1936 Ford Tudor Sedan

I have a soft spot for cars on signs. This 1936 Ford Tudor Sedan at the Chinese Village Restaurant & Lounge in Longview, Washington, was placed here in the 1970s when the restaurant was called Bonnie and Clyde's, which closed in the late 1980s. Chinese Village closed in September 2009. The car was practically a Longview landmark until it was removed from the sign on February 27, 2010, and subsequently donated to the local Unique Tin Car Club. The club plans to restore the car.

Related Links:
Classic Ford lowered from perch along Ocean Beach Highway from The Daily News
Unique Tin to restore Bonnie & Clyde's Car from The Daily News

1985 Ford LTD Crown Victoria Wagon

Photo by Cliff West

My parents purchased this 1985 Ford LTD Crown Victoria Wagon in Sand Beige with a Clove Brown interior from Columbia Ford in Longview Washington, on August 19, 1992, with 72,577 miles on the odometer for $3,999.00, trading in their 1985 Mercury Marquis for $1,500.00. 

Photo by Cliff West

It is powered by a standard 140-horsepower electronically fuel-injected 5.0-liter V8 engine producing 250 ft-lbs of torque with Electronic Engine Control IV and a 4-speed Automatic Overdrive Transmission. 

Photo by Cliff West

Ford had introduced the new LTD on the brand-new Panther platform in 1979, and introduced the LTD Crown Victoria 2-door and 4-door sedans in 1980 as a top-of-the-line trim featuring a brushed aluminum trim band over the B-pillars. 

Photo by Cliff West

With the 1983 introduction of a smaller LTD on the Fox platform, all the Panther platform models became LTD Crown Victorias, including the wagons which never had the B-pillar trim. 

Photo by Cliff West

Wagons with woodtone exterior paneling were called Country Squire, but those without were simple LTD Crown Victoria Wagons. 

Photo by Cliff West

Just 4 inches longer than the sedans, LTD Crown Victoria Wagons feature 89.5 cubic feet of cargo area with the rear seats folded down, plus a 2 cubic foot lockable side storage compartment, and another lockable storage compartment under the rear load floor that measures 9.9 cubic feet in a car without the dual facing rear seats like this one.

Photo by Cliff West

The LTD Crown Victoria Wagon also features a 3-way doorgate, which opens like a door with its power window up or down, or lowers like a tailgate. 

Photo by Cliff West

Standard equipment included power steering, power front disc & rear drum brakes, concealed windshield wipers with fluidic washer system, power ventilation system, conventional spare tire, Super Luxury sound insulation, quad rectangular halogen headlamps, front and rear bumper guards, left-hand remote-control mirror, vinyl insert bodyside moldings, bright wheelslip moldings, rocker panel moldings, hood & bodyside accent stripes, courtesy lights in glove box, front ashtray & cargo area, day/night rearview mirror, fold-down rear seat, and removable color-keyed load floor carpet. 

Photo by Cliff West

New for 1985 were a redesigned dashboard and steering wheel and gas-pressurized shock absorbers. 

Photo by Cliff West

This well-equipped example also features an electronic AM/FM stereo search radio with cassette tape player including Dolby® Noise Reduction, auto-reverse and program search features, leather-wrapped steering wheel, air conditioning, pivoting vent front windows, rear window defroster, Tripminder® computer, cornering lamps, illuminated entry system, speed control, tilt steering wheel, right-hand remote convex mirror, interval windshield wipers, deluxe luggage rack, heavy-duty trailer towing package, 6-way power driver seat adjustment, bumper rub strips, cast aluminum wheels, power side windows, the Power Lock Group with power door locks and doorgate lock, the Interior Luxury Group including reclining split bench seats with seat back map pockets, optional leather upholstery with special sew style, luxury door panels with assist straps, full length armrest and power side window controls, 18-ounce cut-pile floor carpeting, additional woodtone appliques on instrument panel, electronic digital clock, trip odometer, low oil level and low fuel warning lights, dual illuminated visor mirrors, automatic parking brake, and the Light Group including dual beam map light, headlamps-on warning chime, engine compartment light, and dual instrument panel courtesy lights.

Photo by Cliff West

For 1986, the Interior Luxury Group would become its own trim line: the LTD Crown Victoria LX. 

Photo by Cliff West

The LTD Crown Victoria would receive a facelift for 1988, with slightly more aerodynamic styling.

Photo by Cliff West

This generation of LTD Crown Victoria would continue through 1991. A new aerodynamic 4-door sedan would emerge for 1992, though no 2-door or wagon would be offered. With the Fox-platform LTD having been discontinued after 1986 in favor of the new Taurus, the LTD name was dropped entirely in 1992 and Ford's full-size sedan was simply called the Crown Victoria until it was finally discontinued in 2012.

Video by Cliff West

Here is a video my dad made about this car in 2010.

1991 Dodge Dynasty LE

One of the largest cars based on Chrysler’s K-Car, the Dodge Dynasty was built from 1988 to 1993, sharing the C Platform with the Chrysler New Yorker.

I purchased this example in 2003 for $800: a 1991 Dodge Dynasty LE powered by a 147-horsepower 3.3-liter V6 engine with a 4-speed A604 Ultradrive automatic transmission. 

During the time I owned this car, it suffered from a failing reverse gear, a rocker pedestal breaking off one of the aluminum heads, and finally the pulley shearing off the power steering unit. I traded-in the barely-functioning car for $100 in 2005.

1949 Packard Custom Eight Touring Sedan

When automobile production resumed after World War II, Packard, like most other automakers, simply brought back the cars it was making before. In Packard’s case, this was the Packard Clipper that was introduced in 1941. The Clipper hadn’t been in production long enough before the war to allow a relatively low-volume luxury marque like Packard to come up with all-new models in the late 1940s like other automakers. In 1948, Packard restyled the 1941-1942 Packard Clipper, eliminating the separate fenders and the narrow tapered hood & grille, with the Packard Eight and Super Eight on a 120-inch wheelbase and the Custom Eight on a 127-inch wheelbase.

1949 saw little change, aside from the mid-year introduction of Packard’s Ultramatic automatic transmission, Packard’s first automatic transmission and the only one developed by an independent automaker without outside assistance. Packard production would hit a peak of 116,000 cars for 1949, making it one of Packard’s best years ever.

1946 Hudson Cab Pickup

Hudson introduced 1/2-ton and 3/4-ton Cab Pickups in 1939. After World War II, only the 3/4-ton Cab Pickup returned in 1946 on a 128-inch wheelbase based on the Hudson Super Six, powered by a 102-horsepower 212-cubic-inch inline 6-cylinder engine. Hudson discontinued Cab Pickup production after 1947, with the new “step-down” bodies of 1948, with only a single prototype for a 1948 pickup built. This 1946 Hudson Cab Pickup was photographed at the 2004 Unique Tin Car Show in Longview, Washington.

1963 Cadillac Hearse

Cadillac flamboyance had peaked in 1959, and the 1960s brought simpler grilles, lower fins and less chrome. Cadillac received a new C-body in 1961 that continued the trend, and all Cadillac models became powered by the same 325-horsepower 390-cubic-inch V8 engine, which was redesigned for 1963 to be lighter and stronger, while producing the same power. 1963 also brought a bulkier grille and new slab-sided outer body panels and side moldings. Standard equipment included the Hydra-Matic 4-speed automatic transmission, power steering, self-adjusting power brakes, heater, backup lights, and remote-controlled left side mirror. This 1963 Cadillac hearse at the 2004 Unique Tin Car Show in Longview, Washington, appears to be from the Superior Coach Company.

1948 Crosley CC Convertible

In 1939, Powell Crosley, Jr., known for radios and refrigerators, launched a tiny economy runabout to be sold through Crosley appliance dealers for $325 to $350. Only 10 feet long on an 80-inch wheelbase and weighing under half a ton, it was powered by a 13.5-horsepower 2-cylinder boxer engine and could reach only 50 miles per hour, but could deliver fuel economy of at least 50 miles per gallon. By World War 2, Crosley was making convertible sedans, wood-bodied station wagons, convertibles, covered wagons with full canvas tops, and commercial models, selling almost 5,000 of the 1941-1942 models. Following the war, Crosley resumed production in June 1946 with the Crosley CC, powered by a 26.5-horsepower 44-cubic-inch overhead-cam four-cylinder “CoBra” engine with a block made of brazed copper and sheet steel that Corsley had developed for a U.S. Navy project during the war. Still on the 80-inch wheelbase, the CC was 28 inches longer than the prewar models. Initially available as a two-door, four-seat sedan, convertible was introduced by the end of the year, followed by a station wagon in 1948 and a delivery sedan in 1948. The Crosley CC was the first mass-produced slab-sided car in America, and it was powered by the first mass-produced overhead-cam engine. Crosley production peaked at almost 29,000 cars in 1948, with the station wagon being by far the most popular body style; Crosley actually led U.S. automakers in steel-bodied station wagons in 1948. The Crosley CC looked pretty much the same from 1946 to 1948. A switch to sealed-beam headlights in early 1948 moved the parking lights from within the headlight to their own small bubble-like housing, and a bolt on bar grille was added later in the year, and was also available separately to upgrade earlier cars. For 1949 the Crosley CC would be replaced with the improved Crosley CD, but the market had largely moved on, and Crosley gave up on the automobile business in July 1952. This Crosley CC Convertible at the 2004 Unique Tin Car Show in Longview, Washington, is probably a 1947 or early 1948 model.