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Post by Volktales on Jun 18, 2023 21:16:21 GMT -8
Well today was the day. Up bright and early and time to finally take the Corvair on a bigger road trip.  All polished up and ready for action. Just waiting for Brian and Don to show up with their chosen vehicles...  And make it we did! Shown here in the staging lanes before moving to our final parking area...  And the three of us in a nice spot on the lowest street. Don's SAAB popped a brake light fuse, but otherwise had no issues getting him to the show with a big grin on his face!  Brian was smiling too, after arriving in his '72. He always is smiling when behind the wheel of his VW bus!  And the Corvair ready for its first real show. I displayed it with the empty trunk open, but the engine compartment shut to see if it would blow some minds. People of a certain age always know what it is and where the engine is located. But those below a certain age have no idea what the car even is, and many were confused to see the "engine compartment" was empty. One guy asked me sincerely if it was some kind of electric car... Then it was off to the show. But first it was time for the traditional Shriner's breakfast. I don't know what they slipped into the pancakes this year, but they just might have been the best pancakes I have ever had! I could have eaten a dozen of them... Then it was off to pull out the old camera and start take dozens of photographs... But you will have to wait for those because bedtime beckons... |
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Post by clay on Jun 19, 2023 9:54:05 GMT -8
Yep, you got my daughter with it! I thought she'd seen Corvairs before but maybe not with the hood/trunk open.
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Post by PICTUP on Jun 19, 2023 14:05:49 GMT -8
But first it was time for the traditional Shriner's breakfast. I don't know what they slipped into the pancakes this year, but they just might have been the best pancakes I have ever had! I could have eaten a dozen of them... And here they are at the starting line just as the gun had gone off. I think Brian was in an early lead as Russ prepped his meal.  But the lead was short lived as Russ powered up  For reference, here Russ is in, I think, 2019  I didn't take many pics as I don't generally know what I am looking at, other than to say, "That's cool". So I leave it to Russ. But here are few before the "real"pics are posted: Nice Datsun 510. Loved the colour on this. More than a few 510's there, all pretty nice, some with choice driver mods  Could a car be called "Swinger" these days? This one and another very similar belonged to the same guy. Russ has better pics. Very nice cars  Always had a soft spot for these even before they became popular. I learned to drive on one in our small horse field. It wasn't as "Bitchen" as this though  Love that low optioned stock look. This colour is a fave too.  I think this might have been missing a flat hitch and a long trailer.  To each their own. On modified collector plates. Modified? I'll say. Russ liked these kind of lights on some of the vehicles on display...not. An added bonus here was that they had skulls in them. Again, to each their own...  Mr Ottobus's Bug I believe  I am a sucker for commercial restorations for some reason  RHD Golf. Yup you read that right. Probably goes a bit faster than my Saab, lol!  I liked most everything about this traditional hot rod. Reminded me of looking at Hot Rod Magazine as a youth  Our little line up before calling it a day  |
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Post by Volktales on Jun 19, 2023 20:09:26 GMT -8
Ok, here we go...  After stuffing my face, this was the first car that I took a picture of. Why? This is the only Corvette of that generation that I actually like. Built a model of this a LOOOONG time ago and liked the colours on this one.  The silver (not grey) interiors on these was always special too. Never gonna have a desire to own any Vette, though...  I always have liked Mustangs, and this '66 with GT stripes looked pretty good.  These Volvo "Amazon" models were well respected when new and it is nice to see one today.  This Datsun 510 was one of many at the show. These cars were special in their time for well performing engines and IRS suspension made them handle well. They were one of the earlier Japanese cars that were saved...  All the ones at the show were modified to varying degrees. No two doors though, which would be my favourite of course...  This '54 Bel-Air made me smile. Why? When I was a kid, the neighbour in the alley had one as her only car that lived in a tiny garage. The same colour as the one in the picture too. Except her's was so rusty, that she worried it might break in half every time she drove it! Eventually her son in law had it restored for her and it looked great!  I have never been a huge Mopar fan, as my parents never had one. But I always liked these Dodge Darts, and this one has the high performance 340 under the hood. As Don noted earlier, this was the "Swinger" model.  And it was thoroughly restored in all places. Very nice! Then two cars away from this was an near identical Dart Swinger that also was impeccably restored in the same colour. And owned by the same guy! Guess he REALLY liked this model... Continued... |
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Post by Volktales on Jun 19, 2023 20:29:23 GMT -8
 And here was the first VW spotted, a '69 Karmann Ghia. I meant to have a closer look later, but forgot of course. It was starting to get crowded, and harder to get pictures of some cars...  And this was one of my favourites that day. A 1964 Continental convertible in Tuxedo Black. These are one of the most classy cars ever made, and certainly one of the highest quality Ford products ever made.  The suicide doors were open to show off that sumptuous black leather interior. I would take mine in hardtop form, with black paint and a red interior thank you very much...  This was a very wild custom first generation Camaro with tons of modifications. Don's OCD was fully triggered by this one...  There were too many people to get a good outside shot, but check out that full custom interior. Someone spent the big dough on this one...  I REALLY liked this '65 Chevrolet Impala wagon. The colour and rims were just right. 1965 was a huge year for GM, which sold 803,400 Impalas alone that year!  Yes, they were very good cars too. Hard to imagine there was a time when GM owned the marketplace. Would you believe GM sold 2,382,509 cars in 1965? Wow!  Another Chevy wagon was this 1958 Brookwood. And yes I liked it too...  I could not get a good shot of the Jaguar E-type on display, but at least here is its famous engine to drool over a bit. Amazing cars and they were not considered that expensive when new either. Definitely are expensive now....  A neat old '37 Ford truck. You just know I love fatty whitewalls... Continued... |
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Post by Volktales on Jun 19, 2023 20:43:09 GMT -8
 This '32 Ford roadster was one of Brian's favourites. He checked the body and quickly realized that it was highly unlikely there was any 1932 era parts on this car at all...  This early 60's Chevrolet had six cylinder power, and was one of several trucks there that did not feature the ubiquitous LS Whatever swap...  And another VW, this time Lance's late bay sporting its fresh new paint and trim.  He put a lot of time and $$$ into this to get it to this level...  The engine was all gone through and detail painted as well. I would have stuck with the original fuel injection, though, but that is just me.. Lance apparently won a trophy for his bus too, so I am sure he was pleased...  This Ford track roadster was well done and looked pretty sweet.  The flatty was a tight squeeze in there. In fact everything was well thought out on this car. Heard it run later and was much quieter than I would have imagined...  And another Beetle, but forgot what the owners name was. (Extremely common with me...) Continued... |
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Post by Volktales on Jun 19, 2023 21:00:59 GMT -8
 And one for Clay. This was a very nice 1968 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442. I liked that shade of green, too.  These were nice cars, and I liked the regular Cutlass models from then too. There used to be a lime green hardtop that sat in a backyard near my parent's house for some time. Wonder what happened to that one...  The interiors in those cars were a nice place to be as well...  This iconic Chevrolet is a 1957 Nomad, which was "sporty" model wagon in Chevy's lineup at the time. This one is not quite original...  It was well done though, and surprisingly a standard transmission too. Had the usual LS swap...  Can't go wrong with a '55 Ford Crown Victoria. This was another car that early on people saved because they knew they were special. Would have been powered by a 292 Y-block V8...  I like big Pontiacs, and this '63 Parisienne was looking great.  I still like '67 Cougars, and sometimes miss my old Jamaican Yellow version. Picture this blue one in Yellow, and that is exactly what mine looked like, down to the factory optional "Styled Steel Wheels".  Mine didn't have the cool promotional toy in the back window like his did, though...  And here is another Chevrolet Impala, this time a 1958 model. This was the first year for name Impala, and was the fanciest full size Chevy you could buy. That continental kit on the back was optional, but many restored cars feature it today.  The Impala models featured a tri-tone interior, and looked pretty sweet... Continued... |
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Post by Volktales on Jun 19, 2023 21:17:51 GMT -8
 This '58 Studebaker was quite rough, but this picture serves a purpose. See how the headlights don't really fit the fenders, and there are add-on bulges bolted to the sheet metal? Studebaker did not have the money to tool up new fenders to accommodate the then brand new quad headlight setup. But they really wanted the trendy newly approved lighting, so they had make do by "adapting the twin beams onto the "single beam" fender. The rest of the car was not exactly pretty, either...  And this of course is a 1960 Thunderbird, similar to my own '59 version. These models were known as the "Squarebirds" for obvious reasons. (That is if you know what the following generations looked like...)  The fancy interiors were their main claim to fame. These cars are unit construction, and so low that the huge central tunnel for the driveshaft and transmission would be very visible. So Ford capitalized on this and made it into a giant console as the focal point. This was the first time this was done in a passenger car, and it started a design trend still in effect today...  A 1960 Dodge Pioneer is quite the rare machine.  You won't be seeing too many of those cruising around your neighbourhood...  And here is a mechanical marvel, a 1958 Ford Fairlane Skyliner. It was the world's first production car retractable hardtop. Although I have seen these before, I have never seen one in operation. The owner displayed it for us, and I think Don may have a video...  Off course the mechanism was highly complex, and took up a LOT of the trunk space. That metal box is the only space you have for luggage at all! Many more pictures to come, but once again it is nearing bed time and I need my beauty sleep... More to come tomorrow... |
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Post by clay on Jun 19, 2023 22:34:41 GMT -8
I think the blue/white Bug owner's name was Ken. I think.
That was definitely a nice '68 442. Wanted to talk to the owner but he was never there when I was. Don't think I've seen it before but hopefully it will be out again!
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Post by Volktales on Jun 20, 2023 18:04:48 GMT -8
 And now for a few "modern" vehicles. This is a very tricked out Subaru. I still think the camber thing looks ridiculous, but apparently I am not cool.  I do enjoy looking at JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) cars, as they were usually much more interesting than what we generally were able to buy here. This is a Nissan Stagea.  I like wagons, and these things are pretty interesting...  Racing seats in the interior is a common mod on the JDM stuff...  Well it is not a Japanese car, but it is JDM of a sort. This is a right hand drive Mark 3 golf originally sold in Japan. Unusual spec with the seldom seen 1.8 liter low performance engine. The 1.8 throttle body injection cars were sold here but were not very popular.  This is a wide body Honda Integra (yes the Acura name was not used in Japan).  And how about this Honda Odyssey??? Our versions were very dull and boring in comparison .  That looks pretty funky...  Brian was lamenting that he had not seen any Porsches. Well we did find a 911 after a while. Brian used to own a couple back in the day including a '67 911 S. What would that be worth nowadays??? Continued... |
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Post by Volktales on Jun 20, 2023 18:23:21 GMT -8
 Now back to the good stuff. This '56 American built Pontiac could be yours as it was for sale. Don't remember the exact price, but probably was not cheap...  Or how about a car line that expired in 1961. That was the very last year they made DeSotos, which were positioned just below Chrysler in their model lineup.  This four-door sedan was built in 1940 and was in really nice condition. You have to wonder how a car like that has somehow managed to survive for the last 83 years...  This car interested me due to its rarity. What is it you say???  The last of the Chargers, and a Sport model as well. I think it was a '76. Would have been rare enough when new, let alone today...  And one for Dave. A Bricklin of course. Made in Canada don't you know...  Had a nice dashboard in it as well. Gullwing doors are always quite special...  Here is the interior in a '62 Thunderbird convertible, showing of the fancy cockpit these cars were famous for...  And yet another wagon, this time a '55 Ford. Did I mention I like fatty whitewalls???  Brian liked this 1965 Mercury Comet Caliente, which was the top model in that year. He once owned one back in the day as well... Continued... |
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Post by Volktales on Jun 20, 2023 18:57:30 GMT -8
 And now some more biggies, this time a '68 Impala convertible. Black was not a common colour on these cars, and I wonder how many of them were made.  Now here is one of my all time favourite Pontiacs. This is a '65 Parisienne, and I love that colour!  Interior is very nice as well. It was pointed out to me that I could only fit a couple of these in my garage instead of the seven smaller cars that are currently jammed in there... Where is that winning lotto ticket and the warehouse that goes with it???  You can't go wrong with a '55 Chevrolet Bel-Air. Simply one of the best GM cars ever made. Birthplace of the small block Chevrolet V8 in case you didn't know...  Love the dash design on these cars. My Dad had a '55 Bel-Air convertible back in the late '50s, and it was one of his favourite cars for sure.  And another Beetle on display, this was Brett's Turkis '62. Love the colour...  Not particularly a fan of T-buckets, but they were once a thing. What interested me about this one, was that it clearly was built in the 1960's and had not changed at all since then. A real time capsule...  And now a 1962 Corvette. Brian was all over this one, as he once owned one of these too. In fact there is a chance that this could even be the same car he once owned, as it was exactly the same spec as his was...  Under the hood was a large toy Corvette that I did not recognize at all (it looked quite old, and was not a model kit).  This is a different Corvette, but shows of the sweet dashboard of these cars.  Once again Brian once owned one of these, a '68 Firebird. His was a green 400 hardtop which featured a hood mounted tach like the one in the picture above. He traded the previously mentioned Corvette for it way back when and admitted it was a mistake. In fact he said he was seduced by the stupid hood mounted tach...  And here is a nice 1968 Camaro RS SS. Mom had a '68 RS convertible decades ago with a 327, and column shifted Powerglide. People forget that the majority of Camaros in the '60's were not screaming Z28s... Continued... |
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Post by Volktales on Jun 20, 2023 19:08:51 GMT -8
 I liked this traditional hot rod and apparently Don did too, as we both managed to photograph it...  I do like some hot rods, if they are done in the traditional style. And this '34 Ford three window coupe did it for me...  There were a couple of Datsun 240 models there, but this was the only one I could get a picture of...  Who doesn't like trucks? How could anyone not smile at this shiny '39 Chevrolet???  This '55 Bel-Air looked stock on the outside. But another LS3 conversion under the hood. You know I like them better original...  The car ('66 Galaxie), the rims, the paint colour, are all things I approve of. I once looked at a '64 Galaxie years ago (with the same wheels), and was very tempted... Continued (one last batch to go...) |
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Post by Volktales on Jun 20, 2023 19:19:20 GMT -8
 So lets end off with a bunch of VWs. This late bay Westfalia had a pretty groovy tire cover. Due to huge numbers of people in this area, I could not get an outside shot...  The interior was very clean and tidy, and was only missing a yellow bucket!!!  I did make an effort to read the owner's name on the window, but once again forgot later...  Peter's '53 was looking fine in the sun. Apparently he is into rebuilding early engines now, and has a 25hp on the go...  This Beetle has a very subtle two tone, and regularly attends the Wednesday night get togethers at the old Sears parking lot in Nanaimo...  And we will finish off with this '67 Beetle. There were a couple of other VWs there, including a red SuperBeetle that was already photographed in the Nanoose SwapMeet thread, and a hand-painted yellow bay-window that was featured in previous years. Overall it was a great show and we all had a good time. I was very happy to see and pat a LOT of dogs as well, so that was a nice bonus. Hope these pictures provide a bit of an idea of what it was like for those of you stuck in Port Alberni, and hopefully that road opens soon... See you all there next year!!! |
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Post by owdlvr on Jun 20, 2023 21:35:37 GMT -8
Thanks for posting! But not thanks for reminding me that I own a darned Bricklin. Ugh, I really need to finish that thing.
Lances' bus is looking fantastic. So happy to hear the engine rebuild passed with flying colors, after living on the stand in my shop for three years.
-Dave
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