We’ve been in anniversary mood this week, revisiting CC’s early days and remembering those early Curbside Finds that appeared on the site. Today, we’ll do a variation of that. In the fifteen years since our debut, the images from Cohort uploader Curtis Perry have been among the most memorable ones we’ve featured; his eye for capturing a classic car’s shape in eye-grabbing forms was a delight since day one, and while they lasted, were favorites of ours.
Perry’s Flickr page has been dormant since 2022, and one can only hope it goes active again at some point. In the meantime, we’ll revisit some of his greatest hits in today’s gallery, focusing on his haunting nighttime shots. Not that it was easy picking these; I missed several that should have made today’s post.
Our opening image showcases the sinuous hips of a 1970 A-body 4-door hardtop Cutlass, and was part of a short gallery featuring Oldsmobiles still on the road.
This 1959 Buick was featured in our post “This Menacing ’59 Buick Stalks The Night.”
It’s a menacing presence that deserves a second image.
And for a somewhat jollier shot, this 1958 Thunderbird.
How about this 1971 Chrysler 300 C? This is one image that has remained in my memory banks since I first saw it in 2018.
The blocky, neoclassical quiet dignity of a 1970s Lincoln Continental.
Far more humble, a late 1960s Valiant in lighting that gives it a serene beauty.
Let’s move to a foreign make. I’ve rarely seen a Datsun 620 pickup looking as attractive as it does in this shot.
And now for a 1965 Rambler, looking rather heroic. This one got its own post.
Time-lapse 1970 Malibu joy, one of several related images.
Another serene looking image; a 1961 Rambler Classic.
A 1966 Buick Electra, electrifyingly eerie.
We can’t leave aside truck beauty. And for that, this ca. 1967 F250 will do.
A Mercedes Fintail, with its lines admiringly highlighted in this image.
Another set of fins, in the form of a 1956 Dodge Coronet, captured in Portland.
Want a traditional wagon? Here is one, a 1973 Ford Country Sedan with older hubcaps.
Staying in Ford territory, a Landau-roofed 1969 Thunderbird.
Much further away, a 1969 IKA Torino captured in the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
And one last haunting image to close this installment; an extended body first-generation Chevy Van.
If and when Curtis Perry publishes a book of his car photography, I’ll be among the first to purchase it if I can afford it.
Such lovely photos .
-Nate
At first glance, I’d have sworn that the (last photo) ’69 IKA Torino was a Rambler American coupe!
I did the same thing!
Yes, I thought the same.. Very similar lines
It is (or was) a Rambler American coupe. The tooling was sent to Argentina where it was built for many years as the IKA (Kaiser’s Argentinian Ops) Torino, using the 230 CID SOHC six that was first developed in the US for the Jeep Wagoneer. It became a legend down there. Full story here:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/cohort-classic-1971-ika-torino-ts-the-legendary-rambler-south-american/
I’ll bookmark this one.
That opening pic is right out of a mob movie.
I was thinking a David Lynch movie
Wow, an artist at work! Great photos, great cars. Thanks for posting!
Some jaw dropping photography.
The 70 Cutlass at the start of the post is almost exactly like my father’s first Cutlass Supreme. Well optioned it was without a vinyl roof and A/C (because, we’re Canadian). Full retail on his Cutlass was almost $4,200 CDN. It had a few niggling issues on warranty not long after purchase after which it proved very reliable. The 350 V8 with 4 bbl and single exhaust pulled strong yet, could achieve 20 mpg on the highway depending how deep you pushed the go pedal. He enjoyed the car as I did on occasion until 1980 when I helped him factory order another Cutlass.
Great night shots, so much old iron in the PNW… Had a valiant exactly like that one.. Also a 66 230 fintail that never ran.. Pretty black sedan . purchased and sold with the cylinder head in the trunk..
These are all amazing, I could stare at them for hours on end.
I’m going to peg that Valiant as a 72 model. It is sporting the 72+ wheelcovers, but lacks the big 73 front bumber.
Great photos. Night shots always have something special about them.
Please let me contribute something to the topic:
Here’s my first Volvo. A 1981 model year, which I bought as a student in the summer of ’87. It had 57,000 km (approx. 36,000 miles) on the odometer back then.
Love all the four-doors! Finally getting in the spotlight !
The “61, Rambler” and the “50’s Coronet” are my two fav’s. Call the red car whatever ya want. It’s a “Rambler, American” to me..