David purley cobra brands hatch 1968 chevelle

No.300 April 2016

£4.40

Ben Klemenzson

Viewpoint

To reach the 300th milestone in anything is a bit of a landmark, and none more so than to reach the 300th edition of a publication, especially in today’s challenging climate in the world of publishing. If you’ve been with us for the last 300 issues, you will have seen the American automotive landscape in this country change dramatically – who would have thought, back in 1988, when Classic American was launched, that one day you’d be able to walk into a UK Ford dealership and buy a brand-new right-hand drive Mustang right off the sales floor? Well you can, and we caught up with a couple of lucky readers who’ve done just that (see pages 76 and 77!). Likewise, flicking through that first issue, now almost 30 years old, reveals a magazine quite different to the one in your hands today; there are adverts for cigarettes, beer and lots of ‘lifestyle’ features. Back at the end of the Eighties, Classic American was riding the crest of a wave of nostalgia for the Fifties Americana that was sweeping across the UK. Ben E King and Marvin Gaye were in the top 10 and we couldn’t get enough Levis 501 jeans, Zippo lighters or Budweiser beers. TV was awash with adverts for all these products, from Wrigley’s Spearmint gum to Nick Kamen taking off his jeans in a laundrette for Levis! The features on American football and the ads for Marlborough may have gone, but one thing that has remained is the passion we have for American cars… even those first issues reveal a magazine already wearing its heart on its sleeve; one that loves, lives and breathes American vehicles of every and any type. And that passion remains today! I hope that in this issue, you’ll see the full scope and breadth of that enthusiasm in the sheer variety and volume of feature cars in this very special issue. Happy 300th Classic American!

, bklemenzson@mortons.co.uk

87 ? 23

79

69 32 101

Contents April 2016

Regulars

Features

06 12 14

ESCORT AT 50 FORD’S ICON, FROM Mk1 TO RS2000

May 2018 £4.90

JAGUAR vs MERCEDES vs MASERATI

WORLD’S SEXIEST ROADSTERS Riviera style meets race-car pace in ’50s glamour showdown

Koenig’s 600bhp Ferrari Frazer Nash TT Replica Rallying’s wildest cars Driving a twin-turbo BB Epic ‘Chain Gang’ rebuild Group B stars on stage

&$ ! %" % &$77 *! # // 6 &$-7 +/%# */ # &$-7 2 * & 7 0(

&$-& # ! " # '%*/ 6 &$,1 ** * 0- &$,0 0(7 &$,- # /* /%+ &$, # /* /%+

&$ 0 # 70,

&$ # !/ %*+ &$$ #

>693+ *3(:: 46;69 *(9: (; (<*;065

1\UL ,UNSLMPSLK /V\ZL 9LHKPUN <2 (:;65 4(9;05 +) º:,90,: 0» :769;: :(3665 *OHZZPZ UV +) 9

(175,(6 12: ,19,7('

(\N\Z[ *HYTLS *HSPMVYUPH

1\UL .YLLU^PJO *VUULJ[PJ\[ ;9,(:<9,: -964 ;/, 7,9:65(3 *633,*;065 6*(99633 :/,3)@ (175,(6 12: ,19,7('

(175,(6 12: ,19,7('

<UPX\L VUL VÑœ KLZPNU >PUULY º3L .YHUK 7YP_ K\ :HSVU» ;(3)6; 3(.6 ; 9,*69+ :769; *6<7, +, =033, *VHJO^VYR I` :HV\[JOPR

,58<090,: 8. \RJHYZ'IVUOHTZ JVT

(XURSH L\YVJHYZ'IVUOHTZ JVT

86$ ,HZ[ *VHZ[ >LZ[ *VHZ[ \ZHJHYZ'IVUOHTZ JVT

&DWDORJXH VXEVFULSWLRQV Z\IZJYPW[PVUZ'IVUOHTZ JVT

3,: .9(5+,: 4(98<,: ( 465(*6 4H` =PSSH 3H =PNPL 4VU[L *HYSV ;OL L_ ^VYRZ 4PRL /H^[OVYU <TILY[V 4HNSPVSP -,99(90 ;*OHZZPZ UV ;*VHJO^VYR I` =PNUHSL

),1$/ &$// )25 (175,(6

ERQKDPV FRP PRWRUFDUV

” # % &/ .2 . 0 * .4' + %# % %#!4 / ( %2 * ) 3 "'! + ” % 4 *% 4# " +. * " * ! . %* . &$, #+ / %0*+ ” *% !!4 "' # 4 '* 1 . *+ . * 0"+ # . * * #. ” 3 0+. 1 ' * % %"' . . %# +.%*4 # !0 # . %% 2%% %0* +. *%&a

Lee Alan Shepherd (August 30, 1944 – March 11, 1985) was an American drag racing driver from Arlington, Texas. In 1972, Shepherd drove a lime green Chevy Nova station wagon to the Modified finals at the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Springnationals, also claiming Modified Eliminator (making the Nova the quickest car at the event). Later in 1972, he teamed with David Reher and Buddy Morrison. The three Texans pooled their limited resources and forged a longstanding partnership after Bobby Cross left the team to pursue his own business ventures. The Reher-Morrison-Shepherd team won NHRA's Division 4 Modified championship in 1973, and took a class win at the 1974 Winternationals in a pumpkin orange Chevrolet-powered F/Gas Ford Maverick. Shepherd ran back-to-back 10.67s to defeat John Smith’s M/Gas Volkswagen and defending event champion Bob Riffle’s C/Gas Dodge Colt. In the quarterfinal, he bested Carl Frizzell’s E/MP Camaro with a 10.66 and former Winternationals winner Fred Teixeira’s B/Gas Corvette with a 10.49. In the final, Shepherd unleashed a pass of 10.39 seconds at 130.62 mph (210.21 km/h), defeating Jim Marshall’s A/MP Dart and good enough to set an F/Gas national record.In 1975, the Texans borrowed a Chevrolet Corvette body, transplanted the Maverick's powertrain, and recorded another Modified victory at the 1975 Springnationals, as well as taking Modified Eliminator, making the Reher-Morrison Corvette the quickest Modified of the event. The team campaigned a Chevrolet Camaro to win four consecutive NHRA national championships from 1981 to 1984.Shepherd would return to win the Winternationals twice in Pro Stock, in 1980 and 1984, while the team won 26 of 56 national events and four championships in that period.In 1983 Shepherd became the first driver to win both the NHRA and IHRA Pro Stock championships in the same year, a feat that had never before been achieved; he did it again in 1984.In March 1985, on his way to a fifth straight Pro Stock champi