Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2022 i Hemmings Classic Car

“…to put in a full day of commercial wrenching and then set to work on things that don’t necessarily have to be done. That’s a real enthusiast.” Recently, I’ve been hearing that the old car hobby is going to fade away as today’s players “age out.” This sort of talk has been going on for years, and I’ve argued the point that the hobby is alive and well on more than one occasion. As a challenge, I’m usually asked, “Okay, so where is it hiding?” The people asking don’t necessarily want to know about the next generation of enthusiasts interested in vehicles from the ’80s and ’90s—the cars of their own youth. The real question is, usually, “What happens to the vintage hardware of earlier periods? Does it become obsolete…

“Braking with caution is something I’m used to, thanks in large part to a lifetime with my 1952 Buick Roadmaster…” A funny thing happened during my trip to the Ford Nationals at Carlisle in Pennsylvania with Associate Editor David Conwill: The two of us photographed a 1960 Plymouth Fury convertible. No, it wasn’t modified to accept one of Dearborn’s hopped up FE-series V-8s, nor was it on display among second-gen Ford Thunderbirds or cavernous Mercury Park Lanes. It just so happened that the Fury was on our photography schedule thanks, in part, to its convenient location near historic Carlisle. Having captured various examples of Dearborn cars throughout the weekend, our visit with the Plymouth was a fitting end to the trip. The Plymouth’s owner has been a dyed-in-the-wool Mopar enthusiast since…

Labor Day Weekend Early Ford V-8 Swap Meet THE EARLY FORD V-8 FOUNDATION MUSEUM HAS ANNOUNCED ITS SWAP MEET WILL take place during Labor Day Weekend. Several 20 x 30-foot spaces are available, with a free space available to every museum member. This will coincide with the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival held at the same time in the city. The Fall Swap Meet will allow the sale of automobiles, parts, tools, literature, automobilia, and more. Located in Auburn, Indiana, the Early Ford Foundation Museum’s swap meet will take place September 2-4, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the museum’s campus. Visit fordv8foundation.org for more information and a registration form. Three New Members to be Inducted into Corvette Hall of Fame THE NATIONAL CORVETTE MUSEUM ESTABLISHED THE CORVETTE HALL OF…

British Consoles MOSS MOTORS • 800-667-7872 MOSSMOTORS.COM • $99.99 MG and Triumph owners know that their consoles sit a little low, making them a bit uncomfortable for longer drives. New ergonomic center consoles for the 1961-’72 MGB, Triumph TR2-4, and Midget/Sprite increase the height of your console, allowing you use it as a comfortable armrest. The new console is designed to fit between the seats and can be held in place by the seat cushions. Each comes with a stainless-steel cup holder, plus a power outlet for GPS or USB charging. Best of all, the console can be easily removed and reinstalled should you desire to keep the stock look at concours events or car shows. Consoles feature four small tabs to screw or Velcro the console in place. The…

“None of the other U.S. automakers were producing subcompact cars, so Kaiser Jeep would have had the field to itself.” I maintain an archive of historical American Motors-related literature called The Pat Foster Collection. It houses more than 20,000 factory photos along with thousands of brochures, catalogs, data books, and other paraphernalia for AMC, Jeep, Rambler, Nash, Hudson, Willys, AM General, and Kaiser Jeep vehicles. A particular focus of the collection is on styling. Recently, I acquired a large collection of AMC, Willys, and Kaiser Jeep styling photos that included all sorts of concepts. Among the most interesting was a series of mid-1960s ideas for a new subcompact car—from Kaiser Jeep, of all companies. It made me wonder: Did Kaiser Industries really consider a return to the passenger car market? Or…

Despite the insistence from some diehard traditionalists that there’s no reason to upgrade a vintage car to disc brakes, sticking with four-wheel drums can be a drag—literally and figuratively. The simple truth is that, in an era of distracted drivers plowing along in lumbering SUVs—all of them with sophisticated safety features and huge disc brakes—sharing the road in an old car with four-wheel drums is like bringing a knife to a gunfight. The nostalgia goes right out the window when you have to panic-brake around modern vehicles with much greater stopping capability. That’s exactly what drove Tim Quiggle to finally upgrade the front drum brakes on his 1949 Ford coupe to discs. “I’ve been driving the car for more than 30 years and the drums just didn’t feel safe to…

When you consider the nature of factory ignition systems devised a half-century ago, you’d have to wonder how they’ve endured. A buddy of mine has a nicely restored classic Mustang; its factory-original Autolite ignition is fitted with breaker points and a condenser along with Ford’s “yellow-top” coil. If you stand by the tailpipe, you’ll hear the occasional “putt-putting” of a misfire, harbinger of unburned hydrocarbons and wasted fuel. Time for something better under the hood. If your classic car is still fitted with points and a condenser, it may be time for an upgrade to a modern ignition system. Install one and you’ll never have to think about breaker maintenance again. There are two ways to get there: a drop-in electronic ignition conversion for your stock point-triggered distributor, or a…

“The Deuce’s clean, handsome, form-follows-function design still looks great today, too.” I have been obsessed with cars from as far back as I can remember. In 1948, when I was five years old, a fenderless, hoodless 1932 Ford roadster rounded our corner and hove into view on our street, rumbling menacingly. Its doors were welded shut, and it had no top. It stopped at the curb, and my uncle Benny popped out wearing a T-shirt, Levi’s, and a sailor cap. A Lucky Strike dangled from his lips. He was a little younger than my father, and he and that car were the coolest things I could imagine. I wanted to be just like him. I still do all these years later. Truth is, I think the 1932 Ford is the ultimate…

2-4 • Springfield Swap Meet & Car Show Springfield, Ohio • 937-376-0111 ohioswapmeet.com 4 • Sumter Swap Meet Bushnell, Florida • 727-848-7171 floridaswapmeets.com 8-10 • Triumphest 2022 San Diego, California • 619-414-7333 triumphest2022.com 8-11 • Adirondack Nationals Lake George, New York • 518-380-1874 adirondacknationals.com 15-18 • Southeast British Car Festival Dillard, Georgia • 866-279-9728 peachtreemg.com 16-17 • OOB Annual Car Show Old Orchard Beach, Maine • 207-934-2500 oldorchardbeachmaine.com 17 • Corvette Funfest Effingham, Illinois • 866-309-3973 corvettefunfest.com 17-18 • Dayton Concours d’Elegance Dayton, Ohio • 937-866-2222 daytonconcours.com 23-25 • Englishtown Swap Meet Old Bridge, New Jersey • 732-446-7800 etownracewaypark.com 23-25 • Jefferson Swap Meet Jefferson, Wisconsin • 608-244-8416 madisonclassics.com 24-25 • Midland Antique Festival Midland, Michigan • 989-687-9001 miantiquefestival.com Please note that these events are active as of press time…

You’ve heard the familiar story about the guy who found the car of his dreams sitting neglected in a garage/barn/backyard, where it had languished for decades. He inquires about the car’s availability, only to hear the standard response, “No, I’m going to restore that car one day.” Week after week, month after month, our protagonist returns to try again, and each time he is turned away. Then, just as all hope of acquiring the dream car seems lost, persistence pays off and the owner relents. But what if that story were to play out the other way around? Eastham, Massachusetts, resident Larry Perry was going about his day when a gentleman he knew called to say he had an old car that needed to be sold. The seller, who was…