Earlier today ( 8 /27/2017 ) myself and my buddy ( also named Chris ) had the pleasure of attending the Summer Stampede car show, hosted by the Lakewood Chamber Of Commerce. At this show variety was the rule of the day, as there was something for everyone.
This was a big show and I took a TON of pictures. In order to avoid making this post too long, I’m breaking it down into multiple segments. This is the first.
The European segment was well-represented by this eclectic assortment- a 1961 Porsche 356, an Alfa Romeo Giulia / Giulietta of undetermined vintage, a late 80’s / early 90’s Ferrari 512 TR, and a late-model Ferrari 458 Italia.
The crudely riveted-on fender flares the Alfa wears aren’t my cup of tea, but it does enhance the homegrown road-race vibe the car exudes.
The wide wheels, fat low-profile rubber, shaved bumpers, tow hook, top-mounted filler neck, and jungle-gym roll cage indicate that this Alfa sees some serious track work from time to time. The Porsche still sports stock tires and seats, despite its psuedo-race car appearance.
The 512 TR is a slightly improved version of the original Testarossa, boasting slightly better aerodynamics, improved handling and braking, and of course more power.
The 458 looked a little out of place among all the vintage iron, but it was still nice to see.
This nifty 1940 Packard was parked next to an Army recruiting booth, as well as a concession stand selling old war memorabilia.
All the specs.
The interior is pretty stock, but the aftermarket seatbelts are definitely a welcome addition.
The view from the rear. Note the nifty “Packard” script stamped into the chrome-plated steel bumper. Does any modern automaker still do neat little details like that?
This super slick Chevy Luv belongs to local street / drag racing legend “Fast Ass Tyrone” who hails from Compton, Ca.
The little LUV is back-halved, tubbed, and sports a VERY healthy 6.0 liter LS powerplant. I don’t know any of this vehicle’s specs, but I’ve seen it run and it’s a real beast.
Through the window you can just barely make out the pro-style rool cage, Monster tach, and ratchet shifter. Thanks to the LUV’s extremely cramped interior, Tyrone had to get rather creative with the seating configuration. You’re basically sitting right on the floor. OK for the quarter-mile, not so great for commuting.
That wheelie bar and parachute aren’t there just for looks. Trust me.
I fell in love with this gorgeous ’59 Caddy.
All-original drivetrain, with not a single anodized, engraved, or billet piece in sight.
That big bench seat looks mighty inviting, doesn’t it?
This has to be one of the coolest, neatest, and most unique vintage rides I’ve ever seen- a 1950 Willys Jeepster with a matching period camping trailer. The only thing cooler would have been a vintage Airstream trailer painted to match.
Surpriiise! Rather than the ubiquitous small block Chevy, or the new-school-cool GM LS, this one sports Rat power- more than enough oomph to move this rig.
Not a fan of the flamed steering wheel, but everything else is A-OK.
The view from the trailer’s front door.
All the comforts of home.
Everything- INCLUDING the kitchen sink…
If this were my rig, I’d probably stick with steelies and baby moons for my rolling stock, but it’s still pretty sharp nonetheless.
The semi-matching wheels on the trailer are a nice touch.
Come on in!
Given my deep love of the Oldsmobile brand, I never forgive myself if I didn’t take some shots of this lovely Olds Vista Cruiser.
The engine room, looking as sharp as the outside.
The Vista Cruiser’s trademark-the glass-paneled roof. I think this option was available in some of the General’s other models. I can’t remember what they were called though.
With gobs of prodigious Olds torque, this is the view you’re most likely to see- at least until the road gets twisty.
In stark contrast to the Olds is this cute, charming little MG-TC.
British sports cars from the days of yore always had a certain rustic charm, possessing a certain “vintage” feel even when they were brand new. That could be a good or bad thing, depending on what you’re into.
I apologize for not getting any shots of the interior. The back still looks nice though.
I don’t want to make this post too long, so I’ll end part 1 with this killer threesome- a ’65 Chevelle, a ’65 Impala, and a ’56 Bel Air 210.
Stay tuned for part 2…
Chris: The only other GM of this vintage with the “Scenicruiser” glass was the Buick Sport Wagon. And the MG is a TD, not the earlier TC.
Thanks! I guess the steel wheels on the MG, rather than the wires, should have been a tipoff. I missed it.
The ’56 Chevy is a Bel Air, not a 210 (a separate, next-lower, model with only the rear fender chrome divider).
That ’59 Cadillac? THAT’S my idea of an antique car. Straight factory stock, no Fifties cruise-in added.
And to be REALLY nitpicky, that Packard’s bumpers should be painted, not chrome. Otherwise, dead on perfect.
I could kinda see where he was going with calling it a 210 and a Bel Air… the chrome work appears to be that of a 210 (like my Dad’s first car), but the paint scheme of wrapping the turquoise color up and over the chrome strip in the front mimics the Bel Air’s paint scheme. A 210 in that color combo should have a white hood with a turquoise roof and lower part. A Bel Air would have a turquoise hood with a white roof and back side. See the comparison below….
Dad’s ’56 was the Bel Air 4-door hardtop (the only time he ever got a 4-door version, probably because it was the new, heavily pushed model for that year), visualize the bottom car in red instead of the turquoise.
I’ll (unfortunately) never forget that car. I was a sickly child, until the age of eight when I got my tonsils removed, any time I’d sneeze the parents were justifiably making arrangements to have me admitted to the hospital. The evening dad proudly brought the new car home, he was met at the door by a panicking mom, and they immediately had to rush me to the hospital as I was running an extreme fever (I was later told it was 104), and later that night had to be revived.
Not surprisingly, that’s the only memory I have of that car. Laying on the back seat as my folks rushed to the hospital. To this day, I can tell if the headline is the proper original on a ’56.
Interestingly enough, 1956 was the only year where Chevrolet tarted up the 210 nicely enough that if you didn’t know the trim levels on the series well, you’d assume that was the top of the line model – until you saw a Bel Air. By ’57, by just using paint in the fin area, the 210 was obviously the lesser model of the two.
Yeah, I think the 150 was the lowest trim level and quite noticeably different from the 210 or Bel Air. My Dad’s was Dark Green where this one is turquoise, and Ivory where this one is white… this just in… I found a cool article here at CC by Ed Stembridge…
http://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-capsule-1956-chevrolet-210-black-and-white-done-right/
…that calls my Dad’s color combo “Sherwood Green & India Ivory”. BUT the interesting thing is, the Black & White featured car (a Two-Ten) in that article IS painted similar to a Bel Air paint scheme like the one in Chris’ picture above. So maybe Chevy DID offer the 210 painted that way. Lord knows, there were LOTS of ways you could get one of these cars in 1956.
Like your Dad, my Dad has had few four door cars. His ’56 was a sedan, and not the much cooler hard top, and looked like the one pictured below (also from Ed’s CC linked above). But other than my Dad’s home movies, I have no memory of this car.
My ‘hospital’ story involving that car was that I was brought home from the hospital in 1960 right after I was born in it. My Dad almost immediately traded it in on a ’60 Dodge Dart Seneca with only two doors, which would start a long line of coupes for him until much later in life. Back then before car seats, coupes were considered the safe choice for families with kids as parents feared their kids shouldn’t have their own doors, lest they fall out. From what I understand reading here, this was the common practice back then for new parental units in the 60’s.
He just traded a coupe (his 2014 Mustang) in on one of those rare four door cars in his life, a 2017 Honda Accord EX-L. At 79, he says he needed a more “grown-up car” than a Mustang. LOL
A nice assortment. I will confess that I suffer from 59 Cadillac Fatigue Syndrome but this clean, unmodified hardtop in pale yellow is not bad. And it is always nice to see an old Packard, especially one in uniform.
The Willys Jeep is not actually a Jeepster (which was a roadster), but a Jeep all steel Wagon.
A nice turnout, thnk you for posting .
I await the next segment .
-Nate
That MG is calling my name. Such a tidy little package of fun. I’d love to own one of these even moreso than the Midgets I owned back in the day. My kingdom for a garage.
A good start. My pick is the MG, which is actually a TD not a TC. (edit – first comment beat me to it)
However, my eyes would like to un-see the steering wheel in that Jeep wagon.
If I had to pick, I’d go for the Porsche 356, though not crazy about the color…even if it is “factory”.
Another example of that dull German car blue that I commented on in a recent CC thread.
The ’59 Caddy is nice, but if I had to pick I’m torn between the Emerald/Forest Green cars… The hard top ’57 Chevy looks great in that color, but that Vista Cruiser speaks to me – and I’m not even a wagon guy. I’m not sure what the third car in that color is – the one parked next to the Chevy Luv in the picture below the Packard Army Staff Car… Maybe a late 40’s/early 50’s Chevy? But that color looks amazing in the Sun.
Great Pix, Chris… looking forward to part 2!
No question about it, the Packard is for me!
I’m no expert on Alfas, but this is either a GTA or a replica – the “A” stood for lightened – which were the version meant for racing. Some of the Autodelta quasi-factory team had riveted on flares like this, some where blended in or complete panel replacement. Depending on the version they could have steel or aluminium panels.
And people think that Rocket Bunny type body kits are something new…
Hi, sorta desperate at this point, so reaching out for information help. I have a 1980 caprice classic 2 door. Usually don’t have trouble because most parts work fine with the more common 4 door caprice and impalas but junk yards in Minnesota say it’s to old and the classic car parts magazine’s I know of say it’s to new for them to have parts. I’m looking for the loop that is connected to the top of the seat that the seat belt goes through, mine broke and now the seat belt goes across my face basically. Wondering if anybody knows places that sell chevy caprice classic interior parts. There are other parts I’d like for fixing it up, but the seat belt loop is a desperately need for my car. Thank you for any information and hoping this was ok to put up in here. Becky
Great post and collection, Chris! I’m especially fond of that Chevy LUV (Tyrone has a sweet ride), and that Olds. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to ride in a Vista Cruiser and look up out of that Astro-roof.
While I’ve never ridden in an authentic vintage Vista Cruiser, I do have a lot of seat time in a ’91 Custom Cruiser, which was the last stand of the “wagon bubble”. Didn’t have the wrapover side windows in the wayback though. It’s a neat thing to look through, and lets some extra light into the cavernous back half of the wagon.
It’s a good idea that’s been somewhat resurrected with the fixed rear and panoramic sunroofs that are starting to become available in modern CUV and SUVs. Recently drove a Lincoln MKC with the panoramic sunroof, which was even more impressive than expected.
One case in which the truck is way better looking than its car-counterpart —
Top photo — the 55-57 chevy truck face is far more attractive than the 56 Bell Air.
Love the Vista cruiser. That color green with the rally wheels just works, and I’ve always liked the styling of the ’70-’72 Olds models the best of the four A-body designs of the era.
Also, don’t know about the rest of you, but I find the 512TR to be *much* more appealing than the 458. Yeah, the 458 is objectively a better car and blows it away in performance metrics, but the 512 looks like a Ferrari is supposed to look. (This may be influenced by my having grown up in the 80’s though.)
Retro-Stang Rick, the green Chevy sedan you noticed is a ’49 Fleetline 4-door, like this one: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/383017143287288332/
The flared bumper extension, the chromed piece behind the wheel opening, and the visor are options, of course. I looked for a photo that also had those. The cylinder attached to the window is some kind of cooler ?
If there’s no AMC/Hudson/Nash example to be seen, I’ll always go for the Packards. P**s-poor management in their final days can’t ever take away from their glory years. That wartime warrior is a beaut, if even only a reproduction. 🙂
The Ferrari isn’t a 458. It’s a 430 Scuderia. 🙂