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It’s hard living in Israel with a classic; Their owners seem to Joe Public as weird folks, willing to travel without the comforts of modern-day vehicles. Also, the Israeli law states that you cannot use your classic on week days between 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM, so going to work has to be limited to certain hours. Add to that the total dis-respect to others’ cars (parking scratches, door marks and other maladies are very common here), as well as lack of general motor-culture, and you basically get what is the norm- people hide their classics from view and only come out to join various classic meetings on weekends.
Occasionally, though, some slip through the net, as you can see.
My way to work runs about six miles, and goes through town areas, as well as a highway in between. Usually, around 6:00 AM, you’ll encounter the same kind of early-work travelers, such as myself, mostly in normal, unexciting vehicles. But from time to time, I see this same blue 1962 Comet. Exiting the highway yesterday, I finally managed to capture it in my Dash-Cam:
Naturally, the audio is the radio playing in the background.
This specific car is not new to me, as I’ve seen it in Five Club (Israel’s premier and most popular classic cars club) meetings, and even took some photos of it:
All in all, it looks to be mostly preserved, aside from rust beginning to take hold- I hope it will be taken cared of.
Certainly, my virtual hat goes off to the owner, who uses his classic as it was meant originally- In Motion.
Nice looking car. I see nothing wrong with driving such a vintage car. As long as it’s safe to drive, and that it’s possible to keep it running safely.
True. I’ve never felt “unsafe” in my 63 Valiant in 35 years of driving it.
Great car. 60-63 Comet: my dream car.
The color on this Comet really sets it off. For whatever reason I’ve never paid a lot of attention to the smaller Mercuries from this period and I’m starting to see the error of my ways.
This is a truly terrific find.
Same color as my 1961 Comet (which was a recent COAL) but with a nicer rear end design in my opinion. Kind of imitating the swagger of Impala’s three round lights on each side.
Regarding the rule in Israel against use of classic cars during weekday prime A.M. commuting hours, is that based on any particular logic, such as emissions, or reduced insurance rates, etc.? Just curious.
And can you avoid the 7-9 rule by registering it as a normal (non-classic) car?
I believe the full-sized Mercurys also used that 3 tail light per side design for a few years, and that is where the “mimicking” comes from.
It does make this car look awfully narrow though.
This was a condition made by the Israeli administration when they recognized – after a long and tedious struggle by the Five Club – a new registration category for collectors vehicles (basically, cars, buses, bikes, tractors and trucks up to 12T GVW). Collectors vehicles have to be at least 30 years old, not used for commercial purposes and – this being the main thing – are taxed very low and only subject to one DOT inspection per year, as opposed to two for other old vehicles. You can retain regular registration but once you applied and got a collectors vehicle status, the procedure is irreversible. You can perhaps understand why the administration came out with this quid pro quo. There is a never-ending argument on Israeli forums as to what one exposes oneself when ignoring the rule, and I for one would not have risked it. Most Israeli car collectors tend to frown on such behavior – there’s a justifiable fear that too much abuse may give the administration an excuse to undo the special rule, which would set the whole hobby many years back. Oh: another achievement by the club was getting the administration to agree to the import of collectors vehicles (new vehicles older than two years cannot be imported into Israel), so that’s another consideration.
I hope this makes sense (Israel does not often does).
It’s definitely a justifiable fear: Here in Virginia, Classic car registrations are common, and the rules associated with them are often ignored. I frequently see classic car plates on commuters’ cars, and even on commercial vehicles (such as contractors using a 25+ year old van for their regular work). And in Virginia, the benefits of a classic registration are less significant that those in Israel, from what it sounds like, so even less is at stake.
Thats strict here once a car reaches 40 years old they automatically get classic vehicle registration with cheaper fees but that is it there are no other restrictions.
I would say that mimicking the 3 tail lights was an effort to look more like it’s corporate cousin, the 1960 Lincoln. When this car was built the 3 tailight set up was only around for a few years on the Chevy’s.
What can you tell us about the tape on the rear bumper? Is it for reflectivity, being a slower moving vehicle, or something else?
I believe the reflector tape used to be mandatory for all cars in Israel, so it’s just a sign that the car is old. I’m sure Yohai can fill in the details about when the requirement was dropped…
You are indeed correct on this being an old rule. By the way, you have similar rules for trucks and buses, believe it or not, in some EU countries.
Yes, I can- this was dropped in 1995, if memory serves. However, any car produced before that still has to bare these strips for eternity…
But most classic car’s owners have found a way to round that square; they use magnets with strips attached to them, just to pass the DOT, after which they remove them and throw them in the boot. The police doesn’t bother enforcing that sticker.
I can only assume this is to reduce pollution at times of heaviest car usage during the morning commute. But what is the cutoff age for this rule?
In my part of the USA (Virginia), if you tag your vehicle with a classic/”antique” plate, it is not allowed to be used for driving to/from work; the way the regulation is worded, in fact, you are only allowed to use if for club tours/shows/events and “occasional pleasure use”. But the benefits are compelling (lower registration fees, lower insurance rates, and exemption from the state safety inspection). Of course, it’s also perfectly legal to register a car of any age with a standard tag, and have no use restrictions whatsoever. It does have to pass the yearly safety inspection in that case…
See my response further above…
Interesting. Here in Nanny State Australia, especially in my state of Queensland, classic car registration is so draconian I actually register all 3 of my classics at the much higher standard registration rates. For classic registration:
1. You must be a current financial member of a recognised car club and the club has to verify your membership and car details to the authorities
2. You are up issued with the historic plates
3. Once your car has those plates it can only be used to drive to official classic car club events and/or driven to or from a place where maintenance or repairs work will be carried out.
That’s it – no other driving permitted.
I was driving my w108 Mercedes once during the week when a motorbike cop pulled me over and demanded to know which club event was held mid week or which workshop I was on my way to or from. He had such attitude! I replied that I was not going to any club event nor was I going to or coming from any workshop and that it was of no concern to him where I was going. I then had to endure a lecture about the use of cars on special registration and was told I would now get a ticket. I told him to stop embarrassing himself, that he was not going to give me a ticket and if he would kindly look at the number plate he would see why. He turned red, went to the back of the car to see the number plate and then just jumped on his bike and left! Of course the car was on full registration plates. I’m thinking he was so excited at the prospect of writing a ticket he just assumed it was on historic registration the moment he saw the car.
Same in Victoria. But in my small town I’ve seen cars on Club Permit plates at the shops, at the doctors, outside church. Illegal, sure. Maybe they think being in a small country town they won’t get sprung, but we used to have a cop here with your guy’s attitude problem.
The Victorian system has changed in the last few years, and now runs a 45- or 90-day logbook system for vehicles older than 25 years. Still requires car club membership, but pro-rata registration costs make it well and truly worth while. And you can look at it as running four classics on 90 day permits costs the same in registration as one boring modern car… 😉
Is petrol expensive in Israel?
Yes, compared with the US – it’s on the same level as the more expensive EU countries, see here: http://www.globalpetrolprices.com/Israel/gasoline_prices/
@Yohay: looks like an original import to Israel by the licence plate?
Very much so.
To the rest of you; what T. means by “original import” is a car that was imported to Israel in real time, i.e. (in the case of the Comet) 1962.
New imports of classic cars to Israel have risen dramatically in recent years- many folks have grown up, suddenly realizing they have enough money to import their childhood dream, sometimes it’s a dream that was never imported to Israel originally. C3 Corvettes is a good example of a car that has grown dramatically in Israel in recent years, about 99% of them arriving here in recent years.
And the way to tell between recent and original imports is by the license plate. Certain groups of numbers indicate that it’s a new import- in recent years it’s become even more simple; if it has seven digits, like the other modern cars (see the YouTube video again), than it’s “new”.
It is – I asked the man who knows.
Thank you all for your comments- I see Turtle has answered most of your questions… Thanks T.
I actually have some more videos of in-motion classics, but these were driving to or back from meetings, such as this:
The Comet was actually going to work, so deserved a post of its own.
We have a good system in New Zealand for classic cars, once your car reaches 40 years old registration drops to $51 per year and its subject to a six monthly safety inspection like every other car and you can drive where ever and when ever you like, I dont drive my old car in the rain much as the windscreen leaks but thats its only restriction.
Sounds like common sense. Maybe we should outsource our motor registration to NZ. 🙂
Shalom Yohai; Always great to read your postings as an Israeli car guy!
Aside from the terrific Comet here, maybe you can answer this question:
I spent some time in Israel (1967-69) as a H.S. student. Loved every old Opel, Vauxhaul, Contessa, Anglia, NSU Prinz, Auto Union, and of course the home-grown Sussita.
One very common workhorse, however, was mysterious & magical to me —
Most taxis (sherutim) were 1953 Desoto 9-passenger limousines, re-fitted with diesels & 3-on the tree. They’d fill up with passengers & drop them off at various stops along the route.
The chugging engines lumbered through city & countryside, while the open-air breeze provided evaporative cooling for the comaraderie of passengers.
What was the source of those wonderful, buck-toothed Desoto limo’s, which were not especially common in the US? They couldn’t have been in Israeli service for 15 yrs., could they? Perhaps it was the work of an entrepreneur who rounded up the old girls & gave them new lives, in witness protection?
I returned to Israel in the ’90’s, and not a single Desoto limo could be found. Not even in a salvage yard. No one knew anything about them. But every time I hear the slow, steady clutch release of a growling diesel, it sends me to place far away & long ago.
They may have looked something like this (photo below) early on, but by the time of my acquaintance, . the whitewalls were gone, and a layer of grime & wear was apparent throughout.
Well, I’ll have to look this up but I think your latter guess is most probable: “it was the work of an entrepreneur who rounded up the old girls & gave them new lives”.
Many of the old cars were not preserved properly- for years Classic Motoring was considered to be flaky, non existent in Israel, the domain of Anoraks… so many cars were thrown by the wayside, crushed or whatever- Certainly those Desotos whom at the time, were just (very) old taxis.
Those – believe it or not – were original imports kept alive as long as possible (easy with older Mopars) as new cabs did cost a lot. Later ones (Plymouth Coronados) were in fact conversions done by a Dutch coach builder for the European and Middle Eastern markets. However, in the later 60s Chrysler lost interest and the mantle was picked up by Checker, Mercedes Benz, Peugeot and even Fiat. Nowadays the same role is served by minibuses like the Mercedes Benz Sprinter.
The reason they all disappeared is very simple: they were seen as nothing more than tools and usually driven to an inch of their lives and then scrapped; back then, car collection was not as accepted as it is today so no one thought about preservation. Some Checkers though have been saved.
Here’s one as you may remember it…
… and more, taken in Haifa’s central railway station (source: Ilan Goldenberg).
… and some more here: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-cohort/cohort-outtake-1970-plymouth-coronado-8-passenger-sedan-built-in-rotterdam-used-in-israel-and-likely-the-only-one-in-the-world/
Excellent, Turtle !
Now we know why the internet was invented — Thank you so much !
If this Comet is equipped with the 144 cubic inch six cylinder engine and the 2 speed “Merc-O-Matic” automatic transmission; then “fast” is an extremely relative & variable term.
Thanks for this, Yohai. It’s a treat to see some old American iron in use in another part of the world, so I hope my comment on the car itself won’t sound sour: I’ve always been surprised, if not mystified, by the appreciation many folks here have for the aesthetics of the early 60s Comet and Falcon. Ever since I was a kid in the 60s, I’ve thought these were very dorky and ill-proportioned. What am I missing?!
Most likely nothing at all. If we all liked the same thing, what a boring world it would be….
I’ve always kind of liked Falcons, and almost bought a new 1963 Falcon Sprint, glad I didn’t, (only) because I got laid off the next day. So I ended up being quite unimpressed with first-generation Mustangs, seeing them as overpriced and overrated Falcons.
You’re missing the irony. Very important to the Falcon’s modern fanbase! 😉
j/k I share your thoughts somewhat, the Neither the Falcon or Comet did much for me until the 64 body for both of them and only in hardtop form. Much as I like old cars the 60-63 Falcon in particular just looked blocky tall and stubby, the Comet looks a little better. Having said that though I do have a great appreciation for the sheer rudimentary nature of them, they’re modest dimensions fit perfectly in the modern world but under the skin they’re the ultimate anti-modern car. No I’m not a hipster!
Actually, the irony is the part I didn’t miss. I get it when hipsters embrace the car. I don’t get it when people say straight-faced, “that’s a good looking car.”