Car show season has ended. Oh sure, there may yet be a couple of stragglers, but essentially they are done for the next six months. Although today it was 71 degrees when I walked out of the office. Not bad for the second day of November in the Midwest.
Today we are going to be focusing on a more uncommon board of fare–sedans, wagons and, yes indeed folks, straight sixes. I know, yay! Let’s get things underway with this nicely optioned 1967 Nova sedan.
This is not a plain-Jane Chevy II, but a Nova, with nicer upholstery and even fake wood on the door panels! I believe this interior color was called Fawn.
No touchscreens on this one, ha ha!
And here’s the heart of this classic Chevy compact–the 250 inline six, dressed up with a chrome valve cover. Amazing someone hasn’t shoehorned in a 454 or 502, ha ha.
I really liked this car. The darl turquoise paint and chrome trim made it look really good, along with the accessory wire wheel covers. That’s the owner in the background. No, he wasn’t mad. In fact he and I talked Novas and classic non-Camaro, non Resale Red Foose footed Chevrolets for a bit.
And wagons! Yep, wagons are making a comeback; at cruise-ins, anyway. This 1969 Country Squire is a regular.
Blue on blue with the ubiquitous Squire Di-Noc sides, it looked good with its whitewalls and dog-dish hubcaps.
I always liked the interior of the 1969-70 big Fords. I especially like the radio on the left. The Dads of the late ’60s who bought these new probably liked it too: “No way the kids’ll be screwing with the rid in THIS car!”
This one was not restored, but a very well preserved original, with assorted bumps and bruises. I liked it all the more for that reason.
This nice old Rambler wagon also caught my eye. The maroon over rose paint job really drew me in. My dad had previously spotted it some time earlier on the way to Jewel-Osco. A very nice survivor.
Ho-hum, another Nova with Rally wheels, big whoop. But wait! This one does not have the Tater Jr.-approved 350 shoehorned into it!
Nope, another nice six with the nice chrome valve cover–this time the 194, judging from the air cleaner decal. How refreshing!
The red interior was very nice too. I’ve always had a thing for white, silver or black cars with red interiors.
Here we have a plain Jane Chevy sedan, a ’64 Bel Air, to be precise. Perfect for librarians and little old ladies when new. Or dads dreaming of an Impala convertible but needing more practicality for the Mrs. and the kids.
It was nice and original, save the slotted mags, which look pretty good on it. Yep, four taillights–it’s a Bel Air!
Here was a nice original Chevy fastback sedan. I believe this one is a ’50, since it’s missing the extra teeth in the lower grille that the ’49 had.
I love these 1949-52 GM fastbacks. They’re so sleek and attractive. Unfortunately, buyers disagreed, with the notchback sedans far outselling the once-popular fastback. The Chevy versions were put out to pasture after ’52. What was new and futuristic in the ’40s was old hat by the early ’50s.
No restoration on this one. I loved the car even more for it.
How about another wagon? This one was a ’69 Fairlane 500, with only some Torque-Thrust wheels to differentiate it from its original showroom appearance. It was cool.
There’s that Magic Doorgate–the feature that helped make FoMoCo king of the wagon hill in the Sixties and well into the Seventies.
I am pretty sure the two-tone white and aqua paint on this 1965 Coronet wagon was not factory, but it looked great.
So did the wheels, which made it look like something that may have towed one of the Mopar altered-wheelbase dragsters to the strip forty-odd years ago.
And I am always a sucker for a nice old car with an aqua interior. Sorry JP, I don’t think this was for sale.
We’ve seen the wagons and four-door sedans, so how about a VW Van with the Ranger Smith-approved Westfalia package?
Check out the seats. Holy Herb Tarlek.
I’ve always loved these things. Back in ’89 I got to ride in one over the Mackinac bridge, as a friend of my parents who lived in Mackinaw city had a faded orange one. It was my first ride in a VW bus. His wasn’t a full-blown Westy–no pop-top for starters–but it did have the table in it.
This shot of the VW and a similarly-hued ’71 Boss 351 will give you an idea of the variety at this show. That said, there were plenty of 1964-66 Mustangs, Camaros and Corvettes–when isn’t there?
But this had to have been the most exotic vehicle at the show–a Toyota Stout. Obviously modified, but still an amazing site to see. I immediately identified it, even though it was the first one I’d ever seen in the metal.
Other than the drastic changes to the wheelwells and suspension, this looked to be quite original. Certainly original patina! It was pretty neat.
I really liked the instrument panel on it too–and the horn ring! Those buttons on the left reminded me of the “typewriter keys” of the Mopar Torqueflite buttons of the ’50s and ’60s.
Yes, that is a C5 Corvette engine in there. Must have had to get really creative to fit it in there, as this truck was about the size of an S10. Bigger than a Hilux, but not by much.
All these pics were taken of shows from circa 2013. My desktop computer seems to be issuing low-level warnings about it continuing to work, so I’ve spent the past month loading them all onto FB. Just in case!