1956 Porsche 356 A 1600 Speedster by Reutter
среда, 31 августа 2016 г.
вторник, 30 августа 2016 г.
1965 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 4.2-Litre Roadster
Jaguar’s E-Type debuted to universal applause at the March 1961 Geneva Motor Show, but further development continued, and for the 1965 model, the gearbox was fully synchronized while the seat backs were made adjustable. A new brake booster was also adopted, and the engine was enlarged to 4.2 liters, resulting in greater torque, which made for better tractability in everyday driving. The car retained its pure form, with no external changes being made, but it was now more comfortable and responsive on the road. Road & Track enthused that it was “possible to drive at 15 mph in fourth gear without jerking or back-lashing,” all the while achieving up to 21 miles per gallon.
But for many, the E-Type’s greatest asset was that it looked the part and that nothing else looked like it. Whether labeled E-Type or XK-E, as it was sold in the United States, it made a statement about its owner and all who rode in it. Not long afterward, the onslaught of safety and emissions regulations began having their way with the E-Type, resulting in the alteration of both its appearance and its performance. For these reasons, the Series 1 cars, built from 1961 to 1966, are most highly prized. The 1965 roadster on offer is a later 4.2-Litre model with the all-new synchromesh gearbox and more comfortable seats than on earlier examples, while retaining the covered headlights and thin side-lights and taillights that are considered most attractive and desirable.
The car shown here, the 520th 4.2-Litre built, is quite an early example of the improved version of the iconic first series cars. According to its JDHT Certificate, it was built on 20 January 1965 and delivered that February to Mary Jane A. McMahon by Jaguar Cars of New York. According to the owner, it spent its life in California, being used as a second car before winding up in long-term storage; 30 years passed, at which time it was purchased to perform a comprehensive restoration to the highest standards. The consignor recounts that the rust-free bodywork was sandblasted and prepared for superb paintwork in the original hue of Opalescent Dark Green, while the interior was properly upholstered in correct Suede Green leather using proper materials sourced from England.
While the body was being prepared, the engine, gearbox, and differential received similar treatment. The owner recounts that the engine block was bored 20 thousandths to fit new pistons, the rotating assembly balanced, the head rebuilt, and the original differential fitted with new 3.23:1 differential, for longer legs in each gear and a more relaxed cruising speed. Further, the owner notes that the condition of the mechanical components backs up his belief that the 26,685 miles recorded at the time of cataloguing are original. A more high-efficiency radiator and more powerful fan were also installed.
Accompanied by a rare hardtop, tool kit, and jack, this numbers-matching E-Type is finished in the most elegant color combination after a fastidious restoration.
Photos: RM Sotheby’s
1965 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 4.2-Litre Roadster
понедельник, 29 августа 2016 г.
1931 Duesenberg Model J Tourster by Derham
THE DERHAM TOURSTER
The Tourster was Gordon Buehrig’s favorite Duesenberg. There is a lot to say about this handsome automobile, but the fact is that out of all of the creations that the master designer drew up for the mighty Model J, he preferred the Tourster, which speaks loudest of all.
The design was for a five-passenger touring car on the long 153.5-inch wheelbase Model J chassis, which in his 1972 autobiography, Rolling Sculpture, Buehrig described it as being “severely plain in ornamentation and [having] the unusual virtue of being equally handsome with the top in the raised position or when it is lowered.” The length of the chassis exaggerated the car’s lowered proportions, created by moving the rear seat ahead of the rear axle and the foot wells within the frame rails, which increased room for passengers while also allowing the top and sides of the body to be lower than on a standard phaeton.
With the Tourster, Buehrig also sought to solve a common problem of dual-cowl phaetons of the time. They were often equipped with second windshields to give weather protection to rear seat passengers, but these windshields were mounted on a hinged metal tonneau that had to be clumsily swung up out of the way each time a passenger entered or exited the automobile. The Tourster’s solution was a rear windshield that slid up and down out of the back of the front seat with the turn of a crank handle, providing a windbreak that also looked appropriately dashing—and it stayed out of the way.
The exclusive builder of the Tourster design was the Derham Body Company of Rosemont, Pennsylvania, the favored coachbuilder of the Philadelphia aristocracy. Eight original examples were built in-period; perhaps because of the great beauty of their design, all eight survive, have been restored, and remain well-cared-for in some of the world’s most prominent private collections.
J-451: AN ORIGINAL TOURSTER
Duesenberg chassis records published over the years in Josh B. Malks’s Illustrated Duesenberg Buyer’s Guide, J.L. Elbert’s The Mightiest American Motor Car, and historian Ray Wolff’s own notes all identify chassis number 2468 and engine number J-451 as being one of the eight original Toursters. Built on 23 March 1931, with Derham body number 2323, this car was sold new to David G. Joyce of Chicago, one of two heirs to a vast lumber fortune originally created by their grandfather.
Gerald Morava of Chicago acquired the car in 1935, becoming the second owner, and subsequently traded it in on a Cadillac in 1942. It was thereafter acquired from the Cadillac Motor Car Company of Chicago by D. Cameron Peck, heir to the Bowman commercial dairy fortune, for all of $325. Mr. Peck was one of the United States’ original car collectors, amassing hundreds of rare early automobiles—many acquired from original or very early owners—in warehouses in Chicago.
Mr. Peck sold his Tourster in 1948 to A.C. Baker of Michigan, who passed it a decade later to Ernest R. Mills of Indiana. Mr. Mills endeavored to restore the Duesenberg, reaching out to expert Marshall Merkes, Mr. Peck, and other sources in an attempt to document its ownership history and original specifications. He spent about 15 years on the car, restoring its coachwork, sourcing small pieces of original equipment and hardware that had gone missing over the years, and rebuilding it mechanically. The body was finished in pale green with white trim, a tan interior, and a tan top, resulting in a very striking appearance.
In the mid-1970s, the restored Tourster was sold to Johnnie Basset of Arkansas, a well-known collector of the period. It passed two years later into the well-known Jerry J. Moore Museum of Duesenbergs in Houston, Texas, and subsequently through the Blackhawk Collection into Dr. Joseph Murphy’s famed collection in New Hope, Pennsylvania. While part of Dr. Murphy’s collection, the car was photographed by the noted automotive writer and photographer, Dennis Adler, and appeared in his book, Duesenberg, as well as in The Search of Excellence, the book published on the Murphy Collection in 1996.
The Tourster was purchased by the present owner in 2001 and has been maintained in his European collection since. It was recently test-driven by RM Sotheby’s, and ran and drove quite well, with the abundant performance and power still evident. Its finishes are still highly presentable and would draw much attention on Classic Car Club of America CARavans and in ACD Club activities. Alternatively, the car, having such a well-known and continuous history, and having been ACD Club Certified Category 1, would be the best possible basis for a full restoration for future concours competition.
Every Duesenberg collection requires a Tourster, arguably the most significant, beautiful, and desirable open body style on the Model J chassis. This car marks the rare opportunity to acquire one of the eight Derham originals—an opportunity that, for the serious connoisseur, is certainly not one to be missed!
Photos: RM Sotheby’s
1931 Duesenberg Model J Tourster by Derham
суббота, 27 августа 2016 г.
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