Hemmings Auto Feed

Pontiac was in one of its “we secretly kinda want to be European” moods when it was working on the new third-generation ’82 Firebird Trans Am. The division often cast its gaze across the Atlantic for inspiration, whether in name (GTO, Grand Prix, 2+2) or in style. John DeLorean wanted radial tires for the 6.5-Litre GTO but couldn’t get it okayed by the bean counters; the late-’60s OHC-6 engine had a decidedly continental vibe; the ’73 Grand Am was pushed hard as a European-type sports sedan despite an available 455 under the hood (though billed as a Euro-esque 7.4 Litre) and a two-ton curb weight. This tendency could be seen even after the ’70s, when a badge-engineered Chevette was called the T1000 because alphanumeric naming conventions were in vogue, and the Australian-built new-millennium GTO was pitched as a BMW 3-series competitor.

Shaker hoods, plastic wheel spats, and hood-width bird decals were not part of the plan for the new-for-’82 Trans Am. Indeed, the model itself almost didn’t make it for 1982, so keen was Pontiac to distance itself from its Burt Reynolds-tinged past. Instead, the new 1982 Trans Am presented a smooth, cool, technical vibe with ads touting its aero-friendly, ultra-efficient .31 coefficient of drag. This compared to its all-American, rock-and-roll Z28 sibling, with its five-spoke wheels, bright colors, rocker stripes, and tire-smokin’ yee-haw American-muscle car-reborn presence. Despite their shared underpinnings, the Z28 was Journey; the Trans Am was the Eurythmics.

Hindsight and history suggest that maybe Pontiac took things a step too far; the man in the street in 1982 couldn’t tell a Trans Am from a base Firebird. Lesser ’Birds could get the same wheel trims and hatch-lid spoiler as the top-of-the-line car did, so how could anyone tell? Car nerds knew to look for the offset-scoop hood, a style remnant of the turbocharged second-gen Trans Am despite that engine going away. T/A also got behind-the-front-wheel heat extractors and super-subtle aero enhancements ahead of each wheel, both low-key nods to formerly bold trademarks.

Of course, being subtle was the antithesis of traditional Trans Am buyers, so it should have been no surprise when sales plummeted, despite (or because of?) the slick new style. The division sought to rectify this issue with some haste: barely a year past launch, Pontiac debuted its Daytona Pace Car edition Trans Am, which added several crucial pieces (including ground effects that encircled the body) to keep it from looking like base model machines.

The style became more distinctive as the power improved. GM’s top F-body engine in ’82 was a twin throttle-body-injected five-liter small-block pumping out 165 horses; the five-liter Mustang of the era had fewer horses, but was lighter, and so was a marginally better performer. Chevy engineers built a “development project” Camaro and raced it at the grueling 24 Hours of Nelson Ledges road race. Thus proven, the resulting 190-hp 305, called “HO” (for “high output,” which seems silly now but makes sense for the era in which it was built) became the F-body’s top powerplant in late 1983 and ’84. Alphanumeric code nerds will know it as L69, but the HO designation was in Pontiac’s naming convention for its top engines since the ’60s.

The mods boil down to good old-fashioned hot rodding: improved breathing, higher compression, better exhaust, and a hotter cam. Chevy installed the camshaft from the just-launched C4 Corvette; this increased both valve lift and duration, as well as moving the power peak and torque peak higher in the rev band. The engineers ditched the throttle-body fuel injection in favor of a four-barrel Rochester carb with electronic feedback control—maybe not a bad move when Chevy’s Cross-Fire Injection was cruelly called “Cease-Fire Injection” by its detractors. The new air cleaner assembly was said to be good for 12 horsepower by itself. Exhaust was also significantly revised: The new system started with 2-1/4-inch header pipes, flowed through a Corvette catalytic converter, and used a 2-3/4-inch single pipe to blow through the muffler and short twin pipes that grew from it. Engineers also installed a knock sensor that could enable a boost in power to a nice round 200 horses if the engine was run on premium unleaded; the sensor would inform the electronic ignition, which then adjusted engine timing automatically. Abandoning the higher-tech electronic fuel injection wasn’t necessarily in keeping with Europhile aspirations, but there’s little argument that it worked.

Customer response to the newly invigorated V-8 was as positive as you might imagine: a few hundred were built late in the 1983 model year, but a total of 25,088 L69 Trans Ams were built for 1984: 7,051 of them were five-speed manuals featuring the new lighter flywheel Borg Warner T5 gearbox. A total of 55,374 T/As were built for 1984, so just less than half of all ’84 Trans Ams were equipped with the 5.0 HO. All L69 Trans Ams were required to get beefier suspension, including 32-mm front and 21-mm rear anti-sway bars that helped early third-gen Trans Ams corner at a .83g—higher than a contemporary Z28s, and tuned to stay tidy, rather than hang the tail out. Good-handling American cars weren’t uncommon at that point, but Trans Ams had clung to hot-handling ideals longer than most domestic cars had, even the sporty ones. The WY6 chassis package, as our photo example has, possessed everything the vaunted WS6 package did, including four-wheel-disc brakes, save for a limited-slip differential.

Parallel to the Trans Am line’s performance flowering, Detroit’s convertible resurgence was getting under way. Europe, of course, had never stopped making convertibles, and merrily continued their importation throughout Detroit’s pop-top drought. American manufacturers got back into the ragtop business in the early ’80s, with Chrysler’s K-cars, Ford’s Mustang, Buick’s Riviera, and Cadillac’s Eldorado. The new-for-1982 F-body, meanwhile, was only available as a coupe—with and without removable T-tops.

But what Detroit cannot (or will not) provide gives the automotive aftermarket a foothold. Enter Richard Straman, who initially chopped the tops off Ferraris and made them look as if they rolled out of Maranello that way. Alas, Ferrari conversions were few and far between, so Straman sought out other machines to decapitate. As he told the Los Angeles Times in 1998, “When Detroit got out of the [convertible] business, I knew it was time for me to get in.” Now that’s the all-American entrepreneurial spirit at its best. For a while, the company was converting up to 50 third-gen F-bodies a month (two a day!); the conversion commanded five grand in 1984 dollars—roughly 50 percent more than the ten-grand Monroney advertised for a basic Trans Am or Z28 coupe.

“People think it’s just a matter of cutting off the top and putting on a canvas one,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “But it’s not that simple. Half the work is in re-engineering the structure” to make a machine that doesn’t fold up on itself at the first speed hump. Stir in the notion that the unit-body third-gen F-chassis was notoriously flexy, and you may fear what happens after decapitation. The first step was to remove the hatch and T-top glass, as well as the interior, and slice at the B-pillars and across the header panel. A bulkhead was welded in behind the rear seat to both provide a top well and to separate the trunk; its proximity to the rear suspension points helped stiffen the chassis across its width. Various chassis-stiffening efforts were employed to bolster the floor pans, including body-length bracing that tied the front and rear subframes together, thus approximating a perimeter-frame chassis. The folding soft-top came next. A hinged steel trunk lid was constructed, paint-matched, and installed, and the interior was put back in with new bits and pieces (including a snap-fit tonneau cover) fabricated as required by the addition of the roof mechanism. The rear seat, such as it was, remained in place.

The Straman-converted Trans Am shown on our pages is now owned by Mike Guarise of Scottsdale, Arizona, though he also lives in Illinois part-time. Built in January of 1984, the Dark Gold Wing Metallic body (with gold decals and body accents) was sold new out of Bob Longpre Pontiac of Westminster, California, and was subsequently sent to the R. Straman Company in Costa Mesa for its convertible conversion. It was a well-equipped machine: air conditioning; cruise control; the Luxury Trim Group (including leather-trimmed Lear-Siegler front bucket seats, color-keyed seatbelts and “luxury doors”); power windows; remote decklid release; tilt wheel; a Delco AM/FM stereo with graphic equalizer and clock (now replaced by a more contemporary Alpine head unit) as well as the UQ7 subwoofer/ speaker system, leather-wrapped Formula steering wheel, and more. It had an MSRP of more than $16,000 already, before it was released into the clutches of R. Straman, whose conversion added the aforementioned- five-g’s on top of that. Europeans then, as now, prefer to shift themselves, and so the five-speed stick that appears here is perfectly in keeping with those divisional ideals.

As we suggested when we ran our recent story on Mike’s pair of early- ’70s Buick GS 455 Stage 1 four-speed ragtops (HMM #211), the notion of a convertible muscle car feels slightly contradictory. Muscle cars got on with the job at hand, all tense and filled with fury; heavier, flexier convertibles feel more likely to stop and take in the scenery. There’s more going on there than sheer straight-line speed. Yet in the ebb and flow of Mike’s car collection over the decades, it appears that he’s growing attracted to these topless terrors—shift-it-yourself stormers that let the sun shine in.

We don’t even have to gaze upon this unrestored, 28,000-mile, Straman-converted T/A and wonder what might have been. Turns out, we know: GM finally relented in 1987 and offered ragtop Firebirds through official channels until the end of the F-body line’s life in 2002. The only surprise is that it took the division as long as it did to catch on. How can something seemingly so European—a fine-handling five-speed pop-top GT car with 200 horses on tap—be so American too?

SPECIFICATIONS

PRICE

Base price: $10,689

Options on car profiled: B20 luxury trim group, $1,304; air conditioning, $730; L69 HO V8, $530; WY6 Special Performance package, $313; UU6 deluxe AM/FM cassette stereo with equalizer and clock, $590; power windows, $215; six-way power driver’s seat, $215; UQ7 speaker system with subwoofer, $150; tilt wheel, $110; tinted glass, $110; California emissions, $99; DG7 power mirrors, $91; NP5 sport steering wheel, $75; remote deck lid opening, $40; additional acoustic insulation, $40; floor mats, $35; UA1 heavy-duty battery, $11. Pricing does not include Straman convertible conversion.

ENGINE

Type: GM “corporate” (Chevrolet-type) OHV V-8, cast-iron block and cylinder heads

Displacement: 305 cu.in.

Bore x stroke: 3.74 x 3.48 in

Compression ratio: 9.5:1

Horsepower @ rpm: 190 @ 4,800

Torque @ rpm: 240 lb-ft @ 3,200

Valvetrain: Hydraulic valve lifters

Main bearings: 5

Fuel system: Single Rochester 4-bbl carburetor, mechanical pump

Lubrication system: Pressure, gear-type pump

Electrical system: 12-volt with GM CCC (Computer Command Control)

Exhaust system: Single 2 3 ⁄4 -in exhaust with dual-exiting muffler

TRANSMISSION

Type: Borg-Warner T-5 five-speed manual, full synchromesh

Ratios: 1st/2.95:1 … 2nd/1.94:1 .… 3rd/1.34:1 .… 4th/1.00:1 … 5th/0.74 … Reverse/2.76:1

DIFFERENTIAL

Type: Corporate 7.5-inch 10-bolt housing

Ratio: 3.73:1

STEERING

Type: Recirculating ball, power assist

Turns, lock-to-lock: 2.5

Turning circle: 36.7 ft

BRAKES

Type: Hydraulic, four-wheel disc, power-assist Front/Rear: 10.5-inch disc

SUSPENSION

Front: Independent, MacPherson struts, coil springs; anti-sway bar

Rear: Rigid axle; two trailing arms; coil springs; torque arm; telescoping shock absorbers, Panhard rod, anti-sway bar

WHEELS & TIRES

Wheels: Cast aluminum, drop center; Front/Rear: 15 x 7 inch

Tires: Goodyear Eagle GT radial; Front/Rear: 215/65R15

PRODUCTION

Pontiac produced 55,374 Trans Ams for the 1984 model year. A total of 25,088 L69 T/As were built for 1984, with 7,051 of them five-speed manuals. Total number of Straman-converted third-gen Firebirds is unknown but believed to be in the low hundreds across multiple model years.

PERFORMANCE*

Acceleration: 0-60 mph: 6.7 seconds…0-100 mph: 17.8 seconds

1/4 mile ET: 15 seconds @ 93 mph

Top speed: 134 mph

*Source: Car and Driver, June 1983 (190-hp Camaro Z28 5-speed)

SPECIFICATIONS

PRICE

Base price: $10,689

Options on car profiled: B20 luxury trim group, $1,304; air conditioning, $730; L69 HO V8, $530; WY6 Special Performance package, $313; UU6 deluxe AM/FM cassette stereo with equalizer and clock, $590; power windows, $215; six-way power driver’s seat, $215; UQ7 speaker system with subwoofer, $150; tilt wheel, $110; tinted glass, $110; California emissions, $99; DG7 power mirrors, $91; NP5 sport steering wheel, $75; remote deck lid opening, $40; additional acoustic insulation, $40; floor mats, $35; UA1 heavy-duty battery, $11. Pricing does not include Straman convertible conversion.

ENGINE

Type: GM “corporate” (Chevrolet-type) OHV V-8, cast-iron block and cylinder heads

Displacement: 305 cu.in.

Bore x stroke: 3.74 x 3.48 in

Compression ratio: 9.5:1

Horsepower @ rpm: 190 @ 4,800

Torque @ rpm: 240 lb-ft @ 3,200

Valvetrain: Hydraulic valve lifters

Main bearings: 5

Fuel system: Single Rochester 4-bbl carburetor, mechanical pump

Lubrication system: Pressure, gear-type pump

Electrical system: 12-volt with GM CCC (Computer Command Control)

Exhaust system: Single 2 3 ⁄4 -in exhaust with dual-exiting muffler

TRANSMISSION

Type: Borg-Warner T-5 five-speed manual, full synchromesh

Ratios: 1st/2.95:1 … 2nd/1.94:1 .… 3rd/1.34:1 .… 4th/1.00:1 … 5th/0.74 … Reverse/2.76:1

DIFFERENTIAL

Type: Corporate 7.5-inch 10-bolt housing

Ratio: 3.73:1

STEERING

Type: Recirculating ball, power assist

Turns, lock-to-lock: 2.5

Turning circle: 36.7 ft

BRAKES

Type: Hydraulic, four-wheel disc, power-assist Front/Rear: 10.5-inch disc

SUSPENSION

Front: Independent, MacPherson struts, coil springs; anti-sway bar

Rear: Rigid axle; two trailing arms; coil springs; torque arm; telescoping shock absorbers, Panhard rod, anti-sway bar

WHEELS & TIRES

Wheels: Cast aluminum, drop center; Front/Rear: 15 x 7 inch

Tires: Goodyear Eagle GT radial; Front/Rear: 215/65R15

PRODUCTION

Pontiac produced 55,374 Trans Ams for the 1984 model year. A total of 25,088 L69 T/As were built for 1984, with 7,051 of them five-speed manuals. Total number of Straman-converted third-gen Firebirds is unknown but believed to be in the low hundreds across multiple model years.

PERFORMANCE*

Acceleration: 0-60 mph: 6.7 seconds…0-100 mph: 17.8 seconds

1/4 mile ET: 15 seconds @ 93 mph

Top speed: 134 mph

*Source: Car and Driver, June 1983 (190-hp Camaro Z28 5-speed)

The hardworking staff of Hemmings Auctions is proud to share with you some of the most notable vehicles they have helped to find enthusiastic new homes over the past week. Sixty-seven new vehicle listings launched between Sunday, October 9, and Saturday, October 15, and 42 of them sold, including 14 post-auction Make Offer listings. This equates to a sell-through rate of 63 percent. You can keep abreast of the latest consignments by subscribing to the daily Hemmings Auctions email newsletter.

1972 Ferrari 365 GTC4

Reserve: $240,000

Selling Price: $250,000

Recent Market Range: $232,110-$279,450

Twenty years ago, the GTC4 was the affordable early-Seventies V-12 fastback Ferrari. It’s now appreciated substantially, and a quarter-million dollars is the mid-range “average” price for a properly restored, 100-percent drivable example like this lifelong California car, which bested its reserve. Its “show-quality,” ceramic-coated repaint was complemented by a two-tone interior with exact replacement tartan seat inserts and all functioning components. The 320hp V-12 and five-speed manual promised no leaks, and the refreshed chassis appeared spotless thanks to dry-ice detailing. Trued Borrani wire wheels mounted recent, correct Michelin XWX radials. This 365 set a benchmark for value.

1963 Chevrolet Corvair Monza Spyder

Reserve: $12,000

Selling Price: $26,250

Recent Market Range: $9,110-$15,350

Automotive turbocharging was in its infancy in the 1960s for regular production cars, and Chevrolet’s unorthodox Corvair was a pioneer. This 1963 Monza two-door was optioned with the 150hp turbocharged, air-cooled flat-six that brought the Spyder designation. Its seller promised to have completed a refurbishment to custom specifications, having rebuilt the engine with numerous performance enhancements. The chassis was similarly upgraded with a front anti-roll bar and 16-inch alloy wheels wrapped in sticky tires. All body rust was removed before the car was repainted, and the interior received an aftermarket steering wheel and old-look modern stereo. This Corvair more than doubled its reserve.

1933 Ford De Luxe

Reserve: $32,000

Selling Price: $30,450

Recent Market Range: $30,140-$42,450

Even the most practical and popular body type Ford offered for 1933 was beautifully styled in the popular Streamline Moderne vein. This upmarket, De Luxe-trimmed Tudor Sedan owed its attractive presentation to a “first class” body-off restoration that included the use of a rebuilt, 1940-vintage 85hp 221-cu.in. V-8 mated to a three-speed manual. The accommodating coachwork was repainted in 2010 and no flaws were reported; the grille, bumpers, and other chrome looked nice. A LeBaron Bonney interior kit was fitted and called “excellent.” This Ford’s undercarriage was virtually spotless. Its Make Offer sale figure at the bottom of this model’s market range represented a genuine bargain.

1986 Porsche 944 Turbo

Reserve: $42,000

Selling Price: $44,100

Recent Market Range: $39,310-$51,450

A Guards Red Porsche 944 is a bona fide Eighties icon, even more so when it’s turbocharged. This example that sold for a very reasonable sum as a post-auction Make Offer listing ticked all the right boxes as a two-owner car with fewer than 30,000 original miles. A few paint chips were divulged on the exterior, while the black leather-upholstered interior featured an aftermarket stereo; the factory radio, upgraded with Bluetooth capability, went with the car. The 2.5-liter four-cylinder and five-speed manual transmission looked spotless and promised trouble-free operation, while the undercarriage was similarly tidy and tires retained plenty of tread. This first-year 944 Turbo was a score.

2000 Chevrolet Corvette

Reserve: $15,000

Selling Price: $16,800

Recent Market Range: $13,000-$22,000

The debut of the automatic-only, supercar-adjacent mid-engine C8 Corvette put recent earlier generations in a new light, including the C5; those turn-of-the-century ’Vettes, like this convertible, were everyday-usable with approachable performance and great economy. This one had a rebuilt V-8 with performance modifications, plus a fresh clutch for its Hurst-shifted six-speed. The factory paint had a few blemishes, but the soft top was called “excellent” and the black leather interior looked good; a gas-gauge problem was noted, as was a fault with the tire-pressure monitoring system. A video showed the Chevy in motion, and documentation included dyno results. It represented a great buy.

1957 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner

Reserve: $19,000

Selling Price: $23,258

Recent Market Range: N/A

While the two-seat Thunderbird is Ford’s reigning Fifties classic, the contemporary Skyliner had even more of a wow factor with its retractable hard roof. This first-year example left the factory Inca Gold, but was repainted in Colonial White over Willow Green. While the finish was said to have some flaws, the top was shown in a video to operate properly and the two-tone interior looked attractive. It’s not known if the 292-cu.in. V-8 was original to this car; it was rebuilt three years ago and, like the Ford-O-Matic, was said to run and drive smoothly. Some chassis work was done although cracked bushings and steering play were still present. The Skyliner offered a lot of bang for the buck.

As of this writing, NASA’s Artemis I mission is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, any second now. By the time you read this, it will have laid some of the groundwork for returning to the moon (and, eventually, Mars and beyond) for the first time in half a century.

In 1969, the first time that man set foot on the moon, Volkswagen managed to once again smash it out of the park with one of its Beetle ads. Even during the campaign’s legendary run throughout the ’60s and into the ’70s, the famously self-deprecating ads generally showed a picture of a Beetle. Or parts of a Beetle. Or a line drawing that resembled a Beetle… something that reminded you of the distinctive lines of car itself.

Not this time. There was no Beetle to be seen. Instead, there was a black-and-white photo of (presumably a model of) the Apollo space capsule that landed on the moon in July of 1969— possibly the only vehicle on earth (or off?) that was better-known than the Beetle in that moment. Presumably, the capsule was a safe choice to show, in part because it wasn’t actually competition—you couldn’t pop down to your local NASA retailer and get a screaming deal on last year’s Apollo space capsule on MSO before the new, facelifted ones were trucked in from the factory.

At the same time, Volkswagen’s hat tip to America’s latest technological accomplishment was meant to do more than elicit a smile or recognition from a magazine reader’s face. It’s celebrating the event in America, to an American audience, without getting all flag-waving about it; because VW is a German company, anything more overtly patriotic would feel awkward and forced. It’s also more than a little ironic, coming from a car company whose policy of slow evolution and rarely changing specification was the selling point of its success.

It’s the tagline—“It’s ugly, but it gets you there”—that pulls everything together. It’s a message that VW had been pounding into consumer’s heads for the better part of a decade, and it’s one that an American vehicle maker finally took to heart. Ugly but reliable. VW ads wore these insults as a badge of honor. The 1930s styling was a feature, not (if you’ll pardon the pun) a bug. It’s game recognizing game. And suddenly, instead of celebrating America’s accomplishments, it’s a car ad again.

Today we are returning to space, but the Beetle isn’t being built anywhere on Earth. Germany stopped building them in the ’70s, air-cooled versions were put to rest in the first decade of the new millennium, and even its water-cooled, front-drive replacement has now been put to rest. What car company, if any, will have the temerity to link their product with our latest space-exploration efforts? Will that ad (whether on TV, in magazines, or clogging up your Facebook feed) become another instant classic? We’ve already waited half a century to find out, but time will tell.

I’ve always wondered why it is that Instagram influencers go crazy over the Sixties slab-side Continentals and not the fuselage 300s. While the former have that mid-century flair and those rear-opening rear doors (and benefit from that one that appeared briefly in The Matrix), the latter have an equally big, menacing, and laid-back vibe but do it with muscle-era styling and muscle-era powertrains. Maybe it’s the fact that the 300 hasn’t yet had any iconic film roles? Maybe the 300 doesn’t look as good bagged and sitting on 20-plus-inch wheels? Whatever the case, there’s a lot to appreciate with this 1970 Chrysler 300C listed for sale on Hemmings.com. An entirely original and low-mileage car, it was not only a special-order car with a good deal of options, it’s also been well preserved by its two documented owners. Maybe it’s time to snag one of these before some Hollywood type decides to cast one in the next blockbuster.

From the seller’s description:

35450 Actual Miles in excellent Original Condition. You are looking at the nicest Chrysler 300 Convertibles we have ever seen. These big Chrysler 300s are never seen on the road or on the market. Very few survived, far fewer exist in this condition. Only 1077 were produced on this final year of the 300 Convertible. Any Chrysler collector has a rare opportunity to own one with a great history, in excellent original condition and completely ready to ride.

This beautiful 1970 Chrysler 300 convertible was designed like a Hot Wheels car from front to back. Of course that is just our opinion but take a look at its sleek styling, long front grille with hide-a-way headlights, and the straight across rear bumper with taillights from end to end. Its like nothing seen before and based on its rarity, you may not see again.

Please allow us to say a bit more about this gorgeous Chrysler 300 convertible starting with its paint. The Factory color code, Jade Green (F8) has been refinished to a beautiful shine. Dings, dents or rust is non-existent) Chrome and trim are beautiful. The white convertible top and white boot is original and in excellent condition visually and mechanically. The power top goes up and down easily with barely a sound. The rear window is glass, not plastic. No stretching or pulling is required to lock the top into place. The interior is also 100 percent original and in excellent condition everywhere! Leather seats are immaculate. There are no dash cracks at all. This 300 is fully loaded with some really nice options. Options include factory air conditioning that blows cold, AM radio (R13), tilt & telescopic steering wheel (S61), rim blow horn, cruise control, power windows, drivers side power seat, bucket seats with optional headrests and center arm rest, fender mounted turn signals (L31), vent windows and more. The famous Chrysler COLD light on the dash works properly and shuts off when the engine has warmed up.

This 2 owner car has been meticulously kept by both. The original owner had the car built himself. It was not a car sitting on the lot. The original owner documents this in a letter to the second owner. The second and last owner of this Chrysler was a Chrysler Engineer who later became the owner of a Chrysler Dealership in Germany. He made sure that every single part on this car was original from the start and remained that way under his ownership. Even the washer fluid bottle was replaced with a $400 original NOS tank rather than an aftermarket replacement. Yes, $400 for what looks like a plastic milk container.

The 440ci 350hp 4bbl was standard on the 300 and provided more than enough power to go and come as fast as you please. Starting is easy, idling is smooth and quiet and getting on it stands up to most any car on the road from its day. The cool looking hide-a way headlights work perfectly. The undercarriage is rust free and super clean. There is a very thin layer of surface discoloration in some areas as you would expect from a 53 year old car that has been driven. It has never been artificially undercoated.

Documentation includes the original owners manual, warranty booklet, original literature and best of all, the original broadcast sheet. This car has spent its entire life in the South Eastern portion of the Good Ole USA under both owners. Both have kept in touch before and after each sale.

See more Chryslers for sale on Hemmings.com.

Nothing short of a global pandemic or a hurricane can stop Meldon Van Riper Stultz III (best known to everyone as “Mel”) from throwing one of the coolest hot rod parties there is, but those things can and do occasionally happen. The news broke Friday morning, as I was headed down to get reacquainted with the gow job and hot iron community: Government officials, expecting dangerous storm surge from Hurricane Ian or its remnants, said nobody could be on the beach at Wildwood, New Jersey, on October 1, 2022. Only an hour away in the Hemmings van, I kept going.

The pits were supposed to be full of race cars Friday afternoon, but they were packed up and many were already gone when Hemmings got to town. Immutable word from The Authorities had closed the beaches during the time set aside for racing.Photo by David Conwill

The party was still there, but it was indoors and there were very few cars. Plenty of great people, though, all eager to talk about what they had brought, what they wanted to bring, what they might build for a future event, and more. It was a productive time for Hemmings in a strategic sense, as we start to plumb the depths of those who use ‘40s tech to build ‘20s and ‘30s cars. The machines that run on the beach these days are an extension of the road-going versions, and rarely licensed and insured. Recent, unrelated events in Wildwood have increased policing on such matters and nixed the previous cruising. A lot of cool stuff was glimpsed under tarps, but between official disapproval and windy, rainy weather that set in early on Friday, very few cars were actually out and about.

One of the few cars to venture out into the elements was this retired TROG veteran and one-time Hemmings feature car, The Sassafras. Owner Kevin Carlson runs the Model B-powered T/A hybrid on the street these days, complete with license and registration.Photo by David Conwill

Mel’s not one to let people down, however. There’s no official word on what will happen for the folks who were going to be there. Rumors abound about replacement dates, alternate events, and the like—but repeating them’s no help. I’ve reached out to the TROG team and are still awaiting comment. When Mel and the Oilers give an official announcement on the next East Coast outlet for all that retro-speed energy, we’ll let you know.

Wildwood isn’t the first or only home of TROG, but the neon-lit evenings were always one of the highlights of the event. Festivities were decidedly muted Friday night, but every here and there cool spectator cars, like this flamed ’56 Oldsmobile 88, could be glimpsed.Photo by David Conwill

One certainty, at least, is that another TROG event is happening soon: December 9-10 at historic Flabob Airstrip in Jurupa Valley, California. That will be 1/8-mile drags on a runway, rather than a beach. Airstrips and car events can make excellent bedfellows and we wish TROG California Drag Racing the best of luck.

NAS Wildwood is a World War II-era facility now used as a general-aviation airport and museum. Since the storm was already intensifying, there wasn’t much going on (besides breakfast at the Flight Deck Diner), but the outdoor displays were worth checking out.Photo by David Conwill

Date: circa 1970s

Location: Helsinki, Finland

Source: Laitila Unto, via HelsinkiPhotos

What do you see here?

https://helsinkiphotos.fi/search/details/?image_id=hkm.125E0ADE-6950-4FEC-A5C8-5D5C8BFEF001

King Midget club members still don’t know all there is to know about the prototype fiberglass roadster that Midget Motors intended to build. How did the tiny Athens-based company plan to power the car? Was it ever meant to have a top? What exactly caused its demise? Now that club president Lee Seats has the prototype in his garage in anticipation of a full restoration and subsequent public display, perhaps some answers will soon come to light.

“All I know is that Midget Motors could’ve built it, but it would have been difficult,” Seats says.

Indeed. Chronically underfunded Midget Motors—a venture started by Claud Dry and Dale Orcutt in 1946—might’ve at one point been the sixth-largest carmaker in the United States, but ran on an infinitesimal budget compared to larger carmakers. Company headquarters was a small building next to Dry’s house, and research and development essentially consisted of the time the partners spent reading the latest issue of Popular Mechanics.

That’s not to say they didn’t meet with some measure of success. The King Midget Model 2 and Model 3 kept the company going well into the Sixties and the company was even able to make some acquisitions, mostly minibike and scooter companies. While the Midget Motors microcar lineup remained fairly static and uninspiring with cars almost no larger than the two occupants that could fit in them—a rarity in the postwar American economy that demanded ever bigger, more powerful, and flashier cars—Dry and Orcutt at one point aspired to build something a little bigger, a little sleeker, and a little faster.

According to Bob Vasholtz, a King Midget historian who has written several books on the cars, just as demand for the Model 2 started to wane toward the mid-Fifties, Orcutt in particular seemed taken with the idea of creating King Midget bodies out of fiberglass. “Fiberglass construction was not capital intensive and small-shop oriented,” Vasholtz writes in “Midget Motors: Blueprint for American Microcars,” thus “the product and process seemed tailored to Midget Motors’ volume and needs.” Besides, fiberglass promised an opportunity to both cut some weight and design a body with more complex shapes than the steel- and aluminum-bodied Model 2 and Model 3’s bodies without springing for more expensive tooling.

Photo courtesy Lee Seats

Orcutt then proceeded to shape a body model out of clay, seeking input from his workers. Once he finalized the design—incorporating a bit of contemporary Ford in the rear, Jaguar XK120 along the sides and perhaps some Crosley Super Sport in the front—he took some molds from the clay model and sent them to a still-unknown fiberglass shop somewhere in Michigan to have several prototype bodies laid up.

In the meantime, Orcutt set about modifying a 1952 Model 2 chassis for the new car. The front and rear suspension remained unaltered, as did a section of the frame, but Orcutt modified the rest with wider perimeter rails to better fit the envelope styling of the new body and to get the passengers sitting lower in the car.

Photo courtesy Lee Seats

He also reportedly considered replacing the Model 2’s single-cylinder 6hp Wisconsin engine with something a little peppier, Vasholtz writes. Orcutt may have experimented with a Crosley overhead-camshaft four-cylinder engine, but as Vasholtz writes in “King Midget: the Story of America’s Smallest Dream Car,” Orcutt also intended to design and build his own engine, an opposed four-cylinder with overhead camshafts and a fabricated block similar to Crosley’s CoBra engine. Apparently, he intended to use tooling obtained in one of the scooter company purchases—likely Wyse-Cycle—but if Orcutt ever did succeed in assembling such a motor, neither Vasholtz or Seats believe it ever ran. Orcutt may have also intended to develop a new three-speed transmission for the car, though that, too, never made its way into the prototype.

“It was a tall order,” Vasholtz says. “Their eyes were definitely bigger than their tummies.”

Sometime in 1955, the batch of half a dozen or so fiberglass bodies arrived, and Orcutt soon discovered they required extensive reinforcing, including subframes for the doors and windshield to attach to. According to Vasholtz, the body quickly became too heavy for the chassis and Wisconsin single-cylinder and proved more labor intensive and thus more costly than the stamped-steel bodies Midget Motors was used to producing.

Photo courtesy Lee Seats

However, Seats, who’s spent some time already with the body in his basement restoration workshop in Bristol, Tennessee, believes that’s not exactly why Midget Motors stopped development on the project. “The Model 3’s body is made up of three sheets of steel, and I can’t pick it up by myself,” he says. “But this body, I can pick it up myself no problem.”

While the cost of preparing the body may have indeed been a significant factor, Seats points instead to the fact that the fiberglass shop burned down shortly after delivering the bodies, taking the King Midget prototype’s mold—and the costs associated with the mold’s development—with it.

Whatever the case, Orcutt and Dry put the fiberglass car project on hold and decided to update the Model 2 as a stopgap measure until they could return to the prototype. The stopgap car became the Model 3, which Midget Motors introduced in 1957 and which became perhaps the most recognizable of the King Midgets. Meanwhile, the prototype—fitted with a 1956 Wisconsin engine—went on to serve as a demonstrator for Dry’s secretary to drive and then as a daily driver for one of the employees at the Midget Motors plant. When it became evident the fiberglass car would never happen, Midget Motors sold the other bodies through its mail-order catalog, with at least one still in existence.

Photo courtesy Lee Seats

That employee who dove the prototype later sold it to a local farmer, who stashed it in a barn somewhere near Athens for the next 20 years or so, Vasholtz says. King Midget enthusiast Gordon Harvey eventually bought the prototype from the farmer and kept it in Florida for some time before selling it to fellow enthusiast Gary Guy, who similarly stored it in Arizona without a restoration commencing.

Seats, in turn, obtained the prototype this summer and has already started to document it for restoration. Unfortunately, the years and the cross-country trips haven’t been kind to it—the frame collapsed during its most recent move, and the gelcoat on the body started to bake off during its time in Arizona—so he’s had to focus on stabilization and repair before he can proceed to the actual restoration of the prototype.

Once completed, the prototype will be showcased in the closest thing the International King Midget Car Club has to a museum, a permanent display in the Market on State, a mall on the east side of Athens. The display, formerly housed in the Athens County Historical Society and Museum, currently features one example of every King Midget model, including the Junior and the Super Cycle, along with the last built Model 3 and the only Model 4 prototype. Vasholtz says that after the fiberglass car is added, the only thing that’ll really be missing from the King Midget timeline would be the lone remaining Model 2 prototype.

As for when the prototype will be finished, “don’t hold your breath,” Vasholtz says, “but Lee will get it done.”

Oldsmobile punched out more than 300,000 Cutlasses in 1975 en route to making its intermediate the best-selling automobile in America. At the more exclusive and sporty end of this mass-production milestone sat the 1975 Hurst/Olds.

The ’75 edition had a few interesting accomplishments on its resume: it was the most prolifically produced Hurst/Olds to date with 2,535 copies built; it was the last run of the Colonnade Hurst/Olds; it was the last Hurst/Olds offered with the Oldsmobile 455; and it was a T-top pioneer with its Hurst/ Hatch roof.

If you can find one of these relatively scarce cars today, you can expect to pay more than $20,000 for one in good condition. Values range between $8,000 and $12,000 on the low end to between $30,000 and $40,000 on the high end. Over the past three years, Hemmings.com has recorded an average asking price of $27,000. The lowest asking price to date, in that same period, was $16,000, while the highest was $40,000.

The ’75 Hurst/Olds wasn’t an inexpensive car in its day. It was based on the Cutlass Supreme two-door coupe, which had a starting price of $4,047. Hurst/Olds buyers could choose between the 170-hp L-34 “W-25” 350 V-8 or the L-74 190-hp “W-30” 455 V-8. Both came topped with a Rochester Quadrajet four-barrel carburetor and both were paired with automatic transmissions. A set of deep rear gears would’ve added some punch, but 2.56:1 cogs were standard issue and the only options were 2.73:1 or 3.08:1. An Anti-Spin limited-slip differential was optional. The color palette was limited to either white or black and, inside, swiveling bucket seats with reversible cushions and a console were standard.

The Hurst/Olds transformation happened at Hurst’s Specialty Vehicle Division facility in Brighton, Michigan, and added $1,095 to the sticker. (To put that in context, the 442 package cost $128 in 1975.) For the extra outlay, the customer got the Hurst/Hatch roof with smoked glass panels, a padded vinyl top in either black or white, gold striping, Hurst/Olds emblems, and a Hurst Dual-Gate shifter. A Hurst digital tachometer was also offered as an option and was installed on the center console.

Values of Colonnade-edition GM performance cars have always trailed their 1960s and early ’70s namesakes. They’re an acquired taste, but excellent cars to own and drive: they’re easy to work on, easy to maintain, and plenty comfortable. Restoration costs can exceed the value of a car if you’re not careful and all parts aren’t as readily available as they are for other GM intermediates. The Hurst/Olds is among the most desirable of these coupes however, and there’s plenty to like about the ’75. While values will likely remain stable for the foreseeable future, these cars are uncommon enough to enjoy a devoted following for years to come.

Whenever I need to cheer myself up, in the absence of beer or salty snacks, I remind myself that I’m just a babbling, snoring, lump of carbon, clinging to a ball of dirt, spinning through an endless, airless void while being bombarded by cosmic radiation, asteroids, bits of junk falling off satellites, or old rockets that we shot into orbit. Whoa, wait, you say. That’s some dark-sounding s*#%, McNessor. This is what cheers you up? No, but it reminds me of how fortunate I am to be here. So I should stop feeling sorry for myself, hop in my old truck and head to the corner store for that beer and those salty snacks at the earliest opportunity. And that cheers me up. Ahhh, you reply. Now it makes sense. Yes, and you’re welcome.

I feel a weird sense of accomplishment when I make it home and back from even the briefest ride in a 50-plus-year-old truck whose pieces were once randomly scattered among two or three garages, a basement, and the closet in a spare bedroom (which is where I stashed the glass, wrapped in blankets). I’m betting you feel exactly the same way about the last project vehicle that made you wonder: Will I ever get this thing back together, or will I eventually have to cart its pieces off to the transfer station, and then take up golf or pickleball in disgrace? And just what exactly is pickleball, anyway?

When I was growing up, there was no doubt that someday soon we “humanoids” would be warping around the entire universe, getting into lightsaber duels with life forms who looked mostly human—you know, other than maybe blue skin or an extra eyeball—yet spoke the Queen’s English without the hint of an accent. But now, when I hear people talking about going to Mars I think, What’s so bad about this planet? All my favorite stuff is right here: air, water, my recliner with the decorative box next to it that The Chief bought to hide my car magazines. Plus, the UPS guy just dropped off some new lightweight body filler and this cool primer that I can’t wait to try out.

I’ve heard Jay Leno say this about himself, but it’s true about all of us and our spouses: “My wife always knows where I am: It’s the garage.” That’s the center of our collective universe and it definitely alters the way we live, but in a positive, productive way.

How many times have you been asked to weld something or help a friend repair, assemble, or disassemble something? Or been asked for advice about how something works, or what car, truck, motorcycle, etc. to buy? It’s because, in the grand scheme of things, we’re all that person. The ones who’ve been taking things apart our whole lives to figure out how stuff works. (Sometimes there were parts left over after the reassembly). The ones who can’t bear to get rid of something that still works or will work fine again with some time and effort. The ones who, when we do decide to sell or give away something, take some pride in the fact that it’s a lot better off than when we found it. Maybe not perfect, but still better for the next caretaker. Or, if we are actually junking something, it’s completely, irrevocably used up. It’s actually junk, not just junk-ish or junk adjacent.

Funny thing is, people outside our universe who aren’t elbows deep in some old project vehicle probably view restoration and repair as a relaxing pastime. Sort of like what I imagine pickleballing to be, I guess. (Seriously, does it involve pickles or pickling?) But the truth is, our projects often drive us nuts. Yet without them, we’d be even more nuts. No interesting problems to solve. No hard-to-find pieces to hunt for. No hallelujah moment when it starts, runs, and moves under its own power. No cool old artifact in the garage to just stand back and admire for a few quiet minutes.

Photo by Mike McNessor

At the end of it all, we’re just lumps of carbon, clinging to a ball of dirt, spinning through an endless, airless void while being bombarded with cosmic radiation, asteroids and bits of junk. I’m okay with that. In fact, it’ll make it easier to knock off work early, fire up my truck, and head to the corner store.