My special thanks to other web sites that inspired me: Seattle's Parked Cars, Portland's Old Parked Cars and Jalopnik.com's Down on the Street series.
We'll start with a favorite of mine, this 1962 Oldsmobile Cutlass F-85 2-door hardtop. The Olds F-85 first made its appearance in 1961, along with the very similar Pontiac Tempest and Buick Special. It was different from anything buyers had seen before, in that it was a front-engine, rear-drive car with a rear-mounted transaxle in place of a front-mounted transmission.
The '62 Cutlass was also the first mass-produced car offered with a turbocharger. Known as the Jetfire engine, it produced 215 HP from an engine of only 215 c.i.. The turbocharger required its own liquid-fueled cooling system. According to an article on ebay stories blog, the cooling system required, "a combination of methyl alcohol and distilled water, and was dubbed "Turbo-Rocket Fluid" by the marketing geniuses at Olds. The fluid was actually used to cool the intake charge, and was instrumental to the proper working of the turbo-charger. Unfortunately (or fortunately, for collectors, as the case may be), many consumers were unaware that they needed to keep the resevoir filled with fluid, leading to both mechanical problems with the car, as well as some cars being retrofitted with a conventional carburetor and manifold". A '62 Cutlass with Jetfire engine in good condition sold at auction for $42,100 in 2014.
The Cutlass pictured appears to be largely original, aside from the rims and the addition of a 4-speed transmission. In the ten years I've lived in Seattle, I believe that, alas, it has not moved from this spot.
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