Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2020 i Hemmings Classic Car

Canazzi’s Studillac WE THOUGHT WE’D SEEN ALL THE REASONS FOR SOMEBODY TO BUILD A CUSTOM car until we came across a recent article on Hank Canazzi’s Golden Ray Studillac: a highly modified 1953 Studebaker Commander built as a precursor to fiberglass boat construction. As Glenn Brummer wrote about the Golden Ray on Undiscovered Classics (www.undiscoveredclassics.com), Canazzi lived in Buffalo, New York, and, though he’d previously customized his Buick, he had more of an interest in boats and built a business selling boat kit plans. As part of that business, he wanted to dive into fiberglass. Not knowing how to work with the relatively new material, he decided to start with the Commander. He modified the front and rear ends, replaced part of the hardtop with acrylic, and swapped the windshield…

FOR EIGHT YEARS, I HAVE WANTED to feature this month’s Underdog, but I never quite knew where it fell in the domestic versus import spectrum. Now, I don’t have to worry about that. In the late 1970s, American Motors considered ending car production and focusing solely on the more profitable Jeep line, which gave it an edge over the competition. When AMC introduced the 1978 Concord, 1979 Spirit, and 1980 Eagle, the automaker realized it still had some fight left in it. However, to remain competitive, AMC also knew it needed a partner to help develop a line of cars to replace what, at the time, were 1960s-era-engineered offerings. Ironically, a 10- or 20-year-old platform today wouldn’t even elicit a raised eyebrow. AMC first looked to Peugeot to make a…

NINETEEN fifty-five is a bewildering and little-known Chevrolet Corvette year with a mere 700 units produced. Corvette’s lowest production year next to 1953. Yet it is a highly significant year, marking the birth of the V-8 and the beginning of Corvette high performance. To understand the year, you have to go back two years earlier to the Corvette’s origins. In the early Fifties, the European sports car invaded U.S. shores. It was led by the MG TD and Jaguar XK120, followed by the Nash-Healey, Austin-Healey, Triumph TR, etc. A sports car market of an estimated 20,000 had grown up overnight, especially in Southern California. Now GM’s styling czar, Harley Earl, was keenly aware of this. In fact, he had a son entering college, whose classmates were driving around in new…

THE FORD FALCON IS BACK, WITH CRISP AND SMART NEW LOOKS. THERE ARE 13 DIFFER- ent models available, from the Squire to the Thunderbird’s compact cousin, the luxurious Futura. The Falcon delivered an impressive 32.6 miles per gallon in the 1961 Mobilgas Economy Run, returning the best fuel economy among any six- or eight-cylinder vehicle in the 25-year run of the event. Offering more models and more savings, the new Falcons carry a sticker price beginning at $1,985. RAMBLER CONTINUES TO STRIVE FOR excellence with its new self-adjusting Double Safety Brake System, a standard feature that gives twice the protection from potential brake failure. Strength and safety are also enhanced with the single unit construction, as well as rustproofing protection against corrosion. Pick from the Classic, Ambassador V-8, or American,…

Newport Antique Auto Hill Climb INDIANA’S ANNUAL ANTIQUE VEHICLE COMPETITION IS STILL SCHEDULED TO TAKE place on October 2-4, in Newport. A final decision on holding the event will be made in early August, but as of now, the hill climb features 31 classes of timed competition runs, over the town’s 1,800-foot-long, 140-foot-high hill. More than 300 cars and pre-World War II motorcycles are expected to compete. The show recreates and celebrates the 1909-’15 events that were an early proving ground for automakers over a century ago. This will be the 53rd edition; other scheduled activities include a flea market, car cruise, Big Wheel races for kids, a collector-car auction, a car show, and of course, the hill climb itself. Visit www.newporthillclimb.com for complete details. Carlisle Still a Go FALL…

Barrett-Jackson Online THE FAMOUS SCOTTSDALE AUCTION HOUSE HOSTED ITS SECOND ONLINE AUCTION THIS YEAR IN July and offered an impressive array of classics, muscle cars, motorcycles, and memorabilia. Official results have not been tabulated yet, but among those we saw that sold was this 1957 Bel Air. The two-owner car was thoroughly restored and has only been driven 950 miles since completion. This Chevrolet was powered by a 283-cu.in. V-8 mated to a Powerglide transmission; its floor and body panels were all-original and finished with the proper red oxide primer. Options included power steering, power drum brakes, power top, tissue dispenser, twin antennas, electric wipers, Continental kit, and fully functioning quartz clock. It sold for $77,000. Look for complete results at www.barrett-jackson.com. Eddie Vannoy Collection THE ORGANIZERS AT MECUM AUCTIONS…

Model year 1951 was a downturn for most of America’s car companies, but Mercury bucked the trend. Ford’s upper-middle-class division mostly left well enough alone on its single-car line for 1951, focusing instead on trim changes. There was a new full-width grille, and minor rear styling revisions that included a one-piece rear window, and vertical taillamps in rear-quarter extensions that were a baby step toward the stylish tail fins that would dominate later in the decade. Engineers found two more horsepower in the 255-cubic-inch flathead V-8, bringing total output to 112 horsepower, and a new two-speed Merc-O-Matic fully automatic transmission was a $168 option. Despite selling only 17,000 more cars in 1951 than in 1950, Mercury vaulted from ninth to sixth place in U.S. sales, passing Oldsmobile and Dodge on…

“This is the car I’d wanted my whole life,” Rich explains. “When I was a kid, a neighbor, who was about 10 years older than me, had a Nassau Blue 1966 Corvette convertible that he was restoring in his parents’ driveway. Every time I saw it, I dreamed of the day when I would own one just like it.” Rich later became a home builder and then a commercial real estate developer, and he even owned two automobile dealerships. His car collection continued to grow, and today he has about 80 GM, Italian, and German models. Among the five mid-year Corvettes is this Nassau Blue convertible. He found it in April 2006 in New Hampshire, through a Hemmings ad. It was a 100,000-mile driver with one repaint and its original,…

Motorcars of European manufacture appeared in the United States prior to 1900, when wealthy Americans traveled to Europe and returned with horseless carriages purchased there to use at home. Intercontinental international travel at that time, and for the majority of the first half of the 20th century, was via enormous ocean liners. Goods and products were moved the same way, in the hulls of the ships. After the armistice of the “Great War,” it took the manufacturers of motorcars several years to resume production at levels they had seen prior to 1914. By 1920, factories were rebuilt and refitted, the workforce had recovered, and production resumed to the point that European automobiles were offered for sale in America. New York City was the main port for import and export of…

TRUCK 1953 Chevrolet 3100 AUCTIONEER Mecum Auctions LOCATION Davenport, Iowa DATE June 18, 2020 LOT NUMBER K11 RESERVE None AVG. SELLING PRICE $50,000 SELLING PRICE $41,800 CHEVROLET’S ADVANCE DESIGN PICKUPS were made with the customer’s comfort in mind. The larger cabs provided some much-needed extra head and leg room, while easily allowing for three people to ride inside. The 3100 was Chevrolet’s half-ton for that year, and the Advance Design showed off a tough, rugged appearance combined with the sleek and iconic lines that were synonymous with 1950s GM design. This truck was newly restored and had been driven only 100 miles since completion. Its entire drivetrain had been rebuilt and the exterior was finished in period-correct Juniper Green with black fenders and running boards. The oak bed was new…

I ENJOYED THE ARTICLE ABOUT THE Ford Starliners in HCC #191, but you left off a fact that might have affected the Ford Falcon selling 450,000 units. The 1960 Fords were over 80 inches in width. Because of this, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration threatened to tax them like trucks, because 80 inches was the maximum width for a car. Although the Imperial was the first to go over the 80-inch mandate, when Ford went over, it was different. After the NHTSA chastised Ford for the design, the 1961 models were 79.9 inches. The size also probably scared owners of 1955-’56 Fords, who were concerned about trading up to (and housing and feeding) a monster that was bigger than a Mercury of not that long ago. A Falcon would…

Aesthetically, I think the mid-year Corvettes are one of the best-looking generations—they were really ahead of their time. When I was a kid, my neighbor’s ’66 Corvette inspired me to someday own one. I even bought a Schwinn bicycle in the same color, because I loved it so much. Though he sold his many years ago, he kept its hardtop, and a few years ago he gave it to me. I’m really pleased with how my ’66 Corvette turned out. It’s nice to finally have a car that I don’t have to write a list of things to fix when I get out of it.…

Vehicles that were part farm tractor, part automobile, never gained traction in the U.S., though not for a lack of trying. In 1938, Minneapolis Moline rolled out its UDLX Comfortractor, which looked vaguely like a Farmall crossed with a mid-1930s Auburn. The UDLX had a chrome front bumper and a styled radiator shell with outboard headlamps, full fenders, and an enclosed engine, as well as a cab with two seats. The UDLX was said to be capable of 40 mph on the street — so in theory, you could drop the plows and merge with traffic. But it also carried a lofty $2,000-plus price tag which, back then, would’ve bought you a new sedan and a tractor with some money left in your overalls for fertilizer. By 1942, the ambitious…

AS THE WARM-WEATHER MONTHS HAVE MADE IT MORE ATTRACTIVE for enthusiasts to venture (safely) outdoors, we’re finding that veteran, pre- and postwar vintage and classic, and special-interest modern cars and trucks, continue to ring the bell at the online-exclusive Hemmings Auctions. Editor Terry Shea has shared that, as of this writing, his auction colleagues have reported 11 straight weeks of 80-percent sell-through, including the two most recent weeks when that telling metric reached 100 percent. The wide range of ages, body styles, and performance envelopes represented by the vehicles offered through the site has appealed to fans of American cars and imports, alike. Among those that turned bidders into excited new owners were a 1929 Studebaker President FH cabriolet (one of four known extant to the Studebaker Drivers Club; it…