Seeing Keith Thelen’s Dodge Monaco recently, and how it was equipped with a six-cylinder engine, made me start thinking of unusually equipped cars. But it hardly stops there, at least for this era of Dodge.
One could obtain their ’77 and ’78 Dodge Monaco with a three-speed, column shifted manual transmission. Maybe this in and of itself shouldn’t be a surprise. What did capture my intrigue is that the top trim level Monaco Brougham was available with said column shift – there was no transmission upgrade accompanying the upgraded trim. This doesn’t exactly mesh with the perception that anything “Brougham” was automatically loaded to the gills with equipment.
Chevrolet did have a three-speed as standard equipment on 250 cid powered Chevelle’s in 1977; Ford had automatics only on their LTD II that year.
Did Chrysler build any this way? Who knows. However, it did prompt me to think larger, thus our question. In whatever combination of equipment, what was the most oddly equipped car you have seen?
15 years ago I had a ’67 Pontiac Grand Prix convertible with just about every available option according to the PHS print out.
Tyrol Blue with Pearl White interior, White top with leather like grain pattern and Redline tires. (Very patriotic)
400 4bbl / Turbo 400, Power steering, brakes top, windows, locks, antenna, trunk release. AM/FM Stereo, Cruise, Tilt wheel, reclining passenger seat, headrests, vanity mirrors on both visors and remote outside mirror. Front disc brakes with unique wheel covers, (a first year option).
The only missing options were the 428, 4-speed, 8-track, power seats and cornering lamps. The 8 lug wheels were not available with the disc brake option.
After the Grand Prix, I had a ’63 Lincoln Continental convertible. If i recall from the brochure, the only option was A/C which my car had and a choice between walnut veneer trim and brushed aluminum. Convertibles came standard with leather seats.
My first car had a few goofy options. It was a 1996 base model Chevy Lumina. Dark green with the gray interior (common). It had the LS alloy wheels, nice cassette radio, four way manual driver’s seat. The front of the seat could go up and down. Really nice feature. But the car didn’t have ABS or the remote trunk release button.
I had a 89 Grand Am LE but it was ordered with the GT blackout lights and factory fog lights. The switch for the fogs was located in the roof between the sunvisors. It also had a AM/FM Cassette with a switch on the door to activate the door speakers.
My brother in law ordered a F150 early 90’s with upgraded interior but rubber floor instead of carpets–he had a muddy job. He also has a 1970 RoadRunner with 383 4speed pistol grip and Air Grabber. No power steering, brakes–rear stripe delete. It was ordered with a chrome moulding between the wheels and the weirdest of all a rim blow steering wheel. Rimblow wheels and manual steering make for lots of fun parking
Back in 1973, my dad had a lime green 73 Ford Torino wagon with a 400 cu inch engine and an automatic……and absolutely no other options. It looked like a cop car station wagon.
I used to street race it with some success when I got my drivers license in ’76
I had an ’85 Chrysler Lebaron GTS that had a 2.2L turbo, auto, leather, digital dash-and crank windows & manual locks.
I also had a ’92 Pontiac Grand Prix SE with B4U GFX & wheel kit, steering wheel audio controls, power windows & seats, keyless entry….and no rear defrost. It figures that it was originally from Kentucky.
Here’s one for the books. When I was a kid my friends grandfather bought a new 1963 Olds Dynamaic 88 4 door sedan. It had a few options not usually seen on the base model, such as courtesy lights, clock and door edge guards. But it also had the cheap, non-deluxe steering wheel, no power brakes and a 3 speed manual on the column! I’m sure the take rate for the Hydra-matic approached 99% on the full-size Olds of this era, making this a very rare car. I recall asking this old timer why he didn’t get the automatic. He said something like he never had one and there were a lot of automatic transmission repair shops around, so they obvioulsy were not reliable. Go figure.
“He said something like he never had one and there were a lot of automatic transmission repair shops around, so they obvioulsy were not reliable.”
Best statement of the day. Once I stopped laughing, I had to kind of admire the old guy’s thought process. I guess the number of Olds dealers with service departments did not bother him.
My ’63 Bel Air. 283 2bbl, Powerglide, P/S, P/B, carpet, leather seats, heater and the 6 tailights& silver cove panel from the Impala.
The reason? It was an Australian assembled car, built by Holden.
My ’67 Impala used the rear lights & bumper from the contempory Caprice.
I can understand the “luxury’ features like the P/S, etc, but the Impala treatment on the Bel Air & the Caprice on the Impala are a mystery to me.
Some oddities from Brooklyn NY -late 60s early 70s
A `61 Chevy Monza coupe with factory air.
A `61 Olds 98 6 window sedan with air and power windows in the front only.
A `63 Cadillac Sedan de Ville with bucket seats, black leather and no air’
A `64 T Bird convertible with roll up windows and no air
A `70 Olds cutlass base 2 door stripper sedan with no air and power windows.
A `70 Buick Electra Limited coupe with roll up windows, no vinyl top and air
A `70 Pontiac Bonneville 4 door pillared sedan with no air
The best for last-a `59 Chevy Biscayne 2 door sedan with a 3 speed manual and factory air.
My 94 Cougar had every available option from V8 to moonroof, and uncommon options like the JBL audio system with CD changer and feature car white leather interior package, yet it didn’t have auto climate control, which you almost never not see on V8 equipped 94s.