Hemmings

Bright Bowtie

The Filling Station • 800-841-6622 • fillingstation.com • $39.95/each

Add some modern technology to your prewar Chevy with these new LED headlamp bulbs. Compatible with both 6- and 12-volt systems with negative or positive ground, the LED units increase visibility while using less current than halogens (3.6-4.5A per bulb). Note that they have tall housings because the aluminum acts as a heat sink for proper cooling. They require a minimum of 2-5/8-inch clearance for proper fit and good reflector plating is recommended. Specific applications include 1916-’28 Chevy vehicles with dual contact bulbs, 1929-’33 passenger cars and trucks, 1934-’35 Standard passenger cars, and 1934-’36 trucks. Inquire about p/n FS-17LED (dual contact) or LED-1129 (single contact) for your application.

New Upholstery

Legendary Auto Interiors • 800-363-8804 • legendaryautointeriors.com • $547

If the interior of your 1966 Dodge Coronet is starting to fade, stain, or show some rips and tears, this new front split bench seat upholstery set will help revitalize your cabin’s comfort and appearance. Each set features as-original cirrus grain inserts and cologne grain skirts. They are made to fit perfectly for hassle-free installation and are currently finished in a dark grey and black combination. For more about the Coronet upholstery kit, ask about p/n AA66CW00020151.

Hood Highlight

Bob Drake Reproduction Parts • 800-221-3673 • bobdrake.com • $69.99

Replace your missing, pitted, damaged, or faded 1947-’48 Ford hood emblem with this reproduction part. Back in stock after a hiatus, the “Super Deluxe 8” emblem has been meticulously crafted to mirror the original design, boasting a polished chrome finish and blue painted recesses, just as they were on when Ford’s top trim level rolled out of the factory. As of this printing, only eight-cylinder versions are available, which does not include the decorative hood ornament (sold separately as p/n 6A-16851-K). Inquire about p/n 6RA-16606-B for more information.

Olds Felt Kit

Hydro-E-Lectric • 941-639-0437 • hydroe.com • $222.95

Reseal your 1966-’67 Cutlass convertible’s leaky windows with these new beltline weatherstrip kits. The eight-piece set includes the inner and outer felt seals located horizontally on the door and quarter panel (where the windows roll up), as well as installation hardware and detailed instructions. Like the original pieces, the new units sweep the side windows when the glass is lowered and they fit like the factory parts to keep your Olds’ original appearance intact from the finished ends to the proper curvature. Call about p/n OL173A for more details.

Woodill Wildfire

Dr. Milton W. Phair, from Burnet, Texas, sent us a letter with a copy of the August 1953 of Motor Trend, the cover of which shows a Woodill Wildfire. Milton wonders how many could still be around and notes that it likely was built before Chevy’s iconic fiberglass sports car, the Corvette, was unveiled to the public. As luck would have it, we’ve featured two Wildfires in Drive Reports over the last 50 years: Special Interest Autos Mar./Apr. 1974; and Hemmings Motor News February 2013. In the latter, author Jim Donnelly reported that the Wildfire was unveiled in Los Angeles in 1952 as a Willys-based sports car by B.R. “Woody” Woodill. It never became an official Willys model; the company was purchased by Henry J. Kaiser, who then approved the production of the Kaiser Darrin. It’s thought only a handful of complete Wildfires were built, though several body and frame kits, which were compatible with many marques, were available. Fords and Ford flathead engines seemed to be the most popular options for kits. Overall, there are probably only a few dozen still in existence. Have you seen one recently?

Pony Pacer

Pony Pacer

Pony Pacer

Pony Pacer

Pony Pacer

Allen Archer from Lenox Dale, Massachusetts, and his buddies were exploring an old oil company property that he thinks dated to the late 1800s. With old brick buildings strewn about, they opened the garage to see what was within. To their surprise, this old mobile barrier, which was used for harness racing, was tucked away. It turns out the modified 1947 Chrysler was a part of countless races at Yonkers Raceway, serving as the starting gate on wheels. Extensively altered from its street-car origins, the chassis and body were lengthened and required two people to operate it: one to drive and one to check for proper starting positions. Just as in today’s harness races, jockeys would ride up to the slow-moving gate on their sulkies, while the Chrysler would accelerate after the starting line, fold up its gates, and exit the track as the race was on. Allen notes that there was some kind of air compressor and controls that worked the gates, which he thinks were made of aluminum. Note that a pair of sulkies are sitting on the hood. What kind of cars and trucks do you remember operating the mobile gates at your local horse races?

Recently discovered a unique or noteworthy classic car or vehicle? 

Let us know. Photographs, commentary, questions, and answers should be submitted to Lost & Found, c/o Hemmings Classic Car, P.O. Box 196, Bennington, Vermont 05201, or emailed to tcomerro@hemmings.com.

From Stellantis backward, you can trace the history of Chrysler through the generations — including the fallen flags of defunct manufacturers that were eventually absorbed under the sign of the Pentastar. Here’s how: The veteran independents Hudson and Nash merged in 1954 to create American Motors, which in turn was swallowed up as a Chrysler holding in 1987 after a short, lamentable stint of Renault partnership. So, it makes perfect sense that this stunning, Mopar-motivated street rod is based on a 1947 Hudson Super Six coupe, one of 49,278 Super Sixes that Hudson produced that year.

So there’s your Chrysler lineage. It’s expressed spectacularly in this Hudson, which was sinking into the Illinois soil, in primer from an interrupted restoration, when the owner of this car spotted its hulk offered for sale via Hemmings Auctions. After about $2,000 changed hands, the rusted Super Six was towed to the Harvard, Illinois, shop of Schwartz Performance, which transformed the Hudson into the high-tech Mopar screamer you see here. It rides on a proprietary chassis that gives it canyon-carver handling, and is now powered by an upgraded modern Hemi crate engine that’s estimated to churn out some 500 horsepower.

The raw material. The Super Six coupe had been sunk into the dirtPhoto: Provided by Schwartz Performance

Schwartz Performance specializes in very high-end street rod and muscle car projects, using its custom-built G-Machine chassis, which incorporates contemporary handling technology and exists for more than 150 unique applications. Regrettably, a 1947 Hudson wasn’t one of them, but we’ll get to that. Max Lown of Lake Forest, Illinois, had already sampled Schwartz Performance’s quality when it slipped a G-Machine chassis under his 1970 Buick Skylark, which also received Chevrolet LS7 power and an estimated 600 horsepower. The job led Max to praise the shop and its proprietor, Jeff Schwartz.

“Jeff had done a great job on the Buick, and I’ve always been interested in a street rod,” Max explained. “I have an interest in Hudson, going back to the early days of NASCAR. I was looking online in the Hemmings Auctions and looking at Hudsons, which are usually either pristine condition or wrecks. This wreck was right near me in Crystal Lake. The guy with it was smart enough to take the fenders off and hang them inside his garage. Jeff went to look at it and said, ‘You’ve got to do this. This car would be gorgeous.’ And I told him, go ahead. The car had just rusted into the mud. The frame was gone.”

The original Hudson inline-six and frame. Note the degree of factory engine setback.Photo: Provided by Schwartz Performance

Regardless, the Super Six was a complete car that was partly finished. The basic plan was to reimagine the Hudson as a modern car with copious power and sports car handling. In keeping with Hudson’s heritage, the decision was made to go with Chrysler power. “I said, ‘We could put an LS or an LT into it, but they’re a dime a dozen,’” Jeff tells us. “And it’s kind of weird putting a Ford Coyote into a Hudson. So, I said, ‘Let’s do a Hemi.’”

Though somewhat disassembled alongside the previous owner’s shop, the Super Six was mostly there except for one missing piece of rocker trim. Jeff was surprised to learn that the Hudson had a front-hinged hood, noting that the setback of its standard inline-six engine transformed it into “…a front-mid engine car. The engine was so far back that if they used a conventional hood, you wouldn’t be able to reach anything.”

Schwartz’s own G-Machine chassis uses ladder frame design and tubular gusseting for additional rigidity.Photo: Provided by Schwartz Performance

The Hudson’s primered body had deteriorated somewhat from being planted in the mud. The car was chemical dipped, which was when, as Jeff put it, “the surprises come out.” In this Hudson’s case, that meant doing metal repair from the bottom up, including fabrication of a new floor pan, inner fenders, and other sheetmetal, using measurements to apply the correct steel thickness. A custom firewall was necessary so the Mopar 6.4-liter Hemi crate engine could be squeezed into place. Mini wheel tubs were also installed at the rear to accommodate the 335-section rear tires.

The Hemi was outfitted with custom “392” rocker covers, and Schwartz Performance fabricated an adapter that would link the drive-by-wire throttle body for the fuel injection to a four-barrel intake manifold. With a free-flowing exhaust that included Schwartz-fabricated headers and finished with an open air cleaner, Jeff guesses that the Hemi produces “500 horsepower, easy.”

The ignition coils were moved off of the rocker covers to give the 392 Hemi a more traditional look. Schwartz’s fabricated headers and exhaust promote deep breathing.Photo: Matt Lankford

The choice was made to use a Wilcap adapter to pair a General Motors 4L60E automatic overdrive with the Hemi due to the availability of aftermarket programming software for the GM transmission; a US Shift computer was used here. A custom steel driveshaft linked the powertrain to a 9-inch Moser rear that was outfitted with 31-spline axles, Baer Brakes hubs, and a TrueTrac differential turning a 3.70:1 gearset.

This fabricated transmission tunnel shows the high quality of welding and metal work performed.Photo: Provided by Schwartz Performance

The heart of this Hudson, however, is its G-Machine ladder-frame chassis laid out specifically to match the mounting points on the Hudson body. As Jeff explained, “The old chassis was riveted together and the rivets loosen with time, because they were never intended to last over 50 years.” The shop made a 3D scan of the Super Six’s underbody and used the scan to determine the chassis dimensions. Ridetech single-adjustable coilover shock absorbers were combined with a Flaming River power rack-and-pinion steering system, with an eye toward additional suspension travel when compared to the more common Mustang II-style front end setup. Fourteen-inch Baer brake rotors were installed at all corners, with six-piston calipers – Jeff said the original Hudson C-channel frame would have likely deformed from the braking forces, plus the Hemi’s copious torque. Splined anti-roll bars were installed front and rear. BFGoodrich Rival S tires, 275 section in front and 335 at the rear, on 18-inch Forgeline JO3C wheels complete the underpinnings.

Photo: Matt Lankford

Once the body was repaired, the surface metal was treated with an etching solution, then primed and sealed. The paint and primer were from PPG, and the maroon finish was sprayed on in two base coats with three to four coats of clear. The finish was then wet-sanded working up to 2000-grit paper before buffing. All the Hudson brightwork was restored and reused while custom Hemi logos were added to the sides of the front-hinged hood. The big hood now also has an inside cable release.0

Photo: Matt Lankford

The interior was covered with distressed butterscotch-dyed leather stretched over street rod seats of uncertain sourcing. The factory dash was used, with a Schwartz-made lower steel section that incorporated outlets and controls for the Vintage Air Gen IV climate system. The original instruments were sent out to a Chicago-area Corvette shop for conversion to 12-volt electronic operation. A Flaming River tilt steering column and Lokar floor-mounted shifter were also installed. After snapping a photo of a Hudson emblem, Jeff commissioned Con2R of Beaverton, Oregon to create a smaller-diameter steering wheel, wrapped in leather, and with the Hudson logo on the horn button.

Max is justifiably proud of his very atypical Hudson street rod and its exquisite execution. He considers the build, which took two and a half years to complete, to be triumphant. As he put it, “The car is unbelievably beautiful. The guys in the shop tell me it’s the best car they’ve ever done, and they’ve done a lot of cars.”

Gallery – 1947 Hudson Super Six

Gallery – 1947 Hudson Super Six

Like some other young boys of my generation, my car lust was fueled in part by a book published in 1954 titled The Red Car, authored by Don Stanford. The novel was about a relatively poor kid growing up with a love of cars who, by a series of happenstance, was able to buy a partially wrecked MG TC—a small British sports car with two seats, wire spoke wheels, and a racing heritage—and repair it. Of course, the car was red and by the end of the story it brought the kid happiness, success, and a pretty girl.

Of course, my car lust started prior to reading the novel. Family lore has it that my first word was “automobile,” and long before I could read The Red Car, I could identify any kind of vehicle on the streets of Brooklyn, New York; apparently, I would interrupt conversations to do so. That habit, annoying to some, continues to this day when I see something remarkable on the road. My defense is that if I do not interrupt, the vehicle will be gone and only I will be able to enjoy the automotive eye candy. Typically, no one else cares, but I blame my obsession and annoying habit on The Red Car.

My family moved to Long Island when I was eight. There, I could drive legally at 17, and I initially borrowed my parents’ sedans to do so. But what I really needed was my own “red car.” How else would I achieve happiness and success, and get a pretty girl?

In those days, local used cars were advertised in our regional publication, Buy Lines, devoted to such vehicles. Every week, I scoured the pages for a “red car” I could buy with the $100 I had saved. I eventually found what I needed: a 1959 Renault 4CV, a small French car with a manual transmission, front bucket seats, and a four-cylinder engine in the back. In my mind, it was like a Porsche, but different. Of course, it wasn’t a British sports car, and it wasn’t red, but it was going to be mine.

The 4CV’s engine made 28 horsepower, at a time when the more luxurious Renault Dauphine offered 32 hp and a Volkswagen boasted 36 hp. The car also offered four doors and four seats, but the front doors were hinged at the center post, along with the rears, that created an odd reverse “suicide” arrangement. Significantly, the Renault before me featured a floor shifter, was within my budget, and it ran.

Truth be told, it didn’t run all that well. Having purchased the 4CV, the engine just stopped on the way home, 4-½ miles into the 5-mile trip from the seller’s location. Fortunately, the Renault was both small and light enough, enabling me to easily push it the rest of the way home.

The first problem to solve was why the car wouldn’t run. It turned out to be an easy repair once I learned the nuances of points and plugs. It ran fine after that. Next, I had to work out the “red” problem. A little sandpaper, a fine bristle brush, some masking tape, a quart of red paint, and a few hours of labor, and I had a red car. It looked good, but to make it closer to sporty I added three white racing stripes on the car. Pretty spiffy.

My Renault had an AM radio and a sunroof, and it usually ran. Unfortunately, the engine’s internals were worn, and it smoked and leaked oil everywhere. I didn’t care – I had my red car; my own wheels during the summer prior to my freshman year of college.

I learned all about simple automotive repairs. Things like changing water hoses, brakes, and fan belts, and even more challenging tasks like replacing a leaky water pump. I became a real grease monkey. Soon enough, the 4CV was reasonably reliable and I drove it all over Long Island.

Those who grew up on Long Island in the Sixties will recall that Nathan’s, in Long Beach, was the place to hang out. My girlfriend that summer was a folk singer. Nathan’s had an open mike hootenanny on certain nights. One evening she and I, and her guitar player, took my red car to Nathan’s so she could sing. Besides using a lot of oil, the Renault also periodically needed water. Typically, it would use half a quart every couple of days, so I carried a one-gallon container. On this night, after the show, I added the usual amount, and it still wasn’t full. I added the entire gallon and the radiator never filled. It finally dawned on me that I had parked on a slight grade; water was leaking out of the engine and rolling downhill in front of the car. I had not seen the puddle because the radiator neck poked out the back. Opening the rear hood, I found a burst radiator hoses. Luckily my girlfriend used a capo on her guitar, a clamp that fits on the neck to change pitch. Between the capo, more water, and some aluminum foil from Nathan’s – wrapped around the hose clamped together by her capo – we made it home. I had also loosened the radiator cap so there would be no water pressure.

Towards the end of my sophomore year, I talked my parents into letting me drive my 4CV to college in upstate New York. The 160-mile trip took nearly eight hours with frequent stops for oil, water, and gas, not to mention that my tired 28 hp engine was no match for the hilly Taconic Parkway. The Renault’s 59 MPH advertised top speed when new was more like 30 in places. Eventually I arrived in Troy, where the Renault was driven between my fraternity house and campus. On weekends it was my date car.

One night my buddy and I took our girlfriends to a drive-in movie. We drove up the embankment, pointing the front end towards the screen, hooked the speaker to the driver’s window, and settled in to watch the film. At some point, someone moved, and it was enough to cause the brakes to slip; the 4CV rolled backwards. Apparently 550 pounds of passengers in a 1,200-pound car was pushing things.

When we rolled back, the speaker wire stopped us cold. A full-size car would have simply broken the wire; however, the speaker merely slid forward on top of the window until it was wedged in the front corner of the door and anchored the 4CV. Due to the door configuration, I could not open it. To get us free and back into a viewing position, I had to drive forward, but the engine couldn’t do it. Thus, my buddy and our dates had to get out and assist the engine with a push amid the cheers and jeers of others around us.

The adventures with the Renault continued. Eventually, the engine bay was coated with oil and the fan belt started to slip. I found that a lawn mower fan belt was half the price of an automotive belt; a significant budget consideration, so that’s what I purchased as a replacement. It wasn’t long before I learned why there was a price difference. Lawn mower belts were made of rubber that broke down when coated with oil, but automotive belts had greater resistance. Thus, shortly after a new lawn mower belt was installed it would slip and disintegrate.

I drove the car anyway since the belt only turned the generator and not the water pump. The problem with using a slipping, disintegrating belt was that it would drain the battery. As long as I could avoid using headlamps I could drive for about a week before the battery died. Fortunately, the Renault had an emergency crank I used for starting when I was without a fan belt. Starting the engine with a crank was not a big deal. If the battery had some power, the car would run. I learned it was time to buy a new fan belt when the battery was so dead merely stepping on the brakes – thus activating the lamps – used whatever voltage was left and caused the engine to stall. Silly ingenuity took over at times like these; I would open the door and slide my foot to stop the car from slow speeds, and thus not stall the engine. More than one trip to the lawn mower store ended this way.

My time with the first red car ended shortly after my sophomore year when a fellow student begged me to sell it to him. Sadly, for him, it caught fire on his drive home to show his parents. Apparently, an oil coated engine is not only messy but dangerous too. Lesson learned. He was a hockey player, and I spent the next two years avoiding him. I never again sold a car to someone I knew.

The red Renault was just the first. It was followed by a black Triumph, then a British Racing Green Jaguar, and a green Griffith, followed by a blue Austin-Healey, a black Sunbeam Tiger, and many others. My passion for cars has continued over some 55 years and about 50 cars. So far, I have had the “red” British sports car several times: happiness, success, and the pretty girl. I am still waiting for the red MG-TC, though.

The Nextgen Guide To Car Collecting

• Author: Robert C. Yeager, with introduction by McKeel Hagerty
• Motorbooks
• 978-282-9590
• quarto.com
• ISBN 9780760373378
• $29.99
• ★★★☆

Porsche 356: 75th Anniversary

• Author: Gordon Maltby, with foreword by Grant Larson
• Motorbooks
• 978-282-9590
• quarto.com
• ISBN 9780760377376
• $75
• ★★★☆

While it’s heartwarming to watch first-gen vanners trucking into their 70s and 80s with comfortable Sprinters, it’s still the vintage “bedrooms on wheels” that most appeal to young enthusiasts. Traditional hot rodders never did warm up to a no-go, all-show niche known for “hippie graphics” and pot-flavored frolicking by longhairs in muddy locales. Hot Rod magazine’s controversial mid-1970s embrace of the breed inspired a record number of subscription cancellations—along with record newsstand sales. Half a century later, have customized vans finally achieved hot-rod respectability?

Date: February 2011

Location: 50th Anniversary Celebration of North American Vans, Buena Park, California

Source: Wallace Family Archive

The Mitsubishi 3000GT was a winner from its 1991 debut. The top-of-the-line VR-4 variant was awarded the Motor Trend Import Car of the Year award for its head-turning style and high-performance technological advancements that included a twin-turbocharged V-6, all-wheel drive, four-wheel steering, electronically controlled fully independent suspension, and active aerodynamics. The automaker gave this model a facelift and more power for 1994, but the best was yet to come: the 1995 and 1996 3000GT Spyders were the first production retractable hard-top convertibles since Ford’s late-1950s Skyliner, and they kicked off a body-style trend that exploded in popularity over the next 20 years.

The naturally aspirated, front-wheel-drive 3000GT SL and forced-induction, all-wheel-drive VR-4 would get the open-top treatment, using a folding solid roof developed by the American Sunroof Corporation. The Mitsubishi 3000GT Spyder, whose attractive new roofline was penned in the company’s California design studio, was unveiled at the 1993 Tokyo Motor Show; production of both variants began in fall 1994.

Photo: Hemmings

The 3000GTs earmarked to become Spyders went down the Nagoya assembly line in Japan like their hatchback siblings but, anticipating the decapitation they’d receive in ASC’s Long Beach, California, plant, they got softer springs, A-pillar reinforcements, and plastic plugs closing off their quarter windows and hatch areas. At ASC, their interiors were largely stripped out before the roofs were carefully cut off. Sill-filling box-section braces, windshield cowl and header reinforcements, a rear shock-tower bulkhead brace, and other steel components were hand-welded in using precision jigs. All exposed metal was rustproofed, new wiring run, and the hard-roof mechanism fitted; it took around 12 hours to do the conversion.

The sleek, two-piece, sheet-molded compound roof –itself weighing 98 pounds– took orders from the Computerized-Convertible-Control (“C3”) 64k-memory computer that actuated four electric motors, four hydraulic pumps, and top cylinders with help from two counterbalancing coil springs. With the car stationary, you held a console-mounted button for about 35 seconds: the windows dropped and rear quarter glass tucked up into the top’s C-pillars, the decklid pivoted open from the rear, the top released from the windshield and folded in half before dropping into a deep well, and the decklid closed. To access the trunk, you pressed a second console button to power-raise the rear deck. There was space for cargo on a pressure-sensitive mat if the roof was up; it otherwise had to go in the rear-seat area.

Photo: Hemmings

The company hoped to sell 1,000 Spyders each year, but their price tags—roughly $113,955 (SL) and $125,330 (VR-4) in today’s money — made that goal challenging. Mitsubishi Motors North America reported production of 1,034 units: 368 SLs and 520 VR-4s for 1995, plus 62 SLs and 84 VR-4s built in 1996. Today these cars are supported by The 3000GT Spyder Registry (3000gtspyderregistry.com), which offers comprehensive historical documentation, production specs, and an online shop selling Spyder-specific parts. Spyders are already recognized as collectibles, and classic.com noted four recent auction sales at $40,000 or higher. As of this writing, there’s a 46,000-mile Spyder SL in Hemmings classifieds for $27,500; the red, 22,000-mile ’95 VR-4 in these photos ran through the Hemmings Auctions in June 2023 with a $46,000 reserve, but was withdrawn after a high bid of $45,049.

Specifications

Engine: DOHC V-6, 181-cu.in./2,972-cc, multi-point fuel injection/twin intercooled turbochargers

• 218-222 hp @ 6,000 rpm/205-201 lb-ft @ 4,500 rpm (SL)
• 320 hp @ 6,000 rpm/315 lb-ft @ 2,500 rpm (VR-4)

Drivetrain:

• Four-speed automatic, front-wheel drive (SL)
• Six-speed manual transmission, full-time all-wheel drive with center and rear limited-slip differentials (VR-4)

Suspension:

• Front MacPherson strut independent with coil springs and anti-roll bar
• Rear independent multi-link / double-wishbone with coil springs, tubular shocks, anti-roll bar

Brakes: Four-wheel ventilated discs with ABS

Wheelbase: 97.2 inches

Curb weight: 3,781 / 4,123 pounds

Price new: $57,449 / $64,449

Value today: $10,000-$45,000

Porsche 912s are many things. Classically styled. True descendants of the 356. Well-balanced — the proverbial slow cars that are fun to drive fast. What Porsche 912s aren’t anymore is inexpensive. Twenty years ago, it was possible to pick up a nice, driver-quality example for less than $10,000. As of this writing, classic.com estimated an average value of nearly $52,000 for 1965-’68 short-wheelbase 912s coupes and more than $54,000 for the long-wheelbase ’69. Rarer cars with factory sunroofs, or Targas with soft rear windows, command higher sums and values rise sharply for well restored or excellent-condition examples — those can bring $70,000 to $100,000.

We’re not breaking any news here, of course. It’s more a case of feeling wistful over the missed opportunity to snap up one of these before the air-cooled 911 bubble came along and dragged 912 prices along for the ride. If there is a bright side to this, it’s that 912s are no longer seen as expendable — i.e. parts cars or prime candidates for 911 engine swaps. The higher price of admission has spawned enthusiasm for 912s based on their own merits. It’s also likely leading to more 912s being saved and restored rather than sold off in pieces. Buying a project 912 can be a slippery slope, however. Expect to pay 911-like restoration costs without the higher values when the work is finished.

The 912 was Stuttgart’s way of bridging the gap between the outgoing 356 and the all-new 911. In appearance and architecture, the 912 was the 911’s doppelgänger, but in place of the 911’s overhead-cam flat six, there was a 1.6-liter, pushrod, flat four, like the engine used in the 356 SC. The 912 had 90 hp on tap — 5 hp less than the outgoing SC — and the engine had to push around 2,100 pounds in the new car versus the 1,970-pound 356. So acceleration wasn’t exactly neck-snapping, but less power and weight also meant less of the 911’s snap oversteer to worry about if you suddenly lifted off the throttle in a turn.

Photo: David LaChance

And in the turns the 912 really shined. Its four-cylinder engine lent the car a favorable 45/55 front-to-rear weight distribution. The wheelbase was longer than the 356’s and the body structure was more rigid. The 912’s underpinnings were more modern than the 356’s too: MacPherson struts with lower A-arms and torsion bars up front and semi-trailing arms out back with torsion bars. For ’69 the wheelbase grew 2.4 inches by lengthening the rear trailing arms, making the car even more stable.

When new, the base price of a ’69 912 coupe was $5,235 (according to the 912registry.org). That was a lot of dough at the time, especially considering that a ’69 Corvette with a 300-hp 350 V-8 cost $4,781. But it was also uncomfortably close to the the $5,795 base price of the new entry-level 911T and this likely hurt 912 sales. With the 914 looming on the horizon, Porsche decided to discontinue the 912 after ’69. At the outset, the 912 was wildly popular, though. In ’66, for instance, Porsche sold more than 9,000 912s here compared to 3,700 911s.

A 912 would return for ’76 powered by the Volkswagen engine from the outgoing 914. Porsche made a little more than 2,000 of these 912Es for the U.S. market only — all coupes with fuel-injected 2-liter flat fours.

Interest in air-cooled Porsches doesn’t seem to be waning, even as a younger generation enters the hobby. The 912 might have also shed some of the stigma of being the 911’s kid brother, as air-cooled Porsches moved away from being daily drivers and track cars to being collector cars — not that owners of early Porsches shy away from driving their cars as Stuttgart intended. That said, now might be a good time to shop for a nice 912 before prices rise even higher.

Value Trend

NADA Average prices for a 1969 912 coupe. Add 10-20 percent for a Targa.

It’s not often that your first love lasts a lifetime, but the relationship between Ken Peters and his 1969 Ford Mustang is at 45 years and counting. Ken grew up during a time when muscle cars and pony cars were cheap. Fuel efficiency was all the rage during the late 1970s, so the gas guzzlers of the muscle car era popped up at used car dealerships with low price tags. Insurance premiums for high-performance cars and young drivers continued to rise, causing parents to shy away from introducing their children to the joys of a factory hot rod. Ken Peters was a lucky one — his dad spotted a clean, 37,000-mile Mustang at the local used car lot on his way to work. He and Ken met at the dealership after school, and they ultimately purchased the car for $1,100.

The date was May 15, 1978. It was just a regular Monday for most people, but it was a special day for Ken. His 16^th birthday was approaching, and he just snagged a deal on a slick Mustang. The SportsRoof body made it look fast, even when it was sitting still. The car had some custom touches, including mag wheels and fat Goodyear Polyglas GT tires, and custom stripes that accentuated the body lines, calling attention to the quarter-panel scoops. It was a dream car for a high-school kid, and it lit a fire inside of Ken that still burns to this day.

Smithson Speed and Engineering worked out many of the details on the build, including repairing and preserving the 30-year-old black paint. RideTech suspension brings the ride height down a few inches, while the Magnum 500-styled American Racing wheels offer modern sizing with a vintage look. Photo: Tommy Lee Byrd

The Mustang remained unchanged for many years, which offered a nostalgic feeling, but the car was aging quickly. A complete restoration took place in 1993, going back to a more stock appearance with Magnum 500 wheels and an all-black paint job. Ken was happy with the fresh look, but as time wore on, age started creeping up on the restoration as well. While the car was still functional, Ken yearned for a more practical and fun combination, so he sent the car to a nearby shop, Smithson Speed and Engineering in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Owner and operator Ben Smithson has been around hot rods and muscle cars his entire life, but the truth of the matter was that Ken has owned this Mustang longer than Ben has been alive. The age gap wasn’t an obstacle, as Ken trusted the judgment of the young hot-rodder to take his beloved Mustang and bring some excitement back into the relationship.

Smithson Speed and Engineering made a substantial parts list when the project started in May of 2022, with an understanding that it wouldn’t be a matter of simply bolting new parts in place of the old ones. While the car was apart, it received a tremendous amount of detail work in the engine bay and undercarriage, which makes this car look like a fresh build. The reality is that most of the paint on this car dates to the 1993 restoration. Ben and crew repaired a few paint imperfections and underlying rust issues, and ultimately re-sprayed the doors, roof and quarter panels with fresh clear coat to seal the repairs. From there, it was the daunting task of color sanding the fresh clear and the old clear, and then buffing the finishes until it all looked like it came out of the same paint bucket. The result is a mirror-like black finish. Upgraded lighting comes by way of Holley Retrobright LED headlights and Glass Guy Chicago handled the installation of the windshield and back glass.

The Windsor-based engine features a 4-inch bore and stroke, bringing it to 408 cubic inches. Blueprint Engines built the engine with aluminum heads and a hydraulic roller camshaft, while Smithson Speed and engineering added a Holley Sniper EFI system and backed it all up with a 4R70W overdrive transmission.Photo: Tommy Lee Byrd

“One of the hardest parts of the build was determining the wheel and tire size to go with the new stance, but I think we nailed it,” Ken says. “I love how it looks.” Stance can make or break a restomod build, and that’s where Ben’s experience came into play to dial in the proper ride height, using a complete suspension system from Ridetech. The front-suspension system included tubular control arms, adjustable coilovers and an anti-sway bar. Ben also installed Borgeson steering components to make the car react more quickly.

Out back, Ken’s Mustang features a 9-inch rear end from Speedway Motors, which is packed with 3.70:1 gears, Speedway axles and a limited slip differential. In place of the leaf springs is a four-link rear suspension system from Ridetech. This includes custom brackets, link bars and adjustable coilovers, allowing the ride height to be adjusted to Ken’s liking. In addition to the new handling characteristics, Ken has intense stopping power from Wilwood disc brakes on all four corners. With 13-inch rotors and a combination of six-piston front calipers and four-piston rear calipers, the new setup is a huge upgrade for drivability. The system is fed by a Wilwood Compact Tandem master cylinder and all new brake lines to complete the package.

Although the interior looks mostly stock, there are some hidden tricks, including Vintage Air heat and A/C, a custom stereo system and a Painless wiring harness to power it all. The upholstery was refurbished during the 1993 restoration and still looks great, so Ken kept it as is.Photo: Tommy Lee Byrd

Rolling stock is a big part of any custom build, and the combination on Ken’s Mustang is the perfect representation of a restomod build theme. The wheels are American Racing VN500 — an upsized version of the famous Magnum 500 wheels from yesteryear. The aluminum wheels have a polished finish with black details, and they’re sized at 17×7 inches up front and 17×9 inches in the rear, wrapped in Michelin rubber, sized at 225/45R17 and 275/40R17 respectively.

The horsepower department also received a big upgrade, by way of a BluePrint Engines stroker small block. The Windsor-based engine now comes in at 408 cu.in., thanks to a 4-inch stroker crankshaft. Forged I-beam connecting rods and forged pistons add durability, and a 9.8:1 compression ratio ensures that it will perform well on today’s pump gasoline. BluePrint aluminum cylinder heads feature 2.02- and 1.60-inch valves, and 190-cc intake runners to flow plenty of air. The hydraulic roller camshaft is ground on a 114-degree lobe separation angle and features .579-inch lift and a split duration of 236/248 degrees, measured at .050-inch lift.

New Vintage USA “67 Series” gauges provide information while keeping a vintage look.Photo: Tommy Lee Byrd

Up top is a Holley Sniper EFI system, fed by an in-tank fuel pump, while Holley Hyperspark ignition lights the fire. A set of Doug’s headers lead into a custom 2.5-inch stainless exhaust system, built by Smithson Speed and Engineering. The TIG-welded mandrel bent pipes feature an X-pipe and Magnaflow mufflers for a crisp exhaust note. Additional engine upgrades include a Vintage Air Front Runner serpentine accessory system and an aluminum radiator with dual electric fans from U.S. Radiator. While the engine was out, Smithson Speed and Engineering stripped the engine bay down to the metal and gave it a fresh coat of paint. Behind the 450-horse crate engine is a 4R70W overdrive automatic transmission from East Side Performance in Cookeville, Tennessee.

Although it looks like a stock 1969 Mustang inside, many hours were spent installing creature comforts, including a Vintage Air Surefit A/C and heat system, Dakota Digital cruise control, and a stereo system that consists of a Custom Autosound retro-look head unit with JL Audio amplifier, speakers and subwoofer. New Vintage USA gauges look great in the stock dash, and Smithson Speed and Engineering rewired the entire car with a Painless harness.

Photo: Tommy Lee Byrd

After a year of being combed through from front to back, this car has made its way back on the road. The black Mustang made its debut at the 2023 Goodguys Nashville Nationals, where it was awarded the Ford Muscle Pick. Although Ken didn’t build this car with the sole purpose of winning trophies at car shows, it was certainly a nice surprise on its first outing. Ken and his wife, Nish, plan to take the car on long trips to car shows and cross-country sightseeing. Now that it’s equipped with many modern details, it’s ready to keep the long-term relationship going for many years to come.

Ford recently introduced the bonkers Mustang GTD, a $300,000 street-legal race car with an 800-horsepower supercharged V8, aerodynamic aids that are illegal in the series it will compete in and a completely redone chassis designed to give it the best lap times possible. This new super pony car is not the first time Ford has built a street-legal, track-focused Mustang.

In 1995, the blue oval gang introduced a limited-edition Mustang that required buyers to possess some type of racing license (road racing or drag racing—holding either got your hot Mustang ticket punched). Currently listed on Hemmings Auctions, this 1995 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R was one of just 250 of these special Mustangs cooked up by the company’s Special Vehicle Team.

Ford introduced an all-new Mustang in 1994, the first major refresh since the 1979 debut of the Fox-body models. Based on the SN95 platform (a.k.a. Fox-4 for its evolution from the Fox platform), the new Mustang offered not only a 215-hp GT variant, but also a Cobra option, powered by the same 240-hp 5.0-liter V8 found in the ’93 Mustang Cobra. The gang at SVT decided that the new platform deserved a top-dog model that would prove the Mustang’s worth at the track.

Enter the Mustang SVT Cobra R for 1995. Based on the standard Cobra, the R ditched the 5.0 for an even more performance-oriented version of the 5.8-liter (351-cu.in.) Windsor V8 found in the contemporary Lightning pickup. Compression was bumped from 8.8:1 to over 9.1:1. A more aggressive camshaft and freer-breathing air-meter body boosted output from 240 horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque in SVT’s truck to 300 horsepower and 365 lb-ft of torque, both figures representing the highest output small-block Mustang up to that point. The racier Cobra R achieved those power and torque figures at several hundred rpm higher than in the Lightning, a perfectly acceptable trade off in a car destined for track duty.

The Cobra R suspension was based on the standard Mustang and Cobra setup, but with specifications for better lap times, comfort be damned. Higher rate springs and adjustable Koni shocks were fitted, as was a fatter front anti-roll bar. A strut brace connecting the top of the front struts in the engine bay was added to stiffen the unibody structure. Brakes from the standard Cobra were deemed sufficient with 13-inch rotors up front and 11.65-inch rotors in the rear. Unique to the Cobra R were a set of 17-inch alloy wheels.

There were other modifications, such as the use of an exclusive fiberglass hood with a massive center bulge to clear the physically larger engine. A 20-gallon fuel tank (30% larger than the standard GT’s tank) was included as a consideration for the thirstiness of the larger-capacity V8 at the track. A beefier Tremec five-speed was used in place of the standard BorgWarner gearbox and the rear axle final-drive gearing was shorter at 3.27:1 in place of 3.08 gears.

A larger radiator was also installed in the engine bay, as were airbags for the driver and passenger given the car’s street-legal status, but lots of other bits were removed for weight reduction, including the rear seat, radio, air conditioning, power windows, power locks, power mirrors, the sound insulation and even the fog lamps, whose absence allowed for the ducting of cool air to the brakes. All 250 Cobra Rs produced were coupes finished in Crystal White. Inside, the interior was a bit jarring with the Saddle (tan) interior treatment, including big sections of the door interiors, the dashboard, the carpet and other trim all punctuated with black fabric seats.

Faster acceleration and faster lap times were both achieved with the Cobra R. Road tests of the day praised the overall fatter torque curve of the 5.8/351 V8 and the confidence that the suspension, brakes and tires all delivered. But despite Ford’s efforts to ensure that all the Cobra Rs produced would end up in the hands of racers who would put the cars through their paces as the engineers had intended, plenty of them did end up parked as collector cars.

All 250 cars were spoken for within five days of its January 2, 1995 on sale date. In the time before internet sales of such limited vehicles were measured in minutes or hours, the Cobra R was an instant success. The Cobra R carried a $37,099 sticker price from Ford, which included the regular SVT Cobra’s “standard vehicle price” of $21,300 plus $13,699 for the “R Competition Option” and a stout $2,100 gas guzzler tax.

Seemingly immediately, the speculators were out in full force, offering the limited-production high-performance cars at a significant premium over Ford’s already beefed-up price. Over the years, plenty of other Mustangs have bested the ’95 Cobra R in performance and power, but the appeal of this track-focused car with the last of the high-performance pushrod V8s is undeniable.

This 1995 Cobra R was apparently traded in by its original owner after just 300 miles due to the lack of air conditioning. From there, it was acquired by the seller’s brother and later the seller himself. With less than 5,700 miles showing on the odometer at the time of its listing, it remains a very low mileage example.

The seller shares that it has been used at a few track days at Watkins Glen International raceway in upstate New York. Modifications from stock include the installation of Recaro seats (a definite must from the stock Mustang chairs for track use), Simpson five-point harnesses, Baer brakes, a BBK exhaust and a different anti-roll bar. According to the seller, the car otherwise remains in stock condition.

At the very least, this track-focused Mustang did get used at the track. Fortunately, if you fancy yourself behind the wheel of this very limited production, high-performance Mustang with one of Ford’s most powerful small-block pushrod V8s, you no longer need a license. Head on over to Hemmings Auctions to find more detail on this 1995 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra C.