Author Archives: Tim Sweet

Engine Line Up: 1973 Fords Part I

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1973 was a good year, I was a still in high school and big engines weren’t extinct yet. Ford had a big assortment.  We are talking 10 to choose from if you didn’t count the Mustang engines.

Ford Pinto (this will be a parking log spot light coming up)

On small size 6 cylinder were still king but 4 cylinder was available for the Pinto.  For the larger engines displacement was large and the horse power small.

There was only one 4 cylinder available, reserved for the ill fated Pinto.  It sported an overhead cam and iron block.  It displaced a whopping 122 cubic inches and as one would expect had the smallest bore and stroke – 3.58 x 3.03.  The compression ratio was 8.2:1 and it tore up the street with 86 hps.  (No I didn’t for get the “1” in front of that.)  It was topped with a Ford/Weber 2 barrel carb.

2.0 Pinto Engine

The six cylinders came in 2 varieties  and were used in the Maverick and Torino.  The first was dubbed the Maverick 6 cylinder. It was configured with overhead valves and a cast iron block.  With the bore and stoke 3.68 x 3.13 it was able to displace 200 cubic inches.  The compression ratio was slightly higher than the 4 cylinder at 8.3:1 but it was fitted with a 1 barrel Motocraft carb resulting in only 84 hp.

The second ‘big brother” six cylinder was called the Maverick/Torino.  Again it had the overhead valves and cast iron blocks, same as its little brother, but it had a greater stroke 3.91 (3.68 X 3.91) compared to the its sibling 3.13.  The compression ratio was lower (8.0:1) and topped with the same single barrel carb it managed 88 hps.

The Torino was not a small car so it really need those 4 extra hps!!!

Ford 6 cylinder - nicely restored!!!

V8s  for 1973 coming up and then the Mustang engines.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

The Meaning of Mopar -It Wasn’t Always About Power

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For all you MOPAR fans out there this is a great article by Auto Enthusiast.  I’m not going to repeat it all here.  Grab the link at the bottom of this post.

Mopar is a commonly used word in today’s motorsports and high-performance car scenes, but the origins of the term Mopar had absolutely nothing to do with high horsepower or checkered flags.

Chrysler was a young and growing company in the 1920s. It had bought out the Dodge car company in 1928 and the need for a dedicated parts supplier led to the formation of the Chrysler Motor Parts Division.

As the company continued to grow, Motor Parts Division featured a simple logo with the letters C, D, D and P (Chrysler, Dodge, De Soto and Plymouth) from the years 1933 to 1937.

Nelson L. Farley, a sales promotion manager, decided there had to be a better way of promoting the replacement parts. An “Activities Council” was created. Company records show the results of the Activities Council came to light in the spring of 1937. The group came up with “MoPar,” (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts). The first order of business was coming up with a logo to put the name on cans of antifreeze.

The first MoPar logo was oval and used yellow and red. The new logo and the new name were a big move forward in communicating to the customers. If you needed something for a Chrysler product and got it from the garage that sells the vehicles, it came marked as a MoPar item.

The original brand and trademark logo remained the same from 1937 to 1947. It was slightly changed in 1948. The second logo did not change for six years. MoPar parts were still factory replacement items, nothing more and nothing less.

 

 

http://www.amosauto.com/Articles/Mopar/Features/headline-for-web-5

Thanks for Reading.

Tim

Engine Line Up: 1964 Mercury

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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.

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Photos: New Ford Mustang 5.0L Falls Three Stories From Parking Garage

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parking garage 2

There has been a lot of parking garage incidents lately but I think this one takes the cake. This isn’t some guy losing control on the nearby road and landing IN the parking garage. Not this time. This time the driver apparently went through the concrete wall of the third story of the parking garage in Lugano, Switzerland, and fell all the way down upon some parked mopeds and a tree. The 24-year old driver was only injured slightly after flying off of the third floor. You can say that this brand new 5.0 suffered a tragic death, though.

If you look up into the parking garage, you see exactly where he fell from as there is a guy looking down and a nice chunk of wall missing. It gives you a good perspective of how far this car actually fell!

1970 Mustang Coupe for Sale – Project car.

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1970 Coupe – automatic – desirable 289 engine  – (all there).  $2,600.00

Kim’s husband passed and she’d really like this car go to someone who will restore it and not part it out.  Car will need some work.  If you purchase this car I’ll help project manage the restoration. Might even have some spare part for ya.  Car is here in Tucson.

“1970 mustang coupe for sale. It was my husbands, but he passed away and I don’t have the money to fix it up the way he wanted it to be. I don’t want to sell it for a parts car, I would like to sell it to someone who will restore it and take care of it. It did run at one point, but it has been sitting under a cover for the last 7 years or so so it won’t start. He was in the process of replacing the vinyl roof, so that is why the top is rusty. It probably needs to be replaced. The engine is a 289. All the parts he had bought comes with the car. Extra doors, windows, hood, tail lights…and a few other things. This car is a definite project car!! Any questions, please feel free to email.”

 

There's your 289

Going to need a little work.

Automatic

Thanks”

Here is Kim’s link.

http://apps.facebook.com/marketplace/browse/-/-/usa:az:tucson/?cm_mmc=FB_Friend_Email-_-111206ade03f0aa8c5ed0e10f68f1ddb1ccebf-_-Summary_Local_City-_-100000356349979

Thanks for reading.

 

Tim

Parts Car or Daily Driver

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This pic came from over on Autoholics.com.   Good…reef!!!!  

Some tires and a couple headlights and we are good to go!!!  Look at that upholstery!!!

Thanks for reading.

Tim

 

Car Art vs. Car Art

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There’s car art (art with cars) and then there’s car art (art on a car).

Here are a couple interesting pieces.

The first is  in Prescott, Az.  Prescott is beautiful city in up-state Arizona where we love to hang out.  It features a beautiful town square that would rival any of them back East.  That square is the venue of some very enjoyable events, include a collector’s car show and an all Corvette show, every year.

Walking a few blocks away from the square is a parking garage with one side depicting an a mural.

 

Mural in Prescott, Az

Notice the cars?

Here’s a close up:

 

Mural in Prescott, Az

 

Great art  work!!!

Let move to the other end of the spectrum.  I’m keeping in mind that “Art” is in the eye of the beholder..nah…that’s not working here!!!

Bisbee, Az is nearly the complete opposite of Prescott, Az.  In fact, it’s even located at the opposite end of Arizona.  Tucked in to the mountains, near the border of Mexico, it is  very interesting mining town, turned tourist town.  Bisbee sits in a time warp stuck between the 1960’s and mid 1970’s.  Gives all the feel of the VW  bus generation with a huge variety of artist’s, art galleries and old mining camp homes built into the side of the mountains.  No..this ain’t the travel channel…so here’s the Art on the Car.

It appears to be a….why YES!!!…it is an El Camino.  Ya..know….I can’t really say any more…you look at it…and give me some feed back!!!!

El Camino - Art'ed out

 

Yup...eactly...WTF!!!

 

Well..ya know....it was cheaper than going to MACCO for a paint job

 

“nough…said”!!!

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Average Guy’s Car Restoration, Mods and Racing – International

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This blog is gaining popularity.  It’s being followed on Digg, StumbleUpon, Twitter and the Facebook page.

There are car nuts from 18 different countries hanging out around here.  That’s pretty good for an non-commercial blog.

What’s that mean?  Means I’m going to set it up a bit.  More to come on that.

So thank you all and please submit your pictured and stories and I’ll get them posted up.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

 

$3 Million 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake

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Posted by on January 15, 2008 – 6 Comments

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With the upcoming release of the Shelby GT500 Super Snake many people will have an opportunity to put on of these limited edition Shelby’s inside their garage. It’s quite the opposite for the 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake as the person who wins this ebay auction for the only 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake ever produced will have the ultimate limited edition Mustang. The 1967 Shelby Super Snake sports a 427ci V8 with 520 horsepower, a 170 mph top speed and unique triple stripes. The ebay auction is set to end in a week. Check out the pictures after the fold.

1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake

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