Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2025 i Classic American

The NSRA Southern Swap Meet has been and gone, so has Wheels Day and that can only mean… it’s summer! Well, it feels like we’ve gone straight from winter into summer, such has the sunny, balmy weather of April and May been. All good news for American car folk of any genre, as it means we can get our machines out and have some fun! And if you’re wondering what’s on where and when, why not turn to Classic American’s Events pages starting on page 72, they’re jam-packed with shows, events and cruises. Spring (yeah, it really is still spring, technically speaking!) is an ideal time to sell your vehicle if you’re thinking of doing so, so why not consider our classified section? Most crucially, the adverts are free and…

Melbourne Raceway, York, April 12/13, 2025 A selection of highly competitive muscle cars and a lone truck made the 1st round call of the much talked about American Super Stock Revival at Melbourne Raceway’s eighth mile drag strip. It’s a class reserved for American factory production cars and pick-up trucks – ancient or modern ‘from stock to highly modified’. Under the command of long-time muscle car enthusiast Howard Holmes, would the revival be popular enough to attract entries? Well, by the end of the weekend we got our answer, and to boot, a race that ended in a ‘squeaker’ of a double breakout to determine the winner! Turning back the clock to a day’s worth of intense qualifying, besieged by a 500-yard oil down, followed next day by a ‘last…

It’s more than half a century since Paul first became hooked on Ford’s iconic pony car and it all started thanks to a well-known movie that we’re sure you’ll all be familiar with. At the easily influenced age of just 13, Paul’s first sighting of a Mustang took place at his local cinema where Bullitt happened to be showing: “The car chase scene just took my breath away,” he remembers. “Watching it all unfold on the big screen probably had a longer-lasting impact than it would if I’d seen it later on TV.” No doubt, many of our readers underwent a similar formative experience and were left impressed by those memorable scenes where the muscle cars were the real stars, if only for a matter of minutes. Yet, for the…

The Early Sixties saw an explosion in ‘compacts’ for American car buyers, kicked off by Ford’s Falcon and the Chevrolet Corvair in 1960. It wasn’t long before every marque had a pint-sized side-hustle and the ’63 Buicks were particularly attractive, as we discover here… The Skylark The Skylark was Buick’s ritziest compact, sort of an Electra in miniature if you will. This Skylark is probably best known, or remembered, for its diminutive 200bhp aluminium V8, which eventually found its way into Sixties Rovers and remained in use for decades on these shores. Transmission choices were a standard three-speed synchromesh, a sporty four-speed manual and two-speed auto ’box. Anyone for tennis? Skylark was marketed as young, sporty and the tennis motif here suggests that swanky country clubs would be its natural…

The first heat of the annual Car of the Year competition took place at the Surrey Street Rodders’ Wheels Day show on Good Friday. Sponsored by Kingstown Shipping for the past few years, the contest – with heats held at various locations across the country – showcase the very best of American metal residing in the UK. This year, Kingstown has been joined by Vintage Tyres as co-sponsor for the prestigious event, which culminates with the grand final at the NEC in November. With a very full field of cars, our fantastic first heat winner was Geoff Mitchell’s 1961 Chrysler Newport Convertible. There was no missing this car, with its eye-catching period-correct Dubonnet Red paintwork, enormous fins, canted headlights and gorgeous Kelsey Hayes chrome wire wheels – surely the apex…

The Petrolheadonism LIVE car show never fails to delight and there’ll be some great new features to enjoy at this gigantic event on September 6 and 7. After bringing Richard Rawlings to the UK for the first two events and following that major coup with another in the shape of Chip Foose last year, show organisers have tempted a third stateside superstar to attend this year’s extravaganza. Dave Kindig, of TV show Bitchin’ Rides fame, is the celebrity face of a revamped show in an exciting new location. Mr Petrolheadonism, aka Ciro Ciampi, founder of the car show brand, said: “Knebworth was great for us. A big-name venue like that really helped us put Petrolheadonism LIVE on the car show map with massive kudos. But I keep the shows evolving…

FANTASTIC 80S! Dear Classic American I just had first chance to look at the magazine as I’ve been working in Chelmsford since Monday and it hadn’t been delivered. It’s a great article and had positive feedback from my family/friends and my American car friends! I’m sure you will get a lot of feedback in the next few weeks from readers! About their experiences… Hopefully not from the guy who bought (swapped) my Ford Bronco for his GT Mustang! The Bronco is the only car that I was seriously thinking of setting fire to! The Mustang was one of the best fun cars I ever owned (no other issues) once I got the gearbox replaced! Even with its rear drum brakes! No doubt be seeing you at Stars & Stripes in…

1970 Ford Galaxie Fire Chief Station Wagon There’s something about public service vehicles that I find fascinating, whether they be police cars, ambulances or fire trucks. A friend shares my interest and lent me this model he’d purchased recently. Produced by The Goldvarg Collection in 1:43 scale, it was an unfamiliar brand requiring some research. I discovered that Argentinian Sergio Goldvarg has had a passion for model cars since the early 1960s, starting with Matchbox models. His prolific acquisition of model cars, more than 12,000 by 2009, gained him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as having the world’s largest collection. Goldvarg worked as an architect and a journalist, but in recent years has become famous for his very high quality 1:43 model cars. First manufactured in…

Every summer, there is one date we circle in red on the calendar, and if you are a fan of American motoring, you probably do the same! This year’s Classic American Stars & Stripes Show, now proudly sponsored by Hagerty Insurance, is returning to Tatton Park on July 5-6. It’s a popular fixture on the UK’s American car scene, attracting more than 16,000 enthusiasts each year. Nestled within the historic grounds of Tatton Park near Knutsford in Cheshire, the event marks an incredible 38 years since its debut back in 1987. It remains one of the most vibrant and best-loved celebrations of American cars that the UK has to offer. Prepare yourself for another year of stellar entertainment and, most importantly, great classic Americans. We’ll be there soaking it all…

This nicely preserved original Lincoln Town Car coupe, finished in Bright Gold Irid, was purchased new by Eugene Santanini, a Californian rancher, while in his mid-forties. At the time, the car was just one year old and sported 12,000 miles. He cherished the car until his death, and when the car was due to be sold, his local garage, where the car had been maintained, took care of its sale on behalf of Mr Santanini’s estate. It was bought by an Englishman, sight unseen, and imported into the UK where it is believed to have received light use, but was mostly kept in storage, with the consumables being replaced and any features that did not operate correctly receiving attention. This included the Cartier clock that was returned to the USA…

Author: Marc Cranswick Published by: Veloce Publishing ISBN: 978-1-787116-69-6 Price: £25 After reviewing the new book on the Chevrolet Corvette last month, I had a look at the Veloce Publishing catalogue. To my surprise I discovered that Marc Cranswick, the author of several Veloce books, including the aforementioned Corvette one, had previously written a book dedicated to Ford’s compact Seventies Maverick and its upmarket cousin, the Mercury Comet. It was published in 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic, so perhaps it was less likely that I would have seen it when first offered for sale. However, I have a particular affection for this rather overlooked car, as a 1970 Ford Maverick coupe was my first American car that I bought in mid-1975, as soon as my car insurance premiums reduced on…