Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2019 i Hemmings Classic Car

CAR 1907 Mitchell Model E Runabout AUCTIONEER RM Sotheby’s LOCATION Hershey, Pennsylvania DATE October 11, 2018 LOT NUMBER 162 RESERVE None AVERAGE SELLING PRICE N/A SELLING PRICE $49,500 THE MITCHELL MOTOR COMPANY WAS launched in Wisconsin in 1903 and specialized in chain-drive runabouts with water-cooled engines. By 1907, the company was on the ascent and all Mitchells were equipped with four-cylinder engines and shaft-drive. Three different models were available in 1907 including the 20-hp Model E runabout. This runabout is said to be one of only five known by the Mitchell club. It features an older restoration with a nice blue body, and black fenders and upholstery. As you would expect from a Brass Era beauty, the windscreen frame, headlamps, and radiator all stand out. Corcoran coach lamps complement the…

When you think of Cuba, you think of ’50s American cars: a battered, pastel 1953 Chevrolet stopped by a curb, or maybe a shiny new 1956 Cadillac parked outside the Tropicana night club. Cuba went from being an island playground for Americans to a Soviet Bloc adversary almost overnight in the late ’50s, and the conditions of that change meant that its streets remain something of a time warp up to this day. But how, when, and why did Cuba get all those Yank Tanks in the narrow streets of its Spanish Colonial cities, and why are they still there? The answers mirror the special relationship between Cuba and the United States and the overall patterns of car consumption here in America. THE FIRST CARS ON THE ISLAND America and…

Albert Russel Erskine was, by all accounts, an astute businessman, a go-getter of the type destined to become a legend in American business. With an acumen for finance, a 40-year-old Erskine joined Studebaker in 1911, at a salary of $20,000, almost immediately shaking up the company by streamlining operations — and not just in accounting. He moved up the ranks rapidly, becoming president of the Indiana-based corporation in 1915. Erskine’s shrewd business skills, along with Studebaker’s talented engineers and high-quality manufacturing, kept the company profitable — but only relevant in the mid-priced market. Inspired by a visit to an international auto show in Paris in 1924, Erskine committed his people to creating a lower-priced model, sized right for the European market to also give the company a foothold on the…

When the shift toward midsize personal luxury cars intensified in the 1970s, Pontiac was prepared with its Grand Prix, which had already enjoyed a proven track record of success in that niche market. Introduced in 1962 on the 120-inch wheelbase fullsize B-body, the Grand Prix’s concept, styling, size, price, and wide array of available performance and comfort options were in sync with its era. The fullsize B-body grew larger and heavier over the next several years, however, and Grand Prix sales began to suffer, so it was reinvented for 1969 on a shorter 118-inch-wheelbase platform — the G-body. It was derived from the midsize A-body chassis that used a 112-inch wheelbase for two-door models and a 116-inch one for four-doors. The GP’s bold styling and just-right dimensions resulted in a…

A restoration is like an archaeological dig; you pull back the layers and discover what needs to be addressed and a little bit of unique history. Obviously, the goal is to make it look good again, but to do it right you need to do your homework. For instance, I knew the basics of the electric system, but I traveled to Milwaukee to look at a similar car to see how the reverse spring in the speed selector arm was supposed to operate. I studied how to re-silver a mirror at home — I did that, too — and service the controller. The big thing is patience. Even if you set a deadline, it has to be flexible. If you rush things along, everyone will see where shortcuts were made.…

What’s the difference between a GMC and a Chevrolet? If you said, “not much” you’d be correct. “Professional Grade” these days amounts to a thicker layer of standard creature comforts, some exterior cosmetic tweaks, and a steeper price of admission. But the GMC brand has legions of loyalists. Many of these people would never dream of buying a Chevrolet truck and will insist that GMC builds the better hauler. In terms of build quality, durability, etc., that’s debatable. In terms of dollars and cents, GMC has an edge. During General Motors’ 2008-2009 Chapter 11 reorganization, rumors swirled that GMC would be cut loose or killed off like Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer, and Saab. But GMC was profitable, and it survived the bloodletting. Today, the division’s continued profitability is paying dividends for…

Behemoths in Hershey THE AACA MUSEUM HAS ANNOUNCED THE CELEBRATION OF SOME OF DETROIT’S biggest beasts with its new Land Yachts: Postwar American Luxury Convertibles exhibit, which is open now. The selection focuses on domestic cars, especially those with convertible tops. Each has dimensions of generous length and width while also featuring some of the finest luxury appointments of that time. The “Land Yacht” era featured at the museum covers the immediate postwar years to the late 1970s, before downsizing became the common trend in the automobile industry. The exhibit will run until April 29. Visit www.aacamuseum.org for more details. Chrome Glidden in Texas THE VINTAGE MOTOR CAR CLUB OF AMERICA HAS RELEASED its 2019 schedule with its first major tour being the Chrome Glidden Tour based around Gonzalez, Texas.…

Orlofaye ROBERT MAUCK OF BASTROP, TEXAS, wrote to us in an effort to find one of a couple of cars his grandfather, Orlo Mauck, customized sometime in the late Fifties or early Sixties. The one he knows the most about, the Orlofaye, arrived in Orlo’s Laredo garage as a 1956 Thunderbird that had been totaled in a wreck. Over the course of 17 months, he reshaped the crunched nose, extended the reshaped fins by 4 inches in the rear, and added a number of accessories before spraying nine coats of Alpine White paint on it. According to Robert, his grandfather sold it in 1968 for about $1,300. If anybody’s seen the Orlofaye, let us know so we can pass that info along to Robert. Direct From Hupp BY NOW,WE’RE ALL…

Observations from my February 2018 trip to Cuba were many. Transportation-wise, everything is there: old, new, ancient. More recently there are lots of Chinese sedans and SUVs, and many Japanese, Korean, and European makes as well, with old versions of them aplenty. Then there are the abundant Soviet LADAs, which are beefed-up Fiat 124s that arrived in the 1970s and ’80s. There is a history of motorcycles, too. However, most surprising is the preponderance of pre-1970 American-made cars — with most being from the 1950s. We all have seen a photo here or heard a comment there that the Cubans are still driving good-old American “Detroit Iron.” But actually going there and travelling the country is an intense thrill for the classic American auto enthusiast. There are not dozens, or…

As I grew up, I always wondered what it would be like for that car to be going down the road. To be able to do that now, that gives me a lot of enjoyment to get in, crank it up, and be able to drive somewhere. There was the enjoyment of going through the restoration process, too. I know firsthand, and people have told me this, I could just go buy a restored car a lot cheaper than what I paid to restore this one, even doing all of that work myself. Having gone through that process, and spending all of those hours on it, was a great learning experience for me, and it was also a great time with my dad that we were able to do it…

In a little over a week each January, tens of thousands of car collectors converge on Scottsdale, Arizona, and surrounding communities, spending several hundred million dollars on vintage, sports, muscle, and special-interest automobiles at some of the most-watched and highly anticipated auctions of the year. Though the dollar volume compares with similar events in and around Monterey, California, each August, the action in Arizona is almost entirely devoted to buying and selling cars. For those of you who only take in auctions via TV, you already know that the week pretty much begins and ends with Barrett-Jackson, the 800-pound gorilla of collector-car auction houses. But if that’s all you know, then you will miss out on at least six other auctions, each with its own distinctive character, that will take…

Dreams really do come true if you wait long enough. Sometimes it takes years, if not decades, but when the day comes, even if it’s during a sweltering summer day in July, it feels like Christmas. For some, acquiring a certain mechanical object is the fulfillment of such a dream. And for one car enthusiast in particular, that mechanical object was the handsome Impala SS Sport Coupe shown here, a car that he’d been lusting after for many years. Al Bercovici of Brimfield, Massachusetts, is the immensely proud owner of this 1966 Chevrolet, an unrestored all-original automobile that had been subjected to a lot of protective care and fastidious maintenance via its previous two owners. “All original” means that this Impala SS wears the very same Sandlewood exterior paint applied…

During the 1950s, General Motors was easily the style leader among the Big Three, with a huge, talented staff and seemingly endless financial resources. GM’s flagship brand, Cadillac, was considered America’s premier automobile, the best of the best, so a great deal of attention was spent on making sure its appearance reflected its status. The idea was to lead the segment in styling, without getting so far ahead of the public’s tastes and preferences that people might reject the new look. To showcase possible future styling themes, Cadillac put forth a steady flow of dream cars, show cars, and concepts so the public could get an idea of what might be coming, as well as to “market test” ideas in order to eliminate any that might not be successful. In…

Hershey Highlight RM SOTHEBY’S HAD A BIG NIGHT IN HERSHEY THIS PAST OCTOBER WITH 132 CARS CHANGING hands for a sell-through of 89 percent. Final tallies showed total sales eclipsing the $10.76-million mark. The topseller was this 1930 Cadillac V-16 roadster that had spent over four decades in South Africa, as it had been purchased by Count Natale Labia, an Italian ambassador who lived in the Cape Town area. It was originally a right-hand-drive Madame X seven-passenger Imperial sedan; when it returned Stateside in early 1977, this Cadillac was rebodied with a Fleetwood roadster body and converted to left-hand drive. After earning a CCCA National First Prize in 1992, the Cadillac sold for a whopping $495,000. Full reports of the Hershey auction are available at www.rmsothebys.com. Mecum in Windy City…

1963 Mustang II Concept 877-343-2276 • WWW.AUTOMODELLO.COM$249.95 (STANDARD EDITION, WHITE); $349.95 (TRIBUTE EDITION, RED) It was a shot heard ‘round the world: Ford was giving the public a tangible taste of the excitement that was to come in its production Mustang sports coupe. The four-seat convertible built in the summer of 1963, and unveiled that October at Watkins Glen Raceway, sported obligatory show car touches like exaggerated nose and tail styling, a lack of bumpers, and a rakishly low removable hard top, but it was otherwise a “squint-and-that’s-it” reveal of the best-seller that would take America by storm in April 1964. With permission from the Ford Motor Company, the artisans at Automodello have rendered the Mustang II Concept in 1:24 scale, and it’s a gem. This resin model has no…

Presently you cannot just pack your bags and go to Cuba. You will need to hook up with a U.S. State Department licensed group for a “people to people” educational visit. Once you have that, there is no problem coming or going. Airfares on U.S. carriers are quite reasonable flying direct to Havana. For Americans, due to lack of official trade agreements (the embargo) everything is done with cash. Your credit and debit cards are useless there. However, there are many great deals in accommodations, dining, and transportation. We found the wonderful Cuban people to be very friendly and helpful. Cuba is a curious blend of the modern and the Third World (visualize talking on a cell phone while guiding a horse cart) — making for an interesting visit.…

EMAIL YOUR THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS TO: rlentinello@hemmings.com PAT FOSTER IS A CHAMPION FOR MY favorite car, yet somehow it slipped past him in his article on unibody cars in HCC #171. The 1952-1955 Willys Aero was also a unibody car from the start. Although only built four years and total production was less than 92,000, they were a well-built car, both light and agile. Unfortunately, nobody really paid any attention and their influence on the rest of motordom was pretty much nil. And as you can see from the cut-away illustration, the Willys Aero’s unibody design was much more in tune with later cars than the Nash or Hudson designs. Rick Kamen Hiram, Georgia ONE THING I’D LIKE TO POINT OUT about the very interesting “Unibody Construction” article (HCC #171)…

There are a thousand things to see and do while you’re in Scottsdale for auction week, beyond the auctions. There’s Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West. Museums. Art galleries. Casinos. Some of the nation’s great golf courses. But we’re Hemmings; we pay attention to cars and car stuff. And Scottsdale is a good place to focus our attention, regardless of the month. As Beverly Hills is to Los Angeles, so Scottsdale is to Phoenix: the big-money section of a far larger metropolitan area, accessible to all, yet still tantalizingly out of reach for most, a place where money doesn’t just buy stuff, but also the absence of stuff — the luxury of space. Scottsdale is picture-postcard pretty around virtually every turn, particularly as you head north and west, toward the more…

If you ever need an excuse for buying a vintage vehicle, blame a car show. Convenient, right? Consider how many stories start with, “I was walking around the such-n-such event and a saw this gleaming car.” One of Bill Lillie’s ownership stories starts out in much the same way, set at the AACA’s 2012 Eastern Fall Meet in Hershey, Pennsylvania. “As I was walking around the show, I spotted a very different looking car I had never seen before,” Bill recounts. “It was a 1932 Detroit Electric, and the owner graciously explained the car to me in detail. Knowing that vintage electric cars were quite rare, I was quickly fascinated by its history, design, functionality, and beauty. I didn’t think I could own one until I saw an ad for…

As the 21st century rolls on, automotive technology advances, and motoring topics trend towards digital platforms, electrification, and subscription services, leaving widespread concern about the “graying of the hobby” and the loss of traditional automotive skills. How do we interest young people in working on cars, especially those built decades before they were born? A small liberal arts institution in central Kansas has earned a peerless reputation in the automotive industry for fostering that interest, and providing a top-notch education that keeps yesterday’s competencies alive into tomorrow and beyond. Founded in 1887, McPherson College is located in the small city it was named for. Eighty-nine years after it was established, this venerable school received a donation that would permanently alter its curriculum, and have a lasting impact on the old-car…