Friday, September 21, 2012

VINTAGE: Five To Watch Thursday - Cars On SPEED

One of the many cool aspects of any Barrett-Jackson Collector-Car Event is the diversity of cars that cross the auction block.

Get in touch with your inner surfer with this custom 1963 Rambler American beach cruiser. (Photo: Barrett-Jackson) While prime-time Saturday will see the big-dollar cars roll off ? matching-numbers muscle cars, carefully restored vintage classics and exotic sports cars ? the auction, by design starts modestly and builds throughout the weekend.

SPEED will have 20 hours of live televised coverage from Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas this week, starting Thursday from 7 p.m. to midnight ET.

Thursday?s opening-day docket features the most affordable cars of the weekend, and in some ways the most eclectic. For Thursday?s Five To Watch, we selected five wildly different cars, mostly on the basis of pure fun. Nothing too expensive today, but tons of smiles per mile

A restored 1957 VW beetle with the classic oval rear window can almost pull the skin off a grape with its 36-horsepower flat-4. (Photo: Barrett-Jackson) 1963 Rambler American (Lot #18) ? In the 1980s, rocker Ben Vaughn immortalized the late, lamented Rambler American in the cult classic song ?M-Motor Vehicle.? The humble Rambler was a faithful and economical servant for slightly more than a decade, but this one is just for fun, paying stylistic homage to famed California customizers Von Dutch and Big Daddy Ed Roth, as well as the whole Southern California surf culture. One of the cars from the Charles Collom collection, it was once owned by surf guru/historian/cultural icon Mike Marshall. UPDATE: This cute little Rambler sold for $10,000 - credit card money.

1957 Volkswagen Beetle (Lot #37) ? Speaking of humble, there is nothing more basic, nor more practical, than the original Volkswagen Beetle. This one dates back 55 years and is an outstanding restoration of a pristine original car. Of course, the driving experience here is pretty basic, too: The 1,200-cubic-centimeter, air-cooled, flat-four engine produces a meager 36 horsepower, which means 0-to-60 mph takes damn near all day. Still, few things are inherently cooler than a vintage bug.

Get down with the Dreamsicle, an orange-and-cream 1949 Mercury custom sedan. (Photo: Barrett-Jackson) 1949 Mercury Custom (Lot #42.2) ? Here?s a different take on the classic late 1940s/early 1950s Mercury. Traditionally, these are resto-modded in the style James Dean popularized in the classic film Rebel Without A Cause. Unlike Dean?s car, though, this Mercury is neither a coupe nor basic black. This one is nicknamed the ?Dreamsicle? for its orange-over-cream colors. Done in a period-correct style for mid-60s customs, a flathead engine with three Stromberg carburetors powers this baby. Oh, and the suicide doors are way cool.

Plymouth Fury Pro Street (Lot #66) ? ?Fury? is appropriate name for this beast, a highly modified Pro Street weapon designed to burn up the asphalt one-quarter-mile at a time. Fitted with a racing chassis and meaty slicks, this Fury is said to be capable of handling both street and strip, although drag racing would seem to be its forte. Under the hood is a 500-cubic-inch, supercharged Mopar engine that definitely hauls the mail.

This pert 1965 Ford Mustang convertible is powered by a 289cid V8. (Photo: Barrett-Jackson) 1965 Ford Mustang (Lot #121) ? No car had a bigger societal influence on the 1960s than the original Ford Mustang, which turned both the automotive market and pop culture on their respective ears when it debuted at the 1964 World?s Fair in New York. This particular Mustang is a driver-grade convertible, with the highly desirable 289-cubic-inch small-block V8 and great white over blue colors. Summer?s almost gone, but this beauty will remind its new owner of sun and sand all year long.

Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas Collector Car Auction live-coverage schedule on SPEED (all times Eastern; schedule subject to change):

Thursday, Sept. 20
*Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event, 7 p.m. - Midnight.
Hagerty Fantasy Bid Game, 7 p.m. - Midnight.

Friday, Sept. 21
*Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event, 2 - 7 p.m.
Barrett-Jackson Live Streaming,, 7 - 9 p.m.
Hagerty Fantasy Bid Game, > 2 - 7 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 22
*Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event, 2 p.m. - Midnight.
Hagerty Fantasy Bid Game, 2 p.m. ? Midnight.

*Alternate streaming cameras available at SPEED.com

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100.

Source: http://automotive.speedtv.com/article/autos-five-to-watch-thursday/

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