Mar
19
The ’57 is an automobile icon probably without peer. Its tail fins aim skyward, like battleship guns. It is as American as Donald Trump. Now its success was not only based on styling, it was also the first year for the venerable 283 V-8. This engine came in lots of flavors all the way up to fuelies. But buyers shied away from that new technology wary of mechanics’ ability to keep them running. Carbs were king back in the day. Read More
Mar
19
Okay, so maybe bargain isn’t the proper way to describe any low volume, Italian Super Car from the sixties. But comparable cars like the Ferrari Daytona and Lamborghini Miura will set you back 4-times more money and not get you a better parking space when you pull up in front of Chateau Marmont. The Maserati Ghibli is an Italian gran turismo produced from 1967 to 1973 so our feature car is one of the early ones. Read More
Mar
18
We like the Northwest. It gave us the 747 and Starbucks. The folks up there are really cool and keep their cars in one piece. Our Mercedes 230S came from Seattle, so we know from experience. And they have their own group of vintage racers out there – SOVREN, Society Of Vintage Racing Enthusiasts. A great group of enthusiasts and they do great philanthropy so we are told. If you want to play with them you need a car. A really neat car – one you can see in the fog and drizzle.
Mar
18
On March 18, 1933, Studebaker entered receivership. The company had been struggling with its debts, exacerbated by the problems of the Great Depression, but would manage to make a resurgence. It would, however, be dogged by financial problems until its final demise in 1966.
Sherwood Egbert arrived as Studebaker’s new president in 1961. Egbert’s halo car was the Avanti. While Brook Stevens was updating bread & butter models, Egbert recruited industrial designer Raymond Loewy who had considerable auto design experience. Egbert knew what the new car should look like. Loewy took Egbert’s vision and sequestered his highly talented team in a rented desert ranch house near Palm Springs. Read More
Mar
17
Sunbeam asked Carroll Shelby to produce a prototype for $10,000. Shelby’s prototype was designed by Richard R. Hovis, and fabricated by Shelby employee George Boskoff. The car was good enough to send to England for evaluation. Seeking reassurance everything would fit, a second Series 2 Alpine was handed to Ken Miles. Miles had just been employed by Shelby American. Read More
Mar
17
In the scheme of things, the decline of the muscle car shouldn’t make history so its demise isn’t on any list of important happenings of 1973. Here’s why. The Vietnam War ended, Watergate, Oil Embargo, Roe vs. Wade, World Trade Center completed, and the Yom Kippur War to name of few events that got in the way. One event did impact the muscle car’s extinction – the Arab oil embargo. Gas prices skyrocketed to .60 cents a gallon (a dozen eggs cost .45 cents) – if you could find gas. Read More
Mar
16
Auto Turismo Sport’s Shop on a typical day. A ’68 Porsche 911S in the foreground and a Ferrari 275 GTS on the lift. Our Mercedes is is in the background.
We are getting there. It’s been a long slog getting the Mercedes-Benz 230S roadworthy. It sat for such a long time, the fuel putrefied and fouled the entire fuel system. That meant taking the tank out, boiling and relining it. We double lined the tank and it took over a week to cure. We had plenty to do while we waited. It has been at Mint headquarters for 2 weeks now and we have mounted the Cibie Super Oscars, and made prototypes for some brackets and a center control console. We are spending time getting miles under our belt and making a few repairs in the process. Yesterday, we mounted a new fuel pump from Mercedes-Benz Classic Center – thanks Tom Hanson – and our new sisal cocomats from Cocomats.com – thanks Drew.
Mar
16
Post World War II, the Brits resumed building 1930s cars. Difficult times – limited natural resources – largely dictated the use of existing engines and technology. That continued for some time into the 1950s. In 1952, Ken Richardson was hired to manage development of a new sports car. It eventually became the TR-2, with its own new chassis, and a Vanguard engine developing 90 horsepower. Read More
Mar
16
We’ve had a Woodie before – a real one but this is our first Vinyl Woodie. After they stopped making real Woodies for practical reasons, they began making fake ones called “Tin Woodies”. We like to think wagons built in the 50s are true Tin Woodies. But these Vinyl-clad beasts from the late 60s might fall into that category. They are quite popular now as boomers age and remember being carted around in them in the rear facing seats. Read More
Mar
16
There is a very long history of Brewster Coach Works that began right near us in New Haven, Connecticut. They began building horse drawn coaches but not the kind that carry hay – the kind that carried wealthy people. When automobiles came onto the seen, Brewster immediately got onboard and began building cars. They became known for unwavering quality so much so that when they ran into trouble after WW I, Rolls-Royce purchased them. Rolls was building cars for the American market in Massachusetts and shipping the chassis to New York for Brewster bodies. Read More
Mar
15
We can only hope someone who lives near Mint Headquarters buys this car. There isn’t much we don’t like about it. Correct that, there is nothing wrong with this car. It is perfect. Some who follow the world of Porsche call this an Outlaw. In the real world it is known as a hot rod. But why quibble. 
The listing is so filled with specific details, we won’t repeat them. Go visit the auction site for that. To sum up this car, it is a lovely looking 356A in a wonderful color and sporting an amazingly beautiful and correct interior. That is not the entire story. It is an R-Gruppe 911 underneath.
Everything has been thoughtfully resolved to get the engine, transmission and suspension to fit while keeping the body appearing stock. It is a multiple show winner and has been featured in magazines around the world. We can’t say anything about valuation here because it is 1 of 1. But if you want a truly special Porsche, this is it. Click here for the eBay auction.
Mar
15
We’ve always wanted a lead-off story that began with, “It still has its original Seppelfricke cooker.” Check that off the bucket list. You have to admit this is a cool camper and since we’ve never seen one before we have only an Airstream to compare it to. The bullet, shiny aluminum shape of the Airstream is unmistakably American. Read More
Mar
15
A bunch of SAAB engine designers and enthusiasts formed a limited research-and-development team to build a small sports car, with a total budget of only 75,000 kroner. It became known as the Sonett, a name derived from the Swedish phrase Så nätt den är – How neat is it. The Sonett 1 – only six were made. The Sonett II had better success building 258 units. They felt they were limiting the market by using the 2-stroke engine so plans were rushed into play to adapt Ford’s V-4 engine for the next version. Read More
Mar
14
We are sort of in the tank for cars created by Donald Healey. Yesterday we featured one of his creations in collaboration with Nash-Kelvinator. Today’s featured post is at the other end of the spectrum. Donald wanted a car a bloke could park in his bike shed. His own words, not ours. It was introduced to the press in 1958 and quickly became a success in sales and on the track. Read More
Mar
14
We debated whether to post this Porsche because it will probably be gone by the time it gets any air time. As you may know by now, and if you do not, we love Porsche Coupes over Targas and Cabriolets. We believe they are the perfect expression of the classic design of a 911. Read More
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