John Knebel

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John Knebel is one of two known Original Owners of his Glasspar (the other is your Registrar). John was a Test Pilot for Convair in San Diego back in 1953, when he purchased his G2 body, Ser # G2B53114 as a kit from Glasspar. His G2 was unusual, for it was a body built with a ’51 Nash grille instead of the regular Glasspar grille.

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      The Nash grille is beautiful and fits the G2 perfectly. Originally, John’s mill was a ’46 dual-carb Mercury flathead, heavily hopped up with a 3-speed Lincoln transmission, Borg Warner overdrive and a Columbia 2-speed rear axle. The car now sports a 3.8 Buick V-6 with a 350 auto transmission.
Frame is the Shorty Post “C” section with, originally, ’46 Ford front and rear transverse springs. Later, John did a body-off upgrade and installed a coil-spring rear suspension and a ’78 Buick rear axle. Also added front disk brakes.
John has a Glasspar hardtop and a pretty convertible top he designed and built. The seats are red pleated Naugahyde, and he has a white padded Naugahyde dash, both installed in ’54.

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      John is now retired. He and his wife Marie live in Novato, California, and have had the car in many shows over the years, garnering not a few top prizes. The Knebels’ beautiful G2 has about 50,000 miles on it.

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 Back in the ’80s the car was red, and here is a shot with its Glasspar hardtop installed.

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      The Club knows of no one who has featured his car at shows so long over the years and has kept the Glasspar Marque in the public’s eye. We are proud to feature him, Marie and their beautiful Glasspar as our opening “Member’s Showcase” as an example of the truly dedicated Glasspar owner. g2_logo_3


Comments

John Knebel — 1 Comment

  1. John and Marie are an incredible couple – thank you for sharing your “Glasspar”!!! Wish there was a way I could visit with her.

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