HistoryBuff

I never heard of that car. I am surprised it was actually built. I met Virgil Exner Jr. at Monterey during the time the Adventurer II was being auctioned and he was very amusing with his commentary on other Detroit designers of the time.

Dear Chrycoman: Can you cite your documentation on that? I personally would believe you, because I have researched other cars built for royalty and one thing when you are a Royal, you don't want some rich butcher or gambling house owner to be able to drive the same exact car as you so you make sure the one for you is very special, unique, one-off, etc. In fact the Royal family of Brunei had dozens of special Aston martins built for them that the public never saw until a book came out picturing them. I just find it amazing the Ghia folks could wrap themselves around a car so big without consulting Exner or do you think ex-officio, Exner consulted on this car on the side? (after work?). By the way I have seen pictures of a clay model 300 with huge tailfins, staring at the bottom of the car ,maybe about three feet tall, with spare tire metal covered in rear deck. Was that car built or only a clay model...

Looks 100% better in black. The gold car from that view looks Volvo-ish. I don't think it could ahave sold against real Bentley Continentals though. Have you ever seen the woodwork of an interior on a Bentley Continental? I am also researching Agnelli's war background if anyone knows some biographical details of his wounding in Africa.

I was stunned when I saw this car at Pebble a few years back. It recently was at auction, in November. On the Auction co. website (http://rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1063505 there's a portion of the description which says: "When shown at Turin, the Indianapolis achieved the recognition that Boano had sought, including a cover feature in the November 1955 issue of Auto Age magazine, asking “Is this the next Lincoln?” Following the close of the Turin show, the Indianapolis was purchased by Ford, reportedly at the behest of Henry Ford II, and it was shipped to the United States. Gian Carlo Boano later recalled that Carrozzeria Boano Torino was offered a 10-year exclusive contract to design for Ford, but they instead chose to establish a styling center for Fiat instead. In 2001, the late, revered automotive historian Beverly Rae Kimes wrote the Indianapolis’s definitive biography for Automobile Quarterly, Volume 41, Number 3. In researching the car, Kimes attempted to lend weight to longstanding claims that Henry Ford II had given the Indianapolis to legendary actor Errol Flynn, but only circumstantial proof was found. The Indianapolis was reportedly later shown in Boston, where it sustained damage to the interior and was later acquired by Felix Duclos, of Manchester. Its history thereafter is well known and continues most prominently with Thomas Kerr, the renowned Packard collector and active Classic Car Club of America member. Kerr remains the Indianapolis’s longest-term owner, and he was the man responsible for its rebirth. He owned it for three decades, and, during his ownership, he recognized its importance as a one-off piece of design history. Jim Cox Sr. and his son, Jim Jr., of Pennsylvania, took on the challenge of restoration. " ----------------------------------- All I would like to know is: when Duclos bought it, was it decrepit and ignored, and forgotten? Was it published what he bought it for? Or the same when Kerr bought it. Also on the three pipes on the side, didn't Hudson Jet Itaia have three pipes on the side? Seems like this was an obsession with Italians to have chrome pipes showing? Also has anyone plumbed the HFII -Errol Flynn rumor any more to establish if he gave it to him. I haven't read much on Erroll but saw some book at a thrift shop that claimed he was a Nazi spy! Anyhow I'd like tohear about this car's years in the wilderness if anyone knows...and it looks better than the Zeder, the other American chassis Boano bodied that is hidden deep in the bowels of the Petersen Museum.

Mario Boano is credited with saving Ghia from the ravages of World War II. He is credited with helping Ghia get the contract from Chrysler that resulted in several Chrysler concept cars. In the mid fifties , after political differances in the company, he went out on his own getting a contract from Ferrari . In 1957 then President of Fiat, Giovanni Agnelli, commissioned this car from Boano. According to documentation Agnelli wanted a powerful coupe designed on the order of an English Bentley Continental. Sketches were drawn up by Boano. The Chrysler 300 drive train was selected and cut down some 18 inches to allow the car to be more European sized than American. According to the present owner, Boano made only two cars with American drive trains. The first was The Lincoln Indianapolis made in 1955 and this Chrysler for Agnelli of Fiat. It was imported to The United States until 20 years ago and since has always been in private collections.My question is: who found the car in Italy and would it be considered a "barn find", was it in rough shape when found. Incidentally, the side view in the present collection's presentation http://www.ramsheadcollection.com/portfolio/1957-chrysler-boano-coupe/ shows beautiful side sculpturing not seen in a 3/4 view shot out on a concours field, shown here http://www.forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=24245&start=26&posts=31 Roofline similar to Mercedes 300S coupe. Like to hear how it was unearthed. Must have been restored form the gold color that looks like the previous paint job.

Look at the picture of this huge American car,about half way down the page, side view http://www.forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=36086 Everyone knows that the Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavia, had a love of cars. The rumor is that-- after the revolution--his palace was looted and the 1,000 cars scattered. Many of the cars are still there, in a nicely lit showroom of sorts, including a Bizzarrini, Cadillacs, Rolls Royces and such. But one that would shock American car guys, if they could go to the Museum, is the Chrysler 300K . This is a huge car, which from the side view looks like a 1956 Lincoln Premiere though from the side view there’s a little Volvo P1800 front fender treatment too. In fact the low mounted grille is almost Volvo shaped. Of course the Volvo was designed in Sweden but who knows if they were looking at pictures of this Chrysler designed in Italy when they did it? Also it has wastegates on the lower front fender similar to Pininfarina Ferraris of the time, particularly the SuperAmericas. The roof style is a little bit Karmann-Ghia styled, no surpsise as Ghia designed the Karmann Ghia. The fins are typical Chrysler of the era with very elaborate rear bumpers obviously hand made just for this car. Though some call it the K300 it is based on a 300B chassis. If one wanted to restore it, I at least know who made the glass. Ghia used the european company Sekurit to supply them with glass for their creations including flat glass. This writer does not know if Virgil Exner Sr., who was responsible for Chrysler’s “Forward look” worked on the design though they do look like this private commission was a chance to try out in steel some future design while having a Royal foot the bill. The car is finished in a strong bronze color, though that might have not been the original color. The Shah seemed to turn away from American cars after he got on a Lamborghini binge. But always, as is usual with Royals, he got a car that was a little bit different, after all it wouldn’t do for the King to drive the same car as a commoner. What I would like to know is misc. tidbits such as: did Exner sr. or Jr. design it? Or Ghia do it all by themselves? Are there photos of the Shah with the car? Is it as valuable as the Chrysler concept cars like the d'Elegance?

I heartily applaud your effort. I have a lot of trouble getting my wife, who has no interest in old cars, to go to Pebble but at least she sees some interesting clothes. I myself would like to find a shirtmaker who could, for under $50, make me a long sleeve shirt with stand up collar similar to what writer Tom Wolfe has made his trademark for at least 40 years. I feel that for those who don't own a classic car, dressing in period with the cars you like , makes the event more fun and involving for all concerned. At a recent concours near Arcadia I saw a guy with a Hispano Suiza paying a professional photographer to shoot pics of a live model in 1920s clothing posing with his car--he was going all out, figuring it was a real occasion. Her clothes even matched the car! I applaud Lord March's daughter at Goodwood wearing a wartime WREN uniform, so fitting because the estate had a landing strip used by the RAF in WWII for the defense of the realm.

I am currently trying to freshen my memory. I heard 400 of this model were made but other estimates are much less. They look a lot like the Chrysler "concept cars" inspired by Virgil Exner Sr. In looking at my pictures I also found one with more of a semi-slantback with a spare tire cover inmetal on the rear deck, I guess that was a Chrysler concept and not a production GS-1. It was kind of an olive green and I photographed it in California decades ago. What did these GS-1 cars cost in the States back in the 1980s? I am most interested in hearing about ones that were "barn finds" even if found on a used car lot. These are not to be confused with Dual Ghias that were formerly imported to Detroit by Dual Motors in Detroit. This blue one I have seen several times in Los Angeles, identified as '54 Chrysler Special GS-1 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1954_Chrysler_Ghia_Special_GS-1_coupe_-_blue_-_fvl.jpg Thsi maroon one I would call a "semi fastback" not full fastback but I guess it's not a GS-1 and consequently more rare as a Chrysler concept car. I thas the spare tire on the rear and Imperial type free standing taillights. Maybe it was green when I photographed it decades ago. Was it ever a dereiict barn find? http://www.flickr.com/photos/seat850/3163205545/ The light green one shown here I would call a full fastback if you consider its roof a twin of the Bentey S1 Continental two door fastback. Am I using the right decription? I guess this was also a prototype, not a production GS-1 http://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/dreams-for-sale-the-production-chrysler-ghias/ I was in Detroit when Exner & son were still creating these but was too dumb to knock on the door of their shop and talk to them (though I did peek in the windows...!)

I thought I knew the Caddy prototypes done by Pininfarina, the 3 seater '54 car, the Jacqueline gold coupe which wasn't a running car until modern days; but recently came across pictures of four Cadillac prototypes made by the Italian coachwork firm, one a Starlight coupe maybe spelled Starlite. it had a glass roof all the way from the front windshield header to the rear deck lid http://oldconceptcars.com/1930-2004/cadillac-starlight-1959/ Another version had a regular steel roof but a wrarp around window at the rear which looked like '57 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser http://oldconceptcars.com/1930-2004/cadillac-skylight-coupe-1958/ . Another was a convertible same body style (which looks like '60s Delta 88 Olds from side). http://oldconceptcars.com/1930-2004/cadillac-skylight-coupe-1958/ Someone posted an ad from maybe the '60s for the convertible for sale in NYC for $5000. So that means at least one of the four was operational and made it to the States. My question is: did Harley Earl himself commission them? Did Pininfarina do them all on their own hoping to sell Cadillac a PF designed car? ARe any of the four cars "found" and what year were they rediscovered in America and bought (hopefully at bargain rates). When Cadillac was introducing the Allante, I don't remember them mentioning these cars at all, as their prior heritage with Pininfarina

I found pictures of this car restored in a South Africa museum. On the net on Flicker.com I found this description of its discovery: Website full article, no pictures; http://www.flickr.com/photos/askamel/788950544/ "The car was subsequently bought by the German government - the "Fhrer" (MS--Ed.) Adolf Hitler needed an appropriate present for King Farouk I of Egypt's wedding on 20th January 1938. Far from being just a personal gift, this served to showcase Germany's engineering abilities: "a first-rate sports Cabriolet, the best, most attractive and most precise car manufactured in the entire world." To fit in with its more than 100 stable mates in the King's fleet of cars, the car's colour was changed to a dark shade of red, as red was the colour of choice on the King's cars. He even went as far as issuing a decree outlawing red cars in his country so that the only red vehicles in Egypt were immediately recognised as royal. At the same time the 540 K received a special and unique dashboard layout and a contrasting beige leather interior with a matching hood. Although the King was forced to abdicate in 1952 and spent the rest of his life in exile in Monaco and Italy, the car remained untouched in Cairo until 1988. A French collector purchased 169387 at auction and stored it in a barn in France. At this time the car still had not been touched and was in remarkably original and authentic condition, still retaining its original engine. In 1996 the car's specialist restorers were asked to inspect the car in France and, after thoroughly inspecting the car and realising its importance and potential, brought it back to Germany where they embarked on a painstaking restoration." This site, from the Museum, has good pictures, enough to see I don't like the white parts of the dashboard or white convertible top http://www.fmm.co.za/dt_portfolio/mercedes-benz-540k-cabriolet/ I was wondering if anyone ever read what the French collector bought it for at auction, who was selling it and what he sold it for in 1996. I think Farouk fled Egypt in'51 or '52 so I wonder how much of his booty he brought with him.

I was led to believe by a restorer in Orange,CA that the car was photographed in silver in an underground garage in Baghdad by US troops. I didn't copy the picture but think I remember a modern gas vapor lighting post on the post behind the car and since those weren't invented before the wear, I concluded it was a modern picture. I have what I think is a rare shot of the car prior to being shipped to Germany, when it was a hideous combination of black and yellow. On this page they identiy it as the King Ghazi /saddam Hussein car http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=397594&page=208 where it is a modern shot though there is a shot of how it looked originally in white on the same page(though that could be the 290 Mercedes that the young King saw at the auto show and wanted to order but MB told him to hold off, they would build an identical one with a larger engine) . On the HAMB website They say: "In 1935 the German company was commissioned to build a 5.4-liter Mercedes 540K (order #2698 of 5 December 1935, engine #123705) for no less a client than King Ghazi of Iraq." They don't give the chassis number. Doesn't Melin have it in his book? Someone identifies the owner of the silver car shot in modern showroom background as Johannes Beekstowe's Mercedes Anybody know who he is? In this Car & Driver story the car looks pretty decrepit but the picture so of such poor quality can't tell if it's a modern picture or not. My suspicion is that when the replica was made in Germany he might have been sent the replica because at that point his life expectancy wasn't the greatest, but then maybe the King of Jordan who was getting it restored for him wouldn't have done a switcheroo for fear of angering his quick tempered cousin.

The Raymond Loewy car I think is done with more finesse. Was the plastic or glass roof sction removable? I'd like to know which of the two was a "derelict" car for a time and sold dirt cheap before it was restored. I wonder what Raymond Loewy a professional car designer thought of FLW invading his turf by redesiging a car?

I was watching something about Firebirds on Fast 'n Loud (Gas Monkey Garage) that reminded me of the two Firebird wagons that Pontiac had Pininfarina build in Italy nicknamed K-wagons (in honor of Dr. Kamm who thought up the chopped off tail). Were either of those two sold at auction by GM and does anybody remember the prices? It gets a little confusing because then some aftermarket firm built a few but I wonder if this was a deal where the public had a chance to buy a prototype Here's what the cars look like: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/chevrolet-camaro-and-pontiac-firebird-concept-cars1.htm

Now I found out who ordered the car" In 1953, a new Cadillac Series 62 was shipped to Italy where Pinin farina built this one-off for Norman Granz, a Beverly Hills concert promoter and record producer. It was patterned after the PF 200 Granz had seen at the Geneva Exhibit in 1952. The price was the cost of materials and a complete collection of the Norman Granz record productions. I'll be looking to see what recording artists Norm had signed and how the car got to Belgium unless there was a second PF Cadillac...

On the Cadillac Database http://forums.cadillaclasalleclub.org/index.php?topic=119147.0 I came across some great pictures of a Cadillac two seater (not the LeMans) bodied in Italy by Pinin Farina.One of my interests is one-off cars owned by famous people. I think Pininfarina did this on their own, hoping to win a contract from GM. There may have been two of them made. Anyhow it says King Leopold III of Belgium, after he had stepped down from the throne, was attending an event in Switzerland and drove the car off the road into a ravine but he and his wife survived and the accident was hushed up. There's a picture elsewhere on the site of the car upside down. There's a small chance it may have been the Lancia Aurelia B24 which had a similar body, but the two cars look the same from the front. Oddly the former King had gone through a similar accident in 1935 in Switzerland, which killed his first wife. My question is: is it pretty well documented that the PF Cadillac was involved, and the King was involved, and was the car rebuilt in America or by Pinin Farina? Is there a list anywhere of subsequent owners (it was at Pebble Beach in 2008 so I know it's been restored).

Yes, I've seen that article. I thnk the car looks good in black. But it's absolutely criminal that they spend all the money to make a new design and don't have one off wheels for it, as if to say "we ran out of money on the wheels." Also I wonder about the market, Mercedes on their stock version, had the advantage of a closed car (when the hardtop was on) or open car (using convertible top) but maybe it would only have been a few hundred sales a year, on the other hand, that might have been a good fit for Pininfarina's production facilities. Thanks for finding that article.

That's the picture where it looked good. In another shot, the roof looked home-made, like not done by pro shop. Was this car ever a used car lot special, sold cheap? Also was Edsel Ford, father of the Lincoln Continental, still alive to see this car? I wonder what he thought?

I meant removable sectionof roof, the back of the roof (with opera windows added) stayed in place. If you google it with Google images you see pictures of this red car, some pictures it looks good, others sort of clumsily built. I don't know which shop altered it from stock. Did he have more than one? I think he used to drive it in Arizona more than his Midwest shop location. Did he design it himself or have the shop that built it design it? I have seen a documentary on him, he was quite a character. I was wondering if the red Continental was ever derelict, semi-abandoned, left to lie fallow for awhile until it was bought and restored. I put that in the category of "famous owner" cars and depending on how much I liked the fame of the owner I think I'd pay a tad more if I liked his work in other fields.

I think there were three of them, modified Buick Rivieras, chopped tops , different trim, silver of course, all done for Bill Mitchell, vp of styling because he liked to think Riviera was "his car" since he thought it up. I was wondering if any of them were sold and are now being shown by concours entrants? Does anybody have a price one was sold for? I was wondering it would be hard to fix a value because you can't say this one or that one was a one time show car like you can the Buick Wildcat II and other stars of Motorama

It was not a particularly good looking car. Their Taunus based car actually reached production, over 2000 were made.But the Mustang, which was shown painted white, apparently didn't pique ford's interest. Its only contribution to styling was headlights that lay flat until you turned them on and then they popped up, a la Porsche 928. Any other outstanding cars by OSI?

Call PI Motorsports in Orange CA

I have seen this car at Pebble Beach. It is bodied in France, by one of the most falmboyant coachbuilders, Saoutchik. I was wondering if this car kicked around awhile unappreciated and was advertised at a low price in the '50s or '60s. I understand it was ordered by NYC furrier Lou Ritter, a famous hotel owner and playboy, would like to be referred to articles on the net about Ritter. Here's some pictures of the car on this website: www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z12923/<wbr>Cadillac-Saoutchik Thanks for any info

One of the recent (Nov. or Dec.) old car magazines on the newsstand now has an article on a lady that started as a mechanic at Excalibur and now runs a Excalibur restoration shop. In the story she says the total number made, which I forget but it was a sizable number. I would like to see if anyone has pictures of one with another grille on it, like Bentley or Rolls? Also I drove one on a test drive and complained to David Stevens it didn't steer like a sports car but he siad it wasn't supposed to be a sports car so get over it. I also think the two seat roadsters are more dramatic than the four seaters, but do they have a trunk at all? Also weren't the two seaters very nose heavy? I remember seeing one on a TV test on a track and it would spin out on a turn because it was so nose heavy.

I came across a website www.mustangmonthly.com/...gt350_shelby_<wbr>mustang/viewall.html where the car's owner , a 1969 Shelby GT350 built new with a Boss 302, goes to elaborate lengths to document as an experimental car built during Bunkie Knudsen's short tenure at FoMoCo (before being unceremoniously fired by Henry Ford II who resented his unilateral decisions). The car has a "G" series id inthe SN which all the Boss 302's did and was built at Kar Kraft, Ford's in-hosue experimental car building shop. My question is, other than the 2008 story by Jerry Heasley in Mustang Monthly, I can't find reference to the car in old magazines. My theory is that the car was bought by a lucky Ford employee who did not let other employees know it was a 302 and just took decades before it became recognized. The owner of the car uses the phrase "pilot car" and I seldom here that phrase but what it refers to is that, sometimes to test the assembly line before production starts, they whack out a few cars, leading to such oddities as '63 Corvette Stingrays being built while '62's were still in production. Pilot cars are not supposed to be sold. So my question is: Does anyone remember hearing about a 1969 Boss 302/ShelbyGT350 one off existing before the current owner built his impressive website. PS Love those stories about Knudsen at Ford; I guess one of the things that ticked off HFII was that Knudsen would initiate projects all on his own...

I never went to the recent Goodwood Revival events but I understand that Lord March is a man of great taste and culture and he tries to have all of those who attend--maybe some 40,000--wear vintage clothes in keeping with the era of the cars raced and shown. Even his own daugthter was dressed in a WWII Wren uniform (appropriate since theere were WWIi aircraft at the show since the Lord's estate was a RAF base in WWII). Now switching to America, when I go to Pebble Beach concours, I see only about 10% of the people showing cars making an effort to dress in pre-war or early '50s attire, most just wearing modern clothes and particularly boring stuff like ski parkas, etc. I would be in favor of a movement to have concours entrants dress up in period clothes so we can envision the cars more as they looked with the owners back then.