1951-1952 Chrysler Saratoga Club Coupe

Photo by Cliff West

 

Chrysler styling for 1951 and 1952 was nearly identical. The tail lights are the only distinguishing characteristic, with the 1952s featuring integrated back-up lights. Chrysler didn’t even keep separate production figures for the model years. The Saratoga was just above the base-model Windsor in the Chrysler lineup, on a 125.5-inch wheelbase, and didn’t return for 1951 until well into the model year. With its return, the Saratoga became the smallest Chrysler to offer the new 180-horsepower 331-cubic-inch PowerFlight V8 engine with its hemispherical combustion chambers, and was capable of going from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 10 seconds with a top speed of nearly 110 miles per hour. The Club Coupe shown here at the Northwest Car Collectors Association Car Show & Swap Meet at the Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center in Portland, Oregon, on October 18-19, 2003, represents the only 2-door Saratoga body style, with 6-passenger and long-wheelbase 8-passenger 4-door sedans and a Town & Country 4-door station wagon also available. The Saratoga model would be discontinued after 1952 and would not return until 1957.

1937 Packard Super-Eight Touring Sedan

Photo by Cliff West

 

In 1937, Packard offered the Touring Sedan across all four series: the Six, the One-Twenty, the Super-Eight, and the Twelve. The example pictured here at the Northwest Car Collectors Association Car Show & Swap Meet at the Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center in Portland, Oregon, on October 18-19, 2003, appears to be a Super-Eight. The Super-Eight Touring Sedan was offered with three wheelbases: 127 inches, 134 inches, and 139 inches. This appears to be the 134-inch wheelbase model. The 1937 Packard Super-Eight was all-new with a smaller and lighter design, with each of the three wheelbases now 5 inches shorter than the previous year, and 1936's 150-horsepower 320-cubic-inch inline 8-cylinder engine was changed to a new 135-horsepower 320-cubic-inch inline 8-cylinder engine. Other changes included the addition of hydraulic brakes and the front doors now being hinged at the front instead of the back. The rear doors, however, remained rear-hinged "suicide" doors. 1937 would be Packard's peak production year, with a total of 122,593 cars, though only 5,793 were Super-Eights.

1946 Lincoln Sedan

Photo by Cliff West

 

When World War II stopped all American automobile production in 1942, Lincoln had been producing the Lincoln Zephyr as a 4-door sedan, coupe, club coupe, and convertible coupe, alongside the Lincoln Custom sedan and limousine and the Lincoln Continental cabriolet and coupe. When production resumed after the war in 1946, Lincoln brought back its pre-war models with updated styling. The Continental name returned but the Zephyr name did not, with the former Zephyrs now being identified only by body style. Thus, the car pictured here at the Northwest Car Collectors Association Car Show & Swap Meet at the Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center in Portland, Oregon, on October 18-19, 2003, is simply a 1946 Lincoln Sedan. Initially, 1946 Lincolns were powered by a low-compression 130-horsepower 306-cubic-inch V12 with iron heads that had been used for the last month of 1942 production. Later in 1946, Lincoln switched to the 130-horsepower 292-cubic-inch V12 that had been used in 1940 and 1941. Production of these Lincolns would continue with little change through 1948.

1932 Lincoln Model KA 5-Passenger Coupe

Photo by Cliff West

 

The Lincoln Motor Company was founded in August 1917 by Henry M. Leland and his son Wilfred and initially produced Liberty V12 aircraft engines. Lincoln produced its first automobile, the L Series, on January 26, 1920, and was purchased by the Ford Motor Company in February 1922. The Model K was introduced in 1931 on a new 145-inch wheelbase and powered by a 120-horsepower 384.8-cubic-inch L-head V8 engine. For 1932, Lincoln split the Model K into two models: the V8-powered Model KA on the 136-inch wheelbase from the L Series, and the Model KB, powered by a 150-horsepower 447.9-cubic-inch L-head V12 in the 145-inch wheelbase. The 1932 Model KA's V8 produced 125 horsepower and would be the last Lincoln V8 until 1949, as the 1933 Model KA would receive its own 125-horsepower 381.7-cubic-inch L-head V12 engine. The Model K would remain in production until January 1940. The 1932 Lincoln Model KA 5-Passenger Coupe shown here at the Northwest Car Collectors Association Car Show & Swap Meet at the Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center in Portland, Oregon, on October 18-19, 2003, is an example if one of the seven body styles available for the 1932 Model KA.

1911 Overland Model 49 Touring Car

Photo by Cliff West

 

Overland was established in 1903 as the Overland Automotive Division of the Standard Wheel Company in Terre Haute, Indiana, with a 5-horsepower gasoline runabout designed by Claude E. Cox. Overland moved to Indianapolis in 1905 and was sold to Cox, who partnered with investor David M. Parry who formed the Overland Auto Company. In 1906, Overland produced 47 cars and all were sold to dealer John North Willys of Elmira, New York. Following the Panic of 1907, Willys purchased control of Overland in 1908 and increased production to 467 cars, then to 4,907 in 1909, when Cox left to work for the new Inter-State Automobile Company in Muncie, and Willys moved Overland to the former Pope-Toledo factory in Toledo, Ohio. In 1912 the company would be renamed to the Willys-Overland Motor Company and from 1912 to 1918 it would be America's second-largest automobile manufacturer after Ford. The Overland marque would be used until the 1926 introduction of the Whippet. This 1911 Overland Model 49 is a 5-passenger Touring Car with a 102-inch wheelbase powered by a 25-horsepower 199-cubic-inch inline 4-cylinder L-head engine with a 3-speed selective sliding gear transmission. The Model 49 was originally priced at $1,095.00 and dark blue was the standard color. This example was photographed at the Northwest Car Collectors Association Car Show & Swap Meet at the Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center in Portland, Oregon, on October 18-19, 2003.

1930 Chrysler Model 77 Roadster

Photo by Cliff West

 

Walter P. Chrysler founded the Chrysler Corporation in 1925 after buying the Maxwell Automobile Company in 1921. The 1930 Chrysler Model 77 was based on the Model 70, descended from the Chrysler B-70 from 1924, and was an update to 1929's Model 75, now with a downdraft carburetor and a new engine-mounted fuel pump, and sat right below the top-of-the-line Chrysler Imperial in the company’s lineup. Powered by a 93-horsepower 268.4-cubic-inch inline 6-cylinder L-head engine with a 4-speed transmission, the Model 77 was designed to cruise at 77 miles per hour and was capable of reaching 100 miles per hour. Model 77 Roadsters raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France, at the 24 Hours of Spa in Belguim, and at the Mille Miglia in Italy. Early 1930 Chrysler Model 70s and Model 77s featured Pennon-shaped hood louvers, which were replaced by common vertical louvers in the middle of the year. Chrysler built over 60,000 cars in 1930, but only 1,729 were Model 77 Roadsters. The Model 77 was a one-year-only model, being dropped after 1930 in favor of downsized cars. The 1930 Chrysler Model 77 Roadster was photographed at the Northwest Car Collectors Association Car Show & Swap Meet at the Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center in Portland, Oregon, on October 18-19, 2003.

1953 Nash-Healey Roadster

Photo by Cliff West

 

1953 was the last year for the Nash-Healey Roadster, the result of a chance meeting aboard the Queen Elizabeth between Nash CEO George Mason and British sports-car builder Donald Healey, who wanted to buy American engines. They partnered to introduce the Nash-Healey in 1951, a low-slung two-seat roadster with a British-built aluminum body and a 125-horsepower Nash Ambassador 234.8 cubic inch overhead-valve L-head six-cylinder Jetfire engine on a 102-inch wheelbase, assembled at the Donald Healey Motor Company in Warwick, England. The following year brought new steel bodywork by Pinin Farina in Italy, where final assembly was performed, and a 140-horsepower dual-carburetor option. 1953 saw the introduction of a Le Mans coupe version on a 6-inch longer wheelbase. It was the best year for the Nash Healey, with a total of 162 built. Production would end after another 90 coupes were built in 1954, some of which were reserialed as 1955 models. This 1953 Nash-Healey Roadster was photographed at the Northwest Car Collectors Association Car Show & Swap Meet at the Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center in Portland, Oregon, on October 18-19, 2003.