 2 kids and don't want to decide which one would get it, although only one of them ever asked to drive it.
Neither has an indoor place to store it.
Last emissions test this year in a few months, so I think that would be a good selling point if it passes.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pontiac-Other-Executive-/400899518185?forcerrptr=true&hash=item5d57792ee9&item=400899518185
I brought this car to a friend's attention a state over--he has the wherewithal and space and sent the seller an eBay message several days ago, asking for undercarriage photos. The seller said he would....but never did. I'll never understand something like that. It's lazy.
A/C needs charge
http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/4991218878.html Buy the truck for the price of the transmission. Nasty looking damage on the hood
http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/4991281675.html Decent looking full sizer
http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/4948207710.html "Spacious"
http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/4991175793.html 60K. Looks clean except that the leather has aged lousy
http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/4980731134.html Kia's good old days
http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/4991147152.html Salvage title but looks nice for the money.
http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/4991102772.html why, why, why is it an auto?
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Maxima might be a stock photo - for sale on Lawn Guyland, Utah phone number, salvage title, nonworking AC - I don't know how nice it really is.
http://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/33804/dodge/x/classic-car-value#latest
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
Well I would hope it would be good on gas in that case
http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/cto/4992152211.html
Who wants to take this one on!
That is really the only value I see in something this bad.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2021 VW Arteon SEL 4-motion, 2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech
As for trouble spots, I've had to replace some swaybar links in the suspension, a brake caliper or two, and something in the front...axle, bearing hub, or something like that? Also a few emissions issues (MAF sensor?), as well as some pulleys and tensioners. It also has an intermittent short somewhere, where it will momentarily lose the memory for the trip odometer/computer functions and the clock, and the gas gauge needle will go all the way around and end up on the wrong end of the needle. Imidazol97 taught me a trick, where you can take some magnets and coax the needle back around, but the last time it did it, I just left it. Oh, and some brake lines rusted out.
A lot of this stuff is just old age related though, and not any real fault of GM. The car only had 56,372 miles on it when I bought it, but it was 10 years old. I bought it to replace my 2000 Intrepid, which I had bought new, but got totaled in a parking lot hit-and run.
How did you like your Aurora? After my Intrepid got totaled, I initially wanted to try seeking out a 2000-2005 era Bonneville, but also did a search on Auroras. I really like the '95-99 Aurora, but didn't want something quite *that* old for a daily driver. Plus I heard the newer ones were better. I never got to try out an Aurora in person though, because I happened to find the Park Ave at the local Cadillac dealer, went out to look at it, and before I knew it, I was filling out the paperwork!
Here's a pic I took of it, at the dealer, the weekend I bought it back in December 2009:
Alas, it doesn't look that nice now!
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Hard to believe you've had the Buick 6 years! I bought the Aurora in 2003. Fully loaded except nav. Thought it drove well, confident, heavy feeling but not nimble. The north star sounded great thou you really had to punch it for it to feel alive. It was surprisingly troublesome but didn't leave me stranded. Thankfully an extended warranty covered most of the repairs. Put about 40k on it. I sold it after dad gave me his 95 Ciera. I thought I would use the Ciera as my daily driver to work and back, and we would use the wife's Odyssey for family travel. Didn't really have room for 3 cars. I put almost 30k relatively trouble free miles on the Ciera. The ac quit, too expensive to fix, it was time to move on.
2021 VW Arteon SEL 4-motion, 2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech
I always liked that sort-of bright green they offered on those PA's one of the years like yours. They're rarely seen today.
I've heard that LeSabres of that general era are pretty bulletproof, but I don't know why I don't hear that about PA's.
Speaking of sda's Ciera needing A/C repair...I think A/C is better now than it was ten or fifteen years ago. My Cavalier made a brief funny noise while still under warranty when I'd turn the A/C on. Dealer checked it out and found nothing. At 59K miles it crapped out. Dealer fixed for free since I had brought it in under warranty for an A/C issue...no arguing. It never gave me any other trouble in the 113K miles I put on it. Still looked like new too but I wanted a new car.
Every once in awhile I see a Lucerne pop up on their website and get kind of tempted to go look at it, but then talk myself out of it. I don't think the V-6 models, either the 3.8 or 3.9, would be fast enough, in relation to what I've gotten used to. And I worry about maintenance on the Northstar V-8 as it ages, and especially buying one as a used car. Plus, I don't think it's any quicker than my Park Ave, still requires premium fuel, and has lower fuel economy, so I don't really think of it as that much of a step up.
As for reliability, I think the Park Ave was rated pretty high. Apparently, the supercharged models don't have the intake problems that the non-supercharged 3.8's had, because they were beefed up. But, you run the risk of the supercharger failing, I guess. Compared to a LeSabre, I don't know that a Park Ave would really have that much more complexity to it. By that time, I'd imagine they both had power everything. A Park Ave would be more likely to have a power sunroof, but that's probably about it. I guess the LeSabre became famous for its reliability simply because they were a lot more common?
GM also got a bit out of phase with redesigning these cars. The Park Ave was redesigned for 1991, when it dropped the Electra name, and was a pretty big deal at the time. The LeSabre was given a similar treatment for 1992. But then the Park Ave was redone for 1997, and while it was bigger, I'm not so sure it was that much of an improvement. It was roomier, but it seemed a bit more plasticky. And the '91-96 just seems a bit more high-quality. The, the LeSabre was redone for 2000, and while it might have gotten a few more plastic bits here and there, it still seemed like an improvement over the previous model, enough that it may have taken some sales from the Park Ave.
Something I just thought of...they never did put a supercharged 3.8 in the LeSabre, did they? I know the Bonneville, 88, and Park Ave got it. And some of the W-body cars. But I don't think the LeSabre did.
If you'd like to comment, don't use the "quote" feature so that we don't repeat all these photos!
I would guess it's a 1935-37 something-or-other. I've searched a bunch of pics, but I'm stumped!
The others are a '27 Model T, a ??? Chevy truck, a '60 T-Bird, a '30 Ford Model A pickup, and the yellow one is a '54 Ford Crestliner convertible, V8 w/ overdrive.
I don't know about other Northstar applications, but the smaller 4.0 version used by Olds was revised somewhat in 2001 and no longer required premium gas. Regular gas specified, no change in hp, 250. From what I recall it would run 0-60 in 7.5 seconds. I would get around 21 mpg in my everyday driving and 27 on the road. I don't know how the later model Northstars have held up but earlier versions not so good. Seems like it was a 100-130k engine. Stretched head bolts and weakened aluminum block mounting points created a less than practical rebuild and created early and expensive junk. My parent's 98 Aurora, gently driven, I doubt mom ever accelerated quickly, she is so conservative, had blown head gaskets at 103k. They gave it to my sister for her sons to drive. They had a used engine installed and are still driving it.
2021 VW Arteon SEL 4-motion, 2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
The redesigned 1997 Park Avenues had much stiffer bodies than the 1991-1996s (these looked all-new and larger than the 1985-1990s, but they were actually built on GM's first large-body FWD platform). The 2000 LeSabre shared the '97 PA platform, albeit modified a little, resulting in a little less weight, after adjusting for size differences. The '97 PA and last generation Bonnevilles shared their platforms with the Aurora. Although I'm not certain, I think the first generation Aurora platform was derived from the '92 Cadillac STS's platform.
By the time GM was designing the '92 STS and first generation Aurora, which shared its platform with the last generation Riviera and the last generation Bonneville, they incorporated what the Germans had known all along; that making the body stiffer was an important factor in tuning the suspension for optimal ride/handling dynamics. In other words, you could get a supple ride and good handling rather than compromising one for the other. However, while the Germans were able to accomplish the desired stiffness while keeping weight within desired limits, the Aurora and Riv were heavy, even when adjusted for their size. However, even when factoring in the added weight, the '97 PA was significantly improved overall over the '96, in my opinion.
The new Cadillacs prove that GM has learned how to design light, yet stiff bodies very well. They're every bit as good, and maybe a little better, than Audi, BMW and Mercedes in this respect.
Regarding the supercharger on your PA, have you ever had it serviced? I've heard that changing the fluid (or something of that sort) prolongs its life. Does the Owners Manual have a service interval for the supercharger?
Personally, I'd built the '36 cabriolet into a ratrod, ditto with the Model A Ford pickup and just let the rest of the cars go for whatever I could get for them as is. The '54 Ford is a dying ember in the collector car world, and a 60 T-Bird is just another '60 T-Bird. I suppose you could take the sheet metal off the Model T and make yourself a T-bucket hotrod. They sell complete modern frames for As and Ts so you can just plop your restored body on one of those and have something that can actually steer, stop and handle.
I think a 54 Ford convertible in that pale yellow color would be a pretty car. Factory continental kit? I don't find it offensive on one of those. The A and T are a hard sell, but someone can do something with them, and even mint original squarebirds aren't worth a lot, but someone could enjoy it for the right money . I assume these are "dry" California cars.
The '36 is a cabriolet. They also made roadsters (the most desirable), club cabriolets (trunk instead of rumble seat, pretty rare) phaetons, and convertible sedans (4 door convertibles).
If the finishes are good, just filthy, I bet a grand or so spent with a sympathetic detailer could make it livable.