Hemmings Classic Car November 2024

“I have an eclectic taste in history, and my varied preference in old things applies in equal force to vintage vehicles. Prior musings in this page space should suffice as ample evidence.” WHEN I WAS an impressionable age, my parents took me to a friend’s home brimming with the coolest old stuff I ever saw. To give you a small sense, it began with a foot-actuated player piano in the living room that I became infatuated with, along with a Victrola record player. In his bar room sat a prewar barber chair and a turn-of-the-century cash register. A second player piano was in the same space, along with a 1940s General Electric refrigerator—that still functioned!—and showcases full of car-related memorabilia and other sorted trinkets. Over the bar was a framed…

ON JUNE 27, 2024, my father Eli and I (at Traditional Speed & Custom) got a call from Ron Quebec of the New England Auto Auction and Owls Head Transportation Museum, and curator James Kalian. They said the museum’s 1935 Ford phaeton was having mechanical issues while partaking in the 2024 Hemmings Motor News Great Race (Owensboro, Kentucky, to Gardiner, Maine). The car was retrieved from Rhode Island and delivered to our shop in Pittsfield, New Hampshire, arriving just shy of 11 a.m. Immediately after the car was unloaded, we pushed it into the garage and sprang into action. We knew from the call that the problem was somewhere in the driveline. Ron and James believed it to be an issue with the universal joint, so that’s where we started.…

AS A YOUNG TEENAGER growing up in Greenwich, Connecticut, I had to navigate the daily commute to high school, which presented the challenge of a two-mile walk from home. Having already taught myself how to drive by the age of 14, I found myself yearning for a convenient mode of transportation as I eagerly anticipated my 16th birthday. I knew my mother had a special gift in store for me, and it would turn out to be my first and only car: a 1963 Ford Falcon Sprint convertible. Painted in a soft vanilla hue with a striking red interior and white convertible top, it boasted a manual transmission and what I felt was a powerful 260-cu.in. V-8 engine. Owning the Falcon was a dream come true. It not only provided…

THE ARTICLE ABOUT RICK Irgens’ restoration of his 1966 Tempest in the July issue brought back memories and made me envious. His efforts have been on my wish list that will never be fulfilled. My first car was a 1966 Tempest with an OHC 6 and a Powerglide. To my knowledge I was at least the third owner as I bought it from an upperclassman my sophomore year in high school. During my ownership, the car was not referred to by others as my car but rather “Tim’s old Tempest.” It evidently did not become ‘my’ old car until after I sold it. It was wrecked soon after. Tim altered the Tempest by installing shortened El Camino springs with air shocks at all four corners as well as a black…

1971 FORD F-100 A last-minute bid forced a time extension on this desirably spec’d 1971 Ford F-100, which was restored to factorycorrect—with added A/C, power steering and power brakes—roughly eight years ago by its original owner, prior to this seller’s purchase. No serious rust was noted on the body or frame (minor surface corrosion was divulged on the undercarriage), and the Wimbledon White finish was very good with the exception of one fender scratch and related dent. The black vinyl interior looked inviting, and a floor shifter for the four-speed manual was present; this 4x4 also featured a rebuilt 215-hp, 360-cu.in. V-8 and dual-range transfer case. Both parties should appreciate this result. Reserve: $25,000 Selling Price: $28,875  Recent Market Range: $21,000-$34,000 1931 STUDEBAKER COMMANDER Studebaker built some very upmarket cars…

If you’ve ever said, “they don’t make ’em like they used to,” this one’s for you. Spiritually, this is a new 1959 Chevrolet 3600 ¾-ton truck. Technologically, it’s all 21st century. Aesthetically, it walks the line. At a glance, you’d take this for a genuine 1950s-vintage 4x4. Get up close and you realize that it’s actually brand-new and loaded with luxuries that even Fifties passenger-car consumers would never have conceived. This truck is retro, virtually none of it is vintage, and yet it has all the visual appeal of a classic car—something almost never found in the world of street rodding. It didn’t come easy, but it’s a pilot build for a whole series to come of retro overlanders using bodies designed for classic trucks and a throwback aesthetic to…