J.W. Burleson photo / Boquillas del Carmen, Coah.

PHB

My photo
Brooklin, Maine, United States
We own a 1975 GMC Sierra Grande 15 in Maine and a 1986 Chevrolet Custom Deluxe 10 in West Texas. Also a pair of 1997 Volvo 850 wagons. Average age in the fleet is 28 years--we're recycling. I've published 3 novels: THE LAW OF DREAMS (2006), THE O'BRIENS (2012), and CARRY ME (2016). Also 2 short story collections: NIGHT DRIVING(1987) and TRAVELLING LIGHT (2013). More of my literary life is at www.peterbehrens.org I was a Fellow at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study for 2012-13. I'm an adjunct professor at Colorado College and in the MFA program at Queens University of Charlotte. In 2015-16 I was a Fellow at Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. The Autoliterate office is in Car Talk Plaza in Harvard Square, 2 floors above Dewey Cheatem & Howe. SUBSCRIBE TO THE AUTOLITERATE DAILY EMAIL by hitting the button to the right.

Monday, November 30, 2015

1967 Country Sedan up for auction

 The wagon is a up for auction at Bring-A-Trailer. Black with red interior, classic Ford combination for the era. What happened to color and cars? All is see these days is silver, or some kinda mousey "taupe".

1970 Dart Swinger

from Michael Moore, in de Bay Area" …it may not look like it but a guy had to be pretty bundled up to ride down to the jetty to find this swingin’ Dart [from the look of that tailpipe this little Swinger wasn’t much of a hotrod]...

 …unlike what this probably was, in passing..." _MSM

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Angels Food 1985 Chevrolet K10 SWB


from Colin Washburn in the Sierra foothills:
"Yet another one of these short-bed Chevys that seem to breed around here! This one a 4x4 in showroom condition. Seen in Angels Camp."-CRW
PS .... I love what they did with that little space !

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Borgward Isabella, Amsterdam



From Guido Goluke in the Netherlands: The Borgward Isabella, a not uncommon car in the 1950s. Our doctor had one and he once made my overworked mother the generous offer of taking us along on his daily tours along patients. It is an easter holiday I shall always remember for its utter boredom. The doctor drove to a patient and got out with his bag, my brothers and I waited. My hyperactive and car-crazy elder brother, responsible for our situation in the first place, was the only one who enjoyed himself. He looked at the ivory white steering wheel, reached forward to touch and feel the shifter on the steering column. The only thing that excited me was the deep rut in the coco-mat in front of the driver’s seat, a diagonal straight to the throttle. That is how the doctor got in after each visit: gas foot stretched forward to step on it as soon as he’d turned the key.
Best,
Guido








Friday, November 27, 2015

1968 F-150 Ranger. Assiniboia, Saskatchewan



Alex Emond, reporting from the National Old Truck Refuge, also known as southwest Saskatchewan: "Here is a fairly presentable truck - late 60's vintage. Waiting its next assignment in a quiet part of Assiniboia, Sask. Looks good."-AE

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Ford F-250, E.B. White and Maine Thanksgiving

Haven't seen much old iron in Cambridge though I'm planning a series on that college-professah tradition, Ye Olde Volvo. There are a few of those Swedish Squarebodies rolling around Cambridge but old trucks are rarer animals. Yesterday we pulled out early(ish) to beat the day-before-Thanksgiving traffic and 5 hours later came across the bridge at the tide pond in South Blue Hill and made it home to Brooklin in wonderful clear November light. It's deer season, deeah, so everyone in the grocery store was draped in orange and there was a lot of banging in the woods. Most people around here get their deer in the first couple of days of November and things are quiet until the last few days of the month when hunters realize the season is about ovah. There's a sign at the Brooklin Store, "Heater Hunters Not Welcome" which suggests that cruising our backroads in your big truck is not considering deerstalking, hereabouts.  If you want to learn more about the texture of life in Brooklin you could do worse than read E.B. White's collected  Letters, many of them written 80 years ago but often about people with the same surnames as our Brooklin neighbors.
Caught this solid F-250 in Searsport, pretty much a perfect pickup truck if you ask me. I can't date these accurately and am always getting it wrong but I'll guess 1969 on this one





  

Variomatic


from Guido Goluke in the Netherlands:  "plan a day out with the entire extended family without having to change gear!"  
DAF was the national car, until the NL became fabulously rich again, when the tricked-out Land Rover became the national road warrior. I thought about buying a DAF when we were in the Netherlands a couple years ago. But the hassle of car ownership there was daunting. We ended up living on our bikes; plus Chevy loaned us that Volt for the trip to Berlin.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Northern Nevada

from Michael Moore: …just saw you put up my truck; it’s actually an '82 C-10 under which somebody put Blazer 4x4 running gear…I added a 350 from the ‘88 Blazer i rolled on the Smoke Creek Road on October 15, 1997, the same day the Andy Green broke the sound barrier next door on the Black Rock Desert. Really! Here was the rest of the scene that morning; annual burn

1949 Dodge Coronet Woody


The woody was on ebay from San Diego but I just checked and it's no longer available. Was at $16,500 OBO. Looked like most of it was still there though the top of the engine was missing. I wonder how many unrestored woodies are still out there?


Monday, November 23, 2015

Sunday, November 22, 2015

1958 F-250. Napa County: An Amusing Little Vintage. Notes of...



from Colin Washburn in California: "Clean, long-bed with a fine patina, at a vineyard between Calistoga and Napa, the heart of Cali wine-country.
Many of the vineyards have cherry old trucks parked out on the road, to draw Autoliterate types in I suppose. To hell with the grape, I want the truck!"




Saturday, November 21, 2015

Willie's Living in the Promised Land, & Hudspeth County Texas

Sometimes it takes Willy to speak up and speak to the best part of the American tradition. You'd better listen to this video. Take that, Donald Trump! The governor of Texas shames the state but Willy speaks up for the best in Texas.
And by the way Canada is taking 25000 Syrian refugees. That's 2.5 times as many as the US originally promised, then reneged on.
I remember a few years back when Willy was busted in Hudspeth County (pop. 3000) for having some weed on his tour bus and the DA said to reporters, who were making a fuss:  It’s not a real serious damn thing anyways.”  

1940 Cadillac, Harvard Square





Friday, November 20, 2015

GMC 5-Window, Moose Jaw


From Alex Emond: "Peter, I was cutting through Moose Jaw last month aiming south for Assiniboia and highway 13 and this old multi-windowed beauty appeared. As Chief Canadian Correspondent for SW Saskatchewan to the esteemed Autoliterate, I was duty bound to pull over and do some photo-documenting . (I know that's a rather lofty title but I remember when you were President of the Society For The Prevention of Fake Mullions)... 
      "Quite a charmer, this truck, but not what you'd call fully restored. Just something to kick around in . Notice how small it seems when compared to the new rig beside it . Anyhow, I like it and I suspect that this truck will have a long, long future. If it has made it to 2015 in this condition, I would expect that it won't be neglected because it is worth some real money no . Cheers"--AE







Wednesday, November 18, 2015

1958 W100 Power Wagon

For sale in Colorado. Mostly original, though there's a V8 in there, not the original Six. Details at http://www.dodgepowerwagon.com/classifieds/carter-110915-58w100.php Great tires and wheels.