Glendale Cruise Night '15 - The Usual And The Unusual

"Jonee" (Jonee) 08/31/2015 at 14:31 • Filed to: None

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My little corner of the San Fernando Valley here in L.A. hosts a cruise night every summer. It’s mostly your usual suspects. 50’s cars, Corvettes, muscle cars, etc. But, there were a few standouts this year. Like, for example, that Barrister up there. In the early 80’s, George Barris did a little run of those bonkers looking retro car bodies on C3 Corvettes. It’s hideous and wonderful at the same time. Pimptastic and classless, but badass and beautiful the way a warthog becomes cute when you stare at it for the proper amount of time.

My favorite car was probably this Iranian assembled Humber Sceptre.

It’s called a Peykan and was one of the most common cars in Iran for many years. Peykan would take Humbers and Hillmans shipped in CKD form and put them back together, maybe better than the Brits, did, who knows. This is the only one I’ve ever seen and is apparently the only one in the U.S. It was a big hit with the local Armenian-Iranian community we have here in beautiful Glendale.

Another good one was this 1982 Mustang CHP car.

One of the cooler cop cars of all time. One thing I love is that they all had 4-speed sticks.

Plenty of stuff like this Ford Victoria with doo-wop music blaring from the stereo. At least those god awful time-out kid dolls have seemed to have been retired or burned or maybe they’ve taken over and we’re all living in a dream now.

Nice wood.

Here’s a lovely orange Honda Z600. It’s a 1971, too, which is much rarer here than the ‘72’s. I had an olive green ‘71 Z once and it was an awesome car. I could keep up with traffic on the freeway much to people’s astonishment.

Lancia Scorpions are always a hoot to see.

‘64 or ‘65 Studebaker. I’ve always liked this design. It’s the least baroque Studebaker they ever made and is one of Brooks Stevens’s most underrated cars.

It’s funny to me that these gigantic old wagons are now car show staples. I remember riding in things like these. My dad’s old Pontiac had its own zip code.

Hey, look at me!

This is a cool car even if it isn’t old.

I have no idea what the fuck these two were up to and I wasn’t about to ask.

A nice 1980 Camaro for the mullet crowd. I don’t know what the fuck Elvis is doing there since he was already dead when this car was built. Old school car show guys are weird.

These Mercedes are so pretty. My father always wanted one, but being a good Jew could never bring himself to drive something with that logo on it. So, now he drives an Audi oblivious to the fact that it’s really an Auto Union which was just as Nazi affiliated as Mercedes.

These Continentals are my favorite Continentals. They somehow manage to be cute and ginormous at the same time.

And finally a green/blue Nova Seville for your trouble. One of these was the first car I remember riding in and the first car I ever “drove” when my mother let me start it and I popped it into drive which caused it to rear-end my dad’s Pontiac wagon.

Dsscats > Jonee 08/31/2015 at 14:36

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Where in the SFV are you? I’m in Studio City

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > Jonee 08/31/2015 at 14:37

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Do that hamster lady got a booty???

SHE DOOOO!!! lol

Jonee > Dsscats 08/31/2015 at 14:43

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Glendale, which is barely the Valley, I guess.

lone_liberal > Jonee 08/31/2015 at 14:52

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Nice pics! Being a mulletmobile owner myself, I have to point out that the Camaro is a ‘77 not an ‘80. An ‘80 would have a urethane bumper. The ‘77s is also the last year that had front fenders that will fit my ‘71 so I’m always looking for them in the yards.

Jonee > lone_liberal 08/31/2015 at 14:57

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Ah, you’re right. It even says 77 on the plate. I don’t know why I thought it was an ‘80. I actually think that’s a pretty car and much much nicer with the chrome bumpers. In the 80’s, the mullets ruined a lot of them, but in its pure form, a lovely design.

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet 08/31/2015 at 15:01

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\furry life!!!

lone_liberal > Jonee 08/31/2015 at 15:03

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It being a 77 also explains the Elvis since he died in 77. I have to admit that I like the small bumper ‘70-’73 best but I’m coming around on the big bumper cars. I didn’t mention the plate since I look much smarter implying that I knew it was a ‘77 by just looking at it.

Jonee > lone_liberal 08/31/2015 at 15:12

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Star Wars came out in ‘77. I would have preferred Darth Vader.

The big bumper somehow feels more integrated into the design more than the skinny bumper that stretches across the front. I guess split bumper might be the best.

lone_liberal > Jonee 08/31/2015 at 15:21

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Co-signed on the Darth Vader thing. It would have been much better.

Berang > Jonee 08/31/2015 at 15:54

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My personal faves are the ‘59 through ‘61 larks. But they did have some rather ungainly styling in ‘62 and ‘63. The 66 models weren’t too bad either but by that time it was all over.

Jobjoris > Jonee 08/31/2015 at 16:11

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What’s all the Spanish fuzz about? Or is it Armenian?

Nice meet-up. Love that Z600. And that Sprite. And that i8. Hell, I’d even drive that Barrister!

Jonee > Berang 08/31/2015 at 18:15

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Yeah, I like those Larks, too. Totally unique. The ‘66 is also very cool. It looks a lot like a Rambler.

Jonee > Jobjoris 09/01/2015 at 02:07

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Hahaha. I know some Armenian jokes that involve body hair that I’ve heard living here. I guess they were with the Kia because they have these commercials for Kia here with hamsters.

I’d love to cruise around in that Barrister. Another one that would make Superfly proud. The Honda had the nicest color in the show.

Jobjoris > Jonee 09/01/2015 at 04:22

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Well, what’s holding you back? I can totally understand the Armenian community being blessed with huge amounts of body hair so I can’t wait for you to share some.

I’m keeping scrolling up again to see that Hamster. The one on the right that is. Nice Hamster. Lovely creature.

That Scorpion is nice but can’t even come close to the Euro-version somehow.

Jonee > Jobjoris 09/02/2015 at 02:11

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They’re not really very good jokes. One goes, what do you call a bunch of Armenians in the shower? Gorillas in the mist. There used to be this old diner in my town with a salty even older waitress who would tell us these jokes. Some of them were pretty dirty. Maybe the Armenians weren’t good tippers, or something.

She was quite the shapely hamster for sure. A real California hamster. We grow them like that here. All the yoga and swimming and those giant balls give you a workout when you’re trying to keep up with traffic.

What’s different about the Euro spec Scorpion besides all the smog equipment I’m sure the American ones had?

Jobjoris > Jonee 09/02/2015 at 03:54

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I’m always told the average American weighs over 100 kgs. Those Hamsters should get that average lower than that!

We got that Scorpion, or rather the Lancia Beta Montecarlo, with it’s normal front of course:

And the engine was the 2000cc Lampredi instead of the 1800 (with smog-control indeed) the Scorpion got resulting in a power-loss of almost 40hp (30%!!!). I don’t think it was offered with a Volumex compressor from the factory.

The picture above seems odd btw. It has the series 2 glass buttresses but the series 1 grille! Those Ronal wheels are truly awesome though.

Jonee > Jobjoris 09/03/2015 at 01:35

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Yeah, those hamsters need some alfalfa, or whatever hamsters eat.

I didn’t realize the Montecarlo was that big of a difference. That’s a capable car. The Scorpion wasn’t really known for its performance. It was definitely known for its unreliability and poor dealer support. That gold one is great looking. Much nicer than the bright blue one I photographed.

Jobjoris > Jonee 09/03/2015 at 04:23

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I don’t get it: The Montecarlo was one of the best handling cars of it’s days. Sure those 80hp were not enough but the Euro-spec Montecarlo was truly awesome. A friend of mine had an all original red S1, so with the solid buttresses. And as low as the golden one above (which clearly is a bit lowered).

His dad had an HF Integrale. The first Integrale I ever drove. I will never forget how good that thing handled, full-throttle and letting go of the clutch instantly made it’s tires squeek for a tiny quarter of a second, than it had traction.

Jonee > Jobjoris 09/04/2015 at 01:08

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I’ve never been in one except sitting still, but the way it’s low and wide, I can imagine it was a great handler. Like that Felber. I’ve always thought it looked like it inspired the DeLorean. Same concept basically. I don’t know if Giugiaro would crib off of Pininfarina.

Jobjoris > Jonee 09/04/2015 at 15:59

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Same concept? How’s that? The DeLorean had a 911-like layout, right? The MonteCarlo was MR.

Best design feature of the Delorean to me always were those rear-lights, so incredibly ‘80’s!!

Jonee > Jobjoris 09/05/2015 at 01:05

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I just mean in the shape of the body. The way they’re both low, flat, and angular.

Those lights are so so 80’s. I love them, too. They remind me of Tron, or something.

Jobjoris > Jonee 09/05/2015 at 08:45

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It has it sharp angular lines alright, I get it.

Tron! That’s been a while. I can still hear those sound effects of the early ‘80’s, I must have been not even 10 years old! And although Tron Legacy is way more advanced when it comes to graphics than the original (of course) I don’t think the used sounds have much improved. There wasn’t much room for improvement anyway...

Jonee > Jobjoris 09/06/2015 at 14:14

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Yeah, I love Tron. It was so unique and creative. You’re right, the sound design was beautiful. It really felt like the future at the time. I hadn’t seen it in a long time, and I went to see it on the big screen a couple years ago out here and was blown away at how it still looks great. They never really used effects quite like it again, so even though the new computer effects are more advanced, that movie is completely unique and doesn’t look like any other movie. The new one wasn’t the same. There was also a great Tron video game that I used to play at the arcade when I was a kid.

This thing was epic. The best part was with the motorcycles.

Jobjoris > Jonee 09/06/2015 at 15:40

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I think we had a game called Tron on our Commodore 64 but I wasn’t really hooked to that one. The Tron movie is still epic. I need to see it again, I just watched it’s trailer on youtube: god it was good indeed.

Jonee > Jobjoris 09/07/2015 at 01:27

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Wow, Commodore 64. That brings back memories. I think I may actually remember that Tron game. It was disappointing after playing that arcade one. The movie really is good. I brought my girlfriend at the time who had never seen it before to see it in the theater that time and she loved it. She couldn’t believe it was 30 years old. And that great music it had.

Jobjoris > Jonee 09/07/2015 at 05:15

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The C64 games that I used to play were Who dares Wins II, Kickstarter, Pit Stop, Pit Fall, Blue Max, Choplifter, Fort Apocalypse, H.E.R.O., Bruce Lee, International Karate and all those Olympic Games Games. I probably forget a lot. The Tron one was a bit of a let down alright.

Showing mrs. JobJoris Tron could prove not to be the worst idea. She’s not a sci-fi fanatic but this one she’d probably accept.

Jonee > Jobjoris 09/07/2015 at 22:26

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Wow, you were really an early gamer. I never had a 64, so I don’t know all of those, but we had a couple in school. I remember those Olympic games. Was that Pit Fall the same as the Atari one? I still have an Atari. I never really moved on beyond it.

Yeah, that movie kind of goes beyond sci-fi. It’s a borderline art film. The guys who did it were all computer geeks. They weren’t filmmakers.

Jobjoris > Jonee 09/08/2015 at 03:35

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Yes sir! Had a 1531 Disk Drive to go along with that one so no hassle and long waiting periods with tapes. Pit Fall was this one:

We may have not “covered” Tron’s main character yet. Jeff Bridges. I’m not a big fan as he always seems to have the same facial expression. But three of his movies I appreciate a lot: Tron, the Big Lebowski and Arlington Road. The latter didn’t get that of a good reception and I’d doubt it ever will be a classic but that one really got to me.

Jonee > Jobjoris 09/08/2015 at 23:53

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Oh, that’s Pitfall II: Lost Caverns. I like that one. It’s the same as on the Atari, but that one was kind of rare as it came at the end of Atari’s reign. I have a copy, though. Classic Pitfall was this:

I always liked Jeff Bridges. I used to watch that 70’s King Kong he was in when I was a kid a lot. And, I love Starman. He’s really good in that. I can’t remember if I saw Arlington Road. I’ll put it on my list.

Jobjoris > Jonee 09/09/2015 at 02:13

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I think I had classic PitFall as well. I had that C64 emulator running for a while, fond memories to it.

I must have seen that King Kong once, I don’t think there’s a Kong or Godzilla movie I ever missed. Starman I can’t remember. The guy has been around for so long!

Jonee > Jobjoris 09/09/2015 at 14:21

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Starman is the one where he plays an alien who clones the body of Karen Allen’s dead husband and they drive around in her Mustang II Cobra. Really great movie. Directed by John “The Thing” Carpenter.

Jobjoris > Jonee 09/09/2015 at 16:58

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What’s with this new Kinja-layout???

The malaise-era Cobra! I always loved it’s looks. Not it’s 120hp (give and take, too little anyway). One of Charly’s Angles drove one, right?

Don’t recall Starman. Mental note!

Spridget > Jonee 09/09/2015 at 23:20

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A Paykan Hunter! I’ve got serious wants for one of these; the early models actually were better quality than the British ones, but the ones made after the fall of the Shah were pretty dismal quality. I’m pretty sure they made these into the early 2000’s, on a Kia chassis maybe? This is a great website for these, full of info and pics, and it’s Orlove approved: http://www.paykanhunter.com

Jonee > Spridget 09/10/2015 at 00:06

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Cool, thanks. That is a terrific website. It was really neat to see one in person. The later ones probably were Kias. They did a lot with their chassis apparently. I did a little entry on the P.K. a while back.

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/the-mazda-that…

Jonee > Jobjoris 09/10/2015 at 01:03

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I know. Why do they keep fooling around with it? How is this better? Because it has bigger stars? On the main page, I can’t tell where conversations begin and end.

Farrah drove a Cobra II, yeah. Great looking car. Not the best performer, but it’s not too bad since it’s kind of small. Not really great, but it’s better than the wheezy regular Mustang II. You’ll like Starman. Maybe Jeff’s performance. Besides Big Lebowski, but I’m not as big a fan of that movie as most people. It’s fine, it’s just not one of my favorites.

Jobjoris > Jonee 09/10/2015 at 16:16

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The stars are big alright. I hate it. Usually there was great overview, now I can just see what I’m typing and a little bit of the prior response!

I really liked the looks of that Mustang generation. But stories of it not being any fast have really made it non-desirable. Love that white&blue one. With or without Farah.

Jonee > Jobjoris 09/11/2015 at 01:44

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It also seems like some of our threads are a different format. Maybe Live and Let Diecast didn’t get the upgrade? I don’t know why this font is so large. I’m not blind.

They were pretty good looking cars. I’m a fan of the Ghia versions with the landau roof. So 70’s.

Jobjoris > Jonee 09/11/2015 at 13:52

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Yes, I noticed that as well, the OPPO has the reply-link on the left now, LaLD still on the right.

Great golden wheels as well! I thought Ghia was already owned by Ford back then? That’s been in Ford’s hands since the early 70’s!

Speaking of Ghia: Love that 450SS. Got both a convertible and a coupe in 1/43 from Matrix, got to display them on some Spaghetti Sunday!

Jonee > Jobjoris 09/12/2015 at 02:46

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The top of the line Fords were called Ghias starting in the early 70’s. I don’t think the Ghia studio had anything to do with those actual cars, though. I would hope they would be more creative than just sticking vinyl roofs on things.

That’s a beautiful Ghia. I look forward to that one. The 230 without the hood scoop is pretty, too. I like most of that era of Ghia. Some of those wild Chrysler ones were awesome.