This Berkeley buzzed in sounding like an angry hornet, 2 cylinder motorcycle engine revving hard. It was a great driver, with paint chips, hazy plexiglass windshield and well worn upholstery. I dream of the day that my '51 Super Sport has this kind of worn-in feel.

This '53 Ford Comete was featured on Jalopnik a couple of years ago- I don't know if the person showing it was the buyer, or if it didn't sell. It didn't have a for sale listing, so I'm guessing that it was here with the new owner. This thing was nice, and Dave and I did cartoonish double-takes when we spotted it rolling down Folsom Street on the way to the show. It was powered by the Ford V860 motor that never went over that well in the US market, but worked like gangbusters in France for decades. Hotrod guys have rediscovered these little flatheads, and I remember reading that a warehouse full of NOS French V860s was discovered 10 years or so ago, making them available at an affordable price. Back in the day, enterprising Crosley owners stuffed these engines into their cars, more than doubling the power with only a moderate weight gain. I looked at a V860 powered 1948 wagon when I first started shopping for a Crosley-the seller thought it was the best part of the car!
I don't know much about these Toyota 800s other than that they are rare, pricey and really cool. I have to think that that back area would catch a lot of wind if you actually drove it with the top off.
Again, I don't know a whole lot about Traction Avants. They look a lot older than they actually are, and there's one in Sacto that I was praying was for sale when I saw it parked on the street last year. Thankfully for my wallet and the sanity of my household (yes, Liv would have killed me) it wasn't.
This Thames van was incredibly well restored, but was an obvious driver too. I saw one of these for sale last year and thought, 'Where would you get parts?' Seems like I might have been right to worry, judging by the owner's answer to the query, 'Looking for parts?' Answer: 'Always.' They get bonus points for having a van that the Beatles could have toured in circa 1960. Here's the front:
And, yes, you did see it poking into a picture back there. A Pacer. like I said, if it's weird, it gets in the club. There was a moment (approximately June 7-13, 1988) where I wanted one of these for the sheer absurdity of it, but the fact that they weren't dirt cheap (like almost free) and that every one I saw was beat nearly to death, cured me.
No comments:
Post a Comment