So, I have not posted in over 4 years.  I tried a few posts, but never shared it with anyone, so the motivation died.  I also felt I was too busy, which will always be the case.  I think I had much higher expectations than I should have.  I have been following Larry at www.crazycar.com, and his posts convinced me that I should just post about the cars I see when I'm riding my bike or anything that really strikes my fancy when I'm out and about.  So, here goes.

Resale Red

Every time you see a classic car that is painted red, someone comments that it is "Resale Red".  All of my Mercurys have been green, so I never really had to contend with accusations that my cars were painted a certain color so that I could sell them more quickly in the future.  Hell, I was NEVER going to sell my cars and I loved the green color of both of them, so it never crossed my mind. 

Then, a few weeks ago I went insane and sold them both.  I did not paint either of them Resale Red because that would look horrible with the green interior on the Park Lane (but now that I think about it, would have worked with the tan interior of the Cougar).  The hows and whys of the sale of the cars that have defined me for the last 9 years will have to wait for another post, but suffice it to say that I bought a 1973 Pontiac Grand Am with a 455 in it.  And, it's red!  Or, I should say, it's RED!! 

One really can't call it Resale Red because the previous owner, who I know through my pal, Mark Nagel, owned it for 9 years and it was red when he got it.  I plan to take it back to the original Ascot Silver this fall, but in the meantime I noticed that a bunch of the cars I have photographed lately have been "Resale Red", so I thought I'd post them. 

This first batch is of a 1968 Chevy Caprice with a 396 in it.  I first saw this car after swim team practice on a Saturday, walking to one of our new teammates' apartment for brunch. 

The 68s are probably my favorite year of the full-size Chevy; although I will admit the 69 and 67 are also in the running.  I love the fastback lines of the Impala and Impala SS, but the formal roofline of the Caprice is refreshing to see. 

 

I have since seen the car around the neighborhood near the pool quite regularly.

 

 

I saw this next vehicle while we were in Texas for Hal's niece's high school graduation.  There is something timeless about the FJ40 Toyota Land Cruiser.  These beasts were built in almost the same form from 1960 to 1984 (but were last imported to the US in 1983).  The family of my neighbor and classmate, Steve King (not the idiot member of the US House of Representatives from Iowa), had a light blue Land Cruiser in the late 70s.  It was cool then, and it's still cool now.  In fact, it is the only 70s Toyota that you will find regularly in Hemmings and on eBay.

 The next five cars were all photographed in Pennsylvania when I flew there to see my best friend. 

The first three were at The Ford Nationals at Carlisle in Carlisle, PA.  This was my second trip to this show, but this year it was raining and I went on the first day, so there were not a lot of cars yet.  Keep in mind that these are not the only pics I took; just the only ones I took with my phone.  I'll post a link to my flickr set with the pics from the show once I post them. 

This bare bones 1972 Galaxie 500 belonged to a nice gentleman I spoke with.  He informed me that he plans to add a "bubble gum machine"  (red flashing light) and side decals to make it a replica of a Fire Chief's car.  I encouraged him to leave this original machine as it is.  I doubt he will listen...

This 1964 Galaxie caught my eye because of the Thunderbolt hood scoop. 

I drove a '79 Mercury Bobcat when I was in high school.  It's the wrong color and mine had Cragar slots, but this '80 Pinto brought back some great memories.

Outside the show on the way out of town, I saw this Volvo P1800 wagon (shooting brake?) for sale.  I have seen one of these in perfect condition.  If only had I had the time, the skill, and the facilities...

This bright red 1973 Prsche 911 was parked across from jason and Rotem's house.  It seems I always find a car in their neighborhood that I have to take pictures of. 

This last car, I photographed over two separate Sundays while doing my weekly 20+ mile bike ride along the lakeshore (Lake Michigan) with my friend, Jani. 

The pictures with the roof up were taken a week ago, while the top down shots were taken today.  Please keep in mind that I took these pics essentially blind.  The bright sun on the shiny phone screen and my polarized non-bifocal sunglasses made it nearly impossible to see the screen.  They turned out ok. 

One of the things that I love about old cars is the amount of detail that went into designing them.  I love the lines on this car, and the chrome trim (I think it's referred to as a sidespear) that accents the body line that begins at the front and dips down on its way to the rear.  This was a Buick trademark in the late 70s.  The Skylark is one of the lesser appreciated of the A-Body (Mid-size) GM cars of the 60s.  As I post more, you'll see that I am much more interested in the cars that you don't see than I am in those you see at every car show that you attend. 

Well, that's all I have today.  I'd love to get some feedback from you on the cars I've shown here.