Starting Lines

In order to celebrate Corvette Racing’s dominant 2020 season, Chevrolet recently took over the Raceway at Belle Isle Park to introduce the 2022 Corvette Stingray IMSA GTLM Championship Edition. Chevrolet says they will release just 1,000 of these distinctly styled Corvettes in the U.S. and Canada, which resemble the No. 3 and No. 4 Corvette C8.R race cars. The special edition supercars were meant to commemorate the C8.R’s inaugural season but it turned into a celebratory model as Corvette Racing swept IMSA’s sport car championship series, taking the Manufacturers, Drivers and Team titles. “Racing has been part of the Corvette’s DNA from nearly the beginning,” said Laura Klauser, General Motors Sports Car Program manager. “Both the Corvette Stingray and C8.R have seen tremendous success capitalizing on the benefits of a mid-engine platform – and we’re just getting started.” The special edition is optional on the 3LT trim with the available Z51 package and each car includes Corvette Racing-themed graphics packages. Accelerate Yellow No.3 editions feature gray graphics and Hypersonic Gray No.4 editions feature yellow accents. Inside features Strike Yellow and Sky Cool Gray cabin that mimics the exterior racing themes with standard GT2 seats and yellow seat belts along with a C8.R Special Edition numbered plaque. Additionally, each car comes with a custom-fitted indoor car cover rendered to the appearance of the actual race cars. The 2022 Corvette Stingray IMSA GTLM Championship Edition will begin production late in the third quarter of this year.

Volume 19, Issue No. 3 June / July 2021

Second Class Mailing Agreement #40050183

Publisher: Dean Washington dean@rpmcanada.ca

Associate Publisher: David Symons david@rpmcanada.ca

Managing Editor Jordan Allan jordan@rpmcanada.ca

Distribution Manager: Brenda Washington brenda@rpmcanada.ca

Copy Editor: Gerry Frechette gerryf@rpmcanada.ca

Advertising Sales: Elaine Fontaine elaine@rpmcanada.ca

Contributing Writers / Photographers: Jordan Allan John Gunnell Cam Hutchins

Muscle Car Plus Magazine is published six times per year by RPM Media Inc.

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Dodge and the LEGO Group have announced a second LEGO Speed Champions collaboration pairing the two iconic brands. The LEGO Speed Champions Mopar Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster and the 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A building set will be the first purple vehicle and first Top Fuel Dragster in the Speed Champion series, which was released in early June. “Owning, or aspiring to own, a Dodge muscle car is as much about the lifestyle of joining the Brotherhood of Muscle as it is about the vehicle purchase,” said Tim Kuniskis,

Dodge Brand Chief Executive Officer – Stellantis. “As a result, our brand enthusiasts are passionate about all things Dodge, including the latest cool collectibles. So, following the success of the Dodge 2018 LEGO Speed Champion building set, fans will now be able to build and show off not only the first ever 8-inch-wide (8W) muscle car, but also the first ever Plum Crazy 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A, along with an incredibly detailed 13½-inch-long Top Fuel Dragster.” “In 2021, we are extremely excited to re-team with Dodge and expand the Speed Champions 8W Vehicle Collection even further by including new vehicle types and building experiences, for the first time, that appeal to vehicle fans of all ages,” said Christopher Stamp, LEGO Design Lead. The sets include 627 pieces and box art of their real-life counterparts.

Special Tec AA oils are not standard motor oils. These oil formulations meet the performance demands of high output and high efficiency modern engines and their required emission systems.

The use of this official API seal distinguishes licensed products and confirms that the motor oil meets or exceeds the specifications and requirements of the American Petroleum Institute (API). The user is thereby guaranteed the best quality.

Everyone needs an Uncle Jim and Auntie Lil! Susie Lauro grew up in Burnaby and was always thrilled to see her Aunt and Uncle come to visit in the shiny blue convertible! It meant a ride for Ice Cream and getting to hang out with the cool Aunt and Uncle. The car was part of the family and even used in Susie’s older sister’s wedding. Susie’s Aunt and Uncle also liked the way “Little Susie” was so delighted to see them and the car. Susie’s love of the car paid off, as Uncle Jim often mentioned that she would get the car, and when Aunt Lil could no long drive, the car became Susie’s!

The car had always been well cared for and every bit of paperwork from the initial picking of the car to the subsequent repairs through its charmed life have all been kept. This is one special car! The tariffs and cross-border dealings between the U.S. and Canada regarding autos meant it was cheaper for Canada to take an American Pontiac design, re-size it and put it on the frames of Chevrolets than it was to import cars from the states. The “Canadian” Pontiacs, well up into the mid ‘60s were all Chevrolet under the skin.... but not the floorboards apparently. More on that later!

This Pontiac Parisienne is quite a bit narrower than its American Cousin, the Bonneville. This car was manufactured at GM’s plant in Oshawa, Ontario. They only made 2,811 Parisiennes for 1958 and that includes just over 300 exported to other countries. Only 759 were convertibles compared to approximately 10,000 American Pontiac Convertibles and 55,989 Chevrolet Impala convertibles.

The 1958 Pontiac Parisienne was a new model on the top for the 1958 Canadian Pontiac line of fine cars. The cars were not cheap but offered lots of nice things not found on the lower lines, including lighting in the trunk and under the dash. The sales brochure copy writers really took hyperbole to a higher art-form with the 1958 Canadian Pontiacs! “Much longer, lower, wider, every one of these 1958 Laurentians is the most eye-catching car in the modest price range, thanks to “New Direction” styling. They’re boldly new in the get-up-and-go, and in deep-down riding comfort, too.”

But yep, there is more....the “Parisienne.”

“Sleekest model in the Laurentian line-is rakishly low, more than seventeen feet long. Four simulated louvres on the front fenders, a special plaque at the flair of the side moulding, and nine parallel indentations sweeping forward from the name plate on the trunk lid help make the Parisiennes immediately identifiable!”

Uncle Jim ordered his brand new 1958 Pontiac Parisienne from Bowell McLean Motor Co. Ltd. at 615 Burrard Street, Vancouver with the awesome phone number of “PAcific 9111”....sort of a Pontiac Emergency phone line!!! Bowell McLean or BowMac as they soon became known as, maybe had to compete because Uncle Jim has a sales brochure from Marshall Pontiac Buick on Cambie at 18th. But judging from the notations on the sales brochure for the 1958 Pontiacs, Uncle Jim was a bit frugal. On the page showing “The Parisienne Convertible,” there is a handwritten tabulation with everything he needed on the car.

There was no indication of adding the optional 283 cu. in. engine instead of the the standard 6-cylinder, because Uncle Jim ordered the model known as “POKER,” the 283 V8 car, for a base price of $3,917.00, not the “BATER” or 6-cylinder car. The car was ordered with Fathom Blue Met paint , Viking Blue side inserts and light blue top with Gunmetal and Silver interior. The code was typed in as a “POKER” 7867 in 2304 with a 929 colour interior. To be fair, now with the new paint, roof, and interior it is a “POKER 7867 in 2317 with a 930 interior!”

The Parisienne was only available as a two door hardtop or convertible, pretty fancy back in the days. His work, as a fleet buyer for Tilden Rent a Cars, was probably helpful in getting the best deal for his new car. It was ordered through Tilden but was never part of Tilden’s fleet of cars. Knowing of his buying power, he still only chose three options.

He chose better tires, automatic transmission and Wonderbar AM radio, which came with the power antenna. Strangely on such a big car, the power antenna motor sticks into the front passenger compartment foot well. No side mirrors, no seat belts, no back-up lights.....if it was not included in the Parisienne package it was not needed; even the optional more powerful 348 cu. in. V8 was forsaken. Some other things not included on the entry level package of the Parisienne were power windows, or power seats, but two ashtrays were included as was a clock and sun visors on both driver’s and passenger’s side. Cigarette lighters were standard on all models; General Motors were not heathens, after all!

Sitting in the driver’s seat, the odometer showing just over 96,000 miles, this is certainly a time capsule of the opulence of the ‘50s. This car has been down many miles, but still the running gear is all original and has not been rebuilt. One other thing you notice from the driver’s seat is the transmission shifter indicator shows a GR to the very right side of Drive. “GR” stands for “Grade Retarder” and is not to be used at higher than 45 mph (70 km/h) and used cautiously on wet roads or slippery surfaces. Not to be used at any other time. Do not start off in “GR” The interior was very fancy for the era with lots of brightwork and shiny bits on the dashboard. From the sales brochure...”Instruments: Twin circular gauges; one for speedometer, odometer, Country beam indicator and left turn signal indicator. The right side has the right turn indicator, generator and oil pressure lights” Be sure to flash your “Country beams” at the next guy who cuts you off!!!

But the brochure descriptions of this car and its features are pure gold from the 50’s. The exterior is the latest “Sculpturamic styling” and “Polished enamel finish in solid or two-tone combinations.” They offered the car in a huge array of colours with a host of names, Aegean Turquoise Metallic, Anniversary Gold Metallic, Burma Green Metallic, Colonial Cream, Cay Coral Metallic, Dover White, Fathom Blue Metallic, Forest Green Metallic, Honey Beige, Redwood Copper, Marlin Turquoise, Mallard Turquoise Metallic, Metallic Calypso Green, Onyx Black, Rio Red, Seaforth Green, Sierra Gold Metallic, Silver Blue Metallic, Silver Grey Metallic, Tropic Turquoise, Viking Blue. Some of the colours on the small colour chips have the word

Aunt Lil drove the car from their home in South Granville to work at the phone company downtown every day. She lost count at how often people offered to buy her car in the 1970’s and up to her retirement in the 1980’s. Retirement meant a move over to the island and upon Uncle Jim’s death, Aunt Lil and the car came back to the lower mainland.

Susie looked after Aunt Lil and her husband Patrick made room for the Pontiac in his one car garage, finding another place to keep his prized Triumph TR6. They even got to take Aunt Lil for White Spot hamburgers and milkshakes before she passed away. The car was promised to Susie, and she and Patrick assured they would take great care of the car.

But they were in for a shock when they found out what had been going one under the “smiling face” of the Pontiac. The bottom part of the car had been quietly rusting away for all these years, but there was no evidence of any mechanical problems - the car was running great. But something had to be done about the rust.

Patrick, after years in the food industry, went looking for a shop. Sometimes just a quick glance into the shop from the office had him running. The state of disarray of many auto shops was very concerning, but he was relieved to find Jellybean Autocrafters out in Langley. The shop was well organized and the crew were friendly and obviously very passionate about their work.

Luckily, once the car was started to be dismantled, it was discovered just how many pieces on the car were in really great shape. It took quite some time to fabricate all the missing or rusted metal work, and that was good, because it took that long to find the perfect colour for the car. The original colour was long since covered up by a respray of a darker blue in the late 60’s and they felt it would be okay to pick one of the other 21 colours that the car had been offered in when new. They were firm on keeping the Dover white “Cove” on the side, but finally they picked the great shade of light blue called “Viking Blue.”

A matching interior was picked, and although the original interior was in good shape, the 50 years of being driven by smokers just could not be erased by cleansers of any type. Same with the roof; originally blue, it was better to have a new roof of bright white. The chrome in many pieces only needed polishing and the front and rear bumpers were quite good... but eventually they were sent off in massive crates for re-chroming at Although based on the Canadian Chevy Impala, the floorboards and trunk floors were from some other planet. Luckily, Lewis Thaw of Canadian Classics Auto Supply was up to the task. What could not be found, i.e. floorboards, was fabricated in-house at Jellybean’s. Materials for the interior were sourced from SMS Auto Fabrics and stitched locally by STS Upholstery.

Some parts came by fluke, but most were original to the car. One part that still remains elusive is the left-rear taillight housing. The one that came with the car has a crack. It is not the same as the one from the States, and if anyone has a good replacement part sitting on a shelf, there is a need for it!!! The front Chrome bits that tack onto the bumper had seen better days and the guys at Jellybean had a spare set lying around. Strange as it may seem, they drove to Saskatchewan in 2004 to pick up a 1959 Dodge for their cousin and found a great 1927 Hudson to make into a desk for the office. They also spied a great looking front grille that would look cool hanging on the wall of their office, and these cool chrome bits that if turned sideways would make great taillights for a lead sled. They are now on this car; as crazy as it seems, the grille and the “Dagmars,” those chrome bumper bits, were from a 1958 Parisienne!

Uncle Jim had added a compass and back-up lights after purchase of the car and the restoring of the compass had to be sacrificed as the extensive restoration proceeded. The guys at Jellybean decided to not only restore and paint the compass to match the new colour, but also installed a light in the compass for that “wow” factor!

The car was finished in December of 2020 and Jellybean pulled out all the stops and had a great buffet spread for the unveiling. Alyn Edwards, one of the lower mainland’s premier auto journalists, and a car collector, was on hand to take photos and interview the couple as the car was shown to Susie for the first time in almost a year!

The wait was clearly worth it and the beaming Susie was smiles ear-to-ear as she saw the car and got to sit in it for the first time. They were ecstatic with the results and very happy with their colour choice. The couple have had their fair share of cool cars including Alfas, the aforementioned TR6, and big fast BMWs, but this 63 year-old Pontiac is the most fun they have had on the road in years. Lots of trips are planned for this old girl, lots of ice cream and burgers, and the best part according to Patrick is that after a two hours drive, you almost are too comfortable to get out of it. Strong praise for the Canadian Auto industry!

Story and photos by John Gunnell

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the fabled Shelby GT350-H (a rental-car-only performance model available through Hertz Rent-A-Car System), Ford, Shelby American and Hertz teamed up again, in 2016, to create a modern take on the legendary 1966 “rent-a-racer.” Production of roughly 140 copies was mentioned at the announcement of the new muscle car, although 171 were actually built. Rather than GT350-H, the 2016 version was called the Shelby GT-H.

As in 1966, the “Hertz” cars had black and gold livery. Also as before, they were offered exclusively as rental cars through Hertz. In fact, they were created as part of Hertz’s “Adrenaline Collection” and were made available only at select airport locations in the continental United States starting on Memorial Day Weekend in 2016.

“Our goal was to give everyone a chance to add some fun to their travel with a distinctive American pony car,” said Doug White, Ford Performance Parts manager. “So, Ford Performance and Shelby-American sharpened the handling, improved the performance, sweetened the exhaust note and added distinctive Hertz styling to the Mustang.” White added, “Anyone who rents a limited-edition Ford Shelby GT-H will enjoy a very special driving experience.”

Vegas, Nev. The 2016 Shelby GTH upped the ante of the standard Mustang GT both cosmetically and functionally. Power came from a 5.0litre Coyote V8 with 435 hp.

The GT-H transformation also consisted of a Shelby-designed polycarbonate hood with air vents, a carbon fibre front spoiler and a rear splitter and spoiler. In addition to Shelby GT-H lettering in the side stripes, each GT-H carried special badges on its grille, along with GT-H logos on the seat head restraints.

As a premium level Mustang, the GT-H was also equipped with a navigation system, a back-up camera, heated and cooled seats, air conditioning, power windows, power door locks and power front seats.

For improved handling, the Ford Performance Handling Pack was installed in GT-H models. It included tuned dampers, larger sway bars, lowering springs and a staggered wheel kit for the 19-inch aluminum wheels, which were wrapped with high-performance Michelin tires. A Ford Performance exhaust system, which ends with chrome tailpipe tips, was also included to enhance the sweet sounds the GT-H makes on the highway.

“The 1966 Ford Shelby GT350-H became a legend from the moment it was introduced,” said Joe Conway,

GT-H name is also on centre of rear end panel.

Co-CEO of Carroll Shelby International and CEO of ShelbyAmerican. “Ten years ago, the 2006 Ford Shelby GT-H earned the same ‘rock star’ status when it was introduced at the New York Auto Show. We worked closely with Ford Performance to make the 2016 Shelby GT-H the most exciting Mustang ever to wear the iconic Hertz black and gold livery.”

The 2016 rental requirements were tightened up a bit from 1966. You had to be at least 25 years old. You also needed to be a member of the Hertz Adrenaline Club. Both a valid driver’s license and insurance were mandatory. In addition, you had to have a charge card with a $50,000 credit limit. Lastly, if you were not a resident of the city the car was being rented in, you had to supply a copy of your return airline ticket. It was also required that you return the GT-H to the location that you rented it from.

All that and $399 a day would get you into the driver’s seat of the 2016 rent-a-racer with its 435-hp V8 and six-speed automatic transmission (no stick shift cars were made). These Mustangs appear to be a hot ticket item in the collector’s market now. The story goes that the few built were not sold to the public but were offered to Hertz executives when they left the rental car fleet.

The serial number on the GT-H dashboard is viewable through the windshield. The 2016 Mustang serial number (or VIN) takes the format 1FX6P8X#G5200001. The first three symbols 1FX=Ford Motor Co. USA Passenger Car; the fourth symbol indicates type of restraint system: 6=seat belts and front side airbags; The next three symbols indicate the model: P8X=Mustang GT-500 Shelby coupe. The eighth symbol indicates the type of engine: F=5.0-litre 435-hp Coyote V8. The ninth symbol is a check digit [9]. The 10th symbol indicates model year: G=2016. The 11th symbol indicates the Ford assembly plant: 5=Flat Rock, Mich. The last six symbols are the sequential production number: 307254. GT-H Shelby-Mustangs also have Shelby-American serial numbers. For example, the featured car is CSM 110. It is the 110th of the 171 GT-H models built.

How much is a GT-H worth? On Jan. 26, 2016 Yahoo! reported that Ford dealers were “asking more than twice as much” as the sticker price for regular Shelby Mustangs and he said that prices “up to $115,000” were being asked for such cars. Yahoo! said that the base price of a Shelby was $48,000. According to a December 2017 NADA Official Used Car Guide, the list price was $48,400 for the cheapest Shelby model. The GT-H was never sold to the public, so it never had an actual “sticker price.”

Dana Mecum’s January 2018 auction in Kissimmee, Fla., included a varied assortment of Hertz Mustangs with several of the 50th Anniversary 2016s in the mix. The pre-auction bid estimates on such cars was $90,000 to $110,000. They wound up selling for less, but that meant there was a chance to buy low and sell high at a later date.

One 2016 Shelby Mustang GT-H at the Mecum Kissimmee auction was bid to $70,000, but not sold. That suggests that someone was willing to pay $70,000 for the car and that the seller was not inclined to let it go that cheaply. That particular transaction gives us a good idea of what the high end is for this model. The car featured here is a top condition car with low original miles and should be a great future collectible

The accompanying statistics and list of equipment give you more information about these rare Shelby-Mustangs that are certain to become more sought after and valuable as time goes by. JUNE/JULY 2021 MUSCLE CAR PLUS MAGAZINE 17