Bike Ride 36

David: Nearly a week later, I decided to hit the roads again, traveling from Cranston, through Providence, into North Providence. Unfortunately, Sam was still in school, so he wasn't around to join. 

Anyways, this bike ride captures a lot of cars from the 1960s and 1970s, which makes for a rather unique showing of cars. Funnily enough, there's an equal amount of cars and trucks, totaling six vehicles for today's ride. The three cars are all compact European vehicles, and the three trucks are all American trucks. This only occurred to me after I uploaded the photos to the blog to begin my written descriptions. 

I have faith you'll enjoy all of these cars, as most of them are models never featured on ONEC before, or those rarely seen on the blog. With an equal mix of sporty European classics, and hulking American iron, could it possibly get any better? 

Above: 1980 Mercedes Benz 450SL Euro Spec (R107)

We begin in Cranston with a gorgeous 1980 450 SL roadster. Have you wondered what a perfect R107 SL-Class looks like? Well, look no further. When I happened upon this 450 SL on Reservoir Avenue in Cranston, I was amazed by the condition of this vehicle. The pictures do not do this car's finish enough justice, as its signalrot (signal red) paint shone in the warm May sun like no other car on the street. 

Above: European Styling in America!

What sets this 450 SL from other SL-Class Mercedes we've found is that this particular example features European trim specifications. Note the thin bumpers and the composite headlamp covers. If it were a USDM (US Domestic Market) spec car, it would have bulgier bumpers to comply with the American Traffic Safety standards, as well as sealed beam headlamps. Whether this Mercedes has been imported as a EUDM (European Domestic Market) vehicle, or has been modified to appear as such, I'm unsure. Either way, this 450 SL is easily the most unique R/C-107 SL-Class vehicles we've found to date. 

Above: 1968 Chevrolet C-70 Dump Truck: From Afar

From the Mercedes, I traversed down Reservoir Ave. into Providence, not finding any cars on my venture. I biked up to Federal Hill, an area outside Downtown Providence, known for its Italian heritage and renowned restaurants. I cut down to a side street that overlooks the side of Route 10, a highway that connects Cranston to the Providence I-95 intersection. On my left was the highway, but to my right, was an abandoned construction site. I noticed a large orange vehicle at rest towards the far side of the site. I peaked through the fence, and noticed that it was a rather old Chevrolet dump truck from what looked to be the late 1970s. 

After a closer examination of my photos in my post-bike ride research, I would prove my assumption of this being a late 1970s Chevy truck wrong. It's actually a late '60s model instead. This is a 1968 C-70, a part of the second generation of the Chevy and GMC C/K-Series truck line, produced from 1967 to 1972. The C-70 was the second largest heavy duty truck in the C-Series lineup, positioned behind the C-80. Engine options ranged from six-cylinder to small block V8s for the medium duty trucks, and big block V8 and diesel engines for the heavy duty C-70 and 80 trucks. 

This particular C-70 appears to have been in service with the Ricci Paving Company. The company still exists under the name Ricci Drain-Laying Co., Inc. Established in 1959 by Armando Ricci, the company is now run by his son, Armando Ricci Jr. They even continue to use orange dump trucks in their modern fleet. Currently, Ricci Drain-Laying Co. is contracted for septic construction, for residential, commercial, and municipal use.

Above: 1972 MG Midget Mk. III

After photographing the C-70, I encountered yet another large gap of zero classics found during my route. By the time I had photographed this MG Midget, I had traveled far out of Providence, and had entered North Providence. I was cruising down some side streets when, and thank goodness for bright colors on this bike ride, I noticed the bright red color on this little red sports car about a block or two away from me. I had to investigate. The lack of classic cars on this beautiful day was starting to drive me insane! I rode over, and my eyes lay upon this lovely 1972 MG Midget Mk. III. 

The 1972 Midget is notable for a few reasons. One, it lacks the oversized "rubber" bumpers that MG vehicles would adopt just two years later in 1974. The second reason requires a bit of a closer look. Notice the round wheel arches. The 1972 Midget was the first model to divert away from square-ish wheel arches in favor of rounded ones to give the car a more uniform look. 1972 was also the final model year to prominently feature the spoked wheel covers seen on this car. 1973 models gained the sportier and iconic black MG four spoke rims with the red center cap. 

Above: 1967 Chevrolet C-10 Custom Step Side

Following the MG, I continued through the neighborhoods of North Providence, hoping my luck would pay off yet again. Sure enough, I spotted another boxy looking vehicle from a distance. From my positioning, yet again a few blocks away, this vehicle appeared to be what looked like an old truck, maybe from the 1980s. I began biking over to investigate, and as I grew closer, it revealed itself to have a stepside bed. Approaching the truck, it looked to be much older than I anticipated. When I finally arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to have found a beautifully patinaed 1967 Chevy C-10. 

Like the orange C-70 dump truck a few entries above, this C-10 is also a part of the second generation of the C/K-Series of trucks. 1967 notably marked the first years of the second generation of the series as well, featuring a design much more refined than its predecessor. The second generation's new design featured smoother body panels, adding to the truck's soon to be signature boxy appearance. A trend that would become popular in the third generation C/K-Series, also known as the "Squarebody." 

GM's new design change spawned from the idea of making these trucks more applicable for various uses. Ford had taken a similar approach when they introduced a universal platform for their pickup trucks in 1965. Dodge had also followed a similar design change in 1965 as well, with their new second generation D-Series. These changes allowed trucks to be assembled with various combinations of cab and bed types to be used based on what task the truck was intended to be used for, whether it be commercial or civil. 

Above: A Closer Look at the C-10

I included some proper close ups of some of the badging on this C-10. If there's anything I love in particular about patinaed vehicles, it's that their aged finish provides a beautiful background for close ups of their badging. I love how the Chevrolet "Bow Tie" and "10" emblems look on the rough gray primer finish, with hints of rust and the truck's original red finish spotted in various places on the front quarter panel. The "Custom" badge also looks amazing, as its gold emblem backing matches the bronze surface rust of the door nearly perfectly. 

Now, like I did with Squarebodies last Winter, I feel that I should discuss the trim levels as they relate to the second generation, because there are a few changes to the trim levels that can get confusing at times. This truck is a Custom, which was the middle trim level from 1967 to 1970. It was slotted between the standard base model (which was just the C-10) and the Custom Deluxe, the highest option available. 

In 1971, the trim levels shifted. The Custom became the base trim level, the Custom Deluxe became the new mid-tier trim level, and the Cheyenne was now slotted as the top trim level. 

Above: 1986 Chevrolet D-30 M1008

Here is another Chevy truck, but a rather unique one. You very likely noticed its olive drab paint and the unusual model designation. This indeed a D-30, not a C-30. The C-30 did exist, but while that truck was a civilian model, the D-30 was specifically built for military use. More specifically, these military grade Chevy trucks were designated as Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicles (CUCV), which meant that they were used for general purpose use, hauling troops or supplies. GM was contracted by the United States Military to replace the previous Dodge M880 and M890 CUCVs, which had been in service since 1977. The new contract to produce the D-30 CUCV would be GM's first military vehicle contract since World War II. 

Sold as the D-30 by General Motors, but designated the M1008 by the US Military, these trucks were produced from 1984 to 1987 in limited quantities, with several variations. There was the M1009, based on the K-5 Blazer, and the M1010, which was an ambulance version of the M1008. A fire variant was also available as the M1028, and a similar box truck version was available as the M1031. This family of Chevy D-30 trucks were all powered by the 6.2L Detroit Diesel V8 coupled to the three speed "Turbo-Hydramatic" automatic transmission. 

Above: 1968 Volkswagen Beetle

By chance, we have the best for last. This is an utterly gorgeous example of a classic Volkswagen Beetle from its golden years of the 1960s. By 1967, Volkswagen was peaking in sales and popularity. The Beetle, the Karmann Ghia, and Kombi Bus were all selling phenomenally in Europe and the US. The Volkswagens of the 1960s appealed to everyone, from small families to blue collar workers, to the countercultural youth. A Volkswagen was affordable, easy to work on, but featured a friendly design during a time of division and war, which is one of the internal reasons of why I think the Volkswagens of the '60s were such a success.

Could the rose tinted glasses of the 1960s be any more pink when looking at this car? This Beetle is a time capsule back into the 1960s, but perhaps the good parts we like to think about. The late 1960s were not a particularly good time in American history. In 1968, prominent civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, a young Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated, Richard Daley's Chicago Police "Storm Troopers" had beaten 100s of innocent protesters at the Democratic National Convention on live television, and the US had entered the Vietnam War. To say that the late '60s were a time of unrest would be an understatement. 

Amidst that was the Volkswagen Beetle, a rather carefree looking car. It was small, brightly painted, and its rounded front fascia gave it almost a smiling appearance. For many, perhaps the Beetle seemed like a way out of the hate, violence, and chaos that had filled the world as people began realizing that perhaps the establishments that they had invested their trust in all these years wouldn't protect them like they said they would. World War II wasn't the war to end all wars. A new draft had swept the nation's youth up. It seemed just about anyone could be assassinated by an opposing radical, or hurt for standing up for what they believed was right. 

When their world as they once knew it seemed to crumble around them, the Volkswagen unified a divided country for its honesty. It was convenient and welcoming at a time of insecurity and hatred. Stepping inside a Volkswagen, one could drive far away from the civil unrest and towards that blissful strawberry field of the 1960s free from the war, the hate, and the prejudice. 

It was a family car, a tradesman's car, and a hippie's car. Memories were created, road trips were logged, and a living was made. Everyone had a Volkswagen, and everyone who lived for today has a story involving one. If a Beetle could unify a broken nation back in the 1960s, then perhaps today, during a great time of division and polarization, we await our own Beetle to bring us together and back to peace. 

Above: What is "Automatic Stickshift?"

As I was photographing this Beetle, I noticed on the rear boot lid (yes, I'm using European terms here), a well scripted and displayed badge on the left hand side of the lid. Getting a closer look, it read "Automatic Stickshift" with a noticeable difference in font between the two words. Prior to this Beetle, I had never heard of such a concept used by Volkswagen. I had heard of clutchless manuals, such as the Saab 900 demonstrated by Richard Hammond on Top Gear, as well as the "manual mode" available on modern sport sedans and wagons, however, I thought that these types of transmissions were a phenomenon that started in the late '90s with the beginning disappearance of manual transmissions. I wanted to find out more about this peculiar feature, and did I ever. I even proved my own thoughts about clutchless manuals wrong. Here is the story of the Volkswagen Automatic Stickshift.

The Volkswagen Automatic Stickshift, or "Auto Stick" as it was popularly known as, wasn't quite a clutchless manual transmission, but a semiautomatic transmission. I say it wasn't a clutchless transmission because a clutch was still present- however it was operated remotely when the driver would apply pressure to the gear selector to change gears. This in turn activated a switch which was connected to a vaccuum line, which was connected to the clutch. The pressure applied from the shifter would quickly turn the switch on, which would remotely depress the clutch, allowing for a seamless shift between gears. So essentially, it was like shifting a normal manual transmission without needing to press the clutch in. The auto stick transmission did the work for the driver, eliminating that step of driving a traditional manual transmission. 

So how does this internally work? From a Curbside Classic article, a Volkswagen enthusiast explained its internal functions very well. The transmission was connected to the engine via a torque converter, which also doubled as the first gear of the transmission. The torque converter converts the power generated by the engine and transfers it through the flywheel to the transmission, thus allowing the Auto Stick to start and stop moving the car in any given gear. This also eliminated the need to shift out of gear into neutral at a stop. 

Because of the torque converter's assistance, there was no first gear labeled on an Auto Stick shift knob. The forward gear shift pattern was labeled as L-1-2, which essentially translated to gears 2-3-4 on a traditional manual transmission. 

Well that was a lot of information! But if you need the spark notes version, here is the explanation in two sentences: When you shift the car, a switch activates a vacuum line connected to the clutch, allowing the driver to shift the car. A torque converter connects power between the engine and transmission, which allows the car to stop and go in any given gear, thus eliminating the option to shift in to neutral - whew! If you need a visual clarification, check out this YouTube video by dedicated VW channel "Garage Time."  While I may have made a simple concept seem overly complicated, I hope this description of this unique transmission helps explain what "Automatic Stickshift" means and how it works.