Your favorite vehicles of yesteryear.

[Power Hungry]

In looking back, I'd have to say that I have been really blessed throughout my life. For starters, I have a wonderful family and great kids. I have some very good friends (both old and new) and I enjoy my job. This last part is what got me to thinking a little bit....

I've be fortunate enough to be very adept at computer programming as well as very mechanically inclined. At a rather young age I was already interested in how things worked. I used to go to the local dump down the street from our house and come home with broken radios, calculators, or anything else to look like it could be salvaged. Every once in a while I'd turn up a lawn mower or edger and bring that home and begin tearing it apart. I didn't have any tools at that time and had to use my grandfather's tools. He was an ex-mechanic for Miami Lincoln Mercury and had a rather nice set of tools. I guess that's what really got me interested in cars and engines.

Over the following years, I've had the opportunity to work on some really interesting vehicles - 64 Corvair, 72 Corvette, 78 T/A, 65 Galaxie 500, and a host of others. What always amazed me about them was how simple they all were. Some had bigger engines and some had multiple carbs but they all were basically the same. Did I mention simple? 5 wires - 2 for the alternator, 2 for the coil, 1 for the starter solenoid. 1 fuel line to get the juice into the engine. Boy was I ever hooked.

I had a discussion today with a customer and we started talking about the simpler times, not just from a mechanical aspect, but from an aesthetics aspect. Older cars just LOOK nice. I'm so tired of so much of the cheesy plastic crap that Detroit has force-fed the American public over the last 20 years. I want heavy metal again. I want clean, flowing lines that stretch from here to New Mexico. So with this bit of nostalgia gnawing away at me, I offer my list of vehicles for which I find both mechanically and visually appealing.


One vehicle I have always admired for its shape was the 1948 to 1952 Ford F1 pickup. To me, this is what a pickup truck should look like! The lines are nothing short of sexy and with a variety of engines from 226ci to 337ci you could makes these buggers move, especially with some good performance parts. Nothing much to them and you could fix just about anything with a pair of pliers and a screwdriver. I'd love to own one of these some day although I don't know if I'd fully restore it or do something drastic like drop a 7.3L in it.


My all time favorite street machine would be a 1972 Chevelle SS, 2dr hardtop. There is just something about that car with a 454 and a 4spd that screams "I'm gonna blow your f***ing doors off!" I had a 1972, although sadly it wasn't an SS. I miss that car greatly, but you can't look back. (And yes, I know the picture is a '71. Too lazy to find a good '72 picture!)


I have a special place for the 1964 Corvair Monza Spyder. With a turbocharged 6 cylinder and 4 spd manual tranny, it put out an estimated 180 HP although it was only rated at 150 HP for marketing reasons. The sleek styling was actually quite ahead of its time. Unfortunately, production of the Corvair halted in 1969. For some people this wasn't soon enough, especially Ralph Nader.


One other vehicle I think is overlooked and underrated is the 1961 to 1969 Lincoln Continental. Suicide rear doors. Need I say anything else? Those cars have such clean lines on them that I don't think that there is another car to date that can match it. Just don't take the President for a ride in one!


And finally, a throwback to my childhood... the 1969 to 1972 LTD Country Squire Station Wagon. This is the station wagon that make all others look like junk. The aerodynamics and the straight, boxy lines of these cars, not to mention the big 400ci and 460ci engines absolutely scream "Forget fuel economy! Looking good is too important!" I've always been fascinated with the "pop up" rear seats in the back of the wagon. As a kid, I used to play back there with my cousins on those long trips to wherever. We never worried about exhaust fumes. We lived in Florida and the A/C was always cranked FULL BLAST! This folks, is classic styling at it's best.

Well... I guess that's enough random thoughts for now.

[Cajun]

I like this thread. That's a great list Bill!

Here's mine:

The first would be a mid '50s Harley Davidson FL. The pan head motor, the tin primary cover, the fat tires, man o man, that's they don't make 'em like that anymore. This is a police model, a '54FL, but not far off from what I'd like color wise. It wasn't much different from the civilian model. The civilian model basically had a little more chrome and no siren.




I actually owned one of these once, wish hadn't sold it. It's a 1970 Chevy Nova SS.



Then there's my first F series truck, it was a '77 F150.



And the 32 Ford Coupe...what else need to said?



An the '32 pickup...oh yeah....



I'm with ya man, DOWN WITH PLASTIC. Gimme the steel!

[johnnyd]

Oh boy, were to start. I am a huge fan of the art work that was coming out of Detroit back in 50's and 60's. I mean the lines on some of these cars are just simply amazing. I want a fin car. Here are a few of my favorites ( I can't find a good picture right now of the 57 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz w/the Stainless Steel roof, simply gorgeous, I'll find one)

59' Impala



59' Caddy Eldorado Biarritz



58' Plymouth Fury (Christine)

[johnnyd]

Here's a pic of my Franklin MInt 57 w/the SS Roof

[Power Hungry]

Oh man... I can't believe I completely spaced on the 59 Impala! That car is gorgeous. The bat-wings on it are so cool.

While we're at it, a 57 Nomad would definitely be in my Fantasy Garage. A guy down the street had a really sharp Nomad that was tubbed with a narrowed 9" and was running a 6-71 blown 427. He didn't take it out often but when he did every kid in the neighborhood (including me) would be in his front yard drooling.

It funny that for as long as I've been a "hot-rodder", I've never built anything that was X-71 blown. I've done centrifugal (Paxton, Vortech, Powerdyne, etc.) and twin-screwed Eatons, but never had the opportunity to put together one of those skyscraper blowers with the 4" wide, cogged belts.

One of these days I'll get off my lazy butt and put something really cool together. I'd like to build another 72 Chevelle as the GM A-Bodies are really strong and can handle lots of torque, but the ideal of a blown truck (i.e. an early F1) really gets me excited.

Oh... Sweet bike. You just can't beat a Panhead.

[Dixie Design]

Had a 69 AMC AMX in college, 390, 4 speed. Loved opening it up on the back roads between Savannah and Hilton Head. Mine wasn't as sweet as this one, but a good photo.

[Dixie Design]

Originally Posted by Power Hungry

the ideal of a blown truck (i.e. an early F1) really gets me excited.

My Dad had a 52 F1 when I was real young. I'd give anything to have today some of the cars/trucks that we've both had over the years.

[cleatus12r]

I have always had in my posession a 73-76 Ford pickup of one sort or another.

My family has never owned anything other than Ford trucks and I was raised "right" I guess you would say. The first one (and two, and three) trucks I bought made one good one. I bought my first in Dec. of '93 (at the ripe old age of 14) for $400. It was a 74 1/2 ton shortbox that was in awful shape. But it ran and was fun to beat on. It eventually took on a transformation with 2 other trucks and became a 74/76/79 F-200. I called it my 5/8ths ton because it was a coil-sprung shortbox with 3/4 ton axles (spindles-out on the front). That truck went to Louisiana with me for 18 months worth of Army duty and I sold it in '03 to pay off a motorcycle purchase. It left me with 9 inches of lift and a perfect body with original paint.

The current project is a 73 2wd longbox that I bought in '94 for $200. It hadn't been licensed in 15 years and served fuel-hauling duty on a ranch. I aquired a 76 3/4 ton 2wd about 3 years later and swapped the cab (the original had no floorboards and about 7 lbs. of Bondo in the body from my first bodywork attempt). It's been a work in progress since '94 and it just lost its 3rd engine/transmission (donated it to the Youth Center's 16 passenger bus). This truck was meant to be beat on. I ran 200 HP worth of nitrous oxide for about a year (countless 10 lb. bottle refills) and put a spool in the rear. It ran really well with Holley Pro-jection for nearly 10 years and had an absolutely FLAT torque "line" of 353 ft. lbs. from 1800 to 3200. I built a 3-link airbag setup for the rear suspension and upgraded over the years from a 302 to 390 to the most recent 460. Yes, the transmission swaps are always fun...THANKS FOR THE DIFFERENT ENGINE FAMILIES, FORD!!

Anyway, here is a picture of the truck in its current state. Right now it is engine-less but I have a 91 F.I. 460 and E40D that are going into it so I have the port fuel injection and wiring harness ready for a twin-turbo setup. I'll probably megasquirt it...... The body isn't great, but it's all original and there is no rust. I'd rank it a 7 out of 10 as it sits. One day it will be a 700 HP rocket....but it takes time and money.

[Power Hungry]

Those older trucks have such nice lines on 'em. Can't wait to see the big mill under the hood.

[cleatus12r]

I can't wait to have PORT injection. The Holley Pro-jection worked absolutely flawlessly for 10 years on that '72 460. It will also be a plus to have an overdrive transmission. I am running 2.75 gears but with 24.5" tall tires, I still run an ungodly high RPM at 75-80 MPH.


Do you have any RDTs for Speed Density EEC-IV van 460s?