The Fin Man Archives

I like to boast that I am the proud owner of a 1960 Chrysler New Yorker two-door hardtop. That’s the good news. Bad news? It’s just a 1/25 scale model by Jo-Han Models. 

The Fin Man would love a garage here…

Lou salutes Velvet Freeze by lifting his empty cup which just moments before contained a chilly orange tornado.__________________________

The FIN MAN is going to take a detour off Old Car Causeway onto Memory Lane today to explore a related subject of nostalgic significance to all the baby boomers in the audience.

I’m often asked how I decide what car or truck to write about each week. While the answer is not a simple one, as there are many ways my weekly feature car or truck comes to press.  Sometimes the answer is just around the nearest corner.

Was it coincidence, or was it inside trading of styling secrets? We may never know, but Chevrolet and Ford, long-time rivals of the auto industry, both had a major styling change in the 1933 model year featuring a new vee-shaped radiator.

What you see pictured above is not exactly what it seems. You may recognize the handsome lines of this beautiful hot rod as those of a 1933 Ford, 3-window coupe, but the entire car, from the ground up, is a fabrication mimicking the original Ford car. That’s why it is called a ‘built’ hot rod, a car that was built from the get-go by Jim Davis with a little help from his son Canon.

TKCS-StL volunteer Luis Hernandez and The FIN MAN(tm) take a minute for a photo op with the stunning 1960 Dodge Matador coupe which Everett and Holly Moore drove in from Kansas City for the HCCM Concours d’Elegance on Easter Sunday. NOTE: Holly Moore’s name was mistakenly listed as ‘Molly’ in the printed edition of this story. My apology to Holly.

First, please note the following corrections regarding the story as printed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch of Monday, April 9th:

1. The Moon Meet II is NOT THIS WEEKEND as the story read.  THIS weekend is the annual Ranken Technical College Alumnae Car Show on Sunday, April 15th.  Lou, Roy (the wonder dog) and myself will be there.

2. The dates of the Moon Meet II (as posted in Monday’s story) are correct, being Thursday, April 19th through Sunday, April 22nd.  HOWEVER, The only event, of the above referenced weekend, that is open to the public, will be ‘Made in St. Louis, The Early Years’ a display of pre WWII vehicles made right here in St. Louis and held on Saturday, April 21st at the St. Louis Museum of Transportation.  These marques will include the Moon, Diana, Ruxton… all made by the Moon Motor Company in St. Louis as well as Fords, Chevrolets and possibly others.

PLEASE NOTE:  The tour of the Hunter Automobile Collection, the Mungenast Motorcycle Museum and the Moon family manion is OPEN TO MOON CAR CLUB MEMBERS AND GUESTS ONLY!!   

For detailed information on Saturday’s event, visit the club’s web site at www.mooncarclub.com.

Anyone who reads this column on a regular basis, may have noticed a deliberate pattern in my subject choices.