Tag: autoevolution

Glasspar G2 Was a Versatile Fiberglass Roadster That Spawned the Kit Car Industry – Ancuta Iosub @Autoevolution

Glasspar G2 Was a Versatile Fiberglass Roadster That Spawned the Kit Car Industry – Ancuta Iosub @Autoevolution

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Glasspar is a name that might sound more familiar to vintage boat lovers rather than petrolheads, but the Costa Mesa, California-based business also had a small automotive branch that left a lasting impact on the car-making industry. Glasspar pioneered the use of fiberglass in automobile design and construction, and their G2 sports car paved the way for today’s kit car industry.

Glasspar was founded by boat builder and marine architect Bill Tritt in 1947 and started out making sailboats. The company was the first in the world to use fiberglass to make boat hulls, and by the mid-50s, it was one of the largest manufacturers in the field.

Tritt’s involvement with the automotive industry began after he recognized the potential of fiberglass, a revolutionary material at the time, as a great alternative to traditional materials like steel and aluminum due to it being lightweight, rust-proof, and durable. He created the first fiberglass body for a custom car he made in partnership with Kenneth “Kenny” Brooks, a talented race car driver. It was a lightweight sports car called the “Brooks Boxer” that garnered plenty of interest nationwide. The success of this custom project sparked the idea for Glasspar G2.

Not only did the use of fiberglass lead to significant weight reduction in car manufacturing compared to steel or aluminum, but it also significantly simplified the process of fabricating car bodies.

The Glasspar G2, the first low-volume production fiberglass car in the world, was unveiled in 1949, four years before the first Corvettes with all-fiberglass bodies were produced, and marked the start of a new era in the industry. The majority of Glasspars were sold as separate bodies or body/chassis kits, but a few were sold as finished turn-key cars from the factory. Besides the Glasspar, Tritt also supplied complete bodies for the Kaiser-Darrin 161, the Willys-based Woodill Wildfire, and the Volvo P1900.

The versatile design of the G2 was seen as a great advantage by many customers, as it allowed them to customize their vehicles with an engine, transmission, and suspension of their choice. This helped popularize kit cars and marked the beginning of an entire industry, that of DIY car construction.

Only around 150 Glasspar G2 units were built between 1951 and 1955, and just 29 are known to still be in existence today. One of them is this neat-looking 1951 example that has been on display at the Horton Classic Car Museum in Nocona, Texas, for the last few years and also made an appearance at the 2007 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.

While the G2 was typically equipped with a Ford flathead V8 or a small-block Chevrolet V8 engine, this particular unit takes power from a Mercury 255 cubic-inch flathead V8 engine and sends it back through a three-speed manual transmission with Hurst Indy shifter. Three two-barrel carburetors, a set of Offenhauser heads, and a polished aluminum intake manifold are also part of the configuration.

Unlike later mass-produced cars with fiberglass bodies, the G2’s body was hand laid, making it mighty strong and durable despite its light weight.

Like most G2s, this example also features a low profile with elegant flowing lines, reminiscing the then-popular Jaguar XK120. The lightweight fiberglass body is mounted on a tubular steel chassis, giving the vehicle a superior power-to-weight ratio compared to the much heavier steel-bodied sports cars

When you look at it from the front, a standout feature is the chrome bumper and grille. It also has a tinted windshield and two doors. As standard, the Gasspar G2 body had only a passenger door, and the driver had to climb over the side to get in the car. It rides on a set of steel wheels wrapped in whitewall tires and boasting chrome hubcaps and trim rings

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1934 Ford Brewster Hidden for Decades Is a Super Rare Time Capsule – Ciprian Florea @autoevolution

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Introduced in 1932 as a replacement for the Model A, the Ford Model B did not look radically different than its predecessor. It was, however, a brand-new vehicle with a redesigned chassis. More importantly, Ford also introduced the Model 18, which featured the now-iconic “Flathead” V8. While V8s were nothing new then, the Model 18 was the first low-priced, mass-produced car with such an engine. A milestone that changed the American car industry.

While not as common as the Model A, the Model B/18 isn’t spectacularly rare nowadays. Sure, many examples have been hot-rodded over the years, but plenty of survivors are still out there. However, some versions, like the Roadster and the Pickup, are pretty scarce. But no Model B is as rare as the 1934 Town Car.

A fancied-up, limo-style four-door with a convertible front section and a privacy divider, the Town Car wasn’t actually made by Ford. While built on a Ford chassis, it was modified and bodied by Brewster & Company, a coachbuilding business from Long Island, New York.

Established in 1810 as a carriage manufacturer, Brewster entered the automobile market in 1905, when it began importing Dlaunay-Belleville cars in the US. In 1914, the company started supplying bodies for Rolls-Royce luxury cars sold in North America. The British eventually acquired Brewster in 1925 and owned it until the early 1930s.

The company went bankrupt during the Great Depression and was liquidated in 1937. But before that happened, Brewster built over 100 custom vehicles based on the Ford Model 18 chassis. A few inches longer than the regular 1934 Ford, the Brewster Town car also featured a unique, heart-shaped front grille, larger bumpers, and restyled front fenders.

Brewster reportedly bodied about 135 chassis between 1934 and 1935, but only 83 got the Town Car configuration. And according to a registry put together by owners, only 26 of them are known to still exist. And that’s why stumbling upon an example that spent decades in storage is spectacular, to say the least.

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Pot O’Gold 1950 Ford Bread Truck Is a Cummins-Powered Bad Boy with Harley-Davidson Eyes – Daniel Patrascu @autoevolution

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Some could say the heavily modified Ford F-1 we have here is one of those that went unnoticed. Fret not, as the thing is now back in the spotlight, on account of it becoming available to collectors on the open market.

As most of you already know, the current range of Ford F-Series trucks traces its roots back to the pickups made immediately after the end of the Second World War. Born as the Ford Bonus-Built in 1948, the first half-ton F-Series was also known as the F-1 until 1952, when the second generation came along and changed that to F-100.

The truck you’re now looking at is part of that first-generation F-1. We’re told it originally came with the usual cab and bed assembly, and a 6-cylinder flathead engine under the hood, running a 3-speed manual transmission.

Like all other vehicles of this kind, it was put to use immediately after rolling off the assembly lines, and received an aluminum box at the rear. That was meant to support the transportation of goods performed back in the 1950s by a Denver, Colorado business called Happy Home Delivery Service.

It apparently served the needs of said enterprise for about 16 years, and then it went on to cater to the needs of a plumbing company. It’s unclear how much it was used to carry plumbing equipment, but it eventually disappeared from The Centennial State’s roads. Like it so often happens with vehicles, it was most likely abandoned.

The truck is one of the lucky ones, as someone came across it in a salvage yard and decided it was worth… a salvage. We’re told that, when found, it came with no driveline, plenty of holes in the bodywork, and an overall decrepit state.

The ones who saved it go by the name Pot O’Gold Kustoms. It’s a crew that’s been around since the early 1980s, presently in the business of making LS swaps, diesel conversions, upgrades, and the works.

In the case of the Ford truck, which was shown at SEMA360, these guys went overboard. Few of the truck’s original parts are still around, and the thing now looks so bonkers it kind of makes one feel it’s time to rush over to Glendale, Arizona, and bid whatever it takes during the Mecum auction taking place there at the end of March.

The work performed on the truck was extensive and included everything from fitting a new engine to the reskinning of the body. As usual, we’ll start from the ground up by letting you know the machine now rides on Detroit Steel wheels. They are sized 20 inches at the front and 22 inches at the rear, giving this bread truck, as its makers call it, a menacing, forward-leaning appearance.

The front wheels are supported by an independent suspension system, while the ones at the back are tied to a narrowed Ford 9-inch rear end with a 4-link suspension. It’s the Airlift system, though, that makes the massive truck capable of sitting so close to the ground when stationary.

Under the hood, the original 6-cylinder flathead has been replaced by a much more potent Cummins 4-cylinder engine. It’s unclear how much power it develops, but all of it is harnessed in controlled bursts by a Turbo 400 automatic transmission.

The bulging eyes of the truck, its projector headlights, are of Harley-Davidson make, while the rear ones come as LEDs. Only the front end of the truck is painted black (in something called Sherwin Williams Blackish Green Mica) to match the color of the wheels, while the rest of the bodywork remains bare metal, creating a delicious disconnect.

It’s like looking at a hybrid between the beautiful front end of a custom, show-ready F-1 and the rear of a hauling machine meant for use in a factory somewhere, with visible rivets and the words Pot O’Gold Kustoms written in an apparently careless manner on the sides.

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This 1932 Ford Roadster Hot Rod Has Dings Here and There, but They Build Character – Codrin Spiridon @autoevolution

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This 1932 Pete Henderson roadster-inspired hot rod barely has 11 hours to go until it will be sold off at a Bring a Trailer auction. At the time of writing, there are 17 bids, with the last one going for $33,000. It features a steel bodywork finished in matte black, but just as important, it’s running on a 296ci (4.8-liter) Mercury flathead V8. It was originally bought in 2011 and is now up for grabs in Georgia.

It comes equipped with a three-speed manual transmission, 16″ wire wheels painted with typical but mesmerizing white on the sides, it has a rumble seat, a louvered hood to get that pesky Georgia heat out, hydraulic drum brakes, Lincoln-Zephyr carburetors, a Wieand hi-rise intake manifold, a dual-coil distributor, and a swan floor shifter.

Furthermore, it has bucket headlights, a polished windshield frame, and of course, era-appropriate taillights. One important note any potential buyer should know before pulling the trigger on this gem is that the owner replaced the lower body panels in the past. Another and arguably more important detail is that when you look hard enough at the exterior you’ll notice some drilled holes, dings, and dents.

Circling back to its 16″ wheels for a second, supposedly, they have been sourced from a 1935 Ford. Furthermore, the drum brakes also belonged to a 1940s Ford, according to the auction’s description. The tires, however, are Firestone Deluxe Champion whitewalls. The seats come in brown vinyl, and the wheel is a banjo-style DeLuxe.

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1950 Mercury Eight Convertible Flaunts Bored and Stroked Flathead V8, Impeccable Looks –  Aurel Niculescu – @autoevolution

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The Mercury Eight series holds the uncanny honor of being the debut line for the upscale Ford division. It was manufactured between 1939 and 1959 over a total of three generations and sat in between the Ford Deluxe (Custom) and Lincoln.

As such, it was produced both before – when it shared its body with the sibling Ford models and after World War II – when it became the first apparition of the new Lincoln-Mercury Division, thus sharing more traits with Lincoln from then on. As such, it is not just a car but also a statement of history.

Anyway, now is your chance to grab hold of it because New York-based Motorcar Classics says it has a classy 1950 Mercury Eight Convertible for sale, with low mileage and a potential craving for best-in-show accolades. Sitting proudly in the dealership’s inventory in classy dark green over tan and dark green attire, the two-door drop-top “has been lovingly refurbished by a late owner.”

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The V8-60 Engine, Henry Ford’s Baby Often Forgotten by Car Enthusiasts – Silvian Irimia @Autoevolution

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In 1932, the Ford flathead V8 began production when the expression game-changer wasn’t around. Ford’s V8 revolutionized the American automotive industry, forcing all its competitors to switch to eight cylinders mounted in a V shape. However, we are here to talk about the V8-60.

The story of Henry Ford’s genius creation, the 60-horsepower V8, starts earlier than 1937 when it was introduced. In 1934-35, Ford designed and produced a smaller, 2.2-liter power unit of the company’s standard V8 for its European divisions in England and Strasbourg, France. With interesting engineering, this first version featured only two exhaust ports per bank and four main bearings. At the same time, it was full of issues, especially overheating. Consequently, only around 3300 examples were produced, and today only a handful of them still exist.

Still, the effort was not in vain and actually inspired a second redesigned V8 for Europe. Later, in 1937, it was introduced on the United States market as the V8-60. While in Britain, it was commonly known as the 22 hp V8 (in reference to its taxable power rating), the Ford ad writers for the US called it the “Thrifty Sixty.”

The updated V8-60 was an identical and much tinier version of the original flathead Ford V8 introduced in 1932. The displacement was scaled down by Ford engineers from 221 cubic inches (3.6-liter) to a shabby 136 cubic inches (2.2-liter). The power output was 60 hp (61 PS) instead of 85 hp (86 PS) for the old 1937 V8.

One of the particular features of the V8-60 was the front engine support casting, which doubled as the timing cover and mounts for the ignition distributor and twin water pumps. The small and big Ford V8 powerplants are so similar in appearance that ordinary people are often confused. Looking at the head bolts makes it easy to see the difference. The V8-60 has only 17 per cylinder bank, while the big V8 has 21 or 24 fasteners per side. Another interesting and particular feature was the cooling jacket on each bank that was closed out with a sheet metal plate. This metal plate was electrically welded in the proper position.

Ford customers were attracted to the V8-60’s fuel economy, so sales were outstanding initially. However, sales quickly fell as word got out about the engine’s poor acceleration. You see, despite its tiny displacement, the power unit produced 60 hp at 3500 rpm, which for 1937 was quite decent. Unfortunately, the engine had a significant downgrade. The peak torque was less than 100 lb-ft (136 Nm) at 2500 rpm. The available torque was 50 percent behind its V8 larger brother. As a consequence, The V8-60 was discontinued in the USA after 1940, when Ford introduced an L-head straight six engine as its economic engine.

However, this tiny powerplant found its true potential in racing. If you didn’t know, there was a time before and shortly after WWII when American citizens were absolutely captivated by a new racing competition known as the Midgets. In the 1930s and 1940s, these small cars, modeled after their larger siblings from Indianapolis, raced on tracks in baseball and football stadiums on quarter-mile ovals specially built for them

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1951 Ford F-4 Flathead Abandoned in a Barn Roars to Life for the First Time in 50 Years – Humphrey Bwayo @Autoevolution

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Scouting for old rusty relics isn’t something we can all sign up for as a hobby. But for Thomas Mortske of Mortske Repair YouTube channel, it’s a lifestyle he’s unwilling to give up. Together with his loyal ‘Doggo” Duff, the duo will stop at nothing to get a beat-down classic up and running.

Remember the V8-powered go-kart barn find we featured back in August? Well, Mortske went back to his colleague’s barn to pick up the red flathead 1951 Ford F-4 truck that had been sitting in the corner.

“This thing has been sitting in the barn. His daughter didn’t remember ever seeing it come out of the barn, so I guess it’s been sitting for at least 20 years, probably closer to 30 or 40 years,” Mortske revealed.

According to Mortske, the truck appeared to have been last regularly used in the early 1970s. The previous owner might have tried to get it running 20 years ago (probably failed).

The 1951 Ford F-4 truck was a first generation of Ford F-Series truck and came with the flathead V8 engine and a 4-speed manual transmission. These trucks were perfect farm hands used for hauling grain, feeds, or ferrying cattle. They came with a hoist and trap door ideal for offloading cargo off the bed.

he interior needed some TLC. The door panels were falling off, and the seats had seen better days.

Luckily for Mortske, the engine turned over when manually pulled, a good sign it would fire up.

The old truck let out a few secrets when Mortske tried firing it up. The starter couldn’t turn, and upon inspection, he discovered someone (the previous owner) had gone all ham on it with a hammer and chisel, tearing up the stamp steel cover.

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Blast From the Past: The 1933 Ford Kamp Kar Was One of the First V8-Powered RVs – Elena Gorgan @Autoevolution

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When Ford introduced the Flathead V8 for the 1932 model year, it ushered in a new era of affordable motoring – one that we’re celebrating throughout the month of September as the V8 swansong. This Ford-based RV known as the Kamp Kar deserves its place in our unofficial V8 hall of fame.

September 2022 is V8 Month here on autoevolution: a month-long celebration of the iconic engine, as it’s preparing for its curtain call after a glorious run. Today’s episode of Blast From the Past brings a V8-powered RV, which also happens to be one of the first with this powerplant produced, an impeccable time capsule, and a slice of RV history.

It’s called the Ford Kamp Kar or the 1933 Ford Runkle Housecar, with the latter name offering some insight into its origin, and the former erroneously leading you to think it had some kind of connection with the Kardashian family, aka the world’s most famous klan for their love of names and words that start with the letter K. Jokes aside, this self-sufficient housecar is on permanent display at the famous Recreational Vehicle / Motor Home (RV/MH) Hall of Fame Museum in Elkhart, Indiana, which also hosts Ford’s first production-series RV and the first-ever motorhomes built.

Walter Runkle of Macomb, Illinois, was a house builder but, for about ten years of his life, he did low-volume production of custom motorhomes. People would bring him automobiles and he’d convert them into tiny houses on wheels using his experience in construction. This unit is a good example in this sense, if not the best, since it was for his personal use: a converted Ford V8 that he’d use between 1933 and 1947 for his yearly winter trips to Florida.

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1947 Ford Super Deluxe Packs Ford Racing Surprise Under The Hood, Oozes Restomod Swagger – Benny Kirk @Autoevolution

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Without further delay, this is a 1947 Ford Super Deluxe. And no, it does not come with curly fries. In fact, in fast food terms, this 1947 Ford’s underpinnings were the equivalent of a wayward fried cheese stick that fell under your seat the last time you went through the Arby’s lord knows how many days ago. In the frankest terms possible, it was warmed-up technology from before the Second World War.

The basis for which this 1947 restomod finds its basis made its debut six years prior in 1941. Why? Well, it was at that time that the United States decided to join the Second World War. Suddenly, factories building cars and trucks for civilians started building tanks, airplanes, and artillery pieces instead. In their day, the 1941 Ford series of cars and trucks came sporting either a 90-horsepower L-head straight six engine or the ever-present Ford Flathead V8. Service engines in their day, but what Roseville Rod & Custom of Roseville, California packed under this one’s hood dwarfs any engine from the 40s.

It’s a modern Ford Racing engine, a 302-cubic inch (5.0-liter) X2302E Boss V8 rocking goodies like forged steel pistons, connecting rods, and hydraulic roller camshaft and Ford Performance cylinder heads similar to those found on a GT40 LeMans racer. Needless to say, it’s packed with technology the average engine designer of 1947 would call witchcraft. Getting everything to work harmoniously required a nearly full body-off-frame job, stripping the car to its bare body shell without its quarter panels and just the bare frame remaining underneath.

From there, Ford Racing 302 V8 is ceremoniously fastened with custom motor mounts to the stock chassis. Don’t be fooled. This isn’t another Art Morrison frame with a classic body on top. There’s even a chassis number you can look up for yourself. With that sorted, a four-speed Ford AOD transmission was paired to the engine. Why? Because as Brian of Regular Car Review once said, “some call it archaic, I call it durable.” Safe to say, an engine this nice deserves a durable gearbox. This leads to a Truetrac 9-inch diff and 3.78:1 gearing

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1932 Ford Model B Truck Rolls Out of Long-Term Storage, It’s a Fantastic Survivor – Ciprian Florea @Autoevolution

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Introduced in 1932, the Ford Model B wasn’t as popular as its predecessors, the Model A and Model T sales-wise. However, it brought a couple of important changes to the company’s full-size car.

While similar to the Model A on the outside, the Model B was a brand-new car riding on an outward curved, double-dropped chassis. But the biggest innovation was the 221-cubic-inch (3.6-liter) flathead V8. The 65-horsepower mill turned the Model B into the first low-priced, mass-marketed car with a V8 engine.

Granted, the V8-powered version was actually called the Model 18, but it was mostly identical to the Model B beyond the engine. The latter came with a 201-cubic-inch (3.3-liter) four-cylinder unit, essentially an upgraded version of the four-banger that motivated the Model A.

Just like its predecessor, the Model B became a popular hot rod platform in the 1930s, so many of them soldiered onto the 21st century with notable modifications. Many of them were also abandoned in junkyards as Detroit rolled out increasingly more powerful cars after World War II, so Model Bs that still have original underpinnings and sheet metal aren’t exactly common nowadays.

Fortunately, some of them managed to survive the test of time and emerge out of long-term storage as mostly original survivors. This 1932 Model B pickup is one of the lucky ones.

The video below shows the truck coming out of an old garage with a thick layer of dust and a bit of rust on its body panels. There’s no word as to how much time it spent in storage, but we’re probably talking about at least a couple of decades. Still, the pickup appears to be in surprisingly good condition beyond a few rust spots, weld marks on fenders, and a few dents here and there.

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