I found this assortment of dilapidated and sad cars sitting in a fenced lot outside downtown Youngstown. From a distance, it looked as though the Kaiser might be worthwhile, but knowing about the complicated electrics and vacuum-powered gizmos in the Lincolns, I ruled those two out as anything restorable. The two Studes looked borderline.
It was remarkable to see that a few weeks later, they all appeared on craigslist. Apparently, the owner, whether new or not, decided to bring them inside out of the elements, albeit decades too late, and try to sell them. While he is currently accepting offers, he has turned down $900 apiece, supposedly. He also claims that the white Lincoln (has no drivetrain) is worth restoring, while the gold one (everything is dented and rusty, except one rear door, which doesn't exist) is only for parts...a man with a remarkable imagination, clearly. Interesting vehicles.
The Lincolns, both 1964 models with the (in)famous suicide doors, are now becoming more collectible. At the moment, even though the convertibles are nice, these two require everything, and would cost far more than their final value to rebuild. Imagine the rusty unibodies that are hard to weld, hard and soft lines, complete electrics, upholstery, engine and transmission rebuilds etc, and you could easily invert $60k in a car worth half that. Better to buy one in fair to good condition than try to do everything to either of these two.
The Kaiser is almost complete, the Studebaker President is lacking upholstery of any kind, and the pickup truck is lacking the pickup part.
Someone would really need to be devoted and determined to resurrect any of these fallen marques.
With the recent demise of the Ford Crown Victoria and the rear wheel drive platform that has been propelling police departments, taxi ranks and most of the state of Florida for the last 30+ years, local coppers are looking for the next vehicles from Ford.
The Explorer has been tried as a police vehicle in the past. With a top speed under 100, I easily outran one while street racing in a 1977 Cadillac 10 years ago.
Nowadays, I wouldn't want to try that. This is the newest Youngstown State University Police vehicle, with reflective-only graphics meant to show up under lights, but not while the vehicle patrols.
These are becoming more common as the Crown Vics are no longer available and departments increase vehicle turnover. I've seen several around, so be cautious. How do you spot an unmarked one? Steel wheels, and lots of black plastic. It's not easy, and I haven't seen enough to compare them to the public-consumption model. Ford is trying hard to market their new Interceptors as better than the old Vics, but they will be a tough sell as people don't like to change. The Explorer/Interceptor SUV comes with 304 hp or a twin turbo 365 hp V6, so I wouldn't like to try to outrun one now, even though I would bet the top speed is not great. Take heed, study the pictures, and beware the plain Ford Explorers.
