Project Cars--You Get to Vote on "Hold 'em or Fold 'em"

omarman

My dad bought a new '64 Ford Galaxie 390 Police Interceptor from Walker and Battat Ford in Nerk. This pic online might be around 1963.


I know dad's car had the cast iron shorty exhaust manifolds and solid lifter camshaft that my oldest brother talked about. But I don't recall if it had the open type air cleaner that some - maybe a very few - P code 390 engines had. I found this pic in a museum.


I'll have to email my brother and ask if he remembers more details about it - but it was all stock from the factory stuff.

fintail

Last CL FSBO Page 1 browse of the week from the land where cars survive:

Unloved

If you like having your car stolen, I have the one for you

Huh

Such a detailed ad

Red

"Restored"

Stacked lights

I approve of this color combo and car in general

The 107 bubble was a fast one

Another wonderfully detailed ad

How things survive here

Another early 4Matic, these can have issues, but this is tempting

Another invader being flipped, methinks

Grandpa truck

More stacked lights, change those hubcaps stat

Great name for a car

Another practical pickup

Soundtrack: Def Leppard

Pretty rare now

Tall boi

kyfdx

If that '82 Accord were beige, it would be my old car, almost.
Notice that the right side mirror is optional.

That was back when LX was an upscale model. My cloth seats weren't that plush.

texases

That Range Rover - "The car will only increase in value with each year that goes by. "
Wow, I totally missed the collector boom in these!

tjc78

For someone who is a decent shade tree mechanic that 3k Allante wouldn’t be bad to poke around in during the summer months.

fintail

Fintail is back from its yearly service and inspection - came in well under budget again, probably because things it technically needs are well over budget. Oil change and inspection charge totaled under $200, which is nice. Indy mechanic who has been handling the car for nearly 15 years said everything looks fine, and the car is roadworthy (his line today "it's an old car"). I think next year I am going to treat the car to new fluids all round, and probably shocks. The old dear has been relatively easy to live with over the years, easily the greatest expense is just storage. One of the techs was pulling in via an early 90s 300ZX as I was leaving, and said something like "that's an awesome car" as we passed by.

Now time for the big yearly detail - the car sat outside for 5 days, and ended up looking like it was in a barn for 10 years. On Sunday it will get a couple coats of wax, chrome polished, glass cleaned, interior cleaned. MBCA meet is 2 weeks from Sunday.

fintail

I've been browsing fb marketplace for various crapcans and unredeemable heaps now and then, as CL volume has declined now that they charge for listings. The fb interface is much less user-friendly and is more time consuming, so I don't look often. I did find something odd, however:

The oldest R107 I have ever seen, serial number 123, build date 7/71

This has to be among the oldest remaining, and while this adds negligible value, is pretty interesting as the car has some features seen only on the earliest models (and manual windows!, no AC). Also hard to believe this is a nearly 50 year old car (wheels are from an 80s model).

ab348

fintail said:

The oldest R107 I have ever seen, serial number 123, build date 7/71

This has to be among the oldest remaining, and while this adds negligible value, is pretty interesting as the car has some features seen only on the earliest models (and manual windows!, no AC). Also hard to believe this is a nearly 50 year old car (wheels are from an 80s model).

Wow, s/n 000123, has to be first week of production, maybe even first full day. It looks pretty good although the colors are about as generic and dull as you can get. Especially in an era where you could get colors in interiors I could never understand black interiors in convertibles.

fintail

I've found data claiming July was the start of export model production, pretty interesting.

Oddly enough, the loudest colors I see on 70s MBs are on lower line sedans. Now and then you can find a bright gold or yellow 107, but you'll have no problem finding a loud period color on a smaller sedan.

ab348 said:

Wow, s/n 000123, has to be first week of production, maybe even first full day. It looks pretty good although the colors are about as generic and dull as you can get. Especially in an era where you could get colors in interiors I could never understand black interiors in convertibles.

fintail

Spent several hours working hard with the old dear today, now cleaned up and ready for the annual MBCA gathering in 2 weeks:

sda

fintail said:

Spent several hours working hard with the old dear today, now cleaned up and ready for the annual MBCA gathering in 2 weeks:

Looks great. Did you use a cleaner polish to remove any oxidation and then wax?

fintail

Thanks. Yep, I used some Meguiars compound and then two coats of Meguiars wax. All applied with my li-ion orbital buffer which really saves me some sweat. This should keep it clean for the year, I will just use a spray detailer/wax to keep it fresh and clean.

sda said:

Looks great. Did you use a cleaner polish to remove any oxidation and then wax?

berri

Nice

fintail

Page 1 CL FSBO pre-2000 big zoo today:

Those wheels, why?

I think this was seen last week, "needs new Canaan"

Cocaine

This has to be rare in this configuration

And another appears even with similar rust

Bang for buck?

Maybe 60s Chevy wagons are the next thing

I loved these in the 80s, but those chrome headlight rings irk me

Someone went wild with the accessory catalog, please remove

Good transportation, bargain

"I’d like to recover my investment" - neat car but good luck buddy

The brand vanished

Grey market oddity

ToadMaster, Funny ad

"Collector's Edition" something-basket

Uncommon

Presence by the ton, but maybe not beloved by today's market

Price has to be an error, but man it is pretty

2+2+slushbox+non-digital gauges

Go Commando

History

Red, proud

Blue

70s colors

Clean shark

Great color combo, elegant car

stickguy

i like the Stude, if you put some appropriate wheels on the thing! And love the Red Porsche.

xwesx

Sounds like Tatiana doesn't need a car all that badly after all!

My favorites in this crowd are the '78 MB diesel and the Willys. I don't know about the price on the MB, though. The guy sorta comes off with the level of pride to say that he thinks it might be worth that. He would likely slam the door in your face if you showed up assuming an extra zero.

fintail

The 78 MB could be worth 10K, maybe even a little more, but not within light years of 35K - a car with 9K miles on it wouldn't hit that. Nutty price, and probably a good chance the seller didn't hit a couple wrong digits. Something shifty said about giving a car birthday cakes will hold true here.

ab348

fintail said:

Page 1 CL FSBO pre-2000 big zoo today:

Those wheels, why?

Because he could, same with the air cleaner, no excuse for either on a car like that.

I think this was seen last week, "needs new Canaan"

What is a Canaan and why does it need one? Could all that plasti-wood on the interior be stock? I like it aside from those questions, these mini-pickups are real bargains there. I could see a business shipping them east.

Cocaine

I was wondering about your caption until I saw the pic, now it all makes sense.

Maybe 60s Chevy wagons are the next thing

Or perhaps not. Unfortunate mods here.

Someone went wild with the accessory catalog, please remove

See previous comment x10. Why do people do this?

Good transportation, bargain

I agree. Great car for short money.

Uncommon

For good reason. Never liked the look of these.

Price has to be an error, but man it is pretty

Offer him $3500 and if he objects, point out the ad text inviting same.

Great color combo, elegant car

It really is an attractive car, but despite the assurances in the ad I would be worried about one that old with that many miles and that many geegaws.

tjc78

Nissan Z... if I’m getting one of those it would have to be all 80s with the digital dash and stereo with the EQ.

It is a nice example, and for most the best config

bhill2

That 300D turbo might be interesting, but 300K miles? Too much risk for me.

qbrozen

bhill2 said:

That 300D turbo might be interesting, but 300K miles? Too much risk for me.

But all the sellers tell me they’ll go 1 mill miles! ;b

fintail

With that 84 300D being grey market, and via how it is badged, I suspect it is a non-turbo car, which makes it unusual (as NA spec 300Ds were turbo from MY 1981 onward). I wish it had more pics, the MB VIN decoder I use spits out some nonsense, but does note it should have leather and green tinted glass. You can find some odd options on Euro cars, including ABS and airbag (and a 5-speed is rare in itself). This is a car for those who dwell on unusual minutiae.

Today's menagerie:

Just outside my age criteria, but it caught my eye before I filtered - wear a crown

I've noticed increasing asking prices on E30s

Nice price...oh wait, an inconsiderate

Suspiciously cheap

Light resto mod

3 for 1 price, maybe a deal

Flipper spam is a constant on local CL now, doing to the car market what house flippers have done to real estate

Sports sedan, price demands much better presentation

80s wheels suit it

Proud price

Cheap, rare, huge issue

Unusual colors, price demands better presentation

Very neat and rare truck

"well worth the price" - maybe

"Once it got up and running I stopped being interested. "

My brother would love this little truck

I think a low miles one went for stupid money on BaT

very suavé riding

Unloved, optimistic

Michaell

For those of you who are not thrilled by the recent "changes" in "Wheeler Dealers", I may have found an alternative.

"Salvage Hunters: Classic Cars" is on the MotorTrend channel, and seems to be a pretty decent show about a copule of English blokes who buy, restore and flip classic cars. The twist is that neither do the work - one, in fact, is more along the lines of the guys who find valuable things in pawn shops, and knows what he likes, not so much about cars in particular.

The other is like Mike Brewer and has been in the auto business for decades.

Last night they found both a VW Type 3 Fastback and a 70's Rover P6. Did a great job of restoring them without costing a ton of money. They don't always agree about the work to be done, either, which makes for interesting viewing.

Anyway, worth checking out.

texases

That Bavaria's price might work if it was running, not parked for over 30 years. And I'd be VERY surprised if that Chrysler was actually a survivor, not an old restoration.

stickguy

I wouldn’t mind that S10 as a spare car. At least it’s useful.

ab348

The '65 Chevy convertible is in what must be a pretty unusual color for one of those, but the price turns me off given the perceived condition.

The S-10 looks great. Someone should snap that up.

qbrozen

'51 pickup is lovely. But the lack of detail under the hood raises concerns.

fintail

Some of the best things about most CL ads: top of the market asking price, minimal pics, car obviously not cleaned or prepared for sale.

My brother has a 95 S10 just like that one, he's heading for 250K on it now. Cosmetically, it is slowly fading (as he doesn't maintain that aspect), but mechanically has been fairly solid, especially for something he picked up a few years ago for under 2K.

berri

Sure that vinyl roofed Lincoln isn't in Florida

explorerx4

I watched a show, For the love of cars', that featured Ant before he switched over to Wheeler Dealers.

Michaell

explorerx4 said:

I watched a show, For the love of cars', that featured Ant before he switched over to Wheeler Dealers.

I went back and watched all of those, as well.

ab348

Discovery did not change Velocity in Canada to Motor Trend. Maybe because of that we still have not seen any of the latest season of Wheeler Dealers here, just getting older reruns. Chasing Classic Cars is also all reruns.Not sure if Salvage Hunters is aired or not, will need to check. Not sure what is going on with the channel, it almost seems like they are getting ready to ditch it. There isn't much on there that I like anyway.

berri

Car restoration shows are getting like house flipper shows - too many of the same variety I think, and the ones that differ often are too over the top.

fintail

I cut back my cable package, so no more Velocity for me. The car content I watch is Youtube now.

Michaell

Not exactly sure which thread to post this in, but I suppose project cars makes the most sense.

I've been musing lately on the cars of my youth - the cars in my family that I remember fondly, for whatever reason. Some, I drove; some, I was too young to drive. There are three that stick in my mind, and wonder if, should I ever have the money, would it make sense to find a clean one for fun.

First was my parents' Type 3 Squareback. I think it was a '67 or a '68, bought new. That classic VW beige color. Was the family car for 6 years before the engine crapped out. Our family of 4 took that car on a vacation in the summer of 1971 from Southern California to New York and back. I was 7 and my sister had just turned 4. I remmeber they folded down the rear seat and loaded the luggage into it, and I got about a third of the total space for myself; my sister got to ride on my mom's lap for 6000+ miles. Stopped in Illinois to meet a Navy buddy of my dad's, and my mom found a milk can she couldn't live without, so I had to share my limited space with it for the rest of the trip. Best part was the desert, when that little air cooled engine refused to die, and so many other cars were overheating in the hot weather.

Second was my grandmother's '67 Mercury Moneterey coupe. Coupe only in name, because it had two doors. It remains the biggest car I ever drove (and that includes the Ford Expedition we leased 20 years ago). 390 V8. I remember it being a metallic blue originally with a blue vinyl interior, then it got repainted a cream color by Earl Scheib. I had just gotten my license and was allowed to drive it occasionally - I remember going with my dad to Dodger Stadium and he allowed me to drive it home on the 101, patienty giving me instructions on how to navigate freeways. Which lane to be in, when to pass, etc. When my grandma passed, my mom and uncle discussed briefly about letting me have it, but decided to sell it instead. Would be a heck of a cruise night car, these days.

Last was my mom's '84 Celica GT hatch. Baby blue over blue cloth interior, 2.2L engine that Toyota put into almost everything they made at the time, automatic transmission. There wasn't anything particularly special about it, but I did get a ticket on the PCH when coming back from LA with my aunt in the car - I had just picked her up from the airport for my (first) wedding. All of them have probably rusted away at this point, but it's nice to dream.

So, what say the informed experts? Which of the three would you track down and have as a fun car?

tjc78

I’d go with the Mercury. That would be a fun boat to cruise around in.

ab348

The choice really depends on the condition of what you can find. Aside from mechanical bits the Merc would have body and trim pieces made of unobtainium, and the Toyota wouldn't be far behind these days in that respect. The VW might be somewhat easier to get stuff for, but would be less satisfying to drive I suspect, though perhaps more fun to take to shows and the like.

stickguy

Celica, but only with a stick.

fintail

Living in the land where old cars survive, all 3 are viable options. I could probably find a decent example of all of them within 3 hours of me, today. VW will likely be the most expensive, Toyota the cheapest - but maybe not forever.

fintail

More 20th century gold:

Getting it right at the end

Another oddity from the curbstoner

Rare, but maybe ahead of the market, as they say

Maybe a good deal

Final run

Do you feel lucky?

These get driven

"Collectors Item" with few pertinent details

Reliable transportation

Angles

Trying to recoup those expenses, good luck to ya

Change both the road wheels and steering wheel, stat

Turbo

Cheap even for one of these, maybe wiring harness is going

1:1 scale model kit

Is the club really necessary?

That hood though

Grandpa's baby

Pricier than some, still some bang for the buck

Gotta have a rack

Whenever I see the term "Elite", especially when used by sports devotees, I think of this - silly word

ab348

The '65 Galaxie is nice, but I'd like it a lot better if it was a '66.

The '63 Impala is nuts. Is everything there? How much is your labor worth sorting it all out? Pass.

The guy with the Monte Carlo must have thought he bought a Chevelle. Everything he did to it made it worse. Ugh.

The T100 was sold here, but not many of them, and they are nonexistent here now, haven't seen one in ages. That's a nice one, nice size too.

xwesx

"Grandpa's Baby" looks nice enough. I don't know about $8,500 worth of nice for a 1994 pickup, but if there's negotiating room....

omarman

Grand in title, Gran in pic and despite seller's description it's neither he nor she but rhymes with "it."

berri

Torino Elite - there is a car I didn't get. You could by a Cutlass Supreme for less money when both were loaded.

ab348

And most GM and Chrysler competitors had better-looking crash bumpers than those awful Ford chrome railroad tie jobs.

omarman

I really liked the Ford Elite as a driver's ed car in 1975.

berri

Hey, anything beat those stodgy 4 door sedans you usually learned in

kyfdx

Holy blind spot!

Our Driver's Ed car was a brand new '74 Caprice

tjc78

Well I had a 1990 Horizon.. ugh

omarman

'74 Caprice came with fender skirts right? My dad's '73 Monterrey came with fender skirts, halo vinyl roof and the period "bronze" color option. Now that's good times!

Skirts look pretty good on this '74 Caprice Classic survivor.