Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2021 i Classic American

A man from Stourbridge has won a 1966 Ford Mustang for less than a pony (Cockney rhyming slang for £25) – it cost him just £7.50! Colin Dixon entered the competition after researching into classic cars online and stumbling across the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website. He bought himself a single ticket, costing less than a couple of takeaway coffees and lo and behold, his name was then revealed during the live draw as the winner. “I was flabbergasted to be honest,” Colin explained. “It’s not every day someone rings you up to tell you you’ve won a car.” The Mustang’s registration number GVU 548D even matched Colin’s birthday, born on the fifth of the month, in 1948 – it must have been fate. Colin admits he’s won a few…

On September 23, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an Executive Order to ban the sale of internal combustion engines in the Golden State by 2035. His announcement follows a spate of other governments around the world, including the UK and Germany, that have made similar declarations and given a slightly earlier deadline of 2030. Thanks to the apparent success of Tesla, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have become ‘cool’ and ‘hip’. And many of today’s politicians, wanting themselves to be portrayed as ‘cool’ and ‘hip’, have jumped on the BEV bandwagon, stating that the internal combustion engine is basically the root of all evil and if we want our kids and grandkids to inherit a liveable planet, EVs are the solution and we need to have mass adoption as soon…

◆ The Blues Brothers was born when Aykroyd was introduced to Belushi and started playing him old blues songs. Saturday Night Live (SNL) producer Paul Schaffer suggested the name Blues Brothers and they formed a band of session musicians then did warm-ups for the SNL audiences. From that, the characters were developed by Aykroyd into a 324-page film script, later edited by John Landis. ◆ The movie virtually single-handedly revived the careers of co-stars Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Cab Calloway and John Lee Hooker (who sings Boom Boom in the scenes on Maxwell Street), yet the studio had wanted it to be a disco music movie starring Rose Royce. ◆ Pope John Paul the Second visited the film set during his visit to Chicago and blessed it. ◆ Universal provided…

Edsel Ford is historically overshadowed by his father Henry and is often portrayed as the bullied son who Henry put into an early grave with his despotic refusal to share in the power and decisions that would shape the future of the company that Edsel was ultimately supposed to take over when his father finally handed over the reins. Yet, it should be remembered that it was Edsel who in fact managed to convince his father to retire the antiquated Model T in 1927 and replace it with the Model A, when the old man wanted to carry on making it indefinitely. It was an important decision and secured the future of Ford, as rival manufacturers were beginning to catch up – perhaps not in terms of price, but certainly…

A 1969 Mercury Cougar XR7 convertible, which had a starring role in the classic Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, will be offered for the first time at auction, fittingly at the Bonhams Bond Street Sale on December 16, following a nut and bolt restoration. The former film star has an estimate of £100,000-£150,000. In the motion picture, the Cougar was owned by ‘Bond Girl’ Contessa Teresa (Tracy) di Vicenzo, played by the late Dame Diana Rigg, and famously driven on ice in a high-speed car chase scene. The filmmakers Eon Productions procured three identical Cougars from Ford’s Mercury division for the film in 1969. Early research suggests that this example was used in the ‘barn scene’ when James Bond, played by George Lazenby in his only outing as…

RACING GREEN Dear Classic American, I did not win the inaugural Monaco Grand Prix in 1929 as my cousin William did, in his own Bugatti 35B painted dark green, not the usual Bugatti blue. I have heard that this car painted green may have been the origin of the colour British Racing Green, although others say it’s not. I keep an open mind on the subject. However, I digress. As an avid longtime reader of Classic American, I thought you might be interested in the following. I have previously owned a 1948 Chevrolet Fleetmaster, a 1978 Diamond Jubilee Edition Lincoln Continental, 7.5-litres. Yes, it did have diamonds in the oval side windows. Both were sold on. Currently, my American cars are a 1978 25th Anniversary Corvette C3 which, in my…

Since its launch last year, Carrot Town Garage based in Cambridgeshire, has definitely made its mark on the American car scene in the UK. However, founder Stuart Davies is pretty sure there are still a few people out there who have not yet heard of them. We caught up with Stuart to find out more about their American Classic Car business. So why call it Carrot Town Garage? Well, we are based in March out here in the Fens, which is where most of the regions’ carrots are grown. Locals often call the town of March ‘Carrot Town’ so it kind of made sense. We do get a few giggles from the name sometimes, but most people think it’s great. How did the business come about? I wanted to create…

With more or less every cruise, show, meet and event wiped off the calendar for 2020 (cheers Covid-19!), it seemed that the End of Summer Brighton Run would be off the cards too… but then certain restrictions were lifted and with that, so were our spirits! With little time to plan and after speaking with Poul, the owner of the Roedean Cafe on Marine Drive in Brighton, I decided to put on the yearly run after all and it seemed many were pleased about the news. My partner Liz and I had been isolating for what seemed like an eternity, so when we woke up Sunday morning with a view to actually going out, we were very excited. Our kids, grandkids and our great-grandson were all coming along too, so…

After a dismal 2020, everyone is hoping that some sort of normality will return to the American car show scene for 2021. As such, major show organisers have already started announcing dates, so here are the most recent ones we’re aware of. If you’re a show or event organiser and would like your event included in upcoming issues, just email us with the details at: email@classic-american.com Kustom Kulture Blastoff, Lincolnshire Showground April 30-May 3 Classic Car & Resto Show, NEC June 11-13 Retrofestival, Nottinghamshire Showground June 11-13 NSRA Fun Run, Oakham, Leics June 18-20 Redneck Rumble, Notts June 25-27 Stars & Stripes, Tatton Park, Cheshire July 3-4 Rally of the Giants, Blenheim Palace, Oxon July 11 NSRA Super Nats, Old Warden, Beds August 6-8 Viva Las Vegas, Las Vegas Sept…

Pete Wiseman, chairman, Mopar Muscle Association. Like so many others in the Mopar world, I was extremely saddened and shocked at the untimely death of Tony Oksien. I had known Tony for many years, and have long aspired to live up to his values in terms of knowledge, factual accuracy and general decency. As most people are aware, he was instrumental in setting up the Mopar Muscle Association which was designed to “bring Chrysler’s heritage to the masses”. He was the club chairman for many years, and then moved on to become the club’s venerated president. His passion and knowledge of the Chrysler marque was unequalled in the United Kingdom and through his efforts it became a country which, the US aside, was the leading light on Mopar and muscle…

Burning embers burn hottest. The Studebaker Avanti was a machine admired by even those who don’t normally ‘do’ American cars. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late, and this once-proud manufacturer produced its final vehicle in early 1966. But that wasn’t the end of the Avanti, which famously lived on after the design rights passed to a couple of enterprising Studebaker dealers. Rather than chasing volume sales, they astutely reasoned that they could make cars in small numbers and sell them at a premium as a ‘boutique’ offering for a discerning clientele. Hence Avanti the Studebaker model thus became a marque in its own right. And this approach worked well – to begin with. However, scroll forward to the Eighties and Avanti was at a crossroads. It was an era…

You might be wondering why we’ve parked an old police car inside a shopping centre. If so, you’ll need to familiarise yourself with the cult 1980 musical comedy movie The Blues Brothers for any of this to make sense. Dan Aykroyd wrote the script and plays Elwood Blues, who with brother Jake (John Belushi) needs to raise $5000 to pay the annual taxes on the orphanage where they grew up. So they reassemble their estranged rhythm and blues band for a concert and in the process upset two police forces, some cowboys and even the Illinois Nazi party. Throughout the film, Elwood drives The Bluesmobile, a six-year-old 1974 Dodge Monaco police car that’s retired from service. Early on, when the Illinois State police are chasing the Bluesmobile, Elwood escapes by…

Lee Gale’s Pontiac Sedan Delivery sure cuts an impressive dash, especially with its sign-written panels – stick-on graphics, not painted for easy removal - which always improve the aesthetics of a commercial vehicle. The thing that attracted Lee to the van in the first place - other than it wasn’t a project, he’s got loads of those - was its sleek and curvaceous styling. It’s also something of a rare beast; there are a few examples surviving in the UK and a few more in the US while, in period, similar offerings from Ford and Chevrolet were far more ubiquitous. “Around 1800 were produced in 1951 and I believe the Pontiac Club know of about 19 that have survived,” explains Lee. “The van was imported from the US in 2014…

This year the U.S. Car Reunion celebrated its 25th anniversary with more than 400 American vehicles in attendance. There were a limited number of free tickets available for this silver celebration of classic cars and demand completely outstripped supply. The event took place at the glamorous seaside resort of Lignano Sabbiadoro (Udine) which takes its name from the colour of its fine golden sand. Lignano offers visitors plenty of great hotels and camping at reasonable prices, so everyone can enjoy themselves by the shining Adriatic sea – what could be better than Italian food and wine, sunshine, beaches and American cars?! The U.S. Car Reunion takes place at the same time as the Biker Fest and Saturday morning saw plenty of American cars and several clubs already lined up for…

Grumpy’s Vega Drag racing is a constantly evolving sport and always has been. Back in the early Seventies Mopar’s Hemi muscle dominated the Pro Stock field, much to the chagrin of the Ford and Chevy guys, who constantly hassled the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) to adjust the rules to flatten the playing field, preferably in their favour. Veteran engine builder and drag racer Bill ‘Grumpy’ Jenkins favoured Chevrolet and was one of the most successful Pro Stock racers, winning 13 NHRA events between 1965 and 1975. His proposals for rule changes and weight breaks after Chrysler flattened all opposition in the 1971 season favoured smaller, lighter cars like Chevy’s Vega and Ford’s Pinto. He argued these compact cars were more likely to be bought by the race fans who…