Our favorite cars are the ones with their own history, with people who have a story to tell. It’s only fitting that this July episode of Petrolicious would catch our eye.
At the start, Jack Auerbach wonders aloud what he would have talked to his father about if they didn’t have cars. Together, father and son were an aspiring long-distance rally team, and Jake says that it was through cars and racing that he and his dad became best friends.
Later, we learn that his father was responsible for getting Jake his first job at a mechanic’s shop in Long Island. Hearing him then describe his dad as “useless” in a garage, we can’t help but wonder if the elder Auerbach had it all planned out from the start.
The focus of the video is their pale green 1951 Chrysler New Yorker, which Jake says they logged more than 10,000 miles in together. They had to bid on the car to get it, but not at any sort of auction we might be used to covering. No, it was found on eBay, and from there, they made it their own.
The car bears a number of modifications, both practical and personal. For their rallies, the Auerbach’s drilled out the floor and put in diamond-plated steel footrests for bracing. They also added a precision speedometer, a vital instrument even if it obscures the driver’s view. The rest of the interior they left mostly intact, including the large “school bus style” steering wheel. Perhaps the most striking addition they made is the red underneath the grille. Jake said his father was always a fan of “lipstick on cars,” so after their front end was damaged in a collision with two deer, he took the opportunity to make a change.
Though his father has passed away, Jake is still running rallies. His next step is preparation for the Peking-Paris Rally, racing in his cherished Chrysler New Yorker.
Each car has its own story, one that it comes with, or one that you’ll just have to find for yourself. If you have one you think we should hear, let us know at the Raleigh Classic Car Auction.