RustyButTrusty on the Street – Mopars, Checkers and More

May 22, 2015

It’s well past time to return to a sometimes neglected series here at RustyButTrusty – the On The Street series, where classic cars in (regular?) use are featured. Let’s start with a very practical classic (sic), the 1964 Dodge Dart GT. This picture dates back to last fall, but this car was a regular customer at one of the commuter lots in the West Oakland BART station, so you know it was someone’s driver. Pale gold is a great 1960s color, and the best Darts of this generation are the early wide-eyed models. Unfortunately, there’s no way to tell if this is the poverty slant six or the top end V8 – about an 80hp difference – but for a commuter car it doesn’t matter too much.

20141002_091651

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On a Mission from a Lesser God – 1983 Chevrolet Malibu 9C1

May 21, 2015

With the widespread availability of used P71 Ford Crown Victorias, it seems like having a retired police car is not so cool anymore.. at least, cool in the sense of being unusual. So it’s a fun surprise to find an older semi-plainclothes patrol car, even if it does mean putting up with a wheezing smog-era GM V6. Replacing the Nova police package in 1979, the 9C1 option did not include any kind of power upgrade t othe engine, but smaller cars like this were more commonly used in urban areas, where maneuverability and fuel economy were prized over top speed. Check out this 1983 Chevrolet Malibu 9C1 for sale for $3000 in San Francisco, CA.

1983 Chevrolet Malibu left front

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Cortina Crazy – 1969 and 1968 Ford Cortinas

May 20, 2015

The only car that seems truly stereotyped for multiple ownership in a crazy cat lady kind of way is the Corvair. With most other car hoarders, it usually seems to be a mixed make field of broken dreams of various makes of car in disrepair. But what if you took those wacky Corvair-hoarding tendencies and applied them to something way harder to find? Wouldn’t that naturally limit the amount of cars you could accumulate? Well, not if you’re this guy and your poison is English Fords – his hoarding superpowers mean he has an entire backyard full of Cortinas and Anglias, some of which he’s now offering for sale. Let’s take a look at a couple of the most appealing offerings, starting with this 1968 Ford Cortina 4-door for sale for $1500 in Oakland, CA.

1968 Ford Cortina left rear

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