I’d finished lunch with an old friend and had about half an hour to kill before meeting a prospective tenant at one of my rentals in Laramie, Wyoming. So, as one does, I decided to take a meandering route from the old downtown through the residential sections towards said rental and just spent twenty minutes snapping every interesting (to me, perhaps you as well) older car that was parked curbside. As usual, Laramie did not disappoint with this selection of 17 images captured in less than 20 minutes, all out of my driver’s side window as I was feeling fat and lazy after a good lunch with no desire to jostle anything. Join me as we take a ride.
We’ll start here. One can simply never go wrong taking a picture of a presumably mid-1970s Series II Jaguar XJ6L. Even in white with whitewalls, although some uncharitable souls might point out that finding a Jaguar of this vintage in a resting pose is no great feat… Grrr.
Perhaps the polar opposite of the Jaguar? Although it starts with the same letter, that’s about all this grizzled Jeep Cherokee might have in common with Coventry’s finest. Go Toledo!
Oh jeez, the third car in and already it’s turned the other cheek so as not to appear in profile. It was simply too good to pass up though, parked in the No Parking spot. The Colorado bumper sticker under the Wyoming plate is a nice touch and green Lincolns don’t seem too plentiful.
Tastes in Laramie run far and wide. And those that complain about today’s cars having weird protrusions, styling gimmicks, and odd ornamentation, well, there’s a precedent for all that…Still, someone probably loves it and cares for it so that’s good enough.
And just around the corner, an Infiniti M30 with mismatched wheels; the fronts from a 300ZX, the rears from a catalog, and with a partially dismantled parts car of the same right behind it.
A Dodge Sweptline is always more interesting than just another Ford or Chevy, even with a branch in the road (’twas a bright yet extremely gusty day!)
No, it’s not just the camera that makes the rear wheels look like they are protruding, this 1-ton Chevy C30 Silverado Camper Special is of the Regular Cab Dual Rear Wheel variety and likely gets the job done and then some. Click to enlarge to see the variety of different mounting points that have been drilled for multiple mirror configurations over the decades.
Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS with Cragar mag wheels and Cooper Cobra Radial G/Ts for the complete package. Somewhere nearby there is bound to be a sixer of Schlitz tall boys too.
This Deluxe has been parked around the corner of my first rental since as long as I can remember coming to Laramie, so well over a decade now. I’ve taken photos of it at least three times and never written about it, it’s just not my era. This however is the first time that it’s been in the sun and the rear tire had air in it. I check to see if the registration is current every time I see it and it is (and was even with the ever-flat tire). One day I may see it actually in motion. Or perhaps not.
No grouping of cars is complete without at least one Volvo 240, here in the way it was intended. Although if that’s true, then maybe the sedans should have had an even squarer rear roofline as the doors would have been optimized for the wagon shape and then adapted to the sedan instead of how it actually happened. I suppose the universe is in fact imperfect. But these will outlive us all.
As might these, an early 1980s Toyota 4×4 Pickup, looking like a Stomper toy truck here. I don’t care how cramped the cabin is, I kind of want one.
Of course a Jeep J-2000 is also immensely appealing. Another one I have multiple times in my archives; I started seeing it a few years back and it just keeps on truckin’.
While I’ll always hanker after a black on tan Saab 900 Turbo SPG, there’s somehow a lot to like about a beater 900 with a dented door and mismatched steelies and very damaged paint. The perfect IDGAF-mobile and this one parks outside all day, every day, and twice as long on a cold winter’s day. Yet I’m guessing it fires up every morning without fail and does its job. And all of a sudden I want to wear a tweed jacket with elbow patches.
I led with this one and it is simply spectacular. It does seem to live on the street, I’ve seen it over the last year in or about this same spot and I never cease to be amazed by how shiny it is kept. It’s wonderful and is very hard to get pictures of without resulting in a fun-house mirror parody of the photographer.
Laramie is a college town as you may or may not know (Go Pokes!) and this part of the neighborhood near the university dates to the 1930s and so you never really know if this is Grandma’s hand-me-down to a semi-starving student rooming with multiple other students or if this actually is still Grandma’s ride parked outside her house. I once had one of these early Subaru Legacys as a week-long rental and it somehow seriously endeared itself to me, even though it was one of the slowest vehicles I can recall driving in that era and that was definitely not my thing at the time.
These two I hadn’t come across before, an interesting set of bookends comprising an early Porsche 944 with the 2.5liter inline-4 with eight valves and a far later 944 S2 with the 3liter version of the inline-4 sporting 16 valves. It’s hard for me to accept that this wide-fendered version of the 924 body is now over 40 years old…
If it’s got to end sometime, it might as well be with a Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser, no? Now for me it’s time to go another block, park, and a quick vacuum before showing the place…Thanks for riding along!
What a great collection of photos Jim! To me at least, this seems like CC in its most elemental sense…and it definitely satisfies.
A couple of those vehicles are downright scary. I wonder if that Saab has more than a dented door. It actually looks rolled (and in Saab fashion remains driveable once all 4 wheels – or at least a majority of them – are on the ground). And that Cherokee definitely says “get away…quick” should it be caught in ones rear view mirror or in nearly any neighborhood other than perhaps where it is.
Finding any Jag that actually runs is a feat in and of itself. And the ones that do run probably have a swapped in SBC or 302 Ford.
Have you noticed a theme…the trucks & SUVs are in better shape (and better cared for) than the sedans and wagons.
Once you move from the urban core, the pickup or SUV is more important.
Also, love the design of some of the houses in the background, especially behind the Toyota. Instead of a McMansion, just big enough for a family with a full sized shed in the backyard to work on your project car(s)!!!
Splendid, every one of them. And yes, that polished aluminum step van is most worthy of top billing. The ’57 Cadillac and the old black Chevy take the silver and bronze.
In another version of the CC Effect, last night I put together a post of everyCC I could shoot from my van in a little hamlet in eastern Washington. Most are more utilitarian than these, not surprising given that Laramie is much bigger and is a college town. It’ll be up in a few days.
Thanks, it was an enjoyable cruise around, perfect weather and temperature if a bit gusty. I look forward to seeing the eastern Washington stuff, I’m already envisioning lots of later 1980s GM stuff!
I like the orange creamsicle c30. Why can’t we have colors anymore? Or is it that we don’t want colors anymore.
Just want to note how very different Laramie (or “Laradise” as some call it) is from any place else. It is at a very high altitude. It is cool to cold. It is very windy but usually sunny. It is remote from any big city with comprehensive services and goods. It has very limited commercial air service. It is not a bad place at all; it is just very different and almost shocking to those who have not been there or seen the high plains of Wyoming. It feels and is isolated and it is often inaccessible in winter because I-80 is closed by blizzards. Jim will probably agree with this.
For some reason vehicles stay there for decades. Those left outside can survive well. I’d guess the most obvious signs of longevity in Laramie are sun damaged interiors and destroyed clear coat. If you see an older rusty car it probably originated somewhere else. There is a good variety of old cars and that is also true in Cheyenne, where I live about 50 miles to the east.
I’ve driven through Laramie twice and yes it is a college town, the only one in all of Wyoming. One of my roommates from my post grad days grew up there and his dad was a chemical engineering professor UWO. I can still in my mind’s eye see Laramie from higher up on I-80 going west and seeing the entire town on a plain and the town itself is on a grid.
The white Toyota 4×4 shortbed I think is an ’82. I could not see the grille, but its front clip looks so so familiar (I had an ’82 SR-5 longbed), and the fake vent louvers just behind the door handle on the cab I think is unique to MY82. I also had the California mirrors as seen on this specimen. WY must be really dry because my Toy truck rusted away by 1998 after 14 years of coast-coast service for me, and this one would likely fetch some serious change if the owner decided to sell it–we just don’t see these on the road anymore.
P.S. My favorite NFL player was a Jersey kid who went to Wyoming: Jim Kiick (RIP), he played for the Miami Dolphins during the Super Bowl years.
Impressive volume of cool cars. Kudos to you for snapping and sharing. My faves are the SAAB and Volvo that look wasted but still work.
I see a surprising number of old Jaguars in small towns or small cities, but most of them seem to be Series IIIs or XJ-40s. This one is pretty remarkable since it’s older than most – and it probably still runs.
And as someone who likes both Saabs and 5-door hatchbacks, that brown 900 is great – even in its current condition.
Thanks for all these photos!
Fabulous cars & trucks ! .
And the backgrounds and blue sky is icing on the cake .
I don’t think I’ve been through Laramie since the late 1970’s…..
-Nate
Great selection. My fave has to be the brown Saab against that brown stucco. Maybe its an oz thing, but the only duellies we see here are double-cabs. That C30 looks kinda weird.
Yes, that Saab/house image gives me strong vibes of chocolate mousse (moose?) on a dark chocolate cake base with a little whipped cream.
I only wish he would have pulled up about a foot more for the symmetry…
That C30 format is relatively uncommon, usually those would also be double/crew cabs here as well, I’m guessing it likely pulled a horse trailer at one time with a gooseneck…Certainly more of a ranch-type truck. I believe you can still get that format today but it’s not commonly seen, that’s for sure, it’d be pure business-get-something-done use.
hubbahubba
Indeed, the James Bond car had the continuation series continued a few years more…nice shot.
The Caddy is a ’58, the rearward slanting fins are the giveaway. Love me some old SAABs, our youngest son has a 900 Turbo in that color, with beautiful Bridge of Weir wine color leather interior.
The great BIG Wyoming sky and sun makes everyone of these vehicles pop. That Monte Carlo SS would be a blast to take out and stretch its legs on any of Wyoming’s open roads.
My family lived in Laramie from the summer of 1966 to early June of 72. My dad took a job in casper. I still miss Laramie 52 later.