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

Mr_Shiftright · May 2018

This one is loaded up with options, but as you say, as these cars age, those once pricey options seem to fade to nothingness--"oh, you have the optional light package, which now appears on every Toyota Corolla?"

Thanks for the feedback...I've asked Q if anything showed up on auction. I think the E55 was discontinued in....2006?...so they probably didn't make all that many of them.

fintail · May 2018

A lot of things were standard on those cars that people think were optional, too. The options list was relatively small. I'd want a list - for example, xenons were standard. Pano roof is probably the most common option. Distronic would be a rare option.

Yes, last model year for the E55 was 2006, it became with the E63 with a normally aspirated engine for model year 2007.

fintail · May 2018

Now that I look into it, lighting was technically an option. However, I would not be surprised if every single US spec car had lighting package, so it is defacto a standard feature to me. Kind of like P1 on a normal E, technically an option, but you won't find a car without it.

Other options would be parktronic, , keyless-go, special wood, Designo packages, P1 (nav, CD changer, heated/cooled seats - this will be on virtually every car), along with pano and distronic.

First year (2003) W211 E55 can more often be found without nav.

texases · May 2018

Mr_Shiftright said:
@fintail -- is a 2005 MB E55 AMG w/ Lorinser bodykit of any great interest to Benz enthusiasts, or is that just a tarted up E55 AMG with no extra appeal? Someone was offered $20K for theirs, which I thought was a very good offer, but they seem to think that offer was way too low...I'm scratching my head on that one.

A Benz owner who overestimates the value of their car? Shocking!

ab348 · May 2018

In a sad sign of how crazy things are in the collectible Porsche 911 world (no doubt hardly unique to that brand though) the seller of a set of wheels on BaT (parts sales being an unwelcome recent development on that site that needs to stop) was asked for the provenance and history of said wheels. Good lord.

Mr_Shiftright · May 2018

Best answer should be: "I stole them".

fintail · May 2018

Out on the highway today spotted a very clean two tone brown earlier Cimarron.

ab348 · May 2018

One of my Twitter friends spotted this thing locally today:

Mr_Shiftright · May 2018

Hmmm...does the driver always take his $200,000 car to the employee parking lot?

omarman · May 2018

Plymouth SuperFury?

stickguy · May 2018

you mean $5,000 car with a $500 wing on it?

ab348 · May 2018

That might be the only fuselage-body Chrysler product left on the roads here. Most of them rotted away years ago.

explorerx4 · May 2018

That is hilarious!

texases · May 2018

But does it have the nose cone?

Mr_Shiftright · May 2018

Well it must. It would need one for re-entry every morning.

ab348 · May 2018

texases said:
But does it have the nose cone?

Oh yeah.

http://www.ridelust.com/superbird-gone-wrong/

texases · May 2018

Wow...just..wow..

stickguy · May 2018

must be those long snowy winters in Canada. Makes people go nutty.

andre1969 · May 2018

To quote the announcer from "Death Race 2000"... "HOLY CHRYSLER!!"

I woke up in the middle of the night, to catch the tail end of an episode of "Mannix", where Joe was in a '69 Fury being chased around by a couple Ford trucks, and got roughed up. One thing I noticed that was a bit disturbing...the episode was from 1973...yet the Fury's dash padding was already cracked!

Mr_Shiftright · May 2018

ab348 said:

texases said:
But does it have the nose cone?
Oh yeah.

http://www.ridelust.com/superbird-gone-wrong/

Perfect !! I sure hope those ceramic tiles hold together during descent.

andre1969 · May 2018

I wonder what that nose cone and rear wing do for the drag coefficient on that Fury? Supposedly, the 1970 Superbird had a drag coefficient of 0.28. For comparison, a modern Prius is about 0.26. And to put some historical perspective, once they started wind-tunnel testing cars in the 70's, getting down into the 0.55 range was considered a big deal, and I think it was either the 1982 Firebird that got a lot of acclaim for breaking below the 0.40 barrier.

Now, that stuff was actually designed to work on a 1970 Roadrunner, so it probably didn't have nearly the same effect on a Fury. But, i imagine there was some improvement?

Mr_Shiftright · May 2018

The claimed drag coefficient of a manufacturer is rarely verified by anyone else--and I've been reading that when verification was applied, the Cd was usually higher than claimed. I'd certainly fudge it 20% at any rate.

texases · May 2018

I'd sure like to see the Superbird and the latest Prius tested in the same wind tunnel, at the same time. I'd be amazed it the addition of a wing (which should ~~make no difference~~ hurt) and that nose cone would turn that lumpy Mopar into a world beater, Cd-wise.

Mr_Shiftright · May 2018

Well the race version did hit some amazing speeds, but they also produced prodigious HP to get there. As they say: "even pigs can be made to fly, given sufficient initial velocity".

omarman · May 2018

In '83 C&D mag tested a Lamborghini Countach 5000S and found that wing to be a significant drag at high speed.

In any case, the Euro version maxed out at 150 mph—fast, but certainly not out of the range of Boxers and good-running 930 Porsches. Unbolting the optional (at $5500) wing from the rear increased speed to 160 mph with only a very minor loss in directional stability. Not ordering the wing has to be the cheapest speed secret in the world.

texases · May 2018

Yep, no way adding a wing would help, in most all cases. It's for downforce.

kyfdx · May 2018

‘80s

stickguy · May 2018

for sale along the side of a local 4 lane, a mid 70s Seville. Pale green. looks a bit tired (original paint I think), but not terrible.

not sure what year it was, but the classy style with a normal trunk that they had in 1975 (IOW a glorified Nova).

andre1969 · May 2018

The wing might not reduced the drag coefficient, but wouldn't the added downforce help with traction, and getting more power to the pavement? On something like a Superbird, I'm sure it's meaningless in something like 0-60 or the quarter mile track, but out on the race track at high speeds, wouldn't it help?

In a way, couldn't that help with cutting through the air, as well? It might not show up in a wind tunnel if a stationary car just has a stream of air forced over it, but out in real world driving, the car would hunker down more, which might help. And the added traction would help it slice through the wind better, I would think.

kyfdx · May 2018

The wing is to keep the rear-end from getting squirrelly at high speed. The NASCAR version had enough power to go airborne... The whole reason was to keep the rear end planted. They didn't need more speed.

Traction doesn't help with aerodynamics (I flunked Physics twice, but I remember a little bit)

ab348 · May 2018

That Furybird version might make some serious front-end lift given the shape of the nose and the angled section from under the headlights to the underbody. I . And the headlight pockets are big and appear designed to trap some serious air. Hey, maybe they cancel out the lift?

texases · May 2018

Yep, needed for downforce. Here's a neat article about how the Esprit added a spoiler to decrease downforce, because styling:
https://jalopnik.com/the-1981-lotus-esprit-turbo-has-a-hidden-second-spoiler-1825751291

Mr_Shiftright · May 2018

I read somewhere that spoilers are pretty much minimal for downforce until you hit about 130 mph.

roadburner · May 2018

It depends on the car and the spoiler.

Mr_Shiftright · May 2018

I meant mostly road cars.

Mr_Shiftright · May 2018

Yes, Please...but not at THAT price!

explorerx4 · May 2018

Talked to my sister today. My BIL just bought a CPO 3 series diesel manual wagon.

kyfdx · May 2018

explorerx4 said:
Talked to my sister today. My BIL just bought a CPO 3 series diesel manual wagon.

That's really cool. Post pictures when you get them.

ab348 · May 2018

explorerx4 said:
Talked to my sister today. My BIL just bought a CPO 3 series diesel manual wagon.

If it is painted brown a lot of people are going to pass out in shock.

explorerx4 · May 2018

@ab348.
I asked my sister what color? Unfortunately, greyish green, not brown.

kyfdx · May 2018

explorerx4 said:
@ab348.
I asked my sister what color? Unfortunately, greyish green, not brown.

Tasmin Green isn't a bad color, if that's what it is..

Usually paired with Chestnut interior, which is sort of a drab brown.

stickguy · May 2018

I am surprised they actually offered a manual diesel wagon in the first place.

kyfdx · May 2018

stickguy · May 2018

yes, I would have been happy to have that wagon. Especially in a stick.

must be a really rare bird.

explorerx4 · May 2018

Picture requested.

explorerx4 · May 2018

a nice Jeep Wagoneer, bit of a rumble and a lift. Painted sides, no wood.

explorerx4 · May 2018

Looks more silver than gray to me.

stickguy · May 2018

busy day. Must have been a Chevy outing. a nice 4 door tri 5 chevy. and about a mile later, 2 more one after the other.

and at different times, a 57ish T Bird then a 64 T bird.

Michaell · May 2018

XR4Ti spotted today. Faded red paint, but sounded decent.

tjc78 · May 2018

Haven’t seen one of those for years.

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

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