I’ve been walking my dog past this classic for months. The stock color is what I like to call “DNR Green,” but this rig was never used by the Department of Natural Resources. A former neighbor brought the GMC out from upstate New York, where it had been part of small-town fire department. Dream scenario, right? When he got it, Ken’s time capsule had under 10,000 miles and was always stored indoors. I think he did a respray and added some period mags. Judging by the logo in the grill, I think it is a 1967 GMC 1500. Now someone else owns the GMC and it’s parked outside in the rain. Too bad. I don’t know the backstory on the other cars that follow, but none of them seem to be driven much, if at all. Sad.
A 1500 of another stripe is this 1972-ish Spitfire. A stalled restoration project, this bedraggled Triumph has languished in a state of suspended animation for years.
Sometimes it is stored in a tumble-down garage, other times next to it. Now it’s out on the street. Pity.
Finally, there is this pair of Mazdas that haven’t moved in months. The blue Miata has a roll bar and appears ready for some weekend racing. The red one is really nice too, but it just sits. Bummer!
Now I’m feeling badly about my Mustang which has been sitting in the garage since July.
About 15 years ago ,an acquaintance retrieved a beautiful 1962 Cadillac Fleetwood from an estate sale in San Francisco.
This specimen was flawless with around 36k miles.
He left it parked outside uncovered, on a busy West Seattle street, even though he had a garage that I believe housed a driver truck and a 1959 Pontiac sedan. Rarely moved, it rotted before everyone’s eyes.
Wow, that beats anything I’ve seen on the street. I would have parked the truck outside or sent the Pontiac packing. West Seattle has a reputation for quirkiness, but the Caddie story takes the cake…
People have beautifully restored cars that just sit in the garage; I fail to see a difference.
Fair enough, but at least they are out of the rain and sun. Concededly, I know that sitting in a garage unmoved can cause its own problems
I have the same Mazda pairing at home- The ’90 once belonged to my wife and now belongs to my daughter, and Momma replaced the ’90 with a current generation RF (Retractable Fastback).
Difference is, they are both daily drivers. Sara parks the ’90 on the street and uses it for personal transportation, while Celeste keeps the RF in the garage and mostly drives it to work.
The CC law is definitely in effect on the Mazdas. As soon as this post appeared, the red one disappeared. Hopefully it got back on the road. This after months of sitting in the same spot. All it takes is a sunny day…
Close Dead, it’s a ’68. Same year as mine (pictured). ’67s had no side marker lights and I believe only offered the small rear window. The grill is correct for a ’67, likely a new repop.
Thanks for setting me straight, David. Your ’68 is a beaut. These 1500s have that clean, muscular styling that never gets old…
I’m diggin’ that Olds convertible behind it in the photo.
What a nice pair of classics!
Dead, thanks for the compliment on my truck. I’ve had it for about 10 years now actually. I traded even back in the day for a ’97 Lexus SC400! The truck had massive wiring issues/buggery that I had to sort out (as massive as it can be with these anyway, they’re pretty simple) and I think the guy was in over his head. His wife liked the Lexus. haaha
Rick, thanks as well. The Olds is hers; a ’72 Cutlass Supreme Convertible. It has an…. interesting interior which you can just kind of start to see in the pic I’ve attached. Ostrich and gator skin…. HA! It came that way. Its a bucket seat/console setup with the floor shift which is kind of cool.
Try to repost the other picture…. Didn’t come up the last time.
A guy I know has a 67 Grand Prix convertible with a 4 speed manual. He bought it new. It’s under an overhang on his garage. He’ll never sell it and I don’t think that he’ll ever drive it again. It hasn’t moved for 10 or 15 years.
If this is in Bellingham, I’ve worked on that GMC several years before. I’ll periodically see it on the streets, then won’t see it for a length of time. There’s been a white ’65 T-Bird on Iowa Street doing the morning commute.
Good eye, Ozzy. The GMC is in my Sunnyland neighborhood of Bellingham. I hope I was correct in my backstory about the truck being a low-mileage original. You would probably know better if you worked on it! Will keep an eye out for the ’65 T-Bird…
When I moved into this neighborhood about 15 years ago (has it really been that long?), there was a house a mile away with three late-1960s Buicks parked in the driveway – two Electras and a LeSabre i believe. They all looked reasonably decent, and my assumption was one of those was being restored using parts from the other two. A decade and a half later, I’ve never seen any of them move, and all three have become badly rusted hulks. This is one of those sad cases where the owner won’t acknowledge that he’ll never, ever get around to fixing them up but for whatever reason can’t let go of them. We all know how this will end – they’ll eventually pass onto his estate, after which they’ll quickly be sent straight to the crusher.
DNR. anyone with hospital experience or elderly relatives knows this acronym to mean Do Not Resuscitate. and that may give the color another rather different meaning to more than a few readers.
Not only that, but this DNR green is similar to the color of scrubs they wear in hospitals…
This beauty of a brush-painted 1990 Mazda Titan has been sitting outside my house for about 8 months – I have no idea who owns it. When parked it had live registration, but that has now been lapsed for about 4 months. I was going to report it as abandoned, but then someone replaced the plastic over the window, so that was enough love for it to get a reprieve from me. I rather doubt the owner sees it as a classic, but it’s definitely a shelved project.
Kudos for not reporting someone’s project. Where I live, a car on the street seems to be OK if it has current tabs. If they lapse, and the car gets reported, a bright orange notice appears on the windshield. Usually, a few days pass before the car is gone… Other states have harsher limits on street parking. A friend from Wisconsin told me no one can keep an old car on the street there (or even on their own property in some cases). Harsh.
Postscript: earlier today someone came and drove it away! Of course, I immediately jumped into my car and filled up the spot, and was rewarded half an hour later when I saw it pause outside and then drive on. Now it’s parked 50 metres up the road and I have a decent view down the road when I pull out of my driveway. Win!
Chaz for the win! Reminds of George Costanza on Seinfeld, doing whatever it takes to get that dream parking spot.
Which is why I take my Skylark out every week. A trip to the shops/ to work/ whatever. Only way to keep an old car reliable is to use it.
And I’m vain enough to enjoy showing it off.
Never understood this (other than the case where someone becomes ill or dies). If I ever came to the point in which I lose interest in my classic it’ll get sold, period.