Long term MyStarCollectorCar readers already know we consider Tom McCahill to be the greatest automotive writer in car magazine history because he has been the feature attraction in several of our articles, dating back to 2009.
Tom was a feature writer for ‘Mechanix Illustrated’ from 1946 until his death in 1975 and left a huge impression upon us when we were kids.
Jim Sutherland
It would be an understatement to say McCahill was very important to ‘Mechanix Illustrated’. So much so the magazine continued to run a section under the McCahill name–even after his death.
However, nobody could replicate “Uncle Tom” McCahill’s writing style in any way, shape or form, so our articles always showcase his unique style via quotes from his articles. We chase down vintage ‘Mechanix Illustrated’ magazines solely because of his written contributions to them.
We purchased a box of MI magazines from the mid to late 1950s because Uncle Tom was at his finest during this era and his Fifties stuff is basically NOS (New Old Stock) to us.
‘Mechanix Illustrated’s October 1957 issue featured an unusual McCahill car test story because the car was a tiny and underpowered Morris Minor convertible. The article included a photo of the Morris beside a giant Imperial to give scale to the little British car.
McCahill was not completely sold on the car:”We elected this month to continue our search for the perfect car…before getting up your hopes, I’d better tell you that the Morris Minor 1000 isn’t it”.
He was also not impressed with the close quarters in the car: “I’m a guy of “exceptional stature because the seat would be set back a good three inches if I owned one of these blighters”. Nevertheless, Uncle Tom felt the Morris Minor “was the cheapest convertible anyone can buy” at $1659 in 1957. A perfect drop top for short guys at the time.
Another magic McCahill moment was found in the July 1955 ‘Mechanix Illustrated’ issue when Tom tested a Packard Clipper. Small fish car brands like Packard had to be innovative to stay in business so they put a very creative suspension under their ’55 Clippers.
It was called a “Load Levelizer” and got McCahill’s attention in a big way: “If you visit your cousin, the doorman at Ft Knox, and he loads up your trunk with gold bricks, these electrical genii will square things up so that this car will stay just as level as when it was unloaded”.
A third example of McCahill’s special magic with the written word was his October 1955 piece on how to be a better driver. It was a masterpiece on driving skills that were absent in many drivers, a sad reality then and now.
McCahill approached the topic with his usual descriptive bluntness:” Unfortunately, many tulip-heads believe they can scream around a corner without spilling or tear down the turnpike at 100 or better without getting killed”.
Later he added:”Most good drivers develop what the headshrinkers might term a persecution complex and it’s a good formula for reaching old age”.
The fourth ‘Mechanix Illustrated’ magazine starring Tom McCahill was his test drive of a 1956 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer in the December 1955 edition.
The ‘56 Dodge got a major upgrade in the horsepower department, a big power boost duly noted by McCahill with a bird hunting analogy: “You can kill ducks with a 20-gauge, and thousands are killed every year with this weapon, but the big 12 (gauge) can kill them just a little deader and quite a few paces farther away”.
The fifth and final example of McCahill flexing his sizable writing muscles was in the October 1955 edition of ‘Mechanix Illustrated’ when he test drove a 1956 Lincoln.
Tom was impressed with the large Ford flagship but never shied away from criticism and described the car’s new wraparound windshield thusly: “Before the introduction of this windshield it took at least 12 martinis to make my eyes bloodshot”.
Uncle Tom was clearly not a fan of the new windshield design but we at MyStarCollectorCar were always big fans of him.
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
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