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

omarman · February 2017

PF_Flyer said:

jwm40517 said:
My father had a 63 Mercury S-55 , the bucket seat version when I started to drive. I believe the rear window went all the way down as I remember friends rode in the back with legs in the car, sitting on the deck with upper body above the roof line.
Heh...someone would probably call the cops on you now

Call the lawyers, post video on FB, tweet, lather, rinse and retweet.

berri · February 2017

I agree that 65-67 Mercury's were nice looking cars. Very clean and crisply styled. Their angular lines offered a nice alternative to the Coke bottled big GM cars. Really couldn't loose either way with these choices. Lots of great looking vehicles around back then.

roadburner · February 2017

My dad bought a used 66 Mercury Monterey IIRC, It lost it's transmission son after- which was a blessing in disguise, as he flipped it for a new 1967 Mustang V8.

berri · February 2017

Yeah, you forget the tranny and engine oil burning issues of cars from that era. You just have to be a shallow "looks matter" type guy I guess

ab348 · February 2017

I always thought those Mercury Breezeways were cool and I remember seeing them around here a lot when I was a kid. I visualize them in a medium metallic bluish-green for some reason. Mercury always seemed to do well up here back then, surprising given our love of cheap cars. Here's how they advertised it in '63 (courtesy Alden Jewell on Flickr):

texases · February 2017

What a different world - key feature advertised to get all that cigarette/cigar/pipe smoke out of the car...

iluvmysephia1 · February 2017

The ad brought JFK ta mind. Sad. The man had so much ta live for.

fintail · February 2017

I am sure it was, too. I think it was a 390 or 428. The car was pale yellow with a black top and interior, clean and obviously garaged. I almost thought about it, but had no place to store it.

iluvmysephia1 said:
That '66 Merc is cool, fin. Would be a good deal for $3,000 if the power train was decent. Wouldn't need to be perfect. Just decent.

fintail · February 2017

Today I saw a big Dodge (?) fuselage sedan from around 1970. Black, on stock dog dish hubcaps, spotless, looked brand new, at least from where I was standing. I have to believe it was restored.

ab348 · February 2017

Those are very tough to restore because there are virtually no repro parts, few (and expensive) NOS parts, and even certain aftermarket mechanical parts are tough to find. They were not very well-built when new either so it is tough to find a nice survivor.

fintail · February 2017

If it was original, it was a very low mileage car. I didn't inspect it up close, but it looked pristine from maybe 30 feet at the most. Or maybe restored with incorrect parts not visible from a distance.

I believe the build quality claims, from the issues I've heard about my grandpa's fuselage Chrysler. Not just build, but not 100% reliable, failing to start at inopportune times.

berri · February 2017

Right out of college I bought a new 71 Plymouth Sebring. Drove it about 1000 miles reporting for active duty. Took it to the base inspection facility to get stickered and the guy tells me I can't believe you made it all that way - your tie rods are defective. That was the first of my Mopar quality experience problems. Only kept the clunker a couple of years. Always liked the looks, but never missed the car.

tjc78 · February 2017

Being driven by a 70+ year old woman. Didn't get the front but full nose treatment too.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2017

[ stunned silence descends upon the topic in the early morning light]

fintail · February 2017

Nothing says boomer with too much money to spend like one of those shoebox Ford conversions.

ab348 · February 2017

Jaysus.

@fintail , those are a "thing"? As in someone sells a kit? Cripes!

fintail · February 2017

Yep, made for 89-97 T-Birds/Cougars. I've seen a number of them over the years. I am surprised the one pictured wasn't on baby moon wheels and wide whites, which seems to be the way most of them were equipped. Maybe those stock Cougar wheels are for the winter tires.

Their other car very well might be a PT Cruiser with a woody conversion on baby moons and wide whites.

ab348 said:
Jaysus.

@fintail , those are a "thing"? As in someone sells a kit? Cripes!

Mr_Shiftright · February 2017

How much does it cost to build those things? You can buy a fairly nice REAL '51 Ford coupe for around $15K

stickguy · February 2017

I would take the real one and cram the modern drivetrain and suspension under it instead of this monstrosity.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2017

Even modifying the old flathead with modern tech would be fun--and yes, brakes and suspension upgrades.

uplanderguy · February 2017

...and this one is a 'Crestliner' too! LOL

roadburner · February 2017

Hideous.

berri · February 2017

The owner must have said "box it up" when he purchased it

Mr_Shiftright · February 2017

My nosebleed has stopped, but I'm not going to look at that photo again.

sda · February 2017

With in a quarter mile three Lincoln Town Cars, '98-01 body style. One was silver, ragged with a bent rear quarter panel and part of the bumper missing, one black in average condition, and a pearl white Designer series in like new condition.

tjc78 · February 2017

Those TCs are generally unloved. 90-97 was much preferred. Lincoln tried something new with that generation (no hood ornament, smaller less squared off trunk). Those things all came back in 2003 with the redesign.

Grand pop had a 98 Signature Touring which was basically a Town Car with the full P71 suspension and gearing from the Crown Vic (3.55s). It was pretty quick for a barge and much less floaty.

fintail · February 2017

I liked the 95-97 models most, when they smoothed out the design. The car was offered in a silver blue that looked especially good.

Speaking of Lincoln, I saw this menagerie on another forum:

Funny thing is the Tempo:

"Historic Motor Vehicle" plate - and that's an 87-88 model

Mr_Shiftright · February 2017

Looks like those cars need a rescue shelter.

roadburner · February 2017

I could see restoring the T Bird, but the Versailles and Tempo are just garbage.

berri · February 2017

But unfortunately, the "T" in that T-Bird seems to stand for tin worm

kyfdx · February 2017

fintail said:
I liked the 95-97 models most, when they smoothed out the design. The car was offered in a silver blue that looked especially good.

Speaking of Lincoln, I saw this menagerie on another forum:

Funny thing is the Tempo:

"Historic Motor Vehicle" plate - and that's an 87-88 model

25 years, where we live. We had that plate on our '87 BMW.
Saves a lot on property taxes and registration.

berri · February 2017

Oops, for whatever reasons this thing didn't clear after initial posting and then posted again - sorry

But unfortunately, the "T" in that T-Bird seems to stand for tin worm

fintail · February 2017

The Lincoln is a bustleback Fox Continental. Maybe not worth as much as the rare and valuable Versailles.

I think the cut off in WA is 30 years for such plates - they say you can only drive for shows and testing etc, but I doubt it is enforced. I feel old when cars I remember being new are now considered "historic"

roadburner · February 2017

fintail said:
The Lincoln is a bustleback Fox Continental. Maybe not worth as much as the rare and valuable Versailles.

I think the cut off in WA is 30 years for such plates - they say you can only drive for shows and testing etc, but I doubt it is enforced. I feel old when cars I remember being new are now considered "historic"

Senior moment...
I remember now that the Versailles was described by Car and Driver as "A Granada goes to JC Whitney."

texases · February 2017

I pass a parked covered car every day on the way home. They were taking off the cover yesterday, looks like this '62 Dodge 880:

That whole 880 line was one I never paid any attention to back then...

ab348 · February 2017

That would be a '61 I think.

I like the British iron in the background. And that '66 Ford might be interesting too.

texases · February 2017

How does one tell a '61 from a '62?

ab348 · February 2017

texases said:
How does one tell a '61 from a '62?

It isn't too hard.

texases · February 2017

Nope, that's not an 880. Looks like a Polara.

imidazol97 · February 2017

roadburner said:
I remember now that the Versailles was described by Car and Driver as "A Granada goes to JC Whitney."

I almost bought a Grenada in that era. I missed the bullet and bought a another brand instead.

ab348 · February 2017

texases said:
Nope, that's not an 880. Looks like a Polara.

Ah, I misunderstood your post. You were right the first time.

texases · February 2017

After digging a bit, turns out there were no 1961 880 Dodges. The 880 came out in '62 as a desperation move, once the downsized Mopars like that '62 Polara were poorly received.

uplanderguy · February 2017

I liked the '64 two-door Custom 880 in a dark turquoise color. Along with '65 Chryslers and the '68-69 entire Belvedere line, they're my favorite Mopars, period.

fintail · February 2017

That pic with the Dodge is interesting. With the sign and weird plates, I assume military? Maybe Britain? I think the rounded style two tone small wagon is an earlier Hillman Minx/Husky.

Ford really believed in the style of the Granada - first compared to MB and Cadillac, then turned into a Lincoln.

ab348 · February 2017

fintail said:
Ford really believed in the style of the Granada - first compared to MB and Cadillac, then turned into a Lincoln.

Fords in the mid-late '70s all used similar styling cues - wide bodyside moldings with color-keyed inserts, thick wheel opening moldings, and of course those battering-ram bumpers. A lot of them also had those neoclassic center radiator grilles too.

andre1969 · February 2017

I took advantage of the nice weather on Sunday, and got the cars in the garage started. Surprisingly, the Catalina, 5th Ave, and LeMans all started up with very little trouble. I can't remember the last time I started any of them, but I'm sure it hasn't been this year. Anyway, I got them out in the yard, and got a group shot of everything (minus the DeSoto, which is still in the shop).

This will probably be one of the last group shots that includes the '85 Silverado, since I sold it a couple weeks ago. The kid who bought it has been working hard to get it running...seems like there's just some kind of wiring problem stumping him now. And he's got it tagged and insured, so it's not my problem anymore!

uplanderguy · February 2017

Say what you will about wire wheelcovers too back then, but GM's were by far the best IMHO--small center section and long spokes. Ford's looked like J.C. Whitney in comparison IMHO.

sda · February 2017

andre1969 said:
I took advantage of the nice weather on Sunday, and got the cars in the garage started. Surprisingly, the Catalina, 5th Ave, and LeMans all started up with very little trouble. I can't remember the last time I started any of them, but I'm sure it hasn't been this year. Anyway, I got them out in the yard, and got a group shot of everything (minus the DeSoto, which is still in the shop).

This will probably be one of the last group shots that includes the '85 Silverado, since I sold it a couple weeks ago. The kid who bought it has been working hard to get it running...seems like there's just some kind of wiring problem stumping him now. And he's got it tagged and insured, so it's not my problem anymore!

Do you use a fuel stabilizer? Which of the two New Yorkers is in the best condition? Is either one a Fifth Avenue with the deeply tufted leather seats? Chrysler had nice soft leather that felt nice.

fintail · February 2017

IIRC the lighter colored one is a 5th Ave. What a fleet. Andre should have built a barn

berri · February 2017

Geez Andre, the way those cars are parked it looks like the aftermath of a multicar accident

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

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