Monthly Archives: December 2011

2013 Grabber Blue Boss 302 Mustang

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From over on http://www.stangtv.com
by on December 29, 2011

When the Ford Mustang Boss 302 debuted as a 2012 model, Ford threw out many of the standard options in favor of performance-specific parts. This also included a number of color options, leaving buyers with fewer palette choices than a comparable Mustang GT. One of the most popular colors, Grabber Blue, was unavailable on the 2012 Boss 302 Mustang.

But it will be available on the 2013 Boss 302, as the recently-released 2013 Mustang guide revealed. Now we have the first pictures of a Grabber Blue Boss 302, thanks to eagle-eyed forum members over at The Mustang Source.

Grabber Blue first appeared on Boss 302 Mustangs in 1970, and it remains popular with Mustang buyers today who flock towards the traditional pony car color. So it raised more than a few eyebrows when Ford did not offer Grabber Blue on the 2012 Boss 302 Mustangs. Rather, Ford offered five other colors; Competition Orange, Race Red, Yellow Blaze Tri-Coat, Kona Blue Metallic, and Performance White.

Yet Ford did sell a one-of-one Grabber Blue Boss 302 Laguna Seca Edition Mustang at the Barrett-Jackson auctions earlier this year. And judging from these pictures, the standard Boss 302 Mustang looks just as great in Grabber Blue as we thought it would. Grabber Blue will be joined by School Bus Yellow as well. Gotta Have It Green will also be offered on 2013 Mustangs, though no word on if the Boss 302 will also have the option. However, if Ford is keeping with the tradition of offering Grabber colors in the second year of Boss Mustang production, well why wouldn’t they offer a Gotta Have It Green option?

The Mustang II – Say What?

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Ok…I sorry (not really) but I have to consider what my readers like.  And to date one of the most read articles on my blog is the piece I did on the Mustang II  King Cobra  http://wp.me/pKHNM-uY . (Go ahead you know are going to go read it!!)

So I’m going to do a series on the Mustang II (after all I’m project managing the restoration of a 1975 VW, I could spend sometime on that era Mustang).  We’ll touch on the 4 and 6 cylinders and  yes there was a 302.

So we’ll start with a history lesson.

1973 was the last year for the more powerful and larger bodies Mustangs.  Ford may have thought they were going back to the original size Mustang and the 1974 version was in fact close to that size.  The 1966 Mustang had a wheelbase of about 108 inches  ( 181.6 inches in total) and the 1974 was 96.2 (175.0 inches over all).  Compare to the 1973 which (depend on which version) was 187.5-190.0 inches over all.

The generation ran from 1974 to 1978 and sported some collectible cars, the King Cobra and Mach I…yes Mach I’s in a  Mustang II.

Here is a quick look.

 

1974 Cobra II – You Love it…I know you do.

1974 Mach I ok…sure..Pinto like.

1978 Mustang Cobra II – Excellent Looking

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Closing out the year.

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Christmas has come and gone and 2011 is almost in the bag.  As the year draws to a close, I often think of things I didn’t get to do or didn’t get enough of and then decide if they’re worth carrying over to next year.

2011 has been a bit of a rollercoaster year, changing jobs can really take some of the wind out of sails of the “U.S.S. Fun” yacht.  So I didn’t get nearly enough race time and fell way short of the number of car show attended or participated in. I didn’t get as far as I thought I would with the Mustang mods either… although the upholstery and transmission were pretty key and did get finished.   I didn’t make my goal of 500 posts this year on the blog, but there’s still a little time left so I can get close.

Creating the commercial side of Average Guy’s Car Restoration, Mods and Racing got kicked off with taking on the project management for a 1975 VW Beetle restoration (a $20K restoration, yes REALLY) and shortly I’ll have completed my certification for classic, racing and specialty car appraisals.  I still need to finish my web site and grab some sponsors and then pick up a business license.

So my carry-overs will be more racing, SCCA and local drag strip; more mods for the Mustang (and maybe a little something for the Vette).  The car shows numbers will be increased and that will start in January, with the car show of all car shows, the Barrett-Jackson 2012 in Scottsdale, AZ.  (Yes, I do consider it a car show – it’s only an auction to those that go there to buy.)  I’d like to spend more time with my Corvette Club (Arizona Corvette Enthusiasts – ACE) and maybe hook up with one of the all-purpose car clubs as well.  I’m looking forward to having an article or two published…somewhere and boosting the commerical side of things.

That’s a pretty big personal agenda for next year, but I’ve got some up and coming things for the blog as well.  I’m going to expand the engine series a bit and include crate engines.  I try to stay way form fuel injected engines and just keep it ‘old school’, hard to do when you own a new-ish Vette, however so don’t be surprised some modern-mods.  Will try to do more “live feeds” from events, those are fun but a lot of work.  I have one more avenue to try and that’s pod casts.  They’ll be hosted on my site and maybe even try a couple video blog cast.

Ok that’s it for now. 

Thanks for reading and stop by and drop me a note on the blog.

Tim

Performance Parts Pout

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Well, I’m officially depressed. No it’s not because of the holidays, or the rapidly approaching  June when I’ll move too  far into the 50’s  to be able to fool myself that I’m just barely 50, nope none of those things.

I’m looking at GM’s (bastards!!) Performance Catalog and all the shiny things in it.  Like the ported LS3 heads, and the LS376 – 525…yes  525 hp in a crate engine, drop in and drive.  I realize two things, I need an older Chevy to play with (or upgrade the C6 Vette) and that I’ll need a second job if I even want to touch any of this stuff and where will I live when the better half finds this stuff laying around the garage? (Tell me you aren’t depressed now?!?!!…It’s ok…admin it!!!)

Note:  It’s gonna get worse… I have the Ford performance parts catalog as well…all I can say is thank GOD!!!  I don’t have a Morpar to drive around….oh….the therapy…bills….!!!  Why, OH Why didn’t I drink the family KoolAide when I was a kid..I would have been able to shun the Fords and Mopars and just be a normal one brand car guy??

There is some awesome stuff the Chevrolet Performance Team is put out, everything from small block crates to LSX monsters, to circle track crate engines.

Over the next few post I’m going to cover a few highlights and a couple unexpected – like engines for the Chevy Cobalt and some V6 engines.  (Have just read some specs for the upcoming 2013 Mustang V6 – I want to see what Chevy’s got.)

In fact let’s start with something off the wall.  Like the 900  V6 Intake for a 4 barrel carb!! What???!!!!  It’s an aluminum high-performance for the 3.8 or 4.3 liter V6.  So go ahead bolt on that 390 cfm carb..oh heck….grab that 600 cfm 4150 and drop it on top.

Chevy's V6 - 4 BBL Intake Manifold - about $265.00 (Part 10134390).

That is not a bad price.  Of course it’s not for all heads, like it  won’t fit the 3800 V6 or the 18 degree heads and you might have add a bump to your hood for clearance!!!

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Last U.S.-built Ford Ranger built in St. Paul assembly plant

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Dec 16, 2011 the last produced Ford Ranger.  This isn’t just the end of the Ford Ranger, its the end of the Cologne V6 and the closing of a plant that has been producing car since 1925 – over 25 million.  The last Ranger was a fleet car going to Orkin Pest Control – yawn – couldn’t have been a Raptor or and F150 Harley Davison version.

2012 V6 Ford Ranger - The last one.

The plant produced armored cars during WW II and  50’s Fords, early Crown Vics and Galazies. It also produced one of my favorite cars the Ford Sunliner.

1955 Ford Sunliner

 

Sunliner

 

 

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Engine Line Up – 1973 Ford – Mustangs

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The engines for the 1973 Mustangs pretty well with the rest of the matched up the other models engines, but with some minor “tweaks”.

You couldn’t get a Mustang with a 4 cylinder (yet) but you could get with the standard 6.  This was the 250 version, (250 cubic inches of displacement) the bore and stroke was 3.68 x 3.91 also used in the Torino.  Topping it with a single barrel Motocraft carb and coupled with a compression ratio of 8.0:1 gave it a ground pounding horse power rating of 88 (Oh don’t worry, it gets worse in 1974).

302 remained the same for the Mustang and was the standard for the Mach 1.  The 351’s (Cleveland and Windsor were available and they really remained the same as those for the other models.

Now you might be saying, ‘Well Tim, seems like you typed yourself in to a corner here.  Those engines are the same.”  But here is what made the differences  – options!!!

With special intakes, valve springs, dampers, large 4300 D carbs, 2.5 inch diameter dual exhaust outlets and modified cam, you now talking increased breathing and exhaling capacity. Which we all know means…say it with me…..”MORE HORSE POWER!!!!!”   But how much? I’m glad you asked.

The 351 with these types of option produced between 246 and 266 horse power.  The 302 doesn’t show being configured with anything other than the stock options.

1973 351 Cleveland 2 barrel Intake

'73 351 Windsor 4 barrel intake.

Why didn’t they put the 400’s in the Mustang????

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Bloomington Gold moves again | Hemmings Blog: Classic and collectible cars and parts

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All Corvette Show

Bloomington Gold moves again | Hemmings Blog: Classic and collectible cars and parts.

The world’s most significant all-Corvette show is moving back to central Illinois. After nearly a decade of being held at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Bloomington Gold will be moving about 115 miles south to the town of Champaign for 2013, near where it first began nearly four decades ago.

According to Bloomington Gold CEO, David Burroughs, “Although it will be hard to beat the beautiful fairways of Pheasant Run, input from Corvette-owning customers wanted more opportunity for socializing and driving events as part of the entire Corvette show experience. It needed to become more dynamic.”

David went on to say: “Our customers own Corvettes because they are fun to drive. So, we needed a venue that not only served our exhibitors and customers who buy/sell and certify Corvettes, but also a venue that makes it easy and fun to navigate to/from and around the community before, during, and after the show. Therefore, we needed a small-town atmosphere with big-town hotels, great facilities, and quick escape routes to miles of country roads. Champaign, Illinois, has the smaller-town atmosphere, and the University of Illinois Assembly Hall grounds have everything else.”

So mark your calendar for June 27-30, 2013. Not only will this be the first year for the new venue, but it will also be the show’s 40th anniversary. And if you’ve ever attended one of the Bloomington Gold shows, you’ll know that there’s something very special planned that every Corvette enthusiast will not want to miss. In the meantime, the 2012 edition of Bloomington Gold will remain in St. Charles and take place June 21-24. For more information, visit BloomingtonGold.com.

COPO IS BACK!! The Camaro As it was Meant to Be!!

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I just recently picked up a copy of GMs new Performance catalog and all I can say is WOW!!  But we’ll dive into that in a future post.

Gracing the cover was the latest and greatest COPO Camaro.  You remember those special order packages.  Well they have brought it back and factory racing just jumped up and shouted “LET DO IT!!!!”
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