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

lemko · August 2013

...two-tone green 1957 Chevrolet 210 two-door sedan near Fuller and Tabor Avenue in NE Philly.

ab348 · August 2013

Thursday was a nice evening and I was home so I decided to take the '68 Cutlass over to a nearby cruise-in. Snapped a couple of iPhone pics.

I was pleased with how the car looked in these and it attracted some attention from the folks passing by.

texases · August 2013

VERY nice! We had a '69 Cutlass, it was a lot of fun with just the regular 350.

Mr_Shiftright · August 2013

How nice an old car looks without tons of chrome, gingerbread, spears, scoops, arrows, etc!

fintail · August 2013

This morning I saw a Karmann Ghia and a Thing in a hotel parking lot. This afternoon I saw what I guess was a Thing made up to look like a Kubelwagen. Must be a VW meet in the area.

stickguy · August 2013

on the way to the shore. A surprisingly clean looking Mustang II. So 70s looking. Wire wheels, tan coupe (notchback) with a tan 1/2 vinyl roof. My wife was not impressed.

also got behind a nice '69 Camaro convertible RS. I knew it was there before I even saw it, thanks to that classic unburned hydrocarbon smell!

kyfdx · August 2013

Sounds like the Ghia model... my girlfriend had one (no.. not the current girlfriend.... in the '70s)

I had a Cobra II.. there.. I said it.. not embarrassed...

uplanderguy · August 2013

Very nice Cutlass. A gal I knew in college always wanted a 4-4-2 and her Dad bought her a '68. It's a numbers-for-real 4-4-2 but almost looks like a Cutlass Supreme--burgundy color, black vinyl top, whitewalls and full wheel covers, with buckets and floor-shift automatic. She has had trouble finding a NOS rear bumper with the dual-exhaust cutouts. She still has it, but it doesn't sound like it's seen the most ideal storage situation in these past thirty years she's had it, though.

ab348 · August 2013

I believe they make repro cutout bumpers now.

Mine didn't have that originally but it was an option even on a regular Cutlass like mine so I wanted to add it. In 1998 I found one in Boston. I drove down from Nova Scotia to pick it up and had it rechromed up here.

fintail · August 2013

Saw a TR4 today, speaking of Mustang II I saw one last night - vinyl top with the narrow rectangular rear window, early 70s 911 with Fuchs wheels.

andys120 · August 2013

It was the tail end of the vintage car races at NHMS this weekend and there were plenty of nice sports cars around both old and new. The most unusual were a BRG E-type Roadtster (S1), still fabulous after all these years and a yellow '65-ish Alfa Giulia Sprint (1600?) GTC (Cabriolet), the first I have ever seen. Both had tops down.

andre1969 · August 2013

there goes the neighborhood. I caught a black Panther lurking around in my grandmother's driveway this evening...

:P

Actually, it was a just a delivery driver for Domino's. Wonder how much he's really making, using that beast for deliveries? Back in the day when I delivered, I drove worse guzzlers than that. But in those days, we whined when gas got over $1.30 or so per gallon!

fintail · August 2013

Before I read under the pic, I was thinking "oh, what did he buy?" :shades:

Hopefully the driver has some highway runs to help the mileage, or that the Dominos has a small radius. I see a few oddball delivery cars in my area, most memorable a Peugeot 505 and a MB W116 300SD.

andre1969 · August 2013

I've never had a pizza delivered to my house, so I don't know what store this guy came from. If it's where I think it is, it's 3.2 miles from the store to my grandmother's house. The guy was actually lost when he pulled into Grandmom's driveway; he was looking for the house in back. By that time I think he was a bit flustered trying to find it. He asked if he could park in the driveway and just walk it back, and I said sure, but it's a long walk!

Back when I delivered, I think about the furthest I had to drive was about 5 1/2 miles. But, if traffic, lights, etc didn't cooperate, that could take a good 20 minutes. And most of it was residential neighborhoods, so you couldn't go *too* fast.

fintail · August 2013

Probably won't get more than ~15mpg or so in that driving with that beast, maybe not a good delivery vehicle in the days of $4 gasoline - but it will hold a lot of pizzas! Maybe the driver works in livery service and is moonlighting.

andre1969 · August 2013

Back when I delivered, I think my '68 Dart, '79 Newport, and '89 Gran Fury all averaged around 13 mpg. My '86 Monte Carlo averaged around 15. When I got the Intrepid, it was hard to get that thing below 20 mpg in that type of driving.

Initially, I was excited about the fuel savings I'd see with the Intrepid, but almost as soon as I bought it, fuel prices started shooting up. I still remember its first fill-up in November of 1999 was around $1.399 per gallon, and that seemed high at the time. I think it topped out around $1.95 per gallon in the spring of 2000 and then settled down slightly.

Because of that rise in prices, I didn't see the fuel bill go down much, if any. But, when you compare how much any of those older cars would have cost, at the higher fuel prices, I'm sure I saved quite a bit.

As for that Town Car, the driver was a young Indian guy, very clean-cut and professional. I'm guessing he was a college student. The car was very well kept up, so maybe he did do some livery service as well. It didn't look like your typical Daddy's hand-me-down college kid used car.

fintail · August 2013

I can say I have never seen an immaculate later model TC as a pizza delivery car.

The bad thing about lower fuel costs is that they are often offset by a car payment. Oh well, you have to pay to play.

explorerx4 · August 2013

He's probably just delivering some pizza on his way to the airport.

tjc78 · August 2013

That's Pizza with style! Funny thing is without seeing the inside you can't tell if that's an 03 or an 11!

lemko · August 2013

Way back in the day, the pizza delivery guy in our neighborhood had a 1964 Ford Galaxie XL.

fintail · August 2013

That must have hurt, my 66 with a 390 had single digit city mileage.

fintail · August 2013

A couple pages of pics from the local MB club show today

Most surprising was an R63, a very rare car, I've only seen one other before. The 180 Ponton and W115 220D were also special cars, very nice survivors. The bright blue 6.3 parked next to me won 1st in the old car class (SLs won the rest).

Mr_Shiftright · August 2013

i remember the review for the R63---"Mommy Van Goes Mental".

andre1969 · August 2013

Nice bunch of pics. I especially like that good looking medium blue heckflosse with the blanked-out license plate!

berri · August 2013

Personally, I think I like the older models better than the newer ones. MB seemed more distinctive back then. Fin, I'm guessing those first shots are your baby?

fintail · August 2013

Gotta keep the stalkers away!

The new tires were a hit, too, I was amazed at the compliments. The car isn't as perfect as some there, but it remains a good 10 footer, and like at every other local gathering/show, it's the only fintail.

Heckflosse, been studying? : )

fintail · August 2013

To be fair, the same can be said for all cars - MB had a certain look before the 90s or even 80s though, for sure. And yes, the wide whitewalled fintail is my car.

fintail · August 2013

500+hp AWD glorified minivan, not sane. I think only about 70-80 units were sold.

Mr_Shiftright · August 2013

The public has spoken apparently. Another case of where "rare" will not translate into value.

andys120 · August 2013

So I pull into the lot at the farm stand near our house and spot a vintage two-window Jeep. I went inside and chatted with the guy who manages it who I happen to know is a car guy. He tells me that the Jeep is his, and I asked him if it was a CJ2A and he tells me it's an ex-military 1952 M38A1 that spent most of it's life in AZ.

This was a real no-frills, unrestored car,wearing a not very shiny coat of orange paint with red-painted wheels. Aside from the paint the only other non-original touch was a vinyl Bimini top.
Maybe I'll get a ride in it soon.

fintail · August 2013

Out near the Oregon coast today I saw a light yellow 65-66 big Buick convertible in the light rain, not something you see every day. Lots of old metal in Oregon, as to be expected.

Also saw another VW Thing/Kubelwagen, this one being towed. Unlike the obvious Thing fake I saw before, this one looked really convincing.

michaellno · August 2013

(and no, I don't drive a Panther based vehicle!)

A 50-something Buick Skylark convertible. White, with wide whitewall tires and wire wheels. Very good condition.

tjc78 · August 2013

"(and no, I don't drive a Panther based vehicle!)"

No one is perfect..... (Tongue sticking out icon)!

andys120 · August 2013

Lots of old metal in Oregon, as to be expected.

I'd have thought the old iron rusted out long ago. It rains a lot in OR.

kyfdx · August 2013

It's not the water... .it's the salt.

Mr_Shiftright · August 2013

It's a dry rain.

fintail · August 2013

It rains a lot (in duration, not volume) in WA too, but cars last better here than in much of the world. Virtually no road salt and mild temperatures have to help.

Oh yeah, while in OR saw a ~1920 Model T parked in the driveway of a house, like it was being used as a normal car.

Saw an early Mercury Topaz this morning.

uplanderguy · August 2013

...it's not about value; it's about what you'd like to own.

Of course, since I like Studebakers, I'd pick a '64 Gran Turismo Hawk, '63 Avanti, '64 Daytona convertible, and a '64 Champ long-bed 1/2 ton pickup.

But let's throw those out. My top five non-Stude faves (fintail, give your list with and without Benzes too please):

1) '62 Corvette with hardtop
2) '69 Corvair Monza hardtop with 140 hp engine
3) '65 Pontiac Bonneville Sports Coupe with the optional buckets and console (Grand Prix-like interior but with the fastback styling of the Bonneville.)
4) '62 Pontiac Tempest LeMans coupe with the Buick aluminum V8.
5) This is tough, but probably a black/red two-tone '56 Ford Victoria or Crown Victoria, or a '61 Ford Galaxie 500 Starliner (any color but Ford tomato red).

uplanderguy · August 2013

Today on the streets of town, I saw an '80's Jeep Commanche (I think that's what it was called; I was behind it) pickup; white with black cladding around the wheel openings, with a sliding rear window which was open and Ohio collector plates on it. It was a mid-sized pickup IMHO; I thought I remembered them being larger. Regardless, neat-looking and unusual--'unusual' being highly-prized by me.

fintail · August 2013

That's really tough. I'd need to narrow it down by origin and maybe even by era (at least prewar and postwar). I like too many cars.

One American car I'd like to have would be a Ford tomato red and white 60 Ford Country Sedan, like the one my dad had in the 90s. I have yet to see another in that color combo. Not the best handling car, but it has fond memories, it was a cool attention getting car, and I did some driving practice in it.

andre1969 · August 2013

I have the same problem as Fintail...I just like too many cars! Although my field of preference is narrower, ranging pretty much from 1955 to 1990, and tending towards larger domestics. But, even in that narrow range, there's just too much that I like.

I actually have two of the top five, I guess, with my '57 DeSoto and '67 Catalina, two cars that I've always liked. If I had it to do over again, I'd prefer better-trimmed examples of each. Say, a fully loaded Bonneville compared to my basic Catalina, or a decked-out Fireflite compared to the Firedome. With the DeSoto, I could even waver on going for '58.

But, to fill the other three slots, I have no idea. However, two cars that I do like, and would consider owning in the future at some point are a '62 Caddy, and a '75 LeSabre convertible. With the Caddy I'm not too picky about the body style, as I like even the 4- and 6-window hardtop sedans, and as long as it's in a color I find attractive.

With the LeSabre though, I have the exact one I want in mind. Baby blue non-metallic, white vinyl interior, 455 V-8, Buick's mag rally wheels, power windows/locks/seat.

There are plenty of other cars that I like, but for some reason, those two just popped into my mind.

uplanderguy · August 2013

Interesting reading; thanks for posting fintail and andre. Hope that more folks post.

For some reason, I've been thinking a lot about '62 'Vettes lately. I've been thinking a white one. I never saw one 'til I was probably 18; I remember thinking, "Wait, what is that? It's an old 'Vette with a Sting Ray rear!". I like that the '62 was de-trimmed a good bit and had narrow whitewalls.

I know what people say about Corvette clubs and also certain Corvette people, but I still want one.

They're low-tech--still have kingpins in the front that are the same part no. as the 1949 Chevrolet I'm told--but that's OK. I like that it's a fifties carryover, as '60's Studebakers are. I think also some of it is I have very vague memories of 1962, being four that year. Plus, for all I remember about the TV show "Route 66", I only ever remember them in a '62, although they probably had a current model each year the show was on.

Ah, so many cars, so little $$!

uplanderguy · August 2013

andre, I can picture that baby-blue '75 LeSabre convertible. Buick IMHO had by far the best-looking factory wheels of any GM division...and did for a long time.

I grew up on Chevys, but didn't like the 'clipped corners' of the '75 Caprice front end...that, and that the interior was really the all-vinyl Impala interior. I don't know why they did that, other than to steer folks to the higher-priced divisions, as they offered Caprice vinyl in the coupe and sedan, just not the wagon and convertible.

andre1969 · August 2013

Yeah, I didn't like that either, how when Chevy switched the convertible from the Impala to the Caprice for '73, it still used the Impala interior. Here's one possible thought, though...in the 1971-73 timeframe, could you get a closed Caprice coupe with a vinyl interior? I can't remember the last time I saw a Caprice coupe, but I always remember the sedans having a ritzy, but somewhat fragile-looking fabric interior. Now, I knew someone who had a '75 Caprice 4-door hardtop, and it had a pretty plush vinyl interior, but that was a few years later.

Convertibles usually had either vinyl or leather interiors back then, so maybe it was just easier to use the Impala vinyls, rather than come up with something new for the Caprice, if it wasn't offering it just yet?

I always thought it was interesting that the other divisions would usually give you more choice in convertibles than Chevy. For instance, Buick usually offered a LeSabre, Wildcat, and Electra convertible. Olds usually had two different 88's, plus the Ninety-Eight. Pontiac had the Catalina and Bonneville, and for one year the Grand Prix, even. But Chevy just had the Impala.

I guess it wouldn't have made sense to offer a Bel Air or Biscayne convertible, since those were more budget-conscious cars by that time. But you'd think a Caprice convertible would have come along a bit more quickly. But then, Ford didn't offer an LTD convertible until 1971, I believe, and I think they dropped the Galaxie convertible at the same time. And I don't think the Fury VIP ever got a convertible.

Maybe in those days, in the Ford/Chevy/Plymouth camp at least, cars like the Caprice/LTD/VIP were considered more luxurious, and catering to an older crowd that wanted more isolation from the outside world?

I also thought it was a bit curious that Olds never seemed to offer a Rally wheel for their big cars like Buick and Pontiac did. I have seen an occasional downsized '77-85 Delta with the Rally wheel, but they always had a big center cap that covered the lug nuts, and looked a bit awkward to me. I wonder why they didn't just go for the smaller center cap, like what was on the Cutlass?

Oh, on the subject of possibly too many convertibles, DeSoto offered four of them in 1958-59...Firesweep, Firedome, Fireflite, and Adventurer. One for each lineup. In 1958, Chrysler only offered a convertible in the New Yorker or 300D series, although they did build two Windsor prototypes, and for 1959 a Windsor convertible was available to the public. Dodge offered a Coronet and Custom Royal convertible. Plymouth only offered a Belvedere convertible for 1958, but in '59 also fielded a Sport Fury convertible.

In '58 Buick also had a wide convertible range...Special, Century, Roadmaster, and Limited convertibles. The only line that didn't offer one was the Super.

berri · August 2013

Like Fin, I'm an old car whore so what I post today could change tomorrow, but I'll give it a shot:

1. 58 DeSoto Adventurer (close call between this and 57 Chrysler 300)
2. 66 Olds Toronado
3. 63 spilt window Corvette Stingray (but Uplander's 62 is sharp)
4. 61 Pontiac Catalina
5. 58 Pontiac Bonneville

berri · August 2013

I think you could still get a full sized 2 dr. Ford wagon in 1960 and I believe that was the last of the full sized model 2 door wagons produced. I honestly don't remember a tomato red 60 Ford although given the era I'm sure they existed! A color I saw a fair number of them back in the day was sort of a medium dark green.

uplanderguy · August 2013

andre, starting in '73 you could get a Caprice Classic coupe or sedan with a thick, soft, leather-like vinyl...but not on the wagon or convertible.

You want to talk about big choices in convertibles? Look at your own '67 full-size Pontiac line!

1) Catalina
2) Catalina with Ventura Custom option (removes all 'Catalina' nameplates from inside and out)
3) 2+2
4) Grand Prix (one year only)
5) Bonneville

Five distinct levels of full-size Pontiac convertibles! (And I'm not even counting that you could get buckets and console in a Ventura and Bonneville convert to boot!). In '66, and '68-69 you could also get a Bonneville Brougham convertible! (Must've been deleted in '67 to add the Grand Prix.)

fintail · August 2013

Yes, there was a 2 door Ranch Wagon for 1960 - rare, but I have seen at least one still existing.

My dad's car was red on white on red and white - it was eye-catching. I always feared it was going to be parted out to aid a Starliner or Sunliner, as it was in good enough condition, and old wagons weren't nearly as hot in the 90s as they are now. I imagine a nice front clip from a 60 Ford has some value.

Speaking of old cars, I'd maybe even need to break it down by decade. And speaking of Caddys - I'll take an Eldorado Brougham.

berri · August 2013

On the subject of DeSoto's, there are three models I really liked; 55, 57/58 and 60. I thought like most Mopars that the 56 got a little chunky and heavy in the rear quarter. I didn't like the truncated 59 fins. I don't know why they even came out with the short final run in 61. Like the 60 Edsel, all it did was further blemish the brand. Maybe it was some kind of psychological catharsis among the brand team since the front looked like it had been hastily slashed and gouged with a knife or something. A release of pent up frustration? (or maybe the chief stylist had just finished a Van Gogh class in art school!) Ironically, I see the same slash and gouge effect on the side profile of the Honda Odyssey.

If DeSoto had stuck around and they hadn't downsized the 62's, that might have been an interesting model from the prototype pictures and drawings I've see. It looked like it had the clean sides and proportions of the Polara without the front end mug, but was topped similar to the 63/64 Chrysler. Since it was less boxy, it really looked much better though. Another interesting prototype that never made it was the Studebaker. Not sure if was going to be a 66 or 67, but I saw several of them years back while in the Milwaukee area at the Brooks Stevens museum. I think they might have made a lot of the Big 3 offerings at that time suddenly look dated.

berri · August 2013

I've always been partial to the 62 Cadillac for some reason I probably don't really understand. It just was such a clean looking design. Although I also liked the in your face 59!

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

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