Ryan Clough been very happy with the cars and parts he has assembled for the personal ‘showcase’ garage he just completed at the near Milford, Delaware. A successful RV franchise owner by trade, this longtime musclecar enthusiast has interests that run toward more original cars and artifacts. This month, he is giving Car Craft readers a first look at some of his collection. “I like to go to automotive swap meets like Carlisle and pick up a few things I like,” he told us, a declaration in the running for understatement of the year, judging by the raft of cool stuff we saw during our visit. With a commercial display rack that included old issues of this magazine and things like vintage tool boxes and model kits on shelving on the walls, we enjoyed an afternoon here.
Other than a minor nose cone repaint mandated when the original Creative Industries pigment was heavily fading, you are looking at an all-numbers-matching, 19,000-mile original car. A U-code 440 4BBL package, the car new came with Magnum 500 wheels, an automatic transmission, four build sheets, including two he chased down from the car’s original buyer. This ‘Bird recently received a Legacy award for its originality at MCACN late in 2016.Ryan’s interest in Mopar is pretty serious, and he has been privileged to locate and buy some one-only Sox & Martin team items, such as this rare Rapid Transit System jacket once owned by crew chief Jake King. He also found Ronnie’s own class-win wool jacket from York U.S. 30 Dragway in the early 1960s. Behind this is a large-size Road Runner promotional piece as well.
This 396, four-speed 1967 Chevelle SS is a matching-numbers, low-mileage car with a bench seat and factory air conditioning. It had one re-spray many years ago by its original owner. Ryan bought it from the second owner, who included every piece of paperwork, including service records from the year it was originally purchased..With 577 Ray Barton-built horsepower, this 1970 Charger is the toy of the group. It began life with a 383, but the original engine had been replaced with a 440 Six Pack by the time Ryan purchased it. As visible, the code TX9 black beast is now upscale with the C-style body-side stripes in white, door scoops, and 15” Rallye wheels.This big, bad 1970 Chevelle SS396 is also a bench-seat, four-speed combination. The biggest attraction for Ryan was the factory triple-black color combination and original condition. The paperwork was also impeccable. Stripe delete, without cowl induction, this was somebody’s ‘walk quietly and carry a big stick’ machine; Ryan bought it from the gentleman who had owned it since 1977.
