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Cover Story:
40 for the 500
By John Gunnell
Coker Tire Co., of Chattanooga, Tenn., will be involved in the production of a movie honoring the 100th anniversary of the 500-mile race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As part of the project, the maker of vintage tires will build 40 replicas of cars that raced in the first 500-mile race in 1911. In addition, a replica of the speedway as it looked in 1911 will be constructed. Casey Coker, who runs the Coker Cycle Co. division of the tire company, said that the re-creation of the famed “Brickyard” would be built within 100 miles of the real track.
Ponying up
by Brian Earnest
Like most other pony car fanatics, David Hajian could probably name a myriad of reasons why he is so fond of first-generation Ford Mustangs. Great, sporty styling. Availability. Variety. Mystique. Cool factor.
There’s probably as many reasons to own an early Mustang as there are cars and owners. But Hajian points to a trait that might not be so obvious. “They’re just great cars to work on,” he said. “There’s no electronics. Everything is mechanical and you can really figure things out...
Individuali-’T’
By Gerald Perschbacher
The simple, no-nonsense and hardly fancy Ford Model T was the first choice of transportation for millions of families in America and around the world. Once the thrill of personal transportation settled down, many of those families wanted to do something to make their Fords stand apart from the near cookie-cutter versions that bounced and jounced passengers of all ages along the rough roads of life...
And room for the choir
By Bob Tomaine
Country Squire wagon was about fun and family function.
Station wagons have long appealed, in roughly equal measure, to those who need them and to those who simply like them. By the mid 1970s, this reality was old news at Ford...
Memorable Merc
By John Gunnell
Early stock car pedal masher Russ Truelove still has a ’56 Monterey he used to burn
rubber during NASCAR’s formative years.
This past September, the featured cars at the Fall Vintage Festival at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wis., were NASCAR race cars of all ages. They ranged from Lake Speed’s lavender-colored Olds Cutlass to Tony Raines’ Craftsman series S-10 pickup.
Of the more than dozen vehicles on display, the one that stood out the most was a bright-orange 1956 Mercury Monterey hardtop owned by 84-year-old Russ Truelove. It was a true slice of racing history...
A woodie good find
By Angelo Van Bogart
Collector beats termites to long-forgotten woodies hidden in semi trailer.
Since he was young, New Jersey resident John Katerba knew a local farmer owned a 1939 Plymouth woodie. The car didn’t strike him in his youth, as he had two sons and his high school car, a 1969 Chevelle, to take care of. But a chance meeting with the Plymouth owner in 2007 got him thinking about the woodie again... [Editor's Note: Okay, this one was too good not to post. Go to this article]
A chance meeting with the previous owner of this 1939 Plymouth
led John Katerba to purchasing it. When Katerba picked
up the Plymouth, he discovered a 1948 Ford woodie also
hiding in the trailer situated in a New Jersey farm field.
Brass Tracks: A fascinating toy
By Bob Tomaine
Steam car rookie gets crash course in Stanley ownership
Chances of simply happening on a Stanley that’s for sale aren’t good. Gil Fitzhugh wasn’t actively searching for a Stanley, but cars sometimes have a way of finding the right owners...
Party wave!
By John Lee
300 woodies gather to celebrate car and surf culture at Wavecrest
Surf, sand and suntanned girls in bikinis can be seen about any weekend at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, Calif., but one weekend each year adds another element (some would say the most important element): Woodies!
Nearly 300 of them crowded the block-square parking lot above the beach, as well as the beach and adjacent streets, Sept. 19 for the 30th edition of this celebration of the woodie culture...
Scenes from Carlisle 2009
By Ron Kowalke
What a difference one year makes.
It was late 2008 when the economic downturn became our nation’s ongoing nightmare, but the mood at this year’s Fall Carlisle could be summed up as guarded optimism at what lies ahead...
Watching Fords Go By: Ford books for a blue oval Christmas
By Peter Winnewisser
Since this is the time of the year when people seriously consider giving gifts, how about a good Ford-related book for that Ford enthusiast in the family or for a friend? Following are brief reviews of eight books published in 2008 or 2009. All have a Ford-related theme, and each of them would make a great gift. Show the list to your family and suggest that one or more of these books would beat a tie or sweater as a holiday gift. You might even order one of them for your own library. Hey, you owe it to yourself...
Collecting Chrysler: Picking up the Pace
by John Lee
1954 Dodge Royal 500 pace car offers stiff restoration challenge
What collector doesn’t dream of owning a flashy, top-of-the-line model of their favorite make? What it takes to get it back to its original showroom shine might not even cross their mind.
Packard Points: 50 years of facts
by Gerald Perschbacher
Packard ‘came clean’ about its past back in ‘49
Anniversaries are a time of reflection and, in some cases, “coming clean” about the past. So it was with Packard in April 1949, as the company prepared for its golden anniversary celebration and its 23rd series of cars.
Plus: Otto Mechanic
Sound Your Horn
Vintage Ad/Club Clips
Q&A with Kit Foster
Auction Express News
Wreck of the Week
Old Cars Report
OCW Show Calendar
OCW Classifieds
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