Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2022 i Classic American

The last few years have been a bit of a white-knuckle roller-coaster ride for everyone… and the latest dramatic fluctuations on the currency markets specifically affect our hobby/businesses. The collapsing pound makes cars, trucks and parts a lot more expensive to import and run as our currency devalues. Hopefully things will stabilise and sterling will rally against the dollar, but it’s not looking good, sadly… On a more positive note petrol prices have fallen and that always deserves a celebratory drive. October beckons and for Classic American the season finale, the Classic Motor Show at the NEC, is just around the corner. For some it’s a little sad, as they put their car away for the winter, for others it’s a welcome break from the never-ending merry-go-round of car shows,…

News Against the backdrop of the reformatted North American International Auto Show on September 14, Ford Motor Company revealed its latest Mustang, which will go on sale as a 2024 model. Coded S650, this is not a completely new car, but a significant update of the current S550 which has been around since the 2015 model year. Outwardly, the seventh-generation Ford pony car boasts a heavily updated front fascia and revised rear deck and panel, with angular, LED triple tail-lights. Both coupe and convertible models are offered, the former sporting a roof profile designed to allow driver entry and exit to the cabin with a helmet on (for you, track fans), while the latter sports a one-touch activation power folding top with a single handle to lock the roof in…

In August, Stellantis (previously Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) announced that it was axing its beloved muscle cars, the Dodge Charger and Challenger, after 2023. The reasons cited are the inability to meet tougher fuel economy and emissions standards, despite both models continuing to be relatively popular. The timing of the announcement coincides with the introduction of President Biden’s controversial Inflation Reduction Act, a gigantic spending package, that contains a whole host of so-called green initiatives including a whopping $36 billion for incentivising electric vehicle adoption, as well as energy efficient home heating and cooling solutions. During the first day of Dodge Speedweek on August 15, Dodge brand CEO Tim Kuniskis said that the 2023 Dodge Challenger and Charger will be the last of the Hemi-powered L-cars the company will build and…

Long-time drag racing fans will likely know the name Bob West, who back in 1980 bought a ’41 Willys quarter-hauler while on holiday in Ohio with his then-wife, Angie. It was campaigned here in the UK for some three seasons under the name of Slick Willy until it was involved in a rollover crash at Long Marston/ Shakespeare County Raceway, near Stratfordupon-Avon. Sadly, that incident brought the owner/driver’s straight-line career to an unfortunate and abrupt halt. Before the Willys came into his life, Bob had acquired the Maxine’s Toy Corvette – a well-known bow-tie barnstormer that made quite a name for itself at Santa Pod Raceway – with the intention of fixing it up as a keeper. However, as is the way with some projects, it was a protracted exercise…

In September 1964 the British motorsport scene was given a rude and very loud awakening when a crack team of American drag racers and their glitzy, state-of-the-art cars and colourful paddock outfits descended on our shores to take on our guys in a series of challenge races at a number of different venues. Bizarrely, we didn’t have any proper drag strips and we hardly had any proper dragsters. The purpose of the exercise was to introduce the public to serious drag racing and to show them what a spectacle it was. It was promoted and billed as the 1st British International Drag Festival. The racing and results have been well documented so we asked two of the top drivers who took part for their memories and impressions. Flying the flag…

There was a keen sense of anticipation among the organisers ahead of this, the 28th Mopar Euro Nationals at Santa Pod Raceway. The 2021 event occurred at a time when the next lockdown (remember them?) seemed just around the corner, but thankfully the show went ahead, albeit with a limited programme, so this year we were looking forward to a return to form. In the week ahead of the gates opening on Thursday morning to welcome an ever-growing troupe of race teams and their entourage, the weather forecast was looking good: could this be the year after so many rain-interrupted schedules that we finally get a fully dry one? The record numbers of sign-ups for the Nostalgia Superstock race category had also given us reason to smile. As they, along…

Day 4 One of my earliest memories is being in a disused colliery in South Wales, and lobbing stones down a ravine at several rusting cars that had been dumped there many years earlier. In fact, I think this might have been what triggered my life-long fascination with abandoned cars. The photographs I’ve seen online of my next location remind me of that colliery, so I’m keen to find it. The only problem is that it involves several miles of off-roading. The location is a dry river bed five miles from Benson, Arizona. There was once a salvage yard here, but it closed down decades ago when it was purchased by the railroad. They wanted to put a new line in, and the cars were in the way. Instead of…

This year’s autojumble heralded a new beginning. It was the first with a king, Queen Elizabeth II having died just a couple of days before. The inaugural Beaulieu autojumble was run in 1967 and of course the Queen had reigned throughout. Lord Montagu said: “Like all those born after 1952, Lady Montagu and I have never known anyone but the late Queen on the throne. She was a reassuring presence throughout our lives, and while we often followed her activities from afar, the New Forest was fortunate to receive Her late Majesty on a number of occasions.” Secondly, Covid thankfully seemed a thing of the past and the event reverted to normality with not a face mask in sight. Good riddance I say. The weather was glorious, which helped put…

From here to obscurity Of all the many concept cars that emerged during the 1960s, few – if any – are as obscure as this commuter capsule. Fewer still appeared as futuristic while grounded in reality, if only stylistically. But then the XV’61 (eXperimental Vehicle 1961) was styled by Syd Mead, the man who had shaped all manner of remarkable machines, co-authoring the description-defying Ford Gyron among others. This may have been just another freelance gig at the time, and one forgotten by history, but it wasn’t without merit. It was built at the behest of the McLouth Steel Corporation of Detroit, Michigan, and exhibited at the April 1961 New York International Automobile Show. When viewed in retrospect, the XV’61 could almost pass for a prototype AMC Pacer. The front…

Tamir Ali, proud owner of this glorious 1961 Buick Invicta, is quite honest when I ask why he bought the car. “I like bright colours and I’m loud and eccentric,” laughs Tamir. “I like to make a statement and when I first saw it I just fell in love with it.” Tamir initially spotted the Buick on Facebook. “I’d just sold a 1978 Cadillac Coupe deVille, was looking at photos of a pick-up truck that was for sale in Canada via a friend of a friend and could see a bit of the Buick in the background of one of those pics. I knew it must be rare. The owner, who ran a hotel in the Rocky Mountains, said the car wasn’t for sale. Six months later I contacted him…

Led by Daniel Valjevac, one of North America’s most accomplished classic car specialists, North Carolina’s Retro Designs is renowned for reinventing America’s most iconic automobiles by bringing them roaring back to life with modern engineering and subtle styling touches. Retro Designs’ newest creation is a perfectly restored 1954 Chevy Bel Air made for cruising the modern road with the coupe’s quintessentially Fifties-era styling aesthetic. General manager Daniel explained: “Over the Bel-Air’s 25-year production run, the Chevy model had several different iterations. “Retro Designs wanted to reimagine a coupe from the first generation, so our production team focused on finding and restoring this 1954 model. “The Chevy Bel Air presented an interesting challenge. We wanted to preserve the integrity of the original design and not lean into anything outlandish. Our goal…

Part VI - Engine Completion I’d always been quite proud of the fact that the engine in my Olds 442 had never seemingly been apart, a fact observed by the mechanics that had worked on it. However, after half a century, it really would be remiss not to take it apart, examine the internals and check everything was really okay and nothing required attention or replacing. Sort of a once-in-a-lifetime engine service if you like (or every half century!). As it turned out the timing chain was a bit floppy and in need of replacing, but other than that everything was fine. It was mainly things like core plugs and gaskets that needed replacing – hardly surprising after more than 50 years. A ‘straight edge’ (sort of like a metal…