Back in the saddle again
After a week of vacation, I’m happy to be back and talking old cars on a regular basis. While I finished my Christmas shopping and took care of some vehicle…
After a week of vacation, I'm happy to be back and talking old cars on a regular basis. While I finished my Christmas shopping and took care of some vehicle repairs, I didn't get everything accomplished that I hoped to for Old Cars Weekly, which included stopping at L'Cars Automotive Specialties in Cameron, Wis., and also at Vintage Vehicles in Wautoma, Wis., for some photo opportunities.
While I did tour Vintage Vehicles in Wautoma, I didn't shoot any feature cars while there, but we did lay some groundwork for future articles. The shop has an impressive lineup of cars in its shop ranging from the 1920s into the 1970s, so there should be some neat potential for articles, hopefully beginning this spring.
The wonderful upper Midwest weather prevented my stop at L'Cars Automotive Specialties earlier today, so I've rescheduled for later this week. Owner Bob Lorkowski tempted me with some interesting cars (the '34 Rolls-Royce on the cover of the previous OCW Guide to Auto Restoration, plus a hot rodded '57 Chevy and '34 Ford as well as a Hudson Italia and others), so you can bet I'm driving north to catch those vehicles while I can.
When I returned to the OCW office this morning, I realized Christmas came early in the form of a book I have been anticipating for several months, "The Fate of the Sleeping Beauties." This book provides detail information on each of those famous Classics and other collectible vehicles that were photographed in the 1980s while languishing in a French chateau. Previous books on these cars were heavy on the photographs, which showed about 10 dirty, dusty and rusty Bugattis, a couple early Ferraris, a supercharged Graham, Lancias, Alfa Romeos, Aston Martins and the like. This book provides many more details on each car, from its serial number to its background and even its present location since it split from the collection upon being "discovered." This book has the potential to be the best book on "barn finds," so I am looking forward to digging into it this evening. Check out a future issue of OCW for the results of my "research."
Also check back to see what I uncover at L'Cars. It's bound to be great.
Angelo Van Bogart is the editor of Old Cars magazine and wrote the column "Hot Wheels Hunting" for Toy Cars & Models magazine for several years. He has authored several books including "Hot Wheels 40 Years," "Hot Wheels Classics: The Redline Era" and "Cadillac: 100 Years of Innovation." His 2023 book "Inside the Duesenberg SSJ" is his latest. He can be reached at avanbogart@aimmedia.com
