This past week for me has been a rough one. I’ve been battling the flu since last Wednesday, and as if that isn’t bad enough, I’ve also gotten a nasty bronchial infection. I was feeling kind of sorry for myself when my day was brightened by stumbling upon not one, not two, but THREE CCs all at the hospital where I went earlier today for treatment.
I was just exiting my vehicle when this lovely ragtop 67 Mustang pulled in. I actually lingered for a couple of minutes to talk to the owner. He did a complete stock restoration not long ago, including a rebuild of its original 2-barrel 289 and C4 automatic transmission.
Despite my being a total horsepower junkie, I can’t really fault his engine choice. A quick-revving 289 with a thrifty 2 barrel carb, dropped into the lightweight ’67 / ’68 Mustang body shell, provides plenty of oomph for navigating traffic without outrageous fuel bills.
Second CC is this lovely ’74-’76 Ford Gran Torino station wagon I passed on my way to the Kaiser Permanente Urgent Care entrance. I actually first spotted this car the previous day, but in my rush to see a doctor I neglected to shoot it. I had the good fortune to stumble upon it again today on my way to the pharmacy. Not wanting to blow my chance a second time, I pretended to make a phone call while discreetly shooting a few pics. This one appears to be a mostly original survivor, minus the hideous Pep Boys Special plastic aftermarket hubcaps.
It’s no secret that in many respects, malaise-era Toris were dreadful vehicles, and I’m certainly not going to debate that. Even so, I get a strange and twisted satisfaction out of the knowledge that one or two surviving handfuls of these cars are still chugging around, that haven’t been carted off to the boneyard after donating their vital organs to yet another boring and predictable Mustang restomod project.
Last up is this lovely Series II Jaguar E-Type coupe, exact year unknown. This is another one I caught on my way to the pharmacy. It was too dark to get a really good shot at the interior, but the inside looks as primo as the outside. This car obviously gets lots of love from its owner.
How do I know it’s a Series II? The lack of plastic headlight covers is one clue. This discreet badge on the rear deck lid is another:
I apologize in advance for the poor lighting and lack of good interior shots. A dark, cramped, and crowded parking garage is far from an ideal location for photo shoots, especially with the old and cheap camera phone I was using. Better than nothing, I suppose.
A final bonus- after returning home, I spotted a ’73 Datsun 1200 notchback coupe parked in my apartment complex. Sadly, by that time my phone battery had died, and the owner was leaving, so no pictures 🙁 . I did get to speak with the owner for a minute, and he commented on how I was the first guy he talked to in a long while who even knew what his car was.
So that’s it. Time to take the industrial-strength antibiotics that the doc prescribed me and pray that there’s no strong side effects. Looks like my own CCs will sit neglected for yet ANOTHER weekend due to illness. Sigh.
A Mustang,a woody and an E type,great taste in cars Chris.Get well soon
Is it just me, but do those cheap dimestore wheel covers make that car look like a overgrown Pinto wagon?
+1 They do. Besides the same ‘Squire’ woodgrain treatment, overall family resemblance and coke-bottle styling.
+1 The woody gave me a woody, the wheel covers were a bit of a cold spoon.
Those Torinos weren’t all that bad. In the ’80s a friend of mine bought a clean, plain ’74 wagon to tow his ski boat. We didn’t arrive at the boat ramp to cheering admirers, but the car (400cid) handled it’s job capably. After a few years there was a divorce, and the boat and then car were sold. The Torino soldiered on through town, but the new (and probably final) owner didn’t seem to care about it. It wasn’t around for long.
Chris, thanks for the post and get well soon.
looking at the plate on the Mustang, I wonder if that’s the resident gynecologist’s car
Well, if it is he’s illegally parked or sick
Lol…actually, it is very likely the Mustang’s original plate from new.
From the smaller rear bumper and what can be seen of the grille, I think the Torino wagon is a ’73.
You’re right, the ’74-’76 would have had the higher impact bumper
This is the first time I have ever seen a Torino Wagon parked together in the same lineup with a Czechoslovakian Skoda.
Amazingly, the Skoda could haul more kids…
Lol, that is an odd plate for New Jersey, isn’t it?
Glad to hear your trip to the Doctor had a silver lining. Thanks for taking the time to take some pics.
Love the Mustang, like the Torino, but “the Shoe”? Well, it’s okay too.
Flat wheels look awful on any older car with sculpted sides and recessed wheels — the plasticaps belong on a plasticar or in the dumpster. The optional Torino wheelcovers for this year are real sharp — too bad the owner doesn’t appear to have them.
Even some simple dog dishes would look better than those frisbees that are on the car now.
Blackwalls were rather uncommon on ’67 Mustangs (apart from Shelbys) in California when new. Trying to remember ever seeing one.
My father’s ’67 Mustang had blackwall tires, it was delivered in L.A. It was lime green metallic, with a matching vinyl interior. Ugh, never cared for that, you had this sickly green pallor every time you got into it.
@psfm, you are right, that would have been the original California plate, issued in late ’67 or early ’68, I believe. My father’s black plate had the letters UUP, I think he took delivery in the summer of ’67.
Always loved that concave rear end of the 67/68 Mustangs, the best rear end treatment of the entire line. An awful bunch of those Mustangs in that shade of green metallic were sold, too. I can still picture my 5th grade teachers 68 coupe in that colar.
Nice catch, Daniel and how you feel better!
Correction: Nice catch, Chris! And of course, I hope you feel better!
Ivy Gold is the color and it was the most popular. 73,760 out of 472,209 1967 Mustangs were Ivy Gold (16%). The next most popular color was Candy Apple Red (52,158 – 11%) followed by Wimbledon White (42,903 – 9%).
My personal favorite color is Dark Moss Green which comes in at #4 (42,783 – 9%).
JB, I think Ivy Gold may be a slightly different color found in 1965-66. I am pretty sure that this was Lime Gold, a very popular color on Ford cars in 1967-69. Both my 67 Galaxie and my 68 Mustang were this color.
FWIW, I never cared for this color with either beige or white top/interior, but it looked pretty good with black ( which both of mine were).
Nice shots and great finds. I am amazed at how nice the di-noc looks on that Torino, even thought the hood paint seems to be giving up.
Good to know you are feeling better. I am struggling a bit myself, trying to decide whether or not I broke my right middle finger yesterday. I am hoping not. Word to the wise, if working on a La Z Boy chair, be smarter than I was and remember that the base is under spring tension when you go to release the footrest. Owwwch!
I had a ’68 Ivy Gold Mustang HT which I appropriated from my mother. It had a 289 2-bbl with the auto, A/C, and an AM 8-track radio with speakers in the doors. I replaced the E-series bias ply tires with F-series which gave the car slightly more rubber on the pavement. The neat thing was the hood which had the two slots with turning lights in the small grilles. Sadly, my father wrecked it one morning, and I have missed that car ever since.
It was a fairly thrifty car given its vintage. Just before it was wrecked, the crank snapped in the 289 while I was cruising down the road. Don’t know to this day why, but when I got the old motor out, the crank had snapped between the first and second pairs of cylinders. It was the first V8 I ever drove, and it was quite a bit peppier than a similar Mustang with the 200 straight 6 that i was driving previously.
BTW, if you went with the 289 4-bbl, you got higher compression and about 25 extra horses, but you HAD to use premium fuel (even in the leaded gas days).