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Dculberson was checking out the car deals on Craigslist when he came across a 1954 Ford that looked familiar… yes, it's the DOTS 1954 Ford we saw almost a year ago, now equipped with grille and Carson top, not to mention a nice 302/5-speed combo. I've always liked this car, but the $9,000 price is a bit out of my personal Hell Project budget range, plus I'm still waiting for the owner to put his other car (which is easily one of my all-time DOTS favorites) up for sale. By the way, I've been seeing FOR SALE signs on the DOTS '71 Buick Le Sabre as well; looks like the tough economy has folks in Sell Mode. [Craigslist SF] galleryPost('DOTS54FordForSale', 3, 'DOTS 1954 Ford For Sale');
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This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition , where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than the Island That Rust Forgot . Having just read Gordon Bowker's excellent Malcolm Lowry biography, Pursued By Furies , I can't see the word "Consul" without the quasi-autobiographical character of that name in Lowry's masterpiece coming to mind. That's why I imagine this '58 Ford Consul locked in a 50-year downward spiral of ethanol abuse, swilling whatever the Thai equivalent of mescal might be. We also get some bonus cars: an Alfa Giulia Spider and some sort of ancient Mazda wagon. Make the jump to see and read more, and thanks to Arco for sending in these shots! galleryPost('DOTSBEPhuketConsul', 3, 'Ford Consul And Other Cars Down On The Phuket Street'); Hi Murilee, Driving around in Phuket, Thailand, my second home, I come across all sorts of weird and wonderful cars, maybe you are interested in the enclosed expamples...
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In the late 1950s, legendary San Jose-based customizer Joe Wilhelm started work on a project based on a 1936 Ford coupe. It started out fairly simple, with handmade grille and fenders on a still-recognizable Ford body, but became far more radical within a few years. By 1965, the car- called the Mark I Mist- sat on a Jaguar XK140 frame, with quad-carbed Buick nailhead and a wild European-influenced body. It was a big hit at the car shows and made the covers of Car Craft , Rod & Custom , etc. Then the car disappeared, not to be seen again for decades... when Black Metal V8olvo crew chief Hellhammer (aka Junkyard Dave) tracked it down. galleryPost('MarkMistTop', 6, 'The Mark I Mist 1936 Ford'); The Buick engine was gone, but otherwise the Mark Mist was in pretty good shape. The gauges still have their 24-karat gold plating, and the upholstery has held up very well. In fact, all the car really needs is a new engine and a general mechanical going-over to be ready to roll...
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We like to see a sampling of junkyard wares from around the world, and Slantsick has added to our Rusty Iron Grand Tour by photographing some of the more interesting vehicles at C.I.A. Salvage of Limerick, Maine. Make the jump to see the whole gallery and read Slantsick's list of vehicles. galleryPost('DOTJSlantsickMaine', 3, 'Old Cars And Trucks Down On The Maine Junkyard'); Pics taken at C.I.A. Salvage, Limerick Maine- May 5, 2008. I'll leave it to you to wax poetic about the cars if you so choose and/or make jokes at rural Maine's expense, etc. 1) 1946-48 Dodge sedan 2) hood mascot of same 3) 1952 Kaiser Manhattan 4) same 5) 1955 Kaiser Manhattan 6) 1957 Ford firetruck, January 08 7) same, May 08 8) 1960s Falcon Clubwagon 9) 1964 Imperial Crown Coupe- one of 5233 10) tailpanel mascot of same 11) rear side view 12) 1966 Plymouth Belvedere II- 273 V8/auto, For Sale sign on windshield asking $2K 13) nose of same 14) rear 3/4 of same 15) 1967 Chevy Bel Air 16...
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You guys who tear your hair out when you see a nice, easily restorable old car heading to The Crusher in this series... think you can work up any tears for this beyond-basket-case '59 T-Bird? I spotted it at the same East Bay wrecking yard that gave us the '69 Renault 16, and it looks like you might be hard-pressed to find many usable parts on it. Still, the engine is still there, and the front bumper looks like it might be salvageable. galleryPost('DOTJ59Tbird', 3, '1959 Thunderbird Down On The Junkyard');
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You may think you've experienced a planned community in which every last detail was carefully designed by lab-coated scientists in 1956 to elicit Maximum Upscale Suburban Ennui in its residents, but only Irvine, California, gets it down perfectly . Well, almost perfectly, because Al Frente has spotted these street-parked relics shattering Irvine's soothing vehicular harmony of BMWs and Tahoes. We've got an original-looking '59 Edsel Ranger, a mid-60s forward-control Chevy G-series van, and a '68 or '69 GMC pickup in L.A. School District colors. Make the jump to see all the photos and read what Al Frente has to say about these vehicles. galleryPost('DOTSBEIrvineEdsel', 12, 'Old Detroit Iron Down On The Irvine Street'); This car parks in Irvine, CA. I don't think it's a daily driver, but it does move a bit. The pink paint is very faded, but Also, here's a cute little Chevy van and the GMC Suburban-type that I mentioned. The GMC is my favorite...
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newVideoPlayer("55_Crown_Vic_476.flv", 506, 423,""); When was the last time you saw a car ad with some geeky intellectual explaining how the styling builds the "feeling of motion" into the shape of the car? It's impossible to imagine a present-day Ford being pitched with the line "When the design of a car expresses its function forcefully and imaginatively, of course we derive more pleasure from owning and using it!" The '55 Ford really was a good-looking car, and it sold in greater numbers than its Chevrolet rival... but which one starred in Two Lane Blacktop ?
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This is the 24th 1950s vehicle we've seen so far in this series, and it seemed right to follow up the '58 Mercedes-Benz 220S with something from Detroit. You can't get much more Detroit than an old Ford, so here comes a car from a two-time DOTS owner (as far as I know, WhatWouldJesseDo is the only three -time DOTS honoree). Some of you might recall seeing this Ford in the background of the photos of the pink '52 Dodge we saw last summer. Since that time, the Ford project has progressed enough for it to drive around under its own power and park on the street. It had some rust problems (now fixed), and naturally it's been lowered about as far as possible. The metalflake green roof pain looks pretty sharp, although I'm not sure what the rest of the paint job will look like after the bodywork is done. Or maybe this is the finished paint job! Project or finished car, it's good to see a 58-year-old machine that lives on one of the busiest streets in town. galleryPost...
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Our last DOTS Ford truck was a month ago, so we're due for one today. In fact, today we're going to have a nice shiny non-beater Ford truck, with plenty of bright red paint and gleaming chrome. This '56 parks on the street every day, though usually it's under a cover, and its excellent condition makes for a nice contrast with the more weathered look of the '48 International Harvester I photographed a couple blocks away. Sure, they don't look at all original, but I think Cragar SS wheels look good on this truck. The owner can always put tall skinny tires on dogdish-equipped steel wheels back on the truck, so purists need not fret. This truck has some great emblems; in fact, I think the "Fordomatic" emblem shot is going to replace this '50 Pontiac hood ornament photo as the desktop wallpaper on my computer. So now we have two 50s Ford pickups with bright paint colors in this series, the other being this '50. galleryPost('DOTS56F100', 16, '1956...
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Many of you have been kind enough to send DOTS Bonus Edition photos my way, and you're all very good about not raking me over the coals for taking so damn long to get to some of them. Reader Vance, who dwells behind the Orange Curtain , shot this very clean 1955 Ford Fairlane on the streets of Tustin back in October. Now, most houses down in SoCal have garages, so you don't see quite as much old iron on the street... but that desert climate means you just don't get rust. When you're done checking out the Fairlane, make the jump to see the Bonus LTD, with commentary by Vance. galleryPost('DOTSBETustinFord', 9, 'Tustin 1955 Ford Fairlane Convertible'); galleryPost('DOTSBETustinLTD', 6, 'Tustin 1965 Ford Galaxie LTD'); 1965 was the first year for the LTD -- a higher trim level of the Galaxie 500 that competed with the also-new Chevy Caprice (a higher-trimmed Impala) -- offered in a two door or four door hardtop only. Ford sold about 68,000 of...
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Back when I was looking for a real Anglia gasser for the Euro-Gasser Edition Project Car Hell (they're too expensive), I stumbled across the Anglia Obsolete site. The site is a bit light on content, but there's a link to photos of heaps of dead Anglias in a Swedish wrecking yard. Somehow that just seems right . [Anglia Obsolete]
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Since yesterday's Workhorse Engine of the Day, the Toyota R , inspired our readership to make so many good suggestions, we feel compelled to continue the series with today's engine. Suggested by commenter Joe_Bloe , the Flathead was built in the United States from 1932 through 1953 and beyond that in other nations, including France and the USSR. Since we've (arbitrarily) decided that "workhorse engine" means that the engine was built for at least 20 years and was exceptionally reliable and/or versatile for its time, this engine definitely belongs here. [Van Pelt Sales] , [Wikipedia]
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We've seen 11 Alameda vehicles from the 1950s in this series, but not a single one of them was a Ford product. Well, that changes today! I spotted this heavily customized Ford when I was lured down an East End side street by a quick glimpse of a late-60s Dart, spotting this '54 in all its lowered orangitude just across from the Mopar (don't worry, Dart fans, you'll see that '69 pretty soon). There's no telling which model this car is, what with the utter absence of any sort of trim, but I'm hoping it's a Mainline. Damn, that's a great car name- bring back the Mainline, Ford! I'm not sure what category this thing falls into, and I don't care. I imagine hair-splitting purists of several camps might be outraged by some aspect or other of this car, but it looks good . That's what counts, right? Blankets over the seats and plywood door panels. The interior could be a work in progress, or this might be the intended end result. Hey, it looks comfortable! Shave the handles, lose the trim, but keep...
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