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

ab348 · July 2021

Way back in '81 I had been at my first job out of university for only a year, working as a junior executive type for a owner-manager wholesaler operation. It was an awful company but you got to do anything and everything so it was good training for your next job somewhere else.

Our controller had left about a year after I got there because he could see the big boss was both crazy and unethical. One day this new Finance guy gets introduced as our new controller - sharp-dressed guy in his '50s, very smooth, seemed like a good fellow. Things went well for a month or two but my first hint of trouble came when the three of us went to lunch one day. I was only brought along to be the driver which my dumb self felt was kind of odd. The controller had an '80 or '81 bustleback Seville. I got to drive them to the restaurant in it. It was a very posh car but I quickly realized that when they said it had power steering and power brakes they weren't kidding. The steering was absolutely feather-light with no feel at all and the brakes were exceedingly touchy. I remember the suspension being very wallowy too. It was something I suppose you could get used to but I found it quite off-putting.

I quickly found out why I was brought along as it was 2 hours of continuous drinking for the controller, who we soon found out had a big problem with booze that he had kept hidden until then. We found out later that he had started drinking in the office all day a while after he started and began behaving more and more erratically over the next couple of weeks until he suddenly disappeared one day, never to return. Thankfully since the company was continually short on cash there wasn't much he could take.

I saw him once more about 3 years later, one day in the summer in the resort town of Chester, driving a convertible (a LeBaron if memory serves) with a glamorous 40-something blonde in the passenger seat. I was walking along and he pulled up next to me without recognizing me. When I saw who it was and greeted him he was taken aback and made a very quick exit. I figured there was another scam in progress.

ab348 · July 2021

sda said:
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.

I just stumbled onto him on FB in the "All Original Cars" group. The jobs indicate quite the career progression. I can see how he can afford this, though living where he does in Warren MI seems a bit out of character, but who knows. Here's a screenshot of his profile:

explorerx4 · July 2021

He lives in Warren MI? I swear I recognized some of the houses. My wife's sister lived on Masch which is off of 8 mile near the Ram truck plant.

sda · July 2021

ab348 said:

sda said:
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.
I just stumbled onto him on FB in the "All Original Cars" group. The jobs indicate quite the career progression. I can see how he can afford this, though living where he does in Warren MI seems a bit out of character, but who knows. Here's a screenshot of his profile:

I found him in Linked In. Very impressive career and accomplishments. Speaks 4 languages.

fintail · July 2021

Looks like he might keep a house in MI maybe just to stay near the cars . Housing is so cheap there, more money for cars! And if that's indeed the same Adam who works for good corporate citizen GE and has experience in venture capital/private equity, he can probably creatively account his way into making a collection economical too.

Michaell · July 2021

fintail said:
he can probably creatively account his way into making a collection economical too.

Translation - he has a Montana LLC, and all the cars are registered to it.

ab348 · July 2021

fintail said:
Looks like he might keep a house in MI maybe just to stay near the cars . Housing is so cheap there, more money for cars! And if that's indeed the same Adam who works for good corporate citizen GE and has experience in venture capital/private equity, he can probably creatively account his way into making a collection economical too.

Shoot, and he used to be such a cool dude up until this.

fintail · July 2021

That's just capitalism! The money saved will trickle down any day now

Michaell said:

fintail said:
he can probably creatively account his way into making a collection economical too.
Translation - he has a Montana LLC, and all the cars are registered to it.

fintail · July 2021

I am sure he's still cool

Waiting to see what's next now that he even has a bustleback. A preserved mint Cimarron? A nice clamshell wagon? A highly optioned low mileage 60 Ford? Or for him, maybe even a 60 Edsel or Meteor. He seems to have a GM preference, but definitely gives time for the others as well.

ab348 said:

fintail said:
Looks like he might keep a house in MI maybe just to stay near the cars . Housing is so cheap there, more money for cars! And if that's indeed the same Adam who works for good corporate citizen GE and has experience in venture capital/private equity, he can probably creatively account his way into making a collection economical too.
Shoot, and he used to be such a cool dude up until this.

ab348 · July 2021

On his FB page he has pictures going back many years. There are cars there I assume he has subsequently sold, like a 1st-gen Monte Carlo. The ‘59 Parisienne goes back with him to at least 2016.

tjc78 · July 2021

One of my favorite car collections is Matt Garret. We have spoken about him before. He just has similar tastes to my own and only picks low mile survivals.

fintail · July 2021

That's the guy in TX, right? IIRC he has a thing for 90s era MBs too, so I approve.

tjc78 said:
One of my favorite car collections is Matt Garret. We have spoken about him before. He just has similar tastes to my own and only picks low mile survivals.

uplanderguy · July 2021

That Eldo on his FB page is beautiful.

I enjoy the "All Original Cars" FB page. But "All Original" is sure pretty loosey-goosey there, LOL. Some obvious stuff changed where the OP goes "It was built this way, period". Roll eyes here.

On the flip side, you sometimes see cars I believe the low mileage on (by upholstery, pedals, things like wheel color, lack of rust where that model routinely rusted), and of course you get the chest-thumping 1,000 percent positive guys, "Has to have rolled over".

Yeah, like a Pennsylvania '68 Nova with 124,000 miles has zero rust in its perfect rear quarters, and original upholstered front seat, both of which would've been shot in 54,000 miles.

tjc78 · July 2021

@fintail said:
That's the guy in TX, right? IIRC he has a thing for 90s era MBs too, so I approve.

Yeah, Dallas. He has an appetite for a lot of malaise era boats (most Caddy’s), Vettes, Mercedes and oddly optioned low mile trucks. Pretty much what I’d probably hoard.

One of the most interesting car to me (if you believe the story) was a Secret Service P71 Crown Vic optioned like a full boat LX. I always wondered if it was real, or someone did some junkyard diving and created it.

http://www.mcsmk8.com/02CV/02CV.HTM

texases · July 2021

I wouldn't call it a classic, but it is a bit obscure - parked next to a Saturn Sky at work, temp tags and all. Top down, not sure I'm up for that with out 100F temps this week.

explorerx4 · July 2021

I've seen this car a few times. It's in very nice condition.

roadburner · July 2021

I loved the 1957 Ford as well as the 1960 models, but the 1959 always struck me as more gothic than space age.

sda · July 2021

The 58 and 59 full-size Fords are my least favorite of that time period.

ab348 · July 2021

uplanderguy said:
That Eldo on his FB page is beautiful.

That and the Riviera are just gorgeous.

When I discovered him on FB through that All Original Cars group I was surprised that he had put so much career info on there. He was pretty circumspect about most other things but there was no doubt who he was and where he worked. I found it interesting today that in the all-original group his last name has changed to "Wade".

uplanderguy said:
I enjoy the "All Original Cars" FB page. But "All Original" is sure pretty loosey-goosey there, LOL. Some obvious stuff changed where the OP goes "It was built this way, period". Roll eyes here.

On the flip side, you sometimes see cars I believe the low mileage on (by upholstery, pedals, things like wheel color, lack of rust where that model routinely rusted), and of course you get the chest-thumping 1,000 percent positive guys, "Has to have rolled over".

Based on what I saw there today I wonder how long the admins are going to put up with the shenanigans. Big beefs there today from some people wondering why their "all-original" car posts are not being approved, others chiming in that "who cares if it's original, it looks nice!" (talk about missing the point) and a whole lot of general bickering and worse. I think the admins made a mistake way back, when they said a respray in the original color didn't disqualify a car from appearing. Then it became a color change but in a correct color for the model year, etc etc. Everybody wants their participation award it seems.

fintail · July 2021

That's the guy. I wonder if he could get a Marti report on that CV to prove its unusual spec.

This one gets to me, future highish dollar car and already collectible, would probably bring a pretty penny at BaT:

http://www.mcsmk8.com/97-SL74/97-SL74.html

And of course this:

http://www.mcsmk8.com/98-S600/98-S600.html

tjc78 said:

@fintail said:

That's the guy in TX, right? IIRC he has a thing for 90s era MBs too, so I approve.

Yeah, Dallas. He has an appetite for a lot of malaise era boats (most Caddy’s), Vettes, Mercedes and oddly optioned low mile trucks. Pretty much what I’d probably hoard.

One of the most interesting car to me (if you believe the story) was a Secret Service P71 Crown Vic optioned like a full boat LX. I always wondered if it was real, or someone did some junkyard diving and created it.

http://www.mcsmk8.com/02CV/02CV.HTM

uplanderguy · July 2021

RE.: That '59 Ford--I appreciate any well-kept old car, for the most part, but I never liked the '59 Ford either. I have always liked the '58 but largely attribute that to a favorite late aunt who drove one in the late sixties. I always loved '61 Starliners, but the '60 has grown on me. It seems like I have seen mentions in a lot of places that the '60 Ford is a favorite of theirs.

andre1969 · July 2021

explorerx4 said:
I've seen this car a few times. It's in very nice condition.

I have the sudden urge to shout, in a screeching little-kid voice "HEEEEEEYYYYY MISTER WILLLSONNNN!!!"

uplanderguy · July 2021

"Martha, where's my nerve medicine?!"

Always thought it was rude, how he called Dennis' Dad, "Mitchell".

fintail · July 2021

I always wondered what was in that nerve medicine

In the second season of Dennis the Menace, Mr. Wilson had a black 59 Ford:

First season, he had a black 56 Ford.

imidazol97 · July 2021

fintail said:
I always wondered what was in that nerve medicine

In the second season of Dennis the Menace, Mr. Wilson had a black 59 Ford:

First season, he had a black 56 Ford.

Probably same as what was in the Sisters' Recipe on the Waltons and
was in Hadacol vitamin formula sold in the old days.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/23920/hadacol-last-medicine-shows

fintail · July 2021

Spotted on a scenic tree-lined street today, cruising along with a couple passengers - a late run brass radiator Model T touring car, a 15 or a 16. Always liked the noise those make.

uplanderguy · July 2021

Yesterday, I saw a car out running I've seen for a few years around here...that ubiquitous gold color on a '77 Caprice Classic sedan. Looks like a three-year-old car. White-haired lady driving it with all windows up so I know the A/C is working. It's been high 80's and humid here recently.

I wouldn't go so far as to say the styling is timeless, but it's held up well I think. Pretty simple styling and large rounded wheel openings, front and rear.

ab348 · July 2021

uplanderguy said:
Yesterday, I saw a car out running I've seen for a few years around here...that ubiquitous gold color on a '77 Caprice Classic sedan. Looks like a three-year-old car. White-haired lady driving it with all windows up so I know the A/C is working. It's been high 80's and humid here recently.

I wouldn't go so far as to say the styling is timeless, but it's held up well I think. Pretty simple styling and large rounded wheel openings, front and rear.

There is a later one living in the neighborhood here, mid to late '80s, still the same "sheer look" Mitchell styling. It's looking tired these days but is used regularly. The thing that always strikes me is just how large it looks compared to anything except a pickup.

The first 3 years of the downsized B/C bodies were the best-looking, I always thought.

uplanderguy · July 2021

The first 3 years of the downsized B/C bodies were the best-looking, I always thought.

Agree totally.

Ironically, the '80 I think was designed to look bigger, but by then people were used to the trim '77-79 looks.

One of the car mags, I remember, said about the '80 Caprice they were testing, "It's handsome, but it's lost the crisp, chiseled look it was born with". Totally agree there too.

ab348 · July 2021

TPIR from March 28, 1978. Linda won this '78 Skylark worth $5162 in the Dice Game with no trouble at all.

sda · July 2021

ab348 said:
TPIR from March 28, 1978. Linda won this '78 Skylark worth $5162 in the Dice Game with no trouble at all.

In retrospect, $5200 would have bought a new Cadillac in 1958.

fintail · July 2021

Spotted a pristine looking AMC Hornet Sportabout driving through the neighborhood today, beige with wood trim. Funny that something that was the pinnacle of mundane is now so interesting.

Also, that 69 Galaxie fastback out in the snow I posted months ago had vanished, now it is back, apparently being driven.

stickguy · July 2021

hey, I had a Hornet 5 door hatch. That was the cool version!

ab348 · July 2021

Found this pic from the Jersey Shore circa 1960 or so, expands very well.

Edit: Streetview reveals that the building in the immediate background is the Rhythm of the Sea Inn on Beach Ave., still very much in business.

sda · July 2021

Cute couple. Tail end of a black T-bird to the left, 62 Mercury up the street.

uplanderguy · July 2021

Whenever I see a pic like that, I always think two things:

1) Was life itself more colorful back then?
2) I was alive then, although I wish I could've retained more of my memories from then!

RE.: Sportabout--I've done my share of goofing on AMC over the years, but the Sportabout looks nice, and so does the Hornet hatchback.

Speaking of hatchbacks--on the 'All Original Cars' FB page, a guy posted about a week ago, his low-mileage (can't remember what) silver '76 Nova Concours hatchback with red vinyl notchback vinyl front seat and interior. Rally Wheels. He bought it when the 100-year-old lady original owner went into a home. She had traded a '66 Caprice on it. She ordered it. I'm pleased she didn't buy the pimped-up wide wheel opening trim or wide side moldings, or vinyl top. It had the big quarter windows with the window frames covered in chrome. The '76 still had the two taillights on each side, before they made the extra-wide taillights in later years, yuck.

I can't think of a bigger car that could be had in a hatchback than those X-bodies in those years.

sda · July 2021

I considered buying a used 75 Omega hatchback, just like this one, same color, wheel covers. I liked the interior and hatchback versatility but was underwhelmed by the 260 V8. The V8 was quiet, smooth, but weak.

uplanderguy · July 2021

That is a nice-looking car I think. In general, I'm not crazy when the body side molding goes over the front wheel well, but I can live with that! I even like the brown color.

The '75 reskin was a nice update done on-the-cheap I think, on all those cars.

I always wished they'd have done flush door handles and an inside hood release, but it didn't happen. Small things though.

uplanderguy · July 2021

Took this pic 15 mins. ago on the way home from a late lunch. I was immediately behind him for a couple miles. He was clipping along at 29 mph in a 35, not bad. Model T--has the Ford script on the small tailgate. Tires about as wide as a bike tire, LOL. There is almost never a train on these tracks and the lights and gates came down right in front of this guy and it looked like he barely got it stopped. I jumped out of my car and asked if I could take a pic. This is only probably 1/4 mile from my house.

fintail · July 2021

At the Jersey shore, in front of the Triumph appears to be a 55-56 T-Bird, 62 Mercury may be a 61, and I think I see a sliver of a 59 Chevy rear, at far right.

Neat T roadster pickup. In "Lassie", I think there was a character who had one of those, set up to run on train tracks, I thought that was pretty cool when I was a little kid.

uplanderguy · July 2021

You mention "Lassie". I remember pretty vividly the early-to-mid-sixties Dodge pickups, and for some reason I'd heard explained before, in motion the tires and wheels appeared to be moving backwards.

fintail · July 2021

IMCDB has the T, but not on the tracks - I swear I remember it, maybe hallucinated it, but the memory is clear:

I also remember seeing this episode when my dad had the 60:

I also seem to recall one of the finned Dodge pickups in at least an episode, but IMCDB doesn't have it.

roadburner · July 2021

uplanderguy said:
Whenever I see a pic like that, I always think two things:

1) Was life itself more colorful back then?
2) I was alive then, although I wish I could've retained more of my memories from then!

RE.: Sportabout--I've done my share of goofing on AMC over the years, but the Sportabout looks nice, and so does the Hornet hatchback.

Speaking of hatchbacks--on the 'All Original Cars' FB page, a guy posted about a week ago, his low-mileage (can't remember what) silver '76 Nova Concours hatchback with red vinyl notchback vinyl front seat and interior. Rally Wheels. He bought it when the 100-year-old lady original owner went into a home. She had traded a '66 Caprice on it. She ordered it. I'm pleased she didn't buy the pimped-up wide wheel opening trim or wide side moldings, or vinyl top. It had the big quarter windows with the window frames covered in chrome. The '76 still had the two taillights on each side, before they made the extra-wide taillights in later years, yuck.

I can't think of a bigger car that could be had in a hatchback than those X-bodies in those years.

My wife and I love hatchbacks- starting with my 1979 Arrow GT, her 1986 Scorpio, my Club Sport and my Mazdaspeed 3. I'd have another if BMW would bring the 128ti stateside- or if Ford would import the latest Fiesta ST...

ab348 · July 2021

uplanderguy said:

RE.: Sportabout--I've done my share of goofing on AMC over the years, but the Sportabout looks nice, and so does the Hornet hatchback.

Speaking of hatchbacks--on the 'All Original Cars' FB page, a guy posted about a week ago, his low-mileage (can't remember what) silver '76 Nova Concours hatchback with red vinyl notchback vinyl front seat and interior. Rally Wheels. He bought it when the 100-year-old lady original owner went into a home. She had traded a '66 Caprice on it. She ordered it. I'm pleased she didn't buy the pimped-up wide wheel opening trim or wide side moldings, or vinyl top. It had the big quarter windows with the window frames covered in chrome. The '76 still had the two taillights on each side, before they made the extra-wide taillights in later years, yuck.

I can't think of a bigger car that could be had in a hatchback than those X-bodies in those years.

Dad bought a '75 Sportabout new. Actually drove and even handled well, but the interior (both design and materials) was dismal.

The GM X-body hatchbacks in the '70s were not particularly popular with buyers as I recall. I think GM in its arrogance at the time thought they could create a new segment, but the public didn't seem to like the idea of hatchbacks.

andre1969 · July 2021

The X-body hatchbacks didn't seem like they were all that versatile, to me. I guess having the back seat fold down could be a nice feature, but they also raised up the trunk floor, making it shallower, and really cutting into cargo space. I do seem to recall they put one of those "space saver" spare tires under the trunk floor though...one of those types that was stored flat, and came with a can of compressed air you'd use to blow it up.

I think GM would have been better off just offering a rear seat that folded down, or had some kind of a pass through, rather than going the whole hatchback route. Although I guess one advantage to the hatch is that you could haul bulky items, if you left the hatch up. The cops would probably give you a ticket for that nowadays, though. And I can remember at some point in the 80's, they started warning people to stop driving station wagons around with the rear window open because it could suck in exhaust fumes...so I guess it's probably not the best idea with an open hatch, either!

uplanderguy · July 2021

I gotta believe they were noisier inside than the 'closed' cars.

sda · July 2021

I saw a white 63 Pontiac LeMans convertible with the top down on my way home from having my car serviced. It looked ok, not the best paint job, but it was nice to see. I haven’t seen a 63 Tempest/LeMans in years.

uplanderguy · July 2021

I always liked the '63 LeMans especially, with those low, rectangular taillights instead of the circle-over-a-circle taillights of the Tempest.

I would seriously consider a '62 Tempest LeMans coupe, maroon color, with the aluminum 215 V8 if I could ever find one. Most of those went into the other divisions' compacts. I'd read somewhere once that only 1-2% of Tempests had that V8. I've only ever seen one online, on eBay some years back, that had it. It was a '61 four-door Tempest.

The 326 V8 that came out in '63 was more motor, for sure, but there's something I like about that '62 styling.

My friend tells me I'm a masochist to want a rope-drive Tempest though, LOL.

Sandman6472 · July 2021

When we married in 1981, the wife had a bright red Buick Skylark with a 1/2 vinyl roof in white over white interior. Remember after I had a guy detail it, it was super bright in the sun with the bumpers real shinny, was almost blinding! It was on a cold January day for us, in the high 40's and I had it done in Fort Lauderdale as I recall. A guy had set up shop in a gas station lot and was waxing vehicles for like $50. All I know is that he did a great job and the wife was super happy as her car looked brand new again!

andre1969 · August 2021

On the subject of GM's '61-63 senior compacts, the '61-62 Olds F-85 always caught my eye, for some reason. I read somewhere that these first compacts actually had a lot of Corvair DNA in them, just with a more conventional drivetrain configuration and a longer wheelbase?

Is that true? These cars seem noticeably larger than a Corvair to me, enough so that I'd think they'd be more than just a stretched Corvair with an engine put in the proper spot, so it reaches the accident scene before the occupants rather than after.

I wonder if it's because the Tempest/LeMans had that swing axle in the rear, that people make the connection to the Corvair?

Oh, I know we've moved past the subject, but with GM's re-skinned full-sized cars for 1980, I still find them handsome enough for the most part, but less unique than the '77-79 versions. They had gone through a bit of an aerodynamic treatment, with lower front-ends and higher rear decks, and took on a bit more of a wedge shape. And unfortunately, that seems to be one side effect of aerodynamics...it sort of stifles individuality.

The coupes all went for that personal luxury coupe look, with small quarter windows, a thick C-pillar, and near vertical rear window, plus a rear deck that was made longer, thanks to the vertical window. Again, I think it was fairly attractive, but they all started looking too similar. Of that batch of coupes, I find myself attracted the most to, oddly, the '81 Impala coupe. I usually tended to like the Impala's grille better than the Caprice because it was less ostentatious. And, I'd imagine an Impala was less likely to have a vinyl roof than a Caprice. This one looks nice, to me, in two-tone...

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

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles