Sarah Whitfield
Expertise
Pre-War Classics Coachbuilt History Concours Originality Duesenberg Packard
📍 Newport, Rhode Island

Sarah Whitfield

Third-generation classic car collector specializing in pre-war American and European coachbuilt automobiles. Researcher and concours enthusiast.

Sarah Whitfield grew up in a family that took pre-war motoring seriously. Her grandfather drove vintage cars across Europe, and she learned to appreciate the craftsmanship of coachbuilt automobiles from an early age through her father's collection of 1930s American classics. After a career in the arts, she turned her attention fully to the world of pre-war collector cars.

She has spent years researching period coachbuilders, marque histories, and factory records from the 1920s and 1930s — work that has given her a detailed understanding of what originality actually means in vehicles that have passed through multiple owners and restorations over nine decades. She attends the major concours events each year and writes about pre-war cars with a level of historical rigor that the subject deserves.

Her personal collection includes a 1933 Pierce-Arrow Twelve and a 1936 Cord 810 Phaeton, both unrestored survivors.

Magazine Articles by Sarah Whitfield

Classic El Camino and Ranchero side by side on a quiet suburban street
Car Features

Who Came First: Ranchero, El Camino and the Chase

Sarah Whitfield · · 7 min
1960 Chevrolet El Camino parked beside a Ford Ranchero at a period gas station
Car Features

1960: Round Two in the Cartruck War

Sarah Whitfield · · 7 min
Full-size 1959 Chevrolet El Camino with tailfins on a coastal highway at sunset
Car Features

Why the 1964 Reinvention Finally Worked

Sarah Whitfield · · 7 min
Lowered custom 1964 Chevrolet El Camino parked under neon diner lights at dusk
Car Features

The 1964 El Camino in the Custom and Cruiser Scene

Sarah Whitfield · · 8 min
1967 Chevrolet El Camino with clean mid size body on an open road at dusk
Car Features

1967: The Last of the Early Chevelle El Caminos

Sarah Whitfield · · 7 min
1964 Chevrolet El Camino parked outside a suburban house in warm afternoon light
Car Features

The Everyday Classic: Living With a 1964 El Camino

Sarah Whitfield · · 6 min
Clean mid 1960s Chevrolet El Camino parked on a quiet residential street
Car Features

Before the Muscle: The 1964 to 1967 El Camino

Sarah Whitfield · · 7 min
1965 Chevrolet El Camino with hood open showing its 327 small block V8 in a garage
Car Features

1965: When the El Camino Started to Get Serious

Sarah Whitfield · · 7 min
1985 Chevrolet El Camino in a quiet industrial lot under overcast dramatic light
Car Features

The End of the El Camino Nameplate in 1987

Sarah Whitfield · · 7 min
1964 Chevrolet El Camino on new Chevelle platform parked at a sunlit plant loading dock
Car Features

The Chevelle Platform That Saved the El Camino

Sarah Whitfield · · 6 min
Forest green 1962 Ford Galaxie 500 XL parked outside a mid century Ford plant
Car Features

The Rise of the Galaxie 500 XL, 1962 to 1968

Sarah Whitfield · · 7 min
Collector reviewing a binder of ownership records beside a red 1963 Corvette coupe
Market & Values

Selling to a Private Collector: What They Expect

Sarah Whitfield · · 8 min
Candy painted 1985 El Camino lowered on chrome wire wheels in a golden hour driveway
Car Features

Standout G-Body El Camino Custom Builds

Sarah Whitfield · · 7 min
Upholstery workshop bench with rolls of vintage broadcloth, embossed vinyl and leather beside a 1950s sedan seat frame
Restoration & Tech

Original Interior Materials: Vinyl, Cloth and Leather by Era

Sarah Whitfield · · 8 min
Deep maroon 1965 Ford Galaxie 500 sedan parked in a suburban driveway with autumn leaves
Car Features

Living With a 1965 Galaxie Today

Sarah Whitfield · · 6 min
Faded maroon 1987 Chevrolet El Camino parked at dusk in an empty small town gas station lot
Car Features

The Final El Caminos: 1986 to 1987

Sarah Whitfield · · 7 min
1985 Chevrolet El Camino SS in a dealership service bay under work lights
Car Features

Choo Choo Customs and the SS Conversion Story

Sarah Whitfield · · 7 min
White 1965 Ford Galaxie Sunliner convertible parked on a coastal overlook
Car Features

The 1965 Galaxie Convertible in the New Body

Sarah Whitfield · · 7 min
White 1965 Ford Galaxie LTD nose to nose with a blue Plymouth Fury VIP at a country club
Car Features

1965 Galaxie LTD vs Plymouth Fury VIP

Sarah Whitfield · · 7 min
Light blue 1985 El Camino beside a matching Malibu sedan in a suburban driveway
Car Features

The Malibu Connection: The G-Body El Camino Platform Story

Sarah Whitfield · · 7 min
Tan 1978 downsized G-body Chevrolet El Camino at a gas station during fuel shortage era
Car Features

1978: How Downsizing Reinvented the El Camino

Sarah Whitfield · · 7 min
Copper 1973 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Colonnade at a busy dealership lot with pennant flags
Car Features

The Sales Boom That Made the Colonnade a Blockbuster

Sarah Whitfield · · 6 min
Pre-sewn tan vinyl seat cover kit beside a stripped bench seat frame on an upholstery workshop bench
Restoration & Tech

Classic Car Upholstery: Kits vs Custom-Sewn

Sarah Whitfield · · 6 min
Black 1965 Ford Galaxie 500 XL with bucket seats parked at a coastal overlook sunrise
Car Features

The 1965 Galaxie 500 XL: Sport Trim at Its Sharpest

Sarah Whitfield · · 7 min

Buyer's Guides by Sarah Whitfield

Comparisons by Sarah Whitfield

Q&A by Sarah Whitfield