Heeeyho Readers! Are you into vintage cars?
Isn't it awesome how far we've gone since Carl Benz applied for a patent for his “vehicle powered by a gas engine” in 1886?
Within a century and three decades, humanity went from horse-powered transportation to space suttles, self-driving electric cars, and supersonic airplanes. The evolutionary pace is even more absurd if we compare the achievements one-hundred and thirty years before 1886 when horses remained predominant throughout the decades.
I remember admiring old cars. Our neighbor used to have this 70's Ford Maverick, in a super racy red with shiny chromed trims — a rare beauty during the nineties, just after the 80's hyperinflation.
There was also a phenomenon inspiring most 90's kids in Brazil: Ayrton Senna.
Those who saw the legend racing grew up dreaming of driving a mean, roaring, and aggressive machine. Although living in this environment, I've never been a car aficionado in the sense of being always up to date on the latest models and knowing the itty-bitty details of every sexy supercar. Still, I ended up dealing with cars, becoming a mechanical engineer, and the rest is history.
In today's post, I'd like to share pictures of a vintage car meeting I found while in Uruguay. I hope you enjoy it.
Not sure what this rat rod pick-up is.
A rat rod is a custom car with a deliberately worn-down, unfinished appearance, typically lacking paint, showing rust, and made from cheap or cast-off parts.
Uruguay is famous for having rusty old cars everywhere. Most of them were shipped to Brazil before the country banned exportation (not sure how it works now). The car above seem to incorporate the spirit of rat rodding with the in-line engine instead of a V8 — quite a character.
If you know what body that is, leave on the comments!
1946/47 Mercury Eight Coupe
Forties and fifties are just two amazingly creative years for car bodies. In 2010 I almost bought a poor cousin of the Mercury Eight, the Ford Customline, but ten years newer than the model pictured above. If I could have a model from any of these two decades it would be the Ford Coupe 1940 flathead or a Chevrolet Belair 1957.
The Mercury Eight was an automobile marketed by the Mercury division of Ford between 1939 and 1951. The debut model line of the Mercury division, Ford slotted the full-size Mercury Eight between the Ford Deluxe (later Custom) model lines and the Lincoln. In total, Ford assembled three generations of the Eight (before and after World War II).
Chevrolet Camaro SS
Any camaro specialist there?
I believe this is a 1967 Camaro, but I could as well be confusing a 68. What are the differences? Either way, it's a classic from the pony car era of huge ass V8 engines and open competition between the manufactures.
The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed as a competing model to the Ford Mustang.
Mercury Cougar
There couldn't be a better name for a car. Just like WW2-era airplanes and their creative names. One day I found a Cougar covered in dust in a garage, but upon research I discovered the owner did not want to sell it. Bugger. This beast most likely has a 302 cu in V8 engined under the hood, but the engines ranged from 289 all the way up to the massive 427 cu in.
Mercury Cougar is a nameplate applied to a diverse series of automobiles sold by the Mercury division of Ford from 1967 to 1997 and from 1999 to 2002. While the nameplate is most commonly associated with two-door coupes, at various times during its production, the Cougar was also marketed as a convertible, four-door sedan, station wagon, and hatchback.
Various Beetles
Volkswagen Beatles, the classic. The Fusca, as called in Brazil, must be the most popular car around. Just to give an idea of how much people loved this little cars: 3.3 million cars produced from 1959 until 1996 in Brazil. These air-cooled cars represent the easiest and cheapest maintenance there is. There's a brazilian saying that says: "If you have a screwdriver and some wires, you can fix the Fusca."
The Volkswagen Beetle — officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German der Käfer (meaning "beetle"), in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug,and known by many other nicknames in other languages — is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, intended for five occupants that was manufactured and marketed by German automaker Volkswagen (VW) from 1938 until 2003.
Ford Escort MKII
Rally Legend, period. Those who've played Dirt Rally 1 and 2 know how awesome it is to drive this car on narrow, muddy roads. Smashing the gas pedal after a turn while trying to control the rear-wheel drive is one hell of an exersise.
The MKII was never produced in Brazil, making it a dream impossible to achieve unless importing a vintage one. My dad used to have a 80's generation, but it wasn't as fun as the old Mk I and II generations with rear-wheel drive.
The Ford Escort is a small family car that was manufactured by Ford of Europe from 1968 until 2000. The Escort was frequently the best selling car in Britain during the 1980s and 1990s. A total of more than 4.1 million Escorts of all generations were sold there over a period of 33 years.
Ford Torino
Another model we've never had in Brazil. I'm not sure but this might be a 1970 model and the engine is a V8 (either a 302 or 351, as the 429 is rare.) I like that the owner preserved the vinyl roof, giving this car quite some character.
The Ford Torino is an automobile that was produced by Ford for the North American market between 1968 and 1976. It was a competitor in the intermediate market segment. The car was named after the city of Turin (Torino, in Italian), considered "the Italian Detroit". The Torino was initially an upscale variation of the intermediate sized Ford Fairlane.
Harley Davidson motorcycle
Noup. Don't have a clue about this one. Looks like a 1920's model. Do you know anything about this?
Harley-Davidson, Inc., H-D, or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1903 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Along with Indian, it was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression.
Indian motorcycle
Harley Davidson and Indians are another case of fierce competition. Again, I know nothing about motorcycles, but Google says it might be a 40's model.
Indian is an American brand of motorcycles originally produced from 1901 to 1953 in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. Hendee Manufacturing Company initially produced the motorcycles, but the name was changed to the Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company in 1923.
Penny-farthing bicycle
Penny-farthing, not farting you sick-minded. Of course I had to end with a bicycle, though I'm more into hightech mountain bikes. I so wanted to ask the guy if I could ride it. Can you imagine riding these beasts wearing Victorian-era clothes?
The penny-farthing, also known as a high wheel, high wheeler or ordinary, was the first machine to be called a "bicycle". It was popular in the 1870s and 1880s, with its large front wheel providing high speeds (owing to it travelling a large distance for every rotation of the legs) and comfort (the large wheel provides greater shock absorption).
I finally bought my first vintage car in 2008 and, as you can expect, it was a 1970's Ford Maverick. It is a GT model (made in Brazil), with a 302 V8 imported by Ford Brazil from the USA. I'd like to end this post with a picture of my own car.
I hope to see you on the comments. Are you into vintage cars? Have you owned a vintage car? or something new back then that is now considered vintage? Let me know.
Peace.
Did you know that I have a book out? Check this!
Access Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/6500272773?
If you enjoyed this post consider leaving your upvote for a hot coffee.
Find me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrprofessor_
~Love ya all,
Disclaimer: The author of this post is a convict broke backpacker, who has travelled more than 10.000 km hitchhiking and more than 5.000 km cycling. Following him may cause severe problems of wanderlust and inquietud. You've been warned.
Very busy Friday for me and I cannot spread all my today´s TipU votes to many authors so I hope you don´t mind me dropping most of them here :D ;) Enjoy!
@tipu curate 3
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 25/85) Liquid rewards.
Oeeeee, I don't mind at all! Thanks for the push. By the way, how does it work? I always see you casting these votes but never truly understood how it's done.
You have to be one of the official TipU curators to be able to give out the votes. The more diverse your curation is, the more votes you can distribute :) Always a pleasure to drop some on your content.
I did not know about that Oo
gonna investigate later today
Awesome vintage car fair! Loved the ford Torino, surely was a great experience there!
Isn't it awesome? It's the type of often forgotten muscle car... we see Mustangs and Camaros everywhere, but Torinos? I'd rather have one than the later.
They are all great cars, very familiar from the movies 😀 BUT they stink like hell!
Naaaaaaaaw, just that smell of grandmas' houses. The rat rods on the other hand, I have no doubt they smell hahaha
The rewards earned on this comment will go directly to the person sharing the post on Twitter as long as they are registered with @poshtoken. Sign up at https://hiveposh.com.
Congratulations, your post has been added to Pinmapple! 🎉🥳🍍
Did you know you have your own profile map?
And every post has their own map too!
Want to have your post on the map too?
Your content has been voted as a part of Encouragement program. Keep up the good work!
Use Ecency daily to boost your growth on platform!
Support Ecency
Vote for new Proposal
Delegate HP and earn more
Awesome, thanks for the support!