Danville Street Sighting - 1954 Chevrolet 3100 Pickup

These pictures are old but I quite like the subject matter, so let's take a closer look. It's a 1954 Chevy 3100 pickup truck.

Livermore Street Sighting - 1979 Ford Ranchero GT

I don't know what it was about the 1970s, but someone decided maroon and gold looked good together on cars. I don't mean to offend any Arizona State or House Gryffindor fans, but when I was a kid, I did not like the combination. In 1980 my dad bought a 1966 Mustang convertible that had been repainted maroon and gold. I suppose it's a classic color combination for clothing and such, but on that car I hated it. This '79 Ranchero came from the factory like that. Except on this vehicle, it's not plebeian maroon. It's Cordovan.

Danville Street Sighting - 1949 Studebaker 2R5 Truck

Today marks the sixth day of the fabled countdown to Christmas.

On the sixth day of Christmas my archive gave to thee:
Suede Studebaker,
Fine Nomad bling,
Ford Thunderbird,
Beige French shed,
Tuned Chevy LUV,
and a Park Lane down on the street.

Lately there's been a rash of Studebaker trucks popping up around here. Okay, that's overstating things slightly, but I know of at least three. One of those is a restored mid 1950s one that I see driving rather often. Then there's this 1949 example that I've seen a number of times, marketed by a gentleman with an assortment of classic pickup trucks that all seem to be for sale. You'll see several of them on California Streets in time.

Santa Cruz Street Sighting - 1975 Chevrolet LUV Pickup

Today marks the second day of the fabled countdown to Christmas.

On the second day of Christmas my archives give to thee:
A tuned Chevy LUV,
and a Park Lane down on the street.

If the 12 Days of Christmas theme of this series already sounds forced, you ain't seen nothing yet.

The term "tuned" can refer to any number of modification and customization to an existing vehicle and it's not uncommon (especially in Europe) to see something described as such, even if all they did were visual mods. In this case it looks like this compact Chevy pickup had an engine swap that didn't quite fit.

Danville Street Sighting - 1982 Jeep J-10 Honcho Sportside Pickup

Who here remembers the movie Twister? The Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton storm-chaser flick with the roaring tornado and flying cows had its 20th anniversary this year. I've mentioned it before in a different post but that film was what got me interested in vintage Jeep trucks. The fact that as a little kid I was fascinated with tornadoes and natural disasters was just gravy. A yellow 1982 Jeep J-10 Honcho Townside pickup was used by the two protagonists in the beginning of the movie, then met its untimely demise when the twister picked it up. For the rest of the movie a 1995 Dodge Ram 2500 pulled hero truck duty. But I always liked that Jeep.

Danville Street Sighting - 1931 Ford Model A Pickup

Autumn is in full swing and it's almost Halloween, so how about a vehicle that reflects the colors of the season? This 1931 Ford Model A pickup in cheerful yellow, orange and black is downright cute.

Danville Street Sighting - 1972 Chevrolet C-20 Custom Camper

I've been a big fan of the 1967-'72 GM pickups since I convinced my dad to purchase a '71 GMC stepside when I was a kid. Most of them around here are either restored customs or tired work trucks now, so a clean stock truck is a great find. This one is a 1972 Chevy C-20 3/4 ton Custom Camper fleetside longbed, and I really like it.

Danville Street Sighting - 1931 Ford Model A Pickup

A few years ago Ford killed off the Ranger pickup and a lot of people lamented the disappearance of one of the last true basic, compact trucks. For owners who want a very compact, even more basic truck, there's always one of these.

Santa Clara Street Sighting - 1963 Chevrolet Corvair 95 Rampside

It's the first day of a new year, when we look forward to the potential for great new things. In the spirit of going forward, today's feature is a forward control Chevy Corvair 95 Rampside pickup.

Oakland Street Sighting - 1976 Ford Ranchero 500

Over the past several months, my friends have gotten me into a new pastime: flea markets. Every so often we get together early on a Sunday morning and hit the Laney College Swap Meet in Oakland. It's a fun little place full of bargains and occasionally sellers who think they have something made of gold-plated unobtainium, both of which make for amusing interactions. It has contributed significantly to my diecast collection, and also triggered my interest in customizing small-scale toy cars thanks to the low price of used examples at the swap meet.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1952 Ford F-1 Pickup

Some of the most interesting vehicles turn up when I'm not actively carspotting. I was with a friend in San Francisco, searching for parking near the Cable Car Museum when we happened upon this '52 Ford pickup. Ultimately we did find street parking and managed to visit the museum, but not before I took a moment to shoot the old truck.

San Ramon Street Sighting - 1972 International Harvester 1210 Travelette Pickup

I've heard a number of jokes about International Harvester trucks and rust. And I know that a lot of them really did succumb to rust. The 1970s IHC pickups are rare enough to start with, even before factoring in attrition from hard work and road salt and moisture. International always was kind of a niche player in the light-duty truck market, doing most of their business with heavy commercial trucks and the Scout SUV. Despite this, the Light Line pickups were offered in a wide range of styles, drivetrains and bed lengths.

Pleasanton Street Sighting - 1978 Ford Ranchero

I have a mild interest in late-model Ford Rancheros. The mid-to-late '70s utes are big and boxy, coming in two flavors mostly. There's the '72-76 model, beginning with the fish-mouth Torino-based front and evolving into the Starsky and Hutch '74-'76. An all-new Ranchero bowed for '77, based on the new LTD II. It used the same taillights as before, but the rest of the body was new and featured the LTD's coffin nose, pointed fenders and stacked quad headlamps. The body had more of a linear fuselage appearance as well, where the outgoing Torino-based pickup had a sculpted quarter panel.

San Ramon Street Sighting - 1967 Ford Fairlane Ranchero

I love the '67 Ford Fairlane. I've been a big fan of them for about ten years now, and I also dig the Ranchero coupe utility pickup-car thingy produced from 1957 to 1979. So it figures that I like the 1967 Ranchero based on the Fairlane.

Oakland Street Sighting - 1964 Mercedes-Benz Unimog 404S

Today is Halloween. With the current zombie craze in popular culture, everybody likes to fantasize about how they'd survive the zombie apocalypse. Well, here you go. A Mercedes-Benz Unimog is a military-grade four-wheel-drive truck known for its off-road prowess and durability. It might also do well for running down hordes of zombies.

Millbrae Street Sighting - 1982 Cadillac Coupe DeVille Mirage Pickup

Last year I commemorated Halloween with two vintage Cadillac hearses. I hoped to feature another hearse this year but I haven't seen one on the street since a midnight screening of Tommy Wiseau's "The Room" in Oakland. Photographing a black car on a dimly lit street at night while waiting in line for a movie doesn't work so well. So the closest thing I had in the archives was this, a 1982 Cadillac Coupe DeVille converted into a pickup truck. How is that related to a hearse? Well, some people I showed these pictures to believed it was a funeral flower car. I'm not so sure.

San Ramon Street Sighting - 1957 GMC 100 Pickup

GMC is often forgotten when people think of classic pickup trucks. Always overshadowed by its Chevrolet twin, especially the slick Cameo with its fiberglass fleetside bed, GMC was a curious formula. GMC trucks were at times a simple rebadge job with a different grille and tailgate, though sometimes they had engines from other GM divisions such as Pontiac. Chevy trucks were sold through Chevrolet dealerships only, but GMC could be marketed at Buick, Pontiac, Cadillac or Oldsmobile dealers that otherwise sold no pickups.

Berkeley Street Sighting - 1974 Mazda B1600 Pickup

I'm on kind of a Japanese truck kick right now, so after the '66 Toyota Stout from Friday let's look at a 1974 Mazda B-Series. No, it's not a REPU (Rotary Engined Pick Up), but it's the next best thing.

Oakland Street Sighting - 1966 Toyota Stout 1900 Pickup

An old Toyota pickup to me is nothing special. The Hilux and its successor, the "Truck" or "Pickup" are mostly just old trucks driven by landscapers and junk collection companies. A vintage 1960s-era Toyota Stout, on the other hand, is kind of a big deal to find. An unrestored, generally complete Stout that runs is a particularly rare find. Finding one completely at random, forgetting where it was and then finding it again months later completely at random is really something, or at least it is for me.

San Jose Street Sighting - 1974 Jeep J-10 Pickup

I love old Jeep trucks. They just look like a scaled-up pressed-steel Tonka toy, down to the squared off fenders and creased edges and chunky tailgate lettering. It's all very institutional and deliberately utilitarian, befitting a work truck of the era. My interest in Jeep pickups came from the yellow 1982 Honcho used in the 1996 film Twister, which sadly got destroyed. (Incidentally, the same movie also helped get me interested in Dodge Rams.)