Hey, it’s me you old pal Lohnes and the 100% unabashed fanboy of the Petrolicious video channel on YouTube. I happened upon one of their newer pieces last night and this whole deal is so 100% BangShift approved I was ashamed that we had not run it sooner. The video is about a 1951 Chrysler New Yorker rally car that a father and son used for years to compete in long range time/distance rallies all over the country and now outside of it. The car has race history as it competed back in La Carrera Pan Americana back in the day and the Auerbach family kept that heritage alive by pressing it into rally service upon its arrival. Powered by a 354ci hemi and weighing in at God knows what, the car had a cage, a precision speedo, some other rallying gizmos, and an exhaust note that is pure perfection for a car of this era.
The Auerbach’s had been doing the long distance rally thing since Jake (the son) was a kid and their exploits took place in small sporty cars. How they came to decide on this massive Chrysler is a little bit of a mystery, but what a choice it was. Unfortunately Jake’s dad passed suddenly at age 70 when the pair were still very much in competition mode. Through their years of racing together they never notched a win but in the first rally after his dad’s passing, Jake did win and as he mentioned, there are a million things awesome about that.
This car is freaking awesome because nothing about it is over the top, gawdy, or just trying too hard. The hand lettering on the sides is fantastic. The fact that it wears some black steel wheels with slightly oversized rubber on them is perfect. The fact that the dude is willing to slide it around, make some pulls down empty roads, and actually rip some donuts in it makes the car all that much better.
Jake is currently prepping the car for the Paris to Peking rally and we wish him the best of luck on that adventure. We’re sure his pop will be in the spacious rear area of the Chrysler helping him through.
PRESS PLAY BELOW TO SEE THIS AWESOME VIDEO FEATURING A 1951 CHRYSLER NEW YORKER RALLY MACHINE THAT FORGED A GREAT BOND BETWEEN FATHER AND SON –
