Took a visit to Richard Edmonds Classic Car, Motorcycle, Automobilia and Parts Auction viewing day.
Not a great deal of American stuff, but what was there was pretty good 🙂
Very well run viewing day with some interesting Cars, Bikes, Parts, Automobilia and Tools all ready for auction.
Richard Edmonds website is here
I took my Dad to his first car show today at the ripe old age of 81!
The show is an annual event in the beautiful Berkshire Downs village of Yattendon, only a few vehicles of American origin but nonetheless a nice local show in a lovely location with proceeds going to support the local Air Ambulance.
One of the interesting exhibits was a Shelby 350H Mustang Hertz Rent a Racer, this looked genuine but I couldn’t check as I didn’t see the owner in close proximity. Yes, back in the day you could rent one of these beasts from Hertz Rent a Car!
Some background below from Wikipedia, including all shenanigans that went on
1966 Shelby G.T. 350 Hertz models
When the Hertz cars were returned to Ford to be prepared for sale to the public, the high-performance parts were often “lost” (presumably at the manufacturer) before final sale.
Other American cars that were on show can be seen below
A Chevy Bel Air, Willy’s Jeeps and a Dodge
After the disappointment of the non arrival at Wheels Day, John Barron and I took a trip over to Newbury Showground which is a nice short hop.
This event was much better than last year both attendance and weather wise.
A smattering of American vehicles and some interesting vendors made it a good day out.
The highlight for me was a lovely Willy’s Knight Phaeton
This story is from The Corvette in the Barn and it’s a good one. Make sure to signup for email updates so you will be entered in our weekly book giveaway. Also, send in your own find stories because the best one submitted this year will make it into Tom’s next book. Now back to The Silver Dollar in the Barn, enjoy!
For many enthusiasts, the seed for acquiring an old car is planted early in life. A permanent image of a certain car is burned into the hard drive of the brain, and age does not dilute that image. Such was the case with Chris Unger, a car-crazy youth who was exposed to drag racing early in life. “I was thirteen years old when we moved to Orange, California, and my older brother would let me tag along with him on weekends to Lyons Drag Strip in Escondido,” said Unger. “Early on, I heard there was an old A-Gas Willys sitting in a barn somewhere in Escondido. It apparently belonged to an electrician who lived in the area.”
Unger grew up in the heart of drag racing country during the golden era of the 1960s. Like scores of young guys during that time, he was attracted to the pure horsepower and muscle of the A- and B-Gas cars, especially the Willys gassers that were once common. Unger had never actually seen the Willys gasser, but he had heard the rumors that it was put into storage before he moved to Orange. In his mind’s eye, he knew just what it looked like. He knew it was a 1940 Willys pickup truck called the Silver Dollar, so he imagined it was silver in color. And like all proper gassers of the day, it probably had a straight tubular front axle and magnesium wheels.
“So eventually I found the electrician, Mike, and we became friends over the years. At one point as a young fellow, I was even an apprentice electrician for him.” Even though they had become friends, though, Mike never offered to show Unger the Silver Dollar.
Mike had built the Willys from a stock steel truck in 1960 and originally painted it red. According to Unger, it was featured in some early-1960s rodding magazines before some of the steel parts were substituted for fiberglass and it was painted silver. The hood came from Cal Automotive, but Mike manufactured the fiberglass fenders and pickup bed himself and actually made a fiberglass floor panel to cut the weight. Eventually he had it down to about 1,800 pounds.
