Innehållsförteckning för November 1949 från MotorTrend

RESTYLING a car does not necessarily mean that the car has to be chopped, channeled and drastically changed in other respects. To prove this contention, the Valley Custom Shop, with a minimum amount of time, labor and expense, restyled this ’41 Pontiac four-door sedan for Mr. O. H. Hooker. Changes to the front end of this Pontiac include a shaved nose, reformed fenders and the addition of a ’46 Cadillac grille. To permit the fitting of the grille, it was necessary to box out the front corners of the fenders. The impressions on the fenders (where the chrome strips were installed) were removed and a new piece welded in. Three inches were added to the nose of the hood and a new piece was added to the top of the…

CUSTOM BODY—The above car lays claim to the fact of being possibly the best-designed Ford custom car (insofar as coachwork is concerned) of its time. The car was built in 1940 for Peter Stengel by Coachcraft at a cost of about $6,000, and took about four months to build. The chassis is a 1941 Mercury, with special fenders and body. The top is a three-way top, which can be used all the way open, halfway open, or fully closed. Built-in, no-draft ventilation is used. The powerplant is a ’41 Mercury V-8 engine, with Eddie Meyer heads and dual manifold. ALVIS “FOURTEEN”—As typically British as the charming background is the Alvis “Fourteen” Four-Light Saloon. Its small size is in harmony with the overall European trend in auto manufacture and its materials…

BACK in 1908 when Carl Laemmle was advertising a free booklet on how to start a motion picture business and people to their eventual regret ignored the ads in droves; when the E.M.F. Roadster (later to become the Studebaker E.M.F. and, still later, just Studebaker) was nicknamed “Each Morning Fixit”; the Cadillac was an awkward four-cylinder creation that developed thirty horsepower and sold for $1,400; the year that George Schuster in the Thomas Flyer won the New York to Paris race after traveling 2,385 miles overland and 3,246 by water to best his nearest competitor by twenty-six days—that, too, was the year of the Model C Jewel, a $600 roadster that was a thousand pounds of shaking, quivering, bucking horseless carriage. The creators of the Jewel, the Forest City Motor…

PIKES PEAK—ranking second in racing circles only to Indianapolis—has the distinction of being the highest, longest and most unusualrace course in the world. Every Labor Day, come rain, shine, snow, sleet, or hail, this course is the scene of a hill climb such as cannot be seen anywhere else in the world. This year, which saw the 27th running of this annual event, Al Rogers came one year closer to dethroning the all-time champ and “old man of the mountain,” Louis Unser. This is Rogers’ third win (second in a row), as against eight victories by Unser. Rogers drove Joe Coniff’s powerful 220 Offy over the snaky 12½-mile course in 15:54.26, which gave him an average speed of 46.85 mph. Con: sidering that this course, a narrow dirt highway with…

GOLETA MEET by Nick Alexander CONDUCTING their first event of the year, the California Sports Car Club recently held a meet on two abandoned roads at the former U.S. Marine Corps Air Station (Goleta) in Santa Barbara. The ¾-mile course is a roughly triangular affair, starting at the base of the triangle, along one leg to the apex, where it circles a warehouse, recrosses the first leg onto a semi-circular roadbed and returns to the first leg. A right turn is made at this point, with another sharp left around the warehouse and onto the other leg of the triangle. The finish line is on this leg near the triangle base. As the cars crossed the finish line, they, swung off the course and onto a winding road that led…

Note: This is the second part of an article that is a digest of the article, “Technical Highlights of Postwar Automobiles,” Parts I and 11, which appeared in the May and June 1949 issues of the SAE Journal.—Editor. DURING the last few years there has been a considerable trend toward locating the front shock absorber inside the coil spring, and coaxially therewith. This originated with Monroe Auto Equipment Co. and started initially with Hudson in 1939. Nash followed in 1941, Kaiser-Frazer in 1946, with Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, Chevrolet, and Pontiac presently incorporating it. The shock absorber is in a more protected position. Chevrolet has redesigned its front suspension by using stampings instead of forgings in the upper and lower wishbones, effecting a 12 per cent reduction in weight. Pontiac continues…

NOTE: Restyling and customizing are two things that, like other arts, are better left to the masters. However, there are many small items that an individual, with the proper tools, talent and patience, can perform. That is why this page, each month, will be devoted to styling hints—hints that an individual can take advantage of, either by doing the work himself, or by contracting a stylist to do the work for him.—Editor. THE two items that are generally foremost in a person’s mind who wishes to restyle or customize his car are to lower the body and to strip all the chrome off. Taking these in order, lowering can be done by several methods, depending on the type of car and whether the front or rear is being lowered. The…

Photographs sent in for use in this department become the property of MOTOR TREND and will not be returned. Contributors should give their name and address and all pertinent information. DARK-COLOR paint on the lower part of this ’41 Ford Club Coupe convertible is a metallic Ensign Blue, with the remainder a matching lighter shade. Top is of Carson design, nose and deck have been shaved, and license plate has been flushed. The seats and upholstery are a matching blue color. The car belongs to Don Lucey of San Francisco, California. ORIGINALLY a ’38 Ford V-8 coupe, this car now has a channelled frame and has been completely dechromed. It is all sealed in, has had the molds removed, while the front end is from a late Packard. The car…

TO be considered a veritable fountain of factual knowledge by the wife, the kids, the boss, or for that matter, anybody, is something most of us do not find terribly objectionable. Consequently, when some weird auto comes whipping down the street and your kid, wife, or boss, says, “Osgood! Lookit! What’s that?” there are three things you can do. One, you can wriggle your toes in the dust, giggle, blush, and say you don’t know. Whereupon the kids will fall on you with savage blows, your wife or best girl will leave you, the boss will fire you, and your friends will whisper foul things behind your back. Two, you can lie like a dog and inform your questioner that the weirdie is a “Gemulchnik V-7, made in Transylvania.” This…

NOTE: In this article, automotive enthusiast John Bond was asked to describe his idea of the most advanced of the 1949 models. Before making his selection, he considered all models, ranging from the Jeepster through the Lincoln, and gave serious thought to the engine, appearance, and handling characteristics. His final choice may be subject to controversy, but definitely has merit.—Editor CHOOSING an outstanding “car of the year” for certain years past may be difficult, but for 1949 the selection is narrowed down to three most worthy of consideration: Ford, Oldsmobile, and Cadillac. While the Ford has an entirely new chassis and body, plus many mechanical changes, it offers nothing new or outstanding from an engineering viewpoint, since it now falls in line with conventional design practice established by competitors before…

The “1950 Road Racer” on the following two pages is dedicated by Colonel Alexis de Sakhnofjsky to those who have a fond place in their hearts for the big Bentleys, SS Mercedes, Aston-Martins and our own Stutz Bearcats and Black Hawks. It is a car designed for high speed touring and road racing, brought up to date by the addition of the latest streamlining practice, without the use of “gingerbread.” Traditional features are the canvas tarp over the extra seat and the use of a racing windshield along with the conventional wind-shield. The steering wheel assembly has been designed for sturdiness and simplicity both. Other interesting features include the built-in head lights, the flat hood, twin fuel filler caps, and pontoon-type fenders.…

STILL the hottest item on Detroit’s agenda is the automatic transmission … with all manufacturers probably swinging over to this type of transmission by 1950 or 1951. Hydramatics are now being used on Oldsmobile, Cadillac and Lincoln, along with its announced adoption by Nash on their new model Ambassador. Torque converters being used include the Dynaflow on Buick and the Ultramatic on Packard. Similar units will also be used on Studebaker next year and on 1950 Chevrolets. Still to swing over to the automatic transmission are Mercury, Ford, Chrysler products, Kaiser, Frazer and Hudson. It is believed, however, that some of these manufacturers will announce automatic transmissions as optional equipment concurrently with the introduction of their 1950 models. FOLLOWING close on the heels of Crosley’s new Hydra-Disc braking system was…

Letters published in this department are the opinions of the writers and are not to be construed as those of the editors. Address correspondence to: Letters From Our Readers, Motor Trend, 548 South San Vicente Boulevard, Los Angeles 48, California. MORE PAGES MOTOR TREND is just the magazine I’ve been waiting for. However, for twenty-five cents I think it should have a few more pages, even if they were filled with advertisements … E. Parriott St. Helena, California —You will notice that with this issue, we have added four more pages, allowing for additional features and articles.—Editor. STYLING HINTS Let’s have a “how-to-do-it,” on custom cars, i.e., sinking a license plate, tail lights, leading in holes after chrome strips have been removed, etc. There are a lot of us ……