Collectable cars at show have stories to tell
THE auction of collectable cars last Saturday at the Old Car Show in George included some of the finest models made over the years, with an interesting exception, a dud model produced in Detroit’s “sloppy year”.
That fly in the ointment was the 1955 Ford Customline made in the year when, according to the booklet 100 Years of Automobiles published by Norman Jacobs, Scarsdale NY, Detroit “churned out cars a little too fast” and construction as a result “became sloppy”. As the booklet says, the slogan at the time was, “We don’t want it good, we want it Tuesday”, a slogan that once referred to Bgrade movies.
The 1955 Fords were “notorious rusters”, Chevrolets were reported to have front-end trouble and Buicks leaked. In some ways the 1955 Ford gave a hint of things to come. Already its body was lower and wider than its predecessors. Tailfins were just around the corner and the era of the big cars or “yank tanks” was about to begin. Chevrolet, Ford and Plymouth, until then regarded as comparatively small cars, were moving into the bigger league.
The 1965 Pontiac Parisienne (hammer price R81,000) was typical of the Pontiacs of that era. Motoring journalists described it as a car that “could go very fast in a straight line”, but cornering was something else.
Fred Schnetler, in his book A Century of Cars, says Pontiacs of those years were made when the US interstate highways connected every major city. They were built as straight as possible, “avoiding sharp corners and steep gradients”, which he says gave rise to big cars “with the marshmallow ride and uncertain handling”.
A conversation piece was the 1971 Plymouth Valiant light delivery vehicle (hammer price R30,000). Interestingly, that was the name by which it was generally known outside SA. In SA it was called the Chrysler Valiant, and was at the peak of its popularity in the 1960s.
Another popular make on offer was a 1952 Opel Kapitan, which was snapped up by a collector at the auction preview.
General Motors SA started assembling Opels in the 1930s. It was well timed, for by then the firm had established a vast network of dealerships throughout SA. Also, hire purchase was becoming widely used as a method of buying cars which encouraged increased sales.
Opel, with its up-to-date design, was a good performer, and its independent front suspension and monocoque body made it eminently suitable for SA’s roads.
After the Second World War Opels became available in SA only in 1949 as Allied bombing had caused heavy destruction to German factories.
The 1949 model was little changed from earlier models. The first major change was made in 1951. Styling was sleeker with generous use of chrome and a more Americanised grille.
Post-war Opels were well received and in 1959 only the Volkswagen Beetle outsold the Opel Rekord, which outsold the Zephyr.
In the auction line-up too was a 1939 Hillman Minx (hammer price R43,000). It was one of the first post-war cars to appear in SA.
Although the Roots Group, which took over the Hillman in 1930, was known for “producing modest and unspectacular cars”, it launched the popular 1,185cc Minx model in 1932. The car sold well into the 1950s.
The title of Grand Old Lady at the auction goes to the 1940 Chevrolet Master 85, a rugged car from the era when Chevrolet was the undisputed king of the road in SA. The car sold for R62,000.
The 1940 design was retained with minor changes until 1948, when the model was regarded as the best Chevrolet produced until the Tri-Chevy line of 1955-57.
Also on the vendor’s roll were a 1927 Chevrolet 1.5-ton truck (R140,000); a 1969 Rolls-Royce (R147,000); a 1985 Jaguar XJS V12 HE (R70,000); a 1980 MGB (R63,000); a 1959 Wolseley (R36,000); and a 1974 Ford F250 pick-up truck (R120,000).
The title of Grand Old Lady at the auction goes to the 1940 Chevrolet Master 85, a rugged car from the era when Chevrolet was the undisputed king of the road in SA