Instagram Jump Start: ‘Swap to Street’ Model A, Studebaker Golden Hawk fly to top

10 October 2016

There was a lot to see at the 2016 AACA Hershey (Pa.) Fall Swap Meet last week, and we shared much of it on Instagram. So it should come as no surprise that photos and videos from the event were the most liked/viewed on HagertyClassicCars.

The most-viewed video of the week was a short snippet of the engine running in our four-day “Swap to Street” 1930 Ford Model A build project. With nearly 94,000 views, it also became the most-watched video we’ve ever posted on Instagram. You also loved a video we posted of a 1974 Gremlin cruising Woodward in Detroit (32,400).

Now that we have the apples out of the way, let’s compare oranges to oranges. Here are the five most-liked photos posted on HagertyClassicCars during the past week:

1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk (1,540 likes) – The Golden Hawk was the last Studebaker influenced by Raymond Loewy’s design studio until the Avanti. This 1957 model (at the AACA Hershey Fall Swap Meet) carries a 289-cid Supercharged Studebaker engine, which replaced the Packard 352 that powered the previous model.
1946 Ford pickup/1930 Model A “Swap to Street” vehicles (1,331) – Rolling before dawn in the 1946 Ford pickup and 1930 Model A as “Swap to Street” pushes on towards Michigan.
1957 Plymouth Fury (1,301) – The standard engine in the 1957 Plymouth Fury was a 318-cid V-8, but this one at the Hershey Fall Swap Meet has a 413. And oh, those tail fins.
1969 Pontiac Tempest (1,226) – The 1969 Pontiac Tempest was available as a coupe, hardtop, convertible and four-door hardtop. By far the most popular was the two-door hardtop, with 82,817 examples produced. Only 5,676 were convertibles were built. (This one has a GTO hood.)
1948 Packard convertible (1,183) – For 1948, the entire Packard lineup was completely restyled, and advertising reflected the changes. “Just watch the heads turn when this glossy new Packard glides up to the curb! Watch the envious glances that follow its daring new Free-Flow design. For it is gloriously new … proudly appointed … and every precision-built inch a Packard!” This 1948 Packard convertible at the AACA Hershey Fall Swap Meet is equipped with a 356-cid, 160-hp L-head inline 8-cylinder engine.

One We Love But You Only Liked – Every week there’s a photo that we think deserved a lot more “likes” than it received. This one – featuring a close-up view of vintage wheel hubs at the Hershey Swap Meet – is one of those.

Best of the Rest – We know, we know, there’s a big difference between a professional photographer and an amateur one. And while we really enjoy giving a nod to all of the amateur auto photographers out there, sometimes the pros knock it so far out of the park that we just have to pay them their due. Take this photo from @jaylenosgarage, for instance. It doesn’t get much better than this image of a Stutz Bearcat. It’s easily our favorite of the week.