Author Archives: Ken Altes
Dashing, sleek and powerful. 1957 should have been a great year for Chrysler products. They had iconic Hemi V8 engines, new torsion-bar front suspensions that were superior to GM and Ford, and the excellent Torqueflite automatic transmission. Yet, the bodies rusted out and fell apart, leaked water at the windshield posts, torsion bars broke, upholstery tore, seat springs popped through, paint flaked off, etc. Don’t think this one will leak inside the Forney Museum of Transportation in Denver, Colorado.
1953 Ford Customline Victoria hardtop at a Leake auction in Dallas, Texas. Basically the same body from 1952-54, but this was the last year for the venerable flathead V8, replaced in ’54 with the modern overhead valve (OHV) V8. (The flathead was the hot choice when it was introduced in 1932, preferred by robbers including Bonnie and Clyde.)
These unibody cars weighed about 3300 lbs, motivated by the obsolete 239 cu in flathead V8 turning out 110 hp and cost about $2400. 128,302 Crestline Victorias were manufactured.
1969 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray off Hwy 290. This C3 (third generation) series ran from 1968–1982. These chrome bumpers indicate a pre-73 model, the best looking years in my opinion. The wire wheels are a bonus.
Based on the XP-755 concept car, or the Mako Shark II, it was designed by Larry Shinoda in Bill Mitchell’s GM design shop, debuted at the 1965 New York and Paris auto shows, and powered by a 427 cu in Mark IV engine.
At the the Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California, racetrack, I found this very successful 1959 Bocar XP-5. It weighs about 1,800 pounds, originally powered by a 283-FI Chevy V8 with around 365 horsepower, later replaced by a Chevy 350 with the same Rochester fuel injection unit, now making 418 horsepower. Body is glass-reinforced polyester with a welded moly-tube space frame. Some used a beefed-up Volkswagen rear suspension up front (is this possible?? from wikipedia). A few XP-5s had Triumph frames with their original suspension and brakes. In 1960, it set a speed record of 175 mph on the beach of Daytona. 
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