Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2020 i Hemmings Classic Car

British Wotsit THIS ONE’S BEEN STUMPING CAR FOLKS ON THE INTERNET FOR YEARS, AND WE RECALL looking into it at least a decade ago, but as far as we or anyone else can tell, nobody’s yet come forward with an answer to what the sports car in this photo is. Some background: The photo first appeared in Chas. S. Dunbar’s book Buses, Trolleys and Trams. It shows London’s Oxford Street in 1962; and it’s not a Saab Sonett, Sabra, or any other production vehicle, as we see from the many extensive forum threads trying to identify it. Some people have even photoshopped the woman out from in front of the car and 3D modeled the car, but to no avail. Sure, maybe some people think it’s not worth trying after…

I CAN WATCH CAR VIDEOS ON YouTube for hours, and often I find one about an obscure car that I have never heard of, then search for more information on that car. That is what happened in the case of the Jowett Javelin. Manufactured from 1947 to ’53, the Jowett Javelin was an advanced car for its time, but it missed its target and led to the demise of its company. In hindsight, we tend to look at such cars and either understand their shortcomings, or scratch our heads as to why no one wanted them. Designed by Gerald Palmer and manufactured by Jowett Cars Ltd. of Idle, England, Javelins were assembled in England and Australia. All were four-door saloons in the Executive Car class, with a wheelbase of 102…

Now in its third and final year with the aggressively shaped front-end sporting the appealing stacked headlamp design, Ford’s 1967 Galaxie 500 was a huge hit with buyers. Of the 426,941 Galaxies produced, 212,748 were the sleek looking fastback model, of which the overwhelming majority —194,574 examples to be exact — were base-model 500s equipped with V-8 engines; there were another 18,174 fastbacks built with the 500 XL trim, and 2,814 six-cylinder models. Buyers then, and collectors today, have a special fondness for these distinctively styled full-size Fords, although some owners think otherwise. “This is not a collector car,” according to Mike Wende of Apache Junction, Arizona, by way of discussing his 1967 Ford Galaxie 500. That’s probably an odd thing to say about a car that’s on the cover…

America’s season of concours concludes in South Carolina each November with the Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival. For a variety of reasons, the Hilton Head Concours stands out as one of the best amongst so many truly outstanding competitions now crowding the showcar scene. It’s one of those special events that if you attend once, you’ll want to go every year thereafter. With the upscale Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa as the host hotel, this ocean-front complex, along with the expansive golf course of the adjoining Port Royal Golf & Racquet Club, makes for an idyllic location. The tree-lined fairways provide plenty of shade, and you can either walk from the hotel to the show field or take the complementary shuttle. A more tranquil concours…

The 1953 Buick Wildcat (or Wildcat I as it was later called with the creation of the 1954 Wildcat II) was one of the major attractions at that year’s General Motors Motorama — a traveling auto show and the first since GM’s Mid-Century Motorama held in 1950. The division founded by David Dunbar Buick was also marking its 50th anniversary in 1953. The marque’s Hellcat tank destroyer used during World War II was perhaps the source of inspiration for the dream car’s name. The car was created under the guidance of Buick’s chief designer, Ned Nickles, who some years earlier oversaw the design of Buick’s first hardtop, the 1949 Riviera. The Wildcat was among five other special cars created for the 1953 GM Motorama. Unlike the 1950 event, which was…

Volkswagen’s original Type 1 Sedan was a basic car. Like Henry’s Model T decades prior, it was simple, affordable, and reliable. The Sedan’s exterior design was also charming, making it a pop culture icon on the silver screen and TV. Better known as the Bug, and Beetle, it was a grocery getter, daily commuter, and vacation cruiser. It even became a fist-clenched adolescent game on many a road trip. For all that the Sedan was to countless millions, millions more purchased the two-door. Consider: In December 1961, the five-millionth example was built; the 10 millionth came in September 1965. By the summer of 1973, the global sales had eclipsed 20 million, 4.3 million of which had been sold in the States, including one owned by Edie Lemire. “I had a…

BUILT THE SAME YEAR I was born, my first car was a 1934 Plymouth PF coupe, as shown in this photo, taken in our driveway in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, in 1952. Attending, as “restoration helpers,” are my younger sister and brother. I had earlier eyed a 1934 Ford V-8 coupe, “permanently” parked near our dentist’s office. After leaving several notes indicating interest, I was given a reply asking a firm $300. That was double my budget, so the Plymouth, priced at $150, became the vehicle of choice. It belonged to the daughter of a neighbor, who had left it with her parents while studying abroad, and the family had no place to store it. I was enrolled in college at the time, and working in the Kroger bakery that summer…

De Soto Display A SELECT GROUP OF CARS FROM THE COLONIAL CHAPTER OF THE NATIONAL De Soto Club are on display at the AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Among the De Sotos is a 1930 Model CF Deluxe sedan — the first eight-cylinder made by Chrysler and still fitted with its original interior and drivetrain. This special De Soto exhibit will be on display until April 26, 2020. For more information, visit www.aacamuseum.org and www.desoto.org. Thunderbird Nesting AMERICA ON WHEELS MUSEUM IS HOSTING A THUNDERBIRD EXHIBIT CALLED “FEEL the Thunder” through April 2020. The exhibit will feature all Thunderbird models, from 1955 to 2002. Included is a 1955 black model with white vinyl top, a national award-winning ’57 D-code, and a ’61 “Bullet ’Bird” convertible. These are just a few…

Palm Springs Results McCORMICK’S NOVEMBER COLLECTOR-CAR AUCTION SAW A TOTAL of 522 vehicles cross the block with an impressive 65-percent sell-through rate. A total of more than $5.7 million in sales was realized as 330 cars changed hands. There were many good deals to be had, including this restored 1951 Kaiser Deluxe, which sold for $14,840, with its odometer showing only 78,000 miles. Also catching our attention was a very nice 1946 Ford woodie wagon that sold for $43,460. Full sales results are now available at www.classic-carauction.com. Truckin’ in Iowa MECUM’S FALL PREMIER AUCTION TOOK PLACE IN NOVEMBER and it has fast become a beacon for all antique tractors and fire equipment. Old pickup trucks also have a sizeable place at the Davenport, Iowa, sale with more than 80 classic…

The Great Depression wasn’t all the harsh cynicism of “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” It was also “Pennies from Heaven,” “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” and “Let’s Have Another Cup of Coffee.” Those three pieces of popular music acknowledged that yes, times were tough, but they would get better. That type of “we’ll get through this” optimism seemed to be a national mantra in those days and it extended to brightly colored, cheerful products like Fiestaware dishes; extravagant, exuberant films like the musical comedy Gold Diggers of 1933; and, of course, automobile designs that were increasingly swoopy and stylish. The Century of Progress International Exposition, better known as the Chicago World’s Fair of 1933-’34, was a showcase for everything good the machine age had to offer, including…

“ No matter how many Cadillacs you’ve owned and driven — you will still find yourself unprepared for the pleasures of driving the Cadillacs of 1967.” As stated in its advertising, the GM division was rightly proud of its new line of luxury automobiles for the 1967 model year. The company continued boasting by saying: “And all of Cadillac’s twelve models offer an alertness of response, an elegance of ride and a sense of safety that must be experienced to be believed.” Cadillac’s most popular model for 1967 was the Series 683 De Ville, and it was the only series that offered a convertible. By model-year’s end, a total of 18,200 De Ville convertibles were produced, each with a base price of $5,608. The mid-level De Ville series rolled on…

At the turn of the last century, Cornell engineering graduate John Wilkinson was busy constructing a pair of prototype vehicles for the Syracuse-based New York Automobile Company. In hindsight, this alone was hardly ground-breaking news within the fledgling domestic industry, but what may have set his design work apart from others was that Wilkinson’s cars were motivated by air-cooled engines, rather than water-cooled equivalents, or electric motor. Both prototypes were completed in early 1901, after which it was reported in the July issue of The Motor Review that they were being tested for further evaluation. It’s easy to assume that one or both cars would have quickly evolved into full production models, and that the New York Automobile Company could have become a respected industry name during the prewar years…

When I first purchased the Beetle in 2007, I spent time getting to know the car. It’s been a fun process since the restoration was completed, because everything is fresh. I know it a lot better now; I’ve taken it out several times, so the clutch and I have come to know each other again. You have to know how to clutch a Bug—it’s not like the modern clutches. You’ve got to know its quirks and how it wants to work. The Bug and I have become well acquainted and I’m looking forward to the spring when I can take it out regularly!…

CAR 1915 Overland 80R Roadster AUCTIONEER RM Sotheby’s LOCATION Hershey, Pennsylvania DATE October 10, 2019 LOT NUMBER 231 RESERVE None AVERAGE SELLING PRICE N/A SELLING PRICE $20,900 THE MODEL T WOULD SEE MANY competitors come and go over its production run, and one of its stiffer challengers was the Overland. The company had been brought back from the brink a few years after its inception and, when 1915 rolled around, Overland was in its fourth year of a seven-year stretch that saw the Toledo, Ohio, company second only to Ford in total sales. This particular Overland had an extensive and well-documented history stretching back to the late 1940s. The strong red body was pinstriped in grey with a complete black canvas roadster top. All lighting was electric by Autolite and…

When it launched in 1959, the Galaxie nameplate was the top of Ford’s full-size model lineup, a suitably spacey name for that astro-tinged era. Ford’s advertising strongly linked the Fairlane 500-based Galaxie with the glamour of the four-seat Thunderbird, going so far that both cars even shared a brochure for the year.“A 6-passenger expression of Thunderbird luxury and classic simplicity — at a modest Ford price,” the brochure informed the world. Galaxie replaced Fairlane as Ford’s top nameplate for 1960. By 1962, instead of renaming its high-line full-size car every few years, as was the trend in those days, Ford added a couple of alphanumeric suffixes to the Galaxie name beginning with the 1962 model year. The first such model was the 500, which at launch allowed for two-tone interior…

SPECIFICATIONS PRICE BASE PRICE $2,754.68 OPTIONS Challenger V-8; Visibility Group; Special Promo Group K ENGINE TYPE OHV V-8; cast-iron block and cylinder heads DISPLACEMENT 289-cu.in. BORE X STROKE 4.09 x 4.00 inches COMPRESSION RATIO 9.3:1 HORSEPOWER @ RPM 200 @ 4,400 TORQUE @ RPM 282 lb-ft @ 2,200 VALVETRAIN Hydraulic valve lifters MAIN BEARINGS Five FUEL SYSTEM Edelbrock 600-cfm four-barrel carburetor, vacuum secondaries; aluminum Edelbrock dual-plane manifold LUBRICATION SYSTEM Pressure, gear-type pump ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 12-volt EXHAUST SYSTEM Dual exhaust TRANSMISSION TYPE Ford Toploader three-speed manual, all synchro RATIOS 1st 2.42:1 2nd 1.61:1 3rd 1.00:1 DIFFERENTIAL TYPE Ford 9-inch RATIO 3.25:1 STEERING TYPE Recirculating ball, added power assist RATIO 21.9:1 BRAKES TYPE Hydraulic, drums, power assist FRONT/REAR 11-inch CHASSIS & BODY CONSTRUCTION Perimeter frame with torque boxes and four crossmembers BODY…

For many decades, owning a Cadillac was the ultimate American status symbol. A Cadillac parked in the driveway was a proud signal to the neighbors of your success. Be it a Coupe de Ville, Biarritz, or even a standard Sedan de Ville, owning a Cadillac meant you’d arrived! And nothing could have been sweeter. When it comes to Cadillac, there are so many outstanding designs that it would be impossible to mention them all here. While the dual-cowl phaetons and V-16s were all spectacular, it really wasn’t until the introduction of the 1948 model that Cadillac’s designs became uniquely distinctive. The style of the ’48 model is unmatched, but so were the appealing 1939-’40 and the incomparable 1941 models, especially the convertible coupes. The 1957 Eldorado Brougham, with its brushed…

Automotive styling advanced at a precipitous pace in the 1960s, to keep up with shifting buyer attitudes in a time of social upheaval. Cadillac, the dominant force in the American luxury car market, moved forward as well, but also endeavored to maintain elegance and restraint in its designs. The GM division generally employed an evolutionary approach to avoid alienating existing disciples of the brand, while still enticing new buyers. Several elements from the significant redesigns of the 1961, ’63, and ’65 Cadillacs will be highlighted in this article, as will the re-envisioned 1967 Fleetwood Eldorado. Other 1967 models were also restyled, but an example is already featured in this issue, so we’ll examine the 1969s. It’s interesting to observe the changing shapes and positions of the grille relative to the…

For most people, there’s no connection between rusty Mustangs and American Motors products. But the corrosion resistance — or lack thereof — of Ford’s fastback 2+2, some 15 years after it was built, would prove beneficial to one young car enthusiast, who would be directed into a lifetime of Rambler fandom. Perhaps the neatest piece of his Sixties AMC collection is not the scarcest by production numbers, but it’s a true survivor, one of a handful known to remain: a 1964 Ambassador 990-H. A Rambler wasn’t typically the car of choice for most teenagers in 1982, and it certainly wasn’t a stand-in for the V-8-powered pony car Kevin Shope wanted. But, at 15 years old, he discovered daily-driven Sixties Mustangs in his price range hadn’t held up particularly well against…

Terraplane’s Cab Pickup Express might look a little too jaunty for the job site but, by 1937 standards, this was a stout light truck. If you glanced under the rear of a Series 70, and longer wheelbase Series 78 Terraplane commercial rig, you’d see a thick pair of leaf springs—15 leaves in both—that lent these trucks a hefty ¾-ton rating. You’d also notice the sturdy “Double Drop 2-X” frame — it was the same design used in Terraplane (as well as Hudson) cars, but it looked purpose-built for hauling. A pair of boxed side rails — 7 1/8 inches deep at their widest point between the axles — were tied together with a massive X-shaped member in the center and a smaller X-member in front. There were also three heavy-duty…

I WAS A YOUNG ENGINEER WORKING at Ford when the original engineering specifications came out for the Pinto in the late ’60s. At the time, the smallest Ford product was the Falcon, which had grown into a mid-sized car. The public continued to buy small cars, so the response from Ford was the Pinto. The specs were very impressive. Disc brakes were unheard of in cars this small, but the Pinto was going to come with disc brakes, and with rack-and-pinion steering, too — the first instance I was aware on any American car. The engine was an overhead cam design, considered a premium feature, and the carburetor was a “cut in half” four-barrel with progressive linkage, not some cheapie little one-barrel carb. The standard transmission was a very slick…