True confessions: I’ve been without a camera for about two months. After I lost the latest of my numerous Lumix compact cameras, I decided I was tired of having them repeatedly go bad on me, because of getting dust into their lens and image sensors. I used to be able to take them apart and blow them clean, but not the latest ones. So I decided to finally get a smart phone; I’m not exactly what you call an early adopter. I’ll always have a camera handy. It took me a while until I figured out the best (cheap) service provider for me (Ting), and bought a like-new iPhone 5s for $200 on Swappy.com. Today I got it fired up, so I decided to hop on my bike and do some shooting, given thta the sun came out in full force.
One of the first thing I ran into was this nice 80s combo; two of the most opposite cars of that era.
The guy that owned the Westfalia T3 came out and told me it was an ’83, the very last of the air-cooled engines. Yes, they’re a bit slower than the Wasserboxer, but they’re also more durable, and easier and cheaper to fix, according to him.
Then the owner of the 5th Avenue came from the park across the street with his kids to head home, and told me it was an ’88, the second to last year for the M-Body version.
Two youngish guys with their ’80s cars; Eugene-mobiles both. There’s a curbside classic for every taste and lifestyle.
And my bike ride was very productive; a number of good finds; one exceptionally so. Stay tuned.
Its amazing what one can see from the back of a bicycle. Nice work.
Never heard of Ting, Paul. Is it a local Eugene thing? I am with Boost (arm of Sprint) and I pay $40 a month for unlimited everything.
Nationwide. $6 month, plus very cheap incremental additional chunks for voice/text/data used. I expect to pay $12-18 month. I’m going to switch Stephanie and my daughter over too; sick of the old rip-off Verizon plan. I like the idea of buying phones outright, rather than have the cost buried in the plan. Ting uses the Sprint network.
I use Ting as well, and it’s been great for my needs. I rarely call or text anyone, and carry it more for emergencies when I’m on two wheels.
Nice finds Paul, and enjoy your new camera phone. Your shadow is in the 3rd picture – “The Master at Work”.
I’m on my second Lumix DMC-FH20, they tend to go cheap on ebay and are the perfect form factor for me (size, lens, screen, battery life etc.) to carry around.
On the last photo I thought of Vivian Maier. A street scene, but there’s a bit of the photographer in there too.
+1 on the Vivian Maier reference – exactly.
A friend’s Mom had a brand new 88 5th Avenue that was identical to the car pictured above. For “Senior Cut School Day” we borrowed it to go on a long road trip. It fit our needs perfectly. I recall the very cushy leather seats.
Wow, two 80s cars made on the cusp of the extinction of their respective kinds – an air cooled VW and a RWD V8 Chrysler sedan. At least there has been a resurrection of the species at Chrysler, but not so at VW. So, is today M body/yellow car day?
I will be interested to hear how you do with your phone cam. Virtually every picture I have ever done on CC has been through a phonecam, as I have never incorporated carrying an actual camera around into my daily routine.
So Mike from Breaking Bad isn’t dead after all, he’s just hiding out in Eugene? I’ve got a 5s iPhone, too. The camera is pretty decent. And I gotta agree with Syke. I do my best car-spotting on a bike. Hey, that rhymes…
VW must have gotten a bulk discount on Yellow paint whatever shade that is. Nice looking pair of vehicles and I am amazed at the lack of patina. Seeing a roof rack on a 5th Avenue is somewhat comical, but oh so practical. What engine is likely to have been installed by Chrysler?
Defiinitely the 5.3L 318 V8; that was the only engine on these cars for most of the run. One of the later carbureted holdouts as it never got fuel injection, at least not in this application. Probably did eventually in van/truck duty as this was the last V8 Chrysler car until the appearance of the 300C/Charger Hemi V8s 15+ years later..
The truck line had EFI in the mid-late 80s as I remember. Why Ma Mopar didn’t bestow it on the M bodies is completely beyond me. But then, I also cant figure out why the platform wasn’t used to forge a Mustang/F body competitor….
It was a hell of a bulk load, they decided to use it on their Krankenwagen too, even many years later.
(Photo Volker Stöckmann)
While I keep a compact camera as a counterpart to my DSLR (recently upgraded to a Canon S110 from my venerable S70), more of my photos tend to be phone-based also as I don’t like to leave the camera in the car where it could be exposed to temperature extremes. The smartphone is always handy… And the more recent ones tend to take fine photos. The iPhones are especially good in that regard (the photo quality on my work iPhone 4s is probably better than that of my newer Nexus 5.)
As to the cars, the Vanagon is a very familiar sight around Richmond; they may be getting rare elsewhere but it seems like a lot of them have ended up here. Probably at least 5 in my neighborhood including one westy that’s almost identical to this one except for hubcaps. Not as many M-body Fifth Avenues but they’re still around too; I get the impression these later ones possess anvil-like durability. There’s a lot to be said for a design that’s been in production for an age and is completely sorted out. Probably also helps that the vast majority of original owners of these very traditional broughams were older, and didn’t accumulate huge mileage totals early in life. They do make a nice contrast, and also a photo that could have been taken 25 years ago. Classic cars and classic bungalows.
And am I the only child of the 80’s for whom “Opposites Attract” immediately invokes the Paula Abdul song? And the music video where she is dancing with a cartoon cat?
I came very close to buying an older VW van in the early 70s, that one had almost no windows. And the newest Chrysler product I have owned (so far) is a 69 Valiant…so sort of a 60s version of opposites.
Here in north Florida, there are a fair number of pre Vanagon vans, while the majority of Vanagons here are water-cooled. All are usually fairly rusty.
Given a choice of a VW van (air-cooled) or a RWD Chrysler sedan, the sedan would have to be no newer than 1969.
I had no idea any Air Cooled VW engine lasted longer than the wasser boxers ~ .
Something new every day .
I sorta-kinda miss my various old VW Typ II Kombies , Parcel Deliveries and # 241 DeLuxe Micro-Busses .
-Nate
You sure don’t see this in the Northeast 🙁
+1 Have not seen a 5th Avenue in a long time. I did recently see a Vanagon though.
That’s an especially nice angle on the Fifth Avenue in the second picture. That particular car, in black with wire wheel covers and red interior, looks great to me. I remember these Chrysler M-bodies being presented as a slightly smaller alternative to the other RWD full-sizers from GM and Ford, but I remember Grandpa’s ’81 LeBaron sedan and his subsequent ’83 Fifth Avenue seating 6 (2 adults + 1 kid in front, 3 adults in back) with relative ease. Both were nice cars, and both provided mostly trouble-free operation during my grandparents’ annual snowbird treks between rural, northwest Ohio and southwest Florida. Grandpa had CB’s fitted in both cars, and Grandma had a candy tin stored beneath the drivers seat. Super quiet, comfortable ride with a great sound system. Grandpa and Grandma then went to Ford Panthers from ’85 on, but I always view these Fifth Avenues with fondness.
Those M body sedans may be ugly old hoopties, but damn if they aren’t unkillable. Ive seen several on CL for giveaway prices. Saw a ’85 Gran Fury that was so clean you could eat off it…price slowly went from $2500 down to $650 before someone nabbed it. I shoulda grabbed it myself. Why a 4 door sedan? Well…a clean reliable car for that kind of money is practically free….
I never could figure out why Chrysler did not fuel inject the M body 5th Ave. They made an airbag standard in 1989 in it. I think it might have been the only car offered in the USA with both a modern airbag and a carb(I am not counting the GM Airbag equipped cars as they were a bit of an experiment in the 1970’s)
Re: Why bother with airbags in M bodies? There was maybe a chance they would have built 1990 models? Same with the Omni/Horizon.
While I love the brougham look, the 2 extra doors on the New Yorker ruin it for me. But I would love to have that Westy. While I prefer the older versions, that one would do just fine. At least it still has the air cooled engine, which I am very familiar with. I can see myself traveling around the country in that. No motel bills. And no huge fuel bills like a motor home.
Ah, the Chrysler New Yorker I knew thee as the Dodge Diplomat pursuit vehicle. My dept. ran these for quite a few years. It was a huge improvement over the moribund St. Regis. The car was cramped inside but had a tidy compact size. The handling was pretty good and would run up to about 105 mph. The little 318 was a willing performer. The car held together pretty well inside and out. I had noticed that the Fifth Ave. looked well finished and plush and would make a comfy four passenger cruiser. The styling was very conservative but dignified andthe car exuded a very substantial feeling. I love the New Yorker name and thought that it was appropriate and classy on the newer LHS version. I wish Chrysler could bring that name back.
Being in Australia I love watching those early 90s movies that use the Diplomats for police cars ,they really look tough.
good to know they performed well
Love the Fifth Avenue! My wife and I drove away from our wedding reception in one of these in 1988. Dad worked for Chrysler and borrowed one for the weekend. My groomsmen swiped the key and tuned on everything – wipers, heater, radio full blast, so when I started the car with my lovely bride in the passenger seat we were startled, to say the least! I still look for a clean one sometimes, but no room in the garage….
Brother owned a 86 Westfalia Wasserboxer for many years, I think it had about 130k miles on it when he finally sold it. It still had the original engine, but blew the head gaskets twice while he had it, the second time a head cracked and also had to be replaced. He was moving cross country and was towing a U Haul trailer when the manual transmission also let go. He managed to make it to a repair shop with it clunking and grinding away, the whole trans was replaced with a rebuilt unit. He admitted trying to tow all that weight was a mistake. It was a nice van,but far from trouble free.