FLEMINGS JUNKYARD PHOTO GALLERY ALBUM THREE

Even more pictures from one of the most unusual car show venues I ever attended!  All pictures by your blogger, c2017.  Please note show location has changed for 2017.

 A 1953 Packard.  Once-prestigious marque driven into the ground in the late '50's by a "perfect storm" of bad decisions going back to the end of  WWII.  Packard was the only one of the prestigious "Three P's" (Peerless and Pierce-Arrow being the other two) to survive the Great Depression. Their Strategy: move downmarket with the "120", "Super Eight" and the inline 6-cylinder "115C" (later renamed the "110"). Cadillac used the same strategy by introducing the LaSalle and Lincoln, the 12-cylinder Zephyr. Lincoln and Cadillac also had the might of GM and Ford to shore them up.

The mistake was that Packard continued to market the lower-priced models in the seller's market after WWII. They even marketed to fleet buyers, such as taxicab companies! Cadillac and Lincoln had discontinued their cheaper lines, realizing they could sell anything, at any price, to a car-starved motoring public. The coup de grace was rejecting overtures from the newly-forming American Motors due to ego issues between James Nance and George Mason and merging with Studebaker. Studebaker wasn't exactly honest about their financial condition.  They were, in reality, drowning, and dragged Packard under with them.

The last cars to bear the Packard nameplate were badge-engineered Studebakers.  A sad fate for a proud marque. The only trace of Packard that remains today is their plant, abandoned since 1956, in Detroit. This solid concrete building, over 100 years old is finally receiving restoration.. 

     
A once-proud V-12 powered Lincoln sedan.  The massive grille treatment, which would make a suitable set of braces for Godzilla's teenage son and was introduced in 1942 and continued through 1948. It replaced the graceful waterfall grille treatment used on Zephyrs and the iconic Continentals.

Grille detail of '37 Chevy.  Chevrolet was named after famous race-car driver, Louis Chevrolet.  Before being taken over by GM, Chevrolet was interested in big, powerful cars. These failed in the marketplace.  GM made Chevrolet it's low-priced car.  Later on, due to advances in paint and painting techniques, Chevy gave Ford a run for it's money because it was able to give customers a choice of colors. 

In the late 1920's, Plymouth threw it's hat into the low-price market.  Walter P. Chrysler, wishing to appeal to farmers, named Plymouth after a brand of binder twine.  Most people, however, associated the name with Plymouth Rock, the site of the Pilgrim's landing in 1620.  A sailing ship, meant to represent the Mayflower, was the marque's symbol for many years.

                          One of what, for many years, was referred to in advertising as the "low-priced three": a 1937 Chevrolet.  Plymouth and Ford were the other primary suppliers of low-priced cars for the masses.  After toying with the luxury market in the ear;y 1900s (and failing), Henry Ford was the pioneer and inventor of the mass-produced, low-priced car. He invented the assembly line and developed a sturdy little car called the "Model T". He invented the assembly line and painted each "T" black, because it was the only color at the time that dried the fastest. Of his customers, he is famously quoted as saying: "They can have any color they want, as long as it's black'" He also was a labor innovator: he introduced the 40-hour work week and paid his workers a then-generous $5.00 a week.  Ironically, he would later send a squad of goons, headed by Harry Bennett, to violently break-up a sit-down strike in the 1930s.  

 '59 Windsor looks salvageable.  1959 was the third and final use of the 1957 body.  In order to meet the public's demand for annual styling changes, '58 and '59 models were "facelifted" with mostly awkward and contrived  changes.  The pure and beautiful 1957 models were horribly assembled and extremely rust-prone. Improvements in corrosion protection must have been made in 1958 and 1959.  The solidity of the sheet metal on this bottom-line Windsor proves it.


 An ad from the collection of Neil Settle showing a new '59 Windsor.

Though the bottom of the Chrysler line.  There were plenty of options for your Windsor, such as swivel seats.

1958 Imperial: "The Finest Expression of the "Forward Look". This picture, from the personal literature collection shows that Imperial changes for 1958 were minimal and not unattractive.  The busy grille from 1957 and 1957's "bi-plane bumpers (Virgil Exner was always trying to mix Classic-era styling touches with space-age elements, like tailfins.) were gone and replaced by a simpler front end treatment.     

The retro, optional "flite-sweep" decklid spare tire impression was often referred to as a "toilet seat", or a "trash can lid".  You could order this styling touch on any Chrysler-made product, 1957-1961.

1956 Dodge Ad from the collection of Neil Settle

One year, I was able to go through the yard and find junked cars of the same make and model as cars that a were st the show.  Giving the impression that they were "before" and "after" restoration shots.

You had to let the neighbors know you could afford power steering. Only cars made by Chrysler Corporation had "full-time" power steering.They claimed other power steering systems worked when the wheel was turned, which might cause a noticeable lag before the power assist kicked-in. 

 

Dig the "scissor action" mechanism.  How the quarter window acts in unison with the rear window on 1956 Chrysler Corporation 4-door pillarless hardtops.  Not something you want to get your hand caught in!   This is a 1956 Dodge Coronet.

Flames weren't originally part of the Chrysler New Yorker Image. The New Yorker Was the top of the Chrysler line. 1956 was a good year for Chrysler styling. The fins and nicely-integrated taillights were a sneak peek at the 1957 models, but were still built with decent quality.  The best of both worlds.  

Pontiac was in a slump in the early '50's.  Similar to pre-1955 Chryslers, Pontiacs like this 1954 were considered dowdy "old man's cars" with their straight eight engines and twin "Silver Streaks" down the hood.  The silver streaks had been introduced in the 1930s.  What was Art Deco/Moderne/Streamlined then, was as old-fashioned as high-button shoes by the '50's. GM toyed with the idea of dropping the division. Enter Semon E. "Bunkie" Knudsen and John Z. DeLorean.  Pontiac got a modern V-8 in 1955.  A top-line Pontiac convertible figured prominently on the "I love Lucy" TV show during the story arc where the Ricardos and Mertzes drive to Hollywood.  "Oh,  

Ricky!  A Pontiac!" Lucille Ball squealed with delight in front of millions. "Bunkie" Knudsen had the Silver Streaks removed at the last minute from the hoods of 1956 models. 1957 saw the introduction of the fuel-injected, limited edition Bonneville supercar. Under Knudsen and DeLorean, it was nowhere but up until the early 1970's. Rising insurance rates on the muscle cars that defined Pontiac's image as GM's high performance division, as well as the OPEC embargo of 1973 killed-off the muscle/pony car market. Pontiac soon became just another GM division, turning out the same badge-engineered fare as the other divisions. There was the Grand Am in the mid-'70's and the mid-engined Fiero in the mid '80's.  The Grand Am is fondly-remembered, despite it's rarity.  The Fiero tended to catch fire! Pontiac was dropped in 2010.    

The all-new 1955 Pontiac!

Painted in "Gulf Orange".  The Chevy II aka Nova was also a natural for a high-performance, or "SS" version with a big engine shoehorned into an engine bay designed for a 6.  

"I built it one piece at a time/and it didn't cost me a dime"-Johnny Cash.  It's a song about a man who gets a job on a GM assembly line.  He starts out putting wheels on Cadillacs. He decides to steal enough parts from GM to build himself a Cadillac of his own.  It takes him so many years to steal the parts that the final product is a mishmash of parts from all different years of Cadillacs! I think the builder of this custom listened to that song one time too many!  

Mid 1970's Bonneville. lying on it's side, sports a bumper sticker that says: "I Sleep in a Craftmatic Bed". 

Lubik Cadillac must have
 been bought out by Kerbeck at some point (this would only be relevant to people from the Atlantic City, NJ area). Back when dealer badges were metal and riveted to the car, in this case a '65 Coupe de Ville. 

The first few generations of Thunderbirds were given nicknames: the 1955-57 two-seaters are called "Baby 'Birds", the first generation 4-seaters of 1958-60 are known as "Squarebirds".  The 1961-63 generation are called "Bullet 'Birds" for their pointed front profiles.  Above, we have a 1966 "Flairbird", probably because of the side sculpting.  All were beautiful, luxurious automobiles.  Along with Lincoln in 1965, Thunderbirds carme with front disc brakes.  Very limited use of disc brake technology was seen on American cars as early as 1949.  Studebaker offered them as an option beginning in 1963.  Front disc brakes became common by the late 1960s.

Two salmons swimming upstream on their migration home: a 1954 Ford Panel Delivery and a 1958 Cadillac Coupe de Ville.  Pink, in all it's shades was a popular color in the 1950's and '60's.

 "Before" and "After" shots of 1959 Fords.  A survivor, loved and shown by its owner and one dragged into the junkyard years ago when it no longer served its owner's purpose.  

A couple of "Rat Rods" show the diversity of vehicles shown at a typical Pumpkin Run.

With it's skirted rear wheels, it looks like even tractors didnt escape the Streamlining craze of the 1930's.

A 1961 Buick gets a more old school custom treatment.  What I mean by that is that it does not sport the satin-finish paint or clear-coated "patina" that seems to be the thing among customizers today. 

I've heard the shape of the 1968-82 Corvette as being shaped like an adult toy, as well as a "silverfish on speed".

1970 was the last year for the de Ville droptop. If you wanted a Caddy convertible, you had to buy an Eldorado. The last factory-built Eldorado Convertible rolled off the line in 1976 in Bicentennial livery. These were touted to be "the last convertibles" and many buyers simply bought them as an investment to stash away.  Dreams of dollar signs danced in their heads as they fantasized about selling these rust-prone and shoddily-opulent "last convertibles" to future collectors for big bucks (and I dont mean the kind with antlers).   

What remains of a 1946 Mercury decorates the junkyard.

The thing about low-end 50's cars is that they received simpler trim and less tinsel. A good thing in the case of this '55-'56 Ford.  

The "early" Baby Boomers who were probably driven to school in this '53 Mercury wagon are now about 70 years old.

 Swollen feet from walking the show one year.  Note the old-school film cameras ("It's jewelry, very expensive heavy German jewelry.") 

               From the literature collection of Neil Settle

Continental MK VII LSC at a time when these were just used cars.  I've always thought these would generate collector interest, if only among Lincoln collectors (remember to contact Lincoln Land in Clearwater, Florida for all your vintage Lincoln parts needs).   

Diamond Jubilee 1978 Continental MK V.  

                           A DAF in America 


Any stock Willys around?  They all seem to have been converted to "gassers". 

Harry Fleming even had a London Bus in his yard.  I heard if you walked back for enough, you would find the remains of airliners used by the nearby FAA facility for crash tests!  Never saw them.

                    





                  '65 Bonneville Wagon!

Nobody's made a date with this Rocket 88 in awhile!  The Olds OHV V-8 made the 88 a formidable adversary in early NASCAR racing.  Very often though, the 6-cylinder Hudson Hornet with "Twin H Power" gave the Olds a run for its money and even beat the 88 in races.  A very early R & B song immortalizes the 88 and Little Richard refers to picking-up his date in his 88 to shag on down to the Union Hall.

Wear, tear, and time were bullets this Dodge couldn't . . . well . . . dodge.