1964 Oldsmobile 442 - The Hell with Original and Unrestored

I love old cars that are either "original and unrestored" or have been restored back to what they were when they first left the factory. I am somewhat vexed, though, by what are called "resto-mods", cars that have been rebuilt and are allegedly better than what they were when new. However, cars like our 1964 Oldsmobile 4-4-2  here skirt the best of both worlds seeing that it's a resto-mod but looks, at least from twenty or thirty feet back, like it's a bone stock original.

One peak under the hood and we see it's anything but original. During the restoration process the original "330" Olds engine was replaced with this 468 cubic inch monster, purportedly it's a lightly stroked Oldsmobile "455", complete with fuel injection. It reportedly makes five-hundred fifty horsepower and six hundred pounds of twist all without a blower or nitrous. She's all natural, just how we like 'em.. I'd take it these are "net" horsepower and torque numbers that if are true, more than doubles the actual net power output of the original motor.

The rest of the powertrain includes a Richmond five-speed, Centerforce II clutch and Moser 12-bolt posi. The power steering rack has been updated along with the entire suspension system with top-of-the-line stuff.

I don't know what my favorite thing about this car is - the powertrain mods or this interior. While certainly not-stock, it looks, at first glance at least, period correct. However, it's anything but "1964". These are professionally reupholstered buckets from, get this, a Subaru Forester. Kid you not. The back seat is original but have been redone in the same fabric the buckets are. This was not cheap. Actually, nothing on this car is cheap. Including the asking price of $49,000. When you say, "forty-nine thousand dollars" in super slo-mo it sounds like it's even more.

Fifty-grand for say, a 1970 Hemi 'Cuda convertible is chump change but for most anything else is a lot of money for any mode of personal transportation. I can't say that this car is really worth that even if it were an original and unrestored 4-4-2 in condition anywhere near this. Then again, I'd be afraid to drive it anywhere and what's the point of having it then? Seeing that it's not original although still a 4-4-2, she's no clone, it would make for the coolest daily driver this side of Rodeo Drive. 

Speaking of which, the smattering of people I know in Hollywood all say that some monied celebrities try to out do each other with their "rides" much in the same way athletes do. So, if you "got it", fifty g's probably is not that much money. Oh, to be that wealthy that that kind of money is piggy bank money.

The Oldsmobile 4-4-2, which stood originally for four-barrel, four-speed and dual exhaust and not engine displacement, was an option package on Oldsmobile's new-for-'64, mid-size, "F85". Introduced mid-model year 1964 as Oldsmobile's answer to the Pontiac GTO, it could be had on any F85 model except for station wagons. That changed come 1965 and beyond as the 4-4-2 became a optional only on coupes. This is a F85 hard top or "Holiday" edition making it somewhat even more rare than any other 4-4-2 from '64. That's nice to know but I wouldn't pay any more for this car because of that fact.

Here's the listing for this beauty that has me thinking now, "the hell with original and unrestored". 

1955 Nash Statesman - Don't All Rush At Once

 

By the time I was fully aware of cars from the 1950's, let's say that was around 1971 or 1972,  they were all but gone. I guess there were some vestiges of them still around but by and large they had all been hauled off to the boneyard; the ones that remained looking old, frumpy, dowdy, cartoonish and out of step. Therefore my gut reaction to them is as honest as my twenty-three year old son's opinion of cars from the 1980's; design both good and bad is enduring. Speaking of which, Nash had some pretty unique looking automobiles from the '50's most notably these 1949-1956 Nash Statesman. Our two-tone Nash Statesman "Super" here is a second generation model from 1955.

No doubt the most unique styling detail on all Nash models of this vintage are the fender openings. Or lack thereof. Such as they are, on our Statesman here these are actually wide open canyons in comparison to what they had been on their first gen models from 1949-1951.

Now, this 1950 Statesman is one funky looking automobile. Our second generation looks like a sad compromise between what the original was and what someone "upstairs" thought would sell better. I'm not going to say I like the first generation Statesman any more than the first gen design but this car here doesn't appear to be design compromise like our '55 is.

  

The enclosed fender openings, which were allegedly aerodynamic, where part of Nash's "Airflyte" design that they debuted in 1949. Prior to that Nash designs were all but indistinguishable from anything any other automobile manufacturer was putting out. They were nicknamed "bathtub" because they resembled an upside down bathtub.

Nash slotted the Statesman between the entry level sub-compact Metropolitan and the top of the line Ambassador. The Statesman sharing it's, if we're being polite, distinctive front end with the Ambassador. The pointy fender tops, dubbed "Road Guide", were supposedly there to help the driver keep "in lane". The driver would keep the edge of the fender aligned with the edge of the road. The hood being so huge and everything. My father used to do something similar with the center hood crease on the Ford wagon, Buick and Cadillac's of my youth.

The styling allegedly cribbed from the Nash-Healy convertible that, according to a Nash brochure, was voted one of the world's ten most beautiful cars. The Nash-Healy convertible, incidentally, was a two seat sports car made by Nash in partnership with the British automaker Donald Healy from 1951-1954.

The unusual styling and design of these cars carried over to the interior as well. What's different here is not so much the order of the automatic transmission shifter but the off-center speed-o-meter. The best that could be said for where it is on the dash is that the gigantic steering wheel never blocks it. By the way, there was no "park" on these cars; drivers used a parking brake instead. Can't blame Nash directly for that oddity since they used automatic transmissions supplied by GM.

Given the distance from the driver's eyes to where the speed-o-meter was, the single digits made them easier to read. Somewhat. You'd have to imagine there was a fair amount of mental gymnastics to be had at first as drivers got used to converting the single digits to double digit speeds. Given these cars had all of one-hundred and fifteen horsepower it's safe to say anything above "8" was wishful thinking.

Nash merged with Hudson in 1954 to form the American Motors Corporation or "AMC" in what was the single largest corporate merger up until that time. It's interesting to note tha there were several design cues on these cars that my father's (wretched) Rambler had. Like the contrasting white painted roof and single digits speed-o-meter.

My Old Man's Rambler had these crazy fulling reclining front seat backs too. Wow. This is one creepy photo. Where'd they change into their PJ's? In the trunk? Picture is from a brochure for a 1957 Rambler.

This Statesman is for sale on consignment by GR Auto Gallery in Grand Rapids, Michigan with a list price of, do you have the seats fully reclined??, $10,000. I think that's as absurd an asking price as the entire car is but then again, what should it be priced at? Just like my father's Rambler this is not my cup of either but someone out there will take a liking to it.

Another prime example of taste, armpits and a seat for every butt. In this case a fully reclining seat. Here's the listing. Don't all rush at once. 

1978 Chrysler Newport - What Was a Chrysler In the 1970's?

Chrysler's Chrysler division had a fairly muddled image in the late 1970's. Was it a Cadillac competitor? A Buick or Mercury? Didn't help that from 1955-1975 Chrysler Corporation had Imperial as a range topper and that when they pulled the plug on it all Imperial's became New Yorker's. Newports? Chrysler's (the division) best seller seemed to be all but forgotten. I found this big boy of a 1978 Chrysler Newport in Pittsburgh with an asking price of three grand. Tad rich but not outrageously so.  Get it for closer to two grand and you've done well. Despite some egregious flaws it's still pretty neat. I wish I had room for it.

Save for some styling details inside and out Newports of 1974-1978 vintage were all "New Yorker" underneath. Same chassis, same dash, same engines.

Chrysler first tagged a concept car "Newport" in 1940 and started using the name full time starting in 1961 when discontinued DeSoto's became Chrysler Newports.

On one hand it was a smart move making the most of a discontinued model line making an "entry level" Chrysler but in the long run it diluted much of any brand cache "Chrysler" had. Especially when Imperial dissolved. Up until then you could fathom that the Newport was a LeSabre to Buick's Electra. Hard to understand now just how muddled an image Chrysler had back then. What Was a Chrysler In the 1970's?

Newports of this vintage in particular were always clearly lesser "New Yorker's" that also looked the part. They were dressed down and with far less ostentatious '70's styling details and doo-dads. Crank windows on a luxury car? I mean, '70's LeSabres were pretty stripped too but Cadillac through the 1970's never offered crankers on any of their models. Again, what was a Chrysler supposed to be? 

Hanging on is what they were. Cars like this helped bring Chrysler Corp to the brink of extinction as the 1970's melted miserably into the early 1980's. 1978 was the end of the line for these boats, Chrysler replacing them with some of the worst cars of the malaise era and no, I'm not referring to K-cars. Still, taken in a vacuum, big old Chrysler's like this from the late 1970's were some of the coolest damn Yankee land yachts that there ever were. 

1971 Dodge Demon - Dollars and Sense

What's the muscle car and classic car universe coming to when a beat up 1971 Dodge Demon can get listed on Craigslist with an asking price of twenty-thousand dollars and it's not that "crazy" of a listing?

 

Here's the actual listing which will expire so here's a screen shot of it. I love how cranky and off-putting the guy is; it's like he's doing us a favor by listing this car he doesn't need to sell.



Here's the thing - a NADA guide snap shot reveals that it's not that over priced. Well, for the record it is overpriced, honestly from the looks of it should be listed south of ten grand, but with an average retail price of $15,000 for Plymouth Duster's and a mint condition Demon 340 GS going recently at Barret Jackson in Las Vegas for $39,500, holy smokes, this might be had at a relative bargain.

 



Might be fun but expensive to restore it and hop into being a "Demon 340 clone" but then what would you have? You'd still have a 1971 Dodge Demon that, sorry, on a muscle car scale of one to ten, in my book, it would barely register. So, seriously, what the (pun intended) hell is going on here?

Incidentally, a "clone" in muscle car vernacular is a lesser model that's been dressed up and/or modified to resemble a more desirable one.

 

 

 

Well, it would appear that anything even loosely construed as a muscle car these days is going for extreme money. Rusted out 1970-1974 Dodge Challengers and Plymouth Barracuda's that can't even roll are going for north of five grand (if not more) so, on paper at least, this guy asking twenty grand for this is not that unreasonable. I mean, it is unreasonable but not crazy so. y'know? I guess there's hope for my wife and I that our beloved and beleaguered 1977 Corvette will actually be worth something one day.



Chrysler labeled their Plymouth Duster as a "Dodge Demon" for 1971 and 1972 changing only the rear tail lights, front grill and some ancillary badges. Chrysler was so cheap back then that they didn't even make actual metal name plates for these cars instead relying on decals to help distinguish them from Duster's. Would a Duster by any other name still smell as mediocre?

 



They sold well enough those two years but Chrysler nixed the "Demon" nomenclature and started calling these things "Dart Sport" for the rest of the model run that lasted through model year 1976. Chrysler replacing it with the craptacular "Aspen". Plymouth replaced the Duster with the Volare. Oh. the pain. The pain.



Perhaps knowing that many people don't appreciate anything even loosely related to the occult, even a car with a cartoon like demon festooned to it, Chrysler thought better of it. Coincidentally or not, values of 1973-1976 "Dodge Dart Sports" is not anywhere near what 1971-1972 Demon's is. In fairness there's a host of reasons for that  - most "classic cars" made after 1972 are less valuable than those made before then. The reasons and opinions for that are as myriad as the collector car market is.



As with any collector car the higher up the model is on the ladder the better. A '71 "Demon 340" will command far more than this car would in pristine condition. Even today clones are still clones - you can't beat authenticity. Still can't blame the guy for thinking he's sitting on a lump of gold here.

 



By the way, if you don't know, in collector car vernacular a "clone" is a lesser model dressed up to look like a more desirable model. Even if the clone is in showroom condition compared to one in less good shape, it's still going to be worth less because it's not what it pretends to be.



Just like when the neighbor across the street puts their house up for sale for a hundred grand more than they paid for it years ago, you burn a little with jealousy but you know that if they get anywhere near what their listing it for it's good for the whole neighborhood.



Thing is, if you sell what you have at an extreme profit, if you wanted to, what would you replace it with that would make dollars and sense?

1956 Ford Thunderbird - I'm On Fire

    

"Playing around" with a Johnny Cash rhythm he put words to while working on his "Nebraska" album in 1982, Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On Fire" was intended to be on "Nebraska" but instead became the fourth single off his 1984 album, "Born  in the USA". Released in February of 1985, "I'm On Fire" reached number six on the Billboard Top100 chart. The simple rock-a-billy snare drum beat and the train whistle like chorus of the song has been stuck in my head ever since.

The video for the song is arguably more memorable than the song itself.

What there is of a plot in the video for "I'm On Fire" involves an auto mechanic, played by Springsteen in his first acting role in a video, who has gotten the eye of a wealthy, married woman who lives "out in the hills". She purportedly brings her car to him frequently for repairs but it's obvious she's looking for more than to just have it serviced by him. While we never see Springsteen actually working on her car, we do see her leave him with more than just the keys to it.

Incidentally, back when the video first came out there was a rumor that the woman in the video was played by Michelle Pfeifer; there's nothing I can find now that can corroborates that. The producer of the video, Michelle Renzi, is the voice of the woman and "her" legs are those of a model.

MTV was in its infancy in the mid 1980's and music videos with the cinematic quality of "I'm On Fire" were few and far between. Most of the better videos back then were "performance videos" and those involving a plot, even one as simple as the one in "I'm On Fire", many times came across cliched and absurd at best, cloying and/or amateurish at worst. "I'm On Fire" was different and was so well received that it won an MTV Award for "Best Male Video" at their second annual MTV awards ceremony.

"Her" car is a 1956 Ford Thunderbird. Legend has it this is the same '56 Thunderbird Suzanne Sommers drove in "American Graffiti".

If there was any Thunderbird that remotely comes close to living up to its magnificent name it was these first generation, two-passenger, 1955-1957's.

Ford's answer to Chevrolet's 1953 Corvette, the two-passenger Thunderbirds have a graceful femininity and understated sensuality testosterone drenched Corvettes, even in 1953-1954 six-cylinder guise, did not have. Had the producers of the video cast a '56 Corvette instead of a '56 Thunderbird it would been a distraction to the video's focus about the unrequited desire the man and the woman in the video have for each other.

The Thunderbird in the video a simultaneously blunt yet subtle soaking wet phallic symbol. Seriously, could "she" have driven anything else?

It's a shame Ford had to muddle the original Thunderbird and make it a four-passenger automobile come 1958. Had Ford continued to go tire to tire with the Corvette I'd like to believe both companies would have two-passenger sports cars today. Or at least we'd have had a longer period of time when they both had sports cars.

Back in the 1950's The Ford Motor Company was in a different place financially than GM was and despite the two-passenger Thunderbird out selling Corvette by a hundred to one, it wasn't profitable; Ford felt could ill afford a model that was little more than an "image-car". The 1958 four-passenger or "Square Bird" made great business sense selling more than four times better than the previous model did, but it ruined any serendipitous romanticism the two-passenger cars had. It was just a car.

If there's any knock on the video, it's when Springsteen's character decides to not ring the woman's doorbell. As far as the plot goes it was without a doubt for the best but it's still a tough putt to believe than any single man in his mid-thirties wouldn't jump at the opportunity to spend "quality time" with a woman of means who makes a pass at them. I hypothesize that the character's chaste was more in line with what Springsteen and his management team wanted his fans to believe of his moral fiber other than anything based in reality. At the end of the day, as entertaining as some music videos can be, they are first and foremost marketing platforms for artists and their music. Image being everything and Springsteen's image as carefully crafted and protected as it was, and still is, at the height of stardom, portraying an adulterer in a video for one of his songs might not have been best for single and album sales. Hard to argue with the formula seeing how well "Born in the USA" sold.

Springsteen has recorded twelve studio albums since "Born in the USA" with none of them achieving anywhere near the commercial success of "Born in the USA". Many of them better balanced and for more nuanced works of art than the calculated "radio-friendly" hit driven "Born in the USA" was.

Same is true of the Ford Thunderbird. Ford may have had better selling Thunderbird's than the two-passenger models but none of them came close to matching what they, sublimely, were.