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

fintail · April 19

I am the same re: fuselage. Was not a fan when I was a kid and they were just unloved old used cars that maybe looked a little too thick. I can appreciate the design now. The hidden lights models and the gothic Imperial might be tops for the style. There's a Fury coupe like that a few blocks from me, sitting out in a driveway, appears to be in ok condition. Not on streetview as the house sold a year or two ago and it appeared with the new owners.

I know I have told the story, my grandpa was a fan of the fuselage style and traded his 65 Chrysler for a 71 in the expected green on green color combo.

tjc78 · April 19

I always felt the hidden headlight models were copying Lincoln.

stickguy · April 19

outside a shop, and not looking too good, a Pontiac grand Prix Aerocoupe. I assume a 1986. Weird looking nose.

fintail · April 20

A fun one from a couple weeks ago. I mentioned a friend bought an ultra low mileage 00 Avalon via an ad I found online. His wife has an 01 bought new, IIRC at 270K miles now and running strong but with a few quirks, and she was next in line for a new car (they are not car enthusiasts, both in their late 60s, and he mentioned they'll eventually buy their final car, as they are now semi-retired and don't really commute anymore). I showed him the Avalon ad almost as a joke, telling him what if she could just get a new version of her current car. I had first found a low mileage Avalon of this style in Chicago, but it sold before they could make a move. A week later I found another, and it was maybe meant to be.

Yesterday I visited and gave the car a quick polish and wax, and interior detail (it didn't really need the latter). The car is indeed virtually as new. Smells new, a few pinprick rock chips are the only paint flaws - my polish removed the few small scratches. The condition of the headlights and wheels amazed me. Pics aren't great but I didn't want to bother moving the car out of the garage. I've told him a few times to keep the old car as a winter car and try to preserve this one as much as possible. His wife is over the moon with it. The car has just over 6K miles on it, a time capsule:

tjc78 · April 20

I had that generation and while the 05+ was a better car the interior on the 00-04 was great. Everyone that used to ride with me commented on the recessed dashboard.

andre1969 · April 20

It just hit me...today is the 31st anniversary of the day I bought my '67 Catalina. I have a friend whose birthday is on April 20, and when I saw the facebook notification pop up, it jogged my memory. It's also the birthday of someone (in)famous, but I dunno if you're allowed to say that name on the internet anymore. Someone said it in an early retirement forum I'm on, and that particular thread got shut down pronto!

fintail · April 20

tjc78 said:
I had that generation and while the 05+ was a better car the interior on the 00-04 was great. Everyone that used to ride with me commented on the recessed dashboard.

The dash design makes me think of the similarly recessed 92-96 Prelude.

fintail · April 20

andre1969 said:
It just hit me...today is the 31st anniversary of the day I bought my '67 Catalina. I have a friend whose birthday is on April 20, and when I saw the facebook notification pop up, it jogged my memory. It's also the birthday of someone (in)famous, but I dunno if you're allowed to say that name on the internet anymore. Someone said it in an early retirement forum I'm on, and that particular thread got shut down pronto!

That reminds me, end of last month marked 30 years for me and the fintail. Time flies!

uplanderguy · April 20

The dash reminds me some of the ‘88 Buick Regal, although I’ll have to look to see if that’s accurate or not.

imidazol97 · April 20

Saw this grand MB parked on my way to a monthly street cruise in Muncie.
@fintail

fintail · April 20

imidazol97 said:
Saw this grand MB parked on my way to a monthly street cruise in Muncie.
@fintail

Nice, MB W180/W128 Ponton, 6 cylinder car, 220S or 220SE. And a good ol 90s LeSabre in the background.

kyfdx · April 20

Cutlass, today.

roadburner · April 20

fintail said:

andre1969 said:
It just hit me...today is the 31st anniversary of the day I bought my '67 Catalina. I have a friend whose birthday is on April 20, and when I saw the facebook notification pop up, it jogged my memory. It's also the birthday of someone (in)famous, but I dunno if you're allowed to say that name on the internet anymore. Someone said it in an early retirement forum I'm on, and that particular thread got shut down pronto!
That reminds me, end of last month marked 30 years for me and the fintail. Time flies!

I ordered the Club Sport in August of 1995. I knew I'd have to be patient because the start of production was scheduled for September-October. It was built in Munich on October 10, 1995 and my wife and I took delivery in Chicago on November 18, 1995.

uplanderguy · April 20

Wow. I had my '63 Lark Daytona Skytop for 23 years. Longest daily-driver ownership--my former '08 Cobalt, nine years.

imidazol97 · April 20

@fintail said:
Nice, MB W180/W128 Ponton, 6 cylinder car, 220S or 220SE. And a good ol 90s LeSabre in the background.

So it's not diesel... good catch on buick in background.
Here's another view of this great car. Maybe the rear will help ID.

Check background cars. Had one like the red Buick.

ab348 · April 20

The Ponton has a flat RF unfortunately. I’m curious about what looks like an early ’70s GM pickup on right of frame.

uplanderguy · April 21

Here’s the old 180 (I think) near my hometown at a salvage place, I mentioned first seeing last week. It’s seen better days.

I’d like to think it was sold new by my dealer friend, but I know the chance of that is very minuscule.

xwesx · April 21

ab348 said:
The Ponton has a flat RF unfortunately. I’m curious about what looks like an early ’70s GM pickup on right of frame.

Not a great angle for identifying the pickup, but I am thinking it is 1968 based on the corner reflectors and hood slant.

uplanderguy · April 21

That truck is indeed a '68, for sure.

I'll guess that it was a two-tone at one time, as I can't recall that look of the upper and lower moldings without it. Too lazy to check a brochure though. EDIT: now that I think about it, Chevy’s two-tone that particular year was white below the lower molding.

It's a GMC, from that front fender nameplate.

uplanderguy · April 21

RE.: That yellow Cutlass--a huge pet peeve of mine is when people paint a car, take care of doing other things authenticity-wise, then guess on emblems and location. Those cars said "Oldsmobile" on the right edge of the decklid, but didn't say "Cutlass Supreme" there.

sda · April 21

The dealership, John Brown, is the dealer where dad and mom bought their 72 Cutlass

https://youtu.be/Q08K3bGJpmE?si=UKEoAXQe4VhN7TPw

ab348 · April 21

The Olds diesels were an unmitigated disaster of course, but those downsized ‘77-‘79 B-body coupes were pretty handsome. One thing about those: in ‘97 I visited Lansing, the home of Olds, for their week of celebrations marking Oldsmobile’s centennial. It was a good week with lots of stuff to see, do, and buy. One of those things was a poster showing 100 years of Olds vehicles. I wanted to buy a copy but by the time I saw it they were sold out.

One thing I found interesting was that the entry for 1977 showed a Delta 88 coupe like the one in the Diesel ad, except that it didn’t have the vertical rectangular rear quarter window the ones produced received. Instead it showed an angled window which looked identical to those used on ‘77-‘79 B-body Pontiacs. I can only guess that was a very late change made to give the Olds its own look.

You can see it in this pic taken from an eBay listing if you look closely:

uplanderguy · April 21

We went from a ‘74 Impala Sport Coupe to a new ‘77 Impala Coupe. It was trimmer, younger-looking, rode steady and seemed firmer, even without the F-41 suspension. It was peppier and got notably better mileage. It wasn’t as wide inside, but still could seat six if you needed to.

When those cars came out, I lost all interest in the ‘77 Colonnade cars.

andre1969 · April 21

I think GM's big cars gave up around 3" of shoulder room when they downsized, going from something like 64" to 61." However, I think that was still competitive with the big Ford and Mopar products, as they were in the 61-62" range, IIRC. For some reason I'm thinking the Ford products in particular weren't all that generous with regards to shoulder room. I think when the Panthers came out for '79, they bragged about increasing the shoulder room over the bigger cars!

The main areas where GM's downsized cars lost out to the bigger cars was in the center seating position, both front and rear. And with the rear seat pushed back, in the interests of space efficiency, you got some wheel well intrusion, although it was hidden by the curvature of the seats. Still, that made 3-across seating less comfortable than before.

Still, by this time, I have a feeling that 3 across seating wasn't really all that critical anymore. People might have liked the idea of having it for when they needed it, but probably didn't need it as often as they thought.

Thinking back, I can only remember one time we got 6 people in my Grandmom's '85 LeSabre. It was Grandmom and Granddad, my Mom and stepdad, me, and my Mom's cousin. And, it was horrible. Although part of the problem is that with more upscale trim levels, they tended to have center armrests both front and rear, and while the padding was extra thick, it was really only contoured for two people, so the center passenger really suffered. Up front, it had the 50-50 seats with a small armrest for the driver and passenger, but that left a really horrible center spot. If it had just been a cheap Impala or Catalina (gone after '81 though) with a solid bench seat and no armrests, it would have probably made for a better 6-passenger car.

And, as bad as it was, it was still better, in my opinion, than Ford's Panthers!

fintail · April 21

Nope not a diesel, all Ponton diesels were the smaller type like the one uplanderguy posted.

Odds are it is a 220S, as the 220SE (fuel injected) cars are less common.

imidazol97 said:

So it's not diesel... good catch on buick in background.

Here's another view of this great car. Maybe the rear will help ID.

Check background cars. Had one like the red Buick.

fintail · April 21

uplanderguy said:
Here’s the old 180 (I think) near my hometown at a salvage place, I mentioned first seeing last week. It’s seen better days.

I’d like to think it was sold new by my dealer friend, but I know the chance of that is very minuscule.

Yeah sadly that's a parts car now, restoration costs would be immense, values are not high, and they are not insanely rare. Looks like a Series III Jaguar XJ6 behind it.

fintail · April 21

While on foot today noticed the Alliance convertible I spotted a while back had its top down and is now on collector plates. Also saw a Vanagon Westfalia and saw an 80s Crown Vic on the road.

uplanderguy · April 22

Here’s a blurry photo of our old ‘77 B-body Impala. We bought it in Nov. ‘76 and I’d get questions about it at red lights, gas stations, and the supermarket.

They had a Firethorn one similarly equipped but with the 350 4-barrel. Dad wouldn’t bite as it was $200 more.

Had red cloth bench. You could get it with a 50/50 seat with dual center armrests but I’ve seen only one with them, a new light blue Impala sedan at the dealership.

I kinda liked where they placed the model nameplate on the side, for the coupes. Different at the time.

I liked the “Now That’s More Like It!” commercials.

andre1969 · April 22

That's a good looking Impala. I wonder what its ultimate fate was, after your parents traded it? It would be cool to think that it's still around somewhere. Interesting that the 350-4 was only a $200 option. Adjusting for inflation, that's probably about $1200 these days I'd guess. Still, seems to be it would be worth it!

Still, I think those Impalas still did pretty well even with the 305-2bbl. At least in '77-78. In '79, the 2-bbl got cut to 130 hp, and those were pretty doggy. Consumer Reports tested one, and got 0-60 in about 15.4 seconds, whereas the 145 hp version in '77-78 was good for around 12-13 I think. And quicker than that, if MT, C&D, etc tested it! When it went to 4-bbl for 1980, with 155 hp, it was pretty good, too.

kyfdx · April 22

kyfdx · April 22

One for @andre1969

uplanderguy · April 22

I was back in Greenville today and looked at the 180 (previous photos were taken by a friend for me). Needless to say, it’s been realllly picked over. BTW, that Jag behind it in the earlier pics has nice wire wheels, but has some dents and the paint on hood and roof have delaminated.

thebean · April 22

That Ford wagon looks like the ‘78 my father had. He was a Chevy man, but when they were downsized, he defected to Ford. I was surprised by his decision.

uplanderguy · April 22

Andre, I was given the ‘77 when I graduated college in May ‘80. Folks bought themselves a new ‘80 Monte Carlo V6, dark green metallic with gold paint pinstripes. I drove the ‘77 until Jan. ‘81 when I bought my new ‘81 Monte Carlo two-tone jade with 267 V8. My friend then bought the ‘77 from the local dealer and drove it several years til the rear crossmember rusted out in our salty winters. He worked for a tire place and put bigger black walls on it with polished wheels.

I’ve mentioned this before, but the parents’ ‘80 Monte Carlo had an assembly line goof from Baltimore, of an AC vent at far right of the dash. No air came out of it, but it sure looked better than a green plastic filler block there like it was supposed to have.

kyfdx · April 22

thebean said:
That Ford wagon looks like the ‘78 my father had. He was a Chevy man, but when they were downsized, he defected to Ford. I was surprised by his decision.

I think that LTD wagon is about a decade older than that, though.

stickguy · April 22

small bumpers and not quite as bloated so I think you are right. I have no idea how to tell from the rear between a 68 and 72 though.

kyfdx · April 22

Hidden headlights, though I don't know what year LTDs got those. (no pic)

sda · April 22

kyfdx said:
Hidden headlights, though I don't know what year LTDs got those. (no pic)

It is a 69 or 70.

sda · April 22

This is rare. Great to see.

https://youtu.be/n1hZrTKNo9M?si=bKjjMpKx5QpzdZuj

stickguy · April 22

when I was in Jersey around the corner from me there was a woody Falcon wagon of that vintage. A lot more tired looking than this one, but reasonably solid.

imidazol97 · April 22

I saw this on the Desote fans facebook page today and the color is great, the styling is great, and despite its being a sedan it just looks nice. I remember those as new and always liked the grand styling flair the cars had. This was an era of exuberance and hope for the future along with 25 cent gas prices, so I can't be critical based on todays' styling of the cars.

fintail · April 22

uplanderguy said:
Andre, I was given the ‘77 when I graduated college in May ‘80. Folks bought themselves a new ‘80 Monte Carlo V6, dark green metallic with gold paint pinstripes. I drove the ‘77 until Jan. ‘81 when I bought my new ‘81 Monte Carlo two-tone jade with 267 V8. My friend then bought the ‘77 from the local dealer and drove it several years til the rear crossmember rusted out in our salty winters. He worked for a tire place and put bigger black walls on it with polished wheels.

I’ve mentioned this before, but the parents’ ‘80 Monte Carlo had an assembly line goof from Baltimore, of an AC vent at far right of the dash. No air came out of it, but it sure looked better than a green plastic filler block there like it was supposed to have.

I wonder if the 77 survived that climate. On the west coast they seem to be popular with the lowrider/custom crowd, which I think has helped with the survival rate - they are around.

fintail · April 22

imidazol97 said:
I saw this on the Desote fans facebook page today and the color is great, the styling is great, and despite its being a sedan it just looks nice. I remember those as new and always liked the grand styling flair the cars had. This was an era of exuberance and hope for the future along with 25 cent gas prices, so I can't be critical based on todays' styling of the cars.

I think most people today think those heavily styled cars are fun - maybe in 1970 they seemed like a goofy oversized outdated relic, but 50s stuff has long been appreciated I think. Optimism, approaching the zenith of the working class American in terms of purchasing power and benefits, etc. Fins and chrome might mostly not be appreciating in value anymore, but I think most onlookers don't mind seeing it.

laurasdada · April 23

I believe it was a '70 Ford Country Squire wagon that ended my father's domestic brand ownership for the next 15 years or so (and then his Caddy Catera had the same effect). I remember him talking about it being the worst ~6 months of car ownership he'd experienced, I'll guess our '71 Saab 99 was the replacement.

I didn't really notice cars until I saw a Fiat X 1/9, for some reason that caught my eye and made me want to start reading about cars; my father's Car and Driver mag found its way into my hands. And, to this day, but long my subscription.

fintail · April 23

Found this online and thought it was interesting, maybe some obscure material on the list - the USDM MB price list for 1974 - right before inflation and a weaker dollar set in, these prices would double by 1980:

fintail · April 25

Not too old yet, but this caught my eye both for the ad copy and maybe some potential. This is from a local estate sale company ad - I have long been suspicious of such firms due to experiences with my parents who were hobbyist antique dealers. Some of these services have their act together, others are either crooked or hopelessly inept. I am not sure what is going on here, but this car appears in a listing with a few pics, only description is "2010 Charger" - no options, no mileage, no correct name of car. However, this could have flip or collector potential. I see it is badged as an SRT confirmed by seats in another pic, and has a very low odometer reading:

I was too lazy to venture out to podunk when the sale opens to see what the price was, but I know these have fans and might be worthy if the price was as low as the effort behind the sale.

explorerx4 · April 25

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

andre1969 · April 25

Back when I was getting the itch for a Charger, and seriously looking, one of my friends said he was surprised that I didn't go for a Challenger, since it's a coupe. I do like the Challenger, but it's essentially a 2-seater with an upholstered package shelf in back. When you put the front seats back, they essentially go right to the front edge of the back seat. I can't remember if they actually touch or not, but it's awfully close. And I know I've had plenty of space-inefficient cars over the years, but the idea of something on the same wheelbase as '77 Impala (116") being that small inside, just bugs me for some reason. I think they literally just took 4 inches out of the Charger's floorpan, all in the back seat, to make the Challenger.

I like them though...I just happened to like the Charger a little bit better. Admittedly though, I think I've only had someone in the back seat of the Charger, once. When I first got it, I drove it up to Pennsylvania when I met Grbeck and Lemko for the Hershey car show, so they could see it and ride in it. They actually fit fine, one behind the other, but neither of them is 6'3".

As for those estate sale companies, I've thought about having someone come out to see if any of the decades of stuff my grandparents, and uncle, accumulated, would be worth anything, but I've been leery of them. About 6 years ago, I stopped by an antique store to see if they'd be interested in buying a bedroom set that came from my Grandmom's side of the family, and dated back to the 1930s. It was up in one of the upstairs bedrooms, and I used it when I lived with my grandparents. If it was worth anything substantial I would have sold it, but they weren't interested, PERIOD! Apparently there isn't much demand for antique furniture, unless it's a specific type/brand I guess. So, I just decided to use it, myself when I moved into the new house.

So, I've been going through all the stuff slowly, and if it's anything I think might have some value (even if sentimental) I've been keeping it. If there's some stuff that's too ratty, I've just put it up by the mailbox, and sometimes people driving by will stop and take it. And what they don't take, the trash men pick up.

It's amazing too, the stuff they held on to. I was going through an old cabinet in the garage the other weekend, and came across the sales receipt for a lawn tractor that Granddad bought. I had always been told it was a 1969 Montgomery Ward (built by Simplicity). But, the date on the sale slip was 1967. And the sucker was $725, way back then! In contrast, the last time I bought a tractor, in 2016, I think it was about $1500. The 2016 is nowhere near as well-built as that '67 Simplicity, though.

fintail · April 25

andre1969 said:
Back when I was getting the itch for a Charger, and seriously looking, one of my friends said he was surprised that I didn't go for a Challenger, since it's a coupe. I do like the Challenger, but it's essentially a 2-seater with an upholstered package shelf in back. When you put the front seats back, they essentially go right to the front edge of the back seat. I can't remember if they actually touch or not, but it's awfully close. And I know I've had plenty of space-inefficient cars over the years, but the idea of something on the same wheelbase as '77 Impala (116") being that small inside, just bugs me for some reason. I think they literally just took 4 inches out of the Charger's floorpan, all in the back seat, to make the Challenger.

I like them though...I just happened to like the Charger a little bit better. Admittedly though, I think I've only had someone in the back seat of the Charger, once. When I first got it, I drove it up to Pennsylvania when I met Grbeck and Lemko for the Hershey car show, so they could see it and ride in it. They actually fit fine, one behind the other, but neither of them is 6'3".

As for those estate sale companies, I've thought about having someone come out to see if any of the decades of stuff my grandparents, and uncle, accumulated, would be worth anything, but I've been leery of them. About 6 years ago, I stopped by an antique store to see if they'd be interested in buying a bedroom set that came from my Grandmom's side of the family, and dated back to the 1930s. It was up in one of the upstairs bedrooms, and I used it when I lived with my grandparents. If it was worth anything substantial I would have sold it, but they weren't interested, PERIOD! Apparently there isn't much demand for antique furniture, unless it's a specific type/brand I guess. So, I just decided to use it, myself when I moved into the new house.

So, I've been going through all the stuff slowly, and if it's anything I think might have some value (even if sentimental) I've been keeping it. If there's some stuff that's too ratty, I've just put it up by the mailbox, and sometimes people driving by will stop and take it. And what they don't take, the trash men pick up.

It's amazing too, the stuff they held on to. I was going through an old cabinet in the garage the other weekend, and came across the sales receipt for a lawn tractor that Granddad bought. I had always been told it was a 1969 Montgomery Ward (built by Simplicity). But, the date on the sale slip was 1967. And the sucker was $725, way back then! In contrast, the last time I bought a tractor, in 2016, I think it was about $1500. The 2016 is nowhere near as well-built as that '67 Simplicity, though.

Yeah, I think a lot of prewar style furniture, maybe avidly collected in the 70s-90s, is out of fashion today. I have been to sales where heavy oak material and various period styles were being offered at what seemed like a fraction of what I recall seeing when I was younger, and no takers. Postwar material is the thing now, especially modern styles. Good if one is into that kind of thing.

Same for collectibles - good luck getting anything out of that cabinet full of depression glass, old china sets, or Hummels etc anymore. My mom had quite a hoard and downsized a bit a few years ago - some stuff that would have easily sold in her antique mall booth in 1991 was hard to sell for $1 a few years back. Stuff she avidly collected is similar - she has a thing for some types of pottery and prints, and pieces that were $100 35 years ago can be found for $30 today (which makes Christmas shopping easy, she doesn't collect for value). There's still good demand for some smaller items though - toys, sports memorabilia, various pop culture, etc. and postwar glassware type material and oddities can be sought after. I guess cars do the same, I can get a Model T or A for no more than what it would have cost 30-40 years ago, maybe even less.

ab348 · April 25

The bottom has dropped out of Hummels for sure. I never understood the attraction, but my S-I-L was devoted to their annual Christmas figurines and my brother had to get her one every year (at a price that astounded me at the time) until she had so many that he had to buy a glass-front display unit for the things. Thankfully she stopped wanting them a few years back but they still had the cabinet full of them. When they sold their house and downsized last year she tried to unload them and not only were they not worth anything, but nobody wanted them even for free.

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

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