Antique Buick in Antique Gold

ANTIQUE BUICK IN ANTIQUE GOLD

I had a rare bout of insomnia recently and decided to bike out to Brighton Beach at dawn. On the way back I took 86th Street past the Dyker Beach Golf Course. Look what I found waiting to tee up!

This is a 1969 Buick Electra 225 in Antique Gold Poly. Talk about stage presence! With a wheelbase 1" larger than the behemoths that preceded it the '69 Electra is large and in charge. From the front the lines are straight as an arrow. Rarely do you see a raised middle section of a hood that doesn't open up towards the windshield in a V shape.

The wipers are concealed below the hood adding to the clean look. The split grill is housed within a double loop bumper that pretty much incorporates the entire front of the car.

That swooping accent line going down the side was a Buick hallmark for '69 that can also be seen on the Skylark (the Riviera was the lone holdout). Above the front wheels you can see the now stylized Buick portholes. The portholes were officially named Cruiser-Line Ventiports when they were introduced on 1949 Buick. Back then they were functional in taking heat away from the engine. They became synonymous for Buick and were added in one form or another to most of their cars for decades.

This old girl's resting on semi deflated tires. The paint is faded completely and surface rust is emerging but for the most part this thing looks solid.

That Sweep Spear (as that swooping body line is known) really helps to keep this massive brick dynamic.

I love how unforgiving the rear end of these land yachts are. The '65-'67 taillights spanned the full width of the car and just look incredible. Starting in '68 we see this treatment with the license plate in the middle but the overall look is still substantial.

Of course the trunk is as big as you can imagine. Even a full size spare does nothing to take away from the truly colossal square footage inside this beast.

While you could specify a plain metal roof for your Electra we know this one had vinyl at one time. The chrome line running from the rear quarter window under the back window is the clue. This owner was smart to remove it because anything less than totally dry and pristine means the metal underneath will rot out.

It was a quiet block with nobody around so I didn't want to get right up to the window. Looking at it now I think this thing is unlocked though; watch out people!
The interior can ferry 6 well fed adults in ocean liner comfort. There were no manual transmissions available for this car; that wasn't the point!

Beneath this mighty hood lies the 430 V8 rated at 360 horsepower! Don't worry about the gas mileage. Feel confident in the fact that you can tow a large boat or camper, pull stumps out of the east, or simply lay strips until your tires dissolve. 

I found a commercial for the 1967 Electra that sums up the ride quality so well that I thought I'd include it here even though the year is different. The thought of combining glasses of wine and a car speaks to a simpler, more naive time!

Well at this point the sun was just coming up and I needed to head home for coffee. There seem to be a decent amount of these full size Buick sprinkled about Brooklyn, 2nd only to vintage Cadillacs. Speaking of Cadillac this ride is very similar, sharing the underpinnings with the Coupe DeVille. If you love big American iron and want a classic to use daily I highly recommend an old Buick. 

Show Car Sunday returns with a sleek British sports car - Spitfire!

SPITFIRE!

Spring has sprung and the weather here in NYC today is beautiful so it's time to break out some sporty fair weather rides. Check out the following perfect East Village scene where the car and house behind it seem to go together flawlessly:

This is a 1969 Triumph Spitfire Mk3 in Black. It is beautiful, sporty, and as classy as can be.

Look at this fresh faced little looker!

It's hard to imagine a more eager, happy car with its big chrome smile and bright eyes. Are you telling me you wouldn't accept if this car asked you out on a date?

The one blemish on this entire vehicle is the dot on the center of the bumper. What would Lauren Hutton be without the gap in her smile, or Kirk Douglas without a cleft chin? Unfortunately we can see from the angle of the bumper that it has been in a minor parking scuffle. A pox on the house of whoever backed into this beauty!

Austin-Healey came out with the sporty Sprite in '58 and Triumph decide to counter with their own drop top. The Spitfire was introduced in 1962 based on the underpinnings of the Triumph Herald. I happen to love the Herald as well which was a more upright passenger car.

This ride is sporting a set of original knock-off spoke wheels. The center is a huge bolt that requires a large wrench. You can use a mallet on the wrench to "knock off" the wheels. Legit!

This handle is just behind the front wheels. When both sides are pulled you can lift the entire front end forward on hinges to work on the engine. When the front is open you have remarkable access for repairs since only the lowest edge of the body remains.

This thing looks like pure fun. They came from the factory with a soft convertible top but hardtops were available too.

Those dual exhausts are connected to a 1296cc inline 4 cylinder engine good for a mere 75 or so horsepower. Being that this is such a diminutive car it was enough for a 95mph top speed (that's PLENTY when you're almost sitting on the ground looking up at the bumpers of cars around you!). Mileage was good too averaging around 33mpg. Automatics transmissions were NOT available thankfully. This is a sports car, remember? 

The Mark III ran from '67-'70 and represented the first major facelift of what was a less sexy Spitfire (in my opinion). In many ways this is the best era for a U.S. spec Spitfire. Starting in 1970 changes were made to comply with safety and emissions regulations. The '69 retains its purity.

I want to run up and jump into this thing to make my escape!

The gas cap is that chrome circle on the top center of the body. Filling up without spilling a drop is almost impossible! Some care goes into maintaining this mirror finish.

This is a straight-up pure sports car interior. Not only is there no radio, there is no place for a radio! There were radios available to be installed from the dealership that were mounted under the center dash. That dash is made of wood for the last time in '69, to be replaced with a matte black finish in '70. Dig the ashtray on the dash top! Armrests? Forget it.

British cars from this era all share a fatal flaw: Lucas wiring. The weaknesses and quirks of British automotive wiring are legendary, with ever a slight drizzle causing the car to stall, lights to go out, horn to stick on, etc. If you pick any British sports car up I HIGHLY recommend redoing the entire wiring harness immediately. We're talking seriously basic wiring by the way, especially on these earlier models.

For such a wonderfully sexy little car you don't even have to shell out much cash. I found several well maintained examples for sale under $10,000 and even a museum condition show car seems to top out around 15. With a garage space, wiring diagram, and a little tinkering you could have yourself a hilariously fun summertime cruiser for the price of a used Honda. On days like today when the sun is shining and temp climbing into the 60s I can't imagine a better ride.

Show Car Sunday returns with the first edition of the Mach-1

THE FIRST MACH-1

On a brutally hot Oregon afternoon I passed by the house of an obvious Mustang enthusiast. In addition to the ride I'm featuring today you can see that black fastback in the rear. There were at least a couple others as well from various vintages. This beauty was show-car perfect though. Behold!

This is a 1969 Ford Mustang Mach-1 in Candy Apple Red. This is the first year for the popular Mach-1 edition which was mostly an exterior dress-up package. The only performance upgrades were a competition suspension and Goodyear Polyglas tires. There were no 6 cylinder engines available with the Mach-1 which is not really an upgrade in itself but more of a performance bare-minimum.

Whatever! This thing looks hungry and determined.

The Mustang was so incredibly popular that there were 6 factory performance packages available in '69: GT, Boss 302, Boss 429, Shelby GT350, Shelby GT500, and the Mach-1. The Shelbys these days are worth crazy money - well into the 6 figures territory today. After '69 the regular GT was dropped as the Mach-1 dwarfed it in sales.

This was the only body style for the Mach-1 in '69. Called the Sportsroof in Ford literature it was basically the fastback. Louvers were available and look great on these rides.

The  mach 1  name would continue to be spelled out in lower case letters through 1978 when it was discontinued. The name did return on certain high performance 2003 and 2004 Mustangs before vanishing for good.
This car really is in near-perfect condition; just look at the lower body and paint.

This is my favorite year for Mustang. The first generation is a bit delicate to be called a muscle car in my opinion, and the generation after this is huge and somewhat bloated (though I do love them too). This era has an air of power and athleticism. You could order just about any engine including a fire breathing 428 V8 that would battle just about anything off the line.

Here we have a classic car fetish of mine on full display: white interior! That seat style with the red stripe near the top is correct for the Mach-1. The faux wooden door panel is correct period!
*Notice the shoulder seat belt dangling from the ceiling. These were options at this point that were held up on clips along the headliner until a passenger elected to use them.

This hood scoop and flat black hood are both features of the Mach-1. The scoop is just for looks as there isn't even a hole through the hood underneath it. The 351 badge on the side indicates that this is equipped with the 5.8 Liter V8 motor. 

Those hood pins with tie downs are also Mach-1 items.
To me this is the perfect Mustang. Parts are so common as to be universally available. If originality isn't your thing you can take a 6 cylinder Mustang from this year and build a faux Mach-1 from scratch with a catalog and a large credit card limit. This one looked like it was 100% legit.

Wildcat!

WILDCAT!

On a late winter day I saw this sweet cruiser poised and ready to pounce out between Sheepshead Bay and Gerritsen Beach. The lighting and lack of leaves really make this seem like a still shot from the French Connection. This is the sort of car that looks like it belongs on a stakeout!

This is a 4 door 1969 Buick Wildcat in Verde Green Poly. It is a full-size, very powerful sedan with almost no flash whatsoever.

Dating a Buick in this era is easy as the grill and taillights change at least subtley every year. This was the only year for the headlights to be tucked so far in from the outer edges of the car. Its sibling the Riviera had headlights even closer together to the point where it looked a bit ridiculous. 

I totally dig the tops of the fenders becoming the leading edges of the front. The grill is nestled into a massive loop bumper.

Under the hood lies a 430 V8 good for 360 horsepower and a whopping 475 lbs of torque. This was exactly the sort of engine that could make a huge car like this scream off the line. The 430 was a blip in Buick history as it was introduced in '67 and was replaced in '70 by the 455.

Here we see the full scope of this monster. Can you imagine parallel parking this ride?

I think Buick had some of the most balanced designs for their full size cars. No doubt about it this beast is enormous but it manages to retain a bit of athleticism with its open rear wheel wells.

Buick had been known for its portholes for decades but the Wildcat got these faux gills. The writing on the emblem could not look cooler! It has its original set of hubcaps complete with a screaming wildcat head in the center.

Those swooping flares starting at the front of the wheel wells and continuing towards the rear help keep this design from seeming bloated. If this came with fender skirts and had flat sides it would seem like the laziest slab barely able to get up from its La-Z-Boy.

Buick was just beneath Cadillac in the General Motors hierarchy so quality details abound. The delicate chrome trim outlining the trunk lid and quarter panels all contribute to the sense of class.

Looks like this car was sold new in upstate Liberty, New York which makes its overall condition all the more remarkable. This also tells us that this Wildcat retains its original paint!

This thing looks ready to give the cops a run for their money. 6 adults would have no problem being comfortable in this beast.

The horn pad is kind of a strange shape on this ride, but then again so is the placement of the headlight switch up there with the gauges. That 120 mph speedometer is no joke; this 4,332lb car could get up to at least 125mph from the factory! There is something unique to being in an enormous car above 100mph. The sensation is one of floating, almost like riding low swells in a boat. The fact that you could hit triple digits in this thing with some passengers while listening to the radio in somewhat quiet luxury is even more impressive.

Well we'll leave this musclebound yacht to enjoy its golden years by the beach. One unfortunate yet small detail is the dent above the drivers window, almost like someone got one swing of the bat in before they made their escape!

The Wildcat came in 2 and 4 door hardtop as well as convertible so this is the least desirable body style. For this to survive it must've been a family car tucked away in a garage living a simple life. I'm happy it's still rolling the streets almost 50 years after it left the factory. Roll on Wildcat!

Almost mint condition grocery getter from 47 years ago

LEAST LIKELY TO SURVIVE SURVIVOR

I was riding my bike out to the Rockaways when I passed this anomaly parked at a dealership:

How? Why? Who knows but this is certainly a 1969 Dodge Coronet 440 in plain-ass White. How it survived in this condition is a true mystery that must have included a garage and a little old lady. This was the year that the iconic General Lee Dodge Charger of The Dukes of Hazzard fame was built. The same company made the Super Bee and Coronet RT performance models. Yet somebody went into the Dodge dealership in '69 and shook their head no to every nicety, probably clutching an ad with the base price listed on it.

The front and rear styling are identical to its fire breathing siblings but otherwise this is the classic grocery getter 4 door. I'm always more fascinated to discover a well preserved basic classic that wouldn't be worth restoring financially than a high dollar model. You can turn on the Barret Jackson auction and see Chargers and Super Bees cross the block all day long but how often do you see this?

That single strip of chrome on the lower body means that this is the 440 model. Confusingly this does not mean the engine is a 440. In fact you couldn't get a 440 V8 in this trim level; you would need to order an R/T for that. Chances are excellent that this came with the 318 V8 or even the base 225 Slant-6, maybe with a three-on-the-tree.
The 440 sat below the Coronet 500 and above the base model Deluxe in the hierarchy. The lowly Deluxe had no side chrome whatsoever and could be had with black rubber mats instead of carpet, and no heater installed if you were really cheap.
Those little objects on top of the fenders above the headlights contain fiber optic cables that go to the turn signals so the driver can see when the bulb needs replacing.

Too bad somebody smashed the window and scuffed up the rear quarter because otherwise this car looks to be in mint original condition. Those dog dish hubcaps add to the frugality. Many of these 4 doors were fleet vehicles that lived brutal lives as taxis and police cars.

The taillight treatment can help identify the trim level too; the 500 would have had three large rectangular openings with the center one being a reflector that looked like the taillights. On this ride the inboard 2 lenses are reverse lights.
It might seem strange to have a raised line running down the center of the trunk lid but it was to add rigidity to what was basically a huge flat sheet of metal.

I was genuinely shocked to see this parked at a dealership with 69 in the window like that was the sort of thing they sell every day. Months later I saw this same car parked in front of a garage elsewhere in Brooklyn so somebody took it home. I myself would be proud to lean back over the front seat and manually crank down the back windows for a cruise in this beast. Hopefully since it made it this far it will continue to be loved and cared for.

Upstate blacked-out droptop ready to scare children

UNBELIEVABLE UPSTATE FIND!
I was driving around upstate with a friend of mine last year when we passed this angry beast sulking in a driveway. Making an immediate u-turn was a no brainer!

This evil looking angry bastard of a car is a 1969 Ford Galaxie 500 convertible in what might have been Presidential Blue or Acapulco Blue. When you look at this thing it is BLACK. However in 1969 that horizontal bar in the middle of the grill matched the original body color, and this one looks blue to me. *That hood scoop is not original by the way. The power headlights are vacuum operated so too bad if you have a slight hose leak. You could easily end up with one eye open.

This is a full-size car weighing in at around 4,400 lbs. As a convertible it achieves full cruising status with room for 5 lounging adults and multiple 6-packs. I mean, it's 1969! Seat belts were only mandatory the year before this came out.

The lines of this barge are pretty straight and clean. That gas filler door is open because you might as well just leave it that way as mileage was around 9-12 per gallon.

Okay please people leave the GT steering wheels alone! They're like a pricey version of fuzzy dice in that both do ZERO for your ride. The bones of this car are awesome though; wrap around dash and gauge cluster, console with a sweet slapstick shifter, just enough faux wood to let you know the '70s ought to be here any minute.

Wait a minute; this changes everything! Yes even as big as this car is that little 429 badge means there is a fire breathing 360 horsepower engine within producing a massive 480 lbs of torque! Being a '69 means that this motor is breathing free and guzzling all the leaded gas you can dump in it. You could just stomp the pedal to the floor and the car would probably burn its tires right off the rims.

Rough, dirty, painted spray can black with a chintzy scoop slapped on, and freaking bricks laying on the hood all mean nothing! This car is cool as hell and I want it want it want it. It was autumn in Amenia when I passed this and I have no idea what I would do with this monster in the city during winter (if it even started, etc etc etc). However this is what I believe muscle cars from the late '60s should be; a slightly too big, too powerful, convertible demon ready to eat up every one of your dollars. Viva la Galaxie!