donkincl posted a few vintage black and white shots at the Cohort that he says were taken in San Francisco around 1980. They’re evocative, as I remember well the many aging cars that were so commonly seen on the streets there back then. The first one, a 1947 Chrysler convertible, is a bit hard to take, as it’s both forlorn and rusty, either because it came from somewhere else, or lived near the beach. Did it survive? It would have taken a lot to save it.
No here’s something one isn’t too likely to see still being used in normal service: a 1942 Chevrolet Suburban. But old trucks, panel vans and Suburbans were more desire able than average back in the day, for their utility. And of course, they were cool.
Here’s a nice shot from above of a Mercedes coupe or cabriolet from the 60s.
And a street scene with a ’55 Mercury in the foreground.
That Chrysler could have been saved if it was done right after the photo was taken, The Chevy is in good nick its even had the wheels changed to a more modern variety possibly for better driveability.
Oh my, that Chrysler makes me wanna chry. (sorry 🙂 )
I was in college in 1980, and would occasionally see stuff like this. There were a couple of old ladies who drove around town in a navy blue Chrysler sedan of that era, but it was in stunning condition. My statistics prof used a rusty 47 Dodge sedan as his daily driver, too. And wow, those were about the same age as a 1980 car is now.
At different times, I saw a 55 DeSoto, a 56 Chrysler and even a 57 Chrysler 300C in student parking lots, all of them in varying stages of worn originality. And about 1985-86 I used to see an old lady driving a rusty Studebaker Hawk up and down North Meridian Street. When she would hit a pothole, every piece of sheetmetal on the car would quivver. They really did make them better in later decades.
JP, that really has as much to do with maintenance (or lack thereof). In 1990 or so I test drove a 1973 Barracuda that had Vermont plates. I could see that it had a lot of body rust, but I thought that the drivetrain might be worth the remarkably low price. When I drove the car, every piece of sheet metal on the car would quiver when it went over little bumps in the concrete paving. Clearly the rust wasn’t only in visible areas.
I ended up passing on the car. The 318 engine ran like it had a burnt valve, the Torqueflite transmission shifted sloppily, the steering felt loose. Even the rally wheels were too rusty to bother with.
I loved the old Fluid Drive Mopars. Old ladies would leave them in third gear and take off real slow from stop lights. Old Chrysler’s never die, they just ooze away.
Ah vintage classics. I wonder how many were destroyed in the 1989 earthquake? I saw plenty of pictures on TV during that time showing houses collapsed on top of vintage cars over the next few days after the earthquake.
It’s weird really – many of us remember 1980, but can’t relate to seeing cars of this age(say the 1947 Chrysler) or era around. Yet we now celebrate 30 year old cars….
I was 18 in 1980, and Morris Minor was about as old as it got, except for an early 1960s Fiat 500 a friend had, with about 6 of us in it going for beer……happy days…..
I was thinking the same, Roger. By 1980 even early 1960s cars were rare in London. I remember thinking how lucky I’d been to find a late 1950s Hillman Minx in a secondhand car lot around 1981/2. Of course, the propensity of anything built before the mid-1970s to rust and the regular salting of the roads each Winter probably had a big hand in that.
I went to London on a vacation last year. I was surprised that I really wasn’t seeing many classic cars on the street. A quick look at my local Barnes and Noble shows a huge variety of British classic car magazines yet I kept expecting to see a treasure chest of these cars.
I was just in London and cars over ten years old, unlike anywhere in the US, were rare. Just a couple of years ago I was amazed to see a perfect four door MG 1100 parked on the street in SOHO amidst all the new cars. And a perfect Citroen BX on a neighborhood street in Cambridge this year. This kind of thing is rare there.
Today in Brooklyn on my block of mostly recent cars one very nice leather interior Cadillac deVille from 1988 or so (the compactish very square tall window kind) just popped up along with a Chevy Nova from some model year I haven’t seen in as long as I can remember and featuring completely faded to flat blue (originally) paint. Around the corner there’s a Ghibli and a Range Rover Sport parked on the street. Not like London at all.
My daughter is driving our old Mazda 323 ( Familia/ Protege) which is now 20 years old. The engine and transmission are fit, the electric windows still work, all is good after 190 K miles. Next February however it will need a new test-ticket , which would probably require new front calipers, rear struts, maybe new drivers seatbelt, and it’s due for a new cambelt, and the original clutch can’t last much longer. I expect we will scrap it since we would need to spend twice its’ value to keep it.
I drive a 13 year old car. When I put myself in my dads shoes – adjusting the year – it would be the equivalent of him daily driving a 1972 car in 1985, which would have been unimaginable at that time.
1980 I drove a 1960 Singer Gazelle a 1965 Vauxhall Velox 3.3 and a 1955 Morris Isis there were plenty of older cars in daily use in NZ.
Wow, nice shots. Birdsview Merc my fave.
True..in the early 80’s the oldest cars I remember seeing as daily drivers were early 70’s GM cars, early Aspen/Volares and a few early 70’s LTDs not much from the 60’s or earlier.
I used to take a short vacation in San Fransisco every January in the early to mid 1970’s and the cars were simply fabulous as were all the Junk Yards in (?) San Mateo , and so on , chock full of 1940’s onwards cars and trucks in (to me) VGC needing only regular refurbishment tp be road worthy again .
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Watch any old Dirty Harry , The Laughing Policeman etc. movie from that time period , the back grounds are chock ablock with Automotive jewels .
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Sadly most of those wonderful old cars were owned by poor kids , students , hippies and what are now called ‘ hipsters ‘ ~ all of whom liked the idea but not the reality of an old car so they got pretty much _zero_ maintenance and were driven into the ground .
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-Nate
This colorful shot-on-the-streets-of-SF travelogue (1955) always takes me back in time. Lots of nice rides to be spotted, but–to my eye–a surprisingly low percentage of prewar cars (back when “prewar” was just 15 years previous):
The traffic on the Bay Bridge was still two-way on the upper deck. So there were Key trains on the lower deck.
From 14:58 to 15:20 you can see the hood ornament. So…what car were they driving?
The hood ornament does come into (better) view now and then; I figure it’s a ’55 Cadillac:
Well pre war cars were pretty much used up by the end WW2 due to no new cars being made and rations of gas, rubber tires and metal(for body work) and repair parts meant that it was hard to repair the car during that time and many were ether sitting and rotting away or barely running. Due to the great Depression in the 1930’s there were not as many 1930’s cars around to begin.
This is why 1946-1957 were golden years for US car makers because the public was so starved for new cars, they could not keep many on the lot for long.
Fantastic shots. Normally I’d comment on the subject matter (And that ’47 Chrysler is amazing with its natural patina, if we’re calling it that.) But the shotew themselves are amazing!
I always have to put it in perspective to really get pictures like that;
1980
33 yr old Chrysler
38 yr old suburban
25 yr old mercury
2015
1983 lebaron conv
1977 surburban
1990 grand marquis
a lebaron in that shape would be rare sight any I have seen of that period are usually in shows
actually know of a couple suburbans of that period still toodling around
90 mercury…check your local demo derby…(and that isn’t a shot..they are just at that stage of life)
That Chrysler sure has patina and that has to be sea spray patina. Surprised how weathered the license plate is considering it is from the mid-1960s. Also surprised how dent free the body and bumpers are. Wonder how much longer that Chrysler lasted?
When I lived in San Francisco I rode my bike along the Great Highway a lot and there were a couple of cars that got rustier every time I went by. Nothing like 24/7 salt spray and salty fog condensing on a car from before they were galvanized. In the Northeast cars used to start losing their rocker panels after a just a few years.
Who recognizes this movie scene?
Dunno, but it hurt watching the big Packard being pulled out of the water in The Big Sleep.
The end of “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane”. Bette Davis`1948 Continental, incorrectly identified as a `40 in the movie, right?
That’s what I thought, too.
Right on, Phil.
My dad went looking for a work beater in about 1983 or so and I fondly remember peaking in the filthy windows of various 50’s-ish Detroit iron sitting in the overgrown lots next to small dealerships here around Sarasota. My favorite was the ’56 or ’57 Buick we looked at with its aftermarket AC unit and 70’s era 8 track installed.
Funny thing; there are still plenty of 25-30 year old cars in these parts with the lack of snow and all, but they just don’t seem as “old” to me. Maybe the gulf between cars, design-wise, was greater between the 50’s-80’s than the 80’s-today?
I think the gulf, design-wise, was definitely greater. I was thinking about that the other day…my daily driver is nearly 20 years old (1997 Crown Victoria). It looks dated, but it doesn’t look like it belongs to a completely different era of design. Compared to when I started driving, at age 16 in 1996–the equivalent would be a ’78 LTD, the last year of the *big* pre-downsized Fords. That would have looked much more out of place in traffic. If you go back to 1980, both the year I was born and the year these photos were taken, you’d be talking about a ’62 Galaxie. Which would have, again, seemed to belong to a completely different era. Much closer to the 50’s than to 1980.
I do think it comes down to build quality and rust resistance. In my early memories of cars, mid 80’s, seeing a 1940’s or 1950’s car in traffic would have made me stop and stare, as they were already considered classics. There just weren’t that many left. Even cars of the 60’s weren’t common. Now? While seeing a 70’s or 80’s car in traffic will make me take notice instantly, they don’t have that same “classic” vibe. And 90’s cars are of course a dime a dozen.
The only 25 to 30 year old car you get to see here daily is the Mercedes W124. Still driven hard, fast and with no mercy. And none of them look like they could collapse any moment….Damn, these cars were (and are) good…
Plenty of W201s still around too, but they seem to be treated with more respect and are often owned by enthusiasts. The contemporary W126 is very rarely used as daily driver, yet it’s a popular hobby-vehicle / collectible.
Furthermore several VAG-products of that age hold on just fine and are still used as daily drivers. Volkswagens Polo, Golf, Passat, T4 Transporter and the Audi 80.
One of them, a 1992 W124 250D with 760,000 km on the clock and obligatory trailer hitch.
In 1980 I was driving a 14 year old VW Fastback and a 10 year old Chevy C10. Now in 2015 it’s a 29 year old Jetta and a 11 year old Titan. Both VW’s were drive to work cars, and both trucks were weekend warriors. Today I still drive the VW more than the truck. It’s hard to remember back when these pictures were taken how common cars like these shown still were, although even back then the ’47 Chrysler would have been a rare sight.