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

fintail · October 2019

Must have been some kind of nervous breakdown.

andre1969 · October 2019

uplanderguy said:
Speaking of GM G-bodies in general, saw this today:

We've discussed how I have an irrational appreciation for the '78 Malibu Classic coupe, properly-equipped. I guess because they're rarer today than the '73-77's, and that to me they're about the perfect size and use of space, I could also like a '78 Cutlass Salon coupe, yes, the aero one; an underdog for sure. It's very hard to find a stock, clean, well-maintained '78 G-body though IMHO. I know there were some questionable engineering decisions made in the name of weight-saving and 'new think', but I think a lot of that has been overcome on any cars I could buy today, LOL.

It's interesting that guy picked a Bonneville G for his video. The '82-86 Bonneville is my favorite, among the 4-door versions of GM's '78-88 A/G body. It's an insult to the name, but on the plus side, since it was trying to fill the role of the traditional Bonneville, the interior was nice. And downright luxurious on the Brougham model. I wouldn't mind an '83-86 model, with the 305 V8.

I do think the '82-83 Malibu looks nice, but in general they weren't as nicely trimmed inside. The '82-84 Regal and '82-87 Cutlass Supreme sedans could be nice inside. But, I thought the Regal sedan/wagon's front-end looked a bit awkward. And, I wasn't so crazy about the way the rear sloped off on the Regal/Cutlass sedans. It made them look a bit stubby, whereas I thought the longer rear deck on the Malibu and Bonneville G made the cars look a bit longer and better-proportioned.

fintail · October 2019

While stuck in the grind yesterday (this traffic actually isn't bad given the weather), drove beside something somewhat unusual these days:

https://youtu.be/XPWurAK5fTY

stickguy · October 2019

list night saw a 72ish LTD 2 door drive by the restaurant we were at. White, looked pretty much original (in a little bit beat up way). don't see many of them driving around.

and today, near the house, a well restored Packard four hundred 2 door. White top and lower, coral pink center. Nice looking car for the day actually.

uplanderguy · October 2019

Just back from the Gilmore Museum. It has surpassed the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg in my estimate. I was surprised that most cars were not roped off--like this Tucker:

fintail · October 2019

Nice. I bet you got kick out of the old showroom format they used, too. Surprised you spent a mere day there

kyfdx · October 2019

Spotted this near my neighborhood

stickguy · October 2019

now that was a real trucks, truck.

uplanderguy · October 2019

I got to Gilmore about 11:30 a.m. Sat., and bought the two-day pass. I got through most of it in a day, but went back for a couple hours on Sunday morning before driving home. Loved, particularly, the Cadillac showroom, and especially the Lincoln building. The two Mark II Continentals made me drool, and I have to say that although I've made fun of these cars in the past, the pristine '60 Continental Mark V four-door they had was pretty darn luxurious.

Cool to see "Hemi Under Glass"--the one Jay Leno was in when it rolled over a couple or three years ago, with famous driver Bob Riggle behind the wheel at age 80. They had the video of the rollover on a loop next to the car. Riggle is from Mansfield, OH.

kyfdx · October 2019

Five hours away from me..

Dang.. my wife just went home to visit her Mom in Fort Wayne. Should have gone. Could have left her there for 24 hours, and would have just had a 4 hour round-trip from there.

uplanderguy · October 2019

It's 4 1/2 hrs. from me. I wished I'd have gone before this; it was great.

Note: On Dec. 1 they are down to three buildings open, so not worth going after that until spring.

kyfdx · October 2019

uplanderguy said:
It's 4 1/2 hrs. from me. I wished I'd have gone before this; it was great.

Note: On Dec. 1 they are down to three buildings open, so not worth going after that until spring.

Thanks... might check that out next Spring.

fintail · October 2019

IIRC the older style buildings are not heated.

uplanderguy · October 2019

The buildings that were farther away from where you first walk in, felt as cold inside as the outside did--the buildings that were somewhat barn-like.

fintail · October 2019

When I was there last November, there was snow on the ground, and I recall the more rustic buildings being quite cold.

andre1969 · October 2019

My uncle had a 1976 Jeep pickup similar to that one, ages ago. The only picture I know of it that we have, is where it's in the background of this pic I took of my '57 DeSoto, way back in late September/early October of 1990...

He paid something like $500 for it. It had an AMC 360 and a 4-speed stick. The cab and front clip weren't in too bad of shape, but the bed was really rusted out. He ended up pulling the bed off and building one out of wood, then loading up the old metal bed and hauling it off to get a few bucks for it, for scrap.

He painted the truck a light beige, close to the color of my old '69 Dart GT that's sitting in the foreground of this pic. Honestly, I liked the 2-tone green and white. But, he painted it himself, with a cheap spray paint gun, so he saved some money there. He sold it after a few years to one of his friends down in the mountains of Southwest Virginia, and that guy used it for years, to go hunting, rattle around on the farm, etc.

imidazol97 · October 2019

andre1969 said:

That Desoto was magnificent in its red body even then. Love them.

explorerx4 · October 2019

Saw a really nice 560 SL today. Kind of a muted metallic red.
Then I couldn't see him because he was literally tailgating my truck @75+ mph.
Pulled over and he went by, but someone else jumped behind him and did the same thing to him.
I was in it for the long run, so ok letting him go by and enjoyed seeing him getting a taste of his own medicine.

kyfdx · October 2019

@andre1969 If that pickup hadn't had a vanity plate, I would have guessed it was late '60s. Surprised to see it was a '64.

Was the '76 called a Honcho?

ab348 · October 2019

I just learned something - was curious about that '64 Jeep pickup so I looked for a brochure online. Couldn't find a 1964 version but did come up with a '65:

http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Jeep/1965 Jeep/1965 Jeep Full Line Brochure (R2)/index1.html

I had no idea they made that in styles with the smooth-sided bed like the one shown in the pic, plus a fender-sided bed, a cab-and-chassis, a platform bed, a stake bed, and a dual rear wheel setup. Also Jeep built a panel van. In '65 they offered the AMC 232 6-cyl., the Buick V-6, and the old AMC 327 V-8 as engines.

andre1969 · October 2019

kyfdx said:
@andre1969 If that pickup hadn't had a vanity plate, I would have guessed it was late '60s. Surprised to see it was a '64.

Was the '76 called a Honcho?

I think Honcho was a graphics trim package. The design itself was called the Gladiator, although I don't recall that name really being thrown around in popular language like "Silverado", "Ram", "Suburban", etc. We just called it a "Jeep pickup". I think it had a "J10" badge on it.

According to Wikipedia, the design ran from 1962 to 1988! And a bit longer, I guess, if you factor in the Wagoneer, which ran until around 1991.

Despite the rust, I do remember my uncle's '76 feeling like a heavy, rugged truck. It made Granddad's '85 Silverado, also in that picture, feel like a tin can in comparison.

ab348 · October 2019

Never had a link copy badly like that one above for the '65 Jeep brochure before, odd. Can no longer edit it. Try this instead:

https://bit.ly/2PsEDZz

kyfdx · October 2019

andre1969 said:

kyfdx said:
@andre1969 If that pickup hadn't had a vanity plate, I would have guessed it was late '60s. Surprised to see it was a '64.

Was the '76 called a Honcho?
I think Honcho was a graphics trim package. The design itself was called the Gladiator, although I don't recall that name really being thrown around in popular language like "Silverado", "Ram", "Suburban", etc. We just called it a "Jeep pickup". I think it had a "J10" badge on it.

According to Wikipedia, the design ran from 1962 to 1988! And a bit longer, I guess, if you factor in the Wagoneer, which ran until around 1991.

Despite the rust, I do remember my uncle's '76 feeling like a heavy, rugged truck. It made Granddad's '85 Silverado, also in that picture, feel like a tin can in comparison.

Yeah... wiki says '76-'83, Honcho was a trim package

andre1969 · October 2019

This isn't gonna end well...

fintail · November 2019

Looks like the Caddy might have came out ahead:

ab348 · November 2019

Speaking of Cadillacs coming out ahead, can anyone ID this real-life crime scene that was later made famous in a movie?

fintail · November 2019

Must be "Casino". Lots of good shots of that Eldo (and numerous other period cars) in it, movie is a modern classic:

tjc78 · November 2019

Yes Casino. What a great movie

ab348 · November 2019

The intended victim was Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal. He refused to sign the police report.

https://lasvegassun.com/news/1982/oct/05/car-bomb-blasts-lefty/

fintail · November 2019

Apparently the story about the reinforcement under the driver seat is true in those cars, too.

andre1969 · November 2019

fintail said:
Looks like the Caddy might have came out ahead:

Yeah, although realistically, I wonder how much that '74 Monaco was cut up, to crumple like that? It really wasn't *that* hard of a hit. And then, in typical movie-magic fashion, the Monaco blows up, despite being t-boned. If you look closely (you can't see it in that shot though), it doesn't even have a gas tank in it! And naturally, the Seville blows up just seconds later.

I think Mother Jones and Dateline NBC looked to this scene for inspiration, when they did their Pinto and Silverado explosions, respectively.

fintail · November 2019

I have to imagine the Monaco has more mass, and Mopars were known for pretty sturdy frames - I don't think it would have been such an easy win in real life. No doubt Hollywood removed the B-pillar reinforcement too.

andre1969 said:

Yeah, although realistically, I wonder how much that '74 Monaco was cut up, to crumple like that? It really wasn't *that* hard of a hit. And then, in typical movie-magic fashion, the Monaco blows up, despite being t-boned. If you look closely (you can't see it in that shot though), it doesn't even have a gas tank in it! And naturally, the Seville blows up just seconds later.

I think Mother Jones and Dateline NBC looked to this scene for inspiration, when they did their Pinto and Silverado explosions, respectively.

tjc78 · November 2019

Saw a two door early 90s Olds Acheiva. Couldn’t tell you the last time I’ve seen one of those.

andre1969 · November 2019

tjc78 said:
Saw a two door early 90s Olds Acheiva. Couldn’t tell you the last time I’ve seen one of those.

For the most part, I thought GM made a mess of that generation of compact, style-wise, but somehow, the Achieva coupe came off looking pretty nice, I thought.

stickguy · November 2019

got passed today by a 68 (I think, or 67) Firebird. Looked nice. Had the nostril hood. Told the wife I wanted one for Christmas. She ignored me.

imidazol97 · November 2019

stickguy said:
got passed today by a 68 (I think, or 67) Firebird. Looked nice. Had the nostril hood. Told the wife I wanted one for Christmas. She ignored me.

I had to go look up the year to see what you meant...

stickguy · November 2019

might have been a 69, or they just put on a later hood. In any case, it was more this style:

fintail · November 2019

Australia 1962, modern architecture and green fintails:

omarman · November 2019

I'm okay with RHD cars but do people in Oz drive on the sidewalks or walk in the road because there are no sidewalks?

fintail · November 2019

Maybe a shared space back when people had more spatial awareness.

omarman · November 2019

Anna: What's with this fair?
Albert: Every year, people die.

ab348 · November 2019

This certainly fits the message board title correctly - I had forgotten these existed and even when new they were very uncommon around here:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1978-Buick-Riviera-Anniversary/133220481994?hash=item1f048f3bca:g:XbkAAOSwCRhdt1K1&vxp=mtr&fbclid=IwAR2Hrq0fHfSL1qgxwcGVXSAKsuDu4sAMG_DF9LjrLG5l2gAxc276MgVSo54

It was a bit of a kludge by Buick until the new '79 front-drive Riv came out, but these were nice enough for the times in their own way. Think of it as a fancy "special" LeSabre coupe. This one is very well-preserved with a lovely interior.

omarman · November 2019

When VIN # 4Z37K8H530543 was located in Bremerton, WA with 34,134 miles it was wearing wire wheel covers, blackwall tires and seller was asking $13500.

I like the whitewall tires better though.

xwesx · November 2019

omarman said:
When VIN # 4Z37K8H530543 was located in Bremerton, WA with 34,134 miles it was wearing wire wheel covers, blackwall tires and seller was asking $13500.

I like the whitewall tires better though.

It is amazing what a little presentation can do!

fintail · November 2019

On the drizzly coast have seen an 84-85 Tempo, Ciera wagon, tin top RHD Jimny, couple of early Geos, couple of early Mopar minivans (one a loaded Caravan SE, has to be rare these days).

explorerx4 · November 2019

Early 2k black Volvo S80 in great looking condition.

fintail · November 2019

In podunk today saw a Daewoo Leganza, 2 door Pinto on slotted mags, battered Lincoln Mark V still on the road, another Tempo, 60 Comet at a body shop.

ab348 · November 2019

Now here's something you don't see every day:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1965-austin-850-mini-beach-car/

PF_Flyer · November 2019

"It's got a few years, but it's a creampuff"

imidazol97 · November 2019

And some that aren't so creampuff.
The image gallery of these barn finds has 143 pictures to browse.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/massive-muscle-car-barn-find-auction-coyote-johnson-collection?sm_id=paid:sm_id:fb:gen:MTo&o_test:link_clicks:coyote_collection:mt&fbclid=IwAR28O__x4YUTwyK8NjHy5w9KhRAQpH3ulJftv789iSXUj3AEoSfDLwPcv5g

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

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