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THE HUB OF NEW ENGLAND’S CAR COMMUNITY
WINTER SPRING 2019 2017
new england
FOREVER VIGILANT
TUTTO ITALIANO SUMMER GALA: COME ONE, COME ALL GREENWICH CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE NEW ENGLAND INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW
Andy Swift, of Firefly Restorations in Hope, Maine, gives us a firsthand look at one of the late William B. Ruger Jr.’s favorite rides, a 1936 American LaFrance fire engine that originally served in Brookline, Massachusetts.
IN THIS IS SUE
1953 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible $95,000 Engine: 8 Cylinder Transmission: Automatic Exterior Color: Blue Interior Color: Red Mileage: 83,392 Miles Stock Number: 267X VIN: 536267X 1959 Ferrari 250/500 TRC DK Engineering Call for Our Price Engine: 12 Cylinder Transmission: Manual Exterior Color: Red Interior Color: Black Stock Number: 2423 VIN: 2423
1963 Chevrolet Corvette Split Window $129,500 Engine: 327/300HP Transmission: Manual Exterior Color: Black Interior Color: Saddle Mileage: 10,821 Miles Stock Number: 6985 VIN: 30837S106985
1973 Ferrari Dino 246gts $495,000 Engine: 6 Cylinder Transmission: Manual Exterior Color: Azure Interior Color: Black Mileage: 23,475 Stock Number: 5498 VIN: 05498
464 PORTLAND-COBALT RD PORTLAND, CT 06480
860.342.5705 www.f40.com
BUYS, SELLS, CONSIGNS, TRADES, SERVICES AND RESTORES SPORTS, EXOTICS, CLASSICS AND LATE MODEL AUTOMOBILES
1961 Renault 4CV Jolly Beach Car $95,000 Engine: 4 Cylinder Transmission: Manual Exterior Color: Green Stock Number: 7778 VIN: 3607778
1958 AC Ace Bristol Roadster $385,000 Engine: 8 Cylinder Transmission: Manual Exterior Color: Red Interior Color: Black leather Mileage: 74,957 Miles Stock Number: x331 VIN: BEX331 1967 Lotus Elan $42,500 Engine: 4 Cylinder Transmission: Manual Exterior Color: Green Interior Color: Black Mileage: 38,282 Miles Stock Number: 6274 VIN: 366274 FOLLOW WAYNE CARINI IN CHASING CLASSIC CARS WEDNESDAYS AT 9:00PM ET ON VELOCITY BY DISCOVERY
from the publisher
LOOKING FORWARD is basically what we do here in the Northeast to thwart cabin fever. Although it has been erratic weather-wise this winter, it still can be a tough road when we’re not able to feel the sun on our faces—or drive, show or race our favorite cars. Some auto enthusiasts like to say, “It’s Thanksgiving, Christmas and then Daytona!” That’s how we hopscotch through winter, which is mostly a time for recalibrating and preparing for the driving, showing and racing season that quickly will be upon us. However, there are a lot of car-related events that can keep us busy through these winter months, including Barrett-Jackson’s auto auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Mecum’s auto auction in Kissimmee, Florida, where almost 3,500 cars and trucks crossed the block this year. In Palm Beach, Florida, there was the Palm Beach Cavillino Classic, held at the Breakers, and this year, Mother mesh /meSH/ Nature had rain in mind for the as a verb: tifosi. From there, we roll quickly (of the teeth of a gearwheel) lock together or be to one of the best shows on the engaged with another gearwheel. East Coast, the Amelia Island “one gear meshes with the input gear” Concours d’Elegance, which synonyms: engage, be engaged, mate, connect, begins this year on March 7. lock, interlock. As I sit here and write my note, summarizing the role we all share in this car world that carries us from one day to the next, I can’t help but to be excited about the way things are shaping up for us right here in the Northeast. Beginning this year, we have something really special happening in Newport, Rhode Island: Audrain’s Newport Concours Motor Week, which will all but take over the city with a world-class motoring event. Festivities will start on October 3. Mark your calendars for this one. It will be here before you know it, as the season goes so fast you need to “drive a mile out.” In this issue we highlight the Tutto Italiano, held right here in the Northeast, at Larz Anderson; the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance; The Audrain Automobile Museum’s Summer Gala: Come One, Come All; and the New England International Auto Show. In addition, we feature a story on an original “survivor car” hot rod, the unforgettable Allard, and a tribute to the late William B. Ruger Jr., celebrating one of his passions, the fire engine. The warm-weather season is shaping up to be a great one here in New England, and with the Formula One schedule starting on March 17 in Melbourne, Australia (where it will soon be fall), we can be assured that summer is on its way. Speed safely,
On the cover: A 1936 American LaFrance Series 400 fire truck from the late William B. Ruger Jr. collection. photo by Russ Rocknak
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Russ Rocknak copy editor
Larry Bean technical editor
Mark Hurwitz contributing photographers
Roger Allard, Marshall Buck Ben Jordan, Kimberly Maroon Russ Rocknak, Josh Sweeney Rich Taylor social media/web
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THE HUB OF NEW ENGLAND’S CAR COMMUNITY
meshnewengland winter 2019 volume vii, number i
contributors In the late 1970s and early ’80s, while working in TV production, Marshall Buck was also custom-building model cars for himself and a few select customers, one of whom convinced Buck to go into model-making full-time (that gentleman remains a client to this day). Hence, in 1982, Buck founded Creative
Miniature Associates, now CMA Models Inc. Since the start of CMA, he has been involved with the finest high-end automotive miniatures as a collector, model maker, manufacturer and boutique dealer, catering to collectors worldwide. For more than 30 years, Buck also has been authoring feature articles and regular columns on models and collecting for various publications, including Cavallino, Vintage Motorsport, and Sports Car Market, as well as Mesh New England. He is also cofounder and editor of AutoMobilia Magazine. Master restorer Wayne Carini is best known for his shop’s restoration work, but for the past 13 years he has also been known for his television show Chasing Classic Cars, which is shown in 42 countries and is about to air its 200th episode. Carini was born into the restoration business, with his father founding the Model A Restorers Club in 1951, the year Wayne was born. Eight years later, Carini was sanding cars at his father’s shop and has never stopped. Today, Carini enjoys filming his TV show, traveling the world and meeting fellow car friends, and working with 4
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his crew restoring cars for his customers. Carini and his family live on a farm in rural Connecticut. His daughter Kimberly was diagnosed with autism at an early age. Because of Kimberly’s autism, Wayne and the entire family have made helping autism charity’s a major part of their lives.
Jeff DeMarey is on the Classic Car Club of America’s national board of directors, and he is the director of the New England region CCCA. For nearly 30 years, he has run a specialty insurance agency for classic and collectible cars, Stonewall Insurance Group in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. He is also a frequent judge at classic car shows, including the Greenwich Concours (for the last 18 years), the Elegance at Hershey, the Boston Cup (for the last nine years), and scores of Classic Car Club of America events. DeMarey has planned many successful car events throughout the years, including most recently the CCCA New England Caravan in 2016. He is also a “Chowderhead,” a proud member of the infamous Madison Avenue Sports Car Driving and Chowder Society.
Kimberly Maroon is a self-taught commercial and editorial photographer. Her WINTER 2019
work has been featured by a variety of active and lifestyle brands, including Red Bull, GoPro, Iron & Resin, DoStuffMedia, Old Forester and ICA Boston. In the summer of 2016, Maroon trekked to her native New Jersey, where she used GoPro cameras to create a more immersive style of sports documentary about
the Race of Gentlemen. The weekend of hot rods and vintage motorcycles—and the community of people passionate about them— hooked her. Flash forward to present day: With her first bike, a 1973 Honda CB350 Four “Josephine,” she feels like a part of the stories that she photographs. Maroon has an MFA in experience design from Massachusetts College of Art & Design and lives in Boston.
Miranda McDonald is the proud owner of a fully restored 1967 Chevrolet Impala and a not-so-much 1966 Mustang. She traces her love of American muscle to when she was a little girl, sitting in her neighbors’ driveways and sketching the logos of their cars’ grilles and hubcaps. She has driven cross-country twice, lived in six states, and traveled through all but eight states. She has decided that, by far, Maine is the best place. As
the owner of Focus Firearms Instruction & Safety Training, McDonald works with people just beginning in the shooting sports and offers situational-awareness and defensive-tactics training. She spends her free time with her two lovely daughters (and teaches them how to change the oil) and enjoys tasting new whiskeys.
Cory “C Pez” Pesaturo has an ongoing musical relationship with the Red Bull F1 team, which has led to his friendships with many F1 drivers. He is the only person to ever win the trio of world championships on acoustic, digital and jazz accordion, and he is the only accordion graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music. Pesaturo’s resumé includes four performances at the White House for President and Mrs.
Clinton. His first was when he was 12, making him the youngest person ever to perform at a State Dinner. At 16, he performed with the Brockton Symphony Orchestra and became the youngest accordionist ever to solo with a symphony orchestra in the United States. Straight from graduate school, Rich Taylor started out as managing editor of Car and Driver. Since then, he’s published more than 5,000 magazine articles, 27 books and hundreds of special sections for Car and Driver, Popular Mechanics, New York Times and other clients. Taylor has won motorcycle and automobile races everywhere from Laguna Seca to Daytona
to the Nürburgring. He has vintage-raced his own Devin SS, Kellison J-4R and B-production 1967 Corvette, and he won an SCCA Championship with a Mazda RX-7. Taylor’s restoration shop, Minisport, has created cars that have been displayed at SEMA and the Detroit and New York auto shows. He and his wife, Jean, have raised more than $2 million for North American charities through Vintage Rallies Inc., which has organized over 100 vintage car rallies.
Linda Zukauskas has always loved cars. She graduated from the University of Connecticut with a bachelor’s in English before working as a tech writer for software development firms, then as a freelance writer. While interviewing the owner of a small automotive shop for a local newspaper feature, she was thrilled to accept his invitation to join his vintage racing crew. She took on the title of CCO (Chief Cleaning Officer). She’s having a blast writing about the many ways to enjoy cars— racing, restoring, building, buying, selling, showing— but, for her, it all comes down to amazing stories about the wonderful people she is honored to meet and call friends.
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THE HUB OF NEW ENGLAND’S CAR COMMUNITY
- Herb Chambers
WINTER 2019
new england
p.32
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from the publisher Welcome from Russ Rocknak.
p.34 p.40
8 short shifts Our contributors discuss a variety of topics: Friends Don’t Let Friends
Drive Their Cobras, the Curious Case of Daniel Ricciardo, and The Hess Car.
10 nuts & bolts Wayne Carini offers some of the best tried-and-true storge and
preservation techniques that he uses on his own cars as well as his clients’ cars.
16 a great drive The Northwest Corner of Connecticut is special year-round. An
enchanted land of beautiful scenery, quaint villages, luxury inns, gourmet restaurants, curvy two-lane roads without traffic, and to top it all off, Lime Rock Park, an authentic road racing track from the Golden Age.
24 model review Marshall Buck, our master modeler extraordinaire, reviews a 1:18 scale
Our passion for cars can not only be seen through the car buying experience, but the maintenance of your vehicle as well. With our Amazing Service Centers, we’ll help keep your car running for years to come.
1963 Corvette Sting Ray split-window coupe produced by AutoArt.
28 calendar of events Up-to-date events including the top auto shows, club gather ings, races and road rallies in New England and beyond. 30 event highlights A celebration of highlights from the latest auto shows, rallies
and races that take place in the Northeast.
40 Survivor Car Awake again after a 50-year slumber in a Rhode Island one-car garage,
this 1932 Ford coupe runs better now than it ever did.
46 Never Forgotten On the border between Connecticut and Massachusetts, we saw
an Allard J2X MkII for the first time and learned the story of this long-nosed, curvy roadster and the man who was inspired to create it. No, not Sydney Allard; we mean Roger.
52 Forever Vigilant Andy Swift, of Firefly Restorations in Hope, Maine, gives us a
firsthand look at one of the late William B. Ruger Jr.’s favorite rides, a 1936 American LaFrance fire engine that originally served in Brookline, Massachusetts.
last word
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short shifts
Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Their Cobras by Jeff DeMarey
THINK ABOUT THIS: The person who ultimately opens his wallet to purchase a homebuild car—the one who researches the automobile; chooses the engine, transmission, and tires; and builds the car—knows that car best. He is the one who sat in the seat when the vehicle was just a vision, his vision, mind you, and truly understands the beast he has built. This is the beauty of building your own car, no matter if it is a dune buggy or, as in this case, a home-built Shelby Cobra. Right from the start, when Carroll Shelby took an AC Ace and stuffed a Ford V-8 in it, the Cobra has been really nothing more than a very highperformance go-kart—even if it has a 289-cubicinch engine. Some owners drop a 502 in their Cobra, but regardless of whether the car has a small-block or a big-block application, the power-to-weight ratio is clearly upside down. What typically happens is the build comes to a point where the owner has sorted every-
thing out and finally gets the car together and running. He insures it and registers it, and then it’s time to go for a ride. He safely testdrives the car and discovers what kind of personality its combination of components demonstrates on the road. Then, the owner hands over the keys to the person who helped him with the build maybe five or six times. This is a mistake. The friend has no idea what kind of punch this newly born monster packs, and he goes around a corner too fast, gets on the throttle too quickly, or just goes straight through a corner. No matter how you draw the scenario, it typically doesn’t end well. I’ve even seen a case where the friend was driving, the owner was in the passenger seat, and they crashed hard. The owner lived, but the friend died. So, please think twice before giving anyone the keys to your pride and joy. I know some Cobra owners who wish they had.
The Curious Case of Daniel Ricciardo Thoughts from a three-time world champion accordionist who has been in the paddock eight times. by Cory Pesaturo
S
even and half seasons and 150 races in Formula 1, and only seven wins, three poles and no championships. Heck, Ayrton Senna drove in only 18 more races, but he 8
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amassed 41 wins, 65 poles and three championships, and nearly a fourth. Daniel Ricciardo must be one average to below-average driver, right? Well, what if I told you I can make a case that he is the No.
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1 driver on the grid—and has been for a few years running? I can’t think of a sports career more confusing than the Sicilian-Australian’s. It is yet another case of the reason we love, watch and talk sports. It’s the eye test versus the statistics. It’s why many F1 fans figure that Jim Clark and Senna are the greatest drivers of all time, even though their statistics do not come near those of Juan Manuel Fangio or Michael
Schumacher. It’s why Gilles Villeneuve is regarded as a topfive driver by so many, though the Canadian won even fewer races than Ricciardo has: six! Let’s start with how set the legacies are for those around Ricciardo. Sebastian Vettel was looking like a fringe top-five all-time driver through 2013, solidly better than Lewis Hamilton, especially with his supremely clutch drives at the end of 2010 and 2012. But he has since fallen back with his weak performance against a young Ricciardo in 2014 and against Hamilton in 2018. Hamilton began his career with unclutch drives at the end of 2007 and questionable races in 2008. (The media often portray the start of his career differently, showing the final corner pass at Brazil 2008 without including the details.) Hamilton and Jacques Villeneuve may be the luckiest starters in F1 history, each beginning his career from race No. 1 with a car capable of winning a title. Hamilton’s lackluster 2009–2013 period really hampered his status. But given a dominant car from 2014 through today, he has shown he deserves to be in the top 10, if for nothing else but his incredible rain skills. When you stack up these racers against Ricciardo, they don’t, well, stack up. The year he was paired with Vettel, he absolutely waxed him. Ricciardo also has been paired with Max Verstappen, who is a once-in-a-generation talent, and he has looked smoother and smarter than Verstappen on a regular basis. At points in races where Ricciardo has tires similar to those of Hamilton or Kimi Raikkonen, on tracks where engine power is negligible, he passes those drivers every time, usually in spectacular fashion. Ricciardo’s
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‘‘
Remember also that two of Ricciardo’s three poles have come at Monaco, a track where the driver is everything.”
lap-15 pass of Hamilton at the 2015 USGP, on the inside of turn 17 in very dodgy conditions, might be the most underrated pass in Formula 1 history. And don’t forget the outside, driftstyle pass on Hamilton at Hungary in 2014. Remember also that two of Ricciardo’s three poles have come at Monaco, a track where the driver is everything. My favorite argument for Ricciardo is how his first six wins were all incredible, special
ships but never attained any. Ricciardo surely is more complete than post-2010 Raikkonen or Nico Rosberg and plainly more talented than Valtteri Bottas. Do you think Verstappen is a Senna-in-the-making? Ricciardo can beat him in equal machinery. Think Vettel is the best since the Schumacher era? Ricciardo can beat him in equal machinery. Think it’s Hamilton? Ricciardo can beat him when all aspects are equal. And I can
Daniel Ricciardo with Cory’s accordian (left). Cory with Dr. Helmut Marko (above).
dog fights with heaps of passes. Normally by their fourth or fifth year, star drivers (Fernando Alonso, Senna, John Surtees, Vettel, Nelson Piquet, Raikkonen, etc.) join a team capable of winning a championship. This past season was Ricciardo’s eighth. No one can foresee his current team, Renault, being equal to Mercedes or Ferrari in the upcoming seasons. Hence, if Ricciardo is a driver capable of winning two or more championships, as I expect he is, the honey badger is simply having one of the unluckiest careers in Formula 1 history— second only to that of Sterling Moss, who was probably good enough for three championWWW.MESHNEWENGLAND.COM
tell you that few in the paddock have any doubt that Ricciardo could give Hamilton a beating in the same car. Seven wins, three poles, zero championships in eight seasons. With his move to Renault, Ricciardo could end his career with no more than 10 wins, four poles and no championships. Maybe you don’t think he’s the best or most complete driver, but you know that at the very least he’s a hell of a lot closer to Vettel or Hamilton than the numbers indicate. And that’s why we watch. It’s the eye test versus the statistics. And that, my friends, is the very curious case of Daniel Ricciardo.
The Hess Car
by Miranda McDonald
M
uch like its reputation for microbrews and good living, Portland, Maine’s status for vintage and interesting automobiles is growing. Scott Pitcock and Fred Steeves, owners of Double S Speed Shop in Portland, recently got a chance to add to that allure. Pitcock, through his nationwide network of car gurus, caught wind of a 1955 Hess & Eisenhardt Cadillac Viewmaster tucked away in a barn in Tennessee. These cars, manufactured for only two years, 1955 and 1956, were designed by Bill Hess in conjunction with GM’s Cadillac division. Hess was considered the premier motor-vehicle stylist of at the time. Most of the Viewmasters were built to hold nine passengers and custom made to the buyer’s specifications. (Viewmaster owners included boxing champ Joe Louis and Earl Gamble of Proctor & Gamble.) The cars were behemoths, weighing in at more than 5,000 pounds. GM built only 12 examples in 1955 and seven in 1956. Before Pitcock learned of the Viewmaster in Tennessee, six of the other 1955s had been located, and no more were thought to exist; his find was, in a car collector’s mind, miraculous. Pitcock contacted the owner, quickly purchased the car, and had it shipped to Portland. Through some sleuthing, he and Steeves discovered that a couple in Ohio, living close to where the cars were manufactured, owned several of the surviving Hess & Eisenhardts. In fact, they owned the 1955 prototype (body No. 1) and body No. 3, among others. Realizing his purchase was body No. 2, Pitcock contacted the couple and struck a deal to get this newly recovered beauty to the best home possible. When I visited Double S to see the Hess & Eisenhardt before it was shipped off to Ohio, the car took up a good chunk of space in the roomy workshop. Its custom bronze-red color was offset by the cream trim and woody sides. Sliding into the leather seat, I was confronted with a steering wheel the size of the car’s tire. (According to the previous owner, Jimmy Durante once sat right where I was sitting.) Everything about this car said “big”—big buttons on the dash, big and shiny bumpers, and a big, 10-foot wheelbase. Though the fragile wool carpet by the door sills had disintegrated, a portion of the headliner had fallen, and some obligatory nicks and scratches were visible, the car was in remarkably good condition considering that it is more than six decades old. Sure, there was the scent of aux de rodent, but despite that and the other flaws, the car exuded a presence that few, if any, modern cars can challenge. I was grateful to have met body No. 2 in the short time she was here in Portland. WINTER 2019
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&
nuts bolts by Wayne Carini
PHOTOS BY RUSS ROCKNAK
Resting Easy Wayne Carini offers some of the best tried-and-true storge and preservation techniques that he uses on his own cars as well as his clients’ cars. Putting a car into storage for the winter is a tough thing to do. If you have one collector car, it’s a lot easier to do than if you’ve got 40 collector cars, but the principles remain the same. I have put together a short list of helpful tips that apply to both vintage and contemporary cars, and most are fairly simple things to keep in mind and apply when you’re not going to use your car for more than 90 days or so.
Detailing
Condensation
Make sure you put your car away clean. Some people think that if they detailed their car once that spring, it should be enough. It really isn’t. Keeping your car clean is about the least expensive task that you can do for your car that, in turn, rewards you with big dividends. Staying on top of this chore is very important and ensures the preservation of the vehicle. To me, along with changing your oil, it is the most cost-effective way to preserve what you have and cherish. A clean machine is a happy machine.
Some people like to take their car out of the garage and run it for a little bit to get it warmed up, but they just let it sit and idle. This isn’t a good idea, because condensation builds inside your cars exhaust and never really burns out. If you are going to take the car out, take it for a ride, if the weather conditions permit, and let everything get hot so that all the moisture evaporates. Also, moving a car from a cold spot to a warm one will make the car condensate—everywhere. You really don’t want this either. Quick temperature
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changes aren’t good for the car, especially if it has a lacquer paint applied to it. This could be catastrophic for the car’s finish.
EVERY PART YOU BUY IS ISGUARANTEED FOR LIFE EVERY PART YOU BUY GUARANTEED FOR LIFE
Change Your Oil An engine’s oil is very important, and changing it is an inexpensive preventative-maintenance procedure. I recommend changing the car’s oil two times during the course of its storage: when you prep the car for storage, and then again when the car comes back out of storage, but before you fire up the engine. For older cars, it is important to use an oil that is high in zinc content, like Vintage Car High Zinc Motor Oil, Lucas Hot Rod and Classic Car Motor Oil, and Driven HR5.
Batteries Batteries are a big question for most. There are many ways to take care of your battery, and I use different methods for older cars than I do for the contemporary ones. This is pretty much a mandatory rule, and to simplify things, I classify an older car as one that is not yet laden with THE HUB OF NEW ENGLAND’S CAR COMMUNITY
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electronics. Let’s use a Porsche 911 as an example. If your car is a 1970s 911, simply remove the battery from the car and keep it in a warmer area—someplace that doesn’t freeze. Let’s say the car is already in a warmer area. Then just disconnect the battery and, in the spring, hook a battery charger up to it and charge it. If the battery doesn’t take a charge, it’s time to replace it. Like oil, batteries are a pretty inexpensive item and should always be kept up. I would replace the battery every two to three years. Let’s say your car is a new Porsche 911 Turbo S. It is very important to always have the battery remain with the car and connected to keep all of the electronics booted and active. A way to maintain the battery in your Turbo S when you’re not driving it for a long period of time is to run a trickle charger on it. They are small, easy to use, and worth the money for this application.
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Pump gasoline sold in the United States contains some ethanol. There are three general categories of ethanol-gasoline blends: E10, E15, and E85. E10 is gasoline with 10 percent fuel ethanol content. E15 is gasoline with 15 percent fuel ethanol content, and E85 may contain as much has 85 percent fuel ethanol. The fuel ethanol content of most pump gasoline sold in the United States does not exceed 10 percent by volume. Most pump gasoline with more than 10 percent fuel ethanol content is sold in the Midwest, where most ethanol production capacity is located. Gas pumps generally indicate the fuel ethanol THE HUB OF NEW ENGLAND’S CAR COMMUNITY
content of the gasoline. Remember, the operative word here is ethanol. Ethanol is alcohol, and alcohol by nature attracts and absorbs water. As a general rule, one tablespoon of water will contaminate a gallon of gasoline, so this means that if any condensation gets in your tank, your fuel will be contaminated. Ethanol fuel has a shelf life of only 90 to 100 days, and that is under ideal conditions. To help prolong the shelf life of pump fuels, I use Stabil fuel stabilizer. It removes water to help prevent corrosion. But remember, you can’t just buy a container of it, open your gas cap, pour some in, and leave it. You should really pour the Stabil in the tank first, fill the tank, and drive the car a little to let the stabilized fuel run through the car’s whole system. The ultimate thing to do when you store your car is to use aviation fuel—it doesn’t have any ethanol in it and it is pure. The caveat is that you need a tail number from a plane to purchase aviation fuel, so unless you have a plane or access to one, this may be difficult. A great alternative is racing fuel, which also doesn’t contain any alcohol. Racing fuels usually run between 95 and 115 octane and can be found through suppliers such as Sunoco and VP Racing Fuels. Ultimately, if the car has a carburetor, I would use the racing fuel if you are looking at long-term storage. If it is a newer car, stabilize your pump gas, and it will be just fine to store over the winter.
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tion equipment to boats and cars. Some people use dryer sheets, because, they say, rodents don’t like the smell of them. The dryer-sheet method also leaves a pleasant scent in the car. Some people use the mothball method, which I really prefer—but you don’t want to put the mothballs inside the car, because the interior is going to smell like a mothball for the remainder of the car’s life, especially if it is a cloth interior. If you are going to try the mothball system, I recommend that you put six or seven mothballs in a small plastic bag and poke a little hole in it. Put eight to 10 of these bags around the perimeter of the car, surrounding the car with them. I usually put one or two right under the hood, so that mice don’t find their way in there to make a nest and then chew through the wiring harness. The ultimate way to fight mice is with the Car Capsule. It is a product that completely encapsulates your car in a bubble. It includes a 12-volt high-pressure fan that changes the capsule’s internal air three to four times an hour. This keeps the temperature inside consistent while eliminating any moisture that could condense on your vehicle. It also creates an environment that rodents have no interest in. The ultimate version of the Car Capsule is called the Showcase. It includes pillars so that you can unzip the capsule, drive the car in, zip it back up, and let the fan do its work. It is essentially a garage within your garage, and it looks really cool, too.
Car Covers Car covers are a great way to protect your 14
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vehicle from dust and other elements. There are many on the market that offer varying degrees of protection. The one thing to remember is that the car needs to breathe. The cover must not hold moisture in, like a tarp over a car stored outside. Really, nothing will replace a structure when it comes to protecting your car from the elements, and a car cover is best used only as a supplement. My only hesitation about a car cover is “out of sight, out of mind.” Let’s say you have your car in the garage with a cover on it, and someone— it may not be you—decides to start using the car as a shelf. The whale tail on your early 1980s 911 Turbo certainly would make a nice shelf, and it could soon start accumulating boxes. The next thing you know, the car is dented and suffering rub marks.
Tires A car equipped with bias-ply tires seems to suffer from flat-spotting a lot easier than one with radials, so when I store a car that has bias-ply tires, I go to Home Depot or Lowes and get a length of the material used for stair runners. I cut it into squares and place one at the front of each of the four tires and simply roll the car forward, center each tire in a square, and park the car. Now, the tires that were once sitting on cement or asphalt won’t fall victim to flat-spotting. I would pump up the tires to 35 to 40 pounds of pressure, a little over-inflated, because they will leak slowly. By the time you take the car back out, the tires will be a little softer and will need to be pumped back up. WWW.MESHNEWENGLAND.COM
NO ETHANOL Sunoco OptimaTM is an exceptionally stable unleaded fuel, making it ideal for storing vehicles. Optima contains detergent additives for engine cleanliness as well as anti-oxidants and corrosion inhibitors to enhance storage life. 95 Octane (R + M)/2 Not street legal. 2-stroke oil may need to be added for certain applications; consult owner’s manual.
VISIT NERACINGFUEL.COM OR CALL JOHN HOLLAND AT 860-673-9555 WINTER 2019
MESH NEW ENGLAND 15
a great drive
We’ve got the Green! Grandview Farm
The Skip Barber Racing School is honored to be selected as the Official Racing School of the Blancpain GT World Challenge America. Many of our graduates are the extraordinary drivers you’ll see competing when the green flag drops. Because of our partnership, the Skip Barber Racing School will be training the new classes of competitors who will be the stars of tomorrow. Find your line at the Skip Barber Racing School. Sign up for one of our schools – a one day introduction to racing, a three day comprehensive racing school and a two day advanced school that both qualify you for your competition license.
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The Northwest Corner of Connecticut is special year-round. An enchanted land of beautiful scenery, quaint villages, luxury inns, gourmet restaurants, curvy two-lane roads without traffic, and to top it all off, Lime Rock Park, an authentic road racing track from the Golden Age. words by Rich Taylor, photos by Taylor-Constantine Lakeville Pond
M
ost enthusiasts will get to Connecticut’s Northwest Corner by driving up US Route 7, which intersects I-84 at Danbury. Follow 7 along the Housatonic River through the trendy, upscale town of Kent, past historic Kent Falls, and all the way to Cornwall Bridge. Tiny Cornwall Bridge boasts a bank, a post office, a gas station, adorable 1883 St. Bridget’s Catholic Church, and Cornwall Country Market (860-619-8199, cornwallcountrymarket.com), a country store out of a Norman Rockwell painting. Try the apple scones! From Cornwall Bridge, continue straight on Route 7, and you’ll be on a lovely scenic byway that follows the Housatonic River to picturesque West Cornwall. Turn left on Route 4 at Cornwall Bridge, and you’ll be on a lovely scenic byway that climbs up and down a mountain on its way to picturesque Sharon. Turn right on Route 4, and you’ll be on an even lovelier scenic byway that follows the Furnace Brook to picturesque Cornwall and Mohawk Mountain Ski Area (860-672-6100, mohawkmtn.com). At Cornwall, turn left on 125 north, which will merge with 128 west and take 16
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you the back way to West Cornwall and across the West Cornwall Covered Bridge. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, this one-lane wooden bridge is 172 feet long and dates back to 1762. Be sure to rev your engine as you cross the bridge, so you can listen to the exhaust reverberate off the roof. It’s a New England tradition! After you cross the bridge, you’ll turn right on 7 north, then immediately left on West Cornwall Road. As challenging as North Carolina’s famous Tail of the Dragon but without the hordes of suicidal motorcycle racers, West Cornwall Road quietly winds its way past the National Audubon Society’s Miles Sanctuary to a T-junction that’s so subtle it’s easy to miss. Turn right, and White Hollow Road twists you to the infield entrance of Lime Rock Park (860-435-5000, limerock.com). Even in midwinter, there’s something going on at Lime Rock every Saturday, even if it’s only a Skip Barber Racing School, Lime Rock Drivers Club Autocross or Connecticut Valley Porsche Club Workshop. Just past the infield entrance, White Hollow Road T-junctions with 112. Turn left, and it will take you to Hotchkiss School and an inter-
section with Route 41. Turn Right, and 112 takes you to Route 7. New England sports car trivia: the big apartment house just east of White Hollow Road on Route 112 used to be famous–or more accurately, infamous. In 1960, Porsche racer Newt Davis bought the old Rocky Dell Hotel, renamed it Lime Rock Lodge, and turned it into the longest-running racing party in the eastern United States. Everybody who was anybody in road racing stayed and partied at Newt’s. If you made a film about those days, it would have to be X rated. New England sports car trivia II: on Route 112, across from Lime Rock’s Sam Posey Straight, is a collector car dealer, Northwest Historical Society and library on Sharon Green
866-932-1949 THE HUB OF NEW ENGLAND’S CAR COMMUNITY
skipbarber.com
2019NEWENGLANDMESH AD 2/2/19 12:49 PM
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Corner Classic Cars (860-596-4272, northwestcornerclassiccars.com). In the 1960s and ’70s, this was the home and shop of legendary mechanic, fabricator and crew chief Bill “Murph” Mayberry. From this shop, he won two Formula 5000 Championships for Hogan Racing, and here he built the Lola-Chevy with which David Hobbs lapped Lime Rock in an astonishing 45.9 seconds 47 years ago! If you had turned left at the T-junction of West Cornwall Road and White Hollow Road, Calkinstown Road would have brought you the back way to Sharon. In 1737, King George II of England gave land grants for 39 houses to be built in Sharon, many of them around a large green. Mostly unchanged for two centuries, the town center is one of the prettiest in New England. Carefully kept separate from the Sharon Historic District are three banks, two liquor stores, a grocery store, a pharmacy, a hospital, a summer theater and a gas station. Lakeville historic train station
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There’s also an independent repair shop called Autosport (860-364-5722, sharonautorent.com) that is the focal point for local racers and collectors. Established decades ago by SCCA racer Doug Hobby and now owned by master mechanic Tom Gomez, Autosport has a list of long-time clients that includes Skip Barber, Sam Posey, Barney Hallingby and, full disclosure, Rich Taylor. There are no fast food restaurants in the entire Northwest Corner, nor are there any chain hotels. Instead, there’s a handful of small local hotels and B&Bs and an equal number of decent local restaurants. Right up the street from Autosport is Sharon Country Inn (860-364-0036, sharoncountryinn.com). Ten years ago, this was a failing old motel. A tasteful renovation costing millions of dollars has resulted in a surprisingly nice place to stay, plus a brand-new upscale annex. The inn is also just 5 miles from Lime Rock, via either Calkinstown Road or Route 41/Route 112. Head north from Sharon on 41, and you’ll come to the prestigious Hotchkiss THE HUB OF NEW ENGLAND’S CAR COMMUNITY
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School, which boasts, among other useful things, a library and golf course open to the public. Turn right at this intersection, and Route 112 takes you to Lime Rock. Turn left on 112, and it ultimately takes you to Millerton, New York. More importantly, just past Hotchkiss on 112 is Interlaken Inn (860-435-9878, interlakeninn.com), which has decent guest rooms and a gourmet restaurant. Continue straight on 41 at the intersection with 112, and you’ll arrive in Lakeville, beautifully sited on Wononskopomuc Lake, referred to as simply “The Lake.” On 41, opposite The Lake, is Wake Robin Inn (860-435-2000, wakerobininn.com). Hidden up a long driveway, this Georgian-style B&B with 28 rooms used to be painted white and looked much like the White House. It’s recently been restored and painted a subdued dark taupe. Also on 41 is the Woodland (860-435The White Hart Inn
All proceeds benefit the recreational, social, and educational programs of Autism Families CONNECTicut. Visit our website at www.autismfamiliesct.org for more information.
0578, thewoodlandrestaurant.com), which is popular with parents visiting their children at Hotchkiss School. A little farther north, at the intersection of 41 and US 44, are two other popular restaurants, Black Rabbit (860-596-4227, blackrabbitbarandgrille.com) and our personal favorite, the Boathouse (860-435-2111, theboathouseat lakeville.com). Just past Black Rabbit, on Ethan Allen Street off 41, you’ll find the busiest restaurant in the Northwest Corner, On the Run Coffee Shop (860-435-2007, ontheruncoffeeshop.com). Open from 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and commonly known as “The Girls” thanks to its all-female staff, the shop caters to local working people and tourists of all types. Winter or summer, we get giant sandwiches or bowls of chili with cornbread from The Girls, then drive another quartermile on Ethan Allen Street into Bauer Park and Salisbury Town Grove, where we sit and admire The Lake and watch the local fishermen and sailors at the town dock, or the lo20
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cal young mothers with their children at the town beach. It’s as classically New England a spot for lunch as you could imagine. If you turn right on Main Street 44/41 in Lakeville, you’ll soon come to the Inn at Iron Masters (860-435-9844, innatironmasters.com), a modest motel that’s been here for decades. On the same driveway in a separate property is Picante’s South West Mexican Grill (860-596-4225, picanteslakeville.com), a new Tex-Mex restaurant in a Colonial house that has quickly become a local favorite. Keep driving on 44/41, and you’ll come to Salisbury. On the northeast end of Salisbury, Routes 41 and 44 split. Between the two is the White Hart (860-435-0030, whitehartinn.com). It’s a classic New England inn, totally redone twice within the past decade by new owners, with comfortable
1951 JAGUAR XK120 OTS
1964 E-TYPE S-1 OTS
#671431 Restored body with new interior and less than 100 miles since mechanical restoration. Excellent Roadster and all sorted out. Has soft top, side curtains and all service records. Antique white and original blue interior colors. $165K US
#881468 3.8L, fully restored. 67k miles. Multiple Concours Winner- Heritage Certificate included Built to compete and win in a concours. Has original tools, and all records. Original hardtop, original special order color Opalescent golden sand $255K US
1970 JAGUAR E-TYPE SERIES II OTS
1974 E-TYPE S-3 OTS
#1R11092 One repaint on a very rust free survivor. A local car that we serviced for the last 30 years only 79k miles. New top, new tires and all services performed recently. Opalescent blue/black interior $65K US
#UE1S24474 5.3 L, an original car that needs nothing. 35k original miles, automatic with working air conditioning. Show winning car in preservation class, JCNA. Includes original hardtop. Recently serviced and detailed $99K US
Motorsports HPDE Collector Auto (508) 229.8700 www.haydenwood.com info@haydenwood.com
West Cornwall Covered Bridge
CMA MODELS, INC. Creators of historically accurate models of uncompromising quality for collectors around the globe, since 1989. Hand-crafted limited editions, custom builds, kits and rare one-of-a-kinds. The next best thing to owning the real car is owning one of our models.
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guest rooms, an adult restaurant, and a more casual tavern. In winter, the White Hart Tavern is warm and dark with a cozy fire in the fireplace. In summer, the tavern porch is cool and inviting after a hot day at Lime Rock, which—like everything else in the Northwest Corner—is only 5 miles away. New England sports car trivia III: a tiny building on Route 44 between the back entrance of the White Hart and Conklin Street is where 50 years ago John Fitch modified Corvairs into Fitch Sprints. What was his shop is now a private home. From the White Hart, if you drive a half-mile east on 44, you’ll find a left into Salmon Kill Road. Salmon Kill is yet another smoothly paved, tightly twisting two-lane road with elevation changes, historic houses and scenic views. It will take you all the way to a T-junction with 112. Turn right, and you’ll be on your way back to Hotchkiss School. Turn left, and in a half-mile you’ll be at Lime Rock Park, ready to start another adventure in this precious corner of Connecticut. THE HUB OF NEW ENGLAND’S CAR COMMUNITY
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model review by Marshall Buck
The experts agree when it comes to Protecting, Preserving and Presenting your vehicle, CarCapsule USA sets the standard.
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“I’d put my signature on it.”
1963 Corvette Sting Ray Split-Window Coupe
A
sk any car enthusiast which Corvettes are on his or her short list of “got to have one day,” and inevitably it will include the 1963 Sting Ray split-window coupe. It’s on my list. Sales figures for 1963 show that the Sting Ray coupe was on many sports car buyers’ lists that year. This was an iconic design mated with enough performance and technology of the day to securely back up its striking looks. The piece shown here is from AutoArt, which is one of the more prolific manufacturers of 1:18 models. This is an out-of-production model from 2010. But don’t fret: Plenty are available from various model dealers and on eBay. AutoArt made a lot of these, and in two color schemes: Daytona blue with a red interior (shown), and silver blue with a black interior. The Sting Ray coupe model is a stablemate of AutoArt’s earlier release of a 1963 Sting Ray convertible. If you want to stay with the 1:18 scale, then your only other choice for a Sting Ray coupe model would be the one by Ertl, which 24
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was produced in numerous colors and is also now out of production. But those are closer to toys than to good models. So, if you want a decent 1:18 scale model of the coupe, buy the AutoArt piece. AutoArt’s Sting Ray coupe is stunning. The metallic in the Daytona blue paint is so fine that the model looks correct to scale regardless of whether it truly is. It rides on the same whitewall tires and plated wheels as does the convertible, which certainly won’t be to everyone’s
liking, but they help make for an attractive display piece. Like AutoArt’s convertible, the coupe was produced as a “limited edition” of only 6,000 numbered pieces. Good grief! I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: As far as serious collectibles go, any model produced in a quantity greater than 250 is not a true limited edition. That said, don’t let the production volume deter you from owning one of these. It’s one very fine-looking model. Perfect? No,
WINTER 2019
Wayne Carini of F40 Motorsport, and Chasing Classic Cars
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definitely not, but it’s still a worthy addition to most collections. Each piece comes with a stamped certificate bearing the same serial number as the one that has been handwritten on a small plaque mounted to the car’s underside. The impressive list of working features includes doors and a hood that open; the hood also has a folding, hinged support rod. The hideaway headlights pivot, and the front wheels are posable. The model looks best when displayed with all the panels closed. It’s a very good model, but, like Brando in On the Waterfront, it could’ve been a contender—if more attention had been paid to detail and accuracy. The overall look pulls together very well, but the mistakes will show themselves to Corvette aficionados. (The coupe and convertible share the same glitches.) This model has the high level of fit and finish and the delicate detail features for which AutoArt is known, but the floors are too shallow, which makes the center console look too low. It is only a few scale inches above the floor. If you were riding in this model, it would feel more like a Jaguar XK120 than a Corvette. The doors swing open on hinges that are great but not correct for this car, because they allow the doors to tuck into the body rather than sit outside it. The ride height looks pretty good, but the car probably sits about an inch or so too high; that one is forgivable. The interior is good, but various shapes and details are noticeably off the mark. The gauges are okay, and it’s nice that the edges of the bezels are picked out with chrome, but they do not protrude as much as they should, and they are missing the silver paint on some sides. Among the better details are the beautifully made emblems adorning the front, rear and sides of the car. Unfortunately, the placement of only one out of four is correct. The good one is on the front. The side-mounted emblems are too far forward, and the rear one is too far to the right and applied at a careless angle. The high-gloss paint finish has a surprising amount of orange peel in it, and it required a good deal of cleaning and polishing to remove a film and fingerprints. No extra charge for that! Prices for the model vary depending on the seller, but expect to pay $135 to $165. 26
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March
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3/5 Auto Flea Market, Powder Mill Barn, Enfield, Conn. 413.786.6318
THE HUB OF NEW ENGLAND’S CAR COMMUNITY
3/7–3/10 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, the Ritz Carlton, Amelia Island, Fla. 904.636.0027 ameliaconcours.com
new england
EVENTS
3/8 Gooding Company Car Auction, Omni Amelia Island Plantation, Amelia Island, Fla. 310.899.1960 goodingco.com 3/8–3/10 RM Sotheby’s Car Auction, the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, Fla. 519.352.4575 rmsothebys.com
MARCH–APRIL MONDAY
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3/22–3/24 World of Wheels, Seaport World Trade Center, South Boston, Mass. 248.373.1700 autorama.com
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3/10 Daylight Savings Time Begins, Everywhere
3/23–3/24 Syracuse Motorama, New York State Fairgrounds, Syracuse, N.Y. syracuse-motorama.com
April 4/11–4/13 Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction, South Florida Fairgrounds, West Palm Beach, Fla. 480.421.6694 barrett-jackson.com 4/6–4/8 Opening Day: Speedway Icebreakers Races, Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, Thompson, Conn. 860.923.2280 thompsonspeedway.com 4/7 Opening Day: Test/Tune, New England Dragway, Epping, N.H. 800.322.1263 newenglanddragway.com 4/14 Ty-Rods Annual Spring Swap Meet, Strafford Speedway, Strafford, Conn. 860.684.2783 staffordspeedway.com 4/19–4/28 New York International Auto Show, Javits Center, New York, N.Y. 800.282.3336 javitscenter.com 4/24–4/28 Spring Carlisle Meet & Coral, Carlisle Fairgrounds, Carlisle, Pa. 717.243.7855 carlisleevents.com 4/26–4/28 Nantucket Daffodil Festival & Antique Car Parade, Nantucket, Mass. 508.228.1700 daffodilfestival.com
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EVENT HIGHLIGHTS As we look forward to a great 2019 show schedule, let’s check the rearview mirror for a few highlights from this season as well as the last.
Tutto Italiano
8/05/18, Larz Anderson Museum Brookline, Massachusetts The Tutto Italiano is a “must do” on my list of Northeast car shows to attend. This event is a pillar on the show circuit, a celebration of the Italian passion that has produced unforgettable cars, motorcycles and, of course, design. For many years now, I have been attending the Tutto—at the Larz Anderson Transportation Museum in Brookline, Massachusetts—and continue to be amazed at the turnout. Sheldon Steele and his staff provide a great experience that includes the chance to view more than 400 Italian automobiles and motorcycles, enjoy great Italian music and food, and visit various vendors. It fits the carpe diem rule for such a gathering. This year brought a large contingent of contemporary machinery to the upper lawns that captured a cross section of some of the finest Italian automotive design on the planet. The motorcycles were represented well in both the contemporary and classic genres, but I really liked seeing more of the vintage stuff. To me, those are the unforgettable moments: being in the presence of something very special, such as Ken Goldman’s 1958 Ferrari 250 PF Coupe. It was a great turnout this year for the vintage. The Audrain Automobile Museum had Michael Schumacher’s 1997 F310 Formula 1 car on display, with his helmet. Word is this car is going to be run at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year—I am looking forward to hearing it rip up Lord March’s driveway. For the contemporary cars, Safi Barqawi took home the People’s Choice Award with his 2018 Lambo Huracan Performante Spider, and Mark Lombardi brought home the Best NonItalian Show Car with his 2006 Ford GT. The lower lawn was filled with DeTomaso Panteras, Alfa Romeos, Fiats and Lancias. The weather was stellar, and there was a great vibe in the air. Maybe it has something to do with the combination of everything Italian. Ben fatto! —Russ Rocknak
Photos by Josh Sweeney/SFD
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WWW.MESHNEWENGLAND.COM
WINTER 2019
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Summer Gala: Come One, Come All 8/31/18 Ochre Court Newport, Rhode Island
The Audrain Automobile Museum, in partnership with Louis Vuitton, held its annual Summer Gala—Come One, Come All: Vintage Circus—in late August in Newport, Rhode Island, at Salve Regina University’s historic Ochre Court. Guests were greeted on the midway by a variety of circus acts performed by Nimble Arts and Ten31 Productions. They featured seasoned performers from such famed companies as Cirque de Soleil, Ringling Brothers and Big Apple Circus. The magic performed by Andrew Baptista, aerial silk acts, contortionists, tightrope walkers, fire breathers, jugglers and more astounded and amazed guests as they enjoyed cocktails and spectacular cars from the museum’s collection. David B. Ford continued as chairman of the event, alongside former Tonight Show host and celebrated car enthusiast Jay Leno and writer, appraiser, and TV personality Don Osborne. The combination all of this entertainment, a wonderful collection of automobiles, like-minded individuals, and laughter made for a great evening. This year, the Summer Gala will be tied into the Audrain’s Newport Concours Motor Week, which takes place October 3 through 6. See you there! —R.R. Photos by Josh Sweeney/SFD and Russ Rocknak
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33
Greenwich Concours d’Elegance
6/1-6/3, 2018, Roger Sherman Baldwin Park Greenwich, Connecticut The 23rd annual Greenwich Concours d’Elegance took place June 1 through 3 at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park in Greenwich, Connecticut, overlooking Greenwich Harbor on Long Island Sound. Domestic marques were displayed on Saturday, imports on Sunday. Thanks to Mary Wennerstrom and her team for putting on another wonderful event. Both days featured the cars of the late Briggs Cunningham. Thirty-three of the 35 remaining Cunningham-built cars were on the field, along with five Cunningham team race cars, four continuation cars, and Cunningham’s personal 1955 Thunderbird. This was the largest display of Cunningham cars ever assembled in one location. At Saturday’s Concours Americana, the 1934 Packard Convertible Victoria owned by Judge Joseph and Margie Cassini III received the American Best of Show-Elegance Award. The American Best of Show-Sport Award went to the 1952 Cunningham C-3 owned by Joseph Robillard. “The World’s Fastest Indian”—the 1920 Indian Scout Streamliner owned by Clyde Crouch—was named the Most Outstanding Motorcycle-American, while David Miller’s 1974 Ducati 750 Super Sport claimed the Most Outstanding Motorcycle-International Award. Billy Blythe’s 1971 OSSA Pioneer, selected by Dr. Fred Simeone of the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia, received the HVA Heritage Award, a high honor in both the car- and motorcycle-collector worlds. On Sunday, the International Best of Show-Sport Award was presented to Scuderia N.E.’s 1957 Ferrari 335 Sport Spider Scaglietti, while the 1935 SS1 Tourer owned by Colin Seid and Richard Annis received the International Best of Show-
Photos by Russ Rocknak 34
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Greenwich Concours d’Elegance continued Elegance Award. The coveted People’s Choice Award-American went to the 1948 Tucker Twin Turbo owned by Jack and Carolyn Kiely. The Tucker was built by IDA Automotive and was driven to the award ceremony by Sean Tucker, the grandson of Preston Tucker. The 1955 Cunningham C-6R from the Collier Collection at the Revs Institute in Naples, Florida, was the People’s Choice-International winner. Race car driver and TV motorsports commentator David Hobbs was on hand both days to sign copies of his new book, Hobbo: Motor Racer, Motor Mouth. He drove up to the podium with Nick Grewal in Grewal’s 1965 Lola T70, which Hobbs raced in the 1960s. The car was awarded the Lime Rock Park Historic Fall Festival Best in Class trophy, presented by track owner Skip Barber. Wayne Carini, host of TV’s Chasing Classic Cars, and journalist Ken Gross held special presentations each day on the field, introducing fans to interesting cars, such as a 1938 Jaguar SS 100 that belonged to Dave Garroway, the original host of NBC’s Today Show. Carini bought the SS 100 at the concours from its current owner. Dr. Simeone accepted the Best in Class-Cars of Briggs Cunningham Award for the 1952 Cunningham C-4R Roadster that raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Two C-4Rs were built, and both were at the concours; the other belongs to the Revs Institute. Saturday’s Grand Marshal trophy was presented by Grand Marshal Miles Collier to Charles Mallory for his 1966 Fitch Phoenix, which legendary race car driver John Fitch designed and owned. Lawrence Auriana’s 1962 Maserati Tipo 151 received Sunday’s Grand Marshal Award. The Bonhams auction on Sunday produced $10.5 million in total sales and a 92 percent sell-through rate.
New England International Auto Show 1/17–1/21 Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Boston, Massachusetts It’s the biggest auto show in New England and the perfect place to browse hundreds of the newest vehicles. Set at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in the city’s Seaport District, the New England International Auto Show is the region’s premier showcase for the newest imported and domestic vehicles. It includes cars, vans, crossovers, hybrids, light trucks and sport utilities—something to suit every budget and lifestyle. Herb Chambers, being a true car guy, was sure to visit the Muscle Car Corral, which was orchestrated by the Boston Cup’s chairman and founder, Rich Doucette, and hosted by Scrub-A-Dub. It was a little retro amid all the contemporary. I was sure to check out the exotics and supercars—including the Aston Martin DB11 Volante, the Lamborghini Aventador and Urus, the Rolls-Royce Phantom, and the McLaren 720S. There was also a McLaren Senna wearing the livery of Ayrton Senna’s McLaren MP4/4 Formula 1 car, complete with his racing number, 12. The $837,000 twin-turbo V8, 789 horsepower, 211 mph supercar is one of the world’s greatest road-legal track cars, and there is really something to be said about its curb appeal. The show also included Ride & Drive programs offered by Toyota, Mazda and Volkswagen that let you hop aboard and drive more than a dozen different cars and trucks. Test vehicles included the electric-powered VW e-Golf, the Golf GTI sports hatchback, the Mazda CX-5 SUV, and even the hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai. They’re all great automobiles, but I think I’d take the McLaren Senna. —R.R.
Photos by Russ Rocknak
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SURVIVOR CAR Awake again after a 50-year slumber in a Rhode Island one-car garage, this 1932 Ford coupe runs better now than it ever did.
Words and photos by Kimberly Maroon
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A
s the tale of hot rod history and culture in the United States goes, the East Coast, particularly New England, gets the short end of the stick. California takes most of the credit because most of the hot rod magazines and parts manufacturing were based there. Many folks believe hot rods were a West Coast thing and still are. The truth is, hot-rodding was happening throughout the country. After World War II, men and women started building cars with the knowledge they had acquired in the military or in factories. Then they began building the cars for speed. Meant to race, these vehicles tested the limits of man and machine. Today, they are referred to as hot rods. A community of enthusiasts emerged in the Northeast in thsee postwar years, taking inspiration from the West Coast scene. They tinkered away in winter and raced in the summer. They took to old military airstrips. The first was in Sanford, Maine. Later, other tracks cropped up in Massachusetts, in Orange, Beverly, Springfield, Charlestown and Newburyport. The hot-rodders formed car clubs—with names such as Ty-Rods, Piston Riders, Ring Reckers and Cam Snappers—and shared with each other everything they learned about these speed machines. New England forged on even while California was receiving all the glory. Today, people like Eli English, a member of New England’s hot rod community, are reviving vintage cars, allowing them to fulfill their original purpose of running and racing. “I look at it as artwork,” said English. “It’s more of a piece of art than it is a car.”
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Island. Rhode in g in p e und sle was fo e as it p u o c 32 Ford The 19
After a nearly 50-year slumber, the coupe was quickly headed to Eli English’s shop in Pittsfield, New Hampshire.
English’s shop, Traditional Speed and Custom in Pittsfield, New Hampshire, specializes in restoration, serving clients throughout New England and worldwide. His true passion lies in survivor cars, and last January he took on a 1932 Ford coupe that was discovered in a storage space in Rhode Island. His vision for the coupe was to restore it back to a main driving vehicle and then race it last summer on the beach in Wildwood, New Jersey, at the Race of Gentlemen. English achieved this 42
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goal, and it was the first time in 50 years that the car rans on its own.
A Survivor Car Survivor cars are automobiles that had been lost or forgotten. Like a family member who had disappeared, they were not seen or heard from for many years. These cars were moved and sold, and they often passed through multiple owners. Some ended up in riverbeds, others in storage units. Survivor cars can
have sordid pasts, and their backstories are sometimes just hearsay, with the finer details remaining a mystery. However, it is through their unique stories that we uncover their true character. For people like English, who is passionate about survivor hot rods, the history is the most exciting thing about the car. “It’s like an archaeological dig,” he said, describing how he locates old photos of a car, scours the internet for facts about it, or gathers bits and pieces about it by THE HUB OF NEW ENGLAND’S CAR COMMUNITY
word of mouth from friends in the community. English was able to track down everything about his other survivor, the Hinman, including the original owner, so he is hopeful about finding as much as he can about the 1932 Ford coupe survivor. History of the Coupe It all started about a year ago, when English received an email informing him that someone had just found a car in Rhode Island that had been in storage since 1968. WWW.MESHNEWENGLAND.COM
The email included a photo of the car from the day it was parked, and it looked exactly as it did present day, except for some damage from storage. English had only a 15-minute window to purchase it, and he had to give up a car that he really loved in order to buy the Ford. But the little blue coupe had a lot of history to it, and that piqued his interest. Over the next few months, English found more photos of the car from the late 1960s, and information began to WINTER 2019
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Attention to detail in the shop has made all the difference at the show. Since the restoration, the Siata has won at the Greenbrier Concours d’Elegance, Sunday in the Park, Radnor Hunt Concours d’Elegance, Atlanta Concours d’ Elegance, and more. SHOW-READY SIATA PHOTOS BY RUSS ROCKNAK
extremely low, a dead giveaway that it’s from the East Coast. These “Beasts from the East,” as they were called, appeared almost undriveable because of how low they were and because their suspensions had been removed.
English’s Process and Style trickle in through a network of people. However, everything he’s learned is from the car’s midlife, and so he continues to look for information about its early years. He learned that the coupe was built as a drag car and raced at a speedway in Connecticut, where it was rumored to have hit 122 mph. At his shop in New Hampshire last winter, English walked around the car and pointed out a dimple on the rear bumper and some of the leftover red 44
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paint on the wheels. Those details help him identify the coupe in old photos, like matching a fingerprint. The scuffs and scratches are what give the car character, so he intends to leave the coupe rough— patinaed—to keep its history intact and make it stand out. “I’m hoping someone will see the car on the road and it will jog a memory,” English said. The ’32 coupe is a quintessential example of an East Coast hot rod. The roof is not chopped, and the body is channeled
At Traditional Speed and Custom, English focuses on restoring early Fords: from Model A’s through cars from the 1950s. His is one of the few shops in New England where everything is created with original Ford parts and speed equipment or handmade using early machining equipment, the same machines that were used in the 1930s and 1940s. “If you stick with early parts, in a traditional style,” said English, “it never goes out of style.” English is self-made and old school. THE HUB OF NEW ENGLAND’S CAR COMMUNITY
He got all of his knowledge on the job, by working in various shops before establishing his own business five years ago. His first job was sweeping floors in a body shop, where he gradually moved up and learned about autobody and paint work and mechanics. Eventually, he found his way to a hot rod shop and was hooked. English said he has no set way of doing things, and much of this work is trial and error. He is essentially following the path of the men who pioneered the sport of hot-rodding. Back in the 1940s, servicemen returned from World War II and wanted to build hot rods. They had no experience or training, but they used the skills they learned in the service and applied them to the cars. The cars were like test tubes, and these guys grabbed whatever parts they could get their hands WWW.MESHNEWENGLAND.COM
on to make them run and go fast. They didn’t know what made cars go faster or handle better, so it was all trial and error. English said the real excitement comes from solving a problem with your brain and your hands, not with a computer. He has a lot of fun making parts himself, as he did when he welded a metal bracket to hold the coupe’s Mallory Mag spark unit, something he had lying around the shop and wanted to incorporate. “If you can’t find the right part, make it,” English said. “Get creative.” I noticed the dials in the coupe weren’t working, leading me to ask how he’s able to tune the car, set the idle, or even shift gears while driving. When it comes to tuning and driving, English said, he always goes by feel and sound. “If you listen to the car, it will tell you what it needs.” Working on his survivor car projects—first the Hinman and now the ’32 coupe—is a kind of therapy, especially during the bitter cold winters in New England. English used the Race of Gentlemen, a period-correct beach drag race, as motivation to finish the car. Having a deadline to work toward fueled his desire to keep making progress through the winter. His personal projects are easy compared with customers’ projects, because there are no guidelines or parameters. On weekdays, he squeezed in a few small, random projects for the coupe, and on weekends he connected the dots to complete a big project. “It’s all about moving forward continuously towards my goal to get it running,” English said.
The Coupe Comes to Life I started to envy the coupe’s life in the woods of New Hampshire and looked
forward to the trips to visit and check in on English’s progress. Those winter afternoons watching him work were quiet and relaxed in comparison to the incessant buzz of the city where I live. I felt as though I was tip-toeing around the car as it slept, always wondering what it would sound like when it woke up. When spring came, that all changed. What was once silent and still sprang to life as an angry monster. Firing up, the coupe became an entirely different character—a kind of mythical creature, the villain from your childhood fairytales. A furious mix of chugs, grumbles and pops erupted as English adjusted the timing and idle. I noticed a look of devilish excitement on his face as he took off in a cloud of dust. Rolling up the road next to the English’s house, the car settled in, and its slow rumble faded off in the distance. I stood at the top of the driveway, taking in a moment of peace, waiting to hear the coupe again echoing through the woods. When I rode in the coupe, it sounded even louder as it scrambled up and around a bend in the road, flying past barns and trees, the wind screaming through every opening in the frame. The engine revved, and English accelerated on a straightaway. The coupe got louder and louder, and everything shook violently, as if at any second the car would explode. Fear and thrill blended together, and I couldn’t help but crack a grin a mile wide. This all seemed unbelievable, downright impossible even. A car left for dead in a storage unit, a pile of metal and parts that spent a winter in a garage with an artist mechanic, was now out on the road running again. Alive.
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NEVER FORGOTTEN On the border between Connecticut and Massachusetts, we saw an Allard J2X MkII for the first time and learned the story of this long-nosed, curvy roadster and the man who was inspired to create it. No, not Sydney Allard; we mean Roger. words by Linda Zukauskas, photos by Roger Allard
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Roger Allard’s J2X MkII in Shanghai. This roadster can stand its ground on a long-distance journey, wow the paparazzi at a gala, and play at will on the track. The J2X MkII accurately mirrors the look of the original Allard J2X but with refinements such as soft leathers, wool carpets, a deep baritone sound, a handcrafted mahogany shifter, an engine-turned dash, and bespoke gauges befitting a luxury rather than racing car. WWW.MESHNEWENGLAND.COM
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THE TURN OF THE 21st century hardly conjures up the romantic images associated with automotive invention at the turn of the 20th, when a man could start a new, life-changing venture with the words, “This car thing seems pretty neat. I think I’ll make one.” But, that’s exactly what Roger Allard did after celebrating his 50th birthday. The milestone was marked by a vacation in England with his wife, Rosemary, attending car shows and entertaining the idea of purchasing an Austin-Healey. At one show, Roger’s hand stopped over a book on Austin-Healey restoration when his eyes read the next title, Allard: The Inside Story. “I didn’t know there was a car with my family name on it so I had to buy the book,” he says, confirming no direct family connection with the manufacturer. Roger was particularly taken with the book’s cover photo featuring the Allard J2X, one of 83 competition roadsters Sydney Allard built in London between 1951 and 1954. The couple quickly changed their travel plans, hoping to find a car at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, in the English county of Hampshire. They were almost thwarted at the entrance, finding no Allards on the list of featured marques. Determined by nature and eager to see one of the cars in person, Roger asked a nearby museum gardener for help. He learned that a red and black Allard J2X had been added to the collection only two weeks earlier and was on display next to, of all things, an Austin-Healey. Roger returned to Montreal with his attention now firmly fixed on his namesake vehicle. “I joined the Allard Owners Club and learned all that I could about Allards and the J2X,” he says. Internet research identified a San Diego builder who was reproducing several iconic cars, including the Allard J2X, at about the same time Roger was asked to share his knowledge in marketing communications as the keynote speaker for an international communications conference in Los Angeles. Roger recalls, “I rented a car after my presentation and headed down the coast. When I arrived, the repro builder said there wasn’t enough light left to get a good look at the car. He insisted I stay at his house and see it in the morning.” Overcome with anticipation, Roger left a sleepless bed and quietly nudged the garage door open to sneak his first look at the machine. Sunlight and a test drive the next 48
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day led him to judge the car a good replica and the trip worthwhile. He was surprised two weeks later when the builder faxed his intention to sell the Allard J2X show car and all related components, including molds and jigs, due to health issues. Roger had earned right of first refusal in the sale because his marketing background had impressed the builder almost as much as something he’d noticed in the California
‘‘ Roger Allard
Roger’s team embarked upon a journey to integrate their knowledge into a neo-retro classic roadster while staying within the original design parameters of a 68-year-old car. He says, “It was never my intention to replicate to spec the Allard J2X. What my clients want is a classic car that starts every time, doesn’t overheat, stops on a dime, is agile, comfortable, and goes like hell.” Roger’s demands of the car and of himself went beyond the expectations of the modern driver and he points out, “My J2X had to be right. That is why I took seven years to listen, to talk to car collectors, and to test the market before I released our first J2X MkII in 2008.” The vision was to offer a genuine roadster that could stand its ground on a longdistance journey, wow the paparazzi at a gala, and play at will on the track. The J2X MkII accurately mirrors the look of the original Allard J2X but with refinements such as soft leathers, wool carpets, a deep baritone sound, a handcrafted mahogany shifter, an engine-turned dash, and bespoke gauges befitting a luxury rather than racing car.
“Rarely Seen. Never Forgotten.” That distinctive quality was underscored when Roger launched his J2X MkII in Shanghai. As the car stopped for lights while cruising the streets of Shanghai, a crowd would gather at the fenders, some taking photos and others giving Roger the thumbs up sign. The police pulled the car over after several intersections and wrote an infraction for disturbing the normal flow of traffic.
My J2X had to be right,” he says. “That is why I took seven years to listen, to talk to car collectors, and to test the market before I released our first J2X MkII in 2008.”
sunshine, “There was a sparkle in your eye when you saw the car.” With 90 days to decide, Roger divided his time between sleepless hours considering the risk of starting a venture with extremely limited capital and waking hours weighing advantages such as his due diligence, market analysis, and access to talented car builders. He decided to take the risky plunge with a caveat. He would not sell a car in a box with assembly instructions. He would engineer his J2X from the ground up. He explains, “Safety, reliability, agility, and comfort were my key redesign targets. What I heard from the marketplace was a strong affinity toward owning and driving classic cars but they didn’t want the hassles.” He established the Allard Motor Works (allardj2x.com) in 1999 in Longueuil, Québec. Backed by engineers that had experience with the strict guidelines required for DOT homologation of passenger cars,
Then again, Roger had hardly spent the first 50 years of life doing things half way. As a marketing communications specialist, he once pitched the idea of a precision skydiver landing on the finish line of a race track to promote a motor oil. The skydiver proposed? Roger, who gave the oil company a rich return on investment when he
The company’s manufacturing facility is in Valencia, California. THE HUB OF NEW ENGLAND’S CAR COMMUNITY
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was forever immortalized in a three-minute spot on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. “I’m not an engineer. I can turn a wrench but I don’t know how to fine tune a car,” Roger says. To overcome his technical shortcomings, he called on valuable sources of information and leveraged the experience of drivers such as Terry ‘Zeke’ Maxwell, member of the Canadian Drag Racing Hall of Fame, and Thierry Ménégoz, a serious rally driver and race driving instructor. The body is a combination of carbon fiber composite and a steel, hand fabricated hood, although a lighter, full carbon fiber option is available. Of course, a car is just a paperweight without an engine. Sydney Allard would ship his competition roadster J2X as a rolling chassis and the owner would install a new engine of choice, usually a Chrysler 331 Hemi or a 331 Cadillac depending on which was faster that week. Roger’s purpose-built vehicle offers the same consideration to owners with several California emission-compliant V8 options: the Chrysler 5.7, 6.1, and 6.4L Hemi
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as well as the GM LS3 and the Cadillac LSA. “Once we hit the sweet spot, we made No. 001, the first car,” Roger says he delivered the vehicle from Montreal to Arizona with a slight detour through Los Angeles. After all, the point of a great car isn’t to get from one place to another without a great story.
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describes how much each person means to him, “I’d go to the end of world for the people who have supported me in what I’m doing.” Massachusetts resident and Allard owner Wilson Rider feels a reciprocal gratitude for Roger because of how the J2X MkII made his lifelong dream come true. While Wilson spent his life as an aviator, Chinese translator for the Navy, husband, and father, his wallet protected the symbol of his fervent wish to own the car that had captured his imagination: a worn photograph of one of Sydney Allard’s machines. Hope was losing a battle to rising prices for these rare race cars. Many had been lost to track accidents and the ones that survived were fetching hundreds of thousands of dollars. “One day, I found an advertisement for Roger’s car and wrote to him,” Wilson says. Could the new Allard J2X MkII live up to years of imagining the ultimate dream ride? Wilson made a trip to Montreal to learn more and get behind the wheel. He was very happy with the result. “The car is powerful and deserves respect but it has
What my clients want is a classic car that starts every time, doesn’t overheat, stops on a dime, is agile, comfortable, and goes like hell.”
Roger offers his purpose-built vehicle with a choice of several California-emission-compliant V-8 engines: the Chrysler 5.7, 6.1 or 6.4L Hemi; the GM LS3; or the Cadillac LSA. The MkII’s wheelbase is 106 inches long to provide more high-speed stability, and the original bench seat has been replaced with adjustable bucket seats. “I owe a debt to the artisans who assemble each car, and I hope to share their skills with the world through a series of videos,” says Roger.
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“Friends and colleagues kept insisting that Jay Leno had to see this car. With no contact, I took a chance and called his office in Burbank. The woman who answered asked, ‘TV or car?’ I quickly replied, ‘Car.’ She gave me directions and a clear directive to be there no later than 9:30 the next morning. I was there at 7:30!” Taking one look at the car, Jay assembled a film crew in under 15 minutes to shoot an episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, featuring the J2X MkII and including a drive around more than just the block. In the video, Jay returns from the road to tease a waiting Roger, “Look at the worried look on his face. He’s pacing. I’ve been gone for an hour.” He adds, “Hey, new owner, if you decide you don’t like this thing, can’t make the payments… give me a call, I’ll take it off your hands. Fantastic car. Roger, nice job!” To date, only a few more than 20 of Roger’s cars have been sold and shipped to four continents with the tagline, “Rarely Seen. Never Forgotten.” That distinctive quality was underscored when Roger launched his J2X MkII in Shanghai. As the car stopped for
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Wilson Rider, saddled up and ready to go.
lights while cruising the streets of Shanghai, a crowd would gather at the fenders, some taking photos and others giving Roger the thumbs up sign. The police pulled the car over after several intersections and wrote an infraction for disturbing the normal flow of traffic. Allard owners are more than clients. Roger
an unbelievable feel.” Because each car is built to order, Wilson waited anxiously for the day when he could take his prize on the road and to the track. He is perhaps one of Roger’s best salesmen and loves to talk about how his Allard was built as he unbuckles the leather hood straps to show off the engine. With a generous heart, he will even let an admirer from Mesh New England slide into the driver’s seat and take in that view down the enormous hood. Roger is already busy shipping the next generation of his car, the J2X MkIII, from his current manufacturing location in Valencia, California. The American made car will answer customer requests for features such as right-hand drive, a full windscreen, soft top, and more luxury options. Nostalgia for the early days of the automobile is definitely attractive but there is no reason to think adventure and innovation belong to the past. Just ask Roger. WINTER 2019
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FOREVER VIGILANT
Andy Swift, of Firefly Restorations in Hope, Maine, gives us a firsthand look at one of the late William B. Ruger Jr.’s favorite rides, a 1936 American LaFrance fire engine that originally served in Brookline, Massachusetts. words and photos by Russ Rocknak
Last September,
we lost a fellow car guy when William B. Ruger Jr. passed away. Bill—as we knew him—was the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Sturm, Ruger & Co. He was the second CEO of the Connecticut-based firearms company and the son of its founder. Ruger was a great admirer of the fire engine, and he liked to collect, restore and drive certain models, each unique in its own way. Enter Andy Swift, who owns and runs Firefly Restorations in Hope,
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Maine. It’s one of the best places on this planet for an old fire engine to find itself in its later years, and the fire-engine connection between Swift and Ruger sparked their friendship. Sometimes like attracts like, and in this case the two men spent a lot of time sharing their passion for the fire engine and their expansive knowledge and admiration of mankind’s challenge to fight fires. Soon after Ruger and Swift met, Firefly Restorations began helping to make Ruger’s
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William B. Ruger jr.
dreams come true by sourcing, creating and restoring fire engines for his personal collection. In memoriam to his friend, Swift brought me to Bar Harbor, Maine, to visit and learn about one of Ruger’s favorite fire engines from his collection: a 1936 American LaFrance. “The first restoration I did for Bill was a 1924 4-cylinder American LaFrance T-head ex-White Plains, New York, squad truck,” said Swift. “It was a straight-up squad right from the start. He got that fire engine when he was 14 or 15 years old. He was attending St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire, and he found it in a barn. He got it
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144, some were ladder trucks, some were water towers, and others were hose wagons. With this truck, we basically stripped it down and made a hot rod out of it. We didn’t hurt anything by cutting it up. We just did things like take leaf springs out to lower it and make it a little less stiff, because if you left the original springs in it, it would take your teeth out when you ride in it. Riding in it is what Bill wanted to do, along with a bunch of his friends. So, we essentially converted this from a pumper to a flying squad. A flying squad truck was meant to get manpower to the scene of the fire—you needed to get your A team there first to assess the situation.”
A Little History Before it shuttered five years ago, the American LaFrance Fire Engine Company was one of the oldest fire apparatus manufacturers in the United States. In 1873, Truckson LaFrance and his partners founded the LaFrance Manufacturing Company and began selling hand-powered equipment. In 1903, LaFrance merged with the International Fire Engine Company, which built steam-powered fire engines, horsedrawn steamers, hose wagons, and hook
These [Senior] 400 Series American LaFrance fire trucks were the best of the best, in my opinion, and I am sure other fire truck aficionados would agree.” running and would get all of his buddies at school together, and they would ride in the middle of the night down to Bridgeport, Connecticut. This man loved that truck, and I got the restoration on it. That is big shit in my world, dude. “This truck’s main chassis was originally a 1,500-gallons-a-minute pumper,” explained Swift of the 1936 American LaFrance. “That big V-12 was designed to pump water, and a lot of it—pumping 1,500 gallons a minute takes a lot of energy. And that’s the type of energy this engine is capable of. This truck originally served Brookline, Massachusetts, because they had a big budget. This was a ‘money truck.’ “These [Senior] 400 Series American LaFrance fire trucks were the best of the best, in my opinion, and I am sure other fire truck aficionados would agree. They made 144 of these trucks, and that was it. Of the 54
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and ladders. The new business, American LaFrance Fire Engine Company, had its corporate offices and manufacturing plant in Elmira, New York. It also operated a plant in Toronto, Ontario, where it sold apparatus under the name Lafrance-Foamite, until 1971. The company delivered its first motorized fire engine in 1907. In early 1935, American LaFrance introduced the Senior 400 Series, a big and stunningly beautiful fire engine. With its long, tapered hood and cowl, sweeping skirted front fenders, finely proportioned radiator and oversized wheels, the Senior 400 is eagerly sought by collectors today. The pump in the Senior 400 was located ahead of the driver, in the cowl, and was directly connected to the 240-horsepower V-12 engine. On a regal 180-inch wheelbase, the 400 Series Metropolitan was a true big-city fire engine, with a 1,250- or 1,500-gallons-
Bill Ruger admires the 400 Series upon arrival at Firefly Restorations in Hope, Maine (below). He saw great potential through all of the rust and was drawn to this project full tilt.
per-minute pump. The 400’s classic styling (minus the deep-section cowl) was also used on the company’s ladder trucks, quads and tractor-drawn aerials. As Swift noted, American LaFrance built only 144 Senior 400 Series fire engines during the production run, which lasted from 1935 to 1940. In 1936 and 1937, American LaFrance complemented its 240-horsepower V-12 with a smaller, 190-horsepower V-12 engine sourced from Lycoming. Originally deTHE HUB OF NEW ENGLAND’S CAR COMMUNITY
signed for the 1932 Auburn, the Lycoming V-12 was modified for fire service with dual ignition and carburetion. Displacement was increased to 527 cubic inches. In 1937, the company delivered its first hydraulically operated aerial ladder truck, to a fire department in New Jersey. Instead of the usual pair of coil springs, hydraulic power raised and extended the three-section, 85foot wood aerial. A few months later, the company built its first 100-foot-long, allWWW.MESHNEWENGLAND.COM
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Swift. “This engine is a V-12 at 754 cubic inches, roller rockers on an overhead cam. That is basically the flavor we were going after based on Bill’s thoughts. “What is so special about this truck is that it is chain drive. Of the 144 400 Series trucks made, only 11 were chain drive. It gives you that 1930s look and feel, but it is still chain drive. It’s nuts. That enables you to re-sprocket and go to a higher gear ratio quickly, without changing transmission gears or the gears in the rear end. “Originally, this truck came to me in a deal as a parts truck with another 400 Series,” Swift continued. “The good 400 was restored and sent off to its new owner, and as part of that deal, I made sure I got to keep the parts truck. When the time came for it to be delivered to Firefly, Bill just happened to be at the shop. So here is this completely roached-out 400; we couldn’t use any of the sheet metal, and the frame was toast, but it had that chain-drive transmission. “Bill saw great potential through all the rust and was drawn to it full tilt. I just happened to have a spare American LaFrance frame, and I sourced all of the other parts, and we built this truck up from that. Proj-
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THE HUB OF NEW ENGLAND’S CAR COMMUNITY
The Ride Swift and I traveled to Bar Harbor to see Ruger’s fire engine in late December. With the temperature hovering around 5 degrees, it was not your typical day for a ride in a convertible, let alone in a 1936 American LaFrance 400 Series fire truck. But the cold really didn’t bother Swift or me. We were there to celebrate Ruger’s passion, so to us, the weather was more than perfect. After the engine was primed, it quickly came to life, breathing through dual anglecut exhaust pipes that exit the truck right before the rear wheels. Running six cylinders through each pipe creates a unique voice for this truck—it really sounds a little bad-ass. Swift slowly pulled the red-gilded hot rod from the four-bay garage. In the low December sun, the gold-leafed pinstripes just lit up. It was as if they were neon and had been turned on. After the engine warmed up, Swift and I saddled up for a quick ride. With a fire truck of this vintage, you don’t
Bill liked performance, and the best way to show off the attributes of his fire truck’s V-12—if you were not a pump person—was to demonstrate its pulling power.”
Ruger checks out the driving position of the 400 Series during restoration with Chris Charlton at his shop in Oxford, Maine (below). He was a project guy and loved bringing special vehicles back to life.
steel, hydraulically operated aerial ladder. Drawn by a Senior 400 Series tractor, the first American LaFrance 100-foot aerial with fixed tiller steer was delivered to Annapolis, Maryland. Over the years, American LaFrance built thousands of fire engines, including chemical engines, combination pumpers, aerial ladder trucks, Aero Chief snorkel trucks, and airport crash trucks. The classic style of the American LaFrance apparatus is easily
a great project for us all, and together we had a great time doing it. We all loved working with Bill, and he will be missed by many.”
recognized. Some of the company’s innovations led to changes in the industry, most notably the cab-forward-style cab. Sadly, in January of 2014, the company announced it was ceasing operations.
A Project Guy “Bill liked performance, and the best way to show off the attributes of his fire truck’s V-12—if you were not a pump person—was to demonstrate its pulling power,” said WWW.MESHNEWENGLAND.COM
ects like this are a community effort, as I rely on others to do specialized things. This is what Bill really liked too: working together with everyone and bringing something substantial back to life. “Chris Charlton’s shop in Oxford, Maine, did all of the paintwork on the truck, and the amount of sheet metal on a 1930s fire truck is endless—I mean there are acres of it. The timing of the build was perfect, because we could weave it into Chris’s schedule. Along with Chris and his talented team, Peter Achorn, from Camden, Maine, did the pinstriping. Butler & McMaster, from Hallowell (when they were in business), did rebuilt the engine, and Advanced Custom Chrome, located in Erie, Pennsylvania, did all the chrome work. The whole build took just about two years. “Bill was a project guy and loved to get good craftsmen together,” said Swift. “It was
ride in it as much as you ride on it. Two steps up and you are in the seat, seemingly towering over everything. The windshield was high and provided great protection from the wind. As Swift was maneuvering the truck around the driveway so that we could head to Route 1, I noticed that the beast didn’t have much of a turning radius, and that the throws on the shifter were about a foot apart from one another. Then again, this is a unique machine, a hot rod 1936 American LaFrance squad truck. Riding along, I couldn’t help but imagine Ruger riding around in this fire truck with all of his friends to fetch an ice cream cone— or driving his first American LaFrance, the 1924 4-cylinder model, from Concord, New Hampshire, straight down to Bridgeport, Connecticut, in the middle of the night. God bless you, Bill. You set the bar high for the rest of us. WINTER 2019
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CLASSIFIEDS Classic Motorsports Merrimack, NH classicmotosports.com
1936 Oldsmobile F36 Sport Coupe 3-window coupe with rumble seat. Fully restored classic. Rebuilt original 6-cyl engine. Rebuilt 3-speed manual transmission. Maroon exterior paint and tan cloth interior. $31,500. Contact: Mark (518) 312.0636 1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitan 4-door suicide style. A terrific antique from the ’50s! Still in original condition, except for a newer repaint of the same color. No rust, dust, moans or groans. 59,000 miles. $18,000. Contact: (978) 546.9309
1962 Volkswagen Beetle Two-owner Beetle showing 47,300 miles. Original floor pans and rockers. Original interior in excellent condition. Proper repaint in original color red. Chrome replaced or refinished. $17,900
1966 Land Rover Series 2A Santana FSeries II 2.2 4 cyl 4-speed transmission 4-wheel drive. Newer paint on aluminum original body. New factory interior and soft top. New tires. New carburetor and fuel pump. Contact: (215) 514.5812 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS Convertible L34 396/350 hp. Automatic transmission. 5,000 miles since meticulous, professional frame-off restoration. Black cherry/black interior and top. $85,500 Contact: Lew, Classic Motorcars at (617) 960.0780
Last Word
1972 Bronco Original Uncut 302 V8 Factory 302 V8. Manual three on the tree. Solid Bronco to start with including original hard top. Needs front floors and rockers but the frame is very solid and the exterior sheet metal is decent. Contact: Matt at (617) 799.0075
Winter driving at its best at the Monticello Motor Club in Monticello, New York.
1974 BMW 3.0CS Featured in Baikal Blue Metallic with a tan leather interior. 39K miles. A subtly modified example that received a mechanical refurbishment in 2001 at 38K miles. $55,500. Contact: Lew, Classic Motorcars at (617) 960.0780 1954 Chevy 3100 Pickup Blue flame 6, 235. 3-speed on the column. 5 new Coker wide whitewall tires on original wheels. Always kept in temp-controlled garage. $22,000. Contact: Brian at (508) 478.0030
2016 Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT 2dr Coupe Only 10,059 miles. One adult owner. 4.7L V8. 6 speed manual. Traditional Aston racing colors: white with red stripe accents. Full factory warranty remains until July of 2020.
Porsche 1984 930 Turbo Coupe Only 27K documented miles. Gaurds Red with black leather sport seats. A/C. Electric sunroof. Black headliner. $125,000. Contact: Ray, Ayer European Auto Sales at (207) 582.7372 1959 Austin Healey 100-6 BN6 2.6L Race Car It has been meticulously maintained and updated. It is fast and the IMSA exhaust leaves a lasting impression. $55,000. Contact: Jason at (617) 331.5999 1999 Shelby Series 1 One owner from new. All documents from purchase. Always garaged. Only 2,900 miles. Just as new. Even includes signed, numbered Carroll Shelby framed print that came with the car.
Contact Andrew at (603) 429.8840 60
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Boats
1967 Porsche 912 Rare red/tan interior combination. 5-spd., 5-gauge car. Completely restored 10 years ago with under 1,500 miles since. Arizona rust-free car. Thinning out my collection. Contact: Mike (978) 502.4064
Curtiss Wilgold III Historic reconstruction, massive outboard rudder and powerful modern V8 offshore racing engine. $400,000 Contact: Mark Mason, New England Boat & Motor, Inc. (603) 528.3411
Classified Ads Standard classified ads are $39 per listing. Premium classified ads that contain a color photo are $90 per listing, and both may contain as many as 35 words total. Please contact Russ Rocknak at 603.759.4676 or rsr@meshnewengland.com for more information.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MONTICELLO MOTOR CLUB
1964 Chevrolet Corvette A very nice-running, non-matching-#s car. P/S P/B. Everything seem to work except clock. Nice frame. Period-correct 327. Paint is fresh and looks great from 5 feet. All chrome is excellent including hubcaps.
1988 Porsche 924S 80K original miles. 5-speed manual transmission. Sunroof. Power windows. A true classic sports car. 1988 was the last year they made them. $9,999. Contact: Lao at (781) 361.3508