Oddest optioned car you have ever see...

[Blue 15G]

Back in the late 70s a friend of mine bought an old '65 AMC Marlin that was equipped with practically no options. It was a 6 cylinder, standard transmission car and no power steering. But the one option it did have was power brakes!

Dave Bonn
'54 Champion Starliner

[8E45E]

I know on this page, it generally pertains to non-Studebaker vehicles, but one can add the Cambridge Gray 1956 Golden Hawk that had a special-order leather interior sold by BP's partner (I don't dare say it was your dad who made the deal on THAT one! ), and Skinny's '60 Marshal painted in a 1959 color.

http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?11839-Lost-or-Rare-Factory-Studebaker-Stories&highlight=cambridge

And I wonder if this special-order '50 survives...

http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?41020-From-the-Archives-68-(1950-Special-orders-don-t-upset-us!)&highlight=alberta

Craig

[Packard53]

The 1966 Chevelle Malibu that I have owned since 1986 came from the factory equipped with a 230 six cylinder engine and Powerglide automatic transmission and blackwall tires. No radio, no power brakes, no power steering or other options. . A friend of my wifes purchased the Chevelle in August of 1966 and my wife got to drive the car when it was brand new..

John S.

[8E45E]

The 1966 Chevelle Malibu that I have owned since 1986 came from the factory equipped with a 230 six cylinder engine and Powerglide automatic transmission and blackwall tires. No radio, no power brakes, no power steering or other options. . A friend of my wifes purchased the Chevelle in August of 1966 and my wife got to drive the car when it was brand new...

That sure sounds like a '67 Mailbu that came into the gas station one time I once worked at. It was 4-door hardtop, two-tone blue with a white roof, similarly equipped, 230, Powerglide, no radio, but it DID have power windows.

Craig

[BobPalma]

I know on this page, it generally pertains to non-Studebaker vehicles, but one can add the Cambridge Gray 1956 Golden Hawk that had a special-order leather interior sold by BP's partner (I don't dare say it was your dad who made the deal on THAT one! ), and Skinny's '60 Marshal painted in a 1959 color.

http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...ight=cambridge Craig

I'm sure you mean this one, Craig:





However, if you'll note, it was my father's partner, Harry F. Rhoads (HFR) who who wrote the deal.

It couldn't have been my partner as I was only ten years old at the time...and just barely at that: The day the factory order was written (2/13/56) was only two days after my tenth birthday! <GGG> BP

[FlatheadGeo]

In 1978 I purchased a brand new 4 door Mercury Zephyr. No options save for an air conditioner and power brakes. Six cylinder, three speed on the tree, no radio, no lighter (that was extra)!!!

[8E45E]

I'm sure you mean this one, Craig:

However, if you'll note, it was my father's partner, Harry F. Rhoads (HFR) who who wrote the deal.

It couldn't have been my partner as I was only ten years old at the time...and just barely at that: The day the factory order was written (2/13/56) was only two days after my tenth birthday! <GGG> BP

OOPS, I DO mean your dad's partner! But, yes, that is the car.

Craig

[bob40]

Back in 1979 I bought a 1965 Impala 4 door hardtop.Standard stuff like power steering and power brakes.
It was equipped with a L79 350HP 327, 4-speed and 4.11 gears. Had the numbers decoded by a local Chevy garage.
Why all the racer stuff was in a 4 door hardtop is anyones guess.Maybe it was drag raced and got a weight break.

[JRoberts]

My dad bought new a 2 door Pontiac Catalina (not a bubble top) with the 389 V-8. It had a two barrel carb, 3 speed manual tranny, no radio and no air.

I recently spoke with a gentleman whose dad had a small Studebaker dealership in a very small little town. He told me about a GT Hawk he was trying to get the original owner into selling. His dad sold GT in supposedly came from the factory with an R2 engine and a 3spd/od transmission. Seems to me that would be a very unusally optioned GT.

[1962larksedan]

I once owner a 77 Plymouth Volare wagon with a slant 6 and a 4spd It had a2bbl carb, PS,PB,and air just like a regular family style wagon but with 4 on the floor.

Quite a few of the Aspens/Volares of all bodystyles came through with the 4 gear. I remember them when new.

[1962larksedan]

Reading the tread on the liquid tire chain made me think of an odd Buick that one of my uncles on my mother's side of the family owned.

He had a Buick four door, perhaps of mid 1980's vintage with a manual four speed and sport suspension. My uncle was a boat owner who said that you could not propperly pull a trailer with an automatic so since he was a GM employee he got his LeSabre or whatever it was built to his preferences and walked down the line as it was being assembled.

That Buick may be somewhere in Tennessee, My aunt and uncle retired somewhere down there after he retired from GM and the mechanic that kept the car up aquired it after my uncle passed on.

So what is the oddest (in your opinion) optioned car you have ever seen.

Jeff T.

That Buick sounds like a 1978-79 Century; they could be special ordered with 4 gears.

[8E45E]

This thread wouldn't be complete without mention of the Newman & Altman era Avanti II's. They actually encouraged a customer to go ahead and order a brand new Avanti II 'his way'. There have been some standouts among them mentioned in previous threads on them.

http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?18403-Plainest-Avanti-II-ever&highlight=marble

http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?56013-Notre-Dame-Edition-Avanti&highlight=university

Craig

[Lark8girl]

In 1976, while selling cars at Fort Wayne American, I ordered a new Hornet 2 dr sedan for a customer who wanted no power steering, just optional electric overdrive transmission. When he asked for rubber floor instead of carpet , I found a way to order it that way. No radio or anything else.
About 5 years later I found the car in a junkyard, it was wrecked, had to be that car , still had the rubber floor.

Husband of Lark VIII girl

[Greenstude]

Perhaps slightly different than strange options, but strange anyway ...

One of my friends was a mechanic at a Chrysler dealer for several years. In the late 1970s, when Chrysler had bad quality control, he did the pre-delivery inspection on a new car which had Dodge chrome on one side, and Plymouth chrome on the other.

[Nelsen Motorsports]

My dad also had a strange 67 Firebird. It was a 400, 4 speed, convertible, with manual brakes and steering; unfortunately it was stolen in 1978... I also know of an 88 Porsche 911 non-turbo widebody in Fla, one of 8 built for the U.S.