Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2023 i Classic American

1936 Indian 4 Estimate: £54-58,000 H and H is having one of its regular motorbike auctions at the National Motorcycle Museum on March 29. This 1936 Indian is certainly something that might tickle fans of two-wheeled classic Americans. It was purchased by the vendor as a restoration project and looks to have been restored to a very high standard. See www.handh.co.uk to register to bid or for more information. It might all be happening in Phoenix and Scottsdale Arizona in terms of classic American car auctions, but we’ve discovered a few tasty morsels right here in the UK that are going under the hammer in the coming months... 1958 Ford F100 Styleside pick-up: £13,000-15,000 Another H and H auction, this one a fortnight earlier (March 15) at the Imperial War…

From here to obscurity Pontiac mined a rich seam of form with its concept cars during the Eighties. There were plenty of them, the majority being of the overtly sporty variety. The car pictured here was different from most, though, and it was forgotten quickly. Nevertheless, the Stinger was nothing if not prescient. It was conceived as a ‘cross-over’ vehicle before the term had even been coined. It was aimed at younger drivers who wanted a car that didn’t look like something their dad might drive, but also something that had the practicality of a pick-up or a wagon for hauling their gear should they wish to go hiking, surfing or suchlike of a weekend. As befitted a concept car it looked pretty far out, but there were…

Having a car restored can be hard enough, so imagine doing it twice. That’s what Mike Smith has experienced in the 38 years he’s owned his 1970 Buick Gran Sport Stage 1. “I always liked fast cars,” remembers Mike. “I couldn’t afford an E-type or Aston, but after a friend suggested trying an American car, just as fast but lots cheaper, I never looked back. “First, there was the 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix with a 428cu in V8 that I owned for five years. A 1969 Barracuda convertible followed, then later a ’68 Chevy pick-up. But I really wanted a genuine muscle car. I’d read in a magazine about a couple of guys who owned 1970 Stage 1 Buicks and who’d drive to their local dragstrip, pull the slicks out…

1955 was a very important model year for Chevrolet as it changed the car’s stodgy image with the public, thanks to its completely new and dramatic look. During the development of the all-new 1955 Chevrolet, the styling dictum used in the studio was: “Go all the way and then back off.” Harley J Earl oversaw the development of the car’s styling; it took thousands of preliminary drawings to get it ‘just right’ and the finished product was an astounding success. The legendary General Motors’ designer and his talented team of Clare MacKichan, Chuck Stebbins, Bob Veryzer and Carl Renner worked together and came up with the refreshing overall design which, when looking back, was surprisingly clean for the era. There was a lot of extra effort put into the styling…

Pundits will argue that the 1986 Ford Taurus was the car that really redefined American car design during the Eighties; but I would argue that its Thunderbird stablemate, which debuted three years earlier, was the Detroit automobile that really represented a break from the past. Both designs were penned under the eye of John J ‘Jack’ Telnack, Ford’s vice-president of light car and truck design at the time. Telnack, having spent the early Seventies working in Europe, had very different ideas from what was then prevalent design language in Detroit, and, upon his return to Dearborn, began introducing some of these European design concepts to stateside Ford products. The first indicators of this – certainly in production vehicles – could be found in the 1978 Ford Fairmont/Mercury Zephyr and the…

California hot rodder Dave Mercer always loved the classic lines and clean styling of the ’55 Chevy, and when it was time for him to build one of his own, he took a few subtle liberties in deviating from stock. Choosing a two-tone Bel Air Hardtop, the general idea was to keep the original flavour of the car but to enhance the performance and give it some modern rolling stock.…

M37 military truck The Dodge Power Wagon is beloved by truck enthusiasts worldwide for its legendary grit and reputation for tackling tough jobs. But what many people don’t know is that the Power Wagon holds an incredible place in US military history, alongside icons such as the Jeep. Early Power Wagons fought in the Second World War, serving as recon vehicles in the African desert fighting Rommel; and as troop transport, ambulances and more. After the war, the Power Wagon continued its proud service to the US military serving in myriad theatres, including the Korean War. Legacy Classic Trucks (www.legacyclassictrucks.com) founder and truck historian Winslow Bent recently had the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a Cummins-powered Dodge M37 military 3/4 ton 4x4 truck on his new YouTube series…

1. How do you fancy a really challenging restoration project? Desert Valley Auto Parts’ Black Canyon City site is offering this tatty 1973 Pontiac Firebird as a project car. It’s an Esprit, which between 1970 and 1981 was the top-of-the-range luxury model, and the best-selling version in 1973. There is a lot of rust on this car, which is surprising considering its Arizona location. 2. Residing in a Texan salvage yard, this 1960 Chevrolet Impala four-door sedan has plenty of rust-free parts on offer. This one was fitted with the 283cu in V8, which generated 185bhp or 230bhp, depending on whether it had the two-barrel or four-barrel carburettor set-up. 3. An early Thirties Ford fire truck languishes outside Goldfield, Nevada’s fire station. This historic gold mining town suffered two huge…

One of the most important cars from the renowned Ramshead Collection went under the hammer at Bonhams Scottsdale auction earlier this year. This stunning and impressive one-off Ghia-styled concept car – the Super Dart 400 – boasts not just uniqueness in its styling and auto show history, but also impeccable originality and preservation, having been owned by discerning collectors as a truly important show car since it was brand new. Chrysler had two bespoke show cars built by Carrozzeria Ghia to be shown on the Turin firm’s stand in 1956 and 1957; the Dart, shown in 1956, and its sister car, the potent 400 horsepower Super Dart 400 seen here, shown in 1957. Based on a 1957 300C Chrysler chassis, the Super Dart 400 emblems on the tailfins are appropriate…

‘Where are they now?’ dept It’s been a while since we’ve done one of these, but while perusing some of erstwhile Classic American contributor Steve Miles’ images we came across this rather handsome 1965 Buick Riviera, registration BYW 12B. In the pictures it appears silver and Steve seems to have captured it while at a garage, either waiting for an MoT or having some servicing work done. Steve was a frequent visitor to Simpsons of Wembley and Lendrum and Hartman in London, so it’s not exactly clear at which of these London-based specialists these photographs were taken. A cursory look at the DVLA’s Vehicle Enquiry web page shows that BYW 12B is now black and is currently SORN’d with the last MoT issued in July 2017. The date of the…

Most car makers go to some considerable effort to persuade you to buy one of their cars. Packard did not. Instead, Packard’s advertising men devised one of the most memorable automotive marketing slogans ever: “Ask the man who owns one”, and left it at that. We have gone one step further and asked the man who has owned four, Graham Taylor. Why Packard? “They just feel like they were built to last. They’re not like other cars, they’re much more of a quality car. Everything they built was high quality, on a par with Cadillac. Packard was the first to do lots of things. The opening and closing grilles on Rolls-Royces were invented by Packard, and for 1940 they were the first cars to have air conditioning.” Graham explains how…