continuing holiday procar hunt 'tradition'

On 12/23/10 I was fortunate enough to revisit a TX property after foliage had finally died off. How many vehicles can you spot in this panoramic?

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You can imagine how difficult seeing anything is most of the year...

PCS member Nicholas Yassan had been gently prodding, wanting this nice solid all original navy '58 Series 60 Fleetwood. Finding it's location was the culmination of several months research.

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Ultimately, this stainless behemoth beauty didn't pan out. Going provided an opportunity to view this Miller better however so it was a good trip.

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This coming Tuesday, 12/20/11- a new holiday tradition technically becomes established: Viewing a hidden collection the week of Xmas! :winterrules:

8 months of diligent effort has gone into locating owner, making contact, planning logistics, and coordinating this trip. I've invited a handful of others with a variety of interests to join this time for an enjoyable experience. 6 people (maybe 7) will converge from 3 different states for a day of preliminary scouting on what parts (and parts cars) may be usable among 1400-1500 rusting relics.

There should be 7-8 procars in the bunch. Among them a '46-'48 Dodge ambulance, '63 Superior, '64 Eureka 3-way, and this '60 Superior Royale limo style combination shown in a different thread:

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At the very least you know I'll load up on pics. Fingers crossed it stays dry until Wednesday, as forecast predicts.
 
More tentative procar info trickled in today as the date draws nearer:

-'46-'48 Dodge ambulance
-'60 Superior Royale limo style combination
-2x '62 Superior limo style
-'63 Superior limo style (may be Sovereign)
-'64 Eureka landau 3-way
-'65? Superior high top ambulance
-'70s high top ambulance
 
Exhausted after a super long productive day hunting. Figured a short update will suffice before crashing, then uploading dozens of pics tomorrow.

2 people cancelled last minute, 7 still went.

The previous list, actual vehicle/corrections in bold:

-'46-'48 Dodge ambulance '41-'42 Miller Cadillac combination
-'60 Superior Royale limo style combination
-2x '62 Superior limo style 2x '61 Superior Royale limo style combinations
-'63 Superior limo style (may be Sovereign) '63 Superior Royale limo style combination
-'64 Eureka landau 3-way '64 Eureka landau endloader
-'65? Superior high top ambulance *gone*
-'70s high top ambulance '73ish Superior 54

There was also:

-'67-'68 Series 75 formal limo
-'68ish Miller Meteor endloader
-'73ish Miller Meteor endloader
-'74 Miller Meteor endloader
-'80s Cadillac formal limo

Panoramic previews. This is a residential backyard:

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The front yard? You guessed it:

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Otherworldly landscape hiding *dozens* of cars on another property:

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Last shot eerily similar to yard a year ago even though they're 1500 miles apart!
 
Rain held off and although overcast mostly, pics came out decent. I'll say up front that some cars and parts are already spoken for, which I will mention along the way. Part of what we scouted is a junkyard that closed in '90 or '91 with hundreds of '50s-'60s units. There were many odd/rare vehicles that are virtually unseen in yards anymore (of which a select handful will be included here).

Honestly don't know where pricing is going to come in on anything as owner has been very reasonable with some and not so much with others. In short, let me know if you see needed parts anywhere. I'm touching base with a list tonight for owner to mull prices over holidays.

There is so much to cover that I don't know where it is best to start. May as well save best for last though, right?

First two Miller Meteors are thoroughly whipped. If someone wants to peg year/models, great.

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This '74 Miller Meteor is owned by one of those that went yesterday. He doesn't use it much anymore and when asked if available, he said yes for about $2500. Given amount of nicer '70s coaches on market in that range already, he may sit on it at that price.

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Our communal thoughts pinned this to a '41-'42 Miller, going off interior use of trim in bunches of 3 and that it was a civil defense unit (although I neglected taking a picture of that logo). There were no badges.

After glancing through Miller Meteor book this morning, it could be a '46. Tough IDing when so little remains.

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Based on a rot free-standpoint, this one can actually be built. It was one of the better body tubs and chassis viewed here. Yeah yeah yeah....there are too many pieces missing. I've seen much worse starting points though.
 
'59 Coupe DeVille:

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'59 Imperial Crown LeBaron Southampton:

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'59 Pontiac wagon:

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'60 Plymouth Sport Fury:

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'56(?) Chrysler Windsor wagon. Think this had 3rd row seating, whole rear floor was folded flat, and had a nice shape vintage Coca-Cola machine in back. Too cool:

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'57(?) Plymouth Suburban Custom:

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Couple of Edsels:

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Pair of '61 Superior Royale limo style 604s. I'll never fully comprehend the seemingly common desire to fill coaches with parts that don't rust, like stainless hubcaps.

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Lots of good glass!

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Still has very hard to find Superior-specific combination rollers.

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2nd coach was on different property.

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More good corner glass.

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Have a hunch that jump seat upholstery is still nice, mainly hidden away from elements for decades.

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Sort of wanted to fully uncover this. One of only a couple cars kept inside all these years.

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Yoinks! Ditch sucked on of our vehicles in.

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Superior 54 is toasted. I'll differ year to others here. From once transporting body donors to now being a parts donor. Full circle.

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Just a couple cars away... Can't believe this engine was still in the Caddy.

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'63 Superior Royale limo style combination has many good parts/glass.

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I particularly liked the peculiar shade of green used. It sticks out.

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One year only Superior license plate surround. Ask Russ Austin how hard it was for him to find one.

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Yet another good '59-'64 windshield.

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Must have been a sight to see in service with all these roof holes. Definitely was more laid out than most combinations!

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Well, the '60 Superior limo style combination isn't *too* far gone to restore. Not much significant rot. There were 3 '60 Superior owners going over this together, comparing thoughts and details - which was really fun! Our plan is to buy this and divide 3 ways, as each of us can use different portions.

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If Ian Marr still needs curtain rods for is '60 Crown, they're here.

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At least two of the combinations never had rollers. Why can't I find a coach piled with skeleton racks instead of hubcaps for a change???

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Pretty basic Superior to has the optional quarter stainless.

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Of course more '59-'60 Superior corner glass would come to Papa...

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Compare this shot with the initial one taken about 20 years ago in same spot.

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Finding these skirts hidden inside completely floored me. Ask Brady to verify how unbelievably rare there are. Doesn't bother me one bit that they need a little work!!!

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Creme of the crop, pick of the littler, hands down, goes to this '64 Eureka landau endloader. Yes, it obviously needs a driver side door skin, rear loading door rust repair, and a passenger front fender, but this is clearly deserved of a restoration given rarity and level of completeness! Turns out the person that told me about this coach didn't recall condition properly, as it has drivetrain and front clip. Even the keys were on the dash under a perfect windshield, obscured between hubcaps.

There are two PCS members waiting in the wings already to hear back on price. The second would probably restore the Eureka faster but either would be a good home. Here's to hoping that it leaves before anything else does~

I'll let pics speak for themselves.

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The 1st 2 Miller Meteors are a 1973 and a 1968. The white Miller is a 1948 (1 year only dashboard). The Fleetwood 75 limo is 1967. The caddy stretch is a 1990-1992.
 
Since you are "out in the field" on every procar nuts' dream adventure, here's a shot of an identical '51 Nash Airflyte for your reference:

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Not worth the effort to uncover... :hide:

At this point I can only hope i'm lucky enough to attend one of your procar hunts Atti... hats off to you bud, you are sniffing out all the vintage coaches and I for one applaud your efforts and enthusiasm.
 
Shawn Blyler, is this a '67 or '68? Jump seats are still present. This was another car without much visible rot

It is a 67, just as Jim Jordan said, with a divider window no less. One really quick way to tell (aside from other little things) is the lack of a rear marker light on the outside of the tail light housing. Too bad the interior is completely different than the 68's :( Neat to see, though.
 
Hey Atti, are there any of plastic Superior rear passenger door tags on this one? Not sure if you can see it in this photo. It's a plastic tag that mounts to the interior door panel on the drivers and passenger side rear doors.
 

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