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

imidazol97

uplanderguy said:

There was broken glass as the windshield of the Beetle came out, but I remember my uncle saying they were designed to pop out....don't know if true or not.

In 60s my niece and her husband had an early Beetle and were in a crash at an intersection. The windshield popped out and my niece was thrown out through that opening during the crash.

uplanderguy

fin, found a Feb. '58 Filer's ad that said they had a 300SL roadster in "for your inspection" for three days, in their showroom. I'm trying to picture that! I'm sure by then the Scotsman was far-and-away their best-seller. Funny, Greenville was working-class prosperous then, lots of heavy factory jobs for a small town even then, but did have (and has) a small college and at that time a large regional hospital, so there was some $$ then. Lots of WWII vets so wondered how that played. I knew lots of guys that were maybe a decade older than me as a kid who were very car-minded. They probably had a fair amount of gawkers those three days.

Ed told me one day a guy came in, all dirty, unkempt, looking all over the Golden Hawk they had in the showroom. He then pulled $4K cash out of his pants pocket and bought it. Ed said he learned a lesson that day, LOL.

andre1969

Yesterday on my way into the office, I snapped this 2nd-gen Corvair in a driveway. It seems like it's always in that same spot, so I dunno if it runs or not.

uplanderguy

I'm a big fan of second-gen Corvairs, but I always feared they'd be harder to find a mechanic for than a Studebaker, LOL.

That's a '66-68. No head restraints as on all '69's, but the taillights are the new-for-'66 style.

At least it has full wheel covers (optional). It's the cheapo 500 model. One thing I did like about the 500 was it came with a bench seat. The flat floor made those cars fairly roomy inside...a 500 with automatic would seat six people!

fintail

uplanderguy said:

fin, found a Feb. '58 Filer's ad that said they had a 300SL roadster in "for your inspection" for three days, in their showroom. I'm trying to picture that! I'm sure by then the Scotsman was far-and-away their best-seller. Funny, Greenville was working-class prosperous then, lots of heavy factory jobs for a small town even then, but did have (and has) a small college and at that time a large regional hospital, so there was some $$ then. Lots of WWII vets so wondered how that played. I knew lots of guys that were maybe a decade older than me as a kid who were very car-minded. They probably had a fair amount of gawkers those three days.

Ed told me one day a guy came in, all dirty, unkempt, looking all over the Golden Hawk they had in the showroom. He then pulled $4K cash out of his pants pocket and bought it. Ed said he learned a lesson that day, LOL.

I'd guess a 300SL was around 12K then, which at the time at least around here (and maybe there) would buy a modest but livable house. I guess all it takes is that one person with a little extra coin.

The WWII vet thing can go both ways, I think. No doubt many were against any car from the old axis nations and just wouldn't do it, but I think at the same time, there were many who were interested in the machines they saw during the war, and maybe were into the engineering and/or build quality. I remember years ago at a MBCA event, I talked to a spry old guy who was showing off his new V8 E cabrio. He was a WWII vet and had been a POW in Germany. (I think he was around 90 at the time). I also recall my WWII vet grandpa eventually would drive a VW and a couple Toyotas - company cars, but he got to pick them, he apparently had no hard feelings, he was just very practical and valued economy and ease of maintenance (low rust area) over luxury when it came to a fleet vehicle - this was in the 70s and early 80s.

explorerx4

Watched the first few minutes of this review.
Have to give the guy credit, it looks like he took it up to triple digits on the POV drive.
Also noticed it has the same front plate I got for the MKC we had when we moved to Ohio.
CT has 2 plates by OH only issues 1, so I had to fill the plate holder in the front bumper.
BTW, the guy is totally annoying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFuESZ-EQ9U

kyfdx

My aunt had an ‘85 model, I think. It was a Lincoln corporate car. She bought it in 1986. 10K miles. MSRP about $28K, and got it for $18K.

Metallic blue. I really liked it. She was T-boned at a 4-way stop on the way to work in 1992. Total loss. She loved the car and was heartbroken. It only had about 35K miles.

Replaced it with a ‘92 Acura Legend sedan.

fintail

That video came up in my feed. I am sure the survival rate for LSCs is higher than standard models. I think I saw one of those on the road last weekend but don't recall the trim.

Today spotted a HHR panel van with some kind of business livery - those can't be common anymore.

stickguy

out driving today (getting onto the highway) an early 80s wedge Supra Celica hatch. Period 2 tone brown. It was pretty much dry on the roads, but still dirty roads. No clue if it is a toy out for some odd reason, or a daily use car which would be a shock up here.

roadburner

The father of one of the Judges I worked with had a Mark VII; the judge in question was anything but a car enthusiast and when his dad died he asked if I would be interested in the Lincoln.. He drove it to work to show it to me and it turned out to be an AARP edition- fake canvas top, gold trim and cheesy wire wheel hubcaps.
I should have known...

uplanderguy

Speaking above of WWII vets, Greenville had Camp Reynolds, which housed German POW's, four miles south of town. My Dad said they used to march them into town on Saturdays, and back. When I was a teen and first heard that, I thought, "He can't be right....why would there be German POW's that far away from Germany?". But he was right; I've since attended historical talks that discussed it. Camp Reynolds was also the last jumping-off point for American soldiers going to Europe. Supposedly, trains (Erie railroad) leaving there had windows blacked over, to make numbers not-known to prying eyes. 900K U.S. soldiers left from there during the war.

My Stude dealer friend told me that when he'd go to NADA meetings in Detroit he'd wear a name tag with his town on it, and strangers would come up to him and say "I was stationed there".

I heard a well-loved local high school teacher and wrestling coach talk about the camp days. His mother was widowed young and cash was tight. As a young boy, he'd hang around the gate of the camp and shine shoes. He loved the soldiers coming in from downtown Greenville liquored up, as they'd give him ridiculous tips. Money to burn.

After the war, the camp closed and the buildings became business incubators bought up by some of the leading businessmen in Greenville. Most buildings are still there, but not much industry anymore, sigh. That whole area, where people built houses after the war, is known as "Reynolds", which drove my Dad, a postal employee nuts, as he'd say "There's no such thing as 'Reynolds'. It's Greenville post office", LOL.

My Dad, a Korea-era veteran although always stationed in the U.S., wouldn't even look at a British car, LOL.

Other than Filer's, the only other import cars sold new in town were Subaru, which the Pontiac dealer sold for a few years in the early '70's. I can remember maybe being 14 or so, looking at one and sitting in it. I was not impressed. I remember the doors feeling like they were one-inch thick, the wheels and tires were smaller than I'd ever seen, and a piece of plastic, I think an ash tray, I pulled and it came off in my hands, LOL. I did think frameless door glass was cool in a car that small. Now, the '73 Grand Prix SJ they had in their showroom--the interior simply blew me away!

Elder Mr. Filer was a WWI veteran who served in France. Younger Mr. Filer was a Korean war vet, stationed in Korea and spending occasional R&R in Japan.

uplanderguy

Today spotted a HHR panel van with some kind of business livery - those can't be common anymore.

I always thought those would have been a hit, even with the young crowd. I was about as wrong on that as thinking the Caliber would be a hit, LOL.

Chevy did a lousy job promoting that HHR panel IMO. I saw them on a transport truck before I was even aware of them....and I was more-aware of what was going on in the industry than the average [non-permissible content removed]!

uplanderguy

Funny--my word "S C H M U C K" was removed, LOL.

ab348

uplanderguy said:

Funny--my word "S C H M U C K" was removed, LOL.

Such profanity!

andre1969

uplanderguy said:

Funny--my word "S C H M U C K" was removed, LOL.

One of my favorite censoring moments...

fintail

I think there was at least a couple German POW camps in WA state too - pretty far from the front lines. I wonder how many of those guys ended up emigrating after the war, I know it happened now and then.

I don't recall any anti-import sentiment from family members. My dad had at least one Honda bike before I was born, but always had domestic cars until he picked up a Datsun as a hobby car when he retired. My mom's first new car was a Beetle, but then had Fords until she went to Toyota in the 'oughts. I think value-seeking was behind those choices at least as much as any domestic loyalty. My brother has a thing for older Toyota pickups, aside from that no loyalty from my siblings either. I am the weirdo brand enthusiast.

Speaking of thin metal, I remember that about my dad's Datsun 610 project car, which he bought for something like $80 around Y2K. I remember going 55 mph in that car and thinking we'd be vaporized in a crash - whereas the fintail feels like it is made from surplus Panzer metal.

uplanderguy said:

Speaking above of WWII vets, Greenville had Camp Reynolds, which housed German POW's, four miles south of town. My Dad said they used to march them into town on Saturdays, and back. When I was a teen and first heard that, I thought, "He can't be right....why would there be German POW's that far away from Germany?". But he was right; I've since attended historical talks that discussed it. Camp Reynolds was also the last jumping-off point for American soldiers going to Europe. Supposedly, trains (Erie railroad) leaving there had windows blacked over, to make numbers not-known to prying eyes. 900K U.S. soldiers left from there during the war.

My Stude dealer friend told me that when he'd go to NADA meetings in Detroit he'd wear a name tag with his town on it, and strangers would come up to him and say "I was stationed there".

I heard a well-loved local high school teacher and wrestling coach talk about the camp days. His mother was widowed young and cash was tight. As a young boy, he'd hang around the gate of the camp and shine shoes. He loved the soldiers coming in from downtown Greenville liquored up, as they'd give him ridiculous tips. Money to burn.

After the war, the camp closed and the buildings became business incubators bought up by some of the leading businessmen in Greenville. Most buildings are still there, but not much industry anymore, sigh. That whole area, where people built houses after the war, is known as "Reynolds", which drove my Dad, a postal employee nuts, as he'd say "There's no such thing as 'Reynolds'. It's Greenville post office", LOL.

My Dad, a Korea-era veteran although always stationed in the U.S., wouldn't even look at a British car, LOL.

Other than Filer's, the only other import cars sold new in town were Subaru, which the Pontiac dealer sold for a few years in the early '70's. I can remember maybe being 14 or so, looking at one and sitting in it. I was not impressed. I remember the doors feeling like they were one-inch thick, the wheels and tires were smaller than I'd ever seen, and a piece of plastic, I think an ash tray, I pulled and it came off in my hands, LOL. I did think frameless door glass was cool in a car that small. Now, the '73 Grand Prix SJ they had in their showroom--the interior simply blew me away!

Elder Mr. Filer was a WWI veteran who served in France. Younger Mr. Filer was a Korean war vet, stationed in Korea and spending occasional R&R in Japan.

fintail

uplanderguy said:

Today spotted a HHR panel van with some kind of business livery - those can't be common anymore.

I always thought those would have been a hit, even with the young crowd. I was about as wrong on that as thinking the Caliber would be a hit, LOL.

Chevy did a lousy job promoting that HHR panel IMO. I saw them on a transport truck before I was even aware of them....and I was more-aware of what was going on in the industry than the average [non-permissible content removed]!

HHR SS panel would be the thing. I will admit I don't mind these and the PT Cruiser both, a shame both were allowed to be decontented and wither on the vine. Spending a little extra to trim them nicer rather than making them loss leaders might have helped - but then you get to the ideal of how do you update a retro design? Mustang has done it well anyway.

explorerx4

My grandfather on my mother's side was a German POW held in PA.
Nothing bad to say about it. He said they even had a car!
The dangerous part was when they were dropped off in France and had to walk back home from there.
Can't blame the French for hating them, though.

texases

On the flip side, my parents were Japanese POWs in Manila, fortunately civilians, not military, so they were starved, not tortured. Surprisingly, my dad bought a few Toyotas, so I guess he didn't hold a grudge.

uplanderguy

Wow, horrible.

I spent a weekend in 2009 with Battle of the Bulge veterans at Fort Indiantown Gap, PA. To a one, they said as bad as Germany was then, they had nothing on the Japanese so far as torture.

ab348

fintail said:

Speaking of thin metal, I remember that about my dad's Datsun 610 project car, which he bought for something like $80 around Y2K. I remember going 55 mph in that car and thinking we'd be vaporized in a crash - whereas the fintail feels like it is made from surplus Panzer metal.

Yes, those early '70s Japanese imports seemed to use thinner sheetmetal than what the market here was used to. Certainly it rusted through very quickly in the salt belt although that may have been due to lack of surface treatment also.

Funny memory: in '74 my parents wanted a car to replace our '68 Volvo which had been a good and faithful servant but was starting to be troublesome. They looked at the '74 Maverick LDO they ended up getting, but before they decided on it for certain, I suggested they visit the Mercury dealer near us that always treated my car-crazy self well by letting me load up on brochures and wander around their showroom. They didn't have any identical Comet LDOs, but the salesman showed them one with the deluxe interior which looked OK. When they mentioned they had looked at a Maverick, he said words to the effect that Mercurys were built from thicker sheetmetal than Fords, which I found strange. But oddly enough, when we were looking at the Maverick, for some reason I discovered that there was a lower fender extension just behind the front bumper that would flex quite noticeably if you pressed on it. I tried that with the Comet, and no flex. Odd. FWIW, the Maverick they bought rusted as badly as any Japanese import.

fintail

ab348 said:

fintail said:

Speaking of thin metal, I remember that about my dad's Datsun 610 project car, which he bought for something like $80 around Y2K. I remember going 55 mph in that car and thinking we'd be vaporized in a crash - whereas the fintail feels like it is made from surplus Panzer metal.

Yes, those early '70s Japanese imports seemed to use thinner sheetmetal than what the market here was used to. Certainly it rusted through very quickly in the salt belt although that may have been due to lack of surface treatment also.

Funny memory: in '74 my parents wanted a car to replace our '68 Volvo which had been a good and faithful servant but was starting to be troublesome. They looked at the '74 Maverick LDO they ended up getting, but before they decided on it for certain, I suggested they visit the Mercury dealer near us that always treated my car-crazy self well by letting me load up on brochures and wander around their showroom. They didn't have any identical Comet LDOs, but the salesman showed them one with the deluxe interior which looked OK. When they mentioned they had looked at a Maverick, he said words to the effect that Mercurys were built from thicker sheetmetal than Fords, which I found strange. But oddly enough, when we were looking at the Maverick, for some reason I discovered that there was a lower fender extension just behind the front bumper that would flex quite noticeably if you pressed on it. I tried that with the Comet, and no flex. Odd. FWIW, the Maverick they bought rusted as badly as any Japanese import.

I recall the thickness of the doors got to me too, seemed like half an inch. It must have been a shock to people in the 70s when it was new, coming from thick domestics. The Datsun had very little if any rust too, but as an eastern WA car that is normal, and the interior did have some patina from sun.

Maybe I am lucky by my region and age, I don't recall any later model cars my parents had rusting too bad. I remember the Tempo got some surface rust on the inside of the doors where they curve into the roof - but by then the car was probably about 9-10 years old. I think I put some wax or a rust inhibitor on it to slow it, and I don't recall it spreading (the car stayed in the family until it was 14 years old and still looked decent enough). I also remember my dad's S-10 Blazer getting just a little rust at the top of the rear hatch, by then it was several years old, and I think he replaced it soon after. That's it for rust in newer cars - the old cars my dad had could have superficial rust (and the fintail has a couple small spots too), but those are all old cars. The lack of salt here is surely behind it.

uplanderguy

Seems like cars where I first noticed less visible rust after several years, were the '77 big cars from GM. They advertised that they got rid of boxed-in areas, etc. I'm not sure if I ever saw any that had holes in the lower front fenders, etc., like was common in our area prior. Rear frame crossmember did rust out on those; you'd see the rear bumper waving at you.

ab348

uplanderguy said:

Seems like cars where I first noticed less visible rust after several years, were the '77 big cars from GM. They advertised that they got rid of boxed-in areas, etc. I'm not sure if I ever saw any that had holes in the lower front fenders, etc., like was common in our area prior. Rear frame crossmember did rust out on those; you'd see the rear bumper waving at you.

That was actually the rear inner bumper support. Those cars had the chromed steel rear bumper outer piece backed up by a large box-like aluminum reinforcing beam that attached to the energy-absorbing cylinders mounted to the frame. Over time, there was a reaction between the steel and the aluminum that caused the aluminum part to fail and created that looseness you mentioned. I had that on my '78 Delta. For a while I thought about replacing the inner part with a 4x4, but later discovered that in '79 GM changed the inner beam to steel which did not have the problem, and I found one of those for mine.

uplanderguy

One last story along the lines of earlier ones, above....then I'll move along before we get told to! LOL

My friend Bob's Dad and Uncle operated a Ford-Mercury dealer in Ottawa, IL from 1964-66. They were both living near Indianapolis at the time and lived in Ottawa during the week. They got out of it as they were tired of doing that, and their mechanics were union I guess, and were somewhat militant per Bob.

Bob's Dad handled sales and his brother was the service manager.

One day a Toyota guy came, probably '65, to ask if they were interested in taking on Toyota. Bob's Dad said, "I don't make any big decisions without my brother; let me go get him". Now the brother was a veteran of the Pacific theater and saw some reallllly bad stuff.

He came up, walked around the car, opened and closed the driver's door, and said, "Now what makes you think we'd want to handle a piece of **** like that?".

Bob would laugh telling that story. And I do, thinking about it.

When I posted this here a few years back, one particular poster responded with a "Well, what a short-sighted thing" and I could almost hear his 'harrumph'.

Yeah, hindsight is 20/20, but I can totally see where the brother was coming from at the time, LOL.

And that's the last time I'll mention anything along those lines here.

Side note:

When they acquired the dealership, they had a new '64 Mercury Park Lane convertible with 4-speed in inventory. I think Bob said it was a salmon-like color. Apparently an order that didn't get bought by the customer. Bob said they had it a LONG time. I can picture it in my head--an interesting car for sure.

uplanderguy

Wife sent me this a couple minutes ago. In 22 degree, salty, icy Tallmadge, OH. McDonald's parking lot.

'62 or '63 Corvair Monza

fintail

I tried this earlier and it apparently didn't post. Each week I look in the local newspaper archive for a date corresponding to a radio show I listen to - always this date in a random year of the 80s. This ad related to something mildly obscure ran in in the February 1st 1981 issue of the Spokesman-Review - I wonder how well this worked out:

uplanderguy

Sheesh, you’d think they could spell “Cimarron” correctly.

explorerx4

No wonder I always liked her. HA HA.

andre1969

On the subject of GM's downsized big cars, the one area I can remember my Grandmom's '85 LeSabre starting to rust, when we got rid of it in late 2002, was in the rear bumper. It was bubbling up behind the chrome. But, in its defense, the car was almost 18 years old by then.

Here's an old pic I have of the car: At first I was thinking this was taken in the early 90's, as it was in with a pic of my '69 Bonneville and some other pictures taken around that time. But, that looks like my uncle's '97 Silverado in the background to the right. And I can barely make out the license plate, which is the number it had after she had signed the car over to me after she couldn't pass the vision test for her driver's license. That was February 1999, and I'm thinking we had the driveway paved in 2000, so that narrows it down, I guess!

uplanderguy

That's a nice-looking car.

At first, I thought it had the cornerling lights, but I think I'm seeing a reflection.

I always liked cornering lights concealed down in the sill moldings on cars, instead of up on the painted part of the body.

uplanderguy

I've never seen one of those Buicks with the Cadillac Fleetwood-style light up on the C-pillar.

andre1969

Nah, it had cornering lights. Also, if you look closely, you can see a small crease on the front fender, just after the side marker light. Grandmom put that on the car one day, having a little run-in with the '69 Dart GT I had at the time. I think she was backing out of the garage, or making some kind of maneuver in the yard, and she was so worried about hitting the '88 LeBaron turbo coupe my uncle had just bought, that she ended up catching my Dart instead!

I can't remember where, exactly, she caught the Dart at, but it didn't do anything to it. I think the only reason I even noticed was that the Dart had a black smear on it from the rubber strip on the LeSabre's bumper.

Funny, I didn't think anything of those opera lamps in the C-pillar at the time. But, looking at pics of LeSabres of that era online, I'm not seeing any. I do remember the car was really well-equipped. I can still remember asking Granddad "what DOESN'T" this car have?!" and he replied "an electronic [non-permissible content removed]-wiper!"

The price I always associate with that car is $16,200. But I don't know if that was the MSRP, or the "out the door" price with tax, tags, and so on. I'm also remembering $6,000 as what they got in trade for their '82 Malibu Classic estate wagon, complete with a bum ECU. I also remember Grandmom saying that the salesman first showed them a blue one, that Grandmom really liked. But it wouldn't start, and that gave Grandmom a bad vibe, so they got this gray one instead.

Looking at the pic, I'll admit I do get a bit nostalgic for the car. But, if I'd tried to hold onto it, who knows what it would look like today? The vinyl top was starting to shred, and the paint on the hood was really faded. It had about 157,000 miles on it when the brakes went out on it, and that was when I made the decision to get rid of it, in late 2002. I might have held onto it longer, but by then I had my '79 5th Avenue, and figured I didn't need two cars that were somewhat similar (nevermind the fact I replaced a '69 Dart with a '68, had a '67 Catalina and '69 Bonneville at the same time, and ultimately got another '79 New Yorker!)

ab348

uplanderguy said:

I've never seen one of those Buicks with the Cadillac Fleetwood-style light up on the C-pillar.

My '79 Electra Park Avenue had them.

uplanderguy

I guess I’ve seen Electras with them, but not LeSabres.

uplanderguy

All four GM mid-size lines here, I think. This is probably Fremont, CA.

‘64 models.

kyfdx

Spotted a '90s Taurus SES wagon. The ovoid one.. an early model that still had the ovoid rear window.

In dark red.. looked really nice. Had the factory roof rails/racks and a rear wiper.

fintail

Saw a Crossfire , it was a little loud and moving fast, I wonder if an SRT (couldn't see details).

uplanderguy

Andre, were door panels on that Buick still the ones where about the top third were entirely woodgrain?

The ‘85 big Chevys had zero woodgrain inside. I sometimes goof on fake woodgrain, but for ‘85 only they used fake brushed metal on the dash, which was worse. One year only thankfully. I like that look on ‘71 Cadillac deVilles though.

andre1969

Yep, Grandmom's LeSabre had those big woodgrain slabs. I remember the woodgrain having a slight orangish tint, to it. As a kid I called it "radioactive." It was really shiny too, like it had some kind of clearcoat on it. Later in its life, it started to peel and wear thin in some places.

Another thing I remember, is that it had a thin woodgrain ring on the steering wheel, that I think was a thin plastic veneer over metal. As it got older, the metal ring snapped in a few places, and peeled, so it would sometimes poke your skin, depending on where you put your hands on the wheel.

Wow, that car's been gone over 20 years now, but I can still remember that peeling steering wheel, like it was yesterday! I also remember that the ceiling headliner was just starting to let go in some places, but never got so bad that we had to try tacking it back up, or wedging wood strips to give it that bowed look, like a convertible or old hardtops. In contrast, I can remember in my Mom's '80 Malibu, the headliner had dropped pretty badly by the time she gave it to me, and it was only about 7 years old. The LeSabre, at least, held on for the most part, for nearly 18 years.

gsemike

Saw a first gen Honda Insight out on a parkway yesterday motoring along in the right lane doing about 35. Looked so tiny

uplanderguy

I think somewhere along the way, GM improved those headliners from the design that came out for the '77 model year. I remember my parents' '84 Monte Carlo, which they owned for six years to the month, had no evidence of any sagging.

andre1969

Now that I think about it, the headliner on my Dad's '03 Regal was starting to come loose, around the rear window. I forget what year it started, but it was after I inherited it in 2017. But, it never got any worse, and held on through 2023. So I guess over the course of 21 years, I shouldn't complain!

fintail

andre1969 said:

Yep, Grandmom's LeSabre had those big woodgrain slabs. I remember the woodgrain having a slight orangish tint, to it. As a kid I called it "radioactive." It was really shiny too, like it had some kind of clearcoat on it. Later in its life, it started to peel and wear thin in some places.

Another thing I remember, is that it had a thin woodgrain ring on the steering wheel, that I think was a thin plastic veneer over metal. As it got older, the metal ring snapped in a few places, and peeled, so it would sometimes poke your skin, depending on where you put your hands on the wheel.

Wow, that car's been gone over 20 years now, but I can still remember that peeling steering wheel, like it was yesterday! I also remember that the ceiling headliner was just starting to let go in some places, but never got so bad that we had to try tacking it back up, or wedging wood strips to give it that bowed look, like a convertible or old hardtops. In contrast, I can remember in my Mom's '80 Malibu, the headliner had dropped pretty badly by the time she gave it to me, and it was only about 7 years old. The LeSabre, at least, held on for the most part, for nearly 18 years.

I swear a Ciera my grandma got new in 1985 also had a wood ring in the wheel. Must have been an easy way to appear fancy.

uplanderguy

I remember that kind of wood ring on some Cadillac hard wheels too, where as the car aged, a piece would come out and there'd be a gap. That must feel weird to use the wheel. Chevys didn't have a fancy wheel like that, which I suppose is good. The last 'hard' wheel I remember on them is the black '72 full-size car steering wheels.

I think the hard wheels look better than the softer vinyl wheels though.

A Chevy wheel I absolutely hated, is the big wheel with the four spokes coming off the big round center. First seen on Vega GT's and Camaros, and later used on Monte Carlo Custom ('72) and I'm not sure of others. But other than it being thick, it looks cheap IMHO. Last seen on the budget 'Cavalier Cadet' in '82. I remember an early '70's Camaro review in one of the car mags, stating that all those two top spokes did was conceal the small instrument panel gauges.

This particular wheel is turned hard-right.

stickguy

I always disliked the 2 spoke Chevy wheel they used in everything (Camaros and Chevelles for sure). And really hated that Ford wheel from the 70s with the droopy mustache ends.

uplanderguy

Speaking of that era LeSabre, on FB's "Low Miles No Miles" page there's an '83 LeSabre Custom sedan with 6690 original miles. It's a 4.1 V6. Guy says it's "Coming up on Bring A Trailer". It's that light silvery fern-y green metallic from that year.

stickguy

https://www.ebay.com/itm/235914465895?_skw=1979+Ford+F-150&itmmeta=01JKB1DM6Y85A4VQ63ZCVHPKE0&hash=item36ed991267:g:AeEAAOSwRLRnhw48&itmprp=enc:AQAJAAAA0CodCO1vSDjg2xNOt8By6oAc4olCvOnDb7S/yz/Upu+5RzDMFh+ImpdXT7Wd/vUJDCOAxtPHifIbZHc1Fx/jymjkWXjnY697Es5ldQEwFUnkGWg6zfUlZR4iLRO11yzEY1paxy4gcgztpVd2Is6P6RePeU/Hmq2VVGt6D6Ce9WBuaIq3zLNPwn4uW37pVJyQJtdBbRF0BopTHlI1v0zCtT7hnIObaKehx3yIaQP6dwugsp4Z32UDZEkA9bN1BkMw1fzdH+fto3LwDIFDIVtnLxw=|tkp:Bk9SR9DDtuGaZQ

kyfdx

That reminds me of the Lincoln wheel from the '70s, but I might be mis-remembering.

The Lincoln had a rubber insert around the whole inside rim that was a horn button. Easy to find if it was your car, but ridiculous, considering every other car on the planet had horn buttons in the center.

tjc78

@kyfdx said:
That reminds me of the Lincoln wheel from the '70s, but I might be mis-remembering.

The Lincoln had a rubber insert around the whole inside rim that was a horn button. Easy to find if it was your car, but ridiculous, considering every other car on the planet had horn buttons in the center.

Ahh…. The Rim Blow Steering Wheel. Phased out after 1974.

My 79 Continental had the wheel @stickguy showed. Nearly all of them had the “wood” break away at the ends.