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BEHIND THE WHEELS
Robert Massengale shows off the 1948 Delahaye 135M Chapron he restored for its owner, Ray Kinney. Massengale is a top choice among area collectors to help get their classics operating like new.
Photos: Richard Greene
A TRUE
FRENCH CLASSIC
Robert Massengale restored this 1948 Delahaye to near-perfect shape • By Richard Greene
R
ay Kinney’s 1948 Delahaye 135M Chapron was almost flawless. It just needed the skills of master craftsman Robert Massengale to get it running perfectly. That meant the three carburetors would have to be rebuilt and synchronized, the brakes were locking up and that needed to be corrected, a bent shaft in the starter had to be straightened, it was past time for the 17-year-old tires to be replaced, so were the battery cables, and then full lubrication for the gear box and rear axle along with oil, coolant, and grease fittings. So, Robert could then greet the car’s owner with, “Take a look, perfection has been achieved!” Robert’s highly developed talents have made him a top
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ARLINGTON TODAY • October 2020 • arlingtontoday.com
choice among area collectors of amazing cars. There doesn’t seem to be any challenge he can’t meet. He finds the parts he needs for almost anything that comes his way. When something is so rare that there’s simply nothing available anywhere, he uses his fabrication skills and machines from scratch whatever is required to produce solutions to almost any mechanical problem or bodywork for just about everything that comes his way. The greater the challenge, the more motivated he becomes in solving it. A visit to his shop provides an opportunity to see some work in progress and, for someone like me, it’s an observation that produces a response of, “Wow – how do you do that!?” >>>
