Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2019 i Hemmings Classic Car

Racing Royalty CMC MODEL CARS USA • 585-292-7280 WWW.CMCMODELCARSUSA.COM  • $525 When Jaguar Cars chose to compete at 1951’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, its engineers developed the peerlessly beautiful XK 120 C, popularly known as the C-type. The artisans at Classic Model Cars have modeled a 1952 C-type, chassis XKC 023, in 1:18-scale, and it truly is a work of art. The voluptuous shape of our sample wore a flawless coat of British Racing Green, while the buckets were upholstered in genuine saddle leather. Underneath a magnet-fastened cloth tonneau were aluminum floors straddling a flock-carpeted tunnel, and the single door for the driver opened on tiny hinges. That wasn’t the only opening panel: the fuel filler lifted, the tail piece unscrewed to release the intricate spare wire wheel mounting a…

I’LL BET EVERYONE WHO READS THIS magazine remembers their first car. For many of us of a certain age, whose family wasn’t named Carrington or Ewing, our first car was probably a high-mileage family hauler that we saw for sale in someone’s yard that we picked up for a couple hundred bucks, made roadworthy, and enjoyed immensely because, despite its flaws, it was ours and ours alone. Mine was a 1971 Volkswagen Square-back, painted dark blue metalflake over its original powder blue; the interior was black vinyl. To shift into first gear, I had to coast when I saw a yellow traffic light or stop sign, turn off the engine, come to a stop, grab first, and restart it until I could afford a new clutch. It had several other…

This is just a fun car. A baby ’bird had long been on my wife’s bucket list. She got to ride in a new ’55 Thunderbird at nine years old; she loved them then and loves them now. I restored this one over time, but if I were going to do it again, maybe I’d do everything at once instead. My goal was to make it a safe and reliable driver. It’s pretty quiet unless you really get on it, then it has that burble — my grandson loves that. My advice to anyone contemplating owning an old car is if you don’t love it, don’t do it, but owning a classic gives you the chance to meet a lot of really great people. We have had so much fun…

Three boxes. That’s it. One box for the power-train, one for the people, one for everything else. Buyers in search of something more stimulating glanced toward sweeps, not squares, cars with folding convertible roofs and scintillating curved exteriors. That was largely accepted until this car was introduced. The 02 Series BMW, as it came to be known, was a whole new kind of three-box sedan. The lead box contained a full 2.0 liters of rambunctious overhead-camshaft horsepower. Despite only 55.5 inches of overall height, the middle box was airy, with acres of glass and plenty of room. And the last box could carry enough gear to keep a few people pleased during a long weekend getaway. What we’re talking about here is the fabled 2002, the car that forever changed…

After finally scoring that elusive barn find, you will want to bring it back to life, so here’s some basic info to help you reverse the ravages of time, the elements, small animals, and neglect. Delving into the car’s past will aid in formulating its resuscitation plan. Was it stored due to a mechanical failure? Knowing what broke can serve as a starting point for repairs. How many years had it sat? The higher the number, the more wrenching it will require. Was it prepped for storage? If so, maybe it will need a bit less work. We’re discussing OHV V-8s, so some procedures may differ with other types of engines. Get a factory service manual or at least an aftermarket repair manual for your model, as it will provide…

These days, the automobile company that operates out of just one assembly plant is rare. A century ago, however, it was commonplace, and like many other automobile manufacturing innovations, the practice of operating multiple plants simultaneously derived from the popularity of the Ford Model T. Ford Motor Company, however, didn’t just open one or two assembly plants here or there to handle the increased demand for the T. Instead, in the years before Peter E. Martin helped develop the moving assembly line for Ford, the company opened as many as 30 plants across the continent to churn out Ts like there was no tomorrow. While a few “branch assembly plants” operated here and there, building up cars from knockdown kits (located in Buffalo, Kansas City, Long Island City, and Minneapolis),…

Postwar, Rover cars were a delicious dichotomy. On the outside, they were smartly conservative — nothing too weird or flashy. But underneath, there were always some significant technical advancements that belied the stolid upper-middle-class style. Before the war, Rovers were utterly contemporary in their design and engineering; after WWII ended and Britain’s manufacturing base got going again, things got considerably more technically innovative. The first of these really new Rovers (not just rehashed prewar models built to get the production lines moving again) was the short-lived P3 range of 1948-’49. The P3 generation consisted of two models—the four-cylinder 60, and the six-cylinder 75; the P3 designation simply meant that this generation of Rover sported the company’s third chassis in the postwar era. Those four- and six-cylinder P3 cars would represent…

Corvette Museum Growing STAFF AT THE NATIONAL CORVETTE MUSEUM ANNOUNCED THE PURCHASE OF AN 8,000-square-foot building, next to the museum located at 150 Corvette Drive, for $1.3 million. This addition will provide urgently needed storage space for the facility and will accommodate more donated cars and memorabilia. The museum’s growing collections will include more cars, racing suits, parts, and other artifacts. The NCM is also planning to provide a studio for photographing cars and conducting video interviews. The museum is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and is open seven days a week. For more information, visit www.corvettemuseum.org. Autos & Ales THE AACA MUSEUM WILL HOST THE HERSHEY AREA’S best breweries for craft brew sampling, while raising money for the museum. The Autos & Ales 10th anniversary event will take place…

Mile-High Mecum MECUM’S JULY AUCTION IN DENVER SAW A LITTLE OVER A 60-PERCENT SELL-THROUGH RATE with total sales surpassing $10 million. There were 358 cars that changed hands and one of them was this 1930 Packard Dual Cowl Phaeton. The eight-cylinder Packard featured front and rear folding windscreens, tan convertible top, dual pilot ray headlamps, and dual side-mounted spare tires. When the bidding concluded, the Packard sold for $63,250. Also selling were a pair of Plymouths: one a Deluxe selling for $4,400 and the other a Super Deluxe sedan for $6,050. Full results are now available at www.mecum.com, and be sure to look for the auction house at its next show in Kansas City, December 5-7. Leake’s Tulsa Results LEAKE AUCTION COMPANY CONCLUDED its June sale in Oklahoma with more…

Consider. Since the Corvair, which launched in the fall of 1959, what had Detroit built that really broke the mold? Corvette had independent rear suspension starting with the 1963 models, but it went no further through GM’s passenger car lineup. The front-wheel-drive Toronado arrived for 1966, with its sibling, the Cadillac Eldorado, a season later. But nearly everything else out of Motown was front-engined and rear-wheel-driven, with gasoline-powered engines sending its force out to a sold rear axle for distribution. By these standards, the new-for-1980 Seville was as advanced as American cars got — arguably GM’s most technologically savvy production platform ever up to that point. It was front-wheel-drive, a by-product of sharing parts with the new-for-1979 E-body (Eldorado, Toronado, and Riviera) — a big step up as Seville shed…

Behind gas stations, inside residential garages, hidden in truck trailers, and, of course, stashed away in barns themselves, the proverbial “barn find” is something that every old-car enthusiast dreams about. We all want to find that diamond in the dust. Two years ago, I stumbled upon a barn find, except it wasn’t in a barn, as most barn finds are. Rather it was squirrelled away inside the clapboard-sided single-car garage right next door to me. I had only moved to my house six months prior when I spotted the telltale rear window shape of a first-generation GM F-body early one morning, when the rising sun lit up the 1969 Camaro lurking inside as if to say, “hey, look, come and rescue me.” I did exactly that once the owner’s estate…

There was a time when people weren’t afraid to dig into a brand-new car in order to personalize it or add options not offered by the factory. Such do-it-yourself accessories as window-mount air conditioners, curb feelers, and extra bumper guards were common items for Dad and Junior to install in the driveway — maybe just a few weekends after bringing home a new car in the fall, maybe in the spring once their need was demonstrated, or maybe after a few years to freshen up a car before it was time to replace it. Auto parts stores and catalog companies were eager to offer the creative car owner myriad opportunities to improve his or her automobile with just a few hours turning wrenches. It’s easy to think of speed parts…

After WWII, a group of hardworking Italian-Americans founded a one-room grocery store in Prescott, Arizona. During the postwar boom this little enterprise, The Hassayampa Market, prospered, expanded, and became a local institution until it closed in 1979. If you were hosting a dinner party, for instance, the family-owned store would gladly cater a complete custom menu, beverages included. In the days before bank cards, you could buy your groceries from the market on credit. If hauling home your own goods wasn’t possible, no problem; you could have groceries delivered. In fact, had you placed your order with the Hassayampa Market in the 1950s, this very 1954 GMC Suburban would’ve rolled up to your door, loaded with locally raised meat, dairy products, and more. The truck’s tough, economical 248-cu.in. GMC six-cylinder…

THE PONTIAC FIERO RETURNS AND IS AVAILABLE IN THREE LINES: BASE, SPORT, AND SE. Engine options are a 2.5-liter four-cylinder or V-6, and the front end features a slightly new design. A fastback GT model is also in the works and will be available later this year. Body colors include black, silver, red, white, and gold, plus the SE comes in a black-accented aero package for sleek styling. The Fiero starts at $8,949. OLDSMOBILE’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION Toronado features the same drivetrain as the regular Toronados, and comes with a choice of two paint schemes, specific striping, leather-wrapped steering wheel, leather seats, and special 15 x 6-inch aluminum wheels. The special anniversary edition Toronado also comes with a customized registration plaque. Available for $20,693 MSRP. CHEVROLET IS BRINGING BACK THE…

CAR 1939 Mercury convertible AUCTIONEER Mecum Auctions LOCATION Harrisburg, Pennsylvania DATE August 2, 2019 LOT NUMBER F191 RESERVE None AVERAGE SELLING PRICE $33,000 SELLING PRICE $32,450 IN ITS FIRST YEAR, MERCURY WAS BILLED AS “the car that dares to ask the question ‘Why?’” The big and economical car was marketed to bridge the gap between the Fords and Lincolns with a base price about $200 above Ford and, in the case of the convertible, $700 less than Lincoln. The first engines were all 95-hp flathead V-8s, and more than 70,000 Mercurys were sold its inaugural year, with 7,818 being convertibles. This Mercury has undergone a cosmetic restoration and is finished in Dove Gray with Burgundy leather interior and black soft-top. It features the desirable two-speed Columbia rear axle and artillery…

Ford quit building roadsters after the 1937 model year. In fact, the company had stopped advertising them after 1936. The two-passenger (four if equipped with a rumble seat) open body style without windows had long been the cheapest one available — something equally true across all marques. It was also the lightest and therefore sportiest body, but in an era when sportiness didn’t sell as many cars as practicality. Instead, roadsters became associated with poor folks who just needed a car and didn’t want to pay any extra for something like a coupe body. Throughout the 1930s, the cabriolet — a body similar to the roadster, but with a fixed windshield and roll-up windows — gradually took the roadster’s place as the default sporty body. Unlike the roadster, the more…

Be it prewar or postwar, Brass Era or Full Classic, muscle car or European sports car, and a variety of unusual vehicles you never thought you would ever see in person, the annual Grand National Meet has them all. Hosted by the Antique Automobile Club of America, the Grand National is one of those rare car shows that every hardcore collector-car — and truck and motorcycle — enthusiast must attend at least once in their life. With 400-plus spectacular vintage vehicles on display, there really is nothing else like it. This year’s Grand National was held in the northern Indiana town of Auburn. Ideally situated within a short driving distance from Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Columbus, and Cleveland, it’s no wonder so many amazing automobiles were in attendance. And with the…

1967 Camaro Missouri resident David Abel wrote in about his Camaro, which has been in his family since new. He told us: “My sister bought a 1967 Camaro convertible new when she graduated from high school and drove it for several years, putting over 100,000 miles on it. After she got married, her husband used it for a fishing car; he even put a trailer hitch on it to tow his boat. After a few years, they parked it in their pole barn where it sat for the next 20 years. “My son finally talked my sister into selling it to him, so we trailered it from Columbus, Indiana, to Florissant, Missouri, then spent the next two weeks cleaning it and get it in running shape. After a thorough washing…

In 1969, American Motors Corporation chairman and CEO Roy Chapin Jr. made a bold announcement to the press: For the next three years, AMC would introduce a new car every six months — a total of six new products. Suffering from declining sales, the company came close to bankruptcy in 1967, a situation that brought Chapin into power and forced predecessor Roy Abernethy into early retirement. Chapin and AMC president William Luneburg worked to cut costs and devise a new product program to pull the company out of the hole. They managed small profits in 1968 and 1969 while stylists labored to design the new cars. By the fall of 1969, Chapin was ready to announce the new Hornet, but decided to make a bigger splash with the “new car…

Regular readers of our sister publication, Hemmings Muscle Machines, may recall the restoration of Bob Green’s 1971 Ford Torino GT convertible managed by Tom Zitkus — proprietor of TZ Restorations in New Ring-gold, Pennsylvania. It was a compelling story that led straight back to Bob’s days in high school and the launch of his monumental career, all recaptured — to a large degree — in the Ford’s resurrection. It was also a project that almost never happened, as Tom preferred restoring Fifties cars. Bob had one such car: one of the mere 921 New Yorker convertibles Chrysler built for 1956, finished in a shade of Desert Rose. Yet Bob insisted that Tom start with the ’71 Torino, which eventually led to a long list of projects in the years that…

IT’S 1942 AND I’M 14 YEARS OLD working after school in a local gas station. Whenever a car drove in and pulled up to one of the three gas pumps (two “regular,” one “super”), I briskly walked up to greet the driver as he manually rolled down his window. Mostly, he asked, “give me a buck’s worth.” Not many customers said, “filler-up!” in those days. (Later on, all sales were complicated by the requirement of gasoline stamps awarded according to the fuel needs of the driver. Physicians and Defense workers got more.) Once I finished giving the gas, I asked the customer if he wanted me to check under the hood. A “sure thing,” and a quick look at the oil level determined if a quart or more was needed.…