Saturday, August 13, 2011

Ghost Car

World's only remaining 'Ghost Car' headed for auction... incredible images of the Plexiglas Pontiac expected to fetch almost $500,000.00.

An extraordinary transparent car is set to fetch as much as $475,000 when it goes up for auction.

The motor, dubbed the 'Ghost Car', is a Pontiac Deluxe Six which, bizarrely, has been covered in the see-through material Plexiglas.

Built in 1939 by General Motors and chemical company Rohm and Haas at a cost of $25,000, it was the first transparent full-sized car to be made in America .



One of a kind: The 1939 motor is a Pontiac Deluxe Six which has been covered in Plexiglas, developed just a few years earlier in 1933



Innovative: General Motors and chemical company Rohm and Haas built the vehicle for $25,000 - an astronomical price during the 1930s

Billed as a vision of the future, it was made for the 1939-40 New York World's Fair, where it became a sensation at General Motors' 'Highways and Horizons' pavilion; and it continues to cause a stir today.

Just two were ever made and this model, which has a three-speed manual transmission, and is thought to be the last of its kind.

It has clocked up just 86 miles in its lifetime; and now its set to go on sale for the first time since the early 1980s. It last sold for an undisclosed amount.

American auctioneers RM expect it to sell for between $275,000 and $475,000 when it goes under the hammer on July 30.



Seventy-two years of wear: The Plexiglas does have some chips and cracks but is mostly in good condition, according to auction notes



Not for touring: The collectible is unlikely to be seen on the road



Transparent: Wires and a spare wheel can be seen through the trunk of the car

A spokesman for RM Auctions said: 'The car is in a remarkable state of preservation.

'It's a testament to the longevity of Plexiglas in an era when automotive plastics tended to self-destruct within a few years.

'Although it has acquired a few chips and cracks, it is structurally sound and cosmetically clear, showing off the Ghost Car's innards as it did in 1939.

'This motor still turns heads as much as it ever did. It is not, obviously, suited for touring but as a unique artifact from automotive and cultural history.'



Mechanics: The model has an L-head six-cylinder engine, coil spring independent front suspension, live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs, and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes



Turning back the clock: The dial on the 1939 car shows the wear of its 72 years



At the wheel: The steering wheel features rings of chrome-plated hardware, and Pontiac 's insignia in red



Artifact: The car has clocked up just 86 miles in its lifetime; and will to go on sale for the first time since the early 1980s

The car was the result of a collaboration between General Motors and Rohm & Haas, who developed the ground-breaking material Plexiglas in 1933.

The material went on to be used in military planes during World War II and then expanded in to signs, lighting, fixtures, trains and other cars.

Rohm & Haas used drawings for the Pontiac four-door Touring Sedan to create an exact replica body out of the transparent acrylic.

It was completed with structural metal underneath, which was given a copper wash, and chrome-plated hardware.



Sensation: Billed as a vision of the future, the car was made for the 1939-40 New York World's Fair in San Francisco , pictured here



Vintage: The Transparent Car, on display at General Motors' 'Highways and Horizons' pavilion in 1939, has continued to cause a stir since its debut
A BRIEF HISTORY ON THE PIONEERING THE PLEXIGLAS PONTIAC :
The collaboration between GM and Rohm & Haas was made for the 1930-1940 World's Fair in San Francisco
At a cost of $25,000, it was the first transparent full-sized car to be made in America
Two Ghost Cars were made but the 1939-1940 Pontiac Deluxe Six is the only one known to survive
It toured the nation's dealerships and went on display at the Smithsonian until 1947, and was subsequently owned by a series of Pennsylvania Pontiac dealers
This model has a three-speed transmission, a six-cylinder engine, coil spring independent front suspension, live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes

Rubber moldings were made in white, as were the car’s tires. The only recent mechanical work has been replacement of the fuel lines.

The model also boasts an L-head six-cylinder engine, coil spring independent front suspension, live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs, and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes.

According to the GM Heritage Center, a second car, on a Torpedo Eight chassis, was hurriedly constructed for the 1940 Golden Gate Exposition on Treasure Island, a man-made island in San Francisco Bay .

Once their respective showcases had closed, both 'Plexiglas Pontiacs ,' or 'Ghost Cars' as they were sometimes known, toured the nation’s dealerships. The 1939-40 Deluxe Six is the only one known to survive.

Following the dealership tour, it went on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington , D.C. and was reportedly there until 1947.

It was later owned by a succession of Pennsylvania Pontiac dealers. It appeared at the first annual meet of the new Pontiac-Oakland Club International in 1973 and was purchased by Don Barlup of New Cumberland , Pennsylvania . Barlup commissioned a partial restoration from S&H Pontiac of Harrisburg and sold it to collector Leo Gephart in 1979.

The current owner’s father purchased it from Gephart in the early 1980s, and it has remained in the same family ever since.

Not surprisingly, it has no conventional vehicle identification number; even the machined boss for the engine number is blank.

A collection of period photos and other memorabilia accompanies the car, which still turns heads as much as it ever did.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Watch some doofuss buy the thing and then have it painted.

SER said...

Jam-man, either that or he’ll sand it to spray clean lacquer on it!

kkdither said...

I'd put in an offer, but I'd be afraid that my skirt would hike a bit too high while shifting.

Toad said...

If I were a wealthey man, THAT car would be MINE. I had two early 1950s Pontiacs with Flathead Eights. What a motor, what a car. One was a "53" the other "54" I loved those cars.

Huck Finn said...

Toad. I feel so immature! My first car was a 1962 Chevy Biscayne. I learned how to wrench by tearing apart a 1959 Studebaker Lark. There were no cell phones to take pictures of assemblies. I painstakingly drew all linkages and problem areas before dismantling. Chiltons of the day were mostly text as they assumed prior knowledge (or the photography was just pure crap). Everything got torn apart to clean it and see how it worked. I think the only parts that were bought was a carb rebuild kit. It started and ran well when I was done. I was 12 years old, and no, Dad was too busy to stand at my side. By that time he figured I could sink or swim and wasn't too worried. What made me proudest was non extra parts.

OrbsCorbs said...

That car is beautiful, gorgeous.

kk, lol.

Toad, in high school I had a friend who had an early 50's Pontiac. I don't remember the exact year or model. I remember the windshield wipers ran on engine vacuum. Anyway, that was a hell of a car. We would go out to live music they had regularly at Johnson Park back then. On the way back, my buddy would scream down the park's twisting road and that Pontiac held beautifully.

SER said...

My first car was a ’56 Buick. It had a Dynaflow transmission in it which puked out. At the time I was working with my dad at a Shell station here in town and a friend of mine who was a mechanic at the Plymouth dealer (Kovak Motors) we pull the tranny out and it was on the bench.

One of our customers who was a “know it all” walked up and asked what it was, my dad just said it was a supercharger out of a diesel engine! The guy said, “Oh now is recognize it”! I thought I was going to tinkle in my pants trying not to laugh. When the guy left, we had to quit working because we couldn’t stop from laugh’in so hard!

Toad said...

Huck, Your a lot like my dad. He thought about, and studied the project long before he took It apart. Frankly he could do anything. I suspect he learned the same way you did. I know your not 96 years old, which Is how old he would be In Sept. somehow wherever you were raised, allowed you to tinker as you did, instead of going out getting drunk, and wasting your time. You were creative, so was he. Amazing talent. You must have had a mentor. Who was It?

Toad said...

Huck, After all that talk, I forgot to tell you about him taking the Head off of that Flat Head 8, and took all the valves out, the tiny springs, and all of those little part, and took the valves over to Gordon Auto Parts and had the valves ground, put It all back together, without instructions, and It ran like a top.

drewzepmeister said...

If I were a collector of cars, this car would be a clear choice to get...