Classic American OCT 2015

No.294 October 2015 £4.40

The UK’s Number 1 for 27 years

www.classic-american.com

’57 MERCURY TURNPIKE CRUISER

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Contents October 2015

Regulars

Features

06 12 14 16 18

23 1950 Chevrolet Coupe 29 1964 Ford Falcon Sprint 34 1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser 41 1966 Cadillac Eldorado 48 1971 Chevelle 53 Importing for virgins 59 1972: Cruising Van Nuys 67 Rally of the Giants show report 85 Frederiksen Collection Sothebys auction 98 Classic American People

20 72 75 81 90 92 102 106 104 110 122

News Letters Across the Pond Muscle Car Files From Here to Obscurity Subscription Offer Reviews Project Pony Discoveries Rear Window Club & Events News Drive Buy Service Directory Ad Gallery Private Classifieds Next Month & Credits

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Tony Curtis bought this 1950 Chevrolet intending to strip it for parts, until he realised just how incredibly untouched it was…

1950 Chevrolet

Words: Mike Renault Photography: James Mann

★ ❯❯

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Although we’re looking at one 1950 Chevrolet here this is actually a tale of three Chevrolets… and a Plymouth. It’s quite straightforward though, and starts with Tony Curtis spotting a 1950 Chevrolet coupe for sale on eBay in 2006. “The coupe was being sold as a job lot along with this four-door Fleetline Deluxe and a 1936 Plymouth coupe,” remembers Tony. “I was only interested in buying the ‘50 coupe and explained to the seller he was never going to be able to sell all three cars together as one. I had glanced over the Fleetline in his garage but I’d never really liked the body style so I didn’t take any more notice of it.”

The Plymouth found a new owner around the same time that Tony bought the Chevy coupe but the four-door went unsold. Tony was happy with his coupe but admits it wasn’t in the best condition. “It was a bit scruffy, the battery was flat, and basically it was tired. Over time I got it running and noticed that the back axle was very noisy. I stripped it down and every part in there was worn out.” Sometime later Tony saw another ‘50 Chevy advertised. “It was a four-door done up like a rat rod and the guy sold it for £4200. I really only like original cars that haven’t been messed about with, but seeing it reminded me of the other four-door and I thought I’d go back and buy it, swap the back axles over and maybe even sell the four-door on for a little bit of profit.” Although some three years had passed the Fleetline was still in the garage although looking a little worse for wear.

“It was in bare metal because he’d been planning to repaint it,” remembers Tony. “At the time I only wanted it for the axle but when I mentioned it the owner remarked that the car only had 27,000 miles on it from new – when I heard that I knew I couldn’t strip it.” As we know, Tony really likes original cars and this had to be one of the most unmolested, low-mileage 1950 Chevrolets on the planet. Suitably intrigued, he began looking into the car’s history. “As far as I know it was owned by one family from new and had been based in Wisconsin.

Apparently the owner had been involved in an accident which damaged the B-post and after that he hadn’t wanted to drive it again, so the car was just kept in the garage.

“Although the damage was repaired it wasn’t done very well, a replacement door was put on and it didn’t fit properly.

According to the paperwork it had around 24,000 miles on it when it left America in 1995.”

Chevy boasted the first auto transmission in the low price field.

216 cu in ‘Stovebolt’ straight-six motor.

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Simple grey cloth interior is elegant, yet simple.

Fastback styling was pioneered by GM after the war.

Sympathetic preservation Tony immediately got the Chevrolet’s bodywork professionally repaired and repainted in the original black. “When I bought it the body had a little surface rust but otherwise it was rustfree,” explains Tony. “The glass was completely unmarked, no chips or scratches, and I was even able to reuse the original window rubbers. It was never undersealed so it’s remarkable there is absolutely no rot underneath or in the floorpans either.

“The box sections were full of muddy dust, but it was solid all the way through – there’s not even any rust behind the headlight bowls. Two of the quarter lights were broken but otherwise it’s almost completely original.” Almost? “Before it left America it got four new tyres, which is understandable, but whoever did the work apparently convinced the owner it also needed new shocks on the rear,” says Tony, somewhat bitterly. “They fitted adjustable air shocks to the rear – I’d far rather they’d left the original ones on there. To do that so late in the car’s life is just stupid.”

With that sort of insistence to keeping the car original it won’t come as a surprise to find the Fleetline’s interior is just as it left the factory – no CD players or modern air conditioning here. “It’s still on the original 6v electrics and has vacuum wipers,” says Tony proudly. “They are fine to drive with, there’s a control knob to adjust the speed, although if you have it on the lowest setting they will grind to a halt when you accelerate.”

According to the VIN the Chevy rolled out of the St Louis, Missouri plant in February of 1950 and was around the 24,700th one built there. Overall production of the 1950 Chevrolet was a record 1,498,590 with 124,287 of those being Fleetline Deluxe four-doors like Tony’s. The original price would have been $1,529 (when average income was $56 a week, $3300 a year) and base engine was the 92bhp, 216.5cu in straight-six, the overhead valve engine fitted with a single Rochester carburettor. The engine got the nickname ‘stovebolt’ due to the usage of slotted head bolts of the type

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One period road test called it ‘Space Age Design for Earth Travel’, so why isn’t the Turnpike Cruiser more famous?

See you later, Ground Control…we’re outta here!

1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser Words: Mike Key Photography: Nigel Boothman

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Robert Green’s 1966 Cadillac represents the last of the full-size, rear-drive Eldorados - and what a high to finish on!

1966 Cadillac

Words: Mike Renaut Photography: Matt Richardson

Robert Green

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T

White interior requires extra care.

429 cu in V8 rated at 340bhp.

Colour is Tropic Firemist Green.

he car bug bites some of us at an early age. Robert Green, owner of this 1966 Cadillac Eldorado, certainly knows that. “I’ve been nuts about cars since before I could speak,” says Robert. “Aged 14, I saved up my pocket money and bought The 1966 World Book of Cars – the American cars in there looked out of this world…” Robert just had to own one. “I bought this Cadillac in 2007. A car museum in Scotland was selling off its stock and I understand a car dealer named Robert Hughes bought the whole lot. I got the Cadillac from him,” explains Robert.

“The Cadillac was imported in 2003; it came in from Florida and was never registered. It was rust free and has never been welded. I have a copy of a New Jersey title showing the car was owned from 1972 to 2001 by Philip A Brick of Westmont, NJ. I’ve tried to trace him, without success. I did find out that he was a doctor – the car sported an impressive MD’s badge on the front grille when I first acquired it. There’s a 1972 Pennsylvanian Department of Transport inspection sticker on the front screen. Knowing the car was going into Classic American I researched online and found an obituary notice for Dr Brick, who sadly passed away in 2011. He was apparently a native of Philadelphia, but how the car came by its PA inspection sticker I don’t know (Ed: We suspect Dr Brick may have wintered in Florida and driven the Cadillac down there and kept it there, as many ‘Snowbirds’ from the North East States do…)

“Dr Brick sold the car to Vintage Motors of Sarasota, Florida. From there it was purchased – along with a 1949 Cadillac Sedanette – and formed part of the Sterling Motormania Museum until the collection was sold off and I bought the car.” It wasn’t a trouble-free experience though: “On my first long drive it began throwing out oil and it turned out the top end needed a rebuild. On another occasion a driveline vibration required a new universal joint. Later I took it to France and the transmission fried its seals – we came back on a low loader – which at least saved me a lot of money on fuel! I highly recommend taking out recovery insurance cover.”

1971 Chevelle

Words & Photography: Jon Cass

Owner Paul Hartley.

No-nonsense strip speedo.

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Black vinyl interior.

This '71 Chevelle spent its first winter in exile faultlessly navigating the highways and twisty byways of the UK…

P

aul Hartley is no stranger to the American car scene and we’ve featured a few of his previous rides over the years. Back in January, you may well remember his stunning red and white ’57 Bel Air packing a 500bhp eight-litre V8 with trick suspension. Not only did it look the part, it drove and handled well too; testament to Paul’s attention to detail and his lifelong ambition to build his take on how a perfect Bel Air should be.

There have been numerous Mustangs too, including a full-on quarter-mile race car named Wild Wedge that Paul used to race back in the ‘80s. “There was a large gap in the ‘90s while I was building up my own business, but as soon as I’d bought a house with a decent-sized garage, I was back building cars,” Paul recalls. “I can’t just sit in front of the TV on an evening; I always need to be doing something productive.”

This probably explains why the majority of Paul’s cars have been fully restored or at least modified in some way. “It’s like adding your own personal touch and making a car just that bit individual,” Paul explains. Occasionally however a true gem makes an appearance, a car that ticks all the right boxes without any work needing to be done. “Our family takes regular trips to America and we often try and visit a few shows when we’re there,” Paul tells us. “Sometimes it’s just to look around, but I’m always keeping an eye out for a potential project, especially if the price is right!”

Back in October 2013, Paul and his family were on holiday in California when they decided to take a trip to the Pomona Swap Meet. “It’s a huge event combining a show and car sales,” Paul explains. “It’s worth the cost of a flight over alone.” While taking a wander around,

they spotted this ’71 Chevelle which had a ‘for sale’ ad in the window and as any sane person would, they decided to take a closer look. “It was owned by a lovely 83-year-old guy, who was only selling it to finance his Chevelle SS convertible project,” Paul remembers. “We chatted for a while and agreed on a price.”

Now, the thought of buying a car on a virtual whim in another country may frighten the life out of many of us. After all, there’s shipping, taxation and all the paperwork to sort, but as Paul was quite a regular at this kind of thing, all the tedious stuff was swiftly sorted and the Hartley family could continue with their holiday. “I’m good friends with Steve Mason at California Connections, so it was straightforward enough to arrange the Chevelle to be tailored to the yard for shipping back to the UK,” Paul tells us. ❯❯

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On sale: October

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Project Pony hits the road!

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Month Bill Mitchell Biography

Early T-birds 1962 Ford Thunderbird

1968 Imperial Crown convertible 1937 Packard V12 Dual Cowl

Lovin’ a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air

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