326 V8 Upgrade: 1962 Pontiac Tempest LeMans

Pontiac got into the compact car business in 1961 with the Tempest. Unlike most of the competitors in the field, the Tempest used a rear transaxle and 4-wheel independent suspension. This gave the car a nearly equal split in… more»

Stored 60 Years: Pair of 1950s Kaiser Manhattans

Kaiser-Frazer Corporation was founded after World War II as another independent automaker whose goal was to do battle with the giants of the industry. Due to pent-up demand after the war, K-F should have done well, but the “Big… more»

318 V8 Project: 1974 Plymouth Road Runner

The Plymouth Road Runner was one of the 1960s muscle cars that brought traffic into dealer showrooms. From a peak of 82,000 units built and sold in 1969, the car was a mirror image of its former self by… more»

Rare 1979 Pontiac Firebird Formula 400 4-Speed

Thanks to the success of the Burt Reynolds click, Smokey and the Bandit, the Pontiac Trans Am was a best-seller in the late 1970s. It peaked at 117,000 units in 1979 as people couldn’t get their fill of the… more»

Rare Roller: 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302

Introduced in late 1968, the Boss 302 was the Ford Mustang’s version of the Chevy Camaro Z/28. Both cars were redesigned to compete in the SCCA Trans-Am racing circuit which limited engine displacement to 305 cubic inches at the… more»

Pair of 1960s Austin-Healey 3000 Projects

Introduced in 1959, the Austin-Healey 3000 was a British sports car larger than most, earning the nickname “big Healey’s”. Jensen Motors made the bodies, while British Motor Corp. took care of the rest. In production through 1967, more than… more»

Seller Wants a Chevy! 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1

The Mach 1 arrived in 1969 as Ford was determined to turn the tides on eroding market share for the popular Mustang “pony car”. Due to growing competition, sales were way off from their peak of 607,000 units in… more»

Pole Barn Find: 1960 Chevrolet Bel Air 4-Door

After a radical styling redo in 1959, Chevrolet toned down its full-size cars a bit in 1960. The batwing tailfins were still there, but the “cats’ eye” taillights were replaced by circles and the front grillwork was less aggressive…. more»

Still in the Barn: 1972 Mercury Montego MX

The Montego arrived in 1968 as Mercury’s reworked mid-size offering. Akin to the Ford Torino, the Montego was in production through 1976 (as was the Ford). The automobiles were treated to a redesign in 1972 and – as was… more»

Roaring ‘20s Throwback: 1978 Excalibur Phaeton

The Excalibur automobile was conceived by Brooks Stevens in the 1960s. Stevens was head designer at Studebaker in those days and he started up a company in Wisconsin to build the Excalibur, which was a replica of the 1928… more»

Hemi Pickup! 2007 Dodge Charger SRT8

The Charger nameplate returned to the Dodge fold in 2006 using the LX platform. Unlike the Chrysler 300 (also an LX), it was a performance machine and could be equipped with a 6.1-liter Hemi V8. And like the 300,… more»

Turbocharged V6: 1985 Buick Grand National

The Grand National was a turbocharged performance version of the Buick Regal. Various iterations were offered between 1978 and 1987, sometimes lumped in with the Turbo-T and T-Type models. At the heart of the Grand National was a 3.8-liter… more»

What’s It Worth? 1962 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider

Alfa Romeo introduced the Giulietta in 1954 as a series of automobiles built in Italy through 1965. All sorts of body styles were offered, and the one likely most recognizable in the U.S. is the Spider (aka 2-seat roadster)…. more»

Push-Button Tranny! 1964 Dodge Custom 880

Rumor has it Chrysler got wind that Chevrolet was planning to downsize its full-size cars in 1962. As such, their Plymouth and Dodge offerings would be smaller than in 1961. Turns out that this intel was bad, so the… more»

Former Movie Star? 1991 Ford LTD Crown Victoria

For most of the 1980s and beyond, the Ford LTD Crown Victoria was the flagship of the Ford lineup. Along with the Mercury Grand Marquis, these were throwback vehicles in that they were large automobiles still using rear-wheel drive… more»

4×4 Fire Truck: 1977 Dodge Power Wagon

Since 1913, Pierce Manufacturing has been making fire-fighting apparatus, which includes fire trucks like this 1977 Dodge Power Wagon. It was built on a Dodge W400 chassis to be a “brush” truck for the Concord, Vermont Fire Department. After… more»

Barn Finds