Vintage Photos: Seeing North America By Car In The 1960s & 1970s

Text by Patrick Bell.

Let’s do some traveling today.  We have a good selection of images taken during road trips, although many of the locations are unknown, so any help there is welcomed.  Climb aboard and we shall proceed.

We begin with a 1962 Pontiac Tempest Le Mans Coupe traveling through the mountains.  The Tempest was Pontiac’s unique compact model, which used a front engine and a rear transaxle with a curved, flexible “rope” driveshaft in between.  The available engines were three 194.5 cubic inch 4-cylinders and a rare 215 cubic inch Buick sourced aluminum V8.  The Le Mans was a trim option available on coupe and convertible, and included a bucket seat interior.

A photo search indicates this 1963 Ford Galaxie 500 convertible was in Central City, Colorado in this photo.  The car looked close to new, and we have seen it in some previous galleries.

Here, we have a 1960 Chevrolet Parkwood wagon from California at a roadside pulloff, perhaps for a photo op.  The Parkwood was a 6-passenger model, while the Kingswood was the 9-passenger version.  Both were based on the mid-level Bel Air series.  This wagon was equipped with one of the 283 cubic inch V8s and had a roof top luggage carrier.  It was apparently purchased at the Chevrolet Center, but I can’t read the location on the top of the license plate frame.  The mountain range in the distance may have been the Rockies, and there was an unique looking peak above the road.

Here, some out-of-state tourists in a 1962 Buick LeSabre 4-door sedan were taking in the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco in the late afternoon.  The LeSabre, which was the cheapest full-size Buick, was also the best-selling Buick model for the year. Its standard power plant was a 280 horsepower version of the 401 cubic inch Wildcat V8. Optional at no extra cost was a lower-compression, regular gas version. If you wanted to pay for more power, you could get the 325 horsepower version that was standard in the upper series.  On the right, some folks in a Volkswagen Type 1 sedan of similar vintage were also enjoying the view.

Here’s another Chevrolet wagon, this one a 1968 Caprice Estate with a power tailgate window, trailer hitch, and a license plate I cannot read.  A 307 cubic inch Turbo-Fire V8 was standard on the 1968 Caprice, with four optional choices all the way up to a 427 cubic inch Turbo-Jet V8.  One of the three guys standing around the wagon was in camo and looking through binoculars, so this group may have been bird hunting on a cool damp day.

This 1963 Pontiac Grand Prix had a California vanity plate reading “BARNY.” Barny was far from new, with some rear body damage. There may have been some in front too, as the hood did not fit well.  California did not issue blue license plates until 1970, so this car was at least seven years old at the time this photo was taken.  The 1963 Grand Prix offered two 389 cubic inch and two 421 Trophy V8s were available, with either 4-barrel or Tri-Power carburetion.  Barny and his owner were exploring a back road that may have been an abandoned railroad line, as that appears to be a tunnel up ahead.

The driver of this 1965–1969 Jeep Wagoneer was wearing safety red, so he was likely on a hunting trip.  Until 1966, the Wagoneer came with the 230 cubic inch Jeep “Tornado” OHC six, with the option of a 327 cubic inch AMC V8. The overhead-cam six was replaced for 1967 by a 232 cubic inch six also supplied by AMC. At some point in 1968, the AMC V8 was phased out and a Buick 350-2V V8 took its place. One of the first luxury SUVs, the Wagoneer was a unique vehicle in its early years. The original Brooks Stevens-designed body remained in production until 1991.

The locale in this photo appears to be the Sierra Nevada mountain range, and the pictured car was a bright red 1972 Dodge Dart Custom 4-door sedan.  It was equipped with a vinyl roof, deluxe wheel covers, and a trailer hitch.  Either Slant Six or V8 power was available on the Dart.

A pair of burros were looking for a handout from the passengers of this 1965 Pontiac Grand Prix from California.  Visible options included a Cordova (vinyl) roof and Soft-Ray tinted windshield. The dealer license plate frame says it was purchased in Van Nuys, a suburb of Los Angeles. Grand Prix engine options were very similar to the 1963 model above, with a selection of 389 and 421 cubic inch V8s. Both 3- and 4-speed manual transmissions were available, but most cars had Turbo Hydra-Matic, a new Pontiac option for 1965.

Here’s one you don’t see anymore, and didn’t see very often back then: a Volkswagen 411.  The VW Type 4 was Volkswagen’s largest car ever and their first 4-door.  It was introduced in Europe in 1968 and imported to the U.S. beginning in 1971.  1973 brought a minor refresh and a name upgrade to 412, which carried it through its cancellation in 1974.  Sales were poor in all markets. The Type 4 didn’t have the charisma of the Beetle or VW Squareback, and the air-cooled rear engine seemed too dated in the higher price class.

This appears to be Colorado, as the car in the foreground, covered with snow and loaded with people and skis, was registered in Denver.  This was a 1971 Chevrolet Impala Custom Coupe, in the first year of a styling cycle that would carry the full-size GM lines through 1976.  At the left edge, a blue 1968 full-size Pontiac was exiting the frame, and in the background were a blue Volkswagen Type 1 sedan and a 1969 Oldsmobile F-85/Cutlass.  (It’s too small to pick out the model from here.)

Here, a member of the bird-watching club was on an outing in a 1973 Pontiac Bonneville 4-door hardtop.  It had a Cordova top, Soft-Ray tinted glass, bumper protection strips, body-side moldings, and a trailer hitch. Its license plate was from Washington County, Tennessee, where the seat is Jonesborough.  The engine choices on the 1973 Bonneville were two 400 cubic inch and one 455 V8.

Here, we’re looking down the hill at Perce, Quebec, with the famous Perce Rock visible in the background.  Parked at the roadside was a 1971-1973 Ford Pinto wagon with a full load in the back plus some more on the top.  The Pinto was Ford’s entry in the subcompact field, intended to compete with the Volkswagen Beetle.  It was offered in 2-door sedan, 3-door Runabout (hatchback), and 2-door wagon body styles with 1.6- or 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines. The Pinto did quite well in the sales department for most of its run.

Now, let’s head west nearly 4800 miles to Anchorage, Alaska, to the corner of West 5th Avenue and N Street where someone took this photo of a 1970 Ford Galaxie 500 with Cook Inlet in the background.  The Ford is a 2-door with a vinyl roof, but it’s hard to see from the angle if it’s the notchback hardtop or the SportsRoof.  It looked well-kept, even though it was at least six years old: This Alaska Bicentennial license plate was used from 1976 to 1981.  Anchorage is my home town, although I moved away in 1978.  Just around the corner from this location is Elderberry Park, where we used to go to watch the midnight sunsets over the inlet.

Another beautiful mountain range in the fall, this time in Montana. The gold car at the side of the road was a 1970–1972 AMC Gremlin, stopped to record the view.  The subcompact Gremlin was a shortened version of the AMC Hornet compact, so it was larger than other cars in its class.  A 199 cubic inch six was standard in 1970, with a 232 cubic inch version optional.  In 1971, the 232 became standard with a 258 cubic inch version optional.  The 304 cubic inch AMC V-8 became optional in 1972.  This car had a rooftop ski rack.  I can’t read the license plate or the bumper sticker next to the left taillight.

We complete our journey in the desert — possibly the White Sands National Park in New Mexico.  These visitors were from Texas, driving a 1974 Chevrolet Caprice Classic Coupe with a vinyl roof and a trailer hitch.  The Caprice Classic came standard with the Turbo-Fire 400-2V V8, with 400-4V and Turbo-Jet 454 V8s optional.

Thanks for traveling with us and to all good day!

 

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