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

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  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 17,312
    Bursting into flame was an Undocumented Feature on some Fieros.

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  • omarmanomarman Member Posts: 2,702
    So that put the Formula into Firebird? Always wondered about that. :smile:
    Fake sidepipes of the 70s...good times!
    image
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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,652
    I've seen a few of those Stutz revivals in person, usually at the GM show in Carlisle PA. I'm sure they used various platforms for various revivals, but I think the most common was the Colonade generation Grand Prix! Kinda scary to think my '76 LeMans has some of the same DNA as that Stutz!

    As garish as they are though, I'll admit in person, they're kind of cool. Some of the details seem a bit Exner-ish.
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,685
    They should, Exner was the stylist:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stutz_Blackhawk
  • omarmanomarman Member Posts: 2,702
    I was thinking of the skinny fake looking pipes on that flaming 'Bird. Sidepipes used to be a thing back then. There were $pensive versions that were pretty loud and even one brand which was guaranteed to pass any noise level inspections by law enforcement.

    And then there were the fake "custom" sidepipes which appeared to be poking out of the front fenders which looks similar to that disco inferno from Chips. :smile:
    A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,092
    This one comes to mind:

    image

    Oddly enough, can't believe this didn't come to mind, fintails also have a slight taper in the B-pillar window openings, accentuated by the chrome frames:

    image


    I'm picturing something older with a tapered B-pillar as well though, but just can't think of what it is.


    Quick Google didn't reveal it, but for some reason, I'm thinking it was a product of Auburn, Cord, or Duesenberg.

    The original Cadillac Sixty Special, designed by a young Bill Mitchell, had a B-pillar which I think the stylists were thinking about when they did the '71 Fleetwood Sixty-Special Brougham (and later GM Colonnade four-doors), but it wasn't tapered.

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,092
    Was that Ponch's car, or John's? I swear I recall one of them had a Firebird.
    andre1969 said:

    From an episode of "CHiPs" yesterday...


    I know Pontiac called it a "Firebird", but c'mon, let's not take that TOO literally! :o

  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,435
    Must be Ponch. I think Jon drove a square K10 PU.

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  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,685
    fintail said:

    This one comes to mind:

    image

    Oddly enough, can't believe this didn't come to mind, fintails also have a slight taper in the B-pillar window openings, accentuated by the chrome frames:

    image




    I'm picturing something older with a tapered B-pillar as well though, but just can't think of what it is.


    Quick Google didn't reveal it, but for some reason, I'm thinking it was a product of Auburn, Cord, or Duesenberg.

    The original Cadillac Sixty Special, designed by a young Bill Mitchell, had a B-pillar which I think the stylists were thinking about when they did the '71 Fleetwood Sixty-Special Brougham (and later GM Colonnade four-doors), but it wasn't tapered.

    Ah, the "Twenty Grand" Duesenberg:
    https://www.ultimatecarpage.com/chassis/767/Duesenberg-SJ-Rollston-Torpedo-Sedan-2539-J-513.html
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,652
    stickguy said:

    Must be Ponch. I think Jon drove a square K10 PU.

    Yeah, it was Ponch's. In fact, this was the episode where Ponch bought it. The owner of the car bought it out of state, but there were problems with the paperwork, and he couldn't get it registered. But then it was going to get towed because it didn't have tags on it, or something like that. So the owner got fed up and poured gasoline on it and lit it up. Ponch and Jon showed up just in time, responding to a call about an altercation between the tow truck driver and the car's owners. In fact, they put the fire out just a few frames after I took that pic.

    Then, the tow truck driver offered the guy 50 bucks for it, but Ponch offered a bit more, and bought it. Later on, not in this episode, Ponch did fix it up.

    As for Jon, for seasons 2-5 (he left the show for the 6th season) he drove that GMC. When I was a kid, I LOVED that truck! It also seemed to suit him, as he was a bit of a redneck, and from Wyoming. Oddly though, in the first season, they had him driving around in a Mini Cooper!




  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,652
    texases said:

    They should, Exner was the stylist:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stutz_Blackhawk

    That would definitely make sense. I always thought the Stutz bore a slight resemblance to that Duesenberg revival Exner conjured up in the 60's. And, that Duesenberg seemed to have a few creases and cuts that reminded me of what they started doing to the Mopars, starting in '60 perhaps, but moreseo in '61, especially with the Imperial.
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,435
    I would love the GMC now.

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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,055
    edited October 2020
    Excuse the poor photography--very clean Cadillac DTS in donut shop parking lot this morning. I think these are pleasantly-styled cars, nice size, styling in the American idiom. V8 and FWD, exclusive among domestic makes I think. (EDIT: Just remembered Buick Lucernes could be had that way.) Elderly owner of course. I preferred the name "DeVille" to "DTS", although I guess the latter indicates "Touring Sedan".

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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,055
    edited October 2020
    Participated in a 'rolling cruise' for about 16 miles in my hometown yesterday. About 200 cars. We were just talking about Spring Green here and this Monte Carlo was there:



    Factory cloth interior. The nylon Chevy used in the Monte Carlo and (by owner's choice) in the Caprice then, wore like iron:




    My favorite car of the show--'51 Chevy wagon. I almost never saw Chevy wagons of the '49-54 era when I was a kid, although I saw a ton of four-door sedans. I liked the various vacation-spot stickers on the side rear windows:



    Old friend from a year ahead of me in school hollered out my name and sent me this pic. I put 141 miles on the Stude yesterday:




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  • omarmanomarman Member Posts: 2,702
    image
    Never watched the show but this pic from wiki looks a little like the Bluesmobile behind the Chips Firebird mashup.
    A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,756

    Participated in a 'rolling cruise' for about 16 miles in my hometown yesterday. About 200 cars.

    That's neat! I am not sure there is ever anything like that around here.

    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,055
    edited October 2020
    This was put on by the fellow who normally orchestrates the Heritage Days car show there, which on a dry day gets 700 cars...pretty amazing for a town of 5,800 that's not a suburb of anything. Of course, this year that show was cancelled.

    Here are the rules for yesterday's cruise, handed to you when you pulled in. Yesterday was also a benefit for a fellow in Jamestown (up the road from Greenville) who was ill but I can't recall what with.

    "St. Paul's" is a very large senior living/care place way upon a hill on the east side of the valley in Greenville, where you can own your own home, have assisted living, or nursing home care. It is associated with the Lutheran church. Folks from all three areas there were out in lawn chairs/wheelchairs waving. I think I saw my fourth-grade teacher Miss Christopher just outside the door of the nursing home but it may have been wishful thinking, as I had just been wondering about her. She had a solid black '56 Bel Air four-door sedan when I had her in '67-68, and later drove a light blue '65 Mustang six-cylinder as her daily car, well into the early nineties. I spoke to her a decade ago and mentioned the Bel Air. She replied, "Yes, that was the first car I bought when I graduated college", which would have been about right if she'd bought it new.


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  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,188
    @fintail W126 coupe

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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,092
    560SEC almost certainly. Wheels are anachronisms and appear to be knock offs, but suit the car well enough.
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,435
    drove past a little cars and coffee yesterday afternoon. I think it was at a small diner (but I did not get a great look, since the road it is on is a menace to drive on, so you have to pay close attention!). I did see a red 71 or 72 Mustang fastback exiting the lot onto the road (and no, I did not see if ran it into a fire hydrant).

    later, out driving, a mid-80s brown Buick full sized 4 door. Looked very clean.

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  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,188
    edited October 2020
    fintail said:

    560SEC almost certainly. Wheels are anachronisms and appear to be knock offs, but suit the car well enough.

    '89

    He says the monoblocks came off of another W126 he bought for a parts car.

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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,652

    Here are the rules for yesterday's cruise, handed to you when you pulled in. Yesterday was also a benefit for a fellow in Jamestown (up the road from Greenville) who was ill but I can't recall what with.

    In some venues, item #5 is not necessarily a deterrent :p

  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,756

    This was put on by the fellow who normally orchestrates the Heritage Days car show there, which on a dry day gets 700 cars...pretty amazing for a town of 5,800 that's not a suburb of anything. Of course, this year that show was cancelled.

    Here are the rules for yesterday's cruise, handed to you when you pulled in. Yesterday was also a benefit for a fellow in Jamestown (up the road from Greenville) who was ill but I can't recall what with.

    Hahah! I love the "simplified rules for complaining" at the very bottom of the sheet. That's a well-done event! ;)
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,250
    @uplanderguy,
    You do have a myopic view of the vehicle world.
    Late 90's Contiental.

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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,055
    edited October 2020
    I guess I remember Cadillac bragging at introduction time, that they were the only V8 FWD game in town, and I do believe that to be the case.

    I can't even recall what a Continental V8 FWD, looks like outside.

    If it's what I'm thinking, I like the styling of the DTS better, but a lot of it is what you're used to. Through the decades, when I got into something that wasn't GM, I often-thought things like the instrument numerals, odometer numbers, door lock buttons, armrests, radio, etc., seemed weird to me, LOL.

    Nothing was more weird than those few years Ford put the horn-honker on the stalk.
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  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,685
    Same here, I had to look it up, it was the '95-'02 model:

  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,027


    If it's what I'm thinking, I like the styling of the DTS better, but a lot of it is what you're used to. Through the decades, when I got into something that wasn't GM, I often-thought things like the instrument numerals, odometer numbers, door lock buttons, armrests, radio, etc., seemed weird to me, LOL.

    Nothing was more weird than those few years Ford put the horn-honker on the stalk.

    How true. I remember after I had the Intrigue for a year or so, getting a 2003 Taurus for a rental. Every control on the dash seemed to be in the wrong place. Not a bad car to drive but things were just different.

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  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,188
    That Continental was my mother's last car. Same color, too.

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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,652
    I kind of like that '95-02 Continental. Perhaps it still wasn't upscale looking enough, to be a strong seller, but it was a major step above that 1988-94 style. From some angles, that earlier model favors a Town Car somewhat, but then from other angles, it looks too much like a Topaz.

    Didn't Ford get something like 275 hp out if the Continental's version of the 4.6?
  • tjc78tjc78 Member Posts: 15,849
    I test drove one of those. It was a nice comfy cruiser that I would have been very happy with. Pretty powerful for its time too, 275 seems correct. It had a little less power than the Mark VIII. I think 0-60 was around 7 seconds or so.

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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,055
    edited October 2020
    I'd mentioned this here before, but I don't recall details of many cars from the '90's to now, LOL. Function of my age perhaps, but those years are the 'malaise era' to me. Besides the cars being rather 'meh' to me, I guess those years were years of being married, having kids, ill parents, etc., which of course saps all that other stuff.

    When I thought about it more--excluding the Eldorado--de Villes were V8 and FWD starting with the downsized ones that came out in '84. I lived in Atlanta at the time and I remember going to a dealer to see them. Talk about being underwhelmed, LOL.
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  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,027
    In the '80s/'90s era the models mentioned above had V8s and FWD. But it goes back to the Toronado in 1966, the Eldo the next year, and then the 1979 Toro/Eldo/Riviera cars which were downsized V8/FWD designs. Nothing new under the sun.

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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,652
    edited October 2020
    ab348 said:

    In the '80s/'90s era the models mentioned above had V8s and FWD. But it goes back to the Toronado in 1966, the Eldo the next year, and then the 1979 Toro/Eldo/Riviera cars which were downsized V8/FWD designs. Nothing new under the sun.

    I used to think putting a V8 sideways in a car was a pretty big deal, but when you think about it, is a V8 really any longer than an inline-4? And, if they can fit a 90-degree V6 under the hood, I'm sure it would follow that a V8 should be able to fit as well, so maybe a V8, even transverse, isn't that big of big deal.

    At the Carlisle PA swap meet the other week, someone had a Pontiac 6000 they were selling. It had a 350 under the hood! It actually fit a lot better than you might think! Here's a couple pics...




  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,055
    edited October 2020
    First four-door domestic with a V8 and FWD: the deVilles and Fleetwoods that came out in '84. And, as andre alluded, a transverse-mounted V8 FWD was new-think at that time. But as I noted, what a disappointment in styling and character, IMHO. About the only thing I did like a good bit was the instrument panel.
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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,055
    That looks like it does fit in the 6000 engine bay better than one might think!
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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,652

    I'd mentioned this here before, but I don't recall details of many cars from the '90's to now, LOL. Function of my age perhaps, but those years are the 'malaise era' to me. Besides the cars being rather 'meh' to me, I guess those years were years of being married, having kids, ill parents, etc., which of course saps all that other stuff.

    I think a lot of that just comes with age. I talked with my Mom on the phone today, and I asked her what year her Altima was. 2016. I know every car she had since she started driving, but the one she has right now, I draw a total blank on. Now that I think about it, she and my stepdad also have an F150, an Escape, and a Prius, and honestly, I don't know what year any of them are. They just seem like appliances to me.

    I also remember my Granddad starting to get fed up with new cars, once emissions controls got more complex and downsizing was all the rage. He said that downsizing made the engine bays too cramped to work on, and the emissions stuff just made them overly complicated. He was born in November, 1916, so when he turned 60, GM's downsized B/C bodies had only been on the market a couple months.

    Granddad was so fed up with the way cars were going, he did something that, inadvertently, is probably what got me turned on to old cars as a kid. At the time, he was retired, and had a '76 GMC crew cab pickup. Grandmom was still working, and drove their '72 Impala. But her commute to work was less than 2 miles. In '78, Granddad bought a '53 DeSoto Firedome from his brother in law. His rationale was that he could fix it up, and between the DeSoto and the Impala, it would put off the need for getting a new car for years to come. Of course, then the second Arab oil embargo hit, and I think that made Granddad lose interest in getting the DeSoto fixed up.

  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,435

    That looks like it does fit in the 6000 engine bay better than one might think!

    makes sense to me. Car came with either a 4 banger or a V6, so must have enough room for the V8 side to side and front to back!

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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,652
    I think one of the most extreme engine conversions I've ever seen done was a PT Cruiser that someone had put a 426 Hemi in. This was years ago, so I don't know the details. But, I do remember it was converted to RWD.

    I also remember seeing a Ford Focus, the first-gen, with a 351 engine. That wasn't quite as extreme, but still...interesting. And also converted to RWD.

    And, I haven't seen it in awhile, but at the Carlisle Mopar show, I used to see one of those Dodge Daytona/Chrysler Lasers, that had been converted to RWD, and had a 318 under the hood. It used to be in the same class as my '79 5th Avenue, which was sort of a catch-all/leftover class..."1975-89 RWD stock/modified."
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,250
    I saw a VW Bug with a 426 Hemi transplant. Posted a picture of it here a few years ago.
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  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,435
    hope that one came with wheelie bars

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  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,685
    OHV engines are way more compact than DOHC engines, so that 350 SBC probably wasn't too hard to fit.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,092
    Quite a few old VWs hanging around Spokane - saw a very unrestored oval window Beetle on the road yesterday (not even on collector or YOM plates) , a dusty 21 or 23 window Microbus languishing in a carport (how is that still there?). and a number of buses and Vanagons.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,055
    edited October 2020
    First four-door domestic with a V8 and FWD: the deVilles and Fleetwoods that came out in '84

    Correction: That would've been the '80 Seville, which I liked up until behind the rear doors.

    First transverse V8 FWD car was those shrunken Cadillacs that came out in '84.
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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,055
    edited October 2020
    Back to my small hometown for a moment (where the rolling cruise was)--I've mentioned that GM Styling VP Bill Mitchell grew up there. I was reminded yesterday that a Congressional Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously to WWII soldier Gus Kefurt who grew up there, and in the seventies, John Dean's parents and sister, and David Soul's parents and sister, lived there. All too weird for such a small town. I can only think that very small, longtime Thiel College being there has something to do with it all.

    Not to mention that fintail took a photo of a Greenville, PA fire truck in a museum in Germany when he was there!

    All too strange.
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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,652
    Sometimes I wonder if GM could have gotten more use out of that '79-85 Eldorado/Seville platform? For instance, instead of coming up with the grossly shrunken down '85 C-bodies, what if they tried to modify the E/K platform, in some way.

    As it was, the Eldorado/Seville was something like 204-206" long, and on a 114" wb. They weren't all that wide, something like 71-72" I believe. As for interior dimensions, they were quite comfy as a 4-seater, with plenty of legroom both front and rear. The only shortcoming was shoulder room. Going off memory, I think they had around 56", whereas the older RWD B/C bodies were around 61" (sometimes the really plush trim levels were less because of thick padding or pull straps on the doors), and the downsized-as-is '85 C-bodies were around 58-59".

    They could have taken something like a Seville, made it a couple inches wider, maybe stretched the wheelbase a couple inches for the back seat, and redesigned the rear, with a bit more overhang for trunk space, and ended up with a car that, while bigger than an '85 98/Electra/DeVille, would have still been notably smaller than the outgoing '84 models. And, would have been a much classier looking car, in my opinion, and still had plenty of interior room. But, on the down side, that E/K platform was heavy, so basing something even bigger off of it wouldn't exactly be a featherweight! It would probably end up being even heavier than the bigger C-bodies it was intended to replace. So, I guess that probably answers my question right there...it simply wouldn't have worked.

    Kinda sad, because nowadays they can make a 2+ ton vehicle that can really move, but get good fuel economy when you keep your foot out of it. But in those days, the concept I'm thinking of would have probably come with gas guzzler surcharges!
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,250
    I listened several time to this commercial and I swear the announcer says 'A horribly styled hood'.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji3dIGpTYlQ
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  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,027

    I listened several time to this commercial and I swear the announcer says 'A horribly styled hood'.

    I listened to that part about 6 times and I can't understand what he is saying. Your explanation makes about as much sense as anything. "????? restyled hood".

    BTW, that is Chris Schenkel, at the time one of ABC Sports lead play-by-play personalities and a longtime fixture there, doing the voiceover.

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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,055
    I listened to it once, and what I heard was "powerfully styled hood".

    Maybe this is like "Laurel' or "Yanni"?, LOL.
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  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,435
    Sounded like that to me too.

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  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,027
    Now that you've clarified, I can hear "a powerfully styled hood". No way could I get that before.

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