Neo retro cars

Neo retro cars were all the rage throughout the 70s and 80s with various different companies popping up and making these cars inspired by cars from the 1930s. Typically built on an American full car frame due to the all the weight and luxurious plus since they usually used a stock smog eengine  they didn’t offer much in performance. Now this car is interesting simply because it has a buick grand national engine. Does make you wonder how some of these cars cou,d be with modern power or hot rodded engine.

https://barnfinds.com/buick-turbo-powered-1982-baroque/

Seen one in real life. They are even more hideous.  Like i saw one at a car show and literally saw people pointing at it and laughing

With modern guts, they'd be fast, but not fast enough to out run ugly. 

And yet I’d love to have one and drive it everywhere.

I want a lowrider Stutz to exist. 

Appleseed said:

With modern guts, they'd be fast, but not fast enough to out run ugly. 

 

That kind of would make one the ideal sleeper since nobody would expect it to be modified... except people are only going to fall for it once.

My car enthusiasm began in the mid-80s, which was the tail end of this trend. I still have the C&D with the Zimmer Quicksilver on the cover. The car in question:

The neo Classic movement started with the Excalibur, which can still command high prices in the collector market. Early Excaliburs were styled after early Mercedes, with the later ones getting much fancier:

Early Excalibur:

later Excalibur:

others followed that Mercedes 500k styling model

And others just got ridiculous, using MG bodies as the base...

Like the Diamante:

Worst offender was the Zimmer Golden Spirit, which used Cougar, Lincoln and later Mustang bodies to start with (and made them up until very recently):

Ugh. I don't know how Zimmer still sells cars.

Sweet berkeleying cheebus that Diamante ad really hits home: You recognize the name, you recognize the car, you recognize the quality​​​​​​​... no E36 M3, that's why I'm not buying one!

Worst part is that the quality of those was entirely dependent on you, the builder. Which meant that of the ones that actually got finished, the quality was pretty haphazard, with some being pretty good and some being downright horrifying.

I really want a bet up Excalibur or the like for Lemons.  

Sonic said:

I really want a bet up Excalibur or the like for Lemons.  

That is brilliant, and the best possible use of one of these cars.

These guys are loving it!

Bangshift just posted a video of somebody drifting a Silvia-based Mitsuoka Le Seyde:

I wrote this a few years back on neoclassicals and what they were before they were mutated into their final forms:

https://bangshift.com/general-news/neoclassicals-kit-cars-cars-former-lives/

Without clicking the link, try and guess what this one used to be. Once you figure it out, you might puke. 

The early Excaliburs are cool they are good performers aswell as they are lightweight and Brook Stevens was friends with ed Cole and got a supply of 327 engines from chevrolet. The early versions weighed around 2100bs. Just think how they could go with more power. The zimmer quicksilver I find interesting and kind of give a bit of a buick riviera look to it in my opinion. People v8 and other engines swap fieros all the time so it could be a neat combo.

Tony Sestito said:

I wrote this a few years back on neoclassicals and what they were before they were mutated into their final forms:

https://bangshift.com/general-news/neoclassicals-kit-cars-cars-former-lives/

Without clicking the link, try and guess what this one used to be. Once you figure it out, you might puke. 

 

A fat, slow 300ZX... trying to be a Mercedes SSK. AKA the Spartan II. At least it's not a tiny MG Midget body on a huge frame...

I had mentioned something about some of them being based also on Cougars, to get that formal roofline. Here's one, the Tiffany:

As you can see, most were unsuccessfully going for a combination of Mercedes 500k and Auburn Speedster...

A tougher one, what was this one based on?

And one of my favorites from the era, the Witton Tiger roadster:

Still want one. Edit: the molds are available: https://offerup.com/item/detail/107801664/ Hmmm

These things really tapped into the snob appeal of the classist '80s.

GCrites80s said:

These things really tapped into the snob appeal of the classist '80s.

I think they were more the last gasp of the tasteless ‘70s. 

Tony Sestito said:

I wrote this a few years back on neoclassicals and what they were before they were mutated into their final forms:

https://bangshift.com/general-news/neoclassicals-kit-cars-cars-former-lives/

Without clicking the link, try and guess what this one used to be. Once you figure it out, you might puke. 

 

Air cooled 911.

Here is an early Excalibur that’s been given a traditional hot rod treatment with fenders removed etc that looks like it would be lots of fun 

now for the other end we have these cars like what was in live and let die which are corvettes with eldorado like bodies.

Chris_V said:

As you can see, most were unsuccessfully going for a combination of Mercedes 500k and Auburn Speedster...

A tougher one, what was this one based on?

The wrong car for the body lines they were going for, clearly.

It definitely appears to be a truck of some sort, going by the tiny doors and the vent - maybe an extended cab Ranger.

MotorsportsGordon said:

now for the other end we have these cars like what was in live and let die which are corvettes with eldorado like bodies.

WAIT.  This is Corvette-based!?!  Now I want one!!!

MadScientistMatt said:

Chris_V said:

As you can see, most were unsuccessfully going for a combination of Mercedes 500k and Auburn Speedster...

A tougher one, what was this one based on?

The wrong car for the body lines they were going for, clearly.

It definitely appears to be a truck of some sort, going by the tiny doors and the vent - maybe an extended cab Ranger.

It's a  '78-80 Ford Courier cowl, windshield and doors...

So probably something Ford... If it had a 2.3, I'd go with Mustang II.