Summer 2011

Transcription

Summer 2011

FUEL FOR THE MOTOR I NG L I FESTYLE
inside:
DRIVIN’ THAT TRAIN ...
GOD SAVE YOUR ORPHANED CAR
GRIDLOCK AT THE WOODWARD DREAM CRUISE
summer 2011 $4.95 U.S.a. | Canada
heavy
metal
Pontiac and the art of stuffing
big motors into smaller cars
Hagerty
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PRSRT STD
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Win over even your toughest critic
Publisher’s Letter
a word f rom M c keel
editorial staff
Executive Publisher McKeel Hagerty
Senior Publishing Advisor Greg Stropes
Publisher Rob Sass
Associate Publisher Jonathan A. Stein
Executive Editor Jerry Burton
Managing Editor Nadine Scodellaro
Art Director/Designer Todd Kraemer
Copy Editor SHEILA WALSH DETTLOFF
Art Production Manager JOE Ferraro
Creative Director Laura Rogers
Editorial Director Dan Grantham
Stephen Morton/Getty Images
Time: 15:41:33
Publishing staff
Director of Publishing Angelo Acord
Publication Manager Danielle Poissant
Production Manager Lynn Sarosik
Ad Sales Coordinator kim powers
Job: 310680_Meg-2283
Page: 310680_MEG-2283.p1.pdf
Trim Size:8
x10.5
Publication: Hagertys
Colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Date: Apr-14-2011
Contributors
Bob Butz, Wayne Carini, Ken Gross,
Dave Kinney, Stefan Lombard,
Don Sherman, John L. Stein
advertising staff
Director of Ad Sales
East Coast Sales Office
Tom Krempel, 586-558-4502
[email protected]
Central/West Coast Sales Office
Lisa Kollander, 952-974-3880
[email protected]
Questions about our products and
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Questions about the magazine?
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People Who Love Cars Love Meguiar’s™
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leaves amazingly, deep reflections. Sound impossible? How about you can use it in full sun,
too? That’s what we challenged ourselves with for Ultimate Wax, simply our best wax.
See what your toughest critic thinks.
For free personal car care advice, go to Meguiars.com or call 800 347-5700 Mon-Sat, 8:00 am to 6:00pm
© 2011 HAGERTY. All rights reserved.
Printed in USA. No part of this magazine
may be reproduced without permission. All
unsolicited submissions, including manuscripts, photographs and queries, must be
accompanied by adequate return postage
and an addressed return envelope. Submission implies right to edit and publish. Editorial correspondence: Hagerty magazine,
30400 Van Dyke, Warren, MI 48093. Pub
lisher’s correspondence: publisherhagerty@
hagerty.com. Products and services advertised in this issue are not necessarily
endorsed by Hagerty or affiliates. Complaints or inquiries should be forwarded
directly to the advertiser. All purchases are at
the complete discretion of the consumer.
McKeel Hagerty
with a 1953 Cooper
MG Barchetta that
started life as a
Formula 2 Cooper
Bristol before being
rebodied as a sports
car when it was only
a few years old.
Gone but not
forgotten
When asked what he was up to next, the great automotive journalist and Cannonball Run
winner Brock Yates was fond of saying, “More books, more racing and more foolishness with cars
are always in the works.” And so it is here at Hagerty where, in past issues, we’ve added experiences with tanks, biplanes and now, steam engines, as associate publisher Jonathan Stein climbs
aboard a Baldwin steam engine, stokes the fire and heads down the tracks to let us all know what
this near-extinct experience is like.
We were just as sad as anyone to hear about Pontiac’s demise. With cars like the G8 and the
Solstice GXP, we thought they had a future in the new GM. And while the Solstice and the G8 might
have a future as collectibles, for Pontiac muscle cars such as GTOs and Firebirds, the future is now
— they’re recognized blue chip collectibles. Longtime GM observers and historians Tony Hossain
and Jerry Burton take a look at Pontiacs over the years in our latest “World of” installment. And
speaking of muscle, the pilgrimage that all muscle car guys should make at least once in their life is
to the Woodward Dream Cruise. Veteran journalist Dan Pund takes a firsthand look at this near-epic
annual event and finds out why it is eternally popular with participants and spectators.
Frequent contributor Paul Duchene delves into oddball cars and discovers that for nearly any
extinct or obscure marque, there’s a “patron saint” who can help keep owners on the road — where
we should all be now that summer is here in all its car-showing, cruising and road-rallying glory.
Finally, we note with great sadness the passing of David E. Davis Jr., who made a huge mark
on automotive journalism and advertising in his long career. We were proud to have him as a
contributor to this magazine.
ABC membership applied for.
Hagerty Magazine | 800-922-4050
3
Contents
H ere ’ s W hat ’ s inside
34
features
30
Pontiac, once known as a
stodgy “grandpa’s ride,”
successfully reinvented
itself in the late 1950s to
become one of the true
performance marques.
From the Grand Prix to the
GTO to the Trans Am, it
was at the top of its game.
Patron Saints
Motor City Madness
34
42
Thank goodness for the
hobby’s patron saints —
those special people who
work tirelessly to help keep
a forgotten or obscure
marque on the road. Meet
several of these VIPs as they
talk about their passion and
the challenges they face in
keeping these cars alive.
The Woodward Dream
Cruise — the single largest
classic car event in the world
— is a one-of-a-kind feast for
the senses as thousands of
cars and more than a million
people converge on a 16mile stretch of the country’s
first highway to celebrate the
days of cruisin’ Woodward.
Manning the controls of old
No. 475, a steam locomotive
built in 1906 and weighing
180 tons, is serious business.
It’s exhausting, exacting ...
and downright thrilling.
Read Jonathan A. Stein’s
firsthand experience at the
Strasburg Rail Road in
Pennsylvania.
departments
42
Steamed!
Roy Ritchie (2)
20
The Golden Age
of Pontiac
It began with a single tractor trailer and a lasting commitment over 50 years
ago: transport any vehicle to any location with an unparalleled level of care
and untouchable degree of professionalism. Today, Reliable Carriers is the country’s
largest enclosed auto transport company, serving the 48 contiguous United States and Canada. Whether
it’s for a concours event, relocation, corporate event, or shipping the car of your dreams from one location to
another, Reliable provides fully enclosed, air-ride equipped transport, with $5 million of insurance on
every load, and GPS tracking. More than a name, This is Reliable.
877.744.7889
EAST / Canton, MI – 800.521.6393
6 Short Shifts
48Essential Collector
14Great Resources
52 MarketWatch
16 Your Turn
56HVA Update
19 Ask Hagerty
62 Rearview Mirror
WEST / Chandler, AZ – 800.528.5709
SOUTH / Orlando, FL – 800.833.7411
CALIFORNIA / Sun Valley – 888.252.1177
reliablecarriers.com
AN OFFICIAL CARRIER FOR BARRETT- JACKSON, MECUM, RM AUCTIONS, AND RUSSO & STEELE
4
Hagerty Magazine | hagerty.com
short shifts
m
e vu esnt t- s e e
Authentic tires
museums
Off The Beaten Path
classic investment
The Permian Basin Petroleum Museum in Midland, Texas, and the Seal Cove Auto Museum
in Maine are two out-of-the-way gems guaranteed to excite and delight car buffs.
The Seal Cove Auto Museum in
Maine (right and above) features
a fine collection of over 100 brass
cars. A rich collection of Stanleys
is also on display, as is an 1881
Amoskeag Steam Pumper fire
engine. The museum opens to the
public each year on May 1.
On your next trip across Texas, plan
to stop at the Permian Basin Petroleum
Museum in Midland. While the history of
oil is cool and everything, the Chaparral
collection housed in the museum is much,
much cooler. The exhibit features seven
of Jim Hall’s revolutionary race cars — the
2, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2H, 2J and 2K — all of which
hold a significant place in the annals of
motorsport: The 2 won 22 of 39 races;
the 2E carries the big movable wing for
6
Seal Cove Auto Museum (2)
Passion
increased braking; the 2J was the first-ever
ground-effects car; and the 2K groundeffects single-seater won the 1980 Indy 500.
Every so often, the cars are exercised on the
museum grounds, so you may just get lucky.
Visit petroleummuseum.org for more.
There’s more to Maine than lobster and
prolific horror writers. Take the Seal Cove
Auto Museum, for instance. Tucked away
on rural Mount Desert Island, Seal Cove
houses the Richard Paine Collection, one
evan Klein
permian Basin Petroleum Museum (2)
The Permian Basin Petroleum
Museum in Texas (left and above),
features a dazzling collection of
Jim Hall’s Chaparral racers, which
pioneered modern aerodynamic
devices as well as the use of automatic transmissions in racecars.
evan Klein
permian Basin Petroleum Museum
Midland, Texas
evan Klein

Passion
for your

seal cove, maine
of the finest assemblages of Brass Era cars
in the world. Oldest among them is an 1881
Amoskeag Steam Pumper, while a 1924
Mercer represents one of the babies of the
group. In between, you’ll find Cadillacs and
Fords, an 1899 DeDion Bouton and a 1913
Peugeot, several early motorcycles, a handful of Stanleys and much more.
The museum regularly hosts special
events like lectures and book signings. Visit
sealcoveautomuseum.org for more.
2011 edition
buy online at cokertire.com
Period Tires for all Makes and Models
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short shifts
by wayne Carini
One of the joys of my work is that I get to see all kinds of cars and meet all sorts of
people. In the past year, I’ve logged trips to familiar car destinations like Monterey, Scottsdale, Palm Beach, Hilton Head and Amelia Island.
Thanks to a phone call I thought was a hoax, in February 2011 I added a new destination:
Kuwait. At the invitation of the Kuwait Concours d’Elegance, under the patronage of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, I dusted off my passport and shipped my 1931 Chrysler Imperial CG to the Arabian peninsula.
The Concours not only invited me, but they asked if Chasing Classic Cars (the television series
I host) would film my adventure. After 24 travel hours, I touched down outside Kuwait City with
series creator Jim Astrausky and series producer Hannah Lintner, of Essex Television Group Inc.
The organizers assured me that we’d see Kuwaiti culture beyond the cars. We visited a
traditional street market, rode camels and learned how desert-dwellers lived a hundred years
ago. It also gave me the chance to sample local car culture and prove that cars can take you
anywhere. One highlight was being personally greeted by the prime minister — an avid Aston
Martin collector — and visiting him at the Royal Palace.
Kuwait’s car culture is intense and the small 50-car concours was incredibly international,
with entries from France, Italy, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Lebanon, Bahrain,
Dubai, the United States and Kuwait. Held at a marina adjoining a shopping mall, the event
ran for five days. There were also different daily shows in the parking areas, including motorcycles, Italian cars and muscle cars. Judges were automotive luminaries, including designers
Leonardo Fioravanti, Andrea Zagato, Chris Bangle and Tom Tjaarda, as well as Pebble Beach
Concours chair Sandra Button and legendary Lamborghini test driver Valentino Balboni, who
gave me a screaming ride in a Miura SV.
I also got to see a muscle car show with 100 guys who gather weekly to watch Chasing
Classic Cars. They were passionate about their cars, which included Chevelles, GTOs and
other muscle machines.
Despite the unrest in the Middle East, we felt safe without being isolated. We met and
spent time with many people we might only have shaken hands with under other circumstances.
Thanks to the venue, we proved once again that the car business is all about relationships.
photos courtesy of essex television group inc. (3)
T r av e l i n ’ M a n
+events
events
While in the country to attend the Kuwait Concours d’Elegance, Wayne Carini got to test-drive
a camel (above), witness a falconry demonstration
(below) and check out a traditional street market.
CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE OF AMERICA
(Formerly Meadow Brook
Concours d’Elegance)
July 31, 2011
Inn at St. John’s
Plymouth, Michigan
concoursusa.org
FAIRFIELD COUNTY
CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE
September 17–18, 2011
Fairfield County Hunt Club
Westport, Connecticut
fairfieldcountyconcours.com
The Monterey Collector Car Week in Monterey, California, is just around the corner. As always, it’s loaded with enough to make your
head spin, your camera tired and your wallet light:
August 19
August 19–20
August 20–21
August 21
PIERCE-ARROW SOCIETY
ANNUAL MEET
June 20–25, 2011
Fairport, New York
pierce-arrow.org
50th VINTAGE CHEVROLET CLUB
ANNIVERSARY MEET
July 17–22, 2011
Flint, Michigan
vcca.org
M O N T ERE Y E v e n t C ALEN D AR
Bonhams & Butterfields Auction, bonhams.com
Mecum Auction, mecum.com
Russo and Steele Auction, russoandsteele.com
Concorso Italiano, concorso.com
Back to the 50s
June 17–19, 2011
Minnesota State Fairgrounds
St. Paul, Minnesota
www.msra.com
BLOOMINGTON GOLD/THE
SURVIVOR CAR SHOW
June 23–26, 2011
Pheasant Run Resort
St. Charles, Illinois
bloomingtongold.com
Chasing Classic Cars airs Tuesdays at 10:00 PM ET on HD Theater - A Discovery Company.
For an expanded schedule and additional information please visit chasingclassiccars.com or
facebook.com/chasingclassiccars.
August 18–19
August 18–20
August 18–20
August 19
BEACHES CRUISE-IN
Wednesday nights, June
through September
Portland International Raceway
Portland, Oregon
portlandraceway.com
The Quail, quaillodgeevents.com
RM Auction, rmauctions.com
Gooding & Co. Auction, goodingco.com
Pebble Beach Concours, pebblebeachconcours.net
24 Gauge Metal
Many Brands Available!
Double Sided
14” x 24” Oval Size
With Metal Wall Hanger
evan Klein
16” x 24” Sign Size
24 Gauge Metal
O op s !
8
Personalized
Signs! More Coming Soon!
In the Spring 2011 issue, the 1934 Buick
Series 60 on page 8 was incorrectly
identified as a 1964 Buick Series 60.
YourGarage
Dream ere!
Starts H
GarageArt.com
Toll Free at: 1.800.708.5051
short shifts
F O L L OW
F O L L OW
ALONG AT
ALONG AT
hagerty
news
Old Town
Car show
The annual Old Town
Car Show — held in
Old Town Traverse City,
Michigan, on July 3 —
is a gearhead’s dream,
with MGAs, Bel Air
convertibles, Vipers,
ROUSH Mustangs,
pickup trucks and the
occasional ’84 Cadillac
Seville. Hagerty will be
on hand to host Dawn
Patrol with coffee and
donuts, so come say
hello. The show is part
of the National Cherry
Festival, which is all the
more reason to come
out. For more, visit
cherryfestival.org.
365 D AY S O F A . C O M
365 D AY S O F A . C O M
Jonathan Klinger drove Sophie, his
Model A, through a harsh winter in
northern Michigan, and he’s planning
more adventures this summer. Thanks to
a well-equipped shop, Klinger was able
to keep the Model A in fine fettle.
Jonathan Klinger’s adventures with his mighty 1930 Ford Model A continue. He and “Sophie” have shared space now
for eight months, and he’s been driving her every chance he gets — so far 10,000 miles and counting. He’s been all
about in northern Michigan in the snow and twice to his family home in north central Illinois, an 800-mile round trip,
as well as journeys to Detroit and Indianapolis. This summer he plans to drive Sophie in a handful of vintage tours
and rallies before their final trip back to Hershey, Pennsylvania, in October. Read more at 365DaysOfA.com.
• College for Creative Studies, Detroit, Michigan
Investing in the Future
Since 2005, the Collectors Foundation has provided
scholarships totaling more than $1 million to 178 students
studying automotive restoration technology, rod and
custom design and building, transportation design, and
wooden boat design and building at these schools:
• Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California
• Clover Park Technical College, Lakewood, Washington
10
• Kettering University, Flint, Michigan
• McPherson College, McPherson, Kansas
• Great Lakes Boat Building School, Cedarville, Michigan
• International Yacht Restoration School, Newport,
Rhode Island
• Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, Port
Hadlock, Washington
• The Landing School of Boatbuilding and Design,
Arundel, Maine
• Washtenaw Community College, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Visit collectorsfoundation.org to learn more.
Summer Youth
Activities
Hagerty’s Operation
Ignite! is heavily
involved in the
collector car calendar
this summer. Here’s a
schedule of our Youth
Judging and Youth
Reporter initiatives:
• July 10: Barrington
Concours, Barrington,
Illinois
• July 31: Concours of
America, Plymouth,
Michigan
• August 7: LeMay
Museum Car Show,
Tacoma, Washington
• August 18–21:
Monterey Classic
Car Week, Monterey,
California
New this year is the
Hagerty Driving
Experience, which
puts young adults,
ages 16–25, behind
the wheel of collector
cars to teach them the
essentials of driving
classics fitted with a
manual transmission.
For details, contact
operationignite@
hagerty.com, or call
800-922-4050, ext. 8137.
short shifts
media
D av i d E . D av i s , J r .
1930–2011
Roy Ritchie
The “E” stood for Evan, not Ernest. But he was widely
regarded for being the Hemingway of automotive
journalism. Sadly, he is with us no more. David E. Davis
Jr. died following complications from cancer surgery on
March 27, 2011, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Davis was best known as a bon vivant and
raconteur who put a brash, independent and
lifestyle-driven stamp on enthusiast car magazines like Car and Driver. Davis also
founded Automobile Magazine
and edited Winding Road.
Davis had several successful stints in advertising, initially
as a Corvette copywriter at
Campbell-Ewald in the early
‘60s, and later as creative director on the Chevrolet account in
the early ‘70s. He wrote about
his experiences in the Fall 2010
issue of Hagerty magazine — “Mad
Man vs. Mad Men.”
Ta l k i n ’ C a r s o n
Cars on
Fac e b 0 0 k
Hagerty’s Brad Phillips recently pulled a 1965
Porsche 912 out of a Tennessee field. Rusted and
battered as it was, it happened to be one of the
earliest 912s built. We asked our 29,000-plus
Facebook fans what Brad should do with it …
Jared Cordrey: If it’s one of the
first, then it needs to go back to
factory condition.
Tony Martin: Return it to its grave.
BIG waste of time & money.
Mel Andrews: Put it in the donor
program and part it out … she will
live through other 912s.
Donna Naylor: I drive Corvettes.
I would push it off the nearest
very high bridge.
Find us at facebook.com/HagertysCollectorCars
and join the discussion.
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Great Resources
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Stop, thief!
Collector car theft prevention and recovery strategies.
by Don Sherman
For a collector, the one happenstance worse than a flaming crash into
a school bus full of kids is discovering empty space where your classic car
was parked. While vintage car thefts are rare, the unwary are susceptible to
such calamities. To make sure you don’t fall victim, pay heed to these suggestions aimed at thwarting theft and increasing the likelihood of recovering
your prize if it’s stolen.
Security begins at home. If possible, keep your car in a garage attached to
your residence where you’ll be able to maintain a close watch. Cover garage
windows and wrap your car in a warm, cuddly layer of protection.
Stash the ignition keys and your battery shut-off switch (available from
Eastwood and Moss Motors for about $12) in a well-hidden location. Use a car
cover and take it with you when you travel. Fit deadbolts to exterior garage
doors and, if possible, equip your garage with an alarm system and a closedcircuit video recorder.
If it’s necessary to park your car in a remote location, supplement the above
precautions with frequent visits and additional layers of protection. The alternatives run the gamut from simple to sophisticated. For example, many owners use
a diamond-bit Dremel etching tool (about $55) to mark glass and powertrain
parts with your car’s VIN number. DataDotDNA installs thousands of micro-sized
PIN or VIN labels to most parts of the car, starting at around $25. Locking nuts
will stop a thief from filching your wheels and tires. And simply removing the coil
wire or the rotor from the distributor is another shrewd strategy.
The Club — available in various models, from The Original Club, which
runs about $40, to The Club Auto Brake Lock, which costs slightly less — is a
Eastwood
800-343-9353
eastwood.com
Dremel
800-437-3635
dremel.com
Moss Motors
800-667-7872
mossmotors.com
J.C. Whitney
866-529-5530
jcwhitney.com
D&P Classic
Chevy
800-647-1957
dpchevy.com
DataDotDNA
800-546-4454
datadotusa.com
Ravelco
281-341-6222
ravelco.com
Transtock
Owners should always take pre
cautions to protect their ride. The
Original Club (left) locks the steering
wheel in place. Locking nuts would
have helped protect the car below
from losing its tires and wheels.

surefire way to lock the brake and/or
steering wheel. While a $50 alarm
system from J.C. Whitney can be
quite effective, equipping your car
with non-factory items can raise the
ire of picky car show judges.
If you have a bent for high-tech
solutions, Ravelco sells an immobilizer device ($400–$500 installed) that
wires into your car’s electrical system.
Should the unthinkable happen,
D&P Classic Chevy in Huntington
Beach, California, offers a cool GPS
tracking system called CyberTrak for
$600. The proven LoJack radio location transmitter ($695) is monitored
by police in 29 states plus D.C. Also,
this summer Best Buy will begin marketing GM’s popular OnStar system
for non-GM vehicles.
If your defensive measures fail,
don’t waste an instant. Provide authorities with the details they’ll need to
recover your vehicle: the license plate
number, VIN, date and time of theft
and your storage location. If you’ve
planned ahead for the worst-case
scenario, there’s an excellent chance
you’ll be able to retrieve your car and
prosecute the perpetrator.
14
Your Turn
B e f ore & A f ter
When Virgil wrote “Love conquers all,” he probably wasn’t thinking
about rusty floorboards and leaky brake cylinders. But for car lovers,
it’s true — and here’s the proof. by John L. Stein
Who we are:
1960 Ford
Thunderbird
1959 PORSCHE
DIESEL SUPER
Bill Hall was all of 10 years old when he
bought this ’60 Thunderbird new from a Ford
dealership in Santa Maria, California, using
birthday and grass-mowing savings plus a
$500 loan from Dad. It legally became Bill’s
at 18 and has been in his sole possession
ever since, which delights him to no end.
Bill cherished the white “Squarebird”
from childhood through high school,
dating, marriage and children. To bring the
51-year-old ‘Bird back into top shape, Hall,
a Chevrolet dealership service manager,
recently tackled the bodywork, interior and
mechanicals himself. “That car is the history
of my life,” says Hall, who lives in Texas.
As a dedicated Porschephile (he owns four
of the sports cars), Vince Tiscio eventually
longed to try something different. Enter
this three-cylinder Porsche Diesel tractor.
Built as a “people’s tractor” in postwar Germany, the agricultural Porsche
was available in several configurations,
including this 38-hp Super model. When
Tiscio, a Florida HVAC contractor, learned
that one of his longtime customers had
one in New Berlin, New York, he bought
it sight unseen. He has invested another
$7,000 in its restoration, doing virtually
all the work himself. Today, this Porsche
pulls a hay wagon at church festivals and
occasionally enters shows. Naturally,
everyone loves it.
PRICE RANGE FOR A 1960 Ford
Thunderbird: $7,900-29,2001
16
The majority of our business is derived from the restoration, street rod and custom bike building markets which
demand consistent, high-quality products on every job they
put their name on. Two of the biggest sellers in these markets are our Epoxy Primer and Universal Clearcoat.
Our Epoxy Primer is unique for many reasons including
that it can be dry sanded the next day after application and
it sticks to aluminum. It’s available in black, white and gray,
The restoration shops love the fact that our epoxy not only
dries to a semi-gloss to show where body work is needed,
but our black SPI Epoxy Primer can be reduced to replicate
any OEM sheen by simply adding urethane reducer in
various ways.
Whether you have a collision shop or a million-dollar car
going to Pebble Beach, our true polyurethane Universal
Clear will easily exceed your expectations. SPI Universal
Clear is hard to run, loves high heat and humidity, doesn’t
require baking in the winter, will not yellow whites, buffs
great even several months after application, has excellent
chemical resistance, doesn’t require a flex agent, works great
with bad air flow and you actually shut the fan down once
the overspray is gone!
If you are a shop in an area where we currently do not
have a jobber, you may order from us directly with no
quantity minimums and receive FREE shipping until
we open a jobber in your area to service you.
Clearcoats for any waterborne
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conscience shop with 3 activator speeds to choose from.
5 quart sprayable kit for $84.00
* Also available in 2.1 VOC
PRICE RANGE FOR A 1959 PORSCHE
DIESEL SUPER: $5,000-$30,0002
1
How to order:
2
Value provided by Hagerty Price Guide, January-April 2011
Value provided by Hagerty Insurance Agency, March 2011
Visit Our New
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Your Turn
ask hagerty
B e f ore & A f ter
8 8 8 - 3 1 0 - 8 0 2 0 , option 3
Battery of questions
1964 Sunbeam Alpine
Price range for A 1964 sunbeam
Alpine: $11,000-39,8001
After owning some 90 cars, Bill Atalla finally got the urge to have a racecar and restored this sensational
’64 Sunbeam Alpine racer to SCCA rules. Now a track-ready concours winner, it rejoices in a beautiful
coat of silvery blue paint that mimics the CEO’s favorite Starbucks cup. Under the hood lurks a 1.8-liter
pushrod four with enough performance mods to bump output from the stock 90 hp to a healthy 165 hp.
After investing $150,000 in the Alpine over two years, the Reno, Nevada, resident figures it may well be
the most expensive one in existence. The experience inspired him to write a book, Race Car in the
Making, and will soon launch BuildYourClassicCar.com, a one-stop shop for car enthusiasts.
Transtock
The best kind of charge for your battery.
Q
I read an ad for a battery tender that
claims it not only charges the battery
of a stored vehicle but also extends the life
of the battery. Is that possible?
A
According to Dr. Craig Hoff of Kettering
University, Bruce Essig of ODYSSEY
Battery and Eric Turk of TurboStart, the answer is
a definite yes. When a lead-acid battery sits for a
period of time and is allowed to self-discharge,
the discharged oxide (lead paste that chemically
stores electrical energy) is converted to lead
sulfite. This sulphated material clumps and goes
inactive, hurting battery performance and life. So
maintaining a charge using a “trickle” charger
does indeed prolong the life of the battery.
Q
I own a 1990 Mazda Miata and I’d
like to add wire wheels, maybe with a
false knock-off spinner. Can you help?
A
Dayton Wire Wheels is your best bet
for wire wheels to fit your Miata. Their
Web site — daytonwirewheels.com — shows
the different types of wheels they offer for a
variety of other applications as well.
Q
I’ve spent thousands replacing fuel
pumps and fuel lines (stainless steel
outer/Teflon inner) on my collector cars to
combat the issues associated with E-10. Is
anyone warning people about this stuff?
A
Hagerty has been reporting on the
drawbacks of ethanol in Hagerty
magazine for years, and the Historic Vehicle
Association has taken up the cause. According
to the HVA, ethanol fuels (E-10 and the
proposed E-15) cause corrosion, reduce fuel
economy, burn hotter and can wreak havoc with
fuel mixtures and injectors. And that’s not all. To
learn more about the HVA’s “Ethano!” program,
visit historicvehicle.org/no-ethanol.
Send your questions to askhagerty@
hagerty.com. To see more concierge questions
and answers, go to hagerty.com/concierge.
1974 JEEP CJ5
1955 PLYMOUTH SAVOY
2-DOOR POST
When 15-year-old Monte Clauson went looking for a car in the
summer of 1968, his folks pointed him to a farm-implement shop
in Michigan, North Dakota. On the lot was this smart-looking ’55
Plymouth Savoy. Clauson drove it until the 260-cid V-8 gave up
two years later. He and his dad then pushed it into the trees on
the family farm, put it up on blocks and walked away. A short 30
years later, Clauson’s dad remarked, “You should do something
with that car back there.” That’s all the motivation the Carlton,
Minnesota, power systems technician needed to return the Savoy
to its glory days, only better. Upgrades include chromed wheels
with Moon hubcaps, wide whitewalls and Sport Tone exterior trim.
PRICE RANGE FOR A 1955 SAVOY 2-DOOR POST $4,500-$20,7001
18
Each winter for 15 years, Dave Brudy’s neighbor, Steve Bartolac, used this
’74 Jeep to plow the driveways of everyone in his Pennsylvania neighborhood for free, all while wearing jeans and a tank top. So when Bartolac
finally hung up his snowplow at 85, he offered Brudy, a property developer,
the Jeep to restore. Brudy did it in style, hiring a restoration shop to attend
to the powertrain and chassis, repaint the body and reupholster the interior
to create the little red Jeep of yesteryear. “The image of Steve plowing
everyone’s driveway in a tank top will live forever in my mind,” Brudy says.
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PRICE RANGE FOR A 1974 JEEP CJ5: $1,860-$15,5002
Send your best ”before and after” photos, along with a short description
of the project, to [email protected] and you might see it featured
on these pages. Haven’t seen yours yet? Check at hagerty.com/yourturn.
1
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2
Values provided by Hagerty Price Guide, January-April 2011
Value provided by Old Car Price Guide, April 2011
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THE
golden age
PONTIac
of
P o nt iac w e nt f ro m g e e z e r
t o g r r - r e at at t h e d a w n o f
t h e 19 6 0 s a n d l a i d d o w n a
legacy t h e wo r ld wo n ’ t
s o o n f o r g e t.
In this age of TV makeovers, how could we
forget one of the greatest makeovers to
ever hit the automotive industry? That
would be the reinvention of Pontiac into
a true performance marque beginning
in the late 1950s. Powered by the
efforts of Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen
and his successors, Pete Estes
and John DeLorean, along with
marketing whiz Jim Wangers
from McManus, John &
Adams ad agency,
Pontiac found its mojo and
lit up the nation’s drag
strips — as well as
Detroit’s Woodward
Avenue — on its
way to third place
in sales right
behind perennial leaders
Chevrolet
and Ford.
by tony Hossain and Jerry Burton >>
Photography by Evan Klein
20
Vehicle photographed on closed road with police supervision. Not recommended on public roads.
E U R O P E A N
S P O R T S ,
A M E R I C A N
M U S C L E ,
H O T
R O D S
A N D
C U S T O M S
“GettinG exceptional prices for ferraris,
especially 330 Gtc’s, has become somethinG of a
specialty for russo and steele in recent years.”
- Ferrari Market Letter
Monterey 2010 reCord sAles
Monterey 2008 Continued
Monterey 2005 Continued
1965 Shelby Cobra CSX2461 World record
1969 Chevrolet Camaro World record
Highest sold on the Monterey Peninsula
1969 Shelby GT500 Convertible World record
1972 365GTC/4 World record
1973 Porsche 911 RS HigHest sold
On the Monterey Peninsula
1964 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III World record
Beat previous record by $40,000
1970 Maseratti Ghibli Spyder current World record
1965 Shelby GT350 SFM5018 World record
1965 Shelby GT350R SFM5R535 World record
F u l l - s i z e d t r a n s f o r m at i o n
With its timeless, purposeful lines, the ’65 GTO is
considered by many to be among the most beautiful GTOs. Shown here at various locations in L.A.,
including Bob’s Big Boy, its beauty was matched
by the brawn of its Tri-Power 389 engine.
22
Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen, the son of former
GM president “Big Bill” Knudsen, was the straw
that stirred Pontiac back to life in the late 1950s.
Knudsen had a plan to revitalize the division
through what we would today call “youth
marketing.” He told his team, “You can sell a
young man’s car to an old man but you can’t sell
an old man’s car to a young man.” He put money
into NASCAR and drag racing teams and rushed
out a limited-production, fuel-injected Bonne
ville convertible in mid-1957. In his own offices,
he fostered a “move fast” atmosphere that
attracted and inspired new talent. Knudsen
recruited a team that included Pete Estes and John
DeLorean. He quickly promoted DeLorean to
chief engineer. And, unlike the general managers
before him, Knudsen was a daily visitor to GM’s
design staff, where he pushed for powerful, provocative designs. Starting with the 1959 Bonne
ville, which pioneered the Wide-Track look as
well as the trademark split grille, Pontiacs began
to set a new standard for stunning design and
incredible performance.
The Pontiac Grand Prix debuted in 1962. The
new Grand Prix hardtop coupe, basically a Catalina with a careful and restrained use of brightwork, was widely applauded. The GP featured a
nicely detailed monotone bucket seat interior with
a full range of performance options, including a
floor-mounted, four-speed manual shifter.
Under the hood of the Grand Prix was the
389 V-8, which evolved from the 287 V-8 going
back to 1955. The 389 was offered in a wide
variety of combinations ranging from 215 to
348 hp with optional Tri-Power. A 421 was also
available in the Super Duty cars (see sidebar,
p. 27) that would later see production in 1963
equipped with hydraulic lifters.
And then came the 1963 Grand Prix. Vertically stacked headlamps, gently swelling rear
fenders, an exceedingly spare use of chrome and
a crisp, formal roofline were all an integral part
of this million-dollar look. The market loved it.
Grand Prix sales almost doubled over 1962,
and overall Pontiac sales in 1963 increased by
1966 Bizarrini 350 GT World record
1970 Lamborghini Miura S HigHest sold
Highest Sold on the Monterey Peninsula by $70,000
1973 Lamborghini Miura SV World record
1954 Mercedes Benz 300 SL World record
1976 Lamborghini LP 400 World record
1964 Jaguar E-Type HigHest sold
On the Monterey Peninsula in 2007
2005 Porsche GT current World record
1967 Corvette 427/435 World record
Highest sold on Peninsula
1969 Yenko Camaro World record
1966 Shelby GT350 World record
1970 Ferrari 356 GT World record
1967 Ferrari 330 GTS World record
1970 Maserati Ghibili Spyder HigHest sold
Highest Price on Peninsula
1968 Ferrari 365 GT World record
1967 Shelby GT500 World record
1969 Camaro SS Convertible World record
1966 Shelby GT 350H World record
1967 Shelby GT 500 World record
1965 Shelby GT350 SFM #5S030 World record
1969 Mustang Trans AM Race Car World record
ConsignMents now invited
August 18-20, 2011
w w w. r u s s o a n d s t e e l e . c o m
Highest sold on Peninsula by $77,000
1968 365 GT 2+2 World record
1970 Ferrari Daytona HigHest sold
On the Monterey Peninsula in 2004
For More Information on Russo and Steele’s Auction Results, visit www.russoandsteele.com All Record sales are based on the year and the auction in which it sold and Hi-Bid Results
1965 Pontiac GTO Courtesy of Todd Harding
Here’s what makes this story so amazing. In the
mid-1950s, Pontiac was considered an “old
lady’s car,” a real “grandpa’s ride.” Years of peddling straight eights and hanging on to 1930sera styling touches, including “Silver Streak”
chrome trim on the hood, had taken their toll.
New Deal–era nameplates like Chieftain and
Star Chief didn’t help.
From a low point of 217,303 sales in the
recession year of 1958, the division embarked on
a 10-year tear in pursuit of the youth market. At
the end of the ’60s, Pontiac had reached its peak,
with over 900,000 annual sales in 1968.
1961 Porsche 356 Carrera Cabriolet World record
1939 Alvis Speed 25 World record
1957 Buick Convertible World record
1957 DeSoto Fireflite Sportsman World record
1959 BMW 503 World record
1951 Porsche 356 Split Window Coupe World record
3 d ay s
250 cars
w i t h r e s e rv e a n d
n o r e s e rv e ac c e p t e d
602.252.2697
All vehicles sold at live auction and subject to prior sale. Bidder Registration Fee $100.00. Buyer’s Premium of 10% applied to all lots purchased. Russo and Steele, LLC; Dealer Number: 53306; Auction Bond #447473
P o n t i a c GTO
The Pontiac GTO evolved from the original
Tempest, which was introduced in 1961 as Pontiac’s entry into the new compact class. According to Jim Wangers in his book Glory Days,
the birth of the GTO took place in early spring
1963 inside a GM Proving Ground garage
during an engineering brainstorm session: “A
prototype 1964 Tempest Coupe equipped with a
326-cubic-inch engine was up on a lift. DeLorean
along with top assistants Bill Collins and Russ
Gee were under the car discussing the chassis.
Collins casually mentioned, ‘You know, John,
with the engine mounts being the same, it would
Pontiac Price Guide
Rapidly growing in collectibility is the ’70 GTO
with its clean lines and “Endura” body-color
front bumper. The Judge models command the
highest prices of any GTOs, especially the Ram
Air IV versions, which put out 370 hp.
take us about 20 minutes to slip a 389 into this
thing. We’ll probably need some heavier springs
in the front end, but the engine will fit right in.’
John DeLorean looked at him, caught an approving nod from Gee, and without uttering another
word, they were all in agreement.”
The GTO was born — as was the muscle car.
Its name was borrowed from FIA class Gran
Turismo Omologato — Italian for Grand Touring Homologated. But GTO fans quickly added
an “A” to the acronym and rearranged some letters
to create the affectionate nickname “Goat.”
Car Life clocked a 1964 GTO from zero to
60 in 6.6 seconds, which put it in Corvette
territory before the big blocks ever arrived.
But Wangers had even higher aspirations. In
a well-calculated publicity stunt, he convinced
David E. Davis Jr. (see page 12), editor of Car
and Driver, to compare a Ferrari GTO with a
‘62 Catalina Super Duty 405/421
$4,436 (sticker) *
$152,000 (today)
‘64 GTO 389/360 tri-power Conv.
$3,400 (sticker)
$109,000 (today)
‘65 GTO 389/335 coupe
$2,855 (sticker)
$58,300 (today)
‘69 trans am convertible
$3,770 (sticker)
$800,000 (today)
‘69 400/370 ram air IV Judge coupe
$3,550 (sticker)
$158,000 (today)
‘70 firebird Trans am 400/370
$4,305 (sticker)
$99,000 (today)
‘77 trans am special Ed. y82 coupe
$4,726 (sticker)
$48,600 (today)
All current price estimates from the Hagerty Price Guide. Unless noted otherwise, base prices from The Standard Catalog of Cars.
*
Super Duty Catalina in the Milt Robson Collection
24
1970 Pontiac GTO Judge Courtesy of gary Marshall
38 percent from 1961. The formula was working.
From Catalina to Bonneville, Pontiac was producing the most handsome full-sized cars in the industry — as well as some of the best performing.
GM Media
Super Duty Pontiacs
eyebrow-raising $682,000 at a November 2010
RM auction at the Robson Collection in Gainesville, Georgia. While ’69 Judges have been the
Holy Grail of GTO collectors, Pontiac guru Steve
Ames of Ames Automotive Enterprises predicts
that the 1970 GTOs may soon eclipse the 1969s:
“A lot more people are starting to ask about the
1970s because they like the new bold design.”
The GTO was built through the 1974 model
year and would come back again from 2004
through 2006 in the form of a rebadged Holden
imported from Australia. Although the newer
version was a very good car, its overly smooth
form lacked the visceral appeal of the original.
Pontiac was a little late to the party in the pony
car wars. It joined the ranks with the Firebird in
February 1967, six months after the Camaro.
Designer Jack Humbert had to work within a
tight time frame and a limited tooling budget to
create a car that contained many Pontiac cues,
including an integral split-bumper grille and
GTO-like horizontal taillamps.
The ’67 (available as a two-door hardtop or
convertible) was offered in five models under the
theme “The Magnificent Five.” The model range
included a base car with the overhead cam six
that had been introduced on the Tempest a year
earlier, a Firebird Sprint with a High Output
1970 Pontiac trans am Courtesy of bert Domensino
Pontiac Tr ans Am
Hagerty's #926859
4/20/11
8:51 AM
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The 1970 Trans Am represented the second major
body style change for the marque, a low-slung
graceful machine with an attitude. The Firebird
decal on the nose would soon morph into the
famed “screaming chicken” hood decals.
Pontiac GTO. The Pontiac showed surprisingly
well. So well, in fact, that Wangers later revealed
that he had snuck a big 421 V-8 into the car.
In a 1975 tribute, Davis vividly recalled the
1964 GTO’s appeal. “The message was straightline speed … it felt like losing your virginity,
going into combat and tasting your first beer, all
in about seven seconds.” Orders far outpaced
production capability for the first year. Total production was 32,450 in ’64.
While GTO sales were not broken out as a
separate model, Tempest sales went from 23 percent to 35 percent of total Pontiac production, a
figure that increased to 44 percent by 1966.
Clearly, the GTO was having an impact.
Meanwhile, the car kept getting better. The
1965 GTO, with its split grille, stacked headlamps
and lean lines, was positively sublime. The 1966
and 1967 versions, with their subtle Coke bottle
shape and buttressed roofline, might have been the
most aesthetically pleasing of all. In 1968, GTO
got a new design that featured a new body-color
“Endura” front bumper, which was designed to
resist minor dings and dents. That same year the
GTO earned Pontiac its unprecedented fourth
Motor Trend “Car of the Year” honor.
While all GTOs have held their value well,
the pinnacle of Pontiac GTO collectibility is a
1969 Judge 400/370 Ram Air IV convertible. A
rare Starlight Black version recently sold for an
Bunkie Knudsen had always been a strong
advocate for motor racing as a means to
sell cars, even if it meant doing an end run
around the GM corporate policy that banned
factory racing. Enter the Super Duty era. It
started with components, grew to engines
and eventually complete cars. Racers like
Fireball Roberts and Buck Baker in NASCAR,
as well as drag racers Mickey Thompson and
Jim Wangers, used a Super Duty 389 engine
with great success in 1960. Roberts broke
150 mph during Daytona 500 qualifying.
As the Super Duty program was under
way, Knudsen and Wangers set up a special
ized dealer, Royal Pontiac in the Detroit
suburb of Royal Oak, to be the lead dog in
terms of performance parts and expertise. As
drag racers like Arnie “The Farmer” Beswick
started tearing up the strip, Pontiac poured it
on, building complete Super Duty cars in
1961 with lightweight aluminum bumpers,
fenders and hoods, and lightweight drive
train parts. Around 25 were built that year.
By 1962, the Super Duty was available
to qualified racers with 139 Catalina coupes,
24 Catalina sedans and 16 Grand Prix
sport coupes. To save even more weight,
in 1963 Pontiac built 14 frames that were
cross-drilled, creating the “Swiss cheese”
Catalinas. Pontiac produced 85 Super Duty
engines in 1963 before GM management
began to rigorously enforce the racing ban.
According to the Hagerty Price Guide,
Super Duty 421/405 1961 and 1962
Catalinas in the finest condition are now
worth around $150,000 each. The “Swiss
Cheese” cars from 1963 are considerably
higher, with prices in the $300K to $475K
range at some recent Mecum Auctions in
St. Charles, Illinois.
Cigar sizes
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Pontiac enthusiasts
often debate what’s
more beautiful — the
outer wrapping or
those beautiful TriPower 389s or Ram
Air IVs under the
hoods. Bob’s Big Boy
in Burbank is a magnificent example of
the emerging California coffee shop style
that exploded in Los
Angeles in the 1950s.
The ’70 Trans Am, ’65 GTO and ’70 GTO Judge
represent the heyday of Pontiac street muscle
and, not coincidentally, the zenith of Pontiac sales.
These cars spawned many imitators over the years.
world of Pontiac resources
Museums
Pontiac Oakland Museum
(opening July 2011)
Pontiac, Illinois
Contact: Tim Dye
918-688-0861
[email protected]
Maga zines
High Performance Pontiac
highperformancepontiac.
com
Books
Glory Days: When
Horsepower and Passion
Ruled Detroit
By Jim Wangers with
Paul Zazarine
Bentley Publishers, 1998
Milt Schornack and the
Royal Bobcat GTOs
By Milt Schornack
McFarland Publishing,
2006
28
The Complete Book of
Classic GM Muscle
By Mike Mueller
Motorbooks, 2008
Pa r t s a nd
Re s t o r a t i o n
Ames Performance
Engineering
amesperf.com
GTO: Pontiac’s Great One
By Darwin Holstrom and
David Newhardt
Motorbooks, 2008
Classic Car Parts Giant
classiccarpartsgiant.com/
pontiacrestorationparts.html
w eb s i te s
The Pontiac Trans Am Page
thepontiactransampage.
com
Pontiac Restoration
Parts Catalog
classicone.com/wsc/
catalog/gm/pontiac.htm
The Ultimate GTO
Picture Site
ultimategto.com/art26.htm
Year One
yearone.com
Pontiac Oakland Club
International
poci.org
The GTO Association
of America
gtoaa.org
National Parts Depot
nationalpartsdepot.com
Classic Industries
classicindustries.com
Original Parts Group
opgi.com
OHC six, a more mainstream Firebird 326 V-8,
a Firebird 326HO and the soon-to-be-legendary
Firebird 400. DeLorean, it seemed, refused to
offer a Firebird that didn’t have at least one
engine with more power than the Camaro. The
360-hp Ram Air 400 was the result, although
production numbers in ’67 were miniscule.
Firebird sales accounted for only 5 percent
of total Pontiac production in 1967, but that
expanded to 10 percent in 1968.
The Trans Am debuted at the Chicago
Auto Show in March 1969. All cars that year
featured the same Cameo White paint with
blue accents. The standard engine was a
335-hp 400-cubic-inch Ram Air III V-8. An
optional Ram Air IV engine, known for its
round port cylinder head design, delivered 10
additional horsepower. Only eight Trans Am
convertibles were built that year. According to
the Hagerty Price Guide, they may be worth as
much as $800,000 each today.
In 1969, Pontiac experimented with a special
short deck version of the 303-cid V-8 engine
for Trans Am racing called the Ram Air V. But
the engine was never very successful and only
about 25 were built as crate motors.
An all-new body style arrived for 1970 for
both the Firebird and Trans Am. By 1971, only
one engine was available in the Trans Am, that
being a 335-hp 455-cubic-inch High Output
V-8. The Trans Am’s famous honeycomb
wheels also became an option that year. In
1973, colorful screaming chicken graphics
began appearing on Trans Am hoods. Code
named WW7, this $55 option appeared on
nearly half of the 4,802 cars sold that year and
became a Trans Am trademark.
The debut of the TV series The Rockford
Files also helped visibility for the Firebird,
with actor James Garner as James Rockford
cruising around L.A. in his Autumn Bronze
Firebird Esprit. But the Firebird/Trans Am
achieved its greatest fame as Burt Reynolds’
ride in Hal Needham’s Smoky and the Bandit.
“The sales of black and gold Trans Ams after
that movie was unbelievable,” says Wangers.
Thanks in part to publicity like that, the
Trans Am would sell well throughout the
1970s and 1980s. Trans Am/Firebird production continued through the 2002 model
year, when both the Firebird and the Camaro
were discontinued.
Today, Pontiac is an orphan brand, a victim
of GM’s 2009 bankruptcy and reorganization.
Yet in recent years, it has produced a number of
truly significant cars, from the Gen 2 Fiero GT
of the late 1980s to the Pontiac Solstice and
powerful G8 sedan of recent times, cars that
seemed worthy of a strong, vital car division.
Did Pontiac have to go? “Hell no,” says Jim
Wangers. “It was all man-made, essentially a
case of the decision makers losing track of what
a Pontiac was and what it could still be.”
Wangers suggests that if it weren’t for Buick’s
recent success in China, we might have been
writing Buick’s obituary instead of Pontiac’s.
Regardless, nothing will ever erase the
memory of Pontiac at the top of its game,
during a magical era when horsepower and
passion ruled Detroit.
Did your restoration have a
HAPPY ENDING?
Have you had a great experience with a
classic car restoration specialist … or a terrible one?
Join Angie’s List today to swap stories with other enthusiasts
about classic and custom car professionals nationwide —
so you know who you can trust, and who to avoid.
Join today at
AngiesList.com/Cars
No matter how obscure your orphaned car,
you have a knight in shining armor ready to
keep your car on the road. Meet your …
Truly Unique
Patron
Saints
E
very American who drives an orphan car
knows the Ghostbusters movie question: “Who ya gonna call?”
Luckily, there are “patron saints” across the United States who have
devoted their lives to keeping your car on the road despite the lack
of parts, shop manuals and other general know-how about a given
marque. We’ve asked a number of these dedicated patrons how they
got involved with their car of choice and what sort of challenges they
and their fellow owners face in keeping those orphan cars running.
1955-1975 Citroën DS 19/20/21/23
Richard Bonfond of Sacramento, California
916-689-3928, [email protected]
These iconic machines were first introduced at the Paris Auto Show in
1955 and are considered by many, including Classic & Sports Car, to be
among the most beautiful cars ever built, with design by Italian sculptor
Flaminio Bertoni and French aeronautical engineer André Lefèbvre.
The DS series featured directional headlights and a self-leveling
hydraulic suspension that provided excellent ride control and handling — during a time when independent suspensions were rare.
Time travel at the speed of a 1935 Speedster?
Q: How did you get involved?
A: My father was technical manager for Citroën for the western U.S.
and I was around them from day one. I worked for Citroën in the U.S.,
then in Paris, Brussels and in Britain. I’ve got five D models at present, a
convertible and a wagon, and recently acquired a 1956 DS 19 barn find.
Q: What are some common challenges for owners?
A: The biggest problem now is the cars are old. Citroën is no longer
here and you get people who muck around with the cars and think
they know better. When I end up with a car with an issue, I usually
find it’s human error.
Q: How about parts availability?
A: The DS parts supply is better than in the 1990s; the cars are
collectible and everything is remanufactured — interiors, technical parts. I bought a complete parts department from a retired
dealer and I have a lot of resources.
The 1930s brought unprecedented innovation in machine-age technology and
materials. Industrial designers from the
auto industry translated the principles of
aerodynamics and streamlining into
everyday objects like radios and toasters.
It was also a decade when an unequaled
variety of watch cases and movements
came into being. In lieu of hands to tell
time, one such complication, called a
jumping mechanism, utilized numerals
on a disc viewed through a window.
With its striking resemblance to the
dashboard gauges and radio dials of the
decade, the jump hour watch was indeed
“in tune” with the times!
by Paul Duchene >> Art by Robert Carter
30
The Stauer 1930s Dashtronic deftly blends
the modern functionality of a 21-jewel
automatic movement and 3-ATM water
resistance with the distinctive, retro look
of a jumping display (not an actual
a full refund of the purchase price. If you
have an appreciation for classic design
with precision accuracy, the 1930s
Dashtronic Watch is built for you. This
watch is a limited edition, so please act
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True to Machine Art esthetics, the sleek
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back, allowing a peek at the inner workings.
Not Available in Stores
jumping complication). The stainless
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1981-1982 DeLorean
Stephen Wynne of the DeLorean Motor Company in Humble, Texas
800-872-3621, delorean.com, [email protected]
These stainless-steel, gullwing sports cars were the brainchild of John DeLorean, the former GM
executive who established his own short-lived sports car concern in Northern Ireland. Powered
by a rear-mounted Peugeot/Renault/Volvo V-6 producing 130 hp, the cars attracted a dedicated
group of followers but were not a large seller, with only 8,742 units produced.
A: I’m an English and French car mechanic who came to the U.S. from Liverpool in 1980. With
DeLorean’s troubles, everybody was running away from the cars. When we bought the remaining
factory inventory, we got all the spares and technical drawings. We redesign and reproduce parts
to keep quality up and make them affordable.
A: When people are thinking about buying cars, they check prices and parts availability. So we
have parts and reasonable prices, but who’s going to fix the cars? We have five franchises in the
U.S. and one in Europe, so it’s not difficult to own a DeLorean. There’s a service and support
network out there. If people can’t drive cars, they lose interest.
Q: What about parts availability?
A: We have a 40,000-square-foot warehouse in Houston, most of the time with more than
95-percent availability of spare parts.
THE SAINTS GO
MARCHING IN
Here’s a list of more patron saints —
bless them all!
• Chevrolet Corvair: Larry Claypool,
The Vair Shop, 815-469-2936,
vairshop.com, [email protected]
• Excalibur: Alice Preston, Camelot Classic Cars,
414-760-3111, excaliburclassics.com,
[email protected]
• Jensen Interceptor: Doug Meyer, K&D Enterprises,
425-788-0507, interceptor.org,
[email protected]
• Toyota 2000GT: Peter Starr, Bob Tkacik, Maine Line Exotics, 207-286-9467, mainelineexotics.com,
[email protected]
1946-1954 Hudson
Jack Miller of the Hudson Heritage Museum in Ypsilanti, Michigan
734-482-5200, ypsiautoheritage.org, [email protected]
Hudsons of this era, especially after 1949, were known for their sleek, “step-down” bodies, which
referred to the placement of the passenger compartment down inside the perimeter of the frame.
With the resulting lower center of gravity, handling was improved. Powered by its high-torque
inline six, the Hudson was an excellent performer and dominated NASCAR racing in the early
1950s. Hudson merged with Nash Kelvinator in 1954 to form American Motors.
A: I started working in a Hudson dealership when I was 14. I was driving new Hudson and
American Motors demonstrator cars to school at 16. I never left. Our dealership building in
Ypsilanti is now one-third of the museum.
A: Hudsons were over-engineered and over-built. My expertise is post-WWII cars, but the
Hudson-Essex-Terraplane club (hudsonclub.org) is very knowledgeable, and we have guys who
specialize. The museum has many sources, information and manuals.
Q: How about parts availability?
A: We have lots of relationships and know places to go for parts. We get involved working out
problems on the phone.
32
For every one patron saint we’ve
included, there are scores we’ve
missed. For Swallow Doretti there’s Tom
Householder in Ohio, while AMX owners
can turn to californiaclassicamc.com.
And then there are a few patron saints
who keep many marques on the road,
like Kip Motors for any British orphans or
Re‑Originals for many Italian marques.
For more about patron saints, go
to hagerty.com/patronsaints. If you
know of any other patron saints, tell us
about them. Let us know at editor@
hagerty.com.
2010-249
We’ve always done our best thinking in our cars. Maybe that’s why
Hagerty has become the largest agency for collector cars in the
world. From comprehensive insurance options to hobby resources and
The Vintage & Collector
Car Insurance Specialists
advocacy, we provide you with a wealth of resources to help you get the
most enjoyment out of your investment. To find out what that means to
you, give us a call at 800-922-4050 or visit us at Hagerty.com.
The Woodward Dream Cruise in metro
Detroit is like nothing else. Think of it as
a free-wheeling, kaleidoscopic, vehicular
lollapalooza where performer and audience are
one and the same.
by Dan Pund >> Photography by Roy Ritchie
Motor City
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or more than a decade, the local Detroit
newspapers gamely have tried to wrangle
all the scheduled events of the Woodward
Dream Cruise into a single infographic of, say, the
front grille of some unidentifiable “old car,” with each
of the grille’s bars representing some organized event
or community along the cruise route.
These attempts are cute, but the Dream Cruise,
which started back in ’95, is not anywhere near that
tidy. It’s not even an event in the way that vintage
races, concours or car shows are events, with distinct
time and space boundaries. No, the Dream Cruise is
an unruly happening, spilling over its official one-day
allotment into the surrounding days and weeks, with
events and day-to-day idiocy happening all at once,
without regard to taste or schedule or point. Organizers, such as they are, usually estimate the crowd to
be about 1.5 million people, but that number simply
gives the news media something to say. How could
anyone know how many people were there? And what
actually constitutes “there,” anyway?
There are so many splinter events in corporate
hospitality tents, neighbors’ front yards, chiropractors’
office parking lots and carnival-style promenades that
if you could see the whole thing at once from above,
it would look less like the orderly graphic everyone
seems to want it to be and more like the remains of a
freshly smushed centipede, all randomly strewn legs
and spilt juices around a central body.
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The Woodward Dream Cruise is a well-mixed bouillabaisse of the ridiculous, sublime and everything in between, starting with the rusty rat rod above and
extending to Larry Smith’s gorgeous 1940 Ford, a Mustang Boss 302, a skeleton cruiser and a ’59 Caddy wearing EEE-wide meats.
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Cruise week means Woodward is wafting in fumes, grease, color and some great notes, whether exhaust or guitar-driven. Author Dan Pund at upper
right takes a view from the sidewalk, eyeing this skirted ’64 Impala. Gridlock is the order of things on cruise Saturday, where nobody goes anywhere fast.
avenue: The Woodward Dream Cruise isn’t exactly a cruise, not really.
“Cruise” assumes some more or less constant forward motion and recalls
the heyday of Woodward cruising during the ’50s and ’60s. But the suburban cruising landmarks (Ted’s Drive Inn on the northern reaches of the
route in Bloomfield Hills and the Totem Pole Drive-In at the southern end
in Royal Oak) have long since been erased from the landscape. That anything at all ever moves at the Woodward Dream Cruise is something of a
shock, really. With all the backyard specials built by shade-tree fumblers
featuring monster motors with idles so lumpy that they’re anything but
idle, it’s a miracle that the entire length of the cruise isn’t just a 16-milelong break-down lane of leaking, steaming and cursing. Let’s face it, even a
perfectly running vintage car isn’t a modern car. And precious few of these
beasts and mutants were meant to sit in traffic all day.
The weather on the third Saturday of August in Detroit can be, well,
it can be anything. But mostly, it’s likely to be hot. And hot with the sort
of humidity that will have you wilting and sweating in a fruitless attempt
to shed heat. If you can recall what it was like to be in the womb, you’ll be
better prepared for it. But then it could rain. Or it could be a perfect 75
degrees and sunny. Ain’t no telling.
M-59
Pontiac
75
Bloomfield
Township
Square Lake Road
But you can be assured that it’s going to smell. There will be the sweet
tanginess of high-octane racing fuel and the more distinctly organic waft of
human grease. Unburned gasoline will sting your eyes. Diesel soot, which
billows out of the vertical stacks on a diesel pickup, will hang above the crowd
like some sort of horrid black miasma. Hot-rodded diesel trucks being one
subset, within a subset, within a niche, tucked inside a little cubby hole of
automotive enthusiasm. You got a DeLorean? There’s a place for you. An
immaculate Ford Pinto? You’re welcome, too. Maybe you arrive in your ’57
Chevy Bel Air with your now-graying hair greased and your wife done up in
a poodle skirt and hair bows. Maybe you’re a fan of vehicles with only three
wheels and an appetite for maiming their operators. Hot rodders, rockabilly
rat rodders, creeps, regular folk, nostalgia nuts, Vega lovers, chartreuse metalflake Cutlass donk riders, Ferrari pilots, art-car weirdos, Studebaker fans, drag
racers, guys with an unnatural fascination with The Dukes of Hazzard. There
is room inside the big tent of Woodward for all of you.
It’s the most American of car happenings, not because it’s on one of
America’s first paved roads through the country’s manufacturing nexus
smack in the middle of the Midwest. And not because it is comprised mainly
of American cars, ostensibly celebrating a uniquely American tradition. No,
it’s the most American of happenings precisely because it’s a come-as-youare, ratty mess of wildly divergent people and obsessions paying tribute to
a single guiding principle, lashing them all together in one glorious mess.
That’s what happens when you invite no one: Everyone comes. The
wheat and the chaff. The trailer queens and the trash. The wicker-seated,
surrey-topped Fiat Jolly and the primer-gray tubbed Nova.
Maple /15 Mile
Birmingham
N
The main drag of the Dream Cruise runs from the city
of Ferndale north to Pontiac, with most of the action,
crowds and gridlock between 13 and 14 Mile Roads.
14 Mile
13 Mile
75
Berkley
Royal Oak
12 Mile
11 Mile
696
Pleasant
Ridge
Ferndale
Detroit
10 Mile
9 Mile
8 Mile
Map art by Kyle Raetz
Huntington
Woods
Fr ee
Ford & Mercur
y
Par ts Catalogs
FIRST-TIMER’S
Guide to the
Dream Cruise
Rule number one: Don’t even try to
see everything or every car. There’s
too much of everything, so just enjoy
the moment. And the moment is at
least a week long.
Rule number two: There are no
rules. There is nothing official about
the Dream Cruise, except that every
one has agreed on the date: the third
Saturday in August.
Everything that happens on Wood
ward Avenue starts around Ferndale
at the south end and through Pontiac
at the north end.
You don’t have to sign up. There’s
no admission fee. “Run what you
brung,” as long as it meets the
Michigan rulebook for street-driven
motor vehicles. And that’s not saying
technicalities don’t get glossed over
a bit now and then.
The area police can’t catch every
infraction, but they are out there
writing expensive tickets — especially
in Royal Oak. So be warned, a mere
tire chirp can easily rate an expensive
citation for “unlawful acceleration.”
If you’re going for the complete
Woodward experience, be here by
Tuesday. Weekday evenings are the
best times for seeing the best cars. And
they’re moving, instead of gridlocked
(which is the case on Saturday).
Finally, look for the impromptu
car shows all along Woodward. Local
clubs travel en masse and gather in
parking lots to display their cars.
Go to woodwarddreamcruise.com
to find the week’s schedule of events.
— Tony Hossain
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If seeing rather than being seen is your goal, this is best accomplished in a stationary lawn chair. Gas masks are recommended. Pink Caddies in a hotel
parking lot? Why not? All to the tune of Elvis, Road Runners and every other kind of muscle car there ever was.
To this bouillabaisse of automotive archetypes, we add what we consider
the ultimate cool nostalgia rod: a 1940 Ford Deluxe Two-Door Sedan. No
candy colors or flames on this car. It’s perfectly sinister in all black with its
original Art Deco trim pieces and chrome dog-dish hubcaps. Like perhaps
the majority of cars on Woodward during these festivities, it’s powered by
a small-block Chevy V-8 with a nasty bark but a sane tune. And, thank
goodness, it has an automatic transmission. It is simply the perfect cruise
car and, sadly, not mine. It was loaned to us by the supernaturally trusting
Larry Smith, Detroit-area resident and owner of a string of superior body
shops and a truly enviable collection of cars.
It is from behind the big, thin-rimmed wheel of this beauty that I start
to give myself over to the cruise. You see, I admit, though I hate to, that I
have for years tried to discourage people from coming to Woodward for
the cruise. For all intents and purposes, the cruise takes place in my front
yard. And though I’ve long been afflicted with the car bug, the Dream
Cruise meant that fetching milk or transporting my absurdly pregnant
wife to the hospital became a logistical nightmare.
And the lawn chairs. Oh, the lawn chairs. They start showing up along
Woodward a week or two before the cruise officially begins, sprouting like
weeds in clusters in front of furniture stores and tax preparers’ offices. By Friday night, the evening before the official cruise day, they line the route’s most
popular few miles in an uninterrupted wall of aluminum tubing, nylon webbing and a generous helping of human flesh. It is true irony that the best way
to see the most of the Dream Cruise is to simply become totally immobile
and allow the thing to promenade before you. Alternately, you could walk
up and down the avenue or try riding a bicycle. And, for a while, I did that.
But it was behind the wheel, acting as equal parts the entertainer and
the entertained, that I found the most fun. It’s the only ride you can take
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The Dream Cruise is also a culture clash, with monster trucks mixing it up with Corvettes, Camaros and Mustangs. Street rods are always in fashion, and
recent years have brought out an explosion in rat rods. The author, far right, is happy to exercise his right foot only, thanks to an automatic shifter.
at this particular carnival. And trolling past the de facto judges who are the
random spectators, we’re surprised how appreciative standers-by are of our
well-turned-out ride. Had we built the thing ourselves, we might simply
have exploded with pride.
By the time we near the southern end of the cruise in hipster-friendly
Ferndale, it’s late in the day and there’s some space to let our ’40 Ford run a
little, at least in spurts. It’s here that we bump into my next-door neighbors
giving two visiting students from Chernivtsi, Ukraine, a tour of this American oddity. Ilya and Kolia had heard of the cruise, and it’s the one thing they
took a day off from their temporary jobs to enjoy while in the United States.
Now, roughly 5,000 miles from their home, they are all over our ’40
taking silent cell-phone pictures of the engine, the interior, the grille …
everything. They take turns standing in front of this random hot rod, Kolia
wearing a U.S. Marines T-shirt that’s too small for him but cost only $3 at
the resale shop they’d visited earlier in their stay. “You guys want to go for a
ride?” we asked, motioning to the car’s interior. They don’t say a single word
but clamber inside and wait quietly. OK then, let’s go.
We pull out onto the avenue and head south, where there’s now little
traffic, and punch the throttle, unleashing the wall of sound. The guys sit
up a little straighter. They’ve now stopped taking cell-phone pics and are
grinning. Finally Kolia pipes up, “This car, uh, is to make the race?” To
which I respond, “Uh, uh, yeah … sure.” And then I floor the throttle.
Our new Woodward Dream Cruise friends seem happy with this
response. And so are we.
Daniel Pund is a deputy editor for Car and Driver from Pleasant Ridge, Michigan, who has lived and breathed the Woodward Dream Cruise, oftentimes
against his will.
At the throttle of old No. 475, the only
operating engine of its type in North America.
By Jonathan A. Stein >>
photography by Roy Ritchie
steamed!
strasburg, pennsylvania

The Strasburg Rail Road’s No. 475
was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia for the
Norfolk & Western in 1906. Author
Stein (left) takes his turn at the controls of the Mastodon-type locomotive, which is used primarily to pull
trains of tourists through scenic
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in
the heart of Amish Country.
It’s always tough to know
how to dress for a first
date. It’s even harder
when your date’s a 105-yearold that weighs 180 tons
and is called “Mastodon.”
That means it’s a 4-8-0 (4 pilot wheels and 8 drivers) steam locomotive built in 1906 by
Baldwin for the Norfolk & Western Railroad.
Typical wear for the crew of such a coal-fired behemoth consists of bib overalls and an
engineer’s cap, but any greenhorn who climbs into the cab in crisp new overalls and cap would
look like a seventh member of the Village People. So it’s best to play it safe and wear jeans, a
jersey and an old pair of work gloves — and hope that no flying embers drop down your pants.
Into the Past Walking through the door into the engine house at the Strasburg Rail
Road in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, I step back a hundred years. Hefty work benches
with massive hand tools line the wall, and the atmosphere is thick with coal smoke and steam.
Light is limited by the haze and the massive locomotives. I’m led past the colossal and partially
disassembled 2-10-0 locomotive and glance at a silent 2-6-0 before turning right to see the
source of the smoke and steam — old No. 475 — that will give me a taste of the past.
All Fired UP In the gloom, three men in work-stained overalls, engineer’s caps and
work gloves tend to the locomotive, lubricating the many moving parts. In the cab, the crew
keeps checking steam pressure until it hits 150 pounds per square inch. That’s when fireman
Dave Boyer switches on the steam-driven air compressor to fill the reservoir for the braking
system. As engineer Dan Potts explains, the train doesn’t move until he knows it can stop.
And with the engine and tender alone weighing 180 tons, it doesn’t stop on a dime.
Potts made it clear that operating a locomotive is serious business that takes years of training
and a series of exacting oral exams. Miss one question about the air brake system and it’s an
automatic fail. He’s also scrupulous about knowing the whereabouts of fireman Boyer, fireman
trainee Cordell Heffelfinger and our two photographers in the interest of safety. He’s clearly
no-nonsense, but agrees that I’ll be able to operate the locomotive in the yard and try my hand
at stoking the fire during a passenger run.
The Strasburg Rail Road’s 4-8-0 (top)
is one of several working steam
locomotives the railroad uses for its
passenger operation. Stein (above)
hangs out of the cab as he backs the
engine. (Below) Stoking the fire.
In the Office There aren’t that many controls in a cab dominated by a massive firebox.
Valves control the boiler water level and release steam pressure. There are levers for the power
reverse (to select direction), automatic brake (the entire train), independent brake (just the engine)
and throttle. Critical systems are monitored by gauges for steam and air pressure, and water glasses
to indicate the boiler’s water level. Of course, there are also cords for the bell and the steam whistle.
Hagerty Magazine | 800-922-4050
43
The fireman’s two primary controls are the
foot pedal opening the scissor doors of the
firebox and a coal scoop. If anyone thinks that
shoveling coal is just a matter of tossing those
black chunks on the fire, they’re plain wrong. I
do pretty well, scooping, turning, opening the
door and getting all the coal in the firebox, but I
lack the fluid precision of fireman Boyer, who is
skilled at scattering the bituminous coal so that
the fire is evenly distributed. It’s also exhausting
work, considering the fireman can be exposed
to extreme heat and cold simultaneously and
will get very wet if it’s raining or snowing.
Ready to Roll With a boiler full of water,
enough steam pressure and plenty of compressed
air, it’s time to release the toggle-like brake
controls, squeeze the stiff vise-grip-style release
on the throttle and give the high-mounted lever
a shove. And make no mistake, it’s high effort,
especially if you’re like me and only weigh 150
pounds. Effort may be high, yet a gentle touch is
essential as the throttle is opened. With 40,000
pounds tractive effort — the railroad equivalent
to torque — old No. 475’s power seems endless
as the huge machine moves forward. Caution is
essential, because if you allow too much steam
to the cylinders, those eight 56-inch drivers will
spin — even if some young Lancaster County
scallywag hasn’t greased the rails. It’s even tougher
44
Fireman Dave Boyer (top) throws a switch to redirect
the locomotive in the Strasburg Rail Road yard.
Boyer, engineer Dan Potts and fireman trainee Cordell
Heffelfinger (above) take their work on the railroad
very seriously and look as if they could have been
photographed in 1906 when No. 475 was built.
when passenger cars are attached and there’s
slack to take up so that the train doesn’t lurch
and jolt. But when I ease that power on and hear
that steady chug, I am living every boy’s dream.
Once rolling I discover that it’s important to
keep a steady hand on the throttle — which
requires a fair bit of upper body strength. The
procedure is even tougher if you’re backing up,
because you have to keep your head out the
window to watch where you’re going.
Due to safety concerns and physics,
acceleration is gradual, but deceleration is
even slower as I push the throttle closed and
turn the brass toggle lever to apply the brakes.
Unlike car brakes, there is little feel to the
control, and stopping is downright leisurely,
taking close to a minute from a gentle 10-mileper-hour gate. The ever-vigilant engineer Potts
reminds me that due to the engine’s great
weight, everything requires thinking far ahead.
While it’s exciting to drive the locomotive,
nothing quite beats the thrill of pulling the
cord to that incredible steam whistle. From a
distance it sounds mournful, but from the cab
Fireman trainee Cordell Heffelfinger (left)
lubricates the massive engine’s running gear
at the start of the shift before a regularly
scheduled passenger run (right) on the
Strasburg Rail Road.
it just adds to the cacophony of hissing steam,
clanking compressor, chugging cylinders and
pretty much every other mechanical sound
known to man. Much of the time, conversation
is just about impossible, but with the whistle
or bell sounding, you can’t yell loud enough to
be noticed, much less heard.
Make no mistake, running a steam
locomotive is dangerous and dirty work.
There’s coal dust everywhere, including in
your eyes and throat, the firebox is brutally hot
with temperatures of more than 2,000 degrees
— and there are a dozen ways to be injured or
worse, with heavy and exposed moving parts
at every turn. But there’s also an excitement
and glamour to a steam locomotive that can’t
be denied. What small boy didn’t want to be
Casey Jones or pull the cord on that amazing
steam whistle?
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Founded in 1832, the Strasburg Rail Road began with hay-burning horsepower, hauling
passengers and freight and connecting the small Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, town with
what eventually became the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1958, a group of train enthusiasts joined
together to save the railroad from certain extinction and began repairs to reinstate service as a
passenger carrier in 1959. Steam returned in 1960 and, since then, the railroad has increased its
fleet of working steam locomotives to four — not counting a replica of Thomas the Tank Engine
— and has enough carefully maintained rolling stock to run three passenger trains at a time.
Today, Strasburg Rail Road in Pennsylvania’s Amish country combines its most visible
business of carrying 400,000 tourists a year in beautifully restored coaches and dining cars with
a growing freight business and one of the finest steam locomotive repair facilities in the country.
In addition to maintaining and repairing its own locomotives and passenger cars, the railroad
takes in projects from other lines, provides consulting services and has set high standards for the
training of steam engineers and firemen that have been adopted by other railroads. For more
information about the Strasburg Rail Road, go to strasburgrailroad.com, or call 717-687-7522.
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DANIEL STEIGER
TM
Essential Collector
What you need to know about garages
to house your car collection.
DREAMS ENGAGED
by Ken Gross
i T
TM
Automodello™ was born out of a love for collector cars, but first and foremost it was created to rectify an omission among
high-quality, hand-built, limited edition, resincast 1:43 replica models. Automodello’s limited, signature and tribute editions
honor many unsung auto racing and industry legends, such as John Fitch, Herb Grasse, Jack Griffith and James Ward Packard.
?
y
L
B u I d
o r B u
room with a view
1974 Bricklin SV1
1964 Griffith Series 200
1966 Fitch Phoenix
E
very car guy or car gal wants a ‘Garage Mahal.’
Imagine having a neat, clean, personalized and
dedicated space with all your cars, tools, toys
and auto memorabilia beautifully displayed. If
you’re ready to build or buy a building to
house your car collection, whether it’s for two
cars, 10 cars or more, there are important things you should know.
Most collectors build on their own property. You’ll have to submit
plans to your local municipality and have them approved. Know what
you want before you speak with an architect and/or a builder. There
may be local building requirements and zoning ordinances that govern
the building’s height, its footprint and even the design itself. Whether
48
Garages and storage buildings can be customized to incorporate unique features and just about any architectural style.
Photo courtesy of Morton Buildings, Inc.
1966 Griffith Series 600
1938 Packard Twelve Convertible Victoria
Automodello Dealers
you work with a large, reputable nationwide builder, such as Morton
Buildings Inc. (mortonbuildings.com); retain a regional contractor; or work
with a local contractor, they’ll assist you with this essential step.
When you choose a location, keep in mind the need to supply
electrical power, water and, depending on your plans, natural gas for
heating. You should also plan to build close to the nearest available
power line, and bring all utility lines into a dedicated space or right
to your mechanical room.
Official Model for 46th Packard Automobile Classics Meet
July 11-16, 2011, Galena, Illinois
Coming in September in Ivory White & Berkshire Green Metallic
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British Racing Group | 855-BRG-5000 | www.britishracinggroup.com
Mint Models | 800-341-4699 | www.mintmodels.com
Sinclair Auto Miniatures | 814-838-2274 | www.miniauto.com
B&G | Bashmashnikov & Group | 203-968-8550 | [email protected]
K&D Automobilia | 585-315-2411 | [email protected]
www.automodello.com | 847-274-9645
Call, email or visit our website for more information. Dealer inquiries are invited.
Essential Collector
room with a view
If you want an elegant looking
structure that blends in with the
surroundings, need a lift in your
garage or need space for multiple
cars, a custom-built storage building
may be in your future.
50
A large outbuilding can offer safe and secure storage for your
car collection and provide a warm and dry place to tinker.
approvals and codes. Power lines, wiring and piping should be carefully laid out before any actual construction begins.
Al Mason, a retired construction company owner who built a beautiful garage for his car collection in Purcellville, Virginia, advises: “Pick an
experienced builder, like Morton, and use one of their standard sizes. If
you want a 60' X 100' building, and they offer a 70' x 110' alternative, the
bigger option may not cost that much more, and you’ll save money over
the builder’s not having to create a custom structure.”
Consider carefully the type and style of building you want. Mason’s
Photos courtesy of Morton Buildings, Inc.
A building is only as good as its foundation. Firm ground is essential.
Local zoning codes won’t let you build near a known fault zone or in a
flood plain. Qualified inspections will ensure the foundation or footing
under the concrete slab is properly tested, anchored and compacted.
Hint: Be sure the slab grade is flat, not just in the building itself, but in
the approach where you park outside, so your vehicles will not roll away.
If there are large trees that could do damage in the event of a storm,
consider another location. Build with nonflammable materials and make
sure to clear at least 50 feet of space around your building.
If you’re going to want to have features like both 110-volt and
220-volt electrical power, running water for sanitary facilities, fire
sprinklers, natural gas, climate controls, pipelines for an air compressor, stem-type hydraulic lifts and heat, smoke and intruder alarms,
they should all be planned in advance — and are subject to local
post-frame garage features a low brick
foundation to match his nearby home,
yellow pine wood construction and attractive metal siding “because it’s safer than
wood,” he says.
There’s an open feeling throughout
the inside of Mason’s garage. He calls it
“the barn,” but it’s anything but a barn.
“I like natural light,” Mason explains,
“so there are plenty of windows. We
planned access doors as well as overhead
garage doors at both ends of the structure.
Morton uses ’clear span construction’ with
trusses. There are no load-bearing walls so
the interior is wide open.”
If you plan to buy an existing building,
many of the same rules apply. Gordy Fitch,
who manages Hagerty’s Commercial Insurance Department, says, “Most of our clients
come to us for insurance after they’ve built or
bought their building. If they contact us
beforehand, we can advise them on security
considerations, central station alarms, fault
zone and flood plain issues, sprinkler system
requirements, fire department locations and
other factors that will affect their policy.”
Be certain the building you find has been
properly inspected in detail. Old properties
with historic provenance may be appealing,
but if you have to rip out old asbestos materials, reconstruct, rewire and replumb extensively, your budget will take a hit and possibly
render the project impractical. Remember,
you’ll be storing your valuable cars and
related property, so no matter how charming
a structure may appear, don’t buy a building
in a dangerous neighborhood. Natural disasters must always be a consideration. A building with a great river view could prove to be
a liability in a flood situation.
Whether you plan to build your own
building or buy an existing structure, there’s a
lot to consider. Seek expert help, plan carefully and think the project through. Consider
fire safety measures and ensure you have
electronic security devices. Your reward will
be a hobby space you’ll be proud to own.
Have a great garage or storage building? Send your car storage photos to
[email protected] and we’ll
post them on our Web site.
Experienced construction
firms will explain requirements and help obtain the
permits and approvals for
custom structures. A reputable construction company
should offer a variety of
design styles and layouts
and work with you to fit
your needs.
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101⁄2
Marketwatch
The Original American Pony Car!
pretentious & proud
The first-ever
Mustang Cuckoo
Clock with sculpted
moving car
Hurry!
Limited to
only 5,000!
At the top of every hour, a 2010
Mustang circles the roadway
accompanied by the sound of an
engine revving.
Handcrafted wood encased
limited edition is accented with
chrome-plating and a
speedometer-style clock
Shown smaller than
actual size of 22" tall by 4"
deep, including hanging
pendulum and weights.
This 1984 Excalibur Roadster combines
head-turning glamour with all the modern
conveniences under the hood for a classic car
that can — and should — be driven everywhere.
Neoclassics evoke the past
with a modern driving experience.
By Dave Kinney
Going for
We all know about replicars — that group of vehicles built in tribute to
long-defunct models. Although replicars are still being built, their next of kin
are known as neoclassics, evoking an era rather than a specific model. Some
of the better-known neoclassics came from manufacturers like Zimmer, Clenet,
Heritage, Johnson and Tiffany as well as Panther and Excalibur.
The concept is simple: modern mechanicals with distinctive coachwork
inspired by the past. Neoclassics are fun, often outrageous and always distinctive.
These conversation starters are usually based on the platforms of contemporary
cars. If you plan to bring Hollywood to your neighborhood, your ride has arrived.
Baroque
52
Accurate quartz movement
powers the swinging metal
pendulum bearing the original
Ford Mustang logo
Requires two “D” batteries
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Ford Oval and nameplates
are registered trademarks
owned and licensed by
Ford Motor Company,
Manufactured by The
Bradford Group.
©2010 BGE 01-10464-001-BI
Address
City
State
Zip
01-10464-001-E54041
*Plus $18.99 shipping and service per item. Issued in an edition limited to 5,000 clocks.
Please allow 4-6 weeks after initial payment for shipment. Sales subject to product availability
and order acceptance.
2
2 | 1978 Clenet Series 1 Roadster Convertible
SOLD AT $39,600
Lot 736, Auctions America, Fort Lauderdale, March 6, 2011
For one brief moment, Clenet was supposedly the darling of the Hollywood set.
Forbes magazine declared the Clenet “the American Rolls Royce.” Generally noted
as well built, and with nice touches, the Clenet did not last long. In addition to 250
Lincoln-based Series I cars, another 267 cars were built in three later series. Red
with tan leather, the interior of this Clenet shows only modest wear. The paint is very
good to excellent and all chrome is very
good. The dashboard is believed to be
solid walnut, set off with teak accents and
lambswool carpeting. The 7,373 miles
showing are said to be original. Options
include wire wheels and premium stereo
Neoclassics occupy an
system, as well as expected accessories,
interesting niche in the
including air conditioning, tilt wheel and
collector car pantheon. They
cruise control.
don’t possess the pedigree
of dyed-in-the-wool vintage
3 | 1985 Tiffany Custom Coupe
cars, and they don’t typify
NOT SOLD AT $15,000
the driving dynamics of older
Lot 372, McCormick Auction, Palm Springs,
sports cars, but they do turn
February 25–27, 2011
heads. These cars are very
Tiffany was built on a Mercury Cougar
appealing for those buyers
platform and, like Zimmer, was aimed
who desire something out of
squarely at the South Florida, Arizona,
the ordinary.
Nevada and Southern California second
While neoclassics aren’t
home/leisure lifestyle. A quick Internet
investment-grade cars, Hagerty
search found more than 10 Tiffanys
Price Guide’s neoclassic index
currently for sale, most of them with
has performed quite well
asking prices in the mid-20s. Resplendent
during the past five years. The
in white with burgundy velour interior,
index’s 38-percent increase in
this Tiffany features V-8 power,
value since September of
automatic transmission, full power and
2006 illustrates that it’s not just
air conditioning. Twin side-mounts, four
the million-dollar cars that
trumpet-style horns, high headlights, wire
appreciate — even entry-level
wheels, running boards, landau irons and
collectibles can make gains
fog lights complete the 1930s look. Said
in the market.
to have cost more than $119,000 new, it
has covered just 26,000 miles.
$40,000
$40,000 $38,000
$38,000 $36,000
$36,000 $34,000
$34,000 $32,000
$32,000 $30,000
$30,000 $28,000
$28,000 $26,000
$26,000 $24,000
$24,000 $22,000
$22,000 $20,000
$20,000 Jan-‐11 Sep-‐10 May-‐10 Jan-‐10 Sep-‐09 May-‐09 Jan-‐09 Sep-‐08 May-‐08 Jan-‐08 Sep-‐07 1
May-‐07 1
1 | 1984 Excalibur Two-Door Roadster
SOLD AT $55,000
Lot S44, Mecum, Canal Winchester, Ohio, November 6, 2010
In the kingdom of the neoclassic, Excalibur is surely royalty. Although the Series I of
the 1960s was a performance-oriented replica inspired by the Mercedes SSK, Excalibur
morphed into a Corvette-based full-luxury ride. Finished in white with a light-gray side
insert, white top, dual fender-mounted spares and stainless steel exhaust, this Excalibur
featured very nice gray leather seats piped in red. The all-wood dash is original and
looks good. The car is equipped with a 305-cid Chevrolet V-8, automatic transmission,
power steering and power brakes. This well-looked-after 1984 Excalibur looks to have
lived a life of luxury itself and appeared to be a turn-key example.
Neoclassic Index Index
Neoclassic Market
Jan-‐07 pretentious & proud
Sep-‐06 Marketwatch
9/06 1/07 5/07 9/07 1/08 5/08 9/08 1/09 5/09 9/09 1/10 5/10 9/10 1/11
4 | 1985 Stutz LWB Four-Door Sedan
SOLD AT $39,050
Lot 734, Auctions America, Fort Lauderdale,
March 6, 2011
Virgil Exner, famous for his “forward look”
1950s Chryslers, styled the revived Stutz cars
built in the 1970s and ‘80s. The idea was to use
many of the design elements of the original.
Based on the Oldsmobile 88 Royale chassis
and running gear, they were bodied in Torino,
Italy. This rare four-door Stutz is dark blue with
brick red leather interior. The paint is excellent,
as is the brightwork. The interior, which
2
HCTM 1 (9/06)1
HCTM 14 (1/11)2
1976–1979 Panther Lima SI Convertible
$16,800
$15,300
1977–1979 Clenet SI Roadster
$27,400
$29,700
1967–1969 Excalibur Series I Phaeton
$24,900
$28,000
1980–1984 Excalibur Series IV Roadster
$23,600
$37,000
1979–1990 Panther DeVille Convertible
$44,800
$79,900
Average Price
$27,500
$37,980
Values provided by Cars that Matter, Sept.-Dec. 2006.
Values provided by Hagerty Price Guide, Jan.-April 2011.
features touches such as gold gauge surrounds
and plush leather appointments, shows only
light wear. For the serious neoclassic Stutz
collector (if that breed even exists), this was
both a great car and great buy.
5 | 2000 Zimmer Golden Spirit Convertible
SOLD AT $37,400
Lot 762, Auctions America Fort Lauderdale,
March 6, 2011
Zimmer built a number of different models,
including the Pontiac Fiero–based Quicksilver.
However, the company is best known for the
Golden Spirit, which still can be ordered.
New Golden Spirits are built on Mustang GT
platforms, with the exception of the four-door
sedan, which is Lincoln-based. Red with white
top and tan leather and vinyl interior, it uses
a Ford V-8. Most of the grafted-on fiberglass
body parts are wavy, though the paint is very
good and the brightwork shows well. The
stock Mustang convertible vinyl top shows
slight wear, while the undisguised Mustang
interior shows little use. What sets this Zimmer
apart is that, according to the vendor, the first
owner was Shaquille O’Neal.
Investment
Picture
3
4
5
54
2011 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
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June 24th: Friday Night
No Reserve Memorabilia Auction
Viewing - 4pm. Auction begins at 7pm
June 25: Collector Car Auction and No Reserve
Memorabilia Auction
Check-in and Viewing - 8am. Auction begins at 10am
June 26: Dana Point Concours D’Elegance 9am - 4pm.
Collector Car Auction and No Reserve Memorabilia
begins at 4:30pm
issues
Taxes and Historic Vehicles:
historicvehicle.org
Q: What was your reaction to the outcry from the
historic vehicle community after your “Collector Car
Tax” April Fool’s Day article?
A: It caught me off guard because the original New York Times
hoax article that I wrote was only emailed to SAAC members. I
never imagined that it would go any farther. Several members
who didn’t realize it was a joke forwarded it and posted it on
other forums. It demonstrated what “going viral” means.
five questions for Rick Kopec
On March 28, 2011, an article began circulating citing plans by U.S.
Senator Chuck Schumer (D-New York) to impose a tax on collector
cars. It turned out to be an April Fool’s Day prank that went viral. The
man behind it, Rick Kopec, HVA member and one of the founders of
the Shelby American Automobile Club, talks about the reaction and his
thoughts on why an organization like the HVA is needed to mobilize
enthusiasts against the threats facing the historic vehicle community.
Q: When so many real threats to historic vehicles
owners are out there, why do you think this one
captured so much attention?
A: All successful hoaxes have a grain of truth. This one
hit all the hot buttons and stoked paranoia regarding the
government’s propensity to continually increase taxes —
usually on the same people who own collector cars.
Rick Kopec with the 1965 Shelby
GT350R he restored in the ’80s
and vintage raced in the ’90s.
Q: Speaking of real threats, what do you think about
the recent efforts in several states, like your home state
of Connecticut, to increases taxes and fees for historic
vehicle owners?
A: Most state governments are running huge deficits.
Lawmakers are looking at anything they can tax.
They probably think that collector car enthusiasts are
unorganized and will not actively fight against such taxes.
courtesy rick kopec
Q: What do you think is the greatest threat to historic
vehicle owners?
A: Apathy is probably the biggest one. It’s human nature
not to get involved with something until it directly affects
you. By then it’s often too late.
Q: What do you think is the secret for mobilizing
historic vehicle owners and inspiring them — as a group
— to become more politically active?
A: The response to our April Fool’s hoax demonstrated the
power than can be directed at public officials through the
Internet. It’s no longer “Write your congressman.” Today
it’s “E-mail your congressman.” E-mails are immediate
and — when sent in great numbers — can make a powerful
statement. Organizations like the HVA can keep a watchful
eye on state and federal legislators — because individuals
cannot — and when they see something that can harm
owners and enthusiasts, they can sound the alarm.
[ Got Tax? ]
Not all states impose personal property taxes on motor vehicles, and those taxes tend to be modest. For more information about state personal
property taxes on motor vehicles and registration fees, go to historicvehicle.org/statebystate.
56
G
F
E
C
D
B
A
The coins pictured above–all 90% silver–haven’t
been in circulation in decades. Test your knowledge
by matching the letter to the coin. The answers
are below.
1.
Franklin Half Dollar (1948-1963)
2.
Kennedy Half Dollar (1964)
3.
Walking Liberty Half Dollar (1916-1947)
4.
Roosevelt Dime (1946-1964)
5.
Washington Quarter (1932-1964)
Buy Now Risk Free
You must be 100% satisfied with your bag of 90%
silver coins or return it via insured mail within
30 days of receipt for a prompt refund.
BONUS Morgan Dollar for First 50 Callers
The first 50 callers will also receive a BONUS authentic
Morgan Silver Dollar with each Half Troy Pound of
silver coins you order. Call now!
Order More and SAVE
6.
Mercury Dime (1916-1945)
Quarter Troy Pound Bag U.S. Silver Coins $169 + S&H
7.
Barber Dime (1892-1916)
Half Troy Pound Bag $323 + S&H SAVE $15
(Plus BONUS Morgan Silver Dollar!)
You Get at Least One Each in Every Bag
You probably know more than you thought. Now you
can own a bag of 90% silver coins. They’re priced by
the silver weight in Quarter Troy Pound, Half Troy
Pound and One Troy Pound Bags.
Full Troy Pound Bag $650 + S&H SAVE OVER $25
(Plus BONUS Two Morgan Silver Dollars!)
Silver has soared recently, reaching record highs.
Our supply of historic U.S. silver coins is very limited.
You’ll appreciate them today and in years to come.
And they’ll make a treasured gift or legacy for your
children, family and friends.
Toll-Free 24 hours a day
1-888-201-7072
Offer Code SBM140
14101 Southcross Drive W., Dept. SBM140
Burnsville, Minnesota 55337
www.GovMint.com
Prices and availability subject to change without notice. Note: GovMint.com is a private distributor of worldwide government coin issues and is not affiliated with
the United States government. Facts and figures were deemed accurate as of March 2011. ©GovMint.com, 2011
Bonus: Morgan
Silver Dollar
Can you pass an easy coin test?
Answers: 1–E, 2–B, 3–F, 4–G, 5–A, 6–D, 7–C. Six or seven correct=Coin Expert,
Four to five correct=Coin Wiz, Three or fewer correct=Buy extra bags to study
Update
®
Update
news
“…classic! The [Stauer] tanzanite
are a beautiful shade of violet
blue…full of color!”
historicvehicle.org
— PRAISE FOR STAUER TANZANITE
FROM C. OF MISSOURI
Beep Beep, Stock Illustration Source, Getty Images
With the driving season upon us,
we’ll be using our historic vehicles
more and buying more fuel for our
older vehicles. Although E-10 is the
most commonly available fuel in
many parts of North America, there
are still quite a few stations offering
E-0, which means it doesn’t contain
ethanol. To see maps of gas stations
selling E-0, go to: historicvehicle.
org/Commissions/Commissions/
Legislative/Pure-Gas-Map/North.
The partnership with
AACA expands the
opportunities for youth to
learn about collector automobiles and become an
active part of the hobby.
[ Partnering for the Future ]
Hagerty Operation Ignite! Connecting Kids and Cars and the Historic Vehicle
Association are proud to announce a new partnership with the Antique
Automobile Club of America, bringing Hagerty’s Youth Judging program to
AACA events throughout the country.
“Providing youth with opportunities to become involved with collector cars
is imperative to the future of the hobby,” says McKeel Hagerty, CEO of Hagerty
Insurance. “Our mission with Operation Ignite! is to provide fun and interactive
programs that allow kids to get up close to collector cars, meet new people and
build lifelong friendships and memories.”
The number of Youth Judging events hosted in 2011 will increase from about 45
to more than 70, with more than 1,200 kids getting the chance to try Youth Judging.
“AACA and Hagerty are both committed to finding ways to educate and excite
young people with the spirit of the collectible vehicle world,” says Steve Moskowitz,
AACA executive director. “It certainly is a great day for the hobby when we can
partner for the common good. Our club is thrilled with this new opportunity.”
For a list of planned AACA National meets, go to aaca.org/calendar.
For more information or to learn how to register for participation, contact
Tabetha Salsbury, Youth Advocacy coordinator, at 800-922-4050, ext. 8137, or
[email protected].
58
michael shanks
Gas and
Gas alone
Miles Collier and two students from the Revs Program at
Stanford examine a 1933 4-liter Eddie Hall Bentley.
Stanford University Revs Up
New program merges disciplines to study
the automobile and its culture.
Automobile collector, artist and business executive
Miles Collier has always “been mystified as to why
the academic world has paid little attention to the
automobile in our auto-centric culture.” Thanks to
Collier’s vision and support, that has changed with
the founding of Stanford University’s Revs Program.
Unlike a school or department, the Revs Program
applies a truly interdisciplinary approach to studying
all aspects of the past, present and future of
personal transportation.
According to Revs co-director and classical
archaeologist Dr. Michael Shanks, “Most real-world
issues don’t fit neatly into disciplines and depart
ments.” Therefore the Revs Program at Stanford brings
together history, the social sciences and humanities,
engineering and the legal and medical disciplines.
Collier was drawn to Stanford’s cross-disciplinary
approach and because “Stanford is a research
university with one of the strongest liberal arts schools
on the globe and a strong engineering program.”
Students from a variety of disciplines and majors
will select courses from many departments to put the
automobile in a technical and social context. Although
the program offers no automotive major, students
might earn a degree in anything from Computer
Systems Engineering to American Studies with a
concentration on the automobile. Another element
of the program, according to Professor Clifford Nass,
director of the Revs Program, is support for a worldclass online archive of historical and technical auto
motive materials, initially drawing from Collier’s
extraordinary collection. For more information, go
to hagerty.com/Revs or revs.stanford.edu.
Endangered Gem Disappearing
Tanzanite is found in only one remote spot on Earth, and it’s 1,000 times rarer than diamonds. Experts say the
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Today you can own over 1 carat of this rare stone (1,000 times
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Smar t Luxuries—Surprising Prices
Hagerty’s marketplace
For advertising information call 586-558-4502
woodward Fab
Free metal working equipment
catalog with affordable prices.
Featuring sheetmetal brakes,
shears, grinders, belt sanders,
notchers, iron workers, pipe
benders, nibblers, punches,
body hammers, shot bags,
metal cutting saws, english
wheels, shrinker/stretchers
from $179.99, metal brakes from
$299.99, rolls from $299.99. Call
us at 800-391-5419 or order at
www.woodwardfab.com.
Antique AUTO BATTERY
We have been making show-quality antique and classic batteries
for over 21 years. Our batteries come with period-correct caps, our
famous poly-tar tops, date coding, and a 4-year prorated warranty.
We are licensed by the Big Four. We also have a complete line of
cables, 6-volt and 12-volt alternators and charges. Call 330-425-2395
or 800-426-7580, or visit www.antiqueautobattery.com.
Dallas Mustang
Serving the Mustang industry for 30 years. DM stocks a full line
of quality restoration and performance parts for 1964 – 2011
Mustangs. Centrally located to ship your parts when and where
you want them. We offer volume discounts and free shipping on
orders over $350. Visit us at www.DallasMustang.com or call us
toll free at 1-800-MUSTANG.
invisible glass
American Resto mods
Whether you bring your treasured classic to American Resto Mods for
a full restoration or just regular maintenance, you will quickly feel confident about our skills and passion for perfection. Meet the talented
craftsmen of our team that represent over 75 years of experience and
follow the daily status of our projects at AmericanRestoMods.com.
Griot’s Garage
FREE Rain Repellent Sample!
You won’t find a better
windshield cleaner AND rain
repellent and we’ll PROVE it
with a FREE sample! Cleans
and repels rain, snow and ice in
just ONE step. Use weekly and
before every road trip. Visit our
website for a sample, video,
and more.
www.InvisibleGlass.com/Repel
888-786-6373
Car care is our passion. We've
even trademarked the statement
“Car Care for the Perfectionist!®”
Griot’s Garage is dedicated to
providing superior products
to folks like you who want the
best. Everything you need;
unsurpassed car care products,
professional quality tools and
garage accessories. Have fun in
your garage!® 800-345-5789 or
www.griotsgarage.com for a
free catalog.
MY COOL FURNITURE
MCF produces unique, top-quality decorative benches with
personalized images of all types. We apply images of vehicles, pets,
scenery, company logos, etc. to create special, one of a kind, COOL
seating. Great as gifts, for car guys, shops, showrooms, or home
use. All we need is your hi-res image. Only $399.00, credit cards
accepted. Call 937-254-1383 or visit www.mycoolfurniture.com.
CARJACKET®
A BAG — NOT A COVER. A perfect combination. CarJacket® protects your car from aging during storage while Hagerty insures your
car from accidents. Your car comes from storage exactly as it went
in. NO RUST — NO DUST! Indoor use only.
800-522-7224
www.carbag.com
mohawk Lifts
Mohawk Lift’s 6000-lb
capacity USL-6000 has a
6-ft height and offers full
unrestricted access. The
space-saving USL-6000 is
portable for indoor and
outdoor use, and requires
no installation. For additional
information please visit
www.mohawklifts.com or
call 800-833-2006. (Price
includes delivery to 48 states
+ portable tire dolly.)
Reliable Carriers
Little Guy
The Little Guy is an ultra-lightweight teardrop/camper trailer designed
for fun. Made to be towed by small cars, this two-person sleeping
camper looks great behind a street rod. The rear hatch galley makes
the Little Guy ideal for car shows and tailgating.
877-545-4897 www.golittleguy.com
National
Parts Depot
Fiberglass Quarterpanel Extensions
Replica Plastics of Dothan designs, tests and manufactures over
400 quality parts for GM cars including Buick, Cadillac, Olds
mobile, Pontiac and Chevrolet. Our affordable quarter panels
install in minutes, without having to remove the rear bumper,
and come with a full lifetime warranty. Contact us today for a
complete listing of parts and prices.
800-873-5871 replica-plastics.com
Huge inventories of concourscorrect restoration parts for your
’65-’73 Mustang, ’67-’81 Camaro,
’64-’87 Chevelle, Malibu & El
Camino, ’79-’93 Mustang, ’67-’81
Firebird, ’48-’79 F-series Truck, ’80’96 F-series Truck, ’66-’96 Bronco
and ’55-’57 Thunderbird. Average
of just 1-3 days delivery from the
closest of four retail warehouses.
FREE catalogs call 352-387-0021.
OUR HERITAGE UNDERSTANDS YOUR HERITAGE. For more than
50 years, we’ve demonstrated how to move your vintage — and
often priceless — vehicles. With fully enclosed transporters, 24/7
GPS tracking, and an unstoppable commitment to quality, you’ve
got one elegant solution: total peace of mind about your heritage
car. Call us at 877-744-7889 or log on at reliablecarriers.com.
Leatherique
Since 1968 Leatherique has been
regarded as “Simply the best” for
leather and vinyl. Our Rejuvenator
Oil and Pristine Clean restores
softness, strength and appear
ance to leather and vinyl. Our
colour-matched dyes can restore
new appearance to old leather
and vinyl for 1/50th the price of
new materials. USA: leatherique.
com or 877-395-3366. Canada:
leatheriquecanada.com or
905-937-2159.
Vintage Auto Posters
Since 1980, Everett Anton Singer has been supplying international
collectors with the most diverse selection of authentic vintage
2.75x1Hagertys10.indd
9/2/10 2:43:33 PM
automotive1 posters. The vast inventory runs from the late 1890s
through the 1960s; featuring marque, event and product advertising. Please visit us at www.VintageAutoPosters.com.
summit Racing
The Summit Racing Tool
Catalog features 110 pages of
tools and garage accessories
ranging from hand and air tools
to welding and fabrication
equipment to body, paint, and
detailing tools. The catalog
also features money- and
time-saving Pro Packs with
tools for specific jobs. Call
800-230-3030 or go online at
SummitRacing.com to order
your free catalog.
Rearview Mirror
custom skylane
Leroy Viersen Jr. and his son wanted something beyond a ’32 Ford hot rod ...
Reach for the sky
By Jonathan A. Stein
The Grille screams Cadillac, the front fenders
suggest Buick and the rears whisper Lincoln Continental, but Angela Viersen’s Skylane Motor Special
is a one-off custom, built by her great-grandfather.
In 1949, Leroy Viersen Jr. wanted to build a car
to showcase his skills. Viersen and his son, Leroy III,
set to work in the old carriage shop that housed the
Viersen’s Skylane Motors repair shop.
Like so many hot rods, the starting point was a
reinforced ’32 Ford chassis. The rear frame was Z’d
to lower the car, and a front cross member from
a 1940 Ford was fitted to accept a 1946 Mercury
beam front axle. Steel front and rear body sections
were fabricated by hand over a tubular frame. A
1948 Buick donated front fenders, while the modified rears came from a 1948 Lincoln. Viersen fabricated and louvered the hood himself.
Top left: The Skylane Motor Special featured as “Convertible of the Year” in Motor Trend’s June 1951 issue.
Leroy Viersen Jr. shows off his masterpiece. Below: The
restored Skylane Motor Special today.
62
For power, Viersen chose a 230.4-cid Mercury Flathead, which he built using a 3/4-grind
camshaft, Meyer dual manifold and heads and a
compression ratio of 9:1. He topped it with a pair of
Carter carburetors and a custom Kong ignition. The
three-speed transmission came from a 1948 Merc.
Inside, an Auburn instrument panel hosted instruments from a 1941 Buick. The floors were carpeted
and the low-mounted seats trimmed in leather.
After three years, Viersen completed his dream
car. The stunning custom caught many eyes, including those of publisher Bob “Pete” Petersen, who put
it on the June 1951 cover of Motor Trend magazine.
A few years later, Viersen Jr. died suddenly and
his distraught family rolled the car into storage,
where it sat for the 30 years.
Growing up, Angela Viersen recalls: “We could
only see a little of the car because it was covered
with things. When Pa (her grandfather, Leroy
Viersen III) asked if I wanted it, I had to talk to my
husband, Johnny Crego. When we went to get
the car, I didn’t know what we were getting into;
it didn’t run and was in pretty bad shape.”
The couple started the restoration in 2000
when Johnny entrusted it to Bobby Regeirro of
Bob’s Restoration in Los Angeles. The finished car
won the Special Interest Class at the 2004 Grand
National Roadster Show in Pomona. Many other
awards and magazine features followed.
Angela and Johnny take the car to several
“special shows” each year. As for Angela, she’s just
happy to have this indelible rolling link with her
great-grandfather and her grandfather.
PARTS & ACCESSORIES AVAILABLE FOR
67-81
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Copyright © 2011 by National Parts Depot, All Rights Reserved.
National Parts Depot is proud to
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“Given for Dedication to excellence in
perpetuating an American
Automotive Tradition.”
www.iacoccafoundation.org
Over
N CAROLINA - Charlotte,
Local 704-331-0900
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570,000 sq ft of Fully-Stocked Warehouses / Stores
MICHIGAN - Canton,
Local - 734-397-4569
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800-235-3445

Summer 2011

Transcription

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