Posts Tagged ‘Feature’

Patina and a Sign – 1955 Studebaker 1/2 Ton Pickup

June 20, 2014

Among classic car selectors, there’s a suwb-segment of folks who go absolutely crazy for surface rust, handpainted signage, or a combination of the two. And to tell the truth, there is something pretty cool about seeing the history of the truck painted right on the door – it just helps you picture a time when all the working trucks wore handpainted signs on the doors, along with a exchange-style phone number and perhaps the name of a trade that has become obsolete, like, say, radio repair. These trucks are still not terribly rare in rural areas, and we’ve got one for you today. Check out this 1955 Studebaker 1/2 ton pickup, for sale for $2750 in Petaluma, CA.

1955 Studebaker pickup right side

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Not What It Seems – 1991 Buick Reatta

June 20, 2014

In the mid-1980s, when Buick was actually turbocharging their Regal coupe at various levels, they decided to develop their interpretation of a sports car. While they ultimately failed at creating a sports car, they did create a sufficiently attractive luxury coupe powered by the 3800V6. It was built with an unusual level of assembly by hand, where a team would work on one assembly, and robots would then move the car to the next craft station – for 1991, the owner even received a special sleeve containing the manual, signatures from the supervisors at each craft station, and a pen, flashlight, and tire gauge. Early cars also came with an innovative touch screen control for the radio, climate control, trip computer, and and more. However, by the time the car came out, GM had decided Buick was going to focus on older buyers, and as such, the sports never made it into the car, and the touch screen was dropped for the later model years. You can find this one-of-1241-built 1991 Buick Reatta for sale in Fairfield, CA for an unstated price, or a couple of 26″ wheels and “some $$$”.

1991 Buick Reatta right front

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Not-So-Fun Size – 1977 GMC Jimmy Casa Grande

June 18, 2014

The 1970s brought out more creative solutions to the triple punch of emissions, fuel economy, and safety laws that were getting in the way of automakers’ good time. Marketers could no longer wantonly talk about horsepower when most V8s struggled to surpass 200hp (thanks also to the change to net horsepower measurement), so they had to come up with clever ways to move their metal. Things like “sports” packages that consisted of little more than a spoiler and some vinyl stripes were commonplace, but GM (yes, bad, old, non-innovative GM) took it one step further, adding a camper top to their Jimmy two-door SUV. And so you have a camper that seats 4, sleeps 2, has a stove and sink, and unlike other campers, allows you to go where only 4-wheel-drive vehicles can. Check out this 1977 GMC Jimmy Casa Grande for sale for $3500 in Anaheim, CA.

1977 GMC Jimmy Casa Grande left side

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