Minneapolis Street Sighting: The Abandonments

Every so often, when scouting the city, I come across various abandoned vehicles; some are easily dismissed as crap, and I don't shoot them. Others beg me to stop and take a closer gander. This pair of classic American workhorses piqued my interest enough for me to hop off my bike and dig out my camera.
Trucks like this are usually found in Kansas, and not in Minnesota--at least not in the Twin Cities. Parked on Portland and I think 37th or 38th, this pair was sitting there for what seemed like eternity. It seems that this lot is a decaying dumping grounds for anything abandoned; I've seen dead Ford Tempos, a few Pontiac Sunfires, and a mid 1980s Chevrolet S-10, but never anything as lucky as this find--and nothing quite as cool since.














First things first, this is a relatively early Dodge pickup; I used Allpar as a reference site, and I have come up with this one as a 1941 model or thereabouts; this bodystyle was introduced in 1939, and continued through the 1947 model year. The chassis code for these trucks was WC for the basic 1/2 ton models, and WD for full-fledged one ton versions.
Las registered in 1974, this poor truck certainly has seen better days. Being off the road for more than thirty-five years, it looked to be in reasonably decent shape, especially for a Minnesota truck. Sure, it probably has some hidden rust, but what Minnesota truck left to the elements doesn't?
The paint is obviously shot, but the body itself doesn't look to be too far gone. All the emblems are there, and surprisingly, all are in pretty nice shape. Even the interior looks quite nice for its age. I'm no expert, but I'd say this Dodge would probably make a good restoration project if someone hasn't already snapped it up.













Next up is this 1967-1972 GMC pickup; for being nearly thirty years newer than the Dodge, it seems to be worse off; the bedsides are so caked with rust that they'd likely need replacement skins if a future owner wanted to have a functional truck. Amazingly, the rest of the truck looks no worse than trucks found in Kansas or Oklahoma; I guess rustproof hadn't gotten to trucks when this one was built. Aside from the bed, this poor GMC looks like it probably is a good starting point for a project, provided there isn't any hidden rust. It's got current collector plates, so I'm sort of miffed about why its just sitting there; maybe it's going to be restored, along with the Dodge. I base that theory on the fact that both trucks dissappeared about the same time, never to be seen again. I did find a rotten same-era GM cab, and a set of fairly rusty white trailer wheels commonly used on this generation truck so who knows.
This is a one-time, as I've never found anything this cool in that spot since--and believe me, I keep looking. I'm just glad I took out my camera when I did, and documented these two pieces of American history.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Plymouth Special Deluxe

When scouting for cars, I usually end up with cars from the 1960s to mid 1980s; very scarce are pre-1950 cars in any condition. Obviously rust plays a huge part in this, as does the fact that most pre-1950 vehicles have either been turned into hot rods of various degrees, or are trailer and garage queens that don't get driven.
I've posted a couple cars from this house before, and I know there are a few more cars that live here that I haven't shot. And like this owner's other cars, this Plymouth Special Deluxe is in awesome condition for its age. Besides the absence of a front bumper, this 60-some-odd year old "Mopar" looked impeccable. Not a scratch, ding or dent impacted the overall shine this thing had; like his other cars, its clear the owner takes great pride in this Special Deluxe. After all, a base model this is not.
The Special Deluxe series ran from 1946 to 1950, when it was replaced with a three-model lineup, the Cranbrook, the Concord, and the Cambridge. According to wikipedia, the Special Deluxe, which was the top of the line model, was one of the first cars to feature an on-dash starter button, something motorists take for granted some 60 years later. Like many of Chrysler Corps. offerings, the Plymouths really were gussied up-- and sometimes stripped down-- rebadged Dodges-- a fate that would kill the brand in the Summer of 2001.
While I usually don't feature cars this old, this black beauty caught my attention, especially since it was parked among a bevy of generic rust-laden 10 to 15 year old beaters that had little place anywhere save for the average junkyard. As this car is proof, sometimes I find the best bloggables in the oddest neighborhoods. I can only hope that as my blogging career holds out, I am able to find more interesting cars where I least expect them to be; that's what makes this interesting.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Plymouth Deluxe four door sedan

I'm not going to pretend I know everything about cars, because in all honestly I don't. Every so often, I come across a car that stumps me. I knew it was a Plymouth (only by the badging to be honest), and I also knew I don't recall ever seeing anything of this vintage simply parked in a neighborhood-- even in Kansas. If it had one reaction from me, it certainly struck me as rather odd and unusual to vehicle of this age (as well as condition) bumper to bumper with relatively new compacts.
You'd think that being old and from another era would mean this car is likely pretty heavy, right? Wrong. According to www.49plymouth.com, the curb weight for a '49 Plymouth Deluxe sedan is 3,059 pounds for a Deluxe or tack on another 20 pounds for a Special Deluxe. Since the majority of the trim is gone or dilapidated, it's hard to say which model this car is. With the chrome wheel fairing fore of the rear wheels, I'm betting this is a Special Deluxe.
When this car was new (and despite the current condition, it was new at some point), would've cost the buyer a smidgen over $1600. That equates to roughly $15,400 in today's money. Not bad, considering the cheapest Dodge you can buy now costs about $19,000, and putting equivalent options (this Plymouth was not a base model) would push the price to $23,000 or more. Unlike the current cheapest Dodge you can buy, this 62 year old MOPAR has a flathead six under the hood, whereas the Avenger has a four banger. Not quite what I'd call progress to be honest.
The paint and trim on this guy were obviously worn down a bit, and judging by the front license plate, this example is owner by someone who intends to restore it to its former glory. One can only hope he or she gets around to it before the winter sets in. I would hate to see this car become one with Earth. As it sits, it seems like it'd be a fairly good resto project, if not a fun patina'd driver. Would I undertake the resto? Probably not; even though this old Plymouth is undeniably a neat car, it's not quite my cup of tea. It'd be an awesome car for someone, though, I can guarantee that.