By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

What would you pay for a Tatra? We ask simply because the Chicago-based seller of this 1940 Tatra T87 has listed his example on Hemmings.com sans price, and quite frankly, when was the last time you saw one of these sell at auction? From the seller’s description:

four door Sedan,3 liter ,V- 8 rear aluminum alloy 75 HP-OHC engine,four speed manual transmission with 2 synchronized gears,sunroof,stunning example of a streamline design,silver metalic,red leather interior,1200 km after complete restoration,mint condition,very rare.

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By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

It’s not unusual for auction houses to pull cars from the docket prior to the actual auction, but two rather high-profile cars were pulled from Barrett-Jackson’s lineup this week, and the company has been none too shy about saying why.

The first, lot 1258.2, a 1958 Chevrolet Impala that the auction house previously advertised as once owned by Buddy Holly, was pulled on Wednesday because questions arose about whether Buddy Holly really did own that particular Impala. Continue reading at Hemmings

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

After yesterday’s HFOD, I decided to go looking for an under-$10k two-door on Hemmings.com, just to prove to myself that they do exist, and quickly stumbled upon this one, a 1983 Chrysler Town and Country convertible that looks to be in great shape out in Palm Springs, California. From the seller’s description:

This is a two owner Chrysler LeBaron Town & Country Convertible (Mark Cross Edition). One of only 1500 Marc Cross editions made in 1983! Powered by a 2.6 liter 4 cylinder engine with an automatic transmission. Equipped with air conditioning, power windows & door locks, power top, remote mirrors, AM/FM cassette stereo, cruise control, power seats, digital dash, premium Mark Cross leather, and more… Car had new top installed one year ago.

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By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

Mecum’s Kissimmee auction is scheduled for later this month, and the folks at Mecum wanted to make sure you knew what all they’re selling in Florida, so they listed just about their entire inventory on Hemmings.com. That includes some interesting items like a 1964 Datsun 1200 1/4-ton pickup, the Bobby Allison Dodge Daytona, the Herbie’s Hugger Super Stock L89 Camaro, the 2002 Mercury Marauder two-door convertible concept car, a GMC-based swamp buggy (up high so the gators won’t get you, Amos Moses), and a 1983 Jeep Scrambler. See them all at Hemmings

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

While I didn’t come across a Cadillac station wagon for today’s Vintage Hemmings Find of the Day, such Cad wagons were indeed the rage back then, and still appear today, as seen with this 1970 Cadillac Fleetwood nine-passenger station wagon currently for sale on Hemmings.com.From the seller’s description:

Exceptional unrestored California car. Fully loaded with all Brougham options including power factory sunroof, rear foot rests, windows, door locks, etc. Beautiful silver paint with red leather interior. Excellent conversion! Beautiful lines unlike may wagon conversions.

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By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

I’m assuming somebody had a plan here. They didn’t just have a four-door ‘87 Lincoln Continental and decided to have at it with a Sawzall. No, they wanted to build a two-door version from the start and christen it a contemporary Zephyr. Trouble is, the ad copy for this Zephyr, currently for sale on Hemmings.com (for $14,000 out of Beaufort, South Carolina), doesn’t clue us in on the who, why, and when.

This beautifully customed Lincoln has been custom built from a 4-dr Continental into a 3-window coupe. 5.o V8.

Continue reading "Hemmings Find of the Day – 1987 Lincoln Zephyr" »

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

As an AMC fan, I could look at Renault as the company that brought on the death of American Motors. Or I could look at Renault as the comrades-in-arms that had the right amount of insanity to build the LeCar-based R5 Turbo2 (seriously, wouldn’t the AMC guys have done something similar if they were European? Maybe they’d whack about a foot from the wheelbase while they were at it, too…). So I’ll plug this Turbo2 currently for sale on Hemmings.com. From the seller’s description:

1984 Renault R5 Turbo in Red with tan cloth seats and tan carpeting; 5-speed, 19,800 miles with roll bar. Original paint and in excellent condition. Recently had remote oil filter modification done with braded steel oil lines and braded steel clutch hydraulic hose.

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By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

Ah, we meet again, Mr. Waibel. I last saw your Porsche prototype in the Imperial Palace’s collection in April, for sale for $275,000, and it seems you found a buyer, because now Cooper Classics in New York has your prototype for sale on Hemmings.com for an undisclosed sum. Continue reading at Hemmings

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

Some old-car enthusiasts dig old car wreck photos. I don’t. It’s not that I’m psychologically scarred by an old crash; it’s not that I don’t want to see imperfect representations of the cars we normally enjoy seeing in pristine condition. It’s not that I have a weak constitution and am morally outraged at the Ballardian aspect of it. It’s not that I’m denying my mortality. It’s probably more because I see it as a voyeuristic exercise, one step removed from rubbernecking on the highway, taking grotesque pleasure from somebody else’s misfortune, even if blood and guts aren’t in the picture. Morbid curiosity, to me, seems something you grow out of after adolescence.

So why link to the Salem, Massachusetts, police department’s collection of old crash photos? (Thanks, by the way, go to diskojoe for pointing these out, along with the story behind them.)

Though I thoroughly condemned the practice of viewing such photos above, I can also see their attraction. If we’re to be honest about the way things really were in past decades, then such photos are the natural counterpart to the normally bright and pasteurized picture we paint of old cars. And if you look past the destruction, you see that these aren’t apocalyptic photos – they’re simply scenes of everyday life interrupted by misfortune. Continue reading at Hemmings

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

Sitting somewhere between the end of the car corral and the beginning of the swap meet at Hershey this year was this delightfully themed AD Suburban, decked out with period fishing rods and accessories and looking more like it belongs on display in an Orvis retail store than in inland Pennsylvania. And, of course, we couldn’t help but dig one of the most complete set of vintage vacation stickers we’ve yet seen. See the rest of the pics at Hemmings