Autoblog

Auto manufacturers have a far less sentimental relationship with their concept cars than we do. Many of the most exciting ideas ever manifested in automotive form have been unceremoniously disposed of once they outlived their usefulness. As car people, we abhor this practice and the equally diabolical effect it has on the price of those cars lucky enough to survive. In the early 1960s, Ford exhibited flights of fancy in their own Custom Car Caravan, at the 1964 World's Fair in New York, and other shows as well. Virtually none of the vehicles produced for those exhibits survive, but one of the few will be crossing the block at Barrett-Jackson in less than three months.

The Ford Thunderbird Italien married a Zagato-riffic roofline with the rocket-age looks of the 1960s T-Birds, and created a car with arresting style. Vince Gardner of Dearborn Steel Tubing handled design and fabrication for Ford. The Italien was one of several show cars that the firm turned out for Ford. Under the aerodynamic pretenses of the roof are four leather bucket seats; two front, two rear. No sliding from side to side along an expansive bench seat in this puppy, you're coddled in the finest wares that Detroit could whip up in the slide-rule sixties. The reason this particular car managed to escape was that actor Dale Robertson took it under his wing, and it later wound up in the care of Don Chambers, a Ford collector. Tom Maruska, who has owned the car since 2006 is working to return this rare bird to its original spec. Now, which Hollywood car nut's got dibs on the Interceptor?

[Source: Motor Trend]

Time to stretch your legs! Head to the snack bar and get something to munch on. Suggestions pop up on the screen in case you need some inspiration. The concessions are multitudinous, from sweet candy bars to crispy fish sandwiches (don't they look scrumptious?), you can push your cholesterol way into bad numbers for just a few bucks. If the first horror show got you all wound up, there's even a smorgasbord of cigarette selections to soothe your frayed nerves, just in time to run back before The Terror starts!

Missed Part 1? See it here.

If you miss drive-ins, we've got it all worked out for you. How you recreate the experience is up to you. The simplest method would be to just plop your laptop on the hood, but the screen is a bit small for that, and the sound would be worse than those little speakers that clipped on the windows. Kicking the video out via HDMI to an LCD or plasma would be better, you could even mount the screen in the garage! We don't recommend idling the motor, though.

Most drive-ins now have either been turned into bumper crops of McMansions, or stand barren. It's an eerie sight to see orderly rows of 1-meter high poles standing at attention in a sea of failing asphalt, vegetation pushing through the cracks, detritus blowing like tumbleweeds across the sun-bleached decay. Back in the day, double-features of spooky movies were de-rigeur at drive-ins, it's ironic now that the drive-in would be a perfect setting for one of those creepy films. Details of what's on the marquee are after the jump, and it's double-feature night (Well, day, really. -Ed.) at the Autoblog Drive-In, so be sure to be back from the snack bar for Part 2, coming soon.

If Cobras don't do it for you on track days, you can now make the same choice that was available in the '60s. While Caroll Shelby was stuffing FE Fords into mild-mannered AC Aces, Bill Thomas Race Cars was developing a competitor called the Cheetah that could run with the fire breathing Cobras, as well as keep pace with Ferrari's 250. The original cars used a 377 cubic inch V8 to speed their way to 11 SCCA victories in 1964. While Bill Thomas had friends at the General, Chevrolet backed out well before the 100 necessary for homologation were built, putting the first nail in the car's coffin. A shop fire finally killed the Cheetah effort. Before disaster struck, Thomas was able to produce only about 16-23 Cheetahs.

One of those original cars was used to help Arizona's BTM whip up a continuation series, along with the original drawings. Thomas has granted BTM the rights to build a new Cheetah, which differs from the original in details, but retains the spirit. There are some vintage Chevy pieces in the new Cheetahs, but the engine is now a ZZ4 350 with aluminum heads. Not underwhelming by any stretch, and it's only got 1,780 pounds to yank around anyway, so acceleration will be brisk. Before you dream of untwisting your favorite road with this thing, take note that it's not street legal. No matter, it's still cool to see something other than a Cobra. While the Cobra is capable, we've seen so much of them in pictures and replicas that we're desensitized. The Cheetah, on the other hand, would stick out more than a Cobra Daytona, and could offer your trackmates serious hell at a vintage racing event.

[Source: Inside Line]