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

andre1969 · February 2017

On the subject of the Dodge 880, the easiest way to tell a '61 from a '62? Easy, there is no '61! That one's a '62. The '62 880 was created by taking a 1962 Chrysler Newport and putting a 1961 Dodge front-end on it. Off the top of my head, I can't remember if the '61 Darts and Polaras used the same front clip or not, but I think they did.

Anyway, Dodge started changing their lineup starting in 1960, when the Dart line came out. It matched Plymouth, series for series, and was a smash hit. It sort of replaced the '59 Coronet, but had a much broader lineup, and was on the shorter 118" Plymouth wheelbase (122" for wagons). The old Royal and Custom Royal were replaced by the new Matador and Polara, still on the 122" Dodge wheelbase, but they were slow sellers. Like DeSoto, I think it was getting to the point that buyers were willing to just pay another $50-100 or so and get into a Chrysler Windsor.

For 1961, the "big" Dodge was reduced to just the Polara line. That same year, Chrysler launched the Newport, priced below the Windsor. It also undercut the cheapest 1960 DeSotos, as well as what little remained of the '61 lineup, and was priced about the same as the Dodge Polara. A 4-door Polara started at $2966, while a comparable Newport was $2964. The Newport was a hit, and not surprisingly the Polara sold poorly. And DeSoto went away a couple months into the model year.

For 1962, Dodge downsized their lineup, and the Polara was virtually indistinguishable from the Dart/Dart 330/Dart 440 lineup. It was also reduced to just 2/4-door hardtop and convertible body styles. No pillared sedan, and no wagons. It was a very poor seller, and Mopar realized they were screwing up with these shrunken cars, so midway through the model year they brought out the 880. Or rather, the Custom 880. For 1963, they called the whole series 880, with "Custom" being the nicer trim level.

Also for 1963, Dodge punched out the wheelbase on its shrunken cars to 119", although Plymouth still had to deal with the 116" wb. The Dart name was transferred to the compacts, so the shrunken lineup was now referred to as 330, 440, and Polara.

For 1965, when the full-sized cars were redesigned, the Polara moved to the big platform, while the midsized cars were re-named Coronet. The 880 hung around as the top line full-series, although that year the Monaco came out, offered only as a high-trim hardtop coupe, intended to cash in on the personal luxury market (Grand Prix, Olds Starfire, etc). For 1966, the Monaco lineup expanded as a full series and took over for the 880, which was dropped.

andre1969 · February 2017

The cream New Yorker is the 5th Ave, but oddly, for 1979, the 5th Ave's leather seats weren't the deep tufted ones. They're actually the same pattern as the base New Yorker, just done up in leather rather than cloth. However, if you got leather in the base New Yorker, you got that deep-tufted stuff with the buttons. I think a lot of people complained about the base leather looking ritzier than the 5th Ave leather, because for 1980-81 they swapped! Now the leather itself might have been higher quality in the 5th Ave, but the pattern itself wasn't as plush/pimpy.

As for condition, the 5th Ave is in better shape overall than the blue base model. I've thought about getting rid of the blue one...yes, believe it or not, as I get older, I'm starting to try and shy away from that hoarder mentality!

I hesitate though, because I figure it might come in handy as a parts car if something ever happened to the 5th Ave. But the reality there is probably if something happens to the 5th Ave, it would just be easier/cheaper to go find another nice one, than bother fixing this one up. R-bodies are somewhat rare, as they were poor sellers when new, and a lot of the low-end models were sold as police cars. Plus, the civilian models became popular as taxis once they hit the used market, or demolition derby cars (they're pretty tough and rugged. But, it seems like the 5th Ave has had a fairly good survival rate.

As for fuel stabilizer, I have used it off and on. Probably should do it a bit more religiously, though, especially during the off season. As for building a barn, I would, but the county wouldn't let me!

PF_Flyer · February 2017

This HAS to be a classic, especially with those great wheels that really spiff it up, right

ab348 · February 2017

Those were factory wheels on wagons. They looked sharp when new and with the correct center caps. 30 years on, not so much.

tjc78 · February 2017

I always liked those wheels on the wagons too. Here is one with the 80s finest woodgrain

ab348 · February 2017

Back 20 years or so ago when I first bought my house I really wanted one of those late-'80s Buick Estate or Olds Custom Cruiser wagons for hauling stuff around. Hard to find a nice one even then.

berri · February 2017

I do like those big Buick and Olds wagons, but I also really like the Mercury Colony Park of that era. Chrysler put out some nice large wagons in the 70's and 80's. Many of them were called Town & Country I believe.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2017

tjc78 said:
I always liked those wheels on the wagons too. Here is one with the 80s finest woodgrain

I visited the Simulated Woodgrain Forest once. It's in Wyoming.

imidazol97 · February 2017

Mr_Shiftright said:
I visited the Simulated Woodgrain Forest once. It's in Wyoming.

It must be near the plasticized forest.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2017

No, the plasticized forest is in Bavaria I think

PF_Flyer · February 2017

Didn't Robert Frost write about the plastic woods??

Whose ploods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his ploods fill up with snow.

My station wagon must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the ploods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

I give the horn a little beep
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The ploods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to drive before I sleep,
And miles to drive before I sleep.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2017

berri · February 2017

Now technically, weren't those fake wood exteriors vinyl?

PF_Flyer · February 2017

berri said:
Now technically, weren't those fake wood exteriors vinyl?

xwesx · February 2017

berri said:
Now technically, weren't those fake wood exteriors vinyl?

And, isn't vinyl technically plastic?

sda · February 2017

An '86 square body white Nissan Maxima with a brownish cloth velour like interior. Though straight, it is tired and worn.

uplanderguy · February 2017

To my eyes, there wasn't a better-looking '80's wagon than the Buick as pictured above. I like those wheels, and to me it had luxurious seating and instrument panel, too.

I'm not sure what year they started putting that brushed piece of trim behind the rear doors but I liked them better without that.

explorerx4 · February 2017

Not old, have not heard of these. Maybe it's the only one.
https://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/5979080119.html

fintail · February 2017

Today on the road spotted a 2nd gen Civic wagovan and a 2 door Isuzu Rodeo with the hardtop option.

kyfdx · February 2017

sda said:
An '86 square body white Nissan Maxima with a brownish cloth velour like interior. Though straight, it is tired and worn.

I really liked those.. My uncle had an '87 Maxima wagon. Awesome vehicle for that time period.

berri · February 2017

I liked those Maxima wagons too and they seemed pretty popular back then. But they were also kind of cramped for a six footer.

iluvmysephia1 · February 2017

andre1969 - those '62 Darts look good to me. I watched some Mopar production videos on that model year and saw what they were doing, and they were pretty solid cars. Solid to drive and easy to maintain. According to Mopar, anyway.

omarman · February 2017

The wagovan name always makes me think of the tall roof 3rd gen Civic wagon - especially with 4wd.

fintail · February 2017

Yep, that's exactly the kind of Civic I meant. I maybe didn't word it clearly - 2nd gen wagovan would be a 4th gen Civic, like this:

Still seem to be a few around here. The AWD one is the rarity.

PF_Flyer · February 2017

We had an 88 Stanza wagon, pretty much identical to this (too lazy to go through the photo pile right now) and I liked it except for the one thing you can see in this photo. No rear window wiper. That window would get opaque with road dust pretty quickly.

stickguy · February 2017

Mitsubishi had 2 sizes of wagon like that. Very practical use of a small footprint.

fintail · February 2017

Ah yes the Stanza wagon. Briefly replaced by the "Axxess", I think a 1990-only MY vehicle, but I have seen a few.

I remember when I was in grade school, the family of a Japanese girl in my class had a Stanza wagon like that. Because of that, those unique 80s wagons have always been very JDM to my eyes.

PF_Flyer · February 2017

Was as close as we ever got to minivandom

iluvmysephia1 · February 2017

I test drove a friend's Nissan Stanza - when we lived in Port Angeles, WA, in 1984. I believe that car had something wrong with it's steering - they wanted to sell us the car - we passed on that idea! Small 4 cylinder, boxy like that. I think that it would've been a decent car if it was all there mechanically.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2017

explorerx4 said:
Not old, have not heard of these. Maybe it's the only one.
https://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/5979080119.html

I read somewhere that they made 12 of them and that they really weren't all that fast, for the advertised power.

PF_Flyer · February 2017

We ran our Stanza over 180,000 and never had any major issues, just regular services and wear items, so I concur with "decent"

berri · February 2017

I liked the 62 Dodge Dart, but wonder if it wouldn't have had better sales had it stuck with its original larger dimensions. That said, it was not a sales success, but it did lead to the very successful subsequent Dodge Coronet and was I think a shot in the arm for the mid sized car segment in general.

ab348 · February 2017

I read years ago that the downsizing of the full-size Mopars was a crash project done at the last minute after a Chrysler exec misunderstood some talk he heard socially from a GM exec. Apparently the discussion was about the Chevy II compact but the Chrysler exec thought GM was shrinking its mainline models. I've seen photos of the full-size '62 Chryler models originally planned and they were pretty out-there too.

berri · February 2017

You are correct and I've seen shots of those clay models also. They were out there a bit, but I'm thinking some of those lines would have come across better when elongated on a larger chassis. Short tend to exaggerate in design sometimes. However, back in those days many buyers were GM, Ford or Mopar loyal. The smaller size was likely the most compelling reason that some Mopar loyalists decided to switch. Just my opinions though.

fintail · February 2017

I saw that big fuselage car today, and got closer to it. It's actually a Fury III. Very straight, not clean (driving in the rain, I think, we all know how that ruins a black car), nice enough interior but driver's seat a bit worn, definitely unrestored. Odd survivor. Also saw a Dasher wagon and a 944 cabrio.

berri · February 2017

Interesting because I don't think black was all that common on those cars back then. So you really saw an anomaly with that one (or a repaint).

fintail · February 2017

Black on blackwalls and dog dish hubcaps. Reminded me of an undercover cop car. Interior was kind of a tan-gold color, I think. Could have been a repaint for all I know, it was dirty and hard to judge the finish without getting really close.

ab348 · February 2017

Yeah, I think about 90% of Fuselage cars were some shade of green. Chrysler must have bought it by the tanker load.

fintail · February 2017

My grandpa's fuselage Chrysler was green on green with a green vinyl top. It was nicknamed "the tank".

andre1969 · February 2017

Now that I think about it, whenever I picture a fuselage era car, I always think of an olive green, tan/beige, or brown. My great uncle and great aunt had a cream colored Newport, around 1971 I think. I rode in it once, in 1982. They lived in Long Beach, CA, and we were visiting them while on a long camping trip. It was a 2-door hardtop, and immaculate. Sadly, I think it gave way to a Dodge 600, and I think the last car they had was a Saturn S-series.

uplanderguy · February 2017

I remember so many of those cars were a lime-ish green, or a very pale yellow/cream, too.

fintail · February 2017

Today saw an orange 2002, and an 80s Mazda 626 with 4 headlights, for MY 1983-84.

sda · February 2017

The '83 Mazda 626 came out the year I graduated from college. I really thought they were sharp and got good reviews. Later they introduced a turbo 626 which I was very interested in but I could not bring myself to buy a new car. I always bought used. It was around this time 1/85 that I bought a '82 Cimarron with a 4 speed manual for $5200. I shared details and pictures of that car last May in the Cimarron forum that fintail created.

roadburner · February 2017

I always liked the 626 hatch:

berri · February 2017

Owned an 81 GLC and it was a great little car - but it was also a bit tinny and plasticky. The drivetrain and suspension were great and it held up a long time. A friend had a mid 80's 626 and loved it. Sadly, a think Mazda today is facing some of the same pressures as the US independents in the 50's.

roadburner · February 2017

As I've said MANY times before, if Mazda cranked out a 300+ hp AWD Mazdaspeed 3 or Mazdaspeed 6 I would be first in line.

fintail · February 2017

Cleaned out the memory card on the dashcam, here's the Dasher wagon:

https://youtu.be/FVzbGwDT-b0

stickguy · February 2017

driving around, a 60s vintage bug "hot rod". No bumpers, stripes, mags, bigger exhaust, front drop. Looked to be in nice shape.

Michaell · February 2017

sda said:
The '83 Mazda 626 came out the year I graduated from college. I really thought they were sharp and got good reviews. Later they introduced a turbo 626 which I was very interested in but I could not bring myself to buy a new car. I always bought used. It was around this time 1/85 that I bought a '82 Cimarron with a 4 speed manual for $5200. I shared details and pictures of that car last May in the Cimarron forum that fintail created.

I remember thinking that the 120HP in the turbo 626 was a lot!

fintail · March 2017

Saw a silver railroad tie bumper 2002 in traffic today.

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

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