This past summer I got to re-visit one of my old hangouts, Ruby’s Diner, at the back side of the Redondo Beach Pier. The car show crowd at Ruby’s tends to pack up and leave rather early, but I was fortunate enough to catch these cool rides minutes before their owners departed.
I’m not the world’s biggest aircooled VW fan, but I was smitten by this super clean Beetle convertible. The paint and bodywork on this thing is flawless, though I could do without the funny headlight visors. The smoothed and painted running boards, along with the chromed classic 8-spoke Empi wheels, are a nice touch.
The white interior in this thing is just as nice as the outside, and provides a nice contrast to the shimmering green paint. The unusual upholstery pattern, sport steering wheel, and fancy angled dashboard vents make me wonder- could this topless Beetle be one of the rare Wolfsburg or Champagne editions? Can any VW experts out there verify this?
I can’t even remember what this particular car is, but I believe it’s a Buick.
I’m not sure if that plush button-tufted cloth upholstery was a factory option, but it doesn’t look like a bad place to spend a few hours snuggled up with someone special while getting away from it all.
This 68-72 GMC longbed was a real stunner. The darkly tinted windows and tight parking configuration kept me from getting any good interior shots, but it’s just as nice inside as outside. The vintage slotted mag wheels are a nice addition, and their five-lug configuration denotes this truck as a half-ton, or a 1500-series in factory parlance. In all honesty, I’m not a big fan of slammed, long bed, single cab trucks. To my eye they just look odd. But this thing is so sharp I can easily overlook it. In this generation of trucks, I’ve always preferred the GMCs over their Chevrolet counterparts as they just look tougher and more aggressive with their massive heavy-looking grilles and dual headlights. The Jimmies of this era also still use leaf springs, rather than the long-arm / coil sprung setup of the Chevys. Check out the neat early 60’s Plymouth Valiant just behind it.
I only had the chance to take one pic of this gorgeous ’68 Camaro RS. Note the Camaro’s silver sibling far off in the background.
Saving the best for last, I’m totally luvvin’ this restomodded early dual-headlight Chevy LUV pickup. The wheels appear to be modified factory steel rally wheels from a ’73-’87 4WD Chevy or GMC full size pickup or Blazer / Jimmy. It’s interesting how the small and lightweight LUV uses the same beefy 5X5 inch, six-lug bolt pattern as its full size 4WD siblings. I’ve noticed that many older Datsun and Nissan pickups use this same bolt pattern as well, as evidenced by the number of well-worn, older examples I’ve seen fitted with factory 6-lug GM C/K junkyard wheels.
One look in the engine compartment shows that this rugged little trucklet means business. The apparently healthy small-block, with its tall velocity-stack air cleaner and huge Holley double-pumper carb perched atop a single plane, high-rise intake indicate that this truck’s days of hauling lumber and gardening supplies are long over, and it is now exclusively dedicated to hauling ass instead. Even so, any trips to Home Depot and back should be completed in record time, so long as one doesn’t exceed the payload. At the firewall you can clearly see the factory hood latch assembly still in place, although I suspect this truck hasn’t had a need for it for quite some time.
If this were my own truck, I’d probably change a few things. For one, I’d probably paint the rest of the truck to match the wheels and valve covers. For another, I’d probably run lower-profile tires in the rear to get the back end down a little more. Finally, I’d probably run an injected LS-series powerplant hidden under the stock hood to give it a killer sleeper vibe. The owner probably likes it as it is, though. Some years ago I halfway started LUV shopping, and was rather shocked by the high prices that well-preserved examples command nowadays. When I finally got the chance to sit in one, it was a deal breaker. My long legs and bad back were not happy. Nowadays LUVs are as uncommon a sight as H-body cars on the street, so spotting this one was a rare treat.
I’ve driven my 1975 Corvette to Ruby’s on two occasions in the past, and I’ve been making slow and steady progress on it since last summer. The next time I drive it up there, it’s going to be all one color, rather than a patchwork of flaked paint, primer, and unpainted fiberglass. Since these photos were taken, I’ve painted and reinstalled the rear bumper cap, and sanded the front bumper cap. Once the weather warms up and dries out, I’ll be painting the front bumper and repainting the faded and badly flaking t-tops. The rest of the paint is fair enough with a good rubbing. Projected completion date: late this summer.
One of our reference books on such matters seems to indicate that the big blue beauty is a 1934 Plymouth Town Sedan.
Oh ok. I did a Google image search a while back and came up empty. It always sort of bugged me not knowing what that car was. Thanks for clearing that up!
Thanks for that! The only car I know of with vent windows that big, back then, was a Hudson or an Essex. The hood was a giveaway, as to its not being a Buick…it wasn’t long enough for the Buick straight-eight.
Sweet Vette! Can’t wait to see what it looks like next.
In between posting comments here, I ran downstairs and completed my second ( and final ) round of wet sanding on the front bumper cap prior to laying down the primer. In just a few minutes I’m going back to wash away the sanding residue, mask off the bumper from the main body, and buy a newspaper to stuff into any openings where I don’t want overspray 🙂 .
Anything with slot mags instantly gets my attention, being affixed to one of my favorite pickups(always liked the 4 headlight GMCs better than the Chevy) certainly doesn’t hurt, great color too.
I LUV the LUV as is. Primer grey and rake appeal heavily to my deeply rooted midwestern sensibilities. Funny enough the only things I’d change is the blue, in both areas – swap the wheels for deep slots and paint those valve covers orange like god intended – Perfection!
If I could figure out a way to eke a couple more inches’ worth of legroom out of the cab, I might reconsider scooping one up.
If I had one, I’d probably build it into a pseudo-factory muscle machine- a tribute truck of sorts. The one that Chevy never built, but should have.
Among my giant parts stash are three Chevy small block engine cores, including an early 283. The lightweight, high-revving 283 would be great for a LUV application.
I’d fit the engine with small chamber aftermarket aluminum heads, aluminum intake, aluminum water pump, and paint everything in classic Chevy orange. I’d top it off with Corvette-style finned, black crinkle finish valve covers and a factory dual-snorkel air cleaner, with ducting routed to the inner headlight openings. And I’d hide everything under a modest 2″ cowl hood.
Outside I’d go with 5-slot rallies and raised white letter tires stuffed under subtly flared fenders. Inside would look stock except for some period-correct Stewart-Warner gauges and a Vega GT style steering wheel.
Nice assortment! Both the LUV and the Beetle convertible (even with the “eyelids”, and especially in the same color as Hi-C Ecto Cooler) really speak to me.
The old sedan appears to be a 34 Plymouth
That bug’s interior is full custom, if it’s a special edition anything that made it one is long gone (probably before the current owner got hold of it).
I’m with you on the height of the LUV, part of the attraction of one of these is its’ size in contrast to the gigantism of modern trucks.
The Camaro is a ’67 because it has a vent window and lack of side marker lights.
Great collection of Collector Cars! The best time of day to enjoy looking at all of the little details. The GMC caught my eye; to that eye only a regular cab / longbox qualifies as a proper pickup truck. It reminded me of one I came across at a Woodward Avenue restaurant late last summer. The trim on these is so ornate – it’s surprising that any survived. I’ll post a couple photos here, as I’m not familiar with the Cohort yet. Forgive the poor photography on the interior shot – but I just wanted to capture the filigree on the seats and door panels, plus that glorious engraved shifter ball…
Interior shot:
GMC Longbox
Nice customized GMC caught my eye.
At first glance, judging from the side trim, and the upright front hood, it is 1969 or later. The five-lug wheel wheels appeared in 1971, so it has to be a 1971 or later.
Yup, 5 lugs came with the introduction of front disc brakes (non-power) for ’71. ’72’s look identical, but they did make the power booster standard.
I had the same style of wheels on my avocado green ’71 C10.
A lot of work done to that Super Beetle. Has an older dash, running boards are unique, etc. Seems many late 70’s VW convertibles stuck to the showroom floors like thin waxy buildup. Only the 1967 Camaro & Firebirds had vent windows. Nice range of customs.
And to think the LUV actually had the roomiest cab of all the Jap trucks in the ’70s. A friend of mine swapped 240 Volvo seats into his ’79 LUV 4X4 and it was not unpleasant. And I’m ‘6ft and 190 lbs.
The last couple of years I’ve been working on Friday, but still try to make it to Ruby’s when I can. I am one of the air-cooled VW guys with the Thing or sometimes the Karmann Ghia. This is not the usual Mustang and ‘Vette show. There is a group of Sunbeam Tiger owners there regularly and a strong ’60’s Mopar contingent. An Amphicar makes a regular appearance. What started out for American hot-rods has evolved into a “bring what you got in any condition” kind of place.