This vintage 1933 Plymouth Custom Coupe is sporting all-original metal and its original frame. The horsepower stems from a mildly-built 350ci small-block crate engine topped off with a late ‘80s Firebird tuned-port injection with Dynamic EFI upgrade.
Its drive-train includes a newly rebuilt TH350 automatic transmission, new drive-shaft, and S10 rear end conversion with 3.73 gears. The interior has been nicely redone with its original dash and gauges. The sale price at auction was $22,000.
This Excalibur Series III is one of 173 Phaetons built for 1976 and is finished in two-tone red-over-black paint with a tan interior for a neoclassic style. The 454ci V8 big-block engine under the bonnet features a polished intake manifold topped with a 4-barrel carburetor and signature dual side exhaust. The engine is backed by a 3-speed automatic transmission with tilt-column power steering, and power brakes with ventilated front discs for good road handling.
This Excalibur is equipped with a removable factory fiberglass top with tan button-down side curtains and flexible window panels. The interior features matching tan bucket seats and carpet, as well as an instrument panel, air conditioning, an Alpine CD stereo, and Stewart Warner gauges.
I was not familiar with the Excalibur brand so I turned to Wikipedia to educate me. "The Excalibur automobile was a car styled after the 1928 Mercedes-Benz SSK by Brooks Stevens for Studebaker. Stevens subsequently formed a company to manufacture and market the cars, which were conventional under their styling."
"Over 3,500 Excalibur cars were built, all in Milwaukee, Wisconsin." The company failed and was revived several times before its ultimate demise in 1990. Thus these vehicles have become collector's items. I think anyone would look great tooling around town in this classic ride, which sold for $51,700.
Everyone outside the tent was looking up in the sky, many of them pointing at something. So I wandered outside to check it out — a hot air balloon, sponsored by Chick-fil-A. Riding in a hot air balloon looks like great fun and one could get some impressive photos. Maybe I will have to give it a try after the pandemic dies down.
Be still my beating heart — a 1957 Ford Thunderbird convertible with a removable hardtop. It is powered by a 312ci 8-cylinder engine backed by an original 3-speed manual transmission with an overdrive option. It has been painstakingly refinished and both its paint and interior colors matching its original factory color scheme. All gauges and instruments are original as well. Even the weatherstripping has been updated to reflect the original 1957 seals and kits.
One of the design delights of the removable hardtop is the port windows on either side. I do not think that it is particularly practical but darn, it looks so cool.
This 1957 model also represents the last two-seater car that Ford released for a quarter of a century and the last two-seater Thunderbird for nearly half a century. Some lucky collector picked up this baby for $34,650.
Last for today is a 1940 Ford Deluxe Coupe which has been restored to its original condition including a new interior which was just recently completed.
It’s powered by an original Flathead V8 engine backed by a 3-speed manual transmission and is equipped with new whitewall tires and shocks. Those my age will remember those wide whitewalls which later became much narrower and eventually disappeared altogether. The sale price for this ride was $23,100.
