Hey Guy's, Don't get to excited about this,.. it dosen't belong to me ( YET) But I did uncover this car a while ago, the owner said it's absolutely not for sale!, But I don't remember the car ever running and I grew up not far from Farmington Hills, a couple guys I know that worked at Town & Country don't remember it, And Dave Crane dosen't remember anything about it. So how about it? anybody?,... it would be nice to reunite this Coupe with it's History. Driver, Cal Smith I will see if I can fix the picture
Sorry I can't add any info, but just wanted to say what a great find! Is it owned by someone who's going to rebuild it like this, or bought it because it's a nice body to restore/rod?
Sweet mother of all that is pure and holy in this world!!!! At least it seems to be safely tucked away but that dust means that no one has enjoyed it in far too long. WOW!
Actually the guy that has it (And has sence 77), first asked how was the best way to strip the paint because he wanted to build a nice street rod out of it. I sort of talked him out of that and now it just sits, I have been trying to get this old girl, reunite it with it's history (if any) and either get it into the right hands or tuck it away till I can get to it ( in like 127 years ) The engine mounts look to be right for a 426, the rear end has been changed, and the custom drag ch***is is peroid correct for someone building a drag car in the mid to late 60's,...... I have a set of real magnesum torque thrust's that would look killer on this thing,...... but so far no one remembers this car.
Try draglist.com. There is a lost and found forum there. Maybe someone's seen it. I think g***ernadness.com has one too. Post a few pictures. People will go nuts over those pictures.
I raced all around Mi in the late 60's and never seen it. If Crane doesnt know, that would be something.
Almost 30 years since it was found, and it looks like it hasn't been touched since. People who find cool cars like this and just let them sit for years don't really deserve any help finding the history of the car because it obviously isn't all that important to them, what a waste. Gus
Would the guy trade it for a solid original coupe? I don't have one to trade, but it would be a great way to save the car as is. Like has been said, it would be sad to see it turned into a streetrod.
Neat find. Must have ran in the late 60's by the looks of it. Is that a **** PACK bee on the 1/4 panel?
Hey Josh, Yes that is the "**** PACK" Bee, Gus, Well finding out any History isn't for the current owner unless he still won't sell and desides to start on it,.. any History might stop him at that point. but given I can't find anything on this car and the paint / lettering is in such good condition, I get the feeling that this car was never campaigned,... either way I am on this like a Bum on a bologna sandwich. and if I get it and don't want to do anything with it,... I would offer it up to someone that would like to build it as it is. If the whole thing falls apart I will Tag Team it to a friend. (maybe even a H.A.M.B. friend)
If the current owner decides he want to go the street rod route, maybe someone could find and purchase a decent car of the same year and then trade him for it. It would be ashamed not to save that one as is. Even if it does not have notable history, it is still historic.
Even if the history is a bit weak it is still a great find. Guys in the fifties allegedly took racing Mercers and took them back to stock because that was "the way to go" at that time. Folklore has it that Barney Oldfield's Mercer met this type of fate. Collectors all have their own opinion of what to do with old racecars. A couple of years ago a g***er was transformed into a figurine when it was "restored" and won the Ridler. A 62 Vette I bought in 1982, and am working on now, was scheduled to go back to stock. After talking to the guy I bought it from I found that it's history was that it was driven for two years and then was built into a drag racer and raced from 1964 to 1978. It has not been driven since. It raced in the southwest and I have not been able to track down any real history because it probably was just a blue collar racer. In spite of the fact that it might be lacking in a glorious history, I still believe that drag racing is a part of its DNA now and I am going to put it back together with some semblance of its real past. I have had people tell me that it's real value is stock, I disagree. It would really be sad to see such a great find as this Altered transformed into anything other than the Stinger. I spent many a days in the pits at Detroit Dragway and Milan during the mid 60s thru 1970 racing a fun but somewhat uncompe***ive B/G Vette and never ran across this car. The g***ers and altereds really got my attention. Then again I helped build a 39 Ford D/A (25 % setback) that never made it down the track once, before it was traded. I also was driving a 37 Ford at the time so a 35 Altered would have brought me over for a look. Might have run at Motor City or maybe a bit west in the state-who knows. Still a great find-hope it is restored in its present configuration.-Jim
Since no one seems to remember it, I suggest that is probably never quite got finished and didn't actually make it to the track - at least not with that paint on.
This may be a dumb question, but have you tried finding "Cal Smith"? He may still be in Michigan somewhere, and can shed somelight on the car.
A old friend of his is trying to track him down and put us in touch,... He told me he thinks he's in Arkansas now. No one at Town & Country remembers anything, and a guy in my club that worked at T&C in the late 60's to the mid 70's dosen't remember it. ( I really appreicate the intrest, ideas and effort guys )
If you could get under it you could look up in the wheelwells for traces or rubber, splashes & rock chips, etc. and on the ch***is parts & rearend. Oil & blowby around the engine area, etc. You can usually tell if or how much somethings been ran. Good find.
I agree that the car may never have been raced. Do you see any evidence of that anywhere? It's a neat find, but I can't help but think that the real winner here is the guy that made off with the 426. If someone restores this car, another 426 will cost more than the car. Dave http://www.roadsters.com/
it would be interesting to find out who built the car to begin with...someone at T&C from the 60's must remember it being talked about, who could keep their mouth shut about that?...heck, put an ad in the local michigan paper with some photos asking about some history of the car, you never know what might happen...
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