Category: Classic Cars

Throughout the 1960s most American car manufacturers engaged in a competition to see who could make the most powerful sports car based on their standard sedans. These were commonly referred to as ‘muscle cars’ and by the end of the 1960s just as this trend appeared to be waning Pontiac released the Trans Am option for their Firebird 400. At its rather quiet release it was not immediately apparent that this car was intended to replace the two-seater Pontiac had been hoping to build instead of the Camaro F-car it… Read more

After taking over Auburn and Duesenberg in 1929 Erret Lobban Cord launched a luxury car honoured with his name. As might be expected, the L-29 Cord was handsome and notable for its front-wheel drive; one of the first commercial applications of fwd. Around 4400 L-29s were produced over a two year period but the car was then discontinued as it was plagued with mechanical problems such as badly chosen gear ratios, low geared steering, traction problems climbing steep hills and comparative costliness during the Depression years. Two years later with… Read more

To aid post-World War II recovery of the motor car industry in general and the motor racing business in particular Piero Dusio, an Italian businessman, established a small firm in Turin to concentrate on car racing and body design. As production of the Fiat 1100 had been restarted and stock was becoming readily available he chose the Fiat 1100 engine, modified to yield 37kW or 45kW as the basis of his design, fitting them to a single seater sports car using a tubular space frame and suspension of advanced design…. Read more

AC Cars re-entered the car market in 1947 with a rehash of the Thames Ditton, England pre-WW II model which was powered by a 2.0-litre overhead-cam straight-six engine. It was not, however, until 1953 when they released their new sports car that the company established its reputation as a sports car manufacturer. A design by John Tojeiro was selected which used a ladder-type tubular frame, all-independent transverse leaf-spring suspension and an extremely attractive open two-seater alloy body with classic lines. In appearance many people felt the design was inspired by… Read more

The Morris Oxford Series II was powered by a 1489 cc four-cylinder BMC overhead-valve engine which developed approximately 37 kW. It had a three-bearing crankshaft with a renewable element external oil filter. Whilst the manufacturer rated the performance as exciting – with power, flexibility and astonishing fuel economy when it was released as a medium sized sedan – compared with today’s baby cars it was a very poor performer. One of its best attributes was the body, especially the wide door openings that gave direct access to the seats. Efficient… Read more

The Invicta had a relatively short production life. Introduced in the 1920s these hand-built cars were made in Surrey, England until 1933. It would appear that Noel Maklin, who conceived the design, was very impressed with Bentley cars as the Invicta had a Bentley-like appearance in more ways than one. If you compared the front-end styling and even the use of rivetted bonnet panels there was a strong similarity between the two makes. By 1930 there were two versions of the 4.5 Invicta available. These were the high-chassis A-type and… Read more

Henry M. Leland, who is now best known as the founder of Lincoln, was the guiding light behind Cadillac between 1902 and 1917. In 1909 Cadillac merged with Buick, Oldsmobile and Oakland to form General Motors. Leland became president of the new company and remained in that position until 1917 when, at the age of 74, he left them. Instead of retiring as most would have done at that stage, he formed a company in conjunction with his son to produce aircraft engines. At the end of World War I… Read more