Cars that I'd.....

[Peter Gunn]

Would love to own a VW Samba 23 or 21 window bus but my wife would kill me if I has a second mortgage on my house.

I have a 1973 VW Thing in sunshine yellow, but I am getting a little bored of it...

...wouldn't mind having a 1987 Buick Grand National with T-Tops...and if we are dreaming a GNX.

Had a Grand National back in the day, not a GNX unfortunately but still never found a GT Mustang that would see the GN's front end. But full confession, it wasn't totally stock after the warranty ran out...

I guess it left quite an impression on me, after that I had a Riviera (early glass dash and touch screen), a full sized wagon, a supercharged Park Avenue and currently:

 

[Peter Gunn]

Well my latest Money Pit purchase is this 1960 Jaguar Mark 2 Sedan, 48,000 original Miles, 3.8 liter Automatic, LHD.
My Wife has always wanted one, and I told her I would look for one for her. But finding one that met her wants, and wasn't either a rust bucket or restored out of our price range took about 10 years.
Her requirements were only that it had to be Left hand drive, and it had to be a Automatic trans car. Also it could not be Blue, Green, or Black, and had to have either a Red or Tan Interior.
A few weeks ago this "ran when it was parked in 1985" due to a rear brake issue the the owner had bought the parts for, but never got around to installing. It has more rust than I would like, but it is all original with a very nice red leather interior, and all the interior wood is also in nice shape.
I did manage to get the engine running (and it runs very well at idle) after cleaning out the carbs, and installing the cleaned and sealed gas tank, and putting in a new Battery. 40lbs of oil pressure at idle, no smoke or weird noises. But I think the transmission is toast, it leaks oil from just about every imaginable place.
Here are a few pictures. It was originally Sold in White Plains NY, and came to MI in 1968, the previous owner purchased it from the daughter of the original owner in 1977. It has some rust in the front fenders (wings) and the left rear 1/4. Also 2 of the 4 Jack pads are rusted. But the trunk floor and floor boards are solid. It has a cheap Earl Scheib Paint job from the 1970's. But it is presentable.
After purchase I found out it is a very early model with some features that were replaced by more modern features in late 1960 or early 1961. The left had mounted gear selector and the right hand mounted turn signal lever were swapped, the recessed sun visors were replaced with versions that you could turn to cover the side windows, and the Oil Bath air cleaner was replaced with a replaceable paper version.

What do you all Think? Am I nuts? This is my 1st British car sense I sold my 1955 TR3 in the late 1970's, and My 1st Jaguar ever.View attachment 699438View attachment 699439

Can't say the looks are that appealing to me, but potato / potahto.

Having run through many auto projects over the years there's always that excitement/trepidation/what have I got myself into feeling when you bring it home, I'm envious. No time at present to try another project so I'll be happy to live vicariously through your journey with this new addition.

Having mentioned the looks I will say it seems to be in really good shape, looks like you caught a good deal there, it'll certainly turn some heads on the boulevard that's for sure.

Good catch

 

[cammerjeff]

Thanks Peter!

How to you like the Opel Wagon? I have been tempted to look for one as a daily driver.
I have owned a few fast Buick's, a 1970 Gran Sport 455, a 1985 Grand National, and I put a modified Buick 215 V8 into my 1977 Astre Formula. It makes it a very fun car to drive. So I do like most features of Buick V8 & V6 engines, just not how oil leak prone they are on the timing chain cover.

As for the Mark 2, it is growing on me. It is a very odd mixture of what where very advanced features for a car 1st sold in 1959, like DOHC engine, 4 wheel disc brakes, low fuel warning light, electric fuel pump, and a telescoping steering column. And some features I would think were obsolete when it was designed. The rear suspension is unlike anything I have worked on before. The use the Leaf Springs as lower control arms (they mount the axle to the rear of the leaf spring, not the middle) and have upper control arms & a panhard bar. Pretty advance stuff for 1959. But I have to remember it was a very expensive car at the time, the original owner paid almost $4600.00 USD's for in in 1960.

 

[Peter Gunn]

Thanks Peter!

How to you like the Opel Wagon? I have been tempted to look for one as a daily driver.
I have owned a few fast Buick's, a 1970 Gran Sport 455, a 1985 Grand National, and I put a modified Buick 215 V8 into my 1977 Astre Formula. It makes it a very fun car to drive. So I do like most features of Buick V8 & V6 engines, just not how oil leak prone they are on the timing chain cover.

As for the Mark 2, it is growing on me. It is a very odd mixture of what where very advanced features for a car 1st sold in 1959, like DOHC engine, 4 wheel disc brakes, low fuel warning light, electric fuel pump, and a telescoping steering column. And some features I would think were obsolete when it was designed. The rear suspension is unlike anything I have worked on before. The use the Leaf Springs as lower control arms (they mount the axle to the rear of the leaf spring, not the middle) and have upper control arms & a panhard bar. Pretty advance stuff for 1959. But I have to remember it was a very expensive car at the time, the original owner paid almost $4600.00 USD's for in in 1960.

You're welcome Jeff!

As for the "Buick" wagon, I like it quite a bit, there's a little less technology then my Caddy had but this thing is screwed together like a tank. I bought it in March with 18k on the clock, got the 100k bumper to bumper on it and haven't looked back. City driving it's pretty sprightly but only manages about 20-22mpg but, on the interstate last month running 80-85 across the flat Florida landscape we averaged 38.2mpg with four adults and their attending luggage.

My youngest son liked it enough he bought a black one with about 75k on the clock and it's just as solid and quiet as mine is with 50k less on the odo. It also has a certain rarity factor that's kinda' nice and the back end can hold quite a bit if you're inclined.

Mine is the Essence model with almost all the options, if you're looking for a daily driver I can recommend it highly.

P.S. I have an emblem from a guy from the Buick forum that I haven't put on yet that says "I'm Really an OPEL".

 

[ARTESH]

Nice one, Jeff!

 

[Lucky13]

Ferrari 250 TR....

 

[Jager52]

This is my 1972 2002Tii. The color is Inca Orange. It has been fully restored per the S/N.

 

[Lucky13]

60-62 Chrysler....

 

[Lucky13]

Yes please!

 

[Antarctica]

Hard to decide - one for long distance cruising, one for sunny days This gold Espada was available a few months ago for only $80,000 -- sorely tempted.

 

[manta22]

Hard to decide - one for long distance cruising, one for sunny days This gold Espada was available a few months ago for only $80,000 -- sorely tempted.

To each his own...

 

[PlasticHero]

Lucky13 I learned to drive behind that dashboard.

It was in fact, my mom's car that I got when she got a 70 New Yorker wagon.

 

[Sabrejet]

To each his own...View attachment 727723

I like that a great deal: it's as if Bruce made a GT out of his M8D.

 

[manta22]

I like that a great deal: it's as if Bruce made a GT out of his M8D.

That is essentially what Manta Cars did in 1973. They made it a closed-cockpit coupe rather than the open-cockpit Can- Am car. It did have removable upper doors, though.

 

[Antarctica]

Lucky13 I learned to drive behind that dashboard.View attachment 729888
It was in fact, my mom's car that I got when she got a 70 New Yorker wagon.

Did fins on that ensure good directional stability ??

 

[PlasticHero]

Did fins on that ensure good directional stability ??

It was not great on the highway, but those fins could hold 4 shopping bags.

 

[Capt. Vick]

I saw, a Ferrari 400 today...in silver...weird

 

[mjfur]

A Big one and a Little one.

 

[manta22]

I saw, a Ferrari 400 today...in silver...weird

The most elegant Ferraris were designed by Pininfarina.

 

[special ed]

My Nash-Healey was a Pininfarrina design.