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Cruisers: American Cars in Stockholm

57 Desoto 4 Remember those great, big, American cars of the 50s and 60s, and maybe even 70s? You don’t get much chance to see them unless you’re near a movie shoot…so imagine my surprise, on my first day in Stockholm, when I turned the corner and found a streetful of them!

57 Desoto Turns out it was a street show day for Cruisers.se, one of Stockholm’s several American car clubs, and if I had been there earlier, I would have seen even more. The big ‘57 Desoto, above and below, was a real heart-tug for me; my father had the same model as a yellow-and-white Plymouth. It never seemed to make as bold a statement as the Desoto, though.

 

Here’s a true odd-ball: a late Ford Ranchero, built on a T-bird chassis, probably 1977.

Ranchero 77

 

Another one with a personal connection for me was this ‘70 Bonneville convertible. OK, so my ‘69 wasn’t a convertible, and was monotone dark blue—it was still fun to drive and amazingly big.

70 Bonneville 70 Bonneville 2

I found another "near miss" car here, too: a '69 Olds 442, the hot cousin of my very tame Olds F-85. Why is it I always seem to miss the wild ride version?

69 Olds 442

And then there were Cadillacs. The blue ‘64 is just a car, but the black ‘60 has a whole different meaning for me; a neighbor had a red convertible ’60 that my friends and I washed and polished almost every Saturday for a year, in return for the privilege of driving it to the A&W Drive-in on Sunday afternoons.

64 Caddy 60 Caddy

 

Last, but not least: a plain-Jane ’55 Chevy and an unrestored but low-riding ’57 Olds.

55 Chevy

57 OldsThere are a couple more shots in the slideshow below…

 Honk if you know something more about these cars!

 

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Images (16)
  • 1-aP1010653
  • 55 Chevy
  • 57 Desoto 2
  • 57 Desoto 3
  • 57 Desoto 4
  • 57 Desoto
  • 57 Olds
  • 60 Caddy
  • 64 Caddy
  • 69 Olds 442
  • 69 Olds-442
  • 70 Bonneville 2
  • 70 Bonneville
  • Galaxie 500 maybe 63
  • Ranchero (77)
  • Ranchero 77

The best part of every trip is realizing that it has upset your expectations

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Comments (13)

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Funny you should mention old Volvos. Some of my friends would drive nothing else in  the 70s, and one of them had a hard time giving up his mid-50s P444.

 

I remember that car well...at one time both doors were bent stuck and we had to go through a window to get in. Before winter, he bent one back into shape...I just saw one on the net...look how simple the dashboard was...
http://bringatrailer.com/2013/...ner-1958-volvo-v444/

My brother-in-law lived in Montreal, likely worse on cars than winter in Stockholm, and had a beloved classic Rover.  Always a man with strict personal guidelines, at the first threat of snow into the garage and up on blocks it went.  After 2 winters there myself a warm climate was the answer, no snow, no salt, no whining, his other hobby.  Good thing we're anonymous here.

Owning a classic can be a 

a lot cheaper than most people think.The insurance can be low in states like Virginia and in some places the  registration of plates last as long as you own the car.

 

And for the last few years, the motto has been,"Keep it as is"  ,so

 

flaws are accepted as part of the

history of the car.Cuts down on

expensive restorations 

 

 

 

Rustoration.  I like it!  And just happen to have one in my garage as we speak.  I gave it recently to my son to get rid of it, at which point he asked if he could keep it here as he doesn't have a garage.  Can't win.  It has been restored twice already and is due for a 3rd but that's up to the next owner, of car & garage.

Care to share a picture?
 
Originally Posted by PortMoresby:

Rustoration.  I like it!  And just happen to have one in my garage as we speak.  I gave it recently to my son to get rid of it, at which point he asked if he could keep it here as he doesn't have a garage.  Can't win.  It has been restored twice already and is due for a 3rd but that's up to the next owner, of car & garage.

 

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