Let’s start with April 1st:
1961 the Amphicar debuted.
Amphicar – a flip of a lever and two propellers kicked in and made water-crossing a breeze.
It was powered by an iron block and iron head Inline 4 engine with 2 valves per cylinder. It displaced 1147 cc and had 2.72 x 2.99 bore and stroke with 8.0:1 compression produced 47 hp and 61 ft lbs of torque.
For years later one of the most important cars (although not this particular version) was introduced – the 1964 Plymouth Barracuda. Little did Plymouth know at the time 6 to 8 years later the version of the ‘Cuda’ would break collector car value records.
1964 Barracuda – Glassback.
Not the powerhouse that the 70’s versions were but it did have a V8 available that net you 180 hp. Dubbed the “Glassback” because most of the slanted back was class (not unlike my 07 Corvette).
A few years later in 1970 AMC showed off their oddest car yet – the Gremlin. (Although the Pacer was arguably the worse.) Ugly or not it was a good seller and it’s standard 6 cylinder was economical and produced 128 hp. There were 872 2 passenger and 27,688 4 passenger made that year.
1970 Gremlin. Fastback or ‘no back”
Also this week Mr. Walter Chrysler was born in 1875 on April 2 and Charles Hall patented Aluminum in 1889 on the same day.
In 1923 on April 5th, Firestone produced the first balloon tire.
Thanks for reading.
Tim
My taste sure has changed with age when it comes to the first gen glassback Barracuda. This was a car that was on the very bottom of my list for classic Mopar ownership, and now I catch myself browsing for these on eBay motors. I like the prices for a 273 V8 with pushbutton auto sells for 8 to 18 grand depending on restoration level, and the looks are like nothing on the road today. (One issue with the current trio of camaro, mustang, and challenger makes their yesteryear cousin less impact today looks wise)
Having said all this, I still haven’t warmed up to the Gremlins, and probably never will.
Happy Easter all.