Author: B. Mitchell Carlson

B. Mitchell Carlson has been an SCM contributor since 1998. Our resident truck guy, B. Mitchell has been writing about the vintage-truck market for 30 years. The first vehicle he ever drove was his father’s 1968 Ford F-100 pickup.

1964 Volkswagen Type 2 Microbus Deluxe

VW won the hearts of collectors. The best first-generation Ford Econoline would be hard pressed to bring $10k, even with $5k in pennies in the back The Type 2, as its name suggests, was the second variant of the VW Beetle (Type 1), using the same running gear, and was […]

2003 Z06 Hard Top

When Chevrolet revisited its past to introduce a new Z06 two-door hard top in 2001, it also added $7,000 to the base car’s $40,475 sticker price. The new Z06 offered a new, more powerful engine, the 386-hp LS6. The LS6 had a new block, new intake and exhaust manifolds, new […]

1959 Volkswagen Beetle 1200 2-Door Sedan

The pool of original cars continues to shrink, thanks to fires, floods, rust, and kids with a hankering to build a sand rail   {vsig}2009-2_2282{/vsig} The Volkswagen Beetle sedan inspired unusual loyalty and enthusiasm based on its practicality, reliability, adaptability, and affordability. Originally conceived by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche in the […]

1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Hard Top

My 9-year-old son was very agitated as I loaded the car. He said “Dad, you can replace any one of the others-this is unique” {vsig}2008-8_2205{/vsig} Built by tobacco heir Zachary Reynolds, the “Tobacco King” 1964 Ford Galaxie was as wild an example of a Rocket Drag Axle-equipped car as one […]

1963 Dual-Ghia L6.4 Coupe

If the Chrysler-powered Facel-Vega is a French Imperial, consider the L6.4 a Mopar Maserati {vsig}2008-7_2193{/vsig} The brainchild of Eugene Casaroll, the Italian-American hybrid known as the Dual-Ghia was largely based on the Ghia-designed Chrysler Firearrow, a concept car for which he acquired the production rights. Luxurious and extravagant, it had […]

2000/1962 Corvette C5/C1

Classic Reflection Coachworks’s 1962/C5 Conversion transforms a C5 Corvette into a spectacular modern version of a Corvette legend. Titled as a 1962 Chevrolet Special, the car uses a 2000 Corvette chassis with a carbon fiber body. The car combines advanced computer technology and a composite material of carbon fiber and […]

The Million-Dollar ZR1 Bargain

Chevrolet presented the very “First Retailable Unit Built” Corvette ZR1 for auction at Barrett-Jackson on Saturday, January 19, 2008, with all proceeds from the auction to benefit the United Way. The VIN was publicly declared to be number “001” in a unique series within the U.S. DOT standard 17-digit VIN […]

1965 Pontiac GTO Convertible

I suspect the judges who previously gave this car an AACA Senior badge would not have done so on sale day {vsig}2008-2_2128{/vsig} Pontiac first offered the GTO option on the Tempest in 1964, and despite UAW strikes, which kept production down, it was a big hit. The muscle car market […]

When Salvaged C5s Go Slumming

Call me an auction junkie, but on one of the few Saturdays that I wasn’t covering a collector car sale, I went to Princeton, Minnesota, for a truck and heavy equipment auction. Along with trucks, tractors, front-end loaders, construction equipment, and other hardcore guy stuff, Wayne Pike Auction Company also […]