I stumble across most of my Curbside Classics while out driving. And I don’t know which is worse – finding a car when I have no camera AND my ever-present Blackberry is at home on the nightstand, or finding a car with camera at the ready but with no time to stop.
Sunday, for example, I got out of the car to snap some pictures of an early 1980s Fox-body Lincoln Continental, and drat – no way to photograph it.
Other days, I miss some beauties just because I am on the way to something and just can’t stop.
But sometimes, I see them on the road, and they are in such a situation that I or a passenger can snap a picture on the fly. Like this really nice ’61-’66 F-100. This was the configuration of my 1963 version – a short box Flareside. But what’s with that rear axle?
We caught this one on Indiana Highway 37 on the way home from a visit with Jimmy at college. Another 318 Satellite on the way to becoming a Roadrunner clone? Or maybe a badly decomposed GTX that needs some TLC (and a different color). It would look better behind a Dodge truck, though.
This little oddity may be the only car I ever shot in a McDonald’s drive-thru. Is this not the most elaborate duct-tape repair to a rear window you have ever seen? Installing a junkyard piece of glass could hardly have taken more time. But I suppose that there are artists who prefer duct tape and plexiglass as their media of choice.
My favorites are the cars out in bad weather. We have a lot of that in Indiana, and as a result, many of my nicer finds are either seldom-driven survivors or three-season cruisers that are kept indoors. But when you see one out in the rain or snow in November and December, then you know that it sees regular duty. And isn’t this what Curbside Classics is really about? After following this one for a bit, it also made me appreciate modern windshield wipers.
Although a slightly modded old pickup is a nice sight (we do like our trucks in Indiana), my favorites are the true driver/survivors that are well, well used. Like this 1973 Buick Century Colonade. This car exemplifies all that is both bad and good about this car. The sagging front springs and the soft GM lacquer paint that was nowhere near as durable as the enamels used by other manufacturers show themselves here. However, these were pretty good against the rust monster and quite durable mechanically. Somebody’s grandmother kept the purchase price down on this one. I wonder if the driver thinks of himself a Centurion?
That Buick is great. I’m no fan of the Colonnade styling, but this is the classic look that was everywhere back then. The ones that tended to get saved were the upscale versions with the skinny back passenger windows, the vinyl roofs, etc.
That looks like the cheaper Century, instead of the more expensive Regal. It’s a real survivor, for sure.
The Ford pickup does appear to have some camber on that rear wheel. I’m guessing it someone has swapped in a T-Bird/Cougar/Mark VII IRS in it a surprisingly popular modification.
Saw a very nice Ford pickup yesterday 48 Bonus with turbo diesel Nissan RD28 no bloody camera
That Century looks like it might still riding on Bias Ply tires.. Yikes!
I understand your frustration with not being able to shoot when the situation arises. I was home in Youngstown over the weekend on some family business and with the exceptionally warm weather (for us Yankees), a lot of nice metal has been out and about.
Early on our trip back to Ohio, I managed to sit on my #@$@#$!! phone and break the display screen. Of course, as we drove across Michigan and Ohio, tons of neat old cars were out, and I had no way to photograph them.
The most annoying one to miss was the prototype Ford Focus with special computer gear in the interior and strange fiberglass extensions to the grille area, near Ann Arbor, MI. Dang it!
I guess the good news is, I was able to retain all of the data from my old phone, and I have a new Android phone.
In my town, Niskayuna, NY, there’s a 1981 Replicar Phaeton (a faux Model A on a GM platform with VW elephant foot taillights). Its a daily driver, but I still do not have a picture.