Indholdsfortegnelse for June 1953 i MotorTrend

TO OUR MINDS the new Studebaker is the most refreshing, stimulating, and progressively styled car to emerge from a stock car manufacturer’s factory since the days of the Lincoln Continental and the coffin-nosed Cord. Yet, it may be too jar advanced in styling concept for the public to accept. This we doubt, but it’s something that the Studebaker Corporation is probably sweating out. After placing this body style on 43 per cent of their total production, if they wind up with the same result that Chrysler did with their 1934 Airflow, they’ll have a rough row to hoe. Whether or not the radically styled Studebaker will meet with public approval is hard to determine. A quick poll of people caught looking at our test coupe (as if anyone didn’t!) during…

OLDSMOBILE USED TO BE KNOWN as General Motors’ public proving ground. New ideas usually appeared first on the Olds; if they flopped, other’ GM lines helped absorb the shock; if they caught on, they turned up in the related cars. Consciously or not, Olds seems to have traded its policy of startling innovations for one of gradual change. Understandably, readers have asked us whether the 88 is still the standout that it was when it first appeared in 1949. We tested a Hydra-Matic-equipped Super 88 four-door sedan; with 15 more horsepower than the Deluxe 88, it is somewhat fancier, and the most popular Olds of them all. It gave us the answers to your many questions. Is the car as hot as ever? The engine, which any alert nine-year-old boy…

EVER SINCE 1887 the Derham Body Company of Rosemont, Pa., has been known to custom connoisseurs as makers of carriages and cars of the finest quality and of the highest character. Behind its luxury creations lie two generations of experience in precision craftsmanship. Within Derham’s rustic building near Philadelphia some 40 skilled artisans ply their trade with a kind of Old World pride. Each job is an order to be executed for the sole purpose of pleasing the individual taste of the customer. Most of the individual tastes are conservative; others are veritable dreams on wheels. The greater portion of the Derham jobs are conservative or truly formal. Some are modifications in exterior trim; others are installations for interior trim. Usually the transformations for exterior customizing entail simplifying and subduing…

QUESTION—Do you print any book, or do you know of any book, that would tell me what I could do to make my Ford a faster car without too much excess wear on the engine?—Harold E. Snyder, Waterloo, N.Y. ANSWER—We have published two books on this subject, “Hot Rods,” and “Hot Rod Your Car” Both should be available at your newsstand. QUESTION—Could you please advise me as to where I could obtain information on speed equipment for a Crosley and on the use of Fiberglas for a body?—Howard W. Miller, New York, N. Y. ANSWER—A full description of what to do and equipment to use in improving Crosley performance is given in our latest Trend book, “Hot Rod Your Car” (75 ȼ). The December issue of MOTOR TREND has a…

SOMEONE SAID “There’s no place like home.” so Detroit, the “Capital of Motordom,” was picked to play host to one of the finest aggregations of cars and equipment to be shown anywhere in this country. Those hometown production-line cars would turn green with envy if they could see some of the cool creations that will be displayed during the six-day auto show. Some of our greatest road-racing and track competition cars will be shown, and you’ll see your favorite tastes in four-wheeled (two-wheeled, too) transportation on display, be it past present, or future. A record crowd is expected to view the cars and exhibits of the various phases of the motoring world. The doors to the first annual Michigan Motor Show open on June 2.…

NEW IMPROVEMENTS ON THE ‘53 DODGE Gentlemen: Just a few lines to let you know I liked your report on the ‘53 Dodge V-8. Think it may have had a little to do with getting the improvements made on the ones coming out of the factory now. The latest ones have backing in rear of front seat, more foam rubber in the seats, better covering on floor of trunk, better insulation of body, better finish on inside and outside, rear vent glasses open now, etc. Would like to see you make a test of the V-8 with Gyromatic and regular transmission later on. Read the article on DSM coil in the March issue. Think test of all accessories should be made on popular American-made cars. More people would be interested.…

IN THE TUMULT AND RAZ-MA-taz that surrounds’ the victors at Indianapolis, many a fine car has been lost. Before the Offenhausers ruled the roost so firmly as to all-but-exclude other powerplants, a group of great experimentalists used to go to work as soon as one year’s race was over, to try to out-fox or out-engineer the boys the following Memorial Day. Those were the days when the color of the race was dependent on new machinery, secrecy, and a real quest for racing know-how, instead of braver drivers and a big deduction on some company’s income tax form. Some of the resulting mechanical wonders still exist today, and from time to time show up in the garage area at race time. Creative light still burns in the minds of a…

MANY OTHER ACCESSORIES, small and large, are functional or give a dressed-up look to your car, or both. Some of them, like initials and enormous air horns, are throwbacks to the Twenties and Thirties. But like wire wheels and continental kits, these other accessories help in the modern customizing of a car. They have almost become “musts” in some schools of design. Many of them appeal to conservatives. The new Save-A-Lite grilles, for instance, have proved excellent protection for vulnerable back-up and parking lights. Protecto-Lite strips for car bumpers help other drivers to see your car at night. Look about you on the parkways and freeways of our largest cities. Chances are that most every car will have a side mirror. For the last word, a mirror with a built-in…

THE VICTORIA SHOWN HERE has not always been one. A ’50 Ford, it was in fact a convertible before its owner, Elton Kantor, of Oakland, Calif., decided to make it eligible for the Bay Area Customs Club. Eight months and $5500 later (including the car’s original price) it became very much so, as the photos show. To the everlasting credit of Joe Bailon, its builder, the car achieves its undeniably striking appearance with a minimum of protuberances and sudden surprises in color and line. It is brilliant metallic blue; inside, black and eggshell leatherette covers the seats, roof, and side panels. That low look is no illusion: A stock Ford Victoria roof was chopped 4 ¼ inches, and the frame was stepped to 4 ¾ inches road clearance. Rear bumper,…

YES, THIS IS ABOUT an extraordinary nut that behaves in a learned fashion. Actually this erudite piece of steel is a spindle or wheel bearing nut, quite unlike those that were standard on your car. Each nut is made in two parts. The threaded hexagonal section, which does the tightening, holds the wheel on; it has a row of fine serrations around its outer edge. The locking ring has a matching row of serrations on its inner side, with four holes for inserting the cotter pin. The object of this departure from stock designs is to allow an almost micrometer-fine adjustment of the front wheel bearings. In place of the old method of pulling the nut up snug and then backing it off to the nearest castellation, the correct recommended…

TIRED SPRINGS can get a lift with Hell-wig Spring Stabilizers. Available for either front or rear springs, coil or leaf, these adjustable stabilizers are built to improve sagging springs, provide overload for heavy-duty hauling, and simple adjustment gives ride control for any conditions. Claimed to increase tire mileage considerably and improve high-speed car control, the stabilizers are available for any model car or truck. For further information, write: Hellwig Products Co., 6231 San Fernando Road, Glendale I, Calif. THE REFLECTOR discovery used on the rear of public busses and to mark airport runways under wartime blackout conditions is now ready for American motorists in tape form. Claimed to be the most effective safety introduction since the taillight, Safety-Glo-Strip can be easily installed in any design on rear bumpers, or anywhere…

DETROIT, MICHIGAN—High performance V-8s from the auto industry’s mass production lines are set to challenge the world’s top race cars this year. At Le Mans an American team will enter a radically new Allard in the 24-hour grind. It is powered by a Cadillac engine essentially the same as that installed in the GM firm’s experimental Fiberglas show car. The major difference in the two mills is a lower compression ratio (8:1, necessitated by poor quality European fuel) and the fitting of a full-race camshaft plus two four-barrel carburetors. Hydraulic valve lifters are retained, which may surprise many enthusiasts, and there is no change in bore and stroke. With these modifications, the engine puts out 260 bhp @ 5200 rpm. A three-speed manual gear box is used for swapping cogs.…

UNLESS YOU OWN a Mercer or a Kissel Gold Bug that you wouldn’t be tempted to trade for a “Le Mans” Cadillac, or have a weakness for and the wallet stuffings to maintain a vintage SS Mercedes or a Duesenberg J, chances are you have wondered when you should trade in your car for a new one. Don’t think the question is unique. About the time you read this issue of Motor Trend there will be more than 44,000,000 passenger cars registered in the United States. If your own car dates back to 1941 or earlier, don’t cry the blues too loudly because there are 16,629,999 other motorists in much the same old boats. And if driving a pre-war car gives you the feeling that life is being a bit…

ONE OF THE MOST DRAMATIC WAYS to individualize your car is to change the front end. With clever use of grille bars, bullnose chrome pieces, “big eye” headlights, and airscoops, your car will take on that desirable one-of-a-kind look. Properly constructed, a grille bar can greatly enhance the appearance of a car, giving a small one—or a big one, for that matter—a wider, lower look. Easily installed, grilles have no set pattern, since there are so many possible variations. As is the case with many other accessories, the most popular grilles have a European look. The bullnose molding, too, has come into its own. It replaces both the hood ornaments and the center hood molding and can be installed in just a few minutes. You may have to fill a…

THE CAR FEATURED on our cover and these pages indicates a trend in custom styling, as well as a possible trend in mass production design. A clean custom, built and designed by Frank Galpin, a Ford dealer of San Fernando, Calif., it highlights, rather than changes, ideas found on Detroit’s products, and adds that touch of individuality that marks it as a custom. Basically a 1952 Ford convertible, the Galpin Custom uses modified ’52 Mercury and Lincoln parts to achieve good taste in styling. The chrome plated, steel-tube grille is fronted by a modified Merc bumper, with a centered Lincoln grille guard. Frenched headlights are given the “new look” by a diamond-shaped peaking, hand-formed from Mercury front fenders. Uncluttered side panels fade into hand-made fins that top chrome-encased modified Lincoln…

NOTE: Last month, Bob Gottlieb described a thrill known to everyone who has ever lavished tender, loving care on a proud but battered old car. He took us through the delights of discovery, planning the work of restoration, the different ways to go at the job. This month, he tackles the heart of the matter: what to do about the engine.—Editor Step 6. (a) Skin Protection. Many enthusiasts are professional or white collar workers who must protect their hands for business reasons. These fans should note the many preparations on the market which effectually remove grease and grime from hands and arms. Mechanics’ soap is widely used in the garage business although most preparations are harsh and irritate the skin. The best solution is to use one of the hand…

HOW DID YOU GET such fantastic mileage? To start with, we had a good, economical car, and tried to drive it as smoothly and evenly as possible. What about the preparation of the car? After we got the car, we drove it 2000 miles for break-in, then adjusted the valves and tuned it up. What about driving technique? Would it be possible for the average driver to get the same kind of fuel economy? I think anyone can get pretty close to the same figure by driving the same way. By “the same way,” what do you mean? By not driving too fast and observing everything else we did. Our top speed was 60 mph on level ground, where a lot of people drive 75-80 mph on the highway. What…