Somerville, NJ Cruise Night

Chevy Camaro IROC-Z

The first car to be photographed was this IROC-Z, located across the street from where we parked.

1964 Chevy Corvette C2 Restomod Racer

Moving over to the opposite side of the street, we have this restomod C2 'Vette.  It appears to be a clone of the racing prototype Grand Sport, as it shares the same fiberglass body panels.  GM only produced five Grand Sports before the project was cancelled, making the Grand Sport one of the rarest Corvettes in existence.  

1967 Chevy Camaro R/S Hot Rod

Well, well, well, if it isn't another Camaro R/S.  This one's a year older than my previous find, and a little less stock as well.  Ironically enough, it's the same color scheme as the '68.  You can see the '55 Bel Air convertible in the background.  We'll get to that later, I promise.

AC Cobra Replica and a 1955 Chevy 150 

Past the Monte was this Cobra kit car.  I'm not sure what drivetrain it have, but I believe it was carbureted, probably a 427.  In the background, you can see a '55 150 getting ready to park.

1973 AMC Javelin AMX 401

Further down the street was this AMX.  What a find!  I've actually been lucky with AMC's the past few Summers, seeing some up in Maine and others at nearby shows in Rhode Island and Connecticut.  This one did not disappoint and was in excellent shape.  

Delorean DMC-12

No, I'm not gonna do it.  Even if they're making a terrible musical about it, I refuse to crack a Back to the Future joke here.  This is actually the second stock DeLorean DMC-12 that I've seen out in the wild (you can see the first here).  Not only are these cars incredibly rare, it's even rarer to find one that hasn't been turned into a time machine clone.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it makes finding the stock version even more special.  

1970 Pontiac GTO Judge

This was the first car that clued me in on the presence of a show.  I saw the '71 'Cuda and figured it was just someone out enjoying their car.  When I spotted the Judge, I realized I was in for a much bigger treat.  I didn't even realize the Judge package was available in 1970, but it turns out you could still buy a Judge as late as 1971.  The color on this car, Orbit Orange, was the standard color for the Judge, but you could special order it in any stock GTO color as well.  

Willys Jeep Wagon w/ 4WD

Heading off the charge of this line of classics was an old Willys wagon.  This one belonged to a local business, whose logo you can faintly see on the passenger door.  In the days before SUVs, these were the closest you could get to an off-road family vehicle.  

Two 'Stangs and a Land Rover

Nope, you're not seeing double.  There are, in fact, two red Mustang Mach 1's parked out on the street.  Let's not forget the Land Rover behind them, either.  We'll come back to these cars in a minute.

1971 Plymouth 'Cuda 340

Here's the 'Cuda that I mentioned seeing earlier.  This one's in great stock shape, right down to the 340 decal on the quarter panel.  I wouldn't mind taking this thing for a little drive!

1955 Chevy 150

By the time I crossed the street, the 150 had found a parking spot.  It's cool to see a restored example, as most people are more interested in restoring the higher-trimmed 210 and Bel Air models.  This one was in sweet shape, with the little bits of chrome accenting the beauty of the aqua paint.

Land Rover Series III

Here's the Land Rover we got a glimpse of earlier.  Like pretty much all the cars out on display, it too is in nice shape.  I don't know too much about these cars, but I've always enjoyed coming across them.  

1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1

Here's the first of the mighty Mach 1's.  As you can see from the glinting chrome, this one is ready to rumble.  

1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1

On closer inspection, it turns out the second Mach 1 is a year newer than its companion.  It too looks ready to rock and roll.  

1955 Chevy Bel Air

This Bel Air passed by, looking for a parking spot.  It looks to have some classic hotrod touches, like lowered front suspension and Cragar wheels.  

1955 Chevy Bel Air Convertible

On the opposite end of the spectrum, in terms of expense, is this '55 Bel Air convertible.  As far as I could tell, this one has been entirely restored to stock.  While these tri-fives come in many flavors these days, from pro touring to restomod to gasser to hot rod, I tend to prefer original examples like this car.  That's not to say I don't like modified cars, I just think it's fascinating to see what these cars once started out as and how they changed over the years as people modified and tuned them.  

1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham

As I was walking back to our car, I had to do a double-take as something long and blue cruised by.  Could it be that nearly one year after spotting the 1958 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz in a barn that I had found its ultra-rare hardtop sibling, the 1958 Eldorado Brougham?  And where in the world did it park?  Right in front of our car, as it turns out.  And it also turns out this is a 1957, not a '58, Eldorado Brougham (Hey, don't blame me.  They're virtually identical).  The production numbers show 400 Eldorado Broughams being produced in 1957, with only 304 the following year.  This car was the top of the line Cadillac for two years in a row, and as you can imagine, it came with every possible feature and accessory available.  That's probably why it barely sold.  The cost of all the accessories deterred most buyers, and GM wasn't able to lower the cost without taking a serious profit loss, so the idea was eventually scrapped by 1961.  

Willys Coupe Hot Rod

Last, but not least, was this neat Willys hot rod coupe.  If you look closely, you can see the open headers poking out under the frond fenders.  Did I mention this car was LOUD?  So loud, in fact, that it set off the alarm on a Tesla as it drove by.  That was pretty humorous.