This isn’t a website that focuses very much on car shows. All the good stuff is still on the road.
However, every once in a while I do enjoy attending one. Car shows are like particle board; the Camaros, Mustangs, Corvettes, and hot rods is just so much filler, rather like the glue. The fibrous material is everything else and is what I’m covering here.
Dodge only made 3,964 of the six-passenger Coronet 440 wagons. It being a wagon captured my attention. Then I looked inside…
Look closely. It has a three-speed manual transmission, no radio, and no conditioned air. This wagon is about as basic as one could get. Isn’t it grand? Alas, the hood was closed.
Mopar products were quite heavily represented at the show as this is a Mopar loving area. This Valiant is a very solid driver with a splash of patina.
The toilet seat trunk lid is in great shape…
…and the interior is a very inviting place to spend time. I had seen this Valiant driving around earlier in the day.
The Valiant was parked next to this Javelin. Having seen the Javelin previously, I believe it is powered by a straight six.
Close to the Valiant and Coronet was this 1955 Plymouth. This is the very car in which I wrote my very first CC two years ago. Like the Coronet, it also has a three-speed on the column.
This 1964 Plymouth Sport Fury was for sale. Interestingly, it was for sale last year when I saw it although the price has lowered to a figure in the high twenties.
While it’s quite nice, the asking price was too rich for my blood.
It’s not like it was the only ’64 Plymouth there.
Since we’re talking 1964, let’s ride a bit further. There were a grand total of four 1964 Ford Galaxies present. The purple one is a bit odd as…
…when I saw it last year, it had fancy toilet seats decorating the hood. I won’t even begin to hazard a guess about why they are there.
Did I mention there were a lot of Mopars here? With this Dodge Aspen being an R/T model, and it having been classified as a Deadly Sin due in part to premature corrosion on the early models, one has to ask if the R/T stands for “Rust Through”.
Maybe that was mean spirited. To make amends, how about this nice, blue ’69 Dodge Charger instead? If you don’t like blue…
…maybe red will capture your fancy.
Seeing two Charger’s together is always exponentially better than seeing just one. There isn’t a bad line on these cars and, television show aside, I think the appearance of the ’69 is far superior to the ’68 and ’70. The only thing I would change is the fatties in the back.
The collection of Charger’s could not hold a candle to the number of Plymouth Road Runners in attendance. Here are a few more:
There were about eight in all. I promise they weren’t all red!
When I started uploading these pictures, the realization hit: not all the Mopars were of the Dodge and Plymouth variety. This ’66 Chrysler New Yorker is stunning and is completely original. Following it while exiting the show, this Chrysler possesses a distinct authority on the road.
This ’66 Pontiac Catalina is another completely original car. If I had found it on the street, it would be getting a complete article. It’s a rare bird.
Look closely at this picture. In 1966, Pontiac built just under 248,000 Catalina’s. Of those, only 5,003 had a manual transmission. This is one of those roughly two-perfect made with a manual transmission, as seen here.
The window sticker confirms this car is nearly a complete stripper with all of two factory options that total to a whopping $31.
When I was taking pictures, I struck up a conversation with the owners, who are truly terrific people. They bought the car ten years ago from the original owners. With a mere 45,000 miles, it is original down to the cigarette butts in the ashtray.
Having all the paperwork on a car this age is phenomenal. The owners said they even have the cancelled check from when it was originally purchased as well as all license renewals. They said from looking at the odometer reports on these renewals, there were some years in which the Pontiac was only driven about ten miles.
The engine is a two-barrel 389. They reported it runs like new.
They seemed interested when I told them I write for an automotive blog, and they happily showed me the paperwork as well as inviting me to open up the car to take pictures.
The only thing the wife said she would change is including air conditioning. Their grandchildren are mesmerized by windows that have to be cranked open and closed.
Another car there caught my fancy upon talking to the owner.
This is a kit the owner finished about two years ago (that his him in the picture). Also mentioning Curbside Classic, the owner stated the internet was his best friend when building this car. He stated at the time he was building it, there were individuals in Sweden, England, and Australia building cars from the same kit. With a lot of correspondence, they all finished their cars around the same time and were able to provide a lot of help to each other.
Power is from a Ford Mustang GT.
Bouncing back to Ford, there was this lovely little 1963 Fairlane sitting all by its lonesome.
While I suspect it is powered by a six cylinder, I can verify it has a three-speed manual transmission. I can also verify the fender skirts look highly out of place on this car.
This dandy Pinto was for sale with an interior that prompted the olfactory nerve into thinking it was 1978. There is a silver Pinto party wagon that flits all over town; I need to write it up sometime.
GM cannot be ignored, so here is a 1962 Buick LeSabre.
A few independent makes were featured, such as this Avanti II. There are 350 reasons, and 5.7 excuses, why I did not take a picture of the engine.
Keep it between the ditches!
That Coronet wagon is the bee’s knees. Actually, this entire post or the show has a very well-rounded selection of classic metal.
I can’t imagine owning a car in the Eastern half of the US without A/C; have to wonder what sort of person ordered their station wagons with the biggest engine and a stick with such few options.
That wagon does have a/c. If it were heater only there would be two knobs and a temp lever above the radio (or in this case, lack thereof) instead of the multitude of little knobs. Also, the no a/c cars didn’t have vents in the middle of the dash. The back window is rolled down so the “Airtemp by Chrysler” sticker that all a/c equipped Mopars had isn’t visible.
The “440” designation in this case doesn’t refer to the engine. It was the mid-level trim Coronet.
Nonetheless, it’s still an unusual combo for those days in that it was a complete stripper except for the then-pricey factory a/c option.
I thought the same, the big vents in the center of the dash indicated that it has air conditioning.
Here is a shot from the driver’s side. I must be overlooking the switch for turning on the a/c.
Just noticed the remote control mirror lever. Looks like someone went a little overboard checking off the order sheet!
AC push button/slider under the lip of the dash overhang, just above center vents.
Great pictures
Just noticed, what’s up with that Alt Gauge
Another tell-tale of the factory A/C is the presence of a tinted windshield, which was a required option on some A/C equipped cars of his vintage. A very strangely optioned car.
I was paying more attention to the text than the photo when making the A/C comment, and also thinking of that Catalina, but thanks for the correction. I also forgot about the 440 trim-level designation (who can’t think of the big 7.3 when they hear 440 and Dodge).
The whole stripper-but-for-A/C thing must’ve become common rather quickly, because west of the rockies, except for parts of Texas, it’s so freaking humid in the summer, it’s easy to get so used to it that it becomes a necessity. I’m sure a well-researched “history of automobile HVAC systems” would make a great article, now that I mention it.
Back when you could “al a carte” a car, I imagine that a baser with air conditioning was not that unusual, it was down here in Florida, I’ve seen a cheapo 3 on the tree 68 Pontiac with factory air.
I can top that, Carmine. At a car show in Coeur d’Alene, ID, I saw a ’62 Biscayne with a straight six, three-on-tree, rubber floor mats — and factory air. It still had the Air Conditioned decal in the rear window, just where Chevy put it.
The bare bones interior:
I didn’t know A/C was even available on six-cylinder models. I would have thought it you were going to spring for A/C, you’d want a V8.
Plain Jane Biscayne
Nice. I’d drive that, sure you could get air with a 6, but it wasn’t a common thing.
I am not surprised it did not have A/C. During that car’s era, A/C was not very widely available in cars(heck, it was not until the mid 1950’s that home A/C units started getting popular)
As for East Coast USA and A/C in cars: I live in Maryland and 2 years ago I had a 2010 Kia Forte that did not have factory A/C(yet had bluetooth and ipod capability. It had only 6000 miles on it and i got for a great price. I used that car for a commuter and actually got it on the hottest day of the summer of 2012. The lack of A/C did not phase me. I guess since my first cars were such crap when I was going to high school and college and did not have working A/C, I adapted.
By 1970 factory a/c was available on just about every American car, but it was still a rather pricey luxury.
At $357.65 extra, ($2178.10 adjusted for inflation) a/c was the most expensive option available on a 1970 Coronet short of a Hemi.
A/C was widely available on the low-priced 3 starting in about mid-1955, It was offered on Cadillac in ’53 and migrated down.
Even if it wasn’t available from the factory, one of the the aftermarket vendors in the Dallas-Fort-Worth area, which was the aftermarket A/C mecca back in the day, could fit the bill.
Even bare-bones Falcons had the optiona of A/C, albeit a box hung under the dash.
You could even get it in a Corvair. Point being, AC was widely available at the time,even in low-buck compacts. Below the Mason-Dixon line, it was almost regarded as a standard but-extra-cost item even then.
I have relatives from Louisiana who , in casuall conversation, referred to mid 60s autos they had owned that had air.
Want A/C in your Bug? no problem.
I’ve never heard of a VW with an A/C unit before. Provided it works right, it should be a cool ride. 🙂
In high school (72-74) we had a teacher that had a 62 Beetle that she had since new with still working AC. 6 volt and 40 hp. I had a 73 Super (Sport Bug) with AC. In Southern California there were a few type 3’s and quite a few type 4’s with it, 72 up type 2’s were also sometimes equipped. But not many owners kept them working for very long.
Woah, I didn’t know that was on option on VWs. Really stylish unit, looks like it was designed from the beginning, not as an afterthought. Best looking A/C I’ve seen.
I wonder how hard it’d be to source one of those?
My first auto a/c was an aftermarket unit I had installed in my 69 VW – it was made by a company in Texas called Heatransfer. The condenser and evaporator were housed in a box which was installed behind the back seat with an opening in the floor pan behind which allowed the condenser to remove heat and the condenser-evaporator module to be connected by hoses to the engine compartment where the compressor was located. Cold air came in a vent attached to the box along the roofline from the back to the front of the car. It worked well in terms of cooling but was a drag on the low HP engine and on the standard electrical system. The system was installed by the VW dealer in Bloomington, IN in the summer of 1972. I think VW later offered “factory” A/C in the Beetle in later models but possibly it was installed by dealers. I know there was a big lawsuit between Heattransfer and the dealer-supplied A/C company charging monopolistic practices but the web link re the suit I bookmarked has disappeared.
There are quite a few Bugs in the Philippines, and they have all been adapted for a/c. It’s impossible to drive there without it.
A/C was available widely in the mid-60’s but when I was a kids, it was real, “gee-whiz” kind of thing. It was easy 20% of the price of the car, so the only people I new who had it were the rich parents of my school friends. My plebeian family got its first car with a/c in 1979 and it was a big deal. My brother was very jealous since his car didn’t have it!
Have seen it on a bug at a “bug in” show. My first AC was an aftermarket unit from JC Penny. Turned out to leak and freeze up. Had it on a 68 Nova with a 230six.
Wasn’t there a big tax levied on A/C equipped cars in Canadia for a long time?
Yes there’s been a $100 a/c tax in Canada for many years. Our borrow and spend neocon government campaigned on getting rid of it, but never did. Funny that.
I was just over at TheSamba.com and found a copy of a fascinating magazine article on air-conditioned Beetles. It covers the two types – front mount and the heat transfer type as mentioned by CA Guy.
Nice find on The Samba AC article, Scott. The dealership I worked at would sometimes send cars to the Port in Long Beach. They were often installed there as the cars rolled off the ship from Germany. Sometimes we would install VPC air that we ordered from VOA, or if it was an older car we would order a DPD AC unit. The Tech’s hated installing these, the nickname for VPC was Very Poor Cooling and DPD was Damn Poor Design!
I grew up in Maryland and our first family car to have air conditioning was a 1969 model. Our house didn’t have A/C until then either. That was common at that time and you really didn’t realize the lack of A/C until you spent time in an A/C environment (in the summer) and then tried to transition to a place that didn’t have it.
You didn’t know what you didn’t have.
As a kid in Massachusetts in the ’70s, cars without A/C were common. A/C was far from unknown, and I’m sure most well-equipped cars had it, but it wasn’t strange to see a typical working-class/middle-class family car without it. I don’t think my parents ever owned a car with A/C until they bought a used 1978 Buick Century in 1982.
Even in the 1980s, to see a small inexpensive car without A/C wasn’t that unusual. As late as the 1987 model year, my parents bought a brand new Plymouth Sundance that didn’t have A/C, which they kept on the road until 1995. My first car in 1988 was the ’78 Buick as a hand-me-down (A/C no longer working) followed by an ’85 Plymouth Turismo that didn’t have A/C, which I owned from 1989-95. I can remember an uncle who moved to Florida in the late ’80s being told to get rid of his A/C-less Escort before he moved, because its resale/trade-in value would immediately drop to zero once he did. It wasn’t until the late ’90s, when we were finished with owning small cars built in the ’80s, that my wife and I both had cars with A/C.
We still don’t have A/C in our house, although over time we’ve definitely become an outlier in that respect. Last summer we finally broke down and bought one of those portable A/C units for our master bedroom, but were disappointed in its performance.
When I was growing up, most cars didn’t have air conditioning. If you wanted cold air, you opened the window. Even into the 80s, most cars didn’t come with A/C. It wasn’t until the 90s when some cars seemed to come standard with a/c.
When I moved from Arizona to Oregon, one of my house-shopping criteria was central air. To anybody who said, “you don’t need air conditioning in Oregon,” I replied, “the hell I don’t.” I’ve been here 11 years, and while our summers are generally quite pleasant, it gets warm enough, often enough that you appreciate A/C, and I’ve been in enough hot houses of friends without it to know.
I also grew up in West Texas in a house that only had a swamp cooler with one vent in the hallway that was allegedly supposed to cool down the whole house. It didn’t. Not even close. We did have A/C in the car, but for some unknown reason, my parents seems to reserve it for special occasions or for returning from the grocery store so the ice cream wouldn’t melt.
The A/C in our ’64 Impala stopped working in the late 70s, and my Dad didn’t get it fixed until 1981, right before I started driving it. He bitched about me using it all the time. I paid for my own gas, so I don’t know why he thought it was a problem. I told him, “You paid a lot of money to get it working again. It works great. I’m going to be comfortable.” Which wasn’t easy given the car still had those godawful clear plastic seat covers.
My buddy in Arizona had a swamp cooler in his place, ducted into large ceiling vents. It works on evapourative cooling, so in a place like Mesa in the summer, it is quite effective right up to 90’F or so. He always claimed the ducting was the important part.
I’m still surprised to see new cars sold with no A/C as an option (probably not as many anymore but I’m sure there’s some left).
Same with crank windows and hubcaps.
I’m surprised that Forte didnt have any, considering its not their entry model, the Rio is.
The Forte was an LX with manual trans, manual windows,locks and no AC. But had bluetooth(go figure)
The other day at a Dealership called Laurel Kia in Maryland, I chanced upon a 2012 Honda Civic DX that was selling for $12,999 before tags and taxes and only had 600 miles(yes you read right). It was so cheap(for a Honda) due to the fact it had no radio(only a radio delete cover) and no AC
Even my crappy cars had working A/C.
Factory air was a $363.70 option in my ’64 Impala — $2,772.25 in 2014 dollars. No wonder so many people sweated on those vinyl seats.
Oh, such riches. That Dodge wagon that is your opener brings back memories. Add some wood, full wheelcovers and a 383/Torqueflite combo (and some rust and dents) and you have the “shop car” owned by the pizza place where I worked my senior year of college. Dubbed “the Rocket Sled”, it was always a thrill to drive. 30 minutes or less? No Problem!
As for that white 64 Plymouth, no wonder it is priced so high – It must be the only one left in existence that has not been modified/hot rodded in some way. Weren’t they all sold to drag racers when they were new?
The Avanti is a puzzler – the front says Avanti II, but it still has the black and gold “S” insignias on the hood and C pillars which went away with Studebaker Corporation. And while that color was fairly common on early Avantis in 1963-64, I’m not sure I have ever seen a II in that color. I wonder if someone has repowered an original Stude version (sacrilege!) and changed a nameplate.
I am looking forward to your piece on the 66 Pontiac. I love cars equipped in oddball ways. I have certainly never seen one like it.
This Avanti also has Stude-correct wheel covers. Maybe this was a very early Avanti-II? Or the owner added the Studebaker trim themselves?
The earliest Avanti IIs were 1967s and were powered by the 327. The longer I think about this, the more I think that the owner did a “350-350” transplant in his 63 R1 for an inexpensive powertrain refresh. Edit – a second look indicates more modern seats. A mystery.
It’s definitely an Avanti II with the taller front fenders (the fenders and hood were noticeably raised on the II to clear the Chevy engine). The front side reflector is also indicates that it’s a ’68 or later. The first Avanti II’s were ’65s.
Good point. I thought they began the II with the 67 model, but turns out was 1966 (with some cars built late in 1965). A source I found says that they went to the high back seats in 1970. Production never exceeded double digits in 1965, 66 or 67, so those three years would be the rarest. Maybe with the Stude badges and wheelcovers, the owner is doing a “tribute car.” Not really a common phenomenon in the world of Studes. 🙂
Nice selection of cars. I get first dibs on the 66 New Yorker! I see it’s wearing incorrect wheel covers, which don’t entirely suit the car IMO. Looks like the owner upgraded it to 15″ tires, which necessitated different covers.
The Coronet wagon is cool. A friend of mine has a ’73 Satellite wagon similarly equipped. 3 on the tree and no options. You didn’t say what engine is in the white ’64 Sport Fury that’s for sale. I see distributor on the front, so it’s a big block for sure. I like the Roadrunner convertible and the ’66 Pontiac too.
Take that New Yorker, change the paint to a deep metallic green with green brocade interior, and you’ve got the car owned by the Rt. Rev. Msgr. Francis J. Dubosh, pastor of Sts. Cyril & Methodius Catholic Church in Lakewood, OH.
You’ve also got the 60’s car (next to a Corvair) that I really, really, really would like to own the most. I remember that car sitting in the family driveway lots of times during holidays and the summer. No more beautiful 60’s car has ever been built.
I know you’ve said that one or twice before, but I still find it surprising, since you usually loathe big luxo-barges. I’m glad that fond memories can overcome that dour disposition. 🙂
Our parish Monsignor in the sixties/seventies, Msngr. Kennedy of St. Raphael’s in San Rafael, up through the early 1980s drove a cream roof over lower metallic brown 1965 Dodge Custom 880 hardtop coupe. Single exhaust so it was most likely the standard 383 2-bbl. Spinner wheel covers (optional) like the Monaco of that year. Full bench and column shift Torqueflite.
Here is a picture of the engine…had to wait until I got back home to pull it out.
You rarely see cars with manual shifting transmission, much less with column mounted controls. My favourite cars are the Dodge Coronet wagon. I also like the 64 Plymouth Fury. I have always liked the AMC Javelin AMX. I also love the Avanti. I used to know someone who had a 1964 Ford Galaxie four door. Awesome car show!
So many three-on-the-trees. They should have car show for just that only; or a section.
The Pontiac with the three-speed, manual steering and brakes is speaking to me….I can just see the old guy who ordered that one.
The owners said he was a no nonsense type of guy. They even found an old pack of Lucky Strikes he had lost in the car years ago. The wife had put a sticker on the glove box door that showed her support of the Missouri Sheriffs Association in an effort to deter theft.
But a hardtop 2 door? I’m surprised they didn’t go with the 2door pillared sedan.
Not a cheapskate; just spartan. There’s a difference. Like the guy (WW2 ex marine, tough as steel) who ordered a ’69 LTD four door with the 390, three on the tree, and no PS/BP. I drove it, and almost couldn’t believe it. Liked some style, nut none of that mamby-pamby stuff.
I wonder if Virgil L. or Ester did the hard bargaining to get Chas. E. Vincel Pontiac to come down the $10.56 from MSRP.
The bill of sale says that they traded in a ’60 Pontiac 4-door.
Wow! Thanks Jason! I have to clean the drool off of my computer now. A stickshift B-Body wagon, a six cylinder Javelin, a panel Pinto and a nice Catalina. Very nice show, where was it?
btw that blue Charger is the twin to my trusty DD
It was in Jefferson City, Missouri, at the mall. It’s the last Saturday of the month from March through September. This is a heavy Mopar area.
I’ve always liked the 69 Dodge Charger. I’ve always liked that divided grille.
One of the coolest DD’s ever! Love the color, love the ‘not too perfect/not a beater’ condition and the wheels are perfect!
thanks man but I got tired of the Magnums and pulled them last weekend and replaced them with period-correct Keystone Klassics.
Thanks for the eye candy…
I’m with Paul on the Pontiac, but that wagon is great.
It’s good to see so many unmolested Chargers. Every time I see another one in orange, with bully bars, the doors welded shut, and that damned flag on the roof, a little piece of me dies.
I’ve seen a number of General Lee clones over the years, but I doubt any of them actually had their doors welded shut. Climbing in through the window is just a bit too hardcore for most people, and how do you roll up the windows when it rains?
Oh, I dunno…I like the (MY) ’70 Charger best!! 🙂
Very nice sir !
A blue interior, I guess that’s pretty rare. I only saw it once, in the 1972 Dart below.
I always like an interior with a color (tan, blue, green), except Bunny Ranch Red.
Late sixties-early seventies Mopar B and E bodies in a good (or excellent) condition sell fast in Northwestern Europe. Think around € 40,000 for a 383.
Say “restored Charger” and it’s gone in 60 seconds…..
I remember a lot of those bright blue Mopar interiors, right up into the Cordoba era.
I’m pretty sure that’s an Avanti II…look at the front header panel emblem between the headlights. Love that pale aqua color!
The mystery in the lineage of this example is that it has the correct trim with Studebaker logos on the hood and C-pillars, and the correct Studebaker wheel covers, which Avanti II would not have originally had.
Mmmmm… three-on-the-tree… always like driving vehicles equipped that way. Had a ’72 F100 many moons ago, and several years ago I almost bought a ’68 Cutlass 4dr sedan with one, but the owner and I couldn’t agree on a price.
That ’66 New Yorker is completely awesome. It’s interesting how much older it looks than the ’66 Catalina below it, though no less attractive. What a great era for styling.
Wow, bet a VW Beetle with a/c would be SLOW
funny but true about kids finding manual windows a novelty…when I was young I never saw power windows til 76 when my rich out of town uncle visited in his 98 Regency…..
My wife and I never owned a car with power windows or power locks until her ’06 Trailblazer (bought used in ’07). The ’95 Escort that it replaced and the ’99 Cherokee base model that was our second car at the time (both originally bought new) had crank windows and manual locks.
Until last October, the Cherokee was still my daily driver. So I know my kids (currently ages 11, 8 and 3) have seen a vehicle with those features, but it’s probably the only vehicle they’ve ever been in that didn’t have power windows and locks. My 11-year old daughter was constantly rolling her window down, then asking me to roll it back up for her once we got wherever we were going — rolling it back up was apparently too much hard work.
That Coronet wagon is a puzzler. If it’s got A/C, surely it has to have a 318 under the hood. But was it possible to get a 318 with a three-on-the-tree? Usually, that most basic of transmissions could only be had with the slant-six. And you also have to wonder if it had power steering. Sure wish the hood had been up.
It’s also worth nothing that the steelies are not period correct; the slots indicate police package.
Aren’t the slotted wheels for cooling the heavy duty brakes, though? Maybe some crazy guy (like me, if I was able to factory order a wagon) ordered a wagon with the heavy duty police options, a 383 or 440 and a manual?
The slots were likely for cooling but, as far as I can tell, the slotted steelies didn’t begin showing up until 1979 on the St. Regis/Gran Fury cop cars. It doesn’t look like pre-1979 full-size cars ever got the slots.
At least the hub caps are correct. At some point in the seventies, cop car hubcaps had holes drilled around the circumference, as well as a blank center with no company logo so they could be interchanged between both Dodges and Plymouths.
When I first saw the photo, I thought it was kind of odd that a Coronet that wasn’t from the bottom trim level would have dog dishes, but given how the car is otherwise equipped, it may very well have come that way (even if the wheels aren’t original).
The dog-dishes might have been standard for the base Coronet Deluxe in 1970, but that’s a mid-level 440 (top trim was the 500). Besides the emblems, you can tell by the tailgate trim between the taillights and chrome beltline molding (Deluxe Coronets wouldn’t have had that).
A Coronet 440 probably came standard with full wheel covers and whitewall tires. Maybe the 318 engine (especially in a wagon), but the automatic would still have been optional.
Can not say about the 70 Dodge, but my first car was a 68 Sport Satellite which I bought from an older couple in late 73 who just got a 74 Charger to replace it with. The Sport Satellite was equivalent to the Coronet 500 and mine came from the factory with Dog Dish Hubcaps. It had AC and PS and PB and full tint as well as an AM radio so kind of odd ball equipped.
440 trim Coronets had dog dish wheel covers standard, full wheel covers optional. My bet is the ’70 Coronet 440 wagon here was a special order and that this is a 318 2-bbl.
Three-on-the-tree was standard with the 318. A HD three-speed on the floor was standard with the bigger engines.
Three on the tree were standard fare in all 1970 Dodge Coronets, including the 500. The wheel covers are correct, but the steelie wheels are from most likely a late 70’s cop Mopar. As a kid, one of the assistant scoutmasters to our troop (ca. 1970/71) had a ’68 Sport Suburban Satellite Wagon . . . wood grain vinyl on the sides, pretty well loaded, full wheel covers, etc,. but a 318 with three-on-the-tree.
Love the Coronet wagon.
It’s funny but when they were in their prime, I never gave the wagons much thought,
I dismissed them as bland and really never ever wanted one.
But now I thnk they are some of the coolest vehicles out there.
That Catalina is my favorite. Bet it’s a lot of fun to parallel park. My Chevy PU was. When I bought the 70 C10, it also had 2 options on the build sheet, heavy duty rear springs and custom cloth deluxe interior. And the base 307 V8, but that was not shown on the sheet. It came with the original receipt for a total of $2750 in Feb 70 from the dealer. I wish it had the window sticker, but it did have owners manual in the plastic folder. I would love to have that car, only 45k and beautiful condition. The Dodge Wagon is also welcome in my driveway. I was nice to see the 69 Dodges with out the “Hazzard Treatment”. I had a 68 New Yorker in that same green I bought for $100 in the early 80’s. It had a few dents, but the interior was still like new. What a torque monster that 440 was! It was lent to my sister and it blew a freeze plug and was driven until the engine seized. Had a family friend that had a 62 Valiant when I was little, it was red like the example shown was at one time by the looks of the interior. Even then I thought it was strange looking, but I liked riding around in it. I hope the Pontiac owners can find the proper molded upper radiator hose, my truck came with a flex hose like that and the first thing I did was get a proper replacement. For some reason those things just bother me. Also really like the 64 Galaxie’s, they look so much more high quality and classy then the 65, IMO. The interiors and the trim just seems to be so much better than the 65. Great selection of cars, Jason.
Great picks and pics!
I was watching Jay Leno’s garage last night, and he sticks vintage air in a lot of his stuff. I was reminded by the ’66 Pontiac owner’s lament about AC. When you think about it, all the Pontiac needs (and any decently built car, really) is automatic, power steering, brakes, AC and a radio (stereo today) to make it daily driver comfortable. All the other stuff loaded on cars today is really beyond the “need” catagory.
Being spoiled and used to how wonderful AC is on a sticky midwest August day, buyers of cars like this Pontiac make me wonder about priorities. They were perfect candidates to buy a ’66 Malibu coupe with the options I mentioned, for probably about the price of the Pontiac. With modern eyes, this choice makes little sense .
From the 1950s through 1960s perspective, a full size ‘big’ car was ‘bigger is better’ value mentality. My Aunt and late Uncle had a ’66 Dodge Coronet S/E, 318 with factory air (in Missouri!) and they lamented and complained that it was ‘too small’ . . . .
Shoot, I would gladly delete the radio too…driving the car is the only time I get peace and quiet…I’d rather listen to the engine and other mechanical sounds.
I do that from time to time.
Granted, my engine note is nothing to write home about since its an I4 but I still love the mechanical sounds and it still sounds good to me.
I just love that 66. I was born and raised in Canada. We had lots of stripped down Canadian Pontiac’s around. Or if you prefer Chevyiacs . I don’t recall ever seeing an American Pontiac with that few of options. That Catilina has got be super rare.
I turned 60 last December. After much soul searching, I came to the conclusion that I actually prefer the more basic,or less optioned vehicles.. You can still buy them. You just have to look.
I have. My late uncle Mike’s ’63 Catalina 2-door sedan. Automatic, AM radio, and I’m pretty certain nothing else. In fact, my cousin George Michael (18 at the time) installed the backup lights on it himself, because he was able to get them $2.00 cheaper as parts than having the car come with them.
Uncle Mike was the same kind of guy, no-nonsense WWII vet who only used an automatic because a war injury at The Bulge made operating a clutch painful. He normally bought Bel Air two-doors from dad, then stiffed dad on the ordered ’63 to buy the Pontiac.
I mainly remember the car for the problems it caused within the family.
In one way I agree, but whenever I drive a stripper these days, I find I miss the modern conveniences. Is there even a car sold with cranker windows?
The little Chevy Spark has crank windows.
Thanks Jason,a lot of overlooked cars I like here.I’m one of the few 70 Coronet fans and love that grille.Javelins are rarely seen compared to the other Pony cars yet they outsold E bodies! I like the 55 Plymouth and think they look nicer than the 57s that are raved about.Also a 63 Ford fan here.
Saw a nice Plymouth in manual 440 recently floor shift though none of the fancy tree shifts like these, very green but I liked it
Interesting show and a good writeup. Thanks.
Man, so many awesome cars. Quite a car show that was.
And that’s just what we were able to see thanks to the awesome write up.
Love the Coronet wagon. Could you get it with the 440 and stick?
Man, those Valiants. I really like them, specially with that red interior.
How good would those be for a daily driver now?
Seeing so many Mopars, it’s so nice.
Keep them coming! Thanks!
“Love the Coronet wagon. Could you get it with the 440 and stick?”
Seems unlikely, since it wasn’t even possible to get a 440/auto in a Chrysler intermediate wagon. Despite the availability in certain musclecar intermediate coupes, the 440 never seemed to be available in more prosaic intermediate sedans and wagons, even cop car versions. Chrysler was really good at limiting 440 engines for their full-size cars in those configurations.
A basis for this theory is how the 1969 Dodge Polara with the 440 is revered in cop car circles as one of the best ever produced. Surely, if a 440 had ever been available in a lighter Chrysler intermediate sedan, it would have been as well-known.
Still, even a 383/3-speed stick combo in a Coronet wagon would surely be a rare beast, indeed.
The 440 did become available for cop car use in the subsequent generation Coronet (and Plymouth); they were just about the ultimate cop car, in many ways.
It’s worth mentioning that, by the time the 440 got into intermediate sedans for cop use, they had been detuned enough from the one the Polara had in 1969 (premium, leaded fuel and high-compression), the overall performance was likely no better than the 383 intermediate cop cars had back then (and with less room, too).
I feel sad for the 3 speed Catalina.
“right down to the original cigarette butts”.
Yet they’re going AutoZone it to death by maintaining it with things like a universal radiator flex hose.
They are not worthy…
I might give them a pass on the hose. I had a boss a few years ago who spent close to 6 figures having his first car (a 63 pontiac grand prix with a 389) restored (body off) it currently has a flex upper radiator hose as there was none available at the time off the shelf, may be now but there wasn’t at the time.
With a little legwork you can find a molded hose that works. The upper rad hose on one of my Chryslers is supposed to be for a Ford fullsize van, but it fits perfectly.
Agreed – I just had all the original 17-year-old coolant hoses replaced on my car. Most were available but for those that weren’t my mechanic just played mix-n-match with other makes’ hoses; there were none that couldn’t be replaced one way or the other.
That’s my point exactly. He had six figures to spend. He had the money to find the correct hose.
He didn’t….
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Goodyear-Molded-Radiator-Hose-60371-/331191573268?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Year%3A1963%7CMake%3APontiac&hash=item4d1c8e5b14&vxp=mtr
What the hell was so hard about that??
Fantastic selection there Mr S! But I have to be honest, after I saw the lead pic of the Coronet wagon, nothing else really mattered. Don’t think I’ve seen that front end on a wagon before; it seems somehow wrong for a wagon, like they accidentally stuck the front of a sports car on a wagon, yet the overall look is intoxicating. Intoxication may have been involved in the toilet seats on the purple ’64 Galaxie too perhaps? 😉
+1. That wagon is real sweet. So is KiwiBryce’s green machine just above.
Don, here’s a sibling to Bryce’s find that I found curbside here in the state capital…
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/cc-capsule-1971-plymouth-road-runner-sherwood-be-nice/
Thank you!
This show is monthly and a lot of rarely seen iron shows up, which is why I did this article. With the positive reaction to this, I may have to pull some of last year’s finds out of hibernation….
Alcohol – or some other chemical – had to have been a factor with the toilet seats.
I think that front end is just wrong, no matter what car it is on. I saw an orange Coronet hardtop at a show last month and didn’t like it there either.
That custom Galaxie is so 1980s! Interesting to see things like the Pinto and Aspen too.
Great blog! 🙂
Ideally, that waggy would be metallic pea green, black inside, 383 under the hood and slot mags…yet its a Mopar and a wagon…and one of the better looking Mopar wagons. Im in!
I suffer from Javelin obsession, and that one would be the only relief in sight!
Aspen R/T….oh yes. The fact that I can appreciate this car makes me a total Mopar fanboy but I don’t care!
’64 Furies in 2 door h/t form are a slam dunk for me. The white one is a gorgeous all original car, gotta love that…but Id want to own and drive the patina red primer one. Its gritty and enjoyable as is, the Torq Thrusts seal the deal.
Even as a 4-door I have a lot of love for Exener-era Valiants. The toilet seat makes it that much more unique…as if it needed any help there! Speaking of toilets, WHAT is up with that purple Galaxy?!?! That ruins an otherwise perfectly ‘sledded’ car!
But the money shot is that electric blue Charger. For my bucket list of ‘how I would want mine to be’, it is damn near perfect! The color is arguably my ultimate holy grail paintjob on a vehicle…but Id pirate the S/S Cragars from the red one….that would make it about perfect! I notice it has a bumblebee stripe on its tail end….LOVE it.
Great pics and great cars, J.S! But you owe me a new keyboard, since I drooled all over mine!
With this Dodge Aspen being an R/T model, and it having been classified as a Deadly Sin due in part to premature corrosion on the early models, one has to ask if the R/T stands for “Rust Through”.
A friend in college had a Plymouth Road Runner from the same generation. He used to go on and on about his MUSCLE CAR but it would make us gearheads snicker into our beers. Another friend had a 318 powered final year Ramcharger and was pretty sure he could outrun him.
92 qnd 93 ramchargers got the 318 (5.2) Magnum which had better heads multiport EFI etc and most likely would whip most smogged out 70s cars.
I make fun of anyone who calls anything from roughly 1975+ a “muscle car” until the HP came back in the late 80s – early 90s.
Eh, you have to look at it in the context of the era, also, most 60’s muscle cars werent all that fast, a 4 speed W72 400 Trans Am from the 1977-1979 era would hang with, if not smoke, most of the run of the mill GTO’s from the 60’s, and average non Ram Air or HO GTO was a mid 7’s 0-60 car. A base 421 2+2 Catalina was a mid to high 7 second car according to GM’s own testing.
Most of the musclecar legend is more myth than fact, I’m not saying that there weren’t genuinely fast cars from the era, but not everything with racing stripe and bucket seats was some sort of mythical ground pounder,
That stripper Coronet wagon and that white Catalina are all kinds of want for me–love them both. But if I ever do get the time/space/money to buy my first hobby/collector car, I want it to be a first-generation Valiant sedan like that white one. My grandfather had one and seeing them always reminds me of him. His was red with a red interior–I can see him now in his suspenders, sport-coat and fedora driving it around town. He used to let me wash it for him when I was a kid. The paint was so faded and, at 7 or 8 years old, I could never understand why I couldn’t get a shine going on it, even with Turtle Wax. I didn’t know about polishes, clay bars, etc. at the time.
Nice show and write-up. As for the air-conditioning issue, my parents never sprang for A/C on any of their cars until well into the 1980s. Colour TV either. Didn’t matter how much I whined about how my friends all had it.
I would love to see the VIN on that Dukes of Hazzard tribute red Charger seeing as how it is a standard Charger. I would bet most standard Chargers, back in those days, had a 318 like Mustang had 289 or 302. That being the case I wonder if that 440 was pulled from a C Body to make this car? I would expect most 440 Chargers to have R/T badging. I like C Bodies and so many New Yorkers and 300s have become engine donors for wanna be B cars.
You’re really making me miss my ’66 Catalina. That shot of the dashboard reminds me of the time a passenger asked my why my car had two radios– the heater controls really did look like a second radio… That is, if you bothered to get a radio. I’ll admit that my Catalina had a radio, as well as one of those sissy automatic transmissions, and power steering. It sure was fun to steer that car with just one finger. You can’t do that with manual steering! I also remember fondly the over-engineered two-bay ashtray that slid in and out on ball bearings. I used to keep 1966 and older pennies in it… I’m not sure exactly why, but whenever I got change, I’d check the date on the pennies, and chuck the old ones in the ashtray. Maybe it was to deter people from smoking in my car, or maybe I just liked playing with the fancy ashtray…
“There are 350 reasons, and 5.7 excuses, why I did not take a picture of the engine.”
Ok, I laughed out loud at that one.
+1
I’d take that Coronet wagon all day long.
My mom’s best friend drove a Coronet 440 wagon for a number of years, it wasn’t really pretty, a bad sort of bronzy brown. I think it had a 318 in it. My main memories of it are riding in the back and the trashed dash from her youngest son constantly biting it. This was in the age before car seats and mandatory seat belt usage. He usually rode standing on the floor or hump with his teeth sunk into the dash. Every car they had from the time he was 2 until about six had a trashed dash from his biting it. It amazes me that all these years later, he has never had any real tooth issues. I saw an old Pontiac Tempest recently that was about to be restored, and the people looking at it with me said, “What’s going on with the dash?”, I instantly replied, “A little kid was chewing on it! I’ve seen it on a bunch of other cars before”.
Ha. The leather headrest on the passenger seat in Dad’s 72 Mark IV had the same bite marks all over it from a little brother. That leather was tough stuff, the kid never punctured it.
If it was my car, I’d strap the kid in just to stop them from biting the dash. 🙂
Nice article, I have always had a Mopar bias. Saw a mid 60s Chry 300 Conv at a car show last summer with factory 4 spd. I bet there weren’t many of those made.
Love that yellow Coronet wagon. I’m not sure I have ever seen one back in the day.
My parent’s ’70 Monte Carlo had no A/C also, but we got it used. However, still not unusual for the time, and Chicago summers are short. We just rolled all the windows down and stuck arms outside.
Still once A/C in cars became more common, once you have it, never want to go back.
Re: The Dodge Coronet wagon – I believe the heat/ac controls are at the top of the dash – below the padded crash pad. If you enlarge the photograph taken from the left side, you can see these controls. (Look behind the shift lever knob.) I never knew of Chrysler cars of this vintage having any vents in the dashboard if they were not equipped with factory air conditioning.
Mr. Bill
Having grown up in Jefferson City, I can say that the purple Galaxy has been a Mid-Missouri car show regular for many moons. I loved taking my ’61 Biscayne to the cruise-in. The last time I got to go, was about 4 years ago when they still hosted them downtown on High Street. Thank you, Jason for sharing some old familiar faces! The Biscayne is long gone and sold, but a 1968 Impala has taken it’s place.
Sorry for the awful picture. It is the only one I have of the ’61 downtown.
The show seems to migrate. When I was here in ’96/’97, it was at the mall. Coming back, the shows in ’12 were downtown. Now they are back at the mall.
That ’61 is terrific, a Chevrolet I don’t see often enough.
Thank you! It was a daily driver for about a year then the itch for another car came along and I sold it, it is missed. It was a 235 Stovebolt, 3-speed car. It’s only option was an A.M. radio that surprisingly still worked.
The only thing I don’t appreciate about cars by General Motors of the 60s through the 80s were the instrument gauges. Instead of proper needle gauges that pointed you towards what temperature the engine was, a light would come on. Warning lights are a fine supplement to the gauges, but they’re a poor substitute to the gauges. It’s a different story with the full-sized trucks. Trucks used gauges for everything: temperature, battery, oil pressure.
I agree, the ’61 had a guage, my ’68 doesn’t. I remember my Dad’s ’65 C-10 only having lights and I never trusted them.
I thought they only used warning lights on cars, only the C/K series trucks used gauges. My dad had a 1969 Chevy CST 10, and I remember it had gauges.
My grandmother bought a brand new ’72 Lemans 4-dr. with no air, basically a stripper – 350, power steering, automatic, vinyl top, deluxe wheel covers, AM radio and that’s it…if I remember correctly it was a newspaper ad special and she said it had “more than enough for her taste” – until my uncle gave her his ’79 Sedan deVille in 1985 and she was spoiled for life. She never had another car without a/c; in fact her last car was a 1987 Fleetwood d’Elegance that she drove right up until her 93rd birthday!! Once you have a/c there is no going back!
Look closely. It has a three-speed manual transmission, no radio, and no conditioned air.
Like most modern people, I like to use conditioner on my air.
Love the coronet and that Pontiac. On the first I discovered a cc of my own not thirty seconds from our shop. A 67 Pontiac LeMans that was mostly original and in decent shape for the moist humid salty climate. It defiantly had some paintwork done sometime in the mid seventies as it looks aged and hard to spot at first glance. The 326 and automatic it was born with where intact but hadn’t run in seven years and was suffering from a stuck ring or worn out valve guides and was smoking badly. Here it is in all its barn find (I actually pulled it from the barn) glory.
Another pic
And one more. I really wanted this car but my meager wage could not warrent its restoration and its caretaker wasn’t selling no how no way.
“Their grandchildren are mesmerized by windows that have to be cranked open and closed.”
What a switch from 1970, when a six-year-old BuzzDog was mesmerized by the power windows in Dad’s new Ninety-Eight, and hearing, “Quit playin’ with the windows…you kids gonna wear ’em out!” (This was before cars – at least GM ones – came with a lockout button on the driver’s switch panel.)
Ah, the memories of growing up with the sensibilities of the Greatest Generation. Have a few symbols of your success, but use them sparingly, so they’ll last. No wretched excess for those folks!
The Coronet 440 is an interesting one. For starters, it’s not the base Coronet wagon as the 440 series obviously had the more ‘deluxe’ pleated vinyl seats. Being an a/c car and the single pipe on the right side, it’s most likely a 2-bbl 318, which with the a/c and a load of kids, would have more than adequate power and the ability to pass slow traffic on U.S. 54!
The ’66 Catalina is sweet and since it’s not on the invoice, the radio must’ve been a Pontiac dealer installed accessory. Oh wait . . . I forgot! Pontiacs of ’65 and ’66 had heater controls that looked like a radio! I had a ’61 Catalina as my first car and no p/s or p/b, that car was somewhat of a bear to steer (parking) and stop (scarier at higher speeds with their fade-prone, manual adjusting cast iron drums).