1 9 5 7 O L D S M O B I L E S TA R F I R E 9 8 H O L I D AY C O U P E
F F NEVER TOO
AST T
KARD 1 9 4 9 PA C
NEVER TOO
URIOUS RIOUS
UK Off-sale date – 15/08/2019 No.340 August 2019
£4.50
SHIRLEY MULDOWNEY PLUS
1 9 4 0 I N T E R N AT I O N A L
Ben Klemenzson
Viewpoint
Phootography: John Isaac
L
GET READY, GET SET... GO!
ooking at this month’s magazine I’m struck at the sheer diversity of content… There’s everything from a pre-war (in American terms – they didn’t enter the Second World War until 1941) flatbed truck, to a Seventies boat of a Mustang, to brand-new Corvettes racing at Le Mans. We’re celebrating the achievements of Shirley Muldowney, America’s legendary female drag racing star and enjoying the VHRA’s annual shindig down at Pendine Sands. Add to this a couple of movie cars from the Fast & Furious franchise and some straight-up Forties and Fifties favourites in the shape of a 1949 Packard and a 1957 Oldsmobile… I think
you could say this issue is a veritable cornucopia of American automotive goodness! As always, we’re continually looking to improve Classic American in terms of content and what you’d like to read about in the title, so if you have any suggestions, observations or even grievances, don’t hesitate to get in touch – we want to create a magazine that you enjoy reading!
Ben Klemenzson, editor bklemenzson@mortons.co.uk
classic-american
32 on page 56
27 42
60
EDITOR
Ben Klemenzson bklemenzson@mortons.co.uk DE SIGN
Charlotte Fairman, Jake Sidebotham, Michael Baumber, Tracey Markham PICTURE DESK
Jonathan Schofield, Paul Fincham CO NTRIBUTORS
Nigel Boothman, Paul Bussey, Geoff Carverhill, John Colley, Richard Coney, Huw Evans, Keith Harman, Steve Havelock, Richard Heseltine, Darren Maybury, Tony Oksien, Mike Renaut, Will Shiers, Ian Shipley, Zack Stiling, Rob Woodall, Matt Woods PRODUCTION EDITORS
Pauline Hawkins, Sarah Spencer
52
FOR 2019 SEE PAGE 102
PUBLISHER
PU BLI SH IN G D IRECTOR
Dan Savage
ARCHIVE ENQUIRIES
Tim Hartley
GR OU P A DV ERTI SI NG MA NA GE R
COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR
Sue Keily
Nigel Hole
Jane Skayman jskayman@mortons.co.uk Tel: 01507 529423
AD VE RTISING
EDITORIAL ADDRESS
SUBSCRIPTION
Classic American Magazine, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ www.classic-american.com
Full subscription rates (but see page 56 for offers): (12 months 12 issues, inc post and packing) – UK £52.80. Export rates are also available – see page 56 for more details. UK subscriptions are zero-rated for the purposes of Value Added Tax.
BACK ISSUES & P RIVATE A DS
DISTRIBUTION
Jordan Stocks jstocks@mortons.co.uk 01507 529582 Andrew Bruce abruce@mortons.co.uk 01507 529416 SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER
Paul Deacon
CI RC U LATI O N MANAGER
Steve O’Hara
MA RK ET ING MANAGER
Charlotte Park cpark@mortons.co.uk
WEBSITE
Tel 01507 529529 Telephone lines are open: Monday-Friday 8.30am-6pm. Saturday 8.30am-12.30pm and 24hr answerphone help@classicmagazines.co.uk www.classicmagazines.co.uk
Marketforce UK Ltd, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HU Telephone 0203 787 9001 PR I NT IN G
William Gibbons & Sons Wolverhampton
AUGUST 2019 REGULARS 06 18 20 22 24 56 68 83 100 108 119 120 121 124 126
EVENTS
News Here to Obscurity Muscle Car Files Across the Pond Letters Subscription Offer Ad Gallery Readers’ Rides Club News Discoveries Scale Autos Reviews Service Directory Drive Buy Private Classifieds
08 79 93
WORKSHOP 87
32 42 52 60 71 113
Tech: Carburettor overhaul
AMERICAN AND MODIFIED 16
F E AT U R E S 27
Bristol All American Car Show VHRA Amateur Hot Rod Races Beaulieu Hot Rod and Custom Day
1940 International Harvester 1957 Oldsmobile 98 1972 Mustang Grandé 1949 Packard Fast and Furious Chargers Shirley Muldowney Corvettes at Le Mans
News
79
W W W. C L A S S I C - A M E R I C A N . C O M
Independent publisher since 1885
Having trouble finding a copy of this magazine? Why not just ask your local newsagent to reserve you a copy each month
ON S AL E D AT E
N EXT I S S UE A UGUS T 1 5
© Mortons Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher.
Classic American
News
LEE IACOCCA
1924-2019
Iacocca at the 1964 World’s Fair Ford Mustang introduction.
Auto industry legend Lee Iacocca has died aged 94 4. He was the father of the Ford Mustang and saved Chrysler from bankruptcy. Mike Renaut looks back on his life… When earlier today I mentioned to an American friend that Lee Iacocca had just died, he responded, ‘That’s sad news, he was really cool, a proper car guy,’ and he was. Responsible for the introduction of the Ford Mustang, Iacocca is also credited with reviving Chrysler and was the only executive in modern times to preside over two of the ‘Big Three’ car manufacturers. Lido Anthony Iacocca was born October 15, 1924 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. His parents were immigrants from San Marco, Italy, and his father Antoinette, a hot-dog vendor, supposedly named him after the Venice Beach island. Following the Great Depression Antoinette began one of the first car rental agencies, his fleet of Fords starting Lido’s interest in cars. Changing his name to Lee, he began as an engineer at the Ford Motor Company in 1946, Iacocca at Ford with a ’72 Lincoln Continental Mark IV.
6 classic-american.com
before moving into aggressively co-ordinating dealership sales. His sales career flourished until his flair for marketing saw his first advertising campaign catch the attention of Ford executives. The ‘56 for 56’ offered 1956 cars for a 20% down payment and $56 a month for three years. The idea was so successful locally that Ford turned it into a national campaign and made Iacocca the corporate director of truck marketing. “The Depression turned me into a materialist,” Iacocca recalled in his autobiography. “When I graduated from college my attitude was: ‘Don’t bother me with philosophy. I want to make ten thousand a year by the time I’m 25, and then I want to be a millionaire’.” He was instrumental in the design and launch of the Ford Mustang, which sold 419,000 in its first year and produced $1.1 billion in net
Iacocc ca with th he first Mustan ng.
profits over two years. Other winners included the Cougar, Maverick and Lincoln Continental Mark III. Less successful were the Pinto and Iacocca’s continued opposition to safety devices such as seatbelts and airbags, as he said: “They’re not what sells cars.” He was named President of Ford in 1970 but fired in 1978, supposedly after being accused of plotting to oust Chairman Henry Ford II. Ford said later he fired Iacocca because he ‘just didn’t like him’.
Saving Chrysler
Often referred to as a visionary, in 1979 Iacocca took over Chrysler Corporation. The company was on the verge of collapse and he implemented a strict restructuring process, closing plants and halving the workforce. After convincing the government how vital Chrysler was to the national economy, he secured a $1.5 billion federal guarantee against existing bank loans and creditors. Iacocca famously accepted a salary of just $1 per year while the
company recovered. The restructuring included new ranges of cars and a decade-long television advertising campaign he fronted himself. “If you can find a better car, buy it,” Iacocca stated in the ads. “I’m not asking you to buy any car on faith. I want you to compare.” It paid off. Americans were buying cars at a record rate once more, including Chrysler’s new minivans and compacts. The Dodge Caravan was a concept Iacocca had pitched unsuccessfully to Ford in 1974, now for Chrysler it became a huge hit. In 1983, Iacocca announced they were repaying the loans seven years early. Chrysler’s $1.7 billion loss in 1980 was turned into a $2.4 billion profit by 1984. Experts called it one of the most brilliant turnarounds in business history. It was made all the more impressive as the recovery had begun in a recession against huge competition from rivals Ford and General Motors, plus an increasing number of imported cars from countries like Japan and Germany.
First K-car off the line.
1984 launch of Chrysler’s
His 1984 book Iacocca: An Autobiography became a bestseller and the leading non-fiction hardcover for 1984 and 1985. “Chrysler’s subsequent return to health, and the publication of his best-selling autobiography conferred mythic status on him as the nation’s economic Winston Churchill,” wrote Doron P. Levin in Behind the Wheel at Chrysler (1995). In 1987 Chrysler posted sales of $26 billion and had $3 billion in reserve. Iacocca’s $1 salary had transformed into pay and stock options worth $18 million, making him the industry’s highest paid executive. His conferences with President Ronald Reagan and Congress members fuelled rumours of political ambition and there was serious talk of his running for President of the United States in 1988. His continued denials only making the public more interested.
Turning Japanese
Yet the polished sheen was fading. The stock market plunge coupled with the flood of fuel-efficient Japanese cars meant by the end of the Eighties Chrysler experienced another downturn and thousands of workers were laid off. Iacocca later admitted to drifting too far from daily operations. Rather than reinvest in new modells to rival Japanese imports, he bought American Motors – at the tiime only a minor rival – and corrporate jet manufacturer Gulfstream m. Most American cars of the period couldn’t compete with their innovative, well-built and reliable Japanese rivals. Iacocca accused Americaa
minivans.
of suffering a “national inferiority complex”. Although he persuaded Congress to offer some protection from imported cars, Japan then set up factories to build their cars in the United States. His campaign against the Japanese saw critics accuse him of ‘Japan-bashing’ and that Chrysler’s $1,000 rebates on new cars suggested a fire sale. Iacocca established partnerships with Mitsubishi, Maserati and Fiat, but was later forced to step down. In 1992 when the company became profitable again he hired Robert J. Eaton, head of General Motors’ European operations, as his designated successor and retired as Chrysler’s chairman and chief executive. “He played a historic role in steering Chrysler through crisis and making it a true competitive force. He was one of the great leaders of our company and the auto industry as a whole,” said a spokesman for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. “Lee gave us a mindset that still drives us today – one that is characterised by hard work, dedication and grit.” Lee Iacocca died aged 94 on July 2 at his home in Los Angeles following complications from Parkinson’s disease. Chry rysler y minivan.
classic-american.com 7
BRISTOL ALL AMERICAN CAR SHOW 2019
Yate Football Club, Bristol Sunday, June 9 Barton Brisland was selling car parts and books off his very clean Chevy pick-up.
1932 Ford Tudor had Oldsmobile Rocket power.
California Kid style Ford coupe.
Winners BEST IN SHOW
Peter Osborn 1962 Mercury Monterey convertible BEST PRE-50
Glyn Olden 1941 Buick 44 convertible
Words and photography: Mike Renaut
BEST EARLY FIFTIES
This was the 28th Bristol All American Car Show and it gets better each year. The field was virtually full by 9.30am following some skilful marshalling; they even managed to squeeze in a full-size motorhome and two pick-ups that arrived at midday. Several cars debuted including Glyn Olden’s stunning 1941 Buick, now back on the road after the car was badly damaged just five days after he bought it. Also on display for the first time in several years was James Iveson’s 1950 Studebaker Champion coupe, a rare car at any event but this one is an Australian built, right-hand-drive car that had apparently belonged to Pilkington Glass and was bought for them to assess supplying Studebaker with one-piece curved glass rear screens. Nearby was another Aussie export, a 1974 Holden Ute; its
owner Mark believed it was one of four in the UK. Other cars to catch my eye were a pair of Hudsons – a 1942 and a 1946 – while hot-rodded rarities included a V8-powered 1934 Chrysler sedan and a beautiful red 1933 Dodge coupe. Event organiser for the Pre-’50 American Automobile Club, David Radcliffe-Watts, said: “This year we had 157 cars in the show field (which is pretty close to capacity) ranging from a 1923 Ford Model T to 2019 Mustangs. It’s always a good atmosphere with food and trade stands, music and the football club opens its clubhouse so we can use the club’s bar. It was very successful this year with many favourable comments from the public and car owners saying they felt it was a friendly and relaxed event. Happily, we finished the prize giving just before the rain set in. “Next year’s show will be on Sunday, June 7.”
James Iveson 1950 Studebaker Champion Coupe BEST 1960S
R Dyke 1964 Ford Thunderbird Coupe BEST 1970S
Andy Green 1976 Mercury Marquis Coupe BEST FORD
Nick Quinlan 1923 Ford Model T BEST MUSCLE CAR
Robert Hurdle 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 BEST PICK-UP TRUCK
Alan Tanzell 1969 Chevrolet C10 BEST CADILLAC
Chris Todd 1951 Cadillac Coupe de Ville BEST HOT ROD
Tony Tate 1933 Dodge Coupe BEST LATE FIFTIES
Brian Price 1959 Ford Galaxie BEST COMMERCIAL/VAN
Dave Davies 1961 Chevrolet Apache BEST CLASSIC CAR
1983 Zimmer Golden Spirit once belonged to Frank Sinatra
8 classic-american.com
Mike Carnovau 1978 Ford Escort Mexico BEST PT CRUISER
Trevor Deller 2007 PT Cruiser
ENJOYED THIS PREVIEW? THE BEST ACTION IN TRIALS AND MOTOCROSS
DIRTb bike ke
VELO MAC MA S SPECIAL PECIAL NORTON RT RTON INTER AJS SCEPTRE SCEP E SPORTS! SCEPTR SPORTS POR ! PORTS
CLASSIC
#48
ISSUE
Forty-eight Autumn 2018
OCTOBER 2018
No. 330 October 2018 £4.30 UK Off-sale date 31/10/2018
MOTO MEMORIES // TECH TALK // MONTESA COTA 200 // BULTACO MATADOR
3.60
Running, Riding & Rebuilding Running, Rebuilding Real RealClassi RealC Classic C lassi Motorcycles
BOXER CKS TRIC
HOW THE LEGEEND BEGAN
SUPERMAC’S TRIUMPH DRAYTON
PRINTED IN THE UK
PLUS MOTO MEMORIES TECH TALK MONTESA COTA 200 BULTACO MATADOR AN HOUR WITH: GERRIT WOLSINK
£3.60 US$9.99 C$10.99 Aus$8.50 NZ$9.99 PRINTED IN THE UK
HOME, JAMES!
UNIVERSITY GRADUATE
#48
001 Cover_OCT.indd 1
AT THE CASTLE
DRUMLANRIG 2018 D 20
WINNER
SUPER PROFILE: ARIEL’S HT3
GREEVES ESSEX TWIN BUYING GUIDE // STRIP YOUR TWOSTROKE // BSA B31 RESTORATION // MALLE MILE // CAFE RACER CUP // SHETLAND CLASSIC // THE CLASSIC TT // MIKE HAILWOOD REPLICA
CLASSICS
65 PRE65 PRE
PRINTED IN THE UK
R 2018 ISSUE 174 OCTOBER
N48 2018 US$15.99 Aus$14.99 NZ$18.99 UK£5.50 UK Off-sale date 15/11/18
BUY SELL RIDE RESTORE
13/09/2018 10:34:50
001 CDB Cover_048.indd 1
02/08/2018 14:53:55
001 Cover_174.indd 1
03/09/2018 10:18:26
•SINGLE ISSUES •SUBSCRIPTIONS
CLICK HERE
www.classicmagazines.co.uk
ENDOFPREVI EW
I fy oul i k ewhaty ou’ v e r eads of ar ,whynot s ubs c r i be,ort r ya s i ngl ei s s uef r om:
www. c l as s i c magaz i nes . c o. uk