Car of the Week: 1950 Buick Super | Old Cars Weekly
Posted by rariccardi in Old Cars Weekly on January 22, 2012
Story and photos by Brian Earnest
Rick Zierler’s 1950 Buick Super convertible somehow managed to survive 35 years of neglect inside a barn.It couldn’t survive its first big night of freedom, however.Zierler, a resident of Menasha, Wis., figured his stepson’s wedding would be an appropriate occasion to get his barn find Buick back on the road about five years ago. The lovely ragtop was far from perfect, but it was an unrestored survivor and Zierler had every intention of keeping it that way.Sadly, an unlucky deer had other ideas.“This one wasn’t even slated to be worked on,” Zierler joked. “I was working on a ’58 Buick Limited, which was my first car, but my wife said this one would be good to have for the wedding, so I quick got it together.“I got it all buffed up and looking nice, and it was looking good enough, I thought, for the wedding, and then that night coming home from the wedding I hit a deer and wiped out the whole driver’s side.”
Car of the Week: 1967 AMC Marlin | Old Cars Weekly
Posted by rariccardi in Old Cars Weekly on January 8, 2012
Story and photos by Brian Earnest
American Motors Corp. was clearly looking for bigger oceans to swim in back in 1965 when the company unveiled its mid-size Marlin hardtop coupe. At the time, the company had rarely strayed from its blueprint for small, practical, inexpensive — and some would say boring — compact cars.For three years, the Marlin lived as a curvy, handsome hybrid — a cross between a family car and the sports and muscle cars of the era. It was impossible not to compare it to the Charger. Both cars had the calling card fastback roofline. Where the Charger quickly became associated with performance and muscle, however, the Marlin never truly found its own identity. It was a little bit of everything, but maybe not distinct enough to make a serious statement of its own.In the end, only 17,419 Marlins rolled off the assembly line of the AMC plant in Kenosha, Wis., including just 2,545 of the 1967 versions
1959 Dodge Custom Royal | Old Cars Weekly
Posted by rariccardi in Old Cars Weekly on January 1, 2012
Story and photos by Brian Earnest
Larry Swedel was determined to somehow, someday, own what he considers the most amazing, beautiful, over-the-top American automobile built in the 1950s. It’s hard to argue that the 1959 Dodge Custom Royals were some of the wildest, most extreme vehicles built in the 1950s, or any other decade for that matter.The catch is, it’s also an extreme challenge to find one — especially a Custom Royal convertible, which is what Swedel had his heart set on. Only 984 of the gaudy droptops were built, and probably only a small fraction of those have survived.Still, Swedel was unwavering in his belief that he would eventually stumble across a 1959 Custom Royal convertible that he could afford, and the story behind his stunning two-tone specimen is a lesson in patience, faith and dogged determination.
via Car of the Week: 1959 Dodge Custom Royal | Old Cars Weekly.
1956 Ford Customline
Posted by rariccardi in Old Cars Weekly on December 18, 2011
By Brian Earnest
Bill Harper knows how fishy it sounds when he tells the story.
The Linwood, Mich., insists he had absolutely no intention of buying a car when he took his annual Labor Day pilgrimage to Auburn, Ind., for the big ACD weekend shindig.
Of course, he should know better. When you’re not looking, that’s usually when opportunity knocks, and Harper, who has bought and sold plenty of old cars over the years, simply couldn’t help himself after he took a stroll through the car corral and saw his dream car for sale: a 1956 Ford Customline sedan in two-tone green.
“It was on one end of the car corral, and I didn’t want to even go look at it too close because I didn’t want to buy another car!” Harper said. “The guy wanted a lot of money for it and I didn’t spend too much time on it … Then the next day we saw the car had been moved and apparently had been sold because the sticker was gone and it had been pulled into a dealer tent. I’m pretty sure the dealer must have traded the guy a car for it.
“Well, the dealer wanted less money for it than the other guy, and as soon as he mentioned the price that I could have it for, my friend — who is my mechanic — he went through it and I decided to buy it. The big thing was all the original parts that were with it. That’s why I decided to buy it.”
via Car of the Week: 1956 Ford Customline | Old Cars Weekly.
1974 Dodge ‘Hang 10′ Dart
Posted by rariccardi in Old Cars Weekly on December 18, 2011
Story and photos by Brian Earnest
Marla Yoho is about 35 years and a half a continent removed from the 1970s California surf scene. Actually, the Brainerd, Minn., resident grew up in the Midwest and was never much of a beach bum to begin with.
But Yoho has apparently always been attracted to that groovy SoCal vibe — at least when she’s been behind the wheel of her delightfully wacky 1975 Dodge “Hang 10” Dart.
Never heard of a “Hang 10” Dart, Hodaddy? Don’t feel bad, they were scarce back in 1974 and ’75 when they were coming off the Dodge assembly line, and they’re really hard to spot today. “There were only 700-some of them made in ’74 and the first half of ’75,” said Yoho. “Nobody realizes this is a factory edition. Everybody just assumes we did all of this ourselves and just decided to make a surfer car. And that’s not the case at all. It’s a factory-original car, and they we just trying to get some of that younger market.
“They got me! I was young then, but I’m not now!”
via Car of the Week: 1974 Dodge ‘Hang 10′ Dart | Old Cars Weekly.
Car of the Week: 1926 Ford Model TT truck | Old Cars Weekly
Posted by rariccardi in Old Cars Weekly on November 27, 2011
By Brian Earnest
Phil Teslow isn’t sure if Al Capone ever really spent any time behind the wheel of a Model TT Ford truck. It’s certainly possible, though, that some of Capone’s law-breaking mafia family knocked around in the durable Ford trucks while they were pedaling beer and booze back in the Capone gang’s 1920s heyday.But chances are that if Capone and his cronies ever piloted such a vehicle, they never had one as nice as Teslow’s splendid Ford flatbed stake truck. And they almost certainly didn’t drive around with a sign on the door of the truck announcing who they were.“I always had the idea for a truck like this, and I knew it was the kind of truck Capone could have used,” said Teslow, who’s wonderfully restored and reconstructed 1926 Ford wears a sign that reads “Alphonse Capone 2nd Hand Furniture” on the side — a nod to Capone’s actual business card from the day. “This one doesn’t look like it came out of the factory. The paint is not flat or matte — it looks like a working truck and that’s kind of what I was after.“Capone wasn’t going to be driving any shiny truck around with his booze in it!”
via Car of the Week: 1926 Ford Model TT truck | Old Cars Weekly.
Car of the Week: 1968 Firebird Sprint | Old Cars Weekly
Posted by rariccardi in Old Cars Weekly on November 22, 2011
By Brian Earnest
Like a lot of guys who got their hands on a used 1968 Pontiac Firebird Sprint, the first thing Scott Wegner was thinking to himself was, “I’ve got to pull that six-cylinder and get a V-8 in that thing.”
Of course, that was before he drove the feisty overhead-cam six, and before he became enamored with the convertible ‘Bird just the way it came from the factory.
“The plan was to pull the engine out and put a 350 in it,” Wegner recalled with a laugh. “But it was running so good, I thought, ‘We’ll go until it blows!’ And here I am.”
via Car of the Week: 1968 Firebird Sprint | Old Cars Weekly.
Car of the Week: 1966 Chevrolet Caprice | Old Cars Weekly
Posted by rariccardi in Old Cars Weekly on November 22, 2011
Story and photos by Brian Earnest
When it comes to reasons why people develop a lasting affinity for certain cars, never underestimate the “Big Brother Factor.”It’s never been scientifically proven, but the anecdotal evidence is overwhelming: If you had a big brother with a car — regardless of what kind of car it was — you probably thought that rig was cool.That was certainly the case for Dave Schaller. His older sibling drove a 1966 Chevrolet Caprice that left quite an impression. And when his big brother threw Schaller the keys to the Chevy and told him he could use it while he was away serving in the military, well, that sealed the deal. Schaller became a Caprice fan for life.
via Car of the Week: 1966 Chevrolet Caprice | Old Cars Weekly.
Car of the Week: 1928 Pontiac coupe | Old Cars Weekly
Posted by rariccardi in Old Cars Weekly on October 10, 2011
By Brian Earnest
Tom Schweikert admits his fantastic 1928 Pontiac Landau coupe seemed to be a most unlikely candidate to ever turn heads and collect ribbons at big car shows. For most of its long life, the old green coupe was nothing more than a symbol of family discord in the Schweikert clan and a strange, imprisoned piece of playground equipment for Tom and his brother.“I always knew about the car, but I never dreamed of owning it,” admits Schweikert, a resident of New Castle, Pa. “But when I got it, I was going to make it perfect. That’s just me. That’s the way I am. That’s the only way I restore cars. I want to do it right, to the best of my ability, or I’m not going to do it at all.”The Pontiac’s strange saga began in 1928 when the car was purchased by William Dowd. Somehow, Dowd and Schweikert’s uncle, Frantz Schweikert of New Castle, got into a family feud over money, and Frantz wound up car-jacking the Pontiac and taking it back to his Pennsylvania farm. He could never get the car legally licensed in the state because Dowd still had the title, however, and in 1938 the car was parked in a small building for the what turned out to be a 37-year slumber.
Car of the Week: 1951 Chevrolet 3100 pickup | Old Cars Weekly
Posted by rariccardi in Celebs, Old Cars Weekly on September 25, 2011
Jim Weitzel will probably never know if Jackie Kennedy-Onassis ever took a ride in his 1951 Chevrolet pickup. But it’s fun to think about.The late first lady probably took many more rides in limousines than she ever took in half-ton pickup trucks, but if she ever did ride in such a pickup, Weitzel’s Chevy would have been a pretty good choice. It’s about as nice as they come, even after 60 years of living. Weitzel just isn’t clear on whether the truck ever enjoyed any Camelot moments with Jackie on board.“As far as I know, it was originally from Rhode Island and it was supposed to have come from the Hammersmith Farm — Jackie Kennedy’s home farm,” said Weitzel, a resident of Elmwood, Ill. “None of that is documented, but that’s the story I got about the truck.”If the truck ever did real duty on the Hammersmith Farm — the sprawling estate near Newport, R.I., that was the site of Jackie and JFK’s wedding reception — then it doesn’t appear that it was treated like a typical farm truck. On the contrary, somebody seems to have taken extra-good car of the venerable Chevrolet, much to Weitzel’s delight and good fortune.
via Car of the Week: 1951 Chevrolet 3100 pickup | Old Cars Weekly.