Classic American February 2015

RaRe, Refined &

RemaRkable 1960 CadiLLaC

SaSSy SeRpent 1969 mustang 428 Cobra Jet

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1940 PaCkard 120 deLuxe CLub CouPe

eo evy Cam 1958 Ch l tin’ Viny motorva negade Jeep re ony Project P

286 FEBRU ARY 2015

pin Retty pink

1964 ChrysLer new yorker

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Contents February 2015

Regulars

Features

6 14 16 18 20 60

23 1940 Packard 30 1964 Chrysler New Yorker 37 1960 Cadillac 43 Mad Max Museum 49 LA Roadster Show 55 1969 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet 63 Truck Life: 1958 Chevrolet Cameo 66 First Drive: Jeep Renegade 71 Motorvatin’ Vinyl Part Two 77 Project Pony 84 Vintage Style 93 Paradise Collection

News Letters Across the Pond From Here to Obscurity Subscription Offer Classic American Merchandise 80 Back Issues 83 Scale Autos 88 Reviews 91 Readers’ Rides 96 Club & Event News 98 Events Diary 103 Service Directory 108 Discoveries 110 Private Classifieds 122 Next Month & Credits

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classic-american.com 5

Gerry Brouillard at the wheel.

Vermillion wheels contrasts well with the French Blue paintwork.

Headlamps are almost faired in.

“Packard was never shy about price tags. It believed, with some justification, that people would pay high sums for the best cars there were.. �

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Fender skirts look the part.

cylinder of a petrol engine in a water jacket for cooling, and also the incorporation of a windscreen as part of a car body and not a detachable item on a couple of stalks.

In that first decade Packard also tackled crazy adventures, like sending shop foreman Tom Fetch across thousands of miles of dirt roads to cross America in a single-cylinder car. They went racing too, entering a light four-cylinder car called the Gray Wolf in the 1904 Vanderbilt Cup. More significantly, the company offered it for sale with the shocking price tag of $10,000.

But Packard was never shy about price tags. It believed, with some justification, that people would pay high sums for the best cars there were.

After 1915, when it introduced the astonishingly smooth and powerful Twin Six – a V12 with another motoring first, aluminium pistons – the world started to agree with James Packard. Add the small matter of a Land Speed Record of 149.8mph in a tuned and stripped Twin Six (one way only, so snubbed by those in Europe), and the Packard reputation was cast in gold.

Packard made a lot of money in the Twenties, but then so did almost everyone else. The reason for the genesis of the 120 followed hot on the heels of all that success: the Depression.

America’s luxury car makers were soon falling by the wayside with Kissel dying out in 1931, the same year Marmon stubbornly introduced a V16; they went out of business two years later. Stutz lasted until 1935, while Pierce-Arrow and Duesenberg struggled on, only to die from older 120bhp, 282 cu in (4620cc) straight-eight motor.

financial wounds when the Depression faded.

The latter went down with Auburn in the collapse of the Cord Corporation in 1936, while Pierce refused to offer low-price models, and watched sales dwindle to bankruptcy by 1938.

That left Cadillac, Lincoln, Chrysler and Packard.

Of those, the only one without a family of profitable mass-market models to support the luxury line was Packard.

Bravely, the Packard board decided to do exactly that. In late 1934 the first cars were ready, and for 1935 Packard launched the 120 range at $980, startlingly cheap compared to the $2475 you’d need for a Standard Eight, never mind the $3820 asked for a Twelve. Picture RollsRoyce in the Three-Day Week of 1974 launching a car to compete with the Triumph 2000 and you’re somewhere near.

Packard didn’t use half measures, either – it recognised that it was aiming for large sales, so committed to new production techniques, meaning the 120s were built in a totally different way from the labour-intensive, hand-tooled ‘big’ Packards. Straight away it was obvious the plan had succeeded, with nearly 25,000 120s selling in that first year, making up most of Packard’s sales: fewer than 6000 of the senior models were made in ’35.

Buyers got a lot of variety within the 120 range and from 1937 an even more down-toearth 115 or Packard Six arrived. All 120s were straight-eight engined, just not as large as the Senior line. New features like independent ❯❯

W

hile his brother Gavin moves the car around for our photos, Robbie Garrow is candid about their 1964 New Yorker.

“It’s not the most loved of Chryslers in the classic car world, in fact the 1964 models seem to be really overlooked.” Was that perhaps why they bought it? “We definitely like unusual cars,” explains Robbie, “but certainly the initial attraction was the colour and condition. We first saw it at the Swedish Power Meet in 2013; the owner had bought it at Hershey a couple of months before but apparently ran out of space for the car.”

The brothers are no strangers to Chryslers;

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they also own a 1959 New Yorker that was featured in Classic American back in 2003. “We imported the ’64 from Sweden,” continues Robbie, “we drove it across Sweden and Denmark then back to the UK. It was an absolute joy to drive and the roads out there are wide and flat – there’s not much traffic either so it’s perfect for large old American cars.

“When we got it MoT’d, it passed first time on October 5, 2013 – exactly 50 years to the day that it was first registered. That was an odd coincidence.” Another was the number

plate: “The 1959 Chrysler was bought from a chap called Lars and purely by chance it was registered in the UK with LAR as part of the number plate. Well, we bought this 1964 from a guy called Bo… “Frankly we couldn’t resist the Chrysler because of the original condition it was in. I understand it was bought from the estate of the original owner, someone else then bought it and sold it to Bo who took it to Sweden.

Native

Words: Mike Renaut Photography: Matt Richardson

New Yorker Gavin and Robbie Garrow have a reputation for owning stunning examples of rare and unusual cars and their most recent purchase, this 1964 Chrysler New Yorker, is no exception.

You have to take an opportunity like that when it arises.”

The brothers also know exactly where their love for this particular style of Chrysler comes from. “When we were kids, dad bought us a book of cars and pointed out all the American ones,” says Robbie, “they all had such bright colours, and we had the Dinky Toy models of American cars too.” ❯❯ Gavin and Robbie Garrow.

Shock of the new

When you reach the peak of the mountain there’s only one way to go – back down.

Cadillac spent the Fifties making its tailfins bigger and bolder. Now, as the Sixties approached, it was time to usher in more restrained styling for the new decade.

The stunning lines of the 1957 Chrysler range had shocked General Motors into giving its 1959 models a hurried redesign with huge curved-top windscreens, stylish thin-pillared rooflines and prominent fins. Chevrolet had the widest, Buick’s were the longest but no fins were more excessive than Cadillac’s for ’59.

It wasn’t just about show either, under the Cadillac’s metal were suspension changes and improved power steering. The V8 was stroked out to 390cu in producing 325bhp – 345 in Eldorado models – meaning 0-60 mph in just 10.3 seconds.

When the covers were first pulled off the new 1959 models Cadillacs dealers had gasped. Soon after buyers had too, considering the car’s styling an exaggerated excess. Although 142,184 of them bought one

which wasn’t a bad result.

Cadillac was forced to use the same 1959 structure for 1960, but within GM there was a feeling that Fifties chromed excesses needed to be dialled back as the new decade dawned.

With a three year design lead-time the decision was made late in 1957 to stop trying to out-do Chrysler’s fins for the 1960 cars. Bill Mitchell gradually took over from Harley Earl to supervise the 1960 models styling meaning orderly design development and a move toward more conservative lines.

“Cadillac’s general manager, James Roche, encouraged us to make sure the 1960 models were in better taste,” recalls Cadillac designer Dave Holls. “We took Roche at his word. The ’60 Cadillac has my favourite set of fins and is prettier than the ’59. Lowering the height of the fins and raising the rear fenders’ upper surfaces made a dramatic difference. Round lamps within the bumper ends were designed to shine forward as well as back to illuminate the whole polished-stainless-steel pan that surrounds them.”

“Cadiac’s general manager, James Roche, encouraged us to make sure the 1960 models were in beer taste,” recas Cadiac designer Dave Hos. “e ’60 Cadiac has my favourite set of fins and is preier than the ’59...”

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Like most GM sedans for 1960, the Cadillac was available as a flat-top also.

The previous rocket tail-lights were gone, replaced with four circular lights mounted vertically within the bumper. Ed Taylor redesigned the tail-lights into a thin strip of red plastic neatly blended into the end of the fin. The 1960 Cadillacs had smoother, more restrained styling and included a full-width grille that was now minus the centre bar. “While everyone in the studio thought the grille bullets were too Buck Rogers,” continues Holls, “Harley Earl and the division liked that treatment. All things considered, the 1960 Cadillac was a cleaner design and a nicer car,” The sidelight/turn signals at the lower corner were squared off and the bumper was taller.

Much of the bodywork and rooflines, along with glass, was carried over from 1959. Less chrome trim meant the ’60 Caddy had a more formal, youthful feel, reminiscent of the de-trimmed and lowered customised cars so popular at the time and leading Car Life Magazine to declare it ‘Best buy in the luxury field’.

The Cadillac series Sixty-Two hardtop coupe, hardtop sedan, and convertible were the ‘entry level’ Cadillacs for 1960. The sedan was available in four- or six-window roofline for the same price.

Series Sixty-Two models were distinguished by a pencil-thin full-length chrome rub strip that ran from behind the front wheel to the rear bumper.

Next up the Cadillac ladder were four- and sixwindow Sedan de Ville and Coupe de Ville. Top of the tree were the Eldorado models, again including a 75 series limousine and the rare Italian-built Brougham. ❯❯

Owner: Roger Sharman.

Immaculate black brocade interior.

classic-american.com 39

pitch covered entrance for the Saturday and Sunday at the same price as a spectator-only weekend pass. The pitch paid for was obviously in the swap area so any goodies bought could be stored there rather than having to return to a vehicle in the public car park. It was then a short walk through to the roadster and closed car displays and the vendor midway.

I divided my time there over the weekend between covering the swap stalls early in the morning while it was still cool and before all the good stuff had been snatched up. From midday it was a switch to viewing the spectrum of cars on display in the roadster only and speciality/closed car zones. On the whole it was a

busy couple of days with loads to see and do. I managed to pick up a few bargains on the swap stalls and got the chance to check out some neat cars and chat with some helpful and informative owners.

Did the show fulfil the promise on their flyer of being the “Greatest Roadster Show on Earth”?

For me it was a big fat ‘yes’.

The show will be on over the Father’s Day weekend in 2015. For more info check out www.laroadsters.com Perhaps that will give you time to hint to the family for an enhanced gift over the usual socks or after-shave and substitute a flight ticket and a few dollars spending money instead. If you don’t ask you don’t get...

This 1950 Chevy Fleetline Deluxe came with a fresh engine and brakes and rust free floorboards and trunk. The window card stated you could run and drive it home for a bargain $12,500.

Roadster Only Display Entry into the hallowed roadster area was rigorously restricted to open topped car with 1936 being the upper eligible limit, to mirror this elite club’s entry requirements.

Custom touches on this Fifties Chevrolet included a chop and one piece screen, Corvette grille and sombrero capped rims. The California sunshine brought the candy paint alive and made the ghost flames stand out.

Through their own entrance gate around 900 roadsters and drivers were granted free access the Fairplex grounds. The participants’ vehicles ranged from the

Serious induction upgrades on offer here. If a six carb topped manifold wasn’t enough to get the juices flowing then a twin four barrel equipped supercharger might just step things up adequately!!

completely original through to the greatly modified but all were of the highest quality and had to be completely finished in gloss paint. No primered ugly ducklings

Ford Model Ts (in order) 1927 Touring; 1926 Modified; 1923 T bucket with blown Hemi.

Ford Model As (in order) 1928 Hiboy Roadster owned by John Kellet from Yorkshire; 1928 Roadster with full fenders and monochrome paint scheme; 1929 Roadster with the top up for some shade.

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A cool pair of shoebox Fords. With the California climate the 1949 Custom Convertible would be my choice over the 1950 Deluxe Tudor sedan, but at a push I could give that garage space as well!

Old school styling has been applied to this 1940 Ford Deluxe Tudor sedan. The fifties look includes a straight paint job, whitewalls and chrome caps and a colour co-ordinated tuck and roll interior. A modern twist from the look of the ride height is an airbag assisted suspension set-up.

E ON FA OR M

E ON FA OR M

OOK ★ EB C

Pickup trucks that look as good and as straight as this 1937 Ford deserve to be permanently retired from the carrying duties that they were designed and marketed for. The subtle shade of beige and whitewall radials on capped and painted steelies helped this one stand out.

OOK ★ EB C

Sporting a full custom paint job this 1974 Plymouth Duster demanded attention. With a fully rebuilt 318 V8, running a Hi-Rise and Holley, the motor was sorted and it came with AC, PS and power disc brakes. The must-sell price of $12,500 ought to have drawn a sale.

The immaculate restored Ford Benzol petrol pump stood out, probably even more so as it was displayed for sale from the pickup bed of an equally immaculate 1940 Ford truck.

LA roadsters builder of the year for 2014 Roy Brizio had his dad’s hiboy among their display; another Brizio build was this low slung roadster pickup; a deuce with full fenders, chopped screen and custom louvres.

Ford Model 40s (in order) 1934 Hiboy roadster with raked screen and bomber style seats; repro steel Speed 33 with folding top and roll up windows; full fendered 1934 roadster.

classic-american.com 51

The Tigers – geeTO Tiger (Colpix / 1965)

1965 POnTiac TemPesT gTO cOnverTible

This release was actually contrived by Pontiac ad man Jim Wangers in an effort to cash in on the success of the first GTO record by Ronny and The Daytonas, which did actually feature a ’64 GTO on the cover of an EMI Columbia European release EP. For this release, however, a group was created specially for this record – The Tigers. The song, GeeTO TIGER didn’t make the Top 40 this time, but did help promote sales of the ’65 GTO through a competition run in conjunction with Hurst Performance Products, manufacturer of the famous transmission shifters.

Buyers of the record had to guess how many times they heard the word ‘tiger’ in the song for a chance to win a 1965 GTO Hardtop, complete with Hurst accessories and colour scheme.

Second and third prizes were a set of Hurst custom wheels and four prizes of Hurst floor shifters. The GTO was given away by George Hurst and is still around today.

Kai Winding – mOdern cOunTry

(Verve / 1964)

1965 FOrd musTang 2+2 FasTbacK

When producer Creed Taylor decided he wanted to record jazz trombonist Kai Winding playing an album of country tunes, MGM-Verve drafted in cover designer Acy Lehman to provide the artwork.

Lehman must have a thing about mid-Sixties Fords, as he set up the shot with Kai and a 1965 Ford Mustang 2+2

Fastback. Photographed by Murray Laden, the cover shot was taken some months after the session, which was recorded in Nashville.

Kai’s long-time musical companion, fellow trombonist J J Johnson is absent on this recording, but Verve made sure that some stellar jazz sidemen were present on the sessions to enable Kai to interpret country classics such as The Everly Brothers’ Bye, Bye Love and Johnny Cash’s I Walk The Line. Vocal accompaniment is by The Anita Kerr Singers. The Mustang, incidentally, was “courtesy of Ford Motor Company”.

errOll garner – camPus cOncerT (MGM / 1966)

1965 FOrd Thunderbird cOnverTible

Cover designer Acy Lehman had fun with this one! Although the Erroll Garner Trio recorded this live album at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, in the Spring of 1964, MGM didn’t release the record until 1966, and hence the cover depicts a 1965 Thunderbird.

Lehmann and photographic agency RAMA decided to place an image of the front of Purdue University campus building, complete with Ivy League students and ’65 Thunderbird, in the reflection of the door mirror of another car making its way up the driveway at Purdue.

Apparently, 6000 students packed into the Purdue Music Hall auditorium for this session by Erroll Garner, which was only one of the sell-out concerts on his many campus performances around the US during the 60s.

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neKo Case – MiddLe CYCLone (ANTI-Records / 2009)

1967 MerCurY Cougar Two-door hardTop

This cover image of American alternative country singer-songwriter Neko Case posing as a sword brandishing hood ornament atop a classic ’67 Mercury Cougar was nominated for a Grammy Award for ‘best recording package’. In addition, the album was nominated ‘best contemporary folk album’ of 2009.

Having garnered praise for the “strength, clarity and emotional range” of her voice on songs like This Tornado Loves You and the title track, Middle Cyclone which reflect her youthful experiences of the effects of nature on the environment, it also features two notable covers, Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth by Sparks and Don’t Forget Me

by Harry Nilsson.

In 2011, Case raffled off the Mercury Cougar to raise funds for author Dave Eggers’ charity that offers writing classes for children.

I was actually wondering why she didn’t use a Mercury Cyclone on the cover; or am I missing something?

LoweLL FuLson – The FinaL KenT Years B B King / eriC CLapTon – ridin’ wiTh The King (Reprise / 2000)

1966 CadiLLaC de ViLLe ConVerTiBLe

B B King being chauffeured by his ‘protégé’ Eric Clapton for their highly successful millennium reunion album ‘Ridin’ With The King’. No clue from the record liner notes as to the ownership of the immaculate 1966 Cadillac De Ville Convertible, but it is well known that B B has a ‘stable’ of desirable cars.

This CD features a combination of Riley King originals and blues standards and deserves, and gets, no less a heavyweight complement of session musicians to help make it all happen: Andy Fairweather Low on guitar, Nathan East on bass, both of whom have been in different versions of Clapton’s bands, and the great Steve Gadd on drums to propel the whole thing along. Photography of B B and E C by Robert Sebree.

(Kent-Ace / 2002)

1967 CadiLLaC FLeeTwood eLdorado Two-door hardTop

During the mid-Eighties, as a music promoter, I booked the late great blues singer, Lowell Fulson for some Midlands club dates prior to him going to Germany for several weeks where the real money was!

He was a consummate professional and a gentleman, and a fine guitarist to boot. This image of Fulson and the frontwheel drive Eldorado, courtesy of John Broven, was originally used as the cover shot for a 1968 vinyl album titled Lowell Fulson Now! released on the Kent label.

This CD version is a compilation of the final set of recordings made by Fulson between 1967 and 1978 on the Bihari brothers’ Los Angeles based Kent and Big Town labels, digitally remastered by Ace Records in 2002.

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Report Event

The

Paradise collection Reading, Berkshire

September 28 2014

open day

I

f you frequent the world of prewar Fords, or even classic commercial vehicles, you’ll probably already be familiar with the Paradise Collection of Berkshire haulier, John Mould. Over the last 40 years, John has been buying and restoring classic trucks, vintage Fords and American cars at his secluded workshop location near Reading. Many of the vehicles make appearances at steam rallies and classic car events during the summer months, and most of the trucks are liveried with his company name etc. However, it isn’t until you manage to get to one of the annual open days that you can really appreciate the scale and range, of what must be one of the biggest private collections in the country. ❯❯

Traditional Hot Rods from the VHRA. Three of JM’s ’32 Fords, and all RHD!

Plenty to see outside in the public car park!

John likes Model A’s too, like this lovely ’30-’31 Sedan.

Accessorised ’39 Chevy Pick.

’37 Plymouth Coupe is also RHD & waiting for restoration.

Words & Photography: Keith Harman

classic-american.com 93

Classic Ford line-up, but spot the interloper, the Pilot at the end. A UK only model, and not sold in the US.

First gen Mustang looked showroom fresh!

This ’72 Mach 1 screams ‘muscle car’

Many prewar Ford cars were coach-built as Woodies, but this one is based on an American ’38 truck. chassis, as such, it’s a real rarity.

Invitations are often extended to car clubs via word of mouth late in the year, and we slipped along with the Vintage Hot Rod Association, among others, to see the latest additions to this ever changing, and always interesting, piece of automotive heaven. The late September sunshine was glorious, and as usual, many of the cars and trucks had been pulled out of the storage sheds and displayed in the yard.

As well as the many prewar Fords, many of them right-hand drive models, the number of later postwar American cars has been a growing feature of John’s collection. He has owned a ’57 Chevy, a Mercury Sun Valley and a couple of T-birds for years, but to these has added a whole bunch of immaculately restored Mustangs, which were well worth closer inspection. Not all the cars in our report are John’s, as the good weather ensured many club members and visitors made it along in their own classics, yanks, and hot rods, making the car park as interesting as the Paradise Collection itself. ★

Another Mach 1, a fully restored ’70 Fastback.

Another two big Macks.

Spotted in the car park, this cool, full custom, late 60s Chevy Pick-up was built a few years ago by Valley Gas Speed Shop.

JM has imported several RHD cars from New Zealand, this gorgeous ’39 Ford Convertible looks like a recent one.

Another import from downunder is this all stock 1940 Ford Coupe

This ’40 Ford Pick-up is another one awaiting restoration.

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Hemi Model A belongs to VHRA member Kelvin Dunn, and is all home built.

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