Curbside Classics Bite The Dust
I feel like I’ve become the godfather to hundreds of old cars around town, so when one or more disappears from its usual spot, I usually suspect the worst. And for the second time, I’ve actually witnessed the event, and this time documented it. This Regal Coupe has been a faithful resident near our house, but the other day we stumbled on this sad event. From the long faces of the owner and his fellow mourner, it looks serious. And I have not seen it return since. But fear not; I had already shot it long ago, and it will (re)appear on these pages post-mortem in full CC glory. The other two victims will not:
I don’t go chasing accidents, but when I came across the aftermath of this punch out of two similar-vintage Japanese pickups, I couldn’t resist. The Nissan Hardbody gets the KO, but it’s not likely to survive either.
More by Paul Niedermeyer
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Back in the early 90's I was lucky enough to find an '81 Regal with a blown 3.8 for a few hundred dollars. The body was imaculate other than a dented trunk lid where the PO had likely backed into something. I dropped a lightly breathed on 400 SBC in it and backed it with a TH400, I kept burning up the TH350s, and drove it for a number of years. It's still the one car I look back on with regret for selling.
Paul, there must be a fountain of youth where you live. My family had two early-eighties cars like this (Olds Cutlass and Pontiac LeMans), and they both fell long before the Berlin wall did. Within 8 years they went from shiny new metal to rusted-out carcasses with dead powertrains and a long list of replacement parts. The local mechanic was the only person who cried when we switched to Honda, but then again he was driving one himself.