Showing posts with label Ford. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ford. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Art in the Junkyard


















Art photography by Chris Garza, in various Oregon junkyards. The hearse was not junked, but was driven there by the owner of the Graveyard Carz TV show.

Monday, May 27, 2013

College Cars: 1959 Edsel Corsair Convertible

This is College Cars, another look into the automobile collection of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Today we're looking at a 1959 Edsel Corsair.












We all know the story of the Edsel and how it became one of the auto industry's biggest flops. In retrospect, it's hardly the worst car ever made and quite frankly I love them. Perhaps its two greatest flaws were being built on the same assembly line as Fords (causing quality to suffer due to confusion or parts shortage) and daring to be different with a vertical grille that in some ways harks back to the cars of the 1930s. But the public today remembers Edsel mostly as a punchline. I don't think that's fair.
The 1959 Corsair convertible is a rare animal, with only 1,343 built. As the Academy likes to show off their recent additions at the San Francisco International Auto Show every year, and this one appeared at the 2011 show, I assume that it is the multiple award-winning car that sold at Gooding & Company's auction at Amelia Island in 2010, for $99,000. Perhaps the most fascinating detail about this car is its history, as it was built for the 1959 American National Exhibition in Moscow, complete with a metric speedometer. A Soviet official tried to buy the car and, when denied by a Ford PR man, blocked the rep's return visa to the U.S. until a sufficient bribe was placed. After its tour of duty in the Soviet Union, the car at some point ended up in a German museum and later made its way back to the States. It bounced from collector to auction house and back before it ended up in the hands of the Academy of Art. It still has the box of Russian documentation and original spare parts in the trunk from 1959.
As an editorial note, I really don't think the continental kit helps this car at all. Perhaps a rare option or period addition? As huge as the Corsair already is, I'd much prefer it without the big extension. Still an amazing car though.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Cobra Lite: Ford V8-Swapped 1966 Ghia Fiat 1500GT







For possibly less than the price of building a crappy replica of a Shelby Cobra 427S/C with no provenance and no weather protection or turning a Datsun Z-car into a Chevy V8-powered wannabe Ferrari 250GTO, you can have a real Italian exotic car with full weather protection, provision for effective air conditioning via bulkhead-mounted or "short pack"Vintage Air climate controls, American small-block V8 power and styling remarkably similar to that of a Cobra with a fastback (or the related AC Aceca), many parts available (stocked or special-order) from Bayless FiatC. Obert & Co. (Fiat Plus) and Re-Originals, and all the hard work has been done by the seller as far as the bodywork and conversion to a Ford 289 small-block, C4 automatic (can and should be swapped for a 4- or 5-speed manual) and 8-inch Ford rear axle go, but it needs some trim, all interior, all engine details, and general finishing work to finish.

Find it here in Denver, Colorado with no price listed.

Catch the Short Bus: 1947 Ford Vanette school bus project








This well-used "1947" (most likely 1948 or 1949) Ford school bus, which appears to be an unknown builder school bus conversion of a Ford F3 or F5 multi-stop truck with a Vanette body, is a worthy project for someone wanting to restore a school bus, someone wanting an advertising vehicle, someone wanting a good camper conversion basis, or a multitude of other uses. The 1940s Ford truck chassis leaves the field wide open for all kinds of suspension, brake, cooling and powertrain upgrades, the spacious body leaves lots of options for interior design, and its modest 17-foot length makes it reasonably sized for use in today's world.

Despite being rusty, the panels and body skeleton parts can all be made easily, the seller has extra dash gauges, the straight-six engine turns over, and most parts are easily available between the Ford aftermarket, the multi-stop truck aftermarket and the huge number of Vanette-bodied Fords still rotting in junkyards.

Find it here for $2500 in Santa Cruz, California