1963 Gillig Model 590 Porsche Race Car Hauler

This 1963 Gillig Model 590 has been restored and rebuilt into the ideal hauler for vintage Porsches, it’s been reskinned with a new aluminum-alloy body finished in red and gray Porsche livery, and it’s powered by a 7.0 liter Detroit Diesel 6-71 turbodiesel inline-six.

Ever since the earliest days of motor racing people have needed race car haulers, many of which crisscross the content during the racing season going from circuit to circuit, and they often become impromptu party venues after successful races.

Fast Facts – The Gillig Model 590

• Gillig was originally founded in 1890 as a coachbuilder, creating bodies for chassis supplied by automobile manufacturers.
• By the 1930s they had diversified into building transit-style school busses, they would soon cease all automotive work and focus solely on bus building.
• During WWII Gillig built a vast number of “Victory Trailer” trailer buses for the US armed forces, they were used for troop transport at military bases.
• The Gillig Model 590 you see here has been rebuilt into a classic Porsche race car hauler, it’s been reskinned in alloy, given a period-correct Porsche livery, and fully restored throughout.

The Gillig Brothers

The Gillig Brothers founded their carriage and wagon shop in San Francisco in 1890. They gradually shifted into automotive coachbuilding to meet the demand of the the early days of the automobile, when many manufacturers would sell a rolling chassis that still needed to have a body built and fitted.

This transporter is ideally suited for either race car hauling or show car hauling, with enough room in the back for two cars.

By the 1930s the company had started to diversify, using their skilled workers to build school busses, this soon became so lucrative that the company ceased their coachbuilding business and focussed on building busses full time.

During WWII production was switched over for the war effort, Gillig built countless examples of “Victory Trailer” trailer buses for the US armed forces, used for transporting troops on and off military bases.

After the war Gillig grew to become one of the biggest bus manufacturers in the United States, they remained a market leader in school bus manufacturing until the 1970s when the market began to dry up.

Gillig began to pivot to transit bus manufacturing and by the 1980s they had ceased school bus manufacturing to focus on transit busses. Today Gillig remains one of the biggest transit bus manufacturers in the USA.

Thanks to the 7.0 liter Detroit Diesel 6-71 turbodiesel engine and the Allison automatic transmission, this Gillig is both more powerful and a little easier to drive than it would have been with the original powertrain from 1963.

The Gillig Model 590 Porsche Hauler Shown Here

The 1963 Gillig Model 590 you see here has been completely rebuilt into a period Porsche hauler, ideally suited to hauling race cars but also perfect for transporting rare classic Porsches to shows and concours events.

The full nut and bolt rebuild of this Model 590 was extensive, it was given new aluminum alloy bodywork, custom aluminum Budd wheels, and it’s powered by a rebuilt 7.0 liter Detroit Diesel 6-71 turbodiesel straight-six paired with an Allison automatic transmission.

The red, white, and gray livery features large “Porsche” text down either side accompanied by a Porsche logo, with additional Porsche logos on the front and rear.

Though it looks like a period-correct 1960s-era race car hauler there have been a number of more modern additions including air conditioning systems, Cummins Onan diesel generators, side and rear-view cameras, black walnut flooring, and aluminum rear ramps for getting the cars in and out.

If you’d like to read more about this transporter or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing on Bring A Trailer. It’s currently being auctioned live online out of Atlanta, Georgia.

Images courtesy of Kenneth Midgett via Bring A Trailer

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For Sale: A Rare 1969 Chevrolet Corvette Sportwagon

The Chevrolet Corvette Sportwagon was never actually built by Chevrolet, it was an aftermarket kit developed for the C3 Corvette that solved its single biggest problem – the total lack of useable trunk space.

When the third generation Corvette was released in 1967 it proved popular thanks to its shark-inspired styling. The one key drawback was the fact that there was no trunk lid, and the small trunk area was only accessible through the interior of the car behind the seats.

Fast Facts – The Chevrolet Corvette Sportwagon

• The Chevrolet Corvette Sportwagon was built using a kit supplied by a small number of manufacturers in the United States, primarily supplied by Chuck Miller, then by John Greenwood in redesigned form.
• The Sportwagon kit included a new fiberglass rear roof section that turned the C3 Corvette into a shooting brake (two-door station wagon), vastly increasing the rear cargo area.
• It’s said that the first Sportwagon design was created for a drummer in a rock ‘n roll band who had a Corvette and wanted to be able to fit his drums in the back.
• It’s not known exactly how many Sportwagons were built as they were sold as kits for homebuilders, most estimate that just a few dozen were completed.

The Sportwagon – An American Shooting Brake

The “Shooting Brake” automotive body style that can be best described as a two-door coupe station wagon. It is believed to have been invented by the Brits, with the long rear cargo area being used for laying out guns and other equipment while on a hunt – hence the name shooting brake.

These two images show the cutting requited to fit a (Greenwood) Sportwagon roof to a standard C3 Corvette, the finished car is shown on the right.

Relatively few shooting brakes have been made by major manufacturers, the exceptions being cars like the Volvo 1800ES, Reliant Scimitar GTE, Chevrolet Nomad, BMW Z3 Coupé, Ferrari GTC4 Lusso, and the rare Aston Martin DB5 Shooting Brake.

Many shooting brakes were build by coachbuilders, dating back to the early days of the 20th century. More recently companies like Greenwood developed their own kits for cars like the C3 Corvette specifically to add practicality to the model by increasing cargo space.

The Chevrolet Corvette Sportwagon

The Chevrolet Corvette Sportwagon conversion kit was developed in two stages by two individuals, the idea was conceived by Chuck Miller when he was approached by a drummer in a rock band who wanted to be able to fit his drum kit into his C3 Corvette.

Miller developed a new fiberglas rear roof section that would turn the car into a station wagon, or shooting brake as the body style is classically known.

The Corvette has had a fiberglass body since the C1 was first introduced in 1953, this made the fabrication process far easier as it was just a matter of cutting out the rear trunk top section of the body and bonding the new fiberglass roof section.

The design of the Sportwagon roof was well done, it blends in very well with the lines of the original car and looks like it could have been factory made.

The original design by Miller was undeniably attractive, but it lacked a little in the practicality department as the rear window was fixed in place and not openable, this required all the cargo to be loaded through the interior over the folded down seat backs.

A second design was developed later in the 1970s by John Greenwood, Greenwood’s design included an opening rear window and a number of other refinements, significantly improving the overall practicality of the concept.

The Greenwood Sportwagon was first shown at SEMA in 1976 where many orders were taken, it was then produced by Greenwood for a number of years as a kit for homebuilders to fit to their own C3 Corvettes.

There are relatively few surviving examples of the Chevrolet Corvette Sportwagon in existence, no one knows exactly how many where made, so they’re highly sought after by collectors.

The 1969 Chevrolet Corvette Sportwagon Shown Here

The car you see here is a 1969 Chevrolet Corvette Sportwagon that uses one of the rare original kits developed by Chuck Miller. Unlike many of the later Sportwagon conversions this one has no side windows, it was called the “Panelwagon,” and the rear window doesn’t open.

The space in the rear of the Sportwagon is vastly increased, making the car much more practical than the original C3 Corvette if you need to carry luggage or other cargo.

The cargo space is accessed through the interior of the car, you open the door and then lean the seat forwards to put things in and take them out.

This car has a number of other custom touches, the pop-up headlights have been removed to give the front of the car a smoother finish, new headlights were then installed behind the black grille up front.

The car is fitted with 15” turbine-style wheels fitted with BFGoodrich Radial T/A white-letter tires, and it has power-assisted four-wheel disc brakes. The interior was reupholstered in black vinyl sourced from Al Knoch Interiors in 2021.

Power is provided by a 350 cubic inch V8 crate engine featuring a single Edelbrock carburetor mounted to a Torker II intake manifold and an HEI distributor.

The car is currently being offered in a live online auction on Bring A Trailer out of West Harrison, Indiana. At the time of writing there are still a few days left to bid and you can click here to visit the listing.

Images courtesy of Bring A Trailer

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Engine Swap Potential: You Can Buy This Ferrari 612 Scaglietti V12

This is a 65º V12 engine from a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, once fitted into a car it produces 533 bhp at 7,250 rpm and 434 lb ft of torque at 5,250 rpm.

As with all Ferrari engines, the V12 from the 612 Scaglietti is a work of art. It has double overhead cams operating four valves per cylinder and a displacement of 5,748cc (351 cubic inches).

The compression ratio is 11.2:1, it has a bore x stroke of 3.50″ x 3.03″, and the engine makes use of an aluminum alloy block and heads to help reduce weight.

Ferrari engineers developed the 612 Scaglietti as the company’s second all-aluminum vehicle after the 360 Modena. It has an alloy spaceframe that was developed in conjunction with Alcoa, the body was then welded into place over the top for increased rigidity.

The front and rear views of the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. Image courtesy of Ferrari.

From the outset the 612 Scaglietti was designed to comfortably accommodate four adults in a 2+2 seating configuration, with enough head and leg room for the rear passengers.

The car also has a trunk with more room than you might be used to in a Ferrari, though despite all of this extra room the car is still capable of almost touching 200 mph.

The engine you see here is due to be sold by Artcurial on the 20th of March with a price guide of $5,500 – $8,800 USD. The listing is a little light on details but we do know it comes on a red display pedestal and it looks to be largely complete.

It will probably end up on display in a Ferrari collection somewhere, however there’s also a possibility that it’ll end up being dropped into a 612 Scaglietti that needs a new engine, it might be pulled apart for parts, or it might (hopefully) get installed into something ridiculous like an AMC Gremlin.

If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

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The AMC Eagle SX/4 – An American 4×4 Sports Car That Was Ahead Of Its Time

The AMC Eagle SX/4 was a car decades ahead of its time, it offered a sports car body with increased ground clearance and a four-wheel drive powertrain, creating an entirely new automotive genre overnight.

The larger but closely related AMC Eagle had been released in 1979, it’s widely regarded as the first American “Crossover” vehicle that combined road car comfort and handling with a four-wheel drive system and increased ground clearance for the occasional off-road excursion.

Fast Facts – The AMC Eagle SX/4

• The AMC Eagle SX/4 was one of the world’s first four-wheel drive sports crossover vehicles, it combined the body of the AMC Spirit with a 4×4 drivetrain and increased ground clearance.
• AMC introduced the Eagle SX/4 in 1981 to accompany the larger AMC Eagle line of 4×4 vehicles that had been introduced in 1979.
• The series proved immediately popular for AMC, and helped keep the company afloat as their Jeep line of 4x4s suffered waning popularity during the 1979 Oil Crisis due to their poor mileage.
• The AMC Eagle SX/4 was powered by either the Iron Duke 2.5 liter inline-four or the 4.2 liter inline-six cylinder engines, the automatic transmission came as standard, and cars either had full time four-wheel drive or switchable 2×4 / 4×4 systems.

The Sports Car That Doesn’t Always Need A Road

Period reviews for the AMC Eagle SX/4 were overwhelmingly positive, albeit often a little bemused by the unusual nature of this new sports car with higher ground clearance and a four-wheel drive system. The usefulness of such a vehicle was undeniable – particularly for those who live through long snowy, icy winters.

Above Image: This is a period advertisement for the AMC Eagle SX/4, these cars became popular in northern latitudes with regular heavy snowfalls, as the four-wheel drive system made them much easier to handle in slippery conditions.

Magazine reviews from the likes of Popular Mechanics and Car and Driver lauded the capabilities of the quirky new crossover, with the Popular Mechanics review coinciding with a particularly snowy Detroit winter.

At the time, passenger cars with four-wheel drive systems were largely unheard of. The Jensen FF two-door four-wheel drive GT car had been released in England back in the late 1960s of course, but the AMC Eagle pre-dated the Audi Quattro and the many 4×4 passenger cars that were to come.

AMC had hired the company behind the Jensen FF who had developed an all-wheel drive system designed for passenger cars, “FF” stands for “Ferguson Formula,” the name chosen for the system by Ferguson Research Ltd.

The Eagle SX/4 had been created by taking the AMC Spirit, a fastback unibody sports car coupe, and adding a variant of the four-wheel drive system used on the full-size AMC Eagle, which had been co-developed by AMC and Ferguson Research.

The AMC Eagle predated the SX/4 by two years, and it had been developed by taking the AMC Concord, offered in station wagon, coupe, and four-door sedan versions, and adding elevated suspension and a four-wheel drive powertrain.

This is a period ad for the AMC Eagle, the larger 4×4 four-door station wagon in the model line that used the body from the AMC Concord.

On its release in 1981, AMC billed the Eagle SX/4 as “The Sports Car That Doesn’t Always Need A Road,” and while this may have been leaning a little towards hyperbole it does clearly demonstrate their intentions for the model.

The End Of AMC

Ultimately the innovative Eagle and Eagle SX/4 wouldn’t be enough to save AMC, the company suffered serious financial losses in the mid-1980s and it was eventually sold out to Chrysler in 1987.

Chrysler were mainly interested in the Jeep brand that was owned by AMC, as well as their factories and expansive nationwide dealership network.

The AMX Eagle and SX/4 would remain in production until 1988 when they were axed by Chrysler. Today the cars are looked back on has historically important given their innovative nature, but they haven’t yet become collectors items outside of their own niche enthusiast group.

This is an original ad for the AMC Eagle SX/4, the smaller 4×4 sports car coupe that was based on the AMC Spirit body.

The AMC Eagle SX/4 Shown Here

The car you see here is a one-owner, six-cylinder 1982 AMC Eagle SX/4 that is said to have been sitting unused since 1995.

The seller spent some time getting the car back into running and driving condition, the car is now operational and the 2×4/4×4 switch is working, however it’s clear that plenty more work needs to be done to get the car back into proper road worthy condition.

There is a highly active AMC Eagle community online that specializes in sourcing parts and helping to keep the cars on the road, and given the unique nature of the cars it seems only a matter of time before the wider classic car community rediscovers them

If you’d like to take the project on you can click here to visit the eBay listing, it’s being offered out of Hatboro, Pennsylvania and at the time of writing there are a few days left to bid.

This is the drivetrain of the AMC Eagle and Eagle SX/4 cars, it utilizes a live axle rear on leaf springs, with independent suspension on coil springs up front.

Images courtesy of eBay Motors

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