Hemmings Classic Car May 2019

“The modifications that we are interested in showcasing — and certainly not in every issue mind you — are of the kind that are barely noticeable, if at all.” Several readers got up in arms over my column in issue #173 when I mentioned that among the forthcoming changes to this magazine, we will also include automobiles that have been modified. I guess images of nitroburning, hemi-powered hot rods with velocity stacks sticking through their hoods, chopped-and-channeled customs with metalflake paint, or big-block conversions and roll-caged interiors danced in their heads. But nothing could be further from the truth. The modifications that we are interested in showcasing — and certainly not in every issue mind you — are of the kind that are barely noticeable, if at all. With today’s…

Happy Days Tour XI WIND, WAVES, AND WATER IS THE THEME FOR THIS YEAR’S VINTAGE CHEVROLET CLUB of America Happy Days Tour taking place around Watertown, New York, June 2-6. The tour will cover areas around Eastern Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River with stops including the H. Lee White Marine Museum, the U.S. Coast Guard Station, Fort Ontario, and more. Participants will also have the opportunity to cruise on the St. Lawrence River and visit The Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, New York, which features the largest collection of antique boats in the country. The tour is open to all 1955-1994 Chevrolet or GMC vehicles; the registration deadline is May 1. Address all questions to Eileen Rice at Raylee73@aol.com or call 315-635-9644. CLC Grand National THE CADILLAC LASALLE…

3-5 • Lawrence Swap Meet • Lawrence, Kansas 785-843-2222 • www.lawrenceregionaaca.com 3-5 • Rhinebeck Swap Meet & Car Show Rhinebeck, New York • 845-876-3554 (6-9 p.m.) www.rhinebeckcarshow.com 3-5 • Greenbrier Concours d’Elegance White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia 877-935-0426 • www.greenbrierconcours.com 4-5 • Keels & Wheels Concours d’Elegance Seabrook, Texas • 713-521-0105 www.keels-wheels.com 5 • Classic Chevys SoCal Annual Car Show Chatsworth, California • 818-360-9025 www.classicchevysofsocal.com 5 • Sumter Swap Meet • Bushnell, Florida 727-848-7171 • www.floridaswapmeets.com 9-11 • Annual Swap Meet Chickasha, Oklahoma • 405-224-6552 www.chickashaautoswapmeet.com 16 • Hemmings Cruise-In Bennington, Vermont • 800-227-4373 www.hemmings.com 17-19 • Import Nationals Carlisle, Pennsylvania • 717-243-7855 www.carlisleevents.com 19 • North Jersey Auto Show Paramus, New Jersey www.northjerseyautoshow.com 24-26 • Springfield Swap Meet & Car Show Springfield, Ohio • 937-376-0111 www.ohioswapmeet.com 30 • Hemmings…

Restaurant Decor THOSE KITSCHY RESTAURANTS WITH ALL SORTS OF POP CULTURE DETRITUS plastered to the walls typically curate a few hubcaps or automotive gingerbread in their quest for authenticity. Most of the time, the stuff up on the walls is easily identified — y’know, for nostalgia’s sake — but this grille that Bill McGuire of Scottsdale, Arizona, sent along (mounted to the wall of a restaurant in Ohio or Indiana) took a little bit of digging. “All we know is that (a) no one currently at the restaurant knows what it is or where it came from, (b) it has been hanging on the wall for a very long time, and (c) using the license plate size as a gauge indicates a 58-inch width (assuming the Texas plate is standard…

Buys at Bonhams BONHAMS WRAPPED UP ITS SCOTTSDALE AUCTION AT THE WESTIN KIERLAND RESORT & SPA during the January bonanza. The company saw success with a 90-percent sell-through rate eclipsing the $16-million mark. Looking deeper into the consignments, we found more than $1 million in sales related to American classics outside of the muscle car and performance era. Some of those that rang out were this 1956 Lincoln Premiere convertible that had undergone a detailed restoration, featuring a 368-cu.in. V-8 with Turbo-Drive transmission. The fully loaded piece of ’50s Americana found a new home for $50,400. Chrysler jumped into the fray with a beautiful 1948 New Yorker convertible, a wood-bodied example that had less than 65,000 on the odometer and would ultimately sell for $75,600. Also of note was a…

CAR: 1956 Chrysler 300B AUCTIONEER: Gooding & Company LOCATION: Scottsdale, Arizona DATE: January 19, 2019 LOT NUMBER: 150 AVERAGE SELLING PRICE: $80,000 SELLING PRICE: $56,000 THE POWERFUL 300B WAS THE SECOND version of the vaunted 300 series. The 354-cu.in. Hemi V-8 with dual-quad induction brought an increase of power from 300 to 340 bhp at 5,200 rpm. Some minor revisions were featured including tailfin design, updated emblems, and a little less chrome, while largely maintaining the same interior and some updated mechanicals including the electrical system and braking. This Regimental Red example underwent a highly detailed body-off restoration 10 years prior to the sale. Driven sparingly and part of a private collection, this example’s paint, chrome, and interior were a testament to the quality of the restoration. This 300B featured…