Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2022 i Classic American

When I was 16 I was lucky enough to be packed off as an exchange student to Raleigh, North Carolina, where I spent a year going to high school and living with an American family. It was probably the best year of my life – well, being 16 or 17 how could it not be?! However, one thing that struck me was the family (the Olasons) had an old blue Ford F100 pick-up (I’d hazard a ’70 or ’71) that was almost like family. It was christened Ol’ Blue and sat out in the back yard all year round, oozing a bit of oil here and there, but starting on the button day in, day out. Ol’ Blue was 17 years old, which in the Eighties was prehistoric and probably…

Iconic oil brand Gulf Oil Supply Company Ltd, part of Gulf Oil International Ltd, has announced that it has appointed a new Distributor, Rossmore Lubricants, to represent Gulf Lubricants throughout the UK & Ireland. Rossmore Lubricants has signed an agreement to become the sole Importer & Distributor of the Gulf range of lubricants for these key markets and will look to commence activities before the end of 2021. With a current strong base in Ireland, the business has over 35 years of lubricant distribution experience with premium brands and, in the UK, over 30 years of direct selling experience within the Distribution, Franchised Workshop, Independent Workshop, Motorcycle and Heavy-Duty sectors. Dr Ayham Ammora, Commercial Director, Gulf Oil Supply Company, said: “Gulf is an iconic brand with over a hundred-year history,…

The lots for Historics’ upcoming auction at Ascot Racecourse on March 12 are still pouring in, but one particular vehicle which caught our eye was this rather splendid 1934 Nash. According to Historics: “This standard Art-Deco coupé body was designed by Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky, the Russian-born son of Prince Vladimir Sakhnoffsky who came to the West after fleeing the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. By the early 1920s, Sakhnoffsky had become known in Europe as a designer of ultra-modern, streamlined sports cars. This put his design skills in high demand and, by 1929, Sakhnoffsky moved to America and began working for several motor companies including Auburn, Cord, and American Austin. Indeed, the L-29 Cord body he designed for himself won the Grand Prize at the 1929 Monaco Concours d’Elegance and…

When we study automotive history, one of the most colourful periods is that which spans from 1960 to about 1974. Loosely defined today as the muscle car era, it witnessed the introduction of the Detroit factory hot rod. The dawn of the Sixties saw America embroiled in no-holds-barred horsepower war, where on the drag strips, ovals and road courses across the continent, a battle was waged between rival manufacturers for racing supremacy. This naturally filtered its way down to the street, first with full-size bruisers like the Chevrolet 409, Ford 427 and Pontiac Super Duty 421 and then intermediates with monster engines. According to most accounts, the true muscle car era came in 1964 when Pontiac launched the GTO, a performance package that contained the big 389cu in V8 from…

Our hobby mixes a wide range of characters, including a handful who keep their tatty, forlorn car with flat tyres in their garage, barn or on their driveway. Nobody seems to be able to convince them to let their vehicle go, whatever the argument. Conversations often end with these words: “I’ll get to it someday”, or “My grandson will restore it”, or the very clear-cut “It’s not for sale.” Yeah, it can be frustrating to meet such individuals. The team at Classic American magazine certainly know how to appreciate these survivors, having featured its share of them over the years. Of course, not all have been super-rare models buried in barns, though we’ve occasionally stumbled upon a few with descriptions reading ‘409’, ‘Hemi’ or ‘GTO Judge’. Yet the story unveiled…

Like many car collectors, Edwin Phelps manages to contain a surprising number of treasures in what, to the outside world, seems a perfectly innocuous outbuilding. And, as with some collections, many of those treasures are not quite on the road just now, they will be one day. The theme of Edwin’s collection is early Ford V8s and, while his attention is divided between his various projects, there is at least one faithful, trusty old car which Edwin knows will take him wherever he needs to go. The 1938 Ford Model 81A Deluxe four-door sedan has been in his possession since 1998, with a brief interval from 2004 to 2006. Edwin has a peculiar knack for finding rather exotic Fords – others in his collection came from Uruguay and the former…

Scalextric Batmobile I’ve featured slot cars in the past and I was myself an enthusiastic collector of the Aurora AFX range. However, a friend showed me some recent Scalextric releases reminding me how good these 1:32 scale motorised models can be. This month we’ll concentrate on the Batmobile. There have been several versions over the years, but personally, I think it’s hard to beat the classic mid-Sixties Batmobile driven by Adam West. The car was built in 15 days at a cost of $15,000 by master customiser George Barris, who reputedly bought the remains of the Lincoln Futura prototype concept car from Ford for a nominal $1. While retaining the overall shape of the vehicle, he turned it into the iconic Batmobile we all know and love. The Scalextric model…

The eleventh edition of The Scottsdale Auction presented 90 collectors’ cars and spanned all eras, from a 1902 Darracq single-cylinder tonneau from the famed Harrah Collection to a 2012 McLaren MP4-12C. The sale took place on the lawns of Scottsdale’s Westin Kierland Resort on Thursday, January 27. Probably the biggest star of the event was the ‘third character’ from the 1988 multi-award-winning road drama motion picture Rain Man, a distinctive 1949 Buick Rain Man Roadmaster Convertible. It was offered direct from the ownership of Dustin Hoffman, who acquired the car after filming wrapped. Despite an estimate of $150,000-250,000, the Buick sold for an eye-watering $335,000! “The car had a very strong visual presence in the film and was featured throughout. It became a character. Dustin, Tom Cruise, and the ‘49…

In spite of a few delays and then the inevitable intervention of Covid, the AACI (American Auto Club International) headed by Brendan McCarth, presented Keith Rossiter from children’s charity When You Wish Upon a Star with a cheque for £23,000 on Sunday, January 9. A good few of the old AACI team were able to attend the donation to the charity whose mission statement is “to grant the wishes of children living with a life-threatening illness”. These can be anything from a holiday of a lifetime to Disneyland, or a trip to see the England cricket team play the West Indies. The figure on the cheque is actually made up of two donations, one in 2020 for £15,000 and then a further one last year for the remaining £8000. As…

ELECTRIC DREAMS? Dear Classic American, All hail the electric car. 0-60 in three seconds, 469 miles range, 1111bhp, charged in 20 minutes. What’s not to like? Well, I bought a cordless vacuum cleaner five years ago. The working time got shorter and shorter. After being charged for a week, it gave me five minutes’ working time. I had to buy a new battery pack for £65. The same will happen to electric cars, although God knows how much the battery pack for a car is. And you won’t be able to sell it… U. Ging Lowestoft, Suffolk It seems a lot of people share your cynicism about electric cars – one thing’s for sure though: batteries for a car will be a lot more expensive than the ones for your…

Only a couple of miles south of the bustle and bold modern cityscape of the River Clyde, we’ve chosen a more peaceful spot in a park next to White Cart Water. It’s a tranquil scene, interrupted only by interested dog walkers who come and chat while our photographer gets to work, politely waiting between shots to dive in and take their own photo of the car. Bruce Kinnear is well used to this, having driven around in interesting old cars for most of his adult life. The one that got him started was a 1960 Ford Consul, one of the British classics that tend to act as a gateway drug to American cars. “I was 20. I hitchhiked down to get it,” says Bruce, “all the way to Worcester with…

At the recent Consumer Electronics Show, held in Las Vegas, Nevada (the SEMA of the electronics and technology world) GM and its AV subsidiary Cruise announced that they are “pursuing a comprehensive path to autonomous mobility with the aim to deliver the first personal autonomous vehicle from General Motors as soon as mid-decade”. GM hasn’t offered any specifics on this future personal AV; however, it would seem likely that such a vehicle would utilise the self-driving technology which is currently being developed by Cruise for its ‘robotaxi’. Cadillac is at the vanguard of AV adoption at GM and aims be the first brand to adopt GM’s upcoming Ultra Cruise system, which will promise hands-free driving in all but 5% of driving situations. Ultra Cruise will be offered on the full-size…

Another tantalising ‘what might have been’ concept car to emerge from Detroit during the Sixties, this mid-engined machine was no show queen. It was a fully functional prototype. Created under styling vice-president Gene Bordinat, it was underpinned by a floorpan borrowed from a Mustang convertible, albeit reconfigured for this application. Power came from a small-block 289cu in V8 allied to a ZF five-speed transaxle. Front suspension and brakes were largely standard Mustang fare, with other parts bin cast-offs including rear drum brakes from a Galaxie. The use of proprietary components also stretched to the rear bumper which was an unmodified Mustang item. A proof of concept was built, which in turn led to the construction of a brace of drivable prototypes (just to confuse matters, Ford’s press material variously dubbed…

You said: Peter Worby: Should never have been brought in at all, just a cheapskate way of widening the motorway without having to lay extra lanes, only the cost of this skinflintery is costing more in human lives. Paul Carter: Should stop altogether. Should’ve left the motorways the way they were. Alex Ethridge: Piecemeal planning by successive clueless governments. Steven Young: I refuse to drive on smart motorways in my Cadillac, it’s way too dangerous, the car is not even fitted with hazard lights, no way am I parking up in the live lane of a motorway.…

March 6 NSRA SOUTHERN SWAPMEET NORTH WEALD AIRFIELD, MERLIN WAY, EPPING, CM16 6HR The opening event of the rodding and American calendar – huge outdoor swapmeet and autojumble – from a window winder to a complete car, this is the place to buy and sell new, used and vintage auto parts and accessories! Members: £5, non-members £10. Traders from 7.30am. Public gate open 9.30am. For trade enquiries contact: ANDY27SAWYER@AOL.COM. See: www.nsra.org.uk for more info. 18-20 PRACTICAL CLASSICS CLASSIC CAR & RESTORATION SHOW NEC, Birmingham, indoor show with an emphasis on restorations. Bringing together 1000+ cars on display; 150+ car clubs representing a wide variety of marques and models; 250+ exhibitors and autojumblers including restoration companies, services providers and product suppliers; the Classic Car Auction; celebrities; car competitions; practical workshops on…