There are still places on the California coast where one is not surprised to find something like this: a 1964 Buick Electra 4-door hardtop with its roof hacked off pulling a vintage travel trailer. The beach has always attracted those that didn’t readily fit in, and it used to be easy to live cheaply on the California coast. The challenge is to keep that lifestyle going in the 21st century; some manage it in a variety of ways. And a few even do it in style, but then a certain style or panache seems to come rather easily with this crowd; an old VW bus is always in high style. As is this Electra and its trailer; one might almost think it was there for a photo shoot for a hip clothing chain or such.
But a closer look in its interior rather suggests this is the real thing; someone’s living the genuine beach bum lifestyle.
Before we take a closer look at this fine rig, there’s a Niedermeyer family backstory about “the beach bum lifestyle”. Not surprisingly, it involves my father, who could say things to his family that were shockingly clueless (and destructive). My nephew Eric, who has been in the Coast Guard since he graduated from high school, always worked hard at everything and has achieved the highest enlisted rank, loved surfing and sailing. One time when Eric was about to go off on an extended deployment, he asked my father if it was ok for him to leave his Toyota pickup parked in the unused area of his driveway, something we’d all done before at one time or another. My father replied: “No; I don’t support your beach bum lifestyle.” Eric, who has always been the model of a loving grandson, didn’t know whether to cry, laugh or…punch him in the face.
This little episode severely dinged their relationship and the expression has become Niedermeyer lore. So much so that my SIL (on Stephanie’s side) gave me a shirt last year with this patch on it that she had made up.
That hasn’t stopped us from indulging in the beach bum lifestyle twice a year, when Stephanie housesits for some friends in their ocean-front beach house in Half Moon Bay. This shot is from the harbor, where we watched those beach bum surfers in the distance. That’s a nice three mile walk from the house; we also walk south on the path for twice as far. It’s a hard job, but someone has to do it. Actually, I get a bit restless and bored after about a week, so I usually fly down just for the last week and then drive home with Stephanie.
While there, I decided to drive down the coast (on Hwy 1) to see Dimitry, who lives in Santa Cruz and do some mountain biking, something I haven’t done in 30 years. I loved it!
Anyway, on the spectacular drive down the unspoiled coast there’s several beach access parking areas, and that’s where I spotted this fine combination. The tarp over the trailer suggests they likely spent the night (or more) here. Nice free oceanfront view, especially from the Buick.
No, there never were any four door convertibles in the US except of course the elegant and rather rare Continental during its 1961-1969 generation (the Kaiser “convertible” was more of a “convertible sedan” as its window frames did not roll down). But cutting off the roof of a big four door hardtop was once a fairly common undertaking, that is, in climates like California.
The interior shows signs of it having spent a bit of time in the sun, so this roofectomy was likely done some decades ago.
Wouldn’t want someone driving off with this beloved old barge.
With either the standard 325 hp 401 “Nailhead” V8 or the optional 425, there’s plenty of pulling power under the Nimitz-class hood. And a rugged THM-400 behind either one. A stalwart pairing, if ever there was one.
Maybe the tarp is a permanent fixture? One can burble along at pretty modest speeds on this section of Hwy. 1. It’s truly hard to believe that on the other side of the Santa Cruz Mountains is one of the biggest and most congested metropolitan areas in the country; it feels like one is in a very remote area. Well, on the weekend the folks on the other side do tend to spill over those mountains, but they usually stick closer to where the roads go over them.
Related CC reading:
Auction Classic: 1951 Frazer Manhattan Convertible – Four Doors Out Of Necessity, Not Virtue by Tom Halter
Beautiful Car Day Cohort Outtake: 1966 Lincoln Continental Convertible by me
I spotted the same rig a few weeks ago in Felton CA, just a few miles inland from Santa Cruz. He did not have the tarp on the trailer back then, perhaps because it was in the midst of Summer. Lighting was poor, so I am glad to get another good look in your photos.
Always loved Half Moon Bay just for the cool temperatures. Had a brother that lived in Mountain View(RIP). Did a double take on the Buick 4 door convertible.