I'm having a tough time figuring out the year of this 122S; the early-series yellow-on-black license plates mean it's no newer than '63 or '64, and the grille also suggests that era, but we'll need a real Amazon expert to tell us for sure.

This car appears to be in excellent original condition, and it's even a two-door!

I spotted this Volvo parked in front of a local Volvo shop, across the street from the '87 BMW L6 and parked in the exact same spot that gave us the '70 164. Check out the Bertone 262C in the background.

The Galaxie 500 was the middle-of-the-road trim level for the full-sized Ford in 1964; much spiffier than the Custom but not quite as glitzed-out as the Galaxie 500XL. You got a 260-cubic-inch V8 as standard Galaxie 500 equipment, but a few bucks more would buy you the 289 or 390.

Detroit needs to bring back badging that looks like this! And I don't mean that faux-chrome plastic stuff- I mean genuine low-bidder peely-ass chrome and won't-stay-shiny-for-long aluminum, like in the old days!

Fortunately, I spotted this very, very nice '64 Grand Prix parked at the beach not long ago, quite close to the home of the not-so-nice '71 VW Squareback. Don't worry about it being near the beach, because the San Francisco Bay's surf is measured in inches, not enough to kick up a bunch of Rust Monster-enabling salt on nearby parked cars.

You'd have paid $3,499 for this car back in 1964, and for that price you got the 306-horse 389 and way more style than the realtors in their Bonnevilles. A '64 Galaxie 500 coupe went for just $2,783, which may have left you enough money in your budget for a dealer-installed 425-horsepower Thunderbird Super High Performance 427 engine. Which would you have chosen?

Rust seems to have taken a few bites out of the Pontiac, but it hasn't surrendered! Here's what Nuyear68 has to say about his finds:

Not necessarily an island that time forgot, but still a home for some neat DOTS candidates. Here's a 1965 Oldsmobile Starfire convertible. Pretty low production, it was the last Starfire ragtop, with the 1966 coupe being the end of its run until unceremoniously brought back as a dinky hatchback in the 80's (I think).
This one sports wheels from a 1972 Olds, and the neatest feature of this car is the side exhaust outlets at the rear of the fenders.
Must be an Olds guy who owns this, notice the nice Olds 98 Regency coupe in the driveway.
Rust hasn't forgotten this oldster I spotted here on Staten Island. It's a 1952 Pontiac - plain jane model with not too much trim, but a real neat chrome treatment up the deck and down the nose.

We saw this Greenbrier a couple months back, and this '64 Monza earlier in the year. Prior to that, we'd seen only this Corvair painter's van in the series, making 2009 The Year Of The DOTS Corvair!
I shot this car quite close to the spot in which the '71 Plymouth Valiant once lived, and just down the block from this '62 Chevy Nova. As far as I can tell, it's a '64… but I could be wrong. Corvair experts?

This car is owned by the same guy who daily-drives this '77 Olds Custom Cruiser wagon. The Olds is for hauling the family around, and the Chevy is for hoonage! It's got a wicked-sounding 383 stroker, crazy gears, and a nice paint job is the next step. Personally, I think primer looks better, but to each his own!

We can thank Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet for suggesting the tears-to-our-eyes amazing treble scoop setup that Alfa Romeo installed on the Giulia TZ1 in 1964.
But that wasn't the only great hood scoop Alfa Romeo (or maybe it was all Zagato's doing; I'll need to consult with Alfa expert Conrad Stevenson to get the story) put on their race Giulias during this period. How about this hinged setup, which may have provided inspiration for Chrysler's Air Grabber designers?

Image source: AllSportAuto

The seller is asking $6,000 for it, which might be the deal of the century… or it might be huge optimism on the part of the seller. These things are so rare that I just can't say. What do you think? Sorry, Graverobber, I'm repo-ing the Nice Price Or Crack Pipe series for the day- you can have it back tomorrow!

I've also received word that another DOTS honoree is up for sale: the 1965 Dodge D100 pickup, which needs a new clutch and can be yours for a mere $500. That's right, a Slant Six-powered, three-on-the-tree-equipped Dodge pickup for five Benjamins; anyone interested should email me and I'll put a note on it for you.

Within days of its arrival, I must have received a half-dozen phone calls and emails alerting me to the super-rare Corvair Greenbrier in my neighborhood. Naturally, I had the camera in hand and was walking the several blocks to its parking space right away. Hooray, our second DOTS Corvair, not long after the first one.

From what I can tell, the external appearance of the Greenbrier didn't change much during its 1961-65 production run; I'm guessing it's a '62, and maybe I'm right! There's some good Greenbrier info at this site.

We've got representatives of each of the Big Three (sadly, no AMC products), from the days when Detroit ruled the automotive universe. Four from GM and one apiece from Ford and Chrysler. Tomsk writes:

1964 Buick Riviera: This second-year example of Buick's personal luxury coupe has arguably seen better days, but you've gotta admit, it looks positively menacing.

1963 Mercury Monterey: With Mercury having been against the ropes since...well...a long-ass time now, it's worth remembering just how rad their products once were. Take this 1963 Monterey Custom 2-door hardtop, complete with the "Breezeway" roll-down rear window and the accompanying oddball roofline.
Am I alone in having a burning desire to cruise this baby down the main drag on Saturday night with a certain J. Wagner snuggled up next to me on the big bench seat? Didn't think so.

1965 Chrysler: This majestic child of Ma Mopar, though clearly fallen on hard times (Dig the precision-engineered driver's window repair!), still has that certain presence about it. That certain GIGANTIC presence about it.

1956 Chevrolet: Considering how much coin Tri-Five Chevys command these days, you'd think a clean, stock looking '56 Bel Air 2-door sedan would at least be hidden under an industrial-strength car cover and parked in the driveway. Well, that isn't the case with this one, which apparently calls a Costa Mesa cul-de-sac home. I've always thought the '56 was the best looking of the three shoebox Bowties; how about the rest of the Commentariat?

1968 Pontiac Catalina: The current Pontiac advertising tagline is "Pontiac is Car." Unfortunately, the models other than those belonging to the G8 and Solstice families are not Car; they're things you use to cover the oil spots on your driveway.
However, there was apparently a time when all new Ponchos were indeed Car. Exhibit A: This 1968 Catalina ragtop. If Oprah had given these things away, she'd be President Winfrey now. Stick that hyperbole in your pipe and smoke it.

1962 Cadillac: This 1962 Cad (I'm fairly sure it's a Sedan deVille) has seen better days, but what state would the true Jalop rather have it in: An over-restored beauty you'd be scared to take out of its plastic bubble, or this property-value-sucking, pseudo rat rod form? Exactly.

Why, I remember wheeling and dealing to buy a beater '60 Corvair while I was in high school, but the seller wouldn't listen to my totally reasonable $200 offer. As we know, the Corvair has some funky handling characteristics, but so what? Look at it! This is a '64, right? Corvair experts?


It appears that the owner of the DOTS Austin Cooper S is also the owner of this Monza coupe. For some reason, he's trying to sell the Chevy. It has some dings and a bit of surface rust, but seems to be a pretty solid restoration candidate. Nicely priced at $2900?

Back when the words "64 Chevy" meant "1964 full-sized Chevrolet," you had the Biscayne, the Bel Air, and the Impala (in order of prestige). We've seen a couple of Bel Air sedans so far in this series: this '63 and this '60, but this is our first Bel Air wagon. I see this car driving around town pretty regularly, so it's out there putting on the daily miles in its 45th year on the planet.


It's pretty rough-looking, but not in an ironic-hipster way. This wagon is just a tough old survivor that continues to earn its keep. Someday it might get restored… or it might break down and wind up in the jaws of The Crusher.

I don't know my Jeeps well enough to determine whether this example is a '63 or '64 model. The '65s had "Kaiser-Jeep" badging, so this one is either a first- or second-year Wagoneer. With its Brooks Stevens design, the first-gen Wagoneer is definitely a good-looking truck, and quite rare nowadays.


The '63 International Harvester half-ton Travelall 4x4 sold for $3,011 (and was also a great-looking machine), while the 4x4 Wagoneer 4-door went for $3,332. Farm equipment or military truck heritage? Either way, you're looking at some pretty sturdy iron. And, while we're pricing 1963 vehicles to take you and many passengers to the woods, we can't forget Detroit. The '63 Dodge Power Wagon Town Wagon 4x4 would rumble off the showroom floor for $3,104. GMC could put you behind the wheel of a Suburban Carryall 4x4 for $3,489, while the Chevy version would set you back $3,305. Which would you choose?

First of all, when we're talking about an Imperial, we need to reiterate this important Imperial fact, lest we enrage the purists: this is not a Chrysler Imperial; Imperial was its own marque during the 1955-75 period, so referring to such a car as a "Chrysler Imperial" is like calling an Eldorado a "General Motors Cadillac."


No wonder these things were outlawed at most demolition derbies! Everything seems to be cast out of great slabs of solid iron, and only that torque-beast 413 under the hood keeps it reasonably quick on the street. As for fuel economy… well, if you have to ask, you can't afford it. Speaking of affordability, this car sold new for a princely $5,581. What upscale imports could you have bought for that amount back then? How about a brand new '64 Jaguar XKE coupe for $5,525? Or a Mercedes-Benz 220SE for $5,187? When you're done thinking about those weighty questions, take our Favorite DOTS Imperial poll!

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

I found this customized Ranchero parked in front of Mel's Bowl, just after sunset on a Friday. That's right- the owner is rolling on shomer Shabbas! Then there's the additional blasphemy of a Maverick emblem on the tailgate; normally we aren't purists about such things, but Maverick? Still, this Ranchero is in good shape and the custom touches are fairly subdued for the most part.


A 289 4-speed Ranchero! Of course, it might actually have the 5.0/T5 combo torn out of a Fox Mustang- a very common swap in these things- but that's OK with us. Since you couldn't get a 289 in the '64 (the 260 was the Ranchero's optional V8 that year), originality isn't really an issue here. In fact, this could be a 1965 model with a '64 grille; providing an additional clue, the hood ornament is a '65 item. In that case, a 289 could be original equipment. Ranchero experts, what do you say? Before you answer, take the poll!

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

Why did Bhagwan Rajneesh have a fleet of 93 Rolls-Royces? I'll tell you why- the Rolls-Royce is the cult leader car! Look at David Koresh; much as we approve of the idea of a '69 Camaro sporting gold-plated valve covers embossed with "GO GO GOD 427," we all know things didn't work out so well for Mr. Koresh; anyway, you'd find rival cult leaders siphoning away your followers if you rolled in a lowly Chevy. Yes, when the rocks are melting and the hordes of hunger-maddened refugees flee the burning cities in search of canned goods and possum innards, you'll need unquestioning obedience from your holy warriors if you expect to live in luxury with your harem and treasure room… and that means you'd better get that Rolls now, while you can still find parts! We suggest this 1964 Rolls-Royce limousine, which is already located in a desert region suitable for your Holy Fortress and comes with a price tag of just $3,500. It needs an engine, which gives you the opportunity to install a big diesel powerplant. Why diesel? Well, that way you'll be able to fuel it on the fat rendered from the corpses of your rivals, which makes an impressive statement in addition to being an eco-friendly solution to cadaver disposal.

In the post-postmodern post-apocalyptic world, don't you think that the old rules for cult leaders might be irrelevant? The irony-steeped young men and women who will form your warrior brigades might well snort in derision at a Rolls-Royce, and then you'd have a big discipline problem just as the Kalashnikov-toting legions from the Beelzebub's Bastards gang roll up to your compound and start catapulting the corpses of cholera victims over the walls. You don't need that hassle, do you? But, as the all-powerful Top Honcho For Life, you still need British luxury, which is why this '56 Bentley S-1 is the car for you. As with the Rolls, its engine is trouble-free- in fact, the car is engine-free- so you'll have that much less work to do when it comes time to install that human-flesh-burning diesel. The car's description includes the cryptic statement "It is indoors so weather and darkness will not be an issue," which could form the basis of your soon-to-be-legendary "Weather And Darkness Will Not Be An Issue" speech, the one that inspires your army to bring you back a record-breaking number of trophy heads, a few dozen of which you'll be able to display on the cast-iron spikes you can mount on this car's bodywork for just that purpose.

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

Greetings, Murilee. I email you from the great commonwealth of Massachusetts. To be more specific, Quincy. Just south of Boston, and home to two of the first six Presidents of the United States, hence the nickname.

I have come across a very DOTS-worthy vehicle on the streets of my fair city. I'm guessing, but it appears to be an early sixties example of a Cadillac Series 6200. The fact that the rust and potholes around here haven't sent it to the crusher already is amazing in and of itself. The car is missing ALL of its chrome, has a duct-tape seat cushion, and the Black Flag sticker just tops it off perfectly. The owner wasn't around, or didn't care that some dude was snapping pix of his ride, but I'll leave a note in the coming days.

This is not the only DOTS car I've seen around town. There's a bright green 50's Plymouth that drives daily, and parks in the same spot down by the Quincy Center T station, right near the busiest intersection in town. I never seem to have a camera handy when I see it. I will catch it soon, though, and send it your way.

First, let's have the anthem!

Before you go lining up your airbrush artist and gold-plating shop, you need to get a starting point. Since we're going old-school traditional here, the obvious choice would have to be the '64 Chevy Impala coupe. Now, you could find yourself a nice original '64, but have you priced them lately? You won't be able to afford that huge mural depicting La Noche Triste across the hood if you blow your entire roll on Day One, and it's simply unacceptable to get a four-door or even a Biscayne. We've got the solution, though, and a fine one at that: This 1964 Impala Two-Door (go here if the ad disappears) has a totally reasonable price tag of only $1,800. There's rust, the engine and glass are missing, but the seller has "ALL THE DOORS AND FENDERS AND HOOD and trunk WHICH ARE SRAIGHT," plus "95%" of the trim. The seller really does want to sell the car, not like those other guys who spam their basket-case Impalas on Craigslist because they "just want the world to know that they own a Impala." The drivetrain will be easy and cheap, which means you'll have plenty of time and money left to take on... everything else!

Come on, doing a '64 Impala lowrider is like building yet another big-block '69 Camaro- sure, you'll love it... but you'll just be one of a very large crowd. How about going with an for an earlier era for your classic lowrider? Something just as iconic, but that would turn heads on Whittier Boulevard in 1955 just as readily as today? We're going back into time, back to a topsy-turvy world in which you could utter "Mercury" and "cool" in the same sentence and not have everyone avoid eye contact with you. Yes, 1949, when these three '49 Mercury coupes (go here if the ad disappears) were made! The seller claims one of the three is "THE BEST ONE" (though it's unclear how that was determined) and he or she "WOULD SELL ONE OR ALL." As an added bonus, the cars are located in the Flaming Lips' hometown of Norman, Oklahoma, which means you'll be humming "One Million Billionth of a Millisecond on a Sunday Morning" every time you look at your new project! It's not clear how many cars you get for $3,950, nor is it clear whether you get any drivetrain or interior components. Take heart, though, because you can see at least two unbroken pieces of glass in the photos! Once you've made one solid '49- hey, with three cars you've got a real shot- you can get started on applying many, many coats of hand-rubbed lacquer paint, put together a rumbly flathead engine, etc.

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

It's had a restrained rat-rod-ization, which I think always looks pretty good on a station wagon. Of course, the '64 Dart also looks pretty good dressed in unadorned beaterhood.


Painting stripes on the roof is a nice touch. I haven't heard this wagon run, so I can't vouch for the presence of the lumpy-cammed V8 the paint job deserves. The standard powerplant in '64 was the 170-cube Slant Six.


This car is an official Radiator Hoes vehicle! The Hoes have a strong Alameda presence, so count on seeing some more of their rides soon.

You see some nice mid-60s big Fords, and you can find totally trashed parts cars, but when's the last time you saw a '65 Ford Police Interceptor that actually started life as a police car? You know what happens to police cars once they get auctioned off after 200,000 curb-bashing miles on the job: total civilian hoonage! Your only choice is to buy a rare survivor, such as this '65 Ford Custom 300 (go here if the ad disappears), and painstakingly re-police-ize it. We're going to give it to you straight: this car has seen better days. The R word isn't mentioned, but this car is in Iowa, where an iron atom never has to go far to find an obliging oxygen atom. The good news: (what you hope is the) correct 390 engine and 3-speed manual transmission with overdrive, and the whole package can be yours for only $1,500. That leaves plenty of money left in your budget for tube-equipped 2-way radios and a Sam Browne belt!

Ford sold a lot of police cars in the 60s, but what do the cops drive in Vanishing Point? That's right, Chrysler products! Thing is, those police-spec Dodges and Plymouths that didn't end up becoming cabs after their police service mostly had their 361s and 383s torn out by hoons looking to hop up their Satellites and Darts. You'll just have to deal with that, but the problem of putting together the right engine gets much easier when you buy a Rusty Cop Mopar Package Deal, such as this amazing 3-for-1 deal. The crown jewel in this group is a '64 Dodge 330 two-door sedan; you also get a Polara and a 440. Sure, police mostly used 4-door cars, but highway patrolmen and administrators sometimes got the coupes. And by "crown jewel" we mean "most rusty of the bunch" here; you must admire the honesty of a car seller who states: "TYPICAL RUST ON ALL THREE BUT THE FLOORPAN ON THE 330 POST IS THE WORST, THEY ARE GONE!!!!" You get one engine- a bad 318- and enough bits and pieces to maybe cobble together a 3-on-the-tree/clutch pedal setup for the 330. Once you've dealt with the rust and the drivetrain- including the correct 330-horse 383- and the interior and, well, everything, you can put the gumball machine on the roof and render it non-street-legal!

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.