Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2016 i Hemmings Classic Car

Mecum Monterey THIS YEAR’S MECUM DAYTIME AUCTION held August 18-20 during the Pebble Beach weekend saw a total of over $50 million in sales, eclipsing last year’s mark by more than $5 million. The bulk of Mecum’s sales was carried by several high-performance and exotic cars, but the top-selling American Classic was this 1932 Duesenberg Model J Phaeton. Upgraded to SJ specification, this Duesy had the original chassis and engine and was formerly part of the Al Wiseman Collection; the final bid rang home at $600,000. Of the affordable deals were a 1949 Ford Deluxe selling for $8,500 and a Chrysler 300 Pacesetter convertible from the 1963 Indy 500 selling at $25,000. There were scores of great Detroit classics that crossed the block that weekend, and the results are all…

Have you ever seen a thought process manifested, a concept brought to life? We all try to make our hopes into reality, but few auto enthusiasts have the full measure of resources to turn the idea of a car into something that can be driven on the road. Edsel Bryant Ford was one person who had the creative vision and wherewithal to have unique cars made for his own use. Edsel’s keen appreciation of European design led to the construction of the special Ford on these pages, which — as its caretaker of more than a half-century posits — was the forerunner of the glamorous Lincoln Continental that would arrive five years later. From his teens, Edsel had commissioned cars wearing bodies of his own design, and in 1932 and…

The Mercury Bobcat was a pioneering car. When life was simple and there was a pecking order to a car company’s offerings, luxury cars were eight yards long and teeming with leather and air and power everything, while economy cars were just that — small enough to fit in the trunk of a full-size and sufficiently stripped-out. Prices were low, and, so was the self-esteem of anyone who couldn’t afford something bigger. Today, the premium compact car is a given in your local showroom. Despite advertised highway mileage in the mid-30s, there’s a reason they aren’t called “economy” cars anymore. You can get a stripper if you really want it, but look at a Buick Verano, or a Ford Focus Platinum or a Chrysler 200. Remote start, 4G Wi-Fi, backup…

“ Bourke and the other Loewy designers coached me in sketching and rendering techniques. That was when I first realized, ‘Wow, this is what I want to do.’ I put together a portfolio of my car-concept sketches, and as Loewy had no open requisitions, I took my amateurish portfolio to Ford and hit Frank Hershey at the right moment. ” Work hard, play your cards right, keep your eyes open and in the car industry, you may get to accomplish something that’s truly magical. The right situation will allow you to have a hand, or hands, in the creation of an iconic motor vehicle. That’s what happed to John Samsen, who was an integral part of the team that designed the original Thunderbird for the Ford Motor Company. If you’re…

Henry Ford could’ve built a new Model A for every driveway in America, but without trucks to haul building materials, dry goods and of course fuel for all of those passenger cars, the nation would’ve come to a standstill. Ford, clearly, wasn’t the country’s only truck manufacturer before World War II — Dodge, International, Mack, White, GMC, Federal, REO, Autocar and a host of others could’ve ably met demand. But Ford’s one-ton TT had carved out a significant place for itself in the commercial market by the time production wound down in 1927. Like the Model T, the TT wasn’t the fanciest or the biggest, but it was rugged, reliable and affordable. The TT had also reached its expiration date. The competition’s offerings were advancing rapidly, growing larger and more…

Winter Rally AMERICA’S CAR MUSEUM and the North American International Auto Show will celebrate America’s automotive heritage during an 11-day, 2,150-mile winter journey from Beantown to the Motor City. “The Drive Home II: The Heritage Run” will take place starting in Boston December 28 and make way to Detroit on January 7 for the opening of the International Auto Show. America’s Car Museum will feature its 1957 Chevrolet Nomad, ’61 Chrysler 300G and ’66 Ford Mustang, all of which participated in last year’s “Drive Home” from Tacoma to Detroit. The rally features many stops along the way: coffee events, happy hours and get-togethers in many cities including Boston, New York, Washington, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis, then four stops in Michigan culminating with a cruise down Woodward Avenue and a final…

Roaring Oil 800-423-5525 • WWW.CALCARCOVER.COM  • $144.99 Motor oil was a huge and widely varied business in the first few decades of the automobile, and gasoline and oil companies created beautiful artwork for advertising. One example of this is the stately mascot for Lion Petroleum Products, producer of Lion Motor Oil. This sturdy and attractive reproduction of original 1930s artwork (item LP26) is genuine porcelain that has been fired onto a 26 inch-diameter steel sign. It features pre-drilled mounting holes with brass eyelets to ease hanging, and is proudly made in the USA. Only 100 pieces are being produced, so devoted Petroliana collectors will need to act fast. 1957 Chrysler 300C 888-910-2889 • WWW.AUTOWORLDSTORE.COM  • $89.99 Incredible, lifelike detail is a hallmark of the Ertl Collectibles American Muscle series of 1:18-scale die-cast…

During the summer of 1950, buyers were anxiously awaiting the all-new Packards that were on deck for a 1951 model year debut. With over $20 million invested, the all-new lower, longer, John Reinhart-styled 1951 models were introduced on August 24, 1950, and they began rolling out of Packard’s plant on East Grand Boulevard in Detroit. The reception was quite positive, and model year sales rebounded from 1950’s lackluster figures to just over 100,000 automobiles despite material shortages due to the Korean conflict, government-imposed production limits and a rail strike. In mid-1952, James Nance, from the Hotpoint division of General Electric, replaced Hugh Ferry as president of the Packard Motor Car Corp. He wanted to revitalize the model lines and the corporation, but would face some growing issues that affected most…

Restoration and hot rodding have a contentious relationship. Both branches of the old-car hobby depend on a finite number of collector cars for their raw material. Until relatively recently, hot rodding often meant ripping out everything from an old car and grafting newer parts on in the pursuit of high performance, the perception of greater reliability and increased “cool.” One area where the disciplines overlapped was a shared interest in “phantom” cars — vehicles that could have been built but never were: Think of a 1941 Chevrolet four-door convertible or an Edsel Ranchero. Add in the growing interest in hot rodding as it existed before the 1970s and hot rodders have only increased in their respect for history and a desire for preservation more in line with the restorer’s philosophy.…

In 1983, novice restorer Dan Brown was actively searching for a collector car project from the Thirties to call his own. Settling on a particular make or even a specific body style from the era was not a priority for Dan. In hindsight, this proved fortuitous since fate made the decision for him. “I had a coworker that purchased an old Ford as a project out in Ohio, but once he got it home and started to dig into it, he changed his mind. All I knew then was that it was an open-top 1934 Ford, a complete basket case. The body was attached to the frame with just a couple of bolts and the interior was almost completely gutted. Most of what wood Ford utilized in its construction was…

IN AUGUST OF 1963, I STARTED MY apprenticeship as a metal model maker at Ford Engineering Research and Development Center in Dearborn, Michigan. When the Engineering Center opened in 1955, it was laid out like a college campus. Entry was through a 20-foot-tall wrought iron gate. As you drove onto the campus, you passed two air-conditioning ponds. There were some very large goldfish swimming in these ponds. On the right was the New Body Engineering department where I worked. This building held design and development people. There was the Wood Shop where wood mock-ups of the newer models were made. Across the hall was the Metal Shop; it was here that driveable prototypes were built. During my time at New Body Engineering, I got to work on some neat projects.…

Done By Local Man THOUGHT THERE COULD ONLY BE SO MANY double-ender cars out there? Thought it might have been a silly thing for a handful of people to build over the years? Apparently not, given the volume of two-faced car submissions we’ve recently received. We’ll try to get to them all in due time, but let’s start with this photo submitted by Fred Wilcox of Berwyn, Illinois. “I remembered seeing this one in a museum quite a few years ago,” Fred wrote, though he has since forgotten which museum he saw it in. That alone should help us resolve who the “local man” was that built it, so if anybody does remember which museum housed this which-way Model A, please let us know. Great Sectioning YOU’RE ON A ROAD…

Beehive Backups These new ’50s-style backup lamps with beehive lenses have a machined billet base with a brushed finish, and easily mount to a flat surface using the provided hardware. The lamps’ overall dimensions are 2¼-inches in diameter at the base and 2- 1/8-inches tall to the tip of the lens. Installation is simple and requires only three holes; full instructions are included. Also available in red and amber; sold in pairs. Cost: $84. WATSON’S STREETWORKS 866-859-0513 WWW.WATSONS-STREETWORKS.COM El Camino Fuel Sending Units Owners of the 4.3-liter El Camino finally have the option of purchasing a new fuel sending unit that is a direct replacement of the OE unit. Constructed of CNC-bent stainless steel tubing, it comes with a fuel strainer, lock ring and seal. The part fits…

You couldn’t blame the buyers for having become confused about what Packard stood for — after all, even the company’s new president, James Nance, had a hard time spelling out what it was that separated the premium cars from the mid-market lines that provided the great majority of the factory’s production. But the master salesman had a solution, which he called his “New Packard Program.” The way to bring back clarity to the brand, Nance declared shortly after his hiring in 1952, was to create a separate marque to go toe-to-toe with Buick, Mercury, Chrysler and the rest, and to free Packard to challenge Cadillac. To distinguish the volume-production cars from the rest, he dusted off a name that had not been used since 1947: Clipper. Since 1951, when John…

In the middle of the 1970s, Americans had to face the first serious gasoline restrictions since World War II. Drivers went from having easy access to cheap gas to a severely restricted supply and much higher prices. For a while, refueling was allowed only on odd or even days depending on the car’s license plate number. Fistfights sometimes erupted amongst drivers waiting in long lines at gas stations, and there were even occasional shootings—all for the sake of a tank of gas. And prices seemed to crank upwards almost on a daily basis. The days of gasoline at 30 cents per gallon ended forever. America’s response to the fuel crisis was wide ranging. Detroit automakers began to downsize their big cars, and rushed new, more fuel-efficient small cars into production.…

1942 Buick SPECIAL SERIES 40 Wheelbase, 118 inches A group of five capable cars, compact enough to fit easily in the garage, maneuver handily in traffic, or slip into a tight parking space. Abundantly powered. Compound Carburetion is available as extra equipment. EXTRA SPECIAL SERIES 40 Wheelbase, 121 inches About six inches longer over all than Special models, the Extra Specials provide generous additional back seat legroom. Models 41-SE and 46-SSE, at slight extra cost, feature Buick Century equipment, which includes Compound Carburetion, Foamtex cushions, and other de luxe appointments. SUPER SERIES 50 Wheelbase, 124 inches Completely new bodies and extremely smart exterior lines make this group of three cars brilliant style-masters of the highways. They are long, low, fleet looking. Roomy, too – front seats measure sixty-two inches wide.…

FORD recognizes the evolving need for versatility and offers a line of exceptional station wagons as part of its Wagonmaster lineup among the Escort, LTD and LTD Crown Victoria model lines. Also available is the Club Wagon if you should have van pooling needs. CHEVROLET’S MONTE CARLO returns with the 4.3-liter V-6, optional 305-cu.in. V-8 or the SS with the Hi-Po 305. Now available with the standard three-speed or four-speed overdrive, the Monte Carlo has new cloth interior trim, new standard wheel covers and comes in Silver, Maroon, White or Black. Now on sale for as low as $9,540, the stylish Monte Carlo blends great looks with performance and economy. DODGE AND CARROLL SHELBY continue to team up to offer the Shelby Charger and the Omni GLH. These sporty high-performance…