To me, nothing says “The Holidays” like getting in the car and going somewhere. This year, between Christmas and New Year’s, I decided to take in Humboldt County, a part of California I had never seen. Here are some of the classics I saw along the way.
Since the regional economy was historically based primarily on logging and fishing, I thought I’d be in for an endless stream of working old pickup trucks and nothing else. My first morning didn’t disappoint, thanks to this Eisenhower-era Ford F-series getting coffee in Old Town Eureka. But I shouldn’t stereotype so readily.
I guess there’s no place in the world where the 1962 Cadillac is not beloved, and it made me wish that I had made a more specific “I want a 1962 Cadillac for Christmas” wish. Come to think of it, I’d be hard pressed to turn down the rusty ’61 Corvair Coupe behind it. For the price of a new MacBook I could have a fun 24 Hours of LeMons racer.
Not a Corvair or Cadillac fan? There’s no shortage of random vintage General Motors iron spread around the Buy Here, Pay Here lots of Eureka! I don’t know how much this Wildcat coupe was going for, but it had what appeared to be a functioning CB radio to go with its Earl Scheib respray.
I say “Earl Scheib Respray” because when I attempted this night shot, I noticed that the fake louvers on the passenger side were were black and chrome. As you can see, the louvers on the driver’s side appear to have been painted over. I didn’t go on the lot to inspect how much rust this cheap paint job was covering up.
Such was a common theme among the classics scattered around. While our lead Continental would be the equivalent of the perfectly preserved Carson Mansion, all the other cars were a little bit tattered around the edges and worn, much like the everyday Victorian homes people actually live in around Eureka. The fact that Humboldt County is one of the wettest parts of California doesn’t help either.
Since it was the week after Christmas, many classics stayed securely locked behind showroom glass. This 1958 Squarebird shared space with a host of other classics either receiving care or seeking sanctuary from the humidity.
We’ll finish our tour of Eureka with a fittingly green Coupe DeVille–a nod to both the green of the Redwoods and that “other” plant the North Coast is so famous for. Here’s hoping all of my fellow curbsiders have a great time spotting and chronicling the rides of yesteryear on our streets throughout the New Year.
I wouldn’t turn down a chance to buy that 61 corvair if it weren’t so far from East Texas. Brings back memories of drivers ed. Just another thing that wasn’t appreciated in it’s own time.
The Buick Wildcat appears to have the same roof or greenhouse as used on the
Grand Prix and Monte Carlo.
Thanks for the great shots! It’s been 20+ years since I took in the charms of California’s “Lost Coast” and I’m glad to see that it’s still heralding its remoteness like a well deserved badge of honor. Don’t know if it’s still the case, but Eureka was home to the last remaining stoplights on 101.
101 still runs right through downtown Eureka. Hard to imagine that changing.
It sure was remote, more remote than I thought. The drive from Point Reyes Hostel to Eureka took me 6 hours. Granted I stopped in a few places on the way up, and took Highway 1 from Point Reyes to Leggett. But by comparison Morro Bay is only a 3 1/2 hour drive from Berkeley (well, with my “set the cruise control to 77mph ways…) although the distance is around the same.
A lot of 101 narrows down to two lanes to parallel the South Fork of The Eel River, so there were a lot of mad dashes up to 85mph followed by slowing down to 35 behind a logging truck. Sure kept me awake.
Great series on the Classics of Planet Humboldt. That part of the world also has many “farmers” that will resto-mod older vehicle on a all cash basis to have a nice and/or bad-arse car that does not attract attention.
Beware the Bears on 101. Humboldt and Mendo Counties likely have more CHP per capita that any other portion of California.
There is still a stoplight at US101 and Wabash in Eureka. The only car I’ve ever had totaled was my 1990 Legacy Wagon when I was stopped at a crosswalk in Nov of 2004 in Eureka near the courthouse.
Due to a 65ft overall length limit on US101 and CA 299 Humboldt is a strange island of semi-tractors where COEs still roam. Last time I was up there I saw loads of Freightliner Argosies, FLBs, Pete 362s and other vintage power. You also still see a fair number of truck & trailer lumber haulers.
It still runs through the heart of San Francisco, too. All stoplights along Van Ness and Lombard.
Stephanie spent much of her childhood/high school years in Arcata, just north of Eureka. And we’ve spent a lot of time there since. It’s a wonderful area, and there are great sights, old cars and trucks, hikes and other things to do. Next time there, don’t miss a tour through Blue Ox Millworks, a living history museum/functioning millworks, chock full of old machines and such. The owner Eric drives (or used to drive) a beat-up old ’51 Buick. He gives wonderful tours. http://www.blueoxmill.com/index.html
Coupe De Ville… Has any Cadillac been more memorialized in song?
Niel Young, “Coupe De Ville”
Joe Nichols, “Brokenheartsville” – “the Devil drives a Coupe De Ville…”
Ray Stevens, “Butterfly Inside A Coupe De Ville”
Help me out CCers…
(And I’m sorry ain’t nobody gonna write songs about the alphabet soup of car names we’ve got now.)
From 1977, here’s Meatloaf singing about the trials and tribulations of a romance near the end in “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad”…
“You’ll never find your gold on a sandy beach
You’ll never drill for oil on a city street
I know you’re looking for a ruby in a mountain of rocks
But there ain’t no Coupe de Ville hiding
At the bottom of a Cracker Jack box.”
The 1977 Cadillac Coupe de Ville:
I can remember thinking a 77 Coupe DeVille was really small. Oh well.
There’s also a song by the Del Fuegos called “Coupe De Ville.”
On the live version of Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves Of London” he ad libs the line “I saw a werewolf buying a used car in Del Mar / It was a blood red Coupe De Ville.”
Also, while not a coupe, in Chuck Berry’s “No Money Down”, he sings about buying a “yellow convertible 4-door De Ville”, though to my knowledge, no such creature ever existed.
Probably the most famous, “Maybellene” by Chuck Berry.
Just a sampling of some other CDeV songs:
Joe Nichols, Brokenheartsville
Del Fuegos, Coupe de Ville
Beastie Boys, Coupe de Ville
Rooster, Coupe de Ville
Kenny Weiland, Cruising in my Coupe de Ville
Not a song, but a guitarist. Poison’s C.C. DeVille. And yes, that’s what the C.C. stand for.
“Pink Cadillac”, by Bruce Springsteen.
The regional economy, as you say, was historically logging and fishing. Now Humboldt has been for many years the marijuana growing capital of the USA. Did you look for any cars that reflect this new age reality?
I’m not too sure I know what a “Weed Grower Special” would be. Part of me thinks It would be a late 80’s Cherokee…..
I can: a new or newish Toyota Tacoma 4×4 extended cab. Or something very similar.
Ditto. The Garberville/Fortuna/Weott/Scotia pakalolo growers favor the Toyota 4×4’s. Or did until the DEA and State of California got wise to them.
You missed some of the BEST metal found there in that area.
Such as the former Harvey Harper Motors Garage at 6th & A in Eureka.
Also, every July there is a large car show in Fortuna. It was called the “AutoExpo” until GM complained that they owned that name.
I did a Google Map Street View copy of some of the Harper gems.
Harper Motors was where the Cadillac and Squarebird were. There’s another showroom across the street but the pictures didn’t turn out so well. That Pinto in the corner, which was across the street, only has 44 miles on it.
Happy New Year, Laurence.
When driving in northern Cali in ’95, the oldies that stood out were the cabover school buses. They all seemed to be from the early ’50s yellow toaster school of design, complete with split rear windows. I assumed that they weren’t actually old, just that someone on the west coast kept on building an old design, a la Checker Cabs. Are they still around?
Those were mostly built by the two big West Coast bus makers, Crown and Gillig. The old ones are mostly gone from front-line service, but I’ve shot some up here that have a second life as “hippie buses”. Stay tuned.
According to this website, http://usedbusblog.com/antique-bus/crown-school-buses-crown-bus-motor-coach/ , those Crown school buses were produced from 1948-1991, a heck of a run. I remember riding to jr high in them (1965-67).
That Coupe de Ville with modern reflections, is that what it looks like to pass through a time portal? Note the “Honda” logo just off the point of the Caddy’s vee. Past and future.
Nice looking little community. My town tries to have that charm, in western PA. Heavy traffic through town all day long. I laugh when I drive past the Starbucks in the summer. The beautiful people sitting outside, enjoying car exhaust fumes along with their lattes. Just don’t light up, that would be horrible.
I love to see old cars used every day for errands and such. I try to do that as much as possible.
What town you talking? That kind of charm kinda approximates Windber, but it definitely isn’t Johnstown. One place I’ve been thru that looks like that is the county seat of Elk County – damned if I can remember the town’s name.
Beaver, PA. Around 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. I grew up in nearby Monaca. All the old towns used to be great. Beaver, PA was always congested, being the county seat. All in all, a nice town. A dry town, not many around.
Never been to Elk County. Farthest I’ve been is Franklin in Venango. Another charming town, but too much snow in the winter. Used to go to their Sunday Applefest car show. A great show, but far too crowded. Wall to wall people (in nice weather), parking is a nightmare. Haven’t gone for a decade or more.
Cheers!
I like to see the older cars still in use too. Last night on the way home with pizza, I was sitting in the left turn waiting for a light – it was a black night, so all I glimpsed was the characteristic taillights of a 1973 – 1975 big Chevy passing by in the through lane. I thought, well, if they’ll drive it in these conditions it must be a daily driver.
That picture of the green Caddy is a keeper
I took a motorcycle trip last summer from Grants Pass to Eureka via the Klamath River route. If you’re going to do this, bring an extra set of long johns, as 101 is quite chilly even in the summer.
September we drove down from Grants Pass through Crescent City and there was some sort of vintage motorcycle tour going on. Dozens of the coolest and oldest bikes I’ve ever seen. Most riders in period leathers and some with face goggles.
The photograph of the green Caddy is beautiful! Really……it’s poster worthy!
I have to echo the compliments on the photo of the Cadillac. It’s like an optical illusion: The invisible Caddy.
If we ever do a CC calendar, your photos are a shoo-in 🙂