Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2025 i Hemmings Muscle Machines

THINGS ARE NOT always as they seem. Take for example, this 1968 Camaro race car. On the surface, it seems to be a stripped-down version of the original-issue production car. Painted Sunoco Blue with all the right lettering, the Chevrolet was a winner taking nine of 11 races during the 1968 season with Mark Donohue at the wheel and Roger Penske calling the signals. But this simple Camaro is far more than an initial glance will reveal. A lot more. TRANS AM SETS THE STAGE The Sports Car Club of America created the Trans-American Sedan Championship in 1966. For a car model to be qualified for competition, no less than 1,000 examples had to have been produced during the prior 12 months. The rules were based on those of FIA…

IN THE SPRING of ’72, Scott Geller’s father, Steve, traded in his ’68 Ford Mustang fastback for a brand-new 1972 Gran Torino Sport fastback with the Q-code 351 Cobra Jet V-8. The reasoning for this could have been attributed to many things, but Scott believes his dad wanted a change from the small-ish sports car he had been driving the previous four years, opting for a larger, but still sporty Ford performer. That particular Gran Torino would stay in the family until 1976, the year after Scott made his official appearance into the Geller family. It was then that the big and brawny Blue Oval was traded in for a more family-friendly four-door car: a Mercedes-Benz sedan. “I’ve been told that I rode in that Torino many times, but I…

HEMMINGS AUCTIONS IS OUR LIVE, ONLINE AUCTION site staffed by customer service professionals ready to help bidders and sellers with any questions. A wide variety of classic and specialty vehicles from all eras are up for bid. Auctions run for one or two weeks, and qualified bidders place their bids electronically. Once a vehicle is accepted into the auction, the seller pays only a $99.95 listing fee. The winning bidder is responsible for a 5-percent fee on all completed auctions. The following are examples of auctions that transpired during the months leading up to press time. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, email the Hemmings Auctions team directly: auctions@hemmings.com. 1965 CHEVROLET CORVETTE STING RAY CONVERTIBLE ASKING PRICE: $92,000 SELLING PRICE: $99,750 RECENT MARKET RANGE: $94,000-$122,000 Corvette restomods have proven…

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST disappear in time, whether that time feels premature or not — and that dreaded time, it seems, is firmly upon us. Despite ample demand for Dodge’s Durango SRT Hellcat SUV (the last high-performance Dodgebadged Hemi-powered vehicle built) continuing unabated in the wake of the as-yet-unreplaced Challenger’s and Charger’s disappearance at the end of 2023, this year is scheduled to spell the end of both the Hemi and this generation of the Durango’s life. The end is nigh, everybody. To go kicking and screaming into that good night, and to celebrate 20 years of Hemi-powered Durango in the face of its imminent dismissal from the company roster, Dodge is launching not one but three special-edition, Hellcat-powered versions coming for 2025. Even with three options, you’re not spoiled,…

MERCURY, in ancient Roman mythology, was much more than just the wing-sandaled messenger of the god squad. Speed was surely the image that Ford had in mind for its upscale marque, which initially saw a more powerful flathead V-8 in a mildly facelifted Ford sedan, but the mythical Roman deity had quite a bit more going on. Mercury was also the patron saint of merchants and their goods, along with travelers and written communication. He held a caduceus (a magic problem-solving wand) and a purse (symbolic of his importance to commerce). Ol’ Mercury was also known to pull the odd prank here and there, that naughty cad (hence the word mercurial). So, imagine a muscle machine that hasn’t just been given the Mercury name because its maker said so, but…

IN 2014, SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS ALL-STAR PITCHER Madison Bumgarner won the World Series MVP, which included a new Chevy Colorado along with the trophy. The moment went viral when a Chevrolet zone manager fumbled through the presentation, telling the international audience about the new truck’s “technology and stuff.” Bumgarner lost track of the Colorado for a while following the whirlwind experience of winning the World Series for the third time in five seasons and making the media rounds as the MVP. The truck did later make it back to his hometown of Hickory, North Carolina. Bumgarner’s Colorado has become the stuff of legend due to its clunky introduction by the Chevy regional manager. For plenty of today’s wealthy modern athletes, winning a free car is almost forgettable, but this story…

LAS VEGAS in early fall has been shaping up to be a car lover’s dream. The annual automotive aftermarket extravaganza of the SEMA trade show butts up against Mecum’s auction at the Las Vegas Convention Center, making for a one-two punch of not only finding your dream ride, but sorting through literal millions of square feet of products that will give you plenty of ideas regarding what to do with that dream ride once your name is on the title. As always, an eclectic mix of cars greeted us and potential buyers at the under-construction LVCC. Plenty of big-block this and Hemi that—but there were also some more offbeat choices to seduce the audience. This year’s $18.2 million over three days at the auction felt big, but consider that in…

SOME PEOPLE WAIT THEIR WHOLE LIVES for their dream car. I was kinda lucky. Mine showed up right after the tide receded from Hurricane Sandy. It was a car located just a few blocks from my house, and sadly it was devoured by the rising sea that fateful day in October of 2012. In the aftermath, the car was placed in long-term storage. I ended up tracking it down and purchasing the once-submerged car, which was left uncared for since the day it took its saltwater bath. It was rusted and rotten, but certainly worth saving. This was the car I was waiting for, and it was finally in my possession. This particular ’70 Barracuda convertible was a low-mileage base-model car that had seen very little driving time over its…

THERE’S NOTHING like original sheetmetal on a vintage car, but original glass is a different story. Scratches, hazing, and delamination can detract from an otherwise strong appearance. “Replace all the glass” was the direction from the owner of a 1969 Camaro undergoing a restomod makeover at the Detroit-area shop Sled Alley, and while dropping in the new windshield and rear window was straightforward enough, the intricacies of the door windows are what prompted us to follow along and take notes. It is particularly challenging on A-bodies (Chevelle, etc.), F-bodies (Camaro/Firebird), and other models with frameless door windows, as fine adjustments must be made to the fore/aft positioning — along with the front-to-rear tilt — in order to position the glass correctly and frame it properly in the door opening. Getting…

HOOSIER HAPPENINGS Mecum Auctions finished its Fall Indianapolis Auction with American muscle cars built from 1964-’72 accounting for more than $4.45 million in total sales at a sell-through of 73.6 percent. The top seller of the group was a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 convertible powered by an LS6 engine. The car was owned by the same family since it rolled out of the dealership, and it was always maintained and garaged, showing less than 46,000 miles on the odometer. The powerful LS6 was numbers-matching, as was the Turbo Hydra-Matic 400 transmission. In fact, everything appeared to be original and in top form, from the bright red paint to the inviting bucket seats, console, and 8-track player. Other features included an F41 suspension, power windows, power steering, and power front…