Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

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

1118011811183118511861279

Comments

  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,256
    @andre1969,
    Try partsgeek.com. They have a lot of parts listed.
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    edited June 2022
    I'd say that Ames should have what you need.

    Might you belong to a regional Pontiac club? Or try a Facebook Pontiac page?
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • sdasda Member Posts: 6,936
    edited June 2022

    Certainly no match for @roadburner . I saw this at CarMax today. It is an automatic. The black cloth interior was dirty but not torn up, no cracks in the dash. You can see the back of my Passat with the driver door open two rows up

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

  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,200
    California roof

    Edmunds Price Checker
    Edmunds Lease Calculator
    Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!

    Edmunds Moderator

  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,439
    Chevy day today. ran out for some quick errands. first, backing out of a driveway, a really clean early C3 Vette (Chrome bumpers front and rear). Later on, a 1975ish version (flat window but plastic bumper covers front and rear).

    in between, passed a 1968 Camaro. did not get a good look but seemed to be a Z28 but no RS package. had exposed headlights. Rear spoiler only (no front). white with orange double stripes. I have a 1/16 model on my dresser of that spec car.

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

  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,256
    Stopped at a store with the Mustang today. Some lady driving a red Kia Soul asked me if I wanted to switch cars. I chuckled and told her 'No thanks, I already have a red car, too'.
    She laughed and I think she appreciated that I didn't make a snarky comment.
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • tjc78tjc78 Member Posts: 15,852

    @explorerx4 said:
    Stopped at a store with the Mustang today. Some lady driving a red Kia Soul asked me if I wanted to switch cars. I chuckled and told her 'No thanks, I already have a red car, too'.
    She laughed and I think she appreciated that I didn't make a snarky comment.

    So it’s all fixed?

    2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve

  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,256
    @tjc78,
    It's back running but plenty more things need fixing.
    Going up hills it still runs warm. Radiator has stop leak in it.
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • sdasda Member Posts: 6,936

    @tjc78,
    It's back running but plenty more things need fixing.
    Going up hills it still runs warm. Radiator has stop leak in it.

    How many miles on it? Regardless time takes a toll.

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

  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,256
    @tjc78,
    Just over 41K. Time does take a toll.
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,439

    Sitting is IMO worse than driving regularly and having more miles.

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

  • tjc78tjc78 Member Posts: 15,852
    You’ll get it sorted. Probably needs to be driven more than anything else. May need a new radiator and a few coolant exchanges until it’s clean again.

    2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve

  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,439
    yeah, boil out (they still do that? Or am I just old? Whatever the chemical flush is these days!) the cooling system, then replace the rad, hoses, T stat, etc. Just do a whole fresh system. Probably clean the gas tank and new fuel pump, full tune up. Refresh the rubber parts of the suspension.

    basically a stage 0, for the price of a new Elantra!

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

  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,256
    Engine runs fine. Not sure if there are any of those places locally that refurbish radiators anymore.
    Needs brakes, tires are 14 years old, etc..
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • tjc78tjc78 Member Posts: 15,852
    Good thing is parts availability for those is no issue at all

    2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve

  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,685
    What year is it?
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,256
    @texases,It a 1991. The guy at the trans shop said he ordered the wrong rebuilt kit because he thought it was a 2003. Only having 4 speeds saved me some money. HA HA.
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,685
    OK, so that has the aluminum/plastic radiator? No refurb on those, I'd think.
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,256
    @texases,
    I think the radiator is all metal. Fill side where caps is, is definitely metal.
    There are tons of replacement options but no OEM so far.
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,685
    OK. The ones that popped up on Rockauto looked to be plastic/aluminum, so not OEM. You may have to search a bit for a shop that can boil it out and repair it. Maybe somebody at one of the classic car clubs in your area would know?
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,685
    I found this shop in Hartford:
    https://www.radiatorct.com/about
  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,031
    The car radiator business has changed a lot. Used to be companies like Modine made OE replacement copper/brass rads, but the onset of aluminum/plastic rads led to the end of most of the old style. Still, you can get one of those that is sized to fit like an OE one if you shop carefully. There might still be an old-school brass one out there for certain cars. And there may still be a local rad shop that can refurb the old style.

    2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6

  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,256
    @texases,
    Those guys are radiator geeks!
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,685

    Yep, bet they aren’t cheap! But if you want to stay with brass, may be the way to go.

  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    Unusual '72 base-model Electra 225 four-door hardtop for sale near me. I was surprised to see a rear-seat center armrest, but none in front.

    https://www.actionautowholesale.com/details/used-1972-buick-electra/86365728
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • sdasda Member Posts: 6,936
    The front bench seat reminds me of the cloth bench in a 73 Catalina. And it has those cheaper looking door panels, no power door locks but it has cornering lights!

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

  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    Most Electras of that period I recall seeing were the 'Custom' model, even though it didn't say 'Custom' anywhere on the car. Center armrests front and rear. I remembered the base Electra having none in the front seat, but I didn't remember it having one in the back seat until I saw the car advertised.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    I like that '72 Electra, even though it's a fairly basic one. My old car book just lists a base Electra 225 and an Electra 225 Custom being offered that year, but the sales brochure also lists a "Custom Limited", but I guess that was considered an option rather than a trim level, so they didn't break out production for it.

    For '74, my book shows them breaking it out into base, Custom, and Limited, so by then I guess they were trim levels. For '75 there's just Custom and Limited, but wasn't that the year they offered the Park Avenue option? I wonder, did they just push the Custom and Limited names downscale, and then the Park Avenue essentially became the old Limited? Or did they really drop the base trim level, leave the Custom and Limited as is, and then the Park Avenue was something more upscale?
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    edited June 2022
    I got that broken sway bar bushing bracket off of my Catalina this morning...Seems to me it's a generic enough looking part that it shouldn't be hard to find. Also, I measured the sway bar itself, and it looks like it's only 3/4 of an inch. Isn't that kind of wimpy, for a big car? Looking online I was seeing stuff like 7/8", 1", 1 1/6" and the like. But, maybe a generic big car back then just didn't need that big of a sway bar, and those thicker ones were just meant for serious musclecars and such?

  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,031
    edited June 2022
    Looks just a tad rusty.

    Back in the '60s most sway bars were less than 1" in diameter. It wasn't until the '70s that bigger ones started to be more common.

    2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6

  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    Speaking of bushings, my Stude needs control arm bushings at least on the driver's side. I get a bed-spring sort-of sound when I get in and out. My 235 lbs. no doubt doesn't help, LOL. They are available through the biggest Stude parts vendor, but I'm told they're a PITA for a shop to install.

    RE.: Later Electras, mid'70's--I don't ever remember seeing an Electra without a front-seat center armrest after the '72's. My guess, only that, isn't so much that the model names were pushed down, but that the lowest trim level, like the car in that ad, was done away with, but ultra-luxury model at the top ('Park Avenue') was added.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,685
    Not all cars even came with sway bars. As for the rusted out clamp, that could be made by a shop, if you could find one that would be willing to spend the time. You'll want to replace its mate, right?
  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,031
    I'm pretty sure that same bracket was used on a gazillion GM cars. It looks just like the one I had on my Cutlass. They didn't change the size of the bracket when they changed the size of the sway bar, just made the hole in the rubber bushing bigger or smaller.

    2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6

  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,031
    edited June 2022

    Speaking of bushings, my Stude needs control arm bushings at least on the driver's side. I get a bed-spring sort-of sound when I get in and out. My 235 lbs. no doubt doesn't help, LOL. They are available through the biggest Stude parts vendor, but I'm told they're a PITA for a shop to install.

    I had a bad control arm bushing at one point with my Cutlass. The sound wasn't what you describe though, but instead it made a clunk when I would back up. That bedspring sound could be it I suppose, but I might suspect a front coil spring too.

    In my case since a shop would need to take the control arm off the car to replace the bushing (which did indeed involve a lot of bench work, including pressing out the old bushing and pressing in the new one), I just had them replace the control arms on both sides with new units which came with new bushing installed, since they were cheap and readily available. That may not be the case for you though.

    2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6

  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,685
    ab348 said:

    I'm pretty sure that same bracket was used on a gazillion GM cars. It looks just like the one I had on my Cutlass. They didn't change the size of the bracket when they changed the size of the sway bar, just made the hole in the rubber bushing bigger or smaller.

    Here's one for a Chevelle:
    https://www.carid.com/dorman/front-regular-sway-bar-bracket-and-bushing-kit-mpn-928-325.html?view=206435&utm_source=microsoft&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=268725012&utm_content=1176478122216132&msclkid=8dd9cfed98851de71af5ad56802d57ca
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    Well, I found a source. I couldn't find what I needed through Ames online, but called their 1-800 number and the guy looked it up for me. So I'm getting a pair of the bushings and the brackets. It's odd, but when I searched for "bushing bracket", the part I needed didn't come up. But the guy on the phone mentioned the part number, and I just typed it in, and it pulled it right up, and even said "3/4 inch sway bar" in the description.

    And yeah, it does seem like a generic enough part that any number of them should fit, but looking online, I even found a Dorman one (forget the website), but it said it would not fit my car.

    Oh, here's something y'all will get a kick out of. I had some errands to run today, so I had gone by the local Advance Auto, on the long shot that they might have it. Naturally, they didn't. But then, one of the other workers chimed in with something like "the best thing you can do, is find a donor car that has all the parts on it". Umm, yeah, right. Like there's a ton of '67 Pontiacs just lying around in this day and age, waiting to be donor cars. And, I'd imagine that anything still in the junkyard that hasn't been crushed, has probably been there for a long time, so I'd imagine most of the suspension parts like this would be every bit as shot as mine is. Unless, it was a junkyard out in the desert perhaps. But, just the way he said it, with such a know-it-all sort of authority, I thought was amusing. I imagine he'd make a good politician :p
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,685
    Always fun talking to folks that are authoritative in their ignorance.
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,200
    texases said:

    Always fun talking to folks that are authoritative in their ignorance.

    You must be having a blast on the internet, then. ;)

    Edmunds Price Checker
    Edmunds Lease Calculator
    Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!

    Edmunds Moderator

  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    edited June 2022

    Always fun talking to folks that are authoritative in their ignorance.


    Boy, no kidding. It's the ignoramus who can't admit something that is the absolute worst for me.

    I was in an Advanced Auto Parts probably five years ago. Customer came in with a list of stuff for an Eldorado; can't recall the year. He walked away for a minute, and one of the counter help said "Who makes Eldorado?". Had I had a mouthful of whatever drink, I'd have spit it out.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,685
    My Advanced Auto Parts story - doing a brake job on my rear axle, took in the rotors to get them turned. Guy comes back with the first one, butchered hopelessly, shows it to me, rubs it, and says 'yep, that metal is just too soft'...got a free new one out of it, at least!
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    edited June 2022
    I think one problem with Advance Auto is they're used to only looking up stuff by make & model, or VIN number, and having the computer tell them everything. I had taken the old bushing and bracket in the store with me, with the hopes they might at least try to find something in the back and see if something matched. But I think that's beyond the scope of the typical auto parts store employee these days, though. They don't really know much, beyond what the computer tells them. I guess most places are like that, these days.

    The guy who actually looked the part up for me was a bit older. Maybe my age or a bit older, so I figured he'd at least be more knowledgeable. But the other one, who told me to go get myself a donor car, was probably young enough to be my kid. He really showed his knowledge when he also said "the problem is you have a car that wasn't very popular..." Umm, by whose metric? I think every once in awhile, the Catalina might have outsold the Fury lineup, to claim #3 spot in big cars. That was when they used to group Biscayne/Bel Air/Impala/Caprice as just "Chevrolet" and all the big Fords as just "Ford". And even if the Catalina alone didn't, if you threw in Star Chief/Executive and Bonneville, it certainly outsold the Fury on a fairly regular basis.

    I mean, I get what he was trying to say...it's not a '57 Chevy or a '65 Mustang. But it's not like it's a '57 DeSoto or something! :p
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    edited June 2022
    Geez, a '67 full-size Pontiac was a very popular car. I wonder what he'd say about me trying to find Studebaker parts?

    Actually, the parts situation, NOS and repro, is good for '60's Studes, which always amazes everybody.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132
    andre1969 said:

    I got that broken sway bar bushing bracket off of my Catalina this morning...Seems to me it's a generic enough looking part that it shouldn't be hard to find. Also, I measured the sway bar itself, and it looks like it's only 3/4 of an inch. Isn't that kind of wimpy, for a big car? Looking online I was seeing stuff like 7/8", 1", 1 1/6" and the like. But, maybe a generic big car back then just didn't need that big of a sway bar, and those thicker ones were just meant for serious musclecars and such?

    Size of the stabilizer bar may not mean as much as it seems. IIRC some of the sway bars were hollow while some were solid. I don't recall any definite examples of either, but I recall some discussions about that re H-bodies in the 90s and 00s.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132

    Speaking of bushings, my Stude needs control arm bushings at least on the driver's side. I get a bed-spring sort-of sound when I get in and out. My 235 lbs. no doubt doesn't help, LOL. They are available through the biggest Stude parts vendor, but I'm told they're a PITA for a shop to install.

    RE.: Later Electras, mid'70's--I don't ever remember seeing an Electra without a front-seat center armrest after the '72's. My guess, only that, isn't so much that the model names were pushed down, but that the lowest trim level, like the car in that ad, was done away with, but ultra-luxury model at the top ('Park Avenue') was added.

    Does that car have a sway bar as well? Could the squeak be coming from some other part?

    Use a lubricant spray meant for rubber and squirt some on one part at time then wait to see if that affects the sound as the lube works in. I had a Skyhawk that squeaked with certain movements. The dealer used a molybdenum based spray on the sway bar rubber at the bracket, and it quieted down for a long time.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    My Stude still has the old-timey kingpin front suspension (although no ball joints to break). No stabilizer bar that I can remember seeing, LOL. I have tried a spray on those control arm bushings in past years and it lasts a couple or three weeks, better than nothing I agree. I'll probably climb under in the next couple days and spray 'em again.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    edited June 2022
    I just saw this pop up on facebook...
    But jeeze, they just won't let those GM cars with the stationary rear door windows die. Good lord, it's probably been at least 35 years since the last one rolled down the assembly line, let it rest in peace! :p
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    I've driven both, many times. The Malibu felt like a smaller big car. The Fairmont felt like a big small car.

    That said, that car looks clean. I'm going to guess somebody liked those wire caps and that it probably wasn't built with them.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    Well, my Stude does have a front stabilizer bar. I sprayed silicone spray (was told DON'T use anything else!) on the control arm bushings and also the stabilizer bar bushings. We'll see how that works.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,685
    edited June 2022
    That reminds me, I added an Addco stabilizer bar to my '72 Duster, they still sell them!
    https://www.addco.net/?s=&ymm_search=1&post_type=product&_year=1972&_make=Plymouth&_model=Duster
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    I wonder what they changed on the Dart/Valiant/Duster for '73, to make that front sway bar availability only go up to 1972? I think '73 was the year disc brakes became standard on V8 models, and I believe it was an improved system over 1972 and earlier disc brakes. Would the move to disc brakes be enough to alter the suspension enough that it would change the sway bar? I wouldn't think so, but you never know.
Sign In or Register to comment.