Hemmings Classic Car May 2024

“My favorite job, however, was the relatively frequent brake system rebuild.” ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I did fresh out of high school was join a local circle track stock car team. Always into cars, I fancied myself as either a race car driver or a crew chief—I “grew up NASCAR,” after all–but my opportunities to actually work on any car were limited to assisting Dad (or more like providing entertainment for my brother and me) with what were supposed to be simple oil changes. Moving from the grandstands to the paddock was my free course study in automotive basics. To start, I quickly figured out how GM built fourth-generation Chevrolet Malibus, as they were our optimum donor platform for race car conversions. Stripping one down to the frame was…

RETREAUX” IS A TERM that ought to get more traction. It’s a blend of “faux” meaning fake and “retro” meaning in the style of an earlier time. The actual meaning is closer “fake vintage,” though. There are certain things that weren’t available in earlier decades, but that doesn’t stop us from backdating those things to blend in with truly historical technology. That’s the philosophy backing our rehabilitation of this 1936 Chevrolet panel. The Hemmings collection of three green panel trucks is well known [https://www.hemmings.com/stories/hemmingspanel-delivery-trucks/], but less well known is that the Chevrolet isn’t nearly as original as its Dodge and Ford cohorts. Its original 72-hp, 207-cu.in. straight-six, floor-shift three-speed transmission, and torque-tube rear axle were removed and replaced by their early-1970s equivalents: a 140-hp, 230-cu.in. Turbo-Thrift straight-six, a Muncie SM465…

I TURNED 18 in late 1977. Ordinarily it would have been just another birthday, especially considering I had my driver’s license less than a year, but it was significant in that I was hired as a valet parking attendant at The Manor, a well-known fine dining restaurant and caterer–that doubled as a very popular wedding venue–located in West Orange, New Jersey. It also meant I could leave behind yard work, dog care, and the sporadic odd jobs of scooping ice cream and delivering newspapers. The Manor sat on an extensive mountainside property adjacent to a wooded reservation and a golf course, so it was a great place to work outside in the fresh air. Visitors entered the property through tall gates and navigated a tree-lined driveway that led to the…

EMAIL YOUR THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS TO: mlitwin@hemmings.com BACK IN THE AUGUST 2023 issue, Matthew Litwin asked what one would do if you could get your first car again. In my case, I would apologize to that 1962 Ford Falcon that a teenage hotrodder (me) beat to death. It was a hand-me-down from Mom: A four-door, small-engine car with an automatic transmission. Needless to say, the Ford’s performance wasn’t stellar. I would love to give it a rebuild with a larger 200-cu.in. six-cylinder. This would enable it to actually accelerate. The little Ford was a nice-looking car–however, one feature was the sound it would make when I floored it, kind of a moaning groaning. I have fond memories of the Falcon. My second car was a 1967 Cougar XR-7. What a difference—but…

To vintage-TR fans, the firm’s last sports car was controversial in looks; time proved its wedge shape was on-trend. Perhaps the aftermarket body kit fitted to this TR8 was a step too far for some, but not for the excited bidders vying for the customized, 3.5-liter Rover V-8-powered convertible. That engine was hopped up with a Holley four-barrel carburetor, electronic ignition, and dual exhaust, and its attendant five-speed manual promised smooth shifts. The blue paint, cloth top, and vinyl seat upholstery all looked nice, although the A/C and tachometer didn’t work. Minilite-style alloys supported older radial tires. The seller engaged with interested parties and the Triumph sold extremely well. 1938 FORD DE LUXEV-8 STATION WAGON Ford’s De Luxe Station Wagon was as pretty as it was practical in 1938, with…

Ray Pile was a part of the immediate post-World War II generation of hot rodders. During the war, he was a waist gunner in Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers attacking Nazi-occupied Europe and afterward he returned to his home in Southgate, California. This is his car, the Pyle Special. Not much is known about its life before Ray got ahold of the Ford. It was just one of millions of Ford Model A’s produced for 1928-’31. Just two years after the end of the war, an uncle got him set up running a gas station. That’s when the roadster comes on the scene, and with it, Ken Eichert, the father of current owner Chris Eichert and son of Ray’s benefactor-uncle. “Ray was my dad’s cousin on my grandmother’s side,” Chris…