On the highway last night, spotted a Fiero. Today saw a 2nd gen CRX in fairly stock condition mingling with the drone hordes of Leafs and X3s around here, looked tiny.
Saw a '56 Cadillac 2D Coupe, yellowish, not in the best of condition but seems to be running quite well.
Also an Allante, black on black with top down. I followed it for a while into the Safeway parking lot (where I was going anyways). I have to say, taking a good long look at it from all sides---it looks rather cheesy and cheaply made. It's no 560SL that's for sure. Reminds me of a Fiero from the back.
Saw that same square light Rabbit today, and a later 80s Golf too. Has to be a labor of love to keep these things going. Also saw that same 300SD, and a later W126 with moderate side damage. An E39 M5 rounded out the afternoon.
It was an image that tried to get me into some "clickbait", but was interesting enough to look for info about it. A 1918 modification of a Model T for winter, And you thought a coffee can exhaust was cool
People used Model Ts for lots of things---farm tractors, splitting logs, running a saw mill, as ski-mobiles, even powering river ferries.
Nothing changed America like the Model T. Not computers, not the internet, nothing.
I might disagree - the invention and proliferation of common household appliance changed our culture pretty dramatically in the 20's and 30's. Gave women more free time, and many of them went into the work place.
Those work place jobs may have never opened up or even been created without the model T economy of scale. Same for the transport and delivery of household goods and services. River Rouge isn't just a historic landmark. It really changed America like nothing else. That model T pic reminds me of the North Pole Mail Truck from Santa Claus is Comin' to Town.
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
Do you like me, dread college-football season and going to a big gathering where that's all that is talked about? If so, you MUST be my brother-from-another-mother! LOL Very few of us out there!
Maybe not so few, as I share your interest in cars and disinterest in sports too.
Took a look at my May Hemming's Classic today. Several interesting profiles. There was a decent article about a 53 Kaiser Dragon. Early 50's Kaiser's are vehicles you don't see or hear about much, but were kind of modern and art deco for their time. Growing up we had a neighbor who had two of them he had bought used because they were comfortable and cheap used. New, I think they were mid priced like an Olds or Desoto. He gave me a lift a couple of times to school and remember the car was pretty comfortable and a bit like being inside a jukebox. I believe they were heavy for the 6 cylinder engine, but the neighbor told me the only real complaint he had was occasional vapor lock in very hot weather, which I think wasn't all that uncommon back then.
There was also an article on the 62 Ford Fairline. That was a mid sized car I seldom saw on the road, and it's Mercury Meteor sibling seemed almost rare. I always thought that Fairlane's design style was kind of a cross between the 61 and 62 full sized Galaxie, except I think the look came across better on the smaller Fairlane platform.
In the rain today, MB 300CE, unable to tell the year as it was from a distance, the same 300SD I see all the time, late 90s R129 SL on monoblocks, and an 86 Camry.
Saw a '56 Cadillac 2D Coupe, yellowish, not in the best of condition but seems to be running quite well.
Also an Allante, black on black with top down. I followed it for a while into the Safeway parking lot (where I was going anyways). I have to say, taking a good long look at it from all sides---it looks rather cheesy and cheaply made. It's no 560SL that's for sure. Reminds me of a Fiero from the back.
Hahahaha.....good luck with that...decimal in the wrong place? Obviously the car is not really for sale. He should put a $25,000 tag on it and go from there. If someone offers him anywhere near that, he should hug the person's ankles, weep profusely and thank them.
Drove a '68 Karmann-Ghia with an automatic stick shift (vacuum operated dry clutch). The entire experience was somewhat horrifying, but the car was pretty.
Drove a '68 Karmann-Ghia with an automatic stick shift (vacuum operated dry clutch). The entire experience was somewhat horrifying, but the car was pretty.
IIRC from a friend's '68 Beetle semi-automatic, you had to gently press the top of the shift knob as you changed the gears. There was a low gear to use for hills and max acceleration, but for normal driving you started out in 2nd and then shifted to high, 3rd. Hardly speedy.
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Yes, you got it right. Many people trying to operate it for the first time keep forgetting that if you touch the gearshift after it is in gear it will pop into neutral---so no resting your hand on the gear lever.
It doesn't accelerate very well but it is long-legged, so you can roll on the freeway OK.
Not one, but two Lotuseses (Loti?) - a late-model Esprit, with the body add-ons, and an Elise, which I hear has a 'If you're taller than 5' 8" you need not apply' requirement...
BTW, we had a '62 Fairlane four-door when I was a kid. Dad traded it on a '67 Chevelle, new, and the Fairlane was the car that turned him off of Ford forever. Unreasonable, I know.
I like Meteors and could enjoy owning one.
Question to those here who own 'old' cars--do you park on top of anything, like plastic, carpeting, etc., over your cement garage floor? I'm wondering if I should think about this soon. I never thought about it before; just made sure my garage floor was generally clean and salt-free before parking my old car there.
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Not a good idea. The BEST thing to do, as odd as it sounds, is to run a little fan to circulate air under the car. Plastic will just collect moisture and send it right up into your undercarriage.
If mice are an issue (wooden garages) then set traps as well.
Remember those 90s era T-Birds with shoebox Ford front end conversions? How could you forget. It appears that in Russia, they have the same taste. Here's a Crosstour with a GAZ M20 "Pobeda" conversion:
Strictly from the angle of the first photo you posted, that isn't an offensive design. I've never seen something like this state-side that wasn't a face only a mother (builder) could love.
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I saw one of those blazers today too. Driving like an idiot. I was at a T intersection (coming up the stump of the T to make a left. There were some cars coming across to wait for. The cross road was a through street but some houses, so with a 25 MPH speed limit (that people tended to ignore).
where the S 10 comes into play, right in front of the side street I was on, some dude in one decides to pull out and pass 3 cars at once right in front of me, at well over the SL. And I saw him while he passed that he was holding a cell phone to his head yacking away. Just made me sad.
I checked out a '78 Datsun 280Z for someone today. You don't see too many around anymore, as they have all dissolved into ferrous oxide. This one was pretty solid in the body but had lots and lots of needs. I rather think the person who hired me will be disappointed. But of course, not as disappointed as he might have been had it bought it blind and it was dropped on his front lawn.
I checked out a '78 Datsun 280Z for someone today. You don't see too many around anymore, as they have all dissolved into ferrous oxide. This one was pretty solid in the body but had lots and lots of needs. I rather think the person who hired me will be disappointed. But of course, not as disappointed as he might have been had it bought it blind and it was dropped on his front lawn.
That was the last year before the ZX, right?
Those are really nice. Find me a perfect one for $10K?
I checked out a '78 Datsun 280Z for someone today. You don't see too many around anymore, as they have all dissolved into ferrous oxide. This one was pretty solid in the body but had lots and lots of needs. I rather think the person who hired me will be disappointed. But of course, not as disappointed as he might have been had it bought it blind and it was dropped on his front lawn.
That was the last year before the ZX, right?
Those are really nice. Find me a perfect one for $10K?
Yes, 1975-1978 for the Datsun 280Z. They built just over 100,000 of them, of which 99,950 have rusted away
I think for a "clean driver" you're looking at $11K--$12K. "Perfect" will be more but there are limits to value no matter how much you put into these. They are not a "hot" collectible and probably won't be. The only Japanese car in this era that was produced in large numbers and is a moderately "warm" collectible is the 510 coupe and sedan. They are coveted for vintage racing.
on the highway today, a tired looking jelly bean Previa. Those are getting pretty long in the tooth at this point.
I see a couple of those around here, too, along with many of the 4WD Corollas and Camrys (wagons). They are starting to look pretty tired. My father came very close to buying a Previa (1992 model, if I recall correctly), until the '92 Camry came out. He bought that instead.
2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
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Saw a '56 Cadillac 2D Coupe, yellowish, not in the best of condition but seems to be running quite well.
Also an Allante, black on black with top down. I followed it for a while into the Safeway parking lot (where I was going anyways). I have to say, taking a good long look at it from all sides---it looks rather cheesy and cheaply made. It's no 560SL that's for sure. Reminds me of a Fiero from the back.
Nothing changed America like the Model T. Not computers, not the internet, nothing.
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There was also an article on the 62 Ford Fairline. That was a mid sized car I seldom saw on the road, and it's Mercury Meteor sibling seemed almost rare. I always thought that Fairlane's design style was kind of a cross between the 61 and 62 full sized Galaxie, except I think the look came across better on the smaller Fairlane platform.
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2021 VW Arteon SEL 4-motion, 2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech
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It doesn't accelerate very well but it is long-legged, so you can roll on the freeway OK.
I like Meteors and could enjoy owning one.
Question to those here who own 'old' cars--do you park on top of anything, like plastic, carpeting, etc., over your cement garage floor? I'm wondering if I should think about this soon. I never thought about it before; just made sure my garage floor was generally clean and salt-free before parking my old car there.
If mice are an issue (wooden garages) then set traps as well.
And a Kia Amanti with a GAZ 21 Volga conversion:
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Here's a BMW 6er cabrio with a Volga conversion:
It's funny that this kind of thing isn't just limited to North Americans of a certain age and maybe lack of taste.
Of course, the Japanese have done it too, with a little more ostentation:
Speaking of the Volga, a number of years ago a Russian custom shop made a cool hardtop coupe with GAZ 21 styling themes. BMW V12 inside:
The Volga front end has some charm so I can see how it is popular for take-offs. I do quite like the look of that Russian custom coupe.
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IIRC the original Volga sedan was reverse-engineered from a 53 or so Ford, and kind of resembles one. I think the coupe is pretty cool.
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where the S 10 comes into play, right in front of the side street I was on, some dude in one decides to pull out and pass 3 cars at once right in front of me, at well over the SL. And I saw him while he passed that he was holding a cell phone to his head yacking away. Just made me sad.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Oh, have also seen 2 first gen Saturn SL in the past 2 days.
Those are really nice. Find me a perfect one for $10K?
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I think for a "clean driver" you're looking at $11K--$12K. "Perfect" will be more but there are limits to value no matter how much you put into these. They are not a "hot" collectible and probably won't be. The only Japanese car in this era that was produced in large numbers and is a moderately "warm" collectible is the 510 coupe and sedan. They are coveted for vintage racing.
http://www.turnersvilleautomall.com/inventory.aspx?_used=true&_cpo=true&_makef=datsun
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
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