O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being,
Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing…
–Percy Bysshe Shelley “from ‘Ode to the West Wind'”
The west wind and blustery cold have laid waste to much of the colorful cornucopia known as autumn, but the colors have seared themselves into our lasting memories. In an homage to the passing season, let us appreciate some golds and browns courtesy of our favorite mechanical conveyances.
Our lead car needs no introduction, as the stunning Avanti has weaseled its grille-less facade into the hearts of autophiles from Ian Fleming to me. Its subtle rake and raspy exhaust beckon one to its aircraft inspired instrument cluster for a meandering cruise down leaf-covered country roads.
This November nugget, however, may not be so transparent: a 1972 Bel Air with “400” fender badges. If my memory is correct, the “400” in full-size Chevrolets denoted either the “small-block” Turbo-Fire, or the “big-block” Turbo-Jet (which actually displaced 402 cubic inches). I wonder with which this sedan was born. A big-block Bel Air sedan fills the mind with misanthropic menace, but reality calls for a more mellow mouse motor.
Of course, Chevrolet’s traditional rival for hard-earned currency was the Ford Division of Ford Motor Company. Laying down some green for gold was the owner of this 1969 Ford XL, which now effects an Avanti-copying stance that reeks of paint-by-numbers forgery, foregoing the grace of the original. Thankfully, subtle customization doesn’t ruin the handsome lines of the Ford, its autumnal hue worn with grace. According to the original brochures, the XL could practically move mountains with its newly available 429, but I caught it in a quiet hour.
Rounding out the Big Three in this fall requiem is this stylish 1967 Chrysler Newport, which, like the ’69 Ford above, wears a onyx crown on its expansive pate. This Chrysler is likely powered by the robust and mighty Chrysler 383, one of many American V8s that announces its arrival with a distinctive burble that the trained ear cannot help but identify. Under a spectacular blue sky, this Newport can only hint at the biting cold and hibernation to come.
Oh, why not? The last of the big Ford convertibles was the 1972 LTD. Its Edsel-like nose confounds me, as if Ford (in its efforts to plagiarize Pontiac) didn’t learn its expensive lesson the first time, but this model’s Achilles’ heel was truly its Alka-Seltzer body structure. According to people who were there, these pachyderms rusted dramatically in only a few seasons. I do know, however, that there are fans in the audience of these controversial bruisers, so enjoy the top down, top-of-the-line LTD while ye may.
As an aside, the turbine hubcaps are perfectly suited for this vehicle. Thankfully, the owner decided to keep them.
How about a personal favorite–the 1967 Cadillac Eldorado? In this case, brown may be the least desirable dye, but if ever a car could overcome its choice of color, this chocolate brown Caddy can. At the very least, Chuck Jordan and Bill Mitchell’s timeless design and the original owner’s prescience ensured that this Eldorado looked fresh well into the ensuing decade, but gold may have been more appropriate for a car whose nomenclature is derived from the golden city.
Finally, my Whistler-themed title promised rockets, and I’m in no mood to disappoint. This turbocharged 1963 Jetfire’s rocket-happy themes and ground-breaking (if not quite ready for prime-time) turbocharged aluminum V8 are perfect for conveying an unprepared world into the coldest of all seasons. Bundle up out there, and allow the west wind to blow your blues away.
A Bel-Air 400? Get out!!
Oh yes. I know some people with a ’72 Impala 400, 2 door they bought new. Theirs is the small block. But when you ordered the 400, you never knew what engine you were getting until the car showed up. BTW, these people I know also bought, in a package deal, a ’72 Suburban at the same time. Neither one is for sale.
I don’t think it was a surprise situation. The two different 400’s were the small block 170 H.P. Turbo Fire and the big block 210 H.P. Turbo Jet. Two different RPO codes, two different prices.
Exactly, you KNEW what engine you were getting, each one had a different RPO.
Anymore pictures of that Bel-Air? The 400 emblems look to high to me, but the rest of the car looks so clean and correct.
No more pictures, unfortunately. I took many of my pictures “pre-Curbside,” meaning I didn’t go for detail shots.
I wonder how often that RPO info actually made it through to a customer who didn’t know enough to care which 400 engine they might be getting (probably most of them). I can imagine a salesman not explaining the difference in order to make the sale of a car on the lot or one he could trade for. I could also see them nudging your order down to the lower priced one if price negotiations got a little tough. “Ya got yer 400 ingen AND floor mats for this price!”
Well, if you didn’t care, then you didn’t care, I would imagine that most average buyers knew enough to know there was a V8 in there, but not much else, but if you were spec’ing out the car as an order, I imagine that you would know which 400 you were getting. Also, if you knew what you were looking at, you could spot the difference just by popping the hood. I don’t think that the price difference wasn’t even that big.
If you ordered your car, as mentioned, you got the one that matched the order code on the order form and if you knew what you were ordering you knew what you would get. Now for the person who was trolling the lots and picked one based on the color or something else then you may not have known which “400” was under the hood.
Of course GM would fix that in a couple of years if you ordered your Cutlass with the “Rocket 350” you didn’t know if you would actually get an Olds 350 or a Chevy 350 until it showed up. Once it did show up enough people did notice that they didn’t get the Rocket 350 that they ordered.
The small-block 400 made all of 5 hp more than the std 350. It was a common upgrade, and lots of big Chevys on the dealer lots came with them that way. No one paid any attention to a “400” emblem on these back then. The 400 sbc was even standard on the Caprice. It’s not like it cost Chevy anymore to make than the 350: less iron 🙂 The bit of extra torque was welcome in these very big cars.
The Turbo-Jet 400 (402) was a four barrel engine, and a more serious upgrade, and not all that common.
Was there much of a gas-mileage difference between the 350 and the 400? Nobody cared in 1972, of course, but they would shortly.
Probably not much. 1972-1973 was the high water mark for big, lazy engines. It was also the all-time high water mark for hourly wages. 455s were surprisingly common in the Collonade coupes, and not as a genuine performance upgrade. ‘Why not?’ was the prevailing attitude. Bigger is better.
True, starting with most of the 72 A-bodies and into the Colonnades, the “big” motor became a free flowing option, no longer did you have to spec a GS, GTO or 442 to get the big engine, you could have had a plain Cutlass or luxed up Regal with the 455.
Both SB & BB 400 were offered in ’72.
My favourite tonal palette. Now I have to decide; LTD or Bel-Air?
Eldorado.
+ 1
+ 2
+3
Give me full-size or give me furrin’.
I’m holding out for “Ode to Avocado”.
Come back in the spring. 🙂 First we have to do white cars in January and gray ones in February.
…and red and white cars in December? 🙂
Not a big earth tone fan, myself. However, the ensuing 40 years have softened me.
That 72 Bel Air strikes a chord. My mother tried and tried to find a 72 Cutlass in that shade, which Oldsmobile called Baroque Gold. But it was late in the model year and there were none to be found equipped the way she wanted. I was not all that sad, myself.
The gold on that 67 Newport looks to me like a 70s shade to me. The gold I recall on those Chryslers was more like that on the 69 LTD. Gold was certainly a hot color in the late 60s and early 70s. A friend’s aunt had a 72 Ford in the same shade as that LTD ragtop, and I kind of liked that one.
The 67 Newport does seem a bit bright doesn’t it? I know that that “Saddle Bronze” wasn’t continued after ’66 so it’s not that. I think the closest 1967 Chrysler colour to that car is Spice Gold.
Here is a very badly reproduced Polaroid picture of my first car, a 1967 Corvair Monza, it’s gold color properly named “Sierra Fawn Metallic”.
That gold Chrysler Newport strikes a responsive chord in my automotive memory bank brain.
They were ALL OVER the New Orleans, LA area in the late 1960’s/early 1970’s!!! More often than not in the station wagon body.
The local Chrysler dealer must have had a fondness for the gold station wagon body and discounted/sold da Hale outta them.
Ah yes, that sound, as Aaron commented!
The “nang-nang-nang” sound of the Highland Park Hummingbird starter, the distinctive burble of a Mopar 383 engine and the quiet, wispering “auoooooh” sound of the first gear of a Mopar TorqueFlite automatic transmission idling past me in various suburban shopping center parking lots will be forever engraved in my memory.
“old gold” doesn’t show the southwestern US dust. At least not until it rains!
Like a few others here, not a fan of gold/brown. I did own a 94 Ranger that was gold….though in some light conditions it looked beige and in others taupe-lavender. At least is never looked all that dirty no matter how “neglected”.
Of all the cars pictured, I would own the Chrysler…but only when painted a more metallic color like that of the LTD.
Very “colorfully” written, Aaron, great narrative, nicely done. A pleasure to read such vivid descriptions, and quoting Shelley, yet. You must have been an English major!
It’s the day job…I’m a 12th-grade English teacher. 🙂 Thanks!
Ah, ha! I thought there must be a connection. You’re welcome, I’m impressed! BTW, I so fondly remember my 12th grade Advanced Comp English teacher, Miss Schneider. I took a lot away from her and her class, it has stayed with me to this day. This is really a fun and well composed essay, you should share it with your students, if you haven’t already.
In the ’50s the lighter tan colors had a special connotation of frugality. You saw them often on Chevy One-Fifties or Ford Mainlines or the few VWs that were starting to appear.
People who wanted to show off their frugality for business or religious reasons went for stark white or black.
But serious econo-misers understood that tan doesn’t show dirt. A tan car needed less washing, thus less time and money spent on appearance.
The chocolaty Eldorado is my favorite. The lines of those cars are so nearly perfect, and with so many neat details and sculpturing.
What was the geographical location of this show, btw? I recognize that purple Pro Street-themed Dodge Colt that’s next to the LTD convertible; saw it at a show in Raleigh, NC in 2010. Rather instantly recognizable!
I’ve seen similar colors to the 72 Chev, 69 Ford and the Eldorado on new cars, brown is back! At least in a metallic way, not the plain brown that was also common in the 70s.
There’s an amazing metallic dark tobacco brown I saw on a client’s new 5-series BMW a few years ago.