Hemmings Auto Feed

Date: April 1985

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

Source: Bob Paluzzi, via UNLV Digital Collections

What do you see here?

Ken Block raced in just about every championship-level rally racing series there is, including WRC, but the majority of his rally racing career took place on U.S. soil, either in the Rally America series or in the American Rally Association National Rally Championship series. His—and the rest of the Hoonigan team’s—efforts in the latter in 2022 served as the basis for the hour-long documentary “Go Fast Risk Every Thang” that Block and Hoonigan released just a few weeks before his death earlier this week at age 55. While it’s not difficult to get a sense of Block’s personality from the literal days’ worth of video footage of him online—including the Gymkhana series of videos—the documentary follows him and the team through the entire ARA season and all of the adversity they faced as they tried to secure the championship in an entirely new and unproven car while meeting all the various other media and race commitments throughout the year.

GO FAST RISK EVERY THANG: The Wild Story of Ken Block’s ’22 Rally Racing Title Chase

1. What exactly makes Hot Wheels a mainstay on shelves across America? NPR recently examined the enduring popularity of the toy brand and how it’s managed to keep inflation from ratcheting the price of the cars.

Hot Wheels are a retail oddity. They remain one of the most affordable toys in the country at a time when inflation is chipping away at savings accounts and compounding credit card debt for many Americans, experts like James Zahn told NPR. “It is exceptionally rare to find a toy that maintains its price for a few years, let alone more than five decades,” Zahn says. “Hot Wheels are an anomaly in that the continued sales volume and razor-sharp production pipeline manage to keep costs just low enough to maintain that sweet $1 price point.”

2. Mark Axen recently forwarded History.com’s summation of the 1936-1937 GM sit-down strike, one of the most important events in auto labor history.

The strikes had lasted for 44 days, left 136,000 GM workers idle and caused 280,000 cars to go unbuilt. Though much of the public was against sit-down strikes and considered labor unionists to be dangerous rabble-rousers, GM’s public image had suffered, too. And labor would never be the same. Union membership ballooned from 3.4 million workers in 1930 to 10 million in 1942, and the majority of the automobile industry swiftly unionized, gaining benefits and pay they never would have obtained without organizing. “They were the most important strikes in American history,” Lichtenstein says. For decades, he says, industrial unionism reigned supreme, leading to a higher standard of living for working Americans.

Stellantis media photo

3. Boardroom intrigue typically amounts to inside baseball, but as Bill McGuire of Mac’s Motor City Garage tells the story of the 1960 Chrysler scandal, the ramifications played out in the cars the company built and the scandal itself nearly led to the company’s demise.

On April 28, 1960, Lester L. “Tex” Colbert stepped down as president of the Chrysler Corporation to take the honored position of chairman of the board. His 10-year run as president had apparently been a successful one. Accomplishments under his leadership included the development of three advanced hemi V-8 engine families for Chrysler, Desoto, and Dodge, the Torqueflite transmission, the launch of the compact Valiant, and the transition to Unibody construction. For his successor as president, Colbert hand-picked his longtime lieutenant, friend, and Bloomfield Hills neighbor, William C. Newberg. And then barely days later, hell broke loose.

One influential Chrysler board member, Pittsburgh coal magnate George H. Love, was curious enough about the continuing accusations to press for an independent audit of the company. The audit, conducted by Touche, Ross & Co., almost immediately uncovered an alarming conflict of interest: Newberg and his wife owned a 50 percent interest in two Chrysler parts suppliers, Press Products, Inc. and the Bonan Company. Suddenly the high parts costs and poor quality had a plausible explanation. On June 30, Newberg was forced to resign after just 64 days as president. As part of his separation agreement, Newberg agreed to repay $455,000 in profits he received from his outside companies for their contract work with Chrysler.

While the executive offices were erupting in chaos, engineering, production, and sales were wracked with turmoil as well. It was Newberg who reportedly made the abrupt decision in mid-1960 that the 1962 Plymouth and Dodge had to be radically downsized, and the engineering and styling staffs struggled to meet the sudddenly tight deadlines.

The proposed full-sized Dodge and Plymouth designs for ’62 were hastily shrunk down to fit on a stretched Valiant platform, and no one was happy with the result. In a now-famous phrase, Chrysler design vice-president Virgil Exner called the awkwardly styled cars “plucked chickens.” As one story goes, Newberg made the downsizing decision after mishearing some party gossip about Chevrolet’s plans for the 1962 Chevy II, which he took to mean the carmaker’s full-sized line.

4. Over the holidays, Kustomrama shared a thorough deep-dive into the canted-quad headlamps styling trend that spans the feature’s production-car origins as well as its spread among customizers across the country in the late Fifties and early Sixties.

Glenn Goode’s Big People – The Documentary

www.youtube.com

5. Finally, a recently released documentary on Glenn Goode tells the story of the man largely acknowledged to have saved the muffler men and other massive fiberglass roadside advertising statues from obscurity. (via)

There are storage solutions and then there are garages. And when it comes to the great American garage, nothing makes it a bucket list garage-mahal quite like a collection of classic cars and all the toolboxes, parts, engine stands and workbenches surrounding it.

To take that idea a step further, the ultimate home shop is one purpose-built for the job of housing and protecting all that iron. And a pole building, designed for and by classic car collectors, is not only a great idea, but one that will make owning, wrenching and enjoying these cars that much easier.

Here at Wick Buildings, we’ve got the collector in mind when we design our post-frame structures. We know that a new shop isn’t just a practical decision, but it’s also an emotionally-driven one: you choose the type of building based on needs, but also on how you want to best protect and enjoy your investments. And it’s with that in mind, that we build features you need with the experience and support you want into every one of our pole building shops.

Proper ventilation for classic cars

One of the most important features of a new pole building is one that isn’t instantly noticed when choosing a style and size: proper ventilation. Proper air ventilation is the best solution to control condensation. Keeping that moisture off your tools, undercarriage and parts will keep potential rust from forming. Any internal combustion engine-powered vehicle will emit airborne toxins, but vintage automobiles, motorcycles, boats, snowmobiles, farm equipment and the like are in a class of their own. The architects and engineers at Wick understand this issue and have designed features into every structure to make sure that it’s addressed when you’re in – and out – of your new shop:

1. Vented ridges: everyone learns in grade school that heat rises, but Wick buildings use that natural phenomenon to direct stale air to the roof of the structure and allow it to escape through a protected vent in its peak.

2. Vented eaves: a vented ridge design feature is only as effective as the fresh air that can replace the stale air it’s so good at removing from the building. Our vented eaves allow fresh air to flow into the pole building as the other half of the total air circulation process. These vents are protected from the elements, while being effective in keeping your classics cushioned in fresh air.

3. Vented building features: as an optional design feature, we’ve designed a vented cupola that can be incorporated into the roof your building – they look great and function just as well. The gables of your building can also be vented on both ends, which create more natural ventilation.

4. Powered ventilation options: natural, passive ventilation designed into the building is always a good idea, but you might need more. In that case, a few options are available:

– Attic fans or ventilators. Mounted either in a gable wall with opening and closing shutters or under a covered vent in the roof, they can move a lot of air and can be triggered by temperature or humidity levels.

– Power vented cupolas. These electric fans mount in the cupola and can also be triggered by temperature or humidity levels.

– Exhaust fans. Similar to the common bathroom fan, these can be used to remove moisture, vapor, or odors from interior spaces or rooms under the attic. Use the appropriate filtering system for the type of exhaust you are removing.

– Air exchangers. This option is commonly used in residential and commercial environments when you are exchanging interior air that is heated or cooled.

Fresh air enters through the vented eaves. Warm and humid air exits through the vented ridge.

For more information on the ventilation features Wick Buildings has designed:
https://www.wickbuildings.com/blog/pole-barn-ventilation-essentials/

Storing your collector cars

Choosing the right type of pole building to house all your collector car dreams is one thing, but maintaining those vehicles so they don’t turn into nightmares goes hand-in-hand with that choice. And making sure your treasures enjoy the proper atmosphere will go far in making sure you do, as well.

1. Proper heating: if you live in a region that sees all the seasons, make sure your new building can properly heat itself in colder months. After all, moisture is your enemy and the properly oscillating air – at the right year-round temperature – is key to keeping your cars warm and dry.

2. The man cave: if you’ve got a collection of cars, chances are that you’d like to spend some time around them, especially when you’re not under them. A few couches, a bar, a TV or even a kitchen of some scale might be an essential element of your dream garage: make sure you design these elements into your new pole building with the climate control ideas in mind to keep you as comfortable as your cars are.

3. The plastic sheet: hot tip: park your car(s) over a plastic sheet to keep any moisture coming up through the floor during temperature fluctuation from affecting its undercarriage.

4. Drainage: speaking of moisture, make sure the floors in your new pole building have proper drainage features. Nothing worse than puddles of water or fluids that can’t escape the interior of your building quickly and efficiently.

5. Keep it lubed: the worst thing for a classic is not driving it. Remember, these cars were meant to do one thing very, very well: move. While you’re not driving it, keep its moving parts properly lubricated, greased and maintained. And while we’re talking about storage, disconnect the battery (better yet, remove it) when it’s parked for extended periods of time.

For more tips on storing your collector cars:
https://www.wickbuildings.com/blog/store-classic-car/

Contact us!

When it’s time to start making your dreams a reality, take the first step and contact us: not only do we love hearing about your passions, we love building the ultimate garage-mahal to house them!

Historians have often pointed out the many parallels between Henry Ford and Soichiro Honda. Both came from rural areas but developed fascinations with motorized vehicles early on. Both overcame numerous setbacks on the way to establishing automotive powerhouses relatively late in their lives, career-wise. And both saw their success not so much by building on what others had accomplished rather by laying the groundwork themselves and focusing primarily on the engineering aspects of their businesses. But that’s not to cast Honda as merely the Japanese Henry Ford (as People magazine described him in 1980); as we see in this documentary of the inventor, engineer, racer, and founder of what is now the seventh largest automaker in the world.

[Editor’s Note: Photochopper Michael Sharp, whose work we’ve featured here before, thought he’d take a crack at a car currently for sale on Hemmings.com as part of our regular How I’d Build It series.]

Celebrities and actors driving customized cars is not a recent occurrence. Clark Gable once had his Duesenberg mildly customized. What if one of his fellow actors decided to do the same, but with a much different car? It’s possible that one of Gable’s peers, maybe Katharine Hepburn or Joseph Cotton, would have wanted something a little less conspicuous and more agile than a Duesey.

This 1939 LaSalle 50 Convertible Coupe makes for a perfect starting point. It may have been known as a lower-priced Cadillac, but General Motors didn’t cut corners with styling by Harley Earl. It’s too large to be made into a true sports car, but it could certainly be made a lot sportier.

The front bench seat’s really all you need anyway, right?

I’d start with shortening it by removing the rear seat area, all sheet metal, and moving the rear fenders forward to just behind the doors. The windshield would be chopped several inches. The headlights and side hood vents would be eliminated by our next modification: sectioning the body 8 to 10 inches, which makes our subject much more alluring.

To avoid a pancaked look after the sectioning, I’d also narrow the body significantly. There’s no need for bumpers because it’ll be driven to movie premieres and the best restaurants, and will cruise through the Hollywood hills, not in commuter traffic. New headlights would be hidden in the fenders ala Cord, turn signals are behind the grill vents, the taillights are cut down, and rear fender skirts complete the extensive metalwork.

Image by Michael Sharp

The frame would be modified to lower our looker several inches with z-cuts front and back. It already has an x-member, which would have to be narrowed and retained to keep the rigidity a convertible needs. Rear axle and front center link would need to be narrowed, and the other stock suspension pieces would be retained. A Cadillac V-8 engine was standard equipment, and if I were building this when the car was new, I would keep the drivetrain stock; with several hundreds of pounds of metal removed, it’ll be a lot quicker and still as reliable as a Cadillac.

If I were building it today, I’d have a new frame fabricated. I’d prefer to keep things GM, but a Corvette independent rear setup might not be wide enough, so a multilink IRS would be installed with an IFS kit up front. No bags, it’ll be built with the right static stance. An LS engine with 350 horsepower and a 6L80-E trans would be sufficient to move our new classic custom, and would be compatible with modern electronic controls. I can see Emma Stone or John David Washington behind the wheel, entrusting it with the lucky valet at Grauman’s.

Do you think it’s sufficiently sporty and suitable for celebrity sighting now? Let me know how you’d build something similar in the comments below and in the meantime check out other LaSalles for sale on Hemmings.com.

1. News came down this week that Steven Spielberg will direct or produce a Bullitt re-make with Bradley Cooper – a guy who has made a lot of money playing a talking raccoon – in the lead. We’ve seen plenty of speculation regarding how prominent the new film will feature a certain green Mustang and a certain hubcap-tossing car chase, but we’re just left wondering how the Steve McQueen original has gone 55 years without a remake.

2. Plenty of American coach builders got their start building hot rods and customs, so it’s intriguing to see somebody from the coach building mecca of Italy building an American-style custom out of a 1949 Cadillac.

3. Speaking of American cars mixing with European car culture, Driven to Write recently took a look at the story of the Olympia Beer Charger that Hershel McGriff entered in the 1976 24 Hours of Le Mans. (via)

4. Last month, Jil McIntosh selected seven days that changed automotive history. Not in a “Henry Ford was born on this day” way, more in a “Yom Kippur War started on October 6, leading to fuel shortages, leading Detroit to start to rethink auto design” way. We could probably add a few to this list, so include your suggestions below.

5. Finally, Technology Connections recently made a video in defense of sealed-beam headlamps. Or, more accurately, in defense of the reasoning behind making sealed-beam headlamps the default headlamp style in the United States for decades.

Dates: December 1973 (above and below), January 1974 (bottom)

Location: Portland, Oregon

Source: David Falconer, via EPA Documerica series / Flickr

What do you see here?

Photo by David Falconer

Photo by David Falconer

Photo by David Falconer

In their day, the motorcars of the Franklin Automobile Company appealed to independent thinkers and people who valued clever engineering backed by quality construction. These Franklins were both expensive and unconventional, two traits that kept them out of the mainstream. Even after the company bowed to pressure and fitted its cars with ordinary-looking hoods and grilles, they didn’t turn heads in standard form. Our feature car was literally designed, from the start, to make a statement.

Photo by Richard Lentinello

While this automaker’s trademark air-cooled engine design meant a traditional front-mounted radiator was unnecessary, the unique trimmings of a radiator’s attendant grille were a key factor of how cars—especially those from prestige marques—were identified. The adoption of water-cooled design traits in 1925, courtesy of renowned stylist J. Frank de Causse, gave Franklins a new level of respectability, and by the start of the next decade, the firm’s three model lines could be had in a wide range of open and closed body styles commissioned from prominent American coachbuilders like Brunn, Dietrich, Locke, and Willoughby.

Pennsylvania’s venerable Derham Body Co. was tasked with the design and construction the “Sportsman’s Coupé” body gracing our feature 1931 Series 15 Airman De Luxe Model 153. Like the 1937 Delage (Classic Import Profile) in this issue, the Franklin was expressly built for display, and it graced the 1931 New York Automobile Salon held in December 1930.

Photo by Richard Lentinello

The Sportsman’s Coupé, which Franklin also called a Victoria Brougham, rode on a 132-inch wheelbase chassis with full-elliptic springs front and rear. Damping was via Houdaille lever-arm shocks, and 14-inch Lockheed hydraulic drum brakes sat behind 19-inch wire wheels. Providing motivation was a Stromberg-carbureted OHV inline-six engine with individually cast, finned cylinders that collectively displaced 274-cu.in.; it sent 100 horsepower and 182 pound-feet of torque to the wheels through a Warner four-speed transmission, spiral bevel differential, and semi-floating drive axles.

But it was the rakish styling of the ash-framed aluminum body that stood apart. In an early 1970s letter to the car’s longtime caretaker, automotive historian Walter Gosden, designer Enos Derham wrote about its identifying numbers, “Your Franklin is without doubt the one we built for the 1930-’31 Salon. The figure #1 following the 842 signifies that it is the first body built in the 842 series of our production, in this case a series of 3, the first one a show car. It was completed by us and shipped by rail to Syracuse, where it was mounted on the chassis before going to N.Y.”

Photo by Richard Lentinello

The only components of the low-slung two-door shared with standard 1931 Franklins were its Walker Body Co.-built clamshell fenders, headlamps, grille, and dashboard. While the car now wears the color scheme first suggested by Derham, Franklin factory workers originally painted it a combination of dark blue, lighter blue, and medium tan. This Sportsman’s Coupé’s first owner bought it in spring 1931 for a bargain $4,800—a contemporary Ford Model A De Luxe Coupe cost $520—and it had two more owners before Gosden’s purchase. Our feature Franklin now belongs to H.H. Franklin Club president Bob Cornman, who continues to show, drive, and enjoy it.

Photo by Richard Lentinello

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: OHV inline-six, 274.2-cu.in.

Bore x stroke: 3.50 x 4.75 inches

Horsepower: 100 at 3,100 rpm

Torque: 182 lb-ft at 1,600 rpm

Transmission: Four-speed manual

Suspension: Tubular axle, full-elliptic leaf spring front; live axle with full-elliptic leaf spring rear

Brakes: Four-wheel drums

Wheelbase: 132 inches

Curb weight: 4,850 pounds

List price, new: $5,977.25 FOB Syracuse, New York

Photo by Richard Lentinello