KING OF CHROME
HOT RODDERS' DELIGHT
1958 Olds 98
1950 Mercury
FORD'S POCKET ROCKET 1963 Falcon Sprint
Mooneyes Hot Rod & Custom Show Yokohama & NSRA Swap Meet
1970 ????
DODGE DART Mini Mopar Muscle
Ben Klemenzson
Viewpoint
HARD TIMES I was sorry to hear about the recent demise of our competitor title American Car, which has, over the years, had numerous owners, iterations and editorial staff, including Dave Smith who was the most recent editor and former deputy editor here at Classic American for several years. Dave had obviously put a lot of effort into the title during his time there and as a fellow American car fan it was hard to fault his enthusiasm. It is a shame though also because it suggests the market is not big enough to support two American car titles, although perhaps this is not such a surprise; it’s tough out there at the moment, both in publishing and on the American automotive scene.
What might surprise readers, however, is that American Car, or its progenitor Street Machine, actually spawned Classic American in the first place, almost 30 years ago. I can remember when I was a student in the late Eighties/ early Nineties, going down to WH Smith and perusing both Classic American and American Car World, as it was then called, and deciding which one (or both) to buy. Sometimes neither floated my boat and I would leave empty-handed. Of course, back then American Car World was in its first flush of youth, having been newly launched as a competitor title by Tony Beadle when he left Classic American. In response Classic American went monthly as well as full colour and effectively put American Car World out of business in just a couple of years. American Car’s resurrection came in the Noughties, when Street Machine morphed into American Car World and later became American Car. Each month the Street Machine title would get smaller, while the American Car title got bigger, until hey presto, it had completely eclipsed it and the magazine was effectively retitled… So, Classic American is back to where it was in the late Nineties/early Noughties, as the sole American car magazine on the market. That’s quite a burden of responsibility and we will do our absolute best to meet the needs of readers, subscribers and advertisers alike. As always, let us know your thoughts, concerns or recommendations; it is, after all, your magazine.
Ben Klemenzson, editor bklemenzson@mortons.co.uk
Issue one of Classic American
46 23
29
55
Contents May 2017
Regulars
Features
06 12 14 16 18 20 36 75 85 86 90 100 114 116 126
23 29 39 46 55 63 80
News Letters Across the Pond Muscle Car Files Here to Obscurity Subscription Offer CA Shop Tech Reviews Scale Autos Discoveries Events Drive Buy Private Classifieds Services Directory
1950 Mercury 1963 Ford Falcon 1967 Mercury Cougar 1958 Oldsmobile 1970 Dodge Dart Holman and Moody Readers’ Rides
Events 70 NSRA Swap Meet 110 Mooneyes 109 American Modified News
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NEW VED RULES News INCREASE THE COSTS Classic American
From April 1 all new cars are subject to much higher road tax costs for the first six years based on their emissions.
New rules governing UK Vehicle Excise Duty came into effect on April 1 and while they won’t affect existing cars, they will increase the amount you’ll pay to tax a brand new one. Under the outgoing VED system about a quarter of new cars registered paid no road tax and low-emission petrol and diesel cars were also tax exempt. But with new cars continuing to get cleaner the Government (who strongly encouraged us all to buy hybrid vehicles) realised that was millions of pounds of revenue they weren’t exploiting. The incoming regulations ensure most new cars now have a significant increase in their first-year tax costs, then after the first year a flat fee of £140 applies for vehicles not categorised as zero emissions. Buy an ‘alternatively fuelled’ car (a hybrid or one that runs on LPG or bioethanol) and you’ll pay only £10 less than the equivalent petrol or diesel for your first year of tax and then £130 per year thereafter. VED
is free only for zero-emission electric and hydrogen cars. The new VED is calculated on 13 different C02 bands (see chart). Buyers of smaller cars will be significantly worse off; a 1.2-litre hatchback with emissions of 104g/ km will go from costing £20 a year to £140. First-year fees for a ‘high polluting’ car with output of 173g/ km will go up from £300 to £800 under the new regime. Cars costing above £40,000 (that figure includes any optional extras) will pay an extra £310 per annum on top for years two to six, meaning electric cars over £40,000 (even those with zero emissions) will pay £310 per year, alternative fuel vehicles will pay £440, and petrol or diesel cars £450. After those five years, these rates change to zero, £130 and £140 respectively. So a Mustang 2.3-litre Ecoboost with a C02 emission of 179g/km will cost £800 to tax for the first year and £140 per year for the next five years. A V8 Mustang with C02 emissions over 255 will be charged £2000 then the same five annual payments of £140. But if its purchase price is over £40,000 it will cost £2000 road tax plus £450 per year for five years after. What affect this w ll have
The aim is to make this cleaner.
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on new and second-hand car sales – and used imports – over the next few years remains to be seen… For further information about the changes see www.gov.uk and search ‘VED changes’. Let’s end on some good news; if your car was registered before April 1, 2017 the changes won’t apply, and it’s said the revenue from the revised VED scheme will go into a new fund for road repairs and maintenance. MR
FOOTMAN JAMES CAR OF THE YEAR ROLLS ON Footman James insurance has confirmed that it will once again sponsor the UK’s only concours competition run exclusively for American cars and organised by Classic American magazine for well over two decades now. The first heat will have kicked off at Wheels Day by the time you read this, with the remaining seven heats (and Grand Final) held at the following American car events:
Giants, Blenheim Palace, Oxon 4. July 23, Damn Yankees, North Weald, Essex 5. July 28-30, Mopar Euro Nats, Santa Pod, Northants 6. Aug 19-20, Atomic, Sywell, Northants 7. Sep 30-Oct 1, Prescott Hill Climb, Cheltenham, Glos. 8. Nov 10-12, NEC Classic Motor Show, Birmingham, NEC We’ll be looking out for suitable candidates at these shows. There are
no entry criteria; ideally cars should either be original or restored and ‘stock’, without aftermarket wheels or suchlike. Heat winners are guaranteed a place on the Classic American stand at the Classic Motor Show, held at Birmingham’s NEC, and will also win a bespoke hand-cast brass trophy, a cheque for £100 and a feature in the magazine (if their car hasn’t already been featured).
1. June 17-18, Bristol Classic Car Show, Shepton Mallet, Somerset 2. July 1-2, Stars & Stripes, Tatton Park, Cheshire 3. July 9, Rally of the 2016’s Car of the Year, John Mayes’ 1966 Corvette, with FJ MD David Bond.
LOST BULLITT MUSTANG FOUND News of the discovery of the ’68 Ford Mustang fastback used in Steve McQueen’s Bullitt spread like wildfire across social media and online news sources in March. After photos emerged via a friend of one of the co-owners, Hugo Sanchez and Ralph Garcia Jr, debate raged on Mustang forums and elsewhere over the car’s authenticity. This was reduced somewhat when famed authenticator Kevin Marti, who has known of the find for some time, went to examine the car before giving it his blessing. The partly assembled car in the photos had been through a lot of
work since it was dragged from a scrapyard in Baja California for the sum of $5000, a price that included another scrap Mustang. A report on Hemmings.com later confirmed the car had been given a new roof and new floorpans, at least – plus a coat of Highland Green paint. Marti states he advised against any restoration work, suggesting that a loss of originality would harm the car’s value. However, that advice seems to have gone unheeded and the car is now said to be at Ralph Garcia’s garage in Paramount, California, where the restoration will continue.
The Mustang as found... ... and now.
classic-american.com 7
Classic American
News MUSTANG #2 HEADS TO AUCTION It’s often said that second place is never remembered; only the first. Classic American enthusiasts may well be familiar with the number one Mustang convertible in The Henry Ford museum in Detroit, mistakenly sold on April 14, 1964 – three days before the official launch date of April 17 – to airline pilot Captain Stanley Tucker. The salesman at the George Parsons Ford dealership in St Johns, Newfoundland, needn’t have worried about ‘moving the metal’, as events that were to unfold three days later when the Detroit Dearborn plant’s 75 cars per hour couldn’t keep pace with demand. This number 100001 Mustang was intended for display purposes only. However there is a second that’s also a first. It’s the chassis number 2 (100002) Mustang coupe or hardtop that was purchased in 1997 and painstakingly restored over two years by classic Ford enthusiast, Bob Fria. This car was the first coupe to be assigned a VIN number. Back in early ’64 with only a few available weeks prior to launch day, in the confusion and rush to get Mustangs built no one is really sure which was the very first car produced by Ford. This early hardtop was one of around 180 cars most probably built during February and March 1964, which were all given the date code of 05C; the letter C being the third month corresponding to the alphanumeric system Ford used. This date code identifies the preproduction cars, even though they were not necessarily built on that day. It’s documented that some of these ‘preproduction’ cars were partly built in the separate Michigan Allen Park Pilot plant. This facility was
CONGRATULATIONS!
Classic American would like to congratulate the magazine’s designer, Holly Munro, whose partner Oliver Furness popped the question during a romantic road trip down Highway One from San Francisco to San Diego via Los Angeles. Having got engaged en route, the couple got married days later in Las Vegas, Nevada – you can’t get much more Classic American than that! Obviously working on everyone’s favourite American car magazine has well and truly rubbed off and we expect to see Holly turning up for work in a brand-new Mustang any day soon!
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able to produce prototype body and chassis for testing, evaluation and developing the methods for assembly line procedures, as well as show vehicles – it still carries out similar work today. As far back as autumn ’63 the Allen Park plant had produced the first prototype Mustangs and by late January a number of these prototype cars were made available to the press to drive on the Dearborn test track. As a general rule prototype cars would eventually be destroyed as their main purpose was purely for testing and evaluation, but not for retail sale. Prior to the official mass production start on Monday, March 9, some of the pilot plant Mustang chassis had been trucked to the Dearborn plant and assembled on the Fairlane production line which had been partly prepared for Mustang assembly. These cars were then stamped ‘F’ in the VIN number for that plant. As a matter of urgency, among these very first cars were the convertibles destined for 1964 New York World Fair which was, in the view of Lee Iacocca, Ford’s ‘Father of the Mustang’, an ideal launch event. So 12 Mustang convertibles were sent to the fabrication company, Carron & Co, to be modified ready for the Walt Disney-inspired Magic Skyway ride in the Ford Pavilion. Two of these cars survive today. Other cars from this group were sent to farflung Ford dealerships so they would arrive in time for the April 17 launch day. One of these was this early base model six-cylinder hardtop, destined for promotional duties in Vancouver. Somehow, wrongly routed, it arrived a month later at a Ford dealer in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Not by any means was it the ideal car
Mustang wears chassis number 2 tag.
170cu in straight six motor.
for such an area with its 170cu in engine and manual transmission, which is probably why it took almost a year to find its first buyer. Following on from 13 previous owners, Escondido resident Bob Fria saw a classified ad for this low-number hardtop only a short distance away in Southern California. And so began a very difficult restoration to preserve the unique build details.It will go under the hammer at Mecum's spring Indiannapolis sale. RW
NSRA’s fun run...
THE NSRA FUN RUN The NSRA has announced that a new venue has been confirmed for the 2017 NSRA Fun Run. The main event will take place from Friday, June 2 to Sunday, June 4, with arrival for camping on Thursday, June 1 for NSRA members only. The main show and camping site will be based at Great Yarmouth Racecourse. With great hospitality facilities on site and a range of bars, this will be a completely secure site for Fun Run participants. Camping facilities will be on the racecourse grounds by the main show field, however this area is not huge. For this reason all event camping must be pre-booked and a booking form and details on how to do this are now available for download from www.nsra. org.uk/fun-run. Next to the racecourse site is Haven Seashore Holiday Park for those wishing to hire a static caravan and there is also a Caravan Club site in the centre of the racecourse for those with touring caravans. As the event is based in and around a town, those not wanting to camp can choose from hundreds of different accommodation options from B&Bs to hotels. Friday will be the usual set-up day, chilling out, catching up with friends and enjoying the evening entertainment. On Saturday there’s a sightseeing cruise of the beautiful Norfolk coastline, visiting some of the local attractions. The afternoon will then end with a spectacular Show ’n’ Shine along the seafront, with entertainment outside the Joyland American Diner – then it’s back to the racecourse for more live music! Sunday is the main Show ’n’ Shine day at the racecourse and is open to the public. The event will finish with the traditional NSRA prizegiving presented in front of the racecourse grandstand. The NSRA Trader Village will also be open throughout the weekend – if you would like to book a trade stand at the show then please contact Andy Sawyer on nsra.trade@nsra.org.uk for more details. For admission prices and booking details, see: www.nsra.org.uk/fun-run
... Will be at Great Yarmouth Race Course.
The latest news, every issue SUBSCRIBE ON PAGE 20 classic-american.com 9
TRANSMISSION News TRANSFORMATION Classic American
Dyno will test transmissions before reinstallation.
Most of us give our cars’ transmissions little thought, especially after they’ve been laid up over the winter. But in fact they could probably do with a bit of a ‘refresh’. Alders Automotive offers a transmission fluid exchange machine that flushes and cleans the entire transmission, torque converter and transmission oil cooling system. This smooths gear changes and extends transmission life and is ideal when the vehicle has been parked up over the winter. Alders recently installed a transmission dyno that allows the team to check all their popular American and race transmissions before delivery. With this piece of kit they can run the transmission and check transmission pressures, shifts and cooler flow. Recently they’d found that more of their customers were asking if the transmissions could be tested after undergoing a rebuild and with increased sales on their race transmissions they decided to import a transmission dyno from the US. This has given customers peace of mind, in that they can buy with confidence, knowing that their transmission
has been tested before delivery, allowing them to focus on racing or just enjoying driving the car. For more information, contact Alders. Alders Automotive, Units 4 & 5 Northfield Business Park, Lower Dicker, East Sussex, BN27 4BZ Tel: #44 (0)1323 848448, alders.automotive@googlemail.com www.aldersautomotive.co.uk www.facebook.com/aldersautomotive Refreshing a Mustang transmission.
CHUCK BERRY 1926-2017 Father of rock and roll dies aged 90… Guitarist, singer and songwriter Charles Edward Anderson ‘Chuck’ Berry was born on October 18, 1926 in St Louis, Missouri. Fascinated by music from an early age, he would go on to become one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. While still a student Berry was convicted of armed robbery and sent to reformatory school from 1944 to 1947. After his release he married, trained as a beautician and worked at a St Louis auto assembly plant. After forming a band, in 1955 Muddy Waters suggested he contact Chess
Berry's track Johnny B Goode was sent into space.
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Records. At Chess Berry recorded Maybellene – his adaptation of country song Ida Red. It sold over a million and reached the top of the Billboard rhythm and blues chart. By the end of the Fifties Berry was a star with more than a dozen chart singles including top 10 hits School Days, Rock and Roll Music and Johnny B Goode. The latter was the only rock and roll song included on the Voyager Golden Record launched into outer space in 1977 as a representation for extra-terrestrial beings of life and culture on Earth. In 1962 Berry was imprisoned for offences under the Mann Act. Released in ’63, his return to recording and performing was smoothed by British invasion bands, notably the Beatles and the Stones, releasing cover versions of his songs. The Beach Boys’ 1963 hit Surfin’ USA used the melody of Berry’s Sweet Little Sixteen. Berry had further chart successes including No Particular Place to Go and Nadine. He wrote some great car songs too such as My Mustang Ford, Jaguar and Thunderbird, and the witty Dear Dad about an underpowered Ford. Yet his
Chuck Berry and a ’64 T-bird.
Sixties music somehow lacked the impact of his Fifties hits, and by the Seventies he was largely a nostalgic performer playing past hits and saving money on tour by employing local backing bands of variable quality. His insistence on pre-payment in cash – he was once swindled by a promoter – led to four months in jail during 1979 for tax evasion. After being offered a poor trade-in price by a car dealer, Berry had begun keeping his used Cadillacs with a view to selling them to fans later for far greater profit. Last year, Berry’s red 1973 Eldorado, one of a number he owned, was
put on permanent display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African-American Culture and History. On his 90th birthday Berry announced his first new studio album since 1979. Entitled Chuck, it includes his children Charles Berry Jr. and Ingrid on guitar and harmonica with songs ‘covering the spectrum from hard-driving rockers to soulful thought-provoking time capsules of a life’s work’ and dedicated to his wife of 68 years, Themetta Berry. Chuck Berry died on March 18, 2017 in St Louis of a reported cardiac arrest. His new album will be released later this year. MR
Classic American
Email us at: email@classic-american.com or write to: Classic American Magazine, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ
Dear Classic American, For some time I have subscribed to Classic American, having g owned American
cars for more than 20 years; however, I am intending to travel to the US at the end of August, g , rent a motorhome and
Chrysler 300. New Winnebagos are based on the ... Transit!
Well said Rusty, we’re with you on this issue!
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Letter
MOTORHOME MEANDERINGS
NEW CARS NECESSARY?
D Dear Classic Cl i A American, i I just want to put my opinion to the reader’s letter last month regarding ‘New cars ruining shows?’ The picture that you used shows the Chrysler PT Cruiser, an American car, first produced in 2000, but a very popular car at car shows. Also we are seeing modern Chrysler 300Cs, Mustangs, Camaros, Rams, Chargers and so on… the list of modern Americans goes on and on. These vehicles make up a great proportion of car show entrants and I think that this mix of classic and modern only makes shows more interesting and appealing to the people (i.e. Joe Public) that come to the shows and want to look at all types of American cars. There are car shows that have a year built age limit to cater for the early classics and other shows which are open to any age. There is an opinion that if it’s not left-hand drive and been imported from the US, then it’s not a true ‘American’, but we have American manufacturers making cars for the European market such as the Chevrolet Lacetti and Spark, or the Chrysler 300C and Sebring and now the new Ford Mustang. Are these classed as American? Will these be refused to attend shows in 20 years when they become classics? I have been attending car shows for nearly 10 years now, and I still believe that a good mixture of classic and modern vehicles makes for a great car show, and this is reflected in the vast numbers of the general public who come. Rusty Redford Leigh Lancashire
STAR
FEEDBACK We put the news about British car maker Vauxhall being sold to French car maker PSA by its American owners General Motors on our page. Here’s what you had to say on the matter: Gavin Ronald Upstill Or alternatively, GM haven’t made a profit from Vauxhall/Opel since about 1999 and are using Brexit as an excuse, while the French want to make sure they still have direct access to Europe’s second largest market for new cars... Incidentally, some of my first words were Vauxhall related... as a toddler I came back into the house after watching my dad struggling to fix something under his F-series Victor and parroted what I had heard “I’m never buying another f’ing Vauxhall...” Ironically, he tended to stick with Vauxhalls nearly to his dying day. Andy Walton Having only ever bought a Vauxhall once (it wasn’t new, but the dealer who sold it to me had it more than I did in the month I owned it! Electrical issues were the problem – got my money back thankfully) I wouldn’t be running g to buyy another. Myy dailyy is a Chevrolet
Vauxhall Cresta.
with a buddy spend the next three months exploring the wonderful country. Have any of your readers done this recently and are able to recommend a suitable hire company on the East Coast? As it will be at the end of the season can I expect to be able to haggle on the price? We plan to travel close to 6000 miles. Simon Buglass Via email Over to you readers! Any ideas about motorhome rental in the US?
Cruze – I figured that the Koreans could screw together an Astra Estate (for that is what it is) better than we could, sad but true. Simon Forrester Vauxhall have been inferior to Ford for years, and now everyone wants a BMW not even Fords are selling as well as they used to. Liberal B.S. If we b***ered our trading up, at least we didn’t give the Armageddon button to a bloke who loses his temper on the internet... Dave McGeown I personally won’t cry for the Vauxhall brand, but it’s obviously terrible news for the regions these plants are based in. Fred Nerk ... and they thought that if they just rebranded them as Holdens we Aussies would just buy them, thinking we would believe they had Holden reliability... They must think we’re bloody mugs. Opel didn’t sell here because they were considered boring. European cars in Oz also have a reputation for being expensive unreliable rubbish, that fall apart and are always expensive to fix… something that Japanese and South Korean cars don’t do. Gordon R Dennett I’m sure a lot of us will remember the Peugeot Talbot disaster in the Seventies and the end result was closed plants. Peugeot say that won’t be the case, however people are known to change their minds. Nick Price It’s no loss. It’s been dead in the water for yyears...