Beautiful Cars & Trucks

[Schmidt Meister]

1975 French Ad for AMC Pacer. How much arse did they think you were gonna pick up in a Pacer ... ROFL.

[Schmidt Meister]

1950 Volkswagen Split Window Beetle. Would this be referred to as a 'Ragtop'?

[tous]

6 hours ago, Eric said:

I've never been a big fan of BMW styling, but this is a beautiful little car.

 

Given  what the other automobiles, especially in America, looked like in the mid-1960s, this is indeed a beauty.

I also have always liked the Bavaria.

[janice6]

9 hours ago, Schmidt Meister said:

1975 French Ad for AMC Pacer. How much arse did they think you were gonna pick up in a Pacer ... ROFL.

I see no comparison at all.  One is pure art and appeal, the other isn't.

[janice6]

On 3/25/2023 at 11:23 AM, Borg warner said:

In 1974 I knew a young woman who I was kind of sweet on who had a 65 Mustang that same powder blue color in mint condition for almost a ten year old car except for one thing.  It had and automatic transmission and sometimes if she would step on gas too hard, the "gas pedal" would go to the floor and the engine would rev really high stay there until she put it in neutral or shut it off.

What the problem was, was that it was a six cylinder and one of the motor mounts was broken and if it got revved too high, the engine would flop over on it's side and bind the gas pedal linkage to full throttle. I had seen this problem before and knew what it was and fixed it for her and charged her for parts and labor, but then she said she never liked the car anyway and wanted to get her rich father to buy her a better one and she would sell the car to me for $100 dollars. Keep in mind that 100 dollars in 1974 would be worth $590 dollars today.

My problem at the time was that I already had two cars. One, A 1950 Cadillac that I  only drove on special occasions, and a 63 VW Bug that was a beater and my daily driver, and where I lived, I was already at the limit of how many parking spaces I could use so even if it only took me a few days to sell or even give away my bug, I'd have nowhere to park the mustang, and the girl who owned the mustang wouldn't have had anywhere to keep the car for me, or didn't want to.

I also wasn't as highly motivated to jump on the deal as I would have been if the Mustang had been a fastback, V8, 4 speed in some other color besides baby blue, and I also didn't know that someday even six cylinder notchback mustangs would be worth a lot of money.

I had that problem in a '71 Maverick V8.  I (IIRC) broke the left motor mount (too much foot at the lights) and when I turned left with some foot on the accelerator, the engine would tip in the mount and pull the accelerator linkage.  Made for an interesting ride home to debug it.

[tous]

The ad says, 'A compact of (from) American Motors.'

In what universe is a Pacer a compact automobile.

I lived n Paris.

A Pacer is huge by comparison to the common automobiles there.

[Schmidt Meister]

This 1993 Mercedes-Benz G Wagon W461 pickup truck is said to be one of just nine that were imported into the United States, it’s from a time well before the G Wagon (later known as the G Class) became a luxury status symbol, back when it was still a military-spec off-roader.
This rare pickup truck variant has seating for two up front in an air-conditioned cab. Under the hood you’ll find a dual battery set up, common on more serious four-wheel drives, and it has an uprated intake system. The tray back has three fold-down sides for easy loading and unloading, there’s a spare wheel mounted behind the cab, and there’s a tow hitch on the back.
It’s powered by a 2.9 liter turbodiesel engine.
The W461 pictured will go up for auction on Mecum’s in late March 2023.

[Schmidt Meister]

3 hours ago, tous said:

The ad says, 'A compact of (from) American Motors.'

In what universe is a Pacer a compact automobile.

I lived n Paris.

A Pacer is huge by comparison to the common automobiles there.

In the United States, which is the only part of the universe that matters, it was definitely considered a compact at the time that ad came out.

[DAKA]

11 hours ago, tous said:

Given  what the other automobiles, especially in America, looked like in the mid-1960s, this is indeed a beauty.

I also have always liked the Bavaria.

"Back then" I had a few Bavaria's   Nicest was the 3.0...You just had to solve one tiny problem...they had a tendency to overheat in traffic, Solved by having a larger (adding a core) to the radiator and a manual switch for the aux fan

[gwalchmai]

13 hours ago, Schmidt Meister said:

1950 Volkswagen Split Window Beetle. Would this be referred to as a 'Ragtop'?

I had a 62 ragtop bug (not split window). I wrapped it around a power pole at about 30mph. I still have a small chunk of my nose missing from my head going through the windshield. It bled a lot, which saved my life, because my dad couldn't very well kill me for being stupid when I'm bleeding all over the place.

[DAKA]

4 hours ago, Schmidt Meister said:

This 1993 Mercedes-Benz G Wagon W461 pickup truck is said to be one of just nine that were imported into the United States, it’s from a time well before the G Wagon (later known as the G Class) became a luxury status symbol, back when it was still a military-spec off-roader.
This rare pickup truck variant has seating for two up front in an air-conditioned cab. Under the hood you’ll find a dual battery set up, common on more serious four-wheel drives, and it has an uprated intake system. The tray back has three fold-down sides for easy loading and unloading, there’s a spare wheel mounted behind the cab, and there’s a tow hitch on the back.
It’s powered by a 2.9 liter turbodiesel engine.
The W461 pictured will go up for auction on Mecum’s in late March 2023.

It's too NICE to get it dirty

[Schmidt Meister]

37 minutes ago, DAKA said:

It's too NICE to get it dirty

It's probably gonna be too expensive to get it dirty, lol. But if I had it, I'd drive the paint off that thing. It looks like it would be awesome on the trails in Moab.

No price listed yet:

https://www.mecum.com/lots/AZ0323-549982/1993-mercedes-benz-w461-pickup/

[Borg warner]

9 hours ago, janice6 said:

I had that problem in a '71 Maverick V8.  I (IIRC) broke the left motor mount (too much foot at the lights) and when I turned left with some foot on the accelerator, the engine would tip in the mount and pull the accelerator linkage.  Made for an interesting ride home to debug it.

It was a common problem associated with a broken motor mount. That's why I knew what the problem was and how to fix it.

[Schmidt Meister]

Not beautiful but not WTF either. It belongs in the curiosities? column.

1947 Chrysler Saratoga/New Yorker - Zippo Car

Inventor of the Zippo lighter and founder of Zippo Manufacturing Company, George G. Blaisdell, loved automobiles as much as he loved his world-famous windproof lighter. As a young man, Mr. Blaisdell was impressed by a parade of "productmobiles" - incredible vehicles that resembled the products they represented. After the incredible success of Zippo after WWII, he set out to create his own "productmobile" in the image of the iconic Zippo lighter.
On June 16, 1947, Zippo purchased a 1947 Chrysler Saratoga for $2,048. Blaisdell envisioned a car that looked like a Zippo lighter. He hired Gardner Display of Pittsburgh to design the vehicle, a 1947 Chrysler Saratoga with larger-than-life lighters stretching above the roof line, complete with removable neon flames. The lids of the lighters snapped shut for travel. The word Zippo was painted on the side in 24-karat gold. The total cost to transform the vehicle into two towering windproof lighters was $25,000. Through the late ‘40s and early ‘50s, the Zippo Car traveled to all 48 contiguous states, participating in special events, trade expos, fairs and leading parades. Unfortunately, due to the weight of the modified chassis, the Zippo Car experienced frequent tire blow outs. The car was sent in to a dealership in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for repairs, but due to the projected cost of resolving the issues, the project was put on hold indefinitely. The car remained at the dealership, awaiting its fate.
In the early 1970s, Mr. Blaisdell went back to Pittsburgh to retrieve the car, only to find that the dealership had gone out of business, leaving no trace of the Zippo Car. To this day, the fate of the original Zippo Car remains a mystery.
In 1996, Zippo purchased a grey 1947 Chrysler New Yorker and began restoration of another Zippo Car to mirror the original with additional features. Eighteen months later, the task was completed with a price tag around $250,000. By 1998, the Zippo Car was back in action once again traveling the country. The Zippo Car now participates in parades, corporate sponsored events, tradeshows, and much more.
The Zippo Car continues to drive home the classic message of style, quality, and dependability while traveling the United States coast to coast. When not on the road, the Zippo Car can be found at the Zippo/Case Museum in Bradford, Pennsylvania.

[Borg warner]

11 hours ago, Schmidt Meister said:

This 1993 Mercedes-Benz G Wagon W461 pickup truck is said to be one of just nine that were imported into the United States, it’s from a time well before the G Wagon (later known as the G Class) became a luxury status symbol, back when it was still a military-spec off-roader.
This rare pickup truck variant has seating for two up front in an air-conditioned cab. Under the hood you’ll find a dual battery set up, common on more serious four-wheel drives, and it has an uprated intake system. The tray back has three fold-down sides for easy loading and unloading, there’s a spare wheel mounted behind the cab, and there’s a tow hitch on the back.
It’s powered by a 2.9 liter turbodiesel engine.
The W461 pictured will go up for auction on Mecum’s in late March 2023.

Very Nice. That's a no-nonsense 4WD rig with a short wheelbase and shift on the fly 4WD and it has the look of a military vehicle. I also like the flatbed with fold-down sides and back.

[jmohme]

On 3/28/2023 at 5:17 PM, Schmidt Meister said:

1975 French Ad for AMC Pacer. How much arse did they think you were gonna pick up in a Pacer ... ROFL.

You would be surprised.

My mother bought a blue Pacer wagon in 75. It was one of the nicest cars she ever had.

She got it with all the bells and whistles. 5 speed manual trans. Leather seats, Deluxe trim with color matched wheel covers, and all that garbage.

This was in the time when all they guys, including myself were driving nice pickups, but I would borrow the Pacer whenever I could, and there was a reason for that.

[Schmidt Meister]

1 hour ago, jmohme said:

You would be surprised.

My mother bought a blue Pacer wagon in 75. It was one of the nicest cars she ever had.

She got it with all the bells and whistles. 5 speed manual trans. Leather seats, Deluxe trim with color matched wheel covers, and all that garbage.

This was in the time when all they guys, including myself were driving nice pickups, but I would borrow the Pacer whenever I could, and there was a reason for that.

Musta been the gas mileage .... relax, I'm just kidding.

I've never even sat in a Pacer. I've never personally known anybody who admitted to owning one.

[tous]

I worked with a girl that owned a Pacer.

When she parked, if there was the slightest list to port or starboard, those huge doors took three men and a boy to open.

 

[gwalchmai]

1 hour ago, Schmidt Meister said:

Musta been the gas mileage .... relax, I'm just kidding.

I've never even sat in a Pacer. I've never personally known anybody who admitted to owning one.

I've ridden in them. Low center of gravity. Probably won't roll over. 

[janice6]

3 hours ago, Schmidt Meister said:

Musta been the gas mileage .... relax, I'm just kidding.

I've never even sat in a Pacer. I've never personally known anybody who admitted to owning one.

Woman across the street owned one, but I was up to my ears in Muscle cars back then and used to ignore it.

[Borg warner]

2 hours ago, janice6 said:

Woman across the street owned one, but I was up to my ears in Muscle cars back then and used to ignore it.

The Pacer was really not all that bad looking and had the potential to be a muscle car considering they came with an optional 304 CI V8 and the 401 from the AMX would bolt right in and could be coupled with a Borg Warner 4 speed. You could even boost the horsepower of the stock 401 and chop the top to improve the looks.

[Borg warner]

Here's the same car with a chopped top. Why own the same kind of muscle car as everyone else? Why not build something truly unique and fun to drive?

[Eric]

1952 Lancia 2000 B52 Aurelia.

[Eric]

This is a unusual layout for a funnycar.

 

[tous]

5 hours ago, Eric said:

1952 Lancia 2000 B52 Aurelia.

That looks very Nash-like.

I like it.