This 1940s Mercury was in pretty dire condition. Every body panel was rusty and in many places had completely rotted through the steeel.
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This 1940s Mercury was in pretty dire condition. Every body panel was rusty and in many places had completely rotted through the steeel.
On a hike deep in the woods of western Rockland County, New York, I came across this amazing specimen of the past. Over the decades, nature sure hasn't been kind to this classic 1950 General Motors beauty.
The back story: In 2002, I found my original 1972 Kodak Pocket Instamatic 40 buried deep in a box in the basement, which triggered a quick drive to our local Dollar General to buy a cartridge of Ferrania brand 110 film. On the way home, I snapped a couple of photos of this really sad, forgotten Thunderbird using the same camera which took hundreds of my 1970s images.
This is a deep crop of the original, so isn't the sharpest photo. Still, it gets the point across.
The 1960s were the very end of the "dump your crap anywhere" mentality which was prevalent since the dawn of the industrial revolution. The original Earth Day in 1970, the beginnings of environmentalism as well as the creation of the EPA completely changed the mindset of what is acceptable and what is not.
If your browser supports "Flickr Notes", I've attached a number of them describing this car's most salient and desirable features.
The Geo Prizm and Chevrolet Prizm were the ultimate in badge-engineering. They were actually Toyota Sprinters when sold in Japan and renamed the Prizm for American consumption.
This once extremely cool car just rotted away more and more with each passing season. I always wondered why the owner left it sitting there for at least 10 years.
==> The back story: In 2002, I found my original 1972 Kodak Pocket Instamatic 40 buried deep in a box in the basement, which triggered a quick drive to our local Dollar General to buy a cartridge of Ferrania brand 110 film. On the way home, I snapped a couple of photos of this really sad, forgotten Camaro using the same camera which took hundreds of my 1970s images.
I pass by this car every time I drive to ShopRite to buy groceries. Needless to say, I always give it a quick glance from my car's window. Today, I finally parked across the street and took a series of shots of this once sporty car which has spiraled down the food chain to become a home for moss, bacteria and all sorts of growth. Note all the moss growing on the driveway and the sides of the car. The spores are spreading....
** I've added a bunch of Flickr Notes to the photo, so enjoy! **
This 10 year old Caddy was obviously in an accident at some point. My neighbor swore he'd fix it up and use it as his daily driver. Well... that never happened. This junker sat for years becoming more moldy and rusty over time.
Everybody used to just call it "The Post". As in "I'm going to the Post... do you need anything?".
It's been five decades, so I'm curious if anybody remembers the movie, the plot and the actors. Within several minutes of this scene, she (the driver) discovers the dead body of her friend parked in a VW. It gets REALLY fascinating from there...
Over time, the original emulsion has turned reddish due to improper storage. Sorry about that.
Just for the record, I did not take this photo. It was emailed to me by a friend who asked me to upload it. Personally, I think it's an incredibly cool example of utter entropy!
I've placed a number of Flickr notes on this car to explain all of its pertinent details.
I've placed a few Flickr notes on the more salient features of this car.
The interior is even worse! Years of dripping water from an open passenger side window have created a virtual mini-forest of weedy growth which flourishes from heavily moldy carpeting and seats. When you look inside, it absolutely reeks! This vintage beauty has been parked in a driveway for at least a decade several blocks away from my house.
This photo was taken about 10 year ago. After driving past this relic numerous times, I though it was finally time to snap some photos. Looks like the owner removed the original vinyl roof at some point.
You can see how the original foam dashboard pad had dried out and split in the middle, with the two halves rising up to a peak.
The body contained numerous semi-repaired rusted panels and the interior had that old car smell of moldy vinyl and ancient carpeting.
By the way, there's a series of YouTube videos made by a guy who owns a restoration shop in Portland Oregon. The only cars he works on are Mercury Cougars. He's an absolute font of knowledge and is totally intimate with every detail of these cars. To watch these, go to YouTube and search for "West Coast Classic Cougar". Enjoy!
This photo was taken about 10 year ago. After driving past this relic numerous times, I though it was finally time to snap some photos. Looks like the owner removed the original vinyl roof at some point. The body contained numerous semi-repaired rusted panels and the interior had that old car smell of moldy vinyl and ancient carpeting.
By the way, there's a series of YouTube videos made by a guy who owns a restoration shop in Portland Oregon. The only cars he works on are Mercury Cougars. He's an absolute font of knowledge and is totally intimate with every detail of these cars. To watch these, go to YouTube and search for "West Coast Classic Cougar". Enjoy!
(See the Flickr notes posted on the photo for more info).
Although revered by collectors these days, this Chevy was just another stripped and abandoned 10 year old hulk on the streets of Manhattan.
Bashed, burned, stolen and abandoned cars were a fairly common sight well into the early 1990s. Starting in the mid 1960s, New York had begun its long and unstoppable downward spiral as it entered the "malaise era".
This was the oldest car I've seen around town in quite a while, so naturally had to take a few snapshots with my cellphone. Based on the paint color, the trunk lid probably came from another car. Note the little teddy bear sitting on the rear shelf as well as the steering wheel cover with a Chevy logo.
I spoke with the owner and he mentioned that it had been in the family for years. The engine is the original 305 Chevy small-block V8.
I don't see a radio, either. It would have been a tube-driven AM radio, but looks like it might have been removed at some point.
Click on the photo to view all the details in their vintage and somewhat rusted glory.
The last thing you wanted to do back then is leave your car parked in the same spot for several days. That sent a clear message to car thieves, parts scavengers and arsonists.