Classic Cars
Who loves old cars? We know Nanook does, but hopefully a few other Junior Gorillas appreciate some beauties from Detroit.
We'll start with this undated (but 1950s) photo from "someplace in California". I realize that the main subject is the two ladies and their friendly collie, but that truck isn't there by accident! Whatever it is, I love it, it is just waiting for some teenager to turn it into a hotrod. Candy-apple red metal flake paint? Fuzzy dice? Wiggling hula girl on the dashboard? It's like heaven on Earth. The landscape fascinates me, it could be anywhere in CA, my grandma and grandpa once owned some land that they never developed, way out in the Pasadena area, I swear the one or two photos I've seen looked very much like this.
Next is this great photo of a man proudly standing next to his 1951 Buick Special (I think). What a beauty, and it must be brand-new, that thing gleams very gleamily. My one complaint? Not enough chrome!
And finally, a slightly blurred photo of a little girl (?) sitting on the hood of a Dodge Sedan with a 1947 New Jersey license plate. It's not quite as elegant as the Buick in the previous photo, but it's still awesome!
15 comments:
The truck looks sort of like Mater from Cars... Except it's blue... And there's no towing stuff in the back... OK, it bears little resemblance to Mater.
The collie is sure lapping up the attention and affection of the two ladies! Meanwhile, the other dog (German Shepherd mix?) on the left, is tethered to a stake in the middle of nowhere. Wonder if HE gets any attention? Looks like there's an orchard of some sort in the background.
Yeah, it's a shame car manufacturers skimped on the chrome back then. ;-p This car sure looks heavy! By the time he pulls out of the driveway, the gas tank will need to be refilled. I wonder what those things are, strung across the windshield?
Hmm, I have no idea whether that's a boy or a girl sitting on the hood. He's dressed more like a boy, but that hair seems odd for a boy from 1947.
Thanks for the heavy metal, Major.
Major-
That truck is a 1941-1947 Chevrolet - the same truck Timmothy Bottoms drove in The Last Picture Show. Make that a 1950 Buick - either a Special or a Super. The same style Dodge was offered from 1946-1948 - so with that license tag, suspect a 1946 or '47 model.
Thanks, Major.
Who knew the Major was so into HEAVY METAL?
These are mostly before my time, but pretty cool anyway. I’m sure that there are tons of people that would absolutely love to have these vehicles for many reasons, but these days having intact set of trim tops most of the lists.
That Buick sure is a monster. That toothy grin would like to eat us all up
That Buick in the second pic reminds me of Sheriff from "Cars", but with longer "teeth."
Thanks for the Classic Car pics, Major!
I am not particularly a gear head, but I do like old cars from a romantic point of view. I drove past a classic/exotic car showroom yesterday: I wish I had time to stop and look: and it would be nice to have the cash to spend on a '57 T-Bird painted coral for 169K. In pic #1 Lassie gets all the attention with Rover there in the background tied to a stick. The landscape defies some normal logic: Evergreens with palms and deciduous trees in the distance: and a bit a a shack next to an orchard of some type: also winter time. Hmmm...would have to dig to see how/where all these things could co-exist. California makes sense: Redlands or the like (?) Pic two: Watch out for this car: it will devour you with those "teeth". More farmland here too: a little garden at least with the castle in the distance. Looks like Charlie has decorated the inside of his "ride" with some ..."something"....the stone wall is awesome. More grillage in pic #3...."sit there and DON'T move!" The car looks freshly waxed: I'm wondering if it was a little "slippy" for junior?. House with "not so great" addition: there in the back....if you have to add on: go for it...but it needs to make sense with the rest of the house: could it have been the same color? Was it a choice? For those who really like these old cars: there is a museum in Sarasota FL. I think Major has done a post for this place. It is in some litigation to move locations: didn't do too much digging: and didn't go as literally across the street in the Ringling compound: which is absolutely amazing. I'm not a gigantical fan of this part of the world: but it was the best $20 I've spent in a while. A huge property: with something for every fan-type: Railroad, Circus (possibly the most amazing model of a full circus ever built), Fine Art, Classic Art, Gardens, Architecture: and a car museum next door. Who knew? This is not an ad, but if your travels take you: I highly recommend a trip. Thanks Major!
I'm no expert on cars, but these are beauties. I love the first image because of its rural setting and the dogs. The other dog in the back is tethered. Poor thing. I wonder if there's a chicken coop on the property for some nice fresh eggs.
Thanks, Major.
"What's that, Lassie? Little Timmy's sitting on the hood of a Dodge two pictures down? I'm sure he's OK, girl." Swap out the metal bed for a wooden one, and that truck looks a lot like the one my Grandpa built out of spare parts.
Does anyone know what the thing that looks like a tiny bunting on the windshield of the Buick is? I want to reach through the screen and tuck in Dapper Dan's collar, but other than that he is looking sharp. Look at that artistic tie, and the break in the trousers! It's a VFA for you, Danny.
One of my Dads friends had a truck like that in photo 1. The passenger side window crank was missing and a he had a pair of vise grips clamped to the spindle so you could (sort of) roll up the window. He usually rode with the window down since the door latch only worked from the outside. Just a footnote for Nanooks dating. Ford kept all the tooling the same through the war years and beyond, from 42 to early 45 none were available for civilian use unless you could prove it was vital to the war effort.
https://www.blueovaltrucks.com/ford_articles/history-of-ford-trucks-1917-1947/
That field could have been on our farm. We didn’t have cedars or palms, but neighbors did, and the orchard looks like walnut trees. Also I think a CA plate on the truck.
I have a similar photo of my Dad like that of photo 2, but b&w. That’s quite an Olds. Young fellow wearing a lodge pin and several fountain pens.
Photo 3 is a shame it’s blurred. I think the house addition is wood boards added to a brick original, just a guess.
Thanks Major!
JG
@ JG-
Yes, that's a California license plate - that style first issued in 1956 - the same year the United States, Canada and Mexico standardized the dimensions at 6x12", along with standardized mounting holes.
JB, if that truck opens it eyes and talks (“Dadgum!”), I’ll run away screaming! That other dog was not a good boy, he ate my homework. I’m sure all of those cars were made with 1/4” steel (ha ha), and got 1 mile to the gallon. As for whether that kid is a boy or girl, I’ll leave it to the detectives here on GDB.
Nanook, thank you, I can always count on you for the car IDs! A 1950 Buick, I am so humiliated. I’ll never be able to show my face at the demolition derby ever again! Good grief, I haven’t seen “The Last Picture Show” for decades, I sure wouldn’t have remembered what kind of truck Timothy Bottoms drive!
Budblade, I am a fan of beautiful vintage cars, but more as industrial works of art. I’m not like Nanook, who can tell you what year, make, model, and color a car is just by taste (yes, he licks cars). I’ve always thought that I’d much rather have a car like that Buick than a Porsche. But that’s just me.
Bu, I’m not a gear head at all, even my girlfriend knows more about cars than I do. “Is that the new Honda?”. “I don’t know”. There used to be a showroom near me that had vintage/classic cars, I’d always want to stop and look, but I also didn’t want to talk to a salesman. Evergreens with palms and deciduous trees, that’s California alright. I too noticed that decoration inside the Buick, some sort of little garland, but I’ve never seen anything like it. I believe that there was more than one antique auto museum in Sarasota, and I do think that I’ve covered at least two of them here on GDB. Maybe just do a search for “Sarasota”, how many blog posts can there be?
K. Martinez, the first photo looks like a place I’d want to live! But the second photo is better just as a “car photo”. While it might seem mean to tether a dog outside, maybe they didn’t want him to run into the road and get squished. They seem to love their dogs! Though I like your egg theory too.
Melissa, I forget, did they refer to Lassie as “girl” in the show? I think a lot of people were surprised to learn that Lassie was played by a female dog (I won’t say the b-word on this family blog!), as if it made any difference. I don’t know what that thing is inside the Buick, but I’ll bet that guy’s sweetheart put it there.
JG, I sometimes see old trucks like that first one around SoCal, in various states of restoration. I always love them! I love the Vice Grips on the truck you mentioned. I know this isn’t really relevant, but your mention of being able to prove that a car was vital to the war effort makes me think of Bugs Bunny cartoons; “Is this trip really necessary??”. I didn’t get it as a kid, but somehow it still made me laugh. If you go out towards Sierra Madre or thereabouts, you might see a yard like the one in the first photo. But of course it could be ANYWHERE.
Nanook, I made license plates in the prison shop for years, so I know all about them!
Major-
"I made license plates in the prison shop for years..."
Ohhhh... a Folsom resident-? Well, well, well.
Nice cars! I’ll take one of each, please. You can put them on my tab.
The character of Lassie is female, but she was always portrayed by a male collie. There were nine of them between the first movie in 1943 and the end of the original TV series in 1973.
@ Chuck-
Yeah, but there were two Timmy’s, three Moms, one Uncle, one Gramps, and who knows what else was in the menagerie-!
"What's that, girl? There's a partridge in the pear tree?"
Nanook, it was worth it when Johnny Cash gave me his guitar.
Chuck, ah, I had my Lassie lore mixed up. Thank goodness I wasn’t on “Jeopardy!”, they would have surely asked me about Lassie, and then laughed at my wrong answer.
Nanook, did that show really have that many different actors playing the same characters? It must have been hell to work on. “Gunsmoke” had only a few changes over decades!
Melissa, that sounds like it was A Very Special Episode.
Post a Comment