Two Classy Beauties From 1968

Show Car Sunday!

I was walking a friend's dog in the Boerum Hill section of Brooklyn early one morning after a rainstorm when I happened upon 2 great classics parked right on the street. 

 First up; a 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback GT, 

or at least I think it's a GT from the faux side scoops and grill with fog lights. If the color (which is perfect on this ride) is factory-correct it's known as Candy Apple Red.  

The dual exhaust means any of the V8 options could be lurking under the hood which include the 289, 302 (1st year available), 390, or the 428 (highly unlikely as this would make it a famous "R-Code" car worth six figures!).Regardless this is one foxy example of the same car Steve McQueen made famous in Bullitt. I love the concave taillight panel on this year.

This sweet ride remains in great shape even though I've seen it parked on the street in this area for years, proving that it can be done if you're careful (and lucky) enough.

I continued my walk and was genuinely surprised when I found this waiting for me a few blocks away:

Yowza!

Also from 1968, a Cadillac Coupe DeVille convertible. A Devil in a Blue Dress!

The closest factory color choice to this example is "Carib Aqua Metallic" and damn does it look impressive.

Blue cars of this era with white interiors are a mild fetish of mine (as are ragtops in general) so this car hits all the marks for me. Take those damn cheesy dice off the mirror though - have a little respect!

'68 was the first year for these square side mirrors with Cadillac written out in script. They continued using these through the mid-80s on some models.

Forward-leaning shark-nosed styling. These was quite an aggressive stance for the fabled Cadillac marque. Very proud of itself with the teensy-tiny crest logo on the leading edge of that side marker light (which lit up on whichever side turn signal you selected in order to illuminate your way as you steer this barge into your driveway after several 1968-edition martinis).

This little chrome detail on top of the fender houses one of my favorite features of Cadillacs from the '60s and '70s; the "Lamp Monitor". Within that little pointed chrome roof are two triangles of colored glass connected via fiber optics to the turn signal and the headlight. When you turned on the headlights or clicked the turn signal and noticed that the corresponding marker failed to light up it let you know that your light was out and needed to be replaced. Such a brilliant and elegant pre-computer solution! I believe this is the first year for this feature which was limited to the option list of the top-of-the-line models only. My father's '74 Eldorado Convertible had them as well.

The gas cap was hidden away behind the license plate on these old Caddys. A decade before this one was built they hid the gas cap under one of the taillights themselves which flipped up on a discreet hinge! If you didn't know where it was you'd never find it.

Finding this beauty parked in front of some NYCHA buildings all lovely and untampered-with was a treat. I did run across another old Caddy on the other side of the courtyard in a much different condition, but that's for another post.