Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2017 i Hemmings Classic Car

RE: A-Door-Able MANY THANKS TO THE ENTIRE MEMBERSHIPS of the American Austin Bantam Club and Austin Bantam Society because it seems like every one of them wrote in to tell us that the mystery door Stephen Hallas sent us photos of for HCC #152 did not come off a fire truck, as we first thought, but off a Bantam, as illustrated by Ralph Davy’s photo, above. Exactly which Bantam? Fortunately, we also heard from Robert Cunningham, whom we trust with knowledge of all things Bantam, and who told us that it comes from a 1940 Bantam convertible coupe. “If the upholstery is red vinyl, it’s from a standard model; if it’s red leather, it’s from the more costly Riviera model,” he wrote. “By contrast, the Bantam coupe, pickup and panel…

1956 Chevrolet Bel Air 800-423-5525 • WWW.CALCARCOVER.COM  • $49.99 While the Tri-Five Chevys, on the whole, are unmistakably seared into American culture, it’s the 1955 and 1957 models that are most famous and most typically replicated. It’s therefore neat to come across a 1:18-scale model of a 1956 Bel Air convertible, this one rendered in pearlescent yellow and black. Made by Road Signature and officially licensed by GM, it features a believable upholstery treatment, and the ample interior and exterior brightwork is attractively handled. Under the opening hood is a facsimile “batwing”-topped dual-quad V-8, rendered in blue rather than that year’s red, and our sample is equipped with a floor shifter. Regardless of those small details, it’s a solidly attractive effort at a reasonable price, and ’56 Bel Air fans will…

“A car for every purse and purpose,” was Alfred Sloan’s vision for General Motors during his tenure with the company. Before it broke down thanks to too much badge engineering, the rigid divisional structure he created in the 1920s guided GM to be not only the world’s largest automaker, but the world’s largest corporation. The shining jewel atop that hierarchy, of course, was Cadillac, the self-proclaimed “Standard of the World” to which all other automobiles were compared. The crisis of American confidence that took hold in the 1970s would eventually lay waste to the Cadillac division, though many would argue it has risen to new heights today. Before that, however, the nameplate could be counted on to build models that conformed to styling and marketing trends with deep roots. Perhaps…

If you lived on America’s East Coast in the fall of 2012, you were almost certainly impacted by that year’s most powerful storm, and well aware of the incredible destruction that reportedly made Sandy the second-costliest hurricane in American history. More than a quarter-million vehicles were affected, and that vast figure sadly included many cherished collector cars. The unrestored Ford Torino on these pages was one car so impacted, but rather than breaking it down for its valuable parts, the sedan’s new owner preserved it and transformed it into an even better driver. Plainview, New York, resident Paul Rosina was scanning the Copart listings for salvaged cars in the months immediately following Sandy, as a coworker pointed out that many of those total-loss cars were being sold through that used-car…

When John Tagliaferri purchased a 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner in the summer of 2014, his original intent was to restore it to “driver” condition. In other words, highly presentable, but not meeting the strict judging guidelines that many national events adhere to. Helping John was his son, Jason, who owns Tag’s Upholstery in Gloversville, New York. The Ford had arrived, through a series of owners, from Arizona. Below the hood was a 285-hp version of the 312-cu.in. V-8 engine backed by an automatic transmission. According to Jason, while work had been done to it prior, the Ford was solid. “The previous owner had removed the engine and transmission and had them rebuilt, but neither were tested,” Jason tells us. “The newer paint was presentable. Inside, there was a standard…

I WAS GOING TO TITLE THIS MONTH’S column “Oh How the Mighty Have Falcon” or “It Ain’t Over Till the Falcon Sings.” Moving on. The third-generation Falcon debuted on a shortened Fairlane chassis, adopting the long hood/short deck look made popular by the Mustang. These final Falcons don’t command anywhere near the attention of the 1960-’65 models. That’s too bad, because if you ask me, they’re pretty cool cars. Surprisingly, no one ever asks me. I purchased both of my Falcons for around $300 in the early 1980s. Today, you couldn’t touch a first- or second-generation Falcon for anywhere near Detroit Underdog prices, which is why you should consider a 1966-’70 Falcon when you are shopping for a Mid-Century Modern compact. Still available as two-door sedans and four-door sedans and…

Wilbraham Hill Climb VINTAGE HILL CLIMBING COMES BACK TO WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS WITH THE THIRD biennial Wilbraham Hill Climb. The 2013 and 2015 events were great successes, and this year’s event will take place July 8 in the town of Wilbraham, just east of Springfield. The day’s events include a show and parade of cars along Main Street, featuring Brass Era and vintage sports cars of all types as well as a car corral. The hill-climb runs are a reenactment of the 1908 run up Monson Mountain Road, and will take place all day. All VSCCA members and their cars are eligible to run, and the parade is open to everyone. Past cars have featured vintage racers ranging from Ford and Plymouth sprinters to Stutz Blackhawks, as well as imported marques.…

Palm Springs Payout KEITH McCORMICK’S PALM SPRINGS COLLECTOR CAR AUCTION finished its first auction of the year with record attendance figures and over $5.8 million in sales. At the end of February’s three-day event, 459 vehicles crossed the block, with a 66 percent sell-through rate. This 1961 Lincoln Continental had less than 35,000 miles and was featured in many invitation-only events. The body was in excellent condition, with a frequently serviced and well-maintained 430-cu.in. V-8. When the smoke cleared, it had hammered home for $54,600. A full list of results is available at www.classic-car-auction.com. Mark your calendars for November, as McCormick will return to the Palm Springs Convention Center for its fall sale. Amelia Island Results GOODING & COMPANY had a successful sale at Amelia Island this past March as…

In the 1955 model year, new sales records were achieved for the U.S. auto industry and Oldsmobile that would endure for a decade. Wide public acceptance of the division’s well-appointed “Go Ahead” styled models, which were fortified with an even more powerful 324-cu.in. overhead-valve Rocket V-8, propelled production to 583,179 cars being built. Oldsmobile offered the 88 and Super 88 series on a 122-inch wheelbase and the Ninety-Eight on a 126-inch wheelbase. The entry-level 88 line featured a four-door sedan, two-door sedan or two-door Holiday coupe (hardtop). A 324-cu.in. two-barrel engine and three-speed manual transmission were standard with the four-barrel engine optional. Super 88s provided the 324 four-barrel V-8 as standard in the body styles just mentioned or in a convertible. The top-of-the-line Ninety-Eight also included the four-barrel engine in…

During the earliest days of General Motors, Billy Durant took the young and seemingly well-funded corporation on a buying spree, voraciously adding other carmakers to his company. While the big names like Buick, Cadillac, Oldsmobile and Oakland survived, the majority never made it past the financial crunch that first took the over-leveraged Durant from his spot at the top. One of those companies was Elmore, founded in Elmore, Ohio, in 1892 by a sawmill operator and his two sons as the Elmore Bicycle Company. After moving to nearby Clyde, Ohio, in 1897, the company soon began experimenting with two-stroke engines, with automobile production following in 1900. The company’s debut of a trap and a runabout, each with a two-stroke, two-cylinder engine under the seat, prompted a name change to the…

In the earliest days of motoring, there weren’t really any professional automobile stylists as we understand the term today. That’s because there hadn’t been any demand for them, so schools turning out people dedicated to forming the exterior shape of cars didn’t exist. Instead, the men who engineered and built the vehicles usually decided how they would look. Refinements to body lines were either the work of engineers, or that of whatever body maker produced the body. As former Hudson stylist Don Butler noted in his book The History of Hudson: “Before styling began to emerge as a necessary factor, stylists were rare, and body engineers applied whatever untrained styling touches they could muster.” Thus, the 1909 Hudson looked the way it did because the young-but-well-experienced men who founded the…

“The Ford was nearly complete and in pretty good condition, overall, but it required work to get it running; a lot of the basics had been done. Retractables are a little more difficult to restore because of the roof design and the electronics they require to function. The idea was to take our time and just restore it as a driver. Having done a few showcase Skyliners, I just wanted one I could jump in and enjoy driving whenever I felt like it. Obviously, that changed along the way, but I still love the outcome. I’m very proud of the work the guys did, and that I was able to help where I could.”…

I WAS FRESH OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL in 1962 when I started working at White Motor Company in Cleveland, Ohio. The big sign over the entrance to The White Motor Truck plant read “WORLD LEADER IN HEAVY DUTY TRUCKS.” I was put into a labor pool and was assigned a job as a chip puller. I had to crawl under gigantic lathes and pull out the chips with my hands and a pitchfork-like tool. The chips were razor sharp leftovers from steel bars that the lathe operators turned into fine machine parts that were used to manufacture the heavy-duty trucks. Part of the job included loading the chips into small gondola-type railroad cars and then pushing the gondola cars to an area where a tow motor would pull them into…

The 1970s were a complicated time for Cadillac. The decade was a rough patch for Detroit in general, but when you’re atop the luxury-car group and the ground starts shifting underneath you, things can go sideways before there’s a chance to react. Consider: In a time of economic uncertainty, Cadillacs were expensive; in an era of rapid downsizing, Cadillac needed to follow suit to remain competitive. During the gas crisis, Cadillac installed an even larger engine. The marque refused to bow to the whims of the economy, setting sales records six times over the course of the decade as big cars were supposedly falling out of favor with the American public. And one of the brand’s most popular models, responsible for between a third and one half of all divisional…

SPECIFICATIONS PROS & CONS + Plenty of power + Upscale Super 88 model + Well-preserved originality – Single exhaust system – Hardtops got more attention – Too original to drive without concern WHAT TO PAY LOW $7,000 – 10,000 AVERAGE $14,000 – $22,000 HIGH $30,000 – $40,000 CLUB CORNER OLDSMOBILE CLUB OF AMERICA P.O. Box 80318 Lansing, Michigan 48908 517-663-1811 www.oldsmobileclub.org Dues: $40/year Membership: 6,400 NATIONAL ANTIQUE OLDSMOBILE CLUB 121 North Railroad St. Myerstown, Pennsylvania 17067 www.antiqueolds.org Dues: $38/year Membership: 1,300…

Forget what the pundits and car snobs say about them, the 1975 to 1980 Skyhawks are extremely stylish and sporty-looking automobiles.They had a distinctive shape, the likes of which had never been seen before, at least not from a Detroit manufacturer.Too bad the majority of them ended up in the hands of high school kids who then proceeded to thrash the life out of them, because today they would make ideal collector cars to restore and enjoy. For the 1971 model year, Ferrari’s replacement for the 365 GTB/4 “Daytona” was the 365 GTC/4, and it is this exotic sports car that clearly influenced the styling of the Skyhawk and its siblings the Chevrolet Monza and the Oldsmobile Starfire. We’ve always said that if the first-generation Skyhawks and Monzas had worn…

Into the boardroom at Revell strolled a young modeler and designer named Jim Keeler, who hoped to interest the company in a series of new plastic model kits. Keeler outlined his ideas — a 1956 Ford pickup, a replica of Mickey Thompson’s Challenger I— until one middle-aged executive jumped up, overcome by impatience. “OK, OK. We’ll do that one. But I want to hear about this Roth guy.” That story, told by Keeler and related by Pat Ganahl in his definitive biography Ed “Big Daddy” Roth: His Life, Times, Cars, and Art, gives you an idea of what a major figure Roth had become in the pop culture movement of the early 1960s, and how much excitement swirled around him. It’s not an exaggeration to call him a Renaissance man…

1949 Mercury Mercury Sport Sedan Your first look will tell you that this all-new 1949 Mercury is longer, lower, wider. Its broad-beamed sturdiness is artfully combined with fleetness of line. Inside you’ll find luxurious, durable upholstery . . . new colors and fabrics. Its broad seats accommodate six adults with legroom and headroom to spare. The graceful rear deck conceals a world of luggage space. Mercury 6-Passenger Coupe Here’s a combination of big seating capacity and extra-large luggage space in a smartly-styled body that turns glances into gazes. The wide, comfortable seats hold six “king-size” passengers . . . the broad doors make getting in or out easy. Mercury’s Finger-Tip Weather Control provides year-round comfort. An ideal car for business or family use . . . with plenty of room…

THE CADILLAC ALLANTÉ RETURNS WITH INCREASED POWER AND PERFORMANCE WITH the larger 4.5-liter port fuel-injected engine. The better-breathing Allanté features an improved-flow air cleaner and low-restriction exhaust manifolds. Exterior changes include a host of new colors and a self-folding convertible top. Plus, you’ll enjoy the speed-dependent suspension that will provide the handling and characteristics one would expect from a Cadillac under a variety of driving conditions. The Allanté is on sale now for $57,183. JEEP’S WOODEN WARRIOR,THE GRAND Wagoneer continues to flex its muscle with its powerful V-8 engine and high towing capacity. In addition to its ability to haul cargo, the Grand Wagoneer easily fits six people and is the pinnacle of four-wheel-drive leisure. A slew of options are available, allowing you to customize your Grand Wagoneer to your…