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The Les Dunham Corvorado. Photo courtesy Dunham Coach.
It's more than facile to fill a museum exhibit dedicated to cars and pop culture with Elvis, poodle skirt, and sock hop references. The AACA Museum, however, has taken a far more daring path by featuring a pair of Dunham Coach "Super Fly"-type cars in its upcoming showcase, "Pop Culture and Cars: Retro Adventures."
Likely appearing at an AACA event for the very first time, the Dunham Coach "Corvorado" - as featured in the films Live and Let Die and Superman: The Movie - and the Dunham Coach "Super Fly" Cadillac Eldorado - as seen in Ft. Apache the Bronx - aren't typical AACA fare, but both played a significant role in 1970s pop culture.
As documented in the debut issue of Autocult magazine, the whole "Flash Car" movement began with the request of a Dunham Coach customer named "Snake" to add a bit more chrome to his new 1969 Cadillac Fleetwood. While that sounds simple enough nowadays, it's important to remember that on the East Coast in the late 1960s, there was still an enormous racial divide; white customization shop owners often refused to work on the cars of affluent black clientele, particularly when the source of their income was suspect. Les Dunham, owner of Dunham Coach, had no such reservations and treated all customers with respect. Dunham also listened to his clientele, delivering them exactly what was requested - and more.
Snake's request for a chrome radiator surround ultimately turned into a restyled radiator surround, patterned off the vertical grille of a Rolls-Royce. Happy with Dunham's work, Snake soon brought him additional business, as well as additional clients, and by the early 1970s, it wasn't uncommon for a car carrier to show up at Dunham Coach, loaded with new Cadillacs awaiting Les's touch. In 1971, Snake's request for a Rolls-Royce-style headlight, influenced by cars of the 1920s, led to the creation of the "Fly Light," an oversize chrome headlight surround that became a hallmark of Dunham Coach design.
The cultural significance of Dunham's work goes far beyond the addition of chrome trim, exaggerated headlight surrounds and fake sidemounts. As Dan Stoner of Autocult explained, "Les was the only guy who real-life pimps could take their brand-new Cadillacs to for customization. Dunham single-handedly took the custom car industry out of Southern California and right into the sleepy town of Boonton, New Jersey, for this 'clientele.'"
The 1971 film Super Fly, a term once used by a customer of Dunham's to describe his work, put Dunham Coach's cars on the big screen. Additional film appearances would follow, highlighting other Dunham creations, such as the cut-down Cadillac Eldorado-bodied Corvette known as the Corvorado. When interest in "Flash Cars" waned at the close of the 1970s, Dunham turned his attention to making custom truck parts, once again proving his versatility.
The AACA's recognition of Dunham's work is significant, if perhaps a bit overdue. As Stoner put it, "Interest [in Flash Cars] definitely started to surge again in the early 2000s, following the typical cycle of pop culture (25-30 years) and the renewed interest in all things Seventies. The renewed interest in Blaxploitation Film and Grindhouse Film also contributed to the interest in Les's Flash Cars, because of Super Fly."
1978 Pontiac Trans Am, formerly owned by Burt Reynolds. Photo courtesy AACA Museum.
The AACA's Pop Culture and Cars exhibit will feature far more than just Dunham's "Super Fly" creations. Other cars to be shown include the 1932 Ford Roadster driven by actor, pop star and 1950s icon Ricky Nelson, the 1978 Pontiac Trans-Am Y-84 presented to Burt Reynolds after filming Smokey and the Bandit, a 1969 American Motors Corporation AMX and a 1974 Bricklin. There are a few more ordinary cars on display as well, including a 1961 VW Transporter, a 1970 Ford Maverick, a 1975 AMC Pacer X and a 1977 Chrysler Cordoba (complete with "soft Corinthian leather," as shilled by Ricardo Montalban for Chrysler Corporation).
No exhibit on pop culture would be complete without other trappings from the various decades, including a 1950s juke box, 1960s lava lamps and a 1970s mirrored disco ball. "Pop Culture and Cars: Retro Adventures" will run from May 17 through October 13 at the AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania. For more information, visit AACAMuseum.org.
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Earth shaking. Ground pounding. Those are a couple of choice adjectives that describe Steve Kaiser’s 1970 'Cuda as it crackled by us during Hemmings Musclepalooza at Maple Grove Raceway on the way to the staging lanes. Kaiser then took it up a notch by doing a rowdy burnout and hanging the hoops on an 8.80 pass at 151 mph. After our ears stopped ringing, we tracked him down to get the details.
If you noticed the name Kaiser in gold leaf on the door, you might be wondering who that is. Steve Kaiser’s uncle Bob Kaiser started the Twin Hills Oldsmobile dealership in 1977 in Muncy, Pennsylvania, right around the time Olds was getting into drag racing with the glorious G-body Oldsmobile Cutlass. To promote the sport, Oldsmobile gave Uncle Kaiser five Cutlasses to race in the Stock and Super Stock classes. As a young man, Steve Kaiser would vacation at drag strips and attend drag racing events with the family until the age of 16 when he pursued other interests.
During that time, Steve’s father also got into the automotive business and helped create the Kaiser Brothers dealership that expanded into a Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Ram dealership with a larger facility, also in Muncy.
In 2008, Steve got back into cars. He began by installing superchargers on late-model Challengers and Chargers under a license by Mr. Norm out of the Kaiser Brothers dealership. By 2011, he had started looking for a race car. He soon found a 1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda that was well known around the Kentucky area and raced by its second owner, Johnny Dotson, a Dodge dealer from Paris, Kentucky. The ‘Cuda was painted in the classic black-and-white Direct Connection colors with a 513-inch 440 under the hood, a 727 transmission, and Dana 60 rear. That combo ran 10.80s in Super Pro and had been a track car since 1978.
Steve bought the car and immediately pulled the drivetrain and sent the car out to get painted to match his uncle’s racing livery. He started running 10.80s-90s in the Pro series with a steep learning curve. “I saw red (lights) a lot,” Steve says, “it was frustrating.” To make matters worse, he broke the block and had to rebuild the engine using a Mopar Performance block and a new rotator. The combo was mostly the same with a 0.60-over block, Indy heads and intake, and a 1050 Dominator.
The second year looked a little bit better, and he started winning rounds, but not races. “I got to the finals, but didn’t win,” Steve says. “I bought back in a lot, I can tell you that, I’m not a professional.” Regardless, Steve had fun racing a serious ‘Cuda for five years. As he got more experienced, he wanted to go faster.
By 2021 he had pulled the 440 and had Brian Tilburg build a 572-inch Hemi to go in its place. The Hemi had Stage V heads and a Keith Black block, a pair of Holley 950s, and an MSD Grid system that uses a crank trigger. The new engine made 1,017 hp on 114-octane VP and the car immediately went from running 10.80s to 9.60s in the quarter mile.
Today, Steve races the ‘Cuda in Nostalgia Super Stock and Hemi Super Stock races near his home in Muncy, Pennsylvania. We found him racing at Hemmings Musclepalooza in Maple Grove.
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Photo: Gooding & Company
The Mullin Collection was renowned for its Art Deco French masterpieces, but founder Peter Mullin's interests ran deeper, as Gooding & Company's April 26 sale at the now-closed museum in Oxnard, California, demonstrated. Offered along with some of the museum's concours veterans were a number of more humble vehicles, including many in barn-find condition. Quite a few of those had come from what was referred to as the Schlumpf Reserve Collection, dilapidated but restorable vehicles that had been gathered up over the years by brothers Hans and Fritz Schlumpf, and eventually sold to Mullin after the death of Fritz Schlumpf's widow in 2008.
In this setting, "barn find" doesn't necessarily mean "inexpensive." Some of these vehicles are valuable in their forlorn state, and it's a good bet that a number of these will receive full restorations or sympathetic reconditionings from their new owners, and sparkle someday on a concours lawn near you. What follows are some of the more interesting barn finds that crossed the block during that one-day, no-reserve auction.
We previously covered the $6 million sale of the 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Aravis cabriolet, and reviewed the other eight Bugattis that found new homes, including a few intriguing restoration candidates. You'll find that report here. Gooding had previously sold 20 Mullin Collection cars at its Amelia Island auction on February 29 and March 1, and four of the museum's most remarkable vehicles were previously donated to the Petersen Automotive Museum.
1938 Citroën 11 CV Traction Avant
Photo: Gooding & Company
<p>It's been 90 years since engineer André Lefèbvre and his team created what's considered to be the world's first front-wheel-drive, unit-body passenger car, setting a pattern that's still widely followed today. The 11CV, so called for the taxable horsepower rating of its 2.9-liter straight-six engine, was offered in a variety of body styles, including this attractive roadster. The story goes that this car was one of five roadsters imported by the Challenger Motor Car Company of Los Angeles, and was acquired sometime in the 1960s by a former World War II pilot and car enthusiast who intended to restore it. It sat in his garage until his death in 2015, when it was acquired by the Mullin Collection. Enthusiastic bidding brought the sale price to $19,040, nearly double the high estimate. It appears to need an engine, a transmission, an interior, and other components, so bringing it back to the road won't be for the faint of heart.</p>
1937 Wanderer W 25 K Roadster
Photo: Gooding & Company
<p>If German automaker Wanderer is remembered today, it's as one of the four companies merged in 1932 to form Auto Union, still represented in the interlocking rings in today's Audi logo. (The other three were Audi, DKW, and Horch.) It was the mid-sized brand among the four, and produced an unexciting range of cars until the W 25 K came along. Designed with the help of Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, the W 25 K featured a supercharged, 2-liter, straight-six engine to go with its revised styling. This unrestored roadster had been part of the Schlumpf collection since 1964 when it was bought by Mullin in 2008. It sold for $140,000 at the Gooding auction, above the high estimate. The only question now is, where does it go from here -- preservation class, or full-blown, 100-point restoration?</p>
1913 Bedelia Type 8
Photo: Gooding & Company
<p>The cyclecar enjoyed a sales boom in the U.S. and Europe between 1910 and the early 1920s, aimed at filling the gap between a motorcycle and conventional automobile. The Bedelia, built in Paris by Borbeau & Devaux, is recognized as the first successful cyclecar, with production running from 1909 to 1925. Bedelias were noteworthy for their tandem seating, with the passenger riding in front of the driver. Ahead of the passenger was the engine, in this case a V-twin rated at 10 hp. Cyclecars were light and cheap, and tended to have short lifespans. This example, formerly part of the Schlumpf Reserve, sold for $42,560, easily beating its $10,000-$20,000 estimate. </p>
1927 De Dion-Bouton Type KS
Photo: Gooding & Company
<p>De Dion-Bouton was one of the pioneers in the automotive world, turning out steam-powered vehicles before adopting the internal-combustion engine in the mid-1890s. The company never truly recovered after World War I, and stopped building passenger cars by 1931. The Type KS was a pretty conventional design, powered by a big 3.6-liter, four-cylinder engine, and the Torpedo coachwork was De Dion's own. This car's story is not known, though it's speculated that the ad painted on its sides means it was used to bring spectators to automobile races in Marseille. It had been stored for decades by the Schlumpfs before being acquired by the Mullin Collection, and it sold at auction for a modest $12,320. Would you keep it as is?</p>
1925 Altos Moto Derny Type 15
Photo: Gooding & Company
<p>In 2018, Denise Mueller-Korenek became the world's fastest person on a bicycle, setting a record of 183.931 mph on the salt flats of Bonneville. Her record was made possible by a pace vehicle, a modified dragster that punched a hole in the air as Mueller-Korenek followed a mere inches behind. Motor-paced speed records have been pursued for decades; this four-cylinder motorcycle was built for a successful attempt at the Montlhéry Velodrome in November 1925. It was designed so that the rider would sit upright, creating as big a windbreak for the cyclist as possible. It's powered by a four-cylinder Altos engine, and certainly looks like a cobbled-together one-off. It became part of the Schlumpf reserve, and then made its way to the Mullin. Gooding thought it might be worth $10,000 to $15,000, but the bidders thought otherwise, chasing this rusty bit of of history to $42,560. Wondering about that 1925 speed record? It was 120.958 kph, or about 75 mph. </p>
1929 Steyr Type 45
Photo: Gooding & Company
<p>If you had come to the Mullin Collection auction with less than $10,000 to spend, there were still a few cars you could have taken home with you. One of them was this Type 45 laundaulet, produced by the automotive branch of Austrian arms and bicycle maker Steyr. Like the Wanderer, the Steyr benefited from the work of Dr. Ferdinand Porsche. This example is outfitted with an occasional seat for a front passenger, a sliding glass partition, two jump seats in back, and a luggage rack on the roof, making it look as if it may have done taxi duty. A longtime part of the Schlumpf reserve, and sold here for just $7,280, this looks like an excellent preservation candidate.</p>
1919 Citroën Type A
Photo: Gooding & Company
<p>The U.S. has the Ford Model T, Britain has the Austin Seven, and France has the Citroën Type A, the first mass-produced automobile in Europe. Citroën built more than 24,000 examples of the four-cylinder Type A between 1919 and 1923, on its way to becoming one of the world's largest automakers. This jaunty body style is called the Coupe de Ville; there was also a four-seat tourer called the Torpédo; a Torpédo Sport; a Conduite Intérieure, or sedan; and a light truck. This example was reportedly stored in Switzerland from the mid-1960s to 2010. We don't know what kind of shape the 1.3-liter, 18-hp engine is in, but with a selling price of $13,440, there should be money left over to take care of mechanical needs. </p>
1918 Delage Type BK
Photo: Gooding & Company
<p>Delage is probably best recalled today for its Grand Prix exploits and <em>les </em><em>grandes routières</em> of the Thirties, but the company had a history that went all the way back to 1905. Delage first turned its attention to building luxury cars in 1913, with the straight-six-powered AK model; two years later, the AK was succeeded by the BK, which used the same 2.7-liter six. This example, which sports Torpédo coachwork, has been in storage for more than 60 years, ever since it was acquired by Fritz Schlumpf. It sold for $22,400 at the Gooding auction, squarely in the middle of the estimate range. What do you suppose lies in its future?</p>
1898 Bourgery
Photo: Gooding & Company
<p>Briton John Kemp Starley built the first successful "safety" bicycle, with both wheels the same size, in 1885; one year later, Germany's Carl Benz applied for a patent for his “vehicle powered by a gas engine.” Before the century was out, inventors were tinkering with combining the bicycle with the internal combustion engine. One of those inventors, Jean Bourgery, built possibly a dozen examples of his motorized two-wheeler before switching to automobile production in 1900. This example, believed to be one of three of Bourgery's surviving bikes, was acquired by a French collector in 1972, who sold it to the Mullin Collection in 2018. It sold for $25,000, or 2.5 times Gooding's high estimate.</p>
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