This is the time of year for annual recaps, and Paul Niedermeyer has already given us his (here). I have found some fun things myself this year, and here is my attempt at ranking my top ten. I found some fascinating things at shows, but show cars just can’t count – these classics were all found curbside (or thereabouts). Here are my favorite finds of the year:
No. 10 – Tie: 1964 Chrysler 300K and a Corvair sedan. I just couldn’t decide here. Two cars so different, yet almost never seen out on the street. This is the next to last Letter Series Chrysler 300, decrepit but still mostly there. Actually, the Chrysler was found in Iowa, and Tom Klockau had already been there, but I begged and begged and he agreed to let me have it. He drove a hard bargain, though. Just who do you think had to buy that Town Car he is enjoying? And what more needs be said of the 4 door second series Corvair? Neither of these has been written up yet.
No. 9 – 1962 Buick Special: This is just such a rare car. It is not that I have ever pined for one, but these proved fairly fragile over long term use, and seldom survived to such old age, particularly in the midwest. This car’s recent CC is here.
No. 8 – VW Fox: Another rarity. These are seen hereabouts about as frequently as GM Y cars, which is to say, not very darned often. Of course, it was shot parked outside of a repair facility. Come to think of it, so was the 62 Special. CC is here.
No. 7 – Model T touring: Nothing rare about this car, Model Ts are still decently collected and are in museums everywhere. Where they are not found, though, is in the parking lot of a Sam’s Club. Although it was parked outside of the tire and battery service area, I doubt that Sam’s carries these tires or these batteries. What was it doing there? Who knows. Not yet written up.
No. 6 – Tie: 1955 Chrysler New Yorker and 1952 Buick Super. I loves me a good old 1950s luxury sled, and both of these scratch me where I itch. How to decide between them? Both are beautiful examples, both were out being driven in nice weather, and both are before-and-after bookends to the rapid changes in upper-priced American cars during the first half of the 1950s. CC for the Chrysler is here, and here for the Buick.
No. 5 – 1963 Pontiac Safari: I love station wagons and ’63 Pontiacs, so this one was a personal win. Also, we here in Indiana often see rusted wrecks or beautiful cars, whether original or restored. What we rarely see is that sort of SoCal or Oregon style of patina that other CC contributors find so frequently. When it was found at a downtown parking meter, all the better. Not yet written up.
No. 4 – 1975 Pontiac Grand Am: I declare myself the winner here. Earlier this year, there was a long discussion about the GA in response to one caught on the move. One by one, every CC contributor lamented that he had not yet scored one at the curbside. Well, the CC effect went to work , and that very week I found this parked at a local eatery. Paul, would you please add the 5,000 bonus bitcoins to my account? Not yet written up.
No. 3 – 1960 Ford Thunderbird: This is another car that can be found at every stinking car show and auction you care to attend. It is a whole ‘nuther thing (as we say in Indiana) to find one of these birds in the wild. This car had clearly been living outside for some time, with no heed being paid to the plastic back window that was evidently half torn out of the convertible top. Every car has a story, and this Bird’s tale is a first-rate mystery. But there it was, and here it is. Not yet written up.
No. 2 – 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge: What else is there to say? This is not some show queen, but has been owned by the same guy since 1971 and is almost completely original. It is cars like this that keep me from completely giving up on muscle car mania. CC is found here.
No. 1 – 1972 Lamborghini Espada: This car took me out of my automotive comfort zone, but I know something special when I see it. When I found this car in a Sam’s Club parking lot in Champagne, Illinois, I knew that i had found something very rare, at least in the midwestern U.S. When many readers in places like southern California related that they had never seen one in hotspots of exotic wheels, I got a better idea of the significance of this find. We recently received a very nice comment from the owner’s son, who indicated that it has been a long-term driving resto project of his Dad’s. CC here.
Well, this is my list. Now, let’s see what I can find for 2014 to add to my backlog of photos. Happy hunting in 2014 to the rest of you as well.
Clap, clap, clap clap… and here’s to many more CC finds in 2014
Not that you asked, but I would like to cast my vote for the Espada as the top find of the year of ALL of Curbside Classic, not just your finds. It goes way beyond the car itself, the general location makes it even more worthwhile and then the specific location takes the cake. Heck, you were probably thinking you might find a Maverick or something in that lot and then you find a Mermaid Unicorn…
The Espada is in the CC 2014 Calender. 😀
I know, I want to leave it open to that month all year!
I am looking forward to seeing the Corvair and Grand Am. I love the colors on the GA (but who would order a Landau top on one? Are there Landau Louvers?), and the four-door hardtop Corvair is my favorite second-gen Corvair. I have never seen one in the metal. And in turquoise, too? Perfect! Was the interior turquoise, too?
And I agree with Jim; that Espada was an amazing find. Maybe even the CC of the Year!
The 55 New Yorker is just right,especially in that colour.55 & 56 Mopars are so often overlooked in favour of the flashy 57s.
+1 Gem- understated jewels these Mopars, and properly built, unlike the 1957 versions. What is there not to love?
There’s at least one other CC contributor that scored a 73-75 Grand Am, in more ways than one 🙂
Always great to see others still out there.
My New Year’s resolution: write more COALs!
Wow; some real gems there. Love that Pontiac wagon; right up my alley. The Espada takes the cake, of course. And the elusive GA at last.
Back when you and some of the other Midwestern contingent first started shooting CCs, I used to feel rather sorry for you; no more! You trying to put me out of a job 🙂 I am impressed.
Whatever happened to that Cordoba we all shot in the parking tower in Iowa City last summer?
I still have my pics, but I thought JP was going to do a post on it.
So, JP, when can we expect the Herb Tarlek Cordoba CC?
Jim, use this picture along with Tom’s and you can say you really get into your work.
Curbside Caption:
JP: Back off Klockau, this is MY CC!
You certainly did find a bumper crop this year!!
First off, I want to say thank you for all your articles and pics JP. I enjoyed them very much, and all the labor they have entailed. Looking forward to your future CC biographies. Your observations and experiences are appreciated and an integral part of this blog. I also appreciate your appreciation for Chryco products. Haha
I want to comment first, on the best pics. They are all excellent. But the photo of the 1952 Buick Super is especially well composed, with a nice view selection and very good lighting. I give honorable mention for photography to the 1963 Pontiac Safari. The lighting, textures, view selection, all work well… and the weathered sheetmetal contrasts nicely with the stained aggregate. The diagonal parking too, gives it that 60s feel.
You definitely made some very special finds this past year. But I have to agree with others on the Lamborghini Espada. Unless you knew where the owner lived and shopped, most people would never come across one of those in 30 years.
My winner has to be the Pontiac Judge.
My Top 10 are those cars you long to pore over the catalog, and get a chance to really check out at the curb if nobody is around.
1. 66 Thunderbird
2 1960 Cadillac, though a 1970 is almost a common sight in LA , Not bad.43 years later. a convertible model is available no less.
3. 58-60 Lincoln continental mark3-v
4.trans am convertible in white and blue most recent
5. cadillac xlr or 2014 xts platinum
6.any finned 50s conv,2,4 doors or wagon, in that order of preference.
7.
1957 thunderbird, pink and white,mint green
8. any 1958 cadillac buick or olds in a pinch.
9. toronado trofeo1989
10. firebird convertible from 1967-68
I want that Grand Am!!!
My favorite is my little brother the 1962 Buick Special 🙂
My first choice would be the car as old as me – that ’63 Safari. (Okay, I’ll quit with the rhymes.). Nice patina, and you wouldn’t see that here in Ontario either. The Judge could find a home with me as well, and for a ’50’s sled I’d take either the ’52 Buick or the Chrysler. I like the mid-Fifties Chryslers – my wife and I were driven off in a mint ’54 Windsor Deluxe after our wedding in 2000.
That pretty blue 1975 Pontiac Grand Am just jumps out at me as THE top one of your Top 10, JPC. I certainly appreciate and enjoy the others, too. As previously mentioned, I loved those cars back in the day when they were new. Would have loved to have owned or driven one of those Grand Ams.
Espada please, with a brief detour to the Marzal in tangerine produced by Matchbox. A guy around the corner has a series three in turquoise bought by his father off the floor at the Melbourne Motor Show.
Buick as well, these are a very close second to the fuselage big three as the epitome of US design.
That Grand Am .. would love to have one someday.