1966 CHEVELLE SS 396
DON GARLITS
Legendary racer
Drag Star
JOLLY GREEN
GIANT ANGLO-AMERICAN DREAM BRITISH-BODIED 1936 PACKARD
1959 BUICK INVICTA
TECH: RUST REPAIR
TRAVEL HERSHEY
ASSEMBLY LINES MEMORIES
Ben Klemenzson
Viewpoint
Image: Lewis Houghton
WELCOME... ...to the first Classic American of the new year! What will 2018 hold in store for us all? Hopefully lots of dry, sunny weather (although in Britain we know more than two days of such weather will result in headlines about droughts and heatwaves… if only!). This is a special year for Classic American as it marks its 30th year in print – I’ve mentioned this before, but in the cut and thrust world of publishing it’s quite an achievement, as it really is tough out there for magazines and newspapers at the moment. Of course, Classic American wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for you, our readers, subscribers and advertisers, so I’d like to thank you for your continued support. I’d like to think that we’re part and parcel of the American car scene in this country and have been so for the past three decades – but I know one can never rest on one’s laurels or take things for granted. In the past few years we’ve done some quite in-depth surveys on what you want to see in Classic American (and what you don’t!) and we’ve been trying to make sure we get that balance of content right. One theme which emerged was that you wanted to see more cars that you
felt you could afford to own and run – everyman cars if you like. Well, there are plenty of those cars in this and upcoming issues. With February and March still to come, many of us feel like battening down the hatches and fantasising about our upcoming travel plans, which will hopefully encompass some sort of classic American theme. So we’ve got some great travel features planned in the coming months, everything from visiting the world-famous Hershey swap meet in Pennsylvania, to driving the Pacific Coast Highway between LA and San Francisco and of course the two big rival American car shows in Sweden. And if you feel like keeping things a bit more local, make sure you check out the Events pages for shows, meets and cruises here in the UK on pages 87 and 88!
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Contents March 2018
Regulars
Features
06 12 14 16 18 20 87 94 98 101 104 108 110
22 1959 Buick Invicta 30 1971 Chrysler New Yorker 36 1936 & 1937 Packards 44 1966 Chevelle SS Racer 51 Don Garlits 57 Assembly Lines 63 Travel: Hershey 69 Tech: Rust 77 Project Beauty Pala American and Modified 81 A&M News 83 A&M 1935 Ford Pick-Up
News Letters Across the Pond Muscle Car Files Here to Obscurity Subscription Offer Events Discoveries Reviews Scale Autos Service Directory Drive Buy Private Classifieds
444
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Classic American
News DAN GURNEY
1931-2018 The world of motorsport mourned the passing of an American legend recently, as Steve Havelock reports… Motorsport legend and all-round good guy Dan Gurney passed away on January 14 at the age of 86 as a result of complications from pneumonia. He was not only a superb world-class racing driver who could jump into any race car and tease the best out of it without being overly hard on it, he was also a brilliant and innovative engineer. His company, All American Racers (AAR) designed and built more than 150 of the famous and highly successful Eagle racing cars that have won in Formula One, Indycar and Sportscar events. Dan was born on April 13, 1931 and grew up on Long Island, but following his graduation from High School he and his family moved to Riverside, California, where as a teenager he started playing
Gurney’s nickname was ‘Handsome Dan’.
around with cars. He built his own hot rod that he raced on the dry lakes, local drag strips and on the Bonneville Salt Flats. After two years in the US Army, mainly serving in Korea, he took up sports car racing in a Triumph TR2 and then a Porsche 356 in which he learned and developed his race craft. He soon began to stand out from the pack and was offered other people’s cars to drive, including Corvettes and Ferraris which launched him on his way. In 1958 he raced in his first Le Mans 24 Hours with Bruce Kessler in a privateer Ferrari which prompted Enzo Ferrari to offer him a full works drive. Now on the world stage, over the following years Dan drove sports cars for Ferrari, Porsche, Shelby, Ford, Lotus and Maserati, taking overall victory in five World Sportscar Championship events and class wins in five more. His most high-profile win was the 1967 Le Mans 24 Hours in which he shared his Ford GT40 with A J Foyt. He was so delighted that he sprayed his champagne over the crowds, thus starting a tradition for race winners the world over. Dan excelled on difficult road courses and he took class wins in the arduous and dangerous Targa Florio in 1961 in a Porsche and in 1964 in a Shelby Cobra, both times sharing with Jerry
Grant. In 1959 Ferrari gave Dan his first drive in Formula One at superfast Reims where he retired with a breakdown. In the following three races that season he finished second, third and fourth. After a dreadful season in 1960 with BRM he joined Porsche for ’61 and after notching up three second places, finished fourth in the World Championship. In 1962 he took his first F1 Grand Prix win in the French GP. He claimed two more victories with Brabham in 1964 and five podiums in ’65. Dan also raced Indy cars, claiming seven wins, 10 pole positions and 16 podiums from 30 starts. He competed annually in the famous Indianapolis 500, first in ’62 in Mickey Thompson’s Buick and then with Lotus Fords. Believing that he could do better with his own cars, in 1965 he formed All American Racers, initially in partnership with Carroll Shelby. Dan then drove his own beautiful
Dan Gurney poses for a photo with his Gurney Mercury Cougar XR-7G.
Gurney started the champagne-spraying tradition.
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Gurney competed in NASCAR.
Eagles in the Indy 500 with his best results being second in ’68 and ’69 and third in ’70. Bobby Unser won the Indy 500 and the USAC Championship in an Eagle in ’68 and the Indy 500 again in ’75 while Gordon Johncock’s Eagle won the great race in ’73. The Eagles proved extremely successful in American single-seater racing until 1987. Meanwhile, Dan’s heart was still in Formula One which was mainly centred in Europe, so he set up his F1 team in England and called it Anglo American Racers. In only its second race, with Dan at the helm, his new Eagle T1G, powered by a Weslake V12 engine, scored its first points with a fifth place at the French Grand Prix. In 1967 Dan made history when he won the Belgian Grand Prix. An American driver, in an American car, built by him. Lack of funding saw Dan withdraw from F1 at the end of ’68 to concentrate his efforts stateside. As if all this activity wasn’t enough, Dan also competed in NASCAR, taking five wins at his home circuit at Riverside from ’63 to ’68 all in Fords. He also claimed three wins in Ford and Chevrolet Can-Ams in ’66 and ’70, a Trans-Am win in ’67 in a Mercury Cougar and even a British Saloon Car win in a Ford Galaxie at Oulton Park in ’63. Dan retired from driving himself in 1970 but continued as a race car constructor and race team owner, with AAR
competing in IMSA GT and CART Indy Cars until 1999. In recent years he and AAR have been involved in numerous special projects including his Alligator motorcycle with its feet-forward riding position and the futuristic Delta Le Mans racer. AAR now has a strong foothold in the aviation parts industry. And let’s not forget that Dan also famously won the inaugural and controversial New York to California Cannonball Run in 1971with Brock Yates riding shotgun in their Ferrari Daytona. The race was partly a protest against speed limits and afterwards, tongue in cheek, Dan said: “At no time did we exceed 175mph.” I had the pleasure of meeting Dan on a couple of occasions and found him to be both charming and extremely helpful. He told me: “I wanted to win races so I became a reasonably good engineer because it was important. I wasn’t a trained engineer but I spent some time with Colin Chapman (head of Lotus) and he was an inspiring engineer, kind of a creative designer and it was good stuff. Necessity is the mother of invention and if you want to do something bad enough you will come up with a way to do it.” Well, he sure did that. Who else can you think of that has won races in F1, Indycar, NASCAR, Trans-Am, Can-Am, sports cars and saloon cars and has also built his own race and championsh hip-winning cars? B Back in the Sixties there was even a sspoof ‘Dan Gurney for G Prresident’ caampaign. He waas surely one of, and possibly the last of his kind d. Fly like an Eagle e, Dan.
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Classic American
News
DETROIT 2018 HIGHLIGHTS Our man in America Huw Evans reports from this year’s North American International Auto Show, which sported some major reveals from Detroit automakers. These included bread and butter pick-ups, a refreshened SUV staple, plus some movie magic and the latest in cool for the pony car segment…
2019 Jeep Cherokee Fiat Chrysler had a couple of major introductions in Detroit this year, the first being the 2019 Jeep Cherokee. Essentially an update of the 2014-vintage model, it features a redesigned and somewhat less controversial nose with LED headlights. Other features include a new Open Air Freedom dual-pane sunroof, hands-free power rear liftgate and five new wheel designs. Mechanically, the 2019 Cherokee gets a new 2.0-litre turbocharged direct injection four-cylinder engine rated at 275bhp and 295ft-lb of torque, with the 3.2-litre, 271bhp Pentastar V6 and 2.4-litre Tigershark
Multi-Air, 180bhp four-cylinder returning as options. An updated nine-speed automatic transmission has been teamed with the new 2.0-litre engine – designed to maximise performance and deliver optimal fuel economy. Other features included improved rear cargo room, as well as a new, weight-saving Active Drive I rear module. An Active Drive II system features a two-speed transfer case and low range reduction, while the optional Active Drive Lock includes the transfer case, low range gear reduction and a locking rear differential. Offered in five different trim levels, Latitude, Latitude Plus; Limited, Overland and the off-road oriented Trailhawk, the 2019 Cherokee goes on sale in stateside showrooms during the first quarter of 2018.
2019 Ram 1500
New Ram is 225lb lighter than the previous model.
With Ford having launched an updated version of its aluminium-bodied F-150 in Detroit last year, and GM introducing an updated Silverado, FCA, not to be outgunned, revealed its latest iteration of the iconic Ram pick-up in Detroit. As with its crosstown rivals, the name of the game here was better fuel economy. Consequently, the 2019 Ram is around 225lb lighter than its predecessor and boasts an all-new frame that’s also 100lb lighter than that of the old truck. Another nod to fuel economy comes in the form of a mild hybrid e-torque system on the 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 and 5.7-litre HEMI V8. This uses a belt-driven motor generator and a 48-volt battery pack to enable stop/start as well as regenerative braking and short-term torque assist.
FCA has also increased the Ram’s maximum payload and towing capacity to 2300lb and 12,750lb respectively, as well as utilising more efficient TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic transmissions behind both engines and an available electronic locking rear differential. Redesigned front suspension and enhanced air-ride suspension are also features of the 2019 Ram 1500. With all these upgrades, plus a larger cab, upgraded interior and infotainment features, plus even bolder styling, FCA hopes the updated Ram will grab the market by the horns when it goes on sale later this year.
Cherokee front end styling is more conventional.
2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt
There were a couple of significant unveilings for Ford this year at NAIAS, notably the 2019 Bullitt Mustang. Based around the refreshed 2018 Mustang GT, the Bullitt will be offered in a choice of Dark Highland Green or Shadow Black, with a tuned 5.0-litre V8 delivering around 475bhp and 420ft-lb of torque. Available exclusively with a six-speed manual gearbox and signature cueball shift knob, Bullitts will also feature standard Brembo brakes with red calipers, 19-inch Torque Thrust style wheels, an active valve performance exhaust system that’s been retuned to give
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a signature rumble, plus an Open Air Induction system and an intake manifold borrowed from the Shelby GT350. A specially trimmed leather interior features signature green stitching and a 12-inch LCD instrument display with a unique Bullitt signature. Available options on the Bullitt include an electronics package that adds sat nav, memory seats, power mirrors, an upgraded sound system, along with Blind Spot Monitoring and Cross Traffic Alert plus a semiactive MagnaRide suspension system and Recaro seats. As part of a Bullitt tribute at the unveiling,
Ford also had Steve McQueen’s granddaughter, Molly, say a few words (you can see a clip of this on the Classic American Facebook page,) as well as revealing one
of the original 1968 Bullitt movie cars, which was thought to have been lost to history (see my ‘Across the Pond’ column on page 14 for the full story!).
Molly McQueen & the new 2019 Bullitt Mustang.
2019 FORD RANGER Since the North American Ranger to North American buyers. Power was discontinued in 2011, there have comes from a 2.3-litre EcoBoost been a sizeable number of buyers four-cylinder engine teamed with wanting a replacement. The fact that a 10-speed automatic transmission GM’s Colorado and Canyon twins and the new Ranger will be offered have zoomed in popularity and with in extended and crew-cab form with US mid-size pick-up sales having a choice of two- and four-wheel grown 83% since 2014, Ford has drive, plus a range of comfort and wisely reconsidered the mid-size convenience features. truck market. As a Ranger will be built in Michigan. result, debuting at NAIAS was the 2019 Ranger. Derived from the truck sold in the rest of the world, this one will be built at Ford’s Wayne, Michigan assembly plant and features exterior styling and equipment tailored
2019 CHEVROLET SILVERADO After a sneak peek at the special Centennial Chevy presentation last December, GM officially unveiled the 2019 Chevy Silverado at the North American International Auto Show. More aggressively styled than its predecessor, with notably bulging fenders and a more prominent grille, the new Silverado is dimensionally larger on the outside, yet up to 450lb lighter than its predecessor, aided by the use of mixed materials for its core structure, a lighter steel frame, plus aluminium for the doors, hood, tailgate and suspension components such as the upper control arms. Beyond weight savings, further efficiencies can be found in the powertrain lineup, which includes 5.3-litre and 6.2-litre V8s with Dynamic Fuel Management technology that actively shuts any number
of cylinders, plus the option of a 3.0-litre Duramax diesel inline-six. Both the diesel and 6.2-litre V8s can also be teamed with a new 10-speed automatic transmission. In an effort to maximise the broadest market appeal possible and remain Chevrolet’s top volume product, the new Silverado will offer eight different trim configurations aimed at three segments of buyers: high value, high volume and high feature. These consist of Work Truck, Custom and Custom Trailboss (for the high-value segment), LT, RST and LT Trailboss (for the high-volume segment) and the luxury lined LTZ and High Country (for high-feature buyers). With a larger cab and bigger capacity box, the new Silverado is expected to go toe-to-toe with Ford’s latest F-150 when it goes on sale this autumn.
Aggressive styling on the Chevy Silverado.
classic-american.com 9
Classic American
News For full details of regularly updated consignments see: www.historics.co.uk
HISTORICS AT
Steve Favell, runner-up.
The next Historics Auction takes place on Saturday, March 3 at Ascot Racecourse and while the sale includes a total of 140 varied consignments, there are plenty of lots that will be of interest to fans of American metal, including: ★ 2012 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (est. £48-£54k) ★ 1954 Chevrolet Corvette (est. £75-£80k) ★ 1932 Ford Model A hot rod (est. £25-£30k) ★ 1954 Airstream trailer (est. £46-£52k)
’54 ’Vette.
32 Model A rod.
ASCOT
’12 ’Vette Z06.
’54 Airstream.
Michael Guy, runner-up.
Romsey recognition Classic American takes its hat off to Steve Biddlecombe and his team who organised the annual Boxing Day meet in Romsey, Hampshire. Not only do they organise this excellent event which gives Classic American (and other classic) fans respite from that difficult time of year we know as ‘Christmas’,
but also they raise money for the charity Prostate Cancer UK. This year they raised more than £5300 and in conjunction with the event we thought it only charitable to run a little photo competition for the participants. Overall winner and winning a year’s subscription to CA was Josh Amey, with his rumination
Winner: Josh Amey.
on a moody blue Mustang. Runnersup included Steve Favell and his shot of a Chevy pick-up and Michael Guy’s
atmospheric line-up of Yanks. Way to go guys, only another 11 months until the next one!
Sad news S
Eddie and Sandra’s ’58 Edsel.
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Sad news has reached the Classic American S o offices of the recent passing of Eddie Clarkson, the UK’s very own Mr Edsel, who C along with his wife Sandra owned three a ttruly beautiful Edsels, one from each year of production – all three of which were featured p iin the September 2000 (#113) issue. Eddie (pictured left) passed away suddenly and unexpectedly during a heart operation a and his funeral took place at Middlesbrough a Crematorium C t i on F February b 6. Eddie and Sandra were familiar faces on the American car scene, particularly in the north, as they helped organise the Fins and Chrome show which took place for many years at Preston Park, near Stockton-on-Tees. Eddie will be sadly missed and our condolences go to Sandra.
Classic American
Email us at: email@classic-american.com or write to: Classic American Magazine, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ
STAR
Letter
Answers on a postcard (1) Dear Classic American, Enclosed is an explanation of the mystery picture in the Discoveries section on page 102 of the January magazine. Incidentally, the feature on
the three Comets driving off the production floor and then driving 16,000 miles from Chile to Alaska was amazing. Can you imagine a new modern car doing that without many
breakdowns today, with all their complex electronics? I don’t think so…! Phil Albers, Pulborough, West Sussex
ANSWERS ON A POSTCARD (2) Dear Classic American, In the January edition, there was a picture of a car with very large headlight covers in the Brooklands Report (page 49) with ‘Answers on a postcard please!’ written in the caption box. This is my car – a 1978 Lincoln Silcco (Southern and International Lincoln Custom Co) four-door convertible. The conversion was made to a Lincoln Town Car in Florida when the car was new and cost more than the car itself. Out of 12 built between ’77 and ’79, there are possibly only four remaining. When the roof was removed, there was a steel space frame built under where the rear screen was and between the two wings. The spare has been moved into a steel continental kit as part of the conversion. This is the only
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car with this modification. The rear wings appear to be fibreglass, not steel, and there is a special boot lid with a fake spare wheel bulge. The headlights are called ‘Superfly’ after the film of the same name from 1972. They were made by customiser Les Dunham and were popular back in the day! The car came over from Detroit in 2013 and I bought it in August and it is currently in South East London and is well used. It was spotted by my friend Bob Lucas whose Cadillac V12 from 1933 you featured last year. I previously owned a 1976 Cadillac Coupe de Ville. Simon Lunn Via email Another automotive mystery solved!