into every cruise-in schedule, a little rain must fall

So last week’s cruise-in, while not outstanding in terms of quantity due to the rain that soaked the area all day, still produced some cars of outstanding quality, enough so that we forged ahead and handed out awards despite the low numbers. For example, Charlotte Bader’s North York, Ontario-based 1964 Pontiac Parisienne convertible had us scratching our heads all night as to what parts came from the Pontiac bin and what parts came from the Chevrolet bin.

Julie and Bob King of Glen, New Hampshire, brought over their 1949 Ford business coupe with less than 5,000 total miles on the dial. Even with so few miles, they treated it to a restoration in 2004. Keep an eye on the pages of Hemmings Classic Car - we may very well feature this beauty in the next several months.

Maybe it’s not feature material like the business coupe, but I still geeked out over the 1981 Jeep J10 that Martin Ward, of Pownal, Vermont, owns.

And I really geeked out over the 343/four-speed 1969 AMC Javelin SST that John and Maggie Bilotta of Hinsdale, Massachusetts, brought.

Pair o’ purple Chevy pickups.

And, whaddayaknow, the clouds actually started to clear toward the end of the night, setting up this neat shot.

Our next cruise-in’s June 10, so keep your fingers crossed for sun.

more ramblings through south-central Vermont

Mike Eldred, whose wanderings we’ve featured here before, knows where all the cool old cars are hidden away in and around Wilmington, Vermont, and can take a good picture too, a few of which he recently sent us. First, a Dodge truck he shot last fall from White’s Road in Wilmington.

Next, a CJ-5 on Route 100 in Wilmington that features a plywood tub behind the firewall. Make do with what you got, I suppose.

Finally, a south-central Vermont landmark of sorts, the gorilla-slash-vee-dub statue outside Pioneer Auto Sales in Brandon, Vermont. Unfortunately, RoadsideAmerica.com hasn’t yet documented this hairy beast, so we’re left wondering what - if anything - he once held in his right hand.