This butterscotch 144 looks good enough to eat.
Autumn is my favorite time of year, especially here in the Pacific Northwest. This fall there was a great pumpkin harvest, and a bumper crop of old trucks. Mix in a couple of classic Volvos and you’ve got a veritable cornucopia of quirk. Hope you enjoy my most recent finds.
My best guess is a 1979-80 Caballero Diablo, but I bet one of you knows for sure.
I found this really nice GMC Caballero in nearby Anacortes, Wash., but my photo doesn’t do it justice. I think that’s some wispy clouds reflecting off the hood graphics. Cool truck in nice shape!
Guess I always thought Cummins Diesel was a Mopar thing.
Next up is a rather ordinary looking ’96-’97 Ford Ranger XLT from my Sunnyland neighborhood. Gone now after many years on the street.
I snapped this to make sure I wasn’t seeing things.
I’m including this one for the Cummins Diesel badge. Is that rare (or just slow…)?
Notice the period-correct Washington license plates.
Let’s stick with Ford for this awesome little Courier. This is near an historic Victorian house in Sunnyland, on the old trolley route.
Old Ford Courier with its Mazda-ness showing through.
This Courier is in nice original shape and appears to be a daily driver. As my wife often says, “he’s a good lookin’ fella.”
Nice example of an old workhorse.
I found this old ’75-’76 Toyota SR-5 down at the harbor, where it is always in a different spot. Probably owned by someone living on their sailboat.
Check out the blue heron on the dock.
Here’s a shot of Squalicum Harbor, in Bellingham, Wash. A great place for old cars and the people who love them.
Things rust here, too.
Just up from the harbor I found this Dodge Ram, which looks like it’s been boiled in acid. This one is on the Old Mill Trail in Bellingham. Still moves around though.
Has that unintended “Harlequin” look. The stick on the ground is for holding up the hood.
Another forlorn specimen, this old Datsun King Cab resides right across the alley from my house. Lack of a grille (or any other identifying pieces) makes dating it a bit tricky. This was a daily driver up until a few months ago, and I’ve been looking at it for the past 20+ years.
Man it’s hot out here!
My dog Freddie was with us at the aforementioned pumpkin patch, and that butterscotch Volvo was making her hungry.
Syttende Mai parade in Ballard, May 17, 2024. Norwegian Independence Day. Skol!
To bookend this fall collection, here are some yummy looking Volvos in the Syttende Mai parade in Ballard, a suburb of Seattle. My parents lived there in the ’50s, but they drove an Olds Holiday! Thanks for stopping ’round. See you next time my phone fills up.
Ok on that ford courier with cunnins diesel I google it & it says ford never put a diesel in there little truck ! As I wanted to learn more about it since it had that badge & did not look home made & truck looked very original ! sooooooooo
The equivalent Mazda was sold here with a diesel.
Cummins badges are a thing, and show up on all kinds of cars and trucks.
I have at least once seen a 4bt cummins (4 cyl version of the 6BT 6cyl found in 90’s dodges) swapped into a Ranger before but typically it has more mods then this as they are quite tall and heavy for 4 cylinders. The Ford ranger did briefly have a diesel option in the 80’s but well before this generation.
Your opening shot could (should) have been the cover of a Volvo brochure back in the day! And that 142 celebrating Norwegian Independence Day looks mighty tasty as well. Good eye, sir! I look forward to seeing more!
So many in that color back then. Lot a green ones too.
My late Father spent his last 20 years in Bellingham, a nice place IMO .
Thirty years ago the whole area was chock full of neat survivors .
-Nate
I love the Volvo parade shot with one of each Volvo sold here in the 1960’s (though the 1800 looks like a ‘70’s model). And I like Freddie – he looks a bit like our Riley, whose name was inspired by the British car.
The truck you ID as a RAM is a Dodge Dakota
Yep 94-96 Dakota. I had a 95, my father currently has it and it is doing the paint peeling on the roof and hood as well, but not as impressive as this one.
The Cummins was probably swapped in, I would guess a 4BT Cummins
I have always liked the 144, even more than the 240, its successor.