Indholdsfortegnelse for March 2020 i Classic American

Some of the biggest events on the US car calendar at this time of year are the large auctions that take place in Phoenix/Scottsdale in January. For many American car fans it’s an opportunity to keep their interest in the old car hobby while most cars are sequestered away over the snowy, cold winter months on the east coast and mid-west, and for wealthier fans to sun themselves in the warmth of the Arizona sun. Every year, there’s a ‘Wow!’ moment and this year it was provided by the auction of one of the original Bullitt Mustangs used in the eponymous film. We ran the story (along with several other publications/websites/news outlets etc.) in our December 2018 issue and when the car turned up at Goodwood and in TV commercials…

Disappointed with the quality and fit of the current factory-style 1964-65 GTO/Tempest/LeMans coupe quarter panels on the market, and noting the lack of any 1964-65 convertible quarters, National Parts Depot (NPD) hunted down NOS GM quarter panels to use for brand-new tooling that is an ‘NPD exclusive’. The resulting reproductions feature much crisper and well-defined character lines and details, and superior fit to the alternative reproduction on the market. Panels are stamped from 20 gauge steel and come in an electro-deposit-primer finish for superior corrosion resistance. NPD has been a leader in restoration parts for over 40 years, and its philosophy is to carry the best parts the market has to offer. Your GTO deserves the best. Coupe $599.95 each (pn. Left: C-12940-402A, Right: C-12940-401A); Convertible: $549.95 each (pn. Left:…

Reg DRS 375H VIN BS23VOB178702 Estimate £72,000-£85,000 The design of the 1970 E-Body Plymouth Barracuda, and its sister car the Dodge Challenger, quickly set them apart from the competition. The clean and streamlined profile, with a long bonnet, quickly became a classic and as a result they’re now highly collectable. The re-design was required in order for the engine bay to accommodate the 426cu in Hemi engine, complete with its huge cross flow cylinder heads. The mentality with which the E-body spoke was ‘big’ but accomplished, with style, refinement and flair. Interestingly, the Barracuda brand was not entirely new for 1970 but, in fact, pre-dated the Ford Mustang, arguably the first of the pony cars, in 1964. Barracudas could be ordered with a variety of base engines, from humble six-pots…

UK Nostalgia Super Stock is contested through six events at Santa Pod. In recent years, coupled with improvements and developments, plus the increase in competitors from the demise of York Raceway’s American Super Stock series, UK NSS has been pushed to become one of the largest classes in UK drag racing. The class brings upwards of 40 entries at Santa Pod’s ‘lifestyle’ events and typically around a dozen cars for the national, MSA/ MUK sanctioned events. This smaller number is largely because of the more stringent safety and other requirements of the national events. The national events and lifestyle events each have three rounds. This is bracket or handicapped drag racing. Before each race, the drivers write their predicted quarter-mile time (or dial-in) on their car’s window. When two competitors…

At 83, Bob McKee pulled down the shutters of his engineering workshop in the small town of Palatine, 30 miles north west of Chicago, for the last time. Here, Bob tells us about his long, interesting and fulfilling career. He began: “I was born in Evanston, Illinois, in 1935. My dad was a civil engineer. I wasn’t a good student at school. I was always more interested in sports. But I liked working on cars and mechanical things and had an aptitude for doing that. I used to get Hot Rod magazine and I thought, boy, this is really neat stuff. When I was 15, I bought a Model A Ford pick-up truck for $55 and I made a hot rod out of it. The Granatelli brothers ran a drag…

Reg EGU 743H VIN JS23VOB182646 Estimate £78,000-£92,000 This is a totally original low mileage example, with the extremely rare four-speed manual gearbox, and it was also part of the aforementioned very well-respected UK-based collection. Positioned to compete against the Mercury Cougar and Pontiac Firebird in the upper ranks of the pony car market segment, the Challenger used the same unibody platform as Plymouth’s new Barracuda, but its wheelbase was two inches longer to provide slightly more rear-seat room. This Mopar is even more special though, as it was one the rare R/T 440 performance models (Road/Track) with a 440 cu in/6.3-litre ‘Magnum’ V8. The Challenger R/T came with a Rallye instrument cluster that included a 150mph (240 km/h) speedometer, an 8,000rpm tachometer and an oil pressure gauge. It was sold…

While Chevy and Ford trucks undoubtedly dominate the classic truck scene on both sides of the Atlantic, there are some great-looking trucks from other US manufacturers, ripe for restoration or even modification, that rarely get a look-in. Some are just rare models, while others lack popularity, perhaps because there just isn’t the same aftermarket support as there is for Ford or GM models. Studebaker is a good example and, as far as we can recall, we haven’t featured another Stude’ like this one since October 2004, when we showed you Charlie Peach’s yellow example (unless the Ed knows otherwise, of course?). The classic truck scene, meanwhile, has gone from strength to strength and we couldn’t guess how many more old American trucks of all makes have been imported since then,…

It’s not very often that an exhibition is put on at one of London’s numerous museums and galleries that can be described as a ‘must see’ event for American car fans. This, however, is one of them. Although the exhibition is more ‘international’ in theme than American, there’s an awful lot of American content, because throughout most of the 20th century the American automobile industry was the world leader and much of its activities were recorded on film, TV and the print media – and it’s for that reason the American car industry dominates a lot of this exhibition. It loosely follows a chronological format, but takes in the many strands of the development of the car industry, from the now legendary arrival of the Ford Model T which introduced…

2020 MARCH 1 ’NORMOUS NEWARK AUTOJUMBLE The Showground, Drove Lane, Winthorpe, Newark, Notts NG24 2NY. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk Trade enquiries: 01507 529430 or email exhibitions@mortons.co.uk MARCH 1 HAYNES BREAKFAST CLUB Haynes International Motor Museum, Sparkford, Somerset BA22 7LH. Open to all marques. Monthly event which is free to attend and an opportunity for vehicles owners to enjoy breakfast at the museum cafe and show off their prized possessions at the front of the prestigious museum. 8.30am-12pm. MARCH 8 SOUTHERN SWAP MEET Organised by the National Street Rod Association. North Weald Airfield, Merlin Way, Epping CM16 6HR. Traders from 7.30am, public gate opens 9.30am. www.nsra.org.uk Trade enquiries: contact andy27sawyer@aol.com APRIL 5 NSRA SPRING CRUISE Nation wide cruise day for NSRA members plus friends with pre-1972 qualifying vehicles. See www.nsra.org.uk for details. APRIL 5…

Everyone knew that when one of the two cars used in the making of the movie Bullitt with its iconic stars, Steve McQueen and a certain 1968 Mustang GT, went up for auction that the sale would probably push a few envelopes… Little did folks realise that the almost four-million-dollar figure would turn out to be the highest price ever paid for a Mustang. The sale took place at Mecum’s Kissimee, Florida auction recently and although the hammer dropped at $3.4 million, once all the fees and commissions were added, the total cost was $3.74 million. The car’s former owner, Sean Kiernan, said the auction was like a rock concert and amazingly the bidding started at $3500, as that was what Sean’s father had paid for the car back in…

Registration KRX 703H Chassis No. 136800K212503 Estimate £28,000-£38,000 In the minds of most petrolheads, only a few cars can compete for all-time top-dog muscle-car status. From Mopar, that nod usually goes to the Dodge Challenger R/T 440 or Plymouth’s Hemi ’Cuda. For fans of Ford there are various versions of the Mustang, while for GM fans there’s the Chevelle and if you’re a Chevy lover, it’s generally accepted that the LS6 is the engine to have. Horsepower was king in 1970, and the LS6 cars were rated at 450bhp, although some call that rating conservative. Regardless, these A-bodies were just the thing for brutal acceleration, endless doughnuts and city-block-long burnouts. But what if you needed to haul things every once in a while? Bigger things than would fit in that…

Robert Glen Johnson Junior, Daytona 500 winner and legendary NASCAR team owner, was born June 28, 1931 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Johnson followed in his father’s footsteps as a bootlegger – smuggling illicit moonshine whiskey by night in modified cars. Johnson had begun driving at the age of eight, long before he ever had a licence. ‘I didn’t need one anyway,’ he often later remarked, ‘they weren’t going to catch me.’ Early on, Johnson built his reputation as a driver who could outrun the law on North Carolina’s hills and mountain roads better than anyone. It’s said he invented the Bootleg Turn (also known as a Brodie or handbrake turn) effortlessly spinning his car through 180 degrees and speeding off in the opposite direction. When there wasn’t whiskey to…

The American Motor Corporation and motor sport were once mutually exclusive. The top brass didn’t see the value of such endeavours and were openly scornful of Ford’s Total Performance programme, stating in print: ‘The only race we are interested in is the human race’. That all changed in 1966 after new management decided to inject a little excitement into proceedings. It would chase a more youthful image at a time when sales were on the slide (sales had slumped by 20 per cent during the previous 12 months). Drag racing was just the ticket for gaining publicity, it reasoned. The firm’s newly appointed Performance Activities Director Carl Chamakia was tasked with making things happen. What’s more, he was armed with $1 million in order to get AMC on-track. Chamakia turned…

You may have already noticed this 1939 Ford Deluxe Fordor Sedan is factory-built, right-hand drive. Those interested in RHD American cars will realise it likely originated in one of several places: South Africa, Australia, the UK or, as in this case, Canada. “This Ford was made for export in Windsor, Ontario, Canada,” explains owner Ian Gutteridge, “then despatched to New Zealand as CKD (Completely Knocked Down) form to avoid high import tax. It was then assembled at the Ford plant in Seaview, Wellington, and sold through a dealer in Cheviot on the South Island.” Sadly, details of the car’s original owners aren’t recorded. “We do know the car passed into the hands of a Mr Dyll Pell some time before 1962. Mr Pell originated from England, lived in Titirangi near…

Vendor: Adam Lancaster, Worcester, Worcestershire Telephone: 07772 290183 Price: £17,950 This month’s Drive-Buy car is something a bit more modern and isn’t really for the shy and retiring American car enthusiast. The Ford Crown Victoria was ubiquitous with police forces in the USA and Canada for a great many years. Our Drive-Buy Crown Victoria has its bodywork emblazoned in full NYPD colour and graphics, not to mention the fully working roof-mounted flashing lights and PA system – simply pulling into a petrol station is guaranteed to draw a crowd. In fact this 2003 Ford Crown Victoria will attract attention anywhere it’s driven. When it was new, the car was painted silver and was on its way to the State of Qatar in the Middle East (as the Arabic writing on…