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Longtime HCC readers may recall Jack Carroll’s 1939 La Salle coupe from the March 2005 issue. Stunning car, and a great owner, so it was my pleasure to photograph the car (longtime Hemmings Motor News readers may recall that it graced the cover and illustrated a Buyer’s Guide in the July 2006 issue of that magazine).
While a capable restorer, Jack’s just as talented an artist. He spent several years designing interiors for AMC, then later founded Carroll Design. Now essentially retired, he’s returned to drawing cars, something I wasn’t entirely aware of when he asked me for a photo of Project HMX and started quizzing me about my exact plans for the car’s aesthetics.
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And then he recently floored me with this gift, a framed painting of the AMX as I intend to finish it, front bumperless, in AMC’s Firecracker Red paint and with the blackout hood. The detail is incredible, and from a career spent (at least partially) drawing AMCs, he nailed the look and proportions of the car. It’s not a major departure from stock, but I’ve been carrying this idea of how the car’s gonna look in my head for a few years now, and it’s like Jack sucked that image straight from my brain and applied it to canvas.
I’ve kinda been ignoring Project HMX recently as I’ve tended to other projects, so this will hang prominently in the house to inspire me to get the real thing looking at least half as decent as Jack’s depiction of it.
Thanks, Jack!
