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

stickguy · February 2018

weather has been lousy here for so long just not seeing much of any interest. Certainly not out and moving around!

ab348 · February 2018

Interesting item in Hemmings today about the M-B 114/115 series. I never heard the "Stroke 8" nomenclature until now. I'm sure @fintail is familiar with all of this.

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2018/02/13/five-decades-of-mercedes-benz-w114115-stroke-8s/?refer=news

fintail · February 2018

Interesting Hemmings would choose to profile a car ignored by so many - even many MB people don't exactly flock to them, and nice survivors are still relatively cheap (like the one I posted a few weeks ago). Even really nice coupes won't get much past 10K or so.

I think survival rates are high, as they are built like a brick outhouse, but they can rust, and all but a couple models will be considered to be quite slow.

When I was a kid, there was a grey market high roof ambulance version around town, even then I knew it was a foreign spec vehicle, and it struck me a weird thing to bring over.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2018

"Mercedes cognoscenti refer to this series as “Stroke 8”

Not in any universe I've lived in, and I used to work for Mercedes Benz at that time.

Not the best Benzes ever made, but Mercedes was still finding its way in the U.S (and World) market in the 1970s.

I would say it was the W123 that put Benz on the map. That was an outstanding car.

fintail · February 2018

If you go to a MB show, people will know what a /8 is (I think more often called a "slash 8 here), but W114/115 is the preferred name.

A 123 was a level above a 114/115 in durability and roadability, yes. A good one doesn't feel much unlike a modern car for something introduced over 40 years ago.

stickguy · February 2018

what years/models is a 123?

Mr_Shiftright · February 2018

fintail said:
If you go to a MB show, people will know what a /8 is (I think more often called a "slash 8 here), but W114/115 is the preferred name.

A 123 was a level above a 114/115 in durability and roadability, yes. A good one doesn't feel much unlike a modern car for something introduced over 40 years ago.

Well yeah, at an M-B geek show they even know what a "romknocken" is. (I do--I've even held one in my hand).

The W123 series was from 1976 to 1985, which corresponds to a surge in popularity for Mercedes in America.

stickguy · February 2018

after saying earlier that had not seen anything interesting lately, one of my neighbors decided to pull his toy out. a C2 vette (I think a 65). Medium blue convertible, 4 speed. Not sure what engine, but it sounds real nice. Was driving around the neighborhood this afternoon with his daughter. Must have needed some exercise.

fintail · February 2018

I'm not familiar with that, funny spelling or?

The W123 was more rust-resistant, and at the time was modern looking (the /8s look like 60s cars to me), while still being traditional or classy. I think it had a lot going for it at the time. It also resembled the much more expensive W116. The 300D was also suitable for normal traffic.

Mr_Shiftright said:

Well yeah, at an M-B geek show they even know what a "romknocken" is. (I do--I've even held one in my hand).

The W123 series was from 1976 to 1985, which corresponds to a surge in popularity for Mercedes in America.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2018

A "romknocken" is something that your car has as well. In fact, it is working hard every time you drive your fintail.

omarman · February 2018

A "romknocken" is [non-permissible content removed]. In fact, it is working hard every time you [non-permissible content removed] fintail.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2018

Nothing too romantic about a romknocken but it is an amazing device nonetheless.

A romknocken is the name of the little camshaft inside a Mercedes mechanical injection pump. It has somewhere in the area of 150 separate surfaces used to calibrate fuel-flow, as it twists this way and that.

Be nice to your romknocken. If it breaks, that is very very expensive.

fintail · February 2018

Ah I get it. I have seen the price on rebuilt MFI pumps for my car (M127), not cheap indeed - much more than I paid for the car.

PF_Flyer · February 2018

A little binge watching today

ab348 · February 2018

1941 De Soto.

ab348 · February 2018

I must confess I have never seen a 1942 Studebaker Commander Skyway before. Some interesting styling details on this.

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/studebaker/commander/2069133.html?refer=blog

stickguy · February 2018

That car pretty much defines staid and frumpy.

texases · February 2018

Several interesting styling items on that Studebaker. What's the purpose of the 4"-wide panels on either side of the hood in the fenders? And those round inserts in the grill are different.

fintail · February 2018

In 1942, that was a modern and with-it design. Really distinct steering wheel hub piece on that one.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2018

Rather unattractive car, but I really like the steering wheel. Price seems fair enough. Be the only one at cars and coffee, that's for sure. There's sort of a cult around 1942 cars in general. This is part of the Commander series. I think they made a coupe, too, which looks somewhat better.

ab348 · February 2018

Yeah, that steering wheel is just too cool. Though I wouldn't want to hit that center with my chest in a crash. The rear end design isn't great but I love those taillights. Dunno what to make of those round things in the grill - I thought they were light housings at first but they don't seem to be. Interesting to see Studebaker using that same fender air vent that carried on with them for decades.

I love the engine-turned trim on the dash, but I always marvel at how dashboard design really seemed to struggle until the mid-50s. This one is similar - pieces seemingly attached randomly across the width of the dash, the key over by the passenger's left knee. knobs and controls an apparent afterthought.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2018

Hard to read gauges, too, seem to have been a theme until the 60s.

PF_Flyer · February 2018

Steering wheel is pretty cool, but would leave one heck of an odd bruise

ab348 · February 2018

Those circular things in the grill intrigued me so I did some looking around online. According to the cover of the '42 brochure you could get fog lights on the Commander and President series:

So I assume that if you didn't order those, you got those circular pieces instead.

As Shifty noted, the coupe version looked a little less frumpy:

I still like the car more than I would have thought. It's unique these days.

PF_Flyer · February 2018

Frumpy might be in the eye of the beholder, but those illustrations from the ads that show how big the car is remind me of the time I had the kids in the car (a '96 Sentra) and I happened to see a '66 Newport (my first car) and we stopped to look at it. My then 8 year old daughter asked, "Were the roads bigger then???"

uplanderguy · February 2018

A friend who is riding to Auburn, IN with me this weekend (with two other friends of ours) for a sick-of-winter weekend, has a C5. He loves it. I never liked the fat-behind look of them.

uplanderguy · February 2018

Unusual for the time, other than the Continental, were the plain sides and rocker trim, and one-piece curved windshield on the '41 and '42 Studebaker coupes. Most other makes had all kinds of trim high on the body sides.

Even the Continental's one-piece windshield was flat.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1942_Lincoln_Continental_coupé.jpg

uplanderguy · February 2018

I had posted a link to that '59 Lark on the Postwar Studebaker page here. It sold. I haven't seen one that stock in a long time. Very authentic exterior and interior. While I like the later Larks better for styling, I can see why the '59 and '60 sold so well...'58 Stude's interior in a much-more-compact exterior. My dealer friend had to add a salesman in '59. Biggest one-year profit in Studebaker's over-100-year history.

uplanderguy · February 2018

Back to Corvettes--the C7 has really grown on me. It would have to be a base-model though. I see so many of the high-zoot ones with all the extra styling junk on them. The base car in a dark color is a handsome one. The first year they had a beautiful dark green, but of course that was only the first year. My wife and I, when we bought our new Cruze in Jan. '17, were admiring a very deep burgundy color on the Corvette color chart there (daydreaming).

fintail · February 2018

Park Place added some more "ordinary cars" to their page - the Belvedere is an unusual somewhat-sleeper and the 64 Mercury looked nice. No 61 DeSoto yet.

berri · February 2018

Looking at that ad, now that is one WIDE assortment of vehicles!

fintail · February 2018

The new arrivals are definitely not their usual type of material, both in type and price (although the asking prices are amusingly optimistic, like many of their usual offerings). I just want to see that DeSoto.

uplanderguy · February 2018

Going to the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum this weekend, for the first time in twelve or thirteen years. Looking forward. It's their art-deco showroom with the engineering offices still upstairs, and stunning '30's cars on display. Well worth a trip if you're ever in NE Indiana. I remember the place as just being stunning--and generally, I'm not into pre-war cars, but how can you not appreciates cars like Cords and Duesenbergs!

PF_Flyer · February 2018

Some photo album diving. My Dad and Grandpa enjoying some stogies. This was before I was born, so I’ll leave the vehicle id to the group

fintail · February 2018

1935 Ford.

ab348 · February 2018

Who's the little kid in the front seat?

kyfdx · February 2018

ab348 said:
Who's the little kid in the front seat?

1935? Well, that has to be @PF_Flyer , then.

PF_Flyer · February 2018

Nope, that's Grandpa's son, my uncle. And as Dad never owned a Ford, I assume that the car was Grandpa's.

ab348 · February 2018

Corrupting his son with cigars. He'd be thrown in jail today.

stickguy · February 2018

parked on a neighborhood street, a white with white top Buick convertible. A big one. Can't quite figure out the year. somewhere mid 60s. looked to be in OK shape.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2018

Drove this yesterday:

stickguy · February 2018

stately

Mr_Shiftright · February 2018

That's a good descriptor.

With only a 2.2L engine and an automatic (in this case---you could get it with a 4-speed), acceleration is leisurely. The transmission is typically hard-shifting Mercedes type. This is a '65 model, last year they made 'em.

Mercedes was still feeling out the U.S. market, and the 220 SEb Coupe was built as a genuine 2+2, GT type of car.

But it had nowhere near the power of a much less expensive American highway cruiser, nor the glitz, and not very many were sold over here. In Europe, many were ordered with the 4-speed (of course). If you combine that with a sunroof option, those two options make the car much more salable.

Beautiful interior, though:

Mr_Shiftright · February 2018

You can always tell an amateur restoration of wood in an older Benz from a professional restoration. The wood trim is actually a very thin veneer, and the amateurs invariably cut through the veneer on the first pass--and so they are forced to refinish the base wood instead, which looks cheap and dull by comparison.

kyfdx · February 2018

I like this year for Mercedes coupes:

Mr_Shiftright · February 2018

More modern chassis but a good deal less elegant a car, in that it is mass-produced. The 220SEb is considered "last of the handbuilt" coupes.

I'd certainly pick your choice for everyday criving and reliability. It's also a good deal cheaper to buy!

kyfdx · February 2018

Mr_Shiftright said:
More modern chassis but a good deal less elegant a car, in that it is mass-produced. The 220SEb is considered "last of the handbuilt" coupes.

I'd certainly pick your choice for everyday criving and reliability. It's also a good deal cheaper to buy!

Yeah.. I love that profile... .and the more horizontal look of the front end, starting in the late '70s. That picture is a '78.

fintail · February 2018

Same engine as my fintail in the white coupe. The wood is quite expensive to do right, and in the coupes, should be shiny and laminated. The sedans had a duller finish. Back in the day, the coupes had at least a 50% price premium over the sedans. I think something like that was maybe 8K in 1965.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2018

I wonder where all that extra MSRP went exactly? These coupes are built on the same chassis as your sedan. That's why they are full 4-seaters.

fintail · February 2018

Much nicer interior fittings (standard leather, much more wood, etc), probably more labor intensive engineering with the hardtop etc - and most importantly, exclusivity. I suspect 10 220SE sedans were built for every coupe or cabrio. Today, sedans are probably rarer, as few saved them.

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

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles

Your Privacy