CARS-YDSE.com – Page 2 – Cars You Don't See Everyday

1980 or so Checker Marathon Wagon

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One thing became very clear to me when I researched this car, it is very difficult to tell what year it is. I see this particular Checker series went from 1960 all the way to 1982 with very minor changes in the body style. This car has obviously been semi-restored and so I don’t know if the body has been changed. For instance, there are no side lights on this car; were they removed when body work was done? To me, the semi-professional observer, the car seems to be from the later years based on the interior and the back-up lights, but who knows?

Anyway, this car is a great example of the classic Checker wagon. One other note, notice the cell phone cable on the front seat, this was clearly not an original offering.

If you do know what year the car is, please leave me a comment.

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I found this video on the Checker Wagon.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo74UeLsQrE?feature=player_detailpage&w=640&h=360]

1958 Triumph TR3A

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I’ve said this before but this time it’s absolutely true, “I actually drove one of these”. That’s not really such a big deal except it was for me.

I have a dear friend and we both lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. After college, I came back home and worked for a few years. That’s when Richard bought a TR3 and started the renovation process in his father’s garage. After the tear-down and before the reassembly, he wanted the engine and engine compartment steam cleaned. That’s when I got to drive it, sort of. We attached the car to his father’s car via a trailer hitch we rented and off we went. I was in the passenger compartment sitting on an old milk box and steering with a pair of Vise-grips clamped around the splines where the steering wheel usually was attached. It was in the heat of the summer and I remember driving in Paterson New Jersey in the 90+ degree heat as kids on the streets cheered as we drove by. We must have looked pretty odd to them but at least all they did was cheer.

I spotted this TR3A parked in a semi industrial area of San Francisco. This was a 3A and thus a “new and improved model” and it was in really great shape. I was kind of shocked to see it all buttonedup but with no signs of vandalism.

Watch the video below for some interesting facts about the car.

One other thing I remember, TR3s have a hole in the grille for a manual crank. Wow, that says a lot for the reliability of the Lucas Electric starting system.

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Here is a video I found that describes a Triumph TR3A.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJb2Ugm4hUg?feature=player_detailpage&w=640&h=360]

1970 AMC Gremlin

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Yes, I know this car does not look showroom new. Look at the beginning of the next post down (previous post) to read why.

Back in the early 1970s is when the Japanese and German car makers began to dominate the U.S. market. The VW bug and the Toyota Corolla and others from Datsun and Opel sold almost one million vehicles that year. That’s when the American Motors Corporation introduced The Gremlin, the first American sub-compact. AMC tried numerous tactics to get a piece of the market. They made a high-performance two seater version and offered a 12,000 mile warranty but they had disappointing results.

Here are some photographs of a Gremlin survivor I spotted in San Francisco. Yes, it is a rusty hulk but still has most of its original “charm”. It probably still gets over 20 MPG. By the way, notice that the hubcaps are all original American Motors.

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Here is a video I found that describes American Motors strategy for releasing the Gremlin in 1970 1/2.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivX48OcZE_Q?feature=player_detailpage&w=640&h=360]

1956 Mercury Montclair

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When I started this site in August of 2009, I setup some rules about where I would source the photos from. The stated policy I came up with is that I would not snap photos at car shows or similar gatherings. To me it was too much like shooting fish in a barrel. Also, I stipulated that I would shoot photos of rare cars regardless of the condition and update those cars in bad shape and replace them with better examples as they came along. I have not yet gotten one in of these in better shape yet but I have included the photo below as a reference.

capri_as_junkyard_sign

This particular car/home has been parked around the San Francisco Best Buy for about ten years. I have no idea why all the duct tape but I guess it was waterproofing. Perhaps I’ll see one in the near future. Also, I saw this post on Pinterest that was my inspiration for posting this Mercury now.

Long And Low, click here to see a great retro version.

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1970 Mercury Capri

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As I thought about the cars I’ve seen over the last few years, I knew there was one car that seeems to have virtually dissapered, the 1970 Mercury Capri. My sister bought a brand new Capri from our cousin. Bruce worked at a Long Island Mercury dealer and “got her a great deal on this marvelous new car”. Now I know Bruce did not manufacture the car, but my sister never forgave him as the car proved very un-reliable. In fact, the picture below is of a Capri positioned as a junk yard sign, my sister would agree with this use of the car.

capri_as_junkyard_sign

In retrospect, this was a pretty neat car and handled quite well for its size and price. The one thing that does seem questionable is why one rarely see an early Capri on the road now a days.

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1965 (or so) Vanden Plas Princess

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This is really a rare care and I’m sure you will not see one everyday (unless you or your neighbor own one). The car is really a variant of the MG 1100/1300 built from 1962 thru 1973 in Surrey England. About 3 million of these cars and its related cars were produced during this period. This particular car featured here I think was built by the Vanden Plas Coach Builders of Kingsbury London, England. Other variations were also built by Austin, also of England as well as a popular model called the Authi Morris in Spain.

Vanden Plas Princess 1300

In 1962 the Morris 1100 was announced, Fred Connolly the founder of the company that supplied leather to the motor industry commissioned Vanden Plas to make a special version. A prototype was exhibited at the 1963 London Show and aroused a lot of interest so it was put into full scale production by BMC management with deliveries starting in the winter. In 1968 the model received the 1300 cc engine and continued been made until May 1974.

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This car looks in fine shape. I have not seen one like this in many years. In fact, I’m posting these pictures less than 24 hours after they were taken. I have a card I leave on the windshield of the cars I photograph and I left one for the owner. On the card I have a link to this website and my email address. I hope to hear from the owner who can fill us in on the real facts about this specific car.

Click Here for more information from Wikipeadia

1960 Morris Minor 1000 Pickup

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Walking the dog is an activity I partake in a great deal of lately. Our dog is a young SPCA mixed breed and she has an active lifestyle, assuming I cooperate. But living in San Francisco I don’t have a problem walking a few miles most days and seeing the local sites. In September about a miles from the house I saw this Morris Minor pickup truck parked on the street. I don’t know about the color but every other appearance detail has been well restored. For example, notice the “M” on the original hubcaps.

As I was walking around the car snapping picture after picture, the owner came over and we talked about the truck. From memory it is a 1960 model that now has a Datsun running gear and motor. Apparently, that combination allows the truck to quite easily traverse the numerous and steep hills in town. Also, I think he said he has shown the truck at several car shows but he does drive it around town too.

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Click Here for more information from Wikipeadia

1960 Morgan – In Fine Shape

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It was a beautiful day in San Francisco. My wife, our dog and I were on a little urban hike about an hour before sundown. We were hiking a trail in the Persideo just south of the Golden Gate Bridge. The trail and nearby roads were packed with tourists on that bright Sunday afternoon. All of a sudden I saw this very red Morgan go down the road. Although I had my camera, I could not get a picture off and so I watched it go around the bend and, seemingly, out of sight.

But, to my surprise, the Morgan had pulled in and parked at the head of a long line of cars parked on the side of the road. I was thrilled and got out my camera. The only issue was the very busy road AND the fact that the Morgan was parked directly in front of a rather old and beat up Dodge camper that was nearly as old as the Morgan. For that reason, the only front-on shots I got all looked very poor as the camper loomed over the back of the Morgan. Please note, I have retouched most of it out of the picture and replaced it with blue sky.

Now back to the real subject, the 1960 Left-Hand drive Morgan. In the 60s, this car was exported from the United Kingdom to the U.S. In fact, about 80% of Morgans production went to the U.S. This car had a wooden frame, doors and fenders. It was light weight and had a Triumph 4 cylinder motor.

I also got comments from this cars owner. Here is what he added as background on the car.

Beautiful car! I own it! Thanks for posting. This is the Drophead Coupe, last year of that style production. The doors are without the Morgan ” elbow scoop” but rather straight in line. Suicide doors that open from the front, please note. The windshield is also flat – other Morgans have a curved frame – so it’s quite distinct. Called the “snob Mog” as this is the car you take to the opera… I feel like a celebrity when I drive it, as I’m always getting waves, high-fives, and folks asking about the car. It’s an honor to be posted.

Here is a video from another Morgan collector that I found interesting.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbZHWwg6dQg?feature=player_detailpage&w=640&h=360]

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The following text from Wikipedia explains the license plate on this particular car.

General characteristics

In spite of their traditional design, Morgans have always had sporting or “sports car” performance, due to their extremely low weight.

Among their enthusiasts, Morgans are affectionately known as “Moggies”.

Click Here for more information from Wikipeadia

A 1930 (plus or minus 5 years) Something Or Other. What Is It?

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Recently, my wife and I did a little vacationing in Buenos Aires. From there we took a day trip via a high speed ferry to a town called Colonia Uruguay. This sleepy little town had numerous old cars scattered around the town, mostly as advertisements for local restaurants or other tourist places. It was, sort of, like a very little Havana.

So, what make and model is this car? I looked at several on-line but really have no firm idea. This is an area of the Web just made for getting the answer to this kind of question. Just leave a comment with any ideas or suggestions on finding out what it is.

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1963 Lincoln Continental Convertible

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There it was, the mammoth 1963 Lincoln Continental Convertible parked right across the street from our restaurant. This car is enormous with a wheelbase of over 123 inches and an overall length of 213.3 inches. The present record for the longest production convertible is the 1934-1935 Cadillac V-16 at a length of 222.0 inches.

There were over 31,000 of these 1963 cars sold but I don’t have the figures by model (2 door, convertible etc.). This is a rare car in really great shape. It was a pleasure to see this car you don’t see everyday.

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Click Here for more information from Wikipeadia

Click here to see a great example of this car on Pinterest