Rare and interesting car sightings

Somewhere to discuss things that don't fit into other categories.

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Swift
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

Post by Swift »

82 Chevy Malibu imported from the states outside a fabrication shop for Woy Woy. I'll leave out up to others to express what they think of this work.
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

Post by Merc1107 »

If anyone happens to be looking for a Holden Camira (I *think* I've seen one in the flesh before!)

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/holtze/ ... 1236434115
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

Post by Heihachi_73 »

Saw a rusty old light green HT Kingswood sedan today. Might have even been a Belmont as there were no side trims or badges on the car.
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

Post by scott »

That Camira is at least $3,998 too expensive. At least it is air-conditioned and has the leaded version of the 1.8 litre engine. The Micro Command audio unit was rather flash though.
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

Post by Swift »

Saw this VB Commodore Tuesday in Kariong. Very good original condition as can be seen. Too nice to be travelling off the trailer.
IMG_20210209_162644-1000x564.jpg
Saw this Buick Riviera as I was on my way to a fastener specialist. Very interesting body shape and still LHD.
IMG_20210205_162501-1000x564.jpg
Finally this CL Regal SE some time last month in Kariong.
These took over from the top tier CK Chrysler by Chrysler.
Kidney bean mags. They look shyte. I hate them.
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

Post by huppypuppy »

Swift wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 1:23 am Saw this Buick Riviera as I was on my way to a fastener specialist. Very interesting body shape and still LHD.
Any LHD vehicle that is classic or vintage can remain LHD if it is on H or J plates in NSW provided it has LEFT HAND DRIVE on the back!

Not so much rare and interesting cars but rare and interesting trucks - this is a Freightliner FLD120 and is the only FLD120 in Australia. This FLD120 is a ex-NYFD ladder truck and was used when 9/11 occured:
Image

Rarer than the Freightliner above is this - this is a 1975 Brockway F761TL and, like the Freightliner, is also the only F761 in Australia. It is owned by a one-eyed Brockway truck fanatic from Dubbo, NSW named Ed Eminson:
Image
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

Post by Swift »

They are truly rare and truly interesting. Why was the red Freightliner shipped all the way from NY?? Was the chassis modified?
That Brockway is a lovely looking rig. Do you know what beating heart it's got and were they a niche player like Sydney's RFW?
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

Post by Swift »

huppypuppy wrote: Sat Feb 13, 2021 8:32 am
Swift wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 1:23 am Saw this Buick Riviera as I was on my way to a fastener specialist. Very interesting body shape and still LHD.
Any LHD vehicle that is classic or vintage can remain LHD if it is on H or J plates in NSW provided it has LEFT HAND DRIVE on the back!
I must have been having a vague moment when I wrote that. It was RHD and certainly didn't carry a sign on the back. I don't know why Australia and NSW in particular is so retentive about LHD vehicles on our roads. They should be much more concerned about the people they grant licences to who plainly have unsuited aptitude and/or temperament to be on the road.
In a Britain it's not considered a big deal. We need to get with the times.
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

Post by huppypuppy »

Swift wrote: Sat Feb 13, 2021 4:05 pm They are truly rare and truly interesting. Why was the red Freightliner shipped all the way from NY?? Was the chassis modified?
That Brockway is a lovely looking rig. Do you know what beating heart it's got and were they a niche player like Sydney's RFW?
Hi Swift,
The Freightliner is a working truck (currently in a billion bits getting refurbished) - I believe the truck had to be converted to RHD by Freightliner in Oregon before heading over here.
The Brockway has a Detroit Diesel 8V92TA (not the original engine - the first letter of the model denotes which engine is fitted. In this case, as it is a F761TL, it was originally fitted with a 1673 Cat). Brockway was purchased by Mack of Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1956 - they were a very niche maker that was closed down in 1977.Joe
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

Post by huppypuppy »

Swift wrote: Sat Feb 13, 2021 4:13 pm I must have been having a vague moment when I wrote that. It was RHD and certainly didn't carry a sign on the back. I don't know why Australia and NSW in particular is so retentive about LHD vehicles on our roads. They should be much more concerned about the people they grant licences to who plainly have unsuited aptitude and/or temperament to be on the road.
In a Britain it's not considered a big deal. We need to get with the times.
Abloodymen! Some people need their driving rights revoked.....
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

Post by Swift »

You mean driving privileges revoked. In Germany it's regarded as a skill you earn, not a ticket handed out to just about everybody.
It's the ones who least deserve it who regard it as a right.
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

Post by boronia »

huppypuppy wrote: Sat Feb 13, 2021 8:32 am Any LHD vehicle that is classic or vintage can remain LHD if it is on H or J plates in NSW provided it has LEFT HAND DRIVE on the back!
This hasn't been a requirement on light vehicles for a few years now (optional). Only mandatory on vehicles over 4.5 GVM

If it is over 30 years old, it doesn't need to be on H/J plates; it can be on full rego (a few around)
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

Post by Swift »

boronia wrote: Sun Feb 14, 2021 9:04 am This hasn't been a requirement on light vehicles for a few years now (optional). Only mandatory on vehicles over 4.5 GVM

If it is over 30 years old, it doesn't need to be on H/J plates; it can be on full rego (a few around)
That is a step in the right direction. Having a LHD vehicle on Aussie roads can present disadvantages but I have been told it's not that hard to cope with.

Here's one I came across in Woolloomoolloo in December.
A 1984 Caddy with Landau roof. Something you don't see in Australian cars.
IMG_20201219_204251-1000x564.jpg
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

Post by scott »

Found a HJ Holden Freeway camper van. Yours for $45,000.

https://www.australianmusclecarsales.co ... lv8-244326
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

Post by Swift »

I reckon that's not a half bad price as it looks fully restored and will only increase in value and you can sleep comfortably in it!
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

Post by huppypuppy »

Swift wrote: Sun Feb 21, 2021 3:54 pm I reckon that's not a half bad price as it looks fully restored and will only increase in value and you can sleep comfortably in it!
Some minor rust issues - apart from that, she looks in good nick!
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

Post by Merc1107 »

I've driven LHD, albeit in a country town, with no hassles whatsoever. One just keeps their side of the car to the left and you won't clash with oncoming traffic. The owner informed me that overtaking necessitated a passenger with good judgement, otherwise you'd never be able to pass anyone.
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

Post by scott »

Another retro find from Australian Muscle Car sales for the Camira fans. A 1987 top of the range JE SL/E going for $6,700. In 1987, it cost
$22,359.20 on the road.

https://www.australianmusclecarsales.co ... -sl-193429
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

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Saw an old Statesman in Ringwood last night but it was too dark to see what model it was aside from the tail lights being the HJ/HX/HZ type. The (presumably stock) V8 was running a bit rich and took at least 10 seconds for the fuel smell to dissipate.

Coincidentally, I also saw a silver VS Statesman outside Costco, also looking a bit clapped out with bad paint on the bonnet and missing the Holden badge on the back. Don't people look after luxury cars these days? Granted, a 90s Statesman (not a Caprice) probably has less features than a base model 2015 Camry...
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

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Heihachi_73 wrote: Thu Feb 25, 2021 8:38 am Saw an old Statesman in Ringwood last night but it was too dark to see what model it was aside from the tail lights being the HJ/HX/HZ type. The (presumably stock) V8 was running a bit rich and took at least 10 seconds for the fuel smell to dissipate.
What were Holden thinking using the station wagon taillights on their flagship luxury sedan?? I admit they looked good but that's not the point!! It was cheaping out and showed our car industry to be insular.
The HJ-X-Z dedicated taillight assemblies were development money well spent.

I have early 80s childhood memories seeing one of these later 70s Statesmen in the driveway of an obviously well to do family home. They also had a Rover SD1 at one stage -later I think. That very modem and fresh shape reallymade the place look well to do in my eyes.

A contrast to Statesmen and some of their owners now!!
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

Post by Heihachi_73 »

I think Holden just didn't have the design options (or the money) back then so were stuck with off the shelf components; the HQ Statesman being nothing more than a luxury-spec wagon but with a boot instead of a tailgate; the wagon/ute/van tail lights were probably the only new thing they had back then so they remained unchanged (HQ sedans and coupes used cheap generic bumper-mounted tail lights; the HJ/HX coupes even kept the HQ rear end despite the sedans and Statesmans having better lights). The HQ-WB series was literally just GM USA parts bin specials - without help from Cadillac they probably would have already gone the way of the dinosaur back then rather than lasting another 40 years from GM and government handouts. I think if the VB Commodore had failed to become a Kingswood replacement (just like how the ZB "Insignia" failed to become a VF Commodore replacement) the final nail would have been in the coffin then and there, joining pre-MMAL Chrysler Australia in the race to extinction.

Speaking of Statesmans and their owners, there was an old episode of Highway Patrol on Foxtel recently with a stereotypical bogan (complete with mohawk and singlet) doing a burnout in a VQ Statesman right in view of the cops. Car probably got crushed a decade ago, as the owner said he was going to put the engine in another car (the Statesman also got impounded on the spot so his plans were probably delayed a bit). Said car had been butchered with a nasty-looking VN Aero kit which wasn't even the same colour.
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

Post by Heihachi_73 »

Saw a white TP Magna with an original E series plate in Ringwood Square underground carpark.
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

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Heihachi_73 wrote: Sun Feb 28, 2021 5:42 pm Saw a white TP Magna with an original E series plate in Ringwood Square underground carpark.
God - that would be a bloody relic by now! The Magna/Verada was a fairly underrated car but it was popular - then Mitsubishi had the idea to come up with the 380 and that was a bit of a flop..... okay. A bit of a flop wasn't the thought I wanted but the 380 competed with the likes of the Toyota Aurion. Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore of the era.

Speaking of the Aurion - when Toyota Australia scrapped the V6 Camry/Avalon, they went looking for a replacement and they turned to Toyota's spiritual home, Japan and took the Aurion (which was available with a 4 cylinder engine as well as the V6 that we got as the only engine) and modified it to be made at the former Altona plant alongside the Camry. When Toyota Australia stopped producing the Aurion, they decided to bring back a V6 Camry.... what a beast the new V6 Camry is! Easy to distinguish over the various models (4 cylinder variants have a single exhaust, hybrid variants have twin exhausts together and V6 variants have quad exhausts), the V6 sounds beasty!
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

Post by huppypuppy »

Not so much a rare car but an interesting car is this Sonic Silver Lexus LC500 coupe:
ImageLexus LC500 - LCV8 by Joe Hupp, on Flickr
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Re: Rare and interesting car sightings

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And the rear of the LC500 - you can see some BMW-esque styling:
ImageLexus LC500 - LCV8 - Rear by Joe Hupp, on Flickr
Love the new Custom Denning vehicles
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