What to do with a partly sunny, brisk Sunday afternoon and no real plans? Well after re-joining my gym and getting a break-in workout, I thought ‘I think Ive earned a couple slices of pizza’, and made the voyage down into Portland. As most of you know, Portland, OR has more CC’s than one can possibly document. Usually, I’m down in the area with friends or on a random date or something else that doesn’t lend itself to me snapping shots of old cars on my trusty iPhone. When friends are around, I get enough grief just for ogling random patina’d Dusters, Jeeps, Ramchargers, Imperials, rat rods, etc. as it is. But today, my dance card was empty. And I plan on covering more of Portland’s CCs in the future.
So as I made my way down to Straight From NY Pizza on Belmont and 39th..err Caesar Chavez…I knew I was deep in CC territory. Rolling down Belmont, I passed by several that I knew I wanted to snap. First to find a parking spot, and immediately I spotted this super clean VW pickup (Caddy) with topper.
This one is exceptionally clean and loved, but you have a good chance of seeing them in the northwest as VWs have quite a bit of a following.
Right around the corner from the pizzeria….PAYDIRT!!!!! ‘This Jeep is falling victim to whatever type of tree this is, and apparently they’re popular here. There’s one near my townhouse getting its pink tree dandruff all over my upper balcony, and you’ll see more in some of the following pics. I almost learned the hard way that stepping onto those petals when they’re moist and slimy and I’m wearing Chucks isn’t too hot an idea.
Now normally, I like to save the best for last but not only is this old Wagoneer the star of the show, it was the 2nd CC I spotted. It appeared to be an older repaint, but I recognize that shade of green as something that is period correct to a Kaiser-era Jeep.
Since the front spring eyes are visible, this doesn’t have the fabled independent suspension that these could have had for the first few years. Hooniverse had an actual article on it: It’s somewhat similar to Ford’s twin traction beam suspension used on their 4x4s in the ’80s and early ’90s, but it has an upper control arm that keeps the camber in check. Jeep had a much more advanced setup 17 years previous, but it cost extra and had few takers.
This could be a Kaiser Waggy, since the fender badge lists it as a ‘V8 350’. That’s the Buick V8 that was used from 1968 through 1971. AMC acquired Jeep in 1970.
This new wide grille replaced the old narrow grille that was previously used starting in 1966.
I didn’t get a great shot of the interior, but it was very pristine and complete. Whoever owns this truck clearly loves it, as its condition and the ‘club’ theft deterrent attest.
Down from the pizzeria, sits a truck that’s practically a landmark…at least for a dude who is a total geek for old 4x4s. Ive lived in the Portland area over 8 years, and this Land Rover (I believe its a Series 88) has been sitting immobile for at least that long. Its a crying shame to see it in this condition, as this rig appears mostly complete with a fairly straight body. And yet it gathers moss and graffiti. I hope the owner someday decides to put a stop to the rot and restore this beauty back to its former glory.
Now, a brief intermission for why I actually rode down here. As a native Jersey kid, Im picky about my pizza and yet Portland inexplicably has over a half dozen places to get some really good pie that I wouldn’t be ashamed to feed to my NJ family. Straight from New York would get a solid B+ or A-. On my list, its not the ‘best’ in town, but top 5 easy. Also, it’s the most accessible and consistent. AND they can be creative:
That’s right! A daily special that’s an homage to none other than Boba Fett! No room for Capt. Solo, because my cargo hold got filled up with those babies.
Now to work it off with a walk….
First up is a G body Monte Carlo. Apparently, getting upsized versions of factory wheels is a ‘thing’ these days….
And speaking of plus size…this old Lincoln is a land barge. Lincolns aren’t my thing, so I cant tell you what model it is, but its very clean and well kept.
This old Tercel is a different kind of ‘stickermobile’…not quite what you’ll see inspired but any of the ‘Furious’ movies.
As I said, VWs are popular up here. Vanagons are well loved by the outdoorsy types and VW faithful alike, so of course they’re common in these parts. A ‘regular’ one…
…and a Westy with a little wear and tear and nice looking 5 spoke wheels.
I was a little slow, since this PT Cruiser and hardtop Isuzu Amigo (which was known as Rodeo Sport in its final years) were joined by a well worn Volvo 240 wagon, pulling out as I got in range.
But it was no big loss. If old Volvos are your thing, these are like cockroaches up here. When you get in this area, its near impossible NOT to see at least 3 or 4.
This wagon is wearing some nice factory turbine style wheels.
This sedan has turbine wheels too, but the center caps make it look a bit less aggressive. No coupes today, I guess.
Here’s a nice, clean small-bumper 2002.
And of course we love our trucks and 4x4s. An early-mid 70s Ford is in very clean original condition.
This early Toyota Land Cruiser wagon (FJ55 I believe) looks like its ready to take on the Walking Dead.
And this crusty tin top Suzuki Samurai looks like the Cruiser’s little brother.
And finally, I caught this ’05 Dodge Ram RumbleBee. Looks like someone needs a truck, and yet wants a Challenger. Between the factory Scat Pack logo, tail stripe, and hood scoop combined with those Torq Thrusts, bed bar and more aggressive stance it looks like its got some old school stank rubbed on it. Wait….I think I know that guy….
Love the Wagoneer there, that’s pristine, cleaner than my just-bought-2-days-ago ’65
Nice; good catch.
Great tour, I especially liked the VW pickup, Wagoneer, and the unmolested 2002.
Thanks for the write-up, I look forward to the next one.
I saw one of those Volkswagen pickups yesterday — diesel, even, by the sound of it.
sigh. I wish my walks were this productive. I just took a walk and bagged an 80s Toyota truck. That was it.
Wagoneer gets my vote, very nice indeed and I even like the color.
I went for a walk the other night and got nothing. Even the Studebaker around the corner has been gone for 2 years now..
The Volvo coupes were mostly PRV V6s that died an untimely death. The 4 cylinder Volvos live forever.
I don’t know about that…the 262c Bertone was indeed the PRV, and those early ones weren’t good motors. However those were unique enough that quite a few have survived (though I’ve not personally seen one in a long time). But there were also 242 coupes with the “redblock” I4, up until their discontinuation in ’84 or ’85. There’s also the 780, some of which were the turbo I4, others with the B280F which was a vastly improved version of the older PRV engine.
I agree about the late production PRV engines, but by that time the damage had been done perception wise and nobody wanted them. I still have a bad case of lust for a 780 Bertone, maybe one of these days one will find me.
You never know. It happened to me, after all. One glance across a parking lot, and one thing led to another, and I found myself with a Swedish-Italian project…
Some of the ones Ive seen have been turbos. Ive never been fond of the 240s lines, but a turbo coupe or wagon with manual trans could be a fun little ride.
Looks like a neighborhood that could use some Affirmative Action. Truck in a few dozen Texans with F-150’s or F-250’s. All in the interest of diversity, of course.
Love that Wagoneer! Great color and nice to see an oldie being cared for and regularly driven. The BMW is nice too as is the Lincoln Continental, with no opera window. Some of your descriptions sound like my part of Richmond–lots of VWs around here, and lots of Volvos. There’s a Rabbit pickup around the corner from me and quite a few Vanagons in the neighborhood.
The interesting cars I saw on my walk today were an 80s Ford van and a B-body Cutlass coupe. Not in bad shape for two college kid cars in the rust belt.
Have not seen that graffitied Land Rover since August 2013 and I am surprised it is still there. I am surprised the Land Rover is grafittied since graffiti is not terribly common in that part of Portland and even box trucks as well as windowless vans can live on the street without much fear of being tagged. I think I recognize the Econoline in the lead photo, but the rest of these nice cars are new to me. Is the Dodge Ram Bumble Bee the same as an SRT-10?
I’ll side with the majority here…the Wagoneer is it, especially with the Buick small-block!
It’s not even a question.
It looks like I made it a question, accidentally! “The Wagoneer is it?” 🙂
Petals look so much better on a car than bird droppings.
The BMW 2002 would be my teenage dream car.
The Monte Carlo is a ’78 Landau. Landau because of the half-vinyl roof, and ’78 because of the non-wraparound taillights. Same yellow as my ’79, a fairly rare color on these cars. Those big wheels are the first thing most folks would put on an old Monte these days. Kinda cliche, but the car is otherwise straight and clean.
Nice Jeep, too!
Teddy–I was thinking the same on the grafitti. Very much out of place for this area. As a fellow Portlander, would youput it past the owner to tag his own rig? I wouldnt, especially if he crawled home from the triple nickle!
And no, the SRT-10 has a Viper V -10 and 6spd manual…I think autos were available too. The Rumble Bee (like the Daytona) is a numbered appearance package homaging a classic Mopar muscle car. Its based on an SLT with the Sport package and 345 Magnum Hemi. ‘Bees are all single cabs And can be 2wd or 4wd yellow with black or like mine black with yellow. The Daytona could be had in single or quad cabs like the SRT-10, but the ‘Tona could be 2wd or 4wd.
Very nice. The Waggy is a beaut, I have not seen an early one like that in decades.
I think I would go for that Lincoln. The semi-skirtless rear wheels peg it as a 78 or 79. I really like them sans opera window, a look that was not seen often.
Also a fan of that red Ford pickup – it is no newer than a 1972.
I’m sure that Ford pickup is a 1970. The later models had fewer and bigger grille bars. We had the use of a very clean 1970 short-wide-box 6-cylinder 3-speed pickup at the shipyard where I worked…after only a year we had to turn it in for a new 78 Dodge that soon was nicknamed Moby Dodge.
The Wagoneer, 2002, and Ford truck. Variety. Sweet!
Some great finds in the neighborhood. If I see that cool Dodge pickup in my travels and you see a bronze 86 Jetta 4 door or a copper Titan king cab tooting the horn, it’s 67Conti so don’t flip me off!
A Jeep product WITHOUT a 7 slot grille….do we call the trademark police or the political correctness police?
My favs? The Monte Carlo and the Lincoln. I agree the Monte needs “factory stock” sized wheels. The Lincoln is great for having a full length vinyl roof, no opera windows, and nice color combo. I’d be so tempted, though, to add fender skirts.
I’ve heard VW is thinking of selling a VW pickup here in the states again , like the Honda Ridgeline.
You mean the Amarok? It only resembles the Ridgeline in the proportions of the crewcab with shortie bed, although you can get a singlecab with a standard shortbed too. While the RL is basically a heavily re-worked Odyssey when you boil it down, the Amarok is a legit body on frame truck with a dual range 4×4 system. Those have a torquey little TDI engine and seem like rugged little rigs. If they brought it here, it would certainly grab my attention, since there aren’t really any compact/midsize pickups out there Id consider. Toyota/GM/Nissan don’t do a thing for me. There ARE rumors of Jeep bringing about a Wrangler based pickup on the next redesign. But those rumors are nothing new.
The diesel is a 2.0 liter TDI. Up to 180 hp – 310 ft-lb.
The Army bought them as a replacement for the good old Mercedes G-class. While it’s not exactly pickup-country here -the Caddy and Transporter are VW’s widespread commercial vehicles- I see the Amarok quite regularly.
Your mystery tree is a redbud, very popular ornamental street tree around here.
The one that catches my eye is the one in the first picture, no not the Volvo but the high top Econoline. I need, ok want, a new one, to replace my old one that had a large branch fall on it and I wouldn’t mind getting one new enough to be powered by a modular instead of my old carbed 351.
I certainly wouldn’t refuse the Wagoneer since it has the Buick 350 for power.
My Dad had an ’81 VW pickup much like the one pictured (even with the topper). Diesel with a 4-speed manual and (VW) add-on a/c. He claimed that the 4-speed combined with the 55-mph speed limit of the day wrecked his hearing; if he could’ve legally driven 60+ mph, the hum of the diesel wouldn’t have wrecked his hearing. Maybe a 5-speed (O/D) would’ve helped! BUT, it had one REALLY groovy accessory of the day…a factory cassette player. Quite a step up from the AM radio in our ’73 Delta 88!
From my Mid-Western perspective, the Land Cruiser Wagon is the rarest of the bunch. I remember that they existed, but have no idea when I last saw one.
It wouldn’t have occurred to me without the earlier Ranchero post, but that Wagoneer front end is rather similar to the ’62 Falcon.
These FJ55 LC’s are rare here too. I cant remember the last time Ive seen one, actually. Now, the succeeding generation (FJ-60) are actually pretty common as LCs go. The owner of the shop who lowered my PT Cruiser and my Rumble Bee owns a nice one…he swapped in a corvette engine!
The Landy is an 88 inch wheelbase model but without a front shot its impossible to determine which model 2, 2a and 3 all use the same panels and are only distinguishable by the headlight mounts and grilles, plastic grilles is series 3 outboard lights and steel mesh grille is 2a inboard headlights 2.
Nice F-250. It’s a ’70, according to the grille. I had a ’68 Camper Special.
Funny thing about those VW trucks… there a few of them up here off of Mt. Baker highway. I talked to the owner of one recently while buying gas. He claims there’s about 50 of them around here. A few people must be stashing them away.