Jump to content

1960 Danelectro


Etienne Rambert

Recommended Posts

  • Members
I live near a casino town. Pawnshops get interesting music gear.

 

I saw this today in a pawn shop close to my house. It looks completely stock. I don't know how much it's worth. Owner told me she has "8" in it.

 

I took that to mean $800.

 

p1_uch3a4x2h_ss.jpg?maxheight=500&maxwidth=500

 

 

 

It's call a convertible.

 

Here's one with an original case.

 

https://reverb.com/item/6577432-danelectro-convertible-1960-s?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIl5SbrKmj1wIVSZPtCh3GGAU6EAQYBSABEgJgj_D_BwE&pla=1

 

 

 

Here's another

https://reverb.com/item/5588379-danelectro-convertible-1964-blonde-free-shipping

 

and another

https://reverb.com/item/234378-vintage-1962-danelectro-convertible-blonde-5015-shorthorn-acoustic-electric-guitar-free-shipping

 

 

 

This should help too

 

https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=Danelectro%20Convertible%20Guitar&condition=used&sort=price%7Cdesc&page=

 

If you buy it, do so cause you love it. Personally I'm not a fan. At least this one you can actually hold in your hands.

 

Hope this helps

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
Nah, I don't want to buy it. I just liked the exoticism.

 

I was impressed it was totally original too -1960 -- what a year for convertibles.

 

1960_chevrolet_corvette_convertible-t2.jpg

 

Back in 1960 my grandfather bought a Chevy impala, the only thing he skimmed on just about everything.

 

In 1965 my grandfather gave it to my dad. It's just like this one except in red, with fender skirts.

 

My dad still has it too. We used to take it to shows when I was a teen in the 70's

 

 

Why my dad keeps it I have no idea, he's getting up there in age too. I used to sleep on the floor when I was little. There's enough trunk space in it for about 3 adult bodies.

 

 

Almost like my dads. The seat on dad's have been covered in clear plastic since 1960. You butt sticks to them in the hot weather.

 

 

CC-SanMateo-016-800.jpg

 

 

 

[video=youtube;RhfUu8dOwXA]

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

My folks had a 1960 Chevy Bel-Air. But they had traded something primo for it -- a white 1955 Buick Special. Pure awesomeness. It looked like Tom Waits' white 1955 Buick Special.

 

The first music I ever heard came through the dash of that old Buick. To this day, monaural mixes on car radios still sound better than stereo mixes through monitors to me.

 

A mix that sounds good through an AM car radio is a real mix.

cars-1955buickcentury.jpg

 

 

 

Back in 1960 my grandfather bought a Chevy impala, the only thing he skimmed on just about everything.

 

In 1965 my grandfather gave it to my dad. It's just like this one except in red, with fender skirts.

 

My dad still has it too. We used to take it to shows when I was a teen in the 70's

 

 

Why my dad keeps it I have no idea, he's getting up there in age too. I used to sleep on the floor when I was little. There's enough trunk space in it for about 3 adult bodies.

 

 

Almost like my dads. The seat on dad's have been covered in clear plastic since 1960. You butt sticks to them in the hot weather.

 

 

CC-SanMateo-016-800.jpg

 

 

 

[video=youtube;RhfUu8dOwXA]

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
my late Father liked Caddy and Oldsmobile convertibles, might be some pics after a search..1959 Delta 88, 2 tone paint, never seen another ..

 

only Danelectro I have is a double neck baritone plus 6 string..

 

My Grandfather moved to Oldsmoble in 65, after the he gave my dad the 60 Chevy.

 

He also gave him the 65 Cutlass too.

 

Then my Grandfather bought a 1970 Cutlass

 

He kept that for a long time, instead of upgrading every 5 years.

 

The cutlass was a nice 2 door, with a V8, but to bad it wasn't a 442.

 

watch?v=7VvQ0Q7fkWA44433_Front_3-4_Web.jpg

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
Hah - growing up my folks had a '59 4-door Impala. Not a convertible, but loved the wings on it.

 

Here's my convertible:

 

1987-chrysler-lebaron.jpg

 

Got it new and it's still going strong today.

 

 

I owned one of those Verne. I loved it. What a gorgeous car it was.

Unfortunately, the top leaked like a sieve. The electrical system died.

I hated that car too. But it sure was a beauty.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

 

I owned one of those Verne. I loved it. What a gorgeous car it was.

Unfortunately, the top leaked like a sieve. The electrical system died.

I hated that car too. But it sure was a beauty.

 

Mine is from the first batch of 50 off the line. It has the serial number sequence used on the '86 K-car Lebaron as they hadn't setup the new numbering yet. 87 were the first to use the J body frame. Going from the serial number on the radio mine is #47.

 

Long story short, Tilden car rental were the first to put in an order and were expecting them for the 87 summer season. Chrysler ran into production issues so the first batch of 50 arrived at the beginning of August, which is the end of summer for rentals. I found them quite by accident and arrived at the Tilden lot to find the 50 being readied to ship back to Chrysler.

 

I had my choice of any (or all) at the same price Chrysler was buying them back for, which was less than 1/2 retail. This was the only one in that colour and it spoke to me for some reason. It had about 4,000 miles on it, so it wasn't even broken in and still under full warranty.

 

No top leak issues here, but mine was recalled for a top replacement under warranty the first year - they fit too tight causing frame issues. Since then the top was replaced I believe 3 times because people cut it to try and get in to steal the car. As you may recall, this model has a full interior top liner, which they also cut through, making replacements cost the insurance company around $5000 a pop. Last time it happened they said "once more and we'll write the car off" so I've kept it locked in a secure underground since.

 

I've gone through 2 head gasket replacements because of mismatch between the aluminum head and the iron block, a common problem with that engine, but other than that nothing untoward for a 30 year old car. It has around 130K on it now and still looks and drives like new off the lot.

 

The Lebaron body was designed by Maserati and meant to be the North American version of the Maserati TC, which has an Italian Maserati built coach, kid leather interior matched with the same North American Chryco power-train used in the Lebaron.

 

Mine has "collector" status and plates and I'm toying with the idea of picking up a TC. Now that they are "old" cars they are coming up cheap, but I'm not sure I'm up to another project as rubber and gaskets will certainly have to be replaced.

 

Would be very cool to have a matching collector set though. Here's what the TC looks like:

 

89tc.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Mine was a 1989. I didn't know that about the Maserati. But it looks just like it.

 

chrysler_tc_maserati_black_1991.jpg

 

Chrysler had some inspired auto-body designers who were interested in making aesthetically-beautiful cars. I'm glad yours was reliable.

 

Mine wasn't. But I sure loved it. It was just so beautiful w/the top down. Same color as yours.

Most beautiful car I ever owned probably.

 

i363069.jpg

 

 

 

 

Mine is from the first batch of 50 off the line. It has the serial number sequence used on the '86 K-car Lebaron as they hadn't setup the new numbering yet. 87 were the first to use the J body frame. Going from the serial number on the radio mine is #47.

 

Long story short, Tilden car rental were the first to put in an order and were expecting them for the 87 summer season. Chrysler ran into production issues so the first batch of 50 arrived at the beginning of August, which is the end of summer for rentals. I found them quite by accident and arrived at the Tilden lot to find the 50 being readied to ship back to Chrysler.

 

I had my choice of any (or all) at the same price Chrysler was buying them back for, which was less than 1/2 retail. This was the only one in that colour and it spoke to me for some reason. It had about 4,000 miles on it, so it wasn't even broken in and still under full warranty.

 

No top leak issues here, but mine was recalled for a top replacement under warranty the first year - they fit too tight causing frame issues. Since then the top was replaced I believe 3 times because people cut it to try and get in to steal the car. As you may recall, this model has a full interior top liner, which they also cut through, making replacements cost the insurance company around $5000 a pop. Last time it happened they said "once more and we'll write the car off" so I've kept it locked in a secure underground since.

 

I've gone through 2 head gasket replacements because of mismatch between the aluminum head and the iron block, a common problem with that engine, but other than that nothing untoward for a 30 year old car. It has around 130K on it now and still looks and drives like new off the lot.

 

The Lebaron body was designed by Maserati and meant to be the North American version of the Maserati TC, which has an Italian Maserati built coach, kid leather interior matched with the same North American Chryco power-train used in the Lebaron.

 

Mine has "collector" status and plates and I'm toying with the idea of picking up a TC. Now that they are "old" cars they are coming up cheap, but I'm not sure I'm up to another project as rubber and gaskets will certainly have to be replaced.

 

Would be very cool to have a matching collector set though. Here's what the TC looks like:

 

89tc.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Chrysler has done some nice designs - I like the old 'Cuda - but this is more Maserati than Chryco, which is why it is such a stand-out design.

 

Even the production was unique - they built a special assembly line where the finished bodies were hoisted and the engine with all the front-end "stuffed" upward into the body, bolted in place and the car was done. I think it followed the Chrysler/Maserati design philosophy to accommodate Maserati doing coaches and Chrysler doing the engines. Allpar has some pages on them.

 

Maserati techs I've talked to say the TC is the best car Maserati ever built because it leverages the strengths of both companies - apparently Maserati engines are crap but they do stellar coach-works, where Chryco is much better at powertrains.

 

Which engine was yours? Mine is the 2.5L non-turbo. I had heard the 2.2 cylinder turbos got funky and the Mitsibushi 6 cylinders were pretty junky. I got the 2.5 because I was looking to tow a camper, even had the dealer to install a trailer hitch, but never got a trailer LOL.

 

Mine has been the best vehicle I've ever owned. Geared perfectly for US interstate driving.

 

I even used it (with me driving) in a commercial spot I produced for a client.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
Chrysler has done some nice designs - I like the old 'Cuda - but this is more Maserati than Chryco, which is why it is such a stand-out design.

 

Even the production was unique - they built a special assembly line where the finished bodies were hoisted and the engine with all the front-end "stuffed" upward into the body, bolted in place and the car was done. I think it followed the Chrysler/Maserati design philosophy to accommodate Maserati doing coaches and Chrysler doing the engines. Allpar has some pages on them.

 

Maserati techs I've talked to say the TC is the best car Maserati ever built because it leverages the strengths of both companies - apparently Maserati engines are crap but they do stellar coach-works, where Chryco is much better at powertrains.

 

Which engine was yours? Mine is the 2.5L non-turbo. I had heard the 2.2 cylinder turbos got funky and the Mitsibushi 6 cylinders were pretty junky. I got the 2.5 because I was looking to tow a camper, even had the dealer to install a trailer hitch, but never got a trailer LOL.

 

Mine has been the best vehicle I've ever owned. Geared perfectly for US interstate driving.

 

I even used it (with me driving) in a commercial spot I produced for a client.

 

 

I don't remember which engine I had. It was a 1989. I did NOT have a turbo. And I did NOT have a

Mitsubishi. So maybe I had the same engine as yours? Not a lot of power. I don't see pulling anything

with it. But it had enough pick-up.

 

I should have repaired it instead of trading it. What a beauty. But it rains A LOT in South Louisiana.

We make the Pac-Northwest seem like the Mojave Desert by comparison. That top really could not

handle 6 months of a Louisiana year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

I don't remember which engine I had. It was a 1989. I did NOT have a turbo. And I did NOT have a

Mitsubishi. So maybe I had the same engine as yours? Not a lot of power. I don't see pulling anything

with it. But it had enough pick-up.

 

I should have repaired it instead of trading it. What a beauty. But it rains A LOT in South Louisiana.

We make the Pac-Northwest seem like the Mojave Desert by comparison. That top really could not

handle 6 months of a Louisiana year.

 

I dunno, there have been times when it's rained for a year without a break up here - and I'm not kidding. Gets super depressing.

 

I have noticed that as mine ages water will come in between the roof and the top of the windshield at highway speeds because the rubber is getting hard. I applied some rubber rejuvenation and it seems to be fixed. I would guess leaks are a common problem with all convertibles and I've read TC owners complaining about it as well. The TC comes with a removable hard-top and one person complained that leaked too!

 

You probably had the 2.2, which was much peppier off the line. Mine is slow to get going, but once it gets up to around 30 it comes into its own. Highway passing is no problem - stomp the gas, it down-shifts and I'm off. I was told the 2.5 non-turbo was best for towing for that reason, which is why I went that way.

 

Just to toss a couple other Lebaron firsts out there - it was one of, if not the, first North American car to feature a digital dash (in the Premium package, which is what mine is). It was so weird at first, but I love the ability to switch between metric and american at the push of a button.

 

And it is the first North American factory built convertible ever. All other convertibles up to that point were built as hard-tops and sent to a chop-shop to be converted into a convertible - most, if not all, companies still do this. You can easily verify this by comparing the wheel-base between the Lebaron convertible and the coupe - they have different measurements to accommodate the difference in weight distribution, which wouldn't be the case if they were chopped.

 

They're going really cheap these days, so if you really want one, they can be got for $500. I've even seen people trying to give them away. If I had the space I'd get one for a parts car but since there were quite a few sold, finding parts shouldn't be a problem for quite some time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Average Annual Precipitation New Orleans? 57.09 or call it 60 inches rain per year. One day I remember, we got 30 inches in 24 hours. When it rains -- about half the days in the year -- it rains hard. It comes down in buckets.

 

Average Annual precip at SEA-TAC airport? 37.49 - call it 40 inches.

 

My LeBaron top really couldn't handle South Louisiana rain. I comes down too hard.

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Yeah, thinking back to my visit to New Orleans I seem to recall it was pretty thick/muggy.

 

I'm further north in Vancouver which gets much more rain than Seattle. We tend to get constant rain with bursts of buckets. The city is open to the ocean with a surround mountain backdrop so as the clouds/precipitation come in they stall over the city and the rain is relentless. Last winter was 6 months of constant rain.

 

According to this, we're around the same as you @ 57.3 inches:

 

https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/Canada/British-Columbia/precipitation-annual-average.php

 

But that doesn't account for the past few years when the previous government was purposefully seeding the sky to force more rain, if you can believe it! Since we changed governments in the summer the seeding stopped and we actually had a pretty descent summer with warm sunny skies. That was until we got socked under a few months of smoke from the wildfires. Can't seem to win for losing.

 

As you may or may not know, Vancouver is ground zero for foreigners buying up all the real-estate making this the most expensive place in the world to live ATM. Since most of this is just off-shore investments and the bulk of the houses sit empty, I think the best way to stop the problem is to force them to live here for a year before they buy. That'll send them packing real quick.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I didn't know anywhere in North America competed w/the Houston - Nola corridor. I guess Vancouver does.

 

But the new champ is in the Houston area. Cedar Bayou, Texas got almost 51 inches of rain in a single day - August 30, 2017, during Hurricane Harvey.

 

I remember getting 30 inches in one day in 1993. Nothing like what Houston took this year though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...