After a warm spell that bridged the autumnal solstice, the last weekend in September dawned bright and cold in the Hudson Valley. I planned a long-anticipated breakfast run on “the other side of the river” for me and my ’98 Honda PC800. This time of year is prime for viewing old cars in New York, and I happened upon one, right off.
Making our way to the eastern side of the Bear Mountain Bridge in mid-50 degree temperatures (F), my steed and I thought it wise to stop at the Garrison Café for a cup of joe, where the elderly owners of this ‘40 Ford Deluxe coupe were dining on eggs, leaving their pet Jack Russell to stand guard.
I hailed the gent on his way out of the café to admire his taste in vintage hardware, and he took the opportunity to expound on the 5-window body style.
“I used to race these. One time I got my arms burned in an accident. The guy in front of me dropped his fuel tank and I ran over it. There was no window crank on the right side of the car, so I had to exit through driver’s window into the fire on the active side of the track. I was in the backstretch calling for an ambulance, and it never came, so I ran across the infield to find ‘em.
”You gotta take me to the hospital”, I told ‘em, and they said they had to get over to the far side of the track, because there was a guy on fire over there.
“Well, that’s ME!’”
The morning sun had yet to overshine treetops on the hills above Route 9D by the Hudson, so I tied up Ole’ Dobbin at a curb in Cold Spring, and indulged in a protracted breakfast at the Silver Spoon Café to combat the chill (good eggs).
When yellow rays finally crept across the street and glowed in the banquette on the far side of the doorway, it was warm enough to go.
My horse and I mosied out of town, following a hand drawn plan, distilled from Google maps, of the beautiful back country two-lanes of Putnam County.
Ambling through undulating roads dotted with horse farms, I crested a hill to find this wonderful sight. I’ll wager any CC-er would have stopped to photograph it, so I got it for all of us. The owners of this neatly presented farm allowed their whimsy to decorate the barn’s exterior with colorful signs, and a “Buck Rogers” rocket ship. A pang of nostalgia struck when I saw the digits, “29/9” on a bill near the center. This was a prime per-gallon gasoline price seen on the highways during our family’s summer vacation in 1963.
The pièce de résistance, though is the patinated 1954 senior Packard nose affixed to the front of the building, the crown jewel in a lovely bouquet of beer signs. Looking up, there’s no way for a cornball mind like mine to avoid generating an ersatz Rocky & Bullwinkle-style slogan:
“Packard Flies High in ‘54!” or, “Ask the Man Who’s Flown One!”
It is hard to find a prettier car from the 40s than a 1940 Ford DeLuxe. I would argue that from 1928 to 1940, Ford delivered a string of unbroken beauties, with the possible exception of the ’38. But I never warmed to the ’41.
Whenever I see a building adorned with a major part of an old car, I always wonder what the rest of the car looked like before someone pulled out the Sawzall.
I always have a mental image of the rest of the car sticking though the wall on the inside of the building 🙂
HaHa A local body shop has the front quarter of a newer car sticking out of the side of their two story building, The rear quarter is sticking out of the other side. He wired up the lights on both ends. Great attention getter for his business.
But what if the barn is actually built around the Packard? 🙂
DougD obviously types faster than I do…..dang it!!
Great article, I was planning a similar NY/PA trip this weekend but the weather is going to be poor.
I love your PC800, I think they are hideous motorcycles but the size and utility and typical Honda bike quality are admirable. (I have a C10 Concours with is no good looker either)
As I close in on 50 years old I am having trouble reading maps on my tank bag, I like your sketch and tape system. I’ve been printing screenshots from Google maps and writing the road numbers in with large print beside them.
PC800s have the beauty of utility, but I must admit, I could not own one with the early spatted front wheel– it’s the Exner toilet seat of motorcycle styling. The last two years (’97/’98) at least have a conventional front fender. They drive wonderfully, too, and are surprisingly nimble. Their owners are nuts about them. One critic suggested that the design could be judged a logical step in the evolution of motorcycles–if, in the first world, they were used for daily transport (The Europeans were cladding their workaday bikes in full bodies in the late ’50s). PC800s were designed with an everyday use in mind– commuting– but were priced too high, and styled too unconventionally to succeed. even if there WAS a market niche to mine. In an on again, off again production run of 9 years, only 14, 000 were sold worldwide, of which just 500 like mine were delivered in 1998, their last year.
Just for reference, here’s the same barn as seen on Google Earth, a view which hasn’t been updated since 2012.
My wife and I love Cold Spring, and regularly visit the train station restaurant, where there are usually a decent collection of unique, unusual or highly expensive cars. Most recently, a Cobra replica and what appeared to be a McLaren were out front.
Neither were mine…
Been there… and like it!
This makes me nostalgic. My brother owned a black ’39 Ford Deluxe coupe in the early Seventies, and it was a great car for ambling down the back roads, especially at this time of year. I do prefer the front end styling of the 1940, and I like the column gearchange as well.
Can I have the ’40 Deluxe grille with the ’39 non sealed-beam headlamps?
I’m going to have to reload this article – pictures are not showing for some reason….great story, though!
Road trips, 40 Ford coupes with friendly owners, Jack Russell terriers and Rocky and Bullwinkle are all great. Let’s overlook that fiery accident…
This article has everything!
$ 029.9 a gallon in 1963 equals $2.35 a gallon today.
Great finds! I grew up in Fishkill, and seeing your pics makes me melancholy for home. Didn’t truly appreciate the beauty of the Hudson Valley until after I left.
Yah, Eric. If you hang around towns like Fishkill, Newburgh, etc., you might not realize how much second growth countryside, farmland and protected parkland there is to enjoy in the Hudson Valley.What really made me take up and notice was getting a view of it on two wheels.