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

qbrozen

For some stupid reason, I like that Toronado.

They bought a Crown with the worst engine option available. Dumb.

tjc78

@qbrozen said:
For some stupid reason, I like that Toronado.

They bought a Crown with the worst engine option available. Dumb.

I’d rather have that than an Eldo of the same era.

ab348

I'm not versed in JDM Toyota Crown engine choices in that era. Is that the Supra engine of the time? What else did they offer in that model?

qbrozen

ab348 said:

I'm not versed in JDM Toyota Crown engine choices in that era. Is that the Supra engine of the time? What else did they offer in that model?

The 2.5 was never offered here in any vehicle. You could also get it with the 3.0 2Jz, which was in many vehicles, or the 4.0 v8, same as the LS400.

fintail

A handful of precious gems today:

Nicely spec'd little survivor, these have grown on me with time

I assume very base, I'd like to see the interior

Price reduced, now maybe a fair deal (recent gas prices won't be its friend)

Decent fancy Panther for the money

Don't see many on the market

Big Red

Not sure if these have many geeks, but nice color combo and good spec but small engine. I vividly remember that glovebox door clock on a family member's car when I was a kid

Similar color

I saw this car in an estate sale ad last week - wonder if it is a quick flip or the estate company trying (in my experience, estate sale companies are often clueless about cars)

Pretty blue beast

tjc78

I’d rock the Bonnie, the 90 vert and the 88 TC looks like it wound have some upside.

I can’t get into those Eldos anymore. I used to like that generation but not so much anymore.

tjc78

Edit… missed the Delta vert. Decent for the money.

stickguy

Volvo is cool. But quite the price.

ab348

Fin’s selections this week have a case of the blues. Good thing I like that powder blue shade that many of them are sporting. That Bonneville isn’t cheap but what a car!

sda

This is my neighbor's son's truck. He has had it for 5 years or so, it was his grandfather's. Up until a year or so it was bone stock. Then he added a performance exhaust. It is a V8. Then jacked it up and installed
these wheels and wheel well led lighting, lighting that looks like they're mounted to shine to the inside of the rims. It does look cool at night. The truck is kept immaculate. I give him credit his work is top notch. I can only imagine how many thousands of $$ he has spent. Other than for looks, I don't get why one would modify a truck like this.

fintail

Ugh the Carolina squat. Should be illegal for visual pollution. I bet the handling with that wheel/tire package is borderline unsafe.

kyfdx

fintail said:

Ugh the Carolina squat. Should be illegal for visual pollution. I bet the handling with that wheel/tire package is borderline unsafe.

You mean compared to the 15 passenger Dodge vans carrying a girl's volleyball team? Those are the real death traps.

fintail

kyfdx said:

fintail said:

Ugh the Carolina squat. Should be illegal for visual pollution. I bet the handling with that wheel/tire package is borderline unsafe.

You mean compared to the 15 passenger Dodge vans carrying a girl's volleyball team? Those are the real death traps.

And on that note, many of the lifted overcompensator trucks, stancebro and camber-mobiles, donks, etc, probably have some suspect and dangerous engineering too.

stickguy

that neighbor should be taken out and flogged.

fintail

A few more blue cars in here:

Like buying local real estate in 2012

These things need to be on BaT or Dougslist or something

What an interior, I suppose these only ran "okay" when new

Same (charity) seller, maybe not bad for the money

Color combo that doesn't appear in nature anymore

It's neat in a boomer way, but pretty niche, might be a hard sell

Maybe not bad for what it is, getting thin on the ground

One for @uplanderguy - wheels say "1981" to me

It has an uncommon look

It's neat and rare, but very dear for the needs. Occasional caps and "hubby" are also red flags to me

What did it cost new?

These seem to have a very high survival rate

Hen's tooth

Big "License to Drive" vibe here (I believe seen before)

Name of many meanings

Not where I expect to find a CB

Newer Altimas are pretty much a meme now due to many owners/drivers - these early ones are the opposite to me

Small

FB suggested this for me even though it is 3000 miles away. I've always liked these "baroque" models, and what a spec, malaise style

stickguy

That Cressida is hilarious.

Nothing vaguely interesting to me other that the very pricey Tacos.

texases

I didn't realize the 'catfish mouth' on the Studebakers started as early as '55.

ab348

The ‘70s LTD is apparently low miles but would only have appeal to a small fringe. The Cougar with the CB just looks really strange to me now, hard to remember when they roamed the earth. The ‘74 Dart looks pretty good and has nice ‘70s colors, but is about 2 years too new to be appealing.

sda

The Altima is a GXL I believe as it has leather. My wife had a 97 Altima GXE 5sp. It had a cloth interior and plastic wheel covers. After having the car serviced and tires rotated at the dealer, a wheel cover came off on my wife's drive home and it was immediately run over by another vehicle. She went straight back to the dealer and the advisor exclaimed 'he hated those things!' and put a new one on at no charge.

explorerx4

Put some badges on there and 'Poof' it's an Ambassador.

qbrozen

I would totally drive that Cressida, but not for that price. Love how they claim "we offer market-based pricing." What market did you use for that $12,670 pricetag? Is that the original MSRP?

fintail

I like the Cressida too, I would drive it, but at that mileage even so preserved I don't know if it is a 5 figure car yet. Now if it was an ultra low mileage preservation piece, sure.

fintail

sda said:

The Altima is a GXL I believe as it has leather. My wife had a 97 Altima GXE 5sp. It had a cloth interior and plastic wheel covers. After having the car serviced and tires rotated at the dealer, a wheel cover came off on my wife's drive home and it was immediately run over by another vehicle. She went straight back to the dealer and the advisor exclaimed 'he hated those things!' and put a new one on at no charge.

Original window sticker is in the Altima, GLE (trunk badge corroborates that). For some reason that car has an appeal, someone babied it, and that first generation was a pleasant looking car.

ab348

fintail said:

Original window sticker is in the Altima, GLE (trunk badge corroborates that). For some reason that car has an appeal, someone babied it, and that first generation was a pleasant looking car.

Funny thing. I hated those with a passion from the first time I saw one and that never changed for me. They seemed to epitomize everything that was wrong with cars in that era.

stickguy

I really liked that first generation. the 2nd gen (all angular) was when Nissan came off the rails. Awful cars.

fintail

ab348 said:

fintail said:

Original window sticker is in the Altima, GLE (trunk badge corroborates that). For some reason that car has an appeal, someone babied it, and that first generation was a pleasant looking car.

Funny thing. I hated those with a passion from the first time I saw one and that never changed for me. They seemed to epitomize everything that was wrong with cars in that era.

Maybe just a touch of nostalgia for the simpler time I am not going to run down and buy it, but I am not displeased that exists, especially in the modern age of aggressively styled yet bland new cars. At least old bland was proud of it. That one looks like a budget Infiniti i30, which was an oddball in its own right. The next gen Altima always looked awkward and weirdly proportioned to me, and the next gen became the "Big Altima Energy" car known to drive down the shoulder at 90 on 3 spare tires.

bhill2

explorerx4 said:

Put some badges on there and 'Poof' it's an Ambassador.

Yeah, that is a little humorous. It bears essentially no resemblance to an Ambassador. What's especially rich is that they specified that it was a 990, which was indeed an Ambassador model. Very imaginative.

sda

fintail said:

sda said:

The Altima is a GXL I believe as it has leather. My wife had a 97 Altima GXE 5sp. It had a cloth interior and plastic wheel covers. After having the car serviced and tires rotated at the dealer, a wheel cover came off on my wife's drive home and it was immediately run over by another vehicle. She went straight back to the dealer and the advisor exclaimed 'he hated those things!' and put a new one on at no charge.

Original window sticker is in the Altima, GLE (trunk badge corroborates that). For some reason that car has an appeal, someone babied it, and that first generation was a pleasant looking car.

Yep, GLE.

fintail

Some priceless artifacts:

Sturdy basic motoring

Cool for what it is, but the image used for valuation is hilarious, so Idaho (this is close)

Aeroback with unusual stance

Looks well preserved, BaT has become a plague

Getting scarce, probably because of incidents like this

These have a little cult I think

Wait 10 weeks and even then you will need to be in love with it

I bet the original owner didn't think these would be just nice old used cars in 32 years

It would be pricey even if completed, and it's not - never do custom paint

Rare, but needs a bit

These later ones were less bad I think

Like a car from a parallel universe or an AI car

This could be a fun gnat

Looks good for age, maybe a good used car

Or if you want lower mileage

Or if you prefer GM

sda

Sadly, the Miller-cycle engine in the 99 Millenia S was not known for longevity. Parts are scarce and when found, expensive. The standard 2.5 V6, though less powerful, was smooth and longer lasting. This is a pic of the 98 Millenia 2.5 I had.

ab348

The low-miles Town Car is the pick of this crop.

qbrozen

Turbo Pinto is interesting

tjc78

@ab348 said:
The low-miles Town Car is the pick of this crop.

Except they towed with it ….

The Deville is clean and a rare model, but an early Northstar is not easy to live with

stickguy

I actually really like the pinto. dislike the wheels on it, but an easy fix. and has to have a new steering wheel. Other than that, probably fun.''

even would be better if they had done it with a wagon.

fintail

Am I the only one kind of weirded out by this from the list above?





I wonder why it came to be - someone's idea of a funny custom, crash repair making do with what parts were close by, really bad QC on the assembly line?

stickguy

what am I missing on the Red car?

sda

It has a Thunderbird rear end. I assume the front end nose was damaged and replaced with a Cougar nose.

tjc78

@sda said:
It has a Thunderbird rear end. I assume the front end nose was damaged and replaced with a Cougar nose.

Most likely. A shade tree repair.

fintail

Take that Thundercat (maybe after some restoration) to shows and claim it is a prototype or rare option package

Took the old dear out today. Ran sweet and smooth and got 5 compliments in about an hour - was actually starting to feel a little weird about the attention. The last time I drove the car, it dripped a little fluid similar to the incident where I thought it might have a brake leak (couple drives after I took it in to be inspected, no drips). Same location as the first drip. I should have got under the car right then and looked, but I did it days later, and couldn't find the source of the drips. It's some kind of oil type fluid, apparently not brakes, although the drip is at the rear corner just in front of the wheel/tire. I wonder if something else is leaking and that's kind of where the fluid is routing to. I drove for about an hour today, no drips, so I am hoping it is nothing serious either way.

I am sure some part of today's clear sky matches the color of the car:

explorerx4

@fintail,
My wife walked by while the pic of your car was on the screen.
She said "Ooh, what's that?"
I guess she likes it.

fintail

explorerx4 said:

@fintail,
My wife walked by while the pic of your car was on the screen.
She said "Ooh, what's that?"
I guess she likes it.

Probably the color does a lot, I think that's a big part of why the car is photogenic.

fintail

Things for sale:

Uncommon sight

Optimism

Flash for not much cash

I swear one like this was on TPiR

If this was maybe cheaper and nicer and I had free space, time, and money - always liked these

Suspicious

Florida package, sadly a little neglected

Seller has confidence

Been listed forever, price is slowly coming down

Stunning in the pics, I might see an issue

Nice color

Not a T/A but looks remarkable

When trucks were trucks

See above

Maybe for Pee Wee's Big Adventure re-enactors

It survived

Not detailed

Red

So many of these have modifications, symptom of multiple owners perhaps

Michaell

I like the Mazda

tjc78

That Grand Marquis is b e a t!

I know it’s a period color, but that copper/bronze is a deal breaker for me on the Caddy!

Mark V is solid

89 New Yorker is interesting. Nice shape, but do those really have a following? I remember my high school history teacher having one of those (she was at least 70).

oldfarmer50

I was enamored of those chopped back New Yorkers years ago just because of their quirky style.

sda

I always wonder how badly when the description reads “runs good for its age.”

ab348

sda said:

I always wonder how badly when the description reads “runs good for its age.”

It rivals my personal un-favorite used car ad chestnut, “in good shape for the year”. 🤨

fintail

sda said:

I always wonder how badly when the description reads “runs good for its age.”

I like "low mileage for year" - on a 40 year old somewhat worn out car with 250K on it, but that's only ~6K miles per year, low mileage!

fintail

Took the old car out today for the first time in a few weeks. Started on the first turn of the key and ran fine, but had a quirk - I think the 2014 battery is getting tired. I usually let the car idle and warm up while giving it a quick wipe down detail before I drive it, 5-10 minutes of idling. I've set the idle a little slow - I know it isn't charging much at all at this speed, and I think that did it. I turned the car off and came back to restart a few minutes later, and the engine would maybe turn over once, the battery couldn't do more. I have a little jump pack I picked up at Costco a couple years ago - a small thing maybe half the size of a VHS tape - that enabled the car to start without issue. I put it in the trunk and drove around a bit, stopping a couple times, and the car started without issue. I was trying to get 10 years out of the battery, we will see - I suppose it owes me nothing at that age either way. And on a positive note, no drips.

fintail

Took the old dear for a drive this morning - same thing. Started up fine after being idle for a week, but after sitting for 5-10 minutes at idle while I wiped the car down, it wouldn't start. Battery seemed quite conked out - maybe one turn over, then nothing. Jumper pack did the trick again, and after driving for a few minutes, the car then started several times without issue. That slow warm idle is just enough to do it, I guess. No drips, ran fine, got a random compliment from an old guy driving by in an Xterra about my "old BMW" (I kid you not). Today, a rear view: