Crisp autumn weather and hundreds of the most unusual historic cars you’ll ever see—what could be better? Here’s a report from the annual Orphan Car Show in Riverside Park in Ypsilanti.
You’ll note a name change in the annual Ypsilanti Orphan Car Show. This year’s edition was renamed to honor Jack Miller, the founder of the event, patriarch of the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum, and the city of Ypsilanti’s number-one car guy. An official proclamation from mayor Paul Schreiber was read declaring the event date, Sunday, September 22, Jack Miller Day. It was great to see Jack at the reviewing stand, taking in the wonderful event he and his associates have created.
Just a few of the hundreds of great cars on hand:
+ Robert Walby’s extremely rare 1927 Studebaker EU sports right-hand drive—it was ordered for mail delivery. In its first visit to the Orphan Show, the beautifully restored blue roadster (see lead photo) earned the Best Studebaker award.
+ It’s difficult to consider Pontiac as an orphan—at its peak, it was number three in sales in the USA, trailing only Ford and Chevrolet— but the brand was granted welcome status this year. One standout was the ’61 Bonneville hardtop of Edward Hayes in gorgeous Coronado Red and matching red Morrokide upholstery.
+ Bill Krueger’s turquoise ’63 Avanti is a true survivor. Except for the deck lid and some blending on the right front fender, even the paint is original. The first oil-change sticker (remember those?) is present in the left front door jamb, registering 1564 miles. Here is a Studebaker time capsule.
+ Continuing this year’s Unrestored Orphans theme, Greg Gumtow displayed a 1918 Willys-Knight 88-4, a rare vehicle indeed with its four-cylinder Knight sleeve-valve engine, and rarer still for its fully enclosed Touring Sedan bodywork.
You’ll find all these cars and more in the slide show below. There were far too many stellar vehicles to fit in one gallery, so stay tuned for more from the 2013 Jack Miller Orphan Show.
As promised, here’s part two of MCG’s show coverage with another big photo gallery.
They’re all sweet cars, but today my lust is directed toward the 1950 Oldsmobile Futuramic fastback. Not my favorite color, but the body on these is very attractive to my eyes. America’s first muscle car.
Congratulations to Jack Miller. A car guy through and through. Renaming the show and declaring the day Jack Miller day are honors befitting this gentleman.
Visited the museum this past March when in the area for the Autorama found the museum and Mr Miller both outstanding examples of the rich automotive history of the area. Talked to Mr Miller for better part of an hour, he is a real treasure and most deserving of this honor and show should be permanently named in his honor
Possibly my favorite car show anywhere. The cars are cool, the people are nice and Ypsi is a genuine car town. Congrats to Jack on his well-deserved recognition for his contributions to our hobby.
Was glad to see that Jack Miller was well and could attend show
Great to see the ’78 XC Cobra on display! Is this car owned by an American enthusiast?
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