1957 Dual Ghia convertible.

1957 Dual Ghia convertible.

Eugene Casaroll was a very successful automobile transporter. His company, Automobile Shippers, was responsible for delivering new vehicles from the assembly plants to the dealers. Business was booming during the post-WWII era. But Casaroll had always wanted to build his own car and formed Dual Motors specifically for that purpose.

Casaroll's original idea was to build an upscale luxury tourer for a reasonable price. After seeing the 1954 Dodge Firearrow IV concept car, he bought the rights to the design and began making plans to produce it himself.

The Dodge Firearrow IV was a 4-passenger convertible with a custom body built by Carrozzeria Ghia in Turin, Italy. So it made perfect sense that Casaroll contracted with Dodge to supply the chassis and running gear and Ghia to supply the body and interior. Production of the Dual-Ghia convertible began in 1956. And it was quite a production !

Dodge frames were shipped to Ghia in Turin who installed the stunning hand-hammered body and custom interior. The cars were then sent back to Dual Motors in Detroit for the installation of the Dodge drivetrain. Several versions of Dodge's "Red Ram" hemi V8 were used. But the only transmission available was Dodge's two-speed "PowerFllite" automatic.

Two trips across the Atlantic negated the "reasonable price" part of Casaroll's idea. The Dual-Ghia's $7,500 MSRP was more expensive than the contemporary Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertible, and on par with the legendary Mercedes-Benz 300 SL.

So it's no surprise that these cars are extremely rare. A total of 117 cars were produced from 1956 - 58 with a good portion of them going to celebrities like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Lucille Ball. It's estimated that more than half of them survive today.

Class 30B: Corvette C2, 1963 - 1967.

Class 30 is reserved for the Chevrolet Corvette, and is divided into five sub-classes according to year.

Several C2 Corvettes in Class 30B.

Several C2 Corvettes in Class 30B.

The car on the left side of the photo above is a 1966 Corvette.

The "Big-Block" V8 had arrived for the 1965 model year in the form of a 396 CID V8 that made 425 hp. For 1966, the 396 was replaced by the 427 CID V8.

Two 427s were available in 1966. For an additional $181.20, a buyer could select RPO L36 that made 390 hp. The top option RPO L72 (featured in this car), cost an additional $312.85 and gave the buyer 425 hp. A total of 5,258 Corvettes were ordered with the L72 option.

1971 Chevrolet Corvette, Class 30C.

1971 Chevrolet Corvette.

1956 Ford Thunderbird, Class 31.

Like the Corvette, the 1955 - 57 Ford Thunderbird gets its own class.

Ford introduced its iconic 2-seat Thunderbird in 1955 as a response to Chevrolet's 2-seat Corvette. But the same number of seats was where the similarities ended. Since its introduction in 1953, the Corvette had been evolving as a sports car. The Thunderbird was designed as more of a grand touring personal luxury car. The two cars weren't considered direct competitors. But it's interesting to note that the T-Bird outsold the Corvette by almost 5 to 1 from 1955 - 57.

This car was presented as a survivor with 54k original miles and 95% of the car's parts being original.

This car was displayed with an original window sticker.

Class 32: Chevrolet excluding Corvette, 1955 - 1957.

Instead of being lumped together with the production cars of Class 27, the 1955 - 1957 "Tri-Five" Chevrolets get their own class.

1957 Chevrolet Nomad wagon.

1957 Chevrolet Nomad wagon.

Chevrolet's iconic Nomad wagon evolved from the sleek-looking 2-door 1954 Corvette Nomad concept car from GM's annual Motorama show. The car was so well received that GM approved the car for production beginning in 1955 as long as Styling Chief Harley Earl could adapt the design to the top-selling Bel Air line.

Tri-Five Nomads are quite rare. A total of 22,375 were produced over the model's initial three year run. This 1957 model is one of 6,103 made that year.

1957 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible.

Two more 1957 Chevrolet Bel Airs.

Class 34A: Ford Mustang excluding High Performance, 1965 - 1966.

This is where the classes start to get confusing. Class 34 is reserved for the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro. However, "Factory High Performance" versions of those vehicles are excluded from this class and are assigned to Class 36, (which seems to center specifically around the "Muscle Car" versions of those cars).

For example, a 1965 Mustang with a 6-cylinder or base V8 engine is assigned to Class 34A. But a 1965 K-Code GT or Shelby GT350 are assigned to Class 36D. The same reasoning applies to the Camaro as well, (a 1967 model with a 6-cylinder or 327 CID V8 = Class 34G, but a Z28 or SS396 = Class 36B).

1965 Ford Mustang GT.

All 1965 Mustang GTs were equipped with a 289 CID V8 that was available in two stages of tune. The A-Code 4-bbl V8 made 225 hp. The top option K code also used a 4-bbl carburetor, but made 271 hp.

So using the guidelines of Class 34A, this car has to be a 225 hp A-Code car. The K-Code is considered "Factory High Performance" and is assigned to Class 36D.

Class 34B: Ford Mustang excluding High Performance, 1967 - 1970.

Class 34G: Chevrolet Camaro excluding High Performance, 1967 - 1969.

Class 34I: Chevrolet Camaro excluding High Performance, 1982 - 1994.

The two Camaros seen in the photo above are "antiques" according to the math. But I have a hard time seeing them as anything other than good memories from my youth.

Class 35B: Limited Production Vehicles thru 1994.

Speaking of confusing classes, Class 35 is reserved for "Classic, Prestige, or Limited Production, Prototype, and Experimental vehicles, that were factory built."

How is this different from Class 29 "Prestige Vehicles" seen earlier ? I don't know if I'm 100% correct. But I believe Class 29 centers around vehicles that are considered significant upgrades of existing platforms. For example, the Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertibles seen earlier are considered "Prestige" because they are limited production upgrades to the Series 62 convertible.

Class 35 places more emphasis on the "Prototype" or "Experimental" nature of the vehicle in question. The 1954 Packard Panther and the previously mentioned 1954 Dodge Fire Arrow are actual prototypes of vehicles that were being evaluated for production. This class also includes vehicles that actually went into production but were considered unique such as the 1948 Tucker, 1954 Kaiser Darrin, Avanti II (which we'll get to later), and the DeLorean.

This gets even more confusing when you look at Class 35's three sub-classes. Class 35A vehicles must have a minimum of 4-cylinders, AND 75 hp, AND a 100" wheelbase, (all three must be met). Class 35B is for everything that doesn't meet all three minimum requirements of Class 35A. Sounds pretty straight forward.

Then there's Class 35C which is for "Second Generation Collector Vehicles" which are defined as, "factory assembled, manufactured vehicles that replicate the look and style of a previous make or model." The key is that vehicles must be factory built, meaning no kit-cars. For example, Zimmer and Excalibur are accepted into Class 35C because both produced neo-classic automobiles, (a classically-styled body on top of a modern chassis), that were sold as complete cars and were available through a limited dealership network. But a Cobra replica doesn't qualify because it's available as a kit that can be built at home.

1994 Stillen SMZ 300ZX.

1994 Stillen SMZ 300ZX.

The name Steve Millen falls into the same category as Carroll Shelby, Steve Saleen, and John Lingenfelter. Millen's specialty is Nissan. He used to race them back in the day, and was the #1 Factory Driver for Nissan for 7 years. His company, Stillen, manufactures high performance parts and accessories not only for Nissans, but other applications as well.

The Stillen SMZ 300ZX is a Millen-modified Nissan 300ZX Turbo that was sold and warrantied through Nissan dealers. The $14,000 upgrade package included a subtle body kit, carbon fiber goodies in the interior, suspension upgrades, and powertrain mods that added 65 hp to the car's already healthy 300 hp output.

Improvements to the air intake system and exhaust system help the car breath easier. That, along with two additional pounds of turbo boost, unlocked 65 more horsepower, bringing the total to 365.

1990 Avanti sedan.

This 1990 Avanti sedan is an example of a "Second Generation" collector vehicle for which Class 35C is reserved.

Studebaker was in deep financial trouble when it introduced it's groundbreaking Avanti in 1963. Company president Sherwood Egbert was hoping the new car would give a boost to the brand's image and translate into increased sales. On paper, the car seemed to have everything a buyer would want.

Raymond Loewy's stunning "Coke Bottle" styling was extremely well received, and even called, "ahead of its time" by contemporary news reports. The list of standard equipment was quite long and included things like backup lamps, heater-defroster, clock, center console, dash padding, an integrated roll bar, courtesy and trunk lamps, padded sun visors, tinted glass, and two-speed electric windshield wipers. Power was supplied by Studebaker's 289 CID V8 that made 240 hp in standard "R1" form. Upgrades including a supercharger and increased displacement were available to raise output to 335 hp. And best of all, the car had four seats.

Studebaker recruited automotive parts manufacturer turned owner of Paxton Products, (i.e. Paxton supercharges), Andy Granatelli to make the Avanti perform. Granatelli responded by arriving at Bonneville in 1962 with an R3 Avanit and promptly breaking 29 speed records.

So it's no surprise that the Avanti was a hit when it debuted. Orders began to pour in, but there were problems. Creating the tooling necessary to build the body in the traditional manner out of steel was going to be prohibitively expensive. The decision was made to employ a fiberglass body built by an outside supplier. But production problems created delays which meant cars weren't making it into showrooms. The issues became so bad that Studebaker ditched the outside supplier and started making the bodies in-house.

The problem was that all of this took time, something Studebaker didn't have. And thanks to its well publicized financial problems, Studebaker also didn't have much of an image at this point. Many customers who were waiting for the much delayed arrival of their new Avanti pulled out. Potential customers began to shop elsewhere. A grand total of 4,643 Avantis, (3,834 for 1963 and 809 for 1964), were produced before the South Bend factory was shut down in December 1963.

Normally, this would be the end of the line, especially since Studebaker would be gone altogether by 1966. However, Studebaker dealers Nathan Altman and Leo Newman saw tremendous potential with the Avanti and decided that since Studebaker wasn't around to produce the car, they would do it themselves. Altman and Newman purchased the Avanti name, the rights to the design, and all of the tooling and set up shop as Avanti Motor Corporation.

Production of the Avanti II began in 1965 where the Avanti left off with one change. Since Studebaker engines were no longer available, drivetrain parts were sourced from Chevrolet. Even though this was strictly a low-volume specialty car, sales were steady, and the Avanti II was actually profitable.

Production of the Avanti II lasted through 1983 when the company changed hands and the name was changed back to Avanti. More ownership and factory location changes occurred before production was ended in 2006.

The 1990 Avanti sedan seen in the photos above is extremely rare, being one of 90 produced that year.

Class 36A: Factory High Performance, Buick and Pontiac, 1957 - 1969.

Class 36 is reserved for "Factory High Performance" cars and is divided into 11 sub-classes according to make and year range. For example, Class 36A covers Pontiac and Buick from 1957 - 1969, and Class 36F covers Pontiac and Buick from 1970 - 1987. Class 37K is reserved for trucks such as the Chevrolet El Camino and Dodge Lil' Red Express.

1961 Pontiac Catalina.

1961 Pontiac Catalina.

Pontiac's 389 CID "Trophy" V8 was the only engine available in the Catalina. Varying stages of tune were offered from the base 2-bbl that makes 215 hp all the way to the Tri-Power version with three 2-bbl carburetors that makes 348 hp, (featured in this car).

1966 Pontiac GTO.

1967 Buick GS 400.

1967 Buick GS 400.

The GS400 was an all-new model for 1967. The 1965 and 1966 versions of the car were known as the Buick Gran Sport, which was an option for the Skylark line. The GS400 was joined by the GS340 for 1967. This car is a hardtop coupe, one of 8,006 produced that year.