Columns
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Floor It!
When it comes to our classic cars — especially at a car show or when being sold at a collector-car auction — a first impression can have a huge impact on performance, from winning an award through bringing the right price across the auction block. One of the simplest and most overlooked components in our…
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Out With the New
I’m about to do something I know I shouldn’t do. I’m going to ignore my own advice. ACC’s Dodge Viper GTS ACR has been a staple in the garage since we bought it. It was minty fresh when it rolled off the enclosed carrier at ACC headquarters in 2014, bought for $42,500 with just 1,200…
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The Upmarket Maverick
In 1959, Ford bought the rights to use the name “Comet” from ambulance and hearse builder Cotner-Bevington’s Comet Coach Company, with high hopes for a new compact car that was to be sold by Edsel dealers. But with the Edsel line euthanized barely into early 1960 production, the new upmarket complement to the Falcon that…
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Back to the Future
I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting out of my first trip to the SEMA show in Las Vegas, but the event somehow ended up being both everything and nothing I thought it would be. Let me put it this way — I can say with some confidence that whatever it is you’ve heard…
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1957 DeSoto Adventurer convertible
All Adventurers built between 1956 and 1958 were limited in production, but the 1957 model was especially so, having been introduced later than the rest of that year’s DeSoto line. There was no mention of the model in the catalog and no Adventurer brochure — just an insert for the owner’s manual, welcoming owners to…
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1932 Ford Roadster
The famous ’32 Ford roadster that raced the quarter horse in 1944 Russetta Timing Association tag: 120.9 mph at Harper Dry Lake, 1944 Starred in several hot rod B movies in the 1950s Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance “Best Historic Hot Rod” Named as one of the Most Significant 1932 Fords of all time in 2007…
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1972 Chevrolet Chevelle Heavy Chevy
LS3 402-ci, 300-hp V8 Documented one-owner car, with original title and Protect-O-Plate Factory air conditioning This rare special-order Heavy Chevy was marketed as a lighter version of the SS and advertised much lower stated horsepower as an insurance beater. Heavy Chevys were factory coded as a base Chevelle and theoretically avoided the SS title, which…
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2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302
5.0-L DOHC 32-valve V8 6-speed manual transmission 945 miles from new There was no mistaking the Boss 302 for other run-of-the-mill Mustangs. Like the original, its unique exterior décor set these cars apart, as if the running gear didn’t do that. Produced for just two years, a total of 3,249 Boss 302 Mustangs were built…
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1952 FWD F-Series Fire Truck
by B. Mitchell Carlson and Stuart Lenzke This FWD Pumper, Engine 2632, was in service as a front-line pumper until 2004, when it was replaced by a new pumper engine at the Baker Rural Fire Protection District in Baker City, OR. Department personnel bought the retired engine from the department. The firefighters believe the old…
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1971 Chevrolet Corvette 454/365 coupe
71,000 original miles Original matching-numbers 454-ci, 365-hp LS5 engine 4-speed manual transmission One of 1,455 equipped with the factory alarm system Four Season air conditioning (not operational) Power steering and brakes Original AM/FM radio Original luggage rack T-tops with original covers Pop-out rear window Original order copy Original owner’s manual in plastic sleeve with brochure…