Third Rockland, ME Trip 2022

Sam: This was the third and final trip to Maine for the Summer. While up, I went to the New England Auto Auction at the Owl's Head Transportation Museum and saw plenty of cars. Those are documented in a separate post. Here, I'm going to document all the other cars I saw during my trip, much like how I've done so for the other trips. Some of the cars here were spotted in the visitors' lot of the museum during the auction. A couple others are from a small car show I stopped at but didn't photograph too much. I hope you enjoy my finds!

1985 Chrysler LeBaron Convertible

Here's a LeBaron convertible hanging out at the Museum during one of the preview days of the auction. It was in pretty nice shape, and I guess it made the trip all the way up from Connecticut, judging by the plate. While it's hard to believe, these K-cars are starting to become classics themselves, especially the older models like this one.

MG Roadster

Another find in the museum lot. This photo was shot at a distance while I was walking in to the museum, so it's not the best quality. From where I stood, the car looked to be in great shape with a new cloth top and possibly a repaint.

1965 Ford Mustang Convertible

Here we have an original survivor Mustang convertible. The third lot find at the museum, this one also appeared to be original, like the K-car. However, the 20 years of age this 'Stang had on the K-car was evident. The paint was a bit faded and the interior worn, but it all still presented well. The car was in great shape overall. You don't usually see these cars in this good original condition anymore.

VW Super Beetle

Once again another lot find at the museum. This '70s Beetle appeared to be a Maine native, appropriately wearing a coat of forest green paint. There's a bit of rust on the passenger front fender, but that doesn't change the car's status as a true original survivor.

Above: 1964 Chevy Impala

I was hoping I'd find another Impala owner to make friends with during the show, and I was in luck when this '64 pulled in about an hour after I arrived. It looks to have been repainted in the past, and the bodywork is starting to show its age, but it's still got its beauty. This was also a cool find because the car is painted in what was Chevy's 1964 version of Mist Blue, the color of my car. I talked to the owner for a bit, who told me stories about his cars, as well as a couple defunct junkyards in the area. I left him my number because he told me he had a '65 Impala 2-door parts car and his cousin had a '66 Impala sedan parts car that he'd gladly sell me parts off of. I'm hoping I hear back from him at some point, but he was having some back problems at the time that were preventing him from working on any cars.

1968 Ford Mustang Fastback

This Mustang fastback was also parked in the visitors' lot. I really don't understand why this one wasn't on display. Maybe the owner didn't feel confident enough to display it with its orange-peeled paintjob. Honestly, I don't care too much about the paint. I think it's easily overlooked given the styling and lines of the car.

Above: 1980s Classics in the Visitors' Lot

Left to right: 1980s Toyota Celica (Pic 1) and VW T3 Microbus (Pic 2) in Union, ME

Here's a couple shots from the car show I attended. Ironically enough, these classics were parked in the visitors' lot and not displayed in the show. Maybe the owners didn't want to pay the exhibitors' fee. The show went all the way up to the 2000s, so these cars would have fit right in if they'd been displayed.

'50s Chevy in a Garage in St. George, Maine

This find was actually down the street from our cabin. I'd remembered seeing a 50s car in this garage in the past, but I wasn't sure if it still resided there since the garage was always closed whenever we came up to visit. However, I had a stroke of luck this time as one of the doors was half-open, revealing the car that sat inside. I want to say the car is a 50-52, judging by the visible portion of the grille. It looked to be clean, so I assume the owner takes it out on the road to some degree of frequency.

Volvo 240 Estate in St. George, Maine

Another find not too far from our cabin was this old 240 wagon. Come to think of it, I think I've seen this wagon around before a few times, or another gold one just like it. I didn't manage to determine whether this was an auto or manual car because some random guy from Rhode Island peeking into a parked car would look fairly suspicious. This one looks to be fairing well and even has all its trim. The only defect I can see is the missing hubcap, which can easily be remedied.

Above: 1986 Ford Econoline Club Wagon XLT in Thomaston, ME

This was spotted at an estate sale on the way home. According to the plates, it's from Pennsylvania, so it's made quite a journey. It looks to be in good, solid shape with nothing but a little paint fade and surface rust on the roof.

1970 Ford F-100 w/ 302 CI and Manual Transmission

This was found at an estate sale in Thomaston, ME. The list price was $7,750 OBO. To me, that seemed decent, given the increasing interest in classic trucks these days. The bed's rear quarters had a bit of rust on the bottom, but they were in surprisingly good shape given the location of the truck. As far as I could tell, they had never been patched (and I crawled under the bed to confirm this). The paint was starting to flake off near the drip rail on the roof, so some bodywork was in order. If the drivetrain was solid, this wouldn't have been a bad investment for someone getting started in classic vehicles. Then again, there could have been a bunch of hack repairs hiding under that paint. You can't really tell until you take it off.

1976 Mercury Monarch

Another classic for sale was this Mercury Monarch in Waldoboro, Maine. I only saw it from inside our car, so I never got a close look at it or saw the asking price. From my view, it looked to be in good original condition. The paint is a little faded, which makes me think it's original. These cars and their Granada counterparts are hot items in scrapyards because they were equipped with front disc brakes and because all their suspension parts are bolt-on equivalent to the first-gen Mustangs. When you find one in a yard, chances are the front suspension will be gone.

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