Last Saturday I felt the need to hit the road and check out a car show in Kewanee, a town about 45 miles southeast of the Quad Cities. Kewanee, a small town in Henry County, Illinois, has three claims to fame: It is known as the Hog Capitol of the World; was home to the Kewanee Boiler Corporation until 2002; and has a gigantic downtown furniture store, Good’s, that comprises several interconnected historic buildings and houses a rathskeller in the basement. But I was not here for hogs, boilers, or a Barcalounger. I was here for cars.
I knew I had made the right decision to come when the very first car I saw was this immaculate 1960 DeSoto Fireflite four-door hardtop. This was the next-to-last year for the “junior Chrysler”, and the last year they really looked good. The 1961 model–with its shall we say, unique facelift–just didn’t compare.
The instrument panel is really cool. I was somewhat surprised that it didn’t have the rectangular Lucite steering wheel. Perhaps that was a Mopar accessory?
Typical of Exner’s 1957-61 designs, fins dominate this car. Despite their only minor cosmetic differences from the 1960 Chryslers, these DeSotos managed to have a bit of their own identity.
As you can tell from the pictures, I really liked this one, and especially so because it was a four-door. I’m sure most restored ’60 DeSotos are two-door hardtops. Good for the owners, who rescued a four-door!
Right next to it was a ’64 Galaxie 500XL. Since we just did a full story on the ’64 Galaxies, I won’t dwell too much on this one.
Still, I really like the ’64 full-size Fords, so let’s take a look at the front before moving on. Just to its right sat another ’64, this one a Galaxie 500. Usually I don’t see these at shows, so it was funny to see two of them side-by-side. Even more unusual was the total absence of ’64 full size Chevys at this show.
I’m sure JPCavanaugh will like this ’56 DeSoto Fireflite Sportsman. It was especially fetching in coral pink and white with a black and white interior.
While little-changed from the all-new “Million Dollar Look” ’55s, the ’56 DeSotos added modest fins and “Tri-Tower” taillights, a styling feature that would last through the 1959 model year.
The interiors were equally sharp, with a “Gullwing” instrument panel. I believe you could get an optional Benrus clock in the steering wheel hub; sadly, this example is not equipped with it.
Although ’56 T-Birds are not rare at car shows, this one stood out with its color combination and wire wheels, which were a Ford accessory.
Interestingly, the owner had covered the engine-turned dash applique with what appeared to be Di-Noc woodgrain. It wasn’t stock and it looked all right, but why would you want to cover up that sharp aluminum trim? Sun glare, perhaps?
Right next to the Thunderbird was a ’57 Ford Fairlane 500 Sunliner. Ford actually outsold Chevy in 1957, but you would never know it today. A friend of mine had a ’57 Ford as his first car. Know what his hobby car is today? A ’57 Bel Air hardtop!
Further into the park was this ’64 Mercury. I’m sure Lee Wilcox will like this one, as it looks an awful lot like his ex-Curbside Classic.
I wonder, is Merle the name of the car or the owner?
Towards the back of the park was the customs/work-in-progress section. Here we have a ’53 Cadillac that someone apparently is trying to turn into a two-seat Thunderbird. Looks like it started out as a Series 62 sedan.
The interior was changed as well, with wood trim and lots of extra gauges added. Only the original Cadillac clock remains.
There was also this very tough looking Studebaker pickup. I like the whitewalls and disc wheel covers on the front. Its rear tires are much wider than those of any stock Studebaker in memory. Wonder what’s under the hood?
There was also this Starsky and Hutch replica–at least on the outside. The interior was tuck-and-roll crushed velour that extended to the dashboard and headliner. The hood ornament indicates this was once a Gran Torino Brougham.
Now this is not one of Lee Wilcox’s Sunday Salons, but I couldn’t help taking a pic of this sharp 1957 Harley Davidson. That black cherry paint is gorgeous.
I was now coming to the truck section, and my eye was immediately drawn to this nice 1974-76 Ranchero 500. It was subtly modified, which only enhanced its looks.
The dual exhaust and slight rake suggest that the engine is not the 250-cu in six that was available for the last time in ’74. In 1975, the 351 V8 was standard, and 400- and 460-cu in V8s were optional.
Both the Ranchero and El Camino were still available at this time. The last Ranchero came off the line in ’79, but the El Camino (and related GMC Caballero) lasted all the way to 1987.
Vintage-truck fanciers will like this turquoise 1955-56 Chevy pickup. I like the white rally wheels that match the stock painted bumpers. Chrome bumpers cost extra.
Since I just showed you a Ranchero, I’d be remiss to not include this ultra-clean 1985 El Camino. I prefer the quad-headlight front this one sports to the earlier 1978-81 dual headlight version.
I just love the looks of these, and this one looks great in its two-tone black and silver and Rally wheels. A sheet on the car said it had been sold brand new at Yemm Chevrolet, in nearby Galesburg.
The interior was just as nice as the exterior. And look, a burgundy interior–not black or gray like new cars. Nice.
Being surrounded by Big Three iron made this long-wheelbase W126 the odd man out at this show. Like most Mercedes between the Paul Bracq era and the last W124s and W126s, its styling is timeless.
This one was a 1986 420SEL, Smoke Silver with a perfect saddle-tan interior and sunroof. It’s hard to believe this car is 26 years old. What a great shape, and what great shape it’s in; it could easily pass for a new car.
Right next to it was this Monte Carlo SS Aeroback, built as a NASCAR homologation special. This one looked great in black with a burgundy interior and T-top.
I had to admire this ’70 Sport Satellite–not just for its sharp green paint job, but for the simple fact that it had not been turned into a Road Runner or GTX “tribute” car. These days, Satellites probably are rarer than the “hot” Plymouth B-bodies.
There was even a Pinto Mustang II. This one was really nice with its decidedly non-stock engine and side exhaust. Not the Mustang’s best years, but this one has beaten the odds.
I was immediately attracted to this Grabber Yellow Boss 302. My dad got a brand new one, as his high-school graduation present, which was exactly like this example only with a black interior. Eventually, he sold it to buy a 1960 Porsche 356B Roadster. My mom, who was dating him at the time, couldn’t believe he got rid of that “nice yellow Mustang” to buy an old German car that looked like an upside-down bathtub. She married him anyway.
There was also this gold 1973 Firebird with a 350-cu in V8. The alloy wheels with knock-offs aren’t stock, but they suit Bill Mitchell’s Ferrari-inspired lines.
I spotted this ’77 Monte Carlo as I was walking into the show, and absolutely HAD to check it out. This Landau looked great in red and white, and has a very rare option: the “Sky Roof” power sunroof. I’d never before seen a Colonnade Monte with this option.
Whoever originally ordered this car must have checked every box: Sky Roof, Rally wheels, buckets and console, sport mirrors, etc.–and just look at that red interior! I ask again: Why can’t we get red, blue, green, and white car interiors anymore?
Like every Monte Carlo since the beginning, the ’77 model could be identified by a revised grille (the 1976’s grille-mounted emblem was moved into a stand-up hood ornament) and taillights. This was the last year for the ‘big’ Monte Carlo, which would be replaced with a downsized version for 1978.
As a kid growing up in the 1980s and 1990s I saw lots of these, most of them worn out and rusty. My dad had a silver-blue ’77 Monte as a company car, but it was long gone by the time I came around. So I’m glad to be seeing these more and more often at shows in nicely restored condition, as opposed to the rust buckets I remember from the late ’80s.
There was also this example of one of the last G-body Cutlass Supremes, a 1987 or ’88 442. This one was mint and bone-stock, with original Olds Super Stock wheels and T-top. I really like these late Supremes with their composite headlights. It’s too bad they were made with this front end for only two years.
Another nice find was this 1969 Buick Wildcat. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen one of these in the metal before, unless you count the 1969 or ’70 Electra 225 I saw at a Maid-Rite cruise-in about 10 years ago. Just like the ’77 Monte, this car looked great in red and white, with the added bonus of a white interior. What’s more, those Buick rally wheels are some of the best-styled wheels ever.
Like all of GM’s big cars, full-size Buicks were all new for 1969, so 1970 brought only minor changes. It was also the last year for the Wildcat, which was replaced in 1971 by the even-bigger Centurion–not nearly as cool a name as Wildcat, and the public apparently agreed; the Centurion only lasted through 1973.
Most of the cars at the show were nice, but this humble ’65 Fairlane was prepped to a near-concours level. It just glowed. The ’65 Fairlane used the same chassis as the pretty ’64, but the addition of styling cues from the all-new ’65 full-size Ford produced somewhat mixed results. I like ’em myself.
The 289 in this car was remarkably tidy. You can click on the picture for a better view of the reproduction FoMoCo tags placed throughout the engine compartment.
While first-gen Camaros are commonly seen at car shows (this one was no exception), their Firebird brethren are much more scarce. This ’68 caught my eye and looked quite good in silver-blue metallic.
Yes, I know these 1968-72 Chevelles are not rare, but this one made me stop in my tracks. Red with white interior, and just bloomin’ immaculate.
I’m a sucker for white interiors, and this one looked great. This SS is a bit unusual due to its bench seat and column shift instead of buckets and a console. Check out the vintage instruction and feature sheets on the sun visors!
Of course, I had to inspect this Brougham-era ’73 Charger SE. The SE had been around since at least 1970, but in 1973 it got a new roofline with a canopy vinyl top and slatted opera windows. Ironically, this one had been given a hopped-up engine, Go-Wing and a bumble bee stripe on the back: The Brougham Muscle Car.
The muscle car era was ending, and the luxurious SE was far more popular than the Charger Rallye. Yes, the times were changing. Muscle was out and luxury was in.
Despite the car’s sporty exterior modifications, the interior was left untouched–right down to the distinctive steering wheel and iridescent-green vinyl bench seat. A blast from the past, to be sure.
Although I was pretty much walked-out by this point, I just had to circle back and check out this 1926 Model T. Nineteen twenty-six was the next-to-last year for the Model T, and this one looked very nice indeed.
This was a pretty good show that presented a variety of cars I’ve never seen at the Quad Cities shows. I hadn’t attended it before, but I’ll be back next year.
Lots of great cars at this show. Thanks for sharing. Of the cars featured, my favorite would be the ’60 DeSoto. My only beef with it is that they didn’t have the beautiful Astra-dome instrument cluster that the Chryslers did.
Love the tour, tom. Thanks!
quick question —— the black Marauder, is that the original roof? I thought the car’s roof was more squared off than this one we see here.
Yes. It was the same semi-fastback roofline shared with the Galaxie 500. You could also get the reverse-slant Breezeway roof on 1964 Mercurys. My friend K.V. Dahl has an original-condition burgundy ’64 Park Lane two-door hardtop with the Breezeway roof. Very sharp!
OVERLOAD!!! Great post.
Thoughts: The ’60 DeSoto looks fantastic! That gauge cluster looks like something out of Mission Control—more buttons than a mid-80s Maxima!
The ’85 El Camino is a gem. In my eyes, the best-looking G-body sheetmetal…and there’s some stiff competition in that arena.
’77 Monte: Colonnades of any stripe look exponentially better in bright primary colors. Shame that so many were sold in shades of green and brown. Big brash red looks great on that car.
’69 Buick Wildcat…that car is just thick, in a good way. Reminds me of the all-original ’70 Wildcat we had in the shop for a while a few years ago. A nice middle-aged lady had inherited the 455-powered beast from her father, and had NO idea what she was getting into. She had us tune it up, then sold it…for cheap.
Again, great post. Love a show with variety.
Seriously cool iron there. Those 86 Monte Carlo Aerocoupes are extremely rare, with only 200 made. I saw one on I-5 South just south of Portland about 2-3 months ago.
I’m not just a homer – I’ll take Merle’s 64 Merc and the 69 Buick along with the 56 De Soto.
Great writeup, Tom – wish I had known about it, I would have driven up!
Lots of great cars. I’ll take the 64 Merc, 69 Wildcat, and 73 Firebird.
Oh and the Boss 302 for sure.
In regards to the Wildcat they didn’t seem to sell that well. It was the sporty full size Buick and I don’t think that many people wanted a sporty full size Buick. I’m not sure the price difference but it had to be a pretty good step up from the LeSabre since you got the 430/455 from the Electra bucket seats, console ect. So my guess is it wasn’t that much more money to move up to the Electra which was seen as a more upmarket car.
Unfortunately, very very very few of the Wildcats were ordered with bucket seats & console. I’ve never seen a ’69 or ’70 model so-equipped. “Wildcat” is my favorite car name ever — hopefully a ’66 model will be in my future in some point.
“Firedome” is my second favorite name. You gotta love the script style too…check out the font on that Fireflite!
That is funny because I’ve never seen a 2dr Wildcat w/o the buckets and console.
The Wildcat was that famiar old Buick formula that had started way back with the Century, the big senior series car motor in the junior series car, even tough by this time you could get a big motor in a LeSabre if you just checked the right options, the Wildcat was still “the bankers hot rod” in a sense, like the Century, sadly by this time, there were few takers and the Wildcat slid away into history like many other “bucket seat biggies” from this era like the Pontiac 2+2. Bucket seats were available on a Wildcat, but they were really rare as others pointed out. The bucket seats on the Wildcat were the very cool Buick exclusive throttle style U-handle shifter like you would see on a Rivera or Skylark GS.
I almost have come close to buying a 70 Wildcat on 2 occasions, but both times I have passed.
No you couldn’t get the big car motor in the LeSabre in 69-70, the top engine was part of the LeSabre 400 package which got you the 350-4 backed by a Turbo 400. It bumped the CR up too so it needed premium fuel. I don’t know why but you couldn’t even get the short lived 400 from the GS 400 or Sport Wagon. The later cars were the same way if you wanted the big motor you had to step up to the Centurion or Electra.
From 71 and up the 455cid V8 is an option on the LeSabre, you’re right from 69-70 though, I forgot about the LeSabre 400, since it was available from 71-76 on the LeSabres I thought it was the same before 71 as well.
Funny that in 71 the 455 is standard in the Centurion and by 73 it was optional with the 350 standard.
In 1970 there were three models of the LeSabre:LeSabre, LeSabre Custom, and LeSabre 455. Buick built a little over 63,000 LeSabres, a little over 118,000 LeSabre Customs (wow), but only 17,565 455 cars.
The only LeSabre convertible offered in ’70 was at the Custom Level & 2,487 were built…meaning my best friend in AL’s car is quite rare indeed! It has the 350 2bbl engine, 3.08 gears and torque that surprised the heck out of me when I used to drive it.
I used to keep tabs on a green ’70 LeSabre 455 sedan that used to run around Jasper, AL. Sadly, it wound up being driven across the scale of my dad’s old scrapyard with a pretty severe engine knock. I was powerless to save the car since it was a POS as far as my dad was concerned.. sigh.
BTW, the 1970 LeSabre 455 cars had a 455 emblem underneath the rear quarter panel LeSabre script so they’re easy to spot. Their 455s were rated at 370 brake horsepower & close to 500 ft lbs of torque — a total sleeper if there ever was one.
Actual LeSabre 455 production:
5,469 2-door hardtops
6,541 4-door hardtops
5,555 4-door sedans
Buick went back to just two LeSabre models after ’70: base & Custom. Many years ago when I snuck over to our competitor’s scrapyard I saw a ’73 LeSabre “Custom455”. I believe it was the only 455-equipped ’73 LeSabre I’d ever seen. What was interesting was the “Custom455” emblem itself was a one-year-only, one piece deal, cast for that car only. What twisted the knife in my back was the fact that this car was a white 2-door, raped of its drivetrain. It had the gross saddle interior with no power options but it did have the rare CD3 fingertip windshield wiper feature (at button on the end of the column shift lever) — only one I’d ever seen.
I just can’t stop posting about cars like this — sorry!
So I was right, why did I ever doubt myself. There was a LeSabre with a 455 in 70.
Post on, I am a land barge fan.
The fingertip wiper control was usually seen on Rivieras with a column shift of the same vintage, I believe Oldsmobile offered it to for a little while. I have seen in on a green loaded up 73 Centurion that keeps coming up for sale on ebay every 6 months or so, just taunt me. Its a 455 fairly loaded car.
I still regret not purchasing a loaded 74 Deuce and Quarter sedan about 10 years ago, Limited trim, black with a blue interior, she even had Max Trac. I still keep an eye out for another one, but they are few and far between
I did not know that the slipped the 455 in the LeSabre for 70 since I think they really messed up the looks of the front end for both the full-size and Riv.
It is strange that in 73 they added the 455 back to the LeSabre offerings while they simultaneously made the 350 the base engine in the Centurion. Sort of made the Centurion redundant and I guess that is part of the reason that was it’s last year.
It was availble on the LeSabre from 71 and up.
Pontiac 2+2 = the executive??
I think it was the Star Chief that became the Executive. I think that the 2+2 was a different thing.
Yes. Chevy Impala SS = Pontiac 2+2 = Buick Wildcat(->Centurion) = Olds Starfire(->Delta 88 Custom)
Someone get the Starsky & Hutch Torino some sloted mags STAT!
No joke!
Preach it!
I just noticed they are not even the right wires for that vintage Torino, they are like a from an 80’s Thunderbird.
Yah, this is one of the few places where I’m anti-whitewall. Fake wires should be acetylened on the spot, of course.
Fake wires have their place to, for example, I cant think of a 77-84 Coupe deVille with out the proper Cadillac fake wires, but they have no place on an S&H replica.
All beautiful cars. My favorites are the two Desotos, leaning towards the 56 coupe as favorite. The 60 needs the lace over “old guy steering wheel cover” (for lack of a better term).
I had them on every old steering wheel I’ve ever owned.
Great pics – thanks. Though this is a nice example, the 65 Fairlane was my least favorite year; the awkward changes on the last of this generation just did not work. My dad ordered a new 64 Fairlane 500 Sports Coupe – a sleeker, better styled version of the previous year – and in no way did we think the 65 was an improvement.
Ah, machined dashes.
Random musings…
The symmetric “balanced” dash layout of the DeSoto is beautiful…and the dash mounted RV mirror rules.
I don’t understand what’s cute about stuffed animals in car shows. Why.
It amazes me the ’57 Fords sold so well. It’s one of the few old American cars I find incredibly ugly.
The owner did a fabulous job of destroying that old Cadillac. He needs to replace the original clock with the digital one that was probably installed in the GM product he got the steering column out of.
On the positive side, kudos to the owner of the green Sport Satellite for keeping it a green Sport Satellite. Nice car! Same for the Firebird owner for not adding a hole in the hood or spoiler…not wild about the wheels though.
Love the ’77 Monte. Nothing would be cooler than to park Chris’ Lime unit next to this one. What an odd-ball car: it had to be a customer order. All those options…sunroof, lighted visor mirror, swivel buckets, console, econominder gauges, tilt cruise, power locks, etc…. Yet no power windows nor bumper guards. Wow! I wonder it it had gotten bonked in the front as there’s no front bumper rub strip. Too bad the owner put the cliche Rally Wheels with “rare” disc brake center caps on it. The regular derby caps would look so much better on the wider versions of these rims…although it’s doubtful this Landau had the ZJ7 wheels on it anyway
I’m so fake Super-Sported out that I’d have skipped the red car but seeing the white interior with owner-restraint column shift makes me really like it. The green interior in that Charger is very nice too — these are the kinds of cars that should be in the car shows around here..
The whitewalls, white top, & white interior look fantastic on that Wildcat. It’s hard for a huge car to wear a color like that but that Buick pulled it off well.
The ’68 Firebird is a beauty. Nice color & the arrow on the bumper means it’s probably a Firebird 400. Wow.
By the way, these are excellent photos. I can’t take a decent picture to save my life.
…the dash mounted RV mirror rules.
Until you’ve tried using one. The dash, on any car but especially those old ChryCo unit-body models…it vibrates a lot. Translated to the mirror, if it’s there…that’s why that was an experiment that failed.
I tried a dash mount on my GPS for awhile; but even that vibrated so much it was hard to read with a glance. The windshield mount works better – for the GPS and better still for the rearview mirror.
Hmmm, I never thought that having the mirror attached to the dash might cause more vibration than attaching it to the roof. 65-66 Chrysler wagons with rear A/C had the RV mirror mounted on the dash. The rear A/C vents were on the ceiling and would have obstructed the view from the mirror.
The other problem with the dash mounted mirror is that if anyone was sitting in the middle of either seat, all you could see out of it was your passenger smiling at you. My 59 Fury coupled the dash mounted inside mirror with an outside rearview mounted out on the front fender that you would look at through the windshield. With it being so far away from the driver, the field of vision was really small. That DeSoto has the same kind. At least mine had the remote control with a cable joystick mounted low on the dash. Until a carwash ripped the mirror off.
> The other problem with the dash mounted mirror is that if anyone was sitting in the middle of either seat, all you could see out of it was your passenger smiling at you.
I still have that problem, and the mirror in my pickup truck is mounted at the top of the windshield. 🙂
Very interesting. I only base my comment upon the intense frustration of repeated review mirror re-glue attempts that typically last about six months. I follow all directions to the “T” to no avail & finally gave up after the third detachment in the S-10. I was particularly pissed about the S10 as I had added the RV mirror maplight wiring and interior lighting was excellent for a short period.
I just know when the mirrors commit suicide in my Bonnevilles…they’ll take out the Instrument panel pads on their way down…I hate to think how much it would cost to have Just Dashes reskin one of those.
(How hard could it have been to attach these to the roof structure?)
Now for some trivia that ties into a recent CC – you can thank the guys at Ford and the 61 Thunderbird for your rear view mirror glued to the windshield, as that was the first car to use this method that became almost universal until fairly recently.
I guess I am lucky. All of my driveway glue jobs seem to last two years. However, the cars also spend a lot of time in the garage. In Indiana, we get extreme hot and extreme cold and everything between. I have always wondered if heat or cold is harder on the glue. It must be heat, judging from how much shorter your glue jobs last.
> I don’t understand what’s cute about stuffed animals in car shows. Why.
At car shows around here some people decorate their cars with stuffed things that are supposed to look like crying children leaning with their faces against the car. I always get the urge to kick them (but I resist).
Funny,,,I’d hope you video that for me.
Great job Tom. Hard to say more than has been said but I really enjoyed the scope of this show and it’s a very good writeup. Exhaustive probably applies to how you felt after walking around it also.
Are you going a writeup on your Dad’s Harley. Seeing the 57 reminded me.
One of these days…like so many other CC projects!
A very nice selection. Thanks for asking us along. You are right – the 56 DeSoto is a peach. Looks to be the same color combo both in and out of my grandma’s 55, only hers was a lowly Firedome 4 door sedan.
Actually, there is nothing there that I would kick out of the garage, with the exception of the shortened Cadillac. I have a soft spot for those Chargers, since a college roommate and his brother had one – a red strippo with a slant 6 and 3 speed. One rant – I cannot stand that black Charger on Burn Notice – who thought it was necessary to paint the steering wheel and dash white – the steering wheel, carpet and dash were always black in the white interior cars. Rrrrggghhhh.
Tom,
Great write up with an interesting and varied selection of cars. I like that Chevelle SS and it’s exterior and interior color. The question is why the cars of today cannot have white or bright blue or green interiors like their 60’s and 70’s brethren?
Must be some kind of genetic defect in me, but I always had a warm spot for the Mustang II. I actually thought it the perfect car for the time, lighter in weight from it’s bloated brother, the 73 Mustang. It’s great to see nice examples of this car showing up in the car shows these days.
If you had ever told me I’d want a DeSoto over a ’64 Galaxie or a first-gen T-Bird…
But what I REALLY want is the Wildcat convertible. That’s just beautiful.
The Wildcat is not a Convertible it’s a Sport Coupe with a vinyl roof. The Convertible’s don’t have that squared off rear side window.
What’s funny is that I looked at the pictures probably 2 or 3 times before realizing the Wildcat wasn’t a convertible!
I’ve got both a 69 Sport Coupe and Convertible, both LeSabres, so it is obvious to me given the different rear side windows.
I Like the 57 Pink- Dusky Rose or is it DustyRose tbird, I Can never remember, but it IS softer than this, and looks great with white in and on Top., unless a good original FORD Pink roof is still affordable? the 56 looks great
My first car was this silver blue or a slightly darker blue the 67 Firebird 326-7 ?came in…Loved it and wish I had It Now. dec 1976 it cost $800 + repairs/$1000 maintainence in 1 year-1977-78. it was something every month or 2
Love the green interior on the Charger.
Interesting. At a local drive-in, they were having an informal amateur car-show in the parking lot…some nice cars; I would have stopped with the cell-phone camera but I was pressed for time. But there, staring at me, was a 1964 Galaxie hardtop…and I haven’t seen one of those in over ten years.
This, and your write-up…are they coming out after hibernation?
Excellent photo documentation. For me…I wanna be true to Ford; Fords of that era were reliable and – discounting their tendency to rust – a solid value. So I’d lean to the Ranchero as the most fitting to my personality.
But the El Camino is a damned attractive alternative. And it was a better translation on the theme; lighter; crisper styling. A shame it didn’t enjoy the successes of the earlier utes.
That’s the way it seems to work around here, see a car you haven’t seen for awhile and an article pops up here a day or two later, or vise versa. Happens to me quite frequently.
My wife sent me to the grocery store one evening last weekend to buy some eggs. I was just driving out of our driveway when I thought that I should’ve grabbed my camera. What did I find in the grocery store parking lot? A white Lotus Elan +2 coupe! If there’s a CC on that car in the queue, I will be pretty surprised. 🙂
Great write up and plenty of interesting cars. I guess whoever ordered that ’77 Monte must’ve checked every box on the option list except for power windows ;`)
A few corrections on the Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe though. Only the 1986’s were homologation specials. This was done because the new for ’83 T-Bird was much more aerodynamic, which gave it a distinct advantage on the NASCAR circuit. Only 200 ’86 Aerocoupes were made, all were white (There may have been a choice of interior colors, either red or gray, I’m not sure) and none with t-tops. They were all marketed and sold at dealers in the South, since NASCAR still had a somewhat regional appeal at that time.
In 1987, the Aerocoupe was available in any Monte Carlo SS color combination and t-tops were optional. According to the Standard Catalog of Chevrolet, there were 6,052 ’87 Aerocoupes produced.
What a great car show… I like all of these (well, except that ’53 Caddy hack job) but I love both DeSotos and the ’64 Fords.
Love that red Monte. I bought one just like it, except for the wheel and tire combo, in 1979. It was my first car I borrowed money to buy and I cherished it.
I really love all the non-Chevrolets at this show. (Ducking as rocks are thrown.)
This is the second 4 door 60 DeSoto I’ve seen. I know an older gentleman who owns a 60 4 door hard top just like this one but in green with a green interior. It’s a sharp car.