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Classic Cars

Grace Commemorative Stamps

On October 3, the US Postal Service will roll out its latest set of commemorative stamps, the ’50s Fins and Chrome. The second issuance to the America on the Move commemorative stamp series, the five-stamp set features classic post-war vehicles — all of which are still on the road today — rendered by renowned automobile illustrator, Art Fitzpatrick.

"It’s extremely rare to have something you own immortalized on a stamp like this,” says Mark Saunders of USPS. “Just to put it into context, we see over 50,000 stamp ideas every year and only use 20.”

Among those to receive the honor is George McKovich — a retired stockbroker/inn keeper from Twin Falls, Idaho, — who learned nearly three years ago that his classic 1957 Chrysler 300C would be featured in the set.

Q: How did the folks at the Postal Service find you?
A: Art Fitzpatrick contacted the Chrysler 300 Club International in late 2005, looking for someone that might have a suitable 1957 Chrysler 300 for his new stamp project that he had proposed to the US Postal Service. The Club e-mailed its members and asked who might want to submit their car. I contacted Art Fitzpatrick and e-mailed him a photo. He got back to me right away and said, “that is the car.” I was extremely excited about it, but had to keep it a secret until the official announcement this past April.

Q: How did you come to own the car?
A: The ’57 300C was always a dream of mine, as my father purchased a new one in 1957. It was white and I took my first driver license test in it in 1958. I remember seeing one or two Gauguin Red ones back around that time and always thought that would be the color I would like to have someday. I saw the car advertised on the Internet from a seller in Gloversville, N.Y. My wife and I flew to Albany to drive it home in November 1999. We had a great trip across the country and got lots of thumbs up along the way.

Q: What kind of condition was it in?
A: It looked very good in the pictures I received from the seller, but they didn’t tell the entire story. It had a lot of rust that had been patched with Bondo and it had an incorrect engine in it at the time. The upholstery was a beige vinyl that had turned kind of yellowish. We found a correct engine near Salt Lake City that was only eight numbers away from the original engine that came in the car from the factory. The car needed a complete ground up restoration.

Q: Did you restore it yourself?
A: My son Christopher and I did all the mechanical work and assembly on the car. We had most all of the bodywork done by a local skilled bodyman. The paint was done by a local painter and the upholstery came from Gary Goers in Kalispell, Mont., (a longtime supplier of Chrysler 300 interiors). I also had help from several local friends with many aspects of the restoration and relied heavily on a book on Chrysler 300C restorations published by Wayne Graefen of Kerrville, Texas.

 
Q: The folks at USPS hinted at some impressive engine work that increased the gas mileage.
A: When we first got the car on the road in 2004, we were getting about 14.3 mpg on the highway. A fellow member of the Chrysler 300 Club International gave me a copy of a Technical Service Bulletin published in July 1957. It pertained to the ’57 300’s idling rough and running overly rich, stalling and being sluggish from a standing start. It called for several modifications to the carburetors by drilling some holes for more air intake and changes in the jets and metering rods. I made the modifications and it certainly solved the rough idling and overly rich running of the engine. I then discovered that my highway mileage had increased to 17.5 mpg. Not bad for such a big car with dual four barrel carburetors.

Q: What is your favorite Chrysler 300 moment?
A: I guess the biggest surprise we had was when we won best of show in Winnemucca, Nev., at the Fifties Fever car show in 2005 — it just absolutely surprised me. They put us on a t-shirt and on the poster for the next year. But the stamp is the biggest of all honors — there’s never going be a way to top this. After all, there are new car show winners every year, but something like this only happens once.

Photo© 2007 USPS. Used with permission. All rights reserved.