Show me a nice old car

CMur12 said:
I noticed the negative camber, too. Those swing axles could be treacherous.

As besk pointed out, the Corvair was updated in 1965, with new styling and a fully articulated rear suspension, that dramatically improved the handling.

- Murray
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There is another side to this story.

Stirling Moss opined that the Corvair was the best handling car made in the U.S at the time, and when he made that statement he was specifically referring to the pre-1965 swing axle model, because that was his point of reference. Rear weight bias combined with a rear swing axle was a design brief that the early Corvair copied from and shared with the VW Beetle and the Porsche 356 and early 911, and those Corvairs exhibited the same handling traits as those cars, specifically trailing throttle oversteer. It was handling which rewarded good drivers with a nimbleness which allowed quicker corner exits and faster lap times, and frankly more fun, but punished poor drivers who didn’t know how to drive them. Considering the fact that the GM marketing department seemed to aim this well engineered car towards secretaries there was bound to be some trouble. Like the Porsches, it was a car you could steer with the throttle to a certain extent, and was quick and very entertaining to drive as long as you knew not to enter a corner faster than you intended to and knowing that, if you had done so, your best way out was just to keep your foot in it and keep the weight transferred to the rear wheels. If you lifted abruptly mid-corner you would find yourself looking back in the direction from whence you had just come. Exactly like a Porsche. It was a different handling car, a better handling car, than the understeering barges that comprised the lineup of every other U.S. manufacturer at the time. Neither Moss nor Don Yenko found the handling to be at all “treacherous”, but it was certainly unforgiving of mistakes, which is not exactly the same thing. GM subsequently installed a version of the suspension used on the Corvette at the time, which made the car more docile if less tossable, and more appropriate for secretaries and others whose only prior point of driving reference was understeering tractors, but the public relations damage was done and the car exited the market shortly thereafter.
The cars themselves were never “Unsafe at any Speed”, that was a phrase applicable to certain drivers, not their cars.
 
Those second-gen Corvairs were beautiful. I'd make room for one in the garage if I could.


I own a Pontiac Fiero, which is in many ways was the Corvair story all over again in the 1980s. A popular small car with a rear engine, the Fiero quickly fell out of favor with the media and the motoring public due to safety concerns, real or imagined, and they mostly disappeared from the roads within a decade or less. I like mine though.... I tend to keep my cars forever and this is the one I've owned longer than any others.


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css9450 said:
I own a Pontiac Fiero, which is in many ways was the Corvair story all over again in the 1980s. A popular small car with a rear engine, the Fiero quickly fell out of favor with the media and the motoring public due to safety concerns, real or imagined, and they mostly disappeared from the roads within a decade or less. I like mine though.... I tend to keep my cars forever and this is the one I've owned longer than any others.

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Wow, that's a nicely kept Pontiac! Speaking of old Pontiacs... here's a third generation Firebird. Not sure about the model year, though. :eek:

Nikon FM2n, Nikkor-S Auto 55mm f/1.2, ORWO N74+, developed in LegacyPro L110 at 1:31 for 6.5 minutes.


2019.06.08 Roll #207--49.jpg by dourbalistar, on Flickr
 
Some yank muscle in Yokohama

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Fujinon XF 35mm f2 R WR lens
Fujifilm X-Pro3 "Dura Black"
Yokohama, Japan - February 2020

All the best,
Mike
 
Yes, Mike's Chevelle appears to be a 1971 model (note grille shape, single headlights, dual turn signal), in really nice condition too!
An apartment neighbor of mine had an earlier one in the late 1960s, an SS396 model with 4.88 differential gearing IIRC, top speed at engine redline was about 100 but it got there real quick! I drove it once to take him to the hospital after he cut himself.. whoa betsy...
 
The first car I remember my family owning when I was a kid was a great big Pontiac. It was a gorgeous, deep blue, two-door Parisienne. A monstrosity by today's standards, but deliciously desirable none the less. This is not that car, but I couldn't help wonder if at one time it possessed a more humble beauty of its own. Pentax SV/55 Super-Takumar, FP4 in Rodinal(Blazinal)

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CharlesDAMorgan said:
Beautiful Hooper bodied Daimler Empress.
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And those expensive one-offs look good from any angle. I wanted a few more shots but they were getting it and a common old Jaguar ready for a wedding and kids and wedding guests were everywhere so I couldn't get the shots I wanted. It got worse later on with everyone photographing it.

Regards, David
 
David Hughes said:
And those expensive one-offs look good from any angle. I wanted a few more shots but they were getting it and a common old Jaguar ready for a wedding and kids and wedding guests were everywhere so I couldn't get the shots I wanted. It got worse later on with everyone photographing it.



Regards, David
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I have a dream that one day I'll go somewhere scenic and there will be lots of vintage cars, parked a long way apart, and no people to ruin the view or walk in front of you as I take a shot. And gorgeous old buildings and settlements with no cars parked to ruin the shot.

Then I woke up...
 
CharlesDAMorgan said:
I have a dream that one day I'll go somewhere scenic and there will be lots of vintage cars, parked a long way apart, and no people to ruin the view or walk in front of you as I take a shot. And gorgeous old buildings and settlements with no cars parked to ruin the shot.

Then I woke up...
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Airshows are worse; just as they do the final run and bank so that you can get a shot that isn't straight up the exhaust pipe, someone will stand up in front of you or - worse - wave a mobile in the middle of your frame.

Back to weddings, my favourite wedding "car" was when they hired an old fashioned red London bus (with the open platform at the back) for the guests to take them to the reception/party after the wedding. It was ribboned and then parked nicely...

Regards, David
 
Daimlers and Lanchesters were the choice of Royalty and serious nobility, those Rolls Royces were way too flashy.

I have fond memories of one of the last 'proper' Daimlers, the V8 Majestic Major. A big heavy car that went surprisingly fast and could be thrown around with gay abandon. Poor thing ended up banger racing I suspect.
 
Its simply lovely. Check out Lady Docker's Daimler.

Going back to my history lesson I seem to remember that many Lanchesters and Daimlers of the '20s and '30s (and before) were sleeve valve (for the USA think Pierce Arrow). This lack of valves and associated gear made them very, very quiet and well behaved.

Edit: The above may well be rubbish or at least mostly rubbish, I need to check my facts!
 
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