Hemmings Classic Car October 2024

“He Was determined to make a full-bore assault on the stock car scene—to the tune of 16,000 billboards and announcement in 7,500 daily newspapers across the country, plus television ads.” IF YOU’VE BEEN following my musings over the years, then you’ve recognized a lack of Chevrolet in my life. I can count on one hand prolonged direct contact with the storied brand: My dad’s 1988 S10 Blazer “High Country,” which mysteriously ingested fluids daily; a high school friend’s 1981 Citation that he levelled a stone wall with; and a host of early Eighties Malibu coupes we carved into circle track racers during the early Nineties. That’s not to say I’ve not harbored a desire to own a few Chevys. I’ve long admired the slant-nose styling of the 1976 Laguna S-3,…

IT WAS DECEMBER 2023 (“Goodbye, Static State,” HCC #231) when we introduced our 1936 Chevrolet ½-ton Panel Truck in these pages, followed by an update on the project in the May 2024 issue (“Retreaux,” HCC #236). Back then, we could only talk about what was wrong and what we intended to do about it. Now we can say that we’ve started the doing. In May, we said we’d swap out the 230-cu.in. straight-six (which has since been revealed as a 250) for a 292 (more on this engine in a moment) and replace the NP435 creeper-gear four-speed with an overdrive five-speed. As of this writing, we’ve inspected both our replacement 292 and five-speed, confirmed them to be usable without expensive repairs, and run the 292 on a pallet just…

I GREW UP on Long Island, New York, where for several summers beginning in 1971 I worked at a local beach. There, I would twice fall in love: once with my future ex-wife; and with British cars. My daily driver at the time was a gold 1965 Mustang convertible with a 289-cu.in. V-8 that my dad bought wellused from a corner gas station. The Ford was a backup unit for the family Chevy Impala station wagon. Whenever possible, I parked that Mustang right next to a coworker’s black 1969 Pontiac GTO. His car made the most compelling car sounds I had ever heard, typically while attempting to launch me, a front passenger, into the rear seat. That is until a glistening red 1960 Jaguar XK150 convertible growled and pawed its…

WHEN I READ THE ARTICLE about the 1953 Ford Customline coupe in the June issue, I went out to my garage to look at my ’54 Hudson Jet. I shouldn’t be too surprised that my Jet looks like a Ford that had been in a shrinking machine; it’s even the same color. I’m told that the resemblance goes back to the extraordinary Chicago huckster, Jim Moran, who sold around 10 percent of Hudson production from his Courtesy Motors dealership. I have heard that, as an influential Hudson board member, Jim insisted that the new Jet compact look like the 1952 Ford. When ’54 rolled around, the upscale Hudson Jet-Liner had taken on much of the trim of the featured Ford coupe. The attached photo illustrates this. −PRESTON STEVENS Austell, Georgia…

1955 CHEVROLET BEL AIR Cleanly styled, classic 1955 Chevy Bel Air Sport Coupes are a perennial American favorite for good reason; they offered equal parts looks, comfort, and in V-8 guise, roadability. This Regal Turquoise and India Ivory example had an undated older restoration that appeared to be holding up smartly, since negligible surface rust was noted along with one paint chip, and “a couple paint bubbles” were present. The twotone interior looked comfortable, and flaws divulged included a small section of split vinyl outside of the seating area and a stain in the headliner. Some age was visible underhood, but the 265-cu.in. small-block V-8 was believed factory-installed. This car nearly doubled its reserve. Reserve: $24,000 Selling Price: $49,350 Recent Market Range: $25,000-$65,000 1958 BMW 600 The technological powerhouses that…

As a 10-year-old used car, back in 1967, a ’57 Chevy was still a highly appealing choice and sought after on the secondhand market. A teenager like 17-year-old Rich Ragone, then living in East Brunswick, New Jersey, and attending East Brunswick High School would have been thrilled to have such transportation. Suitably tweaked, a Tri-Five (1955-’57 Chevrolet) could be a real threat to the latest hot machinery from Detroit: Chevelles, GTOs, 4-4-2s, Fairlane GTs, Plymouth GTXs, etc. Even without modifications, the style and respectable power of a clean, stock Bel Air made for a desirable ride. Part of it was size. The full-size automobiles of 1967 were noticeably larger than those of 1957. The growth trend had accelerated at Chevrolet with the introduction of the ’58 models and by ’64…