Random Thoughts Thread

[trinacriabob]

I came across this photo.  In an in-demand neighborhood near downtown Atlanta.

I should mention that there were 2 of them parked there, one behind the other.

Probably a 5.0 L Olds V8.  Could also be had with the Buick 4.1 V6, which also found their way into a small number of Cadillacs in that era as a "credit" option.

Its sibling, the Toro, was less clunky looking and easier on the eyes.

Edited December 4, 2019 by trinacriabob

[balthazar]

IMO, the Toro was easily the most awkward of the 3 (sorry, DD!). Riviera is probably the sexiest, but I gravitate to the Eldo in this era.
In '79 at least, the Riv Type S had the 3.8 turbo motor. Not sure how long that was available.

[trinacriabob]

41 minutes ago, balthazar said:

IMO, the Toro was easily the most awkward of the 3 (sorry, DD!). Riviera is probably the sexiest, but I gravitate to the Eldo in this era.
In '79 at least, the Riv Type S had the 3.8 turbo motor. Not sure how long that was available.

Of the 3, the Riv had a nice real tail lamp assembly.  The grille, called the Parthenon by a reviewer of the '77-'78 model, was too much.

The Toro was clean looking and its price point was more "reasonable."

The Eldo was definitely a big improvement for being a nicely proportioned Cadillac, and also one with clean lines.  I'll agree with you there.  The issue was the price point (higher).  Also, some funky engines that turned out to be problem children found their way into the Eldo during this body style run and that didn't help the car.  When I see a nicely kept one on the road, I really appreciate looking at it.

Edited December 4, 2019 by trinacriabob

[balthazar]

Eldorados of this gen were super sharp designs. They may have approached the masterpiece of the 67-70 in purity morseo than any other post-70 Eldorado. 

[Drew Dowdell]

I like this era Eldorado too.. but the engines scare me.  Put my 307 in an Eldorado and I'd be there all day.   I like all three and think they all did well representing their various brands, though the Riv is my least favorite of the three as I feel it looks very feminine. I always consider the Seville to be the 4th brother of this trio since it is so closely related, and count it among my favorites too. 

[oldshurst442]

I never really cared for these. Then and now.  Sorry Drew.

But Id have to agree with Balthy, the Riviera looks best.  I like the way the rear quarter panel on the Riviera is curvy as compared to a straight line in the Toronado and Eldorado.

I prefer the Riviera's front end and grill over the other two, although the Cadillac "face" is pretty too.  I do prefer the Eldorado's rear over the other 2 but the Riviera's rear aint too shabby.  

But something about them I dont like. I do not know what it is. I just dont...like them.  I prefer the G-Body even though the G-Body is lower on the ladder.  What is even more weird is that I prefer the successor models from 1986-1991 over that generation as well.  A 1990 and 1991 Toronado Trofeo would be my ultimate.  

 

Edited December 4, 2019 by oldshurst442

[Drew Dowdell]

11 hours ago, dfelt said:

Awesome 3 Amigo's!

@Drew Dowdell Is that a Trumpet I see in the background? If so, what brand and who plays?

Grew up playing trumpet and piano focused on Jazz all the way till college. Then my daughter took the trumpet and piano over.  

I used to play in highschool. It's more an ornament now than anything. 

[oldshurst442]

11 hours ago, dfelt said:

Awesome 3 Amigo's!

@Drew Dowdell Is that a Trumpet I see in the background? If so, what brand and who plays?

Grew up playing trumpet and piano focused on Jazz all the way till college. Then my daughter took the trumpet and piano over.  

 

12 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I used to play in highschool. It's more an ornament now than anything. 

My daughter this year has music as a course. Secondary 3 high school.  Grade 9 if you will for Canucks...or last year in junior high for Americans?   

Anyway, she picked the trumpet to learn. Next week, she has her first concert in the school band. XMAS concert. She is nervous. 

[balthazar]

1 hour ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I like this era Eldorado too.. but the engines scare me.  Put my 307 in an Eldorado and I'd be there all day.

‘79-80 is the gas 350, and the ‘81 V8-6-4 is the 500/425/368 family, just disable the fuel shut-off solenoids- those are very solid engines. But after that; yeah (and ‘no’ to the rare diesel 350).

[Drew Dowdell]

6 minutes ago, balthazar said:

‘79-80 is the gas 350, and the ‘81 V8-6-4 is the 500/425/368 family, just disable the fuel shut-off solenoids- those are very solid engines. But after that; yeah (and ‘no’ to the rare diesel 350).

Gas 350 (3-speed automatic) would be the only combo. 
'81 V8-6-4 (disabling the solenoids can cause transmission issues). I'd rather find a working 8-6-4 and keep it clean with frequent oil changes.

[balthazar]

• I had my info wrong and the gas 368 came out in '80.
• I've read more than one account of owner's pulled the solenoids and having it run fine for years. THM350 is non-electronic; it should have zero issues. In '82 it went to the THM325 4-spd, that I could see maybe having some effect, but haven't read anything there either way.
• Were I spending discretionary cash here, I'd probably swap out the power train for something with more scoot. Maybe a built 368 / 4-spd OD with a better rear than 2.19:1. Would also be sorely tempted to go with a ETC here.

[Robert Hall]

Always liked the styling of the E-bodies of that era, particularly the sharp-edged Eldos.    

I wouldn't mind having an Eldo Biarritz convertible in S. Florida as a winter cruiser.

Edited December 4, 2019 by Robert Hall

[David]

5 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I used to play in highschool. It's more an ornament now than anything. 

I bet you could still get a decent buzz on those lips now!   

3 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

Always liked the styling of the E-bodies of that era, particularly the sharp-edged Eldos.    

I wouldn't mind having an Eldo Biarritz convertible in S. Florida as a winter cruiser.

Imagine putting in a modern power train package from GM Performance crate systems. That would makes these cars fly!  

[Robert Hall]

3 minutes ago, dfelt said:

 

Imagine putting in a modern power train package from GM Performance crate systems. That would makes these cars fly!  

I wonder how much torque the stock transmission/transaxle could handle...  

[Drew Dowdell]

31 minutes ago, dfelt said:

I bet you could still get a decent buzz on those lips now!   

Imagine putting in a modern power train package from GM Performance crate systems. That would makes these cars fly!  

.... into a tree...  

 

The suspensions aren't up to it. 

[trinacriabob]

6 hours ago, balthazar said:

‘79-80 is the gas 350, and the ‘81 V8-6-4 is the 500/425/368 family, just disable the fuel shut-off solenoids- those are very solid engines. But after that; yeah (and ‘no’ to the rare diesel 350).

Solid in which way?  Cast iron block-heads?  Are there 3 variants of V8-6-4 which start out with those different displacements?  I always assumed the numbers would look "different."

I could have sworn I saw some late Eldos with this body style with a rectangular badge saying 4100 toward the end, maybe 1983 and 1984.  There was a Lebanese guy who had a beautiful Eldo of this vintage in tri-dark/medium blue:  body color (metallic) - vinyl roof - leather seating.

@Robert Hall

For some reason, the burgundy leather interior in an upscale white GM convertible just worked.  That combo sort of owned that era.

Edited December 4, 2019 by trinacriabob
spelling

[trinacriabob]

7 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I like this era Eldorado too.. but the engines scare me.  Put my 307 in an Eldorado and I'd be there all day.   I like all three and think they all did well representing their various brands, though the Riv is my least favorite of the three as I feel it looks very feminine. I always consider the Seville to be the 4th brother of this trio since it is so closely related, and count it among my favorites too. 

The fact that they chose the Olds 307 (5.0) V8 to power some of the latest and biggest Cadillac Fleetwood Broughams speaks to how good the engine is.  When I would drive my parents' cars with 5.7 liter and 4.3 liter Olds V8s over those concrete bridges in California with all the balustrades, I would lower the passenger window to hear the beautiful sound those engines made echo back at me, providing it was a rural road and there wasn't much/any traffic.

@oldshurst442

I once saw a '91 or '92 Toro in a small town on the coast and it was the base model in that color called Light Driftwood Metallic (or something like that) and it had the vaned alloy wheels to sporty it up some.  Maybe it had a trestle shifter, too, if I recall, but couldn't look since it was moving. Granted, it was V6 equipped by then but, of the final set of personal luxury coupes by GM, that one would have worked for me. 

[balthazar]

307 is fine, but it's got no moxie. I drove my G-F's '82 98 Regency Brougham, it felt like 75 HP.
Cadillac used the Olds 307 because they dropped their own V8 too low in displacement and needed a (mild) torque fix.

The 500 / 472 / 425 / 368 family were just well-engineered, basically bulletproof family of motors.
There's only 1 V8-6-4, the '81 368 CI V8.
In '82 the 4100 came out, down the line it grew to 4.6L and 4.9L. These are outside of my area of interest, so I'm fuzzy on the details.

Edited December 5, 2019 by balthazar

[oldshurst442]

Youtube suggestions....so I decided to click on it.

 

Pretty accurate and honest journalism for big American cars sold in Britain for 1973 and 1974.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2019 by oldshurst442

[David]

Seems the T-Roc from VW has entered production finally.

https://www.autoblog.com/2019/12/04/volkswagen-t-roc-cabriolet-production/

 

BMW seems to not get many to pay for Apple auto play on a recurring bases, as such all 2019 and 2020 models moving forward will now have it as normal free feature.

https://www.autoblog.com/2019/12/04/bmw-free-apple-carplay/

 

[trinacriabob]

It's great to get new windshield wipers.  Instead of waiting them to become obnoxiously noisy, I just head to the auto parts store right after Thanksgiving every year and throw on a new set, ideally after scouting a deal.  I have Bosch wipers on this go round.

[Robert Hall]

Some randomness on a cold evening...some vintage big Chevys I like...

 

Edited December 5, 2019 by Robert Hall

[daves87rs]

On 12/3/2019 at 1:20 PM, dfelt said:

Interesting read on the current state of the global economy.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnmauldin/2019/12/03/we-are-on-the-brink-of-the-second-great-depression/ We Could Be Nearing The Second Great Depression - Forbes

Can’t get to the article...

While there is going to be a drop-it’s not going to be depression like at all. At worse, a nasty 80s/early 90s slowdown. People are still working and spending- which will keep the overall layoffs down. Folks making decent coin is where you are going to see the cuts. 

I still see tough times ahead-but nothing that can’t be handled....

[Robert Hall]

7 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

 

@Robert Hall

For some reason, the burgundy leather interior in an upscale white GM convertible just worked.  That combo sort of owned that era.

It is funny, but usually I don't like white cars, but love white Cadillacs w/ red interiors...as an impressionable teenager i loved the '86 Fleetwood Brougham in 'Color of Money'... 

 

I love this burgundy cloth interior...

Edited December 5, 2019 by Robert Hall

[Robert Hall]

Another Big 80s GM biggie I've always liked since seeing them back in the day was the Electra Park Avenue...love the crisp lines of the C- bodies of that era.

An Aunt had a blue one, tried to talk my Dad into test driving Buicks or Cadillacs, but he was a Lincoln Town Car man...

 

Edited December 5, 2019 by Robert Hall

[balthazar]

i LOATHE velour upholstery (and tweed). I'd rather sit on a beach towel over bare springs.

[trinacriabob]

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

Another Big 80s GM biggie I've always liked since seeing them back in the day was the Electra Park Avenue...love the crisp lines of the C- bodies of that era.

An Aunt had a blue one, tried to talk my Dad into test driving Buicks or Cadillacs, but he was a Lincoln Town Car man...

 

My dad was the opposite.  Ford-Lincoln-Mercury or Chrysler?  No way.  For him, Buick was his first choice, with Olds being a close second.  Cadillac was not in his price point and would not have worked well with the crustier aspects of his personality.

That "deuce and a quarter" in coupe form looks surprisingly nice and the vinyl top appears to be a full one.  What a beauty!

46 minutes ago, balthazar said:

i LOATHE velour upholstery (and tweed). I'd rather sit on a beach towel over bare springs.

I'm taking that to mean just velour and tweed, but that other types of cloth seats are acceptable to you.

Once a person has burned their legs on vinyl/leather seating while wearing shorts and driving in a desert climate, vinyl/leather are no longer an option ... for me.

Edited December 5, 2019 by trinacriabob

[USA-1]

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

It is funny, but usually I don't like white cars, but love white Cadillacs w/ red interiors...as an impressionable teenager i loved the '86 Fleetwood Brougham in 'Color of Money'...

I love this burgundy cloth interior...

Plush Red Velvet!

[balthazar]

Yeah- standard upholstery is fine. So is vinyl if its good stuff.
Going to do the B-59's interior in something period; '56-59 seems to be my sweet spot for some wild/cool upholstery patterns.

[Robert Hall]

8 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

My dad was the opposite.  Ford-Lincoln-Mercury or Chrysler?  No way.  For him, Buick was his first choice, with Olds being a close second.  Cadillac was not in his price point and would not have worked well with the crustier aspects of his personality.

 

Yeah, my Dad pretty much only bought Ford-Lincoln-Mercury products for nearly 50 years.   Exceptions included a Hino Contessa when they lived in Saipan in the 60s, a '79 Dodge Power Wagon pickup, and an '81 Chevette as a dinghy for the RV. 

8 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

 

Once a person has burned their legs on vinyl/leather seating while wearing shorts and driving in a desert climate, vinyl/leather are no longer an option ... for me.

Problem is leather is about all that is available anymore in anything remotely 'premium'.    I used sheepskin seat covers in Arizona. 

[balthazar]

My father's father had a string of new Pontiacs from their peak years: '55, '57, '63, '66, '69, '72, '75 [then Olds; '82, '89 and Cadillac; '78, '97, '03]. Always new. He passed away in '16.

My father got the '63 because he hated his '62 Biscayne, so his father traded it on the '66 instead of the '63. Then dad got a '70 and a '77 [then moved to Buicks; '89, '98, '06]. He & mom have a '12 Cruze now (sold the '06 last year), looking to replace it in the spring. Considering a small CUV. I should see if he likes the Tour-X.

The ones from above that I personally knew were the '70 & '77, because dad always ran his cars a long time [the '70 until '80, the '77 until '95]. I can dimly remember grandpa's '72 & '75 [the '75 got totaled in '78], but it's the ones after that I knew well from his cars.

The Pontiacs I've had were '64, '64, '65, '64, '65, '66, '65, '60. The first '64 is the only one I still own. But despite the above lists, I gravitated to Pontiacs on my own; my father has never been a 'car guy' and his 2 Pontiacs weren't particularly aspirational ('70 Catalina 4-dr sedan, '77 Catalina Safari wagon).

[ccap41]

15 hours ago, dfelt said:

Seems the T-Roc from VW has entered production finally.

https://www.autoblog.com/2019/12/04/volkswagen-t-roc-cabriolet-production/

 

BMW seems to not get many to pay for Apple auto play on a recurring bases, as such all 2019 and 2020 models moving forward will now have it as normal free feature.

https://www.autoblog.com/2019/12/04/bmw-free-apple-carplay/

 

Convertible crossovers... The only class of vehicle that i dislike more than coupe crossovers. 

[balthazar]

[Robert Hall]

11 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

Convertible crossovers... The only class of vehicle that i dislike more than coupe crossovers. 

I kind of like them because they are so unique and that they take away the practical use of crossovers.   It would be even cooler if they did a folding hard roof version---that could work as a 2dr hardtop crossover.    I'd love to see a full size luxury SUV in such a bodystyle--a Lincoln Navigator or Escalade 2dr hardtop/cabriolet, for example...   something different from the usual predictable 5dr CUV or SUV...

Edited December 5, 2019 by Robert Hall

[surreal1272]

16 hours ago, dfelt said:

Seems the T-Roc from VW has entered production finally.

https://www.autoblog.com/2019/12/04/volkswagen-t-roc-cabriolet-production/

 

BMW seems to not get many to pay for Apple auto play on a recurring bases, as such all 2019 and 2020 models moving forward will now have it as normal free feature.

https://www.autoblog.com/2019/12/04/bmw-free-apple-carplay/

 

“I’m giving you a Convertible CUV”

 

Or they could just serve me a bowl of vomit and skip a step.

[ccap41]

I prefer to not pay tens-of-thousands of dollars for my bowls of vomit. 

[Robert Hall]

[David]

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

I kind of like them because they are so unique and that they take away the practical use of crossovers.   It would be even cooler if they did a folding hard roof version---that could work as a 2dr hardtop crossover.    I'd love to see a full size luxury SUV in such a bodystyle--a Lincoln Navigator or Escalade 2dr hardtop/cabriolet, for example...   something different from the usual predictable 5dr CUV or SUV...

I would love a two door Escalade at my point in life, no need for 4 doors as I do not carry anyone other than the wife pretty much now.

Something like this would do:

But smaller rims as I hate these runflat rims/tires that ride like shit.

[surreal1272]

3 hours ago, ccap41 said:

I prefer to not pay tens-of-thousands of dollars for my bowls of vomit. 

But its a convertible vomit!! Blows right out the back of the car lol!

Edited December 5, 2019 by surreal1272

[Robert Hall]

2 hours ago, dfelt said:

I would love a two door Escalade at my point in life, no need for 4 doors as I do not carry anyone other than the wife pretty much now.

Something like this would do

But smaller rims as I hate these runflat rims/tires that ride like shit.

Heh-heh... I'd like to see a shop that is creative w/ the cut and paste build a 2dr retractable roof Escalade coupe, using the roof and decklid from an XLR.   It's too bad they didn't build a 2dr retractable roof coupe version of the ATS or CTS...

Edited December 5, 2019 by Robert Hall

[trinacriabob]

14 hours ago, USA-1 said:

Plush Red Velvet!

Most likely a 100% polyester-nylon blend to make the velour go the long haul.  The burgundy cloth bucket seats in my last car held up unscathed over a dozen years, including the driver's seat.  Either way, you have a rolling bordello.

What I like is the "craftsmanship" and detail in those "old schoolz," the cool street name for those sorts of sleds. If you've experienced them at some point in your life, you'll never forget them.  If you're a millennial or born even later, this whole discussion might be meaningless.

[Robert Hall]

22 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

Most likely a 100% polyester-nylon blend to make the velour go the long haul.  The burgundy cloth bucket seats in my last car held up unscathed over a dozen years, including the driver's seat.  Either way, you have a rolling bordello.

What I like is the "craftsmanship" and detail in those "old schoolz," the cool street name for those sorts of sleds. If you've experienced them at some point in your life, you'll never forget them.  If you're a millennial or born even later, this whole discussion might be meaningless.

One thing I like a lot about the older cars are the colorful interiors and horizontal dash designs...more interesting than the lumpy 50-shades-of-gray plastic interiors that became so common in the 90s...

Edited December 5, 2019 by Robert Hall

[balthazar]

[trinacriabob]

On 5/27/2015 at 11:09 AM, SalesmanSean said:

I find it fascinating how two people who grew up in the same household, with the same kinds of influences around them can develop to have such drastically different ways of doing things.How on earth did my siblings and I (one in particular) manage to take such vastly different lessons from the way we were raised?  Or did the problems come from something after moving away from home?

Impossible to tell.  I think that birth order and gender order among a brood of kids, which are not pop psychology topics, have something to do with it.  There are the classic expectations of the first born.  There is the lengthened leash given to the last born.  There is also how closely spaced apart kids are and whether or not there are jealousies as older kids are confronted with younger siblings they have to share with.  Then, there is the parenting style and whether the parents were functional, dysfunctional, or a little of both. And it goes on and on and on.  I think I'll stop now.

 

[USA-1]

On 12/5/2019 at 12:59 PM, trinacriabob said:

Most likely a 100% polyester-nylon blend to make the velour go the long haul.  The burgundy cloth bucket seats in my last car held up unscathed over a dozen years, including the driver's seat.  Either way, you have a rolling bordello.

What I like is the "craftsmanship" and detail in those "old schoolz," the cool street name for those sorts of sleds. If you've experienced them at some point in your life, you'll never forget them.  If you're a millennial or born even later, this whole discussion might be meaningless.

Yep, kids now days don't get it. Build quality and the plush seats in Cadillac's of yore were like hanging out on a comfy velour couch at great grandma's house.

[regfootball]

Now VW is getting into the Trailblazer Encore class.....

https://www.caranddriver.com/volkswagen/tarek

[ocnblu]

8 minutes ago, regfootball said:

Now VW is getting into the Trailblazer Encore class.....

https://www.caranddriver.com/volkswagen/tarek

Vurreh niiiice...

[frogger]

Figured something had to come to replace the Golf.  This looks like a very good entry into the segment.  The Golf was really good too the last few generations but did not catch on here.

 

[Robert Hall]

1 hour ago, regfootball said:

Now VW is getting into the Trailblazer Encore class.....

https://www.caranddriver.com/volkswagen/tarek

The name is cracking me up...a good friend from grad school is named Tarek... I'll have to ask him what he thinks of this...

[David]

7 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

The name is cracking me up...a good friend from grad school is named Tarek... I'll have to ask him what he thinks of this...

They stole their name, they should sue! :P