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

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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,094
    edited April 2021
    I always wondered if that cut-out above the front panel--that zig/zag in and out--was for body stiffening. Those two panels there seemed like glass in some, but I think also there was ventilation through there as shown in the big pic posted above.

    I loved Studebaker's 'pluckiness' in those '62-64 model years, especially. MHO only, but they stretched much more than larger AMC in product offerings.

    Probably twenty years ago, I got talking to an interior stylist from Stude at a South Bend meet, who was hired after graduating wherever he went, after writing them saying if he couldn't work for Studebaker, he really didn't want to work in the auto industry, LOL. He was hired in I think '61 he said. I had a name tag on showing my town of Kent, OH and he interrupted my questions to tell me that he grew up in Mansfield, about an hour or so away from me.

    I met another guy who was driving the S.D.C. shuttle bus from the meet hotel to Greenfield Village where the '95 International Meet was held. He worked for Studebaker in corporate marketing for twelve or thirteen years, they closed in South Bend, then he went to work for Ford the rest of his career. He said he still said "We..." when talking about Studebaker and "you..." when he would talk to coworkers at Ford, LOL.
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  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,090
    A while ago @uplanderguy commented on the last issue of Hemmings Classic Car being a bit thin. Today I got their latest (June) issue in the mail and the famine continues. It is about as thin as any I have seen and has just 4 articles. One is about the restoration of a Datsun 610. Another is about 1950s International pickups which would normally be fine except that Collectible Automobile had a comprehensive one on that subject in their latest issue which I just finished reading, so I don't think this one will break much new ground. Then there is a "Sponsored Content" section in the middle. Most disappointing to me is that the monthly column by Milton Stern has disappeared along with his name on the list of editors and contributors. Things must be tough there right now.

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  • MichaellMichaell Moderator Posts: 241,232
    ab348 said:

    A while ago @uplanderguy commented on the last issue of Hemmings Classic Car being a bit thin. Today I got their latest (June) issue in the mail and the famine continues. It is about as thin as any I have seen and has just 4 articles. One is about the restoration of a Datsun 610. Another is about 1950s International pickups which would normally be fine except that Collectible Automobile had a comprehensive one on that subject in their latest issue which I just finished reading, so I don't think this one will break much new ground. Then there is a "Sponsored Content" section in the middle. Most disappointing to me is that the monthly column by Milton Stern has disappeared along with his name on the list of editors and contributors. Things must be tough there right now.

    Like any print content, I'll guess advertising is a bit thin, which means cutbacks to staff.

    Do they have the same content on-line? Is it behind a pay wall?

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  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,314
    Edd China has started posting video's on YT.
    Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snL20nBCi04
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,094
    edited April 2021
    RE: HCC--Lentinello is gone, and I've noticed some of the editorialists aren't there anymore. I have a friend who is still on with them, but I think magazines are going the way of the Studebaker, sadly, just in general. MHO only.

    Today is our Ohio Region SDC's first meet in over a year. Just a dinner at a local American Legion, but I'll enjoy that. Breaking my Stude out for the first time this year. My 82-year old friend is planning on bringing the '64 Super Hawk he bought last year, and I hope he does. Very nice, original 40K mile car even thought it's silver. :)

    He installed a Studebaker repro mirror last year; it still did not have an outside mirror when he bought it; pretty amazing no one had added one of some kind since Nov. '63 when it was built. The car was always within 35 miles of where he lives although I'd never seen it before he bought it. Just when you think you know where they all are.
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  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,090

    RE: HCC--Lentinello is gone, and I've noticed some of the editorialists aren't there anymore. I have a friend who is still on with them, but I think magazines are going the way of the Studebaker, sadly, just in general. MHO only.

    I never liked Lentinello and his style of writing. But I think that is because I blame him for dissing the former Special Interest Automobiles magazine that he transformed into HCC, which was never as good as the original. Still, his writing sometimes grated on me.

    I think a magazine like this could source articles from outside an in-house pool of editors if they tried. There are lots of people who have car stories of their own vehicles or their experiences with aspects of vehicle ownership, restoration or design/manufacture who I'm sure would love to have appear with just a bit of editing help. It wouldn't cost much; I bet many would submit them gratis or for a small honorarium. The work at the other end would be editing, pictures, and page composition. But it looks like this one is preparing to exit the stage.

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  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,314
    Got some chuckles out of this video about personal luxury coupes.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxk-04nC5c8
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,094
    Perhaps my favorite column in HCC is "I Was There" or "Reminiscing", written by readers talking about their experiences working for a dealer or in an assembly plant back when. Lots of folks (including on Edmunds forums elsewhere than this one) have commented about the lazy domestic autoworker, but the point I see driven home again and again and again by those "I Was There" columns is how physically demanding as well as psychologically numbing those jobs were, and how many guys decided after a summer of it they were more than ever ready to go back to college in the fall.
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  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,090
    Yes, those are always interesting columns and sort of what I was thinking they could expand upon to fill some pages.

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  • sdasda Member Posts: 6,983
    Older cars out today. A very nice maroon 65 GTO except it was jacked up in the rear. Why must people feel the need to do this? It kills the ride, handling and looks. If it was used on the drag strip, I get it. Otherwise just leave it alone! A turquoise 58 Impala coupe, stock, running at a good clip down the highway. 73 Nova 2dr, nice wheels, 350, a young lady around 25 driving it with a smile on her face.

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  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,793

    Got some chuckles out of this video about personal luxury coupes.

    Hahah! Quite funny; thanks for sharing that one.

    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,162
    On the road today - surprisingly clean early trim 80s Escort, late 70s Ranchero that was no doubt a weekend driver, and a new looking late run F-body Camaro SS convertible driven by an older gent (car was probably a retirement gift to himself in 2001 B) ) who had laudable turn signal habits, refreshing to see these days and in this part of the world.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,150

    Perhaps my favorite column in HCC is "I Was There" or "Reminiscing", written by readers talking about their experiences working for a dealer or in an assembly plant back when. Lots of folks (including on Edmunds forums elsewhere than this one) have commented about the lazy domestic autoworker, but the point I see driven home again and again and again by those "I Was There" columns is how physically demanding as well as psychologically numbing those jobs were, and how many guys decided after a summer of it they were more than ever ready to go back to college in the fall.

    That was the 2nd thing I looked for in each issue. First was to see what US brand car they had featured.

    I believe the "I Was There" is missing in the latest issue.

    I found many of the editorials pompous in their viewpoints and treatment. Some topics were sophomoric--not any particular writer, just some of the topics.

    I continued subscribing for the "pictures" and I pass my copies along to a friend who owns a 1964 Ford convertible in one of the torquoise colors Ford used.

    I wonder if they'll improve or struggle along to avoid having to refund to subscribers. When they merged a foreign car magazine in with it, I considered "unsubscribing."

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,094
    edited April 2021
    Our regional Stude club had our first get-together in over a year yesterday. I broke my '66 out of storage and it was dusty but fired right up and I drove it the six or seven miles there. About 30 people but only three Studes--mine, a dark blue '55 Commander four-door driven about an hour away, and my good friend Ed's '64 Super Hawk he bought last year at age 81. This color is "Moonlight Silver" in the Stude palette. 40K mile car and my friend doesn't touch a computer so I ordered him the build sheet from the museum last year and we found out it had the complete 'Super' package--not just the R1 engine, but the suspension bits, 160 speedometer, and R1 grille badge which people tend to add to non-Super-package cars. He was tickled. The car was within 35 miles of his home its whole life.

    1,767 1964-model Hawks built, and only 60 built with the R1 Super "High Performance Package". The only '64 GT Hawk more desirable would be one with the R2 (supercharged) Super "High Performance Package".


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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,094

    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,684
    edited April 2021
    xwesx said:

    Got some chuckles out of this video about personal luxury coupes.

    Hahah! Quite funny; thanks for sharing that one.

    Yeah, I enjoyed it too. I have to admit though, it sounds odd hearing "Cordoba" pronounced correctly! I remember reading that, when Ricardo Montalban did the advertising for them, it took him awhile to mis-pronounce it in the dialect Chrysler marketing wanted him to.

    And I liked his point about the "Coo-pay SUVs" that seem to be the in thing today. I sort of thought the same thing about them, when they started to pop up in the late 2000s...stuff like the Honda Crosstour, BMW X6, and Acura ZDX. When they first came out, they reminded me a bit of those old '78-80 Century/Cutlass Salon Aerobacks in style, but I sort of looked at them as a personal luxury coupe of an SUV. My first thought was, what's the point? Just get an Acura MDX, Honda Pilot, or BMW X5 if you want an SUV...you get something more practical, and most likely less expensive.

    But, you could argue the same thing about most personal luxury coupes. And I'm sure a lot of people do look at them and ask, what's the point?

    One thing I will say for that Aeroback look, is that the auto makers have definitely improved upon it in later years. Newer cars like the Audi A7, Honda Civic, Accord, etc have what I call that "Aeroback" look, and I think they're all pretty attractive. And I guess, it was sort of a natural progression, as decklids got increasingly shorter over the years, to where it really wasn't a stretch of the imagination to jump to the hatchback "Aeroback" look.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,150
    edited April 2021
    Is there something on the front edge of the driver door on the Hawk under the mirror?
    Or is it a reflection of something out of the picture?

    Whenever I see a Studebaker at a show or cruise, I am taken by it and have to look it over.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,684
    One Studebaker model that I always thought was interesting was the 1958-only Starlight hardtop coupe. My book doesn't break out production for the Studebaker version, but the Packard version only moved 675 units. So I doubt the Studebaker version was a very hot seller, either. All things considered, it was actually pretty cheap. The Packard version started at $3262, while Studebaker was $2493 for the Commander, and $2695 for the President version.

    Now, I'm sure that these cars were designed somewhat on the cheap, but still, considering the low volumes, I'm sure they lost a good deal of money on them. I don't know if they shared windshields and A-pillars with existing 2- and 4-door models, but designing a new roof, rear window, and other assorted unique sheetmetal couldn't have been cheap.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,094
    Yeah, and that was a one-year-only roofline too. I like them. I don't mind the quad headlight 'pods' as much as I detest the fin-on-a-fin in the back of the Packard model. But I like the roofline. I like that they're not fat although 'not fat' was not a selling point to most buyers in '58, LOL.

    My favorite of the 'Packardbakers' would be a '57 station wagon. All had blowers. Make mine a three-speed with overdrive in either gold and white or the Lilac (lavender) color.

    That's just a reflection under the mirror on the GT Hawk. The car was built without an outside mirror and didn't have one until my friend added the correct mirror I had sold him for $30 some years back. I had bought it to replace the mirror on my old Skytop but never used it.
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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,094
    edited April 2021

    Whenever I see a Studebaker at a show or cruise, I am taken by it and have to look it over.


    No one in my family had one, and my Dad never looked at them. I guess I'm of the age where I remember seeing them, and our town had a dealership which I remember driving by, and seeing the signage. I like the rarity. The history is interesting I think and the Studebaker Drivers' Club is a great support.

    As much as I grew up "Chevy", when it came to getting an old hobby car, I really didn't consider Chevys very much--generally commonplace even as hobby cars. I do remember looking at a light turquoise '67 Impala SS hardtop for sale for about $800 more than I paid for my white '63 Daytona Skytop. I also looked at a white '64 V8 Studebaker Commander two-door sedan for the same (low) asking price as the Daytona with R1 I bought. The Daytona needed a lot of work but I'm happy to have bought it. At Studebaker meets it stopped traffic, having both an Avanti engine and the sunroof.
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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,162
    I remember Wayne Carini paying decent money for a 58 Packardbaker wagon on an episode of his show years back. I wonder what it would bring now, he paid enough as to where even in this lunatic speculative market, appreciation might be tough - so drive it!

    My dad was an old time car guy, never said much about Studes, but didn't say anything negative - maybe in this part of the country, fewer survived than elsewhere. I recall around 1997 or so, when my sister was shopping for her first car, she had a thing for a purple Lark coupe with flames, it was for sale for like 2K, but my dad knew it might be too much for her to maintain at that age. Thinking of it, she also coveted a pristine K-Car T&C wagon at a used car lot, and ended up with a Dodge Rampage as her first car, so she got some kind of obscure car thing from my dad, too.

    Yeah, and that was a one-year-only roofline too. I like them. I don't mind the quad headlight 'pods' as much as I detest the fin-on-a-fin in the back of the Packard model. But I like the roofline. I like that they're not fat although 'not fat' was not a selling point to most buyers in '58, LOL.

    My favorite of the 'Packardbakers' would be a '57 station wagon. All had blowers. Make mine a three-speed with overdrive in either gold and white or the Lilac (lavender) color.

    That's just a reflection under the mirror on the GT Hawk. The car was built without an outside mirror and didn't have one until my friend added the correct mirror I had sold him for $30 some years back. I had bought it to replace the mirror on my old Skytop but never used it.

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,162
    edited April 2021
    Not too much out today even though it was sunny, maybe a little warm. Saw a 356, Speedster (probable repro), red Mk 1 GTI, 60s Dart sedan, ~80 Malibu sedan obviously not stock by the sound and speed, 68 Galaxie hardtop fastback driven by a young woman, 42-47 style Packard, 90s Fleetwood limo I assume ex funeral service, 77-79 Sedan DeVille with body color hubcaps.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,094
    edited April 2021
    Before I forget, fin, I recently saw a pic of a sixties or maybe early '70's 'Benz coupe, I think maybe a 220 (I remember names more than numbers, LOL) where the large, chromed center grille opened with the hood. I had never noticed that before, but that's another similarity Studebaker shared with 'Benz--on the Gran Turismo Hawks, like the one pictured above, the large center chrome grille and surround opens with the hood too. That always struck me as funny on those particular cars--looks like a big buck tooth when the hood's open. I'm reminded of Jerry Lewis' 'Nutty Professor' character!

    RE.: Wayne Carini--he had a beautiful low-mileage '54 Commander Starliner hardtop a couple or so years ago too.

    The '58 Packard wagon is astonishingly rare at 159 built. I love that, but I can't get past the double fins on each side, LOL. A NOS tailgate emblem for one sold on eBay for $1,200 a few years ago.

    Last thing on my friend's Hawk, above....I never cared for the metal overlay on the decklid of the '62 and '63 Gran Turismo Hawks. Underneath it was the old decklid with the ribbing in the metal. They retooled the decklid to make it smooth and plain for '64, which I like a lot, but not a wise tooling expenditure for 1,767 units; of course no one knew that at the time. All '64 Hawks were built from August to Dec. 20, 1963. Our chapter's president has a white with black vinyl top example that I found out from the museum was built on Dec. 20, 1963, the last day South Bend assembled cars. His was 32 cars before the final car, the red Daytona, that's on display as a NOS Studebaker in the museum. Pretty cool. And amazingly, he and I were at a Stude swap meet in York, PA about six or seven years ago and there was a decent (not great) '64 Hawk for sale there. I opened the door and the serial number was ONE car before his! Those are lottery odds.
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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,162
    All MBs from the postwar new cars to around 2010 with a formal grille (not a SL type grille with a star in the middle) open with the hood. Eventually, you'll smack your head on it - a primary reason why MB hoods can be opened to a roughly 90 degree angle, no doubt.

    Thinking of the hood up, I have this pic, over 20 years old now - this was at Kent Bergsma's place (MB internet celebrity), he was local to me at the time. I recall it clearly, I went out to ask about something, he told me a car he was parting out had almost new spark plug wires, which I could have for free. I was still a student at the time, and jumped at the offer - installed them right there. I had an early digital camera with me (I think a Sony of the type that took an entire floppy disc), and snapped a pic:


  • sdasda Member Posts: 6,983
    That's cool, Ken seems like a nice guy and very methodical. I enjoy watching his videos and have learned a lot from them.

    2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,162
    He's a good guy, very honest about what he does. He operated an indy shop until maybe 2005 or so, but then the internet stuff took off, and was much more lucrative. Then Youtube came around, and really gave him some attention. He still works on some cars, but I think mostly a friends and family kind of thing. Amusingly, he also seems to have barely aged in the nearly 25 years since I first met him - I think he's around 75 now.

    I also recall visiting him for something, and he had a W108 being parted out with nearly new shocks - gave those to me too, so long as I removed them (many 108 suspension parts interchange with fintails) Couldn't say no to that.
    sda said:

    That's cool, Ken seems like a nice guy and very methodical. I enjoy watching his videos and have learned a lot from them.

  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,314
    Between 'A Chrysler as big as a whale' and this song, I guess the B 52's are big Mopar fans.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOjAzI5zALo
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,162
    Saw a Vanagon Westfalia with a good sticker "It's not a slow car, it's a fast house".
  • MichaellMichaell Moderator Posts: 241,232
    fintail said:

    Saw a Vanagon Westfalia with a good sticker "It's not a slow car, it's a fast house".

    I like that!

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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,684
    Dumb question, but it got me thinking, when they pronounced "Cordoba" the way the Spanish originally intended, in that personal luxury coupe video. But what, exactly, is the proper pronunciation of "Monaco"?

    I'd always said it like "MAHN-i-KO"

    But, the other day I was watching an old tv show (can't remember what it was though) and someone pronounced it more like "mu-NAHK-o"
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 237,046
    andre1969 said:

    Dumb question, but it got me thinking, when they pronounced "Cordoba" the way the Spanish originally intended, in that personal luxury coupe video. But what, exactly, is the proper pronunciation of "Monaco"?

    I'd always said it like "MAHN-i-KO"

    But, the other day I was watching an old tv show (can't remember what it was though) and someone pronounced it more like "mu-NAHK-o"

    I'm not sure of the correct pronunciation, but everyone in the US, says it the first way..

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  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,090

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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,162
    Final run/final year 280SE 3.5 low grille, pretty much the creme de la creme of period MBs, only exceeded by the cabrio. Even nice coupes can get into 6 figures now - not sure if this is concours enough to get there, but I could see it, especially in this speculative trickle up new world economy.
  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,090
    Watching the Mets game on WPIX and saw this ad for Chevy SUVs/CUVs. Surprised to see this ‘80s B-body square-rigger Chevy wagon in a cameo appearance.


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  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,537
    a couple interesting ones out driving today (weather was perfect for taking out your classic). A super clean beige Bullet T-bird, and a 57 Bel Air 2 door that looked just restored. Very shiny, some upgrades like mag wheels. 2 tone white and teal.

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,314
    Is this the lady who does the Edmunds reviews?
    Kind of a fun video if you can stick with it.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blt__gezHw8
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,090
    Yeah, that’s Elena. She’s great. Cool car too.

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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,684
    That Monaco is definitely pretty well-equipped, for a police car. It might have been a Sheriff's car. I'd imagine the split bench seat wit the center armrest was really rare, for a police car. My '89 Gran Fury was a Sheriff's car, and therefore well equipped as far as police cars go, but even it didn't have a split bench, although it did have a center armrest.

    That brocade interior is definitely an odd choice, as well, but not the first time I've seen it. Supposedly, "CHiPs" used real poilce cars that were de-commissioned. As a result, they were usually a few years older than what the real CHP was using at the time. By the 3rd or 4th season, they were using de-commissioned Monacos, and every once in awhile, you'd see an interior shot, and get a glimpse of that same brocade pattern.

    As for the comment about hitting the peak hp at 4,000 rpm, but being able to rev higher, isn't that the case for just about every engine, though? So just because it hits 255 hp at 4,000 that doesn't mean it's going to hit 300 at 5,000.

    One thing I never really thought about with these cars, but for some reason now just noticed it...I'm impressed that they were able to get those rear bumpers to pass the 5 mph crash test. Usually bumpers that have the lights actually in them don't do well in that test. That's why the Dart/Valiant, Impala, and just about every other car that had them worked into the bumper got rid of them after '73. I guess those rear bumper guards, that seem a bit oddly placed, helped somewhat, though. And it looks like they designed the lower part of the rear quarter to have a little plastic spacer piece that could flex on impact, rather than immediately crunching into the sheetmetal.

    I guess Mopar deserves some props for keeping the bumper fairly integrated looking, rather than just going for one of those jutting rear bumpers like what everybody else was using. Even though, these cars weren't exactly petite. Something like 218" long, from stats I could find. For comparison, a '78 LTD-II 4-door sedan was 219.5". And the final Colonade Malibu sedans were only 209.7" (per automobile-cataloque.com) But Good lord, I wonder how long the Monaco would have been if Mopar had simply gone the jutting-bumper route, instead.
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,314
    The published horsepower was rated @4000 rpm but that doesn't mean it was the peak horsepower.
    A lot of that started when the insurance companies started cracking down on muscle cars.
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • benjaminhbenjaminh Member Posts: 6,311
    I've been enjoying the posts here at this thread. Thanks for posting memories and info about these old cars.

    Here's a photo from my recent visit to the Corvette museum.


    2018 Acura TLX 2.4 Tech 4WS (mine), 2018 Honda CR-V EX AWD (wife's)
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,793
    That's a neat perspective! It always surprises me, too, to see those old bias ply tires anymore. I actually have a set of bias ply, much like those save for the white wall, on my ATV trailer. The tires are quite ancient - at least 40 years old, I imagine.

    Did tires back then have DOT date stamps on them? If so, I should look. I also have the original spare tire for my '69 C20, which is a hard-as-rock heavy duty bias ply time bomb.
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,708
    edited April 2021
    I was surprised by how limited the radial tire selection is for a C2 Corvette if you want anything close to stock wheel size, without fender mods.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,684
    I'm not sure when they started date-stamping tires. I have an old bias-ply that was once on my '57 DeSoto. It was a re-tread. I kept it around, because sometimes they come in handy when you need to push a car...just put the tire between the two, push, and hope for the best! :p I never bothered to check and see if it had any kind of date code on it.

    I have radials on it now, those kind that have the wide whitewalls so they still look somewhat authentic. I think they're a 225/75/R14. I think the old bias-ply size was 8.50x14.

    I seem to recall that some cars in the 60's got so heavy, that there is no radial tire size in existence that's adequate for them, if you want to keep the stock wheel size. I'm thinking this was stuff like the Fleetwood 75 limo, and maybe some of those 60's Continentals that, despite their somewhat tidy dimensions, were still porkers when it came to weight.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,162
    For years the spare in the fintail was a bias ply - not original to the car, maybe early 70s vintage, was with the car when I bought it. I kept it as a spare for ages, even after being told that I shouldn't use it, as bias ply and radials are an unsafe mix. Finally, when I got the wide whites, I bought 5 tires, so I let it go - almost had a thought to keep it as a memento, but what am I going to do with an old tire? And the car itself is a memento in a way.
  • benjaminhbenjaminh Member Posts: 6,311
    Three more views from the Corvette museum....




    2018 Acura TLX 2.4 Tech 4WS (mine), 2018 Honda CR-V EX AWD (wife's)
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,793
    edited April 2021
    Curious, that Stout Y46. One heck of a back seat for not having any discernable second door.

    Regarding the spare tire I have, it seemed like it was in good shape when I first acquired the C20, so I figured I would save 20% of my total tire cost by just keeping it. After all, it was a SPARE! However, the one time I did need to use it, the "performance" it provided was less than ideal.

    Now, though, I cannot even get tires for a 16.5" rim. There's one: A Firestone trailer tire, and it's just not cut out for quality use on a truck. Plus, it must be gold-plated, because it costs north of $300 per tire. For that cost, it's better to just replace the whole setup with 17" wheels and get good tires for a reasonable price. Since my tires on the truck are now 24 years old, they're really operating on borrowed time!
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,094
    edited April 2021
    I gotta say, I really like the looks of an old (or repro) bias ply on an old car, but there's no way I'd ever drive on those again, LOL.

    My friend's Super Hawk in the photo above, had bias plys (plies?) when he bought it last year. The size, whitewall width, and closeness of whitewall to the wheel looked very much like the brochure, but I know that bias-ply tires didn't last 40K miles and that's what it had when he bought it last year.

    For years I didn't care for the looks of the '53-'55 Corvette, a bit bulbous, but they've grown on me as you just don't see them. I'd have to have a '55 V8 of that era, in a color besides white, but beggars can't be choosers! I've mentioned this many a time here, but a Fawn Beige '62 with hardtop is a Corvette I'd do something bad to own! I realize I probably couldn't get my gut behind the wheel though.

    The spare on my '66 Studebaker Cruiser is the original spare, as the build sheet shows the tire brand, but I can tell it has been used before. I can't make myself get rid of it in the trunk though.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,090
    My only experience with C1 Corvettes is seeing them at car shows but I always notice how big the steering wheel is and how tight it looks for the driver.

    2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6

  • sdasda Member Posts: 6,983
    ab348 said:

    My only experience with C1 Corvettes is seeing them at car shows but I always notice how big the steering wheel is and how tight it looks for the driver.

    I’ve always noticed the poor panel fit. Doors especially. Granted it was early fiberglass.

    2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,162
    C1 makes me think of It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, where (the same) one is seen several times in the background during the finale chase scene:

    image
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