Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2017 i Classic American

Well, the first big car show that’s of significance to American car owners – the Surrey Street Rodders’ Wheels Day Show, held in Aldershot – has been and gone and with a bit of luck we’re now on a roll to a warm, dry summer… (he says hopefully!). We’ve got a full report on this event starting on page 77, with all the hundreds of other images from the show on the Classic American website (seewww.warrs.com ). After a few difficult years with a move to a new venue and then limits on the number of cars allowed to attend, the Surrey Street Rodders’ event seems to be back to its former strength and as a one-day show is a welcome marker of the end of winter and the start…

On April 12, during a special ceremony that kicked off the third annual Cars at the Capital exhibition, three iconic American custom cars were added to the National Historic Vehicle Register. The three cars, the McGee Roadster (a 1932 Ford V8 highboy), the Hirohata Merc (1951 Mercury custom coupe) and Gypsy Rose (a 1964 Chevy Impala lowrider) were each awarded their own special display inside a transparent glass case on the walkway that links the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian to the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. The McGee Roadster is a hot rod based on a 1932 Ford V8 Roadster. It was built by Bob McGee; a soldier who, upon returning from the Second World War, attended and played football for the University of…

There are some who dismiss the Fast & Furious films as two hours of improbable CGI stunts, cartoon violence and ridiculous plots. And they’re completely correct. The latest episode, Fast and Furious 8, begins in Cuba – you’ll appreciate the hundreds of beautiful, shiny classics lining up in Havana as the film’s hero, Dom, arrives in a stunning 1961 Impala 409. He’s immediately in a street race with a local’s 428ci Cobra Jet 1956 Ford sedan, the twist being Dommust drive his cousin’s junker 327ci turbo 1950 Chevy Fleetline. Fortunately a John Deere digger transmission gives it four reverse gears too! After some fast-paced racing Dom meets Cipher; a woman dressed as Angelina Jolie who forces Dom to commit a theft because…, well forget the plot. Instead watch the background…

As names go, the American Sunroof Corporation doesn’t really suggest cuttingedge automotive design and engineering. The thing is, this long-standing firm, now known as American Specialty Cars, has acted as a sort of ‘Skunk Works’ for the Big Three for more than half a century. Founded in 1963 by 21-year-old German émigré, Heinz Christian Prechter, the firm initially installed imported Golde sunroofs into all manner of vehicles, which in time attracted the attention of Kustom King, George Barris. He engaged Prechter to perform roof surgery on several show cars which in a roundabout way led to himdoing the same for Ford’s ‘preferred’ customers. And by preferred, we mean the likes of President Lyndon B Johnson. By the end of the decade, the firm had factories on the West and East…

With the success of the NHRA drag racing–prepped COPO Camaro programme for the last-generation Camaro, there was little doubt it would carry on with the new car. As expected, an all-new COPO Camarowas launched in 2016, and it’s now been updated for 2017. Being so new, the revisions are small, but noticeable − smoked taillight lenses from Chevrolet’s accessory catalogue, black Bow Tie badges, and export-market headlights without the LED daytime running lights or HID lights, which save weight. Three engines are offered, each tailored to an NHRA Stock Eliminator or Super Stock class. They include a 410bhp 6.2-liter V8, a 470bhp 7.0-liter V8, and a 580bhp 5.7-liter supercharged V8. Each drives an ATI three-speed automatic and a coil-sprung live rear axle. All COPOs come with an NHRA- approved roll…

Its name is derived from an old French word for friend or pal. It was developed in response to Ford’s Mustang, yet it matured into a car with its own distinct personality and following. The Chevrolet Camaro, along with its Pontiac Firebird cousin, helped keep the flame of American performance and motoring fun alive during the dark and difficult Seventies, as well as helping usher in a new era of Detroit pizazz, with racy styling and world-class handling. Today, in an even more challenging and complex age, the Camaro remains essential to its core mission, delivering sporty car style and fun at an affordable price, while at the same time, able to take on the best the competition has to offer, whether on the road or race track. Here, Classic…

Although often overlooked, the propshaft, or driveshaft, should be part of a regular safety check. The failure of a universal joint on the road can be a considerable inconvenience or, at worst, the cause of an accident. A variety of symptoms such as vibration or clunking manifest themselves as a result of worn or seized universal joints, bent or out of balance shafts. Sometimes a clue to propshaft trouble is hearing a noise frequency increasing more rapidly than the road wheel speed when the car is moving away from rest. Further problems can arise if the propshaft is in two parts, which necessitates a central bearing; generally used on later cars these can wear, producing noise. If any vibration or clunking noises are heard or if the car has been…

Author: Don Keefe Published by: Car Tech ISBN: 978-1-61325-216-1 Price: £35 Back in the early Fifties Pontiac had a stodgy and unfashionable reputation, which I suspect was well deserved. The performance side of the market was reserved for Chevy. Then something happened. The GM Motorama travelling auto circus encouraged all GM’s designers to produce new and exciting conceptual vehicles, to demonstrate to a fickle and demanding postwar public that their cars were more innovative and cutting edge than the opposition. Pontiac rose to the challenge and while few of the cars ever reached production, the dam was breached. Acquiring styling cues and ideas from their concept cars, they started producing the sporty, powerful and aggressive vehicles we know and love, assuming the performance mantle from Chevy for years to come.…

Another of the retro-styled 1:25 scale plastic kits caught my eye the other day, this one originally from MPC. This 1969 Plymouth Barracuda fastback coupe is a reissue of one of their early releases, a straight ‘annual’ kit, a true 3-in-1, with sufficient parts to build this iconic muscle car as a stock vehicle, a custom or a quarter-mile dragster. The new owners of the tooling, Round2 LLC, have wisely chosen to reinstate the original artwork, and, I gather, parts which had been deleted in subsequent incarnations, following the kit’s first release in 1969. Construction is typical for the period, with a main bodyshell, separate floor-pan and interior tub, a removable bonnet, relatively simple suspension and metal axles. The engine provided is a 383cu in V8 and the optional extras…

Most readers of this magazine are probably familiar with the National Street Rod Association and its many and various events, but you may not know that there is also an ESRA, the European Street Rod Association. The ESRA is made up of National Street Rod Clubs from all over Europe, and each year a different country hosts the Euronats, making for an ever-changing destination for participants prepared to put in the miles (or kilometres!). This year, it is the 21st Euronats and once again it’s the UK’s turn to host the event. Since the UK NSRA is the biggest club in the ESRA, it is a very popular event with rodders from mainland Europe. To give them maximum value for money in fun, and in variety of cars, the NSRA…

Wheels Day has come and gone and the first heat winner of this year’s competition was selected at the show, which saw even more cars and traders than in previous years – it looks like Wheels Day is back to full strength! The skies may have been grey and the weather chilly, but that didn’t stop Diego Presenza from bringing his beautiful white 1963 Ford Falcon Futura convertible to the show, along with his whole family for a great day out. Diego has painstakingly restored this Falcon over the years and it now looks like a new car. Fitted with Ford’s failsafe 170cu in straight-six motor and three-speed manual, the car has had just about everything restored or replaced, with a stunning interior and shiny new paint. Even the tyres…

Taking best of show at this year’s Wheels Day spectacular was Cosmotron, brought along by Martin Smith from Bexleyheath, Kent. This bubble-topped marvel has, somewhere underneath that jaw-dropping bodywork, a BMW. Owner Martin is big man, but somehow he manages to fold himself in and out of this super-cool rod, with its fully functioning Perspex bubbletop, which opens and closes like something out of a Fifties sci-fi movie. It was a worthy winner indeed and you can read our report from this year’s excellent event on pages 77 to 80, with more images on the Classic American website!…

The Classic Sports Car Club’s Thruxton Thriller certainly lived up to its billing with a weekend of terrific racing under sunny blue skies. This was the club’s second visit to the fastest race circuit in the UK, its inaugural meeting being last August. Saturday was mainly for modern-ish cars but Sunday was for classics and the grids were packed with interesting cars. Among the Chevy-engined machines running in the Special Saloons and Modsports was Joe Ward’s ‘Baby Bertha’, the steroidal 5.7-litre V8 Vauxhall Firenza made famous by the late, great Gerry Marshall. During the Seventies Gerry raced it five times at Thruxton and won every race. In the Future Classics, Alex Thistlethwayte was out in his recently acquired 1968 Camaro, a car built by Bill Shaw Racing for the 1970…

In the land of litigation, evidence is an important aspect when it comes to reaching a legal verdict. Yet, within American and by extension, global economic circles these days, it seems that often, what might be is more important than what actually is. In April, it was announced that Tesla Motors had achieved a market capitalisation of $50.9 billion. That put it $64 billion over General Motors and within $1 billion of Japanese automaker Honda. Yet the problem with market capitalization is that it only factors in the value of the stock, or rather what investors believe it is valued at. Given the hype coming out of Silicone Valley these days, it seems anything might be possible. When you look at the realities however, they tend to paint quite a…

Although classic station wagons are often highly collectible today, that wasn’t always the case. With the exception of vintage woodies in the 1970s, no one ever felt wagons were worth saving; they were on the lowest rung of the ladder and, as such, always relegated to the final page of the sales brochure. So when AMC came up with the idea of marketing a special edition station wagon, with haute couture overtones, eyebrows were raised. It wasn’t done on a whim. AMC had a carefully planned development programme to one-up their rivals by employing top-name fashion designers. Realising that a car’s interior trim was an important consideration for potential women buyers, AMC had fashion leaders Aldo Gucci, Oleg Cassini and Pierre Cardin design their interiors. Targeting female buyers wasn’t a…

Aldershot, Hampshire April 15, 2017 Being held on Good Friday means that Wheels Day is never on the same date from year to year; in the past we’ve known it to actually be snowing when we put up the Classic American marquee! This year, Easter was in the middle of April, so conditions were milder, although there was still a nip in the air. Most importantly the weather had been dry for quite a while, so the showfield didn’t turn into a quagmire, as it has occasionally done in previous years. The Surrey Street Rodders seem to have managed to get the numbers of vehicles back up to where they were a few years ago and there were plenty of traders on hand too. Since the show is by pre-entry…

The great spring weather leading up to Easter meant that, down south at least, this year’s season got off to an early start, especially in Hampshire where in Andover Valley Gas Speed Shop threw open its doors once again for another Chilli Night. As far as we know, the Chilli Night is still a unique event in the UK, with owners Jimmy and Ellie Hibberd hosting a full evening of entertainment and fun, and all in a good cause with this year’s proceeds going to The Duchess of Kent Hospice in Theale, near Reading. Having had a couple of years’ break, this years Chilli Night differed from previous events in being a ticket-only event, mainly to control the numbers attending. Those that laid down their money for a ticket however,…

Within a three-week period early this year, Troy Ladd of Hollywood Hot Rods scored a neverbefore achieved, historic and unique double success by taking the major awards at both of America’s longest-established and arguably most prestigious custom car shows – the Grand National Roadster Show and the Sacramento Autorama. Each of these shows has been going for almost 70 years and never had one car builder previously taken the major honours at both – let alone in the same year! Not only that but Ladd also took two other prestigious awards at Autorama with the car that he built for Bruce Wanta of Bellevue, Washington, and which was styled on the theme of a 1936 Packard V12 roadster and christened the Mulholland Speedster. The Grand National Roadster Show is the…

The weekend of June 17-18 will see Classic American’s parent company, Mortons, hosting the 38th annual Bristol Classic, held at the Royal Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet, Somerset. Known and loved by many in the scene for its friendly atmosphere, the intrigue and interest starts the minute you get through the gate with the hundreds of vehicles which pack into the classic car park. There are plenty of car club displays, as well as a wide range of independent traders including specialist suppliers of parts, tools and vintage memorabilia, along with service providers. One of the largest areas is dedicated to a huge indoor autojumble where showgoers lose themselves for hours rummaging around the bargains in search of that rare find. In recent years the event has also been a…

Dear Classic American, Have you ever done a piece on unconventional promotional items car manufacturers have branded which actually have nothing to do with cars? Do your readers have anything else similar to this Chevrolet-branded On The Move LP I recently picked up from my local charity shop, containing some smooth hits from the day? Like alternatively, maybe Ford’s Funky Faves, The Easy Edsel Listening Collection or even Buick’s Beat Selection?! Sanjay Shabi Aldgate East London E1 Now that really is a find… obviously they have a much better class of charity shop in London than elsewhere in the UK!…

At last, after what seems to have been an incredibly long drawn out winter, spring has sprung, Easter is with us and that can only signify the annual show opener at Rushmoor Arena, Aldershot: the Surrey Street Rodders Wheels Day. As with other years I have picked three cars that caught my eye on the day so enjoy my offerings and brief notes on this delectable trio. First up is a 1971 Ford Torino GT Sports Roof packing a 35cu in Cleveland 4bbl, backed up by a Cruise-o-Matic automatic transmission and a 10 bolt rear end. Finished in original Grabber Blue paint with a white bucket seat console interior and a flat black front chin spoiler with rear window ‘Sport Slats’ adding to a bold reflective laser stripe running the…

There is a definite advantage to working on American cars if you already have a bit of space and some decent tools, especially if you’re planning a major rebuild like Steve Barnes has done on his 1978 Chevrolet Camaro Z28. “I’m a HGV mechanic by trade,” says Steve, “I’ve got a small collection of classic ERF trucks and a 1965 Foden S22 at home, as well as a Canadian-built 1985 Chevy Silverado 6.2 diesel and a 2004 Dodge Dakota as my daily driver.” Impressive stuff, but it’s his Camaro we’ve come to see today though. “I bought a four-door Jeep Cherokee when I was 20, but I only had it for a year… then I got a mortgage instead!” says Steve. “Aged 25, I bought a Dodge RAM, then I…

Pity any children playing car I-Spy in the mid-1950s when this Pontiac drove past. By the time one had announced, “I spy a 1956 Pontiac Star Chief Custom Hardtop Catalina,” said car would have been up the block and gone. Having a model name that’s almost and really liked it then, but I didn’t get the chance to do anything about it. I’ve worked at Dream Cars (www.dreamcars.co.uk/01737 765050) over the years and one day Stewart had it in the showroom and I couldn’t resist buying it. “Before this I had a 1958 Ford Fairlane with the 390 Interceptor police engine,” continues John, “and later a ‘68 Roadrunner. I’ve owned quite a few American cars over the years; one of my favourites being a 1967 Buick Electra that I later…

Model car manufacturers come and go. Jada Toys were everywhere a few years ago, yet you rarely see them here in the UK nowadays. That’s a shame, as they made some nice models, while keeping the costs under control. The odd few still surface, the most numerous being the American muscle cars and Japanese ‘tuners’ seen in the Fast & Furious films. However, I came acros something completely d the other day. This JeepW g Safari represents one of the vehicles featured in the film Jurassic World, which was itself an homage to the Jeeps that appeared in the first film, Jurassic Park. If you Google, you will find a wealth of typically conflicting information relating to the Jeeps used in the films. Some sites refer to those used in…

Think of Motor City and no doubt you’ll conjure up images of V8 motors being lowered into Mustangs and Camaros, or Lincolns and Cadillacs, all dying to be fired up and terrorise the Tarmac for the first time. But you can stop thinking of Detroit because Britain’s motor city, Coventry, is a rather different affair. Formerly home to the distinctly non-American Rootes, Triumph, Jaguar and Daimler brands, amongst others. Motor manufacturing in Coventry came to a sad end in the early Noughties and nowadays, the city doesn’t have that much to get a petrol head excited. All is not lost though, for the rich heritage of the area is preserved in the Coventry Transport Museum, which cares for hundreds of vehicles that were all built in and around the city.…

Did you get along to the Hot Rods and Cool Customs temporary exhibition at the Coventry Transport Museum in Coventry’s city centre? Running from the end of January until the middle of May, by all accounts the free-entry show has been a big hit with the public and custom fans alike. Featuring around a dozen or so cars, the show nevertheless demonstrated the sheer variety of wild machinery the scene comprises today. There is a report on this amazing show on page 87 and it’s good to see the UK custom scene being given a chance to raise its profile in this way. Even though it’s essentially and originally an imported hobby, it still has its place in UK car culture, which is the speciality of the museum, being as…

2010 Vendor: David Boatwright Partnership, 1 Chilford Court, Rayne Road, Braintree, Essex, CM7 2QS Telephone: 01376 552552 Price: £23,995 Chevrolet’s 2010 SS Camaro has all the attributes of the quintessential muscle car in a modern day package, with menacing and aggressive styling (do my hips look big in this? Em yes, but they’re lovely!) superb performance and all the bells and whistles to satisfy even the most discerning of enthusiasts. Our Drive-Buy Camaro is the upmarket 2SS model, which incorporates the ZL1 appearance package with some subtle body mods, as well as the RS Package (incorporating special alloy wheels, unique tail-lights, HID headlights with Halo rings) and is powered by Chevrolet’s 6.2-litre V8 engine. This car was originally supplied for the American market, but after covering 960 miles, it was…