1958 Chevrolet Impala Convertible

A long, long time ago in an early Sixties suburb far, far away, my Dad arrived home from work one magical summer's eve at the wheel of a Silver Blue 1958 Impala two-door hardtop. He was "test driving" it, he said, an idea that immediately appealed to me with its boundless possibilities. Dad wound up choosing another more practical car in which to transport my Mom and we five kids, but by that time I was already smitten by the '58, which along with the '59 has remained one of my favorite full-size American cars.

This 1958 Chevrolet Impala 348 automatic convertible is one of 27 select vehicles from the David and Pauline Haas Collection, all of which will be offered at no reserve at the Mecum St. Charles Auction, September 16-19, 2010 at the Pheasant Run Resort.

The Dueck GM Motorama Show 2010

A 1969 Camaro Indianapolis 500 Pace Car convertible shines in the Dueck GM Motorama show, August 29, 2010.

More:

Dual cross-ram set-up on a Garnet Red original JL8-equipped 1969 Z28.

Ultra rare 1967 Conroy Pontiac "Cheetah" Beaumont Super Deluxe with 427/450 HP big block, aluminum cylinder heads, Hooker headers, safety bellhousing, M20 and 4.10 Posi 12-bolt. One of 4 known to exist of approximately 20 built. M&H racing slicks: the perfect touch. 

This 1957 Bel Air is an original 283/250 HP fuelie car, beautifully restored in the late Eighties and well maintained ever since. A steady stream of visitors proved that the '57 is still as popular as ever.

409 cubic inches, 409 horsepower and four gears. Just what Hayden Proffitt, Dave Strickler and Dyno Don Nicholson ordered in 1962 for NHRA Stock. This one has all the decals to prove it was there back in the day.

1961 Corvette from the Dueck Collection was a centerpiece of the showroom display. Beautiful.

The obligatory "wife with car" photo as Dee settles in for the day with a good overdue library book.

Oh, baby.

The Dreams Of My Youth

All distilled into one quite humorous and light-hearted Corvette commercial:



See everyone on Thursday at McDonalds!

Checking In

I am presently writing for the Mecum St. Charles auction and don't have time to develop stories the way I would like, but that will come in the next few weeks. In the meantime, I will post great stuff like this beautiful chopped and customized early Fifties Buick at the Thursday night McDonald's cruise-in.

Oh, baby.

1972 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spyder

When Lamborghini introduced the mid-engined Miura in 1966, the automotive press turned to Ferrari in anticipation of his response. It was reasonable to expect Ferrari to adapt his hugely successful mid-engine V-12 prototype platform to road use, but he was never one to hew to others’ expectations, and at the 1968 Paris Auto Show he unveiled a brand new and stunning front-engine design, the 365 GTB/4.

Just 122 Spyder versions were built by Ferrari between 1970 and 1973, most of them for the American market. Built in December 1971, the 365 GTB/4 Spyder offered here is the 35th produced, the 25th of 96 built to U.S. specification.

This Is What It's All About

RT66 takes a time out between Lillooet and Lytton in the wilds north of Whistler, B.C.

Apache II

Founded in Watervliet, New York on 12 August 1908, the Hacker Boat Company is one of the longest-lived wooden boat companies in the world. Its founder, John Ludwig Hacker, was an extraordinary talent who has long been acknowledged as one of the world's leading naval architects and the greatest American motorboat designer of the 20th century. An accredited marine designer by the age of 22, Hacker had earned a name for himself by building a 30 foot runabout incorporating several innovations, most notably a revolutionary V-shaped hull that allowed his creation to reach speeds unheard of at the turn of the century.

In 1904, Hacker designed Au Revoir, which instantly set a world speed record; by the time he established the Hacker Boat Company, he had already built a wealthy clientele. In 1911 Hacker designed the first airplane floats (for the Wright Brothers) and the first successful stepped-hull hydroplane, the Kitty Hawk, the first to reach the “impossible” 50 mph mark on water and, between 1911 and 1915, the fastest boat in the world. A series of Kitty Hawks followed, each building on earlier design successes and in the end establishing the basic design parameters that today still define the American speedboat.

Apache II is consigned to the Mecum at Monterey Auction for sale on Saturday, August 14 at 3:10 PM.