Category Archives: Antique Cars

Star Cars: Janis, Jimi and Jim

  By admin | May 15, 2013 - 1:28 PM | , , , , , , ,
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Jimi Hendrix Corvette

Jimi Hendrix Corvette

It’s a well-known fact that James Marshall Hendrix, better known as “Jimi,” was a fan of the iconic Fender Stratocaster. What isn’t common knowledge was his affinity for Chevrolet Corvettes. During his short time in the spotlight, Hendrix owned not one, but two Vettes.

His first, a Stingray, was purchased in Cleveland in 1968 while on tour with his band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, in support of their recently released masterpiece Axis: Bold As Love. Sadly, after less than a year, Hendrix totaled the car following a long night of heavy partying. Undeterred, and with his insurance claim filed, Hendrix took delivery of a replacement Corvette.

This second Corvette, in Cortez Silver, remained in Hendrix’s possession until his death, after which it was sold to cover mounting bills faced by his estate. From there the trail goes cold, with the car’s whereabouts currently unknown.

See more at http://www.historicvehicle.org  link below.

via Star Cars: Janis, Jimi and Jim.

Corvair – The Last Car

  By admin | May 14, 2013 - 7:04 AM | , , , , , ,
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Normally, I do a Auto Factoid piece and you’d find a entry that would say on May 14, 1969 the last Corvair rolled off the factory line.

Some folks loved the car and many collectors still do.  There were a few that really disliked the car for various reasons and one guy in particular, Ralph Nader, believed they represented all that was wrong with the U.S. auto industry.  Although he may not have single-handedly contributed the end of the Corvair’s production, many believe he was instrumental in it’s early demise.

That’s way an a border town car show in Nogales, AZ I found this humorous:

What's funny about a 1966 Corvair?

What’s funny about a 1966 Corvair?

How about the Ralph Nader for President bumper sticker?

How about the Ralph Nader for President bumper sticker?

 

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

 

 

 

 

Hot Rods Old Vail 1st Annual Car Show – My Fav- Starliner

  By admin | May 2, 2013 - 8:08 PM | , , , ,
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There was a time in Ford history where the same car carried several names at one time. This was my favorite car at this show.  The Ford Starliner also carried the name Galaxy (the Fairlane also carried the Galaxy name).   This one is a beautiful 1960 Starline and I love it.

Enjoy the pics.

'60 Starliner - great looking interior

’60 Starliner – great looking interior

 

Great Lines - imitation turbine taillights

Great Lines – imitation turbine taillights

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

 

 

Road Tripping – Cars – Lowell, Az – Part I

  By admin | April 14, 2013 - 8:24 PM | , ,
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One of our (myself and my better half) favorite things to do is road trip to out of the way places.  Once there, I have a limit to how many shops, art galleries and “antique” stores I can handle.  So we’ve taken to the back streets to look  at the local neighborhoods.  My wife is an interior designer and she loves architecture so we are always keeping eye out for interesting homes and buildings and I love cars so I’m always on the lookout for what’s in the backyard.

So that is what led us to this unique discovery outside of Bisbee, Az.  The next few blog entries will be what we discovered in the area.

Lowell, Az is nearly a ghost town, surrounded by the mining town of Bisbee.  The story goes like this: there is this fellow who had something to do with starting and promoting one of the largest motorcycle events in the world… The Sturgis, South Dakota motorcycle event!!

Some call it a ghost town, but it is not.  There is a food co-op, a small cafe and a working motorcycle restoration shop.  The rest is really a very cool set up.

Here is the town:

Downtown Lowell, Az

Downtown Lowell, Az

IMG_0069

Coming up we’ll explore this town and find some interesting details.

Thanks for reading,

Tim

‘67 Corvette Abandoned in a Field Gets a Chance at a Second Life – CorvetteOnline.com

  By admin | April 14, 2013 - 6:15 PM | , , , , , , ,
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‘67 Corvette Abandoned in a Field Gets a Chance at a Second Life – CorvetteOnline.com.

The second-generation Corvette is widely regarded as one of, if not the best-looking Corvette, and they fetch a high premium on the auction circuit. But not every Corvette has benefited from a full restoration, and even fewer can claim to be true “survivor” cars.

Thankfully, it looks like one long-languishing 1967 Corvette coupe will get a second chance at life, reports Old Cars Weekly writer Al Rogers. The couple who owns this ‘Vette has vowed to restore it, citing their long history with the car.

Lee and Amanda Sloppy (not making that name up, by the way) have a long history with this ‘67, buying it from the original owner in 1973. Amanda used it as her daily driver to her two-mile commute until 1981, and then after the mufflers, brakes, and other bits needed replacing, the Corvette was eventually parked. Parked, but not forgotten.

They Made How Many? 1908

  By admin | April 1, 2013 - 8:18 PM | , ,
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There were a lot of car makers in 1908 some of the names you’d recognize  like Lincoln, Imperial and Sears (yup that Sears) and some you  wouldn’t like Benner, Mier and Browniekar.

The top makers were headed up by Ford with a whopping 10,202 cars produced.  (This was the year Ford introduced the Model T.) The rest of the maker looked like this:

Buick – 8,820

Studebaker – 8,132

1908 STUDEBAKER - Model H, 4-cyl., 30 hp

1908 STUDEBAKER – Model H, 4-cyl., 30 hp

1908 Studebaker Electric carry-all

Studebaker Electric

 

Maxwell – 4,455 – What’s a Maxwell?  Well like many cars of this era  they look like one another but here’s a pic.

1908 Maxwell Runabout

1908 Maxwell Runabout

 

Reo – 4,105

Rambler – 3,597

Cadillac – 2,377

Franklin – 1,895

Thanks for reading

Tim

 

 

 

Auto Factoid for the Week of Jan 27, 2013

  By admin | January 27, 2013 - 8:54 PM | , , ,
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Wow.  January 2013 is almost over.  Here is what was happening this week in auto history.

Jan 27 1974- “I CAN’T DRIVE 55″  But didn’t stop then President Richard Nixon speed limit reduced to 55.

1/29   – Karl Benz patented 1st car with Gas engine  1886

1/30 – Rambler debuted   1958

1/31 – Pontiac first 2 door Safari wagon – 1955

I love two wagon!!!!

 

1/31 – Studebaker – Packard Clipper debuts 1957

I did a post a while back on the ill fated  merger that resulted in the PackardBaker.

http://wp.me/p2YxYx-1iX

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Barrett Jackson Recap Part I

  By admin | January 26, 2013 - 10:30 AM | , , , , , ,
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Well once again I attempted to do some “nearly live” postings from the “big show” but my recent move to my own a new domain had some glitches and well  my Android phones battery didn’t hold up.

But there were a lot cars and a ton of other sites and activity.

One of which was driving the 2013 5.0 Mustang with 412 hp!!!

So grab the RSS feed or sign up for emails because for the next few blog entries I’m going to ‘expound’ on some of my highlights.

Enjoy.

Tim

Mustang010809