Automotive

Now we can move onto the Chevrolets. Just across from the M-B, a house away, we found this El Camino with its original wheels in the back. So it could wear new flashy ones.





Scenes like this raise questions about relative priorities and spending by the Alpha Male in the household. (Luckily for us, over-spending on watches isn't as easily judged by drive-by strangers)





Moving along, in another neighborhood with questionable style in house trimming, we found another El Camino.





Somebody had to get on the roof and paint those chimney stones!





And then a real find, an El Camino where they blew the budget on its paint! (OK, there are also fake rocks on the garage wall, and a Jet-Ski in the back, and ...)





My wife hopped out of the car, walked up the drive and took this close shot so you could see the green trimming between the purple power-dome hood and orange fenders and spoiler.





Moving along to a more conventionally-decorated neighborhood, we found this equally subtle El Camino.

I'm not sure the wheels were originally gold, but they look ok to me.





This lot had 3-4 Monte Carlos, the two-door coupe version of the El Camino.

Going back 60 years in time, here's an early 50's Chevrolet for sale.









If you'd prefer a truck from the mid-Fifties, then $10,000 or Best Offer will get you this one

We had a few more of the customized front end Chevy trucks today;

The cab might have been original but it looks the the front has been replaced (repainted?) and the bed replaced with this utility flatbed. Judging by the wheels, this is a 1-ton truck.

This highly modified Suburban has an IN YOUR FACE attitude

and THOSE ROCKS WON'T HURT ME appearance





While this long dualie pickup speaks for itself ...

We have arrived in the neighborhood of neglect. Have a look around:





I think in this era the top Chevrolet was a Caprice Classic; if not, then it's still an Impala. But there were no badges to indicate status.





This Chevy's back bumper proclaims "My Child is an Outstanding Student"









While this number plate proclaims SMOKOUT

while the bodywork leaves something to be completed






Here we have a mid-Nineties, Seventh-generation Impala SS, essentially a Police Caprice with Corvette motor, in the rarely ordered Dark Cherry color (most were black).

 




The sunlight has done in the paint





This line-up of cars and trucks had two stand-outs. That huge dock bumper on the Chevy pickup was one. You will see the other tomorrow.









These trucks were all in one house's side yard. While I sat in the car and watch in the rear view mirror, Mrs C hopped out and fought her way through the tangle to get these close-ups. 

This white 4x4 was for sale, and the sign (not shown) invited passers-by to look underneath and see all the great things the owner had done to its suspension bits....





Under an increasingly threatening sky, this honest old 3/4 ton 4x4 just looked right.








A tight parking job for this truck which never moves.

Here things started to pick up (pun intended) as we ran into a very nice, slightly modified 1/2 ton pickup.

with a slightly lowered stance





And a 4th-generation Camaro Z-28 from about 1995. The Camaro, in this body style, was discontinued in 2002 and a Camaro did not return to production until 2010.









This house was okay at a distance, but a bit lacking when you looked closely; the truck was more obviously hurting.









This big specially-badged "Western Hauler" ended our pickup truck finds for the day. This was the most popular color combination back in the pastel days

My friend Steve's dad had a truck just like this. He also had a trailer, on which he carried a VW Baja Bug. All were striped in brown and beige to match. Then he bought a Silver Eagle bus and painted it to match the rest.

Here's the bus - a bit too large and at 35,000 pounds, too heavy for my driveway. The neighbors didn't like it either. And it was a right pain to back out of the driveway into the street.

Sorry. I digress. 

My wife and I argued over this Vette - it was clearly Purple in real life but now it appears Blue in the photos. I'm voting for my eyes versus the camera. It's Purple.









We descended into a deep valley and had to look up steep driveways and down over precipices into deeper gulches.

At the bottom of one I saw a Buick Riviera, so we descended to get a better look...





Across on the other side I found a 1959? Oldsmobile. Sorry, but my camera focus locked on the fence.



Chevy never built a Tahoe SS, although they showed a prototype about 20 years ago. Apparently this guy built his own.





And did a nice job at it too.





I'm going to finish with this colorful Cadillac. I appreciated the bright red trimmings, although I doubt Detroit was the origin.









The colorfulness almost surpasses that of the Little Library we found, but is nothing compared to 





This house!