Old Cars Weekly February 1, 2022

Despite the covers of magazines lining grocery store checkouts, beloved American actress Betty White did not make it to the magic centennial mark, dying at age 99 on Dec. 31, just weeks before her 100th birthday. Nearly every adult seems to have loved Betty White, but she seems especially well-loved by the car-collecting community. Their affection for White goes beyond her grand sense of humor and entertaining acting style, perhaps because her timeline is dotted with interesting cars. She’s famously pictured enjoying a ride in a new 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible. Just a few years later, she was filmed shilling “Forward Look” 1958 Plymouths, since the late brand sponsored the television show “Date with the Angels” in which White starred. White is also pictured outside an ABC studio with a…

Postcard car turned OC feature car What a treat it was to read Brian Earnest’s article about Lance Tarnutzer and his “family” 1967 Chevrolet Camaro pace car in the Dec. 15 issue. While I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Tarnutzer, I wrote to him at the Dells Automobile Museum, probably around 1998, about purchasing some automotive postcards that the museum was selling. He was a true gentleman and offered me a quantity discount, so I bought a box full to resell on eBay. They sold very well, including the postcards of the featured Camaro pace car. A few years later, I wrote back to Mr. Tarnutzer and bought some more postcards. He shared with me the sad news about the fire they had experienced, which, of course, is heartbreaking for…

Got news for us? Email us at oldcars@aimmedia.com Atlantic City show returns for year 49 ATLANTIC CITY, N.Y. _ The Atlantic City Auction & Car Show will celebrate its 49th anniversary Feb. 10-12 when one the biggest, and longest-running car events in the northeast returns to the 500,000-sq.-ft. Atlantic City Convention Center. More than 80 cars have already been consigned for the GPK Auction event with bidding beginning at 1 p.m. Thursday and 11 a.m. both Friday and Saturday. Attendees can also browse through rows featuring several hundred cars for sale in the car corral. Other attractions include the large flea market with vendors from all round the country, and the new Hot Rod Alley, a manufacturers’ midway featuring SEMA and Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA) member displays. The second-annual Atlantic City Invitational…

Steve Isola photographed a bunch of “Weathered Wheels” vehicles this past fall before the snow started to fly, including this 1948 Pontiac in Superior, Wis. “I’ve seen a number of 1940s Pontiac street rods, like at Minnesota’s Back to the 50’s show, but I’ve not come across an untouched, unrestored, barn-›nd condition 1948 Pontiac two-door coupe,” he reports. “This Silver Streak is one of those cars that just begs to be rebuilt and restored as a street rod. The cool rake to the roof and side windows, the waterfall hood trim, the aggressive grille design, the fact that it’s a two-door.... Sheet metal looks workable. Window glass is easy to replace. This needs a GM 350 crate engine, suspension replacement and a custom-stitched interior in leather. Now, what would I…

Scores of fabulous cars will again be looking for new owners later this month as Arizona Auction week gets cooking and Mecum gets rolling with its massive Kissimmee, Fla., sale. One car that will surely get a lot of attention is the fabulous 1929 Duesenberg Model J Berline, J-118, that will be up for bids at Worldwide Auctioneers’ Scottsdale sale. The ›rst owner was Santa Barbara, Calif., resident Art Keil, who had the car until the mid 1930s. On a return passage from Catalina Island, it fell overboard into the Santa Barbara Channel. Kiel then sold the Duesenberg to Coca-Cola President M.K. Barbee, who had the mechanicals rebuilt and updated the body, a common practice in the period. He enlisted noted coachbuilders Bohman & Schwartz to carry out the changes. Among…

nationalwoodieclub.comEditor Roddy Sergiades shows joy in compiling Woodie Times (National Woodie Club, Inc., nationalwoodieclub.com nationalwoodieclub.com). The same type of joy bubbles within woodie owners and even the general public. Maybe it has to do with the use of wood and metal in a blend that teases the eye and pleases the senses. But what about renting out a woodie? Can it be fun? Yes, if done safely. Seems like an occasional television series is filmed on a ranch or includes a rustic scene. Even movie studios do not maintain bevies of old cars like they once did. So current collectors are sometimes contacted for rental use of their cars. Wayne Yada, president of the National Woodie Club, points out the aspects of such use in a recent issue. He cautions…