Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2023 i Classic American

Every time I attend the Beaulieu International Autojumble I wonder how anyone looking for something specific manages to find it among the hundreds of stalls crammed with cardboard boxes full of unmarked parts. It really is like looking for a needle in a haystack. No, make that several haystacks. And yet at close of play you see folks heading back to the car parks laden with stuff. If you are just browsing, something will inevitably pop up and catch your eye, but that’s a different thing altogether to hunting down that elusive thingamabob for your 1928 Dodge Victory Six. But I bet it’s there somewhere. What I really enjoy is poring over the cars for sale in the Automart and Bonhams Auction and this year, there were loads of American…

Robert E. ‘Bob’ Riggle died in early September and while you may not immediately recognise his name, you’ll probably be familiar with his race car; the Plymouth Barracuda-based Hurst Hemi Under Glass. Riggle was a renowned figure in drag racing and stunt driving for more than five decades. Born in Mansfield, Ohio he developed an interest in machinery after successfully repairing his mother’s washing machine and then progressed to racing cars in 1958. His initial involvement with Hurst Performance was as a fabricator and mechanic, but in March 1966 Riggle became the second driver of the Hurst Hemi Under Glass after ‘Wild’ Bill Shrewsberry left to concentrate on his own drag car, the L.A. Dart. The Hurst Hemi in its initial form was a 1965 Plymouth Barracuda with a bored…

The American motor industry of the Fifties is remembered as a time of prosperity and glamour, dominated as it was by the Big Three carmakers. For the last few remaining independent carmakers, times were harder and the twilight was approaching. The eventual demise of Nash, Hudson, Packard, Studebaker et al, was sad for a number of reasons, not least because their products were arguably the most interesting. Nash, for example, experimented with aerodynamics in the pursuit of economy and efficiency, while Hudson’s postwar party trick was its ‘Step-Down’ design for enhanced safety, comfort and handling. Though Hudson had a 50-year life from 1908 to 1957, its name was forgotten by many until Disney gave everyone’s memory a jog with its 2006 film Cars. For many enthusiasts, the star of the…

Classic American Events, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR October 12-16 RHYTHM RIOT Pontins, New Lydd Road, Camber, Sussex TN31 7RL. Rhythm Riot’s Silver Jubilee, celebrating 25 years of this fantastic event. Expect to see 25 hot bands, including: The Bellfuries, Barrence Whitfield, Ray Collins’ Hot-Club, Bobby Wilson, Big Boy Bloater Jumpin R&B show, Tammi Savoy, The Go Getters, MFC Chicken, Dylan Kirk and the Killers, Alan Power and the Aftershocks and many, many more! There’ll be 85 hours of Rockin’ DJs, three music venues with dazzling dance floors, huge vintage clothing mall, a classic and custom car cruise and much, much more! For more information or too book see: www.rhythmriot.com or Call 0208 566 5226. 13/14 VIVA LAS VEGAS Orleans Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada. All night Record…

Experts probing the provenance of a custom design 1963 Corvette C2 going on auction this month in Johannesburg, South Africa, say tantalizing teasers point towards their barn find being an undiscovered American muscle collector ‘unicorn’. “Despite an exhaustive investigation, this car remains a bit of a head-scratcher,” says Kevin Derrick, CEO of Creative Rides Classic & Collectibles Auctions in South Africa. “It’s the only mystery we haven’t been able to conclusively solve in the hundreds of cars we’ve appraised over the years. “That said, specialist opinion of the design modifications leans towards this ’Vette being a Baldwin Motion custom build, which would make it one of the rarest and most collectable Chevys in the world.” Nearly 50 years after it shut, the original Baldwin-Motion Performance Group from Long Island, New…

Across the pond Does the idea of a brand-new, big-cube, pushrod American V8 get your pulse racing? Do you think that even in this era of overhead cams, small-displacement, turbocharging, hybrids and EVs, such a concept would be possible? Well, it is. Say hello to Ford’s 7.3-litre ‘Godzilla’ V8. First introduced in 2020, the Godzilla is offered as an option in Ford’s Super Duty pickups and chassis cab derivatives, as well as motorhomes and other medium-duty truck applications. So why, after spending more than 30 years developing modular overhead-camshaft V8s, did Ford Motor Company decide to return to pushrods? Essentially three things – reliability, low cost, and lower maintenance – factors that are hugely important to commercial fleets. While you might think the ‘Godzilla’ engine is a rework of…

Classic cars can seem oddly at home among boats, almost as though the traditional lines of yachts have something in common with the golden age in car styling. Here, at the Cameron House Marina on Loch Lomond, we have a pretty setting for some photos but this amazing Honduras Maroon Corvette is drawing the eye much more than all the expensive motorboats. Partly it’s the colour – the boats are mostly white – and partly it’s the Corvette’s fabulous shape. It’s got a lot more flair than most modern boats, and perhaps needs to be among the sleek, sparkle-finish Chris-Craft or Glastron speedboats of 50 years ago to fit in. Hard as it is to believe, the last examples from the C1 Corvette generation are now more than 60 years…

Without question, the eighth-generation Chevrolet Corvette, while still labelled Stingray, is by far the most radical example of the breed yet. Introduced as a 2020 model, it marked a completed departure from previous versions by being a mid-engine design. Chevy previously toyed with the idea of a mid-engine Corvette as far back as the mid-Sixties and, indeed, the concept resulted in several prototypes, notably the XP-882 of 1969 and later the XP-895, which morphed into the Aerovette. Originally slated for production in 1980, the mid-engine Aerovette was canned on the grounds of being too complex and costly; especially once Edward Cole, Zora-Arkus Duntov and Bill Mitchell retired from General Motors. That is, until the C8 arrived on the scene. While some purists took umbrage at the thought of a mid-engine…

MPC Switchers 1932 Ford Hot Rod Seeing the original style box art for MPC’s old Switchers kit for the 1932 Ford on the Round 2 website brought back fond memories. Scheduled for re-release in September, UK importer Amerang has advertised its arrival in the first quarter of 2024. No price was given. Years ago these kits were quite rare. Apparently, the Switchers models first arrived in 1981, later than I remember. There were at least four in the series. Two 1932 Ford variations were a two-door sedan/phaeton and a roadster/five-window coupe. There were also two Ford Model Ts, a 1925 roadster and a 1927 coupe. The idea behind the Switchers was novel. One assembled and painted the basic chassis, then clipped, but didn’t glue, a selection of alternate body and…

The Wildest Cats in Town 21st Reunion takes place at Pontin’s seaside Pakefield, Suffolk NR33 7PF, from Friday, November 24, 2023 to Monday the 27th, plus there’s a special welcoming party on Thursday, November 23. Event organiser Ritchie Gee explained: “We’ve pulled out all the stops, with the best lineup of top rock ‘n’ roll bands in the UK, with 27 hot bands and seven fantastic DJs. “From the USA we have a special one-off appearance (and for the first time at the Wildest Cats) from California and celebrating 35 years on the road: Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys, with Ashley Kingsman on lead guitar. “Also, back by popular demand with his Fifties Elvis Show is Travis Le Doyt; backing Travis up is the highly talented Darrel Higham on…

With a last-minute invitation to this prestigious event held at Churchill’s birthplace, Blenheim Palace, the diary was free and I had no hesitation in saying ‘yes’. I did not carry out much research into the exhibits beforehand, but I was sure I was going to see some great cars, despite a partial overlap with the Hampton Court Concours (more about that next month!) which could have affected the turnout. This astonishing car was on Indian plates, specially imported for various UK events, and I was lucky enough to be able to talk to the proud owner Rajiv Kehr. Later in the day I tagged on to the judges’ talk, and by coincidence they picked on this very car to explain how they go about awarding points – or deducting them…

From here to obscurity It was – and remains – a car with an identity crisis, and one which has a celebrity cachet that was earned erroneously. If anything, this one-off roadster deserved better. Its creator certainly did, Lloyd Templeton having been bumped down several notches in the recognition stakes relative to the man who the car was purportedly named after – legendary comedic actor Bob Hope. But then who would remember a no-name excavating contractor from Iowa? Nevertheless, the car pictured here was entirely the work of Lloyd Templeton and it was built to his specification using a raft of parts lifted from used cars. The design was mapped out as far back as 1948, with the basis for the Templeton Saturn being the running gear and…

Dave MacDonald was born in 1936 in El Monte, California, and became a talented mechanic and Corvette enthusiast. In 1956, he started drag racing his own Corvettes and won close to 100 trophies over the next three years. He then switched to circuit racing with the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and immediately started winning with his Corvette against some of the top names of the day including Bob Bondurant. His results and professionalism brought him to the attention of Zora Arkus-Duntov, Corvette’s race director, otherwise known as ‘The Father of the Corvette’. Dave was signed up to test and then race the first Corvette ZO6 against the new Shelby Cobra at Riverside in October ’62. Carroll Shelby then hired him and in February ’63, also at Riverside, Dave…

Fuelled by an endless passion for vintage Jeeps and decades of experience restoring classics from the Sixties to Eighties, JeepHeritage has made a name for itself creating some of the most well executed Jeep restorations in the world. Known for flawlessly blending Jeep’s original rugged styling with subtly executed modern improvements, JeepHeritage has breathe new life into one of the most popular Jeep models from the Eighties in the shape of this spectacular 1981 J-10 Honcho Sportside. Designed to honour Jeep’s original design philosophy and capabilities, the company has delivered a bright bold Eighties-era Sportside that perfectly encapsulates the brash, brassy fun style of that time that enthusiasts fell in love with across the globe. “All of JeepHeritage’s work showcases our immense passion and deep admiration for the historic Jeep…

REDHILL DREAM CRUISE Redhill, Surrey August 19, 2023 Now a pretty much unmissable event for American car enthusiasts in the southeast and further afield, the fourth Redhill Dream Cruise once again transformed the innocuous Surrey commuter town into England’s own Van Nuys or Woodward Avenue. Dream Cars, true to form, flooded the main drag with an extravagance of Cadillacs, although other jet-age cruisers were well-represented, up to and including a rare 1960 Chrysler 300F convertible. A most impressive turnout of ’55 Chevys included a brace of Nomads and a Bel Air convertible in Indy Pace Car livery, but one of the most spectacular cars of all had to be the one-of-99 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham, which was built in Italy by Pinin Farina and cost twice as much as an…