Hemmings Daily: If the idea of Seagrave building a compact car does not compute, that's because it didn't

The concept of the assembled carone built of off-the-shelf parts bought from a host of suppliersdied out in the 1920s. One of those suppliers, however, just couldn't let the idea drop even 40 years later, and one of the three resulting prototypes, a fiberglass-bodied compact car that fire apparatus company Seagrave built, will soon come up for auction. The idea of building a fiberglass-bodied compact car, to be clear, did not originate with Seagrave. Aside from a few prototypes for fire chief's cars in 1914 [View in Browser | Subscribe]( [Hemmings Daily] Friday, August 17, 2018 [If the idea of Seagrave building a compact car does not compute, that's because it didn't]( [If the idea of Seagrave building a compact car does not compute, that's because it didn't]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - The concept of the assembled carone built of off-the-shelf parts bought from a host of suppliersdied out in the 1920s. One of those suppliers, however, just couldn't let the idea drop even 40 years later, and one of the three resulting prototypes, a fiberglass-bodied compact car that fire apparatus company Seagrave built, will soon come up for auction. The idea of building a fiberglass-bodied compact car, to be clear, did not originate with Seagrave. Aside from a few prototypes for fire chief's cars in 1914... [Read More]( [Sponsor]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1966 Chevrolet Biscayne]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1966 Chevrolet Biscayne]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Big-block-swapped 1966 Chevrolet Biscayne for sale on Hemmings.com. From the seller's description: Originally a Georgia car that started life as a six cylinder, three speed, to a meticulous, full frame off restored L72 tribute car. Just 2000 miles since its completion, its black paint is laser straight. All original sheet metal including trunk, floor and floor boards. No rust. Under the hood resides a 425 HP 427 cubic inch big block with L-72 cam shaft, roller rocker arms, MSD HEI distributor and wires. A Holley ...[Read More]( [At last Hollywood goes big on Carroll Shelby]( [At last Hollywood goes big on Carroll Shelby]( Posted by Hemmings contributor - There have been Hollywood films about automakers, say Preston Tucker. And there have been Hollywood films about race-car builders. It is now confirmed that Hollywood is going to combine the two genres in a feature film about Carroll Shelby, being filmed as you read this. Don't expect it to start with Shelby's life as a lad in a small Texas town outside Dallas, or to dwell too much on his short-lived career as a failed chicken farmer. Or even to contain much about his winning the 24 Heures du Mans. No,...[Read More]( [Sponsor]( [Twenty-five down: A Hemmings editor reflects on his quarter-century in the car-magazine business]( [Twenty-five down: A Hemmings editor reflects on his quarter-century in the car-magazine business]( Posted by Jeff Koch - Today is an auspicious day for your intrepid West Coast editor: August 16, 2018, marks the 25th anniversary of your author's entry into the weird business of car-magazine writing. It is not lost on me that I was not chosen for my first car-writing gig; I went in and busted the door down. After two decades, it is increasingly clear to me that in this business, and in life in general, it's who you know, not what you know. Problem was: I didn't know anyone. As a lowly minimum-wage factchecker/intern at New Jersey Mo...[Read More]( [Chicago, 1980]( [Chicago, 1980]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: 1980 Location: East Illinois Street, Chicago, Illinois Source: Charles William Brubaker photo, via University of Illinois at Chicago Digital Collections What do you see here?...[Read More]( [Sponsor]( [HemmingsPRO]( Seller Listings [1991 BMW 850i]( [1991 BMW 850i $43,750]( [1969 Plymouth Road Runner]( [1969 Plymouth Road Runner $9,900]( [1973 Saab Sonett]( [1973 Saab Sonett $12,500]( [2007 Porsche 911]( [2007 Porsche 911 $99,997]( [1934 Hudson Terraplane]( [1934 Hudson Terraplane $48,900]( [1967 Shelby GT500]( [1967 Shelby GT500 $325,000]( [Learn More]( [This Day in Automotive History] THIS DAY IN AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY 8/17/1915: Charles Kettering patents the electric starter UPCOMING EVENTS [Return Of The British - 2018]( August 24, 2018 - Rugby, TN [14th Annual 28th Street Metro Cruise]( August 24, 2018 - Wyoming, MI [Tree-Mendous Tree City Car Show]( August 24, 2018 - Greensburg, IN [Big 3 Swap Meet /Parts Exchange San Diego]( August 24, 2018 - San Diego, CA [Queen Wilhelmina Rod Run]( August 24, 2018 - Mena, AR [Summer Night Car Show]( August 24, 2018 - Santa Clarita, CA [See All Events]( [Sponsor]( FEATURED CLASSIFIEDS Sponsored By: [Sponsor]( [1972 Mercury Cougar]( [1972 Mercury Cougar]( [$19,500]( [1955 Buick Roadmaster]( [1955 Buick Roadmaster]( [$20,000]( [1994 Dodge Viper]( [1994 Dodge Viper]( [$35,000]( [1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo]( [1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo]( [$18,500]( [1931 Chrysler CM6]( [1931 Chrysler CM6]( [$13,500]( [1963 Triumph TR4]( [1963 Triumph TR4]( [$22,700]( [1938 Packard 110]( [1938 Packard 110]( [$7,995]( [1972 Ford Bronco]( [1972 Ford Bronco]( [$35,000]( PROMOTED LISTING [House]( [House]( [$1,650,000]( [1956 - 1962 Corvette Hardtop in Good Condition]( [1956 - 1962 Corvette Hardtop in Good Condition]( [$3,400]( [View All Classifieds]( FEATURED IN THE BLOG [The Stoner T: How to build a hot rod in 10 years (and influence people), part 16]( [The Stoner T: How to build a hot rod in 10 years (and influence people), part 16]( [GMs divisions offered stylish tachometer options for its mid-1960s A-body muscle cars]( [GMs divisions offered stylish tachometer options for its mid-1960s A-body muscle cars]( [See All Featured Blog Posts]( FOLLOW US: [Get RSS Feeds of Hemmings Blog]( [Follow us on Twitter]( [Join us on Facebook]( [View our Flickr pool]( [View Newsletter Archives]( WEEK IN REVIEW Thursday, August 16, 2018 [Stolen car alert: Chop-top gullwing taken from Nurburgring's front doorstep]( [Stolen car alert: Chop-top gullwing taken from Nurburgring's front doorstep]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - The world over, there's probably only one Mercedes-Benz 300 SL gullwing sporting a three-inch chopped roofline, bubbles in the top to clear the driver's and passenger's heads, and ostrich-leather interior. This week, that outlaw gullwing is in the wind after thieves stole it from right out front of the Nurburgring race track in Germany. According to Paris-based photographer Remi Dargegen, who photographed the car for owner Thomas Rosier last year, the 1955 gullwing - serial number 5500434 - was stolen the night o...[Read More]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1967 Plymouth Barracuda convertible]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1967 Plymouth Barracuda convertible]( Posted by Kurt Ernst - From the seller's description: Plymouth 1967 Barracuda Convertible, Numbers Matching 273 V8 Auto, only 4,228 produced, 2 yr ground up restoration including Engine and Transmission rebuild (2,990 miles), in family since new, clean undercarriage, looks and drives like new Find more Plymouths for sale on Hemmings.com....[Read More]( [Up close with legends - Shelby American soiree set for September 1]( [Up close with legends - Shelby American soiree set for September 1]( Posted by Terry Shea - All images courtesy of the Shelby American Collection Located in Boulder, Colorado, perhaps America's greatest college town, the Shelby American Collection will be holding its annual car show and party the afternoon and evening of September 1, from 3:00 to 8:00 pm. Started as a non-profit museum dedicated to documenting and preserving the legacy of Carroll Shelby, the Shelby American Collection houses an ever-changing roster of cars on loan from different owners. The current lineup includes some notable ra...[Read More]( ["What a Luxury Car Should Be" - 1987 Lincoln Mark VII brochure]( ['What a Luxury Car Should Be' - 1987 Lincoln Mark VII brochure]( Posted by Mark J. McCourt - Images are from the brochure collection of Hemmings Motor News, courtesy of Bruce Zahor. Ford's upscale Lincoln Motor Company is currently enjoying a bit of a renaissance, with its well-received Continental sedan and Navigator fullsize SUV models following their own, traditional American-style definition of luxury motoring. A new Aviator midsize SUV is in the works, and will surely tap into the ever-growing popularity for high-riding people movers. Sadly not in the works is a new Lincoln personal luxury coupe, a ...[Read More]( [Louisville, Kentucky, 1950s]( [Louisville, Kentucky, 1950s]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: circa 1950s Location: Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky Source: Kenneth Rogers photo, Georgia State University Library Digital Collections, via The Old Motor What do you see here?...[Read More]( Wednesday, August 15, 2018 [Academy of Art University lays plans to transform its collection into the San Francisco Automobile Museum]( [Academy of Art University lays plans to transform its collection into the San Francisco Automobile Museum]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Reminders of Van Ness Avenue's history as San Francisco's automobile row still loom over the city now known for its tech startups and autonomous cars: an obscured Cadillac sign here, a faded Pierce-Arrow sign over there. Appropriate, then, that the Academy of Art University will open San Francisco's only automobile museum here -- and that the university has tapped somebody with tech and startup experience to run it. "We already have the collection and the building," said Rob Fisher, the newly appointed CEO of the...[Read More]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1973 Volkswagen Baja Bug]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1973 Volkswagen Baja Bug]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Recently refurbished 1973 Volkswagen Baja Bug for sale on Hemmings.com. From the seller's description: Not your typical VW Baja Bug. Stunning 1973 VW purchased by my family in 1979. This car always occupied prime location in garage for 4 decades, and was the subject of inbound freight, custom work, specialty engines. The end result was a 1973 VW Baja Bug built with stabilization features for off road, and it never went off road. The car is a powerful head turner. In 2017, I sent the car to the best custom auto f...[Read More]( [Lime Rock Historic Festival 36 to feature potentially record-setting number of Bugatti automobiles]( [Lime Rock Historic Festival 36 to feature potentially record-setting number of Bugatti automobiles]( Posted by Kurt Ernst - This Labor Day weekend, Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut, plays host to the 36th-annual Historic Festival, a five-day celebration of classic cars and vintage motorsports. This year, the featured marque is Bugatti, and with the help of the American Bugatti Club, the long weekend will also include the 10th U.S. Bugatti Grand Prix. For devotees of the French automaker, there's still more good news: Lime Rock Park expects to break records for the number of Bugattis raced and displayed during the event. Among ...[Read More]( [GM to use Tri-Power again... sort of]( [GM to use Tri-Power again... sort of]( Posted by Thomas A. DeMauro - The mere mention of iconic engine names of the muscle-car era elicits a positive reaction from anyone who recalls and reveres them. Tri-Power, Ram Air, H.O., Cobra Jet, Boss, Hemi, Six-Pack, LS6, LT-1, Stage 1, W-30, and so on, all immediately conjure up warm and fuzzy images of the days when cubes were king and enough money to buy a few gallons of Hi-Test could be collected by retrieving the loose change that had fallen between the seats. Over the decades since then, some of these names have been applied to more...[Read More]( [Siesta Key, Florida, 1973]( [Siesta Key, Florida, 1973]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: April 1973 Location: Crescent Beach, Siesta Key, Florida Source: Florida Memory What do you see here?...[Read More]( Tuesday, August 14, 2018 [On the Challenger 2's 50th anniversary, Danny Thompson sets new speed record]( [On the Challenger 2's 50th anniversary, Danny Thompson sets new speed record]( Posted by Kurt Ernst - On Saturday, August 11, Danny Thompson climbed aboard the Challenger 2 at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats and drove the streamliner to a qualifying pass of 446.605 mph. The following day, he delivered a back-up run of 450.909 mph, giving him a two-way average of 448.757 mph, enough for an official Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) AA/FS record -- and an unofficial piston-powered world record -- a half-century after the streamliner's Bonneville debut. That piston-powered record the team's goal all alo...[Read More]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1971 Dodge D700 SM1 box truck]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1971 Dodge D700 SM1 box truck]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Drag car hauler 1971 Dodge D700 SM1 box truck for sale on Hemmings.com. From the seller's description: This is the first box truck built by Oleynik Body Sales, Inc. (box ID reads SM1) for Sox & Martin Race cars. The truck is a 1971 Dodge D700 413 V8 truck built by Chrysler Canada LD in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The body is a 24-foot box, designed by Buddy Martin to have a door on the left side they could walk in and out ofuntil then, they only had a door in the rear. At least three of these particular bodies...[Read More]( [Some Assembly Required: New Morgan sports cars are coming to America]( [Some Assembly Required: New Morgan sports cars are coming to America]( Posted by Mark J. McCourt - Images are courtesy of the Morgan Motor Company; 2018 Morgan Roadster, above Morgan Cars USA, ne Isis Imports Ltd. of San Francisco, California, recently announced the forthcoming importation of at least 80 new Morgan sports cars to the U.S.A.The last year that American buyers could pick up atraditionally styled four-wheel Morgan was 2005, so this news has been met with great enthusiasm. But those new Morgans, all designed to use Ford engines -- four-cylinder-powered Plus 4s and V-6-powered Roadsters--...[Read More]( [Recommended Reading: The Road to Modena - Origins and History of the Shelby-De Tomaso P70 Can-Am Sports Racer]( [Recommended Reading: The Road to Modena - Origins and History of the Shelby-De Tomaso P70 Can-Am Sports Racer]( Posted by Kurt Ernst - Once the youngest designer in GM's history, Peter Brock left Detroit at age 21, bound for California and, he envisioned, a career racing cars. There, he landed a job with Carroll Shelby, first as a high-performance driving instructor, and later as the designer of numerous Shelby racing and road cars. Brock's latest book, The Road to Modena: Origins and History of the ShelbyDe Tomaso P70 Can-Am Sports Racer, tells the story of his years at Shelby American, detailing his work on the Italian-American hybrid meant to...[Read More]( [Long Island, 1960s]( [Long Island, 1960s]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: circa 1960s Location: somewhere on the Long Island Expressway, New York Source: submitted by Nicholas James Randall What do you see here?...[Read More]( Monday, August 13, 2018 [2018 Hemmings Motor News Concours d'Elegance sneak peek: Locke Lincoln and a Diamond T]( [2018 Hemmings Motor News Concours d'Elegance sneak peek: Locke Lincoln and a Diamond T]( Posted by Matt Litwin - 1929 Lincoln Model L (163B) Cowl Sport Phaeton by Locke; photo courtesy of C.V. Lewis. It's time for our second installment of a sneak peek at the 2018 Hemmings Motor News Concours d'Elegance. Again, we're presenting two vehicles scheduled to be on display within our annual classes. We'll start with the car pictured above: a 1929 Lincoln Model L Cowl Sport Phaeton by Locke. By 1922, just a year after Henry Leland's first models had been produced, Ford Motor Company had purchased the luxury automaker and inst...[Read More]( [Hemmings Finds of the Day - 1983 and 1984 Subaru Brats]( [Hemmings Finds of the Day - 1983 and 1984 Subaru Brats]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Pair of Subaru Brats and collection of related parts for sale on Hemmings.com. From the seller's description: A fellow patron had been collecting and repairing Subaru Brats with his uncle and claims to have had over three dozen over the last few decades. They pretty much scoured the country and looked for affordable and or rust free examples. In his old age, he has decided to sell his entire collection and we are hoping to pass these projects on to a new owner. We have two Brats of his, a beige 1983 and a black 198...[Read More]( [One of roughly seven remaining, the View Master is the woodie wagon that Cadillac should have built]( [One of roughly seven remaining, the View Master is the woodie wagon that Cadillac should have built]( Posted by Kurt Ernst - There was no shortage of luxury sedan, coupe, and convertible models from Cadillac in 1956, but buyers wanting a luxury station wagon were (mostly) out of luck. Enter coachbuilder Hess & Eisenhardt, that began building Cadillac woodie station wagons in extremely low volumes in 1955, carrying production over into 1956. Of 19 that were built, just seven View Master woodies are known to remain, and one of them -- a six-seat 1956 View Master with the optional Eldorado V-8-- will cross the auction block later this ...[Read More]( [Open Diff: Are we really scrapping this many old cars?]( [Open Diff: Are we really scrapping this many old cars?]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - You can't save them all, of course. Cars, though made of durable materials like steel and glass, are ultimately impermanent things and all of them -- even the ones we cherish -- will one day return to dust. But how quickly? While digging through the materials we collected for our recent story on the U.K. government's consultation on keeping E5 ethanol-blended fuel in circulation as it transitions to E10, we came across some numbers we thought were worth revisiting. Specifically, the projected survival rates fo...[Read More]( [Atlanta, 1980s]( [Atlanta, 1980s]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: circa early 1980s Location: North Avenue NW, Atlanta, Georgia Source: Georgia State University Libraries Digital Collections What do you see here?...[Read More]( Sunday, August 12, 2018 [The birth of fins: Harley Earl, Frank Hershey, and the most iconic car feature of the Fifties]( [The birth of fins: Harley Earl, Frank Hershey, and the most iconic car feature of the Fifties]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Senior designer Frank Hershey had been working on the rear fender design idea that had first come to him before the war, when Harley Earl led the field trip to Selfridge air base to see the P-38 fighter. Looking at the plane's twin tail rudders that day, Hershey immediately thought of fins on sea creaturesslicing through the water's surface as a shark moved in on its prey, flashing silver-blue in the sun when a sailfish rose out of the ocean in full flight, waving a languid goodbye just before a whale dis...[Read More]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1988 Lincoln Mk VII Bill Blass edition]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1988 Lincoln Mk VII Bill Blass edition]( Posted by Kurt Ernst - From the seller's description: 1988 Lincoln MK Vll Bill Blass Series. Yes ,only 7989 original miles. Original owner purchased this vehicle new.Clear safety in 2017,never winter driven,non smoker , non pets, plush velour seats ( like new ) , always covered and garaged,new battery,air ride suspension. Pioneer 6 CD Stacker. All factory components work perfectly. Vehicle has a rear glass mounted cellphone antenna,which can easily be removed if need be.This vehicle was never in an accident,but did sustain hail damage in...[Read More]( [Four-Links - LOMEX, Talbot ownership disputed, Ferrari dispute settled, V-12 Lincoln]( [Four-Links - LOMEX, Talbot ownership disputed, Ferrari dispute settled, V-12 Lincoln]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Robert Moses had all sorts of grand plans for Manhattan's road network, none grander than the Lower Manhattan Expressway (LOMEX). However, as Curbed pointed out in this 2016 article, the efforts of activist Jane Jacobs, concerned about the devastating effect LOMEX would have on Manhattan's diverse neighborhoods, derailed those plans for good. (via) * Who owns a vehicle stolen decades ago and since restored, sold and sold again? Wisconsin's courts system is now tasked with determining the rightful ownership of...[Read More]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1946 Plymouth Deluxe business coupe]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1946 Plymouth Deluxe business coupe]( Posted by Kurt Ernst - From the seller's description: 1946 Plymouth Deluxe Business Coupe, Chevron Blue over gray interior, 80k miles. A Nebraska car nearly all of its life, with a brief period in South Dakota during the time of my ownership. I purchased the car out of a collection and have used it over the time I've owned it for trips Downtown with my family, and neighborhood cruising. I purchased the car from the second owner who had purchased the car from his neighbor over 20 years ago. It comes with factory options including bumperet...[Read More]( LAST WEEK'S MOST READ [Dick's Classic Car Garage announces its closure and transition to non-operating private foundation]( [Dick's Classic Car Garage announces its closure and transition to non-operating private foundation]( Posted by Kurt Ernst - Photos courtesy Dick's Classic Car Garage, unless otherwise noted. Founded in 2009, Dick's Classic Car Garage has thrilled and educated visitors to San Marcos, Texas, for nearly a decade with a collection that includes Duesenbergs, a Chrysler Imperial that served British royalty and an American president, and a Tucker 48 sedan with less than a mile on the odometer. On December 31, the museum will close its doors forever, and its holdings will be offered at RM Sotheby's auctions over the coming year, with proceeds...[Read More]( LAST WEEK'S BEST DISCUSSION [This or That - Summer Series: 1911 Buick or 1915 Dodge?]( [This or That - Summer Series: 1911 Buick or 1915 Dodge?]( Posted by Matt Litwin - 1911 Buick Model 21 Touring (top); 1915 Dodge Touring (bottom). Images by the author. Editor's comment: Please note that the This or That column is not a comparison report between two vehicles, but rather a feature that enables us, in an idyllic world, to add a collectible vehicle into our dream garage on a regular basis, but with a catch: We can only pick one vehicle fromthis pairing, and it has to be for enjoyment purposes rather than as an investment. So let's climb in to the ultimate automotive fantasy time...[Read More]( Hemmings Motor News will not sell or share your e-mail address with other companies. 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