“Hey, I had one of those” is usually what I say when I’m fumbling for my phone and trying to capture a car photo. And for the cars I’ve never had, I can usually forge a link by playing “six-degrees of separation.” In the early 1980s, I did have a ’59 Karmann Ghia convertible that I drove four hours to get. It was late November and I drove the thing home in freezing temps with no top. Ahh, the folly of youth. A few months ago I was surprised to find this beautiful ’60s Ghia parked at our city’s sewage treatment plant! So, buckle your seatbelts and get ready for a mish-mash of old cars that I found worthy of a snapshot. Maybe you’ll be able to say “Hey!”
I found this bad boy less than a block from my house, just daring me to take his mug-shot. I think it’s an early ’80s Ford F-350, with some no-nonsense extras for farming or logging. My 1982 F-100 shared a grille with this model, but not much else. My stripper model Ford had the 300 cu-in “big six” with a four-speed manual. It was a great combination that never let me down and was actually fun to drive. As for this F-350, I would love to know why that hood scoop is so far over the right…
Sticking with Ford, I found this tough-looking Fox Body Mustang near Cornwall Park. Tough, not because of its condition, but because it was “Built Ford Tough.” This GT isn’t in perfect shape, but looks great nonetheless. I think that’s a 5.0 emblem there on the front fender, so don’t mess with this kid. My closest connection to a Mustang was my friend’s ’64 that he bought off the original owner in the late ’70s. We logged thousands of miles in Jim’s early Mustang until he was bitten by the Audi bug, from which he has never recovered.
I shot this VW Camper Van on Rucker Avenue in Everett, WA. By the looks of the earth-tone graphics, I would guess it is from the mid-seventies. Back in the day I had a beautiful 1963 Westfalia and a clapped-out ’67 pop-top. For some reason I drove the beater more than the beauty. The only thing I can remember about the ’67 was a faded bumper sticker: “Jesus is Coming. Look Busy.”
Also on Rucker Ave. was this great-looking El Camino. I don’t know what’s in the water down there in Everett, but they keep their old cars nice! I never even came close to owning an El Camino, much less one this mint. I know it’s a stretch, but I did have a 1961 Ford Falcon, which was also available as a “truck,” which was also made in Detroit…
Whole Foods Parking Lot, Bellingham, WA. The owner is no doubt cheating on their local food co-op by loading up on similar Amazon goodies at a lower price. This super neat Volvo 240 GL reeks of Seattle parents sending their daughter Emily north to Western Washington University in their totally safe, totally paid off Swede-mobile. I have had a number of 240 wagons, the best being a 1987 with a 5-speed manual. Unstoppable in the snow, and in the coolness quotient.
This mid-sixties GMC Handi-Van was shot on Hewitt Ave. in Everett, which also sports a lot of cool mid-century homes. This van reminds me of a couple of really old guys who used to live in my neighborhood in Bellingham (long-since passed). I think they were bachelor brothers who ran “Jerry’s TV Repair,” which was painted on the door of their mid-sixties Ford Econoline. Same vintage, same patina. If I remember right, we used to call the old guys Horace and Jasper, from “101 Dalmatians.” Their old gold van is long gone but not forgotten.
The Handi-Van earned another shot because of the photo-bomb behind it. I think it might be an old Mitsubishi Montero (or possibly Pajero). I drove a ’92 Montie for a couple years as a hand-me down from my sister. But if I had it to do all over again, I would have gone for Jerry’s TV Repair van.
Back at the wastewater facility (read: sewage plant), I found this BMW 2002 parked in the same spot as the Karmann Ghia. My friend George used to drive a spotless 1971 BMW 2002, which figured in a lot of our Pythonesque pranks in the early ’80s. The trunk was so big, I could emerge from it at a downtown stoplight, amazing and annoying the drivers behind us. Good times, great car, goofy riders.
This ’80s Toyota SR5 still looks great and probably has 250,000+ miles. With black steelies and headache rack, this little goat will keep working for years to come. My closest comparison was an ’82 Mazda Sundowner that was tough in its own right, but lacked the cache of a Toyota truck.
Finally, I think this is an Aston Martin DB6, made in England from 1965 to 1971. I’ve never seen one let alone owned one. On the hood was an emblem for “superleggera,” which is Italian for “super light.” With coachwork by Carrozzeria Touring and “rotating” British license plates, this car was seriously out of place at a local grocery store. No degree of separation will ever get me close to this Aston Martin. I did once have a ’59 Austin-Healey Sprite, but…
Great selection! Sadly I don’t have a deep relationship with any of these vehicles, I guess the closest is the 5.0 Mustang.
In my early 20’s a friend bought one brand new, I drove it quite a bit on some road trips and it was considerably different than my 1980 Concord. Great car, great times.
Full points for finding a DB6 in the wild.
I just realized that the hideous cut lines of the original Bangle Butt 7’s trunk lid may have been conceived as an unsuccessful homage to the 2002’s. There has to be a reason for it.
That’s not entirely silly, now you mention it.
The 2002 was never a remotely pretty car itself (to me), in fact, quite a few of the many, many derivations of the ’60 Corvair style aren’t. Severe, purposeful, yes, but especially nice, no.
It’s more than possible Bangle was applying some ill-considered “bloodline” type of theory when he stepped back from his clay satisfied that THAT butt was a good and artful thing.
Wow! A DB6 in the wild. Very brave parking next to that Sube.
Parking a pristine DB6 anywhere near a run-of-the-mill daily-driver was the first thing I saw, as well.
I think that’s an Isuzu Trooper II behind the Handi-Van.
No, that’s a Montero as described in the text, or possibly but unlikely a Dodge Raider clone.
I looked harder. You’re right.
Nice older K-G; my preferred vintage. And bonus points for the DB6.
The HandiVan is a bit curious as to its windows. Seems like all the ones I’ve seen with rear side windows also have the little small window right behind the front seats. Not this one.
fun fact about the Handi Van. it shared the instrument cluster and glove box door with the early Corvairs.
My Brother in law had one. Some gal ran into it one afternoon, still recall her name was Sonia Ferhatbegovic. Why did I remember that? I’ll never know.
I also had a 1985 Bricknose F250, 6.9 diesel with the Lariat option crew cab and captain’s chairs. What a hard working beast it was…hauled 4400 pounds of dirt multiple times without breaking anything.
Hey, I still have one of those!
My old Karmann is my daily driver and does the duty of providing cheap transport, driving pleasure and a hobby. Sweet KG you found – lovely color! Great to see it out and about, as with the others, especially the Aston.
Cars are meant to be used and the added benefit is that other people have their day brightened by seeing them. I used to use my old C2 Corvette as an everyday driver and got some looks going to the supermarket or IKEA.
Great and eclectic selection of vehicles here, bringing back many memories.
Did many miles in Africa in a Zebra striped ’71 Bay VeeDub bus with a great big sunroof, trailing clouds of red dust on the dirt roads we travelled. Loaded to the gunnals with us kids, adults and stuff, it never let us down and got to places where you would expect to need a Land Rover.
Used a much less pristine Volvo 240 in Sweden ice driving (phenomenal amount of steering lock makes for spectacular drift angles) and remember riding shotgun in my buddy’s ’02.
Picked up my Big Block Chevy motor in a white ’86 Elco with the later sloped nose. Had to pump up the rear air shocks for that! Drove an old F150 as farm truck when tobacco priming in Canada, and remember a very quick (for its time) and chuckable manual maroon ’89 Mustang LX 5.0. Done a few miles in an early DB7 and hope there is a DB9 in my future – love the color of the DB6. Remember pushing a dark blue one in the late ’70s as as schoolboy when it got stuck in the snow(!)
Thanks for reminding me about these – great post!
I have a strange attraction to that old Chevy van….
Little and large….
Don’t we all have a close relationship with that vintage Aston Martin, though maybe DB4 or 5, not 6, through James Bond?
Perhaps the offset scoop on the F 350 includes a tachometer visible to the driver?
FWIW, the Aston is still registered in the UK. It’s a 1967 car, but has not been taxed since 1999
I did pretty good on this list – the only 3 I can’t claim a connection to are the Handi-Van, the BMW 2002 and the Toyota SR5.
1. I was brought home from the hospital in a Karmann-Ghia of about this vintage
2. My BIL the farmer has had a long series of Ford 4×4 diesel pickups, including one of this vintage
3. I test drove a new 1985 Mustang GT hatch and was madly in love with it for a minute
4. An aunt, uncle and their 3 kids drove one of these from northern New Jersey out to Indiana for their vacation one summer.
5. I worked with a guy who bought one of those late 70s Elkys new – he liked it.
6. My law school roommate had a mancrush on those Volvo DL/GLs in 1984-85 and I went with him to test drive one – before he decided he wasn’t ready for a new car payment.
7. Didn’t everyone have the toy DB-5 with the Bond gadgets (including the extending wheel spinner that always hung limply out of the hub instead of authoritatively slicing the wheels of my other toy cars) – I sure did.
It is funny how old colors come back into style – I had forgotten that VW ever painted cars in that putty gray, but checking says it was a 1961-65 offering across the line. Now several manufacturers are doing a version of it.
A nice collection of fading leftovers for the delectation of the oddball CC crowd – amongst whose numbers I am honored to count myself – ending with a golden incongruity: a Sothebys-type object, a right-hook DB6 plonked down casually in your local mart, driven there as if it’s a car or something. These are worth very substantial amounts of gold themselves these days.
I can’t help but smile at the thought of “coolness factor” and “240 wagon” being notions of sufficient congruity to appear together in one sentence. I hasten to say that I like them well-enough myself, particualrly the idea of a manual one, but in this country even now the only coolness that could ever be allowed association with these would be the deep seawater into which the population would seek to dump them.
Owned a 1979 GMC Caballero, rebadged El Camino
for about 6 months, 305 auto. Had to decide between keeping it or my ’70 Chevy C10, the Chevy won.
Had a ’65 KG hardtop for a few months, front end was punched in, worked on it in auto shop, lost interest and sold it.
Didn’t own but family member had ’89 244GL 5 speed for a few years, replaced flame trap and valve cover gasket, found a glove box at u pull and installed, it was missing when car was bought. Started to replace alternator but found broken wire, repaired that and returned part. Replaced a few tailamp sockets, they were problematic. That was about all it ever needed, pretty bullet proof car. It was the same color as pictured car.