This week’s Friday AutoHunter Picks are a good mix of vehicles that have something special about them that pulled me in: special luxury car, special performance variant, special custom build and special-order color. Which one is most special to you?
1956 Continental Mark II
When I was just a kid snapping up books and magazines, the classic car cognoscenti was telling me this was one of the most significant post-war cars out of America. Its styling was clean, eschewing the burgeoning Atomic Age-era excesses for something more proper for a conservative man wearing a hat. As I’ve matured, I’ve lost interest in them.
But this Shenandoah Green example color grabs me. It’s not a color often seen, I surmise, and the two-tone green interior just adds to the novelty. I have no interest in opulent luxury at this moment, but this car just begs to have someone hop in and enjoy it.
1971 Ford Mustang Boss 351
The Boss 351 holds the distinction of possibly being the fastest small-block from the muscle car era. High-13s seem to have been common for this car, which is somewhat ironic considering the Mustang’s 1971 redesign has created the perception that it’s big and heavy though it’s not as bad as you think, especially with the latter.
These cars can be pricey, but this documented Boss 351 lacks its original engine, which means it may be attainable for someone who normally wouldn’t be able to afford it. Buy it, enjoy driving it, and slowly bring the car up to proper spec — that’s what I’d do.
1977 International Scout II
You don’t have to be into trucks to be attracted to this bad-arse Independent. Kudos go to the person who selected this color, which seems to blend in nicely with the sort of environment in which you’d be accused of tomfoolery. Plus, Broncos go for dumb money so why not march to a different beat?
Alas, a different beat doesn’t come from a Ram chassis and Cummins 5.9 six, but is that really a demerit? Sounds like a good thing to me! Plus, it’s shifted by a five-speed manual. There’s a lot to like here.
1967 Pontiac GTO
I happened to see this car from the distance of a coworker’s monitor. I thought, “That looks like a special-order color GTO!” and immediately checked Patrick Smith’s blog on special-order colors. Bingo! Looks like Copper Blaze, a color similar to the hue that’s currently on this Goat. Then I checked the data plate in the photo carousel, which had the codes normally associated with special-order colors used on Pontiacs of the era.
Underneath those codes is 97904, which is Coronado Gold per the color chip on Smith’s page. If you’ve ever heard of Tiger Gold for 1965-66 Pontiacs, it’s the same color. Another unusual aspect of this GTO is that it’s one of 4,893 built with the standard 400/335 and three-speed manual.
