Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2023 i Classic American

There are some very tasty morsels going under the hammer at H&H’s anniversary sale on September 20, including a brace of Shelby Mustangs. There’s a very patina’d 1968 Shelby GT350H fastback and another ’68 Shelby GT500 fastback. There’s also an early 1965 Ford Mustang convertible (or 1964½ if you prefer,) which wears aftermarket wheels and has had a rack and pinion steering conversion. Other standout cars include a ‘General Lee’ Charger (look away now if you don’t like the Confederate stars’n’bars flag!) which has undergone a £77k restoration and was used as a promo vehicle for the Dukes movie back in 2005, plus a couple of wartime Willys Jeeps and even a Ford Model A if you like that sort of thing! 1968 Shelby GT500 Fastback Estimate: £85,000-£95,000 ● GT500…

The Hot Rod Hayride is generally accepted to be the event that broke the mould for British rod runs back in the early 2000s, introducing a strict entry policy, with the emphasis on cool traditional style hot rods and customs, coupled with some exceptionally good entertainment. Originally organised by North London club The Executioners for the first few years, it soon found its spiritual home at Bisley Shooting Ground in Surrey, before Bisley’s owners decided to evict all car and bike related events after 2016. A brave attempt to relocate the Hayride to Kent’s Headcorn Aerodrome in 2017 lacked the Bisley atmosphere, and it was generally thought that this great event was finished for good. However, negotiations with the Bisley owners saw a welcome return in 2022, albeit without the…

1. Rewind the clock 60 years, to when this 1953 Chevrolet was built, and station wagons were all the rage. They had been around since 1910, when independent manufacturers first started fitting wooden bodies to Ford Model Ts, but were considered to be commercial vehicles then. Their popularity grew in the 1930s and 1940s, coinciding with a greater choice, more luxury, and the emergence of steel-bodied wagons. But it’s the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s that were the station wagon’s heydays. 2. We’re in the Nash corner of Desert Valley Auto Parts’ Casa Grande, Arizona site, and sitting on top of the 1953 Ambassador Custom is a rare 1951 Rambler Greenbrier two-door station wagon. Although you wouldn’t know it from looking at this one, Greenbrier buyers got a plusher interior and…

You could be forgiven for thinking that the whole world is going electric, but the good ol’ petrol V8 engine is still alive and kicking (just about!) in Detroit in a selection of passenger cars – and as for trucks, well the V8 is still the preferred method of motivation. We have a quick look here at a couple of favourites that are bowing out this year or at the end of 2024… Chevrolet Camaro The Camaro has to be our choice as the bargain V8; you can pick up an LT1 for less than $40k, which offers a 455bhp V8 and if you opt for the 1LE performance package it provides superior performance to cars that cost two or three times as much! Better be quick though, as the…

This year the AACUK committee, who have only been in office for about a year and a half, decided to go for something very different for their first club show since the Covid lockdowns, joining with the well-established Upton Blues Festival. In spite of the weather – 24 hours of rain on the Saturday and showers first thing on the Sunday – it was a great success. It was local member Glyn Olden who came up with the idea of joining the blues festival and he also set the wheels in motion. They had two trophies to award on the Saturday, with the Upton Blues Trophy presented by guitarist Luther Grosvenor. Luther played with Mot the Hoople and several other bands back in the day and the winner was chosen…

From here to obscurity America’s initial flirtation with the electric car occurred in the wake of the Oil Shock in 1973. The car pictured here was one of the more well-reasoned offerings, but not one that ever made the leap to production status for all its apparent merit. Conceived by Copper Development Association Inc, the copper and brass market development arm, the Electric Town Car was in part funded by the US Government. It had launched a three-year programme to make electric cars a viable alternative to petrol-driven vehicles in an urban setting, being one of myriad designs to emerge that decade. This car was the fourth distinct prototype dreamed up and built by CDA, each one representing a technological advance over the previous offering. The firm’s interest…

It’s worth wearing a decent pair of walking shoes if you’re visiting the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The four-day event usually attracts over 200,000 people and as a result there can be crowds. However, by walking around the massive site you can easily get away from them, as well as have a closer look at a wide variety of cars – both static and in motion. The event, which has grown hugely since it began 30 years ago, is centred around a hillclimb course of 1.16 miles and you can spectate along much of the length of this. McLaren was celebrating its 60th anniversary this year and ran many cars up the hill, including the M1A its first sports racing car. The small block Chevy made a great noise and…

It was hot August nights in Redhill as the annual Redhill Cruise Nite organised by Dream Cars took place on Saturday the 19th. Dream Cars’ Stu Homan told Classic American: “The event’s really just doubled in size since we started it four years ago… There were more cars cruising than ever before – it’s as close to Swedish style cruising as we’ve ever had – and we’ve been able to use the Halfords car park in addition to the train station car park. The police were fantastic and kept the cars moving and we got extra marshals this year too. I’ve not had any negative feedback at all!” And the Dream Cars boys are busy planning the next one for 2024, so get your diaries out and mark Saturday, August…

Anew event on the hot rod calendar for 2023 was the MPH 1/8th Mile Vintage Drags, held at Deenethorpe Aerodrome, just outside Corby, Northants in late June. When news of the event first surfaced on social media, it caused quite a stir as it clearly wasn’t being organised by any of the known clubs or associations. In fact, it was actually put together by a bunch of proactive hot rodders from Hertfordshire who, inspired by some of the informal 1/8th mile drag race events for traditional style cars currently popular in the States, felt there was a need for something similar over here. Right from the start, they wanted to keep the event as informal and as ‘vintage’ in feel as possible, without compromising on safety of course, so they…

Across the pond I’m sure a good many of you follow classic car trends on this side of the Atlantic, including the big auctions and events. As a Brit expat living over here, one thing I’ve struggled to get my head around is the term ‘collector car’ – one that Americans frequently use when it comes to classics. I’ve always been of the mind that old cars are to be enjoyed and used and as far as my personal situation goes, that’s always been the case, ever since I first got one at the age of 16. To me, the term ‘collector car’, conjures up images of people with more money than they know what to do with, who purchase desirable cars and trucks in significant numbers and stash…

As organisers, it is always slightly nerve-wracking in the weeks building up to the Mopar Euronationals. Will everything be ready? Have we forgotten anything? How’s the weather? Will people turn up? Thankfully, the mood on the various social media platforms was plenty to settle our nerves. It was clear that the 29th Mopar Euronationals was still a highlight on many folks’ calendar. Preparations at the track start on Wednesday, with the first race teams arriving with their trailers, Winnebagos and super-gazebos on Thursday morning. This year they were treated to a certain celebrity DJ enjoying an open-track practice session in his Plymouth ’Cuda Pro Mod funny car: something to look out for next year we hope! So, with the stage set and the keen early-entry visitors already in place, we…

Classic American Events, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR September 15-17 HOT ROD DRAGS Now celebrating the 33rd annual Original Hot Rod Drags, supported by the NSRA. It’s a hot rod show at the racetrack! The usual, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ formula with Pre ’73 RWYB, invited race classes, Wild Bunch, fireworks and much more. For more info. see: www.nsra.org.uk or www. santapod.co.uk. Also see www.nsra.org.uk. 15-17 ISLE OF MAN FESTIVAL OF MOTORING AMERI-CAN EXTRAVAGANZA The biggest gathering of American classics ever seen on the Isle of Man, featuring exclusive runs on the Sloc Mountain, visits to the Isle of Man Motor Museum & Jurby Transport Museum, seafront car display in Douglas, photo shoot at the TT Grandstand, escorted motorcade on the TT circuit, Isle…