1953 Buick Skylark Acquired May 2006   Buick celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1953 by putting a Motorama show car into actual production. Named Skylark, this limited-edition was an ultra-luxury, full-size sports convertible.  It was a Harley Earl creation all the way.   This stunning automobile was based on Buick's experimental sports car, the XP-300, which created […]

1954 Mercury Monterey Convertible Acquired January 2007     Our story starts in Wayne Michigan, June 1954.  A Mercury Monterey Convertible rolls off the assembly line and finds its way to the East Coast. Years later, in 1974 it turns up in the possession of Mr. C. W. Williams of Chesapeake, VA.  Mr. Williams owned the […]

1954 Mercury Monterey Hardtop Acquired July 2007     Crazy ‘Bout A Mercury It’s October 1958 … I had just turned sixteen, and I was a junior at Marmion Military Academy on the corner of Illinois Avenue and Lake Street in Aurora, Illinois. Three blocks north at the corner of Indian Trail and Lake Street, John […]

1954 Mercury Monterey Sun Valley Two-Door Hardtop Acquired December 2013    Just 9,761 Sun Valley “dream cars” were made and sold in ’54.  It is estimated that less than 10% of the Sun Valleys survived the rigors of time.  Finding one in restorable condition is increasingly difficult.  Finding one in concours condition is exceedingly rare. The […]

1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible (“Miss Daisy”) Acquired March 2013  On display in the Ken Nagel collection is possibly one of the rarest 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible ever to roll of a GM assembly line.  Restored in 1993 with original reconditioned or NOS parts, it retains its original drive train and interior.  To the […]

1956 Ford Fairlane Sunliner Convertible Acquired February 2011 The Fifties were famous for automobiles with outrageous styling, extravagant use of chrome and all manner of fins evoking jet planes and rockets. Competition for customers in the explosive post WW II car market was fierce. An extensive array of fantastic style and power combinations were used […]

1956 Mercury Montclair Convertible – Verona Green over Heath Green Acquired October 2013 This "Big M" Montclair started life in Los Angles California on January 23rd, 1956. It was the 145th car off the assembly line that day.  Apparently, the car spent most of its life in California, as research indicates it was titled there […]

1957 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible Acquired May 2010 Seldom has a motor car created such intense excitement as the all-new Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible for 1957. With styling inspired by Motorama show cars, the ultra-prestigious Eldorado Biarritz oozed opulence.  From the massive shimmering chrome grille, dual winged front fender ornaments, to the American style rear […]

1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible – Fuel Injected Acquired June 2003 ’57 Chevys are widely considered to be among the most well known, most desirable and rare American made collector cars in existence. Just the mention of “’57” in the company of auto enthusiasts conjures up a mental image the 1957 Chevy. Chevrolet built 1,499,685 […]

1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible – Dual Quad Acquired January of 2006 After scoring 997 points out of 1000 in concours judging, this stunning example of late ’50s automotive art, acquired from the prestigious Ron Pratt collection, now rests comfortably on its laurels in the Ken Nagel private collection. Assembled in St. Louis, Mo in […]

1957 Ford Fairlane 500 F Code Skyliner Retractable Hardtop F7FW305543 Acquired September 2016 A common saying in the collector car community goes something like this, “You buy the story and a car comes with it”.  In the case of this ultra-rare 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 F Code Skyliner Retractable Hardtop the story is certainly compelling and […]

1957 Ford Thunderbird F Code VIN F7FH394855 Acquired November 21, 2018 There were a total of 21,380 Thunderbirds produced in 1957.  This stunning example is 1 of only 196 “F-Code” Phase II supercharger equipped versions made available to the general public.  The dazzling fit and finish of the exterior, engine bay and “jewel like” underside […]

1957 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible Acquired June 2008 Pontiac built 630 Bonneville Convertibles for ’57, one for each of its 630 dealers. Every car was fitted with a Rochester fuel injection system and all but 12 of the cars were painted Kenya Ivory (white) with either red or blue trim.  8 cars were finished in charcoal […]

1958 Buick Series 700 Limited Convertible Acquired 2007    Finished in “Carlsbad Black” with contrasting red “Cape Buffalo” leather interior and flawless chrome, the exquisite example displayed in Ken’s collection represents the pinnacle of luxury and styling excess of the 50’s era automobile. Only 839 Limited Convertibles were ever produced.  Today less than two-dozen of […]

1958 Chevrolet Bel Air Impala Convertible 348 Cu In Tri-Power F58J195799 Acquired July 2005 Perhaps the most recognizable ’58 Chevy Impala in the world is the customized Impala Ron Howard’s character, Steve Bolander, owned and loaned to his buddy “Terry the Toad” in the 1973 movie “American Graffiti” *.  Set in 1962 this coming of […]

1958 DeSoto Firesweep Convertible Acquired May 2011 Only 700 DeSoto Firesweep convertibles were built by Chrysler in 1958, a mere 12 of which are still known to exist today, this absolutely stunning restoration is one of the 12.  Finished in flawless red paint accented by the rare Spring Edition chrome trim package many consider it […]

1959 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer Super D500 Convertible Acquired October 15, 2014 Wrapping ‘50s automotive engineering advancements in packaging inspired by space travel, jet aircraft and painted with a pallet of bright pastel colors, reached the pinnacle of perfection in 1959 with the production of the Dodge Custom Royal Lancer Convertibles. The end of the […]

1959 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible Acquired January 2011 “The numbers matching concours quality Bonneville on display in Ken’s collection is not only a very rare and highly sought after original rare “bucket seat” car, it is arguably the highest quality, most authentic and most decorated restored 1959 Bonneville convertible in existence today”.  Restoration complete by Level […]

1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible Acquired December 22, 2010 The fabulous 1960 300F convertible featured in Ken’s collection is one 80 known survivors of only 248 made that year.  Impeccably finished in stunning Toreador Red it is a very rare combination of elegant grace and incredible power.  When most cars were struggling to get to 200 […]

1964 Chevy Impala Super Sport 409 2-Door Hardtop Acquired November 2003 Everyone knows The Beach Boys sang about it in their hit song “409” (“She’s real fine Ken’s 409”).  But, few know that the theme song from the musical “The Beauty and the Beast” was really about the 409!  In the early days of the Detroit […]

1965 Pontiac Tempest Le Mans Acquired July 23, 2019 Nestled in among 28 of some of the rarest and most significant award winning cars of the ‘50’s, ‘60’s & ‘70’s is an unrestored original 1965 Starlight Black Pontiac Tempest LeMans convertible.  With a Red “Morrokide” vinyl interior and White top it is a beauty.  13,897 […]

1966 Mustang GT K-Code Convertible VIN # 6R08K121925 Acquired December 2016 Before there were Mustangs, before there were Shelby’s, there was the Ford “Windsor” V8 engine.  Production began in 1961 for installation in the 1962 model year Ford Fairlane and Mercury Meteor. The small-block was designed as a successor to the Ford Y-block engine.  The 289 […]

1968 Shelby Cobra Jet GT 500 KR Convertible VIN 8T03R20483003327 Acquired April 2009 Scheduled to be built at the Ford plant in Metuchen NJ on May 21, 1968 Kens Shelby KR actually rolled off the line two days late on May 23, 1968.  After a trip to Ionia MI to get the Shelby treatment it […]

1969 Mustang Boss 429 KK 1663 VIN 9F02Z172933 Acquired November 29, 2017     Boss KK 1663 is 1 of only 5 to have received MCA Thoroughbred Gold status and 1 of 4 to have received the Pinnacle Award Certificate at MCACN.  Thus, making this Boss 429 KK1663 one of the rarest and most decorated […]

1969 Oldsmobile 4-4-2 W-30 Convertible (4-Speed) Acquired December 2015 The car on display in Ken’s collection is 1 of 91 built. Oldsmobile produced 4296 4-4-2 convertibles in 1969, 121 came with the W-30 upgrade only 91 of which had four-speed transmissions.    With the exception of this car, it is not known how many others are […]

1970 Chevrolet Chevelle LS6 Convertible 454/450 HP, 4-Speed VIN 136670L179287 Acquired May of 2014 This very rare and historically important LS6 Convertible 454/450 HP, 4-Speed is finished in gleaming Fathom Blue with White SS stripes over the Cowl Induction hood.  The beautifully appointed Ivory interior features bucket seats and a power operated White soft top.  After […]

1970 Pontiac GTO Ram Air IV Convertible VIN 242670Z134463 Acquired November 10, 2015 It is generally accepted that in 1970 Pontiac made 12* GTO Convertibles equipped with the Ram Air IV (WW) engine and the 4-speed Muncie transmission.  What is left to conjecture is how many of them still exist?  At this writing, the speculation […]