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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)
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Vancouver. It played an important role in a movie that many of my general age group might like.
hey, I had a yellow duster. House does not ring a bell however, so probably wasn't mine.
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Spotted a 240Z and a 260Z today, along with the 450SEL with a likely defective exhaust system that sounds really nice and mean.
Here's a house hint, might give it away:
nope. not a clue.
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Happy Gilmore!
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My drama teacher from high school was in Happy Gilmore. There were a lot of big movies filmed here in the late 90s and last decade. It was cool seeing hometown locations on the big screen.
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Spotted a light blue 1973 Ford Mustang with a white vinyl top and interior that appeared to be in pretty nice shape at Oxford Avenue and Rockwell in NE Philly.
Yep, Happy Gilmore. Something for those who had some formative years in the 90s, boomchek and I for sure. I remember Vancouver back then, seems different from today.
This morning saw another 240Z - a nicer one in light blue with louvers on the rear window, and 2x "classic" Range Rover - must be a masochist convention in town.
Spotted a dark green Austin-Healey traveling south on Oxford Avenue near Tyson in NE Philly.
Got to drive a 1971 Buick Riviera GS--you know, for a Nimitz-class American car from the early 70s, the thing drove and handled pretty darn well. Not a sports car, but it actually did go around corners without drama. Plenty of power for modern freeway driving.
The GS tightened things up some, but still a barge. I used to hate those cars, but I've grown to like them. A Stingray on steroids.
Handled better than my '64 Riviera, GT Hawk, 59 Impala, etc. Certainly modern radials help, and aftermarket shocks. HUGE car, though...absurd.
I've driven a couple of big '71-76 GM cars. I always thought that, for their size, they handled pretty well. Oh, and I used to hate those boattail Rivieras as well, but grew to like them, the older I got.
With GM cars at least, it seems like there was a big jump in handling somewhere between 1967 and 1969. At least, using my '67 Catalina convertible and my old '69 Bonneville 4-door hardtop as benchmarks. The Bonneville's steering wheel was a bit smaller, and I think the lock-to-lock ratio was quicker. It also had 15" wheels and disc/drum brakes, versus 14" and drum/drum for the Catalina. I now have 15x7 wheels on the Catalina, with 225/70/R15 tires, and while they did improve handling somewhat, I still think the Bonneville handled better, thanks to the quicker steering.
Until I got the Ram, that Bonneville was the biggest vehicle I'd ever owned. IIRC, it was on a 125 or 125.5" wheelbase, and about 225" long. Yet, it was quite nimble for its size.
The GS version of the Riviera got special suspension upgrades, so that helped.
andre, at the time, I liked '74-76 Rivs better, but that's reversed now. I still like the '74-76 and they are rarely seen today it seems. That's the last full-size GM car that could be had with bucket seats and floor-shift automatic, until the '96 Impala SS.
There used to be a dark green '75-76 Riviera here at work, with a white vinyl roof. I used to think it was interesting because often it would park next to a Mini, in the same color scheme...although of course the roof was painted on the Mini, and not vinyl!
For some reason, 1974 just seems to be an odd year out for big Buicks, when it comes to my tastes. I like '71-73, and I like the '75-76, but just not a big fan of the '74. There's something about those widely-spaced headlights on the '73 LeSabre and Electra I don't like...makes them look garish IMO. And with the Riviera, it lost points with me when it lost the hardtop roofline, and I don't think the front-end is very attractive. But I think the '75-76, with their rectangular headlights, is an improvement.
I saw a '75 (I think) for sale at Hershey a few years back. It had the chrome Buick road wheels (excellent) and a 60/40 front seat. The car looked nice--the vinyl driver's door interior panel had cracks on the armrest and I'm sure there's no such thing as NOS. That said, it was reported to run great, looked rust-free from up top and was priced at $3,500. Seemed like a hell of a good buy to me and in fact, my Studebaker buddy who 'turns and earns' was thinking hard about it but passed. Ironically, I cannot remember the color of the car. I'm often like that with old cars...I zero right in on make, year, and model, and see right through color.
In that last year or two, they had a sports model called the S/R. I think it replaced the GS but I'd have to look in the brochure.
As I've gotten older I've found myself changing my mind on various old cars from when I was younger. Sometimes I wonder though whether I've really changed my mind, or just gotten more mellow or nostalgic?
Buick's are a car I have a lot more appreciation of today. Back in time I was more into Oldsmobile and Pontiac, but nowadays I think old Buick versions are really more classic oftentimes. But I still like the entire 1959 GM lineup including the controversial flattops!
I like Buick styling, as a general statement, better than Olds through the '50's, '60's, and '70's, but a friend of mine who went to GM school in the late sixties to this day feels Olds had the strongest engineering--and back then, the divisions were more different from each other than they later became. He claims the Olds 425 was a good engine and I guess when you consider the first Toronado, he probably has a point about engineering.
I always understood that Olds was GM's line to test and introduce new technology, which made it kind of interesting. I think at one time Desoto may have served a similar role.
Lots of classics today..
General Lee clone, 66ish blue Mustang, late 80s Celica, Early 80s Mercury Lynx (or whatever the Escort clone was) and another Mercury, a Villager "Nautica" edition. Haven't seen one of those since they were new.
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At some time in the past I was told that the top line Buicks were test beds for things that would eventually go into Cadillacs.
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A few years back, I saw a Riviera at Carlisle for sale, but now I'm second-guessing the year. It was definitely a '74-76, because it wasn't a hardtop. I think it was Fall Carlisle, so it could have showed up at Hershey the following weekend? Anyway, this one was white, and the body looked good. Seller only wanted $2500 I think. Or, at least it was a price that was so low that I seriously considered it, myself! I remember a flaw or two in the interior, and thinking that the interior seemed a bit spartan for something that was supposed to be Buick's flagship.
Even though it was a car that normally doesn't excite me, it suddenly seemed really attractive at that price! And, we would notice that often, the same cars we saw at Fall Carlisle would show up the following weekend at Hershey, albeit jacked up in price. So maybe this one got bought at Carlisle, and the new owner was trying to flip it at Hershey? I think Hershey might bring a more moneyed crowd, too, so maybe the prices automatically jack up, for that?
I've heard that too, about DeSoto, although I can't think of anything specific, with regards to new technology. I think there were a few years that DeSoto's styling was considered radical, though. There was one year, 1932 or '33, perhaps, where they did sort of a "barrel" shaped grille, that was considered bold for the time. And, in 1934, DeSoto went Airflow all the way, while Chrysler also had the more conservative Airstream to fall back on. DeSoto actually sold more Airflows than Chrysler did, but overall DeSoto sales were dismal for '34.
DeSoto also relied more on the Hemi engine than Chrysler did. From '51-54, Chrysler only used the Hemi in the upper models like the New Yorker and Imperial, and the one or two years they fielded a Saratoga. The Windsor, which made up the bulk of sales, just used an inline 6. From '55-58, only the New Yorker and 300 Letter Series used a Hemi. The others used poly head engines.
DeSoto's Hemi came out for 1952, in the new Firedome series, and from '52-54, it was actually the volume seller, not the cheaper models. For 1955-56, all DeSotos were Hemis. And in '57, all DeSotos except the Dodge-based Firesweep were Hemis.
DeSoto also went all Wedge-head for '58, using a 350 in the Firesweep and a 361 in all other cars. Chrysler wouldn't get the Wedge until 1959. And Dodge only used the 350 in the Custom Royal, and wagons, while the 361 was relegated to the D-500 option. If Consumer Guide is to be believed, Plymouth offered the 350 as an option across the board, although I'd imagine it was rarely ordered, and mainly only in the Fury. Christine had a 350. Or at least the one that they used for an engine bay shot was of a Wedge head (distributor up front)
andre, I simply can't remember the color of that Riv, but for some reason red interior is sticking in my mind. It could very well have been the same car. How many of those do you see floating around? Like the Toro, I liked the high-mounted stop lights built into the decklid.
I saw a '78 or '79 El Camino Conquista, white and maroon, today. It looked bone stock, original Rally Wheels, etc. Sopping wet, icky day out today. I thought that bodystyle wore the two-tone paint of the Conquista package well. I always thought it was weird that although the Malibu decreased in wheelbase several inches from '77 to '78, the El Camino actually increased an inch in wheelbase for '78.
I wonder if the El Camino may have been the only vehicle to actually get a longer wheelbase, as it got downsized? The '73-77 was on a 116" wb, versus 117 for the 1978-87. I wonder what the respective overall lengths were?
Now that I think about it, I believe the '89 Thunderbird was slightly shorter overall than the 1983-88, although its wheelbase shot up from around 104.4" to about 113". But, I wouldn't consider that a downsizing. If anything, cars were starting to tick up again in size and weight by that time.
Good question. I remember reading that the '89 Thunderbird came in both overweight and over-budget. I liked the idea of a roomier coupe backseat, but the car (IMHO) lost the pretty lines of the '87-88.
I thought the 89 Thunderbird had a more aggressive look that I didn't mind, but I agree that it was kind of polarizing and I think the general public preferred the prior look.
I inspected a very rare car yesterday. A 1968 Mercury Cougar XR-7 GT-E 427. This was a one year only model, and, when restored, probably worth quite a bit. And boy, does it need to restored! But it's all there for the ambitious Cougar lover who wants a muscle car that can move along smartly. Worst thing about it was that someone cut through the shock towers with an air chisel in order to lubricate the upper ball joints. Go figure.
The Ford 427 was made that late? Must have been at the very end of the run. I've never seen a Cougar with one either.
I've never seen one and didn't even know they were made.
I've seen those shock towers butchered before even a couple with a torch.
It wasn't the ball joints they wanted to lube. It was the upper control arm shafts. You had to remove hex plugs and install grease fittings. A NASTY job that required patience and small fingers. The tool companies finally came out with a kit that made it a bit easier.
Ever put spark plugs in a 390 Mustang or Cougar? Lots of fun...NOT!
Yep, those were the last 427s. It's a rare car. Didn't run all that well. It had sat for 20 years, and I'm wondering if there wasn't a stuck valve. With that huge displacement and all that noise, it's very hard to tell if you have a dead hole.
The shock towers were really butchered, to the point where there may be structural issue--they cut right down thee seam of the weld.
Those shock towers were probably altered to even fit the engine in the bay.
I saw on Gas Monkey Garage the other day, that Mercury made 2 Boss 429 Cougars in 1969.
a 427 in a car that size would probably do just fine with 4 working cylinders.
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No the shock tower mutilation had nothing to do with fitting the engine--it was snug but it fit all right. Not sure how you would repair such mutilation on a unibody. You'd have to be very careful about alignments.
Obscure? Yes.
Classic? Hardly.
Renault.
Alliance.
GTA.
Convertible.
Moving under it's own power.
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Alliances and Encores were absolutely the worst rental cars I ever used to get. No power and dorky styling IMHO. "The one to watch"....indeed.
I remember it being common to cut those towers to lube Mustang upper control arms, they'd start making noise and there wasn't an easy way to lube them otherwise.
Wouldn't a neat hole with a hole saw (or whatever they use for metal) have worked? This "repair" was ghastly.
Oh, I get the picture!
Using a torch produced some UGLY results too!
Definitely, but a lot of these were 'fixed' in the '70s, when they were just cheap used cars.
I don't know what year it is, so I'll let the posters here tell me about this small, frail looking puppy I saw outside a business.
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Don't see many of these around
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190 (Ponton), a lower line car when new. Has a narrow grille, so 1956-59.
I wonder how common those Pontons were in the United States, back in the day? I know they were a quality car, but I'm sure they must have been a bit of a hard sell, given their high price and diminutive looks. I guess though, that once the backlash against bigger cars started to set in in late 1957, as well as the 1958 recession, that might have helped their sales. And, they would make sense in a big city, where parking a big Caddy, Lincoln, or Imperial could be a chore.
I seem to remember fintails being a somewhat common sight when I was a kid, although I have to confess I'd mistake them for Ramblers. What was that style that called the fintail called? I remember them being a pretty regular sighting.
I never thought about that, but now that you mention it, the Pontoon does have some similarity to an early 50's Rambler, or it's later Rambler American reincarnation, and (Fin will not like this!) the Fintails have some similarity to the 58-60 full sized Rambler. IIRC, American Motors did some work with several European design houses back in those days, so maybe that actually makes some sense when you delve into it.
I don't think MB had high sales goals back then - there was a dedicated enough group of professors, engineers, doctors etc who bought them, esp on the west coast and northeast. They no doubt sold to people who valued build quality over size or power, as even the fancier pontons didn't have a ton of the latter two. I think a lower line ponton wasn't too expensive either, no more than 4K or so when new. That'd get you a nicely equipped domestic, of course.
The more senior Ramblers indeed look like fintails. Here's an article comparing them
Funny thing about the styling - I read a story that MB had sought offers from Italian firms to style what became the fintail. They rejected all proposals, and designed their own - but the design is somewhat Pininfarina-esque, Resembling the BMC Farina...maybe some borrowed/stolen design language.
Old cars spotted today - 57 Corvette on the road, 260Z (maybe the same from a few days ago), a W123 coupe and sedan.
Another classic spotted today in my little burg .. Lotus Elan. Not sure if they made a coupe model or if it had a hard top, but it was in great condition and the driver really flogged it.
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Yes the Lotus Elan could be had as a coupe. 1966-1974