Given the relatively rust-free climate in southeast Texas, one sees fewer old cars out and about than one might think. I put it down to the hot, humid summers; no matter how attached one might be to their vintage wheels, having non-working A/C (or none at all), when it’s 95 degrees with 80% humidity, tends to take some of the fun out of motoring. Thus, non-collectible vehicles may tend to get junked when one can no longer advertise ‘Ice Cold Air’ to prospective buyers, while the collectible ones tend to show up mostly during the winter and early spring weekends.
Nevertheless, if one keeps his or her eyes open, there are rewarding finds to be made around the region. This time around we’ll look at some Fords (and a couple of Mercurys) spotted within the triangle roughly defined by Houston, Victoria and San Antonio. Leading off is an odd couple of a rectilinear ’81 Mercury Cougar (with inevitable blingster rims) and a flounder-faced 2000 Ford Contour, both found on a used-car lot in Cleveland, TX.
Smack dab in the middle of the booming Eagle Ford shale oil play is the little town of Kenedy, TX, where this tasty ’39 Ford pickup was found on a side street. About the only things that give away the actual date are the license plate and windshield stickers.
Another evocative shot: a ’46 Ford coupe found along US 90 near Harwood, TX. It appears to have been mildly hot-rodded in a style appropriate for the period.
Automotive advertising along Highway 6 in Alvin, TX. After seeing another mid-’50s Ford sedan pulling similar duty in Winslow, AZ, I’m beginning to detect a trend. Judging from the color scheme, someone must be fond of Good ‘n’ Plenty candies.
The ’57 Thunderbird’s driver was inside the shop, upgrading his cell phone, when I got the shot. Rayford Road, the Woodlands, TX.
This sharp-looking early ’60s Falcon (Econoline) Club Wagon was spotted on the south side of Victoria, TX. The aftermarket wheels look pretty good on this one.
Next to the Club Wagon was an equally gorgeous ’65 Galaxie 500. The dished mags I could do without, but the rest is fine.
1966 is not my favorite year for Thunderbirds, but there are far worse. Found, I believe, in Edna, TX, near Victoria.
Not sure anyone really misses the ’75-’77 Granada all that much, but this one is in very good overall condition. Location is a back alley in downtown El Campo, TX.
On the same day and only a few miles away, a Mercury Monarch, sister to the Granada, turned up as well. The square headlights mark it as somewhere in the ’78-’80 range.
When was the last time you saw an intact Ford Courier, the Mazda-based truckette that preceded the Ranger? Spotted in Shiner, TX, near the locally-famed brewery of the same name.
The last rattling gasp of the Great Brougham Epoch, in the form of an ’88-’91 Mercury Grand Marquis. The area around Conroe, TX, where this shot was taken, seems to be something of an enclave for early Panthers.
We close with this shot taken along US 90 near Waelder, TX in May of this year. Nice day for a back-road wander. Cheers.
Nice “Grand Ma” and I love the deep tint in the windows. Also nice to see a fairly stock Panther of that vintage, usually if you see a one that old the paint and vinyl top are ragged beyond salvage.
The color combo is very similar to an early 1980s Grand Marquis that my Dad’s boss owned for the last 20 years of his life. The man had a Grand Marquis (purchased new) for his Sunday go to church car and for his wife to pilot to beauty salon appointments but when it came to his “work” car it was an early 80s Caprice wagon also purchased new and kept for a similarly long amount of time. I always thought they’re likely weren’t too many houses were a new Panther and a new B-body had to share space.
A great assortment. I may be one of about 9 people who loves that Cougar in the top shot.
As for those late 30s Ford pickups – am I the only one who finds these just not that good looking? The Ford cars of that era were stunningly beautiful, but the trucks were so uninspired.
And wow – both a Granada AND a Monarch. That shot of the Granada is perhaps the least photogenic angle for that car. The Granada was attractive from so many different angles, but certainly not that one. A nice batch of old Fords. Which would be my choice to take home? Either the 57 T Bird or the 49-50 ragtop.
I’m number 2 of the 9. Except for the wheels and tires.
Me three. I even like the metallic mint green paint. Reminds me of My Cousin Vinny…
Maybe a “yout” will buy it.
Agreed about the Ford trucks. That vintage was an obvious homage to the UP M-10000
The pick up is what I call a French bulldog so ugly it’s beautiful.I’m not much of a pick up fan but I really want to take this one home
The ’39 pickup may not have good looks, but that is an excellent shot of it. The ’65 Galaxie sedan looks almost exactly like one I posted to the cohort about a year ago, except for the odd choice of wheels.
My favorites from this bunch would be the ’57 T-bird and the ’46 coupe.
If you could have found a Versailles we could have had the tri-fecta!
I like the road trip articles you guys have been doing. I have a soft spot for the Granada/Monarch even though they were pretty bad cars… cramped, thirsty, slow and lousy fit/finish.
The Granada in the pic is a base and likely has the 250CID. I have always preferred the Monarch, still a handsome car. Ford styling began to seriously suffer after the G/M twins, just look at that Grand Marquis that came 10 years later.
In high school, a friend’s family had a ’76 Monarch sedan. 302 auto. That car was no slouch! It had a solid feel that was comfy to ride in and it held up pretty well mechanically. Sadly, the tin worm eventually had its way with it.
While I was in driver’s ed, our school updated their car. First was a ’76 or ’77 Ford sedan. V8 (not sure which one) & auto. Not a bad ride. The replacement was a ’78 Granada, I6 & auto. It had noticeably cheaper, tinny feel compared to the big Ford and my friend’s Monarch. I was impressed by the crisp handling, but man, talk about S L O W in the SE Ohio hill country.
But then, who was I to judge handling, as my only other driving practice was done in my brother’s ’70 Plymouth Fury III? What a boat!!
I remember my father’s 76 Monarch with the 351 as being quite fast.
You, sir, were a fortunate son!
Like I said, I wasn’t much of a Ford fan, but I liked the Granada / Monarch. Decently styled for the time. Nowadays, they’re the Rodney Dangerfield of cars. They don’t get no respect! 🙂
It’s amazing how clouded plastic headlights make a car look bad, compared the old glass sealed beams.
I dig the barrell nose truck but didnt that come out in 38 and I know you guys think Texas is big and hot do you realise there were farms in Australia bigger in area than Texas and compared to lots of OZ Texas aint very hot, icecold air sells cars there too. A 49-52 Ford that hasnt cracked the the rear arches must be quite a find like that vert those cars were very feeble and fell apart quickly on bad roads, the 46 wrap it I’ll take another but the Mondeo/ Contour make sure its the right model problems that Ford dont carry parts for here are legendary, like early Exploders NO parts are carried by Ford here and they give endless trouble.
Sorry people of the curb if you wanted great Fords shop Falcons in Aussie and you’ll see exactly why we think the taurus was a bad joke.
I was curious about that farm claim, I know there are big ranches in both TX and Australia, but apparently the biggest ranch in Australia is 9400 sq miles, big, but only about 4% the size of Texas at 268,000 sq miles. So Oz has some Israel or Belgium sized farms, not Texas. But keeping in mind that Texas is neither our biggest, nor hottest state. California has recorded the highest temperature on the entire planet, 134 degrees in Death Valley.
Goodness, what on earth are you doing wandering around Edna? Dad grew up in Lolita (10 miles south of Edna) I spent many summer trips going to family reunions in Lolita and blowing through El Campo and Edna, and Victoria.
I also wasn’t too far from there on my own back-road jaunt after doing the 2013 Power Tour in my ’77 Chevelle. 3600 miles in a 36 year old car, only malady was a dead starter in Biloxi.
My job takes me to the area periodically.
Heh, I sometimes wonder who all the women were who had towns named for them in the area.
Edna, Lolita & Victoria… Gotta be a joke in there somewhere. 🙂
Makes me jones for a road trip.
Re the Monarch, I have a good memory of these. I spent a very long 8 hours in the (cramped) back seat of a Monarch in July 1976. I was 13, returning from near Erie PA to my home near Philly after riding my bike across the state – the highlight of my life (until kids).
Dude… I’d LOVE to have that Fox Cougar to keep my ’78 Fairmont company!
That 1946 coupe sure reminds me of my old 48 2-door sedan – it’s the same greeny gray color. I see that it has a cream on black ’46 Texas plate too.
I think that the Ford pickup styling was unchanged from 1938 to 1939. Whether one likes that barrel-shaped grill or not, it was certainly distinctive (as in, no one ever copied it.) As far as that goes, Ford truck styling changed in a very slow and conservative fashion. I remember when I was about 12 and got a ride in a brand new bright red Ford pickup, which had the same body-color steel on the doors, and the same little niche in the top of the door panel by the window to serve as a grab handle to close the door, as the mid-1930’s trucks had.
I really like that Monarch. Never seen a sedan with the five-spoke wheels. Looks good! The ’66 T-Bird, ’46 Ford and ’39 pickup are also great finds. Love the ’57 T-Bird too, but I see so many of them at car shows and cruise nights…
Lots of nice ones there, even though I’m not big on Fords.
That ’39 pickup sure looks sweet! Or maybe the ’57 T-Bird. Decisions, decisions…
Driving older cars in Texas IS a challenge.
– I had the A/C fixed in the ’88 BMW 635 CSi yesterday, but [a] German cars of that vintage were hardly known for strong A/C; [b] when converted to R134, it’s even less effective, and; [c] the temp gauge climbed during slow moving traffic today, and in another 20 minutes set off the gauge warning light. Shutting off the A/C fixed everything, but rather defeated my investment.
– The ’75 Pontiac Grandville Convertible needs A/C work, but that’s not why you own a convertible… driving in traffic to attend a cruise when it’s still 96 – 100 at 8 p.m.?
– So car spotting in Texas this time of year is best from 11p.m. – 7:30 a.m. 🙂
Ooh, a ’75 Grand Ville Brougham! My favorite of the 1975 B-body “last convertibles.”
Good write up. It is nice to have a fellow Texan contributing articles. The hot climate is hard on cars as well as drivers. While cars in the snow belt rust away, here they tend to burn away, especially the plastic components. So the CC stock is less here than the milder climates. But they are still out there, you just have to look harder. And you found some good ones. Thanks.
Sweet collection of rides, and cool to see them all in south Texas! You don’t really see stuff like that in the Dallas ‘burbs.
On another note, isn’t the brewery in Shiner called the Spoetzl brewery? They make Shiner beer.
Yes, Spoetzl makes Shiner beer in the city of Shiner, Texas.
It drives me a bit crazy when the myth is perpetuated that Texas as a state must have weather like the far southeast region toward Houston. It is a BIG state of roughly 800 by 850 MILES dimensions encompassing TEN different climatic divisions. Y’all come visit the TX Hill Country (south central) and photograph us driving our variety of cars (not just Fords) year ’round.
>>It drives me a bit crazy when the myth is perpetuated that Texas as a state must have weather like the far southeast region toward Houston.<<
Wait, what? Who did that? I'll ask them to stop.
This is Texas? Looks more like some wormhole to an alternate universe where Fords are cool, tasteful and age gracefully. One notable exception, of course, but if it weren’t for the DoNk SpiNnAzzZ, that would be the sweetest Fox Cougar of all time. Never been a fan, but 99% of them I’ve ever seen (or noticed? I’d likely mistake this for a Grand Marquis) were the cheesy XR7 version. Much nicer as a clean, un-vinyl-adorned sedan, and that color is great on it.
The pickup and ’46 coupe are beautiful and I love the scenery in the background. I’m also really digging those funky wheels on the Galaxie. Normally I’m not into stuff like that at all, but it works for me with the well-worn light blue paint and sedan body.
There’s just something wrong about a 4 dr Cougar…it’s a bottom of the barrel in Cougar history. I do like the Ry Cooder reference in the title though, because “… that’s the way the girls are in Texas!”