Fill in the blanks:

_ _ T _ * _ _ _ O _ * _ K _ * 1 _ _ _ _

* = space

The car in question is a 2dr hardtop.

Model year is 1961.

This Automotive manufacturer still exists today.

In 2005 they sold aproximetly 40 times as

many cars in the USA as they did in 1961 when

the car in question as made.

I'd love to fill in my bank, but I'd also like the money to do it.

okay, bad joke, I'll shut up.

Part of me wants to, but part of me has absolutely no clue on this one.

I just looked at Auto Trader to see a complete list of all manufacturer names with used cars for sale in Canada right now. None of them are or start with a 4 letter word with a T as the third character. I'm at a loss.

The manufacturer still sells cars here but it's been renamed

since 1961... just like they still make Maximas but not

DATSUN Maximas.

There's a link between this import car and the No. 1 import

car in the USA in 1961. :wink:

i find it funny that the letters you gave us were TOK1 as in tok one like smoke a J. Puffin the magic dragon. get my drift??

HINT: the no.1 import car in 1961 in the USA was the VW Beetle by a landslide!

-----

i find it funny that the letters you gave us were    TOK1  as in tok one like smoke a J. Puffin the magic dragon. get my drift??

164297[/snapback]

Funny you say that since this thread is about a hardtop.

The other day while "intoxicated" I heated up an X-acto knife on

my gas stove and then I cut out the rear windows out of the new

HotWheel's AMG Mercedes CLK-DTM.

The effin car is a hardtop but H.W. cast it as if the rear windows

were up but the front down... WTF? at least they B-pillar

was not cast in metal which would have been a cardinal sin. The

windows & the "rubbeer insulation disappearing B-pillar" were

just easily removed plastic cast into the mold for the glass.

So I'm going to fix them one at a time! This was a practice run

so I will give this one to Sofia to play with but next time I'll do

it right by popping off the rivets & the whole nine yards.

I'll post photos of the B-pillered one soon.

Edited July 9, 200619 yr by Sixty8panther

GM1:

You got it buddy!

Your prize, a 1996 Buick Roadmaster Steel Roof with 12,000 original

miles, is on its way to you in an enclosed car carrier as we speak.

From the Americans to the Germans, Japanese & even Australians

have all made a few cool hardtops over the years... why is it that

they are so scarce these days?

Safety, structual integrity, and wind noise.

Safety, structual integrity, and wind noise.

165004[/snapback]

We can put a man on the moon but can not overcome those issues?

So how come Mercedes can & yet Cadillac & Buick (who pioneered

the hardtop) can not?

Structural Integrity & Wind Noise are cop outs, safety is easily

overcome these days. We can make convertible roadsters like the

Solstice pass side impact standards but can't make a 2 dr HT?

>>"Safety, structual integrity, and wind noise."<<

Gonna haveta speak out on this, too.

A hardtop is more safe than a roadster anyday. One down.

Wind noise is primarily dicated by the A-pillar/ windsheild/ mirrors. The airflow would be relatively layered and fluid by the B-pillar area. Done well, there is no more airstream projection from a 4-dr hardtop than a modern 4-dr sedan: everything's pretty flush. Two down.

The primary reason a modern hardtop has any structural issues is because the windshields are laid so far back. The B-pillar helps support the front of the compartment that no degree of A-pillar strength in a hardtop would in the event of a rollover.

I would still prefer to make than choice myself, but I'll give you this one.

look at the size of Challengers and Camaro concept "B" pilliars.

Wait... they're not hardtops? Hm-mmm.... no likey.

They're BOTH hardtops... TRUST me. I've seen them up close

at NYIAS, saw BOTH WITH WINDOWS DOWN and even had a

few interesting conversations with the Mopar & GM reps about

bow critical it is to not pu**y out and make a fixed rear 1/4

window. I'm willing to bet the farm they'll do the right thing &

make both true hardtops!

If I'm wrong then I'll almost certainly own a used MB CLK500

in the next few years.

If I'm wrong then I'll almost certainly own a used MB CLK500

in the next few years.

165901[/snapback]

Ha. Then the joke's on you. Enjoy repairing it. I bet the frameless glass won't even line up right.

It probably won't; what with mercedes' recent quality efforts. But the frameless glass on my ex '65 Bonneville 4-dr hardtop fit perfectly.

68- there's no need to incur a used mercedes and all that baggage when you already own a cool hardtop. Howsabout instead of dumping hard cash on that pig, you spring for some chrome plating for the S88?

Ha. Then the joke's on you. Enjoy repairing it. I bet the frameless glass won't even line up right.

165943[/snapback]

Funny thing, I just looked at a 1995 Mercedes 300CE with 102,000 miles

for $5,999 & the glass lined up perfectly front & rear. The new MBs are

not as well built as the earlier (pre late 90s) ones before Benz got into

marketing over ENGINERING.

SpeedingPenguin came along wiht me to the SmokeShop and after we

picked up a couple cigars I noticed a nice 1996 Fleetwood Brougham in

a used car lot... I took a look at it popped the hood, and then bumped

(litteraly) into the fender of this white Benz parked next to the Caddy,

now I've been thinking about it every day since. I'd love to own that

little I6 powered hardtop beauty.

Balthazar:

You're probably right about that... keep in mind on days Marcia is driving

the Q45 I'm driving in a 1984 Datsun still.... the MB would be a more

practical solution.