A laid-back event on a lazy Sunday afternoon, held in the center of my municipality. I skipped the bites-part and went straight for the classic, not so classic, and special four-wheelers. It was worth the visit, given the wide variety of vehicles that was on display. In today’s tour we walk by a mixed bunch of Americans.
1965 Ford F-100 with the Twin I-Beam front suspension.
1979 Lincoln Continental Town Car Collector’s Series.
2013 Ram (or RAM) 1500, mimicking a double cab panel van.
1969 Chevrolet Caprice.
Another 1969 four door hardtop, this Plymouth Fury III with a menacing appearance, partly compensated by the balloons.
1978 Oldsmobile 98.
1972 Pontiac Firebird.
1958 Oldsmobile Super 88.
A whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on here, this 1983 Zimmer Golden Spirit was built for Jerry Lee Lewis, aka ‘The Killer’.
1973 Chevrolet El Camino.
2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition. Quite rare. And costly.
1973 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray convertible.
1978 Chevrolet K5 Blazer.
That’s it for now, a mixed bunch it certainly was. A collection of European and Japanese sets of wheels will follow soon.
Wow ;
I am loving the 1969 Plymouth Fury . I had a two door Fury III in 1976 .
I’m pondering how any one can afford to feed these beats, isn’t gasoline close to $8 / gallon there ? .
-Nate
LPG is the answer to gas-guzzling Americana. That applies to the Fury, but also to that 2013 Ram 1500.
Apart from that, those old beasts don’t drive, say, 15,000 miles per year.
The Firebird Formula is my fav, but it needs the aftermarket snowflakes swapped for aftermarket honeycombs stat!
The 69 Chevy striping is interesting, the rear has typical Chevelle SSesque stripes but up front the colors are inverted and it actually reminds me of the 69 Roadrunner hood striping
The ’73 Vette is exactly like the one I purchased new in 1973 — base Vette with the L48 and a 4 speed, Corvette Orange Metallic with a black top. Very fun to drive, but also very troublesome — A/C, engine, transmission, body panels, water leaks, differential and a half-shaft all replaced over time. I now have a ’12 Mustang Shelby GT 500 convertible I bought new — minimal problems.
I happened to come across a Zimmer Golden Spirit last month (below). I knew it was a Zimmer, but I had to look up to figure out what the model name was. Turns out they’re based on Mustangs, and from what I can tell, often four-cylinder Mustangs. I can see Jerry Lee Lewis liking this car!
I know a lot of US classics and near-classics end up in Europe, but the 1978 Olds 98 here puzzles me a bit. I wonder if this car was sold in Europe long ago, or is a recent import? It’s hard to imagine someone paying the shipping costs for a less-than-pristine car, but stranger things have happened. At least it’s in appreciative hands.
A lot of ‘Amis’ actually stem from US forces stationed in Europe. Would one expect to see an Acura TL in Suffolk? I didn’t…very obviously African-American military driving it. They get Forces discounts and then sell them on eventually.
Though there was a period where the exchange rate made importing heavily depreciated US iron surprisingly cost-effective for those Dutch & German enthusiasts who enjoy something different.
Most classic American iron in the Netherlands comes straight from the US. Imported directly by its buyer/new owner or by a US car specialist/dealership. No vehicle age limits whatsoever.
It’s common practice that US pickups are imported as new vehicles, an example is the 2013 Ram 1500 with its first registration in the Netherlands. Often coming from Canada (metric speedo-/odometer).
The 1978 Olds was imported into the Netherlands almost 20 years ago (October 2006), so it might have looked different back then…
The Zimmer is powered by a Ford 302 V8. Here’s the story, video included, featuring the current Dutch owners:
https://www.autoweek.nl/autotests/artikel/zimmer-golden-spirit-1983-blits-bezit/
Looks like the Caprice has A/C. If true, please wrap it up for me, I’ll be there shortly
I ran US cars in Europe for a couple of decades and whilst Big Block Chevy don’t exactly sip fuel, they are not much worse than large engined European classics. My fuelie small block surprised everyone (including me) with its economy. Then I looked up the original UK Autocar test of a similar vehicle and saw that they got 25 mpg (imperial)!
The general robustness and reliability of US metal also compensates for any additional fuel costs – that old BBC never asked for anything more than regular oil changes and the occasional valve adjustment for it’s solid lifters…
Interesting you say what you say. I’ve always noticed that classic big-engined Euros (Mercedes, even big-six BMW’s, things like PRV Frenchies) get terrible mileage, and have actually wondered how much worse a decently-tuned US pushrod V8 that’s as fast (and faster accelerating) might be. Not too much, it seems.
Umm, does anyone dare to say that the 2006 Ford GT is better-looking than the original? I’m not saying it’s me, I hasten to add, but I have heard it said by a guy who lives in my flat and looks like me, and has my name, and who wrote this comment.
I’m asking for that guy.
Thanks for a nice collection. The Olds 98 seem to have alternate front guards fitted…?
No idea about those front guards Mark. The narrow Dutch plate (roughly the same size as a US plate) fits perfectly though, standard Dutch plates are much wider.