Wednesday WTF: Mitsubishi Lancer

I have no idea what happened here. I was waiting for the BART train in Castro Valley, CA one morning and this tractor-trailer rolled by on the freeway, carrying a Mitsubishi Lancer suspended in what looks like rather precarious fashion (at least it's strapped down). The Lancer appears to be a 2005 OZ Rally edition that suffered some interesting damage to warrant its high-flying ride. The car was only two years old at the time this photo was taken.

Parking Lot Sighting: Toyota J70 Land Cruiser

I know very little about the international incarnations of the Toyota Land Cruiser. Readers outside the United States will probably be amused that I got excited over an old Land Cruiser, but we Americans never got the 70 Series. To me the Land Cruiser has always been either the little FJ40 or the large four-door SUV that hardly anyone in this country bought - and which becomes increasingly rare every year as fewer people buy new ones or save the old ones.
The 70 Series Land Cruiser was introduced in 1984 and is still being made. That makes it a good candidate for importation into the States as early examples are old enough to comply with the 25 year rule and new parts are still available. I don't know the year of this truck, as the plate is not in California smog records - either making it a recent registration or a diesel engine. My best guess it it's an HJ75 "Troop Carrier" van made in the mid-1980s. The wheels look like they came off of a mid-2000s Toyota Sequoia SUV.
It's an interesting rig for sure, certainly not something I expected to see at a home improvement store in Northern California.

Parking Lot Photo Shoot: 1963 International Travelall 1000 Series

Found on Craigslist: 1949 Cadillac Pickup

I don't usually go wild over cars that have been hacked into pickup trucks, and Cadillacs modified to serve as trucks tend to be funeral flower cars. Not so with this one. It's a 1949 Caddy that was given a 1954 Chevy truck cargo box and the rear of the cab from a early 1955 GMC. It doesn't look like a complete hackjob either, and the work was done when the car was only 10 years old. The whole package really is kind of intriguing.

Photos courtesy seller - Craigslist

The question now is, is this Cowboy Cadillac worth the stratospheric $25,000 the seller is asking? You get a very unique, unrestored classic Frankenstein project. You can find it here if you always wanted a 1949 Escalade EXT, or go here if the ad expires.

Classic Ads: 1966 Dodge D-Series Camper Special

In the mid-1960s Detroit truck manufacturers found a way to capitalize on the American pastime of camping, with pickups that were designed to pull double duty hauling cab-over campers. Ford had an F-Series Camper Special, Chevy had a C/K Camper Special (or Custom Camper) and Dodge also offered a D-Series Camper Special. Now outdoorsmen could go do manly things like hunting without dragging the whole family along in the station wagon with a trailer.

This ad appeared in the November 1, 1965 issue of Life magazine.

Pawn Cars: A Trip to Gold & Silver Pawn Shop

In October I visited Las Vegas for the first time since I went there with Colin in 2007. This time, though, one of my must-see destinations was Rick Harrison's Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. I've been a fan of History's Pawn Stars since the series began, and the show often deals with people selling their cars to the shop.

The 1960s Mercedes-Benz Unimog in the parking lot was a good start. This truck featured in season 5, episode 38 ("What the Truck").

Inside, the shop yielded a beige 1949 Hudson Commodore sedan, which appeared in season 6, episode 6 ("Man, Make Fire").

I vowed to buy something at the shop as a souvenir, so I picked up this Matchbox Collectibles 1:18 Jeep Liberty diecast.

Photo courtesy of Andrew Youngchief

Vegas may be a dump with a glitzy veneer but it's certainly interesting to visit once every several years or so. The shop is worth taking a look even though you'll have to wait out a line just to get in the door. If you're ever in Sin City, check it out.