Wire Wheels

1936 Rolls-Royce Phantom III

Posted by The Professor

According to this Coachbuild.com forum, this is chassis 3AX199, “owned until 2001 by famous American actor Carroll O’Connor … Supplied originally to James Onslow Kingsmill Delap in Kenya (founder of East African Airways). It went to the UK in 1966 and from there to the USA later on … The boot could only be accessed from inside the car, to keep out the African dust.”

Thanks very much to user Phantom3 for the additional information.

Santa Monica, CA

Photographed April 2011

1966 Chevrolet Corvair Monza Convertible

Posted by The Professor

1966 Chevrolet Corvair Monza Convertible 1966 Chevrolet Corvair Monza Convertible 1966 Chevrolet Corvair Monza Convertible 1966 Chevrolet Corvair Monza Convertible

The Corvair, of course, was highlighted in Ralph Nader’s book Unsafe at Any Speed, after which sales fell more than half from 220,000 in 1965 to less than 110,000 the next year. Nader’s book crippled the reputation of the Corvair, and sales never recovered.

This is not the most attractive example of a Corvair imaginable–the knockoff wire wheels and the drab color and trim do nothing to help its looks. However, it is a fairly-well preserved example of a none-too-common convertible model, which makes it a worthy picture target.

Santa Monica, CA

Photographed February 2012