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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)
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Best Maserati...that's tough, as the past 20 years have been horrible save for the last couple. Maybe the old 3500 series from the 60s. Always had nice Ferrari-esque bodies anyway.
Tere's a Volvo 444 (?) 'duett' wagon in my area. I see it all the time when the weather is nice. It's pretty cool. It is obviously restored, and is much like this one except it is red and creme.
I spotted my first "live" MAYBACH totally, sitting in the snow in Aspen. Driver let me sit in the back seat, which was strange, but...this was a two-tone black and gold. Big old thing, nicely appointed but styling and interior does not look the price (to me). I felt like I was about to be driven to a funeral.
They're bulky, upright cars too, over 5 feet tall, with largish greenhouses and smallish hoods and trunks. No doubt that adds to the bulky look.
He did! Believe it or not, the car now has an US title, correct registration, and even insurance. The agent simply based his insurance premium on the customs value. Does he even understand how difficult it will be to get parts in case of an accident?
I am still traumatized, not by the car (an A160), but by the fact that our hick-DMV actually came through with their initial statement of just bring the German title, and everything will be OK. Could it be that a used car (it's two years old) is somewhat easier to handle? How'bout crash testing, the Euro crash tests are vastly different. Emissions?? Don't understand.
Maybe I should get one, too... *g*
He should consult an import specialist immediately to see what his legal status is. If illegal, he could lose everything. Sooner or later they will find him.
LANCE--if that's the V-8, then the issue was porous cylinder walls. I don't recall whether the fix was a new block or liners but you should definitely a)check out the history of the car and b) chat with a BMW specialist about this. It's a serious issue and the expense wipes out the car basically.
Any issues with the 300 that we should know about? (And the F-150 was the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. by the late '80s)
HUGE gas hog, but sturdy and tough. Automatic would be better than a stick shift to drive everyday, as the manual gearbox is heavy and clunky. The truck itself feels very wide and is annoying to drive in city traffic and/or park, but if you are in suburbia, and doing only short commutes or hauling, it would be a great beater.
Oh, not good in snow either so weigh 'er down in back and drive carefully. Get some snow tires.
DOT/EPA regs: The government is relentless and very tough on enforcement of illegally imported vehicles. They make the IRS seem like the Sisters of Mercy. A friend had his Ferrari hood PRIED open because they didn't know how to open it to read the VIN numbers at the dock.
Lots of other problems to fix before impounding the unknown for lack of knowledge...
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=9897&am- p;am- p;item=2450161191
Fintail hearse...you'll be up there with the Universal in rarity
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2450358553&- amp;category=18303
I'm sure it's worth a good 30 grand though.
It's hard to fix a market value for totally oddball stuff like this, so whatever someone pays for this one and the next one in two years, averaged out, IS probably the market value more or less.
I found a 1946 model that sold for $46K in 1996 at auction (that includes buyer's fees, all transportation from Europe, etc., so the profit is probably around $40K), but that was a totally flawless restoration done by Tatra itself at the factory.
Also, who knows if the car is authentically done or not? Who can judge cars like this in terms of how correctly they are done?
I don't think the paint scheme is correct, if anything. It looks clean though. I think that prewar style is really cool. Especially the 77, like this. Not shabby for 1934.
I like that whole 30s modern streamined design theme...Zephyr, Airflow, Cord, Peugeot 402, and numerous others
But you are right, save for the VW, that style never made it...the domestic models that wore it died off, and the Euros did just the same.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item- =2450762094&category=43906
Beautiful DeSoto, shame about the interior
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item- =2450714078&category=6190
I remember trying to talk my Dad into a Dodge or DeSoto that year (we got a Mercury, sadly).
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
I had a '67 Newport with a 383-2bbl, and about all I'll say is that its performance was adequate. IIRC, that engine was really emasculated for some reason in '67, but had a bit more guts by '70. But then I'm sure that '70 weighs a good deal more than my '67 did.
Yeah, it is a shame about that DeSoto's interior. Here's a glimpse at what a '59 DeSoto Fireflite's interior "should" look like...
This one has the optional swivel seats, though.
And I dunno what that 354 engine came out of. I believe the last Chrysler 354 Hemi was in 1956 (there was a poly 354 in '57-58, tho). Dodge used the 354 in '57 and maybe '58, in their D-500/D-501 option.
Standard engine in the '59 Fireflite would've been a 383-4bbl with something like 325 hp, so that 354 might actually be a step back.
My late grandpa had a few Newports back in the day. I think he wanted a big car with a Chrysler name, but he was kind of cheap at times too...so that worked out. His favorite was a 1965 that he bought new and kept for about 5 years (seems that was a long time back then). It was red, 383 I believe. He put quite a few miles on it and took many pics of it. He replaced it with one of the 'fuselage' models like that ebay one...he didn't like that one so much. He then bought one of the last big New Yorkers, like in 77 or 78. That was his last Chrysler, I guess he didn't like where they went after that. He moved on to full size GM cars.
It's that time of year again. If you're a member of one of the car clubs that own it, between Xmas and New Years you can run all the laps you want for free at our little local track. As I had to be out near there anyway on Saturday, I threw the Hoosiers in the back seat and went to play.
One of the other BMW club guys races an early 60s Mini Cooper in Vintage, and he took me around for a few laps. What a hoot. No power, but no weight either, so he every corner is taken with an eye to minimal speed loss. The line is very different than what I take. Kamikaze, for me, requires heavy braking and a late turn-in. He'd just lift a little, pitch it sideways pretty early, and drift across the apex with his foot full in the throttle, with me looking straight at the tire wall out of my side window.
We also had a vintage race prepped '62 'vette out there. The owner appeared to be terrified of any kind of cornering speed.
And a Volvo p1800, which had so much body roll you could almost see the underside of the oil pan. Can you say "rolling chicane?"
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What is odd is that there don't seem to be any pictures of it around on the web, just drawings.
Now it was an upright, Taurus-sized or slightly bigger car with a blue oval on the grill. Definitely not a Taurus or a Crown Vic. Taillights were shaped like those on the Crown Vic (kind of like a red cheese wedge), but bigger. The front end was kind of like the Infinity M45.
That's my best guess as to what it was. It was going about 15-20 mph the other direction as I waited in a turn lane...
Ford has a design studio up in Irvine. The car was also heading toward Qualcomm Stadium a couple of hours before the Holiday Bowl, so it isn't absurd that one would have been around. The thing that is odd is that the car is supposed to be coming out in 2004, as a 2004, yet there is no mention of it on the Ford website...
Looked to be in typical old-car daily driver condition. Not ready for the junkyard yet, and not showing any rust, but no beauty queen either!
Then, about 2 minutes after the Corvair got over, to let a '97-01 Camry pass (I never thought of a Camry as a big car, but it's amazing how it dwarfed that Corvair when passing it!) there was an R-body Chrysler Newport. I'd guess it was a '79, since they made about 77,000 that year, compared to maybe 5 in '80 and two in '81! ;-) Real pale creamy yellowish color. Kinda reminded me of the color of my old '79 Newport, which was called "Cashmere", but this looked a bit lighter. I only saw it from the back, but it looked fairly good for a 23+ year old battlecruiser from the dark ages of automotive history.
Oh yeah, and finally, I saw an old Datsun 240Z, I think. I don't know my old Datsuns that well, so I dunno if it was a 240Z or a 260Z. It had a thin chrome bumper on the rear, though, so I guess it was pre-bumper standards.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item- =2451518116&category=6330
Behold--the ultimate Money Pit....and rusty, too!
Of course if you got it cheap enough you could just drive it and when it spins a bearing or munches the transmission or something just part it out. This car shares parts with the 300Sc and 300 Cabs, which are worth serious money.
But if it is bad, yes, parting out would be the only way to go...maybe it would save another car.
Thx
HG
Timing belt is kind of a nasty job on that car, you might want to get an estimate for that. The top will also be a bit pricey.....sooooooo....really we are looking at $1,500+ worth of work on a car that might be worth $4,000 if it were mint.
They can be really fun cars and quite reliable if you get one that is "squared away" beforehand. If you see any taped wires dangling here and there and filthy engine or rust or other obvious signs of neglect, just walk away and look for a better one.
I scavenged some fintail parts cars over the summer that were 100x rustier than that Adenauer. It doesn't look that bad
I'd rather focus my time to something I want...like that elusive 112 LWB fintail with sunroof