Hemmings Classic Car February 2024

“…an’82 Fairmont sedan we could obtain for $20. The whole car. Which meant a two-car team.” IT’S FUNNY HOW history repeats itself. A recent example of that was when I caught up with an old friend between trips. The phone conversation started like any other: Talk of family, vacations, mutual friends, and work, and how our favorite stick-and-ball sports teams have had lack-luster seasons. Eventually the topic of automotive work and home garages arose. My friend explained how his son conjured the notion he could service the aging daily driver that shuttled him to and from his junior year of high school. Although the young man had no experience, online videos—like reality automotive restoration shows—made it look easy. He had already purchased oil and a correct filter, so how could…

AS DIVERSE as the collector car populace is, it seems everyone knows someone who has an incredible knack for finding vintage vehicles. Common or rare; domestic or import; car or truck; restored or project–the finds keep coming at a rate that would make the late Bill Harrah blush with envy. And then there are guys like Scranton, Pennsylvania’s Stan Sipko—the kind of guy who doesn’t purposefully seek out old rides, but rather is found by them. If his name sounds familiar, we recently featured his 1948 Plymouth Deluxe Business Coupe on these pages (see the July 2023 issue). Readers may recall that the Plymouth was initially supposed to receive a repaint, but that plan morphed into a complete nut-and-bolt restoration intended to be completed by late summer ’23. That restoration…

I OWNED MY FIRST CAR for only a few months. It was a 10-year-old 1965 Ford Galaxie four-door with nothing overly exciting under the hood. But I was 17 and the car was all mine. Until one day when I invited the McVetty sisters to share the front bench seat. Being interested in one of them, Nancy, I let her take a turn behind the wheel. She was 15 and—not having previous driving experience—proceeded to steer it over a curb, rough terrain, and onto someone’s front lawn. The excursion mangled the front suspension and, without money for repairs, I sadly waved goodbye to the Ford as it was towed away. The incident left me without a car until my senior year of college, when my dad suggested I use some…

I WAS SURPRISED and delighted to see David Conwill’s article on the 1915 Scripps-Booth Vitesse speedster in the October issue. I knew that I had seen the car before when I had a chance to visit Frank Kleptz’s wonderful collection with the Indiana region of the Classic Car Club of America quite a few years ago. The car was under restoration when I saw it. It is very rewarding to see that it is finished and being enjoyed by its current owner. −JAY S. KOLB Columbia, Maryland THANK YOU TO THE TEAM for your hard work in putting out a superb publication. I have every issue, from number one to current, saved in sleeves. The November article on the 1964 W200 Crew Cab caught my eye, as this is very…

1929 FORD MODEL A The market for Ford’s Model A is perennial, with nicely presented examples still bringing solid money nearly a century after they were built. This rumble-seat-equipped 1929 roadster appeared very nice, with seller-submitted photos showing shiny paint, crisp accent striping, a taut top, and a welcoming “artificial leather” upholstered interior. The car wore numerous accessories including a radiator stone guard, wind wings, and a luggage rack. Its 40-hp engine showed age and use but was said to run “perfectly,” and the undercarriage looked correct despite minor surface corrosion. No side curtains were present. It took an impressive 38 bids with nine time extensions to secure its new home. Reserve: $6,000 Selling Price: $22,418 Recent Market Range: $9,400-$16,700 1940 CHEVROLET SPECIAL DELUXE There are some naysayers in the…

The car you see on these pages is the mechanical equivalent of the score of The Rite of Spring, hand annotated by Igor Stravinsky himself; the working sketches for Marcel Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase; or perhaps a preserved print of The Battle of Gettysburg, recovered from the possessions director of Thomas Ince. This is a piece of art, first and foremost, and one intimately and physically connected with the artist himself, Ettore Bugatti. Just ask Alan Travis, who spent 3,500 hours (that’s 437½ eight-hour workdays) resurrecting his 1913 Bugatti Type 22 from a 90-year slumber. Alan says, “It’s like working on a sculpture after Michaelangelo.” Indeed, the artist himself signed and initialed the castings throughout the powertrain. The Type 22 also represents the debut of the trademark horseshoe radiator,…