Innehållsförteckning för April 2022 från Classic American

Car of the Year is the only concours competition of its kind in the UK, aimed specifically at American vehicles which can be either original or restored, but must be stock (or as near as stock) as possible. Over the summer Classic American attends six American car shows all over the UK, selling magazines, back issues and subscriptions. As well as all this, these shows are covered editorially to provide content for Classic American, but most importantly each show is a ‘heat’ of the Car of the Year competition and a winning car is picked at each show, with the winner receiving a cheque for £150 and a rather smart-looking unique hand-cast brass trophy. There’s no entry procedure; any American vehicle at any of the heat events is eligible. Each…

Mike Herman, founder of H&H Flatheads, has announced the winner of its annual Best Dressed Flathead competition at the annual Grand National Roadster Show. “Every year the choice to select the Best Dressed Flathead gets harder and harder,” said Mike. “This year was no exception, and we walked the show looking for the coolest flathead and as usual there were many to choose from. “Finally, we zeroed in on the Dick Williams ’27 Roadster that won the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster Award at the Grand National Roadster Show in 1953. Over the years, the Roadster was updated including a colour change from the original robin’s egg blue to candy red. Eventually, however, the car, which ran 123mph at Bonneville, fell into the hands of Ross and Beth Myers who entrusted…

Reeves Callaway is inextricably linked with the Chevrolet Corvette, the sometime single-seater driver turned tuner having made ‘America’s Only Sports Car’ go faster than ever seemed feasible. When you produce a hotted-up Corvette with, say, the name ‘Sledgehammer,’ you know it isn’t going to be shy or retiring. The C12, however, had a title that was positively tame by comparison, but then it was so much more than a reworked Corvette. It was a road car with racing car credentials, and one that was part-German. The C12 made its debut at the 1997 Geneva motor show. Connecticut-based Callaway Cars built the beast in conjunction with the Bad Friedrichshall-based IVM Engineering Group, which also homologated it for sale in Europe. The car’s signature feature was its enormity, if only by Corvette…

Here at Classic American we’re sometimes criticised for featuring big-buck cars and even bigger-buck restorations. “Why can’t you feature cars I could imagine myself owning or buying?” is the common refrain. Well, we’d be lying if we said that the American car hobby is an inexpensive one; the fact is that you get what you pay for and the days of hundred-pound bargains are long gone. However, that’s not to say that there aren’t any bargains out there to be had, if you know where and what to look for and if you’re not absolutely fixed on having a particular make, model, year or even type of vehicle. Take the 1968 Lincoln Continental coupe featured on these pages, which belongs to Simon Hodgson, a professional floor-fitter from the South West.…

“What a find! Forty-year-old car with under 3000 miles! This is a serious car for a serious investor but not serious money. Where else can you find a low-mileage, popular car like this for under $20,000! If you like the best, this one is ready for you. Don’t miss it.” Duffy Schamberger was a second-hand car dealer (with a name like that, he was born to be) and he understood his job well. When the opportunity arose in 1995 for him to acquire an immaculate 1955 Plymouth Savoy in two-tone Tempo Turquoise and Orlando Ivory with a genuine 2970 miles on the clock, he knew that car should occupy pride of place on the forecourt of Duffy’s Collectible Cars at 250 Classic Car Court SW, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Duffy’s purchased…

The brainchild of founder Winslow Bent, Legacy Classic Trucks has grown to be one of the premier truck restoration facilities in the United States. The company ships vehicles all over the world, and each is built with a specific customer in mind. Legacy’s production models include customised 1946-1968 military-style Dodge Power Wagons, 1980-1986 Jeep Scramblers and 1955-1959 Chevy Napco pick-ups. Legacy also specialises in high-performance restorations of rare and special trucks, such as Diamond T, Mack, Studebaker and Hudson. Furthermore, Legacy Classic Trucks was awarded the contract to restore the iconic Glacier National Park Red Bus fleet.…

After a hiatus of two years, Classic American is proud to announce that Car of the Year is back for 2022. The heats have been announced and they take in events up and down the UK from Easter through to August, with a total of six heats, and the grand finals taking place at the Classic Motor Show at the NEC in Birmingham over the weekend of November 11-13. The heats and finals are as follows: April 15: Wheels Day – Aldershot, Hants. June 19: Beaulieu Hot Rod and Custom – Beaulieu, Hants. July 2-3: Stars & Stripes – Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire. July 10: Rally of the Giants – Blenheim Palace, Oxon. July 17*: Damn Yankees Show – North Weald, Essex. July 29-31: Mopar Nats – Santa Pod, Northants.…

Ford’s new Ranger Raptor pick-up was unveiled on February 22 and is significant in continuing to offer the Raptor nomenclature on a Ford model available to buy here in the UK. Formerly the Raptor was only available on US models such as the F150 derivative, but now British buyers can get their hands on this upgraded, top-of-the-range fourth-generation Ranger with an emphasis on off-road/performance capability. Its Tonka toy-like appearance, with masses of protective body kit and plastic cladding, wide wheel arches, chunky BF Goodrich tyres on 17-inch wheels and raised suspension belies a real off-road capability. Raptor offers 4x4 drive, with Fox shock absorbers, skid plates to protect the sump, front diff and radiator and an extreme ‘Baja’ off-road driving mode. Power comes from a new 3.0-litre twin-turbo-charged V6 284bhp/361ft-lb…

The organisers of the Classic Ford Show, due to take place at Ardingly, South of England Showground on Sunday, July 10, have been in touch with Classic American looking for a display of about 10-20 American Fords. Owners of said cars would get in for free. See www.classicsworld.co.uk/classic-ford-show/for more info on the event. If you’re interested contact Katherine.chappell@kelsey.co.uk or simon.wooley@kelsey.co.uk. Furthermore, they’re staging a Classic Ford Track Evening at Cadwell Park on Wednesday, May 11. For more info see www.classicsworld.co.uk/classic-ford-track-evening/. For more great show listings like this, turn to page 84 and check out Classic American’s Show and Events listings!…

When I was growing up, one phrase that stuck with me was K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Although it can be said that when you’re on the cusp of adolescence there aren’t many bits of advice from adults that get through (after all, don’t we know everything as teenagers?), this one little acronym actually did. And, as my adult life unfolded, I found that keeping things simple made more and more sense. Whether it was juggling finances, planning that next career move, or acquiring things both wanted and needed, simplicity seemed to be the best strategy. When I look at the motoring world today, it seems that the case for simplicity has virtually disappeared. Today’s vehicles are extremely complex and it could be argued in many aspects, needlessly so. To…

You might remember we featured Jay Pettit’s black 1969 Road Runner in the July 2018 issue of Classic American. That car had a 440cu in engine, but Jay’s always yearned to own a Hemi. “I was looking for a genuine Hemi car for many years, but every time I thought I’d saved enough the prices went up again. I finally got my hands on one in the middle of last year.” Yes, this unassuming light blue 1966 Dodge Coronet 500 is a genuine WP23 code car – meaning a 426 Hemi was squeezed into its engine bay. “My Coronet was built July 22, 1966,” says Jay, “for that model year there were 339 Hemi-engined Coronets, 204 of those were four-speed manual transmissions, just 29 of those had power disc brakes…

1975 Chevy Silverado C10 pick-up Spending so much of our time surrounded by the good people of the classic car scene, it’s not unusual to find someone who restores classic vehicles for a living. Typically, these would be cars, vans, motorbikes or trucks, but 48-year-old Ashley Blackman has taken his business model one step further, as the main focus of his work is restoring buses! It also happens that he’s quite partial to vehicles with less seating capacity and which don’t induce low bridge anxiety, namely American classics. His latest purchase happens to be this highly collectable and very original 1975 Chevy Silverado Short Box C10 pick-up truck; we were keen to take a closer look… Ashley’s connection with restoring buses for a living stems back to the Seventies when…

Classic American is pleased to announce that Kingstown Shipping is continuing its sponsorship arrangement of the Car of the Year competition, carrying on from its 2019 sponsorship arrangement – the last year the series was run. The Kingstown team are pretty hands-on with their sponsorship, so expect to see them at events all over the UK this summer, where they’ll be more than happy to discuss everything and anything you might want to know about shipping vehicles from the US or anywhere else in the world.…

Subscribers may have time to scramble to this auction, as it falls after our print deadline, but before the April issue of Classic American goes on sale. Relative newcomer to the auction scene, Manor Park Classics, is holding an auction on Saturday, March 12. It consists predominantly of British and European classics, but one big American classic that caught our eye was this 1967 Pontiac Catalina. It was shipped to the UK in 2008 and has only had two keepers since. Although tax and MoT exempt, this Catalina is MoT tested till July 2022 and showing no advisories. The auctioneers say that there are “believed to be only 36 Pontiac Catalinas licensed on UK roads, so you won’t be parked next to one at your next classic car show. Pontiac…

This generation of Lincoln Continental (the fourth) was introduced in 1961 and was around for much of the decade until 1969. The ’61 was a clean sheet design and so different from the previous Titanic ’58-’60 generation, that unless you knew they were both Lincolns, you’d assume they were from different manufacturers. Available as a four-door sedan and a four-door convertible, the ’61 to ’63s were pretty similar, with the first big change coming in 1964 when the car was stretched four inches to allow for more rear passenger foot room. Disc brakes were introduced in 1965 while 1966 saw the introduction of the Continental coupe, like the model shown here, as well as the C6 three-speed automatic transmission that was in production until 1979; 1967 was the final year…

While the skills necessary to effectively rebuild vintage trucks are all part and parcel of the job for mechanics at Legacy Classic Trucks, the average car enthusiast may not be able to distinguish easily between the variety of custom creations the company produces. Fortunately, for those without years of automotive expertise, or who are simply interested in what it takes to revive old trucks with current technology, Legacy’s founder Winslow Bent took the time to explain the intricate details of a ‘brand-new’ 1949 Dodge Power Wagon in a video produced by Toyo Tires. While the Power Wagon is well-renowned for its military pedigree and utilitarian DNA, Legacy Classic Trucks has updated it to meet modern expectations. The truck is fitted with a 5.9-litre Cummins 12-valve turbodiesel engine capable of producing…

Despite those boxy looks, the third generation of C/K pick-ups from General Motors were given the Rounded Line moniker, partly thanks to major development in wind tunnels to optimise aerodynamics and fuel economy. A successor to the Action Line series, this new GM design from 1973 broke away from traditional US truck styling with a hood line faired into the front fenders and a more modern curved windscreen as opposed to the familiar wraparound screen. The pick-up body was also visually integrated into the cab by a shoulder line wrapped from bumper to bumper around the vehicle. The interior was far more car inspired too with a sedan-style dashboard with driver-focused controls and gauges, replacing the antiquated and spartan flat dash you’d have previously expected. Engines ranged from a 250cu…