NEAM | New England Auto Museum

23 Sep

The Fina Sport, Mid-Century Italo-American Hybrid Built in New York City – Part 3

Part III: Fina Motors, Move to Norwalk, Connecticut in 1957

Norwalk, Conn. – After the success of the Fina Sport at Madison Square Garden in 1954, and at successive car shows including a first place trophy at the Philadelphia Autorama, not much is known as to why the coupe and its sister convertible the following year, were not put into production. The price of $14,000 (quoted in Italamerican Magazine) may have been a major deterrent when the average American car was selling for less than $2,000.

1954 World Motor Sports Show Grand Prix trophy awarded to Perry Fina

In 1957, Perry and Joe moved the garage to Norwalk, Conn. at 130 Connecticut Ave. and became a dealer for Studebaker-Packard, Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar cars. It appears that the Finas kept the prototype Fina Sport cars as there is a picture of the coupe with Perry and his wife Lillian in the Norwalk showroom taken in late 1960 as well as the convertible in the showroom window around the same time.

Perry and Lillian Fina with the ’54 Fina Sport in the Norwalk showroom Christmas season 1960

Previously the site of Fina Motors at 130 Connecticut Ave. in Norwalk

1955 Fina Sport Convertible circa 1960 in Norwalk showroom with ’56 Philadelphia Autorama trophy

Perry Fina passed away in New York City in 1970 just shy of his 78th birthday. Joe continued to run the garage in Norwalk, briefly retiring in the early 70’s before accepting a position with the State of Connecticut Trade School System in a consulting role providing technical advice and guidance for the state’s trade schools. Joe remained in that role for 19 years during the course of which time he became friends with fellow Redding, Conn. resident and car enthusiast David Reed. Because of Dave Reed’s interest in cars and memorabilia, he was able to acquire all of the remaining photographs and artifacts for the Fina Sport cars from Joe Fina, many of which were used to compile this article. The whereabouts of the Fina prototype cars today is somewhat of a mystery. Joe Fina passed away in early 1999. Dave Reed has been in touch with the owner of one car in Pennsylvania who claims he is going to restore the car with his son. The convertible turned up on E-Bay a few years ago from a seller in Des Plaines, IL looking very much the worse for wear for an asking price of $275,000.

Remains of the Fina Sport convertible on E-Bay in March, 2011 asking price $275,000

Dave Reed believes there is a third car in Houston, TX but has not been able to locate the owner. It would be a tribute to the ingenuity and foresight of Perry and Joe Fina to bring a least one of these cars back to life for new generations of car enthusiasts.

Last of Three Articles

Original Photographs & Artifacts contributed by David W. Reed, Redding, CT
Article compiled by Nick Ord, New England Auto Museum
nord@neautomuseum.org

15 Sep

The Fina Sport, Mid-Century Italo-American Hybrid Built in New York City – Part 2

Part II: Perry Fina, Master Mechanic and Car Builder for over 50 Years

Cover of July 1954 issue Italamerican Magazine featuring Perry Fina, inside reads:

Our Cover “Pictured on our cover is the exclusive “Fina Sport”, the car which was awarded the Grand Prix in the Custom Sports Car Division at the 1954 World Motor Sports Show held in Madison Square Garden. Builder is master mechanic and racing driver, founder and owner of Fina’s Imported Motor Car Company and Perry Auto Repairs Inc. situated at 145-147 West 54th Street, New York City. For the past 40 years, Mr. Fina has been servicing the finest imported sports cars, building up a celebrity-packed clientele. He was the first in 1937 to use the now common four carburetor manifold and invented the Perry Silencer for sports cars. Read our interview with Mr. Fina on pages 7-8-9-10-11.”

Norwalk, Conn. – Perry Fina was born in New York City in April 1892 of immigrant Italian parents; he was taught to speak fluent Italian at home and showing an early mechanical aptitude, he returned to Italy with his mother and younger brother Fil in 1902. In Italy he began a nine year apprenticeship in the automotive industry initially with Fiat Motor Company and later Isotta Fraschini, receiving his master mechanics degree. After extensive travel around America, Perry settled in Saratoga, NY and opened a foreign car service center with his brother Fil, who had also apprenticed in Italy. The garage became very successful specializing in foreign built cars. Along the way, Perry married his wife Lillian Kane, bringing up four children, his son Joe and three daughters. Joe also showed his father’s aptitude around machinery and automobiles and started work in the business at a young age. In 1928, following the sudden loss of his father, Perry decided to move back to New York City, leaving the Saratoga business to his brother. After several starts and stops, he opened a garage on West 54th St. and gained a reputation with wealthy owners of foreign cars for quality service. His customers in the day included celebrities Dave Garroway, Jackie Cooper, Skitch Henderson and Paul Whiteman, all owners of exotic sports cars.

Fina Sport logo went with the slogan “Perry Makes ‘em Purr”

Perry Fina also formed an import company to bring in cars from Europe, and was one of the earliest Allard dealers in the U.S. Vintage Allard owner Lindsey Parsons remembers Perry’s shop where purchased his first Allard in 1953, “The Perry Fina shop was a wonderful place to anyone who enjoyed interesting cars,” Lindsey wrote, “In those days there was always an Allard or two present, along with other marques on the shop floor. Fina’s shop had a reputation for excellent work and I believe he serviced many different exotic marques for his customers.”

April 1953, Lindsey Parsons in his first Allard J2X shortly after purchase at the Fina shop
Photo courtesy Lindsey Parsons

A Perry Fina prepared Allard J2 is in the Simeone Museum collection in Philadelphia. Allard register data on this car reads “Car was ordered with left hand drive by Perry Fina of New York. Engine installed by Bill Frick. Engine includes special manifolding and carburetors. Perry Fina nameplate is on firewall. The engine mounts to hold Cadillac motor. Shortly after it arrived to Perry Fina’s shop for his work, Bill Frick installed the 1951 engine. These gentlemen represented the most experienced Allard assemblers in America at the time”.

1950 Perry Fina-prepared Allard J2 at the Simeone Museum

Perry and his son Joe also gained a reputation in post-war sports car racing with a 1948 Nardi-Denese 6C Corsa-Barchetta, one of only three built for the Targa Florio and Mille Milia with an Alfa Romeo 2.5 liter twin-cam marine engine. The Fina Team raced the car at tracks such as Palm Beach, Bridgehampton and Watkins Glen. In the early 50’s, they installed a Cadillac V8 in the car in an effort to keep up with the more powerful Allards and Jaguars and it was campaigned as the “Perry Special.”

The “Perry Special “with Perry Fina at the wheel before conversion to Cadillac V8 power

Perry Fina’s Nardi-Denese Cadillac Special at Watkins Glen in 1953

Contemporary newspaper account of the Perry Special Nardi-Cadillac

Source: Etceterini.com

In addition to building, servicing and racing automobiles, Perry Fina designed and fabricated customized parts for his customers including special inlet manifolds to convert engines to dual and quad carburetion as well unique cast aluminum mufflers. Automotive writer Karl Ludvigsen campaigned a 1949 MG-TC in the early ’50s with a Fina designed muffler system. Ludvigsen wrote in the day “From Perry Fina in New York, I obtained and installed one of his special cast aluminum silencers. The normal silencer was removed and a straight pipe fitted to almost the rear of the chassis. There sat the Fina silencer shaped like three tines of a fork. The outer two tines had perforated caps holding in steel wool packing that did the silencing. In the center tine was a butterfly valve worked by a T-handle on the floor. With a pull of the handle the exhaust went straight through. The TC’s race preparation was simple. I just pulled the T-handle and presto! I had straight open exhaust”. In 1953, Perry Fina was granted a U.S. Patent for what was termed a “Valve Controlled Muffler with a Plurality of Through Passages”.

Perry Fina installing custom exhaust system on vintage Bugatti

U.S. Patent for Perry Fina’s unique muffler design

To be continued next week, Part III: Fina Motors, Move to Norwalk, Connecticut in 1957

Original Photographs & Artifacts contributed by David W. Reed, Redding, CT
Article compiled by Nick Ord, New England Auto Museum
nord@nemuseum.org

11 Sep

The Fina Sport, Mid-Century Italo-American Hybrid Built in New York City – Part 1

Part I: The Inspiration and the Cars

1954 Fina Sport Special

Norwalk, Conn. – Perry Fina was an American born, Italian-trained master mechanic who opened an imported car dealership and service center on West 54th St. New York City back in the early 1930’s. After World War II, Perry’s son Joe, who had served with distinction in the Army Air Corps during the war, joined the business with his father. Together they came up with the idea of building a stylish Italian sports car on an American chassis.

As Perry was quoted at the time, “Many of our foreign car customers with expensive Ferraris, Mercedes and other high quality cars would consult with us on the safety of a long trip; always fearing a break-down in some forsaken place a long way from home where service and parts would be impossible to obtain. It was this that started my son and I on a venture of building an American sports car with foreign influence and handling characteristics. Having had considerable experience in racing, we constructed a chassis with excellent handling qualities, along with all American components, including Cadillac or Chrysler engines. We made arrangements with the Vignale Company of Torino Italy, for our coachwork and they do such an excellent job for us that our Fina Sport, with its elegant interior appointments and all leather work, is the most beautiful sports family car in America.”

Perry Fina with 1954 Fina Sport

The Fina Sport was advertised as “An Exclusive Car to please the man of discriminating taste.” It was built on a modified 115 inch Ford chassis with a Cadillac V8 engine reworked to produce 300 horsepower, Cadillac Hydromatic transmission and an aluminum body by Vignale. Other V8 motors such as Chrysler or Lincoln were said to be provided at the customer’s request. Vignale was a Torino-based automobile coach building company who built their first body on a Fiat in 1948. Features of the car included 12 volt battery system, Marchal headlights, turn signals, dual electric Marchal horns. Suspension was knee action in front with dual shocks (one telescopic and the other adjustable arm type), semi elliptical leaf springs in the rear also with dual shocks. The car had an overall length of 15 feet 8 inches, width 70 inches and height of 54 inches. At the 1954 World Motor Sports Show held in Madison Square Garden in New York, the car was awarded the Grand Prix in the custom sports car division.

Another view of the Fina Sport Special – “A Bargain at $14,000”
(As captioned in the July 1954 issue of Italamerican Magazine)

A model at the World Motor Sports Show,
Madison Square Garden, 1954 (Italamerican Magazine)

Brochure for 1954 Fina Sport

Data plate for unbuilt 1956 Fina Sport

1955 Fina Sport Convertible with Continental Kit and Borrani Knock-off Wheels

Here are excerpts from the press release describing this 18-foot-long convertible introduced in 1955: “In addition to such fancy accessories as Carlo Borrani wire racing wheels with “knock-off” hubs, Continental mounted spare wheel and tire, radio, heater, defroster, 6,000 RPM tachometer; the Italo-American creation also features fully adjustable airplane-type reclining seats and a manually adjustable André Tele-Control shock absorbing system. The sleek body … is upholstered entirely in genuine calfskin leather … the tire size is 6:50 x 16″. Suspension in the front is by coil springs, aircraft shock absorbers and manually adjustable tele-control shocks; the rear suspension is the same except semi-elliptical springs are employed instead of coil springs. The Fina Sport is fitted with two sets of Marchal lights, one for driving in normal traffic, another for night-time highway touring; these are fitted gracefully into the radiator grille. The very professional looking steering wheel is of the competition type being made by Nardi-Denese of Italy. The wheel frame itself is made of aircraft duralumin and polished Honduran mahogany; lock to lock 2½ turns.

Other features of this automotive masterpiece includes a panoramic “wrap-around” windshield, Rochester 4-barrel carburetor, automatic windshield washer, electric windshield wiper, 22 sq. ft. of luggage space and triple-chromium plated fittings. The car had optional power brakes, a 3.31:1 rear axle and an estimated top speed of 120 MPH.”

Overall height with top up was 56 inches; wheelbase and width were 114 inches and 74 inches, respectively. In early 1956, the convertible won the prestigious Concours d’Elegance trophy at the Philadelphia Autorama.

1956 Philadelphia Autorama trophy 60 years later courtesy David Reed

To be continued next week, Part II: Perry Fina, Master Mechanic for over 50 Years

Original Photographs & Artifacts contributed by David W. Reed, Redding, CT
Article compiled by Nick Ord, New England Auto Museum
nord@neautomuseum.org

28 Jun

NEAM Father’s Day Car Show – 2015 Award Winners

People’s Choice Award
– 1st Place ’58 Jaguar XK-150, David Porter
– Runner Up ’68 Mustang Custom, Casey O’Neill

Mayor’s Choice Award
– ’15 Dodge Brothers Touring, Gwen & Parker Ackley

Best in Show Award
– ’64 Austin-Healey 3000 MkII, Ryan Ledwith

Malcom S. Pray Jr. Foundation Award
– ’25 Ford Model T Coupe, Peggy & Don Morey

Bob Sharp Award
– Pray Museum Dune Buggy, Jerry Cotrone

Lime Rock Park Award
– ’55 Porsche Spyder Replica, Al Baran

McMahon Ford Award
– ’66 Mustang Convertible, Al Muska

Coachmen Car Club Trophy
– ’58 Jaguar XK-150, David Porter

Connecticut Seaport Car Club Award
– ’54 Lincoln Capri, Allan Wilcox

Charles England Award
– ’59 Triumph TR-3B, Russ Jones

Hagerty Insurance Award
– ’68 Mustang 428 Cobra Jet, Vinny Lyons

Designed Sound Award
– ’59 Triumph TR-3B, Russ Jones

Automotive Restorations Award
– ’64 Austin-Healey 3000 MkII, Ryan Ledwith

Dragone Classics Award

– ’56 VW Sunroof, Bic Green

New England Racing Fuels Award
– 55 Ford Custom Fairlane, Frank Colcone

2015-06-21 03.08.01

22 Jun

Sun Shines on Father’s Day Car Show in Norwalk

Jon Hammond with his sons Ben 6 and Dylan 2 enjoy the New England Auto Museum’s Father’s Day car show Sunday at Mathews Park.

Posted: Sunday, June 21, 2015 4:15 pm
By FRANCIS CARR Jr. Hour Staff Writer
link to original article in The Hour

Norwalk, CT - Classic car enthusiasts, antique collectors and spectators gathered for the 10th annual Darien Collectors Car Show for the show’s first year in its new Mathews Park location.

The Darien Collectors Car Show takes place on Father’s Day each year. Despite morning showers that delayed the start of the show, the clouds parted and Mathews Park was crowded with cars and families by noon. Sixteen awards were presented to car owners throughout the day.

Mayor Harry Rilling was on hand to present the Mayor’s Choice award, which went to Parker and Gwen Ackley, of Fairfield, and their 1915 Dodge Brothers Touring Car, the oldest in the show. “He likes the really old cars,” said Gwen Ackley, noting that the prize was a toss-up between her car and a 1926 Ford Model T owned by Don and Peggy Morey of Norwalk.

The Ackleys, who appeared in period dress, drove their hundred-year-old Dodge from Fairfield to Norwalk on Route 136 in the rain. “When we got to Sherwood Island, the sun came out, and we were like, ‘Yay!'” Gwen Ackley told The Hour.

The Ackleys are history buffs, and live in a house crammed with vintage clothing, Victrolas and old radios. They acquired their car on an excursion to Hoffman’s Barn antique store in Red Hook, N.Y., near the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome where the pair were volunteers. The store owner had placed the car in his store to create ambiance, and was reluctant to sell it.

A week later, the Ackleys returned to inquire again. “This car got so much attention in the shop that it was driving (the owner) crazy,” Gwen Ackley said. The car was theirs. “We were very naïve, but luckily we got a great car.”

One of the event’s featured cars was Vinny Lyons’s 1968 Ford Mustang 238 Cobra Jet, one of only 50 such race cars built by Ford and sent to car dealerships as a promotion. At the time, Lyons was a service manager at Rye Ford in Rye, N.Y., and he began driving the car in drag races to promote his dealership. In 1969, Lyons acquired the car for $1,000, and has continued to race it. Today, Lyons drives in about three races per year, in Beaver Springs, P.A., Lebanon Valley, N.Y. and Englishtown, N.J., Lyons told The Hour.

This year’s car show was a fundraiser for the New England Auto Museum planned for Norwalk, said Auto Museum Marketing Director Nick Ord. Proceeds from car entry fees would go to support museum costs, Ord said.

Fathers, for their part, said they planned to relax and spend time with family. Ben Djiounas and daughter Morgan, 2, said they were enjoying themselves, although Djiounas said he is “not intimately” acquainted with cars or car culture. Djiounas said he planned to barbecue with family later in the day. Eric Brean, “absolutely” a car fan, and daughter Amelia, 4, planned to spend the afternoon relaxing. “We’ll probably go out to lunch, and then go home,” Brean told The Hour.

Hour photos/Matthew Vinci

19 Jun

Darien car show steers in new direction

David Porter of Darien behind the wheel of his 1958 Jaguar XK-150 at his home; Porter will be showing the car at the Darien Collectors’ Father’s Day Car Show at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Park in Norwalk Sunday, June 21,2015. Photo: Martin Cassidy / Hearst Connecticut Media

By Martin B. Cassidy
Darien News Review
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
link to article

It took six months of networking three years ago before David Porter found a 1958 Jaguar XK-150 that hadn’t rusted into oblivion or suffered engine problems.

Porter, a retired financier who lives in Darien, said he bought the car from a United Kingdom-based dealer who found the well-preserved specimen under a tarp in an Illinois garage where it had been parked for more than 40 years.

Porter estimated about only a quarter of the roughly 820 XK-150’s created remain, and many are in poor mechanical condition, he said.

“They tend to be rough cars and they can be in bad shape for driving,” Porter said. “… There are also people who claim that they’ve fully restored cars but they haven’t.”

“I’ve been excited about cars since I was about 2,” Porter said. “My father was a car enthusiast and I remember having a pedal car when I was 4. You tend to feel the interest early. ”

Porter, 63, spent the better part of two days last week getting the Jaguar ready to roll for at the upcoming 10th Annual Darien Collector’s Father’s Day Car Show, which will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Lockwood-Mathews Mansion in Norwalk, on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 21. The registration fees for the cars on display will go toward establishing a New England Auto Museum in Norwalk.

The car show was previously held at Tilley Pond Park in Darien, which the show has outgrown, said Darien resident Nicholas Ord, a principal board member of the New England Auto Museum effort.

“(The show) is getting bigger and there is a lot more opportunity to make the show bigger in Lockwood Mathews, plus we’re establishing more of a presence in Norwalk,” Ord said.
While also a professional racer of vintage cars, Porter said car shows offer the fulfillment of being able to share a bit of beauty and industrial history.

Certain aspects of getting the car looking its best are tedious, such as polishing the 60 chrome spokes on each of the Jaguar’s tires, Porter said. But sharing the car in its restored glory gives Porter a sense he is fostering a historical appreciation for automotive history.

“These cars and others like it should be seen,” Porter said of the Jaguar. “There are so few of them left, especially in this condition.”

Ord said last week about 40 to 50 owners had registered cars for the show, a number that could jump significantly in the days leading to the show.

The non-profit effort launched in 2008 to establish a New England automobile museum is gaining momentum, Ord said, with the group fundraising for a $65,000 market study on whether a Norwalk museum celebrating Connecticut’s role in automotive history is feasible.
Last week the group received a grant for $13,000 from the City of Norwalk toward the study, and Ord said the group is focusing on building the future museum at 24 Belden Ave., the former site of the Norwalk Mall.

The New England Auto Museum would including rotating exhibits with up to 100 automobiles, historical displays about Connecticut’s history in the automotive industry, and an automotive technology academy in conjunction with Norwalk Community College and the Norwalk Public Schools.

“We’ve been looking in Norwalk now for almost three years and it is our favored location,” Ord said.

In most years, Porter will show the Jaguar at half dozen or more events throughout the region, including at the Lime Rock Raceway in Lakeville.

Last year, Porter raced in the Classic 24 Daytona race, which runs a full day pitting cars with a racing history from eras as far back as the 1960s against each other in a test of automotive endurance. Porter spent part of the race behind the wheel of a 2005 Pescarolo Judd, racing against other cars from the last decade.

The Pescarolo finished fourth in the race overall, after bouncing back from an accident early in the race, Porter said.

“It was an amazing feeling being underneath the lights at Daytona at 4:30 a.m. in the morning,” Porter said.

Admission to the show will be free for visitors, but a donation to the New England Auto Museum is requested. Anyone interested in showing a car can pre-register online at with the fee being $10 per car. More details about the show at www.neautomuseum.org.

14 Jun

New England Auto Museum eyeing Riverview Plaza as home

Hour File Photo/Alex von Kleydorff. Press conference in March of 2014 at Dragone Classic Automibiles in Wesport to announce Norwalk's New England Auto Museum

Hour File Photo/Alex von Kleydorff. Press conference in March of 2014 at Dragone Classic Automobiles in Wesport to announce Norwalk’s New England Auto Museum

By ROBERT KOCH
Hour Staff Writer | Posted: Saturday, June 13, 2015 3:30 pm

NORWALK –Riverview Plaza on Belden Avenue could become the home of the New England Auto Museum.

New England Auto Museum (NEAM), a nonprofit organization founded to preserve, interpret and exhibit automobiles and automotive artifacts, has selected Norwalk as the future home of a museum and educational facility, according to its website. And at this point, the organization has its sights set on Riverview Plaza at 24 Belden Ave.

“We’re hoping we could renovate it,” NEAM marketing director Nick Ord told The Hour. “We want the display space to be where the mall was, which is ground floor, and then the upstairs five floors would be educational.”

The New England Auto Museum would feature 100 automobiles, an education center and automotive academy co-sponsored by Norwalk Community College and the Norwalk Public Schools P-Tech Program, and draw 100,000 to 150,000 visitors annually, according to NEAM.

Ord’s comments came at City Hall on Tuesday evening after the Norwalk Redevelopment Commission approved a $13,000 grant toward an assessment to determine whether such a museum would be viable in the Norwalk area.

“It’s not so much location but to verify that we have economic rationale to proceed,” Ord told commissioners. Commissioners approved thegrant after requesting that Norwalk be the focus of the assessment.

Ord said NEAM has explored East Hartford, Bristol, Southington as possible locations for the auto museum but all fell through. In Norwalk, the organization earlier eyed Loehmann’s Plaza on West Avenue. White Oak Associates Museum Planners and Producers will perform the assessment at a cost of $65,000.

Ord said NEAM has applied for $32,500 in funding from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development and will attempt to raise $19,500 in private donations to cover the balance of the assessment cost. NEAM has until Feb. 2, 2016, to secure all funding.

Riverview Plaza was once home to a Pathmark Supermarket and the Norwalk Social Security office. The building is now vacant, Ord said. According to NEAM, Riverview Plaza offers an “easy access to major arteries as well as convenient bus transportation for visitors to all areas of Norwalk.”

NEAM was founded in 2007 by Michael and Christine Scheidel to “celebrate the automobile and its significant impact on our culture through the preservation and exhibition of automobiles and historical artifacts,” according to its website.

According to NEAM, Norwalk is the ideal location for an auto museum: the city is at the crossroads of Interstate 95, Route 7 and Metro-North Railroad, lies an hour from Manhattan at the gateway to New England, and has other museums (The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk and Stepping Stones Museum for Children) that attract more than 1.3 million visitors annually.

In addition, Norwalk is surrounded by the nation’s wealthiest zip codes.
“Norwalk’s New England location will draw current and future automobile enthusiasts from a wide area and provide a gathering spot for the region’s extensive and active automotive community,” according to NEAM.

The conceptual plan has received endorsements from, among others, Mayor Harry W. Rilling and Norwalk Community College President David L. Levinson.

“The museum’s presence in Norwalk will not only be a major tourist attraction in its own right, but will provide a venue for an automotive technology program that we will offer in tandem with the Norwalk Public Schools,” Levinson wrote.

Rilling, in a letter this month, congratulated NEAM in advance for its 10th annual Darien Collectors Car Show, which is scheduled for Sunday, June 21, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Mathews Park in Norwalk. The event is expected to bring more than 100 collector cars.

The mayor welcomed the prospect of Norwalk becoming the home of NEAM’s automotive museum. “It will serve both as an educational center as well as display center to highlight an ever changing evolution of car history and technological development,” he wrote.

Hour Photo/Alex von Kleydorff. New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame member and national champion driver, Connecticut’s Bob Sharp speaks as New England Auto Museum Founder and CEO Mike Scheidel holds a press conference at Dragone Classic Automobiles in Westport in March 2014.

Link to actual article

05 Jun

Crowd Favorite ’68 Ford Mustang 428 Cobra Jet Returning to Father’s Day Car Show in Norwalk June 21st

Photo Mustang 360

Norwalk, CT – Ask any knowledgeable Blue Oval enthusiast to name the quickest pure-production Mustang of the muscle car era, and most will say the 1968 Ford Mustang 428 Cobra Jet.

It was based on the staid 428-cid big-car engine, but had larger valve heads and the race-brewed 427’s intake manifold. It also had ram-air induction and a functional hood scoop. The scoop mated to a special air cleaner with a vacuum-actuated butterfly valve that funneled air directly into the 735-cfm Holley four-barrel carburetor. Output was around 410 horsepower, but Ford rated it at 335 horsepower in an effort to calm insurance agents and con dragstrip rules-makers.

With 11.5-second ETs at 120 mph, the factory team of eight specially prepared 1968 Ford Mustang 428 CJs obliterated everything in their Super Stock class at the ’68 NHRA Winternationals. The impact was no less forceful on the street. “The entire world will come to recognize this engine — the 428 Cobra Jet — at the pop of a hood,” declared Motor Trend. Finally, thanks to the 1968 Ford Mustang 428 Cobra Jet, the competition was chasing Mustang’s tail.

Ford Factory Team, 1968 NHRA Winternationals, Pomona, CA
Gas Ronda (992), Jerry Harvey (983), Hubert Platt (984), and Don Nicholson (987)

The 428 Cobra Jet was born of Bob Tasca’s desire to win. Bob Tasca needs little introduction with longtime Ford buffs. But if you’re just tuning in, Bob Tasca’s Ford dealership in Providence, RI (now Tasca Automotive Group),was quite active in drag racing back in the ’60s. In his desire to win, it’s safe to say that Bob pioneered the 428 Cobra Jet V-8 using off-the-shelf parts from the Ford parts bin.

Ford Motor Company took Bob’s idea and further developed it with a stronger block, similar head castings, and a more aggressive hydraulic lifter camshaft to conceive the 428 Cobra Jet. What hurt the Cobra Jet’s development was an ugly United Auto Workers strike that shut down Ford during the fall of ’67. Development of the Cobra Jet didn’t really get underway until December of that year, with the production of a couple of Mustang test mules, then the limited-production run of 50 Wimbledon White fastbacks produced strictly for NHRA competition. Some of those fastbacks were shipped to professional drag racers, such as “Dyno” Don Nicholson, Hubert Platt, and Gas Ronda, as an opening salvo for the ’68 season. These gentlemen went to the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona with their fastbacks and earned Ford some respect.

#37 of the 50 factory Cobra Jet 428 drag racers was shipped to Rye Ford in Rye, NY as a promotional vehicle to create showroom traffic. This car was purchased by Vinny Lyons of Port Chester, NY who has owned and raced the car from new right up to the present day in vintage events.

Vinny’s Mustang has been a popular featured show car at the Darien Collectors Car Show, now celebrating its 10th anniversary on Father’s Day, June 21st and moving to Norwalk’s Mathews Park, at 295 West Avenue (near the intersection of I-95 and Route 7).

The event will be held from 10AM-3PM and will offer hundreds of unique cars to view. Admission to the event is free to spectators; a donation will be encouraged and proceeds will go towards the New England Auto Museum’s building and education funds. The New England Auto Museum is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.

Come out and enjoy an afternoon of classic cars in all shapes and sizes, talk with the owners, be a judge and select your favorite car, grab a bite to eat and even visit the Stepping Stones Children’s Museum and the historic Lockwood-Mathews Mansion, right next door. It’s a great afternoon for Dad and the whole family!

29 May

Rare Kurtis 500S on display at NEAM Father’s Day Car Show in Norwalk Sunday, June 21st

Norwalk, CT – In December 1953, Road & Track wrote “Frank Kurtis of Glendale, California deserves full credit for being the first man in America to attempt to produce an American production sports car.” In 1956, Motor Life added “the Kurtis 500S practically owned West Coast sports car racing for a couple of years.” A 500S broke the Del Monte Forest track record by five seconds in 1954, and another was on the pole at 1955’s 12 Hours of Sebring. As the accolades mounted, Frank Kurtis earned his place in sports car history. Like all of the cars built by Kurtis, the 500S is a healthy slice of the American automotive pie.

From its beginnings in 1935, Kurtis Kraft built midget cars, quartermidgets, sprint cars, Bonneville speed record cars and USAC Championship cars. According to historian Alan Girdler, from 1950 until 1964, every winner of the Indy 500 was either built by Kurtis or directly influenced by his designs. The heritage shows in this example, as presented by Automotive Restorations Inc. of Stratford, CT; the 500S profile is pure Indy roadster. Its chassis is a classic Indy car design right down to the torsion bar suspension and quick change rear end. The build quality and details of each of the 500S models are also worthy of an Indy car, showing it was planned by a man who had done this sort of thing many times before.

Fewer than 30 of the 500S models were ever produced. Many like this version were sold as kits with complete chassis, wheels and suspension parts. In this instance, Cadillac motor mounts accompanied the kit when ordered by original owner Darrel W. Johnson of Ferndale, MI. Although started by Johnson, the car remained unfinished for many years until purchased by Warren Wetterlund of California, who commissioned its completion by John Wyals and noted hot rod builder Roy Brizio. As was the custom of the time, a lighter small block Chevrolet engine was substituted for the original and more powerful Caddy. Everything on the body and suspension panel layout was left as Kurtis intended for its original customer in 1956.

Also to be featured by Automotive Restorations at the Father’s Day Car Show in Norwalk will be a race-prepared 1964 Morgan 4/4. Equipped with a 1700 Ford crossflow engine featuring twin Weber carbs and dry sump oil system, the car produces 173 horsepower. It’s fast and easy to drive with an excellent power to weight ratio and is a consistent finisher in vintage racing with only minor maintenance required during the season. A great looking vintage Morgan, this car will go head-to-head with Porsche 956’s and Jag XK’s all day long.

The Father’s Day Car Show, sponsored by the New England Auto Museum, will be held at Norwalk’s Mathews Park, adjacent to the historic Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum on June 21st from 10 AM to 3 PM. Admission to the show is free, with a donation to the New England Auto Museum building fund gently suggested and appreciated. Tours of the mansion will be conducted from 12 noon to 4 PM and the next door Stepping Stones Children’s Museum will also be open for visitors of all ages. The show will feature over 100 antique, classic and a broad variety of collector cars along with food, ice cream and a chance to select your favorite car.

Story and photos courtesy Automotive Restorations Inc.

20 May

Malcolm S. Pray Jr.’s 1934 Packard Sport Phaeton to be featured at Norwalk Father’s Day Car Show June 21st

Norwalk, CT – The late Malcolm S. Pray Jr.’s immaculate 1934 Packard 1108 Dual Cowl Phaeton will be featured at the Father’s Day Car Show at Mathews Park in Norwalk on Sunday, June 21st from 10AM to 3PM.

The Packard Twelve was produced from 1933 to 1939. It is considered by many to be one of the finest automobiles ever produced by the legendary American automaker, and one of the most significant automobiles of the classic car era. This 1934 Packard is a re-creation of the LeBaron style 1108 Sport Phaeton. It was the work of the craftsman Fran Roxas of Chicago, Illinois. It is equipped with a side-valve V-12, 445.5 cubic inch engine producing 160 horsepower. The vehicle is built on a massive 147 7/8 inch wheelbase, and is patterned after one of the most elegant and rare coachbuilt bodies ever created. The car has been a three-time entrant at the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance, winning Best American Open Car in 2006, as well as a winner of awards at Concours in Amelia Island, New York and Stamford. The Pray Family Foundation will display the car in Norwalk.

The Pray Family Foundation is carrying on Malcolm Pray’s legacy at the Malcolm Pray Achievement Center in Bedford, New York using his extraordinary car collection to inspire thousands of underprivileged kids to realize their potential by working hard and daring to dream.

Mr. Pray, who passed away in 2013, a longtime Greenwich icon known as much for his business success as for his philanthropy, established the Pray Achievement Center in 2001 after the sale of his Greenwich automobile dealerships in the fall of 1999. He taught his staff the principles of Honesty, Integrity and Reputation, and today his Achievement Center continues to teach these essentials to a new generation.

Using his cars, he delivered a message that anything can be accomplished through hard work and a positive attitude. Mr. Pray used many of the guiding principles he learned as a Boy Scout in a booklet he shared with his young visitors which teaches such concepts as valuing one’s reputation, trustworthiness and pride in one’s conduct.

Malcolm Pray planned for the Malcolm Pray Achievement Center to continue in perpetuity and to be run by the Pray Family Foundation, established expressly for the purpose of continuing his work. Since 2001, the Achievement Center has engaged young people to consider their future careers by introducing them to the field of entrepreneurism. Malcolm Pray’s legacy, namely, his lifelong passion for cars and his extraordinary journey as an entrepreneur in the automobile business, continues to inspire young people today. “The cars are a way for me to prove to these kids that I have become an achiever on my own and they can, too,” Mr. Pray had said.

Malcom S. Pray Jr.

The Malcolm Pray Achievement Center is located in Bedford, NY and houses a collection of antique and collectible automobiles spanning over 100 years of automotive history.

The Center is open to private tours for youth groups in the area by appointment only; it is aimed to complement the inspiration and guidance of educators, counsellors and parents. To learn more or schedule a visit, contact Executive Director Marikay Satryano during business hours at (914) 234-2579 or www.malcolmprayacheivementcenter.com

Entrance Lobby Malcolm Pray Achievement Center

Story contribution & photos courtesy The Pray Family Foundation