Mystery car pix

ab348

That's a '77.

Mr_Shiftright

I think I have that hubcap lying around somewhere. And I presume with that palm tree growing out of the roof, there's a problem with the climate control?

andys120

stickguy said:

79 Chebby Impala? Wagon obviously.

Looks like it needs some love.

Not sure about MY, probably '77 or '78.

omarman

stickguy

opel. Probably an early kadette.

stickguy

or might be a 1900. Definitely a 1900. early 70s

omarman

stickguy said:

or might be a 1900. Definitely a 1900. early 70s

Yep, 1973 Opel Wagon.

ab348

Mr_Shiftright said:

I think I have that hubcap lying around somewhere. And I presume with that palm tree growing out of the roof, there's a problem with the climate control?

You shouldn't have stolen that poor car's hubcap. It looks awful without it.

Mr_Shiftright

Actually I've found some neat stuff on the side of the road--usually when I'm on a bicycle. Let's see, aside from that hub cap, there was a good battery for Makita power tools, a 4' carpenter's level, some locks and keys, a cell phone (smashed but working--actually found the owner on that one!), a flashlight holder for your belt (pretty good--I use it all the time for work) and a dead squirrel.

stickguy

we see an an amazing amount of random stuff in the weeds along the side of the road when walking the dog along the main street near us. Never notice it when driving.

andys120

omarman

stickguy said:

we see an an amazing amount of random stuff in the weeds along the side of the road when walking the dog along the main street near us. Never notice it when driving.

Family finds $14K on side of road; returns it to rightful owner.

I live a few miles away from the park where these folks were headed to when they spotted a bag at the side of the road. Nice that mom and dad were teaching kids a lesson about doing the right thing. But...

My favorite part of the story is that the rightful owner had taken the cash with him while shopping for a car at a local dealer and then, "The owner says he must have left the bag on the roof of his car and forgot about it as he drove home."

lostwrench1

1954 Pontiac Chieftan.

andys120

lostwrench1 said:

1954 Pontiac Chieftan.

Correct. We owned a '53 Chieftain but I don't know how to tell a '53 from a '54.

lostwrench1

The '54 has that distinctive nose badge.

imidazol97

omarman said:

I live a few miles away from the park where these folks were headed to when they spotted a bag at the side of the road. Nice that mom and dad were teaching kids a lesson about doing the right thing. But...

My favorite part of the story is that the rightful owner had taken the cash with him while shopping for a car at a local dealer and then, "The owner says he must have left the bag on the roof of his car and forgot about it as he drove home."

Hmmm. I can safely say if I took 14,000$ cash to a location, it would never be laid down on anything without my hand touching it. No way I'd walk away and leave it. I don't even let go of my wallet after taking out a credit card.

This reminds me of about 10 years ago on I65 at south edge of Louisville metro and a pretty bright red newVolvo came on a ramp with a primp and proper lady driving it seeming very proud of herself. Her large bag was on the roof of the car.

andys120

lostwrench1 said:

The '54 has that distinctive nose badge.

Thanks you're referring to the round badge in front. The '53's had similar badge but it's down in the grille

Mr_Shiftright

lostwrench1 said:

The '54 has that distinctive nose badge.

I think it lights up, too. How cool is that?

andys120

Mr_Shiftright said:

lostwrench1 said:

The '54 has that distinctive nose badge.

I think it lights up, too. How cool is that?

You're thinking of the Indian head which was really cool when it lit up.

ab348

The '50s Pontiac hood ornaments came in an illuminated style as an option. The amber Lucite part has a lamp inside.

tmart

Now those are cool!

imidazol97

ab348 said:

The '50s Pontiac hood ornaments came in an illuminated style as an option. The amber Lucite part has a lamp inside.

Cool. I remember the hood ornaments but didn't realize how many years they covered. Nice poster of history.

andys120

ab348 said:

The '50s Pontiac hood ornaments came in an illuminated style as an option. The amber Lucite part has a lamp inside.

Any idea how much they cost?

ab348

In the 1955 price list the lighted ornament cost a breathtaking $8.40.

andys120

ab348 said:

In the 1955 price list the lighted ornament cost a breathtaking $8.40.

Even my frugal Dad sprang for that.

andys120

Mr_Shiftright

ab348 said:

In the 1955 price list the lighted ornament cost a breathtaking $8.40.

Yeah but adjusted for inflation that's $150,000 in today's money

stickguy

a Ferrari I would really like to have, but could never afford.

qbrozen

Ferrari California. Not a particularly lauded model for some reason.

Mr_Shiftright

Oh, I thought it was a Lexus sc430.

Juuussst kidding.....

Nope, not my favorite either.

fintail

Vintage Ferraris are so much more appealing.

Michaell

fintail said:

Vintage Ferraris are so much more appealing.

And you don't think that will be the case with the California in 2048? A future Mondial, perhaps?

andys120

qbrozen said:

Ferrari California. Not a particularly lauded model for some reason.

Actually it's the California's replacement, the new 2018 Ferrari Portofino

I couldn't help but notice the resemblance to a certain other car>

qbrozen

This bright red here and the dark red you first posted are not the same model. The dark red is a cali. California T, to be more precise.

Look at the differences in the grille, intake vents, and headlights, for starters.

kyfdx

Who wants a modern front-engine Ferrari? Not me..

fintail

I have some doubts that the electronics will hold up well enough to render the car usable at all, unless the car is kept in a climate controlled bubble.

But really, it is the generic digital age styling of these cars that will do it. In 30 years, this won't be a Testarossa or 288GTO - maybe a Mondial if you are lucky. In 50 years, definitely not a 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso or 275 GTB.

Michaell said:

fintail said:

Vintage Ferraris are so much more appealing.

And you don't think that will be the case with the California in 2048? A future Mondial, perhaps?

andys120

ab348

1961 Olds F-85.

berri

Nice looking little car when they first came out. I liked the wagon too.

Mr_Shiftright

With the 215 cid "Rockette" aluminum V8. These were not identical to the more famous Buick 215, which later became the Rover V8 and also put in countless other contraptions. The Olds version of the engine went on to Formula One fame with Brabham, who used the Olds block in the heavily modified form of the REPCO engine (sohc, 300 hp).

The car you see here probably had the 155 HP base engine, but I think they made them all the way up to 200 HP.

I always wanted to put one of these in a motorcycle frame. I was ahead of my time, as I just saw a video of a motorcycle built with a Lamborghini V-12.

andys120

Mr_Shiftright said:

With the 215 cid "Rockette" aluminum V8. These were not identical to the more famous Buick 215, which later became the Rover V8 and also put in countless other contraptions. The Olds version of the engine went on to Formula One fame with Brabham, who used the Olds block in the heavily modified form of the REPCO engine (sohc, 300 hp).

.

I'd forgotten about the REPCO. I'm not sure what distinguished an F85 Cutlass from the regular F85.

Mr_Shiftright

The plain ol' F-85 was the base model.

Michaell

Was there a Buick version of this available?

Mr_Shiftright

You mean the engine? Buick's compact at that time was called the Special. GM even made wagon versions of both these cars, and manual transmissions--I think only on the tree, though.

lostwrench1

Sky

Michaell said:

Was there a Buick version of this available?

Skylark.

lostwrench1

Mr_Shiftright said:

You mean the engine? Buick's compact at that time was called the Special. GM even made wagon versions of both these cars, and manual transmissions--I think only on the tree, though.

That's correct.
The Special had the 155 HP engine as did the base F-85 unlike the Skylark which had the 185 HP engine.

ab348

Interesting that the Olds version of the 215 used different cylinder heads, pistons and valves from the Buick version. Also their turbo engines used "Turbo Rocket Fuel" injection, a methanol-water mix.

Mr_Shiftright

That was used to prevent detonation. Turbo technology wasn't very good back then, at least not in cars. Low boost pressure, high temperatures and blow-through carburetors didn't make for a very efficient system.

BMW and Saab put passenger car turbos on the map in the 1970s and 80s, and even those would grenade themselves now and again.

Now we have incredibly compact, efficient units, coupled to fuel injection and computer tricks---way mo' betta.

andys120

andys120

No takers for the little blue roadster? It's the progenitor of a long line of sports cars that continues to this day.