Vintage Tin Hunt: Island Style

New year, new adventures. Over the Holiday break, Gen and I took a quick road trip to California’s Central Coast to check out the Channel Islands. On Thursday, we started our day with an early alarm and a ferry ride, which brought us to Santa Cruz Island. Located 22 miles off the coast of Ventura, the place is remote in just about every sense of the word. No roads, no stores, and no cell service to be had. We had nowhere else to be—it was absolutely perfect.

With the sun shining and the blue ocean glimmering, we explored the island’s trail system. From hills and valleys to rocky cliffs with scenic views, there was no shortage of picturesque views. Once the hiking had wound down for the day, I walked over to some of the few man-made things on the island. Those things, of course, were vintage tin.

At this point in my life, I feel fairly confident in my ability to identify old cars and parts. Yet when I saw these, I was only able to wager some guesses. The first was a full-size truck from the late teens or early-’20s. There wasn’t much left, but the radiator shell indicated that it may have been a Gotfredson, and I did find a BUDA tag on the engine block.

(I later discovered that it was a modified Gotfredson, and found this image of the truck on Scorpion Ranch.) 

The next was homemade sawmill powered by a Willys flathead four. The setup was actually very neat, and I especially liked the run-stand’s wooden dashboard.

Last, we have the most organic of the group. It’s almost impossible to tell what this engine once was, but the square exhaust ports and general shape are making me think it’s an early Cadillac overhead.

Anyways, these are merely suggestions. Do you have any more insight on this vintage tin to start off the new year?

—Joey Ukrop