Chevrolet turns 100 years old

Story by Budd Stanley, photos courtesy of GM Canada

It’s ironic that the “Heartbeat of America” got its start in the small town of La Chaux-de-Fonds, a centre of watchmaking in northwestern Switzerland. Engineering skills like that required for watchmaking, would be a good start for someone looking to start their own automobile manufacturer, but Louis Chevrolet didn’t choose watchmaking and went straight into a career as a mechanic. He first started working for a French car company but would soon emigrate to Montreal, Quebec, in 1900. At this time, Chevrolet had also become an accomplished bike racer. However, it wouldn’t be long before he was on the move again, this time to New York to work for an engineering company that was run by a fellow Swiss.

It’s a familiar story for those who would build some of the most successful automotive manufacturing companies at the turn of the century – bike mechanics turned engineers, turned automotive entrepreneurs. However, before Chevrolet started up his own car company, he began to race Fiats professionally for a year, then moved on to race for Buick where he would meet company owner William C. Durant, the man who would co-found the  Chevrolet car company with Louis in the near future. But before that could happen, Chevrolet was back on the road, this time in Philadelphia to develop a revolutionary front-wheel drive racing car. It seems Mr. Chevrolet was a man who got around back at the turn of the century, so it was only fitting that several decades later, the company that took his name had a motto that said “See the USA in a Chevrolet.”

We now move over to Durant, who in 1909, created another new car company, this one called General Motors. However, in 1911, Durant was ousted from his position at General Motors, so, he teamed with Chevrolet along with financial partners William Little, the man behind the Little automobile and Dr. Edwin R. Campbell who was Durant’s son-in-law, to create the Chevrolet car company with Louis’s own designs, which he had been working on in his spare time.

The company’s logo, the bowtie we all know today, was actually a stylized Swiss cross from the Swiss flag, to honor his homeland. The first car developed for the company would be the Chevrolet Series C Classic Six. Under Chevrolet’s tutelage, the car would be one of the most powerful and extravagant vehicles Chevrolet would build. The Series C had a classic European style using Chevrolet’s own 299 cubic-inch, 40-horsepower six-cylinder mated to a three-speed gearbox mounted in the rear – Corvette fans rejoice. It was one of Chevrolet’s greatest achievements, but it was extremely expensive to produce. Durant had different plans for the company though, choosing to build cheaper cars at a more affordable price.

Soon, Chevrolet and Durant would start to butt heads and in 1915, Chevrolet would leave the company that bore his name to start a racing company. He and younger brothers Gaston and Arthur Chevrolet started Frontenac Motor Corporation, designing and producing a line of racing cars. They would become well known for several strong appearances in the Indianapolis 500 as well as their Fronty-Ford racers. Yes, Chevrolet built and sold special cylinder heads for souped-up Model-T Fords.

Meanwhile, Durant had now made Chevrolet a profitable company with the introduction of cheaper vehicles such as the 490, Baby Grand and the Series H. With cash in his pocket, he bought controlling stake of his old company, General Motors, and became president of that company in 1917, and promptly merged Chevrolet into the growing GM family. Soon after, he created Chevrolet factories located in New York City; Tarrytown, N.Y.; Flint, Michigan; Toledo, Ohio; St. Louis, Missouri; Oakland, California; Fort Worth, Texas, and Oshawa, Ontario.

Chevrolet, along with the growing empire that was GM, began to flourish, taking on the likes of Ford and Chrysler, the other two top mass-production players in the North American auto industry at the time. At the same time, Louis was also finding success in his racing company, winning the 1920 Indy 500 with his redesigned Monroe-Frontenac racer. In only his second try, Louis’ brother Gaston piloted the car to became the first driver in the history of the 500-mile race to go the distance without making a tire change.

However, the coming depression would not be kind to Louis Chevrolet, who lost all his previous earnings in the stock market crash of 1929. Without income, he went to work as a line mechanic in a Chevrolet factory, the company he founded. Louis Chevrolet died nearly penniless on June 6, 1941 in Detroit, Michigan, and is buried in the Holy Cross and Saint Joseph Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana. However, we all know the legacy that Chevrolet left to the automotive industry, a company that is now a worldwide entity. On November 7, 2011, Chevrolet celebrated its 100^th anniversary, a feat equaled by only a few companies, including Ford, Alfa Romeo, Fiat and to a certain extent, Audi. In tribute to the company’s namesake, Chevrolet Europe is recognizing Louis Chevrolet’s Swiss birthplace of La Chaux-de-Fonds by commissioning a public artwork on the Parc de l’Ouest.

Despite a nasty bankruptcy and a company restructuring over the last couple of years, Chevrolet is showing signs of its former glory, unleashing several new and interesting vehicles such as the Sonic and Volt. While it may not have been as prestigious a brand as Louis Chevrolet would have wanted, as shown in the one vehicle he created for the brand, it still holds to Durant’s vision of affordable vehicles to the mass population, a business plan that has re-earned GM the title of largest auto manufacturer in the world.

Modern new life given to an old classic

Story by Budd Stanley, photos by Grant McAvoy

The muscle car culture curiously mimics nature, if you stand back and take a look at it closely. It is a culture in constant evolution, not so much in making cars more efficient or in technological advances, but to make them bigger, more powerful and faster. Like nature, the muscle car must deal with periods of depression and periods of prosperity. Big cars with big engines flourish, then thin out when food becomes scarce. Then, when fuel is more plentiful, they start to come back, this time with even more ridiculous amounts of power, only to lose ground as the costs of fuel and living start to rise once again, and again. However, each time the breed comes back, it comes back stronger and more resilient than before.

Ironically, the Chevelle was born in the era of GTOs carrying big-block 400s that struck the fear of god into just about anyone who came anywhere close. The Chevelle, on the other hand, was to stay loyal to the small block 327, and with good reason, as the 350 hp got the mid-sized Chevelle down the road just fine. However, in the world of muscle, “just fine,” just won’t do. So in one short year, the boys with the bowties, shoved a 375-hp 396 under the hood.

By the time the fourth generation came along in 1970, Chevelle owners could opt for the ridiculously powerful LS6 454 which gave the new sleeker Chevelle 450 hp and 500 lb-ft  of torque. However, we all know how that ended – the oil crisis hit, and everyone went from Chevelle drivers to Chevette owners. When the ’90s came around, gas was cheap and wages were good, but while the manufacturers had taken up the horsepower wars of old, muscle car lovers were returning to their roots, picking up where the ’70s left off, building them bigger and bigger.

However, it was only a few short years ago that the economy tanked once again and the price of fuel skyrocketed. So, time to pack away the big blocks once again, right? Wrong!

This particular example is fresh from the 360 Fabrications shop floor, taking the muscle car philosophy to the max, molesting the engine bay of this 1970 Chevelle to fit a 620-hp 572-cubic inch big-block crate engine. This engine has become a bit of an icon in the last few years, as 360 Fabrication co-founder Daryl Francoeur comments that as soon as anyone sees one of these laying around the shop, all of a sudden everyone has to have one in their car. What these beasts can do for a mid-sized body is absolutely amazing and the unique sound it makes is like nothing you’ll ever hear; however, getting them in is another story. Keeping the big 572 fed and running is a Demon four-barrel carb, Be Cool radiator rated at 1,000 hp, and a great looking March pulley setup that keeps all the fluids and electricity flowing.

The current owner of this Chevelle owns an Aston Martin with paddle shift transmission, so he wanted all the best of modern luxuries in a classic old body. As such, 360 sorted him out with a very unique TCI 6-speed automatic gearbox with sequential-shift capabilities in the shifter. The entire package is completely computer programmable allowing the driver to time shifts to the ideal shift points and speed. When matched with the 572, the performance and acceleration of the car is absolutely phenomenal with instantaneous shifts.

To put all that power to the ground, they have gone with the tried-and-true Ford 9-inch rear-end from Chassisworks, complete with 4.11 gearing and completely reinforced with full positraction lockup. Chassisworks is also responsible for the front sub-frame with completely adjustable coil-over suspension all around.

Of course, with all that power and speed, things need to be reined in when the lights up the road go red. So, the entire car is set up with Wilwood braking, something 360 has come to trust as they have been the most durable and potent system they come across. This means a Wilwood master cylinder, six-piston aluminum monoblock calipers up front and four-piston units in the back. Hiding those lovely slotted and cross-drilled discs are a set of Asanti 20-inch wheels wearing 255/30 rubber up front and 345/25 out rear. Needless to say, this beast will paint the street black with absolute ease.

The 360 team has continued the modern treatment into the body work as well, as the Chevelle features no drip rails on the roof while filling in a large portion of the rear quarter windows to create a custom one-of-a-kind look. Flush-mount windshield and rear window do a masterful job of making the car look like a modern retro interpretation of a classic muscle car, while actually being a 40-year old car. The front grille features HID headlights providing optimal lighting. The bumpers have all been tucked to mount flush with the bodywork with parking sensor and rearview camera completing the modern amenities.

Inside, passengers are greeted with a one-off custom interior with a very modern design. Seats are pulled out of an ’05 Pontiac GTO, rewrapped with leather and featuring power adjustments. All the interior body panels are hand-formed in fibreglass, and the owner gave full design creativity to 360’s upholstery specialist. Dash curvatures are carried on into the door panels, really finishing off the design nicely.

To keep the dash clean, all vehicle and media operations have been moved to the centre console between the seats, with controls for the rear diff, transmission and all the on-board media. As a result, the dash is one of the big stand-out features of the car, with only the brushed aluminum gauge cluster breaking up the smooth leather surface. Mounted to the gauge cluster are several Nexus computer-controlled gauges providing the vital details. To keep everything nice and comfy, wool carpeting is custom-fitted to the car’s floor.

To finish the car off, the media centre is a top-of-the-line Audison Thesis that is a completely programmable, standalone system with JVC head unit. Three amps sit in the trunk joined with two 12-inch subs. Two six-inchers sit in the doors with two 6x9s on the parcel tray. So if the sound of the engine ever gets monotonous, then the stereo system is more than capable of drowning out the 572.

All that work comes together to create a special looking vehicle that really does upset the balance of old vs. new. While both Ford and Dodge have created a modern retro versions of famous cars like the GT40 and Challenger, so realistic to the original designs, that they can often be mistaken at a distance, 360 have done something similar, turning a tired old ’70 Chevelle into something that could easily be mistaken for a modern GM retro concept.

Canada’s only Toyota Supercar

Story and photos by Budd Stanley

The Lexus LF-A is a masterfully exquisite combination of space age high tech and finely-tuned brute force, producing a vehicle that is much more than just a car. No, it is a vehicle that shouts to the Germans, Italians, British, Americans and even the Swedes, saying, “Watch out, we Japanese can build an exotic supercar too!” However, all those other countries, other than Sweden, have been pumping out equally impressive forms of supercardom since the end of the second world war. So why has it taken Toyota this long to step up to the plate?

Well, the answer is, they already have, and they did it during the late ’60s, during the birth of the modern supercar. At this time, Lamborghini Miuras, Ferrari 275 GTBs, Aston Martin DB6s, Jaguar E-Types and Ford GT40s were still being offered new in showrooms. Japan’s answer to these iconic cars was the Toyota 2000GT. The story of the 2000GT is quite an interesting one, and one whose roots began for the same reason that brought us the LF-A 43 years later.

Ironically, the 2000GT owes its creation to another famous Japanese sports car, the Nissan 240Z. In the early ’60s, Nissan and Yamaha banded together to build a halo sports car for the Nissan brand that would make use of a 2.0L DOHC Yamaha straight six. With much of the design work and engineering finished, Nissan pulled out of the project, citing that the Yamaha wasn’t producing the power that they wanted. So, Nissan went it alone, and five years later, basing its design on Yamaha’s prototype, the Z car was born.

However, Yamaha knew it had something special, and pitched the idea to Toyota, which ironically at the time, was considered the most conservative of the Japanese makes. Wanting to improve its image, Toyota jumped on board, creating a long and fruitful relationship between the two brands that lasts to this day. Along with Yamaha’s prized 150 hp 2.0L straight-six, the 2000GT was modeled after several front-engine rear-drive sports coupes of the day, with obvious 250 GTO cues. The body is completely hand-fabricated out of aluminum and featured pop-up headlights, as well as Plexiglas-covered driving lamps flushed into the grille. Inside, the interior was up to the standard of most luxury GTs of the day, featuring a rosewood-veneer dash, radio and sport bucket seats. Road & Track called it one of the most impressive cars they had ever driven, and likened it to the Porsche 911.

In the four years the 2000GT was built, 1967 to 1970, Toyota only produced 337 examples of the car. It may have not been the fastest car on the road, but it was one of the most rare to come across. All the more exciting when I found what is likely the only living example in Canada.

Christian Chia has done well in his business career since I last lined up with him in dueling Toyota rally cars in the Western Canadian Championship. Since that time in 2000, Chia has created the auto dealership empire that is OpenRoad, with no fewer than eight dealerships representing nine different manufacturers. However, in talking with him, you can tell that he has a special place in his heart for Toyotas.

The son of an automotive entrepreneur, who started the Toyota factory in Indonesia, Chia, as well as his brother, have had a long-lasting passion for not only the automobile, but more precisely, Toyota vehicles. His father was always an admirer of rare Toyotas such as the Crown Royal Saloon, President and Century, even owning a Crown and Century himself. Chia went to work for Toyota in Japan back in 1991, and it was then that he laid eyes on his first 2000GT at the Toyota Museum. He absolutely fell in love with the rare beast, but the car also reminded him of his father who had died when the brothers were quite young.

Chia finally acquired his dream car, this example from a prolific 2000GT collector out of Boston who has owned about 20 of the 337 ever built. As he brings in cars and restores them and moves them around, he will let one go every now and then to help finance the next project, so an opportunity presented itself to Chia back in 2000. He jumped on it, bringing the car into the country in 2001. Having it trailered to Seattle, he wanted to drive the car personally across the border, so he went down to pick it up. Well, the old Toyota was riding on mechanical brakes, which are bad enough as it is, however, they were also worn out, meaning every time traffic came to a stop, he would have to divert the car to the shoulder or on the grass in order not to wreck his dream car.

What’s even worse was the car’s handling issues. It would roll and fishtail around at speeds of 60 to 80 km/h, quite violently at 90 to 100. They thought the tires were shot, but once they put the car up onto a hoist, it turned out that there were no bushings left in the suspension, as they had rotted completely away. So the first few months of ownership were stressful, to say the least.

With some mechanical issues sorted, Chia put the car on display at two of his Toyota dealerships to gain intrigue for the brand, and would take it out for a short rip every now and then to enjoy his investment. However, the car was so unknown, that about once a month, customers would pop into his office and ask why he had a Ferrari in a Toyota showroom.

After nine years of being gawked at, and molested by children crawling all over it at the dealerships when their parents weren’t looking, the car was starting to get a little rough around the edges. In 2009, Chia had commissioned 360 Fabrication to construct a Scion project vehicle, the same vehicle featured in RPM’s Speed and Sound section last year. Being quite happy with the work done to the Scion, Chia made the decision that the 2000GT was in need of restoration. The plan was only to do a quick cosmetic refresh to the body, but both parties saw the opportunity to do something special.

Soon, the quick cosmetic refresh had turned into a full frame-off restoration; bringing new life to every facet of the car. One of the most difficult parts of the build came in the stripping phase of it, as they found that one of the previous owners felt the need to completely douse the entire bottom of the car with tar undercoating. The job to remove the black goo from the priceless classic was an ordeal, to say the least, and proved to be the most time-consuming part of the restoration. Once they had the car all pulled apart and down to the bare metal, they found the A-pillar had been previously repaired, likely damaged from having been driven into a ditch, so both the body and frame were fully straightened out and given new life. The engine got some fabrication work done to the carburetors, but Chia really wanted the car to be left in original condition, so other than a refresh, no additional modifications have been made to upset the original character of the car.

The only thing Chia wanted to change about the car was to replace the vinyl seats with leather. However, he liked the dimple effect that was in the material. So, 360 created a mold with the dimple effect in it and applied it to a high-end leather, keeping the original look of the seats, but using a nicer material. Likewise, the rosewood dash was painstakingly dismantled and restored to bring the car back to its original brilliance.

With the 2000GT looking like the day it came off the factory floor nearly a half century ago, Chia now drives it at least once every two months. He comments that the car has lots of power, and is quite easy to drive, but he still needs to be wary of the mechanical brakes which can still cause concern when driving over bridges or built-up areas. When not on his favourite route around the UBC campus, Chia keeps the car at the Open Road Lexus dealership for all to enjoy, and maybe pull in a prospective customer or two.

With the 2000GT in the condition that he is happy with, Chia is now looking at the possibility of purchasing and restoring a ’70s-era Celica hatchback or notchback, staying with the unknown classics that Toyota once produced. A Toyota purist, right down to the heart.

Looking Back at the Jensen FF

Story by Budd Stanley

There seems to be a strange connection between farm tractors and high-performance cars from the 1960s. Many know the famous rivalry between tractor builder Ferruccio Lamborghini and Enzo Ferrari. The resulting dispute led Lamborghini to build his own supercar company, resulting in his first car, the 350GT, being released in 1963. Likewise, Porsche has a fond kinship with its initial manufacturing arm, which built tractors from 1934 to the mid ’60s. Well, there is another tractor company out there, one more familiar to we Canadians than Porsche or Lamborghini, that is responsible for one of the most forward-thinking GT cars to come out of the ’60s, and you may be surprised to know that company’s name is Ferguson.

Ferguson Tractors was founded by Irishman Harry Ferguson, who, at the turn of the century, jumped into the booming agricultural tractor industry early, making a name for himself with several forward-thinking patents. Ferguson’s love of all things mechanical had him own several automotive and motorcycle garages, and his love of the automobile would show itself once again in the late ’50s, as he desired to build a safe four-wheel drive family car. Creating a new engineering firm, Ferguson hired on race car drivers Freddie Dixon and Tony Rolt as company Directors along with Aston Martin engineer Claude Hill, to begin work on a new prototype.

Many prototypes were created and scrapped, but various advanced safety features were produced in the process, including a hydraulic torque converter mated to a normal gearbox, allowing a semi-automatic transmission, along with the Ferguson-Maxaret anti-lock braking system developed with Dunlop. Plus, of course, a 4WD system that could handle the speed of a proper GT.

These prototypes had excited the Jensen brothers, whose company had just begun building its own cars. Jensen Motors had several coachwork contracts with Austin, Healey, Volvo and Sunbeam that helped bring in the finances to fund its own prototypes. The 541, the world’s first four-seat fibreglass-bodied car, began production in 1955, but the brothers still wanted to utilize Ferguson’s technologies in an upcoming concept. With a working contract in hand, Jensen developed its CV8 coupe to accept the Ferguson drivetrain, to produce a CV8 FF prototype in 1965. However, at the time, work was being finished up on the CV8’s replacement, the Interceptor.

To the chagrin of the Jensen brothers, Kevin Beattie, the Deputy Chief Engineer and Brian Owen, Managing Director, felt that an Italian coachbuilder should be used for the new car. Touring Superleggera came up with the winning design and Jensen had Vignale build the stylish new bodies for the new car. There would be two versions however, one with the standard rear-wheel drive, while the Ferguson technology-equipped car would use the same frame and body, but would be called the Jensen FF, the letters standing for Ferguson Formula, with a slightly stretched body. Both cars were shown at the 1966 Motor Show. Jensen Motors would end up with a full order book for the beautiful-looking Jensen Interceptor, while the 4WD Jensen FF was to receive much praise and publicity from the motoring press

Like the prototypes, the FF used Ferguson’s full-time all-wheel drive system for the first time on a production sports car. The car also featured the Dunlop Maxaret anti-lock braking system, another first in a production car. By this time, Jensen had switched over to Chrysler power, utilizing the 6.2L (383 cu.in.) 325-horsepower Chrysler V8 with a three-speed TorqueFlite A727 automatic transmission in the standard Interceptor. This was the same equipment used in the FF as well, only with a transfer case interrupting the propeller shaft’s journey to the conventional Salisbury rear axle with a limited-slip differential. In 1971, when the Interceptor received the 440 V8, one experimental version of the FF was also produced with Hemi power before its cancellation.

Production of the FF began in 1966, and despite all the technological innovations of the car, not many were sold. Whether it was the rather steep price tag, due to all the development, or that people couldn’t think of a 4WD system being anything other than that found on a tractor, Jensen could only push 320 units out its doors. As America became Jensen’s largest market, an issue with the drivetrain meant they would have to put a massive amount of re-engineering into the car to make it suitable to LHD markets. The driveshafts and transfer case sat on the left-hand side of the car, which meant moving steering, brake servos and throttle linkage to that side was all but impossible, and so the FF was canceled in 1971.

While the Jensen FF lived a short and rather unpopular life, its innovations, unique design and forward thinking made it one of the great icons of British engineering. It wouldn’t be for another ten years after the FF’s death that 4WD performance would return to the production car market, to the tune of the Audi Quattro. While the Audi is the father of modern AWD technology, just remember, it was the Jensen that pioneered it.

2010 adventure: Bought for $500, the dash and seats weren’t cracked – only the gas tank

The three-day 2010 Spring Thaw Adventure tour along the scenic route from Hope to Squamish, via Osoyoos, Sun Peaks and the Duffy Lake road, attracted around 65 classic cars from all over B.C., Alberta, Oregon, Washington and one from as far afield as Lake Worth, Florida.

This year’s event, staged by www.classicaradventures.com, featured some wonderful automotive gems – Aston-Martin, Alfa Romeo, BMW, Datsun, Fiat, Intermeccanica, Jensen-Healey, Lancia, Lotus, MG, Mini, Mercedes, Opel, Pontiac, Porsche, Rover, Saab, Triumph, Volvo and Volkswagen.

One of the Volvos caught my eye. It belongs to John Chattin-McNichols, of Seattle, who spotted the 1967 Volvo 144S on Craigslist for an asking price of $500. He asked all the usual questions of the seller, using his knowledge of the particular model’s, shall we say, peculiarities. Queries relating to such matters as rust and that vinyl dashboard top, which has a tendency to crack? The owner responded in the negative to each question and stated: “It’s in mint condition.”

Chattin-McNichols was now becoming a little agitated, thinking he was getting the usual exaggerated sales talk. Knowing that most Volvo rear seats of that age are often in poor condition he asked the final question. “Hang on, I will look,” said the seller. A few moments later, the out-of-breath owner returned to the phone: “Perfect . . . I don’t think they have even been sat on.”

The only downside was a fuel tank full of pinholes, a simple fix.

The 144 series was the first of the boxy body style Volvos to use the tri-digit nomenclature that designated a Series 1 four-cylinder four-door; the “S” model was fitted with the more powerful B18B engine used in the 1800S sports car.

Small numbers of this model made their way to North America. This example was a factory delivery car, meaning that the original owner took delivery of it at the factory in Sweden, drove it around Europe and then had it delivered to the USA. It still had the decal indicating this on the side glass.

The 144S had spent the last 18 years in storage; its original female owner had given it to her son and he had little interest in using it, so he did not.

A 1966 Volvo 1800S owned by Irvin Gordon of East Patchogue, New York, USA holds the Guinness world record for the highest mileage in a Volvo, using the same engine as Chattin-McNichol’s 144S. Gordon has driven it for more than 40 years. It has covered 2.7 million miles and the owner is now targeting the three million-mile mark.

Supercar Grandfather - The worlds first mid-engine sports car

Story by Budd Stanley, photos courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Canada

If one looks at the great thoroughbred driver’s cars of today, one thing starts to become clear. Cars like the Boxster S, the F-458, the Gallardo, the Elise, the R8 and even the Ariel Atom are all mid-engine sports cars. However, with Europe’s sports car industry so dominated in the past by iconic front engine roadsters like those built by Jaguar, Aston Martin, MG, BMW, Triumph and a long list of traditional sports car builders, it makes you wonder who decided to tamper with this tried-and-true drivetrain layout package. The answer just might surprise you as the first to take a roadster body and move the engine amidships for better handling and grip was Mercedes, who way back in 1934, created the 150H.

In actuality, the 150H was not the revelation you might think it was, as many sports cars of that time were merely narrower, roofless versions of standard sedans. It just so happened that the Germans at that time liked their engines in the rear of their cars, and the 150H was based on the much more mundane looking 130H, a sedan sporting a 1.3L four-cylinder also mounted behind the seats. This accounts for the 130 and 150 nomenclatures, as the 150 made use of a higher performance 1.5L; however, the “H” stands for “heck,” which in German means, “rear.” Both cars were the brainchild of Hans Nibel, who took inspiration from the extremely unique build of the Rumpler-chassis Tropfenwagen racers, created by Edmund Rumpler, that were run between 1923 and 1926. A car well worth its own feature at another time.

Regardless, Nibel would team with Mercedes’ chassis engineer, Max Wagner, to produce the world’s first mid-engine sports car. The result, the 150, is built on a backbone chassis, similar to those you would find in a ’60s Lotus, placing the body on a centrally-located, single-frame tube that connects front and rear axles.

Connected to the chassis was a transverse leaf spring front suspension system and coil-sprung swing-axle rear suspension, which was quite advanced for its time. Between the two sat a water-cooled 1,498 cc (91.4 cu in) OHC four-cylinder engine, producing 55 hp. Choosing not to run coolant lines up to the front of the car, Mercedes mounted the radiator behind the engine, just on top of the transaxle. A squirrel-cage blower, or centrifugal fan, was used to pull air into the engine compartment through louvers in the rear cover to feed air to both the radiator and carburetor, much like a VW Type 1.

While the mechanics of the car were well ahead of their time, the body styling also merged the growing art of aerodynamics with the iconic vintage Art Deco trends of that era. The 150’s silhouette used graceful flowing lines to accent extravagant fenders, bumpers and a DuVal-style windshield. With no engine in the front, the fascia was void of any grille and directed air up over the hood. Three headlights were used on the front, while two spare wheels were mounted either side of the car, just behind each door.

Nibel and Wagner were able to only build a grand total of 25 150Hs, five in coupe trim, and twenty roadsters. Production began in 1934, and while the car proved to be superior to sports cars of the day, wining several rallies, the project came to an end in 1936. Nibel and Wagner then turned their attention to Grand Prix cars, as the German government, make that the Nazis, in an attempt to establish dominance for their party, nation, and philosophy, nationalized the Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union racing teams, pouring money in to glorify Germany. The last remaining 150 Sport Roadster known to exist has been fully restored mechanically by the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center USA in Irvine, California. As the popularity of the exotic supercar breed continues to grow, fetching massive amounts of finances, it only seems right that their great great grandfather remains the classiest, the rarest, and most priceless example of high-performance motoring.

The resurrection of a pre-war BMW 327/28

Story by Budd Stanley – Photos by Andrew Holliday

Every now and then, you come across something special in the automotive world. Yeah, we see our fair share of classic Shelbys and Plymouth Barracudas, or ultra-exotic Lamborghinis, or even a Koenigsegg or two. However, there is nothing that can match the class and character of a pre-war sports roadster.

While modern cars are a marvel of performance and technology, their souls always seem to be a hollow shell when put next to a classic like the BMW 327 roadster. Yes, modern vehicles utilize the most ingenious materials and robotic manufacturing and painting technologies to make them as perfect as possible, but when you look at a body that was hand-formed out of a single sheet of steel, tenderly worked through the English Wheel, Shrinkers and Pullers to create the classic lines, it brings back the romance of building cars once again. Real metal dials and knobs that are hewed on a lathe rather than cheap molded plastic. An engine finely tuned with a screwdriver adjusting the jets on a carburetor rather than a laptop plugged into the dash. An exhaust system that bellows out the music of unspoiled internal combustion rather than an acoustically tuned muffler to emulate once great sounds. There’s just something about a great old car that blows anything built in the modern era out of the water.

One such vehicle is this 1938 BMW 327/28 Roadster that has been tediously brought back to life by the good folks over at Jellybean Autocrafters, in Surrey, B.C. The 327 represented BMW’s most prestigious sports cars, built before World War II would bring a temporary end to BMW’s vehicle production. One of 596 ever produced, this vehicle was originally built to make use of BMW’s original 327 body, while equipping it with the high-horsepower mill of the 328, upping horsepower from 55 to 80.

The owner of this beauty, a collector from Seattle, Washington, received it from a friend back in 1991, who had imported the car from Europe. While it wasn’t in the greatest condition, the car’s new owner proceeded to compete in several Time Speed Distance rallies on the U.S. west coast, traveling as far as Los Angeles. However, as time and wear took affect, the car was taken off the road around 2003 to have some nagging issues restored. The doors were starting to hang and metal corrosion was starting to catch up with the integrity of the car.

Getting the odd issue fixed would lead to a myriad of other issues that needed attention. So, requiring a complete rebuild, the car was stripped down to parts and after several connections, Ewald Penner at Jellybean Autocrafters was enlisted to take on the challenge of rebuilding the worn out Bimmer.

When the car arrived in Canada, it was merely a frame with rear fenders and several boxes full of parts, not the ideal way to start a project, as any backyard restorer will tell you. However, Jellybean is no mere backyard restoration company, as it has much experience with just such machinery. Bob Maynard was put in charge of the project, having a good bit of experience working on European vehicles back in Great Britain, and went to work on what would become a two-year marathon build.

The greatest challenge the team found with the car was procuring accurate parts. Body panels were deteriorated and required handmade replications, so the body was acid-dipped in preparation for the metal recreation. There are no body panels available for this classic, so every part needed special hand-crafting in shop. Likewise, many small details such as door handles, dash controls and trim were missing, and new parts would have to be researched and fabricated from metal billets.

Then, parts such as the window frame required another restoration technique. Sending the original off to be polished only found that pitting went too deep, to the point were the polishers shrank the piece by a quarter of an inch to try and remove the defects. Jellybean had to build the piece up by spraying on molten aluminum and polishing it back to the its original shape, saving an impossible to find original piece.

However, not everything was restored back to completely original condition. This 327/28 has received some slight massaging to make the car more comfortable to drive over long distances, as the owner still plans to compete with this car. As such, the engine has had a slight increase in power, somewhere in the neighborhood of 120 horsepower with the addition of three carburetors and an aggressive camshaft. Likewise, the generator has been replaced with a 60-amp alternator fitted inside the generator’s original housing to keep the classic look. A modern starter has been installed, while halogen bulbs have been placed into the original headlight buckets, so that motoring in the dark won’t be as risky as using candle power.

The finished product was painted with a classic black and ivory white two-tone paint job, which really brings out the car’s character. Upon closer inspection, the attention to detail, not only from Bob and the rest of the Jellybean staff, but from BMW itself back in the thirties, reveals all the intricate shapes, lines and designs that made these cars so special in the first place, craftsmanship that is simply impossible to include in cars built by machines today.

As before, this lovely Bimmer will go on to compete in classic TSD rallies and tours. While the quality of the piece could easily be confined to a museum of confined collection, it certainly is refreshing to know that this owner not only drives his prized possession, he actually goes out and competes with it.

Buy, sell, hold!: Reps from major auction houses weigh in on what’s hot, what’s not

By Nigel Matthews

My personal instincts of the state of the muscle car market before attending the auctions in Scottsdale, Ariz., indicated it was going to soften and level off due to the economic crisis. Having seen the vehicles offered for sale in the flesh and not under the bright lights from an armchair on a big-screen television, I can tell you that the quality level has dropped significantly and is more than likely the reason for any drop in sales figures.

Hagerty Insurance hosted an Auction Summit at the Penske Museum; this was the first time in history that a representative from every major auction house would be seated at the same head table for a Q & A forum, but unfortunately, the Barrett-Jackson representative declined the invitation to participate at the 11th hour!

One of the questions asked of the panel was “what would you buy, sell and hold?” The replies were very consistent and consisted of the following vehicles.

Buy: Alfa Romeo Giulietta SS and Giulietta Spider, BMW 3.0 CSi, Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster and Gullwing, Porsche 356, Jaguar XK120-150 and E-Types, Enzo Ferrari-era Ferraris and early Shelby Mustangs.

Sell: 1955-1957 T-Birds, clones, recreations, 1920-1950 American four-door sedans, and anything in your collection that you have not driven for a few years or don’t need.

Hold: Early 3-litre and Derby-built Bentleys, mid-’50s Oldsmobiles, anything and everything that you enjoy or has a sentimental attachment and you can afford to keep

The word from the auction house reps at the Hagerty summit must have got out, because RM Auctions sold a restored 1955 Mercedes-Benz Gullwing, setting a new world record of $1,375,000. These cars have been in the $850,000 range for a number of years. Gooding & Co sold the lowest mileage in the world (7,000 miles) single-owner, un-restored Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster for a world record price of $951,500; all prices quoted include the buyer’s premium.

The cumulative total of the five auctions amounted to the sale of 2,325 vehicles worth $159 million at an average sell-through rate of 81 per cent. Considering the state of the economy, the 2011 total of Scottsdale sales amounted to a mere $4 million short of the 2007 record when the economy was booming.

The Scottsdale top sellers were down this year, peaking at just over $2 million, compared to last year’s sale of a 1956 D-Type Jaguar for $3.74 million.

Nigel Matthews is the sales and marketing executive for Hagerty Canada www.hagerty.com nmatthews@hagerty.com

Don’t call the smart fortwo small until you’ve seen this micro dot

By Nigel Matthews

If you think the smart fortwo is small, you should see the 1984 Honda Zoe Zipper micro car.

I would be more inclined to call it a scootermobile. It was originally built in Japan by Mitsuoka Motors, the same company that converts the Nissan Micra into miniature Jaguar MKIs like the one driven by Inspector Morse, and transforms Mazda Miatas to look like Morgans. The Zipper was licensed to Los Angeles-based Zoe Motors in 1983.

The three-wheeled car uses the two front wheels for steering and the rear wheel as the drive wheel powered by a 50cc two-stroke Honda engine for forward motion. The most ingenious function of the Zoe is the reverse gear mechanism. This consists of a chaingeared electric motor connected to a shaft with an added abrasive wheel, which rubs on the top of the single rear driving tire resulting in enough grip to back out of a parking space.

The only drawback was its single-seat cabin; even a scooter can carry two people. Despite the 100 mpg fuel economy at a top speed of 45 mph, one has to question the safety issue.

The Zipper was best known for being laughed at on the TV game show The Price is Right. It is reported that as many as 55 were given away as prizes. One female contestant who won one asked “Is that a car?” much to Bob Barker’s amusement. She was very happy when she won it and proceeded to give Barker a huge display of affection which led him to say “If you want some affection, just give a lady a three-wheeled vehicle.”

This particular unit sold at the Barrett-Jackson auction in January for $5,500. It would make an interesting conversation piece if displayed in a Honda dealership showroom.

Nigel Matthews is the Director of sales and marketing for Hagerty Canada. Visit www.hagerty.com, and contact him at nmatthews@hagerty.com

By Nigel Matthews

Lorraine-Dietrich sounds a more appropriate name for a German actress and singer, but it was the moniker of a French company that adopted the name in 1908 and built magnificent automobiles.

The Lorraine comes from the imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine, a region created by the German Empire in 1871 after the annexation of most of the Alsace and Moselle region of Lorraine during the French-Prussian War.

The Dietrich stems from the company founder’s name; Jean de Dietrich operated forges throughout France dating back to 1684. The company began building automobiles in 1896, under licence for Bollee, Vivinua and Turcat-Mery. Ettore Bugatti was hired in 1902 as the designer/engineer and joining him in the sales department was Emile Mathis.

Despite being the first automobile manufacturer to score multiple victories at the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans race, Lorraine-Dietrich never achieved the fame and prestige enjoyed by their British rival Bentley. The green Bentleys driven by the Bentley boys won the Le Mans race in 1924 and an incredible four consecutive years between 1927 and 1930.

Lorraine-Dietrich viewed their racing attempts as a means of testing new ideas for their successful aircraft engine business. The automobile manufacturing side of the company closed in 1935, having produced cars for 39 years.

The B3-6 was the most successful model and was nicknamed “the Silken Six,” famous for the almost-silent engines. Like many French racing engines, such as Bugatti and others that followed – including the Italian Alfa Romeo – these engines were not fitted with a cooling fan that would disturb the peace and quiet.

The 1928 Lorraine-Dietrich B3-6 DeCovaia Sports Roadster shown is one of many French automobiles in the incredible Mullin Collection, which exemplifies the curves of the French automobile and includes some of the most beautifully styled and amazingly engineered French-built cars of Bugatti, Delage, Delahaye, Hispano Suiza, Talbot-Lago and Voisin. Visit mullinautomotivemuseum.com.

Nigel Matthews is the sales and marketing executive for Hagerty Canada. www.hagerty.com nmatthews@hagerty.com