Peter Behrens's Blog, page 132

Dodge Power Ram 350 & Donald Judd's aesthetic as applied to trucks.

  From Michael Moore, in Benicia CA: "A Dodge worthy of Donald Judd right across the street from me here."

David Branch has an original Juddmobile, a 1990 Dodge D250. Our Texas truck, a 1986 Chevrolet C10, is as American minimalist as it gets. And here's another post on our plainjane C10 And then there's The Donald's 1972 Dodge Power Wagon.  If you're not following all this Judd chatter, well we've posted more about the man and his work, and his aesthetic, here.  

AL is missing Marfa these days, and West Texas light and compañeros. Hope to get back there soon.

1969 Ford F150 Farm & Ranch Special, West Texas

  David Branch found the truck in West Texas.

Cold Blue Spring, Mid-Cambridge.

 

1968 Chevrolet C10, Alabama

 

Photos from Alabama came to us via Greg Philipps in Appalachicola, FL 

The Back Roads of Alberta, Automotive Treasures, and a Chance to Find True North

Anyone who follows Autoliterate is aware that the Canadian prairie provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta have big skies, relatively dry climates and a lot of old metal. Thanks to Matthew Sheehey for the heads-up on this piece in Hemmings on what's out there on the backroads of Alberta.


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2023 Morgan Three-wheeler

 
From a first-look review in Motor Trend: "The first car the Morgan Motor Company built 113 years ago was a three-wheeler; two wheels up front for steering and stability, and a single drive wheel at the rear. In fact, until 1936 Morgan built nothing but three-wheelers. Over a century later, the all-new Morgan 2023 three-wheeler might be the most important yet.
"Morgan ended three-wheeler production in 1952 as more affluent post-war customers switched to its four-wheel sports cars...the concept was revived in 2012 by thereto-styled 3-wheeler, which was powered by an air-cooled, American-made S&S V-twin motorcycle engine mounted across the front end—just like the Morgan three-wheelers built until 1939.

"That car is now being replaced by an all-new three-wheeler that is arguably the single most important new Morgan in history. Unlike the 3 Wheeler, the all-new Morgan Super 3 has been designed from its three wheels up to meet global crash and emissions standards. And the U.S. is one of the car's key target markets...."
"...In the Super 3 the Ford Dragon engine, which drives the single rear wheel through a Mazda MX-5 sourced five-speed manual transmission connected to a bevel box and carbon-fiber reinforced drive belt, makes 118 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 110 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm. That doesn't sound like much. But as the Super 3 is expected to weigh not much more than 1,400 pounds, Morgan says that's enough grunt to shoot it to 60 mph in less than 7.0 seconds on to a top speed of 130 mph. And with no roof, no doors, optional aero screens, and the road rushing past just under your elbows, that's going to feel very fast."Then there's the video. Thanks to Alex Emond for the heads-up on this car.AL has posted several more traditional Morgans, like this one in Carlisle, MA

The Hi-Lo

 

Tour of that Hi Lo Country The Hi Lo Country  Map by James R Gober 1998

 I did not know very much about the Hi Lo when I first started going there. What made me want to go there was the empty space on the map. Over the last few years while adjunct teaching at Colorado College I have made several weekend explorations through the Hi Lo. For a lone traveler in a car, in some ways there is "nothing there". The overwhelming fact is space--empty land and sky. The towns are not towns you've ever heard of until you get there--Clayton NM, Springer NM, Boise City OK, Dalhart TX. This is ranching country and in years when there is enough rain it's some of the best cattle range in the world. It's almost entirely private land. There's no BLM or National Forest management. You don't see a lot of cattle because the ranches are huge and far apart and cattle have to be ranged sparsely for ranching to be sustainable. I don't know how many hundred acres it would take to sustain a cow/calf in a good year. In a bad year I would imagine the price of hay is very high and a lot of breeding stock get shipped. I'm posting 2 maps of the Hi Lo which I've just come across in Max Evans' Hi Lo Country: Under the One-Eyed Sky, text by Evans and photographs by Jan Haley. Evans is the writer who gave the region its name with his novel The Hi Lo Country.. Still have not seen the Woody Harrelson movie, based on the novel. The novel is an intriguing roughhouse story set in a ranching country that reminds me of the ranching world I found in the Alberta foothills in the early 1970s, working on the GH Ranch in Sundre, Alberta as a very green hand lucky enough to ride sometimes in company with wonderfully skilled Alberta cowboys like Jack Gill and Sid Cunningham.
Heart of the Hi Lo  Map by James R Gober
(Photographs below are all mine, from various trips to the Hi Lo over the last 5 years)
Snowin' on Raton (Pass) You might sing this song while crossing Raton, if you've been on the road a while. Between Ocate and Springer NM Las Vegas NM
Las Vegas NM Between Las Vegas NM and Mora NM Between Las Vegas NM and Mora NM Des Moines NM Clayton NM Clayton NM Between Raton and Des Moines NM Des Moines NM
Range between Raton and Des Moines NM Roy, NM Raton NM Selfie, Springer NM North to Roy NM Cimarron NM The Plaza, Las Vegas NM North of Las Vegas NM Trinidad, CO Clayton NM Between Las Vegas NM & Mora NM  Clayton NM Clayton NM Clayton NM Between Las Vegas NM and Mora NM Clayton NM Dalhart, Texas Clayton NM Between Tucumcari and Las Vegas NM  Walsenburg CO Trementina NM Clayton NM Folsom NM Johnson Mesa, NM Cimarron NM Texline, Texas Dalhart Texas Clayton NM Texline, Texas Between Raton and Des Moines NM Clayton NM

Leo's Trucks

These photos are posted for my nephew Leo, who is a truck fan. Leo, please take some pictures of trucks that you like, and and send the jpegs to me.

1978 Volvo 244 DL, Maine

  You know that here at AL, we are admirers of the Swedish vernacular. Maybe our favorite is the P-210 we profiled a while ago. Then there's our own nothing-special-but-stalwart 5-speed 850 wagon. And then there's the Cambridge (Mass.) Volvo 240 herd.  We recently encountered this 244 DL up in Maine. Spent most of it's life so far in California in Idaho, which explains the rustless demeanor. The owner tells us the car's for sale–he's seeking a car with a manual transmission. This one looks awfully clean to us. Specs from, and contacts for, the owner are below. Tell him AL sent ya. 

"This is a 1978 244 DL in Cimmaron Brown that spent its life in So Cal and the Idaho desert. It currently has 260,340 miles. I purchased it on bringatrailer.com in September of 2021 and shipped it to Maine, where the chassis was fluid-filmed (twice..) and subsequently stored indoors. It currently has 260,340 miles and is virtually rust free, save for a spot of surface rust on the drivers side windshield. Nearly all records from new are included, as well as a full set of brand new winter tires on the original 14" rims. Over $3500 in new parts and labor invested since purchase and will convey with an uninstalled IPD cat back exhaust, OEM front shocks, and a cam cover gasket. " Contact
Lsiegelschwartz@gmail.com

Archived listing from purchase:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-volvo-240-6/

Current craigslist listing:
https://maine.craigslist.org/cto/d/brooklin-1978-volvo-244dl/7461952552.htm

1967 Ford F-100. Marfa, Texas.