If you have previous experience living in a colder climate, and you’re an old-car geek, one of the first things you’ll notice is the profusion of older cars in use on California roads, even in the depths of winter. In one weekend, you can see a mid-1950s Ford cruising on Highway 280, BMW 2002s on San Francisco city streets, and a billet-free modified Studebaker hotrod. While those cars escaped the RustyButTrusty camera lens, several others were not quite as slippery. Here’s a sampling of what was on the roads, starting with a Morris Minor delivery van with some modifications, including Chevrolet Vega wheels, a visor, and custom paint, perhaps with something interesting under the hood. Fiat twincams were a popular conversion – fancy that on a back road!
Archive for the ‘RustyButTrusty on the Street’ Category
RustyButTrusty on the Street – Morris, Datsun, Chrysler, Porsche
January 6, 2014RustyButTrusty on the Street – Mercedes, Alfa, and a VW on Street View
November 26, 2013Today’s theme is that sometimes the cool cars are close by, and sometimes they are far away. But the key is that people are out there using them, and even if they get dirty or chipped, they’re not half as much fun sitting in the garage. The first car is in an office development fairly close to RustyButTrusty world headquarters. R107 Mercedes SLs are not such a rare find, and would not ordinarily show up in this context, but this small-bumper SL is probably a 1972 or 1973 model. Complete with personalized blue California plates, it looks the part of the executive from one of those newfangled chip manufacturers. Can you imagine, some people were born and made it nearly through high school without Mercedes revealing a new SL?
RustyButTrusty On The Street – Tough Americans and Boxy Germans
October 20, 2013There must have been a movie or TV series from the 1970s that cemented certain cars in your mind. The Plymouth Fury with the fuselage body is such a car – something about these, particularly when they’re rough around the edges, looks absolutely menacing. For an example, take a look at this Fury coupe parked on the streets of Oakland, CA. Silver is not always a color you’d associate with a scary car, but wouldn’t you be more afraid if one of these was silently pursuing you, as opposed to a modern, shiny black SUV that’s all the rage with the cool kids?


