While the focus here at Curbside Classic is cars found on the street (hence the name), a recent cruise in put on by the Quad City Cruisers brought a wide variety of cars. Were there the usual suspects of Camaros, Corvettes and Mustangs? You bet there were, but there were also some pretty unusual sets of wheels too. Thanks to my trusty camera, you can see the highlights of this show from the comfort of your air conditioned home. Let’s start with a rare ‘Bird – a 1971 Thunderbird Landau sedan.
Immediately after spotting the Thunderbird, my eyes were drawn to this mint mid ’70s Ford F100 Custom. There are still a few Ford pickups of this vintage running around, but rarely are they as cherry as this one. This one is pretty dressed up with sport wheel covers, a sport stripe, bumper guards and even a hood ornament!
When’s the last time you saw a Rebel Machine? This one is in the classic red, white and blue paint treatment, but these were also available in all the standard Rebel colors, with a matte black hood. Would you believe there were two of these at the show?
This particular cruise in is held once a month during the summer, and at nearly every one I see cars I’ve never seen before. This 1965 Colony Park was a new one and especially sharp, with its black paint, chrome reversed wheels and baby moon hubcaps.
How about Paul’s favorite Buick, a 1986-88 Riviera? I believe this one was an ’88, and yes, it did have the Graphic Control Center. I have to admit, this one looked kind of sharp in burgundy with burgundy leather and a landau vinyl top. These E-bodies are getting thin on the ground, so it was nice to see one in good shape. Sorry Dan, there was no Trofeo in attendance to match this Riv.
Here’s another rare one, a 1967 Imperial Crown Coupe. This one is usually at all of these cruise ins. I believe it belongs to one of the event organizers.
This Crown was remarkably original, with what appeared to be factory-applied paint. The leather interior also looked original.
The last generation Chevy El Camino was made for a long time (1978-87), but seeing one as pristine as this one was a treat. It could have just rolled out of the showroom.
This car would be a perfect complement to a 1977 Trans Am Limited Edition. It even has the same gold-accented wheels and front fender flares!
While I normally prefer stock cars to customized ones, this mildly redone Custom Ranch Wagon was pretty fetching in black and yellow. If you wondered what a Crown Victoria wagon would have looked like, you now have your answer.
There was also this most excellent 1968 Caprice Estate for you station wagon fans. I’ve seen this one before at a show in Galesburg, but it was good to see it again. It even has 1968 Illinois plates on it – a nice touch.
The vintage Crager wheels also looked good, quite a change from the whitewalls and full wheel covers this car undoubtedly had when new. This wagon means business!
I’ve always liked the ’65 full size Ford, and this one was especially sharp in bright red with Torque-Thrust wheels. My grandfather bought one of these brand new, but his was a light yellow Galaxie 500 sedan. My Mom remembers it well, although by the time she started to drive, it had been traded in on a ’68 Torino GT hardtop.
What car show would be complete without a Falcon. This one has what appears to be a seriously hopped-up inline six. I’m not really an engine guy, but the mill in this one looked very good and decidedly non-stock. And dig the 1960 Illinois plate!
This one was my favorite of the show. I first saw this Rambler at the AMC Nationals in Cordova three years ago, and it is every bit as pretty now as it was then. Beautiful dark green paint, Torque-Thrust wheels, and a perfect interior. What’s not to like?
When Volvo appropriated the Cross Country moniker for their AWD wagons in the late ’90s, I wonder if they knew the designation was originally for Rambler wagons? This does remind me a bit of a period Volvo wagon: simply styled, plenty of room and glass area, and stone reliable.
It does have a modern radio under the dash, but the original one is still installed. I didn’t notice if the clock was still working.
As I have mentioned before, green, especially dark green, is my favorite color. And I love the independent automakers like AMC and Studebaker too, so perhaps you can understand my infatuation with this vintage hauler, even if you’re not a Rambler fan.
Check out the stylized typeface on the speedometer; isn’t that cool? Ramblers may have been seen as boring in the ’60s, but compared to today’s shapeless, safety-oriented interiors, this one is a stunner.
That Cross Country script is really cool too. I wonder how that would look on my Volvo wagon’s tailgate? I wonder if anybody outside of CC would get the connection? Oh well, enough with this one; let’s move on.
Right across the aisle from the Cross Country was this matte black ’58-’60 Rambler American. I like how the owner set off the black with some of the original chrome trim. It shouldn’t work, but it does; I like it.
Okay, I know I said we weren’t going to do any “common” car show fodder, but have you ever seen a ’57 in this color combination? A good friend of mine owns this one. He bought it in about 1995 and did most of the car himself, save paint, upholstery and glass. It does have a 350 and THM instead of the original 283, but is otherwise to original specifications – including the colors. I am biased, but I like this much better than the approximately four million ’57s in red, black or turquoise. My Mom remembers this being a pretty common color combination when she was a kid in the early ’60s.
By this point, the heat was catching up with me, and I was about done. I had to stop for this ’73 or ’74 Road Runner, though. It looks especially good in black and white, but I’d trade those aftermarket wheels for some Rallye wheels.
The interior was also very nice. I really like white interiors in muscle cars, although I’m sure it’s a pain to keep clean compared to other colors.
On my way back to the car, I spotted this Sunbird leaving. I haven’t seen one of these in twenty years. Opera windows and a supercharger – what a combination! The engine sounded pretty healthy too.
For those of you who’ve stuck with me this far, here are some genuine Curbside Classics. This super clean Caprice wagon was in the lot.
The composite headlights put it between the 1987 and 1990 model years. This car either came from out of state or was babied, as there was no indication of the rust being in residence. Quite a feat here in Salt Country.
And what was parked right by my wagon? A 1994 Lincoln Continental in emerald green with tan leather – my favorite color combination. For some reason, Lincoln gave the Connie new cladding, bumpers, grille and taillights for just one year, to be replaced with the all-new V8 1995 Continental. It was introduced pretty early in the model year, though, so it was more like two years. I’ve heard that these Lincolns have lots of problems, but I like them anyway, even though they don’t have the presence of the Continentals of the 1960s and 1970s.
Well, that’s all for now. Hope you enjoyed our little detour from regular CC programming!
That blue B-body Caprice wagon is a dead ringer for my ’87 (which had started to succumb to rust when I let it go in ’98, so I know that’s not it). Some very sharp wagons at that show.
I’ve always liked the Rambler’s speedometers. Instead of 10, 20, 30, etc. it says 1,2,3,4. Very stylized and cool.
Tom, unless that Imperial Crown has had parts replaced, it’s a ’68. The square side marker lights give that away. The ’67s didn’t have those.
EDIT: Interesting. It has the 1967 front grille. But the sidemarker lights are 1968. Possibly the owner replaced a quarter panel with 1968 parts and to keep it consistent, he replaced all the panels with 1968 panels. Very nice job if that’s what he did.
That was Rambler’s trademark from when they moved away from round or half-moon speedometers. My mother’s uncle had a 1960; we had a 1962; and a friend of the family a 1964; and they all had that horizontal speedometer (half-oval on the older classics; but close enough). And they all had the elongated numbers, single-digit, too.
They seemed to be prone to hitching, too…binding on the cable that would cause the needle to jump at lower speeds. Ours had to be going faster than 40 to have the needle steady up….
The 52 Nash had the same 1,2,3,4 numbering and look of that speedometer face (without the V surround; instead it was part of a wide-sweeping surround that included the radio and clock). Just doubled checked and saw it again on the Old Car Manual Project site. Very handsome dash design on that car.
Richard, I mentioned the 68 Imperial side marker lights below. These are easy to retrofit onto an older car. My guess is that the original owner didn’t want his nearly-new Imperial to look dated, so he had them added relatively early in the car’s life.
These cars are absolutely beautiful. Thanks so much for posting these photos. My three favorites are the ’67 Imperial, the Rambler Cross Country (love that emerald green) and the ’65 Ford. (Gotta pick at least one Ford to be true to my Ford fanboy roots!)
I love the Rebel Machine. That one has to be a 1970, as it became a Matador in 1971 (as we now all know). I am also with you on the Rambler Cross Country wagon. Maybe I am starting to turn into an AMC guy after all? The bucket seats in the wagon cannot have been common, and that interior is beautiful.
Of course, you all know that the Imperial Crown Coupe gets my juices flowing.
I remember white vinyl interiors of the 1970s. Actually, it was not really that hard to keep clean. A bottle of 409 and a clean cloth and there you are. So much easier than today’s interiors, although the cheap 1970s vinyl would eventually split at all the seams.
The Rebel Machine was a one-year model for 1970. I almost purchased one in a copper color with the flat black hood. I think the standard colored cars are much sharper than the RWB theme.
I Have a 1;64 Johnny Lightning of that car. Now I Know Copper/black mat was orignally correct. Thank you.
I’m not sure the ’70 ‘Machine’ is worthy of a CC all its own, but an article covering the ‘cheap musclecar’ fad of the late sixties would be cool, covering the entire litany of vehicles spawned by the surprise success of the ’68 Roadrunner, including not only the Machine, but the Fairlane-based Cobra, the GTO Judge, and even the rare 300-series pillared SS396 coupe. It was a time of unprecedented availablity of cheap (and quite dangerous, by today’s standards) speed.
The GTO Judge was supposed to be a low end muscle car called the Tempest ET, Delorean liked the Judge’s psychedelic stripes and color, but hated the fact that teh Tempest ET was going to sport a 350HO instead of the GTO’s 400, so the quietly killed the Tempest ET and The Judge was born as a HIGH END GTO, the opposite of the Road Runner concept they were going for.
Later Pontiac did introduce the GT-37 as a low buck, scheme the insurance companies muscle car, like the Olds Rallye 350 and Heavy Chevy Chevelle.
I’d take the 67 Imperial over the others too. Anybody else notice that someone added the side marker lights from a 68 to it?
Actually, the Imperial is a ’68. It appears it has a replacement grille from a ’67. The tailights and side markers and trim identify this as a 1968.
You can’t just swap the grilles between a 67 and 68 Imperial. You need to swap front bumpers too, cornering lights, and I believe the front fenders as well. The rear-end between a 67 and 68 Imperial are virtually identical though, so I don’t know how you determined that this one is a 68.
I was just looking at other Imperial pics online and I saw at least one other 67 with the same trim on the side as this one, and a 68 with two chrome strips down the side instead of 1.
http://www.popularhotrodding.com/features/1005phr_1967_imperial_crown_coupe/photo_19.html
I still think that someone added the side marker lights to a 67, or possibly this car was late 67 production.
I may wear bifocals, but I could swear I saw marker lights on the quarter panels. Why, pretel, would someone go to the expense and labor to replace BOTH quarter panels (unless it was a labor of love on a rotted-out rust belt car?). . . hence my “assumption” that the easiest part to replace would be a grille/grille – bumper/grille-bumper-clip.
Only old Mopar I had experience with doing a swap was a grille and front bumper on the family ’65 Dodge Custom 880 after my brother rear ended a ’57 Ford and we went to the Novato junk yard and found a donor ’65 Polara that gave up it’s grille, headlights, and front bumper (the hood was unscathed).
You don’t need to replace the quarter panels to add the 68 side marker lights. I’m pretty sure that, although the bezels are square, the body of the marker lights are round. In such case, you just need to drill some simple holes in the body with a hole saw. This would not be the first time I’ve seen someone add those to an earlier car.
The 64 Rambler Classic wagon is same model my family had new, but in turquoise! 3 speed manual, reclining front seats.
Count me in as another that loves a white interior. My favorites are the Merc, Caprice, and Ranch Wagons in that order.
Years ago, I went to an Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) meeting north of Atlanta at one of the member’s farm. He walked us out to an old (large) chicken coop, and when he opened the doors, there were seven ’55-57 Chevrolets in a line inside, all stock. He had a Nomad, which I’ve always liked, but the stunner was a beautiful *black over white* sedan (apparently a very rare factory option). He sat in it, pumped the gas once and it started right up to a delicious burble.
What a cool set of cars. I can see more interesting ones in the backgrounds.
I can relate to two of the pictured cars.
My grandfather had a ’67 Imperial Sedan (mint green). I drove this car and it was sharper handling than the contemporary Cadillac. It had a full set of gauges but with a “master idiot light” that indicated if one of the gauges was out of normal range.
I owned a ’77 Sunbird notchback (silver with red interior) with the Buick V6 and manual shift. A somewhat improved Vega.
Is that Falcon wagon a 2-door? You don’t see many of those, probably not even in areas where there are still lots of Falcons on the road.
Very nice show. OK, I’ll be the grumpy old man: While the car collection is nice, I liked it a lot better decades ago when the modified/street rods kept to their own shows and didn’t come on the field at an antique auto show. And the premium was to rebuild the car to factory original, not mix and match parts.
Too damn many “American Graffiti” cruisers and street rods anymore. Not enough pristine originals. I find it interesting in comparison that at vintage motorcycle shows, while the customs and choppers are allowed on the field, they’re kept well away from the restored originals.
A few years ago I attended a thresher’s show. Only cars prior to 1950 were allowed. Somebody in their late 40’s rodded Chevrolet showed up and was furious they weren’t allowed to participate.
The flames on it just didn’t seem to mingle well with the original paint autos already on the show field.
There always has to be that one guy that does not understand how the show works, we used to do an annual Pontiac-Buick-Olds-GMC show and there was a guy trying to get in with an Allante, he kept saying it was a GMC, made by General Motors Corporation, i.e “GMC” ha ha, even though we kept trying to explain that it was for GMC branded vehicles, he left all upset.
I like it like that. At car shows I like to look at as-original restored cars, resto-mods, hot rods, customs, rat rods, etc…. What I have a problem with is that mid-80s Riviera. It’s too new to be in a car show, unless it was heavily customized.
Most car shows consider anything 25 years old and older to be a classic. As of now any car built in 1987 and before is, to most car shows, a classic. In the salt belt you don’t normally see anything over 15 or so years old on the street so the Riv is something to see ;).
I realized that even before I posted. Since Syke started it, I was just shaking my old-man cane at cars I don’t like. “All you new-ish FWD cars, spectator parking is over there! You too 4th gen Camaro hiding behind that El Camino!” 🙂
I like seeing clean 80’s B-bodies at shows, Ford Foxes, Ford Panthers, G-Bodies, RWD Chryslers, and any other RWD 80’s cars at car shows. It’s nice to see them kept up as most of them were pretty good looking for the time.
Now FWD cars, blah. I don’t care how nice it is any 80’s FWD car has no place at a car show. I know you can get antique plates for an 80’s Taurus but who the hell wants to see one at a show or, even crazier, save one?
If no one saves an 80’s Taurus or Camcord what will we have to show future generations the evolution of the automobile? The 80’s and 90’s are actually the era where a large amount of evolution ocured witness the original Taurus for example.
“Classic status” also depends on your perspective. I took my mother to a show last year when she was visiting me, and she kept pointing out cars saying “why is that here, that’s not a classic car” – often to restored late 1960’s Holdens, as to her they were everyday cars and not anything ‘special’. It was quite funny actually.
Hmm, reading that again, I am not intending to imply that she is losing her marbles either, because that is not the case. Just that perspectives can be quite different as a non-enthusiast.
The grizzled, cane-waving old man (or old man at heart) demographic is why I stopped going to car shows.
I like RWD/V8 cars, but I also like seeing some variety, and I don’t agree that my ’86 Diplomat is inherently any more show-worthy than some other person’s ’86 Sable.
I think they both give a good snapshot of what was available in the 1980s. One shows where things came from, another shows where things were going.
I agree with you completely. I don’t go to many car shows. I’ve noticed through the years that sometimes it’s an old boy network. It’s always the same guys saving spots for their buddies, parking cars at 7 AM when the show starts at 4 PM. And acting like its a big deal to reply to a question by one of the hoi polloi. Heaven forbid, someone would dare park something uncollectible next to their treasure.
One the other end of the spectrum is the inconsiderate. My neighbor had a friend who had a 56 T-bird, quit taking it to shows due to scratches caused by people wearing cowboy belt buckles and the like.
In my town, a huge car show is held in August. So many cars are parked at 8 AM, I usually drive down in one of my old cars, park on a side street, and walk the length of Main Street, and look at the 100 cars or so that are parked at that hour. If someone says hello, I’ll strike up a conversation. Makes for a pleasant hour or two, instead of fighting the crowds.
I’ve always felt that if you drive an old or unique car, you have a duty to be nice to anyone who stops to admire your car, or asks a question. Most everytime I get gas, or park at a store in one of my old cars, considered collectible or not, someone will come over, smile and start a conversation. You can make someone’s day or you can ruin it. Or they can do the same to you.
If that upsets you, don’t look at the W-body Impala SS parked next to it with its hood up.
It is amazing sometimes what people think is car show-worthy.
On the other hand, I had forgotten about the way Buick used to put big logos on their hood liners in the ’80s. Kind of a neat touch, particularly on the H-bodies with the clamshell hoods.
I always love the guys who bring their brand new GT500 or Camaro SS to a cruise night or car show. If I want to look at a new (or even 4 year old) car I can go to a car dealer. This event is not for you ;).
What is wrong with showing up at a cruise night with your new(er) car?
I’m with you Syke, on that one. I get disappointed when I see a pristine classic with some ‘rod mods’ to it. I prefer as original as you can get. Clean survivors always get my pulse rate up. A good show is the annual Park Street cruise in show in Alameda, California. 25% of those cars shown regularly ply the streets ot the East Bay!
The ones that REALLY got to me over the years:
1. A 1934 Hupp Aerodynamic with a 454 Chevy and a metallic purple paint job.
2. 1930 Buick with a small block Chevy and radically jacked up rear end.
3. I’d really love to finally see a STOCK Willys Americar.
4. 1952 Hudson Hornet that showed up at a Hudson meet (straight out of “American Graffiti”) in Front Royal, VA a couple of years ago and was pissed because the organizers didn’t want to let him on the field (local fire dept. parking lot).
Number one REALLY pissed me off, as I’ve yet to see a stock Aerodynamic in the metal. And I ain’t getting any younger.
As to the 25 year rule: I slowly got out of the antique car hobby because I got tired of seeing cars on the field that dad would bring home at lunchtime during the summer to give me rides in. Yeah, the gut level, “If I can remember it as a new car, it’s not an antique”, which of course means that I’m refusing to admit that I’m slowly becoming an antique. However, I do accept it as a legitimate base line for “antique”. I’m currently living the situation because my ’87 Porsche 924S is eligible for antique plates (I love driving it too much to do it). On the other hand, I’m still tempted to show it in some of the local European shows because the Porsche class is invariably 356’s and 911’s. Plus the occasional 914. Period. I love driving, “but that’s not a real Porsche”. Besides, I know my license plate “PZKW 924” would give some of the PC 911 owners fits.
I guess the bottom line is that I’m really afraid that my (theoretical) grandchildren will grow up believing that a 1936 Ford actually came with a 289 or (worse) SBC from the factory. There’s going to be a lot of children having no idea was cars were really like, because their parents and grandchildren are insistent on living the teen years they never came close to having.
While I agree that some cars certainly need to be preserved on the other hand sometimes a car is just too far gone to restore to original as too much is missing and/or proper parts to restore it too factory original just aren’t available.
Or alternatively if I the car isn’t purchased by a rodder then the next stop might be the crusher. However I am in favor of trying to stay with one manufacturer. Don’t put SBC in Fords or Chrylsers or AMCs or Buicks or anything but an actual Chevy.
Yup which is better getting a car back on the road with non-original parts (even if it is a SBC) or sending it to China to become toasters for a year or two.
I agree. 25 years is not long enough for a car to be antique anymore, for at least two reasons.
1) Cars change a lot less in 25 years than they used to. Look what changed in cars and how they were driven from 1925 to 1950, or 1939 to 1964. Practically everything! Compare a ’39 Ford flathead on a two-lane country road to a ’64 Galaxie with 300 hp, automatic, power everything and AC, covering 750 freeway miles in a day. How much has changed from 1987 to 2012? No nearly so much.
2) Cars last a whole lot longer now than they used to. 20 year old cars are commonly in everyday use, 25 not unheard of. My little Miata is 20 next year, so is my wife’s Subaru daily driver. Back in 1970 my best friend had a ’50 Chevy parked in the back yard, needing a lot of work to get back on the road. There’s not a single 1987 car that will turn heads on the street today (unless of course it was a head-turner then.)
Fifty years sounds about right to me, forty tops.
Having said that, these are all really interesting cars, nearly all over forty, and nobody’s claiming they’re genuine “antiques”. Thanks for bringing them to CC. It’s a cruise-in, not the art museum.
Syke,
I live in Herndon. We should get together for beers. Ask Paul for my e-mail.
Our cars qualify for classic/ cheaper rego at 40 which seems more appropriate my car is 53 years young and is still useable in traffic even with drums all round though I upgraded the tyres everything else is pretty much stock 59
Cars were built to be driven and if restored to “perfect” they don’t end up getting driven. So I fully support people who want to do a few mods to make easier to drive in the modern world and something they want to drive on a regular basis. For example I put disc brakes on my Scout to make it a better daily driver and I put a modern radio so I can listen to music I like while I am enjoying my classic.
What a great bunch of rarely seen cars you brought us. Thank you for sharing. What a great show to have attended. I Love The Rare survivors of Cars You Don’t expect To See, That Sunburd. Nice To see that there is Someone for every car. I am sure the owner does not consider what he does to be polishing a turd, and neither do I. Beautiful range of well kept vehicles. All curbside Classics IMO.
Great stuff. Make mine the ’65 Colony Park wagon or the ’65 Galaxie hardtop.
Living in Chicago the only way I get to see old cars is at a car show. Most of the cars around here rust away after 15 or so years due to road salt. I never see older cars earning their keep on a daily basis like people who live out west. It’s very rare to see a daily driver older than 15 years or so. My T-bird is almost 25 years old and when I take it to shows/cruises people always comment on how clean it is and how they never see them anymore. I don’t fault you for taking pictures of old cars at a show. I like the pictures of the “oddball” cars. Most every show I’ve been to is full of Mustangs, Camaros, and Chevelles (well Thunderbirds if you count the all Thunderbird shows I attend with the local Thunderbird club). I’m always drawn to the other cars at the show as you don’t see them too often.
As for the modified cars I can do without them at a show. I like hot rods but I would rather look at a stock or nearly stock car. Wheel changes don’t bother me (I like torque thrusts on older cars) but blowers, flames, and crazy suspension/body mods I can do without. I do not mind “sleeper cars” or cars that look stock but have drive train modifications. My Thunderbird falls into the later category. If the hood is shut it looks just like it did at the dealer in 1988, even though it has an Edelbrock headed 5.0 HO under the hood. I really like that ’57 Bel Air for the same reason. With the hood shut it looks just like it did in 1957. Pop the hood and it has a 350 with a THM 350, much more fun to drive. There is a guy local to me that brings his 56 Olds 88 to shows quite often The car’s exterior and interior have been restored as close to original as possible. It even has the stock size wheels and Olds hubcaps. The car looks like it just left the dealer’s lot back in 56. Pop the hood and it’s got an Olds 455 backed by a THM 400. I love it, mostly because I love stock looking cars with modified engines. Just because it has an engine swap doesn’t mean that it needs to have flames or huge wheels.
I do like the shot of the ’71 Thunderbird. The 70-71 Thunderbird is my second favorite generation of Thunderbird, behind the 83-88.
Forget the E-body in that crowd! Love the wagons but the Rambler Classic wagon is my favorite of the wagons…
But the one that stole my heart was the Imperial Crown coupe, dual pipes, and just the right stance.
The El Camino did have a long run, but this appears to be an early one. It has dual rather than the 83 and up quad headlights, and the reverse lights are on the outer edges of the taillights. They were moved inboard by 1980, I believe.
That El Camino – It’s a ’78 with the Black Knight suit on it. I believe ’79 had a “Royal Knight” . . or maybe I got it backwards.
Nice selection of cars! Thanks for sharing. I especially enjoyed seeing the ’78-’81 El Camino, Rambler wagon, and Ford pickup truck. All fairly rare to see (at least those particular years and condition) and fun! I like the variety shown here.
The two tone blue chev is nice I remember a 56 sedan in my home town in those colours 6 cylinder with tree shift my dad collected it from the rail when it arrived from the factory. I like the Rebel machine but Ive never seen one in the metal. Rebels were assembled in NZ but not those so a CC would be appreciated.
If I am correct, the El Camino is a 78. 78’s were black only and were Black Knight’s. 79 on came in other colors and were Royal Knight’s. Carmine, can you help me here?
I really wanted one of those for my first car. A little too pricy for a 16 year old’s wallet.
I still want one. For what I use a pickup truck for, I’d be much happier in a final generation El Camino than my Ranger (or previous S-10).
This is a 78 El Camino. 79-87 from the rear have the backup lights inboard and single brake/turn bulbs, 78s have the backup lights outboard and dual brake/turn bulbs.
A buddy of mine went through 4 El Caminos of various years from 78-82 and I learned to spot the differences.
Also, before I sound like too much of an old “get off of my lawn” curmudgeon: I absolutely love somebody taking an old hotrod or custom and restoring it to what it was built up to back in the day. No modern parts, no modern equivalents, no modern stylings. In the Richmond area, there’s a black gentleman (never got his name, although we’ve met) who has a 1956 Buick Special customized exactly to what I was reading in Hot Rod magazine back in 1962. Paint, louvers, engine, everything.
To me, that’s as much restoring a car to its historical original as if he’d have restored that Special to the way it came out of the Buick plant.
A great bunch of cars. The Imperial is fantastic. Some comments seem to be addressing what constitutes an acceptable vehicle for a show. Unless we’re talking about a Pebble Beach Concours, an individual Marque, or other millionaires’ wish list, a local car show or cruise is just that, a car show or cruise. Anyone who wishes to participate should be allowed to participate. Anybody who has a car should be entitled to show it, whether it’s a new car or a fugitive from a junk yard. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I think we can do without the car show police.
+1 It goes back to the post about what is a CC. While certain cars may not appeal to me and can appreciate that someone loves them and they are that persons pride and joy.
Sure, these are all really interesting cars, it’s a cruise-in, not the art museum.
I just love that green Rambler wagon. “This does remind me a bit of a period Volvo wagon: simply styled, plenty of room and glass area, and stone reliable.”
Funny thing, last week in the middle of our AMC anguish-fest, my eye caught just the top half of something across the parking lot, and I thought, is that a Rambler Classic? Nope just a Volvo. Sure looked a lot like a Rambler.
IF AMC had stuck to their niche and resisted change through the sixties, and IF they’d been able to use that to get the quality and durability up to legendary standards, could they have occupied the place in the market that Volvo took over? Maybe if they’d gotten DDB to do Rambler ads after VW dropped them?
Great job, Tom! Makes me want to go to an old car cruise-in here in the Houston area and gets me some CCs!!
I’m not generally a wagon fan, but that black ’65 Colony Park pushes all the right buttons! Of course, I also like the ’57 Bel Air in my favorite car color, blue.