March 2020

Hemmings Motor News

World’s Largest Collector Car Marketplace

Hemmings Motor News3 min readAutomotive
Don’t Take My Word for it
The correct answer was “Chevelle.” But correct answers have never really been my strong suit, particularly when vehicles are involved. Asking me for collector-car-type advice is like asking a Magic 8 Ball to diagnose the sudden numbness in your left
Hemmings Motor News3 min readAutomotive
The F-body Advantage
Although I only owned a 1969 Camaro for a few short months (see this issue’s Special Section, page 62), back in the ’90s my daily driver was another GM F-body: a 1984 Pontiac Trans Am. With its H.O. 305-cu.in. V-8, its output was anything but high, b
Hemmings Motor News7 min readIndustries
Backfire
In 1958, when I graduated from Memphis State University (now University of Memphis), Rolls-Royce was advertised as the best car in the world. I wanted the best, but I was more modest — I wanted a Bentley. In the 1970s, I began searching Hemmings Moto
Hemmings Motor News4 min read
Motoring News
NASCAR driver and former team owner Robert Glenn “Junior” Johnson, 88, passed away December 20. His health had been on the decline and he died peacefully while under hospice care. He was a larger-than-life character who became one of the most influen
Hemmings Motor News3 min readAutomotive
1965 AMC Rambler American 440-h
We’d wager that if given the choice, few drivers would prefer to pilot apathetic appliances that simply dispatch them to their destinations with as little fanfare as possible. Yet certain financial circumstances, and the availability of low-priced ca
Hemmings Motor News2 min readAutomotive
1938 Buick Century Convertible Phaeton
From their earliest days, Buick automobiles had a well-earned reputation for advanced engineering and top-notch build quality. In the 1930s, this premium General Motors division gained a new superlative, thanks to the performance afforded by a new mo
Hemmings Motor News6 min readAutomotive
1969 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
There’s no way we could devote an entire section of the magazine to the first-generation Camaro without a nod to its fashionable stablemate: the Pontiac Firebird. And what better example to showcase than the exclusive, top-of-the-line Firebird Trans
Hemmings Motor News3 min readAutomotive
1987-’91 Volvo 780
The success of the Volvo P1800 coupe convinced the Swedish automaker of the need for a stylish, luxury two-door to take on the likes of BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz. With the 200 Series sedan as a starting point, Volvo enlisted the help of Italian de
Hemmings Motor News2 min readAutomotive
1974-’79 Renault 17 Gordini Convertible Coupe
Upon its introduction in the early 1970s, Renault’s front-wheel-drive 17 was a thoroughly modern design, with a fastback profile that hid a practical hatchback with adequate luggage space for the car’s four occupants. American buyers visiting Renault
Hemmings Motor News7 min readAutomotive
Special Edition Datsun/Nissan Z-cars
Base price $8,098/$8,878 (early/late), plus $289 for Black Pearl Metallic Paint and the Special Appearance Package Number made 850-1,500 (approx.) Verdict Light on substance, but not a bad way to go out Base price $10,298 Number made 1,009 Verd
Hemmings Motor News3 min readAutomotive
1938 Harley-Davidson EL
Harley-Davidson had a very real image problem after the introduction of its side-valve V-twin engines: first with the 45-cubic-inch V-twin, in 1929, and then with the bigger 74-cu.in. side valve, in 1930. It spent a lot of time, money, and effort cor
Hemmings Motor News4 min readAutomotive
1960 Chrysler 300F
A four-speed stick has come to define the muscle car ethos: no muss, no fuss, shift it yourself. But, in the late 1950s and early ’60s, when four-speed Impalas, Galaxies, and Catalinas haunted America’s streets, the country’s most well-rounded perfor
Hemmings Motor News3 min readAutomotive
1959 Ford F-100
One could argue that Henry Ford’s first foray into the truck market occurred as early as January 1900. Having organized the Detroit Automobile Company a year prior, one of Ford’s first products was a Delivery Wagon. Much of the body was made from alu
Hemmings Motor News11 min readAutomotive
McCormick Auctions, Palm Springs
McCormick Auctions of Palm Springs, California, has been running two auctions a year since the mid-1980s, and shows no sign of slowing down. The sale held November 22-24 was the 67th of the house’s storied career. Free champagne at a car auction may
Hemmings Motor News9 min readIndustries
The Great Camaro: Designers at Work
Word had come down in early August, 1964, that there would be a Chevrolet sporty car for 1967 to challenge the Mustang directly. General Motors now realized that the 1965 Corvair couldn’t match the Mustang’s engine and option versatility. The news pl
Hemmings Motor News5 min readAutomotive
Power To The People
The Camaro’s long schnoz wasn’t strictly a styling statement — it provided ample space for a variety of powerplants ranging from economical inline-sixes, to overachieving small-blocks and thundering big-blocks. The beauty of the F-car was that its fr
Hemmings Motor News7 min readAutomotive
Camaro Revival
Say you were at grandma and grandpa’s farm for a Christmas party and decided to wander around their sprawling acreage. Then, say you found Uncle Pete’s wrecked first-generation Camaro out in the back 40, sitting just as it did the day, 25 years ago,
Hemmings Motor News4 min readAutomotive
Barn Find Realities
There’s a whole lot of truth to the saying, “you get what you pay for.” While you may think that buying a $5,000 Camaro project over one that has already been restored will save you thousands of dollars — because you can do the work yourself — whethe
Hemmings Motor News13 min readAutomotive
RM Auctions, Hershey
For a dozen consecutive years, RM Auctions, part of the RM/Sotheby’s conglomerate, made the trek from its home in Blenheim, Ontario, Canada, to the south central town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, to host what was originally billed as the “Cars of Hershe
Hemmings Motor News2 min readAutomotive
The Quail
As recently as the 1950s, you would be more likely to see new cars at a concours d’elegance than restored Classics. The idea was to show off elegant cars, mostly coachbuilt, but as the coachbuilders closed their doors or retreated into upfitting vans
Hemmings Motor News1 min read
The White Wall Rama
Before the age of air conditioning, the Catskill Mountains, north of New York City, were an immensely popular place to beat the summertime heat. The Catskills are one of the original road-trip destinations and are still brimming with character, thank
Hemmings Motor News4 min readAutomotive
Grand Torino!
With an automotive manufacturing heritage dating to 1895, Torino, Italy (known in English as Turin), can rightly claim to be the Detroit of Italy. Today, it is the home of Fiat Chrysler’s world headquarters and General Motors’ international powertrai
Hemmings Motor News3 min read
Greetings from Oldsmar
Ransom Eli Olds founded the Olds Motor Vehicle Company in 1897, but sold it to an investor, Samuel L. Smith, within two years. Disagreements between the two persuaded Olds to leave the successful venture in 1904 and cash out his stock. He subsequentl
Hemmings Motor News3 min readAutomotive
Books And Literature
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 617-351-5000 www.hmhco.com ISBN 9781328489876 $28 “Death, rivalry, betrayal, and politics,” writes Neal Bascomb in his new history, Faster. In the 1930s, those had destroyed the old gentlemanly sport of Grand Prix moto
Hemmings Motor News2 min readIndustries
New Products
G-Products • 833-801-9334 www.splatter-guard.com • $24.99-$39.99 Keeping the garage or shop floor clean is always a challenge, as messy splatters and leaks are difficult to avoid. These new, durable Splatterguard drip mats boast an absorbent protect
Hemmings Motor News6 min readAutomotive
Rebuilding Services
Over the last two months, this column has featured suppliers of used parts. Now that you know where to find such items, this month we focus on restoration specialists, who can turn those good used parts into the polished, rebuilt, reconditioned, and
Hemmings Motor News3 min read
A New Generation Takes the Wheel
This past weekend, we passed a new milestone at Casa de Shea: The oldest member of the next generation got behind the wheel for the first time. Nervousness, sweaty palms, and twitching muscles — overreacting to the slightest changes of a young man’s
Hemmings Motor News2 min readAutomotive
In The March Issue Of...
Ford’s Galaxie was one of those rare models that combined distinctive good looks with power and well-appointed details. This was especially true of the 1965-’68 examples that we profiled in this issue, along with a story on a 1967 Galaxie that’s been

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