MSCC JANUARY 26 STAR OF THE WEEK: 1964 DODGE POLARA 500-THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO
One of the most popular features of most car hobby magazines is a look back via old photos but many of them lack details in the back story.
This 1964 Dodge picture doesn’t have that problem.
Al Puzey was a young geologist and he and his new wife Shirley were on their honeymoon in June 1966 when this picture was taken.
They decided to take a trip to Vegas, head over to southern California and return home via the Pacific coast. Al was a camera buff so he documented the trip with a number of slides.
He was also a dedicated Mopar guy so he took several pictures of his beloved ’64 Polara 500 383 4-barrel 2-door hardtop including this picture in the California redwoods.
This MSCC Star of the Week is a salute to the story behind the photo.
MSCC JANUARY 25 STAR OF THE DAY: ’58 WESTERN FLYER CANUCK COACH-58 AND NEVER LATE
Western Flyer was a Canadian company based out of Winnipeg Manitoba.
They were originally called Western Auto and Truck Body Ltd and in 1941 they introduced the first coach with the engine inside the body and called it the Western Flyer.
Western Flyer introduced the Canuck highway coach in 1953 and established a solid reputation in the business as a builder of comfortable, reliable buses.
Maybe that’s why this MSCC Star of the Day ’58 Western Flyer shows “58 & NEVER LATE” as a destination.
MSCC JANUARY 24 STAR OF THE DAY: ’56 MERCURY MONTCLAIR-TOP OF THE LINE AND SAFE
Ford became very safety-oriented in 1956 when they added stuff that other manufacturers deemed less important.
Things like seatbelts, padded dashes and breakaway mirrors became part of the Ford package.
This ’56 Montclair 4-door hardtop was the top rung on the Mercury ladder that year and it was worth every penny for the extra class and style.
This MSCC Star of the Day safety-conscious classic was on the road back in 2009 and no one noticed the seatbelts.
MSCC JANUARY 23 STAR OF THE DAY: ’36 DESOTO AIRFLOW WITH A MERCEDES HEART-DAIMLER MEET CHRYSLER
Chrysler was decades ahead with the Airflow but there was little buy-in for the car.
The DeSoto and Chrysler Airflows were all steel unibody construction in an era where wooden body and frame construction was still a fact of life.
These cars were some of the earliest designs to employ wind tunnel testing and a re-think in weight distribution.
None of this high-tech stuff mattered in the 30s so the Airflows came and went in a few years.
This MSCC Star of the Day ’36 DeSoto at a 2008 show was even more unique because it was an Airflow body set on a Mercedes platform.
MSCC JANUARY 22 STAR OF THE DAY: A GROUP OF BUILT FORD TOUGH TRUCKS ON WINTER VACATION
The “Built Ford Tough” ad campaign is over 35 years old and the reason is simple.
Why mess with a good thing?
This is an advertising slogan that reaches back to the Carter administration but it wears its age with style.
This MSCC Star of the Day group of old Ford trucks is on winter vacation because that’s what built Ford tough trucks do in the off season.
They survive another winter.
MSCC JANUARY 21 STAR OF THE WEEK: 1966 PONTIAC GRANDE PARISIENNE- THE CANUCK CAPRICE
Canadian Pontiacs were an odd combination of Chevy and Poncho in 1966. The Grande Parisienne was the top of the line model for north of the border Pontiacs.
The Grande Parisienne was the equivalent of the Chevrolet Caprice in the personal luxury car arena and they were both aimed at the Ford LTD and the Plymouth VIP.
They were big block cars designed for comfort over performance and the target buyer was a younger guy on his way up who wanted something that wasn’t a more sedate Buick or Cadillac.
He could cling to the last shreds of his carefree youth with a car like this MSCC Star of the Day ’66 Pontiac Grande Parisienne.
JANUARY 20 MSCC STAR OF THE DAY: ’63 VALIANT-A LOOK BACK IN TIME
Most of the MSCC Stars of the Day are still around but occasionally you get a look back to a time when a car was brand new.
This ’63 Plymouth Valiant is a case in point.
This picture was taken back in 1963 when this little Mopar was brand new but there’s almost a 100% chance this car contributed a lot of sheet metal to a thirty-year-old stove
Sometimes an MSCC Star of the Week is more of a memory than a reality.
For past MSCC Stars of the Day please click here.
Star of the Day page sponsored by Southside Dodge.
