Here’s our report on this year’s edition of one of our favorite vintage car events, the Ypsilanti Orphan Car Show. Naturally, we included a big photo gallery.
Conceived by Jack Miller and Randy Mason back in 1997, the Ypsilanti Orphan Car Show was founded on an original premise. Here, the focus is on the makes that don’t exist anymore. From the famous to the forgotten, from Packard to Crosley, you’ll find a variety of automotive rarities at beautiful Riverside Park in Ypsilanti, Michigan each September.
We’ve been attending the show for decades, so some of the cars in attendance are like old chums, but there’s always something new to see as well. (We’re still wrapping our heads around the fact that Plymouths and Pontiacs are now officially orphans, but we’re dealing with it.) A few of our favorites this year:
+Â Â A 1951 Kaiser Custom Coupe in a beautiful metallic rose color with a continental kit (above). Kaiser coupes are a rare sight. None were introduced until 1951 and four-doors made up the bulk of production.
+  A 1956 Packard 400 two-door hardtop with factory in-dash air conditioning, Torsion-Level suspension, and push-button Ultramatic transmission — the top of the line from a carmaker nearing the end of the line.
+Â Â An immaculately restored 1919 WIllys-Knight 88-8, powered by an unusual Knight sleeve-valve V8 with just two main bearings and other distinctive features. It’s said that only two examples of this exotic machine still exist.
You can find all these unusual automobiles and more in the gallery below. Click on any image to start a slide show.
I can recall when Randy Mason was head of what later was renamed The Henry Ford. A fellow traveller in the realm of Old Volvos
Great photos! A little heavy on DeSotos. 😉 And no Hudsons?? Jack Miller did operate the last Hudson dealership in existence.
There were surpsiringly few Hudsons and many arrived late. I’m told the numbers have dwindled since Jack Miller passed away. He was a great guy and always very generous to me.
Love the 53 Starlight coupe!
Ironic that the remaining brands of the Big 3 now find themselves in danger, overrun by the likes of Toyota, VW, and other foreigners, not to mention.TESLA! Proof that life in the car business is like the life of sharks. If they don’t keep moving, they die.