This Week’s Weird and Wonderful—May 30, 2025

This week’s collection of Weird and Wonderful was extremely hard to narrow down. The list of live auctions included some bucket-list classics like a Mercedes Gullwing, Maserati Ghibli Spyder, and a four-cam 356A Carrera, but these are cars that need no introduction. Instead, we’ll be focusing on less well-known, but still deserving fare. That’s our way of saying that this list below is by no means comprehensive, and there are many other wheeled wonders to explore on our live auctions page.

Enjoy this week’s Weird & Wonderful, and let us know what other auctions you find noteworthy in the comments.

1. Ex–Nixon Estate 1972 Ford Bronco Bill Stroppe Project

This is one Ford that didn’t pardon Nixon, and that should absolve it from any allegations of partisanship. The important thing to note here is that this Bronco is “Ex-Nixon Estate,” meaning it wasn’t the President’s truck, but was one of two ordered by the Department of Civic and Government Affairs for use at Nixon’s “Western White House”—La Casa Pacifica in San Clemente, California. These Medium Goldenrod Broncos were then shipped up the road to Bill Stroppe for an incognito Baja conversion. This is the second Stroppe Bronco we’ve seen this month, and this one is a running project that received a good chunk of basic maintenance in preparation for sale, and has the important Stroppe bits in place.

2. 1991 Porsche 911 DLS by Singer

This incredible Singer DLS comes to us as part of the Gruppe P collection, from Bond Group and Road Scholars. The car is #73 of 75 built in collaboration with Williams Advanced Engineering as part of their Dynamics and Lightweighting Study project. It’s honestly difficult to succinctly summarize the list of unique features on this car, save to say that every picture in the gallery reveals some special piece of engineering magic.

The normally-aspirated 4.0L flat-six was built by Williams, a departure for Singer, and makes 500 horsepower while revving to the 9,300-rpm redline on its 11,000-rpm golden tachometer. To our ears, it sounds just like a 962.

3. 1957 Ghia Crown Imperial Limousine

Carrozzeria Ghia had a well-articulated design philosophy in the 1950s, but here it was superseded by Virgin Exner’s “Forward Look.” Ghia took on the assignment of converting his Crown Imperial coupe into a limousine, and completed 36 examples in their Turin facility in 1957. This was no mere chop-and-stretch job; the added bodywork required around 150 lbs. of lead filler and copious amounts of sanding to blend. The cars were extensively road-tested and upgraded where necessary to handle the additional weight and length. Interiors were tailored in fine imported leathers and broadcloths, and carpets were made from mouton lambskins. Each car took a team of Italian craftsman approximately six months to complete—that’s a lot of smoke breaks!

The original intent of the interior divider was to give the owners privacy in the back. Today, it seems like a nice way to enjoy the sound of the 392 Hemi in peace while ferrying the family around.

4. 1996 Buick Riviera Supercharged Convertible

This drop-top Riviera is another coachbuilt American car, though it was subject to a much less extensive conversion than the Imperial above. Coach Builders Limited performed around 10 of these roof-ectomy procedures from their facility in High Springs, Florida, and it’s fair to assume none were sold to out-of-state customers. We have to say, the result looks quite tidy from here. Also, this listing reminded us how nice of a job Buick did with the nautical-style dash on their ’90s flagship.

5. 1966 Sunbeam Imp Mark 2 and 1.5L-Powered 1964 Triumph Herald 1200 Convertible

We love a good Small British Car, especially less-seen weirdos like this Sunbeam Imp and Triumph Herald. The Imp is a rear-engine, Scottish-built microcar, engineered in part by Michael Parkes, who later became a Formula One driver and the engineering lead on the Lancia Stratos. No wonder it was a capable club racer and rally competitor. This example is left-hand-drive, fortunately for us, and received a multi-year refurbishment in the 2000s. Features like the hinged rear window and fold-down rear bench are particularly smart in a car this size.

The Herald was Triumph’s entry in the subcompact economy car category, though it was of far more conventional construction than the Imp. It still managed to pack two rows of seats its 91″ wheelbase. This example is a refurbished 1200 variant, which featured the “big” 1,147cc engine, from the factory and that has been upgraded to a 1.5-liter unit from a Triumph spitfire.

6. SOHC-Converted Small-Block Chevrolet V8 Engine

Some of the details of this unique Chevy small block overhead cam conversion have commenters scratching their heads, but designer and builder Pete Aardema is someone who knows what he’s doing when it comes to engines. Plus, he and his partner Kevin Braun are still in business, so the next owner could presumably contact them with their questions. The most interesting thing about this kit is that the OHC assembly bolts on over the stock heads, and requires only removal of the pushrod valvetrain and the addition of the serpentine belt and pulleys and an adapted water pump assembly.

7. 2.0L TDI-Powered 1983 Grumman KubVan

The badass buildout on this right-hand-drive Grumman KubVan makes it seem a lot more exotic than it actually is. If you were alive in the 1980s, you probably would have seen these trucks daily, delivering mail in USPS livery. Now, blacked out and dressed for the night, it delivers lost souls to the underworld—or something to that effect.

Though the body is of Grumman design, the KubVan was based on a Volkswagen chassis, but before you cry Chicken Tax, know that these chassis were built domestically in VW’s now-shuttered Westmoreland, Pennsylvania plant. Its Rabbit/Golf underpinnings make the TDI swap a natural choice.

1967 Ford F-100 Southwestern Bell Service Truck 3-Speed

This January, shervinator’s presentation of his Bell System Van won Video of the Year in the BaT awards. This F100 Southwestern Bell service truck predates designer Saul Bass’s comprehensive rebranding of the Bell System described by shervinator, but received the same kind of sympathetic preservation by seller Matt Kubick, who also documented his process with a series of YouTube videos.

He acquired the truck as a conventional pickup in Ardmore, Oklahoma, where it was delivered new as a fleet vehicle. The 1955 York-Hoover service bed was also reportedly sourced from a defunct Bell truck. The truck was recommissioned with a rebuilt replacement inline-six, new interior finishes, Southwestern Bell decals, and some rust remediation. It doesn’t make us want to climb telephone poles, but it’s a neat piece of 20th century American history and we’re happy to see it preserved with its patina intact.

9. 1933 Harley-Davidson VC w/LT Sidecar

Not only is this a prewar Harley with a factory sidecar, it is one of just 104 sidecar-adapted VC bikes made for its model year, and is said to be one of four still remaining. Selling big fancy bikes during the Depression wasn’t easy. This rig a rider, and its current owner has put 3,000 miles on it since he acquired it in refurbished condition in 2009.

10. 1908 Maxwell Model LC Runabout

Going back even further to the Brass Era we have this 1908 Maxwel LC Runabout. 1908 was the first year for vehicles built in the company’s new factory in New Castle, Indiana, where the company relocated their manufacturing operations after fire destroyed their facility in Tarrytown, New York. At the time, the company was the third largest automaker in the US, behind GM and Ford. If you’re wondering what happened to Maxwell, the answer is simple; it became Chrysler in 1925, shortly after Walter P. Chrysler took over the company—the genesis of the Big Three as we know them.

Honorable Mentions

We couldn’t let the week go by without mentioning just a few more of the interesting vehicles that showed up.

300SL-Style 2001 Mercedes-Benz SLK320 6-Speed

This rebodied Mercedes-Benz SLK320 (top) is doing a darned good impression of a 300SL. If you want to spot the differences, please examine the real deal in a similar color scheme (bottom), which was sold here in November 2024.

Sarah Bettencourt’s 1964 Ford Galaxie Country Sedan 390 w/Carbonell Longboard

Sarah Bettencourt’s great taste in cars is the least amazing thing about her (even though the Galaxie wagon is amazing in its own right); she’s a former Marine helicopter pilot, Naval Academy grad, mechanical engineer, and four-time Para Surf World Champion and co-captain of the US Para Surf team. Her incredible story is summarized in this short YouTube video.

1942 Ford Coupe

By the time Pearl Harbor was bombed, Ford had spent six months building B-24 bombers for the Allied powers under the Lend-Lease Act at their Willow Run plant. After February 10, 1942, production of passenger cars for the civilian market ceased entirely and wouldn’t resume until after the war. This 1942 Ford Coupe was one of around 12,000 built for the model year, down from almost 700,000 in 1941.