Peter Behrens's Blog, page 452

Brooklyn to Marfa in the Chevrolet Apache

                                                                                ©2014Don CulbertsonIf you follow the blog you know we have a weakness for Apaches. Just google "autoliterate" and "Apache" and you'll see. We also appreciate the alertness and sense of adventure that long trips in old trucks demand. Especially trips to Texas. I first saw Marfa through the windshield of 1952 Chevrolet ex-grain truck, making the long haul from Banff, Alberta to the Rio Grande back in the day when you could still get breakfast at Carmen's. I remember it was February, I'd never been out of Canada in the winter before, and it was 62 degrees (F) at 9 AM on the sidewalk in front of Carmen's. Stunning.
You've seen this truck on the blog before. Belongs to Sean Wilsey. I first read about in a Diary piece Sean did for the London Review, about the first of many trips the Apache has made between Marfa and Brooklyn.

New York City to Marfa: the 1971 C10 Suburban

The truck that brought Ginger Griffice to West Texas a few years back.  We caught the 4wd version  in Maine just last week.

1966 Chevrolet C10 for sale in Maine

Thanks to Jarrod McCabe who saw the truck on Mount Desert Island.

1957 Mercury 100

Mercury trucks were Canadian Fords. We've had a few Mercs up on AL; my favorite was in Nova Scotia a couple years back. This truck (above) is for sale at Goldenrod Garage in Freeport, Maine. Asking $10,900. Call Neil 207 865 6269.

Christian Schmidt: Potatoes Garlic

Christian Schmidt photograph. More on his website.

1946 Chevrolet at the Sedgwick V.F.D show

I saw it at the show in Blue Hill, Maine that's sponsored every summer by the Sedgwick Volunteer F.D. Michael Taylor calls it one of the best car shows in America.

Tommy Hilfiger, and a 1950 Plymouth; 1948 Dodge; 1948 Chrysler Windsor. And what purpose breather caps?

        I was driving the GMC back from Kennebunkport where it was working on a Tommy Hilfiger fashion shoot. That truck is earning its keep. Somehow--and before I'd dropped off the truck with Tommy's crew--the A/T fluid dipstick got broken. Talk about obscure automotive dilemmas.  So on my way north(east) I planned to check in with Jeff Whitney at Whitney's Automotive in North Windham. They had a bundle of A/T sticks, and though it was a Sunday, Jeff Jr. had agreed to search for one that would fit my truck. 
       Heading north out of Portland on US Route 302, I spied this Mopar trio--a Plymouth, a Dodge, and a Chrysler--in Westbrook, and had to pull over. I would guess the Plymouth is a 1950. The other two a couple years earlier. Correct me if I'm wrong. 
         I retrieved an A/T dipstick at No. Windham, bought a breather oil filler cap at AutoZone in Belfast, and made it home to Brooklin. Opinions on breather caps? Seems to me that the 350 engine burns less oil when I use one. 

Bright Red 1958 Chevy 3100, Santa Fe

From Amanda Gersh. I think this is the same truck AE saw in Saskatchewan. No, that one was blue. And a '59.

Mike Moore & Earl Swift: The Auto-biographers. And the 1957 Chevrolet Station Wagon.

             If you're here on Autoliterate,  you're probably a car guy, or car girl, & there are 2 astounding car books I will strongly recommend.
             It's a weak genre, often sluggish with either sentimentality or hobbyist jargon--sometimes both--but in the last couple of years I've come across these genre-busting car books. Both sport very close to the same--apparently irresistible--title.
           Mike Moore's Auto Biographies is an artist's book: limited production, signed copies. It is a remarkable read and A beautiful artwork in which Moore documents with drawings and texts pretty much every car he's ever owned-- as well as 22 houses he's lived in.
               Earl Swift's Auto Biography: A Classic Car, an Outlaw Motorhead and 57 Years of the American Dream was the best book I read over the summer, on any subject. My favorite review:
"A big, weird, heartfelt book about a badass who could give a damn whether you root for him or not.
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
 "It's the best contemporary book I've read about automobiles since A.J. Baime's Go Like Hell, and I enjoyed the hell out of that" Matt Hardigree, Jalopnik.com
"I've never met Earl Swift, but from the very first page of this book I liked him. Auto Biography is exuberant, big-spirited, and more than occasionally profound."Tracy Kidder, author of Mountains Beyond Mountains"Auto Biography is a great read, with the cast, dialog and drama of a novel."Detroit Free Press The story he tells of the car's o

Workboat with a Honda 30 hp. Harraseeket Harbor, Maine.