Author Archives: oldcarguy

No. 117: Rust Never Sleeps

Most everything you need to get this ’65 Ford Fairlane running — carb, various wires and a tremendous air filter, among other things — is stacked atop a massive bench seat inside this coupe. The only thing missing is a mechanic. This would-be road-burner is losing the race against rust just outside McRae, Ga., 168Continue reading “No. 117: Rust Never Sleeps”

No. 114: Fixer Upper

He had good intentions. Whoever hauled this car into the shop, slapped on Bondo and primer, surely meant to put this erstwhile hot rod back on the road. Didn’t happen. Instead, this ’63 Ford Fairlane is settling into the sand between an antique emporium and a battered storefront selling bait and tackle. Carrabelle, Fla., 325Continue reading “No. 114: Fixer Upper”

No. 113: Abandoned in Apalachicola

Who bought this one-ton hauler from the Chevy dealer 65 years ago? When did its stake bed vanish? What sort of work did it do? Did it travel the slight rolls of north Florida from field to dock? Surely, somewhere along the line, this ’52 Chevrolet 3600 trucked oysters. Apalachicola, Fla., 345 miles south ofContinue reading “No. 113: Abandoned in Apalachicola”

Agrarian Edition No. 9: Allis’s Restaurant

When it had dragged its last plow; pulled from the earth its final stump; and towed its last car from an icy ditch, this late ’40s Allis Chalmers took on a new job. These days, this 20-hp tractor pulls travelers off the road to a family-owned restaurant where employees make syrup in steam-filled rooms. Hadley,Continue reading “Agrarian Edition No. 9: Allis’s Restaurant”

No. 112: Dowdy But Dependable

The lowly Dodge. It always ran a few paces behind the flashier Fords and GMs of the post-war models crowding those fancy new highways, the interstates. It was reliable, yes, but … … but it never seemed as fancy. This 1948 Dodge D 24 turns a plain face to passersby in Glenwood, Ore., 2,610 milesContinue reading “No. 112: Dowdy But Dependable”

No. 111: Not a Good House, Not a Good Boat

In 1957, Ford Motor Co. unveiled the Ranchero, a half-truck, half-car that could take a family to church on Sunday and a farmer to the market on Monday. Chevrolet responded two years later with the El Camino.The El Camino, depending on your point of view, was a marvelous machine or a failed effort. As oneContinue reading “No. 111: Not a Good House, Not a Good Boat”

No. 110: A Rare Machine

Like other U.S. automakers, Studebaker hustled to re-tool its plants to answer the demand for new cars and trucks following World War II. In 1949, the South Bend-based corporation introduced the 2R pickup. It was a stylish thing, with lines that flowed more than the Fords and Chevys of that era. In a remarkable stylingContinue reading “No. 110: A Rare Machine”