I always enjoy attending the local swap meet despite usually not making any big purchases. It probably helps that it occurs in the doldrums of winter when nothing much else automotive-wise is happening. As luck would have it, the event has always seemed to correspond with a break in the weather, which makes spotting Curbside Classic material in the parking lot like shooting fish in a barrel. Follow along to see the 2015 edition highlights.
We will start our tour outside as there are always several punters trying to flog their project vehicles without having to pay an entrance to the meet. This pair of 1962 Dodge stations wagons are prime examples. Closest to the camera is a 330, and a 440 sits at the front of the long trailer.
The bodies looked weathered but solid. The interiors were predictably rough from long term storage. The 440 sports a Montana license plate which might be a hint of where this pair has been hiding the last couple of decades. The information sign tells us they were both V8, automatic and power steering-equipped cars. Both were offered engineless at $1,500 each, with a 413 or 440 available for separate purchase from the same seller.
Perhaps the pair of Dodges look too complete and you would rather have more of a challenge? This nearby 1941 Ford Super Deluxe offers up a reasonable looking shell but with enough missing parts to offer the opportunity of spending many evenings of chasing down obscure parts.
The interior shows plenty of damage received from long-term outdoor storage and missing side windows. The steering wheel has held up remarkably well however.
This one had a $1,000 asking price and languished for a few weeks after on the local classified site. The price eventually dropped to $750 before the ad disappeared. Perhaps the missing rear axle presented too much of a transport challenge to potential buyers.
A couple of generations of Chevrolet Suburbans parked next to each other.
This Chevrolet Apache 32 pickup truck combines both old and new in one vehicle. It has the classic body on a more modern chassis.
It even had a modern (late 90s?) dashboard swapped in. The interior is one of my favorite aspects of a classic vehicle, so I am not sure I would have made the interior swap myself, but it looked well executed.
A retired Cadillac hearse spots an obligatory skull vanity license plate.
This slightly battered 1963 Oldsmobile Starfire two-door will hopefully make a nice project for someone.
It has obviously been sitting a long time, since moss like this takes decades to appear on stationary vehicles here in dry Southern Alberta.
Taking a break from GM vehicles for a moment, here we can see a nice 1953 Ford Customline with a Volkswagen van and a 1960 Studebaker Lark in the background.
The Lark VIII was a V8 car that had been saved from a scrap metal recycling yard and was looking for a new owner.
This slightly worn but still solid looking Fox body Mustang sported the important GT trim level and 5.0 badges. These earlier, sealed beam-equipped examples are getting a little thin on the ground.
The interior is very red but also in nice, well preserved condition. A manual gearbox is a welcome sight and should offer decent performance with that V8 engine.
Here is one you do not see too often on this continent. No, not a Lexus, but a right-hand-drive, Japanese market Toyota Altezza–the first one I have come across, as it is an unusual choice of car to import.
A couple of older trailers were stored on the grounds. For some reason the smaller fiberglass ones have always held an appeal for me. While this one is not a Boler, it is in the same style as those iconic little trailers. The Boler ones are actually quite collectible and command a premium price. Sadly, the compact size would not make it very usable for my family of five. We will stick with our less visually interesting but more practical large tent trailer.
Another project car on a trailer: A 1960 Oldsmobile Eighty Eight sedan with a seemingly very reasonable $1,100 asking price.
These swap meets are usually dominated by domestic metal, so I do not have much to offer the fan of classic Japanese cars. Maybe this once common but now rare Honda Civic station wagon will suffice. It even has old fashioned leaf springs at the rear to fit in with the old time muscle cars.
I do not ever recall these J-body Oldsmobile Firenzas being particularly common even when new, but they must be legitimately rare these days. This one even sports a surprise…
a manual gearbox! Thus equipped it has to be at almost unicorn status. 
The rear bears a resemblance to the more common Ciera. Hang on for the next installment when we leave the parking area and enter the swap meet itself.
What a treasure trove! I’m especially impressed to see that Dodge wagon. And how in holy hades does one put a newer dashboard in an older truck and have it work?
That can be quite a job. The guy who built my old Dodge pickup transferred most of the 1974 Chrysler instrument panel along with all the mechanical bits onto the pickup, so it was wired much the same as it had been in the car.
Quite the diverse bunch; I’m strangely drawn to those Dodge wagons too.
Hmmm, a Firenza sedan with a manual transmission.
Being a Ford fan, that 41 Super caught my eye but I don’t have the skills or money for that kind of project so I would have to go with the Mustang.
This is in Canada , correct ? . lots of nice looking cars there ~ those two Dodge Wagons really _NEED_ to be saved .
I like the looks if not the driving and mechanical aspects of old Fords , I thought the ’41s all had different headlights .
That one looks to be an easy Hot Rod , just scrap the original frame and build it to suit .
Here in So. Cal. the Swap Meet Promoters all got the local Governments to ban parking for blocks around , too bad as that’s where the real deals for serious Moto Enthusiasts were always found ~ outside where their prices didn’t have to add in the entry fees .
-Nate
Yes, Canada.
I’d agree the ’41 looks like perfect hot rod fodder.
Yeah ~ were I to buy a Fox Body Mustang , that one looks just right .
-Nate
Aaaagggghhhh! The two Dodge wagons. Cannot remember the last time I saw a single one of those, and now two at once? Explan, please David, why you didn’t buy at least one of these? 🙂
That V8 Lark also appeals to me, though I would prefer a 2 door or a wagon. The good part though is that they are cheap and simple.
I’ve had my eye on another project. The Lark would appeal to me more than the wagons.
Altezzas are quite common here ex JDM the Lexus rebadge not so much, Boy racers love em.
I quite liked the Lexus IS200 with its straight six. A few years after its introduction it became available with a supercharger, supplied by Toyota’s TTE division in Cologne. So it came with full Toyota / Lexus warranty. With the supercharger it had 204 hp instead of the 155 horses of the standard engine. Back then some sporty Toyota models (Corolla TS and Celica TS) were also available with a TTE supercharger on the 1.8 liter engine.
These days the most powerful Toyota gasoline engine in Europe, apart from their Land Cruiser models,
is a 152 hp naturally aspirated 2.0 liter engine. It’s in the D-segment Avensis and RAV4.
I found an original TTE brochure of the IS200 supercharger:
http://www.is200.nl/kompressor/IS200_compressor.pdf
Toyota offered a wide range of add-on superchargers here through their TRD division. A friend bought a used Tundra 3.4 V6, and it had one! That was unexpected. They had them for most of their engines, including the 1.5 in my Xb. I was tempted a few times; mainly when passing someone in the mountains.
I just checked the TRD website, I had never heard of them. Some interesting stuff there ! It seems that Toyota Europe has censored the words “performance” or even “sporty”, so this is quite refreshing…
Many years ago I came across a Land Cruiser 70-series (the one with the old school looks) that had a supercharger installed on its 4.2 liter diesel. It towed a hell of a trailer.
More than 20 years ago we had this. The Toyota Carina E 2.0 GTi ! It had a 158 hp 2.0 liter engine,
the 3S-GE. Yet with a special cylinder head, a Toyota-Yamaha co-development. So in the early nineties their D-segment family car had actually more power than their current top model and had a GTi badge.
The Carina E (E for Europe) was really all over the place in its days. The more earthly 1.6 liter engine must have been the most common engine choice.
I realise that it’s not exactly a Toyota engine, but the GT86 (~200 bhp) is still available in Europe is it not?
Certainly, but it’s a rather expensive stand-alone model. So far I’ve seen only two. One of them was in the showroom of the Toyota dealership, right after its introduction and the other passed me on the freeway. Might have been the same, since they were both black.
I suppose it is easier to fit a modern dash into the old truck than it is to get a modern electronic drivetrain to work with ’50s analog controls/gauges, but it does lose much of the charm.
For some reason the ’60 Olds is the one that jumps out at me. Its always a little surprising just how much they toned down the ’59 designs in just one year.
I wonder if that Apache has the firewall and floorpan of the donor, it looks almost like they cut the donor truck’s cab off and lowered the similarly cut Apache cab on. That method would certainly solve a lot of mechanical problems like mounting brake and clutch pedals, making heater controls work, seats and seatbelts etc. The truck would also remain entirely modern. Maybe the builder was a better body man than a mechanic, the shiney paint would certainly point that way.
In the picture, the parking brake pedal does not look to be 50’s vintage, which supports my theory.
I’ve got a 2000 chevy pickup, an angle grinder, a handful of strong friends and a case of beer. I just need a shiney Apache that doesn’t run.
That caravan is quite a good shape. Blue Suburban for me.
Nice selection of parking lot finds! I also like the Dodge wagons, though that lowered pickup in the lead photo draws me in as well.
And a manual Firenza? Quite possibly the rarest one of them all.
Some nice finds! I actually love those Exener era wagons with their wierdo bodystyles. Could be lots of fun there!