Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2023 i Hemmings Classic Car

Write to our Editor at mlitwin@hemmings.com and follow him on Instagram @matt.litwin.hemmings. “I was thinking about my first car and what happened to it,”—Julie Litwin AFTER A RECENT week of rain, my wife, Julie, and I were anxious to begin the annual task of refreshing the landscaping for what remained of the spring season—you’ll understand what I mean if you spend time in the upper regions of New England—and the summer to come. As always, it necessitated a trip to the local, family-run garden center for things like hanging annuals, some perennials, and nutrient-rich soil to rejuvenate the raised vegetable garden boxes. I admit it: I have a green thumb when my hands aren’t covered in old 10W-something motor oil. I thought we’d discuss what crops to plant while on…

I JUST RECEIVED MY APRIL 2023 issue of Classic Car and was confused for a moment. I did not recognize this slick, beautiful magazine with a killer cover. Wow! Your “Cosmetic Restoration” is a concours winner. The cover shot is perfection, and the photos and interior layout are outstanding. Your magazine has always had great articles and features, and I have never found fault with a thing. But, with your redo, you have achieved a new level. Being a retired graphic designer I am always critical of others’ work. But your new-age Classic Car magazine is amazing. Congratulations to you and your production staff for a job well done. By the way, I had just renewed my subscription—how’s that for good timing on my part? JOHN McLEOD Belmont, North Carolina…

SPONSORED BY GULLWING MOTOR CARS Picture yourself working on one of the vintage vehicles in your garage when your smartphone jumps to life. A quick glance at the screen alerts you to who is attempting to reach out: a family member, a close friend, some random number that looks familiar, or a caller identified simply as “Potential Spam.” Hearing from friends and family is one thing—even when your hands are tinted a burnt-oil hue and parts are scattered across a workbench—but calls about suspect extended warranties and the like are untimely annoyances. So, imagine the range of emotions that raced through Brian White’s mind when, in 2016, the caller was the local undertaker. “You can bet I answered with trepidation, but when I confirmed he was talking to the right…

1. CHEVY GASKET SET THE FILLING STATION 800-841-6622 Complete engine overhaul gasket sets are now available for the 1937-’53 Chevy 216-cu.in. engines and 1941-’50 235-cu.in. truck engines. Each set features a copper head gasket with rope rear main seal and every additional gasket needed to complete an engine overhaul. These sets will fit most cars and trucks, but some exceptions may apply; they will not fit Canadian or other export models. The kit replaces GM #3702872 and comes with everything you see here. Ask about p/n FS-181 for more details. $199.95/SET fillingstation.com 2. SIDE ORDER BOB DRAKE REPRODUCTIONS, INC. 800-221-3673 Bring back some of the shine to your old Blue Oval with these new hood side trim kits. These side spears are made for the 1936 model-year Fords and they…

Forget styling for just a moment. Chrysler Corporation gave all five of its division dealerships something new to talk about for 1957: “Torsion-Aire” suspension. It’s key design elements could be traced back to the first volume use of torsion bars in the 1934 Citroën Traction Avant. Flash forward to 1970, when Dodge boasted luxury comfort and stability in its Monaco line thanks to a “Torsion-Quiet Ride.”…

ERASING THE HISTORY a car has earned can be a disservice to posterity. When new, a 1912 Hupmobile Model 20 like this one would have made a brisk-driving road car, much akin to the Ford Model T—though a Hupp runabout was $160 more than a 1912 Ford (equivalent to a $5,000 price difference today). But someone, after it was new (probably in the 1920s), cut down the body on this one and discarded the fenders and running boards to build an instant speedster of the simplest type. Co-owner Derek Moore is the Curator of Collections at the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. His partner in the car is his dad, Kevin Moore, who runs Born Again Classics, a restoration shop in St. Charles, Michigan. Derek says that why this…

“Me? I haven’t progressed since adolescence. I still listen to doo-wop music and roll around under old Chevys on the weekends.” IN 1961, I WAS attending the local junior college and kept myself in Smithys and teardrop knobs for my 1949 Chevrolet by working nights as a gas station pump jockey, and now and then as a gopher at an auction house. The auction owner accrued his inventory by cleaning out garages and then auctioning off his finds once a month in a big barn. My pal Rodney and I were young and strong, so we lugged items out of the auctioneer’s barn and hauled them onto the stage for him to sell. One rainy weekend, however, things didn’t go well. Only a handful of people showed up, and nobody…

HOW MANY OF US WISH we had quit our job, packed our bags, and toured the lower 48 states when we were younger? That’s exactly what I did back in 1976. In 1975, I was 33 years old, single, and making good money working behind the parts counter at a Ford dealership in Los Angeles. Very early in the year I decided it would be a good idea to celebrate the upcoming 200th anniversary of our country’s independence by taking off and seeing the United States of America, and so I spent the next twelve months preparing for my big trip. Cars have always been a big part of my life. After being discharged from the Army in 1966, I purchased a new Austin-Healey that I could not afford. From…

“A Hudson-Willys merger makes a lot more sense than one would first think. It never happened.” AS NEAR AS I CAN TELL, the principal managements of both Willys-Overland Corporation and the Hudson Motor Car Company never actively discussed merging the two independent automakers together. In the post-World War II era, Hudson was a traditional, conservative automobile builder located in Detroit, while Willys-Overland was primarily a commercial vehicle builder situated down in Toledo. There aren’t many miles from Detroit to Toledo, but in terms of products, they were a great distance apart from each other. Hudson built medium- and upper medium-priced cars while Willys built work vehicles and, beginning in 1953, a line of compact sedans and hardtops. Indeed, if I hadn’t had my brain cells stimulated by a design idea…

IF YOU HAVE A DODGE or Ram pickup in your driveway you should know this: There’s a Graham in its past. And we’re not talking about crackers. Chrysler’s Dodge Truck Division (now known as Ram) came into existence in a somewhat convoluted way. Years before Dodge had a truck division—in fact, years before there was a Chrysler Corporation—there was an independent automobile company called Dodge Brothers. The two founders were brothers John and Horace Dodge, redheaded mechanics who got their start in the automobile business with a machine shop they set up in Detroit. Established in 1900, their shop specialized in manufacturing parts for the many small automakers that were being opened in and around Detroit. In 1903, Henry Ford, cranking up production for his third try at becoming a…