by Tom Chillemi –
Not all cars are show stoppers, but they all have value in the eyes of the owners and those who appreciate the unusual.
For instance, an “original” 1962 Plymouth Valiant was among the 163 vehicles at the 24th Wings, Wheels and Keels on September 28 at Hummel Airfield in Topping.
This survivor is unrestored and has a patina in its unpolished black paint formed during its 17,000 days. “If nothing else, it makes the cars on either side of me look good,” said owner Charlie Ranger of Saluda, who was perched on the front fender.
This unassuming relic was parked with the 163 vehicles of the Memory Lane Car Club’s largest annual event, which is a big part of Wings, Wheels and Keels. Some of the vehicles are worth a thousand times more than Ranger’s car.
Although the Valiant is not exotic, it is rare. Valiants were utility vehicles. Not many of them were cared for the way a Mustang or Corvette would have been.
Good ol’ days
When Ranger’s car rolled off the assembly line, America was on top. In 1962, the first Walmart opened and AT&T launched “Telstar,” the world’s first commercial communications satellite. The turmoil of the 1960s had not yet started.
Introduced in 1960, the Valiant’s short rear quarter panel sports tail fins canted to the side. The rear is a cross between the humped back cars of the 1940s and the “fast backs” of the future. A long hood takes its cue from European styling.
On the other side
Stuart Clough was looking for a boat project when he came upon a “barn find.” It was a 1935 Chris-Craft wooden runabout in rough shape. “It had most of the hull, that’s all,” said Clough of Richmond. He wasn’t sure he wanted a project this big and the price was high. He walked away.
Five minutes down the road Clough turned around and went back to give the seller his price of $800. “My wife told me that if I didn’t buy it I’d regret it all my life,” he said.
It turned out that he paid $5 more than the price for the boat when it was brand new in 1932 and sold for $795—about $13,700 today. “I’ve put a dollar or two in it since then,” he said.
“Frankenstein”
Away from the front line of displayed vehicles was a humble 1978 Datsun 620 Series pickup truck. Thomas Fox of Gloucester had one when he was in high school. It took him two and half years to find another one that wasn’t rusted.
It is not restored, it’s been painted three times. The last time was a cheap, single-stage green paint job that has faded into a flat patina. “I keep hitting it with a power washer and it keeps getting better,” said Fox.
Up in the air
At least three “war birds” from the 1940s flew in. Each take-off by these fighter planes shattered the air with a thunderous roar as the powerful radial engines spun the propeller. One pilot said the sharp sound on take-off was caused by the spinning propeller breaking the sound barrier (767 miles per hour).
A No Limits skydiver parachuted in flying an American flag, a crowning feat for the Middlesex County event that turns 25 years old next September.
Check it out online at Wings, Wheels & Keels.com
