GMC Palm Beach

GMC PALM BEACH!

I was riding my bike along a grimy stretch of 58th Street in Brooklyn between 1st and 2nd Avenues when this mighty vision presented itself:

Abbondanza!
This colossus is a 1973-1978 GMC Motorhome wearing its original Palm Beach livery.

These capsule shaped RVs are unique for several reasons. First of all they are the only motorhome manufactured by a major automaker in history. The fact that the truck division of General Motors designed and built this RV start to finish in-house means the components all worked together beautifully and parts remain available.

The other wholly unique feature is that these motorhomes were all front wheel drive! They incorporated the Olds Toronado running gear, starting with the 455 V8 and moving to the 403 in later years. Some of them used the Cadillac 501 that came in the Eldorado

Because the engine and transmission were sitting with the drive wheels up front there was no need for a driveshaft hump that would require a higher floor. Much like the Toronado and Eldorado, these rides boasted a low, flat floor front to back. One quirky solution to keep the low floor full-length is that the rear wheels are not connected by axles! Each pair of wheels on each side were connected to each other, but not to the ones opposite. Only the wheel wells themselves would encroach on the interior, and not by much.

From the above angle we can see that this is the full size, 26 foot model. There were some 23 foot ones too but they are much more rare.

While it's not a door the entire rear panel can be taken out by removing all of the bolts you can see here. This allows for an easy remodeling of the interior or even installing an entire store-bought bed.

This single door is the only way in or out. The body is fiberglass over an aluminum frame which was strong and aerodynamic.

The fact that it was a large fiberglass shell allowed for more window space than any RV previous.

You've gotta love the original color scheme and decals. Palm Beach only denoted this color combo as well as matching interior. The 260 designation meant that this was the 26 footer.

That huge roll out awning on the door side would give you a righteous side yard. From this angle you can see the burgundy and silver model lurking in the background. Either these folks are rolling insanely deep or one of these is a parts rig.

Well there you have it; an innovative motorhome parked amidst crumbling warehouses. A total of 13,000 of these were built by GMC over the span of 5 years, and an impressive 7,000 of them are still registered today! That makes this one of the most durable and reliable vehicles ever made, which on the surface seems absurd. If you have the parking space and want a vacation cruiser I think this is the way to go. There are serious fan clubs and aftermarket suppliers looking to keep every one of these on the road. For $15,000 you can find one in just about perfect condition with all the mechanicals rebuilt and the interior upgraded. Happy Trails!

The weirdest, greatest supercar you'll ever see

C'EST MAGNIFIQUE!

Robin of Omaha recently sent these pics of a true oddity. Even in stellar condition its not surprising to see this ride hunkered down at the mechanic as it is fearsomely complicated. Behold!

This is a 1972-1973 Citroën SM in Jaune Bouton d'Or (also known as Buttercup Yellow). This thing was so ahead of its time that it shouldn't even be gauged against other automotive makes.
While we're staring this thing in the face let's talk about the main visual difference between the European and U.S. models. In France the SM had 6 square headlights placed behind angled glass like the middle panel above. Also in France the headlights turned with the front wheels! The glass cover and turning ability of the lights were both illegal in the U.S. which is why we can't have nice things. 

Just look at this strange creature. It could be from outer space or the depths of the ocean. The body is extremely aerodynamic which helped take advantage of perhaps the most incredible feature of the SM: it came from the factory with a Maserati V6 motor under the hood!
Those wheels are steel with stainless trim. If you preferred a lighter weight rim they offered a first-ever carbon fiber resin wheel option. As long as this thing is it won all kinds of rallies and races when introduced. When it hit these shores it won the Motor Trend Car of the Year award, a rarity for a non-domestic model at the time.

Top speed from the factory was listed at 140mph; no small feat for an early '70s luxury touring car. It is fitted with the self leveling hydro-pneumatic suspension that was made famous by the earlier DS. Four wheel disc brakes provided for the shortest stopping distance of any car tested up to that point. The suspension system was set up so that under hard braking the car would lower evenly.

The styling is so awesomely French!
Supposedly you could drive this car for hours at 120mph with no discomfort, achieving 19 mpg the whole time. The steering took some serious getting used to however. It is a unique variable powered assist that allowed for no road feel at all. Citroën recommended 50 miles of careful driving to get used to the steering as it was so sensitive. I've never driven (or ridden) in one of these but accounts are that once you get over the learning curve other cars feel archaic and old fashioned to steer.

To add to the futurism the windshield wipers detect rain when set to the lowest setting and will turn on and off as needed. This is a feature just becoming more common now. If we could pop the hood you would see a bizarre sight; a pair of honeydew melon sized spheres painted forest green are on the top sides of the motor, attached to two green tanks. They are the hydro-pneumatic suspension components but they look crazy to the uninitiated.
This car came about because Citroën bought Maserati in 1968 and they decided to marry the high performance motor to this design which was already years in the making. Unfortunately that means maintaining one of these involves a Maserati specialist and a Citroën mechanic.
The lovely sensualists of France underestimated the immovable and indifferent federal safety regulators of the U.S. and assumed they would get an exemption to the 5mph crash safety bumper regulations coming due in 1974. They did not and as a result the SM stopped being imported overnight. It is a shame as this car represented a bright future in automotive design where speed, efficiency, and pure style could work in harmony. Instead we kept producing bloated dinosaurs until the industry almost totally collapsed at the end of the decade.
Viva la France (and Italy)!

White brick in Red Hook

WHITE BRICK IN RED HOOK

I was making my way past Sunny's Bar out in Red Hook when this slab of cream cheese presented itself:

This is a 1972-1974 Ford E-200 Super Van in Wimbledon White. This thing rules! the hood is so tiny because most of the engine is accessed from the inside. You can basically check the oil and top off the radiator only from the front.

Take a look at this plain-Jane face. This is the stripped down model with zero chrome or frills whatsoever. The entire grill would be chrome on the higher end vans as well as the bumpers. If you had a small business and needed basic transportation this was the ride for you.

Scrapes and scuffs are the hallmarks of a working vehicle. Having no window on the sliding side door means this is truly the base model.

I love these lunchbox rides. You know this thing doesn't live in a city because it would be tagged to high heaven. Parking it in front of a Red Hook bar for more than 20 minutes invites writers.
Super Van is written on that lower-right emblem. I believe it denotes a slightly more comfortable interior because there's nothing about the outside that says Super.

I've owned a few ford vans over the years from the 1988-1989 model years and from the rear they look the same as this one. In many ways the Ford trucks and vans were extensions of the Model T; basic and ready to work with great economy. 

This is basically a portable storage unit.

I love the plainness of this slab side. I wouldn't be able to leave well enough alone with so much canvas space but with the white bumpers and mirrors it looks pretty neat.

Econoline is just what it sounds like. The 200 designation denotes its hauling ability. There is a 100 (1/2 ton) and 300 (1 ton) as well as this 3/4 ton version.

This hardy beast has the 3 on the tree manual transmission mated to what is probably a straight 6 cylinder engine. There were 2 different sixes; a 240 and the 300. In addition a 302 V8 was available but when the van is this basic I figure it's a 6.

Just about the only styling on this entire rig is that eyebrow line that goes down the length of the side and under the taillights. 

Alright that's what I'm talking about! This box contains 2 bikes hidden within. You can conquer the country with this setup. *I dig how the construction of these is so basic that you can see where the windows would be in the sliding door had it been so equipped. 

Well that's where I'll leave this sweet beast. When I walked by a few hours after taking these pics I saw the couple that owns this ride sitting on folding chairs behind the open rear doors. They were barbecuing on a tiny camp sized charcoal grill looking like they might as well just head out across the country that moment. The Jersey plate seemed almost too close for people packing motorcycles and a grill but who am I to deny those who know how to live?
Hats off you flat faced brick! See you in the Hook.

Puerto Rican pony con Señor Frijole!

PUERTO RICAN PONY CON SEÑOR FRIJOLE!

I was walking into Red Hook from the area around the Hugh Carey Tunnel (that's the Brooklyn Battery to you ol' timers) when I saw the most Puerto Ricanist car ever!

¡Mano! This is a 1971 Ford Mustang Mach-1 in flat black with the Puerto Rican flag straight-up painted onto the hood.

The Mach-1 gave you a spoiler, this double scoop hood, a wing, and some graphics. Who's that behind the wheel?

BWAHH HA HA HA yes! Mr. Bean's face was hanging down from the visor in a supreme move of goofy humor.

I've featured all kinds of Mustangs lately because it seems that they're head to head with old Cadillacs in sheer numbers on the Brooklyn streets. I won't bother with too much in the way of actual information on this ride.

Around the time of the annual Puerto Rican Day Parade in NYC you see cars draped with flags. There are always a few folks who take an entire flag and wrap their hood but I've never seen it painted on until now.

Back in 2014 I featured a '71 Mach-1 in the factory color Anti Establish Mint (a type of mint green). *This year/make/model was also the star of 2 very different car chases. The first was piloted by James Bond in Diamonds are Forever. Bumbling yokel cops frantically try to catch up on the old Las Vegas strip circa 1971.
The other is one of the longest (if not the longest) car chase ever! The LOW budget original Gone in 60 Seconds finishes up with a 45 minute extravaganza through the whole of Southern California. Over 200 cars are wrecked in the process. When I was 12 years old I bowed down before 2 gods: this terrible movie and the Road Warrior.

What do you get when you mix a deadly viper with a fox? COBRA!

HISSSSSSSSS! DEADLY COBRA STRIKES!

Yesterday I featured a faded raspberry Mustang GT from the early '80s. Providence Pete snapped these pics recently and sent them along to me. This is the exact model that yesterdays GT replaced!

This is a 1979 Ford Mustang Cobra in White with a fantastically awesome decal on the hood. We know it's a '79 due to this egg crate grill that lasted for only 1 year.

Turbo?!? Yes indeed Ford got into the turbocharging game along with GM at the end of the Malaise Era. In this case it's a 2.3 liter 4 cylinder. The overall horsepower was a low 117 with only 135 lbs of torque. This was not a sprightly car by any stretch, reaching a top speed of only 112mph! However the 5.0 liter 302 V8 available for this year was detuned and lethargic, sipping too much gas through its carb while delivering a pitiful 140 horsepower. Top speed on the V8 was just 120mph (116 with the auto trans). The one thing the Turbo Cobra delivered was better gas mileage.  

These Fox Body Mustangs are looking better by the year though. The crisp, angular styling is pre-'80s appropriate without being too severe. I dig the original rims on this ride too. Every '79 Cobra had the bottom half of the body and bumpers blacked out like this.

The Cobra option package added a cool $1,200 to the base price of the Mustang; no small cost in 1979. That decal on the hood didn't even come with it but was an additional $78. How could you not order it if you were already ordering the Cobra package?

Inside we see the floor mounted 4 speed manual transmission. It looks like this not only has an 8 track player installed, but there's a tape hanging out of it too! The steering wheel is sporty enough but that center cap is not where the horn is located. Like the Fairmont the horn is activated by pressing the turn signal stalk in towards the column. Frustrating in an actual emergency to be slamming on the steering wheel in silent fury!

Who knows why this car is so immaculate? It's not the sort of classic that will give you a big return on your investment if you restore it. There might be a clue in this pic though; even though the original purchaser opted for a rear window wiper there doesn't seem to be a rear defroster on the glass. My guess is that this car comes from somewhere warm and dry like SoCal.

Another 1 year only Cobra detail are the lower headrests on the front seats. Starting in '80 they were much higher, basically framing the shape of your head as opposed to bracing your neck.

These faux louvers behind the rear window were black on all non-Cobra Mustangs.

This interior view shows the TURBOCHARGED emblem on the dash.

I've seen some '79 Cobras that had the COBRA decal on the rear of the door too. I don't know if that's a personal choice after a repaint or if there was variation at the factory.

Well that's that for the coolest/goofiest looking Mustang of all time! The smaller Mustang II had Cobra and King Cobra editions that sported even bigger graphics and lettering but I think this psychedelic image takes the cake. In researching this ride I've seen lots of complaints on the fragility of the engine inner workings and turbo system itself. Since the payout is meager horsepower and merely acceptable gas mileage I don't know what the point would be of restoring one of these unless you were a serious Mustang collector. Still if one came along running well for cheap I would happily grab some orange reflective Oakleys off eBay and crank the Toni Basil while cruising to the arcade!

*Here's a bonus clip of 72 year old Toni Basil rocking some dance moves that are genuinely astonishing. Go Toni! You're almost forgiven for writing a catchy bubble gum hit with a name that sounds exactly like mine (all Rickys my age will agree).

The forgotten Monte Carlo

THE FORGOTTEN MONTE CARLO

I was a block from the shop one recent morning when I saw this beauty idling in front of a deli:

This is a 1978 Chevrolet Monte Carlo in some sort of Black Cherry (I couldn't find an exact match for GM in 1978). This was a very short-lived generation of Monte, built for only 3 years; '78-'80. 

I love this forward leaning facade in its simplicity. There was originally a stand-up hood ornament on this ride but to me it looks better without it. That V shape on the hood mimics the prow of a ship like the much bigger '73-'77 Monte. This generation weighed 800lbs less than its predecessor and is a full 15" shorter. That one big square headlight on each side is a vast improvement over the stacked square headlights of the '77.

Two out of the Big 3 automakers had transitional years between the largess of the '70s and the more compact '80s (Chrysler decided not to participate and their enormous dinosaurs almost sank the company in the process). Ford had a particularly awkward Thunderbird for 2 years based on the Fox body Fairmont. Chevy did a much better job with this Monte. It has many of the hallmarks of the huge ride it replaced but doesn't look like an incapable afterthought. Indeed with some noticeable changes this body continued on through the late '80s.

The owner of this ride was standing next to it and was enthusiastic when I asked if I could snap a few pics. He confirmed that it had the original 305 V8 under the hood. The base engine was a 231 V6 borrowed from Buick. You could get a manual transmission for your Monte Carlo for the first time in several years in '78. A 3 speed was the base offering (listed as standard equipment with the V6) and a 4 speed was optional with the 305.

There were a couple of odd drivetrain choices which are now pretty scarce. One was a diesel 350 V8 built by the Oldsmobile division. The ultimate rarity for this generation Monte is the 1980-only Turbo Monte Carlo that used Buick's 231 V6. Finding one now would be pretty astonishing as it was a single year model without the support of a large ad campaign like the turbo Buicks. 

This ride is immaculate. I was actually offered a free '78 Monte back in high school. It was light brown with 1 purple door and it had no reverse. I was close to accepting it but due to an embarrassment of riches I passed it up (in those days free cars that ran were fairly common and running wrecks that cost less than $500 were all over the place). I did like the body style and still do.

Well that's where I'll leave this swoopy Chevy. The owner was rightfully proud of his ride and said it came from the midwest originally. Finding a rust free example is getting tougher by the year. If you encountered one of these for sale relatively cheap it would be a great purchase as everything that can wear out on this ride is available today. If you do buy one you can put a little distance between you and the crowd.