A Sneak Peek Of What’s Inside Old Cars’ October 1, 2026, Issue!
Brian Earnest catches up with the owners of a 1971 Plymouth Duster 340
Ralph Michaels can’t put a finger on exactly why, but he just had to have that little white MoPar. The white 1971 Plymouth Duster 340 was tired and didn’t look all that great. Michaels didn’t know who owned it, how it had been driven, or where it had been.
But he kept seeing that Duster, and for some reason it kept calling his name.
“I was pregnant with our second daughter — this was back in 1989,” laughs Ralph’s wife, Ann. “We were taking a ride down by the lake and … he sees this beautiful car. ‘I gotta have that car.’ So he stops and puts his business card on the car. ‘I wanna buy your car.’”
“Well, I’d always see it on the drive over to my mom’s house,” Ralph recalls. “And I put a number of notes on the car. ‘I’ll buy the car — cash.’ ‘I’ll give you a car’ … whatever.”
Eventually, the owner cracked and cut a deal to sell the flashy Plymouth to the couple from Milwaukee, Wis.
Ron Kawalke visits Petroliana Paradise
Just as it has happened for most of the event’s 40-year run, petroliana enthusiasts gathered in Des Moines, Iowa, in early August for the Iowa Gas swap meet held at the Airport Holiday Inn.
For the first 10 years of the swap meet, it was held at various locations in Des Moines, according to meet registrar Stacey Hoyt, whose father, Ron Hoyt, is co-founder of Iowa Gas. When the event eventually moved to the Airport Holiday Inn, it found its long-term home, which features both indoor and outdoor vendor spaces.
This year’s Iowa Gas swap meet, held Aug. 3-5, featured 150 vendors.
Gerald Perschbacher looks back at 50 years with Old Cars
Among the longest-termed writers whose articles appear in Old Cars on a regular basis is Dr. Perschbacher, whose submissions and columns have been in print for 50 years as of this past June. His efforts with OC include serving as chief judge for the Golden Quill Award, compiling “Club Clips” and authoring several columns and features in the publication. Dr. Perschbacher is always available to help with editorial needs at the drop of a hat, and we remain grateful!
Michael Petti and a one-family 1957 that finally finished its restoration
John Dickert, of Allentown, Pa., finally has his family’s 1957 Pontiac Star Chief convertible back to how he remembers it when his father drove it home from the dealership. It was a long road that involved several stops in restoration shops, but after nearly 60 years off the road, the Pontiac is again the chief of the road.
We asked and you showed us your MoPars
Old Cars subscribers show off their Chrysler family rides
Ken Gross covers the 50th Annual Rétromobile
If you need a midwinter fix for your swap meet longings, here’s a solution. Each February, as they have for decades, enthusiasts from all over the world gather at the sprawling, multi-building Paris Expo Center at Porte de Versailles, France, for an enormous indoor swap meet that takes place inside several huge, action-packed exhibit halls.
Al Rogers talks about 1932, and why it was a defining year for Pontiac
In the depths of the Great Depression, Pontiac shed its companion-car role, inherited Oakland’s mantle in General Motors’ ladder and fielded a surprisingly rich lineup of Sixes and Eights that pointed toward its future.
As Pontiac marks its 100th anniversary in 2026, the 1932 model year deserves a fresh look. It was not the marque’s birth year, but it was the year in which Pontiac stopped being a companion car and became the name on the company door.
Michael Petti talks about Divco’s centenary
The first Divco milk trucks rolled down the streets in 1926, and Jay Crist’s Divco museum in Manchester, Pa., has several significant Divco vehicles from that century of history.
Ron Kawalke speaks on the history of the World War II scrap drive
One statistic alone defines the importance of our country’s scrap drives during World War II. During U.S. involvement in World War I (1917-’18), each American soldier required an average of 90 lbs. of steel used in equipment and ammunition, according to the Conservation Division of the War Production Board. That average ballooned to 4,900 lbs. during World War II (1941-’45).
Bob Tomaine ponders about going for a drive in the Brass era
I know of a group of Model T owners who have no formal organization, but get together on a regular basis to drive around together on a Saturday. Some of their cars are Brass Era, some are later, but when it comes to Model Ts, that doesn’t make a lot of difference.
Bob Tomaine highlights a fabulous 1941 Packard 110
The idea of a “more reasonable” figure might seem to be a stretch when discussing a Packard, but the 110 and 120 were designed from the start to be affordable in comparison to the senior models.
Old Cars reader, Dave Jewett goes ‘truckin’ again’ with his 1972 GMC
When I was 15 years old in 1977, I bought a 1972 GMC truck that became my first daily driver. It cost me $1,500 and had 52,000 miles, a 307-cid V-8, automatic transmission, disc brakes and a cap on the bed under which I built two bunks for sleeping when camping. It was the first vehicle I drove to high school and to my first “real” job at a local Shell station in Brockton, Mass.
LeRoy Drittler visits Clint’s Classic Cars of Tennesee
Clint Bush’s dad loved to collect old cars, and when Clint was in his teens, he also started buying old cars. Now the collection numbers somewhere between 150 and 200 vehicles.
These articles and a whole lot more can be found inside the October 1, 2026, issue of Old Cars.
Not a subscriber? Now is the time to find out what old car lovers have been loving since 1971.
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