I snap a lot of pictures and hardly have the time to write about all of the subjects. Weeding through my camera roll from today backwards I’ve decided to feature some of the ones that just aren’t going to get full write-ups, not from me at least, but still deserve to be shared. Hopefully I can do this semi-regularly, all of these are very recent sightings…
First up is of course this beautiful Alfa Romeo GTV, I shan’t guess at the year as it isn’t exactly stock anyway, but I will say that it made the most remarkable noise as it accelerated hard past me in my Subaru that wasn’t making any kind of a remarkable noise. It looked great, it sounded even better, and I felt a hankering to trade the Subaru in on an Alfa. Bellissimo!
Next up is the fanciest of the bunch, and I just happen to be sure it is a 1962 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II. I was standing in the Wal-Mart parking lot checking out their new EV fast chargers as new tires were being fitted to the Jeep when this rolled towards me. I awkwardly fumbled my phone and managed to peel off a few shots from arrears as it beat a hasty retreat, probably having stocked up on Grey Poupon in the grocery section. The rich may be different from you and I, but they apparently still shop at Wal-Mart. Or maybe they OWN Wal-Mart.
Just around the corner from home I finally caught up with this 1995 or therabouts Toyota Corolla Levin BZ-G with SuperStrut Suspension – I think I have that right, it’s kind of the successor to the legendary AE86 a couple of generation removed. While FWD, it does apparently sport a 1.6 liter 20-valve 4-cylinder producing over 160hp. The SuperStrut Suspension option provided larger brakes amongst other goodies and apparently also a limited slip differential.
Overall it is a size larger than the Paseo but a smidge smaller than the Celica, kind of late ’80s Honda Prelude sized was my overall impression. Fairly conservatively styled but still clean and attractive it’s been around town for a couple of years and of course is a RHD JDM import; my understanding from a couple of minutes of half-assed research is these are a somewhat underrated package highly prized by those in the know, especially the slightly later BZ-R models.
At the grocery store parking lot that has provided me a lot of finds over the years, I wasn’t disappointed to note a Porsche 356 C, the final iteration of the 356 sold in 1964 and 1965, I’m not sure which year this one is.
I do know the Fuchs wheels are not the stock ones seeing as how they were not introduced until 1966 for the ’67 911. The custard yellow works well with the red interior and has me hankering for a bowl of strawberries with custard.
We’ve circled much of the globe with the prior four finds, so might as well end right here in the U.S.A. with this magnificent Buick Electra 225 which I believe is a 1964 model. This one’s a little more road-worn than the others, but perhaps also the one that you can just pile yourself and half a dozen or so friends into and hit the road to the lake or wherever with no concern about anything…
I hope you enjoyed this little composition, I know I’m happy to release five fine finds from my clutches!
Great selection!
Is that an extra cut line between front fender and door on the Alfa – could it be that it has a flip front?
I love those 105s – a colleague used to have one and it was a wonderful looking and sounding little coupe.
Good catch on that extra cut line. I have to assume your guess is right, as I can’t imagine what else it could be.
Hmm, interesting! I went back and looked at all the pics I had, this one is the best angle of it, but cropping and enlarging it also shows that BEHIND the door another shadow or cut line appears for some reason. Not sure if it’ll be visible in the attachment here. It doesn’t seem that there would be enough space for the hood to flip forward like that unless it’s somehow articulated at the front.
How odd. Yes, the second line at the rear of the door is visible too. Hmm…
That’s odd – there’s quite a few pictures of this particular car online, and they don’t show any extra cut lines. This picture is from the owner’s Instagram page, and it was taken just three weeks ago:
If you zoom in and look at your picture carefully, there are some vestigial vertical “lines” both in front and in back of the actual cut lines. They have to be some sort of odd artifact of some visual/shadow effect? They are quite visible, but not nearly as clear and complete-lookong as in Jim’s photo. I don’t know what would cause them, but clearly they don’t really exist.
My picture is from May 23rd so just over two weeks ago. Is there an engine pic you can find?
This is the best engine picture I can find. Most pictures of this car seem to be on Instagram, which is tough to access for folks (like me) without an account, so there may be others buried behind the membership wall.
Thanks! It sounded absolutely phenomenal, at least this clears up that the front clip does not fold, it’s a normal hood, deepening the cutline mystery…Maybe the owner will see this post and comment one day.
I enlarged it and looked – it seems to be a photographic effect…
I was envisaging a Spica injected Alfa Montreal or Busso motor sitting in there, as you said it sounded different to a normal 105…
Imagination got the better of me!
The Toyota Corolla Levin BZ-G / R is definitely underrated. I had a 6 speed BRZ with Superstrut. It was the most fun to driver car I owned.
The Buick surely shows influence of the ’61 Lincoln, though the next year’s edition moved away from that and to my eye was even more handsome.
In ’66 my English teacher, a quite tall, well off, and rather aristocratic single lady in her 50s drove a black ’65 Electra 225. As part of the Towson High UN club we visited restaurants that represented many countries that were found in Baltimore at the time: Vellegia’s, Nichi Bei Kai, Hausner’s, Left Bank at The Stafford Hotel, Jimmy Wu’s, and others. It was a small group of only 5 of us, so we always rode in that huge and magnificent new Electra, feeling quite privileged and distinguished. I’ve been enamored of that car ever since.
Our elderly neighbor directly across the street, Mr. Brown, bought a medium metallic brown Electra 225 6-window sedan similar to the one shown here in ’64. Loved to watch him back that beast out of his garage when he went out. He still had it when we moved to NC in late 1968.
Nice batch of finds with a wide range of interest. The Alfa is sublime and I can hear it in my mind’s ear. Love all 356s, and while I’m generally not to picky about non-stock wheels, I have a thing about folks putting these Fuchs wheels on 356s. The stock 356 wheels and hubcaps are so pretty and so much more in keeping with the spirit of them. The Fuchs wheel is from a whole different world, even if only a few years separate them.
I have a thing for ’63-’64 Electras, and this is a fine old survivor.
Agree – I love Fuchs (and have a set), but they don’t really suit a 356, although these look like original narrow ’60s 911 versions and not repops…
Nice catches Jim, today I’d take the 356, nice colour indeed but not a fan of the Fuchs wheels. Silver painted steelies with no hubcaps please 😎
CC effect alive and well: we popped across to our nearest large town earlier this week for shopping. While waiting at a red light, a blue GTV crossed the intersection. Great looking cars!
I wish you finished with the Alfa, but it also deserves to be the headline image. The other cars pale in comparison although I’m enamored by both the 356 and Lincoln-lectra.
Thank you!
All very pretty, in the 1960’s my best buddy’s dad was a Buick Man, he always had a two or three year old one, fine cars and oh so pretty .
I hope one of these years before it’s too late my son drags my old 356B coupe out of his back yard and puts it back on the road if there’s anything left to fix .
-Nate