Lawrence Street Sighting: Cadillac Superior Coaches hearse

On the other end of the GM scale, there's this; Cadillac is one of my favorite brands (sorry Lincoln!)and I enjoy spotting and shooting almost anything the brand makes. However, there are some exceptions, but those exceptions are fairly recent. I have long liked big Cadillacs of this vintage, and rather recently, I started getting into hearses and other funeral/flower cars. I don't know all the brands, and I still have to look at the badges to see who makes what funeral car, but I do like that for the most parts, these do look like the Cadillacs they're based on.

I would date this one as a mid-1980s model, possibly a 1986 or so; at first I thought it was newer based on that hubcaps, but the headlight details tell me otherwise. Regardless, this hearse has been kept in great shape, especially for its age. I wouldn't be surprised if it has less than a hundred thousand miles on it.

Usually, I try to be cautious when shooting hearses, as in Minnesota, they're mostly found either in the hood, or I see them whilst driving; in Lawrence, its a whole 'nother story. I wish I shot this one even more in depth though, but I did get some decent pictures of it.

I love these things, and I love this one; its one of the newer hearses I've seen too, and its one of the coolest. Sure, it's a plain color, but its different than all the black ones I see. I wonder what this one's current life is, as I see its still in great shape. Both the Cadillac crest and the Superior Coaches plaque are still in wonderful shape, and neither has lost their luster; again, the hubcaps are in immaculate shape as well, and unlike many Cadillacs of this vintage, the metal hubcaps adorn this one versus standard wire wheels; I wonder if the hubcaps were a "business" option?

I haven't seen this one before, and I hope to see it again soon; I just hope that next time I see it, its still in awesome shape.

Lawrence Street Sighting: Pontiac Deluxe

When I am out car-spotting in my hometown of Lawrence, cars that get shot are typical 1960s to mid 1970s cars in various degrees of decay; finding a pre-war anything is fairly rare, unless said car is a hotrod. In that case, I generally don't bother unless it's super cool or is something other than a generic Ford T-bucket; hell, I even pass on most non-T-buckets, too.

I have a strong love for the Tin Indian, and I shoot most of the ones I come across--even in Lawrence; while I am up and up with most knowledge of the 1970s and onward Ponchos, I am quite rusty with anything pre-GTO. I had to ask my friend Jason (who runs California Streets, and who I share Insomniac Garage with along with my friend Chris) what this is, even after doing Google searches for Pontiacs between 1937 and 1946. I finally settled on the fact that one is a  1939 Pontiac Deluxe two door; it lacks fancy trim, but once was home to some nice chrome up front. I would equate this car with maybe a two-door Grand Prix SE from the mid-1990s as far as content and placement in the Pontiac range. Surely, this one has more curb appeal than said Grand Prix ever will, despite not being in good shape. But I'll touch on that later.

Now, I can go out and state the obvious here, but if its obvious, why is it worth stating? This car has an interesting story. I am almost 25 years old, and as long as I can remember, this car has always been like this, or in various stages of "completeness"; as far back as I can remember, this 1939 Pontiac has never been fully finished, and it's gone through three sets of wheels, including a set of Torq Thrust IIs in satin finish, and a set of Colorado Custom wheels during the mid 1990s when Billet was in.

Now, I have no idea whether this car is ever going to be truly finished, but my money is on "no." Currently, it sports (besides the trim) all correct factory parts, including a set of proper factory hubcaps; since this is the first time I've seen them on this car, I would assume they would be in great shape. Nope; as it turns out, these things are extremely pitted and definitely deserve a second chance at life.

Inside, this poor Poncho is looking mostly original, and I'm glad to see the owner didn't Billet the shit out of it when it rode on Colorado Custom wheels; despite losing massive points due to the car never being done, I have to give the owner props for not destroying the interior at least.

So far, this is quite possibly the oldest car I've found roaming Lawrence, and I wish I could find more.

Kansas City Street Sighting: Toyota Land Cruiser diesel

I have to say, even though this is one of the coolest things I've run across for my blog; I literally stopped dead in my tracks for this. I know what JDM Land Cruisers look like, I've only ever seen one in person. While I would normally call this one a "JDM" vehicle like I did in the previous sentence, this one isn't.

First off, the steering wheel is on the left side, and it makes the Canadian plates the original plates; this truck is one of a handful imported into Canada when new, and according to wikipedia, the only way to acquire one was in Saskatchewan, and you had to be a miner or at least work in that industry; otherwise, no dice.

I have always been a staunch fan of the Land Cruiser nameplate, and I always felt Toyota fucked up by marketing the truck as a Range Rover alternative. Actually, let me rephrase that; Land Rover fucked up by marketing their products only in luxury trim, forcing other premium-feeling trucks to be marketed the same.

Toyota really jumped the gun here, because instead of being marketed as the true workhorse and capable vehicle that it is, most families bought them to sit next to the Supra in the garage. Shame, really, because these things can do so much more than be pampered.

I'm not sure how to rate this thing, condition-wise; while it is a rare beast, it's obvious that the metal-look trim is hiding quite a bit. The LX badge appears to have been oversprayed red, which is usually signs of a rather craptastic repaint, but I've never seen another example of these, so for all I know, it could be stock.

I really like the wheels on this thing, though those could be stock items as well. I've never seen Ansen-looking wheels on an SUV before, and honestly, they work. Quite a bit better than I would've thought they did.

Inside, all I saw was typical 1980s Toyota fare--not too surprising, I guess. Boring steering wheel, ugly dash, but hey, this is a truck. You know, before Land Cruisers were marketed as luxury items.

I am glad I shot this; not only was I extremely surprised by the sighting in general, I am even more shocked that I found this in the middle of the ghetto--far away from Canadian anything.

Lawrence Street Sighting: Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham

Here in Lawrence, much like Minneapolis, older Cadillacs are fairly common if one knows where to look; since most of the population in Lawrence is elderly when school isn't in session, classic cars are much easier to find in acceptable condition. I have a thing for pre-1977 Cadillacs, but I have specific years I go after. While the 1966 to 1968 cars aren't quite my cup of tea, I respect them for what they are.

Based on the combination of front fascia and hubcaps, I have pinned this one down to a 1968 model, although I am probably wrong; what's odd though, is during my research, I never found any models called only Fleetwood, but there is no other designation on this particular car. I can only conclude that this car is actually a Sixty Special Fleetwood Brougham? How's that for a name as long as the car itself; I gotta say this is a pretty intimidating looking car, I would not want to meet this in a dark alley. While I generally don't like this generation, I give the owner credit for keeping this old 'lac presentable. 

 As most would expect, this Fleet is in pretty good condition, especially considering its age; while the car has minor evidence of surface rust hiding under the vinyl roof, the rest of the surface is pretty good. The chrome is in great shape, showing almost no signs of actual wear; oddly enough, or not so odd, the hubcaps are free of any curbing, dents or any other infractions.

My favorite angle for these Cadillacs is the rear quarter; I honestly never cared for the post-1964 pre-1969 front end; I realize it is still a Cadillac, buf this generation never really had an elegant fascia; the 1969 restyle fixed all that for me.

Nevertheless I still had fun shooting this example; I found it on Google maps, and was kinda iffy on whether or not it would still be at its house. My luck proved right, as I did actually find it at the address that Google promised.

Lawrence Street Sighting: Plymouth Belvedere II

While finding classic cars is fairly hard in the Twin Cities, such cars are far more accessible in Lawrence; however, scouring through the cliched pickups and various Chevrolet and Ford four-doors from the late 1970s to present can be time consuming; in my trips back to the town I grew up in, I've begun to notice a slight extinction of non-mainstream classic cars.

When I was little, 1960s cars were quite a bit more common then they are now, and old Mopars were almost a once-per-two block occurance; now, spotting old Mopars is getting to be rather tricky, as they don't hold up as well as contemporary GMs and Fords; why I say that is because all the ones I see in Minnesota have extensive rust damage, whereas the Fords and GMs do not. 

I have trouble dating these cars, but the closest I can come up with is 1967, as it does not have the same front end treatment as a Roadrunner, but the front does look similar to the hotted-up GTX;  this car is a Belvedere II, a midrange model with probably a six cylinder or even a 318; when these were new, they probably didn't stand out, but now... I gawk at cars like this, not only because they're not common, but because these Plymouths look so much better than the crap churned out in the 1980s and 1990s.

This example, like the Rambler I posted yesterday is pretty clean. Oddly enough, styling of these two cars is quite similar towards the back; the rear fascias definitely look similar. Aside from that, though, the idea of preserving a four-door seems kind of odd--but more and more four-doors are popping up in good condition, but only in Kansas.

The paint of this example, for all I know, could be original and untouched; it's got no clearcoat, but it isn't faded beyond all repair; the minimal, chrome, too is in great shape, even on the often-ruined mirrors. The grille and front fascia is in impeccable shape, and shows no evidence of even meeting bugs or birds. The hubcaps, too, are in awesome shape; I've never seen a set of forty-plus year old base hubcaps on a car intact, much less still shiny.

I really liked shooting this old Plymouth, and this car is proof that Lawrence is still awash in old cars--I just need to find them.

Kansas City Street Sighting: Rambler Classic 770

When out carspotting, vehicles from the big three usually are the most common cars found; but in the land of very little rust (compared to Minnesota), surviving vehicles from other makes are alive and well--and I'm not talking imported makes either. Every so often, an AMC slips through the cracks here and there, and slowly but surely, vehicles from the brands' previous incarnation are becoming more and more common; its not every day I see a Rambler, much less one in the ghettos of Kansas City.

For those who don't know, the Ramber Classic is the midsize of the group, and 770 denoted that this one is the nicest vehicle in the lineup. I have no idea what engine powers this one, as there are a few engine choices, ranging from a six cylinder to a fire-breathing 290 cube V8. If it were up to me, I'd chuck a 390 in it, and go from there. But hey, not everyone wants a performance four-door; oddly enough, these Ramblers are more common, than say, a Fairlane four-door or a Biscayne four-door of the same year.

Odd, really, since the other two cars mentioned were probably more common when they were new. As with most cars, the more common they were, the less valuable they are, so most got pre-warranted death sentences by way of demolition derbies and simply driven into the ground.  Quite a bit of the remaining Ramblers I see (and I don't even see that many) are is fairly good condition, especially considering their age.

 I spotted this one from a cross-street, and I assumed it was going to be a total beater--and I was wrong. Yes, it does have rust, and yes, the paint is fairly faded, but overall, this Rambler is a very nice survivor that would make for a relatively easy restoration.

The trim and hubcaps are still in place, and surprisingly blemish-free; as expected, forty-plus years of winter have taken their toll, as there is a minimal amount of body rot; overall, this is one of the nicer 1960s vehicles I have seen, especially considering that this example comes from a non-mainstream manufacturer.

I had immense fun shooting this, as its one of very few Ramblers I've even seen; I have to admit I was a tad scared, seeing as this one was in the ghetto, but I think I did okay here.