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

uplanderguy · July 2021

I think Chrysler started warranty wars in the '60's too, with a 5 yr./50K mile warranty. My Studebaker dealer friend added Simca for that reason, he told me once.

I want to say my '89 Beretta had a 3 yr./100K mile warranty, with a $100 deductible after 36K miles. I'd like that today. My '85 Celebrity had a 1/12K mile for everything and 2/24K for powertrain. I'm foggy on my other ones. This I do know--I have never once bought an extended warranty.

uplanderguy · July 2021

Meant to post this pic from my hometown's Heritage Days Super Cruise show a few Saturdays ago. My friend Joe in front of a 1965 Cadillac Fleetwood Seventy Five limousine. It has the divider window; the 'sedan' model did not.

Strange that the '65 kept the '64 body styling, and also the '59-60 wraparound windshield.

Looks like Hubert Humphrey and Averell Harriman should be stepping out of it.

stickguy · July 2021

At the shore, vintage 2 door SUVs all the rage. On one short walk yesterday saw 2 gen 1 Broncos (one restored stock, the other raised and modded,) a 1970s CJ5, and the real rare one, an IH Scout (I think a later II). Restored, nice chrome wheels. All had no tops and looked people in them having fun!

andre1969 · July 2021

For some reason I'm thinking Chrysler might have actually started a 5/50K powertrain warranty way back in 1962. I think it was in response to the '57-59 models, which had a bad reputation. The irony though, is that it was mainly rust and water/wind leaks that plagued the '57-59's. The powertrains had actually been pretty rugged for the most part, although I've heard that rushed production on the '57 models did cause some early failures.

I seem to recall Chrysler started pushing a long warranty at some point in the '70's too, but then yeah, it was around 1985 when that 5/50K came out. By the time I bought my 2000 Intrepid, they were down to a 3/36K bumper-to-bumper. But apparently that was premature, because sometime in 2002 they went to something like 7/70K powertrain and 3/36K bumper-to-bumper? I remember looking at a used 2002 Intrepid R/T, in the fall of 2003. Chrysler had made that warranty switch mid-model year, and the dealer couldn't verify which factory warranty this Intrepid would have had, so I passed on it. It had around 35,000 miles, so I was on the fence about it. I think my '00 Intrepid had around 85,000 on it by then, but was running well, so I decided to just go with what I know. Now that I think about it, that was the day my Dad bought his '03 Regal. We had gone to the dealer, which was the one I had bought my Intrepid from. Dad saw the Regal, which he liked, and I saw the '02 R/T that caught my eye, initially.

By the time 2012 rolled around, on my Ram, the warranty was 3/36K bumper-to-bumper, and 5/50K powertrain. They jump around so much with warranties these days, I can't keep up!

sda · July 2021

Dad's aversion to Chrysler products was his perception that the cars rusted horribly and poor body integrity. He did admit the drive trains were good. Dad had a 59 Pontiac Catalina 2dr coupe. He traded it for mom's 63 Olds Dynamic 88 in 65. The reason? The floors had rotted out and the transmission was slipping in the Catalina. Perhaps a 59 Chrysler would have fared better?

uplanderguy · July 2021

My friend added Simca in '64, so the '62 date andre mentions is probably correct.

Not an obscure classic, but daughter's Cruze arrived on the truck from CA today back home here. She'll be going to school in CT in August. Driver told me the 'Benz SUV is $220K. Is he talking smack or could that be right? Calling fin!

Michaell · July 2021

uplanderguy said:

My friend added Simca in '64, so the '62 date andre mentions is probably correct.

Not an obscure classic, but daughter's Cruze arrived on the truck from CA today back home here. She'll be going to school in CT in August. Driver told me the 'Benz SUV is $220K. Is he talking smack or could that be right? Calling fin!

There was a G63 on the lot at the local MB dealer. MSRP was $180K, with an $80K markup, so an asking price of $260K.

texases · July 2021

"Driver told me the 'Benz SUV is $220K. Is he talking smack or could that be right? Calling fin!"

There's a dozen used G63 AMGs within 50 miles of me on Autotrader at over $200k, so yes, it's true. The one new one is listed at $190k. It's a crazy market right now.

andre1969 · July 2021

sda said:
Dad's aversion to Chrysler products was his perception that the cars rusted horribly and poor body integrity. He did admit the drive trains were good. Dad had a 59 Pontiac Catalina 2dr coupe. He traded it for mom's 63 Olds Dynamic 88 in 65. The reason? The floors had rotted out and the transmission was slipping in the Catalina. Perhaps a 59 Chrysler would have fared better?

Chrysler definitely improved by '59, but I think GM actually slipped in quality. I remember reading through an old Consumer Reports from '59, where they had printed a few letters to the editor type things. One person asked sarcastically if GM could possibly roll their sheetmetal any thinner!

One reason the '57 Mopars were so bad is that they were rushed into production, as the '55-56 models only had a two year cycle. I wonder if GM suffered a similar fate for '59, as they unleashed all new models after only two years for Olds/Buick/Cadillac, and only one year for Chevy and Pontiac!

roadburner · July 2021

andre1969 said:

sda said:
Dad's aversion to Chrysler products was his perception that the cars rusted horribly and poor body integrity. He did admit the drive trains were good. Dad had a 59 Pontiac Catalina 2dr coupe. He traded it for mom's 63 Olds Dynamic 88 in 65. The reason? The floors had rotted out and the transmission was slipping in the Catalina. Perhaps a 59 Chrysler would have fared better?
Chrysler definitely improved by '59, but I think GM actually slipped in quality. I remember reading through an old Consumer Reports from '59, where they had printed a few letters to the editor type things. One person asked sarcastically if GM could possibly roll their sheetmetal any thinner!

One reason the '57 Mopars were so bad is that they were rushed into production, as the '55-56 models only had a two year cycle. I wonder if GM suffered a similar fate for '59, as they unleashed all new models after only two years for Olds/Buick/Cadillac, and only one year for Chevy and Pontiac!

I believe I mentioned a while back that my dad had driven DeSotos almost all his life- but his '57 racked up huge repair bills and by 1960 it had depreciated by something like 85%. I think he paid around $350($3,200 adjusted for inflation) to repair the transmission and the same dealer then offered him something like $500 for the car in trade.

fintail · July 2021

There was a 1+ year waiting list when the new style debuted, and I believe 2 year old ones can still bring more than original MSRP. Nice to see MBs behaving like 4WD Toyotas.

texases said:
"Driver told me the 'Benz SUV is $220K. Is he talking smack or could that be right? Calling fin!"

There's a dozen used G63 AMGs within 50 miles of me on Autotrader at over $200k, so yes, it's true. The one new one is listed at $190k. It's a crazy market right now.

uplanderguy · July 2021

Yeesh. Thanks for the confirmation.

ab348 · July 2021

Well, a wire transfer just arrived in my bank account so although the Cutlass is still in my garage awaiting shipping arrangements, it is sold. I was amazed at how the transaction went down, most of it done by text messages plus a couple of emails and one phone call. It is going to a buyer in Germany. My only misgiving is that he has obviously not seen or driven it, so I hope there is no disappointment upon arrival. Now slowly packing stuff up that goes and doesn't go with it.

sda · July 2021

ab348 said:
Well, a wire transfer just arrived in my bank account so although the Cutlass is still in my garage awaiting shipping arrangements, it is sold. I was amazed at how the transaction went down, most of it done by text messages plus a couple of emails and one phone call. It is going to a buyer in Germany. My only misgiving is that he has obviously not seen or driven it, so I hope there is no disappointment upon arrival. Now slowly packing stuff up that goes and doesn't go with it.

I am happy for you. Amazing how many older cars find buyers over seas.

ab348 · July 2021

sda said:

ab348 said:
Well, a wire transfer just arrived in my bank account so although the Cutlass is still in my garage awaiting shipping arrangements, it is sold. I was amazed at how the transaction went down, most of it done by text messages plus a couple of emails and one phone call. It is going to a buyer in Germany. My only misgiving is that he has obviously not seen or driven it, so I hope there is no disappointment upon arrival. Now slowly packing stuff up that goes and doesn't go with it.
I am happy for you. Amazing how many older cars find buyers over seas.

This was brokered by a German fellow in Jacksonville FL who deals in imports for US buyers and exports for overseas folks. No complaints although I was wary at first, but he was very good to deal with.

He even had a sense of humor. The buyer was apparently very enthused in his dealing with the broker. When the broker asked me to confirm that the price was in Canadian dollars, he said I could probably tell him it was priced in Euros and the guy wouldn't bat an eye.

uplanderguy · July 2021

Congratulations on the sale.

I've sold three cars to the same broker in Australia. I was at first hesitant, but I know someone who had dealt with him before. I remember being hesitant about giving him my tracking number for the funds transfer, until he reminded me that anyone I have ever sent a check to has it, LOL.

I found that those buyers didn't haggle much if at all, unlike American buyers.

texases · July 2021

Ausgezeichnet!

tjc78 · July 2021

Congrats on the sale

explorerx4 · July 2021

Each Euro is currently worth $1.49 Canadian.
Sorry forgot to include congrats, too!

fintail · July 2021

Congrats, probably going to an appreciative home, and you won't have to worry about seeing it again - something that irks me when I let go of a car.

imidazol97 · July 2021

ab348 said:
Well, a wire transfer just arrived in my bank account so although the Cutlass is still in my garage awaiting shipping arrangements, it is sold. I was amazed at how the transaction went down, most of it done by text messages plus a couple of emails and one phone call. It is going to a buyer in Germany. My only misgiving is that he has obviously not seen or driven it, so I hope there is no disappointment upon arrival. Now slowly packing stuff up that goes and doesn't go with it.

I'm really glad for you that you were able to sell your Oldsmobile.

fintail · July 2021

Went into the office today, saw another oddity - white Crossfire convertible in the parking lot. Then this afternoon saw a Crossfire coupe.

boomchek · July 2021

fintail said:
Went into the office today, saw another oddity - white Crossfire convertible in the parking lot. Then this afternoon saw a Crossfire coupe.

What's the chances of seeing 2 Crossfires in one day today....or when they were sold new lol

Michaell · July 2021

boomchek said:

fintail said:
Went into the office today, saw another oddity - white Crossfire convertible in the parking lot. Then this afternoon saw a Crossfire coupe.
What's the chances of seeing 2 Crossfires in one day today....or when they were sold new lol

Wife and I looked at the Crossfire convertible. Couldn’t get the roof to go down, even after 2 or 3 salesman attempted to do so.

kyfdx · July 2021

fintail said:
Went into the office today, saw another oddity - white Crossfire convertible in the parking lot. Then this afternoon saw a Crossfire coupe.

Weird.. I saw a convertible just a couple days ago.

The coupe is really rare.

andre1969 · July 2021

I know they were all just old used cars at the time but still...ouch!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrD14jqTtAE

And hey, I coulda used the front fender off of that '57 DeSoto

roadburner · July 2021

boomchek said:

fintail said:
Went into the office today, saw another oddity - white Crossfire convertible in the parking lot. Then this afternoon saw a Crossfire coupe.
What's the chances of seeing 2 Crossfires in one day today....or when they were sold new lol

I also saw a Crossfire coupe today. Before the local CDJR folded in 2008 they had a Crossfire SRT-6 in the showroom. It was black on black so I wasn't interested, but another attorney offered to buy it for $5k under MSRP. The store refused, and I don't know what eventually happened to it. Of course back in 2004, a car that could run the quarter in 13.5 seconds and trap at 107 mph was considered to be really fast...

fintail · July 2021

I remember the local dealer put a 5 or 10K ADM on the Crossfire when launched - I had a laugh. I also remember the local Chevy dealer adding 10K to the SSR when released.

uplanderguy · July 2021

Forty years of buying Chevys, I have never once even paid MSRP so any additional markup is laughable to me. Of course I realize that buying a C8 would entail that now, sigh.

uplanderguy · July 2021

My sister and her husband had a Crossfire new, that metallic blue. I drove it once. I didn't have very strong feelings one way or the other about it. They sold it with not many miles maybe when it was ten years old, to someone in Arizona.

andre1969 · July 2021

The other day I ran out in the evening to do some errands, and definitely didn't expect to run across this...

I know my photography's not going to win any prizes, but it snuck up on me rather quickly, so I had to fumble for the phone.

texases · July 2021

'54 Packard Convertible (Mayfair?), just learned that was different than a Caribbean.

uplanderguy · July 2021

I think the convertible that wasn't the Caribbean, was simply called "The Convertible". For '55 and '56, all Packard convertibles were Caribbeans.

imidazol97 · July 2021

Was it Packard Patrician?

texases · July 2021

I don't think so, wasn't that the top sedan?

andre1969 · July 2021

I just pulled out my old car book, to refresh myself on Packards. By '54, the volume sellers were the Packard Clipper, which was on the 122" wheelbase, and not really a luxury car. It came in 3 series: Special, DeLuxe, and Custom. Base prices ranged from $2544 for a Special "club sedan" (which I think is a fancy way of saying 2-door sedan?), on up to $3125 for a Clipper Super Panama Hardtop coupe.

Then my book lists something called a Cavalier, that was only offered as a 4-door sedan starting at $3,344. It was on a longer 127" wheelbase.

Then there's a series simply labeled "5431" on the 122" wb, that consisted of a Pacific hardtop coupe, convertible, and Caribbean convertible. The base convertible was $3935 and only 863 were built. The Caribbean was a loftier $6100, with only 400 built.

Finally, back on the 127" wheelbase, was the Patrician sedan.

fintail · July 2021

I wonder where this guy finds this stuff, must have his name out to every estate sale company in a multiple state region:

https://youtu.be/rJKZG1I6DGI

Waiting for him to have one of my malaise favorite guilty pleasures - either a loaded t-top 77-79 T-Bird or a properly equipped 80-81 Seville.

ab348 · July 2021

fintail said:

Waiting for him to have one of my malaise favorite guilty pleasures - either a loaded t-top 77-79 T-Bird or a properly equipped 80-81 Seville.

He owns an '84 bustleback Seville and is promising a comparo with his other Caddys soon.

ab348 · July 2021

fintail said:
I wonder where this guy finds this stuff, must have his name out to every estate sale company in a multiple state region:

https://youtu.be/rJKZG1I6DGI

Pretty oddly equipped too, must have been special-order. Black on black but no A/C, AM-only but power antenna, no vinyl roof (I am trying to recall if I ever saw one of these without one), 455, firm ride & handling package. It will be nice to see what he thinks of it once he gets it ready for the road. I never liked this generation of the Delta 88 mostly due to front end styling but nowadays they are pretty scarce, though you do see a few convertibles.

tjc78 · July 2021

@fintail said:
I wonder where this guy finds this stuff, must have his name out to every estate sale company in a multiple state region:

https://youtu.be/rJKZG1I6DGI

Waiting for him to have one of my malaise favorite guilty pleasures - either a loaded t-top 77-79 T-Bird or a properly equipped 80-81 Seville.

I can do the Eldorado but not a huge Seville fan. I’m sure properly equipped would be sans vinyl top and the touring (or whatever they called them) wheels. Pretty sure 80-81 doesn’t have the 4100 either which is always a plus.

A 78 Diamond Jubilee T-bird would be pretty cool.

explorerx4 · July 2021

He finds some great old beasts for his reviews.

sda · July 2021

I am interested to know more about Adam. Is he a mechanic? What is in his collection and how does he go about finding them? I enjoy his U-tube posts.

ab348 · July 2021

He clearly does a lot of his own light mechanical work, but I thought he said at one point that his real job was in accounting/finance. His collection just seems to keep growing as he reveals more of it in each new post. This week we learned he has an 11th-gen Olds 98 (1985-early '90s) along with a '94 Caddy STS, and he has been teasing a '59 Pontiac recently too. I just don't know where he gets the time.

fintail · July 2021

I always low key liked the bustleback, but it has to be very specifically optioned - deblinged, in a way. No faux Rolls-Royce grille, no landau top, no fake rear spare, no wires/wire wheel covers, etc. I'd take an 80 or 81 (V8-6-4 could be fun and apparently can be removed if troublesome), in blue with a leather interior, with any kind of optional suspension package, and actual wheels, similar to an Eldo I posted some time ago. This color looks nice (but apparently is an 84, as ab348 mentions Adam's apparently is too - wouldn't want to deal with that engine):

tjc78 said:

@fintail said:

I wonder where this guy finds this stuff, must have his name out to every estate sale company in a multiple state region:

Waiting for him to have one of my malaise favorite guilty pleasures - either a loaded t-top 77-79 T-Bird or a properly equipped 80-81 Seville.

I can do the Eldorado but not a huge Seville fan. I’m sure properly equipped would be sans vinyl top and the touring (or whatever they called them) wheels. Pretty sure 80-81 doesn’t have the 4100 either which is always a plus.

A 78 Diamond Jubilee T-bird would be pretty cool.

fintail · July 2021

Out on the road today - yellow Suzuki Aerio hatch, 64 Olds 4 door HT, 2 door mark II Jetta, 67-68 Mustang fastback, and a fintail, first time I've seen one on the road here. It was a later run W110, definitely had some patina, but was moving along fine.

fintail · July 2021

I see he uploaded that 59 Pontiac today. Always liked the flat tops anyway, that engine and interior are amazing, wow those door panels.

Went for a 10 minute round trip drive to get dinner, saw yet another Aerio and another Crossfire roadster - I think some of these cars are congregating here.

imidazol97 · July 2021

I received my issue of Classic Car today. It seems it's getting less interesting. The articles involve more foreign products than US classic cars.

I am sure others here read CC. What's your opinion?

ab348 · July 2021

You talking Hemmings Classic Car? Certainly what you mention was true for last month's issue. I just got the current one this week and it was a bit more domestic-oriented, but pretty thin in terms of number of pages. I think the pandemic is keeping them from getting out and seeing vehicles to write features about.

imidazol97 · July 2021

Is there another magazine that deals mostly with US classic cars that I would
remember and expect to see at a local car show/cruise in?

I'm willing to subscribe to another one. Hemmings Classic Cars added another
of their magazines that was foreign oriented a year or more ago into the CC
magazine.

andre1969 · July 2021

fintail said:
I always low key liked the bustleback, but it has to be very specifically optioned - deblinged, in a way. No faux Rolls-Royce grille, no landau top, no fake rear spare, no wires/wire wheel covers, etc. I'd take an 80 or 81 (V8-6-4 could be fun and apparently can be removed if troublesome), in blue with a leather interior, with any kind of optional suspension package, and actual wheels, similar to an Eldo I posted some time ago. This color looks nice (but apparently is an 84, as ab348 mentions Adam's apparently is too - wouldn't want to deal with that engine):

Same here...the 2nd-gen Seville does hold a guilty sort of pleasure for me, but I'd be picky about the one I got, pretty much mirroring your tastes...1980-81 with the 368, none of that tacky add-on stuff, etc.

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

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