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Hi Gang… As you’ll see, we’ve been busy during the quarantine – all our teams have been quite busy. And everything came together nicely on May 23, 2021 at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. I think this may have been … Continue reading
Category Archives: Movie & TV Appearances – Now & Then
Twelve Grantham Stardust Sports Cars Were Built – Just Four Remain
Hi Gang… Exciting news for one of my favorite handcrafted cars of the 1950s – the Grantham Stardust. While we have an unrestored example in our collection, Undiscovered Classics has partnered with David Deluca to restore and show his Stardust … Continue reading
Johnny Dark Woodill Wildfire #1: Artistry by Dan Palatnik
Hi Gang… More and more we are using Dan Palatnik’s renderings to “light the way” for our restorations of handcrafted American sports cars. In addition, these renderings showcase each car in a beautiful presentation the way the cars were meant … Continue reading
Two Models of the Victress S1A Roadster Are Now Available For Purchase
Hi Gang… Great news…..you can now create your own Undiscovered Classics collection and save some garage space while doing so. Thanks to the efforts of Alex Kotyar of Esval Models and some keen rendering work of artist extraordinaire Dan Palatnik, scale models of a 1953 and 1954 … Continue reading
Johnny Dark Woodill Wildfire #2: Artistry by Dan Palatnik
Hi Gang… More and more we are using Dan Palatnik’s renderings to “light the way” for our restorations of handcrafted American sports cars. In addition, these renderings showcase each car in a beautiful presentation the way the cars were meant … Continue reading
Shown Above Are 2 of the 9 Models That Esval Has Now Released of Undiscovered Classics Cars
Hi Gang… We’re excited to share great news – The “Undiscovered Classics Collection” of 1:43 scale models has now been released by Esval Models. To help promote these scale model cars, we put the talented artistry of Dan Palatnik to … Continue reading
Above: Scene in Johnny Dark Movie (1954) Showing Wildfire #2 At Speed
Hi Gang… The guys at JR’s Speed Shop in Venice, Florida are making good progress on several American Specials that they are working on including one of the Woodill Wildfire’s that starred in the 1954 movie “Johnny Dark.” We checked … Continue reading
Johnny Dark (1954) Starring Tony Curtis, Piper Laurie & Don Taylor 100+ Movie Stills The official movie stills from Johnny Dark are numbers on most of the photos – from 1751-1 to 1751-55. Within these numbers are letter designations which … Continue reading
Johnny Dark Movie American Specials of the 1950s at Their Best Universal International: 1954 Overview Review the stories below to learn more about this film Johnny Dark The Post World War II Sports Car Craze Played out on the Silver … Continue reading
Hi Gang… Sometimes it comes down to one piece of information….and sometimes it takes a convergence or several multiple pieces of information which together help confirm the history of the car. Research and validation of a car’s history is what … Continue reading
Stude Sportster: Pretty Enough To Be A Movie Star Virgil Rice’s Johnny Dark Victress Special Car Craft: February, 1954 … Continue reading
2017 Click on the Following Links To Review Each Article Concours d’Elegance Appearances Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance 1956 Bangert Manta Ray March 9-11, 2017: Amelia Island, Florida Museum, Event and Exhibition Appearances DuPont Registry Show June, 2017 Exhibited: 1956 Bangert … Continue reading
Hi Gang… Recently one of the steely-eyed researchers in our group – Bill Foss – noticed that the movie “Johnny Dark” had been digitized and released – but with a twist. It was a hi-def version on DVD but only … Continue reading
Hi Gang… Last year we had the honor of working with Ray Evernham for an upcoming Spring 2015 episode of his car-themed history-oriented TV show AmeriCarna. Here’s how Ray describes his TV show: AMERICARNA – NOUN (AH-MER-I-KAR-NAH) – The History … Continue reading
Hi Gang… In yesterday’s story on the history of the Johnny Dark Wildfire, we established that there were three Woodill Wildfire Series 2 sports cars used in the movie. This was confirmed through careful review of the film and through … Continue reading
Hi Gang… One of the most famous fiberglass sports cars of the 1950s is the lead car from the 1954 movie Johnny Dark. Much speculation has taken place over the last many years concerning whether the car survives and who … Continue reading
Hi Gang… If you’re here at Forgotten Fiberglass, then you HAVE to see this 1954 movie starring Tony Curtis, Piper Laurie and Don Taylor. It’s manna from heaven if you like the handcrafted sports cars of the 1950s and includes … Continue reading
Hi Gang… Happy New Year!!! Our first story for 2014….. The quest for more information on Grantham Stardust sports cars continues. This car has always been special to me. It was one of the first cars that Rick D’Louhy and … Continue reading
Hi Gang… If you love the vintage fiberglass cars of the early ‘50s – the 1954 movie “Johnny Dark” is for you. It has everything a car guy would want in “car guy” movie: Sports car races – one actual … Continue reading
————— Note: This is a multi-part story on the advertising, flyers, and brochures put out by Hellings in support of Victress sales. These primarily occurred when Hellings was the exclusive distributor for Victress in ’53 and early to mid ’54. … Continue reading
Hi Gang… As we’ve discussed in earlier stories, the Victress S1 body became available to the public in late 1952, and by the summer of 1953, Hellings was the sole distributor for the company, and had completed one of the … Continue reading
Hi Gang… Ah….the “smoking gun.” Isn’t that what we’re always looking for? For me, the “smoking gun” has always been getting Tony Curtis’ detailed thoughts on the movie Johnny Dark – at the time the movie was filmed. And that’s…..what I … Continue reading
Hi Gang… There’s nothing better in this world than making new friends – and that’s exactly what happened when good friend Glenn Brummer sent in a link to a fabulous website run by Derek Redmond that included great information about the … Continue reading
Hi Gang… Holy Toledo! What made this city “ground zero” for the debut of the fantastic film that starred forgotten fiberglass sports cars of the fifties? I think we may have finally figured this out, but it took meeting automotive … Continue reading
Hi Gang… Here’s one of my favorite cars of all time – the Grantham Stardust – built and sold by William “Bill” Grantham, and designed by Frank Evans in late 1952 / early 1953. Over the past few years, I’ve … Continue reading
Hi Gang… As you know by now, our big event for this year will be a “Fabulous Fiberglass” Category at the Milwaukee Masterpiece Concours d’Elegance held in August 2011. “Forgotten Fiberglass” cars that are tentatively scheduled to appear include: Geoff … Continue reading
Hi Gang… As most of you know, the movie “Johnny Dark” is an important piece of history for fiberglass cars of the 1950’s. After all, Universal Studios featured several fiberglass sports cars in the movie which included: Woodill Wildfire Victress … Continue reading
Note: This is the final installment of a 3 part series of articles on the Johnny Dark Victress, Virgil Rice, Mack Hellings, Bob Stelling, the Hellings Company, and Stelling and Hellings. Here are links to the other parts of the story: … Continue reading
Note: This is the second installment of a 3 part series of articles on the Johnny Dark Victress, Virgil Rice, Mack Hellings, Bob Stelling, the Hellings Company, and Stelling and Hellings. Here are links to the other parts of the story: … Continue reading
Note: This is the first installment of a 3 part series of articles on the Johnny Dark Victress, Virgil Rice, Mack Hellings, Bob Stelling, the Hellings Company, and Stelling and Hellings. Here are links to the other parts of the story: Click … Continue reading
Hi Gang… Recently, Fiberglass Friend Tom Householder sent me a link to a website known as “IMCDB.org”. Haven’t heard of it??? Well… it stands for “Internet Movie Car Database” and it’s a great website to identify every car in every movie ever … Continue reading
Hi Gang… Film from the 1950’s showing how to build a fiberglass sports car is even more rare than the cars themselves. With the help of Greg and Ted Griffin (Woodill Wildfire owners and historians) we were able to find … Continue reading
Hi Gang… In honor of the HBO Miniseries honoring those who fought in WWII – “The Pacific” – which just came to a close, I thought this might be a good time to discuss my good friend Chuck Tatum – … Continue reading
Hi Gang… Rick and I have scoured the country looking for vintage fiberglass history and stories. During this journey, we’ve met and befriended many people, but I knew I met my match when I met Steve Cowdin of Colorado. What … Continue reading
Hi Gang… So the interior is restored, the body is painted, the engine is rebuilt, and what little chrome might be on your vintage fiberglass special is replated, repainted, or renewed. Wha ‘cha gonna to do about your wheels? Isn’t … Continue reading
Hi Gang… The Johnny Dark film is a ball to watch. It has something in it for everyone. If you’re a racing enthusiast – the real thing – then catch the first race in the movie. It was recorded on Labor … Continue reading
Hi Gang.. Many of you have seen this video when I sent it via e-mail as a link last year. But… there are so many newcomers to our Forgotten Fiberglass Website that I thought we should highlight it again. Back in 1955, building … Continue reading
Hi Gang… Think back to 1953… a time when if you wanted your own American sports car, you had to build it. Yes…the Corvette was coming out the same year and just a few hundred would be available to the public. So … Continue reading