Intruders-Alert

Always running across a car I'd never seen or heard of before.

This was an Opel model, from the era when GM still owned them. The late 60's Diplomat was a Europe-only model. But GM considered bringing it over as a re-badge Caddy, trying to offset the growing popularity of Mercedes sedans with buyers who wanted to be seen as edgy and "continental"...

I both love it and hate it. I like it because it looks like its built like a tank, probably rides tight and stable. I hate that it would not look out of place in any picture of the street in front of the Kremlin in the 60's. [emoji2] Except it wouldn't have alloy wheels. It would have pizza cutters on ugly steel wheels.

Still, I'd rock it. nobody would know what it was. [emoji106]



The second gen coupe...NOW we're talking. 327 Chevy powered, and completely hated in Europe because they only like ugly cars with sucky, efficient motors.

To me that has the '66 Nova front fenders, at least that is what it looks like around the headlights and the grill. And then I could be wrong. [space]

66/67 Nova by far best looking years IMO. 68 fat ones are mean looking but not near the lookers.That small hood over the head lights really was nice on a cheap little car. 65/66 Mustang was not near the looker but the fast back came close. My dad had a 66 Mustang fast back. Back seat a joke for anyone over five years old but looked cool.

The 70's Chevelles were among the coolest Chevy's made.... besides the '55...'56 and '57 models [emoji106]

I always liked the '66 and '67 Chevelles for clean looks. '68 was almost okay and I nearly bought one after a test drive, but backed out in the end. Chevelles started to look fat and a little gaudy to me after that. Then again, everything did. The 1970s ushered in some real ocean liner-sized muscle cars. [space] [emoji2]

Am a motorcycle nut but old cars/trucks a close second. Had two 55 checys and four 57.One 57 was a rag top. 56 Ford rag top first car. Dad had a lot of young guy cars after he was over 40. 63 SS impala 250hp stick. 68 Chevelle TDH with 327 275HP and four speed. MG Midget he loved.
I all so think the 1967 Chevelle was best looking one.The 70 with the chrome gone around the head lights was so mean looking in SS big block and big factory hood.at the strips when I was running bikes. 30s are still my pick and owned five. Big head lights and nice fenders talk to me . Can tell years of 70 back with far less wrong than 80 till now [emoji2]. Just old as hell. 33 Dodge coupe and pick up best looking of any ever made to me.

Country Classic Cars has a decent collection, they seem to always have one that's "just right" I'll have to make a pilgrimage there one day.

If I had an extra $16,000 laying around I'd buy this in a heartbeat

http://countryclassiccars.com/browse-in ... rettyPhoto

Flat black '39 Olds with a modern interior and old fashioned muscle under the hood. I'd rather daily drive that than some of the new fartboxes they're puttin' out these days.

This is what freedom looked like to a certain 16 year old in 1968. This is identical to my first car (4 doors, hard top, black/white color scheme and all) that I bought for myself with hard earned textile mill dollars. Mine had the 265 ci mill in it and an after-market Hurst floor shifter kit. I'd love to own one just like it today. Maybe when I'm too old for motorcycles. [space] [emoji106]

Prodigal_Sun wrote:Country Classic Cars has a decent collection, they seem to always have one that's "just right" I'll have to make a pilgrimage there one day.

If I had an extra $16,000 laying around I'd buy this in a heartbeat

http://countryclassiccars.com/browse-in ... rettyPhoto

Flat black '39 Olds with a modern interior and old fashioned muscle under the hood. I'd rather daily drive that than some of the new fartboxes they're puttin' out these days.

I used to go over to CCC often when I lived in STL. they got some sweet stuff, but what I always liked was they had tons of just everyman cars too....old wagons and sedans in used condition with the unimpressive motor...the shit my folks drove, and the ones I bought coming outta high school and some. Every other car brings back childhood memories, or drive-in memories, or road trip memories...nothing brings back more memories than just opening the door on any 60's GM product and getting a snout fulla that distinctive jute fabric underlayer smell that they all seem to have when they got some years on them.

1956 first year for four door hard tops in both chevy and Ford. Seems to be lots more of the chevys at big meets like the Nationals.They may have made a lot more? They had the hardest gas cap to find if you had never seen one before [emoji2] . 265 was mostly a two year motor 1955/56 and a very few in 1957.283 came out in 1957. I have the last year in cars a 1967 283 in my 37 chevy truck.It still has the big heavy metal holder with the 9/16 bolt in the center for the big drop in oil filter. Think the 1956 265 v-8 started it with maybe the 56 235 six having the same. the 55 oil filter mounted on top the motor if recall right and was a option.

SuzyRidr2 wrote:This is what freedom looked like to a certain 16 year old in 1968. This is identical to my first car (4 doors, hard top, black/white color scheme and all) that I bought for myself with hard earned textile mill dollars. Mine had the 265 ci mill in it and an after-market Hurst floor shifter kit. I'd love to own one just like it today. Maybe when I'm too old for motorcycles. [space] [emoji106]

I had a '65 Cutlass similar to the one in the background, but gold [emoji106]

Looks a lot like the ramblers of that era.

Rambler more than a Nova was my thought at first all so . Bit more husky looking.

old time rider wrote:1956 first year for four door hard tops in both chevy and Ford. Seems to be lots more of the chevys at big meets like the Nationals.They may have made a lot more? They had the hardest gas cap to find if you had never seen one before [emoji2] . 265 was mostly a two year motor 1955/56 and a very few in 1957.283 came out in 1957. I have the last year in cars a 1967 283 in my 37 chevy truck.It still has the big heavy metal holder with the 9/16 bolt in the center for the big drop in oil filter. Think the 1956 265 v-8 started it with maybe the 56 235 six having the same. the 55 oil filter mounted on top the motor if recall right and was a option.

I had a customer that was a collector, he had 2 1957 Bel Airs, one was like the unicorn of Bel Airs, a convertible fuelie. I think they only made a couple hundred, very few left. Had rear skirts, I remember that. Didn't care for that. Had a good story behind it. A pool hall/lounge near our shop got shut down by the feds over some heavy charges, and they liquidated the place. That car was on a turntable inside the place. Ted had to pay to have the demolition and repair work done to get it out of the building as it had been essentially built into the place. Despite sitting for god knows how long he said they dropped the gas tank (which fortunately had been emptied and dried), purged the lines, new filters and oil and a new battery and he said she fired up like she'd run yesterday. [emoji106]

His other one was being raffled at a car show where he'd brought the fuelie to show. He bought two $250 tickets. This was a rotisserie resto with new everything down to the bolts and screws. It even had a new odometer (since it was a complete resto you can do that) showing 7 miles. He won it.

Bastard. I hate him SO much. [emoji2] it was that kinda turquoise/aqua with a white cove. Very nice.

BlacktopTravelr wrote:To me that has the '66 Nova front fenders, at least that is what it looks like around the headlights and the grill. And then I could be wrong. [space]

I won't say it's not possible...a lotta times GM shared tooling with subsidiaries just to keep costs down. I know my 1997 Chevy Lumina shared like 60% of body sheetmetal and glass with the Holden Commodore of that era, despite being vastly different cars.

OT, the green car looks a lot like the ramblers ambassador. What did it run a 283 V8 or something?

Front fender more than any thing but from the rear on the 2DH it looked more Rambler. American was that the one?Allso looked somewhat like a Mopar. AMC did have a few sport like cars.AMX,Jalvin, and the red/white/blue bunch that looked good.
Don't know AMC that well. A old guy I worked with would not drive any thing else.I would call them a Nash to get him going. [emoji2] The late 40s ,early 50s Nash was one with a few others that the big old sedans got the name bathtubs for good reason.Seen a few nice low riders made of them at Nationals the last ten years.

Jeff know that color is sure my pick on any 57 Chevy soft top.Black for a two door hard top. FI was rare in any 57 ,even more so in a soft top. My older MC dealer that I have posted pics of his so nice 34 Ford and 40 chevy chop top pu worded on a crew of a class win drag car in the early 60s. He said the early chevy Fi was good at the strip but not easy to keep right on the street. The old Hillborn ? injection with the eight chrome stacks was the best looking one by far IMO and seen on lots of show only cars.

Tbeck wrote:OT, the green car looks a lot like the ramblers ambassador. What did it run a 283 V8 or something?

They only put the V8 in the second gen coupe, that was the 327. the others had a straight six I think. They all used the Powerglide 2 spd.

old time rider wrote:Jeff know that color is sure my pick on any 57 Chevy soft top.Black for a two door hard top. FI was rare in any 57 ,even more so in a soft top. My older MC dealer that I have posted pics of his so nice 34 Ford and 40 chevy chop top pu worded on a crew of a class win drag car in the early 60s. He said the early chevy Fi was good at the strip but not easy to keep right on the street. The old Hillborn ? injection with the eight chrome stacks was the best looking one by far IMO and seen on lots of show only cars.

I found a pic online that I believe is probably Ted's fuelie at a show...I'll see if I can locate it again. It was black, you'd like it [emoji2]