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Project Cars--You Get to Vote on "Hold 'em or Fold 'em"

19249 messages,  Last post on Nov 10, 2009 at 3:21 PM

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#16104 of 19249
Re: Just got a call from my mechanic... [210delray] by andre1969
Dec 10, 2008 (7:20 pm)
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Replying to: 210delray (Dec 10, 2008 5:47 pm)

They're not the best in the world, I guess, but I took a few pics of my '67 Catalina when I went out to the mechanic's shop. He had it inside a paint booth, so I wasn't able to get a very wide range for the shots. I really like the way the new Rally II wheels look on the car. They beat the hell out of those old 14" rims with the hubcaps that tended to pop off. The last time I lost one, I found it in a poison ivy patch. And of course, I'm highly allergic!
 
And I think you're right, that the color is called Butternut Yellow. My mechanic used that same term. I guess it's possible that Pontiac called it something else, though? Normally I don't like yellow, but this particular car ended up seducing me the moment I saw it, sitting at a little used car lot north of Baltimore, its siren song beckoning me.
 
As long as it behaves itself, I intend to take this car to the GM Nationals in Carlisle PA next June. I've taken my '76 LeMans the past four years. And while I love that car, I have a feeling that I'm going to sort of forget about it, once I get the Catalina back! There's a light blue '67 Bonneville that's been at that GM show every year since it started in 2001, so it'll be cool to see the two, side-by-side! Here's a pic of the blue one, that I took back in 2006.
#16105 of 19249
Re: Just got a call from my mechanic... [andre1969] by fintail
Dec 10, 2008 (7:48 pm)
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Replying to: andre1969 (Dec 10, 2008 7:20 pm)

I think those period wheels look much better too. Adds just a little bit of sport to such a battlecruiser.
#16106 of 19249
funny thing about that pale yellow ... by jlflemmons
Dec 11, 2008 (8:09 am)
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When used on a '67 Cutlass, the chances of being in an accident went up. Way up. Some combination of the profile of the car, the relationship of the lights, the colors of the southwest, whatever, but at the Olds dealership where dad was service manager (back then, that meant everything behind the showroom floor) they kept a tally of the percentage of the colors sold to the colors that came back to the body shop. The '67 Cutlass in the pale yellow was #1 far and away.
 
In '72, it was the Cutlass in Viking Blue (medium blue metallic). That one was pretty obvious, though. With a white vinyl or convertible top, viewed from behind on a clear day the durn thing almost disappeared. Lot's of those got rearended, my mom's several times.
 
Now, wouldn't that make an interesting study?
#16107 of 19249
Re: funny thing about that pale yellow ... [jlflemmons] by andre1969
Dec 11, 2008 (8:22 am)
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Replying to: jlflemmons (Dec 11, 2008 8:09 am)

I remember when I got my '89 Gran Fury, which was silver, but sort of a dark hue, I tended to have close calls galore. Never actually got hit, but there were plenty of near misses. I've heard that gray and silver cars tend to have a high rate of accidents, because of the way they blend into the road.
 
You wouldn't think that silver and asphalt would be colors that blend, but I remember looking out across the hood of that Gran Fury, and noticing how well it blended with the color of the road surface.
 
My Intrepid, which is silver, has also had plenty of near-misses. Also had some hit-and-runs, but they were all parking lot jobs.
 
I never thought of pale yellow as a color that would "disappear", but I guess in the right circumstances it could. I guess having a black convertible top might help my car, though. Years ago, soon after I had bought that car, one or two of my acquaintances told me I should get a white top for it. I just couldn't see that, though. I think the yellow and black make a nice contrast, whereas the white would just wash out. Plus, wouldn't a white top be harder to keep clean?
 
One guy told me I should paint the car red. My first thought was jeez, doesn't the world already have enough big old red convertibles? I guess a lot of people think red is "THE" color to have on an old car though, especially a convertible. I guess I lucked out with my '57 DeSoto, being a combination of red and white. I think I would have actually preferred those pastel greens and blues they used back then. But I guess when shopping for a 1957 DeSoto 33 years later, you sort of take what's available!
#16108 of 19249
Re: Just got a call from my mechanic... [andre1969] by boomchek
Dec 11, 2008 (9:55 am)
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Replying to: andre1969 (Dec 10, 2008 7:20 pm)

Looks like your mechanic knows what he's doing with all the welding and stuff. And yeah, those wheels look good on the car.
#16109 of 19249
Re: funny thing about that pale yellow ... [jlflemmons] by Mr_Shiftright HOST
Dec 11, 2008 (10:01 am)
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Replying to: jlflemmons (Dec 11, 2008 8:09 am)

Oh it's no myth about various colors causing weird visual effects under certain conditions. If you take a low, point-nose car like a Mazda RX-7 or Porsche 914, in silver, on a bright sunny day, that car is very hard to spot if say you are waiting for traffic to pass at an intersection in the desert, or in flat open country. The car literally disappears into the flattop. I've seen this with my own eyes--it's almost Stealth Technology!
 
I would think Yellow would be pretty visible at night however.
#16110 of 19249
Stealth Technology myth? by lokki
Dec 11, 2008 (3:08 pm)
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Here's a stealth legend that maybe ya'all can debunk or prove for me - I heard years ago that the 69 style Stingray Corvettes are almost invisible to radar, because there's no metal body, and the radiator (which hides the engine block) is angled backward.
 
So.... the story goes, the radar reflection doesn't go back to the radar gun but bounces off towards the moon.
 
True? Or wistful thinking?
#16111 of 19249
Re: Stealth Technology myth? [lokki] by Mr_Shiftright HOST
Dec 11, 2008 (5:34 pm)
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Replying to: lokki (Dec 11, 2008 3:08 pm)

very debunkable, because there's chrome, a motor, and a steel frame on a Corvette. Glass refracts (passes through) but fiberglass absorbs radar....at least until it hits the engine block.
 
However, you might not get as strong a signal or as fast a signal from a fiberglass car.
#16112 of 19249
Re: Stealth Technology myth? [lokki] by jlflemmons
Dec 11, 2008 (6:25 pm)
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Replying to: lokki (Dec 11, 2008 3:08 pm)

More stealthy than the vette was the Fiero. All plastic and composite body, radiator angled down, frame made up of 300+ pieces of irregular angles, and the engine in the back. Drove radar nuts, especially if you removed the front plate and bracket. Which I did, of course.
 
Actually hit a radar trap in Arkansas one day. The big discs hauled it down really quick, and as I went by I could see the deputy pointing the gun and shaking it. A buddy who was a cop said they were tricky to get a lock on, especially if you were hard on the brakes. He would pull one over just to let them know he knew they were speeding, even if he couldn't prove it.
#16113 of 19249
Good Fixer Upper? by Mr_Shiftright HOST
Dec 11, 2008 (7:17 pm)
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http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/954496424.html
 
Might be some money left on the table for an industrious lad.

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