Posts Tagged ‘american’

Not Creepy At All – 1977 Dodge Tradesman and 1980 Chevrolet Malibu

April 6, 2016

Perusing the local online listings can sometimes turn up some unintended gems. Most enthusiasts of small, cheap foreign sportscars don’t go hunting for conversion vans, but the wilds of the internet allow exposure to vehicles you might not ordinarily find in the local car club listings. And so it is that we come across a couple of not-interesting-yet-interesting items – a 1970s kustom van and a converted Malaise-era Chevrolet Malibu wagon. Neither is a particularly inspiring drive in its original state, and perhaps remains so in its current state, but both manage to pique at least momentary interest from enthusiasts. To start, let’s take a look at this 1977 Dodge Tradesman for sale for $1200 in Sumner, WA.

1977 Dodge Tradesman left side

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Beige Before It Was Uncool – 1975 Chevrolet Impala

March 23, 2016

Back in the days before we were overwhelmed with beige khakis, computer parts, and more, to the extent beige is a metaphor for “boring”, Chevrolet decided it would be a suitable color to offer on their full-size B-body sedan. As the largest sedan offered by Chevrolet (and in fact, the largest sedan ever offered by them), it was suitable for all kinds of roles, including government, taxicab, demolition derby car, law enforcement, rental, and hogging the left lane of rural highways with the blinker on. There’s really no reason why a car with available V8s named TurboFire and TurboJet should have not also garnered the attention of driving enthusiasts, but that may have something to do with their ubiquity and emissions-strangled outputs. That said, it’s now unusual to see one of these low-spec Impalas, even in car friendly Western climates – after their usefulness as a transportation module disappeared, their reason for being did as well. Funny enough, that makes it a pleasant surprise to see this 1975 Chevrolet Impala for sale for $2800 in Norcross, GA.

1975 Chevrolet Impala right side

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Delivering the Promise – 1975 Plymouth Duster

March 2, 2016

The Plymouth Duster was one of those ambiguously named cars – the name’s reference to “dusting” anyone at a street race should have probably been “Dusted”, particularly when set up with an emissions-control-choked slant six. Competing with cars like the Ford Maverick, it also provided an alternative to imports like Toyota’s Corona and the VW Beetle. Though more modern, it still failed to achieve the sense of quality the imports provided, and is arguably one of the many death throes of “old Detroit”. That said, it is a part of our history, and in the 4 elapsed decades since the cars were built, the aftermarket has risen up to fill in the shortcomings of the original design. A good example of that is this 1975 Plymouth Duster for sale for $3499 in Portland, OR.

1975 Plymouth Duster right front

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