The Great 1934 Gatsby V 8
Our US-American scout who found this superb car for us, writes about this rare find:
The Gatsby is a trademarked neo-classic originally created and produced by Sky Clausen in San Jose, California. The name of his company was Gatsby Coach Works. Sky started to retire in the early 90’s. While his company was in full production, he built over 500 cars.
This Gatsby was purchased by Bill Navratil in 1981 and completed in 1985. It is absolutely the best example ever seen. Gatsby Motor Works bought the entire rolling chassis from Ford and the entire drive line, frame, suspension is from the Ford Crown Victoria sedan. The body is all steel and only the fenders are fiberglass. The builder buys it that way and adds the paint, upholstery, outside trim like bumpers, etc. Bill Navratil is a careful and meticulous builder and every detail, inside and out, is done just right.
The engine is a 1981 Ford V-8, 351 CIF (5.6 liter) with power steering and brakes plus air conditioning. The car has only 9,400 miles and everything on the car and under the hood is in like new condition. When paining the car, 15 coats of lacquer hand rubbed between each coat were used and a hardened clear coat finish to protect it was added. Under very close inspection I could not find a single scratch or blemish anywhere on the paint – or anywhere else for that matter. The transmission is automatic with one added feature, an automatic overdrive that cuts the RPMs in half on the highway. The tires are brand new. The completed car weighs 3,000 pounds, is 16 feet long and 6 feet wide.
The interior is in immaculate condition as is the trunk. The car has a tape deck radio with a hidden antenna that folds away when the radio is not in use. The electrics and everything work properly. We road tested the car and it handles beautifully as you would expect with a firm but very comfortable ride, altogether a delightful car to drive.
Bill Navratil is the only owner and while not being driven, that car has spent it’s entire life in the garage with a cloth cover over it.
CarMANT: driven by passion!
We found this short video about a Gatsby at YouTube:
