Raymond's Site

Like a car guy’s version of the yule log, we’re going to sit back and bask in the glow of this street scene from downtown Kansas City that The Oldie But Goodie recently dug up. Royals fans, feel free to pinpoint the street corner; for the rest of you, what do you see here, and which of the vehicles would you use to do your last-minute shopping in?

In the days before outlet malls and amusement parks, people went camping to get away from it all, enjoying leisure time activities like reading (Jack London or Henry David Thoreau, preferably) or fishing. What could possibly be better, then, than a travel trailer that included a fiberglass boat as its roof? This 1953 Kom-Pak Sportsman, for sale on Hemmings.com, was one the few examples built by the company in the early 1950s. The resemblance to a 1953-’54 Ford is purely intentional, but even this tie-in wasn’t enough to drive sales. The seller claims that just 10 examples remain today, but only an estimated 16 were built in-period. Each came with a folding canvas roof (that will need to be replicated if this example is again used for camping), but little else in terms of amenities compared to modern RVs. Still, for those who wish to rough it in a period-correct manner, this Sportsman represents a rare find. From the seller’s description:

1953 Kom-Pak Sportsman

These fiberglass trailer / boat combinations were made for just a few years in the early ‘50’s with fewer than 10 still known to be in existence. Designed in the same style as the 53/54 Fords they look great towed by vintage Ford Station Wagons.

These trailers feature a unique removable boat which doubles as the trailers roof when not in use. This trailer has been gel coated and is in excellent condition. All new interior with custom canvas closures around all storage areas. New “kitchen” in back minus the original ice box.

The trailer is missing the original poles inside that held up the canvas roof when the boat was in use. The snaps for the canvas are all there should you wish to use a cover when the boat is off.

Weighing approximately 1,180 pounds they can be pulled easily with a 4 cylinder vehicle. Still sports original tail lights and bumper.

1929 Duesenberg Model J disappearing top torpedo roadster. Photos by Darin Schnabel, courtesy RM Sotheby’s.

David Gray’s family managed to parlay a $10,500 investment in Ford stock into a $36 million windfall, including $10 million in dividends paid over 16 years and a stock buyback, in 1919, of $26 million. That afforded the family a certain lifestyle, and no one would have raised an eyebrow when David took delivery of a 1929 Murphy-bodied Duesenberg Model J disappearing top torpedo roadster. In late January, the Duesy that Ford bought, still wearing its original body, mounted on the original frame, will cross the block in Arizona as part of the RM Sotheby’s sale.

John Gray, David’s father, was a man of many business interests, ranging from toys to candy to banking. In 1903, John was approached by his nephew, Alexander Malcolmson, to invest in a struggling Ford Motor Company, which was seeking funding to pay a debt owed to John and Horace Dodge. As a prominent member of the Detroit business community, having Gray on board would attract other investors, and the plan worked. The Ford Motor Company was incorporated on June 16, 1903, with John Gray elected its first president. He’d serve in this role until his death from a heart attack in 1906.

Henry Ford then assumed the role of president, but the Gray family retained possession of their Ford shares until 1919, when Henry Ford paid a then near-unimaginable sum of $26 million to buy back the family’s shares. David Gray had already established himself as a sportsman and car collector with a penchant for early Packards, and the money allowed him to further indulge in his hobbies.

Chassis 2199 was originally built with engine J-178 and fitted with Murphy disappearing top torpedo roadster body 876. Finished in silver with blue fenders, the car was shown at the 1929 Chicago Auto Salon, then sold to David Gray shortly after. Some sources say the car was originally equipped with the rumble seat it carries today (suitable for a single passenger, owing to the torpedo body’s narrow rear) and period photos reportedly confirm this, but others say the car was assembled without. In either case, the short-wheelbase Duesenberg must have been a joy to drive on the roads near David’s Santa Barbara, California, home.

In 1933, David reportedly sold the car for the sum of $4,000 to William McDuffie, who later sold the car to a Buick dealer. The next owner of record was William Hunter, a Duesenberg collector who owned J-178, J-190, J-420 and J-444, and was said to mix and match parts between the cars as needed. While the car passed through several more owners during the Second World War, it managed to survive without being scrapped, and was again offered for sale, this time without an engine or wheels, circa 1947.

Thus begins perhaps the oddest chapter in 2199’s life. Fitted with a Buick engine, the car passed through a few more caretakers, the most notable of which may have been Robert J. Gottlieb, a Motor Trend columnist and Beverly Hills attorney. In 1951, the modified Duesenberg was acquired by marque collector William Coverdale, who pulled the Buick engine and replaced it with J-414, taken from Duesenberg chassis 2430. That chassis, and its seven-passenger limousine body, was passed along to another Duesenberg collector.

Coverdale kept the car until 1985, when it was sold to the Rick Carrol Collection, albeit briefly. It passed through one more owner before landing with the Blackhawk Collection, where it was treated to a through restoration in the early 1990s. The original fenders were duplicated during this effort, and both the side exhausts and chrome radiator shell were added.

Despite the numerous owners over the years, chassis 2199 reportedly shows less than 18,000 miles on the odometer, and is said to be one of four disappearing top convertible coupes known to retain its original body. RM Sotheby’s is predicting a selling price between $3 million and $3.5 million when the car crosses the stage in Arizona on January 29. For more information on the Arizona sale, visit RMSothebys.com.

Despite the very brief reign of Miss Colombia, whose Miss Universe tiara was snatched away moments after erstwhile comedian Steve Harvey read her name as the winner, there was other recent news from South America that had one person’s identity resolved.

Several months back we wrote about pending paternity investigations and suits brought by alleged sons of Argentine racing great Juan Manuel Fangio. Well, we can drop the “alleged” from one of those descriptions. After Fangio’s body was exhumed in August and his remains tested for DNA against Oscar Espinoza’s, a judge has declared Espinoza the legal son of Fangio. According to the DNA tests, there is a 99.99 percent certainty that the Grand Prix great fathered Espinoza during a years-long affair he had with Andreina Berruet, Espinoza’s mother.

The younger Fangio, well, soon-to-be-Fangio since he has made it very clear that he will take his father’s name now that the courts have substantiated his claim, used the name Espinoza as it was Berruet’s husband’s name.

Espinoza personally knew Fangio as the five-time Formula 1 champ offered advice to his son during his attempts to make a name for himself in Formula 3 years after Fangio himself had retired.

While this clears up one aspect of Fagio’s offspring, another decision is pending in the ongoing case of Ruben Vasquez, who has alleged that 10 years ago his mother told him Fangio was his father and signed documents to this effect. That case is expected to see a decision sometime soon as well. We’ll keep you posted if the number of recognized Fangios continues to grow.

All photos are frame grabs from video below.

Undated, but we’ll assume 1939 from that cameo of a ’39 Chevrolet Master 85 or De Luxe Sedan.

Just how do petroleum products make the jump from their ba-zillion-year “subterranean slumber” to your car’s gas tank to power you to the next cruise-in? Good question: and we’ve invited Lowell Thomas from his own subterranean slumber to explain it. He begins with the drilling process, where we meet a swell crew of “roughnecks… roustabouts… and rope-chokers.”

On to the oil refinery, with its “technological towers… minarets of science… forests of stacks… and masses of strangely wrought steel.” But what’s all this talk of cracking furnaces and bubble towers? Sounds suspiciously drug-related, but that can’t be right.

You’ll be pleased to know that these scientists share a co-ed laboratory, putting them well ahead of the curve of most workplaces of the time. And a few contemporary ones.

Oops, well, our un-named, petro-chemical sponsor must have appreciated the inclusion of this randomly selected clip of railroad tanker cars. Full disclosure: Hemmings has an affiliation with this same corporate entity. But to their credit, they kept product placement and brand affiliation at near-subliminal levels in this production, except maybe for the title screen diamond-and-arrow motif.

Images are from the brochure collection of Mark J. McCourt

Porsche is one of a handful of European automakers –Mercedes-Benz and Volvo being other notables- that has, for decades, offered a European delivery program for American buyers. That special method of taking delivery on a new car is what Porsche highlighted throughout the 1975 911’s deluxe dealer brochure.

I picked up this handsome keepsake, sized roughly 14 x 10-inches, for $4 at an estate sale. I found it interesting to see where the 911 was in its evolution, 10 years into production. It’s funny that, while we rarely see 911s on those ATS “cookie cutter” alloys today, they were all the rage in the mid-1970s, and many examples in the catalog is thus shod- of course, the Carreras wore those iconic forged Fuchs.

The brochure’s concept takes a youthful, successful American couple -let’s call them Mike and Melanie, for fun- over to Stuttgart to pick up their new 911S. They get to wander through the factory and watch the craftsmen build cars on the line, before test driving other colorful examples for fun, and hopping in their own silver couple for a driving adventure through the German countryside.

It’s fun seeing their tourist license plates, as well as the USA sticker on the decklid in the romantic sunset shot. And they even get to take in some racing, where they get up close and personal with the drivers and cars in the pits. I got a chuckle out of the bit of German that slipped in on the racing pages: “Conversely, our GTs und Prototypes are all basically related to our production Porsches, therefore these are the cars we race.”

A 911 Carrera doing 0-60 MPH in 8.4 seconds? That was a long time ago.

Have you ever picked up a Porsche at the factory? Or any other car, for that matter?

Excuse the size limitations of our scanner, and click on the images below to enlarge.

We have Hemmings Muscle Machines contributor Barry Kluczyk to thank for today’s carspotting image, one that shows downtown Detroit’s Washington Boulevard facing north, judging by the placement of the architecture. And while architecture is indeed one of the big draws of the Motor City, we’re here to scan the photo for the automotive treats and scenery. So what do you see here?

Ford offered Marmon-Herrington four-wheel drive conversions on select vehicles from the 1930s into the early 1960s. There’s a reason the company isn’t a household name, however: Not only was four-wheel drive once viewed as unnecessary in all but the most extreme conditions, the price of the conversion often doubled the price of the vehicle on which it was based. In terms of wagons, like this 1948 Ford Marmon-Herrington Super Deluxe Station Wagon, for sale on Hemmings.com, only a handful were ever built. It wears a pickup body now (a necessary swap after the original wood body rotted away), but it began life as a Ford Super Deluxe woodie wagon, converted by Marmon-Herrington for use as a ski resort shuttle. A second 1947 Ford Super Deluxe (also sans wood) is included as part of the package, and given the truck’s rarity (and hence, value), this is a worthwhile project for those with the right restoration skills. From the seller’s description:

1948 Ford Marmon-Herrington Super Deluxe Station Wagon



The Ford Marmon-Herrington Super Deluxe Station Wagon is a rare wood bodied vehicle built post WWII by Ford and then converted to 4 wheel drive by Marmon-Herrington. The conversion cost doubled the price of the vehicle which is the reason only a handful of Ford Super Deluxe Wagons were converted by Marmon-Herrington making them extremely uncommon and valuable. In retrospect, Ford and Marmon-Herrington created one of the very first luxury SUVs and arguably a market niche that we know today.



In fact a recent story appeared in Hemmings Classic Car Weekely Newsletter found here: http://www.hemmings.com/newsletter/pubnewsletter?id=271&tv=1



This 1948 Ford Marmon-Herrington Super Deluxe Station Wagon also know as a Woodie, is offered for sale as a package with a 1947 Ford Deluxe Station Wagon, another Woodie. Together, these two vehicles could be used to to rebuild the Marmon-Herrington. The vehicles condition are detailed in the attached photo gallery. Both vehicles have NC Titles. VIN upon request.

The Marmon-Herrington was originally used at an Asheville, NC area ski and resort as a shuttle. When the wood body rotted away, it was crudely converted into a pick-up and nicknamed “The Stump Jumper” and became the resort work truck. For years it languished with an eccentric collector in Maggie Valley, NC. Both of these vehicles were discovered, and acquired, as part of Barn Find Book Author Tom Cotter’s collection.



Specific to the Marmon-Herrington, evidence of the welds combining the rear-half of a pick up cab to the cowl of the Ford Super Deluxe from the windshield forwards is easily identifiable in the photos. The original Super Deluxe windshield, cowl, firewall fenders remain intact. A ’50s or ’60s pick up bed was added at some point over the existing chassis creating a less than flattering combination. The overall condition of the 4×4 is rough but the chassis and driveline is complete. The other car included is a solid California 1947 Super Deluxe Woodie with 2 wheel drive and has a title. The front clip, front and rear fenders and chassis are are suitable for the restoration.



Though a complete restoration is needed, it could be considered a viable given the popularity of wood bodied cars and the rarity of the Marmon-Herrington conversion. The Woodie community and suppliers are helpful and knowledgable. Wood bodies can be obtained through a variety of craftsman who specialize in these cars. The Early Ford V8 community is a robust source of information as well.



While combining the Marmon-Herrington and the two cars would be a significant project, the outcome of a full restoration would yield an exceedingly rare piece of automotive history.

Bob Bondurant, photo by John Prumatico. All photos courtesy National Corvette Museum.

The National Corvette Museum has maintained a Hall of Fame since 1998 to honor individuals who have been influential in Corvette history. Selected individuals are honored in the categories of Racing, GM / Chevrolet and Enthusiast. This year’s honorees are professional race driver Bob Bondurant, former GM executive Ralph Kramer and recreational racer Donna Mae Mims.

Bob Bondurant was a SoCal hot rodder and motorcycle racer in the early 1950s before breaking into the world of professional racing behind the wheel of a 1957 Corvette in 1959. Bondurant drove to victory in 18 of 20 races he entered and finished second in the other two. That performance captured the SCCA B Production Championship for the West Coast and would propel him to a career driving Cobras and Ferraris in the 1960s. After a catastrophic crash in 1967, Bondurant launched a second career as the founder of the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Racing, which still exists in Phoenix, Arizona.

Ralph Kramer was an early supporter of the National Corvette Museum and helped the NCM gain traction after its founding through General Motors support and promotion. The museum, which was and remains independent from General Motors, owes much of its current success to Kramer both as a GM executive and after his departure from GM in 1995. Since 1995, Kramer has worked for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and has operated his own public relations firm, TheKramerCo. As a member of the NCM Board of Directors from 1990 to 1998, Kramer was even responsible for the induction of many previous Hall of Fame honorees.

Like Bondurant, Donna Mae Mims got her start as a racer in a solid-axle Corvette. Mims and her husband purchased that ‘Vette new from Don Yenko Chevrolet and she raced it in SCCA B Production in 1961, winning at Cumberland, Maryland. “The Lady in Pink” as she became known, lettered the Corvette with the slogan “Think Pink” and ultimately owned a pink Bugeye Sprite that she raced successfully in H/Production in 1963. Mims also served the Corvette cause as a freelance magazine writer and as Manager of Hi-Performance at Yenko Sports Cars later in the 1960s, even driving a 1969 Stingray L88 as her “company” car. After her retirement, Mims was active as a race supporter and Corvette enthusiast until her passing in 2009 at age 82.

These three Corvette boosters will be inducted during the 19^th Annual Corvette Hall of Fame Ceremony on Friday, September 2, 2016 during the NCM’s 22^nd Anniversary Celebration, September 1-3, 2016. For more information, visit CorvetteMuseum.org.

1918 Harley-Davidson board track racer. Photos courtesy Mecum Auctions.

The first full week of January, 2016, will no doubt have hundreds of motorcycle collectors and investors looking for that next bargain, keeping their eyes on two interesting auctions that may see new highs in bidding prices for classic and vintage cycle iron. Both Mecum and Bonhams travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, to host premium auctions that week, and below we highlight just a few of the over 700 bikes being offered at the Mecum 25th Annual MidAmerica auction. We’ll follow up with a selection of offerings from the Bonhams auction in a future post.

Dozens of early Indians from the Larry Pederson and Art Redford Collections, prewar BMWs from the Sinless Cycles Collection, and British bikes from the Dennis Gabriel collection will no doubt garner much of the attention. Early Harley-Davidsons are also among the featured bikes for this auction, including a selection of unique race bikes.

1912 Henderson 4

1912 Henderson 4.

Very few of the two-seat version were ever built and only 6 of the first year 1912 models are known to survive today. I can say I have seen half of them. This one has had a complete restoration done several years ago and was bought from a collector in South Africa in the eighties. Pre-auction estimates price it easily into six figures. This bike was recently purchased at Mecum’s 2015 E. J. Cole Collection auction. We will see if the owner bought it well and it gets bid past the reserve.

1951 Harley-Davidson WRTT

1951 Harley-Davidson WRTT.

Built particularly for road racing, the TT version of the 45-cubic inch V-twin WR model racing bike featured a Wico magneto ignition system and drum brakes. The brakes are an upgrade from Harley’s 1951 WR track race bikes which had none.

1908 Harley-Davidson “strap tank” Model 4

1908 Harley-Davidson Model 4, better known as the “strap tank.”

We featured this bike in upcoming the February 2016 edition of Hemmings Motor News. The bike was found in Wisconsin in 1941 and restored by Paul Freehill. Only 450 examples were sold by Harley-Davidson in 1908, a low production year, and this bike is a true survivor and one of a handful of correctly restored units. Paul used the 1908 Model 4 in Harley-Davidson’s own museum to restore the bike to its full stature. A similar 1907 model sold for a whopping $715,000 at the Mecum auction in March, 2015, making it the second highest-bid motorcycle ever bought at auction, with another 1907 garnering $352,000 at Gooding sale in 2006. We are following this particular bike carefully as it was purchased at the Monterey Sports and Classic auction in 2007 and were curious to see how the owner’s investment has appreciated over the last 8 years.

1918 Harley-Davidson Model J Board Track racer

1918 Harley-Davidson board track racer.

The lightweight single-loop frame holds a 61-cubic inch engine and 3-speed hand shift transmission. The wheels were designed specifically for board track cycling, and this racing bike actually has brakes on the rear wheel. One of only 6,500 built in 1918, but few can be found in better condition than this bike.

1942 Harley-Davidson WLA.

Other bikes we feel are of interest to the curious and should bring interesting bids include a 1929 BMW R62 from the Sinless Cycles Collection, lot #S129; a 1917 Henderson Board Track Racer with 57 cubic inch inline four, lot # F69; a 1912 Pierce 4, lot# F142; a 1937 Rudge Sport Rapide 250cc, lot# F185.1; a 1921 Indian Power Plus in original race trim, believed to be raced in the British Isles in the 1920s, lot# S70; a 1942 Harley-Davidson WLA military motorcycle with only 13,000 miles on the odometer, lot# S88; and a 1974 Bultaco Pursang, lot # T69. An interesting amusement park ride, a replica Indian motorcycle used as part of an attraction at Lenaert’s Amusement Park lot# K24 is one of two park ride vehicles included in the catalog.

The Mecum Presents: 25th Annual MidAmerica Motorcycles Las Vegas Vintage and Antique Motorcycle Auction will be held January 7-9, 2016 at the South Point Casino and Exhibit Hall in Las Vegas, NV. The entire auction catalog is now available, as are further auction details at Mecum.com.