Corvair – The Last Car

Normally, I do a Auto Factoid piece and you’d find a entry that would say on May 14, 1969 the last Corvair rolled off the factory line.

Some folks loved the car and many collectors still do.  There were a few that really disliked the car for various reasons and one guy in particular, Ralph Nader, believed they represented all that was wrong with the U.S. auto industry.  Although he may not have single-handedly contributed the end of the Corvair’s production, many believe he was instrumental in it’s early demise.

That’s why in a border town car show in Nogales, AZ I found this humorous:

What's funny about a 1966 Corvair?

What’s funny about a 1966 Corvair?

How about the Ralph Nader for President bumper sticker?

How about the Ralph Nader for President bumper sticker?

 

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

 

 

 

 

The End of a Decade – The Mustang Era

Well one thing we can count on  for sure, is that things will always change.

For nearly  10 years my 1970 Mustang has been a great joy.  I’ve taken it from a 6 cylinder lady’s car (I say that purely because it was first owned by a lady, who in turn, handed it down to her daughter and it had some dainty pin striping) to a proud muscle car.

We suffered a couple flat-bed trips, a problematic carb and leaking power steering, an AC unit that got less miles per oz of coolant then the engine did in miles per gallon and invented some new cuss words!

We survived a few charity drag races and won a bunch street light mini drags, took home a couple of car show trophies and placed a lot of smiles on passerby faces and kids when I let them sit behind the wheel.

But things change and I’ve enjoyed my Mustang thoroughly.  But it’s time to move on so my Mustang is going to a new home, where it will enjoy the company of four other Mustangs.

I will miss the old steed but so proud of where it started and where it is now.

So fare well old friend…on to new adventures.

1970 Mustang Mods for 300 HP

1970 Mustang
Mods for 300 HP

So what’s next for me?  Well there is my 1965 Bridgestone motorcycle and many more car shows and SCCA with the my C7 Vette and a surprise coming up….oh…no you are just going to have to wait to find out.

So stay tuned for some more mods, car shows, racing and classic/muscle car reading.

Thank you for reading.

Tim

 

Engine Line Up for the 1946 Chryslers

I really enjoy doing the engine line up series.  I love engines.  If I had the $$$ and the space I’d collect them.  Wouldn’t it be cool to have a straight eight, or twelve cylinder sitting on a stand, all clean and shiny?

For 1946 Chrysler had the Royal, the Windsor, The Saratoga and the New Yorker series, 2 more series than they had engines.

One of the coolest models was the Windsor two-door three passenger coupe.

1946 Two door, 3 passenger

1946 Two door, 3 passenger

Let’s get to the engines.

If you can’t guess there were one 6 cylinder and one 8 cylinder.  They were split by series.  One was the Royal/Windsor engine and the other was Saratoga/New Yorker engine.  If you know anything about Chryslers you might know that the New  Yorker named cars were large cars and traditionally had larger engines.  In this case the Saratoga/New Yorker carried the V8.

It was an L-Head, cast iron block V8.  It displaced 323.5 cubic inches with a bore and stroke of 3.25″ x 4.875″. With a compression ratio of 6.7:1 the engine put out about 135 horsepower.  It had five main bearing and solid lifters and was topped with a B-B E7A1 carb.

1946 Chrysler 323.7 Straight Eight.

1946 Chrysler 323.7 Straight Eight.

 

The other engine was a 6 cylinder or the Royal/Windsor engine, smaller cars (like the 2 door 3 passenger).

It two was an L-Head and cast iron block engine.  It displaced 250.6 cid and the bore and stroke were 3.438″ x 4.50″.  The compression ratio was 6.6:1  and it had solid lifters and 4 main bearings which combined generates 114 horsepower.  It was topped either B-B EV1-EV2 j or E7L4 (for the Fluid Drive and Vacumatic) or B-BEX1, 2 or 3 (for the standard transmission).

The 1946 Chrysler 250 straight 6

The 1946 Chrysler 250 straight 6

Thanks for reading.

Tim

 

 

 

 

 

Parking Lot Spot Light – ’65 Stang

As you know Parking Lot Spot Light is a piece where someone as parked their classic, muscle or other cool car in a local establishment to conduct some sort of business.

This time it was a local grocery store (car peeps need to eat) this beautiful fastback.

As Mustang fans know the 1964 Mustang flew out of the show room.  But I bet if they new what was coming in 1965 the might have waited.  I know if I but a 1964, I’d be looking to trade it the fastback came out.  Especially if I had saw this color with these stripes.

Fantastic Fastback

Fantastic Fastback

Love the scoop and the stripes!!!

Love the scoop and the stripes!!!

Didn't get to peek under the hood but I'm betting the 289 is still there.

Didn’t get to peek under the hood but I’m betting the 289 is still there.

 

The interior was just a great looking as the exterior.

The interior was just a great looking as the exterior.

 

Got a Mustang you love.  Drop me a note.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

 

 

 

 

Ferrari LaFerrari | BleuCartel

963 horsepower from a combined combustion/electric engine?!!!  Yes!!

Farrari Combo Combustion-Electric

Farrari Combo Combustion-Electric

It has been long-awaited for the day we see the successor to the mighty Enzo supercar. After its debut this morning at the 2013 Geneva auto show, the automotive world is in uproar over the new Ferrari icon, LaFerrari. Producing a combined 963 horsepower through a 800 horsepower combustion engine and a 163 horsepower electric motor, the new LaFerrari is the most powerful and efficient Ferrari built to-date. 0-62 in under 3 seconds and achieving 205 mph top speed. Body & chassis structure is similar to the multi-material used to in the Scuderia F1 racecar. Like its predecessors, LaFerrari will be a limited production vehicle. Though just 499 copies will be made, that’s much more than the Enzo 24 copies. Price has yet to be announced, but expect it to be north of the $1 million dollar mark.

Enjoy the video.  I DID!!!

via Ferrari LaFerrari | BleuCartel.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

 

Barrett Jackson – Recap Part III – 2013 Mustang 5.0

Ok now there’s no debating that I’m a two bit blogger with no car industry pull.  So Chevy, Ford and Mother MOPAR  aren’t dropping cars off for me to beat up or even just to test drive.

Nope, if I want to test drive a car I have to hope a friend buys one (and let’s me drive – given my rep it’s a tough sell) or I have to go to the dealership.  I’ve drove 100 miles out-of-town to test drive a C6 Corvette.  You really have to convenience the salesman you are serious and in this particular case I did and the salesman accompanied me out on to highway and on a remote entrance ramp allowed me to open it up.  That’s rare, normally you are lucky if you get to travel a couple blocks and maybe a spirited  lunch at a traffic light.

Ok enough whining.

At Barrett-Jackson the dealerships – well at least Ford and Chevy have a venue set up where you can actually test drive some of their latest offerings.  The lines are long and you aren’t going to be able to drive the Shelby SuperSnake or Z06, but there are some good rides there.  What’s more, you aren’t driving on a city street….yeah…you are driving on an auto cross track – short but effective.

So I got to drive the 2013 Mustang 5.0, 412 hp on this short track.

That did  I think?  That coming up in the next post.

Thanks for reading.  Grab the RSS feed or register for email updates.

Tim

 

ROUSH Performance Set for GRAND-AM Season Opener at Daytona

ROUSH Performance Set for GRAND-AM Season Opener at Daytona
ROUSH Performance is ready for next weekend’s GRAND-AM season opener at Daytona where they’ll attempt to kick-start their 2013 season the same way they began their 2012 campaign – with a win! The team will enter a trio of Mustang Boss 302Rs – the No. 61 driven by Jack Roush Jr. and Billy Johnson, the No. 51 piloted by Shelby Blackstock and Joey Atterbury and the No. 49 for Roly Falgueras and Brian Ortiz. Cheer on ROUSH Performance and the rest of the Mustang Boss 302R contingent this weekend at Daytona!