Whenever I get that annoying pop-up on my iPhone, I know it’s time to offload a few car photos. They build up so fast and I’m darned if I’m going to pay extra for more digital storage. Those guys get enough of our money as it is. So, this installment will feature everything I snapped over the summer that’s been gumming up my phone. The makes and marques are all over the place, as per usual. I thought about calling it a “Carnucopia” but “Odds and Sods” won out. Buckle up and be amazed.
The Dodge Dart pulled up while I was snapping a photo of a nearby Volvo 144. I dashed over and tried to find the owner, but lost him behind the tomatoes. The Dart won me over immediately and I took as many photos as propriety allowed. Even my wife was gushing over how cool this car looked.
Side view shows a great looking car in a beautiful setting. This Dart had collector plates, so it might be back in winter storage by now.
A little farther down the road, in La Conner proper, I shot this amazing little workhorse. It’s an early ’70s Toyota with dualies and a swing-arm boom.
Apparently this truck is used to transport headstones to their final resting places in Skagit County, Wash.
The business end of this company truck. I wonder what the depreciation is like on this thing.
Later, on La Conner’s main drag, among the waffle-cones and wind-socks, I spotted this super clean Datsun 810 Maxima.
Back in my own Sunnyland neighborhood of Bellingham, I spotted a couple of real rarities. Two versions of the infamous Trans Sport on the same street. This was near Otherlands Brewing, in the heart of the brewery district.
A face that only a mother could love.
Next up is this Oldsmobile Silhouette.
Side view shows that same “Monorail” DNA.
Let’s head down to the harbor for a couple of oddities. First up is this Hayes tractor used to haul boats in and out of All American Marine.
Hayes Manufacturing Company was founded in Vancouver, B.C. in the ’20s, but ceased operations in 1975.
Finally, let’s snap this old Kaiser and call it good.
Our Volvo is photobombing this shot at right.
Again, a face that only a mother could love.
Great finds! Those 65-66 Dart hardtops were sharp cars.
I think the Kaiser is a 52. Kaiser taillights got bigger or more embellished every year. These are bigger than the 51s, but lack the fender top chrome of the 53.
I like the Hayes tractor, like too the retaining wall lock blocks for traction, ( wouldn’t hurt to put some tires on the drive axles). You can backup a rig like this, but it’s a trick, like backing up a 4 wheel wagon.
Nice finds .
When those A body Darts were new I wasn’t impressed, it seemed many old men bought them and were not pleased I didn’t grasp how great a car they were and how sharp they looked .
This is the first Kaiser I ever thought looked pretty .
-Nate
Terrific finds here – absolutely love that Kaiser!
Just a quick callout to the blandest care in this collection, the Maxima. Datsuns of this vintage have all but disappeared from here on the East Coast, so I’d be very excited to find one of these.
I felt compelled to look up Todd’s Monuments – looks like the business is now run by Todd’s daughter, and she has a picture on the company’s website of herself with her father and the Toyota truck taken about 20 years ago. I bet it’s been in use hoisting monuments for much longer. Great to see an old vehicle still in active use.
I can’t imagine that there is any depreciation on that Toyota truck. It’s probably worth more now than what they payed for it.
The Dart is a great looking car! What a beauty.
The Kaiser is quite a looker, too. Much nicer than the ’51 four door V8 Ford I saw yesterday.
Apologies Hard boiled. My comment was intended as standalone.
Second time this has happened…
I have a soft spot for the compact Dodge Darts, especially those with slant sixes. They’re like an old dog, familiar and reliable. For some odd reason that love isn’t as great for Valiants and Dusters. I love the styling on the Kaiser, even the front. That’s a snazzy paint job too.
That’s a nice collection of shots. I’ll bet the Toyota and the Hayes will still be working for a living in another 10 years. Here on Vancouver Island Hayes trucks were once a common sight, and there were still a few operating as logging trucks well into the 2000’s. Like the Toyota, they were legendary for toughness.
We actually once had a decent industry building trucks in BC, with at least 5 brands built here. Hayes was the first to fall in ’75, and Western Star pulled out around 2003 to end it.
That Kaiser is spectacular, but I’d take the Dart in a heartbeat, although to me it looks funny as a Dodge. The exact same car here was sold as a Valiant Signet. I had a ’66 with a 273 for awhile, I’ve often wished I kept it. I haven’t been to Bellingham and environs in quite awhile, but I do seem to recall it had plenty of well used but well kept workaday old cars around!
Always been a fan of the ’63-’65 Dart GT coupe. It was quite popular at the time, in that time before the Mustang appeared.
The Kaisers of this vintage never fail to impress me, given how low (and rather light) they were for the times. If only it had a modern V8 to go along with the looks.
Great shots and finds! Yes, I love the Dart and the Manhattan, but someone’s got to show a little love for the Trans Sport and Silhouette. Two of the dorkiest vehicles which seem to have survived from a past future. They always looked to me like something that ought to be driven around on Moonbase Alpha by the likes of Commander Koenig and Dr. Russell.
I have no idea why I remember this, but in the 70’s there was a magazine ad about La Conner police using Renault Le Cars:
https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/in-the-1970s-police-departments-relied-on-the-renault-le-car/
I’ve never been to La Conner, and in the 70’s hadn’t been to Washington state yet. My Father had owned a Renault, but he sold it before the Le Car ever came out (his was an R10 he bought new in ’68).
Strange what one’s brain latches onto (and what it doesn’t). We lived in Vermont at the time, and with our proximity to Quebec Province, probably saw more Renaults than most people in the states, of course while they were being imported.
We left in the 80’s (well, my niece still lives in South Burlington) so I don’t know of the later Renaults during their AMC relationship. I saw quite a few Le Cars back in the day. Maybe that Le Car was in La Conner, my latent French language pattern matching (which I took in high school in Virginia, not in Vermont) kicked in.
Don’t know if I’ve ever seen a Kaiser in person, but my Dad used to mention Frazer/Kaiser after WWII. Maybe it is optical illusion but the beltline looks lower than I would expect. Or it’s been too long since we had the 80’s cars like by Honda that routinely had very low beltlines, they stand out in contrast to the high ones we have today.
Wow zwep, you are amazing! Thanks for remembering the Le Car story and posting the link. Reading that Hagerty story was the most fun I’ve had in a long time…
(Not to mention Jeff Sun posting “Space: 1999” for the Trans Sport) Thanks!
I’ll take the Dart. Nice car. Though I had an Olds Silhouette rental once, in the Midwest and I remember it as a pleasant car to haul a bunch of colleagues on flat straight roads. Good visibility, good A/C.
I am always surprised by how the Kaiser stands out from other cars of the same era. Last week I was at a Cars and Coffee and saw my first Kaiser Darrin. It is also a striking vehicle.
Definitely the best looking Dart and what a great example.
Definitely surprising finding not one but two dustbusters seemingly still earning their keep. It reminds me of several years ago when the club my kids and I were in were in the local parade. In the staging area there just down from us was a Silhouette. The people got out wearing silver metallic jump suits. They opened up the back and pulled out some cardboard wings, tail and cones and started taping them on along with of course some pieces of paper with NASA logo. It appeared that they were just a family having fun, they were behind us but I had definite concerns about how far those wings were going to make it.
The “swoopy-ness” at the top of the windshield & rear glass on the Kaiser reminds me of the Cartoon “Cars of Tomorrow” (from early 50’s). There was a scene that showed a car that resembled a “dress” or something on a bosom, that had similar lines. Had flashbacks when I noticed it here.
I also like the Dart, and the way the rear drums are painted to match, must be front disc.