Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2017 i Hemmings Classic Car

Loewy and the Targa WHILE PUTTING TOGETHER A RECENT STORY ABOUT RAYMOND LOEWY’S contributions to Studebaker design, Andy Beckman of the Studebaker National Museum sent us this photo of Loewy with a 1953 Studebaker Commander Starlight coupe reworked into a targa-top coupe. Unfortunately, Andy had little other information about the design study, so he couldn’t tell us how seriously Studebaker considered adding the variation to its lineup. However, given that Loewy’s standing next to a full-size mockup/ prototype and no mere clay suggests that Studebaker officials at least gave it some real thought. Or else Loewy had a production Starlight modified on his own dime. Either way, that targa top makes for one big blind spot. RE: Fast Little Back IN RETROSPECT, IT shouldn’t surprise us that so many of…

Fill Her Up 800-227-4373 EXT. 79550 • WWW.HMN.COM/PUZ  • $16.95 If you have the patience, assembling a jigsaw puzzle can be a satisfying, and even meditative, pastime. Puzzle-loving automotive aficionados will enjoy this colorful collage of vintage petroliana, created by Lois B. Sutton for White Mountain Puzzles and made in the U.S.A. Called “Fill Her Up” (item #FILLPUZ), it contains 1,000 thick, extra-large, quality pieces, and measures 24 by 30 inches when assembled. Everything you remember from the American filling stations of your youth — uniformed attendants, racks of oil, air pumps, folded paper highway maps — is here. You may even want to glue and frame it when you’re finished, as it would look great on the den or garage wall. Notes from Route 66 608-325-1442 • GOECKEPHOTOGRAPHY66@GMAIL.COM $19.95, PLUS DOMESTIC…

Sleek. No other word more accurately describes the shape of the Thunderbirds that Ford created for the 1961 to 1966 model years, although other adjectives such as “striking,”“alluring,”“fascinating” and “sensational” certainly do apply as well.These are truly fantastic automobiles with a distinct style. The 1960s dawned with renewed vigor, excitement and hope, and the new Thunderbirds tapped into that positive atmosphere like no other car at the time. They reflected the public’s perception of renewal and a look towards the future. This perception was surely strengthened when a new 1961 Thunderbird took part in John F. Kennedy’s inaugural parade, then further enhanced a few months later when it paced the field at the Indianapolis 500. As successful and attractive as the 1958-’60 Thunderbirds were, upon the introduction of the redesigned…

As the Roaring Twenties gasped their last, collapsing into an economic depression so great that a decade could not contain its impact, great plans were afoot. Riding high on new and ever-more-luxurious models, car companies were looking to expand into high-end territory. Cadillac, Lincoln, Packard, Auburn, Stutz, Pierce-Arrow, Duesenberg and many more had done well enough in the 1920s, and things were due to get cooking in the ’30s. Big plans were made. Twelve-cylinder engines. Sixteen-cylinder engines. Excess on a colossal scale. But things didn’t go that way. As these big plans for the future were put in motion, as money was being spent to develop new and bigger and faster machines, the bottom dropped out of the economy. In the 1930s, luxury marques shriveled up and died, as smaller…

The 1973-to-1977 General Motors Colonnade models were provocative, with proponents extoling their virtues and opponents exposing their vices. Some lamented the passing of the 1972 A-bodies and their convertibles and the arrival of heavy 5-MPH front bumpers, along with Exhaust Gas Recirculation systems and higher curb weights for 1973, while others lauded the new A-body’s design, engineering and safety refinements. New styling brought a larger windshield and reshaped frameless side windows, fixed rear quarter windows, new backlight designs and roof-strengthening side-pillars to address possible future federal rollover standards. Quad headlamps gave way to a larger one on each side, which offered additional design freedom for the new fenders. The midsized Oldsmobile’s distinctive body sides were more sculpted than the previous year, and the doors were larger and heavier. The approach…

If you go looking for John Fitch, it isn’t hard to find him. Close your eyes, and there he is, in the skies over Nazi Germany in 1945, strafing a locomotive with his P-51 Mustang while the flak bursts around him. Look again, and he’s in the pits at Le Mans in 1955, stunned by the horrific accident involving his co-driver, Pierre Levegh. You can find him in the Fitch Sprint, the modified Chevrolet Corvair he built and sold to give enthusiasts the fun of a Porsche 911 at half the cost. He’s in the curves and straightaways of Connecticut’s Lime Rock Park, the road racing track he designed and managed. The easiest place to find him — the one you can’t avoid seeing, if you spend any time on…

The Elegance at Hershey THE HOTEL HERSHEY WILL AGAIN BE HOSTING THE ELEGANCE THIS JUNE 9-11. The concours will be the culmination of the weekend’s events on Sunday the 11th, with more than 70 invited collector cars on display, covering a host of different eras. The weekend begins with Friday’s Grand Ascent, continuing in the tradition of the Hershey Hill Climb, and goes on through Saturday with an auction, as well as a cars and coffee gathering. Vehicles are still being accepted for the event, so visit theeleganceathershey.com for more information. Badger State Buick Meet THE BUICK CLUB OF AMERICA will host its national meet in Brookfield, Wisconsin, this July 5-8 at the Sheraton Milwaukee Brookfield Hotel. Just outside of Milwaukee, the national meet will include car cruising, tours of…

Newport Beach Party RUSSO AND STEELE RETURNS TO NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, for its annual collector car auction. This year’s event will take place June 2-4 at the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort. Consignments are now being accepted for what is the fifth year of this event, which is expected to host a brilliant array of classics, muscle cars and exotics. Last year’s auction recorded over $6.4 million in sales, with over 400 cars available for bidding. Among those that found a new home were this 1958 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertible, which sold for a final bid of $107,250. For more details, go to russoandsteele.com/newportbeach/. Oklahoma Roundup LEAKE WRAPPED UP ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL sale in Oklahoma City with its February show netting over $10.4 million in total sales. The three-day auction featured 611…

Ford’s Thunderbird started out as an American interpretation of a European sports car, but within a few years, it began evolving into a very American statement in the form of a personal luxury car with big V-8 power. Those early, sporty two-seat “small birds” gave way to the larger, more substantial “squarebirds” by 1958 — cars that sold in far larger numbers than the first Thunderbirds. By late 1960, the Space Ageinspired 1961 “bullet birds” arrived and spent three years on the bestseller’s list. With the Mustang set to take the mantle as Ford’s sportiest models, the Thunderbird grew yet again for the 1964 to ’66 model years. The 1964 to 1966 models took a turn away from the rocket-nosed 1961-’63 models, looking more square than previously. While overall dimensions…

Social stratification has existed as long as society, and a class system was a key part of General Motors’ product strategy, as devised by Alfred Sloan. In the run-up to World War II, GM’s stratified lines began to blur, as its mid-level Pontiac Motor Division angled for upmarket customers with the full-sized 1940 and 1941 Custom lines. The 1941 Custom Torpedo Eight Sedan Coupe on these pages is an incredibly low-mileage, high-option, never-messed-with example of an indeterminately small number of survivors of that unusual era. Our first question for this Pontiac’s owner, Dave Lanning, is, is the odometer reading of 22,271 miles truly genuine? It is, he says, and explains what he knows of the two-door’s history. “I bought this car in 1985, from the Bob Adams Classic Car dealership…

In last month’s issue, Senior Editor Jim Donnelly introduced us to Real Perras and his 1955 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer, a car he purchased new from Twin City Motors in Barre, Vermont, for $3,915.55. The tri-tone convertible was equipped with the Super Red Ram V-8 engine and PowerFlite automatic transmission. With the body safeguarded by factory undercoating and Real’s fastidious chassis lubrication maintenance every 1,000 miles, along with regular oil changes and his efforts to avoid road salt during winters, the Dodge would survive multiple cross-country trips totalling in more than 130,000 miles, all without suffering even the slightest malady. Having returned to his Morrisville, Vermont, homestead long ago, Real put the Dodge to more pedestrian use — pleasure driving — until it was placed in his hangar for a…

I WORKED AT THE AMERICAN Motors plant in Kenosha, Wisconsin, for 37 years, from 1946 until 1983 when I retired. My job the entire time was working on the assembly line as a welder. I welded in floor pans and fitted panels, fenders, hoods, and trunk lids. When I started in February 1946, the Kenosha plant was just switching over from building tanks back to Nash automobiles. I was 25 years old, unemployed, and the plant was hiring. The pay was about $1.30 per hour. That was considered “man’s pay,” because women didn’t get that kind of salary back then. When I started, I was initially scared of all the noise on the assembly line. I had never worked in such a loud place. There were many women on the…

SPECIFICATIONS PROS & CONS + Affordable luxury + Very reliable drivetrain + Power-assist convertible top – Potential complications if power top fails – Heavy compared to first-gen T-Birds – Cornering and handling WHAT TO PAY LOW $8,000 – $15,000 AVERAGE $25,000 – $40,000 HIGH $55,000 – $70,000 CLUB CORNER INTERNATIONAL THUNDERBIRD CLUB (ITC) PO Box 24041 Pepper Pike, OH 44124 Phone (216) 375-2808 gebart@ameritech.net www.intl-thunderbirdclub.com…

It’s no overstatement to say that the 1948 Ford represents the end of an era. Put any other automaker’s 1948 offering next to the same car from 1928 and you would be hard pressed to find much resemblance beyond the superficial. But thanks to Henry Ford’s peculiar philosophies, Ford offerings represented a continuous refinement of the mechanical basics first offered in the 1928 Model A. In the highly competitive world of new-car sales, that lack of frequent reinvention was viewed as a demerit, but to a collector it’s a boon. Unfortunately for the collector-car scene, when Henry Ford died in 1947, the traditional solid axles, transverse springs, torque tube and Lockheed brakes had lost their champion. For the 1949 model year, all that was swept out the door — and…

The sedans and touring cars of seven-passenger capacity were a staple of the majority of automobile manufacturers during the pre-World War II years, especially up through the 1920s. In the Brass Era of 1915 and earlier, although the jaunty, sporty toy tonneaus and tourings featured predominantly in advertising, they offered little space for passengers, often only accommodating three people in addition to the driver. As the automobile became more popular and larger engines were developed, it offered more power to move larger and larger cars. These longer-wheelbase cars could then be fitted with larger, more commodious bodies that would allow extra seats to be mounted immediately behind the front seat. These small seats could be quickly folded up to allow access to the rear seat. The extra folding seats provided…

1968 AMC Rebel It’s the best dollar value in the automobile business. The Rebel 550 6-passenger hardtop gives you at least as much car as the intermediates (Belvedere, Fairlane, Chevelle). Yet its price is lower. It’s wider than all of them and much more spacious. You get more room to stretch your legs in. More room for the top of your head. More room for your shoulders. And more room for baggage. Plus a lot of little things like a sneaky ball-bearing ash tray. And a glove compartment door with cup depressions to serve as a coffee tray. You get them in the 4-door, 6-passenger Rebel 550 sedan, too. And in the Rebel convertible — the car that’s the lowest-priced 6-passenger, power-top convertible in America. The convertible even has a…

WINTON HAS ADAPTED THE SIX-CYLINDER ENGINE WITH IMPRESSIVE RESULTS, BRINGING its customers the latest convenience and innovations. In addition to the powerful and rugged engine, the Winton comes with an attractive rear-mounted tire and an electric starter. Two series are available, the Six-33 and the Six-48 with 10-inches of added wheelbase. Each series comes in different body styles to meet your various needs. The “33” starts at $2,685, and the “48” at $3,500. MAXWELL RETURNS IN 1917, PRODUCING ITS 100,000TH CAR, A TESTAMENT TO THE FINE quality and longevity of its automobiles. The Model 25 will be available in five different body styles, with pricing beginning at an affordable $620. STANLEY IS BACK,AND production rises to 500 automobiles for the year. Available body styles include touring for five or seven…

MANY CAR CRITICS HAVE VIEWED the 1950 Buick as an abomination. The over-the-bumper grille was, if nothing else, impractical, so many of the critics said. There had been other cars that had incorporated the bumper and grille into one entity, but the 1950 Buicks definitely took the concept to the extreme. Yet I tend to disagree with those who thought it was an ugly duckling. I well remember the 1950 trip to Charleston, West Virginia, with my dad to pick out a new Buick. He had owned Buicks since 1934. He was definitely sold on Buicks and did not even consider looking at another brand. He traded his 1934 Buick for a 1939 Special, and the ’39 for a 1946 Roadmaster. He acquired the ’39 Buick the year I was…