Old Cars in Fremont

The Fremont neighborhood in Seattle has long since ceased to be affordable for ordinary human beings, but it retains some of its quirky character in the form of a lot of old cars and trucks.

This 1949 Ford F-1 has been nicely restored. That's a pretty nice chrome grill for a working pickup from this era.

 

 

The mid-80s Chevy El Camino, still a fairly common sight on the west coast.

 

This 1976 Datsun 280Z was the first car in the series with fuel-injection. It was way ahead of the dinosaurs Detroit was offering at the time.

 

1987 Dodge Ram. Far less common that the old Ford and Chevy trucks you see on every block here.

 

1980 Toyota Celica. One of the few cars from that era that is hard to kill.

 

And finally, right in front of the Ford F-1, quite a contrast: A 1990 Mercedes 560 SEC. This car cost around $85,000 new. That would be over $200,000 in 2024 dollars.

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1957 Ford Fairlane convertible, 1961 Ford Thunderbird and other clean used cars

 The '77 Malibu from my last post was from the Shoreline used car dealer who happens to sell a lot of vintage cars. Don't know where he gets them.

 

Ford sold more cars in 1957 than Chevy, but a '57 Bel Air convertible is worth three times as much as the Fairlane convertible from that year.

 

There's no mistaking a Thunderbird for any other car.

 

More from the bigger is better era: 1962 Chevrolet Impala with 283 v-8.

1977 Chevrolet El Camino. If the classic car-truck is your jam, and you're on a budget.

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1970 Chevrolet El Camino SS 396

1970 was the high-point of the muscle car era. That year, GM introduced the LS5 and LS6 454 V8 engines. The L6 had 450 hp and 500 foot-pounds of torque. Only a year later, GM was already de-tuning its performance engines. In 1974, you could still get a 454 in a Chevelle, but rated at a pitiful 235 horsepower. (Heck, today's Toyota 4-cylinder engines are rated at 206 horsepower!)

This El Camino has the 396 rated at 350 horsepower, just one step down from the legendary 454. Note the "cowl induction" feature on the back of the hood. Cowl induction hoods use a backward-facing scoop to draw in some of the cool, high-pressure air that collects on the windshield at speed.

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1972 Chevrolet El Camino

The classic car-truck is a common site in Seattle, including the El Camino, Ford's Ranchero and the VW Rabbit pickup. I'll also be covering the Subaru BRAT when I spot a good one.

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1987 Chevrolet El Camino

Chevy El Caminos, Ford Rancheros, VW Caddys, Subaru Brats. Yes, the vintage car-truck is popular here is Seattle. This late-model El Camino is in mint condition.

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