Author: Ken Gross

Ken Gross is a Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Chief Class Judge and a founding member of the International Chief Judges’ Advisory Group (ICJAG). He served as Executive Director of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, and his 15 critically acclaimed auto exhibitions have drawn record crowds at major fine-art museums nationwide. The author of 25 books, Ken has been contributing to SCM for more than three decades.

1932 Ford 3-window coupe

This 1932 Ford has everything, including an LS1 fuel-injected powerplant backed by a 4-speed automatic transmission. Suspension parts include a polished aluminum nine-inch Currie rear end, four-link, and coilovers in the rear. Up front is a chrome dropped I-beam axle, chrome Pete & Jake’s split wishbones, chrome shocks, rack-and-pinion steering […]

1950 Chevrolet Wagon Tin Woodie

This award-winning, handcrafted beauty was built and finished by Brad Starks Rod & Custom. It began its life as an Arizona-based 1950 Tin Woodie four-door wagon. It has been extensively modified throughout, including the redesign and fabrication to convert it from a four-door to a two-door. The car is powered […]

1951 Mercury Custom Convertible

Chassis number: 51LA39108M The 1949–51 Mercury is considered by many enthusiasts to be the defi nitive custom car. Its somewhat bulbous stock shape and semi-slab sides were the perfect canvas for a legion of talented California customizers, led by Sam and George Barris, and joined by Gil and Al Ayala, […]

1932 Ford Highboy Roadster

Chassis number: 181727931 This Dearborn Deuce all-steel body rod is powered by a complete chrome and polished 454-ci big-block Chevy that’s been bored 0.060 over. It has polished aluminum Edelbrock heads and polished 650 Holley carburetors. The transmission is a Turbo 350, and it has a Ford nine-inch rear end […]

1932 Ford Highboy Roadster

Ford’s classic 1932 roadster, better known as “the Deuce,” has been, and always will be, the quintessential hot rod. Great-looking, with elegant, timeless lines that transcend its age, lightweight — especially when shorn of its fenders — equipped with a modified Ford or Mercury flathead V8 developing three to four […]

1932 Ford Khougaz Lakes Roadster

Ford’s classic 1932 roadster, better known as “the Deuce,” is the quintessential hot rod. Great-looking, with timeless lines, light weight, especially when shorn of its fenders, equipped with a souped-up Ford flathead developing three to four times its original output, and transmitting that power through a 3-speed top-loader with a […]

Edsel Ford’s 1934 Model 40 Special Speedster

A determined, wealthy collector slugged it out with Ford family representatives, resulting in the $1.76 million price {vsig}2008-6_2180{/vsig} As president of Ford Motor Company from 1925 until his untimely death in 1943, from cancer and undulant fever, Edsel Bryant Ford had a considerable influence on Ford styling, first with Lincoln, […]

1911 Mercer 35R Raceabout

Mercers remain four to five times more expensive than a comparable Stutz, proving that a Raceabout is the most desirable pre-WWI car built in America Restored from a highly original and complete car, this is one of very few authentic Mercer Raceabouts. Like the 1911 Simplex in the Chandler Collection, […]

1937 Cord 812 Westchester Street Rod

Purists cry out in despair when custom cars are made from desirable models, but in this case the builder told me he had found four Cord Westchester bodies in a Texas wrecking yard and used “the worst of the four” {vsig}2004-10_1423{/vsig} This all-steel, all-real 1937 Cord Westchester 812 started life […]

1938 Lincoln Zephyr Street Rod

The ringmen worked this sale hard, and at its dramatic conclusion the owners were high-fiving as though they’d just won the lottery {vsig}2004-6_1232{/vsig} The Zephyr Street Rod on offer here is one of the most famous street rods ever created. This custom, all-steel Lincoln Zephyr three-window coupe was nationally selected […]