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

andre1969 · April 9

I remember that episode! Wasn't the bride played by Elinor Donahue? I think in the plot, she used to babysit Dennis when he was little, and he had a major crush on her.

explorerx4 · April 9

I saw a car yesterday that had a rear plate frame that read "I'd rather be watching Andy Griffith".

uplanderguy · April 9

I'd rather be watching Andy, LOL.

When I was a kid, "My Three Sons" was my favorite show, but as I aged, I think "Andy..." was the better show.

We've discussed this before, and I know I'm in the vast minority--I enjoy the color episodes, as Andy was far-less 'hickish', and honestly, Ernest T. and the Darlings and even Otis to a degree, wore on my nerves. The color episodes weren't as funny, but I think the stories were more heartwarming. "Aunt Bee Learns to Fly" was a jump-the-shark episode, though, I'll admit. But my favorite episode of the entire series was when Barney came back to visit and his old high school girlfriend was a movie star and her new movie was being premiered in Mayberry. Of course he felt she still liked him, and he got stung at the end. It was actually bittersweet but done well. I also really like "The Church Benefactors", and "Goober Goes To The Auto Show". Both actually poignant. Also where Emmett's brother-in-law and wife jumped on him to sell insurance instead. It was somewhat poignant too.

One of the first places I went after I retired, was spend a night in Mt. Airy and visited the sites. Also went to Siler City and saw Aunt Bee's home there, and her burial location. My wife said "Have at it!" and didn't go (she still worked), but I enjoyed it. At Mt. Airy, they're glad you're there.

thebean · April 9

“Citizen’s arrest!! Citizen’s arrest!!” 😁

uplanderguy · April 9

I honestly got sick of Gomer too, although I watched his show back then and still my favorite episode of it is "Opie Joins The Marines". He was about 12 I think and ran away. Andy is in about the last three minutes of the episode and is very effective IMHO. He looks like he wants to kill somebody, but at the end puts his arm around Opie. He says about ten words in total.

fintail · April 9

andre1969 said:
I remember that episode! Wasn't the bride played by Elinor Donahue? I think in the plot, she used to babysit Dennis when he was little, and he had a major crush on her.

I believe that's right. I haven't seen that one in years, but I wat to say it had to do with her coming back to town for the wedding (maybe to a serviceman?).

Another scene with a 60 Ford, I remember this episode too - I want to say the car is two tone blue, but maybe it isn't:

I never got into My Three Sons in 80s reruns, Andy Griffith was generally good, but I liked Dennis and Leave it to Beaver more, among others.

fintail · April 9

Spots in the background of some recent real estate listings:

stickguy · April 9

I thought of you Fin earlier when I looked at a listing I was pushed (I actually really liked the house too!) that had a stand alone extra garage/shop. single door but really 1 car with space. Anyway, point is, they had it "staged" with a pristine looking 1970 Cutlass 2 door. Really sharp looking.

uplanderguy · April 10

‘Andy…’ is the only show I can recall of its ilk, that actually named the state it was set in.

xwesx · April 10

Nice! I like that '70 GMC pickup. Looks to be a long bed model, which of course is the best style.

fintail · April 10

stickguy said:
I thought of you Fin earlier when I looked at a listing I was pushed (I actually really liked the house too!) that had a stand alone extra garage/shop. single door but really 1 car with space. Anyway, point is, they had it "staged" with a pristine looking 1970 Cutlass 2 door. Really sharp looking.

Surprised a realtor went to that extent - maybe the owner did it. Locally they seem to be into "virtual staging", with some software doing a better job than others it seems.

I bought 4 years ago but still watch local sales closely, especially those relatively near to me. Higher rates put a lid on the insane price inflation of the 2010-22era (where I suspect the majority of local houses close to tripled), but no decline.

stickguy · April 10

Oh I think k it was the car that lived there. It just looked so perfect like it was staged there.

gsemike · April 11

Am orignal Honda Insight (?) last night. These were full electric i believe w range under 100 miles. Looked in goof shape

kyfdx · April 11

That's cool.. back when they took aerodynamic drag seriously

roadburner · April 11

I saw one just a couple of weeks ago.

texases · April 11

The Insight was a hybrid, not an EV, had the highest mpgs of any car during its production. My brother had one, liked it ok, but replaced it with something more practical (4 seats + more storage).

stickguy · April 11

And came with a stick!

fintail · April 11

Funny to think that the Insight is now roughly 25 years old and qualifies for collector plates in some areas.

On that note, if Back to the Future took place today, Marty would go back to 1995, and if Peggy Sue Got Married was a current film, the time travel scene would be at a 25th reunion of the class of 2000.

fintail · April 11

Got behind a Mercury Lynx in traffic, been some time since I have seen one of those on the road. Driver was annoyingly distracted, which made it all the better. Also saw an obviously restored brand new looking maybe 55 Ford pickup, stock restoration.

stickguy · April 11

thanks for making me feel even older than I already did Fin!

ab348 · April 12

Yeah, I remember in the fall of 1980 checking out the brand-new Ford Escort and Mercury Lynx in their respective showrooms. Just sitting in them I was relatively impressed with the trim and space inside, though I never drove one. I gather they were pretty awful to drive with the 1.6L engine.

That sure wasn't yesterday.

gsemike · April 12

@roadburner said:
I saw one just a couple of weeks ago.

Maybe the same one. How many are left and in use?

gsemike · April 12

@ab348 said:
Yeah, I remember in the fall of 1980 checking out the brand-new Ford Escort and Mercury Lynx in their respective showrooms. Just sitting in them I was relatively impressed with the trim and space inside, though I never drove one. I gather they were pretty awful to drive with the 1.6L engine.

That sure wasn't yesterday.

The front seats were decently accommodating

Michaell · April 12

I had a Lynx as an insurance rental in either '83 or '84. I didn't think it was too bad, compared to my '79 Sunbird.

fintail · April 12

The recollection of a new Lynx in 1980 is like being in 1980 and remembering seeing a new model launched in 1935

Michaell · April 12

fintail said:
The recollection of a new Lynx in 1980 is like being in 1980 and remembering seeing a new model launched in 1935

Thanks. Thanks for that.

fintail · April 12

Michaell said:

fintail said:
The recollection of a new Lynx in 1980 is like being in 1980 and remembering seeing a new model launched in 1935
Thanks. Thanks for that.

Time flies!

Right now I have the top 30 from this date in 1992 playing in the background - high school years, some music better than others. The same as listening to a 1959 chart in 1992

ab348 · April 12

fintail said:
The recollection of a new Lynx in 1980 is like being in 1980 and remembering seeing a new model launched in 1935

What’s that you say?!? Speak up young fella, I’m a little hard of hearing!!!

Michaell · April 12

@fintail said:
Time flies!

Right now I have the top 30 from this date in 1992 playing in the background - high school years, some music better than others. The same as listening to a 1959 chart in 1992

I suspect a lotta grunge in that playlist.

fintail · April 12

Michaell said:

@fintail said:

Time flies!

Right now I have the top 30 from this date in 1992 playing in the background - high school years, some music better than others. The same as listening to a 1959 chart in 1992

I suspect a lotta grunge in that playlist.

It was a general top 30, kind of generic pop of the era. Alternative would get big in the mainstream in 1993 IIRC. That's about when I started tuning into 107.7 KNDD out of Seattle, which was probably the leading station for that style in the country at the time.

uplanderguy · April 12

I worked with a guy, 25 years older than me, who traded in a ‘77 Corolla on a new ‘81 Escort wagon, an upper trim level. The Corolla would just stop running at the worst times and the dealer couldn’t figure it out.

At first I was pretty impressed with the Escort. It was white with red cloth fairly plush seats.

When the Escort was introduced it came as a coupe and wagon. The four-door sedan was a later introduction.

I liked the styling, and GM had nothing like it yet.

I rode in it a bunch of times. It developed a spot in the automatic trans that would just rev then delay shift, which progressively got worse.

He traded it on a new, totally non-descript ‘84 Celebrity four-door.

uplanderguy · April 13

Actually, the late-introduction Escort four-door was a ‘five-door’.

andre1969 · April 13

I didn't realize the 4-door hatchback was a late introduction for the Escort. My stepdad had an '81 Escort 2-door hatch, white with a red interior and a stick shift, when my Mom met him.

His first car had been a 1969 Chevelle SS396, so talk about a demotion!

I don't remember much about the Escort, other than it being the first car that I had ever sat in, that had reclining seats, and thinking that was pretty cool.

gsemike · April 13

Pretty cool carspotting. Saw this outside a small village police station in Northport NY. I guess they use it for parades and rhe like. I'd guess is a 67 LTD or Galaxy?

ab348 · April 13

That's a 1965 Ford Custom, the low-level model that most police cruisers were built on.

Hope you went in and told them they needed to roll up the LR door window to keep the rain out.

fintail · April 13

andre1969 said:
I didn't realize the 4-door hatchback was a late introduction for the Escort. My stepdad had an '81 Escort 2-door hatch, white with a red interior and a stick shift, when my Mom met him.

His first car had been a 1969 Chevelle SS396, so talk about a demotion!

I don't remember much about the Escort, other than it being the first car that I had ever sat in, that had reclining seats, and thinking that was pretty cool.

I wonder how many "demotions" like that took place during that era. My dad went from a 70 Mustang to a Horizon. To be fair, he was pleased with the Horizon and usually spoke highly of it, but those cars have different cool factors, so to speak. And these days, a nice Horizon might turn my head more than a Mustang.

fintail · April 13

The spec of that 65 Ford makes me wonder if it may have been a police car from new.

gsemike · April 13

@ab348 said:
That's a 1965 Ford Custom, the low-level model that most police cruisers were built on.

Hope you went in and told them they needed to roll up the LR door window to keep the rain out.

It was up. They had some sign in the window that I didn't go up and read

uplanderguy · April 13

I like the full-size '65 Fords. I remember hearing somebody say "it looks like the box the '65 Chevy came in", but I liked it anyway. And they scooped Chevy by introducing the LTD.

It's funny to me about the '66--I can't exactly put my finger on it, but the '66 looks like the '65, just with some fat added, LOL.

On a different subject, I could never imagine spending much time at all looking at a late '60's Chevelle unless it was bone-stock, and the whole 'SS' thing doesn't interest me at all and it seems like any stock ones I see are those. But lately, again, I've been reading up and looking for the '68 Concours coupe, which isn't even in any sales information, just was the result of an upholstery vendor strike and the Concours was added in a hurry in the spring of '68 to make more than one interior available in a Malibu Sport Coupe, which I'd say was the best-selling two-door Chevrolet after the Impala cars (just guessing). I've only ever seen one real one in my whole 66 years, and that was when I was a kid. They came with either Cutlass Supreme interior or Skylark Custom interior, depending on assembly plant. They also had more luxurious door panels with longer armrests inside, and added exterior trim--most notably, wheel opening trim which Malibus didn't have, but I like the moldings. I think the Skylark Custom seating was the nicest split-back bench of all four GM midsizes that year, but I dislike the Skylark styling outside. So a Concours coupe with the Buick interior is appealing to me.

I'm not kidding myself, I'll never own another old car, but I could sure like one of those.

Along those lines--and I don't understand this at all--the Dec. '71 GM recall about Chevy motor mounts doesn't include Chevelles at all. I knew it didn't include six-cylinders, so our '67 wasn't involved, and Grandpa had already bought a new car so didn't deal with the recall on his '67 Impala. But why it would include Novas, Camaros, full-sizes and pickups from '65 to '69 (up to '70 for trucks, including GMC) and not Chevelles? Complete mystery to me.

andre1969 · April 13

To me, the '66 full-sized Chevies have heavier, more blunt looking front end, which I don't feel is quite as appealing as the '65. But, I think I prefer the rear end of the '66 just a bit more, with its toned-down, more integrated taillights. With the '65, the way the taillights stick out seems like a holdover from the '50's. In many ways, they're basically a '56-59 DeSoto taillight layout, just done sideways!

In my mind at least, a '65 Chevy with a '66 rear would be just about perfection. But, who knows, in real life that match-up may not flow as well as it does in my mind.

Michaell · April 13

andre1969 said:
To me, the '66 full-sized Chevies have heavier, more blunt looking front end, which I don't feel is quite as appealing as the '65. But, I think I prefer the rear end of the '66 just a bit more, with its toned-down, more integrated taillights. With the '65, the way the taillights stick out seems like a holdover from the '50's. In many ways, they're basically a '56-59 DeSoto taillight layout, just done sideways!

In my mind at least, a '65 Chevy with a '66 rear would be just about perfection. But, who knows, in real life that match-up may not flow as well as it does in my mind.

I had AI gin one up - not sure if this is what you imagined:

uplanderguy · April 13

I like the ‘65’s round taillights, the sixth straight model year with them. I like the clean sides too. The ‘66, they put the Bel Air’s side moldings on the Impala.

ab348 · April 13

When I was a kid I didn’t like the ‘66 Chevy taillights at all. Even then I saw them as a GM way to cheapen up the car and I still feel that way. The only ones I liked were on the ‘66 Caprice.

uplanderguy · April 13

Minor addition to the motor mount comments of mine above--Corvettes were not part of that big recall either, along with Chevelles.

uplanderguy · April 13

My comment earlier about the '66's looking like fat was added, I meant about full-size Fords. They seem a bit chubbier than the '65. But the '65 styling is there if you squint a tiny bit.

ab348 · April 13

I always liked the ‘66 Fords better than the ‘65s. Never cared for the ‘65 front end for some reason. I thought the ‘66 was a big improvement.

fintail · April 13

I like the 66 as well - 65 seems maybe a little boxy and angular, and the front fender script has always seemed kind of weird to my eyes. The 66 adds subtle curves and is maybe a little less blunt. The concave rear window on Galaxie 2 door HTs is also a unique detail.

andre1969 · April 13

With the '65-66 Fords, I'll say that's one example of where I don't have a preference of one over the other. It's probably one of those things, where if it was a car I was really into, I might like the details of one over the other, but I like them both. I will say that looking at pictures of them both, I think I like the grille of the '66 a bit better, with that horizontal split. And I like how the body side crease drops down in the rear quarter, and continues beyond the rear wheel well. On the '65, the way it just sort of fades out, and disappears before getting the rear wheel opening, makes it look like the car got sideswiped, depending on the angle and how the light hits it. So, I dunno...maybe if I studied them more, I might lean towards the '66? I have a feeling I'd be happy with either one.

I even like the '67 Ford. One thing I like about it is how it did get curvier than the '65-66, but didn't seem like it got chunkier. In contrast, GM's '67 cars look fatter than their '65-66 equivalents to me. And the Mopars, probably because they were slab-sided, didn't look fatter, but still looked more hulking.

I think my feelings of the '65-66 and '67 Fords might parallel the '57-59 DeSoto a bit. The '57 is my favorite, but I'd be more than happy with a '58. And in the Firesweep lineup, I actually prefer the '58. I think the grille and the quad headlights made up better to the Dodge front clip, than the single headlights and '57 grille. And while I don't like the '59 quite as much as '57-58, I'd still be happy with one. In fact, back before I bought my '57, I used to think I'd be most likely to end up with a '59. Mostly, because they were better built than the '57-58s and therefore had a much better survival rate.

fintail · April 13

Out on the road while cruising in the fintail earlier today - 67 Galaxie, 71-73 Mustang, 70s Alfa Spider, early 70s Ford pickup, MB W203 C32 AMG in sad condition.

Michaell · April 13

@fintail said:
Out on the road while cruising in the fintail earlier today - 67 Galaxie, 71-73 Mustang, 70s Alfa Spider, early 70s Ford pickup, MB W203 C32 AMG in sad condition.

Do you think any of those folks see you in the fintail and report back to their internet or social media friends about seeing your car?

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

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