Old Cars Weekly May 15, 2022

The last story in this week’s issue features a very special 1970 Shelby GT500 with only 509 miles at the time of Al Roger’s photo shoot last November. Just 509 miles. How could someone resist the urge to get behind the wheel of such an exciting machine and not spin the tires and odometer after so many decades? As one of my coworkers once said about an 1,800-mile 1971 Hemi Challenger, “That’s like buying a Playboy and never getting past the table of contents.” I’d have to agree. I’ll save the details surrounding the 1970 Shelby GT500 for Al’s article, but I could never resist the temptation to not drive such a car. That’s just not my kind of dance. I tried, and my car wasn’t even a high-performance car. About 15…

Celebs and continental kits Angelo Van Bogart mentioned in his Feb. 1 editorial that a photo exists of Betty White posing with a 1958 Plymouth Fury with a continental kit in front of SoCal’s KABC-TV studio. The accompanying photo shows Lawrence Welk in a Sweptwing ’57 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer convertible posed at that same SoCal studio. Both White’s “Date With An Angel” and Welk’s “Champagne Musicmaker” television shows aired on KABC channel 7, and were sponsored by Plymouth/Dodge divisions of Chrysler Corp. This photo of Welk’s Dodge was used by B&W Corp. in a dealership-direct promotion for its continental kits, “The jewel of continental wheel kits,” to enhance profits of cars for sale. Other readers may be able to expand on B&W Corp. history in a future issue. Ron Kowalke, Iola, Wis. A mysterious…

McPherson College show to feature famed concepts McPHERSON, Kan. – Priceless, one-of-a-kind classic automobiles will be on display during the 22nd Annual C.A.R.S. Club Motoring Festival at McPherson College on Saturday, May 7. A few of the cars expected on the field this year include the 1938 Buick Y-Job concept car, the 1961 Mako Shark Corvette concept, and the 1970 Pontiac Pegasus concept, all from the General Motors collection. Each year, the student-run car show attracts rare vehicles from across the country, and 350 to 400 vehicles are expected to be on display throughout the campus this year. Other special cars expected at this year’s event include a 1941 Chevrolet Fleetline from Rad Rides by Troy, a 1937 Cord 812 convertible coupe, a 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL coupe, Aston-Martin DB2, and a…

“ A dairy farmer himself, just south of Syracuse N.Y., my dad was rushing to help put out a barn fire in his 1928 Model A Ford roadster, circa 1940,” recalls Ron Glasgow, of Fabius, N.Y. “As he raced toward the barn about 8 miles away, he passed through a four-way intersection with no stop signs. At the same time, a soda bottle truck on its way to the local field days entered the intersection and rammed the roadster. Bottles were flying all over the place. The police officer investigating the accident issued a ticket to the soda bottle truck driver, because my dad’s trip was a more ‘noble’ reason.”…

When warm and sunny days bloom, so do love and weddings and the use of classy sets of wheels. A prime example is in White Triangle News from the Hudson-Essex-Terraplane Club. Joe Delaney reported that Jill and Nick were supposed to “tie the knot,” but COVID-19 matters impacted their schedule. As matters improved, Jill prevailed on relative Joe to allow his 1930 Essex to be part of the festivities. Jill had helped in its restoration and learned how to drive a stick shift on that car, since it had family connections to Joe and Jill from the time the car sold new. It took effort in advance of the wedding, but on that special day the Essex did its job royally right down to the “ahooga” horn. “They were happy,” Joe reported…

An advertisement from March 1949 featured a dress parade of “Futuramic” Oldsmobiles, as if they were being driven off the assembly line by smiling new owners. I imagine the ad purposely depicted the nine Olds models as a motorcade to subliminally remind consumers that GM factories were in full production, helping to satisfy America’s enormous postwar appetite for new automobiles. The illustrated fleet is a mixture of the “popular-priced” 88 models, the “sparkling” 98 series, and the entry-level 76 lineup, all embodying “the sweep and flow of ultra-modern styling.” Backing up the contemporary interiors/exteriors was an improved “Big Six” power plant linked with a manual gearbox in the 76 models, and the revolutionary, high-octane “Rocket” V-8s in the 88 and 98 series, mated with a Hydra-Matic (no clutch to push – no gears…