Favourite oddball cars

[Beej]

Its interesting, but it doesn't give me a tickle in my heartrate. Other ones to avoid are any of the tilting three wheelers. Talk about ghey...

 

[casm]

Its interesting, but it doesn't give me a tickle in my heartrate. Other ones to avoid are any of the tilting three wheelers. Talk about ghey...

Not even a Bond Bug?

(I agree with you on the tilters, btw. I just kinda like the Bond for reasons I don't fully understand.)

 

[Atl XJ]

I'd have to say the Tucker since it was so advanced for its time and never made it, I think they sold 50 of them
http://www.tuckerclub.org/html/see_a_tucker.php

and for some reason I really like Volkswagen Things. I guy I went to high school with had a really cool one with a Porsche engine in it.

 

[dyna]

Years back I almost picked up a 53? DKW Munga. very cool, looked like a amfibious car, 4x4, 4 wheel steering, 4 wheel independent suspension. It had a 3 cylinder 2 stroke engine, the owner modded chambers on it from a RD 400. Thing was unreal to drive and sounded like a F-1 bike when you romped on it.He had used it to prerun the Baja 500 course. I still havent seen one since then, some 15 years ago. I guess the Pinzgauer replaced it??

 

[Beej]

Years back I almost picked up a 53? DKW Munga. very cool, looked like a amfibious car, 4x4, 4 wheel steering, 4 wheel independent suspension. It had a 3 cylinder 2 stroke engine, the owner modded chambers on it from a RD 400. Thing was unreal to drive and sounded like a F-1 bike when you romped on it.He had used it to prerun the Baja 500 course. I still havent seen one since then, some 15 years ago. I guess the Pinzgauer replaced it??

Did it look a little like this?

Its a neat-looking unit...

 

[JohnX]

GM H-bodies...Olds starfire, buick skyhawk, Chevy Monza, Pontiac ??? cant remember the name, but I know pontiac made one too.

One of the best handling cars ever made in the seventies (suspension is nearly identical to a new Camaro, plus they are very small and light), and with the buick 3.8 they had plenty of tire smoke available.

Bonus...23 mpg...not bad for an old carburetor!

 

[Purple]

My 72 Celica ...
Too much to list... its pretty quick for a 33 year old car custom engine did all the work myself took me two years

i guess now you know why my Screen name is purple...

watch the video to see how it runs

http://www.classic-celica.com/albums/videos/Celica_NEW.avi

 

[RKBA]

I always like these:

 

[cmotsvt]

How about the 4 wheel drive Eagle cars that AMC made, especially the 3 door versions. I like the the 5 door ones best, just kind of different. And you have to love it that they used the 258 I6.

 

[Fudd]

I'd have to go w/ my Pontiac Sunbird Turbo GT Convertible. Yep that's right they put a 2.0 turbocharged 4 banger in a sunbird, not too many of them made. Its great to pull up beside some ricer kid w/ some brand new Honda money pit and blow them away w/ an 88 Sunbird lol.

 

[DrMoab]

My 72 Celica ...
Too much to list... its pretty quick for a 33 year old car custom engine did all the work myself took me two years

i guess now you know why my Screen name is purple...

watch the video to see how it runs

http://www.classic-celica.com/albums/videos/Celica_NEW.avi

Very nice man. I love those old Celicas...Thats one of the cleaner ones I have ever seen.

 

[bjoehandley]

Blazer Chalet eh, lets see somebody do that with a Tahoe or H2!

cmotsvt How about the 4 wheel drive Eagle cars that AMC made, especially the 3 door versions. I like the the 5 door ones best, just kind of different. And you have to love it that they used the 258 I6.

I've seen a Wagon and a 3 door in the past week, I figured that they'd have all rotted away by now around here.

Nice looking Celica Purple!

 

[OT]

My favorite oddball was the Opel Monza that I owned while stationed in Germany. The thing flat hauled ass.

This one is identical, down to the interior, to the one I had. (Except mine had a four speed.)

My ex wife drove it into a tool shed. Bitch.

 

[bajacalal]

I'm sure glad somebody posted this thead.

I am confused by "oddball" cars though. An odd car here may be common somewhere else, case in point the R34 Skyline GTR one of my choices. Even more common are the R33 gts. If you haven't heard of it do a friggin google search. Common in left-driving countries, less than 10 registered in the US. So any car you go a week or more without seeing is oddball right? I also like:

Antique: Late 30's/40's Packards with sraight eights.

Bond Car: Lotus Espirit the wedge shaped car.

Exotic: Maserati such as the Quattroporte. NOT the Chrysler Maseratis that look like Dodge Shadows.

Land Yacht: 1970 Cadillac deVille convertible, came with a 472 (7.7l). Makes 530 ftlb torque stock. The Eldorado model came with a 500ci motor and was front wheel drive. Bet it handles great.

Luxury: Mercedes Benz 300D, why? Name one other car that pisses off your neighbors when you start it up in the morining and still be luxurious about it.
And the BMW 6 series from the 80s.

Muscle Car: Late 60's Charger until they removed the fluted thing from rear quarterpanels. Oldmobile Cutlass 4 barrel. 4spd. Dual Exhaust.

Reliable Car: The 1966 P1800 Volvo has the record for most miles in a single car. My mom had one of these in the early 80s, actually a 122s. It was green and pickle looking.

I also really like 80's import sportscars such as the Porsche 944 & 944S, the Starions and the 280zx.

Don't forget J20 trucks.

Oh yeah and Saab 900 turbos, cool cars but oddball because weird people like landscape architects are driving them.

 

[casm]

I'm sure glad somebody posted this thead.

It's been interesting to see the choices coming out of it, which have all been (IMHO) excellent. The idea was pretty much just to see what people liked beyond Jeeps and the more run-of-the-mill stuff that seems to get tossed around here so frequently.

I am confused by "oddball" cars though. An odd car here may be common somewhere else, case in point the R34 Skyline GTR one of my choices. Even more common are the R33 gts. If you haven't heard of it do a friggin google search. Common in left-driving countries, less than 10 registered in the US. So any car you go a week or more without seeing is oddball right?

Like I said, it's entirely subjective - so any of the above criteria may or may not apply in a given case. Example: I still see a couple Volvo P1800s (good choice, btw) running around here in an average week - so technically I guess that would make them relatively common, but to me they're still nifty enough to warrant a mention. The Fishbowl 'Cuda was another good choice - I still see them from time to time, but if I hit up a car show or local cruise night they generally won't be in amongst the T-Buckets and '54 Fords. The antithesis of that for me, though, was the '59 Cadillac Series 62 Eldorado Biarritz convertible - very much an iconic vehicle, seen regularly at car shows and semi-occasionally on the road, but still cool enough to get a look-in.

Best way I can put it is that yes, there are rules, but they have enough flex in them by being subjective that they're not set in stone Anyway, a few more choices thrown into the fray:

- Citroen Kegresse. Nobody else but Citroen could sit down and say, 'you know, sometimes people just need a light halftrack' - then actually go and produce it for both military and civilian use. Also the first vehicle to cross the Sahara.

- Studebaker: the Hawk (including the GTs) series. Great styling and performance, and a very historically-significant motor manufacturer. Also the Avanti for much the same reasons.

- Renault-Alpine A110. Superb rear-engined rally demon, yet relatively unknown. Also built in Mexico as the Dinalpin.

- Panhard 24CT. Spaceship looks, capable of 100mph from its 50bhp, 850cc air-cooled flat-twin engine due to its slippery aerodynamics.

- Skoda Felicia. Hard to believe that this neat little convertible was produced as the cold war was getting up to speed - in Czechoslovakia.

- Lada Niva. In Soviet Russia, Niva wheels you! All-coil suspension, slow and heavy, but quite capable off-road. Later 1.7-litre injected models better; swap in a Fiat 2-litre and you're really cooking. Current Chevrolet Niva lacks the original's spartan charm.

 

[Beej]

Reliable Car: The 1966 P1800 Volvo has the record for most miles in a single car. My mom had one of these in the early 80s, actually a 122s. It was green and pickle looking.

Just out of curiousity, where did you get that statistic? I wonder for two reasons, one, Mercedes has on display a late 60 something diesel with just over three million original miles on a never rebuilt engine (it seems hard to top something like that), and two, I had one of those volvos, six years old after being completely rebuilt, and I sold it because it was about the most unreliable car I ever owned. Electrical to mechanical, problem after problem. Cool-looking, but totally unreliable. Maybe I had a lemon, or the rebuild was done by a twit...

 

[casm]

Just out of curiousity, where did you get that statistic? I wonder for two reasons, one, Mercedes has on display a late 60 something diesel with just over three million original miles on a never rebuilt engine (it seems hard to top something like that)

I suspect he meant for gas-engined vehicles. I've seen Mercs and Peugeots with over a million on the clock, but they were diesels.

As for the stats... Irv Gordon: Two Million Miles in Same 1966 Volvo P1800 Car Extends World Record.

and two, I had one of those volvos, six years old after being completely rebuilt, and I sold it because it was about the most unreliable car I ever owned. Electrical to mechanical, problem after problem. Cool-looking, but totally unreliable. Maybe I had a lemon, or the rebuild was done by a twit...

I'm gonna go with the lemon/twit theory. If they've been bodged, they are a complete nightmare.

OK, another addition to the pile: the Series II Jensen Interceptor. Great looks, best-balanced of the bunch, bloody great Chrysler 6.2-litre V8 up front, and driven by the eponymous hero of the film Black Belt Jones. Series I Interceptor FF (not to be confused with the stillborn C-V8-bodied FF) versions were notable for having AWD and anti-lock brakes in 1966.

 

[Beej]

One of those Jensen Interceptors is for sale in the neighboring municipality. Its trashed though, but it would still be awesome to see it rebuilt... The guy wants $7000 firm for it.

 

[biscuitboy87]

Great selection of cars. odd ball or not.
Interestingly here in the bay area there are quite a few type III ghis. One down the street rotting away. the have alot of bus parts on them, and they doo look sweet.

My choice, which I didn't see here, is the subaru SVX. this was the subys first chance to say "hey we can make great cars!"
the only problem I have with the two in my collection is the transmission. Subaru knew it was the weak link and didn't bother to fix it. add a extra cooler if yours hasn't overheated yet...
Its super fast with almost neutral handling (prone to a bit of understeer in the front wheel drive only models) and leather interior give it that BMW flavor.
with few mods I have, I cruise easily at 100+ and the brakes (warping rotors are common on these as well) ABS works killer (gotta have the better rotors though).
I consider this car an oddball because italian design and japanese know how have been mixed into a pretty decent car...but whats your picture of a subaru? a little 4wd box? Oh, and in Oregon with the windows down...raining...no rain gets in...and view from the cockpit is pretty good too...AWD gets it done in any weather...

 

[OT]

but whats your picture of a subaru?

This is what I think of when I hear "Subaru".