Peter Behrens's Blog, page 168

Women Who Weld: 1957 Chevrolet Apache

Amanda Gersh sent me this. from the metal artist Rae Ripple.                                                                  RR: "' Rose Apache'— a 1950’s model Chevrolet Apache detailed using freehand plasma cutting, with a Hypertherm Powermax45. I call it turning metal into lace and it’s one of my favorite things to do. I traded a ticket to Mexico for Rose Apache. Instead of going on vacation I decided to cut a truck up! It’s mine, but it’s also up for sale"

Guitar's made from scrap metal.

1957 International A-120

 

The truck has been Vortec'd. On the block at BaT today.

The Marfa Thing

Basha Burwell caught The Thing in Marfa, Texas. Also known as the VW 181. Sold in the US for a couple years in the Seventies, in Mexico and Europe for longer. It was, after all, a Volkswagen: dependable and cheap.

 

1959 Chevrolet cat's eye El Camino

From Reid Cunningham: "Springfield, VT. I am really taken with the rocket-style side mirrors and those great fins."  AL: We posted a '59 EL Camino for sale in Reno a while back. Another '59 El Camino lurking in a basement garage in Banff.  And how about this '59 EC project from Bruce Tomb? We posted an El Camino graveyard in Oklahoma.  Here's a '61 El Camino we saw for sale in Freeport, Maine. And a '59 Impala convertible on the road in California. We'll say it again: 1959 was the year for GM. How about this crazy Olds Dynamic 88? Before Olds got old. And Chrysler got into the act, too: try on this 1959 Plymouth Belvedere. No one's going to mistake it for a Hyundai. Same for a '59 Country Squire  gone feral.







 

c. 2000 Toyota Tacoma

 

from Michael Moore in the East Bay: " A pristine example of a modest working tool…late nineties?"
AL calls this genre of truck the wheelbarrow and they are most useful. Everyone needs one. If you find one, buy it. Hard to come by. No one wants to let  'em go and why would you?

Monument to a Truck: 1941 Dodge 1/2 ton

Bill Burleson photos. At the Sanbusco Market Center  Santa Fe NM 



 

Another 1959 Pontiac Safari

 

Another '59. You know this has been AL's iconic car, since babyhood. Strange how these things fix. How about a Strato Chief?  Puis, un Laurentian.

Ford COE Wrecker. Gerlach, Nevada.

From Michael Moore, out in the desert: "Out back of [the former] Bruno’s Texaco…they favored those short wheelbases, both for water trucks [likely a WW II surplus, converted] and for the classic Ford COE wrecker..."




 

1951 Kaiser Traveler

The car arrived in Maine from Washington State. First three photos are courtesy of Maynard Bray.
AL has posted several Kaisers. A 1952 Kaiser in Cambridge. A 1952 and a 1953 both in Maine
A 1953 Kaiser Henry J in Framingham, Mass.,and a 1953 Kaiser Deluxe across the Benjamin River in Sedgwick, Maine. Then there's the Kaiser Deluxe in N.J., and a couple of Kaiser Willys units: a 1966 Jeep in West Texas and a military-issue M-715.

Wagon World; 1963 Pontiac Catalina Safari, etc.

 https://www.wsj.com/articles/station-...

You know here at AL we are very much in favor of wagons. Below is an extract from Jonathan Welsh's 2017 piece on the American icon in WSJ

"For years, American auto gurus have been predicting the station wagon’s extinction. The threats from first minivans, then SUVs and most recently crossovers were going to deliver the coup de grâce to the frumpy, wood-paneled, roof-racked relic.
"But wagons persisted. They evolved. They got into shape, building muscle with high-tech engines and improving their agility—on and off the road—with new suspensions and computer-controlled all-wheel drive. Sexier, aerodynamic shapes have eclipsed the image of the boxy, overstuffed Family Truckster of “National Lampoon’s Vacation.”
"Today the station wagon is safely off the endangered-species list. While still a tiny part of the market, wagon options are multiplying. For the 2018 model year, at least 10 wagons are coming to dealer showrooms, including four brand-new models.
"Car makers that previously stopped selling wagons in the U.S., like Jaguar and Buick, have brought them back. Others, including Volvo and Volkswagen, recently baptized new models, while longtime wagon maker Subaru is setting sales records, led by its rugged, SUV-ish Outback. The company said it sold 156,277 Outbacks through October, up 8.2% over last year. Porsche, a newcomer to the segment, is further stretching the definition of a wagon with the cheetah-like Sport Turismo, which comes in a 192-mph hybrid version. You know, because the farmers’ market is closing really soon...."

AL: Most of the wagons available these days seem to be European. And they are rare. It seems like the space has been taken over first by minivans, now by the ubiquitous SUV. SUV's--to our eyes looks like frogs.Something about the squashed squareness of them.

Some wagons posted on AL: a '63 Pontiac Catalina Safari. A '59 DeSoto. And a '62 Safari. And a '59 Canadian Safari. A '57 Chevrolet 210 wagon. A '64 Chevy II wagon. You get the idea. We like wagons. Bunch more if you type wagon in our search widget.