GM Muscle
Written by Keith Fudge

Gainesville, Georgia houses one of the most intense collections of classic cars on the planet.  Milton Robson is the owner of an unbelievable group of vintage automobiles.  Recently, Dennis Gage had the opportunity to meet with Milton and have a look at his beautiful collection.  These fine originals and restorations are some of the most rare cars ever produced, particularly among American Muscle Cars.  Milton said he anticipated the Muscle Car boom more than 20 years ago when he bought an original Yenko Camaro in 1983 or 84.  However, he said that he purchased his first collectable car in 1967.  Milton went on to say that he has three of the most rare GTOs ever built!  All three are “Judge” optioned and are Ram Air IV, four-speed convertibles!  Soon the talk turned to the cars that Milton had to show Dennis, and the first one was a sweet custom convertible.

Although it appeared to be original at first observation, there was much more to this 1949 Oldsmobile convertible than first imagined.  Lowered to just the right height and outfitted in House of Kolor Raspberry Pearl paint, this droptop was anything but stock!  Milton said that he loves cars the way he wants them, especially street rods.  While this sweet cruiser has subtle changes, it is all boss when it hits the streets!  With just the right amount of chrome, a two-toned leather interior, and a custom cluster of gauges to tell what is going on under the hood, this one is truly a pleasure to look at.  It is powered by a 383 cubic-inch fuel-injected stroker making in the neighborhood of 500 horsepower.  It is surely a gas to drive as well!  It didn’t take long for Milton and Dennis to get the fever to go cruising.  So with Dennis behind the wheel, they took the roadster out for a bit of a romp!  As he drove, Dennis said that the feeling of power was obvious.  All along the way, Dennis and Milton talked about the original lines of this classic convertible.  Soon they returned to the facility to see a really rare factory car:  a 1953 supercharged Cadillac Eldorado!

When approaching a car that bears a license plate that reads, “Blown 53,” one has to realize something special is at hand.  In this case, that something is possibly one of the most rare Cadillacs ever produced.  This 1953 Eldorado was built in the first year of Eldorado production and is, in a sense, a one-off factory custom.  The original owner was John Alexander.  It was told that the reason he was allowed to order this car was that he was a good friend of Harley Earl.  Painted in Azura Blue and covered in a Black cloth top, the Buick influence can be seen in the lines of the car.  There are some pretty unique features, such as the exhaust can be run through pipes that exit the car from the rear or with the pull of a knob can be re-routed through pipes exiting the front fenders for a real rumble!  In addition, this car has more chrome than the law should allow.  However, the real magic is held under the hood.  The car features a Cadillac V-8 and is equipped with a 471 GMC diesel blower system!  After seeing that beautiful engine and this outstanding car, there was nothing left to do but drive it.  Once again, Dennis graciously climbed behind the wheel and he and Milton took the car for a turn around the grounds.  During their drive, Milton told Dennis that he purchased the car fully restored in 1997.  While they were driving, Dennis was totally in awe of this car, particularly the massive hood and what was under it!  This car is truly a piece of GM automotive history, and it is great that it is so well cared for!

Dennis and the crew had a great time and would like to offer a special thanks to Milton Robson for sharing his cars with us.  That’s it from Gainesville, Georgia.  So until our next visit, “Honor the timeless classics.  Happy Motoring!”