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Precarious Bridgeheads Part 3

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“Mac” Halley’s Alfa 2.9 chassis 412014, when owned by Frank Cantanzariti in the early 1950s. Alfas and Bugattis comprised a good part of the foreign cars in the U.S. before the war. Jerry Lehrer photo.

By Dr. Howard Moon

This is Part 3 of an unpublished manuscript by Dr. Howard Moon. Links to previous articles appear at the end.

Americans were unaware of the full variety of European cars. There were no enthusiast’s magazines – this was a post war phenomenon – and the few interested in foreign cars subscribed to the British weeklies Autocar or Motor. Aside from the two hot spots, New York City and Los Angeles, cars from Europe were never seen on the road, in dealerships or garages.

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Milliken’s Bugatti T35A

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By Pete Vack
From the VeloceToday Archives, April 18, 2012

According to Bill Milliken, the acquisition of his first sports car was simply elementary. While visiting New York City in 1946, he happened upon a shiny black MGTB, asked the owner if he’d like to sell, wired home for the $1500 necessary to title it in his name and drove it up to Albany. [Read more…] about Milliken’s Bugatti T35A

The Milliken Bugatti T35A

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There is much more to the Milliken Bugatti Type 35A than just an incident at Watkins Glen.

By Pete Vack

According to Bill Milliken, the acquisition of his first sports car was simply elementary. While visiting New York City in 1946, he happened upon a shiny black MGTB, asked the owner if he’d like to sell, wired home for the $1500 necessary to title it in his name and drove it up to Albany.

At a time when the average price of a new American car was about $1200, the TB was a bit pricey, being a 1940 model and right hand drive. It was very similar to the later TC, with the same snazzy wire wheels, upright chromed radiator grille, and the same 54 hp engine, but only 379 TBs were made before the War stopped production at Abingdon.

Milliken was in seventh heaven; his previous transportation was a secondhand Chevy that was “…little more exciting than a grocery cart.” His thoughts of the early Duesenbergs and Millers of his boyhood returned to him and he found himself in a “machine that turned on all my senses and made driving a delightful experience….my childhood euphoria of driving had returned, and I was to never lose it.”
[Read more…] about The Milliken Bugatti T35A

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