Category Archives: Muscle Cars

CRUISE NIGHT: Downtown Barrington, Illinois

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Downtown Barrington, Illinois's classic car cruise has been taking place for 9 years.Tucked away in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago is the quaint town of Barrington and every summer Thursday night, the classic cars come rolling in for the village’s weekly cruise. With its tranquil, tree-lined setting, easily accessible boutique shops and casual dining, this event is one draws automotive enthusiasts from all over.

Anne Garrett helps to oversee the downtown Barrington, Illinois classic car cruise night.

Anne Garrett

Anne Garrett serves as the Manager for Special Events and Marketing for the Village of Barrington and described to us how the cruise came to be.

“This year is our 9th year for the cruise, which got started in 2003. At the time, the village had been looking for ways to draw traffic and attention to the downtown area and knew a classic car cruise would be just perfect. Other neighboring suburbs had something similar so we did some research and determined we had what it would take to run a successful event. We settled on the South Cook street area and in all the years its been running, haven’t changed a thing.”

Anne informed us two village staff members and several members of the The Barrington Police will typically bring out a few vehicles to the classic car cruise.public works, as well as local law enforcement, are required to run the event.

“The Barrington Police will attend but it’s more of a public safety presence and a chance to interact with the local community.”

In addition, they also typically bring out vehicles from their fleet and allow spectators to get up close and personal with their high-tech cruisers. Volunteers from the Barrington Lions Club also help with the event.

Classic cars parked in downtown Barrington, Illinois for the classic car cruise. 2012“Four years ago we were approached by the group who offered their assistance. Every year since we’ve had 4 or 5 faithful volunteers help man the barricades and allow the cars to come in and out.”

Judging by the jammed lots, full of classic and custom cars, and the multitudes of owners and spectators milling about, it’s safe to assume the cruise has been a huge hit with the community.

“So far, the response has been tremendous. It seems every week people genuinely look forward to the event. They’re able to come early and go to the Farmer’s Market and then wander around the lots, checking out the cool classic cars. We rotate the onsite food venders and always have different entertainment so no two weeks are exactly the same.”

Classic cars parked in downton Barrington at the cruise. 2012

Expect the lot to be filled during the warm, cruising months.

The local businesses have taken notice of the increased foot traffic. Classic cars parked in downtown Barrington, Illinois for the classic car cruise. 2012

“We’re having more and more of our downtown merchants stay open late, which gives spectators many options for additional shopping and dining activities when they’re done seeing the cars. It really adds to the overall community feeling of the event and makes it a wonderful place to spend the evening.”

If you plan on attending the Barrington cruise and want to bring a four-wheeled relic, you’d better get there early.

“Our official start time is 6:30pm but the car owners will arrive and start cuing up around 4:30pm. Many of them want to make sure they get their ‘special spot’. Generally our end time is right at dusk, as the car owners don’t like driving home in the dark with their headlights on. We’ve been told they don’t like to run the risk of attracting bugs and having to put in the extra time cleaning them off.”

Classic cars parked at the 2012 downtown Barrington, Illinois classic car cruise.Each night throughout the summer has a theme, highlighting a certain brand, style or type of classic machine. While all are welcome, the themed vehicles are given special attention. Here is the schedule for the rest of the season:

July 19: 70’s Night
July 26: “Orphan” Cars
August 2: Mopar
August 9: Convertible
August 16: Sports & British Cars
August 23: Corvette
August 30: Trucks/ 4×4

** Want to know what events are taking place near you? Check out our Cruise Calender **

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At the downtown Barrington cruise, you’ll see everything from an ultra-modern Fisker Karma to all your favorite vintage Detroit muscle machines.

Classic cars parked at the 2012 downtown Barrington, Illinois classic car cruise.

**All photos and content by Classic Recollections and may not be used without permission. 2012 © **

Classic cars parked at the 2012 downtown Barrington, Illinois classic car cruise.

Classic cars parked at the 2012 downtown Barrington, Illinois classic car cruise.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Classic cars parked at the 2012 downtown Barrington, Illinois classic car cruise.

Classic cars parked in downton Barrington at the cruise. 2012__________________________________________________________________________________

**All photos and content by Classic Recollections and may not be used without permission. 2012 © **

Steve’s C4 Update

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I've been fiddling a bit with the Vette.  I have a few projects to do now that I've become a lot more familiar with the car in the last two and a half months.

Although the car sounds cool, the cheap aftermarket mufflers are completely rusted inside.  The baffles are all loose with lots of holes.  On the outside they look new.  They are the source of most of the rattles.

The lumbar supports on the sport seats don't work.  I can't hear the pumps run so inspecting electrics first on those.

Rear speaker amps are toast.  Expensive so it's not high on the list.

Steve’s 1990 C4

Tranny service due.  No biggie and not expensive.

PRNDL lights are out.  Not bad considering it's 22 years old and all other lights work.  I was amazed at the sheer number of lights inside.  Courtesy lights and mood lighting.  The interior alone must have 15 individual lights.

Drivers side headlight motor needs to be repaired.  It works most of the time. LOL.

It's a pretty short list considering the age.

It pretty much sits in the garage.  We are in the 100's (110 today) this week so it's morning and evening use.  The ac does not work but it still has the factory seals on the service ports so I'm hoping for good news there.  We do have R12 available here.  I unbolted the roof when I got it and it hasn't been back on since.  I always wanted a convertible and the coupe is a good compromise.

The most annoying thing about the car is the static electricity. It doesn't shock me or anything but dust sticks to it like glue and the California duster only moves it from place to place.  I never thought about a "plastic" body in that way.  The duster works just fine on my steel cars.

Mustang Muscle in the Mid 70′s Prt 3 1976

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1976 I was a senior in high school, that was the year I had my first tasting of racing – not legal. My ’66 Impala against a Mustang ( a 1973 Mach I) and I got dusted, well almost, the knuckle head (he was a friend) stopped for a red light, I didn’t. My little 283, 2bbl engine (about 195 hp) was hauling about the same curb weight as the Mach I with its 351 CJ engine (about 266 hp) the outcome was certain. But traffic lights are the great equalizer!!!

But would it have had a different outcome if I was racing the new’s Mustang offering for 1976? Let’s see.

If looks were matched with speed, the 1976 Mustang would open of a can of whoop a$$ on my plain jane Impala. With the look of the Stallion Trim or the Cobra II you’d think they were carrying a no less than a V6 and hopefully a V8.

Cobra II

A spin on the original Hurtz rental Mustang.

Cobra II in Blue

Stallion Trim Package for 1976 (I’ve seen this paint job on a couple of Pintos too.)

But underneath  the Shelby type exterior or the Hurtz type color palate the cool exterior lay a 4 cylinder engine, nothing special.  But with Carrol Shelby’s endorsements and Farrah Fawcett driving one on TV the Cobra II (which was intended  to be limited to only 5,000 units) sold over 25k units.

But with the best engine you could shove under the hood, my 283 would’ve made pretty easy work of the 1976 Mustang.

Here are the engine specs that were available.

Vehicle Identification Numbers Engine Codes

140cid 2.3L 2V 4cyl 88hp Y

171cid 2.8L 2V V-6 105hp Z

302cid 5.0L 2V V-8 140hp

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Slacking – What’s Coming Up

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Yes, I’ve been slacking a bit on the blogging, but have good reason.  Ok…not really but here’s what is coming up.

–  A couple  new Engine Lineup articles

– An unexpected new project shows up

– An unexpected problem with the Mustang

– Corvette headlight issues

–  More probing on the Corvette gas gauge issues

– Corvette clutch fluid leak

– Pick up my RSS feed and your name will be entered in my monthly drawing for a die cast replica and other KOOL stuff.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Part and Parcel: State of the Swap

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http://www.oldcarsweekly.com

Each July the tiny town of Iola, Wis., is invaded by a sea of humanity and old iron. Many in attendance come strictly for the swap meet, which covers about 4,500 spaces.

Old car hobby doing well — at least ‘parts’ of it

By John Gunnell

“Don’t tell me there’s no recovery going on,” said Kurt Kelsey, an Iowa City-based vendor of new-old-stock Pontiac parts. According to Kelsey, his business this year is much better than it has been in a long time. “The phone has been ringing off the hook every day,” he said.

Kelsey’s observation about an up-tick in the market isn’t alone. Positive reports have come from other vendors, parts manufacturers and catalog retailers since late last fall. Despite an unsettled national economy and high unemployment, the old-car parts business seems to be in the midst of a boom.

During a Dynamat seminar at the Hot Rod & Restoration Show in March, company owner Scott Whitaker said one-day shipping of Dynamat automotive insulation products has been impossible to promise lately, because a large increase in orders has outpaced new hiring. “The bump in sales wasn’t expected and caught us off guard,” he said.

In early April, Bob Marx at Marx Parts in Arpin, Wis., came to visit us and he, too, was upbeat about his rising sales. Marx has been growing his inventory of vintage gaskets and rear main seals and is now rebuilding fuel pumps, but he said that new products do not explain all of the growth he is seeing. Like several other industry veterans, Marx pointed to the TV exposure of the Mecum and Barrett-Jackson auctions as a factor that’s helping the hobby grow. “New people are getting involved with old cars,” he said.

“After a winter of inactivity, old cars tend to leak or fail when they are put back on the road,” said Fred Kanter of Kanter Auto Products, who wonders if the business boom might be seasonal. “March, April, May every year, it’s the same thing — spring,” Kanter said. He pointed out that from spring through summer every year, his most popular items are fuel pumps and water pumps. “There’s a lot of factors that affect our business.”

You never know what you’ll see at big swap meets. You might come across a 1958 Edsel Pacer looking for a new home.

Al Suehring of Amherst Junction, Wis., specializes in ring gears and is another vendor who feels that the market is strong. We caught up with him at the Vintage Chevrolet Club of America dinner in Chilton, Wis., and he said that his business from the United States and abroad has been showing noticeable increases lately.

Ray Yager of Classic Industries said the level of growth of reproduction parts sales is “hard to keep up with.” His firm supplies MoPar, 1955-’57 Chevy, Camaro, Firebird, Nova, Impala and Chevy truck parts, and parts sales for these vehicles are moving in a positive direction. Yager thought the company’s 18-month-old MoPar parts catalog may account for some, but not all, of the huge increase in business he’s seeing. At least one vendor who solely deals in Chevrolets is likewise seeing increases in business.

“I’m having a really good year,” said Ron Kellogg of Chevy Tri-Power. “Rather amazing since I’m selling restored multi-carb setups in an era of $5-a-gallon gas prices. I’ve probably sold 25 Tri-Power units — normally a year’s worth — since November 2011.”

Kellogg’s increase proves that car collectors still want high-performance options on their classics.

In addition to new products, increased TV exposure of the hobby and added catalogs, parts suppliers said both the use of the Internet and increased advertising seem to be attracting more customers. Some big companies such as Mid America Motorworks and Eastwood have begun sending daily e-mails to thousands of potential customers. This takes time and money and employees with Internet skills, but their efforts are paying off with increased sales.

Many mom-and-pop operations that can’t afford daily e-marketing efforts are creating websites, Facebook pages, blogs and Twitter accounts to reach the marketplace. Hobby events aimed at professionals — such as the Racing & Performance Expo, the British Motor Trade Association and the SEMA Show — all offer seminars on Internet marketing techniques to these businesses.

As their marketing efforts become more sophisticated, parts sellers are also discovering that they can use print media to drive customers to their websites. Companies that never ran a print ad before are discovering that a clean-looking space ad with the right design and not much text can generate strong client interaction. The right picture of a car can catch the potential customer’s attention and a simple e-mail address or website link is all that’s needed to bring business knocking. A good ad will pay for itself much faster these days.

While an increase in parts sales would suggest that restoration shops and collector car sales are both on the increase, growth in those parts of the hobby isn’t as clear-cut as it is when a part is “checked out” in an online catalog. Collector car dealers such as Colin Comer of Colin’s Classic Auto in Milwaukee and market players such as Joe Bortz are fairly universal in the belief that collector car prices are off 15-20 percent in today’s market. Some restoration shop owners say that they are busier than they’ve ever been, but others say the opposite.

From all of the indications we have seen and all the comments we’ve heard, it appears the old-car parts niche is improving for 2012 and this trend will presumably filter down to other parts of the hobby. The hobby is changing in many ways, and the wise businessmen in it are getting more sophisticated as the market grows.

Sources mentioned

Kurt Kelsey
NOS Pontiac parts
641-648-9086

Dynamat
automotive insulation products
www.dynamat.com
513-860-5094

Marx Parts
vintage gaskets
www.marxparts.com
715-652-2405

Kanter Auto Products
mechanical components
www.kanter.com
800-526-1096

Al Suehring
ring gears
715-677-3809

Classic Industries
restoration parts
www.classicindustries.com
714-847-6887

Ron Kellogg
most tri-power units
www.chevytripower.com

Joe Bortz
vintage vehicle sales
www.takeyourcartoauction.com
847-668-2004

Mid America Motorworks
Corvette and VW restoration parts
www.mamotorworks.com
866-350-4543

Eastwood
restoration equipment
www.eastwood.com
800-343-9353

Colin’s Classic Auto
vintage vehicle sales
www.colinsclassicauto.com
414-964-3747

Mustang Muscle in the Mid 70′s Trivia Question.

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So we are going to cover the offering for 1975, but before I continue I have a question for everyone.

It’s often said that the Mustang II was just a Pinto with different sheet metal.  Is that true or false

I’ve got a free gift for the right detailed answer.

Post your answer on this blog.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

74 Pinto

74 Mustang

Retrobuilt 2010 Mustang Turned Old-School Boss 302

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by on June 13, 2012


This whole custom Retrobuilt seems to be all the rage lately from the Reversion Mustang at SEMA to the new GT500 CS convertible conversion. If you don’t know who Retrobuilt is, it’s a Official Licensee of Carroll Shelby Licensing, Inc. They specialize in S197 Mustangs from 2005-2011 and turn them into a modern classic by using custom fiberglass panels, true steel bumpers, door handles, rear window louvers, Shelby wheels, custom exhaust and retro tail covers. Every car built by Retrobuilt includes a serial number, dash plaque and Certificate of Authenticity.

However, another one just made an appearance on eBay motors in the form of a 2010 Mustang turned old school Boss 302. From the front it may seem to be an old school Boss 302, until you realize that the body is a bit different and then get a glance of that rear. Body panels added to this car go over the doors but replace the front hood and fenders. The rear deck lid panel is new and you can see that it also features the black hockey stick Boss stripes. The front and rear chrome bumpers are both from a 1969 Mustang. A good 58 lbs. have been lost and some of the weight has been transferred to the rear.

The interior features red leather seats and the same pattern is also on the door panels. The seats supposedly have no wear or tear and are in good condition, as well as the headliner and carpeting. Under the hood is the stock V8 complete with shaker hood with 34,973 miles logged on the odometer. This car is still under warranty until the end of September and the title obviously states that this is a 2010 Mustang.

What do you think of this retro Boss?  Drop me a note.

I, personally, like it, in an odd sort of way.  I’d have to see in it person.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Mid Ohio Race – Mustang Gets Some Air

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Here is a video clip of a Mustang during a road race.  Driver was fine, but the Mustang really got some air.

http://youtu.be/3oG6ZSiaFVw

 

Thanks for reading

Tim

2013 Shelby GT500: Nardo WARNING DO NOT WATCH THIS!!

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YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.  Now you are going to have to figure out how to explain why there will be  Shelby Mustang GT500 in your driveway to your significant other.

Told ya not to watch!!!    Here is some more.

Tim

Parking Lot Spotlight Charger.

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Great looking Charger. Didn’t get a chance to speak to the owner.

68 or 69