Alan and Jen Mortlock – Just Before I Stole Alan Away For Our “Guy” Trip To Bonneville in 2009
Hi Gang…
Alan and Jen Mortlock have one cool Glasspar G2 Special – and it’s almost out of restoration and ready to debut. Alan recently sent me some pictures of it so what better way to celebrate his work than to share it with vintage fiberglass sports car folks out there.
Alan and Jen Mortlock – Collectors Extraordinaire:
Alan and Jen have a fantastic collection of American sports cars and other unique automobiles which include two Muntzes (one restored and one being restored, a 1946 Buick Roadmaster convertible, a 1957 Mercury 2 door hardtop station wagon (used in the Johnny Cash movie – “Walk the Line”), a 1959 Chevrolet Impala Convertible with a 348 cubic inch engine and factory 4 speed, and a 1953 Cadillac Flower car.
Alan’s Glasspar G2 – as he Bought it in Oklahoma from his friend Clifton Hill
Recently they added a 1949 aluminum Spartan camper, and they have other unique cars too. In fact, Hemmings covered the restoration of Alan and Jen’s first Muntz in June, 2007. Here’s a great article penned by Richard Lentinello. Keep in mind that Alan and Jen do almost all of the work themselves:
http://www.hemmings.com/hmn/stories/2007/06/01/hmn_feature25.html
Meeting Alan and His Glasspar G2:
I first met Alan about 3 years ago when I started working with Jon Greuel on the LaDawri website and tracking down owners of these rare cars. Last year, Alan and I
hooked up on my way to Bonneville with the Bill Burke Belly tank. On my way from Florida, I stopped in Sikeston, Missouri spent some time with both Alan and Jen, and the next day we were off to Bonneville. Here’s what I learned:
The Glasspar G2 Alan purchased had been sitting for a number of years and needed minor engine work. It was
Beautiful Gold Finish Applied to Glasspar G2 Body in 2010
mostly complete and looked like a nice original build. No doubt it was a good runner back in the day. Alan works magic concerning the restoration of his cars – he does all the restoration himself with Jen chipping in where possible. And…in no short time….Vvvvvrrrrooom! Up and running! And the engine was in great shape too – no rebuild necessary. Alan removed the body from the chassis and has been restoring the car for the last 2 years. He’s rounding the final bend gang. Lots of interesting aspects to this car.
Research Questions About the Glasspar:
Alan has two areas of research left with this car. Anyone want to help? Here are the questions:
Alan Always Wanted a Glasspar G2 – Just as Shown on this 1954 Trading Card
First: I’ve posted pictures of Alan’s chassis below. What is it? It has an independent front suspension. Alan thinks it might be a Plymouth. Could it be a 1949+ Ford front suspension? Maybe a Henry J? These had independent front suspension too. The frame is one piece – not modified or cut in any way. This leads us to more strongly believe it is a Henry J. Click on the “Fiberglass Forums” link at the bottom of this story and let us know what you think.
Second: What’s the history of this car? It seems to have magically appeared in Oklahoma in and around 2007. How about it gang? This was already in pretty nice shape in 2007. Anyone recognize where this came from?
If anyone can help in these two areas, please post your thoughts in the discussion forum associated with this story (click on Fiberglass Forums link below).
Finishing the Glasspar Restoration:
He plans to finish the car this year – 2010 – but it sure looks like the final result will be worth it from what we see so far! As you can see in the pictures, the car is gold in color. Alan’s always liked the look of the Glasspar G2 that appeared on one of the 1954 “World on Wheels” trading cards, and I’ve included one here in the story. The car on the trading card is gold with a black hardtop, red interior, and finished with dog dish hubcaps. That’s the exact look he’s going for with the restoration of his car.
Checkout this Gorgeous Original Brass Glasspar Tag. A Restored Tag is Painted; Stripped Brass Looks Great Too!
I think all of us wish him the best on his continued success and I look forward to sharing final pictures of his endeavor with you in the near future. Alan….this “glass on” is for you!
Glass on gang….and Alan and Jen too!
Geoff
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- Alan’s Glasspar G2 – as he Bought it in Oklahoma from his friend Clifton Hill
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- Alan and Jen Mortlock – Just Before I Stole Alan Away For Our “Guy” Trip To Bonneville in 2009
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- Checkout this Gorgeous Original Brass Glasspar Tag. A Restored Tag is Painted; Stripped Brass Looks Great Too!
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- Beautiful Gold Finish Applied to Glasspar G2 Body in 2010
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- Alan Always Wanted a Glasspar G2 – Just as Shown on this 1954 Trading Card
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- Click on Picture Above to View Story
The upper A arms look to be Ford. If I remember a story you ran about a Byers SR100 the had a Henry J frame with pictures showing the frame and front suspension, you might compare the two. Cheers, Michael
i just found a picture of 49-53 ford frame with control arm etc showing , it looks identical to the pictures you have of the glasspar, makes sense too if other componets like the eng are used also, i don’t see a way for me to share the picture with you.
you could probably tell if it was a henry j frame, if you remember the henry j frame was a kaiser sedan frame shortened, i haven’t seen how they finished the cutting though but from that era it was usually noticeable. if it is important and no one knows for sure i have quite a few of the very old interchange books and flat rate manuals that show pictures steering and suspension components and i would be glad to dig them out to help. are you going to show his muntz cars anytime soon, i have an original muntz 4 track tape player, chrome plated complete with bracket for under dash mounting with the original two bolts for holding the unit on the bracket, perfect condition and have a bag with several tapes in it.
Incredible collection of American sports cars! It makes me really jealous.
Do they have a web gallery to see all of their restorations?
If the frame is not been cut, I’d say it was Henry J. The front brakes are very small. The wire wheel are 15″ Motor Wheel wires. They fit Kaisers, post 1949 Fords, Hudsons, Studebakers and Plymouths. Generally the painted ones were on Plymouths and Hudsons circa 1954. A good brake up-grade would be to install 50 Ford parts with Ford spindles, etc. 1953 Studellacs were often beefed up using 52 Mercury parts including rear ends.