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

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Comments

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    You need to be able to see through or at least *into* wire wheels to give them dimension, and the wheel needs to be able to fill the wheel well. Also the wires need to be thin enough to be graceful and configured in an appealing manner.

    Otherwise,, they looked tacked on and out of proportion to the car---like shopping cart wheels spray-painted in aluminum.

    They are, in other words, "cheesy" IMO, if done in the wrong style on the wrong car.

    Wires are a "classic" look. They no more belong on a modern svoopy-doopy car than AOOGAH horns, furry dice, strapped down luggage, or golf club racks.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,652
    So on that '55 DeSoto, at least, do you think they work?

    FWIW, here's a pic of a 1979 5th Ave with wire hubcaps...basically how mine is "supposed" to look...
    image

    The main thing I don't like about them is the way the whole thing has sort of a cone shape, pointing outward to the center cap. It just looks too stuck-on, like an afterthought.

    I just like wheels that have more depth to them, and especially like that look where most of the wheel is inset from the edge of the rim...gives it a beefier, more substantial look. Kinda like this 1981 5th Ave that's sporting Cordoba/Mirada rims, in a pic way too big to post here.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Alloys look much better on modern cars than wires IMO.

    I can't see the pix of the '55 Desoto---access denied.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132
    I think spokes have a more authentic look. :blush::)

    They are see-through. They are centered in the wheel.

    There's no way I'd drive this car on the interstate to the car show I where I saw it!!!

    Anyone know the car brand? (I know this is not mystery cars discussion).

    image

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,095
    Those Cordoba/Mirada wheels are a relatively cool touch, they have a very period look to them, and not in a terrible way.
  • ghuletghulet Member Posts: 2,564
    my guess: Chrysler (or DeSoto) Airflow? Or perhaps a Cord?
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Yeah maybe an Auburn or Cord. Are those WOOD? :surprise:

    Wooden spoke wheels are really *really* dangerous.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132
    Not any of those. Would you like to see the car? click here to see car

    Interior

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • ghuletghulet Member Posts: 2,564
    OK, maybe a Ford pickup?
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132
    Link should work now--two of them there.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • ghuletghulet Member Posts: 2,564
    .....forgive my ignorance, but what is it?
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    Oh come on whats so bad about a little termite or rot... :sick:
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    What would happen is that they would hit one of those typical potholes of the day, at speed, and shatter, collapsing the wheel of course.

    that's rather late for wooden spokes, mid 30s.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132
    If I remember right, it was is 1935 Hudson.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Nice feature of that car is when you opened the passenger door, the seat would swivel out to meet your butt. :P
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132
    >opened the passenger door, the seat would swivel out to meet your butt.

    :sick: And I thought the Monte Carlo was one of the first cars to have a swivel seat. ;)

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Nothing new under the sun with automobiles. We had automatics in 1941, V8s in 1915, hill holders in the 1930s, disk brakes in the early 50s, supercharging and overhead cams in the 1920s, and fuel injection (not so workable) way , way back at the turn of the century. Even the first car to break 60 mph in speed tests was an electric car in 1899.
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,253
    a plymouth caravelle? saw one in nice shape. kind of a bad brown color, though.
    i have been seeing a lot of chevy corsica's. at least half a dozen in the last week or so.
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,652
    I think the Caravelle was sold in the US from 1985-88. It was on what Chrysler called the "E" body (not to be confused with the Challenger/Barracuda), a 3-inch stretch of the K-car. Other versions of that were the Dodge 600, Chrysler New Yorker, and the 1983-84 Chrysler E-class, which got dropped to make room for the Caravelle.

    There was also a Caravelle sold in Canada, based on the LeBaron/Diplomat M-body. It was called "Caravelle" from 1977-82, and "Caravelle Salon" from 1983-89, as Canada got a FWD version of the K-based Caravelle in 1983.

    One of my cousins from Pennsylvania had a 1986 or so Dodge 600. Maybe this is a bit morbid, but I remember her letting me drive it in the procession for my Grandfather's funeral in 1990. I sorta had other things weighing on my mind at the time, but do remember that I liked the car more than I thought I would. I think it was a turbo model, too, so it had some kick to it.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Here's an interesting museum display showing two 1989 Cadillac Broughams being assembled. These cars have the genuine wire wheels available on Cadillacs that year.

    image
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Check this out. This Cadillac Brougham had the wire wheel hubcap like my '89 in the front and the genuine Cadillac wire wheel available that year in the back!

    image
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,095
    I hope it didn't come that way from the assembly line :P
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    It has the wire wheel covers in lieu of the genuine wire wheels above. I believe the genuine wire wheels added $800 to the price of the car.

    image
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    This is the Cadillac wire wheel used in the 1950s:

    image
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,369
    This is the Cadillac wire wheel used in the 1950s.

    They were actually pretty rare but they did adorn some Eldos and other high end 50s Cadillacs, IIRC they were made by Kelsey-Hayes. Wire wheels were pretty costly but inherently less strong, heavier and more rust prone than disc wheels.

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    ...you had the option of these drop-dead gorgeous "Sabre-spoke" wheels!

    image
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    To say nothing of hell to clean! :P

    Ah yes---"turbine" wheels---the fascination with jet aircraft dominated styling back in those days---hence fins, scoops, pods, etc.
  • magnettemagnette Member Posts: 4,150
    At last, after a long hibernation, my Magnette finally passed it's MOT test yesterday, (a roadworthiness inspection) after a gap of only 16 years since the last one.... It is still 200 miles away in Wales, and as it broke down when I tried to drive it off the inspection ramp I have left it with the garage there, who are arranging to fix the carbs which are still not right, and I will get it trailered up to London next week, because it won't be capable of making a trip of more than twenty miles under it's own steam until it has been shaken down a bit...

    It will be the first time in all the years I have had it that it will have left Wales, and rather than leaving it for three months at a time between family visits, it will be in a garage opposite my house, so I can play with it at my leisure....

    Ironically, it will be left alone for the first couple of weeks it is with me, as we are flying over to America for a holiday shortly (New York, then Boston and finally Maine). No doubt we'll see a number of cars over there we never see here - I could spend ages just walking round the car park in a Wal-Mart, and see cars I would think exotic here.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132
    > - I could spend ages just walking round the car park in a Wal-Mart, and see cars I would think exotic here.

    I keep noticing our Lowes home improvement store parking lot out where employees park have a lot of older, classic and not so classic cars parked there. The people working the weekday 7-4 shift sometimes have hobby cars they're keeping or restoring.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,095
    I am the same way when I am in a different country. A mundane parking lot or street scene can be as interesting as any tourist attraction. A foreign 'Auto Trader' style magazine can keep me reading for hours. I've wasted a lot of time at foreign ebay/Auto Trader sites and at mobile.de.
  • jrosasmcjrosasmc Member Posts: 1,711
    How is the Brougham running these days? Did you get the problem squared away - the one that caused the car to stall on you a few weeks ago?
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,369
    arranging to fix the carbs which are still not right,

    Yank 'em, Put on a set of WEBERS! ;)

    Hey drop me a line (email's in my profile) I could meet you in Boston or Southern Maine and buy you a drink, I live in New Hampshire, halfway between Boston and ME. :shades:

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • michaellnomichaellno Member Posts: 4,120
    I am the same way when I am in a different country.

    Ditto! Though, in reality, my business travels haven't taken me very far -- mostly Canada (GTA and southern Ontario, mostly). There were / are enough differences in the automobiles available to make it interesting:

    Hyundai Pony
    Lada
    Acura EL
    Pontiac Firefly
    Pontiac Tempest

    And, in Canada, not nearly the number of SUV's that we have in the states. Probably due to the price of gas up north. Now that I think about it, I don't believe I'd ever rented an SUV when in Canada, even in winter.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,095
    Canada can be a great place for car spotting...lots of weirdo private import/grey market Japanese and some Euro stuff too.

    Early Hyundais and Ladas are getting pretty scarce in BC anyway, but they are still around.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    I just had the Brougham at the Carlisle All-GM Nationals on Saturday, June 27th and the car ran well both to and from the event, though an old knucklehead in a burgundy Buick LaCrosse almost rear-ended the car outside of Harrisburg as I was taking a fellow Edmunds poster home.

    The problem was the alternator - the original one that came with the car 20 years and 157K miles ago. I also replaced a throttle position sensor on the carb that was sending a CEL and installed a new fuel filter.
  • tjc78tjc78 Member Posts: 15,852
    and the 1983-84 Chrysler E-class,

    My stepdad had one of those with the Mitsubishi engine. It had the "talking" option.... you know the one "Your door is ajar" "Your fuel is low". I don't know what the actual name of it was. That thing just ran and ran. We sold it in the mid 90s to a guy in town and saw it for at least 5 years still putting along.

    2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,095
    My uncle had an E-class - the Chrysler one of course - in the late 80s. It was light yellow with a light interior. I remember he thought it was a fancy car - it seemed nice at the time, but it wasn't too old. I don't remember if it talked. I think it had a hood ornament where the Chrysler star was some kind of plastic, and was like a bad fake diamond. Or maybe that was inside the car somewhere.

    I remember the trunklid badging on those cars was MB-influenced, the Dodge "600" too.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132
    >problem was the alternator - the original one that came with the car 20 years and 157K miles ago

    That GM just never builds anything to last!!! :P

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • tjc78tjc78 Member Posts: 15,852
    think it had a hood ornament where the Chrysler star was some kind of plastic,

    Yep you are right it was the hood ornament.

    2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve

  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,055
    I think GM's rear-wheel drive cars' wire wheel covers were the industry's best-looking ('80's Caprice, etc.). They had a lot of spokes, the spokes were long and the center of the wheel cover was small. In contrast, Ford's wire wheel covers of the same period looked like they came from J.C. Whitney...a large center and tiny spokes.

    Bill P.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,652
    That GM just never builds anything to last!!!

    Yeah, ain't that the truth...only 20 years?! Heck, my '57 DeSoto is still on its original generator! :P

    Although to be fair, I think my '85 Silverado still has its original alternator.
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,253
    i have been seeinga lot of chevy corsica's lately.
    until last week or so, i hadn't recalled seeing one in a long time.
    at least half a dozen, a couple of white ones, red, maroon, blue, and black.
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,253
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,095
    There are still several on the road around here, all from the "peeling paint" years, so they look terrible...but they seem to keep trudging along.
  • ghuletghulet Member Posts: 2,564
    ....but I live in a ghetto, pretty much, so the variety of vehicles around here is staggering; definitely some, uh, interesting old heaps putzin' around (including mine).

    Today, I saw a '72 Chevy Impala four-door sedan, looked like a used car circa 1976, that is to say weathered but not bad at all (and not rusty). It was the requisite early-70s pea green with white top, IIRC.

    Also, a real (had the fancy wheels and stripes along the rockers) early ('65-66) Mustang GT coupe; funny thing, it was NOT all gussied-up: it was either wearing very weathered original red paint, or primer (I really think it was paint), and the stripes were white.

    I see these (or similar) fairly often: an early '70s Toyota Corolla (or maybe Corona) coupe, in orange, with tiny mag wheels. Kinda cute.

    Not all that strange, but becoming rare (at least in decent condition, in Chicago): a first-generation red Acura Integra coupe (RS, I'd guess) in very good condition (that is to say: NOT a rust-bucket, and even better yet, didn't look like some boy-racer ever had his hands on it; all bumpers intact, no fartcans, not lowered, had factory hubcaps, didn't have neon green interior vents or anything!) and about a block later, an '86-ish Accord DX hatchback, in similar (non-rusty, non-molested) condition, silver, of course.
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,435
    a couple of minutes apart.

    1st, a 68ish Barracuda. Blue, looked fairly origianl, or an older restore, but not modified.

    Then, something I really like (hey, it goes back to HS, OK?0: a '74ish GTO. Red. Yes, the Nova based one. Looked to be in nice shape, had a 4 speed (could hear it shifting), and was def. modified in the engine, or at least the exhaust!

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • magnettemagnette Member Posts: 4,150
    No to the webers, thanks very much - the SU's are primitive, but at least in theory everybody here in the garage trade is familiar with them,and in fairness they last for ever - the problem is that since the car was last on the road we've gone over to unleaded petrol, and of course the jets etc aren't right...

    Re our forthcoming trip, that sounds like a plan. When I have some idea of the itinerary I will let you know - we're not there till mid August....
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Holy smoke, that reminds me, I saw a 1987 or '88 Chevrolet Celebrity in sort of a copper color being driven by some young dude leaving the parking lot at work. I haven't seen a running example of one in a long time.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    SUs are beautifully simple, Webers are complex, fidgety and they would over-fuel a Magnette engine. All you'd get is a large repair bill, a choice of where you want your engine to stumble (choose one, high or low speed), far worse gas mileage, and about 2 or 3 HP gain.

    Some cars would benefit from Webers because their OEM carbs are so bad (Porsche 912s come to mind) but the SUs work great on an MG--they are really brilliant little things IMO.
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,369
    Actually I was just trying to be cute w the Weber comment. I'm sure the SUs work fine on an MG Magnette but not all Weber carbs are a PITA. My '71 Fiat 124 Sport
    Spider 1608 came w a single 2V Weber 40 IDF that never gave any trouble except for an annoying tendency for the manual choke to stick in the closed position sometimes in below freezing temps. The Weber gave the little 1600 good performance (comparable to an MGB or Porsche 914/4) and mileage (R&T got 23mpg).

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

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