There will be hundreds of collector cars going up for auction at Barrett-Jackson this month, but few will be as interesting as this custom creation nicknamed the “Lockheed Lakester”. The car, registered for road use as a 1917 Crow Lakester Custom, was hand-built from the wing tip tank of a Lockheed Super Constellation and uses a mix of automotive and aircraft parts. Wedged inside the tank is a 1.8-liter turbocharged Hemi four-cylinder mated to a five-speed manual transmission, and the two-person cockpit features gunner seats and an air-speed indicator in lieu of a speedometer.
We’ll be bringing you live coverage of Barrett-Jackson later this month, so be sure to check back for more photos of the “Lockheed Lakester” and more in just a few weeks.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m going to rebuild the old 3 speed transmission that I took out of my ’70 Mustang coup and I’ll do it in stages (average guy, average time to spend on a project…especially one that isn’t going to benefit my cars). The rebuild kit is on it’s way.
This the first time I’ve attempted this, so who knows how it’s going to go.
First I’m going to give myself a transmission anatomy lesson, which I’ll share here.
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.
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.
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!!!!” [vodpod id=Video.15839761&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26]
These are some of the best styled cars for that year. ( I really like the convertible for 1963 Merc as well). The ’64 Comet looked like it was moving, while standing still.
1964 Mercury Comet Cyclone
The engine line up for the 1964 Mercury came in 3 flavors. The Comet, the Cyclone and Mercury versions.
The Comet engine was a 6 cylinder, overhead valve with a cast iron block. 170 cid with a bore and stroke of 3.50 x 2.93 and combined with a compression ratio of 8.7:1 it produced 101 hps. Well not actually a powers house with the one barrel carb, C3YF-9510E.
Now the Cyclone engine was a bit of a bump. It was a V8 with overhead valve and a cast iron block displacing 289 cubic inches. The compression ratio 9.0:1, bore and stroke of 4.00 X 2.37 and hooked up to a 2 barrel carb (C5MF-9510A) helped produce 210 hps.
The 3rd option was the most powerful, producing 250 hps and matched up to the cyclone engine, except where it matters. Displacing – 390 cubic inches with the bore and stroke 4.05 x 2.37, 9.4:1 compression ratio and topped with the Ford C4MF-9510D two barrel carb.
Fords 2 Barrel C4MF-9510D Carb
1964 Mercury Colony Park Station Wagon - carried the 390.
Coming up will be a series of posts as I rebuild the original 3 speed transmission. This is the original 3 speed transmission from my 1970 Mustang. I’ve replaced it with a rebuilt 1965 4 speed transmission from a Shelby Mustang. (See that in a post coming up.)
I’ll start the tear down after the Christmas holiday.
Hope everyone has recovered from heavy eating and traveling, I know I need to rest up before Christmas, maybe even drop a couple of pounds ahead of time.
I’m also to attempt to meet my goal of 500 posts before the end of 2011. (Yes this one counts).
I have a couple of contests coming up with some auto related DVD’s to give away and some a couple of parking lot finds, and a feature car or two.
