Memphis Auto

I was grateful this morning because it was nearly 20 degrees when I stepped outside, so I didn’t have to scrape the car off or steer with one hand while using the other to hold the door shut because the latch was frozen. The other night, I saw a TV commercial for Stratton Mountain Resort showing people having fun in the snow. Instead, I thought of something nicer: Our fourth annual Hemmings New England Concours d’Elegance at Stratton is only a few months away. Honest.

So let me leave just a little bit of a taste of the bass from the 2009 concours’ muscle invitees to all you good people in the Hemmings Nation, along with a hearty “stay warm.” Spring’s coming. The 2010 concours weekend is set for July 16 through 18 at Stratton, and the featured classes will be Bentley, Buick Roadmaster, Citroën, Corvair, V-12 Lincoln and Indian Motorcycle. Check the New England Concours d’Elegance page on our Web site for more information and updates. Happy New Year, everyone.

Source: Jim Donnelly

Didja dig TA’s recent post on the annual C- and D-Type Tour? Then you’ll probably also dig one of the more recent cars to show up on Hemmings.com, an LR D-Type replica, built in 2006. From the seller’s description:

The LR D-type chassis was developed some years ago benefiting from design input from Raynard racing enhancing the torsional strength and limiting flex whilst maintaining the lowest possible weight. With recent developments on that theme the LR Chassis now offers strength and handling characteristics suitable for competitive track use, so demonstrated with the supply of Chassis and bodies for the Revival Motorsport project. The car on offer here importantly is fitted with a highly tuned yet usable Sigma engine breathing through triple Webbers. This car is suitable for Powered by Jaguar JEC Challenge or simply as a fast road car.

Source: Daniel Strohl

Since I’ve started asking for your family album photos that feature cars, I’ve promised to show some of my own family’s car photos, and I finally had the chance to dig through the family albums over Christmas weekend when Heather and I went to visit my folks. While doing so, I not only discovered photos I’d never before seen, but I also discovered family history I’d never before known.

So let’s start with the above photo, depicting my mom, Judy, in front of her grandmother’s house in Conemaugh, Pennsylvania. In the background are a 1953 Pontiac Chieftain Deluxe two-door sedan, a 1956 Pontiac Chieftain 860 two-door sedan, and a 1955 Chevrolet. My mother was born in 1956, and I’ll bet she was no more than two years old when this photo was taken.

That ‘53 Pontiac belonged to Mom’s father, Joe Duffey, pictured here in the Pontiac and holding Mom’s hand. This photo appears to have been taken in front of the house Mom grew up in on Scottwood Road in Columbus, Ohio, maybe a little earlier than the previous photo.

Joe, as we can see from the above photos, was a Chevrolet mechanic. Mom also said he was in the SeaBees, starting about ‘42 or ‘43, when he turned 18. Joe also had a 1957 Chevrolet, and according to Scottwood Road lore, he had that ‘57 tuned right – so souped up, in fact, that his wife, Vi, couldn’t drive it. Whether he raced it (one would assume he did), we have no record. If anybody knows much about late 1950s drag racing in Columbus, Ohio, please get in touch.

The ‘57 would be the last car he would ever buy, however. He died suddenly of a heart attack in 1961, leaving Vi to raise her two kids alone. She never remarried.

Vi, whose family hailed from the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, area, had at least one prior suitor, Bob Montgomery, shown in the above two photos. The Packard (1936? maybe 1937?) may have just been a random background car, but I suspect Bob owned the 1947 Plymouth. It wouldn’t have been Vi’s – she didn’t learn to drive until after she married Joe.

I don’t know much about this 1954 Ford Crestline, except that it’s pictured here with Charles Rager – Vi’s father – in front of his house in Conemaugh.

Stepping back in time for just a moment, we see Charles and his wife Dorothy, standing by a car I’ve yet to identify.

Vi eventually got a 1965 Dodge Dart, shown here in the Scottwood Road garage with Mom and her brother David. Mom learned to drive on that Dart, so Vi still had it in 1972.

Mom also said that Vi bought a 1974 Nova new. But the car I remember Vi driving, however, was this circa 1985 Toyota Celica. I was always fascinated by the power antenna and the fold-down back seat that allowed access to the trunk.

Mom’s first car was this 1967 Simca, shown here on Scottwood Road with Mom and Dad’s first dog, Ronnie. She bought it in 1978, and she hated that car. Next to this photo in the album, she wrote “Lemon.” “I had it about a minute and a half,” she said. “If you opened more than one door at a time, it would collapse in the middle.”

Dad had a couple interesting cars as a teen. When he met Mom, he drove a 1963 Impala SS 327, then later had this 1969 Camaro SS convertible. The previous owner had repainted it metallic maroon, and Dad had swapped in a 350. His next car, which we were unable to locate photos of, was a 1966 Chevelle, which had a solid-lifter 302 from a Z/28, along with a Muncie four-speed. It was stolen from right in front of his parents’ house and showed up a couple days later, stripped, in front of a junkyard on the other side of town. The not-so-funny thing about that story – the people who owned the junkyard also lived right across the street from his parents. Dad could never prove anything, though, and he didn’t have insurance on the Chevelle, so he ended up writing it off.

But then Dad joined the Marine Corps, and he and Mom (married in ‘76) left for his base in Twentynine Palms, California, in their 1975 Monza.

Like the Simca, the Monza was not well-loved by our family. It blew a head gasket on their way back from a trip to Tijuana shortly before Dad left the Corps in December 1977. They moved back to Columbus and for a while, they drove around in a 1964 Impala they got from Dad’s brother, David. But right after I was born in April 1979, Dad decided he didn’t want to drive me around in a junky old car (LOL), so he bought one of the first Chevrolet Citations (ROFLOL). Dad recalls that one rather fondly, if only because it swallowed a lot of stuff. Which was good, because my brother Joe came along in 1980 and my sister Beth came along in 1984, and the 1980 Chevette that my Dad later bought (used) as a commuter didn’t hold much stuff at all. I don’t recall the Chevette hanging around that long – Mom and Dad bought a GMC Safari (a rare five-speed, in fact) in 1985. But the Citation stayed until Dad bought an S-10 in 1991.

Previous – Family albums ‘n four-speeds – Corvairs, Volkswagens, Pops and more

Source: Daniel Strohl

the white and two-tone blue plates are still going away.

get used to it New York, because they are coming anyway.

The latest news from Albany is that the mandatory new license plate program is now a dead issue, however, the new plate design is not. Governor Paterson has indicated that the older plates will still be issued until existing inventories are depleted, at which time the new 1973-’86 throwback plates will be issued to all newly registered or re-registered vehicles. It is expected that the new plates should be seen on cars by the end of 2010 but the additional $25 charge ($45 if you want to keep your old number) will not be instituted. A small victory for the taxpayers of New York State who are still looking at huge budget deficits and recent shenanigans by the Governor who has held some of the state payments to school districts in order to cover bills that will be coming due at the end of December. Although the projected $130 million in revenue would have been a small cupful in the state’s deficit budget, New York lawmakers need to focus on their own appropriations and other areas to find really meaningful and lasting cost reductions and savings.

Source: joclair

When we posted the photos of the former Packard dealership in Bridgeport, Connecticut, a couple weeks ago, we had no clue we’d end up finding a motherlode of Packard dealership information at PackardInfo.com, but that’s precisely what happened (thanks, Len!). With that inspiration, we not only went back to more thoroughly investigate the Packard dealerships in our previous massive post on the topic (leading to concrete identifications of several), but we also decided to investigate the rest of the Packard dealership photos we found on the Making of Modern Michigan photo archive. So brew yourself a cuppatea, Packard patriots – we’ve got a lot of ground to cover.

We’ll start with the above-pictured dealership based in the Bronx. From the MMM description:

building sits on corner, “Packard” sign on top of building, sign above door reads “Compare! the new 1934 Packard with America’s other fine cars,” several people on sidewalk in front of building, cars parked on streets. Inscribed on photo back: Packard Motor Car Co., branches/dealerships/agencies, corner of Cortona Ave., Bronx, N.Y., banner on Cortona Ave. side; “Riding Quality safety performance, the new 1934 Packard is your standard of comparison,” sign on utility pole “George Washington Bridge,” automobiles extreme lefts; 1932 Packard 902, ninth series, standard eight, 8-cylinder, 110-horsepower, 136.5-icnh wheelbase, open car, right; 1931 Chevrolet, 5-person coach.

On PackardInfo.com, we see five dealerships in the Bronx, none of them listed with a Crotona Avenue address (there is no Cortona Avenue in the Bronx, but there is a Crotona). Of the five, only the Packard Motor Car Company of New York (Bronx branch), at 606 E. Fordham Rd., lies on a street that intersects Crotona. And at that corner of Crotona and Fordham, there’s one building, a New York State DMV branch building, that appears similar, though horribly defaced by a remodel.

Next up, a very art deco dealership in Texas. From the MMM description:

front of building, crowd of people at door, “Packard” above door. Inscribed on photo back: Packard Motor Car Co., branches/dealerships/agencies, 2300 Ross Avenue Dallas, Texas, exterior, show windows left to right; 1940 Packard 110 or 120, eighteenth series, model 1800 or 1801, 6/8-cylinder, 100-120-horsepower, 122/127-inch wheelbase, convertible coupe (body type #1389/1399), special furniture display.

PackardInfo.com lists three Dallas Packard dealerships, but only one on Ross – Packard Dallas, Inc., at 2222 Ross, which we can see is the same place from a postcard included with the PackardInfo.com listing. However, neither Ross Avenue address turns up the same building. It appears there’s been a lot of new construction in the area, so I’m assuming the building has been torn down.

To Pittsburgh for our next dealership. From the MMM description:

front of building sits on corner, water tower in background, cars parked on street, “Packard” sign above door, cars in show windows, “Freedom Gas” station across the street. Inscribed on photo back: Packard Motor Car Co., branches/dealerships/agencies, Packard Motor Car Co. of Pittsburgh, 4709 Baum Boulevard Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Too easy. This would be the Packard Beck Company, and the building still stands today, slightly modified, and housing Mercedes Benz of Pittsburgh.

Tulsa had a dealership, too, though MMM isn’t making it as easy to locate it:

building sits on corner, Packard cars parked on streets, “Packard” written above each window. Inscribed on photo back: Packard Motor Car Co., branches/dealerships/agencies, newly redecorated and enlarged facility Tulsa, Oklahoma, cars in showroom; (corner) 1937 Packard six, fifteenth series, 6-cylinder, 100-horsepower, 115-inch wheelbase, coupe, on street (left) 1937 Packard one twenty, fifteenth series, model 120-C, 8-cylinder, 120-horsepower, 120-inch wheelbase, 2/4-person convertible coupe (body type #1099), on side street (right) 1937 Packard one-twenty, fifteenth series, model 120-C, 8-cylinder, 120-horsepower, 120-inch wheelbase, 5-person touring sedan (body type #1092) plus two club sedans.

But PackardInfo.com lists just one Tulsa Packard dealership, Parrish, Inc., located at 1200 S. Boston Avenue. That intersection now looks barren.

To Wichita now, whose Packard dealership MMM describes as thus:

Packard dealership in Wichita, Kan. in 1941 showing front of building, cars parked on street, “Packard” sign above door, sign on right side of building reads “Packard, you find better used cars traded on better new cars,” convertible in front left corner show window.

PackardInfo.com lists just one Wichita Packard dealership, the Packard-Wichita Motor Company, at 232 South Broadway. Like Col. Klink, I see not-zing there.

MMM has duplicates of this 1928 photo in the database, one of which says the dealership is in New York City, the other of which says it’s in Chicago. From the descriptions, we believe it’s the latter:

file photograph of a Packard dealership, front of building, “Packard” written at top of building, man standing at right corner of building, cars parked on street. Inscribed on photo back: Packard Motor Car Co., branches/dealerships/agencies, Packard Motor Car Co. of Chicago, Ill., (Hubbard Woods Branch), cars in show windows left to right; 1928 Packard sedan, 1928 Packard roadster.

And, indeed, PackardInfo.com shows the same photo in the listing for the Hubbard Woods Branch, located at 925 Linden Avenue. The building seems to have changed little over the years, losing only its Packard lettering and crowning balustrade.

Oddly enough, the NYC dealership described in the duplicate of  the Chicago photo is also described in the above photo. From the MMM description:

Packard Co. file photograph of a 1932 Packard seven-eights left side view, parked on street, chauffeur and male standing at door shaking hands. Inscribed on photo back: Packard 904, deluxe eight, ninth series, 8-cylinder, 135-horsepower, 147.125-inch wheelbase, 7-person sedan limousine (body type #515), note 1937 New York license plate E 5C-1, chromium plated radiator shutters, deluxe equipment, 1937 “One-Twenty” touring sedan parked in front of subject car, 1937 super-eight coupe roadster in show window, setting in front of Packard Motor Car Co. of New York, Packard Building, Broadway & West 61st St., New York City.

The address of 1861 Broadway, as listed in PackardInfo.com (it’s also the address for Packard Motors Export Corporation), only puts us on the corner of Broadway and W. 61st. But a 2006 article in the New York Times tells us it was on the northwest corner of the intersection from the time it was built in 1907 (by Albert Kahn) until the early 1960s.

Boise had a Packard dealership, too, though finding it is going to be problematic. From the MMM description:

Packard Co. file photograph of a Packard dealership in Boise, Idaho in 1938 showing front of building, car parked on street in front, top of building reads “Motor Center, Packard Motor Cars, Shire Motors, Inc.,” car coming out of “washing” door, car on lift in “lubrication center.”

However, on PackardInfo.com, we see no dealership under the name “Shire Motors.” And we only see two dealerships in Boise, one of which, Motor Center, has an address, 822 Front St. If indeed Shire Motors was located there, as we can assume from the Motor Center lettering on the front of the garage, then it’s been long demolished.

Out to Portland, Oregon, for this well-lit dealership. From the MMM description:

Packard Co. file photograph of a Packard dealership in Portland, Ore. in 1940. Building sits on corner, “Packard” sign on building, taken at night, cars in show windows with lights on.

Of the two Portland Packard dealerships, this one appears to be Packard Portland, Inc., at 1333 W. Burnside Avenue, and the building is little changed. They even kept up the big Packard sign, though now changed to Parking.

MMM gives us the location of this one:

Packard Co. file photograph of a 1937 Packard three-quarter left side view, top folded, parked on street in front of Packard dealership, two females in front, car is decorated for a parade. Inscribed on photo back: Packard super eight, fifteenth series, model 1501, 8-cylinder, 135-horsepower, 134.375-inch wheelbase, 2/4-person coupe roadster (body type #1019), note 1937 University of Florida plate #5-242, Rotary International float, Labor Day Parade Palm Beach, Fla., setting: in front of Packard Palm Beach Co.

And PackardInfo.com gives us the address, 915 S. Dixie Ave., but the building’s long gone.

And in Charlestown, West Virginia, another easily-discovered location. From the MMM description:

Packard Co. file photograph of a 1936 Packard left side view, top raised, parked on street in front of Packard dealership, male handing keys to male driver. Inscribed on photo back: Packard one twenty, fourteenth series, model 120-B, 8-cylinder, 120-horsepower, 120-inch wheelbase, 2/4-person convertible coupe (body type #999), note “Kroger” insignia on door panel, setting: in front of J.B. Ruby Motor Co., Charleston, W.Va.

J.B. Ruby has an entry on PackardInfo.com, where it lists the address as 1311 Virginia St., and the only difference between the photo above and the building still at that address is the removal of the Packard name from above the door.

Now we’re getting into dealerships that require a little more legwork. MMM describes this Indianapolis dealership:

Packard Co. file photograph of an Indianapolis, Ind. Packard dealership, 1941, building sits on corner, “Packard” above door, cars in show windows, awnings above windows, lamp post on corner.

PackardInfo.com lists four dealerships in Indianapolis, three of which have addresses. Of those three, Packard Indianapolis, Inc., at 1510 Meridian St., and Sullivan Motor Sales, at 660 Virginia Ave., look like they might have housed this dealership, but we can’t say conclusively that they did.

In Kansas City, Missouri, we see a dealership with plenty of used cars to gawk at. From the MMM description:

Packard Co. file photograph of a Packard dealership, several cars parked in lot at left of building, cars in show windows, canopy over entry way. Inscribed on photo back: Packard Motor Car Co., branches/dealerships/agencies, Kansas City, Missouri 1930, automobiles; used car lot from left, Ford model T, 4-cylinder, 4-door, 1925 Cadillac V-63, 8-cylinder, landau sedan, Chalmers sedan, 1925 Packard 243, second series eight, 8-cylinder, 84-horsepower, 143-inch wheelbase, 7-person touring car (body type #245), showroom from left; 1930 Packard 8-cylinder, 1930 Packard 745, 8-cylinder, 106-horsepower, 145-inch wheelbase, Dietrich 5-person convertible sedan (body type #1602), 1930 Packard.

And there were three Packard dealership locations in KC, MO, but after tracking down the addresses of each, none of them look even close to this one.

We’re beginning to think that PackardInfo.com has entries on every Packard dealership that ever was, but that’s not the case with Trinkle. From the MMM description:

Packard Co. file photograph of a 1935 Packard three-quarter left front view, parked on city street, Mr. Harry S. Trinkle looking under hood. Inscribed on photo back: Packard one twenty, model 120, twelfth series, 8-cylinder, 110-horsepower, 120-inch wheelbase, 5-person touring coupe (body type #894), Packard Motor Car Co. branches, distributorships, dealerships, agencies, Trinkle Motor Sales, New Albany, Ky., Harry S. Trinkle.

There is no New Albany, Kentucky – New Albany, Indiana, is right across the river from Kentucky – yet PackardInfo.com carries no listing for New Albany, Indiana, nor for Trinkle. Odd.

Absolutely nothing to go on here. From the MMM description:

Packard Co. file photograph of a 1936 Packard left side view, parked on street in front of Packard dealership, two men standing at driver’s door. Inscribed on photo back: Packard eight, fourteenth series, model 1402, 8-cylinder, 130-horsepower, 139-inch wheelbase, 7-person limousine (body type #915), note bumper guards, Packard deluxe emblem, 6-wheel equipment, twin mirrors.

And that’s it. No city given, no address visible on the building. Anybody recognize the building?

Source: Daniel Strohl

Hemmings Sports and Exotic Car readers might recognize one of the latest vehicles to pop up for sale on Hemmings.com: the Hoyt Special, an F-Mod racer built on a custom tube frame using parts from a 1961 Volvo 544. It appeared in Lost and Found in the July 2009 issue of HSX, and is now for sale out of San Diego for $39,900. From the seller’s description:

Albert Hoyt built this car in 1961 and competed under F-Modified with the SCCA at such tracks as Elkhart Lake, Mid America and the occasional USAF air base in the early sixties. He designed and built the tube frame then fabricated the all aluminum body from an F-100 aircraft fuel tank (drop tank). Al was a fighter pilot who would have had easy access to such items. The engine/transmission, complete drive train, suspension and brakes were from a donor 1961 Volvo 544. Even the speedometer was used. The donor car had 250 miles on it. Al’s son Mike who can be seen in some of the early photos confirmed that the 7800 miles showing now is the actual on the drive train. The differential is a limited slip unit. Among Al’s other exploits were runs with other cars at Bonneville and El Mirage. He still keeps busy by assisting in the restoration of vintage aircraft. We have spent over 200 hours in our workshop going through the Hoyt Special to assure that it is ‘turn-key’ for the next owner. All of the systems that typically need work after a long slumber have been reconditioned including but not limited to, brakes, fuel, cooling, tires, etc. This car should gain you entrance to any top vintage/historical venue. It is also street legal & registered in California.

Source: Daniel Strohl

It’s been another banner year for the Hemmings blog. We recently published our 3,000th post, traffic’s increasing, and we’re still having fun writing the posts and connecting with readers. And of course, we can’t help but be curious as to which posts contributed to this banner year, so we’re going to take a quick look back at the 10 most popular posts from 2009, as we’ve done the last few years. Starting with:

#10 – Le Freak, not so chic: Tour de France promotional vehicles. One surefire way to attract a lot of readers: Throw a lot of photographs and information at them. Another surefire way to attract readers: Highlight the most wacked-out French promotional vehicles ever. David TA covered both of those bases, so it’s amazing this one didn’t rank higher.

#9 – Save these cars: The Spring of the Estate. Another photo-filled TA post, only this time, he pushed the Abandoned Cars button. The junkyards and abandoned vehicles category is consistently tops with our readers, so no surprise here. Hey, if you bought a vehicle at one of these auctions, let us know.

#8 – Theft of ‘69 Mustang thwarted, but at what price? Some stories need to be told, such as that of Mike Gomez, whose just-restored Mustang was nabbed right out from under his nose. What he did next certainly took courage.

#7 – 2009 Japanese Classic Car Show. Remember that rule about lots of photos? Jeff Koch exploited it well with his coverage of the Japanese Classic Car Show. Even though he posted well after most other blogs had, he still got a huge response.

#6 – Driven: A 600hp LS7 Camaro… with a warranty. One of the coolest things about the musclecar era were the tuner shops that built more powerful cars than the factory was willing to build, and then sell them to the public. DeNooyer Chevrolet in Albany has built the modern version of the tuner Camaro, and Mike McNessor was there to document it. He followed up in October with a more powerful version as well.

#5 – from the fertile mind of Joseph Ihnat, part 1 – Poppen’s Special kid’s racer. The ingenuity that Joseph Ihnat put into the pedal car he built for his four-year-old captured the imagination of the DIY crowd this year, and for good reason – half his kitchen went into the build of the pint-sized racer.

#4 – 2010 Camaro: Every single option revealed. Yes, we’re an old-car blog, but the new Camaro, with its retro styling and musclecar cred, has been worth covering on occasion, such as when TA scooped the blogosphere with the entire option list for the Camaro.

#3 – A neat trick for removing bearing races. David LaChance’s exploits with old British tin have proved quite popular this year, and he earned a good amount of attention when he ran into a unique problem with the axles on his Triumph Spitfire, solved with a bit of ingenuity and a welder.

#2 – Nobody drives my van, but me! I’ll admit that this post was expressly written to take advantage of the forthcoming A-Team movie and the hype surrounding it. I’ll also admit here that, as much as I love the General Lee, I’ll take B.A. Baracus’s GMC over it any day of the week.

#1 – NASA gets Spiritual and drops Stirling engines in some odd vehicles. Green power has been one of the biggest topics in the automotive world the last couple of years, just as it was in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when NASA experimented with Stirling-engined automobiles. We did some digging to bring to light the results of those experiments, along with the reason why NASA chose an AMC Spirit, of all vehicles, to accept such an unusual engine.

Sorry to say that neither of the Bugazzi posts made the list.

Source: Daniel Strohl

Yeah, I took this from 6420 Wilshire Boulevard too.

Source: Jeff Koch

Can you tell we’re having an end-of-the-year inbox cleanout? I usually find room for the annual fall show at the antebellum mansion in Newport News, Virginia, but this year the news pages in the magazine were just too full.

That didn’t stop Colin Romanick, the city employee and Sports & Exotic subscriber who organizes the show, from sending up a report on what he’s been building into a nice little show over the years. Thanks, Colin!

The Rolls Royce Owner’s Club and the Williamsburg British Car Club were just two of the clubs present. The 1958 Lotus Seven of Dean Giacopassi and the 1962 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud of Fred Siegel (see image) both won class awards and represented the British contingent well. Rolls Royce Owner’s Club Regional President Charles Nash brought out his pristine example of a 1990 Bentley Turbo R with original sales literature, also.

The Italian makes were present with Lamborghini and Ferrari owners bringing out some great cars. The 2001 Diablo of Edward George  was a class winner and the 1969 Ferrari 365GT of Martha Glasser captured the Sponsor’s Choice Award. The Ferrari had been originally owned by Nancy Sinatra and had just recently been certified by the Ferrari Classiche program. Martha’s husband Richard Glasser made the show a family affair and brought out his 2005 Ferrari Super America. Mercedes-Benz was represented by a few SLs, including the newly restored 1984 380SL of Patricia Nash. A few Japanese cars were entered this year and the supercharged 2001 Mazda Miata of Wayne McCann received a class award.

The quality of cars and the variety just keeps getting better each year. There are so many great stories behind these cars that really make for a special time. This year’s show had a record number of visitors tour Lee Hall Mansion. A testimony to how a great historical site can bring a wonderful group of automotive enthusiasts together.

c. 1976 MGB, and some sort of Italian car.

1990 Bentley, red label.

1962 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud.

1962 Triumph TR3A or B; we can’t tell from just the nose, with some sort of Italian car.

1970 Mercedes-Benz 280SL

Speaking of Dean, here’s his car from back in 2007; only the nose is visible above.

Source: David Traver Adolphus