Johnt671 Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 I went to a car show Saturday and was told to park next to the Mercury. I said I didn't see a Mercury, so the guy pointed to this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 Mercury Cougar body, would be surprised if it still has a Mercury title though. There were a couple of "classic" builders putting together cars like that back then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Driver Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 Must be a popular thing in Pennsylvania. One of these won "Best in Show" recently at a local car show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 The strange 'neo-classic' style cars were a fad for a while in the 80s..I remember seeing them based off of Cougar, Mustang, Crown Vic, Town Car bodies--the oddest I've seen was based on an MGB body! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shafter44 Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 I worked at a local tire store back then doing alignments and suspension work and had a nearby body shop bring one of those in after it had some minor crash damage. The front end was based on a 70's style Camaro clip and finding factory info on proper settings in those pre-internet days was a task into itself because if you just used the GM baseline the car was all over the place, a real pain, but probably not as bad as finding parts for one now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyjim Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 Pretty nice. Did you park the Mustang or Fiero? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordairgtar Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 The strange 'neo-classic' style cars were a fad for a while in the 80s..I remember seeing them based off of Cougar, Mustang, Crown Vic, Town Car bodies--the oddest I've seen was based on an MGB body! MG? Must have been the Clenet. They were however based on late 70s LTD IIs or Mercury versions. Some used Town Car or Continental grilles. Smaller versions used MG doors, glass, and trunk lids. The larger ones used VW Super Beetle glass and doors, but all had Ford underpinnings. I remember applying for a job there in Goleta and seeing the half disassembled Fords in the back of the shop. They would sell those to body shops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maindrian Pace Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 My boss in a speaker shop I worked at in the '80s had a Clenet just like that one, except in maroon. He kept it mint, waxed twice a month. The MG cab styling went well with the neoclassic treatment, much better than the Cougar/Mustang/Camaro/Tbird etc attempts that were too easy to spot the original car in. One that I saw was based on an '80s Nissan 300ZX, really surprising to see a Japanese car under all of that fiberglass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZTony8 Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 I worked for a Buick dealer who, in the mid 80s, sold one make of these lash-ups( the Johnson Phantom-they sold all of two from our store.) as a second line. They were based on Gen 3 Camaro Z-28s. The prep guys who drove them said they wandered all over the road. I can remember walking into work one Monday and seeing one of those things sitting there. I walked over and was looking at when the dealer principle wandered over and told me a bit about the car. He told me he had driven it up from Florida and that's when I noticed that the odometer still showed only delivery miles on it. I put two and two together and realized he had disconnected the odometer before driving it north. It turned out to be an omen. The dealer was later charged with odometer tampering and offering bribes to the purchasers to cover it up. Yes, GM eventually yanked the Buick franchise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 I like the Excaliburs and the Clenets. For the most part I was never impressed with the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 If you have to put an emblem on something that says "Classic", chances are it is not, and will never be, a classic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnt671 Posted August 22, 2017 Author Share Posted August 22, 2017 Pretty nice. Did you park the Mustang or Fiero?The Fiero is mine. It's an 84 SE four speed with over 235.000 miles on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earl Marischal Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 +1If you have to put an emblem on something that says "Classic", chances are it is not, and will never be, a classic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earl Marischal Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 +1If you have to put an emblem on something that says "Classic", chances are it is not, and will never be, a classic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moparfarmer Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 Good thing we didn't know about it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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