What did you see on the road today?

[unclescott58]

The Caddy wagon is very cool. Other than the brushed metal band on the C pillar. Get rid of that and paint whole car green. And Studie Champ pickup trucks. They are still cute and cool.

Scott

[unclescott58]

By the way, somebody in our general area had a '72 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham that was converted into a station wagon. The first time I saw, it was around the time it was new car, and I was confused by it. It looked factory built. It had the clam shell style tailgate like all other factory built full size GM wagons at the time. Yet it was not listed or shown in any Cadillac brochure. Years later, I got the book 80 Years of Cadillac LaSalle, by Walter M.P. McCall. On page 393 at the top, he shows an identical 1971 model. The car was called the Fleetwood Brougham Astro Estate Wagon. And was built by Custom Craft Division of the Automobile Specialty Corp. of Southgate, Mich. Sorry to say I never got a photo of the car. If I can find one on the web I'll post it.

Scott

P.S. From what I remember it was painted a nice light gold color.

Edited August 27, 2014 by unclescott58

[unclescott58]

Here you go.

The one driving around the neighborhood did not have the dark colored band running across the tailgate. But, other wise pretty close.

This one is a listed as a 1975 version. There are several different shots of this car on the web.

Scott

Edited August 27, 2014 by unclescott58

[wayne swayze]

A couple of days ago, I saw 2 middle age+ guys driving along in a black 4 door Acura. No big deal..until the car accelerated away at a set of lights....I truly believe it was running a very healthy SBC!! Sounded exactly like many SBC's that I ever heard! Talk about a sleeper!

[unclescott58]

A couple of days ago, I saw 2 middle age+ guys driving along in a black 4 door Acura. No big deal..until the car accelerated away at a set of lights....I truly believe it was running a very healthy SBC!! Sounded exactly like many SBC's that I ever heard! Talk about a sleeper!

What's an SBC Wayne?

Asked a middle aged guy,

Scott

[Harry P.]

Small block Chevy.

[Daddyfink]

I never know what will show up around work, and this did today

[Ace-Garageguy]

Scott, I like those Caddy wagon conversions MUCH better than the green one I posted. It did actually look a little back-yard not-all-that-pro, and is reputed to have cost about $30k in 1976 bucks. Lotsa $$ back then.

[Ace-Garageguy]

I had a thought... I wonder if antique hearse rental would be a viable business. Have funeral homes offer the service.

Years ago (mid '80s) a friend of mine with a limo service took an old black Caddy stretch, flamed it and put a blower through the hood, thinking he'd get some rock-star business. Not a big seller.

[Jaguar man 21]

I saw a 240z, and old Beatle 70,s probably and a late 60's camaro ss all on the same block out front of my school, tonight I saw a orange lotus Elise, an early 80s 911 in black with Fuch alloys... Drooling and a 996 turbo cabriolet

Edited August 28, 2014 by Jaguar man 21

[Rob Hall]

Saw an eclectic mix today...white CTS-v coupe w/ black wheels, a very clean blue & silver early (85?) Chevy Sprint (before the Geo version)--haven't seen one of those in years, amazing to see a 30 yr old econobox that clean... saw a pale green early '00s vintage Vauxhall Corsa 5dr (what is that doing in AZ???), and a very clean pale yellow '75-76 Caddy Sedan de Ville, and a black 2nd gen 6dr Escalade..

[unclescott58]

Scott, I like those Caddy wagon conversions MUCH better than the green one I posted. It did actually look a little back-yard not-all-that-pro, and is reputed to have cost about $30k in 1976 bucks. Lotsa $$ back then.

If you do a web search for Cadillac station wagons, you will find others identical other than color to the one you saw. So somebody was "professionally" doing the converted Cadillac you saw.

Scott

[Jaguar man 21]

How is there a vauxhall in the us ? Time t do some research I guess

[Rob Hall]

How is there a vauxhall in the us ? Time t do some research I guess

No idea...I think it could be a Mexican Chevy, as they did sell the Corsa there (as the Chevrolet Chevy), but this had the distinct v-eed Vauxhall grille and badging...

[ChrisBcritter]

On the way home this evening I passed a red '70 Impala convertible, top down, lowered in front, with big 'n' little drilled aluminum wheels. Paint was a little dull but otherwise a nice big cruiser.

[Ace-Garageguy]

If you do a web search for Cadillac station wagons, you will find others identical other than color to the one you saw. So somebody was "professionally" doing the converted Cadillac you saw.

Scott

Yes, I know... one of 56 built by Traditional Coachworks of Chatsworth, Ca. ...as I posted with the pix. Still, just because a shop has a sign out that says "coachbuilders", that doesn't automatically make their work world-class.

[unclescott58]

Yes, I know... one of 56 built by Traditional Coachworks of Chatsworth, Ca. ...as I posted with the pix. Still, just because a shop has a sign out that says "coachbuilders", that doesn't automatically make their work world-class.

That's right you did mention that in your first posting on the car. I forgot, after you posted the later message. Sorry.

Scott

[Jaguar man 21]

I saw another 240z and a very nice black foxbody hatchback

[Harry P.]

I haven't seen a 240Z (or any Z) in many years.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Saw a bilge-water green Checker Marathon station wagon...all green with a checked stripe at the beltline...sitting on a car transporter on the side of I-75N coming up from Buckhead.

Kinda like this, but bilgier.

[Harry P.]

I remember when almost all cabs were Checkers, at least in Chicago. They had the small jump seats in back if you had a large group. Seeing a Checker on the street as a "civilian" car was very rare.

[Tom Geiger]

Seeing a Checker on the street as a "civilian" car was very rare.

My Uncle Jules had a Checker wagon so I grew up thinking it was normal.

[Harry P.]

My Uncle Jules had a Checker wagon so I grew up thinking it was normal.

Trust me... it's not!

[Danno]

I remember when almost all cabs were Checkers, at least in Chicago. They had the small jump seats in back if you had a large group. Seeing a Checker on the street as a "civilian" car was very rare.

I did a sentence in Kalamazoo in '72. (Well, the company I worked for sent me there as a trouble-shooter to clean up some problems and get things back on track.) It was snowing when I drove into Kalamazoo and it was snowing when I drove out four months later; same storm.

Two big impressions from that experience:

(1) Dominos. Dominos started in Kalamazoo and I had never seen pizza delivery before. It was still in embryonic stages then.

(2) Checkers. Checkers were manufactured in Kalamazoo. And everybody and his brother had one or drove one. They were everywhere. New ones, old ones. Taxis, sure. But more! There were civilian Checkers running around in every color of the rainbow, some fully dressed with chrome trim and bumpers and full wheel covers, some with racing stripes and mag wheels, some dropped low, some with jacked-up rear ends and oversized wide rear tires. I even saw Checkers with vinyl tops and some with custom paint - stripes or flames or metalflake! Old people, middle aged people and even teenagers driving Checkers! It was unbelievable. I saw a Checker police car. I saw a customized Checker with a chopped top. Unforgettable.

Years later, I saw the movie 'Drowning Mona.' It cracked me up because Mona's town was so like Kalamazoo in '72! Just swap the Yugos for Checkers.

Edited August 28, 2014 by Danno

[ChrisBcritter]

My mother used to talk about getting a Checker as a family car back in the mid-1960s; it seemed logical to me since it would be replacing our thoroughly rusted '56 Chevy 210 and offered more or less the same size, height and interior/trunk layout. Instead we got a '63 Dodge 440 eight-passenger wagon.