Organizers of the Marin Sonoma Concours d’Elegance have been busy amassing a number of entries for their third annual event, which will include special classes for Stutz, Rolls-Royce and wooden runabouts; a British car club gathering, and a group of Chevrolets in celebration of the marque’s centennial. Also in the spotlight will be the Vintage Trailers/Motorhomes class, where attendees will be able to cast their eyes on the 1929 Raise the Roof Chevy house car pictured above. Owned by Dick De Luna, it was constructed by Ontario, California-based Arthur A. Thompson Company on a Chevy half-ton truck chassis and is powered by Chevrolet’s first six-cylinder OHV engine. Fully appointed, it was one of four “Four Sleeper Coach and Diner” units built by the firm; it’s also the last known surviving example.
If you’re a fan of the glory days of open-wheel racing, you will not want to miss out on the Indy 500 Centennial display planned for this year’s concours. In attendance – from the Bruce Canepa collection – will be the 1953 Andy Granatelli Kurtis roadster that was driven by Freddie Agabashian to a second-place finish in that year’s Indianapolis 500 (a scoring error initially had placed the car in fourth); at the time, it was known as the #59 Grancor-Elgin Piston Pin Special (see image in the gallery below). The car now carries its 1955 livery in which it was driven by Cal Niday.
Also on display will be Sir Jack Brabham’s No. 17 Cooper Climax, which he drove to a ninth place finish in the 1961 running of the famed 500. Entered by Jim Kimberly, then heir to the Kleenex firm, the car was revolutionary due to its rear-engine design, which forever changed open-wheel racing at Indy.
The concours will be held on May 15 at the Marin Civic Center Fairgrounds in San Rafael, California.
