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

Mr_Shiftright · March 2019

I don't want to be too hard on this car but it does commit one of the biggest faux pas in automotive styling--the "overhanging nose".

Such as:

PF_Flyer · March 2019

Today's background movie is one I had never seen, a slightly comedic take on an Agatha Christie story, The Alphabet Murders with, of all people, Tony Randall as Hercule Poirot. And there was a little bit of "iron" on screen

thebean · March 2019

Tony Randall as Poirot??? That’s horrible casting. Did he have “mustaches”?

ab348 · March 2019

I wonder if British Leyland had to pay royalties to Chrysler when they introduced the Austin Allegro with the "Quartic" (square) steering wheel.

That Imperial was representative of the last days of Exner design at Chrysler.

The movie car appears to be a '62 Olds Dynamic 88.

Mr_Shiftright · March 2019

It's very difficult to copyright a design--you can usually just change it a bit and get away with it, despite howls of protest. Logos, trademarks, slogans---those are easier to protect.

It's not like you can realistically claim "Oh, no, I thought I was buying a Corvair and I got an NSU by mistake. I've been tricked!"

andre1969 · March 2019

Retro-grade is more like it! And, actually, retro, or rather "Neoclassic" as they called it back in the day, is exactly what they were going for. I've never heard anybody refer to a 1963 Imperial as "futuristic" before! IMO, the Imperial stopped being "futuristic" around 1959-60.

Mr_Shiftright · March 2019

Maybe they meant an apocalyptic future?

andre1969 · March 2019

Actually, once the Imperial got to around 1965-66, I thought they were reasonably attractive. Basically, what you got if the stylists of the 1961 Lincoln had their way with a '57 Imperial.

The '62-63 Imperial looked nice from the rear, I thought. But, once the '63 Valiant started copying it, I think it lost a bit of its cachet. As for those free-standing headlights, I think I read somewhere that they wanted to originally go with hidden lights for the '61 Imperial, but with those undercut fenders like that, it was complicated and expensive to do, so then they went with the free-standing lights.

explorerx4 · March 2019

That Blue and chrome monster is pretty local to me.
I see a 'Connecticut Volkswagen Association' banner in the background.

berri · March 2019

I liked most of the Imperials when they were a separate BOF line. Then they just ended up down the road as tarted up Chrysler's. That coupe, forgot the year (I think in the 80's) but was associated with Frank Sinatra was an interesting short lived style. However, I believe it was a mechanical nightmare.

explorerx4 · March 2019

I saw 2 Ford ZX2 coupes(based on Escort, before Focus).
Also a beige Cadillac XLR(?), Corvette based model.

berri · March 2019

Was that some kind of two seat'er Escort variation? As I remember, it may not have sold well, but it was decent looking for its time.

explorerx4 · March 2019

It was a sportier looking coupe version of an Escort.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=xQiyU6NZ&id=74D625BD35EE18A4192FCCB2193896C6BBE30F01&thid=OIP.xQiyU6NZyoFlVf0HRn8wFAHaDI&mediaurl=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/98-02_Ford_ZX2.jpg&exph=504&expw=1194&q=zx2&simid=608008381050654650&selectedIndex=48&qpvt=zx2

berri · March 2019

Oh, I think maybe what I was thinking of was something called the EXP (or some such)

texases · March 2019

berri said:

Oh, I think maybe what I was thinking of was something called the EXP (or some such)

The EXP was an earlier 2-seater based on the Escort. The first version wasn’t too nice looking, IMO. ‘Frog eyes’ comes to mind.

PF_Flyer · March 2019

thebean said:
Tony Randall as Poirot??? That’s horrible casting. Did he have “mustaches”?

Indeed he did... and an accent that kept slipping back to Felix Ungar 👀

bhill2 · March 2019

PF_Flyer said:

thebean said:
Tony Randall as Poirot??? That’s horrible casting. Did he have “mustaches”?
Indeed he did... and an accent that kept slipping back to Felix Ungar 👀

I never saw the movie so I can't comment on his performance, but I have to say that he was physically much closer to Agatha Christie's description of Poirot than Peter Ustinov was.

andre1969 · March 2019

berri said:
I liked most of the Imperials when they were a separate BOF line. Then they just ended up down the road as tarted up Chrysler's. That coupe, forgot the year (I think in the 80's) but was associated with Frank Sinatra was an interesting short lived style. However, I believe it was a mechanical nightmare.

That coupe would be the '81-83. It was based on the Dodge Mirada and Chrysler Cordoba. Most of the reliability issues stemmed from the fuel injection system. The car used a 318, which normally had a 2-bbl carb in passenger cars, with 130 hp, but they tried fuel injection as an Imperial exclusive, which bumped it up slightly to 140 hp. It was troublesome, though, and most of the cars were retrofitted, under warranty, to a 2-bbl carb.

It was a very poor seller. They sold something like 7225 the first year. Their goal was "only" 25,000 units, to give it some snob appeal, but apparently it didn't appeal to enough snobs. Sales only went downhill from there.

As for the big, C-body Imperials, I liked the '69-73 models, with their hidden headlights. But, they still had too much Chrysler, and even Plymouth in their DNA. The '74-75 models were nice, at the time, but then for '76-78, Chrysler made the New Yorker look like the '74-75 Imperial, and I think that tainted their image. And, when fully optioned up, a '76-78 New Yorker was every bit as plush as an Imperial had been.

PF_Flyer · March 2019

bhill2 said:

PF_Flyer said:

thebean said:
Tony Randall as Poirot??? That’s horrible casting. Did he have “mustaches”?
Indeed he did... and an accent that kept slipping back to Felix Ungar 👀

I never saw the movie so I can't comment on his performance, but I have to say that he was physically much closer to Agatha Christie's description of Poirot than Peter Ustinov was.

I had never seen it before either. From 1965, and it definitely had that "British production from the mid-60's" vibe going

kyfdx · March 2019

Member needs help identifying this car:
https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/55195/general/x/what-car-is-this/p1?new=1

ab348 · March 2019

I keep finding pictures I forgot I even had. This is my '64 Skylark, which I bought in the Spring of 1993, made several small improvements to over the years, and ended up selling in mid-1997 in order to free up some cash for the down payment on my house. It was a pretty good car that got the convertible bug out of my system. In this climate at least, convertibles (maybe especially classic car convertibles) are more satisfying in theory than they are to live with.

I wish I still looked like this. Amazing what 23 years can do to you.

kyfdx · March 2019

Nice car! I used to look good in the '90s, as well.

uplanderguy · March 2019

That's a very, very nice Skylark! Looks bone-stock, which I admire.

A family I knew when I was a kid had a SportWagon (or was it 'Sportwagon')--Buick's version of the Vista Cruiser-- that looked just like that car--below the roof and from the front doors up, anyway!

imidazol97 · March 2019

ab348 said:

I keep finding pictures I forgot I even had. This is my '64 Skylark, which I bought in the Spring of 1993, made several small improvements to over the years, and ended up selling in mid-1997 in order to free up some cash for the down payment on my house. It was a pretty good car that got the convertible bug out of my system. In this climate at least, convertibles (maybe especially classic car convertibles) are more satisfying in theory than they are to live with. I wish I still looked like this. Amazing what 23 years can do to you.

Nice red shirt.

fintail · March 2019

White on red, classic combo, nice that the shirt coordinates

Mr_Shiftright · March 2019

Speaking of getting old.....

uplanderguy · March 2019

Was the wood inserting on the panel factory or added, do you know? It's subtle and looks nice, but I don't remember that on them.

ab348 · March 2019

I was like that when I got it and it seemed to be better than Home Depot stick-on MacTac quality, but the longer I had it the more I came to think it was added at some point. Whoever did it did a fine job as the edges fit perfectly. But others I saw had a black crackle finish there.

berri · March 2019

When I was a kid I was more Olds back then. In the 70's I started coming around and appreciating those Buick's a lot more. A friend of mine in school had around a 65 or 66 Olds 442 convertible. That car was fun to drive in without sacrificing ride comfort. I'm sure that Skylark was too. Thanks for posting.

uplanderguy · March 2019

A Studebaker friend of mine went to GM mechanic school in the late sixties. His feeling is that Oldsmobile was the best-engineering division of them all. To this day he prefers an Olds of that era to any of the other GM divisions.

I grew up Chevy, but largely I like Pontiacs of that era best of all divisions now.

andre1969 · March 2019

Great pics, AB348!

Yesterday evening, on my way home from work, I overtook a '68 Chevelle. Here's a hasty pic I took as I passed it...

And I tried to get creative and get a shot of the front, in the side view mirror, but it came out crappy...

It was kind of refreshing, seeing one that looked pretty much stock, and not turned into some kind of SS clone.

ab348 · March 2019

Mr_Shiftright said:
I don't want to be too hard on this car but it does commit one of the biggest faux pas in automotive styling--the "overhanging nose".

Such as:

Similar nose design to the Porsche tractors.

berri · March 2019

The Jimmy Durante

sda · March 2019

andre1969 said:
Great pics, AB348!

Yesterday evening, on my way home from work, I overtook a '68 Chevelle. Here's a hasty pic I took as I passed it...

And I tried to get creative and get a shot of the front, in the side view mirror, but it came out crappy...

It was kind of refreshing, seeing one that looked pretty much stock, and not turned into some kind of SS clone.

The ‘68 Malibu, LeMans, Cutlass were all clean and modern, the Skylark a bit busy.

roadburner · March 2019

A friend had a Chevelle SS396 350hp in that color. No vinyl roof.

Mr_Shiftright · March 2019

berri said:
The Jimmy Durante

Two of my favorite quotes of his:

"Be careful. The waters are filled with sharks"

"I'm surrounded by assassins!"

uplanderguy · March 2019

RE.: That '68 Chevelle--looks like it has the wheel opening moldings, which only the SS and the uber-rare Concours coupe would've been built with (although of course could've been added later).

We had a new '67 Chevelle when I was a kid and I clearly remember going with Dad and Grandpa to see the new '68's in fall '67. Even as a kid of nine I could tell they had shrunk--although the sedan's wheelbase was increased an inch. They just seemed smaller--and the coupe was, fairly significantly.

EDIT: Now that I think about it, pretty sure only the Concours came with those moldings and not the SS. Going to check out the brochure now.

uplanderguy · March 2019

RE.: ab348's old Skylark--an observation:

That was back-before 'uniform identification', i.e., the same nameplate style and font was used in more than one place on the car. I grew to appreciate the uniformity. On the Skylark, I notice the "Skylark" script on the exterior quarter panel and the block lettering on the instrument panel.

My '66 Studebaker is like this. It has the "Studebaker" script outside the car as had been used since the '64's, but on the glovebox uses a new-for-'66 "Studebaker" script that's curley-cue-ee and filigree-ee, like from a Cadillac or something. A small thing that bugs me.

Similarly, as much as I like '61 Impalas, I can't stand that the radio buttons spell "CHEVY", LOL. An Impala is a "CHEVROLET"! They dropped that from the radio buttons for '62.

tjc78 · March 2019

Amazing some of the details you guys know about the 60’s cars!

uplanderguy · March 2019

For me, it's that I was a weird kid who didn't have the slightest interest in sports so I absorbed the brochure details like a sponge. Plus, from about age 11 'til I went away to college, I constantly hung out at the Chevy dealer (and to a lesser extent, the Pontiac dealer). In college I frequently visited the Chevy dealer there too. I can use brushing-up on Mopars of the era and andre is the go-to guy here for that!

uplanderguy · March 2019

Only the '68 Chevelle Concours had wheel opening moldings....if anybody really cares (don't answer that!).

Always a sucker for turquoise, either light or dark, and that '68 looks nice with the white top I think. Not the typical '68 Chevelle champagne or light/medium green or pale yellow colors so popular.

ab348 · March 2019

I was just about to correct you on the Chevelle molding, glad you picked that up yourself. The brochure HERE only mentions them on the Concours and even at that they are hard to see in the pics.

I have never seen the Delco radio with "CHEVY" buttons but one of the cool things about the Skylark was that the radio buttons spelled out B-U-I-C-K.

tjc78 · March 2019

uplanderguy said:

For me, it's that I was a weird kid who didn't have the slightest interest in sports so I absorbed the brochure details like a sponge. Plus, from about age 11 'til I went away to college, I constantly hung out at the Chevy dealer (and to a lesser extent, the Pontiac dealer). In college I frequently visited the Chevy dealer there too. I can use brushing-up on Mopars of the era and andre is the go-to guy here for that!

I am similar with 80s cars. I know way too much about mid 80s Mopar! My uncle ran a really busy Dodge dealer in the 80s, so everyone in the family had a Dodge or Chrysler (sister store).

Whats funny is I’m not really a huge fan of those ... I always seemed to prefer Fords.

uplanderguy · March 2019

I have never seen the Delco radio with "CHEVY" buttons but one of the cool things about the Skylark was that the radio buttons spelled out B-U-I-C-K.

I'm totally OK with the radio buttons spelling "BUICK"...my example would be like having "OLDS" or "MERC" (OK, I know, not enough buttons, LOL) on a car radio. It's shorthand-cheesy to me. But I'm wired weird, LOL.

uplanderguy · March 2019

I made a separate post of its own in an Edmunds forum a couple or so years ago, but the '68 Chevelle Concours coupe isn't even in the brochure. I have never seen it in a single promotional piece. I can remember seeing exactly one in my hometown. Long story short, it appears to be the result of a strike in a GM upholstery supplier which halted Malibu interiors in colors other than black. During the strike, the Concours coupe option became available--with the Buick Skylark Custom or Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme interior and door panels, in black vinyl only--depending on the assembly plant.

My guess is that after the Impala, the Chevelle Malibu Sport Coupe was the second-best-selling two-door model and series in the Chevrolet lineup, and offering this Concours coupe meant more than black vinyl Malibu interiors were available to the Chevelle two-door hardtop buyer. Still only black during the strike, but another-style interior.

The Concours Sport Sedan is in both the '68 and '69 brochures, with frilly cloth interiors. The '68-only Concours coupe, again, had only black vinyl interior available.

It's the '68 Chevelle I would like to own the most. There are pics online of them.

uplanderguy · March 2019

Here's my last post in that thread:

UPDATE: A friend who knows how curious I am about these cars, was talking to a guy with a '68 Chevelle SS396 at a show whose car had the Buick Skylark Custom interior and the guy provided my friend, who provided me, a copy of a letter "TO ALL DEALERS" dated March 25, 1968, talking about a labor dispute "for some period of time" that "is curtailing completely the trim supply for Chevelle and Chevy II lines". At this point, no cloth interior trims were available in the Chevelle lines at all, and only black vinyl in the Malibu. It appears to me that the Concours option (Skylark Custom or Cutlass Supreme interior trim, depending on assembly plant) of all-vinyl in black only, on the coupes, was done to provide some variation of the black vinyl regular-Malibu interior in what was probably Chevy's best-selling two-door hardtop after the Impala. I imagine there were probably some sore retail customers who ordered a Malibu in something else than black vinyl interiors though whose car didn't come in as ordered.

The Chevy II optional Custom interior (bench and buckets) was also only available in black vinyl at this point, and although the Corvair wasn't mentioned in the opening of the letter, below it is mentioned that "alternate trims for Corvair cannot be obtained and production of these models has ceased until trim can be obtained". Probably not a huge deal for Corvair assembly to be curtailed in '68!

The letter also states that "Satisfactory alternate trims cannot be obtained for the following models thus they will not be offered during this temporary period: Chevelle 300 Coupe, Nomad 2-seat wagon, 300 Deluxe Sport Coupe, and 300 Deluxe four-door sedan".

Lots of questions I've had were answered with that letter.

ab348 · March 2019

That story about the Concours upholstery is really strange. I had never heard that before. It is doubly odd that they chose to offer the Buick or Olds upholstery instead (the Olds looked much better) and especially odd that it was only in black. Those interiors from those brands were available in other colors. The Vista Cruiser also used the Supreme pattern so there was no shortage of choices there.

I know if I was ordering a Chevelle back then and was told that I could only get a black interior, I would look for something else.

Mr_Shiftright · March 2019

New starter motor apparently:

explorerx4 · March 2019

Can you run down to NAPA and get one? Maybe they have a few spares, wouldn't surprise me.

Mr_Shiftright · March 2019

Never hurts to ask, when it comes to old American iron. Shoot, you could probably find an NOS one somewhere!

Pretty rare car I suspect.

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

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