Hemmings Classic Car July 2019

“Originality is always the preferred choice… however, color is not a permanent modification…” Early one Saturday this past February, I was cruising down the scenic Merritt Parkway in southern Connecticut on my way to Long Island when in the east-bound lane an early ’60s Jaguar MKII sedan passed by at a leisurely pace. Its attractive rounded form certainly stood out among all the unidentifiable jellybean-shaped modern cars around it, but what I found unappealing about that Jaguar was its color: It was white. For some visual reason, white simply doesn’t look good on most large cars; I find that it makes them appear larger than they really are. Although the Jaguar MKII isn’t a large car by any means, its white exterior made it look blah, and flattened out its…

Lincoln Plus Party THE SIXTH ANNUAL LINCOLN HOMECOMING WILL BE HELD AT THE LINCOLN MOTOR Car Heritage Museum this August 8-11 on the campus of the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan. It’s sponsored by the largest of the Lincoln clubs including the Road Race Lincoln Register, Lincoln Owners Club, Lincoln-Zephyr Owners Club, and the Lincoln & Continental Owners Club. As a bonus, this year’s show will also allow for all Ford Motor Company-built vehicles to join the event. The tagline is “See Ford Blue in Kalamazoo” as the weekend will include appearances by Gale Halderman, a retired Ford designer of Lincoln and Ford automobiles, as well as Andrew Layton, author of a biography of Ray Crawford, championship driver of the Lincoln Pan-American Road Race team. Other activities will…

11-13 • Iola Car Show Iola, Wisconsin • 715-445-4000 www.iolaoldcarshow.com 12 • Hemmings Cruise-In National Collector-Car Appreciation Day Bennington, Vermont • 800-227-4373 www.hemmings.com 12-14 • Carlisle Chrysler Nationals Carlisle, Pennsylvania • 717-243-7855 www.carlisleevents.com 16-20 • H-E-T Club International Meet Quad Cities, Iowa • 915-308-1951 www.hetclub.org 16-20 • Nash Grand National Bushkill, Pennsylvania • www.nashcarclub.org 16-21 • National DeSoto Club Annual Convention Hutchinson, Kansas • www.desoto.org 16-21 • Pontiac-Oakland Club International Convention Gettysburg, Pennsylvania • 763-479-2111 www.poci.org 25 • Hemmings Cruise-In Bennington, Vermont • 800-227-4373 www.hemmings.com 26-27 • Somernites Cruise Truckin’ Nationals Somerset, Kentucky • 606-872-2277 www.somernitescruise.com 28 • 10,000 Lakes Concours d’Elegance Minnetonka, Minnesota • 952-278-3125 www.10000lakesconcours.com…

Bostonfarina WE KNOW THAT THE ONE-OFF PININ FARINA JAGUAR XK120 SHOWN HERE STILL exists — in fact, it recently re-debuted after its restoration to much acclaim. We also know that importer Max Hoffman had a hand in bringing the car to the United States. But what happened after Hoffman imported it remains a bit of a mystery. Kelly Williams, who is researching the car’s history for the company that recently restored the car, sent us these 1958 photos of the car hoping some Hemmings readers can fill in those gaps. “Presumably the car was no longer owned by Hoffman at this time,” she wrote. “There are at least two locations in these photos, presumably somewhere in the Boston area. Less than three years after the latest works photo, the car…

Mecum in Texas MECUM ROLLED INTO HOUSTON THIS PAST APRIL AND SAW A 75-PERCENT SELL-THROUGH RATE as 767 cars changed hands, with overall sales eclipsing the $20-million mark. Among the classics being auctioned was this air-cooled 1925 Franklin 11-A runabout. Powered by a straight-six with three-speed manual transmission and finished in blue with black and tan interior, the CCCA Full Classic was part of the Mario Sueiras collection and found a new home with a final bid of $26,400. The collection featured 19 American cars ranging from early pickups to 1950s icons to some woodie wagons, and included a 1936 Ford pickup selling for $44,000, a 1927 Lincoln Model L coupe for $22,550, a 1955 Chrysler C-300 at $38,500, and a 1936 Ford woodie with fantastic timber throughout reaching a…

CAR 1956 Ford Fairlane Sunliner AUCTIONEER RM Sotheby’s LOCATION Fort Lauderdale, Florida DATE March 30, 2019 LOT NUMBER 1079 AVERAGE SELLING PRICE $60,000 SELLING PRICE $55,000 FORD’S TOP TRIM LEVEL CONTINUED TO BE the Fairlane in 1956, and the popular Sunliner convertibles saw a production run of 58,147 units. There were a few changes made this year to the exterior, and among them were larger taillamps with chrome bezels around the lenses. Interiors featured new instrument panels with added padding and the safety-inspired steering wheel with a recessed hub, along with optional seatbelts. Ford ads touted: “You’ll be safer in a ’56 Ford!” This Fairlane Sunliner was part of a private Swiss collection and was powered by the 292-cu.in. V-8 engine mated to the three-speed Ford-O-Matic transmission. The Sunliner had…