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

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Comments

  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,565
    edited December 2024
    Posted on a FB page this morning. This '71 Impala Sport Coupe was a six with Powerglide, LOL.

    Guy bought it for $200 in 1989.

    There are a couple small styling details I like about the '71's, but I cannot imagine how glacially slow this car would've been.


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  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 17,979
    My wife, son and I saw the Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown tonight. It covers the 1961-1965 time frame. Lots of vintage cars, but I was enamored with Dylan's Triumph Bonneville.

    Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-2021 Sahara 4xe-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,565
    I want to see the Dylan biopic, but it will probably be a hard sell to my wife. He's about the last artist on my "See them before they retire...or worse" list. Younger daughter got two free tickets to his first show in NYC last year. She said he was awful and she didn't know one song. Timothee Chalomet was in the audience, who plays Dylan in the movie.

    A couple weeks ago I saw Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues, with a very polished band including flutist (floutist?). What a great show, in our town's 625-seat theater only .9 mile from our house. I had almost forgotten how many hits the Moody Blues had. He'd been on my list too.

    Unrelated topic, I saw an old episode of "My Three Sons" on 'Catchy TV' this morning. Apparently from '63 as the ending music and credits were over pics of various '63 Chevy models, a bit cheesy and cool at the same time.
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  • MichaellMichaell Moderator Posts: 255,907
    Not sure about classic, but pretty obscure.

    A VW Passat GT - a one year only model that had the 3.6L V6 engine in it, instead of the 2.0T 4-cylinder.

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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,920
    I'll admit to having a sort of fascination with some of those big cars with woefully underpowered engines. I don't know that I'd ever want to own one, but I'd be curious to drive one, to see just how bad they really were.

    If I was to take a guess, I'd think something like a '71 Impala with a 6-cyl/Powerglide might be good for 0-60 in around 19 seconds? Consumer Reports tested a '72 Impala with the 165 hp 350 and THM, and it was good for 12 seconds.

    As long as you didn't have to do any fast highway merges, it might actually be tolerable in most driving situations. Although I guess, out on the highway passing might be a bit treacherous, since there's no passing gear.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,565
    Even at 12-13, I was always riding my bike down to the Chevy dealer in our town. I can't say I recall seeing a single '71 full-size six-cylinder car, and I only remember seeing one '71 Bel Air in stock. It was Sea Aqua, my favorite '71 color, and they had it in inventory a looonnggg time.

    I do remember when they started advertising mid-year that on V8's, Turbo-Hydramatic and power steering were standard equipment. At that same time I noticed the base prices went up $300-some, LOL.
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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,565
    One last '71 big Chevy thing.

    My favorite old cars are invariably, low-mileage, original cars, or at least, authentically-restored. This 'Sandalwood' '71 Impala sedan is a boring color IMHO, with a green interior, but I don't believe I've seen a '71 Impala as nice in a few decades. It is bone-original. GM took a big strike in the '71 model year and it seems to me to this day that '72's are more available than '71's.

    https://www.garagekeptmotors.com/vehicles/2358/1971-chevrolet-impala-sedan
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  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 17,979
    I'm thinking that if I ever buy another vintage BMW it will be an E12 M535i:


    Or its E28 successor:

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  • MichaellMichaell Moderator Posts: 255,907
    I had a GF in high school who's dad drove a 5-series of that vintage - don't remember the engine, but I do remember it having a stick shift.

    He also raced three-quarter midgets at the local dirt track, with the occasional foray to the famed Ascot raceway in Gardena, CA.

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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,990
    edited December 2024
    When I was a kid in the mid-late 80s, someone in the neighborhood (likely a visitor) showed up in an E28 Alpina, almost certainly a grey market car as that kind of thing was still common. I'll never forget the flamboyant striping.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,565
    edited December 2024
    Saw the Dylan biopic with wife and our two daughters, ages 27 and 30. We all thought it was very good to great.

    It is a feast of old cars. Tons of them! Two '60 Larks shown prominently; one, a wagon, driven by the Pete Seeger character.

    People who aren't into cars get annoyed with bringing this up, but when the movie opened, screen said "1961" and they show a '62 Ford wagon looking a bit worse for wear. I know, '62 model year would've started in late September '61, but....

    There was a Dodge A-100 in an early setting of the movie too. Still, I know that's nitpicking.

    The entire movie was the years 1961-65.
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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,920
    I remember watching some movie a couple weeks ago that was supposed to take place in the late 70's. "Woman of the Hour," I think? Anyway, I was watching it with some friends, and at one point when they showed a parking lot one of my friends shot a look at me because he KNEW I wanted to say something. I was just like "Mmm-hmmm, I'm just going to be quiet now!"

    Although to be fair, the auto anachronisms weren't TOO bad, as I recall. I forget what timeframe exactly the movie took place, as it jumped around a bit. But I do remember seeing an '80-82 T-bird, and a FWD X-car, either an Omega or Skylark. So if part of the movie took place in '79, either of those two could have been conceivable, I guess, since the '80 model year started in the fall of '79. And those FWD X-cars had an early launch, April of '79.
  • thebeanthebean Member Posts: 1,243
    Saw a 96ish Accord wagon today. First one I have seen in a while. It was green, and appeared to be in decent shape - no huge dents, no smoke from the tailpipe, but the grille was a bit dinged up.
    2015 Honda Accord EX, 2019 Honda HR-V EX
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,350
    thebean said:

    Saw a 96ish Accord wagon today. First one I have seen in a while. It was green, and appeared to be in decent shape - no huge dents, no smoke from the tailpipe, but the grille was a bit dinged up.

    I liked that generation of Accord, Camry, and, well, really most, if not all, of the full-size sedans of the era. I feel like the second half of the 90s was when some started to fall off the rails (like the jelly bean Taurus), but others were just coming around, such as the Legacy series (including Outback) from Subaru in 1995.
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,990
    That Accord wagon and the one that preceded it (the only two generations of Accord wagon, come to think of it) are good cars. The dual rear wiper Camry wagon is quite a thing, too.
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 257,699
    We had a sedan of that generation ('97) and two of the next generation ('99 and '01). They were all great cars. And, all on leases.

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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,565
    That era Accord wagon made me think they just put another section of roof onto a sedan.
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  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 257,699
    Without a doubt.

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  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 52,312

    As with most wagons. Including the jelly bean Taurus.

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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,565
    I wouldn't say most, but of course that's OK.

    One other thing about the Dylan movie--I would not have dumped Elle Fanning even for Joan Baez, LOL.
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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,990
    Some wagons are obvious sedan grafts, where the rear side door is the same (Accord and Taurus come to mind), some aren't - some like MB, BMW and many others at least had unique rear doors.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,565
    edited December 2024
    It's semantics I know, but the Taurus wagon then really used the Sable's rear doors, right? They were different than the Taurus sedan doors.
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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,990

    It's semantics I know, but the Taurus wagon then really used the Sable's rear doors, right? They were different than the Taurus sedan doors.

    That's right, ovoid Taurus wagon is kind of a hybrid (there was an ovoid Sable wagon too).
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,995

    Saw a black Chevy SSR today, it’s been years since I saw one.

  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,565
    I've been seeing an SSR in Cortland, OH at the Chevy dealer's when I drive by. It's been parked away from other cars, which makes me wonder if it's an employee's car.
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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,990
    I recall seeing the SSR when it debuted at the local dealer. I think it had a 10K ADM, and I audibly laughed (at the chutzpah, I kind of don't mind the turn of the century boomery retro thing - I think the Prowler is cool, I like the retro Bird, and I don't even mind the PT and HHR).

    I remember several years ago when I lived in metro Seattle, someone at my office campus was using a SSR as commuter.
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 52,312

    I’ve never driven an SSR but conceptually I like it. I also watched a few videos lately featuring Aussie Utes in the US. now if I could get a modern version of an El Camino that was on the sporty side I would be happy to have it. Kill the pickup and sports car birds with one stone!

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  • MichaellMichaell Moderator Posts: 255,907
    stickguy said:

    I’ve never driven an SSR but conceptually I like it. I also watched a few videos lately featuring Aussie Utes in the US. now if I could get a modern version of an El Camino that was on the sporty side I would be happy to have it. Kill the pickup and sports car birds with one stone!

    There is a pretty clean late run El Camino for sale not far from me. I'll see if I can get a pic and some info on it, for you.

    Though, would you want RWD for something like that, where you live?

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  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 52,312

    RWD is fine. I don’t take my car out in snow anyway.

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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,920
    I learned pretty early on that my 2012 Ram absolutely SUCKS in the snow. It's not bad on level ground, but on inclines loses traction more easily than any other RWD vehicle I can remember driving in the snow. Turning the traction control off helps, somewhat, but not enough.

    Fortunately, it doesn't snow all that much around here. Last time we had what I'd consider a serious storm was back in January 2016, when we got about 19 inches. But that shut EVERYTHING down, until the plows came through. And back then I still had use of my 2000 Park Ave, which did pretty well in the snow. Unless it got too deep, that is. Since then, I'd say we've had maybe 3 storms where we got 8-10 inches. But the first was in March, so it melted quickly. The government was shut down when we had the second one, so I didn't have to go anywhere. And by the time the third came around, I was working from home.

    I had my Dad's '03 Regal during the time those three storms hit, so I didn't have to deal with the Ram. I'm also a bit lucky that my driveway, even though it's on a hill, has a southern exposure, so it melts pretty quickly.
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,350
    I always ran my '69 C20 with 1000# of sand bags in the bed for winter driving. It was fine with the weight but otherwise wouldn't go anywhere.
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,990
    Spotted in a local real estate listing, this king of patina:



    Amusingly, the listing states "Car in driveway excluded from sale of home." - I doubt many will be making demands to the contrary. Interestingly, the car is not present in streetview images, so it hasn't been there more than a year or so. The house has apparent very longterm owners, maybe it was dragged out of the garage.

    I also noticed in streetview, the house had this mining car/rail car kind of lawn ornament:



    Which is not seen in listing photos - I would have wanted that, kind of neat.

    40s house that appears to have been renovated in the 70s and needs significant updates now, but probably has "good bones" and is in a good neighborhood, so will probably sell without much work.
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 52,312

    Slap a Camaro. Chassis under that bad boy and have a sleep rat rod!

    In that note, for some reason last night I watched a video recap of some guys body swapping an early 60s 4 door Falcon body onto a Lexus RX350 chassis. Surprisingly it fit pretty good!

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  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,350
    I think that car has a little more than a patina going on! LOL
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • MichaellMichaell Moderator Posts: 255,907

    Spotted last night:

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  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,350
    Michaell said:

    Spotted last night:

    Original run FJ; nice! Funny enough, I spotted one of those traveling my way on the highway Tuesday night. It was, uh.... NOT in the same condition as that. I counted at least six rust through holes on the areas I saw, so probably more like 10-15 total. LOL

    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 52,312
    early (60s? 70s?) Land Cruiser.

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  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 20,168
    Jeep Commander on the left.
    I actually see those on a regular basis.
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,990
    stickguy said:

    Slap a Camaro. Chassis under that bad boy and have a sleep rat rod!

    In that note, for some reason last night I watched a video recap of some guys body swapping an early 60s 4 door Falcon body onto a Lexus RX350 chassis. Surprisingly it fit pretty good!

    I've seen some MB chassis swaps like that too, namely some W201/80s 190 series cars put on modern AMG A and C class chassis, and I think a W111 coupe (fintail coupe) on some kind of modern chassis. Enormous labors of love no doubt.
  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 17,979
    I almost bought a red 1978 FJ in 1980. It was sweet.

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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,565
    edited January 5
    This 1961 Olds Ninety-Eight is on barnfinds now. Not a car I'd normally swoon over, but sure is unusual--I can't recall when I last saw one, and I like this shade of green which I remember on '61 GM products.

    29K supposed miles.

    Odd that the front windows are power and the rears are not.

    Neat car.

    https://barnfinds.com/29k-mile-1961-oldsmobile-ninety-eight-holiday/#google_vignette



    The '61 GM cars to my eyes are a real bridge between '50's out-sized styling, and later '60's simpler and squarer styling. I always think of "The Jetsons" when I see, especially, a '61 GM two-door hardtop.


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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,565
    This much-later Olds was on barnfinds the week of Christmas. I still like the looks of these, except from straight-on from the back.



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  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 17,979
    edited January 5
    I thought it was kind of a nod to the original Toronado. I wish GM had canned Buick and kept Olds and Pontiac. I know Buick survived because of its popularity in China, but still...

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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,920
    There's a '61 Olds Ninety Eight 4-door hardtop that used to show up fairly regularly at the car show in Macungie, PA that Grbeck, Lemko, and I go to, but I don't think I've seen it in awhile. IIRC, it was the 4W style, with the wraparound rear window. It was a bit rough, with a patina on it, and sort of a washed-out lilac color. For some odd reason, it always caught my eye.

    I think it was the proportioning. While a big car, it still had a trim, tapered look about it, so it didn't look excessive. And that thin C-pillar with the wraparound window gave the interior an open, airy feel to it.

    As for the '95-99 Aurora, they always caught my eye, too. I actually like the rear end. Like Roadburner mentioned, it made me think of the original Toronado. And even at the time, when these cars came out, I thought of them as sort of a 4-door Toronado, or I guess you could say, a personal luxury sedan.
  • tjc78tjc78 Member Posts: 16,463

    Not sure if I ever told the story -but since the Aurora came up I’ll go ahead.

    My uncle bought (ordered) one of the very first ones here in NJ. It was a silvery blue over dark teal interior. Very 90s. It was his retirement present.

    It got driven only a thousand miles a year for many years. It was the special occasion car and very prized possession.

    Here how the car fared:

    In 2007 he tapped me in the rear of my Avalon on the way to my cousin’s (his Grandson’s) wedding. No damage to his car. Very little to mine.

    After that it didn’t get driven much and sat until he passed about 10 years later with under 15K miles.

    My cousin took possession of it. He changed the battery, flushed all the fluids, recharged the AC and he drove it for a while until the Northstar did Northstar things and puked oil everywhere. This was around 30k miles.

    A very good friend of my cousins is a GM mechanic so he took the car and fixed it to use at his property in Key West. From there it suffered head gasket failure along with a host of electrical gremlins. He sold it to some kid who had a thing for first gen’s and apparently fixed it all up and it’s tearing up the streets of Key West to this day.

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  • tjc78tjc78 Member Posts: 16,463

    Quick edit on this - I know that the engine isn’t technically a Northstar but it was based on it and from what I understand suffered the same problems.

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  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 20,168
    Back in 96, my wife looked at and Aurora and an SHO.
    Aroura with Autobahn pkg was 6K more.
    She got the SHO with a nice discount and good trade in on her first year Explorer.
    It looked good, black with factory chrome rims.
    We had it almost years, and it was a good car.
    I thikn it scared the other PTO moms, so she traded it for a Saab wagon.
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,990
    Blue on teal Aurora must have looked amazing, that's a color combo.

    Odd one today, white Allante out in the cold damp on what appeared to be dedicated snow tires/wheels.
  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 17,979
    edited January 5
    I have a friend who worked as an engineer at GM when the Allante was introduced. He said that he wouldn't ride in one on a bet. Apparently it just barely passed all the NHTSA crash tests.

    Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-2021 Sahara 4xe-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
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  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 52,312
    Pine Hollow auto diagnostics just did a New Years special series on a 1993 (I think) Allante with a bunch of issues. Wild ride sorting that thing out. an engineering nightmare.

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