July Auto Spotter

[G. David Felt]

Starting off the July thread, saw this Mini Mini Van from Subaru of Japan imported into Washington.

Right hand drive

So tiny compared to the GMC pickup.

[balthazar]

Got to tool around in some vintage (for sale) iron today.
• '70 LeMans Safari, 350 Pontiac/350, duals, new front seat & carpet, hard brakes, sounds great, needs some metal repair, $5750
• '75 Malibu coupe, 454/ 4-speed, super clean, great cosmetics, $8500
• '69 Mustang notchback, 302/auto. Even cleaner, sounded & drove very nice, tho again- hard brake pedal. $12500
 

Edited July 9, 2018 by balthazar

[ocnblu]

Nice '74 Chevelle.  Pontiac has potential, and the Mustang looks like a cruiser under the radar (would not have to deal with would-be racers at every stoplight).

[trinacriabob]

15 hours ago, balthazar said:

• '70 LeMans

 

My dad's car, among others.  In coupe form.  Yes, "Bimini Blue," as it was called.  250 L6 engine by Chevrolet, 3 speed automatic, and no air conditioning.  Attractive enough dash (meaning circles instead rectangles).  A dream to work on.  By far, our family's most reliable car, even though it was a "second car" and the only one the dog could ride in because it had vinyl seats.

- - - - -

Saw a Maverick coupe coming toward me.  Couldn't photograph it.  It was anything from a '70 to a '73.  I knew someone who had a used one with a 170 L6, a 3 on the tree manual, plaid seats, no carpeting, and no cigar(ette) lighter.  Mavericks were the consummate toads.  They do look like toads to me, but it was a guy with a big 'fro (he was white) studying to be a history teacher who called my friend's car a "toad."  It's always worth a chuckle.  And the dude did become a history teacher rather than go live in a commune.

[ocnblu]

H3T, black.  '57 Nomad, pristine stock condition, black.  914, red.  Maverick with loud pipes, red.  Bolt, blue.  All rare as hen's teeth.

[balthazar]

Seeing a LOT of Hummers crawling out from the woodwork- don;t know what's going on there.

A 'slant back' circa '78 Cutlass 4-dr with a (single) long, loud, dangling, 'NASCAR-style' sidepipe. Otherwise stock.
Circa '60 Falcon Ranchero, super pale blue, restored, rollin.

[G. David Felt]

Saw this at the local Red Robin, Thought someone was playing a joke on me and put a Buick front end on a Trailblazer. But upon closer look, it is a real Buick CXL that I had totally forgotten about. Sham that the owner is not taking care of it. Yet then it is from Ohio and a senior that clearly is having challenges driving.

Wonder if due to the 6.0L tags if they added it or if this is a 2008 one of the 117 special editions they did before they stopped production. I cannot seem to find much info on the 117 2008 builds in regards to the engine choice. Weird.

[Robert Hall]

They put a 6.0L V8 in those?  Thought they only had an inline 6.   The Buick was called the Rainier, so it would make sense to see one in Washington..;)   Haven't seen one of those in a long time, had to look up the name because I couldn't remember it.

[trinacriabob]

On 7/9/2018 at 7:41 PM, balthazar said:

A 'slant back' circa '78 Cutlass 4-dr

I remember those.  One word:  awful.  Look at how the 1980 and onward Cutlass and Regal/Century sedan then "righted" this mistake - with a notchback rear window that was a delight to look out of while driving.  My dad had one of these.  It was in that enamel dove gray with the tufted gray velour interior.  Mechanically, it was good, but not great.  It was very early in the life cycle of CCC (Computer Command Control) and it had its quirks.  It ran with a 3.8 2 bbl V6.  It may have even had a Turbo 350 trans.  I don't believe it was the POS Turbo 200 trans.

2 hours ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Thought they only had an inline 6.   The Buick was called the Rainier, so it would make sense to see one in Washington..;)  

Right.  I figured that, in a state that loves its foreign cars, a car named after its principal icon might have some chance of selling there.

I believe that they ran with the same inline 6 (aluminum?) that powered the Chevy Trailblazer of the same year(s).  Those 6s were quiet.  A friend had one and it lasted for a long time.  They were horrible in terms of fuel consumption.  I was once given one (Trailblazer) at RNO and took it back to exchange it because it was obvious in no time flat that it was too thirsty.

[Robert Hall]

I haven’t seen one of fastback Buick or Olds in ages.  I see a fair number of TrailBlazers still on the road around here; I don’t see the other siblings.  There is a clean silver TB SS and a rusty, battered black TB SS I see with some frequency. 

[G. David Felt]

4 hours ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

They put a 6.0L V8 in those?  Thought they only had an inline 6.   The Buick was called the Rainier, so it would make sense to see one in Washington..;)   Haven't seen one of those in a long time, had to look up the name because I couldn't remember it.

The history on them is that they had the inline 6 and the 5.3L V8, but they built 117 special versions for 2008 before closing the assembly line and I think this is one of those special ones that got the TB SS 6.0 V8 as the TB SS finished out in 2009.

[Robert Hall]

6 hours ago, dfelt said:

The history on them is that they had the inline 6 and the 5.3L V8, but they built 117 special versions for 2008 before closing the assembly line and I think this is one of those special ones that got the TB SS 6.0 V8 as the TB SS finished out in 2009.

Fascinating..did they offer the TB SS in the Envoy also at the end?     The GMT360 had a lot of brand variations..Chevy, GMC, Buick, Olds, Isuzu, SAAB...too bad Pontiac and Caddy didn't get their own. 

[G. David Felt]

36 minutes ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Fascinating..did they offer the TB SS in the Envoy also at the end?     The GMT360 had a lot of brand variations..Chevy, GMC, Buick, Olds, Isuzu, SAAB...too bad Pontiac and Caddy didn't get their own. 

As far as I know and could find, the Envoy never got the SS motor.

It would have been cool if Cady and Pontiac had gotten an version of the TB SS V8 6.0.

[trinacriabob]

Yesterday was an eerily Pontiac sort of day.  I saw 4 of them, from bad to stellar, and in that order.

1.  A fire hydrant yellow Pontiac Aztek - frightening

2.  A navy blue 1964 Pontiac GTO +/- ... it was smaller and squarish than later ones

3.  A light metallic gold Pontiac LeMans, maybe 1966 or 1967, with the fins on each side of the rear backlite.  It was not a GTO, nor any other type of special named model.  I'm going to assume it ran with a 326 c.i. V8 or something like that, prior to the days of the 350 V8.

4.  A veritable jaw dropper - a light mint green metallic GTO - 1969, 1970, ? (help) - the front and rear treatment ought to provide those clues.  I could not figure out which engine it had ... there was no badge.  It had no power equipment (not a problem at all).  It had no air conditioning, either (based on the dash climate control module - easy to work on!).  And I realized that an operating console that tapers down on the center tunnel without reaching up and touching the dash was sort of cool and minimalistic after all.

It really told me that Pontiac should have never been offed.  It was GM's most provocatively styled brand across its lineup and there was a place for it, even as a small niche brand marketed together with others at GM dealerships.  They caught my eye more than any other GM brand in most cases.

Photos:

[Robert Hall]

The GTO convertible is a '69...sharp. Engine would be a 400.   Not sure what green that is, lighter than Vedoro. 

Edited July 12, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[trinacriabob]

On 7/12/2018 at 5:54 PM, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

The GTO convertible is a '69...sharp. Engine would be a 400.   Not sure what green that is, lighter than Vedoro. 

To see 4 unusual Pontiacs in one day and within hours was weird ... as in good weird.  Got it:  400!  I would have been very happy with just a 350 ... plenty to pull around a GTO and a smaller block.  But I accept that these were meant to be muscle cars, with 400s and 455s.  What an era and so glad I actually got to see those more frequently when I was young.

[balthazar]

2 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Got it:  400!  I would have been very happy with just a 350 ... plenty to pull around a GTO and a smaller block.

Smaller displacement, same block.

[trinacriabob]

I saw this yesterday.  I notice(d) them because they are a "minority."  Most late '80s and early '90s Cutlass Cieras and Centurys were sedans ... or even wagons. Only a few were coupes.

Here's a Buick Century coupe.  The color ought to provide clues to the year, but I'm guessing it's 1990 to 1993 ... a car that is over a quarter of a century old and still ticking.  It either ran with a 3300 V6 or a 4 cylinder - 2.5 or 2.2.  These two 4 bangers also powered W-body Luminas at different points in time.

When I spotted it, a chick who evidently worked in big box retail was sitting in it.  I couldn't photograph it.  When I left the store, no one was in the car at that point.  I get a kick out of this body style ... very "retro" in its own way.

 

 

[balthazar]

RE Trailblazers as discussed above~
I have a 'visual filter' which automatically engages to filter out modern vehicles- they're just amorphous blobs to me mentally. I can switch it off tho. RE TBs, my neighbor across the street has one see everyday. I switched the filter off and saw 2 TBs yesterday and 2 today. Does seem like a very good longevity rate for a vehicle 10 years out of production.

[Suaviloquent]

I saw the weirdest thing ever in the beginning of this month.

 

Someone took an early 2000’s Taurus, debadged it, and then put a Chevy logo on the grille and then an Optra badge on the back. It was beige and like really beaten apart too.

 

like what!????

 

 

[balthazar]

'67 Chevy Sportvan, cute; set up with 'pop-top' roof, real solid/clean shape, in shop for front disc brake conversion.

 

'54 Ford F-600 flatbed, all original unrestored, odometer said 11996. Amazing condition- no way did the odo roll over. At shop after sleeping for 11 years, owner wants it gone thru to get it road ready.

Edited July 15, 2018 by balthazar

[G. David Felt]

Wife did a Garage sale with 3 friends at one of the friends house and I was the slave labor lifting and setting things up.

Lucky for me, I went for a walk to check on the G-Sale signs and saw this lovely in need of some TLC Super. The only Toyota I have ever wanted. Been sitting there for a while but totally would be fun to have.

An old geezer with a tube in his throat out for a drive as he says he takes it out ever day that is sunny. 55 Chevy

[G. David Felt]

@balthazar A true 2 door coupe!   

[balthazar]

A 'pillared coupe' in marketing speak, a 2-door sedan in actuality.

[G. David Felt]

My dad and I had bought and totally cleaned up a car like this for my middle sister when she graduated High school so she would have a reliable auto for college. Lasted her 6 years till her husband totaled it looking at another woman on the sidewalk.  That marriage ended after 10 years.

New neighbor from BC moved into the area, the owner has his grandfather with him who wanted his car even though he had not driven it in years.

I give you an Canadian Comet? Not sure what they were called up there but I loved these sporty 2 door cars. @balthazar Does this pass for a 2 door coupe? ? This coupe thing really confuses me.  

[balthazar]

Nice Mustang!
Maverick 2- & 4-door have nearly identical rooflines- the 4-door's is a tiny bit shorter and makes a tiny bit more room for heads in the back seat... going to quote myself on this one :

16 hours ago, balthazar said:

A 'pillared coupe' in marketing speak, a 2-door sedan in actuality.

 

[trinacriabob]

On 7/16/2018 at 6:55 AM, balthazar said:

I get the sense that a few of the regulars on this forum are sort of taken by Mavericks ... possibly for their humorous qualities.

[Drew Dowdell]

On ‎7‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 12:45 AM, dfelt said:

The history on them is that they had the inline 6 and the 5.3L V8, but they built 117 special versions for 2008 before closing the assembly line and I think this is one of those special ones that got the TB SS 6.0 V8 as the TB SS finished out in 2009.

I've never heard of the Rainier getting the 6.0.  The TB-SS and the Saab 9-7x did. 

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I've never heard of the Rainier getting the 6.0.  The TB-SS and the Saab 9-7x did. 

That has been my understanding but in researching it, there is info that they build these 117 special versions and then I come across this one that seems to have the 6.0 but was unable to fully confirm so it is a weird anomaly. 

[balthazar]

Was following a circa '62 Corvair Monza coupe for a good 5 miles, little old couple in it. Good looking design from behind.

[trinacriabob]

Yesterday, I saw a 1975* (maybe 1974) Olds Delta 88 convertible at a light that was perpendicular to me.  It was red, with a white top and a white interior.  It had whitewalls and wire wheel covers.  It was spotless.  It was a retired guy driving it and his wife (probably) was in the passenger seat.  She had a scarf or whatever it was around her head.  I'm guessing they were channeling National Geographic and the World's Fair of 1964 in Flushing, NY.

* round lamps up front - IIRC, it was only the Olds 98 that received quad rectangular lamps up front that year.

[Robert Hall]

Not an in-person sighting, but amusing nonetheless....while streaming the French crime drama 'Witnesses' over the weekend, I noticed one of the lead detectives was driving a late 70s Cadillac Seville.  Found this pic from the series on the Internet Movie Car Database.   The car was dark blue w/ tinted windows and a brown interior, missing the side rubstrip trim on the front doors. This was a show set in 2014 in the northeast coastal area of France.   The lead detective's VW Golf got totalled, and she drove a 70s Opel Rekord sedan in later episodes. 

Edited July 23, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[trinacriabob]

4 hours ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Not an in-person sighting, but amusing nonetheless....while streaming the French crime drama 'Witnesses' over the weekend, I noticed one of the lead detectives was driving a late 70s Cadillac Seville. 

 

It was interesting how, when first released, everything about the Seville was very purist.  It was a clean looking "little" car!  Within a few years, they felt compelled to make it more complicated ... busier grille, etc.  Then, when it came down the combining the bustle back Seville with a V8-6-4 and/or a somewhat unreliable 4100 aluminum V8, the Seville became downright frightening.  Have not seen a bustle back Seville IRL in at least 5 years.  But I do see first-gen ones from time to time.

Did anyone remember when the entry level Cadillacs of that era could be had with cloth (plaid) seats?  I believe they were a "credit" option.  Sevilles either had mono-color leather or velour seats.  I know that the 252 Buick V6 was a "credit" option when it was offered.

[balthazar]

I'm thinking the 'plaid cloth in entry Cadillac' is a mistake- I see nothing in the '80-81-82-83 brochures even close to that... but you didn't state a year span. Just doesn't 'ring right' to my recollection.

Perhaps you are thinking of the designer Gucci Seville (tho this is pretty far from the image I was getting from your description) :
 

[Robert Hall]

Was behind a local police Ford Explorer Interceptor in traffic, and noticed the blue oval badge had been changed to black w/a blue stripe across it.  Odd

 

[balthazar]

How is that odd?

circa '53 Pontiac sedan, patina'd, rollin.
'circa '40 IH truck, utility body, dually, heavy patina, chopped cab, getting a ride ona flatbed. Coolest thing I've noted out on the road in 2 or 3 years.

[Robert Hall]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

How is that odd? 

Why would they have the Ford badge altered?  Seems shady.  I'll have to watch for the Caprices and see if they also have their badges modified.  Maybe I should call my city councilman and demand the answer..

Edited July 24, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Suaviloquent]

5 hours ago, balthazar said:

I'm thinking the 'plaid cloth in entry Cadillac' is a mistake- I see nothing in the '80-81-82-83 brochures even close to that... but you didn't state a year span. Just doesn't 'ring right' to my recollection.

Perhaps you are thinking of the designer Gucci Seville (tho this is pretty far from the image I was getting from your description) :
 

 

Whoah... Whenever I see picks of old car interiors that are cushy and soft and padded all over I just fawn I just dawn over it.

 

Like lookkatthat thing. Everywhere upholstered you can squish and prod and massage and it’s so cushy and huggable. I like that. Take of the headrests and you can have a pillow fight. 

[trinacriabob]

14 hours ago, balthazar said:

I'm thinking the 'plaid cloth in entry Cadillac' is a mistake- I see nothing in the '80-81-82-83 brochures even close to that... but you didn't state a year span. Just doesn't 'ring right' to my recollection.

Perhaps you are thinking of the designer Gucci Seville (tho this is pretty far from the image I was getting from your description) :
 

I like the sail panel lamps but not much else here.  Very tacky.  But then it's on a ritzy street in FL, per the houses and trees.  A family friend who was too short to drive an' 80s Eldorado had one and had the fake tire affixed to the trunk ... terrible.

Here you go.  One such year was 1975.  I had forgotten that there was a Calais series one step down from the Deville.  Most of the cloth interiors offered were pretty wild.  Only one, the "Manhattan," was consistent enough with the cloth seating offered for at least a decade going forward.

http://automotivemileposts.com/cadillac/cadi1975interiortrim.html