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

ab348 · December 2019

texases said:
One of my first car memories was playing with the rusted paint around our '53 Studebaker's side air vents.

One of my first car memories was seeing how it seemed all Studebakers around here rusted out at those side fender vents.

ab348 · December 2019

uplanderguy said:
Not spotted by me, except on a FB page about instrument panels....still to my eyes, probably the most-expensive-looking panel put in a mass-produced car...1965 Pontiac Grand Prix (same in Bonneville with bucket seats and console options). More-expensive-looking than Buick and Olds even IMHO.

When I was 9 years old the parents bought a new '65 Pontiac Parisienne 4-door hardtop. It was painted Madiera Maroon like the one in the brochure but without the black roof:

The Parisienne didn't get the wood trim on the dash, but a black crinkle or vinyl finish instead. Still a nice dash though.

For reason that I never understood, they didn't keep it long. I asked and was told it was a lemon, but I suspect that it was for financial reasons.

ab348 · December 2019

fintail said:
Yep, as far as I know, they (and all 60 Edsel sedans) all had the bubble type window as on a 60 Fairlane, not the flat window as a 60 Galaxie.

uplanderguy said:
RE.: Edsel four-door hardtop for '60--I never noticed a different rear window style than the Galaxie four-door hardtop had. That seems hard-to-believe for the low volume. I need to check that out; interesting.

I didn't know this either but it seems to be correct.

Here is a 1960 Ford 4-door hardtop:

And here is a 1960 Edsel 4-door hardtop:

As @fintail says, the Edsel appears to use the 4-door sedan rear bubble glass.

fintail · December 2019

Funny to me that the higher model used the flat glass, with the Galaxie-T-Bird styling link desired by Ford, where in my eyes the bubble glass looks more space-age and futuristic.

uplanderguy · December 2019

I am utterly amazed of that difference in a model with such little volume. Thank you for pointing that out.

Even with the weird taillights (which I've read are '61 Comet taillights, but I don't know), I really like '60 Edsels. Ford's two-door hardtop roofline that year was so pretty. A longtime coworker of mine, now retired, an avid Ford buff, has told me for years that the dealer in Wadsworth, OH, his hometown then and now, had a new '60 Edsel convertible. He's aware of the production number of 76.

At Hershey maybe a decade ago, I saw two '60 Edsels at different locations in the swap meet. I have heard some people faking Fords into Edsels, but that seems hard-to-believe. How common could the Edsel grille be, LOL?!

uplanderguy · December 2019

Since we've been talking about the final Edsel and DeSoto here, I'll post this here instead of the usual Studebaker forum.

On Monday Dec. 9, 1963, notice went out across the country that after 111 years, Studebaker was stopping final production in South Bend, its only U.S. production facility. The engine plant would continue to provide engines for the Hamilton, Ontario plant, and stamping would continue in South Bend. The engine plant closed later in 1964.

Studebaker did not want photos of the last car being taken, as it would give the impression they were abandoning the car business completely. NBC snuck a reporter in to take film of the last car coming down the line which was shown on Huntley and Brinkley that night. I wish I could find that on the 'net somewhere.

I'll condense the story, but probably 15 years ago I was wearing a Studebaker Museum sweatshirt in a restaurant one town over from where I live now, and an older gentleman came over and told me he was the guy who took the footage. He had worked for the NBC affiliate in South Bend and was given the 'spy camera' by the Chicago affiliate. He had no idea how big of a story that is in Studebaker circles.

uplanderguy · December 2019

Last regular 'assembly line' Studebaker built in the U.S., on Friday 12/20/63--given to the City of South Bend by Studebaker at the last minute and currently has 23.8 miles. Nicely equipped too, with R1 engine, 4-speed, and disc brakes.

uplanderguy · December 2019

Last car on top is this car, before the decision was made to keep the car.

Studebaker truck hauler.

stickguy · December 2019

I like that one. Nice styling.

uplanderguy · December 2019

The last car REALLY built in South Bend is this Avanti with R3 engine, now in the Crawford Museum in Cleveland. Built on 12/26/63. I took this pic last year. The R3 engines were high-performance, conservatively rated at 335 hp, and built at Andy Granatelli's Paxton Products division in CA and installed on the line at South Bend.

Avantis weren't built on a regular 'line' but were built in a different building than Lark-types and Hawks.

Doesn't look like it in this pic, but Avantis had glass headlight covers.

uplanderguy · December 2019

Really, the last vehicle built in the U.S. by Studebaker was this Diesel one-ton, on 12/27/63. Interestingly, this year the calendar falls on the same days as 1963.

An employee took this photo, and also took one of the engine being installed in this vehicle. It was built for government use so most-likely doesn't survive.

uplanderguy · December 2019

I like that one. Nice styling.

I like the '64 two-doors too. Roomy inside, and I don't think there's an ounce of fat in the styling. I'm always reminded of the '78 GM mid-size two-doors in concept.

I like the looks of no outside mirror, but totally impractical of course.

fintail · December 2019

I notice that 60 Edsel above lacks an outside mirror, as well. I like those 4 door HTs too in both Edsel and Ford form, maybe no surprise as it isn't a secret I like 60 Fords. It's not a classically pretty car, but it is just odd enough to work, and I think it was a more modern design than the big car competition. that year (probably due to the windshield and front end). Maybe just rose-tinted memories of being a young teen when my dad bough the 60 wagon, when riding in it and practicing driving in it was exciting.

I don't think the Comet and Edsel share lights - Comet looks to have different proportions to my eye. It's funny to think of someone faking a 60 Edsel as well, they aren't especially valuable, I am sure everyone who really wants one has one.

I remember that red hardtop from the museum, great display with the sign behind it. The Avanti reminds me that I prefer the round lights.

imidazol97 · December 2019

I went looking for info about the Comet and Edsel taillights. I stumbled onto this page with some interesting pictures and talk about Edsel Comets that were to be Falcon related.

Some of the comments under pictures are separated with ads between, but interesting...

https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/forgotten-future/forgotten-future-1960-edsel-comet/

stickguy · December 2019

Pontiac stole that grill from them!

imidazol97 · December 2019

That was a diminutive Edsel grill for the Edsel Comet.

explorerx4 · December 2019

@!uplanderguy,
I've seen that 64 Lark Daytona.

uplanderguy · December 2019

I'm in lust with that Daytona. It is very literally a NOS Studebaker.

A '64 Daytona Hardtop is desirable in the Stude world anyway, with only 2,414 built between South Bend and Hamilton, but the equipment and color and provenance of this particular one make it even more so.

uplanderguy · December 2019

Man, that Comet prototype is making my eyes bleed! LOL

uplanderguy · December 2019

Funny to me that the higher model used the flat glass, with the Galaxie-T-Bird styling link desired by Ford, where in my eyes the bubble glass looks more space-age and futuristic.

The Edsel was above the Ford in the FoMoCo hierarchy, though.

I like the bubble back window better.

I'm still learning things I thought I knew already!

uplanderguy · December 2019

RE.: That red Daytona...here's a side view, with a view of some of the interior. No radio, and you can see a bit of the slide-out beauty vanity in the glovebox. I've never noticed this before, but in this pic it looks like the instrument panel top padding is warped around the glovebox.

I think that car didn't always have ideal storage over the years. I want to say I remember hearing that it was kept for awhile in the basement of the South Bend Water Authority or something like that.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sjb4photos/7143686819

ab348 · December 2019

The jack stand under the open door looks rather inelegant. I get the reason why, it is on display like that long-term and so the hinges would likely sag, but I would have hoped a more aesthetic solution could be found.

uplanderguy · December 2019

That car gets moved around. Last time I was there, it was displayed as in the first picture posted here, without either door open. I was surprised to see they trailered it last year to the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals meet in Illinois. It is probably the most significant vehicle in their collection IMHO only.

I have to admit, I listen to when 'Mayor Pete' is interviewed to see if Studebaker is mentioned. I have heard it a couple times, including this past week where the segment mentioned that he announced his candidacy from the old Studebaker Body building in South Bend which has been refurbished into high-tech office space.

ab348 · December 2019

He became very controversial up here yesterday when it was revealed that when he was at McKinsey he had the Loblaw grocery chain as a client and advised them on pricing strategies. A couple of years ago they were found guilty of price-fixing activity on bread products and had to issue refunds to customers. Correctly or not, the internet/media mob linked him to that.

uplanderguy · December 2019

Wow!

We had a Loblaw's in my hometown of Greenville, PA when I was a kid. The building is now Phil Godfrey Ford, one of only two new-car dealers still in the zip code and the only one left in the borough-proper.

fintail · December 2019

The hierarchy makes it even more unusual - Edsel was higher, using a design from a lower model Ford.

I thought all of you gurus here would have noticed the rear window quirk

Funny thing with the Edsel/Pontiac/divided grille link. Pontiac has used a divided grille, sometimes with a beak, for eons. Via this and the sometimes performance desires of the brand, some have called it the "American BMW", and accused Pontiac of copying the BMW kidney/split grille. However, Pontiac used the theme from their first model in 1929:

uplanderguy said:

The Edsel was above the Ford in the FoMoCo hierarchy, though.

I like the bubble back window better.

I'm still learning things I thought I knew already!

imidazol97 · December 2019

fintail said:
However, Pontiac used the theme from their first model in 1929:

So BMW copied from Pontiac. LOL
The long going chicken and egg question...

fintail · December 2019

It's a fun game

In 1929, BMW cars were still based on the diminutive Austin 7:

But in 1933, BMW introduced their first in-house (I think) car, and it had the grille which lives on:

Pontiac did kind of abandon it in the 40s and 50s, maybe the Bimmerphiles can embrace that.

imidazol97 said:

So BMW copied from Pontiac. LOL
The long going chicken and egg question...

fintail · December 2019

2 weeks til Christmas. time for an old classic:

stickguy · December 2019

he should have gotten the wagon conversion.

fintail · December 2019

Today in the torrential pineapple express rainstorm saw an 80s Celica GT and a W202 C43 AMG.

ab348 · December 2019

Saw a FB post about one of @jmonroe 's favorites, Dean Martin:

"This is Dean Martins 1972 Stutz Blackhawk, I purchased it this summer from the Buck Owens estate. In 1974 Dean sold the car to country star Buck Owens and Buck kept it in Bakersfield and it was in storage for over 30 years. It came fully documented wit the original registration signed by Dean, a letter from Jules Meyers (Stutz distributor) to Buck congratulating him on purchasing Deans Stutz, the documents for the license plate interchange from “Drunky”. I had it shipped from Bakersfield to Massachusetts so it’s the first time in almost 50 years leaving california."

fintail · December 2019

Grand Prix-based, right? Funny, just the other day I was reading something about his "Drunky" plate:

I wonder if this model had the clock in the steering wheel hub, I know I saw a Stutz with that fun feature, but I don't recall the details.

driver100 · December 2019

ab348 said:
Saw a FB post about one of @jmonroe 's favorites, Dean Martin:

"This is Dean Martins 1972 Stutz Blackhawk, I purchased it this summer from the Buck Owens estate. In 1974 Dean sold the car to country star Buck Owens and Buck kept it in Bakersfield and it was in storage for over 30 years.interchange from “Drunky”."

What a beautiful car....would still look smart if it was being sold as a new car today. So is that the one that is smashed up in the next post? I wonder if JMonroe ever considered getting a DRUNKY license plate so he could really pull off his Dean Martin imitation thing?

driver100 · December 2019

Maytag Dishwasher Update:
The first day it didn't work at all, food got caked on the utensils and dishes.
I noticed no water came out....soap pocket did fall out of holder. Went to pick it up and it must have been 1000 degrees.
Called B-I-L. He said he probably forgot to turn the water back on...under the sink.
Got that fixed.
Now it does a beautiful job.....plates and utensils couldn't come out cleaner. I think the tines could be designed to be more efficient.
Reviews on Home Depot site are extremely good. Biggest fault seems to be people walking by and accidentally pushing on a button....can't imagine doing that, must be a lot of drunk home owners out there. Many report their last dishwasher only lasted a short time...some 2 years, that seems to happen a fair bit.

Stick.....hope yours keeps going...........

ab348 · December 2019

Wrong forum for dishwasher discussions, Driver.

driver100 · December 2019

ab348 said:
Wrong forum for dishwasher discussions, Driver.

Well, not a whole lot else going on.
It has been a rainy day in Florida today, so went to see Knives Out. Very clever with lots of twists and turns, Daniel Craig was incredible...no one could have played his part better.
There was a really lame car chase at one point, a Hyundai Accent that could only get up to 60 mph being chased by police cars.

fintail · December 2019

Saw a restored ~62 Beetle with correct looking wide whites in small town traffic today. Also a maybe 76-77 Grand Prix,, and an early Tempo in the same spot I saw it parked when I was here ~7 weeks ago.

fintail · December 2019

Car show time:

No background info, I suspect this is from the fintail introduction in 1959.

sda · December 2019

Wow, for 1959, a very good year I might add as I entered the world in May of that year, a very contemporary, clean, uncluttered car.

roadburner · December 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO9jJu9zUcQ

fintail · December 2019

And by the time the first series fintails ended production in 1965, the fins weren't exactly cutting edge. The last fintails were titled as 1968 model year vehicles, something of a relic design by then.

sda said:
Wow, for 1959, a very good year I might add as I entered the world in May of that year, a very contemporary, clean, uncluttered car.

fintail · December 2019

Something odd, the mystery of the fintail without fins:

https://youtu.be/nOtxi39gKiY

fintail · December 2019

Two spots in the past day - brown Citation 4 door (5 door?) and a very clean 80s Buick "Estate Wagon" cruising down the highway, classy old beast.

stickguy · December 2019

I saw a red 2 door cavalier. Early one.

texases · December 2019

Didn’t those Citation slant backs just have a trunk, no hatch?

PF_Flyer · December 2019

I read a lot of history books and having just read about the Volkswagen Kübelwagen and thinking about the VW Thing, and lo and behold one drives by me yesterday. Couldn't get a shot with my phone, but dug up a couple of comparison shots

The Type 82

The Thing

Wasn't there talk of bringing back the Thing as an EV a couple of years ago?

omarman · December 2019

It just wouldn't be the same driving a Thing without a girl playing guitar and sitting on the fold-down windshield.

fintail · December 2019

Looks like a hatch (I couldn't recall either):

Weird ad comparison too, Datsun 810? I know which I'd rather have.

Yhat Thing is going to make for a gnarly crash.

explorerx4 · December 2019

We had 2 Thing's at the same time, both orange.
I drove one of them for a winter in VT.
I put wet towels around the sides of the top framework.
They froze and cut down on the drafts.

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

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