WHEN in the course of human Events, it becomes necessary….
My Post-Apocalyptic Escape Vehicle
byVanderleunonOctober 18, 2020
1959 Country Squire with push-button station wagon living equipment (1/2)
1959 Country Squire with push-button station wagon living equipment (2/2)
The bittersweet irony of this is that my family, when my father was a Ford dealer in Paradise California, actually owned that ’59 Country Squire in that exact finish. O tempus! O fugit!
News item from the Washington Post, July 3, 1958:
TRAVELERS and sportsmen who would like to park their cars after a day’s drive and set up camp by pushing a few magic buttons, may be able one day to do just that.
With the “pushbutton camper,” a specially equipped experimental Ford station wagon, a traveling couple could pull into a parking area, lower a boat from the roof top, pitch their tent and set up a kitchen unit protected by an overhead awning — almost without getting out of the car.
One push button lifts the boat and swings it over the side so it can be easily removed for launching. A car-top tent, containing a full-sized double bed, already made up and equipped with a reading lamp, is erected by another button.
After the tailgate is opened, a third button slides out the compact kitchen unit complete with an electric refrigerator and two-burner stove, a work table and meat cutting block, and a sink with hot and cold running water.
The roof compartment also houses a shower head, complete with curtain. Ford has no definite plans for mass producing such a vehicle. If consumer demand warranted it, a company official said, the automatic equipment could be produced by independent suppliers and installed by a Ford dealer. — Future Tents: 1959 | Shorpy Old Photos | Photo Sharing
Wow! My grandfather bought a new ’59 Ford station wagon from the local Ford dealer in Sonora, CA. McGowan Motors. Green paint, no Woodie trim. My fault with it was the engine was a six cylinder, not the cool sounding V-8.
M. MurcekOctober 18, 2020, 12:24 PM
And, as regards Portland’s mayoral choices: H.L. Mencken said “The voters should get what they vote for. Good and hard.”
I can remember riding to Huntington Beach in the back seat of one.
Also– Had a buddy in high school who had a black one. His dad bought it for him. Unfortunately it was a six cylinder. So he talked his old man into buying a white one with a V-8, like in the picture. Then he decided that the black one was cooler, so he started doing an engine swap. Guess what happened.
Yep. Both cars ended up going to the junk yard.
His next car was a ’61 Falcon. I remember helping him put a clutch in it. But the Falcon was a three-on-the-tree. Not cool enough. So he bought a Hurst Mystery Shift kit to get the gear shift on the floor. Guess what happened…
JWM
Auntie AnalogueOctober 18, 2020, 1:06 PM
Even the Jetsons would be envious!
ElmoOctober 18, 2020, 2:12 PM
My Dad’s first brand new vehicle ever was a ’56 Ford wagon. He bought it in Fresno, where he worked for one year as a Yale Townsend forklift mechanic and salesman. The wagon was red and white, with a V8 that had a major oil leak from the day he bought it. After getting the run around from both the dealer and the factory rep for six months he finally got a new motor out of them… after he threatened to drive it through the dealer’s showroom window.
Did I mention Dad was a hard-headed Irishman?
Interesting note about the Ford. It came standard without a radio or a heater. And that happened to be the year that it snowed in Fresno. So how did we keep warm? We bundled up and sang songs!
Simple times.
Bruce Wayne GarrettOctober 18, 2020, 4:59 PM
I have a 59 Ford that I have been driving since April 2000. I drove it today.
ghostsniperOctober 18, 2020, 5:45 PM
Where da baffroom iz?
Mama ain’t gonna poop in no bucket ya know.
My dream cars; 1924 Packard Touring car and/or a Green Morgan 3 wheeler (I knew a girl once..). Neither would be bad as a post apocalypse rig though the Morgan would be a bit cool and drafty winter driving up here on top of the world.
Either, today, would cost an arm and a leg and a gonad.
Guess I’ll stick with my Jeep Wrangler though I am looking for a rebuilt ’60s carbureted engine sans computer, sans fuel injection to store and, if necessary, install if the fit hits the shan.
Real World Address for Donations, Mash Notes and Hate Mail
Gerard Van der Leun
1692 MANGROVE AVE
APT 379
Chico, Ca 95926
Green Pants Interior by Klahn
Who Am I? by Carl Sandburg
My head knocks against the stars.
My feet are on the hilltops.
My finger-tips are in the valleys and shores of universal life.
Down in the sounding foam of primal things I reach my hands and play with pebbles of destiny.
I have been to hell and back many times.
I know all about heaven, for I have talked with God.
I dabble in the blood and guts of the terrible.
I know the passionate seizure of beauty
And the marvelous rebellion of man at all signs reading “Keep Off.”
My name is Truth and I am the most elusive captive in the universe.
Duty, Beauty, Liberty, Country, Honor, Family, Faith — Plus a few simple easy to follow rules for guys
Men saw the stars at the edge of the sea
They thought great thoughts about liberty
Poets wrote down words that did fit
Writers wrote books
Thinkers thought about it
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
Many’s the road I have walked upon
Many’s the hour between dusk and dawn
Many’s the time
Many’s the mile
I see it all now
Through the eyes of a child
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
And close your eyes
Leave it all for a while
Leave the world
And your worries behind
You will build on whatever is real
And wake up each day
To a new waking dream
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Change, change come over
Change come over
Talkin’ about a change
Change, change
Change come over, now
Change, change, change come over
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
Gerard Van der Leun
Comments on this entry are closed.
Wow! My grandfather bought a new ’59 Ford station wagon from the local Ford dealer in Sonora, CA. McGowan Motors. Green paint, no Woodie trim. My fault with it was the engine was a six cylinder, not the cool sounding V-8.
And, as regards Portland’s mayoral choices: H.L. Mencken said “The voters should get what they vote for. Good and hard.”
So, there is that…
The ’59 Ford will survive an EMP. Good choice!
I can remember riding to Huntington Beach in the back seat of one.
Also– Had a buddy in high school who had a black one. His dad bought it for him. Unfortunately it was a six cylinder. So he talked his old man into buying a white one with a V-8, like in the picture. Then he decided that the black one was cooler, so he started doing an engine swap. Guess what happened.
Yep. Both cars ended up going to the junk yard.
His next car was a ’61 Falcon. I remember helping him put a clutch in it. But the Falcon was a three-on-the-tree. Not cool enough. So he bought a Hurst Mystery Shift kit to get the gear shift on the floor. Guess what happened…
JWM
Even the Jetsons would be envious!
My Dad’s first brand new vehicle ever was a ’56 Ford wagon. He bought it in Fresno, where he worked for one year as a Yale Townsend forklift mechanic and salesman. The wagon was red and white, with a V8 that had a major oil leak from the day he bought it. After getting the run around from both the dealer and the factory rep for six months he finally got a new motor out of them… after he threatened to drive it through the dealer’s showroom window.
Did I mention Dad was a hard-headed Irishman?
Interesting note about the Ford. It came standard without a radio or a heater. And that happened to be the year that it snowed in Fresno. So how did we keep warm? We bundled up and sang songs!
Simple times.
I have a 59 Ford that I have been driving since April 2000. I drove it today.
Where da baffroom iz?
Mama ain’t gonna poop in no bucket ya know.
My dream cars; 1924 Packard Touring car and/or a Green Morgan 3 wheeler (I knew a girl once..). Neither would be bad as a post apocalypse rig though the Morgan would be a bit cool and drafty winter driving up here on top of the world.
Either, today, would cost an arm and a leg and a gonad.
Guess I’ll stick with my Jeep Wrangler though I am looking for a rebuilt ’60s carbureted engine sans computer, sans fuel injection to store and, if necessary, install if the fit hits the shan.