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

ab348

fintail said:

I have a maybe 60-70' silver maple. It looks healthy enough and I hope it has some years in front of it, as it adds appeal to my lot and it creates a lot of shade. Only drawback is about a month in the fall.

If that is your tree and not a street tree, it might be worthwhile to get a tree doctor of sorts to come and take a look at it. I have talked to those guys over the years and they were always insightful and helpful in telling me what needed to be done.

I think I mentioned here last year that neighbors across from me had several very tall trees in their backyards (so, not city street trees) that had to have been original ones dating back to before the area was developed. After they began losing limbs in windstorms, damaging garages, sheds and fences, they jointly decided to have them taken out. It wasn't cheap, and the guys that got up into them on ropes to take them down piece by piece were like circus acrobats, but they are no longer a risk.

sda

We had two large bradford pear trees in the front yard. They provided nice shade and some degree of privacy. The developer planted two bradfords in each front yard. Those trees are a curse. They get the blight, and easily split as they age from moderate wind. About three years ago we had them cut down and the trunks ground up. It was not cheap. Our back yard backs up to some woods. We have two large oaks at the property line. I just had the gutters cleaned because of the leaves that find their way to the roof. Who knew as soon as they were cleaned, we had a storm and more leaves found the gutters. sigh. I guess I need to look into some type of gutter guard.

kyfdx

We have a 30 year old pear in the back yard. It's slightly protected by the house, and its down the hill a little bit, so not as much wind. But, the roots are starting to pop above ground, and I'm pretty sure a big wind might split it and take it down, in the next five years, or so. It's way past it's normal life span.

texases

Bradford pears are bad news. Not only for their short lifespans and splitting, but the latest varieties sold reproduce into woodlands and crowd out native trees. To be avoided 100%.

xwesx

texases said:

Bradford pears are bad news. Not only for their short lifespans and splitting, but the latest varieties sold reproduce into woodlands and crowd out native trees. To be avoided 100%.

Agreed! Not only are they stinky when flowering, but they have definitely moved toward the more invasive end of the spectrum as they continue to establish. Funny enough, the various cultivars themselves are not able to produce viable seed, but the different cultivars readily intermix to produce viable seed and, once a viable population of trees is established, they spread rapidly.

I find it interesting, even if not surprising, just how many ornamental species turn out to be frustratingly invasive with the passage of time. In Alaska, chokecherries are our primary "invasive" when it comes to trees.

andre1969

You all have my home town of Glenn Dale, MD, to thank for the Bradford Pear. It was bred at a US Plant Introduction facility there, and only introduced in the 1960s. It's not supposed to be able to reproduce, and among other Bradford Pears, I don't think it's mutated to the point that it does, yet. However, it DOES reproduce with other, non-Bradford Pears, and the offspring are these invasive things that grow up jagged and crooked, have thorns long enough and strong enough to pierce the sole of a shoe. And they get a fruit on them that's maybe the size of a very plump grape, and does taste somewhat like a pear. The birds love 'em, and that helps spread them.

I remember first noticing them as a kid in the late 70's. There was a field on a hill that we used to go sled riding on. At the bottom of the hill was a thin line of brush and small trees separating one field from another. If we got going too fast on that hill, sometimes we'd end up in that line of brush, where some of those trees were growing. Wasn't too long before we got impaled!

Glenn Dale is pretty much Ground Zero for these things, and as you get away from it, they thin out, quickly. But I guess anywhere you have Bradford Pears, these mutants can form if there are other types of Pear trees around.

There is a type of pear tree called a "Callery Pear" that has thorns. But I think these mutant-offshoot things I'm thinking of are something different.

kyfdx

If you drive up and down KY interstates in the Spring, you won't have any trouble picking out the pear trees. As mentioned, they are invasive, and grow everywhere..

explorerx4

1960 Buick LeSabre giveaway.
https://www.volocars.com/volofun/win

texases

Interesting paint, could have come that way from the factory:

fintail

ab348 said:

fintail said:

I have a maybe 60-70' silver maple. It looks healthy enough and I hope it has some years in front of it, as it adds appeal to my lot and it creates a lot of shade. Only drawback is about a month in the fall.

If that is your tree and not a street tree, it might be worthwhile to get a tree doctor of sorts to come and take a look at it. I have talked to those guys over the years and they were always insightful and helpful in telling me what needed to be done.

I think I mentioned here last year that neighbors across from me had several very tall trees in their backyards (so, not city street trees) that had to have been original ones dating back to before the area was developed. After they began losing limbs in windstorms, damaging garages, sheds and fences, they jointly decided to have them taken out. It wasn't cheap, and the guys that got up into them on ropes to take them down piece by piece were like circus acrobats, but they are no longer a risk.

I had an arborist come and trim it when I bought the house - cost a pretty penny and it took all day. They said the tree looked fine. Fortunately there are no power lines near it nor does 95% of it hang over my house. It's a beauty, and fingers crossed it has some good life left in it.

The big danger here is Ponderosa (and other, I guess) pines. They are everywhere locally, and some don't see to fare well in big storms. Locals seem to be happy with them growing worryingly close to houses.

fintail

On the obscure note, I saw the 59-60 Corvette parked in a neighborhood driveway I spotted some weeks ago. Sitting out in the sun, top down/removed, likely restored.

uplanderguy

I usually don't post Studebaker stuff here but this is a 253-mile car, third from last built, on Bring A Trailer now. The car was bought with 100 miles less than a year ago. It's a plain-jane '66 Commander six four-door with stick, in the unusual 'Spring' color of "Plum Metallic".

Being sold by the guy who bought my '66 Cruiser in 2023.

Not a real desirable model, even among Stude folks, but the color, condition, mileage, and provenance make me wonder what it will go for. It's up to $10K pretty early in the sale process.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1966-studebaker-commander-2/?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_2648439&fbclid=IwY2xjawLlqY9leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFlUWhrd0V4NGpHOHprenJQAR6ZLzX0ezG1qBqT7z3PHMihpd11aonqDwSGprTwYeMsrXMi4YL08q3nisYIsQ_aem_u9PUK5Z6oC3VTofhxboo4Q

ab348

The final line document picture (the crumpled paper near the end of the photos) shows the Studebaker was ahead of its time in one way: all the last-run cars off the line had black interiors.

uplanderguy

The next car off the line shows white vinyl interior, and a few cars before has red vinyl, but most of the final cars did have black interiors.

I always thought the turquoise interior on my last ‘66 was appealing. For some reason, Stude called the interior color “Blue”.

ab348

Good catch, I missed those two non-black interiors somehow.

Curious that Stude used both Dunlop and Firestone for OE tires. I remember my dad bought a set of Dunlop Canada tires for his '67 Pontiac after the originals wore out. I remember that 12 year-old me gave him a hard time for getting those. The main thing for him seemed to be that they were a bargain. I remember him saying with some enthusiasm "They're $40 tires!" when that meant they were fairly premium because he paid a lot less than that for them. They were just awful, and either blew out or wore out very quickly.

uplanderguy

My '66 was built with FIrestones and still had the original spare in the trunk. I'd have been crazy to use it, but I liked showing people that at shows.

Here's the build sheet showing Firestones, and the interior Stude called "Blue". A nice upgrade from the bargain-basement Commander seat trim.

uplanderguy

RE.: Pear trees.....I'm reminded of Larry David on "Curb Your Enthusiasm" doing his best BS George Costanza-style stuff, when he introduced himself to someone as "Bartlett" and said he was one of the "Bartlett Pear family".

sda

At the recycling center, a well used Isuzu Hombre, dark metallic green, with a bed loaded with trash.

Michaell

sda said:

At the recycling center, a well used Isuzu Hombre, dark metallic green, with a bed loaded with trash.

Makes me think of the Izusu P'up the first wife and I had in the late 80's - she bought it before we got married, but I ended up driving it most of the time afterwards. 5-speed stick, with gear throws that went from the dashboard to the seat.

I commuted into LA an entire summer in that truck. With no AC. My clutch leg got quite the workout.

ab348

That blue Stude interior looks quite posh. The only thing it lacks is a center armrest, I suppose.

What was the thing back then with omitting rear seat belts? Was that a Stude-only thing or did all makes offer that in ‘66?

uplanderguy

Has rear seat center armrest. ‘66 Caprice sedan was like that too, and even a ‘68 LTD four-door hardtop I see around town. I’d much rather have one in front and give up the rear seat one.

I can’t figure the “omit rear seatbelts”. It was a $15 credit. That BaT car now is equipped that way too.

The seating in my old one is nice for a car of that size, then.

fintail

A drive full of randoms the other day, spotted 5 obscure rides in under 15 minutes - from the dashcam:

ab348

I have to wonder how you jack up a Rabbit pickup that much and still have working half-shafts. Maybe you need custom-made ones. The Toronado looks like it has survived a few wars.

fintail

ab348 said:

I have to wonder how you jack up a Rabbit pickup that much and still have working half-shafts. Maybe you need custom-made ones. The Toronado looks like it has survived a few wars.

VW makes me wonder if it has some kind of drivetrain/chassis swap. Toro was definitely not a restored car but seemed to be moving along just fine.

sda

Poor picture, a very nice Pontiac Solstice. It was a hot 96 degrees with real feel of about 105. I doubt I would have had the top down. AC set at 71 in the Arteon and comfortable.

uplanderguy

Those two-seaters were nicely styled.

ab348

I thought the Saturn version looked particularly good. Wasn't a fan on the Solistice styling inside or out.

The picture posted is another example of what we need tough legislation to ban: a black on black convertible with the top down on a hot sunny day. The driver needs intervention to prevent self-harm.

uplanderguy

I have to squint to tell one from the other.

kyfdx

ab348 said:

I thought the Saturn version looked particularly good. Wasn't a fan on the Solistice styling inside or out.

The picture posted is another example of what we need tough legislation to ban: a black on black convertible with the top down on a hot sunny day. The driver needs intervention to prevent self-harm.

The worst part of the Saturn is they all have chrome wheels..

fintail

I always found it interesting the sporty aggressive Pontiac brand had the softer styling, while the friendly normcore Saturn brand had the sharper styling.

andre1969

fintail said:

I always found it interesting the sporty aggressive Pontiac brand had the softer styling, while the friendly normcore Saturn brand had the sharper styling.

I always thought that, too. The Sky definitely seemed more aggressive and edgy to me, whereas the Solstice just had too much of a cutesy look to it, like the automotive equivalent of a little pug puppy that's about to pounce.

Michaell

I was in the middle of owning several Saturn vehicles when the Sky was launched. Was real excited.

But, couldn’t fit behind the wheel. My eye level was equal to the top of the windshield.

kyfdx

Funny, saw a Sky, just this afternoon

stickguy

On drive home from the shore a few interesting ones. 73ish Valiant 4 door in the pouring rain. A 52ish ford custom pickup in the highway. A guy driving a cobra (certainly a kit) in the rain. No top. Pour planning. And on the thruway an early C1 vette on a trailer. No top. On the shoulder probably because he was about to get into the rain.

texases

“Pour planning”…funny!

stickguy

Also a very nice 1970 or so ford pickup. And an AMC marlin fastback.

sda

Almost new looking 1st gen solid red Chevy S-10. I assume the ac worked. Windows closed while 93 degrees today at noon. It has been one of the hottest summers here that I can remember.

uplanderguy

The first-gen S-10 (and the GMC S-15, apparently five better ) I always thought were nicely styled. Unusual for small trucks, you could get them with bright trim and Rally Wheels. There's a longbed red with white inserts one around here that looks new. I was reminded that the upscale trim on those trucks was called "Tahoe". The one around here also sports the right-size whitewalls.

gsemike

Magnum Ferrari (308 GTB?) parked curbside on main street