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

fintail · September 2017

I am pretty sure it is an old Italian plate. Vatican plates are different.

Mr_Shiftright · September 2017

That's what I thought. I don't think anyone in the EU uses black plates anymore ??

fintail · September 2017

Not that I know of. Those plates are contemporary to the car.

Mr_Shiftright · September 2017

yeah, it's a '58 250 GT Tour de France coupe. Gorgeous car, worth about $8 mil.

sda · September 2017

A very clean,with top down, early 90s Infiniti M convertible. This afternoon, same pearl white as the convertible, not as clean but not bad J30.

fintail · September 2017

So a maybe $5K used car in 1968?

Mr_Shiftright said:
yeah, it's a '58 250 GT Tour de France coupe. Gorgeous car, worth about $8 mil.

Michaell · September 2017

sda said:
A very clean,with top down, early 90s Infiniti M convertible. This afternoon, same pearl white as the convertible, not as clean but not bad J30.

My best friend in CA owned a J30. Bought it with just over 100K on it, drove it to about 265K before the engine finally gave up the ghost.

He replaced it with a 2006 G35 with under 60K on it - he should drive it for 10-15 years.

Mr_Shiftright · September 2017

fintail said:
So a maybe $5K used car in 1968?

Mr_Shiftright said:
yeah, it's a '58 250 GT Tour de France coupe. Gorgeous car, worth about $8 mil.

Actually this one was in a junkyard in 1968! Back then, these cars were raced, blown up, smashed and often busted up for parts for other cars.

fintail · September 2017

I can believe it.

I have seen what gullwings were worth by around 1970, or what you could pick up Bugattis and 540Ks for in the 50s, even after the most generous inflation adjustment, still insane.

Mr_Shiftright said:

Actually this one was in a junkyard in 1968! Back then, these cars were raced, blown up, smashed and often busted up for parts for other cars.

laurasdada · September 2017

Last night on 128, a Datsun 260Z 2+2. My dad had a '74. The family man's Z.

kyfdx · September 2017

laurasdada said:
Last night on 128, a Datsun 260Z 2+2. My dad had a '74. The family man's Z.

I can't stand Z-car 2+2s. Everyone of them looks terrible, compared to the 2-seater. I've never seen such a dichotomy between two versions of the same vehicle, over multiple generations.

And, I love Zcars

berri · September 2017

Ironically, I saw a an early Z car down by a marina yesterday. Didn't make sense - if you gotta boat you should be driving one too (hello Deuce and a Quarter)

Michaell · September 2017

I saw a mid 60's Chevelle or Malibu the other day. Flat black paint job, slightly lowered, dog dish hubcaps.

Actually, kinda cool looking.

fintail · September 2017

Out in the old car today, saw nearly nothing of note, surprising for the nice weather. An ivory/yellow 420 SEL is what sticks in my mind most.

I did notice in the garage where the old car sleeps, the same 55 Chevy and 64 Pontiac that have been there for years don't appear to have moved, and the Avanti that lives there is in the same boat. However, the 66 Toronado that parks beside me has been absent for a little while. I think it is still there, as the car cover is in the spot - car must be out for repairs.

kyfdx · September 2017

Early-mid '90s Mercedes 600 SL. V-12!

andre1969 · September 2017

Last night at the grocery store parking lot, I spotted these two obscurities...

I think I've seen the Chevelle around before. It looks kind of rough up close...bondo and rust under the paint. I don't think I've seen the Cutlass around before.

oh, and I was in DC on Friday, and happened upon this...

I can't remember the last time I've seen an Encore/Alliance period, let alone a GTA convertible.

berri · September 2017

I recall that brown color on the Cutlass was fairly popular on GM cars in the Chicago area back in the mid-late 70's. I owned a similar one but it was pure white with a dark red interior.

ab348 · September 2017

Hey @andre1969 , nice to hear from you again! That Cutlass looks pretty good considering they were not known for being very robust in terms of body and trim.

andre1969 · September 2017

At a quick glance, from a distance, where I could only see the opera window and part of the roof, I thought it was a '77 Grand Prix in that "anniversary gold" or whatever they called it. Normally I'm not into brown cars, but I thought this one was nice. And basking in the glow of the setting sun, it looked especially nice.

fintail · September 2017

Nice to see you back, Andre.

Definitely some obscure spots there. The GTA cabrio has to be the rarest, I think most of those were done for 20 years ago, and only a few wackos saved them.

stickguy · September 2017

There is a same vintage and model cutlass parked in a driver not far from me. Looks to be in decent shape. No clue if it runs.

Michaell · September 2017

@andre1969 - I was hoping, when I saw that you had posted, that you had pix of your completed Desoto.

Care to provide us an update?

explorerx4 · September 2017

That Cutlass looks really good compared to that green Prius in the background!

andre1969 · September 2017

Unfortunately, the DeSoto is still in dry-dock. Haven't gotten any updates in awhile, but I might swing by the shop on Wednesday, as I'll be out in that area. The last time I talked to the guy, I think it was just down to putting on new tires, windshield wipers, installing seatbelts, and bleeding the brakes.

xwesx · September 2017

andre1969 said:
Unfortunately, the DeSoto is still in dry-dock. Haven't gotten any updates in awhile, but I might swing by the shop on Wednesday, as I'll be out in that area. The last time I talked to the guy, I think it was just down to putting on new tires, windshield wipers, installing seatbelts, and bleeding the brakes.

What?! That's as good as done! Unless you want him to be storing it for you (hopefully free of extra charge?), I would try to light a fire under him to get those last little things sorted. But, I guess another summer is gone already, so no harm in waiting until April or May....

stickguy · September 2017

would think at this point, considering that sounds like just a few hours work, the guy would want the rest of his money and to reclaim the garage bay.

fintail · September 2017

Can't wait to see Christine's big brother (or sister?)

explorerx4 · September 2017

Evil cousin?

berri · September 2017

I always thought style-wise that the Desoto's were some of Virgil Exner's best. That car is going to be a looker!

uplanderguy · September 2017

I don't know if you can see this or not, but I took this pic this past Sunday at a large car show in my small hometown of Greenville, PA. Perfect weather day and there were 400 cars there, reported.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1452520828118103&set=pcb.1452521014784751&type=3&theater

'58 Edsel Citation four-door hardtop. It just stopped me in my tracks, because I never see them, particularly in a subdued color like this. It had Teletouch shift buttons in the steering hub, and power windows.

I also loved this Fawn Beige '62 Corvette, low-mileage survivor, but I'd have to put whitewalls and the hardtop on it. My favorite year and color Corvette:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1452520951451424&set=pcb.1452521014784751&type=3&theater

I drove my '66 Studebaker Cruiser a total of 122 miles to get there and home. Farthest I've driven it. It ran fine but I am starting to get a bushing noise in the LF--squeaky bed sound at low speeds. I'm basically a fat guy, and I'm sure all the bushings are original. I can live with it now.

Here's a pic I took of it in front of my old hometown Stude dealer building. The peaked roof and filled-in windows look ridiculous I think--oh well. I took the wire wheelcovers off for the drive over as I've heard they fall off easily. I think I'm going to send my friend, the former dealer, a hard copy of the pic with a notation along the lines of "My dispatcher told me to wait until I heard from him, but I got tired of waiting so just took it off the truck but there's nobody here to check it in!".

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1452524024784450&set=a.281439678559563.59944.100000805985105&type=3&theater

Yes, Studebaker's wheels were off-white from '62 to '66, even on cars with dog-dish caps.

uplanderguy · September 2017

RE.: That gold Cutlass--that's a Salon, which always impressed me--a lot of them had big wide corduroy seats. And I always liked all the flags on the side of them, LOL.

sda · September 2017

uplanderguy said:
RE.: That gold Cutlass--that's a Salon, which always impressed me--a lot of them had big wide corduroy seats. And I always liked all the flags on the side of them, LOL.

From what I remember the original Salon in '73 had buckets that originated from Opel and were modified for Olds. They reclined as well, not common for domestic cars of the time but helped reinforce the European theme of the Salon. I especially liked it in fire thorn red with matching corduroy seats.

fintail · September 2017

Nice Edsel! Must be a restored labor of love, PW are probably uncommon even in a highline model like that. I suppose that would have a 410 in it?

I recall the Cutlass Ciera also had a flag-themed emblem.

Fun Stude pic, too, I can see it as a delivery pic without hubcaps. Can you lock them on or something similar? It would drive me nuts to be without them constantly.

fintail · September 2017

A couple of oddities today - the same obviously restored ~70 Blazer 4x4 that I see in nice weather, top off, definitely has a little style.

And something else with style, another "Florida special" Camry. This one a ~2010 model, white with a black vinyl top, no gold trim, but a bit of chrome trim, and big "Limited Edition" script on the top.

ab348 · September 2017

uplanderguy said:

I also loved this Fawn Beige '62 Corvette, low-mileage survivor, but I'd have to put whitewalls and the hardtop on it. My favorite year and color Corvette:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1452520951451424&set=pcb.1452521014784751&type=3&theater

Last week at the local cruise-in there was one of these in what I would call Old English White, sort of an off-white, but with a custom frame underneath that had modern Corvette running gear and a LS engine. Aside from seeming to sit a bit higher it looked totally stock. I doubt I could fit behind the wheel of one of these though, as this one looked quite tight (as do all of these I see). Love the look though.

Speaking of a car the struck me with its good looks, I was there tonight and a fellow had a freshly restored '54 Mercury Monterey 2-door hardtop that looked a lot like this one but with Torq-Thrust mags which gave it a surprisingly good look.

It pulled out and had just the perfect exhaust note, not too loud, not to quiet, just a nice burble. It was simply stunning.

fintail · September 2017

If stock, those little 239s or whatever that Mercury would have had when new have a distinctive sound. When I was a kid, I really wanted a Sun Valley model, the fishbowl/greenhouse top on that and the Skyliner pushed my buttons, cool cars even in the 80s.

sda · September 2017

<<b class="Bold">img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/5021145/uploads/editor/qn/e4z7qhni235b.jpg" alt="" />

Though not a GTA, I had an '85 Alliance DL with the 1.7 (78hp?) PW,PL, CC, AC, PS, PB, premium audio. I bought it in '86 with 20k and traded it around 45k. It was a fun little car, but not very quick.

sda · September 2017

One more pic. Notice the power window switches on the center stack, very european.

berri · September 2017

UP - like that Edsel and the green color of your Studebaker. 62 Corvettes were neat too.

IMA - that 54 Merc is kind of a rare bird these days.

sda - I think that Alliance was produced at the AMC plant, so it qualifies as a Kenosha Cadillac

jwm40517 · September 2017

Back in 1977 I went to a corvette show at Mcdorman Sp? Chev near Columbus Oh. For several years they gave a new Corvette as a prize for Best of Show. That year a 62 fuel injected car won on Sunday, on Saturday it was for sale for $9100 . Would have been a good buy, as a 77 Vette was about $8000 or a bit less, nearly free if you bought the 62.

uplanderguy · September 2017

That Edsel would've been a 410.

The wire wheelcovers on my Stude were put back on at the car show that day, and were fine and tight when I got home, 61 miles away, afterwards.

Amazingly, you have to take them off to check air pressure--there's only a cutout on the inside for around the valve stem. That's inconvenient, but they are so rare and particularly to have been installed as an option at the factory, I'll keep them.

andre1969 · September 2017

I just called the mechanic about my DeSoto...good thing I did, too. He says it's almost ready to go. But when I asked him if I could swing by today to look at it, he said it was all the way in the back of the shop, and covered up, so it would take some digging to get to. So, I guess while the car has been sort of "out of sight, out of mind" for me, it's sort of been the same for him! He said the new tires are on it, but when I asked if the seatbelts had been installed, and new wiper blades, he couldn't remember. :@ So, he said he'd start getting on it, and give me a call back. In his words, it "just needs a few details" and then it's ready to go.

Anyway, in the meantime, I guess it's time to introduce y'all to my newest ride. Don't get *too* excited, now!

This is my Dad's 2003 Regal LS. Dad ended up passing away back in March, 3 days after his 71st birthday. Granddad (his Dad), passed away back in September 2016, about a month shy of his 101st birthday. So, I'm hoping longevity skips a generation and I favor Granddad more than Dad!

I can still remember the day Dad bought this car, back in September 2003. It had about 19,500 miles on it, and was around $12,840 out the door, with tax, tags, an extended warranty Dad wanted, etc. There was an '02 Intrepid base model parked next to it, dark blue, for $8995 but it had around 39,000 miles. Even though I had an Intrepid at the time, and liked it, the Buick seemed worth the extra $2K+ tax. I never particularly cared for these W-bodies when they were new, because they seemed expensive for what they were, a bit cheap in the interior department, and had cramped back seats. But, as a used car, they seemed like a pretty good deal. And it's not all that often I need use of the back seat anymore, so that's not really an issue these days.

Anyway, initially I was thinking about just getting rid of the car...either selling it, donating it if it wouldn't sell, giving it to a needy family member (although most of my family members are more "entitled" than "needy" these days) or splurging a little and trading it on a new Charger. But, once I got it started (it sat so long the battery died and a tire went flat), and cleaned it up a bit (serious dust build up on the windows), and drove it around a bit, it didn't seem half bad. It only had around 66,500 miles on it, but I was concerned about how well Dad maintained it over the years. It seemed sluggish, although I thought perhaps that was simply because I got used to faster vehicles and was suffering "Hemi withdrawal". But then it also started stalling out at random, and would sputter and ultimately stall at around 4,000 rpm. I put it in the shop, and did have to put around $1100 into it, to get the MAF sensor replaced, fuel filter, and a bunch of other odds and ends, but the mechanic (NOT the one who's working on the DeSoto!) said overall it looks like a good car that should last awhile...although with the caveat that he has no crystal ball!

Anyway, my plan is to drive it for awhile, as it's cheap on insurance, and it'll keep the miles off of my 2012 Ram. I've put around 2000 miles on the Regal so far, in mixed driving...no highway runs yet, and it's been averaging around 21 mpg...and that was with the bad fuel filter and MAF sensor. The Ram would be more like 15-16, and it has an appetite for 89 octane. Oh, and as for why the car has no hubcaps, I have no idea. I wonder if Dad tried to pull one off one day, not realizing they don't just pop off like in the old days...you have to take the lug nuts off first! And, if that's what he did do, hopefully he didn't repeat that mistake three more times!

stickguy · September 2017

Andre, sorry to hear about your dad. That is young.

The regal though looks like a much better option for taking in to D.C. And street parking.

imidazol97 · September 2017

uplanderguy said:

Nice 64 Ford convertible behind the Ranger. Don't like the rims on the Ford.

A few years back Edsel owners had a regional/national? convention at a local motel. I got lots of pictures of Edsels I'll never see again.

Michaell · September 2017

@andre1969 - my condolences on your father's passing. I lost my dad at the beginning of 2016, and I still miss him, even though we were 1000 miles apart for the last 20+ years.

That Regal looks like a great around town car. Does it have the 3.1L engine, or something else?

uplanderguy · September 2017

Saturday, I drove one town over to fill my Stude with 90-octane ethanol-free. I wanted to put lead substitute and Sta-Bil in first, so I bought a new funnel with a bendable bottom part. I used it, pulled it out gently, and the bottom part came off and I watched it go down the fuel filler tube.

Geez, was I frustrated. No problems yet, but I sent an email to the manufacturer. I did not get one complete use out of it.

uplanderguy · September 2017

andre, sorry to hear about your Dad. Good luck with the Regal.

uplanderguy · September 2017

imidazol, thanks for posting the Edsel I'd seen. The pic really doesn't do it justice. I can't say I have a history of loving those cars, but that one just grabbed me.

I'm pretty sure that hood is front-hinged.

Mr_Shiftright · September 2017

uplanderguy said:
Saturday, I drove one town over to fill my Stude with 90-octane ethanol-free. I wanted to put lead substitute and Sta-Bil in first, so I bought a new funnel with a bendable bottom part. I used it, pulled it out gently, and the bottom part came off and I watched it go down the fuel filler tube.

Geez, was I frustrated. No problems yet, but I sent an email to the manufacturer. I did not get one complete use out of it.

Depending on the blend, many ethanol-free fuels don't need Sta-Bil unless you are really packing the car away for long periods. I had a long talk with a Shell petroleum engineer/products guy about this because I was shopping for ethanol-free fuel for my vintage motorcycle. You can call and ask about the different blends and they'll even tell you where to get them. Very interesting.

uplanderguy · September 2017

Since it's not used by most vehicles, I just wonder how long it's been sitting in the tanks.

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

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