Oregon Rust Farm: July 4, 2013

A sight more typical of Central California or perhaps the Great Plains, rusty tin shed with interesting stuff surrounding. I navigated a sharp rusty gate and nearly meter-deep drainage ditch to get to this place, whilst wearing Crocs and gym shorts.

Early travel trailer in ratty but restorable condition.

Rusty trailer side. Rust issues with similar trailers to this one in the early postwar era led to aluminum and wood construction, or pure aluminum aircraft-style construction in the cases of Airstream, Boles Aero, Avion, Streamline and Silver Streak.

50s Chevy tanker truck

Old workhorses left to rust away. 1940s/50s Hyster bulldozer and 1960s/70s International Loadstar flatbed.

Rare In North America: 1965 Isuzu Elf In Canada

Pre-1981 Isuzu products are rare in North America (never mind that the Bellel and Bellett were briefly distributed in the western US in the 1960s and the Bellett was locally assembled in Canada in the 1960s), and a first-generation Elf truck is not easy to find.

This is a heavily modified truck, with a Chevrolet V8, four-wheel-drive and a lift kit, but could still be restored by an Isuzu enthusiast. Being in Canada, it is not subject to the 25% "chicken tax" due to the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Find it here in Hamilton, Ontario for $1200 CDN

Parking Lot Photo Shoot: 1961 Lincoln Continental

Parking Lot Sighting: 1964 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 Limousine

Classic Ads: 1962 Chevrolet Genuine Parts

Isn't it annoying sometimes when something breaks on your car and you have to make a decision? Do you go to the nearest auto parts store and pick up whatever part is cheapest or make the drive to the dealership for a 'genuine' part? Obviously the manufacturer would prefer that you get their part, and in late 1961 General Motors made that fact known to the general public. Mind you, dealership technicians are not gifted with some magic talent. Most everyone has some kind of horror story about cheating dealerships and defective parts. My mom's Saturn Vue has a 3.5 liter Honda engine and we found that it's cheaper to buy Honda fluids because our local GM dealer buys the same things from the Honda dealer and marks up the price. It's also true that the auto parts store sometimes stocks inferior garbage made in third world countries. You have to be careful when you're shopping for parts. Cutting corners on steering or brake parts, not a good idea. Sometimes visiting the dealer's a necessity, especially if your car is only a year old when you crash into something and you can't get junkyard parts yet.
Keep your Chevy the Chevy-est, kids!

This ad appeared in the October 27, 1961 issue of Life magazine.

Parking Lot Photo Shoot: 1968 Chevrolet Bel Air Wagon

Classic Ads: 1962 Buick LeSabre

In today's world, a flat interior floor is a rare and desirable thing. It makes it easier to move around in the cabin and gives the middle passenger(s) more legroom. Usually it's a sign that the vehicle has front-wheel-drive or is high enough that the drivetrain could be packaged below the floor without the need of a tall transmission and driveline hump. The 1962 Buick full-size line trumpeted this feature, apparently achieved by moving the engine further forward. The other feature advertised that year was the so-called 'Advance Thrust' of the Wildcat V8 engine. Advance Thrust sounds like a condom brand or something, but it was supposed to convey the immense power of the engine that could flatten hills - or at least climb them quickly.

This ad appeared in the October 27, 1961 issue of Life magazine.

Side-Street Triple AMC Find

While I was out hunting for old iron, I took a side street in a questionable industrial neighborhood (the 40-ounce malt liquor jugs, sex toy and condom packaging and shell casings in the gutters made me think twice about where I was), and found these three classic AMC products. I had prior experience with all three: the AMXs were in a backyard off of Eugene, Oregon's "Northwest Expressway" in the late 90s until a subdivision displaced them, and the Ambassador was once owned by someone notorious for exposing himself to children, and was at one point set up to be a mobile rape dungeon with one seat, carpeted decking elsewhere and no inside door handles. (I looked close at the car circa 2007)

Juice on the Ambassador's history can be found here, or for the link-phobic, the section from the April 25, 2006 Eugene Register-Guard follows:

Man reported exposing himself near school 

Eugene police are looking for a man who was allegedly exposing himself in a car near Bertha Holt Elementary School Monday morning. 

A parent reported seeing the man about 11 a.m. on Calvin Street exposing himself while reading a magazine and watching students on the playground, according to an e-mail sent to parents. No children reported seeing him. 

When approached, the man drove away. 

According to the e-mail, the description given to police was of a man who appeared to be in his 50s or 60s, balding with gray hair, about 5 feet 6 and weighing more than 200 pounds. His car was an older American four-door sedan, green with brown doors, in visible disrepair. The Oregon license plate reported was THA-952. 

Eugene police are investigating. 

Holt Elementary officials want anyone who sees a suspicious person near the school to alert the school office immediately. The school will increase its supervision of the area for the next few days and remind students of safe behavior around strangers, according to the e-mail.

 I find it strange that I ate breakfast & lunch at the same supermarket delis that the former owner of this car did.

With the recent increase in muscle-car and AMC values, it is likely that both AMXs will be restored, but given its condition, background and interior "modifications", the Ambassador will likely be scrap metal. The AMX with a bonnet, a 1970 model, appears to be the high-performance variant with a 401cid V8, and will bring big money when restored. 

Wednesday WTF: 1960 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible

Classic Ads: 1966 Lincoln Continental Coupe

I get a very East Coast vibe in this 1966 ad for the Lincoln Continental coupe. The lighthouse, people shooting clay pigeons, it all shouts Martha's Vineyard to me. And that's fine, because rich people live there and those are the sort of buyers who would drive a big Continental luxury coupe in 1966. When was the last time you saw a man with a gun in a luxury car ad?
The '66 Continental's biggest update was of course the handsome new coupe body, but it received a refresh front and rear and a new engine displacing 462 cubic inches. An 'automatic temperature control system' (air conditioning?) and stereo tape (8-track?) AM/FM radio were now available.
Now that I look at it, the Continental coupe has a passing resemblance in profile to a Ford Galaxie. This would be remedied in 1968 when the car got a more formal roof with smaller quarter windows. In my opinion, this early coupe style is far more attractive.

This ad appeared in the March 4, 1966 issue of Life magazine.

Classic Ads: 1961 Oldsmobile F-85

I must confess I have a bit of a soft spot for the 1961 Olds F-85. It was the baby Oldsmobile, but it was named like a jet fighter plane and bore a close family resemblance to the larger Dynamic 88. Perhaps my favorite part about it though, is that where the 88 has the 394 cubic-inch "Rocket" V8, the F-85 could be had with a little 215 cubic-inch aluminum V8 dubbed the "Rockette". That's just cute. And the little car puts on such a serious face as it goes about its business, riding on its perimeter frame with "Twin-Triangle Stability" on the rear axle.
When's the last time you saw a '61 F-85 wagon? Probably not that many of them around these days. The F-85 would later become the Cutlass, which went on to be America's best selling car a number of times in the following decade.

This ad appeared in the February 3, 1961 issue of Life magazine.

Dealership Shoot: 1966 Oldsmobile Starfire

Photos taken at the former Kassabian Motors in Dublin, CA (now MyHotCars, Inc. in Livermore).

Early 60s Fiat 2100 Station Wagon Project

This Fiat 2100 station wagon needs a complete restoration, has some rust and body damage, is largely complete, but it does not come with the vintage Oregon plates seen on it and it is being sold on a lost-title form and bill of sale.

This is an ambitious project, or use it as a parts car for another 2100.

Find it here for $750 south of Portland, Oregon

Dealership Shoot: 1965 Pontiac "GTO" Convertible

I understand that due to missing fender badges and the low price, this may not be a real GTO but rather a Tempest or Le Mans that was restored as a GTO replica.

Photos taken at Beach Auto Sales, Santa Cruz, CA.