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

uplanderguy · December 2016

Tucker?

Mr_Shiftright · December 2016

Nope, not Tucker. (Good guess, though)

Pick me! Pick me! I know!

texases · December 2016

Is Warren Beatty driving it?

Mr_Shiftright · December 2016

Nope. Dwight Schultz I think. (not sure). And Bonnie Bedelia next to him?

PF_Flyer · December 2016

Dwight Schultz... very good

fintail · December 2016

Out for a jog in the cold this morning, a few oddballs were on the road. First, Z3 M clownshoe coupe, looked good but made a bad sounding noise upon initial acceleration - maybe a clutch bearing or something. Then a clean E30, I think a 325is as it had the larger front spoiler and BBS style wheels etc. Then an Infiniti M30 convertible that had maybe seen better days, a decent looking 560SL, and the real rare one was a very clean 75-79 Corolla 2 door, still wearing all 4 original hubcaps. Something like that doesn't survive even here, it has to be someone's special old car.

xwesx · December 2016

1941, and likely a period movie, and with Schultz.... a historical drama.

roadburner · December 2016

Fat Man and Little Boy...

PF_Flyer · December 2016

roadburner said:
Fat Man and Little Boy...

Like all movies, plays a little fast and loose with facts, but then again, it's a DRAMA and not a documentary.

Hard to get by the collective "forum brain"

xwesx · December 2016

The only one I've seen (Schultz) is that civil rights movement flick, set in the 60s, and I didn't recall this car from there.

fintail · December 2016

Another oddball - first gen Ford Probe, looked to be in excellent condition. This one had cladding and the three spoke split spoke style wheels, maybe a turbo.

sda · December 2016

fintail said:
Another oddball - first gen Ford Probe, looked to be in excellent condition. This one had cladding and the three spoke split spoke style wheels, maybe a turbo.

I liked the first gen Probe, especially the Turbo. They looked great in midnight metallic blue. They were pretty quick compared to most cars at the time. The turbo was only 145 hp.

roadburner · December 2016

I looked at one but I hated the automatic belts and no dealer ordered the optional ABS.

Mr_Shiftright · December 2016

It must have been difficult though to announce: "Oh, me? I drive a Probe"

sda · December 2016

I had a '93 Mercury Tracer LTS with those horrible seatbelts. You learned quickly not to have anything in your hand like a cup of coffee as the belt would snatch it.

stever · December 2016

Those belts were always knocking cigarettes out of my mom's hand when I'd go visit and drive her around in her old Protégé.

kyfdx · December 2016

When I met my wife, she had a '90 Nissan 240SX with those belts. It was almost a deal breaker.

fintail · December 2016

I think my family was able to avoid the "decapitation seatbelts" as I called them, I don't remember anyone having a car with them - everything was older or newer. I remember a high school friend had a car with them, and the car is pretty obscure now too: a Mitsubishi Precis - rebadged Hyundai Excel. I think it ended up getting hit and written off around 1994 or so (when resale value was probably pocket change anyway).

fintail · December 2016

I remember the British press in particular had a field day with that name.

Fun side note, some of the "2015" cars in Back to the Future Part II (1989) are then-new Probes with added cladding - it was a pretty futuristic thing.

Mr_Shiftright said:
It must have been difficult though to announce: "Oh, me? I drive a Probe"

explorerx4 · December 2016

This will help me get through the long cold winter.

https://youtu.be/Ev-KUJcsTIo

tjc78 · December 2016

sda said:

fintail said:
Another oddball - first gen Ford Probe, looked to be in excellent condition. This one had cladding and the three spoke split spoke style wheels, maybe a turbo.
I liked the first gen Probe, especially the Turbo. They looked great in midnight metallic blue. They were pretty quick compared to most cars at the time. The turbo was only 145 hp.

One of the popular car mags had the Probe on the front cover when it launched. It was something like "130MPH Ford" or similiar

Didn't the entire gauge cluster move up and down when you tilted the wheel?

tjc78 · December 2016

Edit: Found it

berri · December 2016

Explorer - didn't they make Probe's on a Mustang line in Flat Rock???

roadburner · December 2016

The Probe was originally intended to replace the Mustang(shudder).

explorerx4 · December 2016

@Berri,
Yew, Probe was produced at Flat Rock along with Mazda 626, and eventually switched to Mustang assembly.

ab348 · December 2016

@explorerx4, always liked those 5 Liter Mustangs, especially ones that were not visually tarted-up too much. I remember looking at one at a local show years ago, looked bone-stock, metallic gray with a gray and black interior, just loved it.

However, not a car you would want to drive in winter. Absolutely hopeless on slick roads.

fintail · December 2016

On the road tonight - round light Vanagon, 90-93 Celica coupe in nice shape, 86 Camry.

stickguy · December 2016

I liked the LX 5.0. Less garish. More stealthy.

ab348 · December 2016

Finally got Discovery Velocity added to my cable package. Like most channels the majority of the programs do not interest me but I have to say I really love Wheeler Dealers. The best part is that I have about 6 or 7 seasons worth of those shows available on demand and am burning through some of them now. Watched the Renault Alpine, BMW M5 and Porsche 914 eps last night. Now I want a 914!

uplanderguy · December 2016

I liked that era of 5.0 liter Mustang that was sort-of a notchback coupe, with separate trunk. Seems like not all that often seen, then or now.

fintail · December 2016

Wheeler Dealers is great, but I like it much more when shot in the UK instead of the US. Maybe people in Limeyland like the opposite.

I am just old enough to remember when a 5.0 convertible was a very hot and trendy car, gives me thoughts of Vanilla Ice or when the Bundys won a red one on Married With Children.

roadburner · December 2016

uplanderguy said:
I liked that era of 5.0 liter Mustang that was sort-of a notchback coupe, with separate trunk. Seems like not all that often seen, then or now.

I almost bought a 5.0 LX notchback back when they were new.

fintail · December 2016

Stopped by the local high end specialty dealer today (recently relocated next to the RR-Bentley dealer), didn't expect to see one of these in the building:

This was so big that it wasn't easy to fit it all in

They also had some other interesting things - a pretty blue 2002 tii, a 150K 69 911S, a 230SL with AC, a pretty Jag Mark II let down by narrow band whitewalls, and a nice looking 68 Ranchero GT (my dad would have liked it) all caught my eye.

stickguy · December 2016

Driving around downtown Asheville today, some oddballs. An unrestored mid 70s big bumper 4 door maverick. A nicely restored late corvair 2 door. An early civic CVCC (yellow of course) wagon. Can't be many of them left. And a 2 door monza notchback.

Cars must last around here.

uplanderguy · December 2016

That Merc reminds me of Packard prototypes and mules I've seen, that were to be for the '57-58 periods.

But then, Packard's president, James Nance, ended up running the Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln division at Ford. He was let go in 1960 and worked the rest of his career as president of a bank in Cleveland.

roadburner · December 2016

Cosmos are incredibly rare. Way-cool, though.
How much for the tii?

fintail · December 2016

Here's a link to the tii

Turkpike Cruiser also has a continental kit, making it about 75 feet long. I've never seen a Cosmo in this area before - I wouldn't choose those wheels or seats, but I have noticed old rotary people like such mods.

Mr_Shiftright · December 2016

roadburner said:
Cosmos are incredibly rare. Way-cool, though.
How much for the tii?

Apparently not so rare---I just saw a Cosmo the other day, too. Same color. Another "rare rotary" is the pickup truck they made in the mid 70s.

berri · December 2016

Fin, I like both of those shots. I always liked the taillights on those 57/58 Merc's.

fintail · December 2016

Saw a real unicorn today, an AMC Eagle Kammback. It was on the road and looked to be in good condition, obviously taken care of. Can't remember when I last saw one - I grabbed for my camera, but it was in oncoming traffic, and I wasn't fast enough. I noticed the driver glanced at the fintail too, no doubt an enthusiast of the unique.

I also saw a Maverick - parked, and probably not on the road. Maybe a "luxury" model - vinyl top, thick vinyl side moulding, mag wheels.

I think only around 1500 Cosmo Sports were made - so not a complete hen's tooth, but still pretty uncommon. RePu and other 70s normal car Mazdas are probably just as rare now, as they were mostly junked.

hpmctorque · December 2016

From your description of the Maverick, it was an LDO.

roadburner · December 2016

As I've mentioned before, our family had an LDO V8. What garbage.

imidazol97 · December 2016

Vintage Thunderbird recently. Pink looked original but perfect. It was using the bumper outlets for exhaust. Some of these bypassed those with exhaust pipes.

Mr_Shiftright · December 2016

Did you get a good whiff of hydrocarbons through your car vents? That's a distinct smell from childhood that is only a distant memory these days.

fintail · December 2016

Looks like a 57. Neat cars, and not too expensive for their abundance of style - although I have never been in one, they look really cramped inside for taller drivers.

If you want the smell of unburnt hydrocarbons, come up and stand behind the fintail, especially at start up

texases · December 2016

What a rarity - no Continental kit!

imidazol97 · December 2016

Mr_Shiftright said:
Did you get a good whiff of hydrocarbons through your car vents? That's a distinct smell from childhood that is only a distant memory these days.

Yes, I did. I love that smell unless it's a worn engine and expelling too much.

I think the smell is one reason I like a lot of cruise ins where cars come and go all the time. Nothing is like a strong-sounding Chevy SS starting up and rumbling past as they leave.

Mr_Shiftright · December 2016

Yep, there are always LOTS of 55-57 T-Birds for sale and some are not expensive at all. '57s are the most popular, and then there's the "pecking order", with automatics worth more than 3-speed manuals, two tops worth more than one top, and larger engine options worth more than base engines. 57s worth more than 56s, and 56s worth more than 55s, and of course "F" codes worth more than "E" codes and E codes worth more than ordinary engine codes.

So the difference in value between a '55 T-Bird and '57 T-Bird can be enormous, as can the difference between two 'birds of the same year.

They really aren't very pleasant cars to drive.

imidazol97 · December 2016

texases said:
What a rarity - no Continental kit!

When the car turned in front of me I believe I saw wide whitewall too. Just what I like to see--a car that's like it was when it was new. I doubt that it had the huge dice hanging from the mirror, but it works for me. There's a '66 in the coral color that I saw a few years back in the county seat where I grew up when I drove back through just to look at the town square.

I recalled that 30 years or more earlier I had seen a car like that in the town then I saw it a year or more later at a car show the town had as part of a fall festival. Someone's being able to afford a Thunderbird and spending for it was rare in that era. They bought more prestigious cars instead. Buying a T-Bird was buying an extra car for a toy.

Mr_Shiftright · December 2016

It certainly stole Corvette's thunder, though! GM got so discouraged by the success of the T-Bird, they almost killed the Corvette outright. But instead, some genius who escaped punishment at GM figured out the Vette needed a V-8 engine and all would be well. He was right! By 1958, the T-Bird and the Corvette had each diverged into its different niche---both "toys" as you say, but at least you could track or drag the Corvette without a major overhaul.

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

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