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

imidazol97 · July 2019

PF_Flyer said:

berri said:
PF, If you haven't done it before, make sure you take the shuttle over to the presidential aircraft display. Very neat.
We did the shuttle over before, but the Presidential and Experimental stuff is all in the 4th hanger now. No more running to sign up for the shuttle! If you haven't been since the 4th hanger opened, you NEED to go!

I live relatively near the museum. I haven't been there for at least 3 years.
Sounds like I need to take a super hot day with high humidity and go spend time there
in the air conditioned hangers.

The license plates on the cars in the parking are interesting. So many travel from so far.
I take it for granted because it's close. There are school kids in the area who have never
been there unless they have a field trip.

fintail · July 2019

Chevy had a "Confederate" which probably sold well in some areas.

Made up names like "Corolla" might qualify.

tjc78 · July 2019

Dynasty was always a weird one to me

omarman · July 2019

Aztek was an odd choice for Pontiac.

stickguy · July 2019

I like that Aztec. Nice color and monochrome!

PF_Flyer · July 2019

Maybe it's the Aztek's best side showing

explorerx4 · July 2019

Did someone key the doors on that Aztek?

omarman · July 2019

Maybe a reflection. Doug thinks it is becoming "sorta cool."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33AP0JnXSOA

uplanderguy · July 2019

RE.: Dictator as an 'interesting' name....

No big surprises why in '38 that name was replaced by 'Commander', which, except for 1959-63, was used to the end of production in '66.

RE.: That Aztek--looks pretty docile by today's weirdo standards. There are Nissan vehicles that look far-more egregious to my eyes. I agree that this car is a good color and the monochrome look helps greatly.

fintail · July 2019

Out in podunk now, so far have seen an 84-85 Tempo sedan, and a ~03 Camry 5-speed.

xwesx · July 2019

Podunk is a nice place to be.

fintail · July 2019

I like the housing prices and lack of traffic, also plenty of good food (and you can see it in the locals). Oddball old csrs hanging out are icing on the cake.

I don't like the depressing economy and local drug/social issues that are likely just as bad per capita as any metro area.

xwesx · July 2019

True about the drug abuse. It is sad how much people prefer that route of escapism. However, like you say, one will find it anywhere, so rural still wins for me because I don't need to deal with people unless I want to deal with them.

uplanderguy · July 2019

Rural wins for me, not only for cost of living but geographical beauty, but I can't talk my wife into retiring to my old hometown. There's no Target there, LOL.

I find it annoying, only personally, how the consensus is that everybody who prefers small-town or country living is a stupid Neanderthal. I find the people much-more friendly overall, but then I still know more people where I grew up than I do in suburbia where I've lived since 1980, LOL.

There are drugs in my old hometown, but the police department there has made some pretty major arrests of late which is a good thing.

Where I live now, I experienced two weird things when I went to my favorite pizza joint and got two slices to eat on their bench out front, the other early-evening. I thought I saw a head pop up out of an open dumpster near there for a second. I then went to the tiny bakery in the same small shopping center, bought a dollar cookie and had to pay with a $20. I got $19 in change in all ones from the lady there, LOL. Then, I decided to look in that dumpster. There was a guy sitting in there looking through newspaper coupons. And I live in a city of probably 30K or more where there is the second-largest state university in Ohio.

omarman · July 2019

Similar to Columbus except I still get change in Sacagawea coins. And if you see a head pop out of a dumpster it may not necessarily be attached to anything.

Rural is good because everybody knows you and your business. Which may not always be so good.

uplanderguy · July 2019

My daughter and son-in-law live in Hilliard. You get used to it I'm sure, but whenever I'm down there my blood pressure goes way up driving around there.

sda · July 2019

When we moved to our current home 15 years ago, one of the main attractions was the rural feel and lack of congestion. There were working farms, fields with crops of corn , wheat, horse farms, etc. Much of that has given way to neighborhoods, apartments, strip malls and we’ve gained the congestion and all that goes with it in the name of progress. Nope.

Michaell · July 2019

We, too, live in the distant suburbs of Denver. Some horse property, still, but lots of development of new houses and retail.

Before that, we lived in a bedroom community about 30 miles south of Denver. Slightly slower pace, but it, too, was consumed by the development bug.

Population almost doubled in the 15 years we lived there. Roads couldn't be widened to handle the extra traffic.

I just finished an excellent book, "The Future of Capitalism", and one of the topics covered was the growing divide between urban and rural living, both in the US and the UK, and what could be done about it.

berri · July 2019

When areas quickly expand it seems good on first thought. It will boost your home's value. Then reality hits, congestion and tax increases fueling increased cost of living. Often real estate developers push infrastructure costs up for the community and its tax base. Their tax loopholes and incentives can be outrageous.

fintail · July 2019

If only there were jobs out here - unless you are public sector, a doctor/lawyer professional (and only so many of those openings given the population base), or have a family business, you are mostly SOL. The winter weather is also much more dreary than the Seattle rat race, but a 250K house here would be 1.5MM in the city and property taxes are even lower than the relatively low rates in the metro area, so there's that. Hell of a commute though, could be 4 or more hours each way during the rainy season. I think a small city rather than smallish town may be better, more opportunity.

This and similar areas may grow in the future as cash-strapped retirees look for cheaper living costs, but the jobs servicing them might not be the best either, corporate managed caretakers.

ab348 · July 2019

I know even when I was there 15 years ago Eastern Washington gave me an odd vibe. I stopped for a bit in Yakima and did not like it at all as it had a very strange feel, and overnighted in Richland which was only slightly better. I visited a couple of wineries which were not in communities but instead just spots on the map and they were fine. But unless you like being in the middle of nowhere there isn't much in a lot of that area other than tumbleweeds.

fintail · July 2019

Yakima has a pretty rough side, and the Tri-Cities are sometimes not much better. They have nice pockets, but it's awfully dry and dusty there sometimes, and maybe not a lot of opportunity either in terms of a job with a good salary. I spent a bit of my childhood in a smaller town in the Columbia Basin, with the same pros and cons. It wasn't a bad place for kids, but some of the social isssues haven't improved with time, and there's no surplus of decent wage jobs.

An old school friend of mine lives in the Tri-Cities. He put in some years in the rat race, and then his wife got a job at Hanford, and he can work remotely, so they moved. They have a mcmansion on acreage that would cost millions in the city, and I think he put less than 400K into it. Location location though, although maybe not a bad place to raise kids. On a car note, he's the guy with the Monte Carlo fixation, and has the 85 SS slumbering in his garage waiting for renovation.

Spokane on the other hand, I'd probably be willing to do that for the right situation. I think there might be some potential there, living costs aren't bad, and there is some nice old housing stock for a fraction of Puget Sound prices. The climate isn't as extreme, and transportation out of the area is easy. If my employer relocated there and I had a similar salary, I'd take the move no problem.

tjc78 · July 2019

I liked Spokane when I was there many years ago. Seattle was nice too, but suffers from the same things that all major cities do.

I'll most likely be in Seattle in Feb 2020 for a conference.

laurasdada · July 2019

Saw a black PT Cruizer convertible. Quite the hunchback approaching from the rear view.
I'm a suburb kid. Like proximity to the city (NYC growing up, Boston now), but don't make it too close...

fintail · July 2019

Looks like a VW Club is driving through the area, saw at least a dozen Microbus in about a minute a while back, along with numerous Ghias and Beetles.

berri · July 2019

Spokane will give you a summer temp adjustment Fin

On a busy Interstate like I-5 I don't think many cops are going to risk their lives for a small fine 10 mph over. More and more police are losing their lives to bad or inattentive drivers along Interstates.

bhill2 · July 2019

fintail said:
Looks like a VW Club is driving through the area, saw at least a dozen Microbus in about a minute a while back, along with numerous Ghias and Beetles.

Hey Fin, inquiring minds want to know; is 'Microbus' like 'Fox' in that it is both singular and plural? That would amuse me.

roadburner · July 2019

My county has grown up quite a bit but luckily my property will remain isolated.

fintail · July 2019

I can deal with it, I spent time in a warmer area when I was a kid. Ice storms would concern me more, they had a doozie about 20 years ago.

The speedtrap was on a semi-rural state highway - 5 was too dense to allow for much real speeding.

berri said:
Spokane will give you a summer temp adjustment Fin

On a busy Interstate like I-5 I don't think many cops are going to risk their lives for a small fine 10 mph over. More and more police are losing their lives to bad or inattentive drivers along Interstates.

fintail · July 2019

Not sure, but sounds good to me.

Drove by the little used car lot here that often has an odd car or two. Today they have a 57 Ranchero, ~72 Camaro, bright yellow 80s style hot rod ~38 Chevy, and a bunch of ordinary cars. Also saw a Ford Aspire on the road, what a goofy name that was.

bhill2 said:

Hey Fin, inquiring minds want to know; is 'Microbus' like 'Fox' in that it is both singular and plural? That would amuse me.

uplanderguy · July 2019

'Aspire'--I used to tell people, "What? Aspire to move up to an Escort next time?!"

ab348 · July 2019

This '68 Caprice wagon on BaT is sweet:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1968-chevrolet-caprice-wagon/

Interesting to see that despite being a Caprice the seat trim is fairly basic, lacking even an armrest for the front bench. Nicely optioned, though if the original order had included power windows and the hidden headlight option it would be near-perfect. I expect this will pull serious money.

Side note: this paint color is what my Cutlass came with from the factory. When I bought it in '93 it had a poor repaint done sometime in the late '70s/early '80s that was dull, beat-up and unattractive, and I didn't think the color went well with its black interior. So when I had the repaint done I was seeking a color that went better with the interior and chose the 1968 Olds red called "Scarlet", which is a nice red and people seem to like it. But if it had been ordered with a coordinating interior like this one, I would have absolutely kept the original color outside.

uplanderguy · July 2019

Schweet!

That Chevy is gorgeous! I love the color, in and out (similar shades to my Studebaker), and although I'd be surprised if the Rally Wheels were what the car was built with, they look great. (For some reason, I don't ever remember seeing wagons with these wheels back-in-the-day).

As with the Caprice Classic convertibles of the next decade, until the '77's, Caprice wagons had Impala seat and door panel trim. Only thing I can think of is not throwing shade at the B-O-P wagons.

Those tiny bumper guards always crack me up--like they'd do anything for a car of this size, LOL.

uplanderguy · July 2019

Now that I see the window sticker, it does show 'Special Wheels and Trim', so it apparently did have the Rally Wheels from new. What a steal over the standard full-wheel covers--ten bucks and change! For the longest time, throughout the '70's and '80's I remember Rally Wheels being a $56 option for five wheels--best value on the option list.

This car was a zone representative's car or the like, based on the notation at the top of the sticker.

explorerx4 · July 2019

Nice Rallye wheels on that wagon.

fintail · July 2019

Predictions on what the wagon will bring? Too bad about the hidden headlights indeed.

roadburner · July 2019

I almost bid on that Evergreen M Roadster on BaT; I now wish that I had, as it went for under $17k.

uplanderguy · July 2019

I've said this before, but in the late sixties, to my eyes, Impala interiors (such as used in that Caprice wagon) were plusher than Pontiac Catalinas...more in line with the Ventura and Executive I think--carpeted lower door panels, etc. More standard exterior trim too. Of course, Chevy cheaped out on standard engine displacement and using a Powerglide way longer than it probably should have--and cheaped out on motor mounts, LOL--but I think they definitely put their money where you could see it back then.

uplanderguy · July 2019

If Shifty were here, he'd have said "$7,500 tops".

Already bid to $25K. I'll guess $35K.

uplanderguy · July 2019

Now that I think about it, in '68 there weren't full-size Buick and Olds wagons, and the only Pontiac big wagon with woodgrain was the Executive, and I think that interior isn't an iota better than this Chevy's. Odd then that the Bonneville wagon could not be had with woodgrain outside until 1970, and it was optional then although standard on the Executive. Weird. Although, if you got a Catalina wagon in '68 with the Ventura option, it'd have been identical in-and-out to an Executive wagon without woodgrain, so I guess they made the woodgrain standard on the Executive to differentiate it.

Hidden headlights, meh to me. Seen too many that haven't remained working and aligned over the years, and I never like the way they look when open--especially C2 Corvettes.

PF_Flyer · July 2019

At the gym again... no stripes or graphics on the 300Z this time

ab348 · July 2019

Not sure why Chevy decided the Impala interior would be used in a Caprice wagon. Here's what the buyer missed getting. At least they could have used the door panels.

uplanderguy said:

Hidden headlights, meh to me. Seen too many that haven't remained working and aligned over the years, and I never like the way they look when open--especially C2 Corvettes.

But these ones look so good!

fintail · July 2019

I have no shame in admitting I like hidden headlights. A gimmicky thing, but it just looks cool. Like on the Ford equivalent to that Chevy:

uplanderguy · July 2019

I'm pretty sure that except for the coupe's optional bucket seats, vinyl couldn't be had in a non-wagon Caprice then. You could get the optional "Strato-Bench" seat--bucket-like back; solid bottom cushion, center armrest--but I can't remember if that could be had with all-vinyl trim or not.

The Caprice really did the frilly panty-cloth interior thing, probably even more than a Bonneville Brougham, back then.

I do really like this car.

I was never a fan of that formal roof on either the '67 or '68 Caprice coupe or Impala Custom coupe. In '69 when they started using the concave rear window, I liked it a lot more.

That cloth '68 Caprice interior you posted is in excellent condition. I sort-of like the looks of the '67 and '68 instrument panels better without A/C (like the one you posted)--you don't have that vent way up at the top of the center of the panel that way. But I have gotten used to A/C, LOL.

berri · July 2019

I had a friend back in high school and college who bought an Opel GT. If he came over to my house in winter, he didn't need to ring the bell because of having to pound those headlights to get them to close. I liked that car though.

imidazol97 · July 2019

That's quite a find. I might have seen one of these at car shows/cruise ins.
The fins on a Fairlane 500 were curved and showy. The fins on the 57 Ranchero are from the Custom/Custom 300 series where the fin is straight and minimal.

This pic has the Fairlane 500 side trim that's anodized aluminum, but the straight simple fin.

omarman · July 2019

Not liking the exhaust exit under that '68 Caprice wagon. Noise and fumes filling up a 3 row seat interior would overwhelm both 8 track player and fresh air vents. Weird stance from that camera angle too.

And that replacement gas tank looks like it's mounted lower than the frame. Tough running the pot hole courses laid out here on Columbus streets.

But the current view under the hood is another odd thing when compared to an earlier pic posted by a previous seller.
Current seller's engine pic on BaT:

Compare to previous seller engine pic from old ebay listing date November 2017 here.

Why does the "new" master cylinder look so scruffy/rusty in the BaT listing? And did somebody rattle can a bit of Chevy orange paint to somewhat tidy up a previous leak? Definitely some over spray on the A/C bracket. Should be fun to watch how high the bidding goes. Somebody wants it!

ab348 · July 2019

I noticed that the master cylinder on that Caprice didn't look right, but not for the exterior condition. It is a very different design from what GM used for disk brake cars in '68 but I assumed that perhaps the big cars used a different MC style than the more prevalent A-bodies we see today. But that earlier pic shows the style I expected to see. Baffling. Good points on the gas tank and exhaust exit too. The gas tank is definitely too low which is odd in that, to my surprise, repro tanks for these are available, though maybe they are not made the same as the original leading to this result. The exhaust pipes are supposed to dump behind each rear wheel and not under the car which is not something I like.

uplanderguy · July 2019

Perceptive stuff, omarman. I tend to get smitten by the beauty of the car in ads and don't look as close as I should at the underneath pics.

stickguy · July 2019

At the beach this week. Lots of xpensive wheels here. And done fun oldies. Saw a chrome bumper midget this morning in Burgundy.

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

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