Classic American - January 2016

The UK’s Number 1 for 27 years

www.classic-american.com

By Royal command

No.297 January 2016

£4.40

1956 imperial

They’re still out there

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Ben Klemenzson

Viewpoint

Righ ht now... h’s magazine coincides with a rather stran nge time This month of year fo us here on Classic American. Winter has arrived, and for maany folks that means tucking their cars aw way for the winter, effe ectively putting them in ‘suspended anim mation’ for five or six onths, until the worst of the winter sal and bad weather haas been banished by spring…

Having said that, I suspect an increasing numberr of folks may be do oing what I do, which is trying to not com mpletely put my carrs out of action altogether, but occasionaally taking them out when a dry, sunny, salt-free day presents itself. I’ve noticed that in the States people now seem to agre ee that literally parking your classic up for six months can ead to all kinds of prroblems… whereas trying to at least ma be drive them roun nd the block for 40 minutes or so every th hree or four week can avert those problems brought on b such sustained periods of inactivity… … what’s your take?

Sadly this time of year seemss to be one when we lose a lot of familiar names on the Am merican car scene – and this year is no exception. I make no o apologies for the fact that the bulk of s Ne s v to , vi s ei s r

The gloom of the oncom ming winter is however temporarily lifted by the finals of the Fo ootman James Car of the Year competition which took plaace at the Classic Motor Show at the NEC, Birmingham in th he middle of November. For many folks it’s the last event of t e year, before the whole cycle starts up again (in just three e or four months!) with Wheels Day or the NSRA Swap Mee et. This year’s competition had the same usual variety of caars, with everything from a Thirties Packard to two 1970 Plymo ouths; however, ultimately it was the 1970 Plymouth ’Cuda which scored the most points and won outright. Congratulat ons go to Steve Hurd, who seemed bemused at winning and whose modesty and good grace in victory was exemplary. We’’ll be doing it all over again next year, so watch these pages for details. All that remains is for me to wish you a merry Christmas and a prosperous new yea – se

1956 Buick

One of the fantastic illustrations of Art Fitzpatrick who sadly passed away recently.

100 37 51

63 82

44

Contents January 2016

Regulars

Features

06 12 14 16 18 20 34

23 29 37 44 51

57 76 78 87 88 90 92 96 106 110

News Letters Across the Pond Muscle Car Files Here to Obscurity Subscription Offer Classic American Shop Back Issues Ad Gallery Behind the Wheel Scale Autos Rear Window Reviews Events Discoveries Service Directory Private Classifieds

58 63 71 82 100

1972 Dodge Dart 1964 Rambler Wagon 1956 Imperial 1934 Buick 90L 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Superspeed barn find Classic Motor Show & Car of the Year Tech: Doors & carburettor swap Ak Miller – Racing PIoneer Drive Buy Special: Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, Dodge Charger & Dodge Ram

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Classic American

News

Scrupulous judging!

Steve Hurd with winning 1970 ‘Cuda.

Car of the Year Grand Finale The finals of this year’s Car of the Year competition took place at the Classic Motor Show, at Birmingham’s NEC over the weekend of November 13-15, with the overall winner being announced on Sunday afternoon.

This year’s event wasn’t without its challenges, for both the participants

and Classic American staff; however, everyone put their shoulder to the wheel and had a great weekend. You can read all about it starting on page 63 and next month we’ll have full coverage on the winning car: Steve Hurd’s 1970 Plymouth ’Cuda. Well done Steve!

Classic American’s stand.

Are you one of the chosen ones?

Classic American is very keen to hear from readers who are taking delivery of the new right-hand drive Mustangs being sold by Ford in the UK. If you are one of those lucky folks, we’d love to hear from

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you! Get in touch with us at email@ classic-american.com or write to us at: Classic American, Mortons Media, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6JR or you can contact us via the Classic American Facebook page.

RHD Mustang production.

Auction News

1968 Plymouth Fury.

Charterhouse Classic Car Auction, Bristol Restoration Show, Royal Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet, November 8, 2015 This auction certainly offered variety for American car fans, unfortunately said fans didn’t appear in the room on the day. A 1913/14 Haynes Model 24 whose grille proclaimed it ‘America’s First Car’ needed full restoration and went unsold, as did a 1974 Camaro convertible with MoT. Apparently professionally converted and structurally uprated, the poor quality roof let the otherwise attractive Chevrolet down. Despite a 283cu in V8 there were no bidders to even start things off at £1000.

An automatic 1992 Camaro RS offered MoT, tax and tuned V8. Although scruffy in places it seemed good value when it sold at £1100. A highest bid of £21,500 wasn’t enough to win a candy red metallic 1968 Mustang.

The numbers-matching fastback with 289cu in V8 and automatic transmission was fully restored but perhaps its black painted trim and slightly misaligned panels put some bidders off?

A low-mileage 1987 Pontiac Trans Am with WS6 handling package, Boyd alloys and 350cu in V8 also failed to reach its £3000 reserve, but just £500 was enough to win a tidy LHD 1998 Chrysler Stratus LE convertible. All information correct at the time of writing. Contact Charterhouse Auctioneers (01935 812277) for more details. MR

Chevy ‘rat’ truck.

ClayZilla!

You’ve got to admire the marketing guys at Surf City Garage who have come up with the punchily named ClayZilla all-new ‘surface prep system’ which safely removes damaging contaminants from a car’s finish while ‘unlocking the full shine in your paint’.

ClayZilla has even been awarded a United States Patent (No.D716531).

The manufacturer claims that ClayZilla lasts five times longer than a clay bar, is virtually indestructible and it’s also super-easy to use. It has a 100% ergonomic design and features the Zilla Pad – a soft, high-density foam applicator – that is totally replaceable – and each Zilla Pad lasts five times longer than a clay bar. The system also includes an 8oz bottle of the company’s specially formulated Zilla Juice Detailer. And in terms of cost, Shy Auto reckons it is considerably less than any conventional clay bar. Pre-order your

Clayzilla today from www.shyauto. com or call them on 01474 771 800.

Available in the UK from January.

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Classic American

News The Munsters’ Koach.

Barris with the Batmobile.

George Barris1925-2015 Car customising king dies

Creator of the Batmobile George Barris passes away aged 89.

Even if you don’t immediately recognise his name you’re bound to know his creations. The chief among them was the 1966 Batmobile, but car builder George Barris designed and built cars for Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, Get Smart!, Dick Tracy and The Beverly Hillbillies among many, many more.

Born George Salapatas in Chicago on November 20, 1925, George and his brother Sam were sent to live with an uncle in California in 1927 following the death of their mother. The family ran a restaurant and later a hotel where the brothers would help out. In return for their efforts they were given a 1925 Buick sedan. Both brothers were gifted in metalwork and woodwork and they quickly repaired the dented panels, bolted on accessory parts and painted the car orange and blue with rainbow stripes. Selling the Buick at a profit they bought a 1929 Ford model A, which quickly gained six extra aerials (although it had no radio) and Auburn exhaust pipes.

Working after school sweeping floors at Brown Brothers’ car repair shop in Sacramento helped Barris learn bodyworking techniques, as did helping out Harry Westergard, who at the time

Mercury being worked on at the Barris shop.

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was pioneering the emerging style of customised cars. Aged 15, George built a customised 1936 Ford with a ’41 Packard grille and ’34 Pontiac bonnet. The brothers also founded the Kustoms Car Club – beginning their use of the letter K in place of a C. In 1944 George opened his own shop and Sam joined him after leaving the Navy in 1946. They customised a 1941 Buick that won the first hot rod show held at the Los Angeles Armoury in 1946 and business gradually picked up following advertising in Motor Trend and the newly launched Hot Rod magazine.

Sam was perfecting ways of making brand new cars look more elegant and streamlined by chopping roofs to lower them and even sectioning them – cutting a car horizontally and removing a few inches from the centre. In addition to metalworking, George photographed their efforts and ensured that they got into the magazines.

The 1949-1951 Mercury became a signature car for the Barris brothers to customise, but as car design evolved through the later Fifties, cars lent themselves less to radical bodywork changes.

George expanded into selling accessories such as spotlights and hubcaps, while Sam gradually left the business. George also began creating cars for Hollywood TV and films.

This really took off in the Sixties with cars such as the Munsters’ Koach and Dragula for the Munsters TV show and of course the Batmobile.

ABC Television gave Barris just 21 days to deliver a

fully functioning car for their new Batman show; luckily George had purchased a 1955 Ford-built concept car called the Lincoln Futura (he paid just $1 for it!) and his team quickly reworked the Futura before adding all the gadgets seen in the show. The Batmobile was so popular Barris would go on to make four replicas for promotional purposes and, ever the businessman, he retained the rights to the design.

Throughout the Sixties and Seventies Barris did a number of lower profile cars for celebrities including a Greyhound bus to allow Elvis to travel discreetly and subtly customised Pontiac station wagons with raised roofs so John Wayne could wear his cowboy hat when he drove. Barris turned out cars for names such as Frank Sinatra, Sonny and Cher, Elton John, Clint Eastwood and Liberace.

The Eighties and Nineties saw Barris designing the cars for the last two seasons of Knight Rider, Jurassic Park and The Flintstones movie. He even ‘customised’ a Toyota Prius in 2005 – with predictably repugnant results.

Barris often called himself King of the Kustomisers and that is how he will be remembered – as one of a small number of individuals who helped bring hot rod and custom cars into the public mainstream, and a gifted designer and fabricator who created dreams on wheels. George Barris died on November 5, 2015, in his sleep at his home in California at the age of 89. MR

Barris with Batmobile, Monkeemobile, Beverly Hillbillies car & Black Beauty.

WE’RE ‘OVER HERE’ AGAIN! Many readers of Classic American will already be familiar with Steve Miles’ astonishing archive of old photographs – we’ve published several series of pictures in the magazine, and you might have copies of the existing books he’s published in recent years.

The story behind them is well known too, how as a teenager and young man he carried a camera around the streets of Oxford and on visits to Central London in pursuit of every American car he could find – the resulting Over Here archive consists of thousands of black and white photographs, many of which remain unpublished.

Not any longer! With the publication of the first volumes of The Over Here Collection, Steve is beginning the process of making the bulk of his unseen pictures available for everyone to share and enjoy. These first books separately cover Ford,

Chevrolet and Plymouth – America’s primary lowpriced cars of the period.

Each contains well over a hundred pictures, none of which can be found in the existing books, so these will be an excellent and valuable supplement to the four volumes currently in print.

The photographs date from the 1960s, a few as late as about 1972; the cars covered are mostly ‘50s and ‘60s models. And plans are afoot for further books to appear in the months and years to come, covering all of the other US manufacturers, so keep an eye on these pages for news of other publications!

All can be ordered from Steve’s website at www. sgmpublishing.co.uk; the new books cost £9.99 each with no extra cost for the price of postage within the UK. The older Volumes 2-5 are still available at £11.99 each, also post-free.

Correction and apology

Classic American would like to apologise – and issue a correction – to Brendan Glennon and Nick Stratta, both owners of 1963 Ford Galaxies, whose cars were mistaken for each other in last month’s issue of Classic American. Such mistakes are incredibly rare – in fact, as far as we’re aware, this is the first time such a mistake has ever occurred in the history of the title – and we’re very sorry for the disappointment and confusion that this error has caused.

Brendan Glennon’s Ford Galaxie.

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Classic American

News

Jack ‘Doc’ Watson 1940-2015 Dr Oldsmobile passes away

The ‘father’ of the Hurst Oldsmobile dies aged 75 Guys with the surname Watson often pick up the nickname ‘Doc,’ but Jack ‘Doc’ Watson apparently earned his through his ability to fix things like gear shifters. Working alongside George Hurst – founder of Hurst Performance, who made parts for drag cars – Watson later became the president of Hurst Performance Research. Among other innovations he created the Hurst shifter and the Jaws of Life. An engineer and businessman, Watson is personally credited with creating the first Hurst Oldsmobile in 1968 and many other contributions to highperformance General Motors cars.

Doc got an early start via a hobby shop his parents owned and modifying model planes and cars to make them go faster. Later he began working with Corvette engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov and on a break from college spent a summer street racing all across the US. He became involved with General Motors, working for ‘Super Duty’ groups for GM Divisions that tested various vehicle

1970 Olds 442.

programmes, including Royal Pontiac and various unofficial and official factory race cars. Part of this included dropping large-cube engines into Y-body senior compacts (such as Tempests, Cutlasses and Skylarks) for evaluation purposes, and arranging for Pontiac to obtain use of Hurst floor shifters as factory equipment.

During his time at Hurst, Doc brainstormed the ‘Hurst Hairy Oldsmobile’ drag car in 1966 and ’67. ‘Hairy’ was a four-wheel drive exhibition Olds 442 with dual 425cu in V8s and transaxles from the new Toronado. The wildly popular but barely controllable exhibition car regularly laid rubber the entire length of the dragstrip from all four tyres. Another contribution to Hurst was Watson’s operation of the Hurst Aid support trailer, including a complete machine shop, at various racing events.

His mechanical prowess frequently helped racers get through tech inspection free of charge.

Then Doc learned his boss George Hurst had transplanted a massive 455cu in V8 into a new 1968 Olds 442. It created a car not available from

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Oldsmobile due to the corporate ruling against engines bigger than 400 cubes in the A-body cars.

Doc went further, adding to it special paint, a Hurst shifter, engine mods, and a walnut interior trim to create the prototype Hurst/Olds. Oldsmobile sold 515 examples in 1968 and nearly double that in ’69. It also gave birth to ‘Dr Oldsmobile’; a moustachioed alchemist figure said to be based on Doc who featured in many popular Oldsmobile advertising campaigns.

Watson is also credited with helping to start both the Woodward Dream Cruise and Flint’s popular Back to the Bricks cruise. As well as inspiring Flint, Michigan’s series of downtown statues honouring automotive pioneers, he also developed the Jaws of Life emergency rescue tool, supposedly named from his initials JAW. Said to have created well over 80 niche-market special vehicle programmes and managed the building of more than 137,500 special vehicles Doc, a resident of White Lake, Michigan, passed away at the age of 75. MR

Art Fitzpatrick (1918-2015) Automotive artistic legend who visualised General Motors’ dreams passes away…

Art Fitzpatrick, the legendary automotive artist, who created some of the most stylish and unique advertising automotive artwork of the post-war period, died on November 16, 2015 in Carlsbad, California. He was 96.

Art Fitzpatrick will best be remembered for his work with Pontiac’s advertising agency during the Sixties, prior to which he worked on campaigns for Lincoln, Nash, Chrysler, Plymouth and Buick. In collaboration with ex-Disney animator Van Kaufman, ‘Fitz and Van’ as they became known, would create evocative car advertising and brochure imagery that stood out from every other type of artwork, including the most sophisticated photography shots.

So successful was their fusing of car and background in often glamorous and exotic locations, that by the early Fifties, Art Fitzpatrick had automobile companies queuing up for the ‘Fitz and Van’ effect to be given to their products. Fitz painted the car and Van applied the background. Their working relationship was to last for 24 years and an enduring friendship of 43 years.

Born on November 24, 1918, Art Fitzpatrick studied at the Society of Arts and Crafts and Detroit School of Art. A year later, in 1937, he was working as an apprentice designer at Briggs Body (Le Baron), on Chrysler products and the Lincoln Zephyr. Shortly afterwards, the 19-yearold Art Fitzpatrick headed for California, where he landed a less well paid, but more prestigious job with Howard ‘Dutch’ Darrin. Here, he helped design the custom-bodied Packard convertible and hardtop sedans.

After returning to Detroit, Fitzpatrick had a brief stint at Hudson and Packard, but it was his service as a naval officer during the war that enabled his transition from car designer to car illustrator. During this time, he started to concentrate on advertising design and

Van Kaufman, John Z Delorean and Art Fitzpatrick.

illustration and by the end of the war had started doing some work for Mercury. Van Kaufman joined him in 1950.

It was while Fitz and Van were working on the Buick account that an opportunity came for them to work on a longer-term deal for Pontiac. Under Pontiac’s new general manager, Bunkie Knudsen, Fitz and Van would apply their artwork magic to hundreds of Pontiac ads, for national adverts appearing in publications all over the United States. Jim Wangers, who was largely responsible for marketing the GTO, dealt with enthusiast magazines like Car & Driver and Road and Track for Pontiac’s ad agency, but it was the national campaigns in publications like Saturday Evening Post and National Geographic in which the Fitz and Van artwork would be seen, and continue to sell Pontiac. The respect that Wangers had for Art Fitzpatrick’s work, however, was genuine, as the two became firm friends. Shortly after the news of Fitzpatrick’s death, he had this to say about him: “It has been a difficult week with the passing of my good friend Art Fitzpatrick. I will miss him; Art Fitzpatrick cast the science of automotive advertising into a position of respect and

glamour never before reached in the advertising world. While the rest of the auto industry was embracing the ‘new science’ of photography, ‘Fitz’, as he was affectionately called, kept ‘painted car art’ at the forefront of the best car ads ever produced. GM’s Pontiac division should also be praised for their determination to keep the Fitz artwork as a feature of their distinctive print ad campaign ‘Wide-Track’ and ‘Fitz’ became a true symbol of success...”

Following the death of Van Kaufman in 1995, Art Fitzpatrick continued to create stunning car art, producing a series of stamps for the US Postal Service featuring some of America’s most famous cars – Corvette, Thunderbird, Studebaker Hawk, as well as a book project with Jim Wangers featuring 15 Fitzpatrick paintings of Pontiac’s greatest-ever cars. During the early part of 2015, the Gilmore Car Museum near Kalamazoo, Michigan, opened a gallery with more than 70 original drawings that were donated by Fitzpatrick. In June, he opened the gallery and gave a presentation. It was one of his last public appearances. GC

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Classic American

Mail AMERICAN RETRO Dear Classic American, This is new for me as I have never made a comment on any media article before, but I had to contact you to say what a fantastic article I thought Rick McCloskey’s ‘Cruising Van Nuys Blvd’ was.

Although always interested in cars, it was watching American Graffiti as a 13-year-old which truly sparked my interest in the American car/hot rod scene. It was the way American Graffiti managed to create the heat, characters and atmosphere of one night in America that really got me.

Seeing Rick’s article just took me straight back to my youth. And although American Graffiti was set in 1962, Rick’s photos were taken around the time of the film’s release when I was buying as many American car mags as I could. Once again the article was fantastic at capturing a hot American night when cool cars ruled.

The quality of the photos recording the cars, the people, the fashion – it’s almost as if each photo was a still from a film.

Absolutely superb – if you can run more articles like that, I for one will be a happy lad! I know driving our American cars in the UK will never be like that – but we can dream!

Barry Cox Via e-mail That was one of our favourite features this year and for all the reasons you outlined; we’ll keep scouring our sources, but in many ways that collection of images was a oneoff, as people at the time didn’t think any of that was particularly remarkable or even worth recording… how wrong they were!

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STAR

Letter

VW SCANDAL Dear Classic American, The VW emissions scandal story is still developing as I write, but for me at least, the real surprise is that people are surprised. Without wishing to make excuses for VW, I feel that the problem is politicians and bureaucrats attempting to make the world a better place by legislation, and with so much at stake on getting the figures right, that’s where the effort goes.

As I recall, Government-mandated test driving cycles were originally meant to give car buyers an indication of the fuel consumption of different models as measured under standard conditions. All fine and dandy, but then some genius decided to tax cars on this basis – hey, people should be encouraged to get more economical cars, right? So now rumours abound of car makers’ designs (featuring both hardware and software of course) revolving around getting impressive fuel economy and emissions figures in the standard tests even if this has a bad effect on real-life performance, with engine fuelling, ignition timing, gear ratios, shift points if automatic transmission, and so forth all tweaked to do this (though maybe not as blatantly as VW).

The UK’s banded VED (annual tax) approach based on g/km CO2 emissions figures (obtained from the same highly artificial standard test driving cycles used for fuel economy measurements) has various quirks. For 2015 rates, if your car is listed as 120g/km you will pay £30 a year, but if it’s 121g/km then you pay

£110, so obviously it’s worth car makers fighting to drop that last 1g/km. More drastically, if your car is 225g/km then you pay £290, but 226g/km is £490 – a 0.44% increase in emissions makes a 170% increase in VED rate. Then there’s the injustice that if you have a ‘gas-guzzler’ and drive it 2000 miles a year you’ll pay a hefty annual charge, but if you have an economical car with the magical 99g/km figure and drive it 22,000 miles a year you don’t pay anything.

None of this is exactly new, as until 1947 British cars were taxed on the infamous RAC ‘horsepower’ rating calculated on cylinder diameter rather than actual power, which forced manufacturers to make engines with tiny bores and long strokes to get a decent displacement without punitive taxes (but difficult to sell in export markets).

The UK only produces about 2% of the world’s CO2 anyway, so whatever we do or don’t do here won’t have any significant effect in the big scheme of things. Sigh...

Chris Drewe Chelmsford Essex This is all true Chris, but we are lucky in this country in that older cars/classics don’t have to pay VED and there is no MoT for pre-1960 cars.

Compare this with some of the draconian laws older cars face in other countries and we are very lucky indeed!

THOSE WERE THE DAYS

Dear Classic American, You asked about this picture which I showed to your staff at the Classic Motor Show recently.

Well, the story was that my next-door neighbour was a second-hand car dealer, with a passion for American cars. My own interest started with my uncle’s ’56 Bel Air, then my father bought a new Vauxhall Victor estate, which with a wraparound windshield was about the closest thing to an American car.

He had that for a short time and then bought a Rambler Cross Country station wagon – it went for servicing at Rambler, which was on Gunnersbury Avenue (not the Great West Road).

Getting back to my neighbour, he had a yard behind his showroom and whenever the opportunity arose when he went out I would move the car around the yard, but be ever so careful to put it back in its original position. I was 17 at the time and would pass my driving test a year later.

It was great to read about the ’55 Packard Caribbean convertible as it was in exactly the same colours as this one I knew in this picture. My interest has never left me for American autos, having had a few and still having a ’66 Mustang today.

Irv Benton Loughton Essex

That sounds a bit naughty – isn’t that known as TWOC’ing (taking without owner’s consent)?!

However, one good thing to come out of it is your lifetime’s interest in American cars. Anyone else out there got photos of themselves as youngsters getting into American cars? Send ’em in and let us share them with the readers!

classic-american

Huw Evans

Across

the

pond 1980 Chrysler New Yorker.

1980 Buick Electra.

Is quality getting worse?

Evans asks whether current government mandates are having a negative impact on vehicle quality stateside.

I

t’s often been said that they don’t make ’em like they used to. And in many cases that’s perceived as being a good thing. The trouble is, every time automakers are forced to push the envelope as a result of political will and the ensuing government legislation, all kinds of issues tend to surface. Many pundits will tell you that the Seventies was the nadir of the American automobile. Perhaps, but putting everything into context, Detroit had its back to the wall at the time. The Feds were taking an ever more active role in car development, particularly when it came to safety standards, fuel economy and emissions requirements.

Not surprisingly, given the technology of the day, Detroit automakers struggled to cope with increased government meddling and in many respects, technological development of most American cars between 1970 and 1980 was marginal at best. A full-size GM car in 1970 boasted a front-mounted overhead valve, carburetted V8 engine, rear-wheel drive and a separate frame with coil-sprung suspension. In 1980, the average GM full-size car sported (you guessed it) an overhead valve, carburetted V8 engine, rear wheel drive, a separate frame and coil-sprung suspension.

Yes, the Seventies saw a decline in performance but the introduction of things such as solid-state ignition, exhaust gas recirculation, catalytic converters, side door beams and safety bumpers meant that by the mid-Eighties the federally driven push towards safer, lighter and more efficient cars allowed

engineers to essentially work wonders with Sixties technology thanks to advances in electronics.

It’s also perhaps worth noting that while the 1970s gave us some cars that weren’t developed enough (Chevrolet Vega, AMC Pacer, Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare), the decade also provided us with some real highlights – the hot-selling Chevrolet Camaro Z28 and Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, the sturdy and dependable full-size offerings from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, the simple and versatile Ford Fairmont, the swoopy third-generation Mustang, not to mention the best-selling Corvette in history.

Until recently, it could generally be said that American vehicle quality drastically improved. Ever since J D Power first conducted its initial quality survey beginning with ’87 model year vehicles, the perceived fit, finish and features of American cars and light trucks has grown significantly, to the point that the gap between domestic and import brands is barely, if at all, noticeable.

That was, until the Obama administration enacted tough new corporate average fuel economy standards that required cars and light trucks to achieve a fleet-wide target of 54.5 miles per US gallon by 2025. In order to reach this, automakers have been looking at various ways to do it, most notably by introducing more fuelefficient powertrains and saving weight.

The trouble is, legislation has mandated features such as airbags, stability control, traction control, anti-lock braking and others that add weight and complexity. Furthermore, with automakers themselves believing that the car

needs to become essentially a four-wheeled smartphone, connectivity and info-entertainment features add additional mass and complexity.

Using smaller displacement engines and features such as cylinder deactivation, direct injection and turbocharging are also helping achieve better fuel economy standards… but as this new generation of vehicles starts to age, problems are beginning to surface.

Many repair shops are reporting an increase in engine rebuilds due to higher stresses on moving parts and fuel systems as a result of features like cylinder deactivation, direct injection and stopstart technology. There’s also been more frequent replacement of wearable items such as brakes and control arms. Additionally, a number of shops I’ve spoken to say they’ve seen general maintenance costs increase significantly for many vehicle owners because many modern cars require specific needs (including specialised and expensive) lubricants in order to operate correctly.

Furthermore, technology such as adaptive cruise control, parking assist and lane departure warning means more sensors that need replacing. Lighter weight means in many cases, thinner materials are being used, whether it’s for brake rotors, suspension parts, even body panels.

It used to be a given to point the finger at Seventies cars as being the low-point in terms of quality control but it seems the current crop of autos is definitely giving even the worst of that decade a run for their money. The question is: will it lead to resurgence in vehicle quality post-2025?

Only time will tell but, given the odds of history repeating itself, that’s a distinct possibility.

Huw Evans – news & views from North America

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classic-american

Tony Oksien

Muscle

car files

Have truck, will travel…

Across America in a 1967 El Camino, except this time it’s not Tony, but his son Joe and buddy Gary, winding their way from California to Georgia via Florida. Sounds like the road trip of a lifetime!

T

his month’s extended Muscle Car Files is devoted to a tale of a certain red 1967 Chevrolet El Camino and its amazing trip to our shores. My son Joe and his best buddy Gary Butler are both muscle car gear heads and they crossed the States on a road trip of a lifetime in a 1967 El Camino last June.

The car chosen (found through a local online ad) happened to be located in Santa Maria, California, only a three-hour drive south of San Francisco, and it was a perfect start to an exciting and eventful trip across the USA. A further bonus was the fact that Gary’s aunt lives in southern Florida and this would be ideal as a final stopping point on a cross-country road trip and a handy place to ship the car back to Blighty.

After flying to San Francisco and picking up a hire car, they made their way to Santa Maria. As they pulled into the road, there was owner Marco polishing the El Camino on his drive. After a few sensible questions, a thorough inspection and a hair-raising test drive on slippery roads – that day saw the first rain for a year – they agreed on a final price and deposited the money into Marco’s account and became the new proud owners of a Chevy flatbed.

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On the beach at Pismo.

The next day the couple drove to Pismo, one of the only beaches you can drive on right up to the Pacific Ocean. Within minutes into the journey, the passenger window had slipped down into the door, but the panic was over fairly quickly, as Gary was able to fix the glass, but there was still no real way of knowing what they had gotten themselves into and if this was an omen of further challenges to come.

Unperturbed, they headed for the mountains

(passing the famous James Dean junction) towards the Redwood forests, ending up in Fresno. During a routine visit for supplies at a Wal-Mart they noticed the rear nearside wheel arch was covered in oil. Luckily, there was a Pep Boys car parts store nearby, whose staff, after quite a time and cost, managed to change the rear bearings and seals. The trip was back on track and they headed for the mountains, climbing 6000 feet where they camped at Hotel

Sleeping under the stars in Hotel El Camino!

El-Camino under the stars, with coyotes singing themselves to sleep. The next few days were spent driving through the desert towards Las Vegas, with Death Valley a highlight. They slept al fresco in the bed of the El Camino.

Arriving in Las Vegas they parked-up the Chevy, as there was no point in trying to mix it with the madness of that place – the ultimate party town!

Leaving Las Vegas via the Hoover Dam, they took in a couple of loops of the old Route 66 and found the local Arizonans to be very welcoming – people at gas stations were always interested in the car, and it seemed like everybody had owned an El Camino at some time!

Working their way to the Grand Canyon, then down into the plains of Arizona, the Chevy looked great against the barren backdrop. One evening, while heading towards New Mexico, the boys noticed the same problem at the rear wheel arch.

It turned out they should have replaced both rear axle shafts when they replaced the fronts. A great service from a local garage (O’Hacos) set them back three days, as the new shafts were fitted.

And just like the Eagles so aptly sung, they really were standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona!

To make up time, they drove virtually non-stop to the city of New Orleans, with the car now running true and happy at a steady 53mph – giving minimal vibrations and there was minimal work for the engine to do.

On the way to Vegas.

Over the following days the trip took them through Mississippi, Alabama and into Florida, the car not missing a beat in the unforgiving humidity.

Finally, they arrived at Gary’s aunt’s house in Sanibel Island, in the Gulf and were ready for a rest.

With some great shots in the sunsets and the ability to hang out in the car again – alligator spotting from the flatbed was a high point.

Eventually, the time came to make their way to the docks in Brunswick, Georgia, via Orlando and Daytona Beach, which, unsurprisingly was much busier than Pismo, but had a lot more car nuts, as well as incredible beaches and sun. They steadily drove north, eventually reaching the docks and said their goodbyes to the car that had also been their accommodation for the previous six to eight weeks.

Nevertheless, the sight of the Chevy sitting on the docks, awaiting its voyage to the UK, was satisfying indeed. A Challenger hire car took them back to Orlando and the flight home.

Gary and Joe’s El Camino has a 350cu in V8 fitted with a three-speed, column shifted TH400 automatic gearbox, power-steering and power disc brakes. The car is completely rust free, having been built in California, where it spent its entire life.

The finishing touches are an aggressive sounding twin exhaust system and chrome Cragar SS period wheels at all four corners. And best of all? It’s now landed safely on these shores and is ripping up the roads of Hampshire! ★

Joe & Gary.

Crossing the Arizona state line.

Tony Oksien – CA’s resident muscle car guru classic-american.com 17

Richard Heseltine

From

here to

obscurity

Pontiac Banshee

Wedge profile all the rage back then.

Think you know about Pontiac’s ‘Banshee’ concept car? Think again, as the nameplate had no fewer than four iterations, as Richard Heseltine reveals…

T

he point of concept cars, show cars, teasers – call them what you will – is to foretell the future. In the case of the Pontiac Banshee IV, it largely succeeded, forgotten though it is. That it languishes in a netherworld between vague recognition and downright obscurity is perhaps appropriate given the often turbulent lives of previous cars that bore the name. For a while at least, the name ‘Banshee’ was a dirty word in certain sections of the GM hierarchy.

The first Banshee was conceived by Pontiac chief engineer John Z DeLorean. Project ‘XP-798’ was his ‘Mustang-beater’, the name Banshee referencing the jet-fighter made by McDonnell that was used extensively by the US Navy. The only slight wrinkle was that DeLorean was told from the outset not to build the car. It wasn’t wanted. Nevertheless, the notoriously selfdirected DeLorean pushed on ahead anyway with a 421cu in HO Tri-Power V8-engined coupe that was built in secret. Few GM insiders were aware of the car’s existence until DeLorean dispatched the prototype to the March 1966 New York Auto Show. What followed was an epic battle of egos between the future motor mogul and his immediate superiors. He lost, and the car spent the next few decades languishing in a New Jersey warehouse.

Banshee II was an altogether more official affair, the Firebird 400-based GT appearing in 1968 and disappearing into the ether almost immediately.

GM design legend Bill Mitchell ordered the construction of Banshee III in 1973, the result being a pointy-nosed coupe based on an F-body chassis. The front lighting treatment and wraparound rear window hinted at the 1975 and ’77 Firebirds respectively.

The fourth car in the series, however, was rather more radical in outlook. Built in 1988, this was a fully functional show car with a super-swoopy outline that accommodated familiar Pontiac styling cues – beak nose, spilt-grille openings and so on, but with a look that appeared retro-futuristic, not least because of the roof that comprised mostly of glass and the dual rear wings which began in the middle of the doors. Beneath the glass-fibre skin, it featured a bespoke tubular-steel chassis with C4 Corvette suspension front and rear. On the inside, a heads-up display projected info about speed, engine rpm and suchlike on to the windscreen, while the dashboard was home to a vast array of video displays. The steering wheel, meanwhile, housed as many as 20 button functions. The really unusual bit, however, was the 230bhp four-litre DOHC V8 which was a leftover prototype from an aborted GM engine programme.

The Banshee IV toured major US car shows in ’88 and appeared suitably out-there to appear in films such as Demolition Man. However, contrary to some period reports, volume production was never on the cards. It did, however, hint at the Firebird’s future styling direction: a watered-down variation

on the Banshee IV’s nose was subsequently employed on the 1991 Firebird. There would be no further officially sanctioned Banshees, although the name has since been applied to current-generation Chevrolet Camaros by outside tuners/customisers.

The one and only Banshee IV, meanwhile, was retained by The General, and is on display in the GM Heritage Centre.

Pontiac logo-shaped bonnet.

The '80s-style dash.

Richard Heseltine’s weird and wonderful American cars from the past.

18 classic-american.com