Moal Hot Rods at Palo Alto Concours

[Nine17]

Rick K. is right: car-show season is in full swing and I took in another show today. Maybe it's driven by a realization that the wheels are about to come off the bus, but people are really going to town on hot rod self-expression at the moment. This year's Palo Alto Concours featured a hot rod class, and five Moal creations were on display including the sensational Ferrari 250 GTE Gatto and '36 Ford AeroSport. I made it an early morning, looping up over SR-17 to Palo Alto just in time for car placement and leaving the show by 10:30 for a spectacular drive up over Woodside Road, down into Pescadero, and back home down a lightly-trafficked California Highway 1.

As a bonus I'm adding a shot of a car from a display lot. As I approached, with the hood raised it looked to be a Packard Darrin, but speaking with the owner, a former C-130 pilot who is "more in to motorcycles," it turned out to be a 1940 La Salle purchased new by his father-in-law. His wife wanted it restored but thought that it was to too high to get in and out of. He had the car lowered by six inches, the running boards shaved off, and the wheels widened for modern tires. The result (intentional or not) is a perfect expression of the "Hollywood Custom" look that Howard "Dutch" Darrin specialized in back in the 'forties. Just a beautiful car.

[John Z Goriup]

David,

thanks for posting your photos. Looks like you had a fun drive up & back as well. I very much wanted to attend but things came up and I couldn't make it in good conscience. I especially wanted to see the Moal cars.

I finally found some photos of the models of Maseratis the dark metallic blue Gatto is obviously trying to emulate ( '54 Maserati Pinin Farina A6GCS Berlinetta )- photo 1.........if anything, the Moal effort is even more attractive and flowing.

Also finally remembered the original car from which the silver Aerosport seems to have taken a lot of its design ideas: the '38 Dubonnet silver one-off Xenia Coupe proudly displayed in the Mullin Museum in Oxnard - photo 2.

Cheers,

JZG

[Nine17]

So sorry that you were unable to make it, John! The Moal Gatto is truly something special; we could (and probably would) have spent an hour discussing its finer points. While I agree that the grille opening is strongly reminiscent of the Maserati A6GCS Pinin Farina berlinettas, the contemporary Pinin Farina-bodied Ferrari 250GT Europa and Tour de France are also likely inspiration, as was the 250GT Zagato berlinetta of the same period. The side-vents are clearly Pinin Farina Ferrari inspired (sorry for the Fair-Use expropriations; my photos of these cars seem to all be on film).

The inspiration for Moal AeroSport does indeed appear to be the Dubonnet Xenia (my photo; I got to take a close look at her earlier this month). However, the long wheelbase of a proper Hispano-Suiza chassis allows the Streamline Moderne lines to develop better than a '36 Ford chassis. The Moal car looks pretty squished! The Moal's P-47 Thunderbolt-inspired cockpit is brilliant, however.

Finally, I think that you would have appreciated the authentic 1950's Daimler-Benz 4-spoke wood-rim steering wheel in this 300SL Gullwing. The owner told me that he has to keep the ivory plastic wheel with the car along with a copy of the factory drawings for the wood wheel -- because concours judges are constantly trying to deduct points for his "accessory" steering wheel. Superb!

-- David