The other day I read a small announcement in the local newspaper about a classic vehicle club having the start of their 2017 spring tour in a village nearby, on Sunday April 30. One has to set priorities on a sunny Sunday morning, so off we went.
The club’s name is Klassiek Mechaniek Zeeland, from the village of Zeeland. Not to be confused with the Province of Zeeland, let alone with the country Nieuw Zeeland aka New Zealand. Enough small talk, time to let the oldtimers speak for themselves.
By far the biggest vehicle at the tour’s starting point was a 1955 Scania-Vabis. This brute is a recreation of the utterly rare, as in prototype rare, Scania-Vabis LS85 from the early fifties. It’s powered by an 11.3 liter inline-8 diesel engine.
1987 FTF tractor unit, powered by a two-stroke Detroit Diesel 6V92TA engine.
Air suspension on the drive axle, the truck manufacturer’s name is on the mud flaps.
1984 Citroën 2CV6.
1977 Chrysler Cordoba.
1968 Jaguar 420.
1972 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 4.5 (W108).
1929 Ford Model A.
1969 Opel Kadett B Coupe.
1979 BMW 518.
1996 Jaguar XJS Convertible.
1951 Peugeot 203A Convertible.
1989 Volkswagen Jetta CL 1.6 Automatic.
1960 Volvo PV544.
1969 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE Convertible (W111).
1958 Chevrolet Apache Fleetside.
1967 Ford Mustang Coupe.
1964 Cadillac Sedan DeVille.
1959 Mercedes-Benz 190 SL (W121 BII).
1974 Citroën DS.
1973 Dodge Charger.
1961 Mercedes-Benz 190 (W121 BI).
1965 Mercedes-Benz 190 (W110).
The two generations side by side.
1972 BMW 2002 Baur Targa.
1974 Mercedes-Benz 250 Coupe (W114).
1971 Opel Kadett B Coupe.
1954 Chevrolet 3100 with a 1953 front, correct me if I’m wrong.
1967 Wartburg 353.
1951 Opel Olympia.
1973 Peugeot 504.
1964 Fiat Nuova 500.
1973 MG B hiding behind a 1951 Cadillac.
1974 military DAF YA 66.
1978 Chevrolet K5 Blazer Cheyenne.
1981 Fiat (124) Spider 2000 USA.
The Jetta without a trunk, a 1984 Volkswagen Golf CL 1.6 Automatic.
1950 Citroën Traction Avant.
1965 Mercedes-Benz 230 SL Automatic (W113).
For a change the last show pictures are not automotive related. This castle, Kasteel Hernen, is located within a stone’s throw of the club’s meeting point. It dates back to the 14th century. Way, way before the work of men like Nikolaus Otto, Carl Benz and Henry Ford changed the world.
One of these days I want to attend a show in your neck of the woods. The sheer variety is mouthwatering.
This variety can also be jarring – going from the 2CV6 to the Cordoba was an assault to the senses!
It looks like this was a great show with a terrific castle right there.
Fabulous collection! I love the Scania-Vabis. Those trucks did not come to The U.S. I sold commercial application trucks fro years and love to look at these old treasures.
Love the old cars, too!
In the second half on the eighties and early nineties some Scania conventional and COE models were offered in the US. The 2-series (as in 112, for example) and the later -yet very similar looking- 3-series (as in 113). They didn’t sell many of them, to put in mildly.
As far as I know the big 14 liter V8 (in the 142 and 143) was never offered.
I had no idea. But they weren’t the only ones. This was during the Great European Truck Invasion. 🙂
Quite right, in retrospect just buying truck makers worked out better (Renault -> Mack, Volvo -> GMC/White/Autocar, Daimler -> Freightliner).
One never knows, maybe Scania -or MAN- engines and other components show up in Navistar trucks through the VAG connection.
Someone was selling 2 of them for parts on my local craigslist recently. Of course, I had no use For them.
For most of my work career I have sold commercial application motor trucks. I remember the Scanias coming to The States. It was a hard sell for the dealers who had them. Truckers in the U.S. are ingrained with a particular brand and stay with it unless they are going to make a major change to another make of truck. It is a long story. Today I go to web sites that show European made trucks so that I can see these fine machines.
I just came back from a truck show displaying modern DAF, MAN, Scania, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz trucks. So stay tuned…
What an interesting mix of cars (and trucks)! Your photographs are very well done too.
I have been trying to come up with an explanation for my wife of why I find car shows so fascinating….. I struggle to summarize it briefly.
Automobiles are more interesting than paintings or sculpture because they not only must be imagined and then transferred into form but must also be functional pieces of equipment. Despite the limitations imposed by the requirement of functionality, there are literally thousands of variations – expressions of individuality but also expressions of national culture. Further, for some reason, almost every design attempts to be appealing to the eye. The resulting kaleidoscope of cars seems to me to be the ultimate expression of the amazing creativity of humanity.
My wife doesn’t get it.
Mine doesn’t get it either. Your explanation of these creations is right on the piunt. Unfortunately in the annals of design we also have some bad ones.
Incidentally, have you gone on line to view information on Paul Jaray? He is a Romanian-born designer who introduced streamlined design in 1922. You can read about his car and how Chrysler and Tatra tried to not pay royalties to him when they introduced the Chrysler Airflow models in 1934 and the famous Tatra rear engine 1935 car with the aluminum block V8 and air cooling.
Yes, we’ve covered that here some in the past. I have a mixed mind about Jarey’s patents. It’s not like his were actually the first streamlined cars. And is it really possible or appropriate to patent aerodynamically superior shapes? He just imitated the rain drop; it’s not like he created nature’s streamlining.
More specifically, Jarey’s created some very specific (and odd) shapes for his cars, which some companies licensed, and their products were clearly Jarey. But both Tatra and Chrysler took a somewhat different stylistic approach, and resisted the claims that they were violating his patents.
It’s one of those debates that have merits on both sides.
He did not rely on his patents alone to earn a living, having been a consultant for a few car companies as well (besides having been a designer for Zeppelin). Of Hungarian descent, he was born in Vienna, not Romania.
Thanks for the correction on Jaray’s birthplace and the information ab out his design of the new Zeppelin.
Ya that was a great mix of cars. I took to the 79 BMW 518. I knew it as the 530i when I was tiny.
I think that the BMW was marketed in the U.S. in the 1980’s under the name “Bavaria.” That was unusual as BMW always uses engine displacement for mode designation and these days in the U.S. they also add a series, such as 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. In the early 200’s they also sent us a two-hardtop badged as an 8 series.
BMW 850/840… 89-99. IMO the later 840’s were better cars. The 850’s are a mechanics wet dream. I never liked the Bavaria as a kid. When I first saw the 530i though it was love at first sight. However today if I saw a Bavaria on the side of the road I’d have to steal it.
The 518 (see trunk lid) of this generation, which was BMW’s first 5-series actually, had a 90 DIN-hp 1,766 cc 4-cylinder engine.
Great photo of the Ponton and the Fintail next to each other. Extraordinary how much changed in a generation; whereas in the US, auto styling evolved from year to year, in Europe manufacturers leapt from mid-50s to early 60s in one bound. (Apart from Citroen, which went from the 1930s (TA) to the 2030s (DS) in one bound, of course.)
It is interesting to compare the Big 3’s product cycles of the 1950s to the 1980/90s! The far higher volumes supported a quicker cycle than in other countries at the time.
Thanks Johannes, what incredible variety and some I’ve never seen in person.
The logistics of the tour must be interesting with big trucks included with the cars. Do they do a shorter route for slower vehicles, or is it enough to send them first?
Every (co)driver got a route description right before the trip started. One can drive the trip more or less independently from the others. It’s almost impossible to keep such a large number of vehicles together during the day. Intersections, roundabouts, traffic lights, speed differences between the vehicles, some want to take a break, have something to eat/drink, etc.etc.
But in the end I think the 30 year old FTF tractor is perfectly capacle of outrunning the Citroën 2CV and the VW T1 bus I also saw (just to name a few)…
I bet you can still drive that 504 daily.what a clean example.that 250c is also very outstanding.
I would have been happy just the spend an hour or so with that red Scania Vabis truck. That’s a s close to perfection in a truck as it gets.
The rest was icing on the cake. Terrific assortment of cars.
Here’s a video of the Scania-Vabis + a matching drawbar trailer.
I never saw a Scania (or the older Scania-Vabis trucks and tractors) with such a long nose. And then I read “Line 8” on its rear bumper. The company’s inline-8 engines were used as stationary engines, they didn’t quite work out well in their trucks. There was a much simpler solution to get more power and torque from a diesel engine: adding a turbocharger instead of 2 cylinders.
And that was just idling! What would that beast have sounded like under load?
A fun assortment. I like that these shows have a wide selection of obscure and not necessarily top tier American cars. No row of red SS Camaro clones with fuzzy dice.
I do see a Triumph TR3 and TR4 hiding in the background, is there a part 2 or are you hiding the British roadsters from me?
Nice Model A too, my Grandfather learned to drive in the Netherlands in a Model A.
Sorry Doug, no part 2. Some Dutch Comfort below, all I got from the UK roadsters.
Ford has always been a major car, van and truck brand in the Netherlands. Amsterdam had a Ford plant for decades (opened in the thirties, closed down in the early eighties).
The Opel Kadett B came in eight (!) body styles.
The pictures show the LS coupé.
Came for the province, thanks for an early clarification. Like the kasteel photos of course.
1973 Dodge Charger.
Have to correct you, it’s a 1971. The side window upsweep and the hidden headlights(eliminated as an option in 73) are the tells. Specifically the car appears to be a SuperBee, unless it’s a very well done clone
It’s weird for me seeing MKII Jettas and Golfs at a car show, I remember going to car shows in my Mom’s 85 as a kid.
Strange, with a first registration on February 28, 1973. It actually did have a big Super Bee decal on its hood.
Lovely array of cars — and terrific photography, as per usual.
Make mine the Peugeot convertible. Or the Kadett B coupe as a plan B.
Love that Scania-Vabis – is that the longest bonnet ever on such a truck?
Great range of cars too.
I can’t tell which heavy (Euro) truck had the longest nose. Seeing that Scania-Vabis the majestic Krupp Titan came to my mind.
And Berliet from France was a renowned long nose specialist throughout the years.
Yep, great selection and variety – my kind of show – get to see a little of everything. That Scania is a true beauty and the beast in one package…
Just got collector license plates (no more registration fees) for the ’86 Jetta GL and now these car show pictures appear. They are getting pretty scarce on the streets these days, especially well maintained stock versions. Always liked the four door Jetta’s looks better in the MK2, but the MK1 Jetta looks better in 2 door form. I had an ’80 Jetta automatic 2 door which I sold to get the 4 door 5 speed ’86 back in ’91.
Lots of great looking cars and trucks in this show.
The 1967 Wartburg 353 (1000 as known in the Commercials) was from Communist East Germany and was the best choice for the DDR Government and the Police and Stazi.
Great shots. It’s always a kick to see big old Detroit iron in Europe. I also enjoy seeing European cars that are rare or nearly non-existent here in North America. An old Citroen or Peugeot is not a common sight here in Ontario (though I’ve seen a few in the summer months), and a bucket-list item for me is to take an old Citroen for a spin – preferably a Traction Avant. Hey, a guy can dream.