Everyone needs a matching vehicle to pull their boat

Racing history toy posters.

The build sheet for Charles Wilson's 1941 Cadillac 60 Special custom. I previously posted a photo of the car prior to restoration.

Mercedes bling.

An exhibition of some truly remarkable automobiles is currently in progress at The Frist Center for Visual Arts in Nashville, Tennessee and runs until September 15, 2013. A must see for lovers of Art Deco and “French Curve” design, visitors unfamiliar with those genres will likely be even more impressed by the striking style of these cars. Superb lighting shows them off to their best advantage as seen in these images courtesy of Bruce Sweetman.

Ted Reich (fourth from left in red shirt), one of the world’s foremost authorities on Rolls-Royce and Bentley motorcars, died Tuesday, July 16, 2013. He was 85.

Originally from Shaker Heights, OH, he came to Oregon to attend Reed College, class of 1951. After marrying, Ted and his wife, Gloria, lived in a small cottage in Dunthorpe, OR, later settling in a house they built in 1956 in the West Hills of Portland.

A true renaissance man, Ted was an expert in many fields. He was passionate about literature, music, history, sailing, model cars, fine food and wine, travel, photography and almost anything English — especially Rolls-Royce and Bentley motorcars.

Ted was a walking encyclopedia on the two marques, and could name any and all specifications of every model ever built. At a glance, he could spot design cues distinguishing the various coachbuilders, too. If he learned the VIN on any of these cars, he could tell you when it was produced, any special features it carried, whether it was left- or right-hand drive, standard- or long-wheelbase.

A longtime member of the Portland Yacht Club, Ted spent many happy hours sailing his sloop on the Columbia River, with Gloria as first mate. When weather was not conducive to sailing or driving one of the impeccably maintained cars kept in his glass-walled garage (“so I can see them from inside my house, of course”), he could be found in his basement workshop repairing and maintaining car bits for his extensive model car collection and his motorcars, listening to classical music and chuckling when one of his beloved cats would keep him company.

When he and Gloria were first married, their only car was a Springfield Rolls-Royce Phantom II Brewster Newport, or as he referenced it by its VIN, 284AJS. He loved to tell the story of how Gloria, pregnant with their son, David, discovered a flat tire on this car and didn’t hesitate to get out the tools and personally change the 20-inch wheel in the grocery store parking lot.

For over 50 years, Ted showed his cars at concours and club meets including the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and the Forest Grove Concours d'Elegance in Oregon. He generally drove his cars to events, personally detailed them and then drove them home, usually with a trophy tucked away in the boot. Ted and his son David participated in the 2007 Mille Miglia in their Bentley 3 Litre.

After a long and successful career as a stockbroker in Merrill Lynch’s Portland branch, he retired to devote even more time to his family and many hobbies.

Ted was president of the Rolls-Royce Owners’ Club, an international club for both Rolls-Royce and Bentley motorcars, 1980–81. He loved the cars and those who preserved and maintained them, and he took great umbrage at anyone who did not. He was also President of the Historical Automobile Club of Oregon and helped found the Pacific Northwest Region RROC.

Most of all, he believed in driving the cars, sharing them with family and friends. It was not unusual to see Ted on the streets of Portland driving one of his vintage Bentleys, running errands, visiting friends or pulling into the Multnomah Athletic Club parking garage for a workout or a swim.

He acquired and personally restored several 3 Litre Speed models and a magnificent open 8 Litre. Ted and Gloria also owned a Silver Ghost and enjoyed participating in the Silver Ghost Association activities. It was no secret that his favorite was his Derby Bentley, B16MR, a car he acquired over 50 years ago.

From the 1960s until recent years when declining health interrupted his busy schedule, Ted attended most of the RROC and Bentley Drivers Club meets here and in England, and always with his beloved Leica camera. His photographs were fine enough to be published in most of the archival publications on the two marques, as well as countless car club magazines.

Ted is survived by his wife Gloria, son David, daughter Evy and four grandchildren, Carolyn, Christopher, Claire and Lila.

Courtesy of www.sportscarmarket.com

Author Clive Cussler is a noted car collector and here he is with a 1957 Chrysler 300C convertible.

1954 Glidden Tour at the Larz Anderson estate in Brookline, MA. These cars were around 45 years old and older in 1954.... Like seeing cars from the mid 60s at car shows today.

Barrett-Jackson’s spring Moon Base 5 auction has been attracting collectors to Earth’s nearest satellite since its inception three years ago, and this year was no exception. The sky was definitely not the limit for these bidders; the auction house realized $525 million on the sale of 88 lots. The top seller was a 1975 Bricklin SV-1 that brought $46 million, a record for the marque.

The fully-restored Safety Green Bricklin, known for appearing in the 1975 Bricklin brochure, as seen above, had won Best of Show at the 2033 Pebble Beach Concours, and had been invited to Villa d’Este and the Mare Tranquillitatus Concours. As usual, cars from the Seventies brought top dollar; other big sales included a 14,000-mile 1976 Cadillac Seville, a CCCA-certified New Classic that brought $23 million, and a 1977 Levi’s Edition AMC Gremlin that sold for $19 million.

“Collectors are, to their credit, finally appreciating these Seventies classics,” said Barrett-Jackson spokesman Poisson “Punch” d’Avril. “Today’s discriminating buyer is bypassing all of the ‘cliché’ cars – the Gullwing Mercedes, the Duesenbergs, the Ferrari Californias – and discovering the joys of robust bumpers, colorful stripe kits and elegant opera windows. These cars are a welcome reminder of the era of the gasoline-powered automobile.”

Bricklins, with their colorful fiberglass-reinforced acrylic bodies, “suede-like” upholstery and Ford V-8 gasoline engines, have seen particularly sharp rises in value lately. Experts expect that prices of these cars may reach a peak next year, with the 100th birthday of their creator, Malcolm Bricklin.

This 1964 Corvette Sting Ray was recently pulled from an airport storage hangar, where it had been parked for the past 25 years. It’s original and is still wearing the dirt it collected while in storage. The seller hasn’t tried to get it started yet, but hopefully it won’t take much to get it running again. Find it here on eBay, where it is being offered without a reserve.

This Sting Ray is a L75 car with the 300 hp 327 V8, which is mated to a four-speed Muncie gearbox. The odometer reads just 64,000 miles, but it’s impossible to know that for sure. It was ordered with A/C, which is still in place, but will likely need to be rebuilt.

The interior looks complete, but needs some attention. The driver’s seat will need to be re-upholstered and the rest of the interior will need to be cleaned. It looks like a few of the trim pieces will also need to be replaced, but overall the interior looks salvageable.

The 327 hasn’t been run since the car was driven into the hangar. The seller has checked all the identification numbers and has discovered that the engine block isn’t the original. Everything else appears to be correct and original. They haven’t tried to start it, but they have turned it and it rotates freely.

This Vette needs some work, but has tons of potential. The body appears to be in great shape and should clean up nicely. I would be sure to check it over carefully and make sure the frame is solid and that the dust isn’t hiding any cracks in the body. Would you restore this one or leave it as is?

Read more at http://www.barnfinds.com/1964-corvette-stringray-airport-find/#tfL4ofWkrDGWrh7s.99