Category Archives: Auto Restoration

More on Story of the Plymouth Cricket

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Bill Burdette submitted this great information:

There is a bit more to the story of the Cricket. Chrysler thought that since GM had purchased Holden and Adam Opel, they should do a ‘me too’ and buy the Rootes group. This consisted of Talbot, Hillman, Simca, and Sunbeam.

The reality is Chrysler was left with a Dog of a car company. They thought the Cricket might catch on due to its image as a gas miser, but it really wasn’t too great on MPG. The build quality was awful, and customers found that the other MOPAR ‘captive import’, the Dodge Colt built by Mitsubishi, was a terrific car with great MPG, and priced a bit cheaper.

One great thing did evolve from the Rootes group for Chrysler; the Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon. These were billed as America’s first FWD 4 cylinder car that could compete with imports. Basically, it was a Talbot Horizon that had been on the market in the UK for many years. Chrysler did do dome re-engineering for the US market by adding a FWD version of the bullet proof Torque Flite auto trans (A413), and used VW Rabbit 1.7l 4 cylinder engines rather than the ‘shake and bake’ Peugeot motor in the UK version. Omni and Horizons were a hit, and reasonably reliable (my first new car was a 1982 Horizon TC3 that was reliable to 120K miles and then fell apart).

Lee Iacocca ended up giving the Rootes group away to Peugeot in the late 1970s in exchange for some stock and 4 cylinder engines for the Europe marketed MOPARs.

I’ll stop here so I do not go onto the era of the great K CARs HA HA.

 

 THANKS BILL!

Terrible Transportation – Plymouth Cricket

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Oh yes this will be an interesting series.

We are going to start of with a well-meant attempt by Chrysler to meet the oil crises  from 1973 to 1980.  Introducing the Cricket!!!!

1973 Cricket

This car was actually  a US spec’ed Hillman Avenger.

It featured the Avenger’s 1.6 liter pushrod engine.  This car’s top speed was 84 mph and took a merely 19.8 seconds to get to 60 mph (I bet you were thinking 100 mph!!).

The car was horrible slow and because it was detuned for as part of the US requirements it ran poorly.

Here some of it features:

– Quick Rust fenders and body parts

– PVC coated foam interior for safety

You are going to want one after you see this ad:

[vodpod id=Video.15696452&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26]

The Plymouth Cricket, posted withvodpod
s

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Engine Line-UP: Chevy Engines 1971

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If you read any of my pieces on Engines, you’ll know that I enjoy learning all I can about the various makers’ details on their features.  I thought that I might start a series that took a year by year approach to what the US automaker build and used in the cars they produced.

So here is the engine line up for the 1971 Chevys.

 

Of course Chevy had the V8’s in 1971, not yet strangled by smog control, as well as 6 cylinders and 4 cylinders.

All of the 6’s were inline (often referred to as straight 6 – for the pistons all being in a straight line configuration) these were 250 cubic inch displacements – (very similar to the Ford 250, with the exception of the Blue upping the compression to 9.1:1 vs Chevy’s 8.5:1).  These were cast iron with hp running about 145 with hydraulic lifter,  and normally topped with a Rochester one barrel carb.  Any car that had a 6 in it had this engine and it was an option with most any Chevy model.

 

1971 Chev Inline Six (this one is in a Chevy Nova)

Next up is the 4 cylinder used exclusively in the Vega (remember those?). They were inline 4’s with Over head Cams, aluminum block (not iron) and managed to displace 140 cubic inches.  The compression ratio was less than they 6 at 8.0:1 with hydraulic lifters and a one barrel carb.

Vega Four Cylinder

There were 3 basic V8 that year the 350, 400 and the 307.

The 350 cid was cast iron with overhead valves and compression ratio of 8.5:1 with an hp of 245 hp when it was topped with a 2 barrel Rochester carb.  These were widely used in the Biscayne, Bel Air, Impala, and Monte Carlo.

The 400 was cast iron as well with matching stats.  However due to the larger bore  (4.125 vs the 4.00 for the 350) and longer stroke (3.75 inches compare to the 350’s 3.48) it was able to push the hp’s up to 255 (umm..seems like a lot of work for 5 hps) when it was topped with the same 2 barrel carb.

The 307 rounds this out  with its cast iron block and over head valves, it to had the compression ratio of 8.5:1 but with a smaller bore and shorter stroke  (3.875 and 3.5 inch)it bu down roughly 200 hp.  The 307 was used in Chevelle, Malibu, Nova and the Camaro.

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Rip Van Disco: A 13-mile barn-find pace car awakens

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Rip Van Disco: A 13-mile barn-find pace car awakens | Hemmings Blog: Classic and collectible cars and parts.


Photos courtesy Corvette Mike of New England

Many, many 1978 Indianapolis 500 pace car replica Corvettes were mothballed with hopes of the cars turning into super collectibles, so finding a low-mileage example today isn’t hard. In fact, there are seven for sale in the December issue of Hemmings Motor News. One, formerly on display at the Corvette museum in Bowling Green, has just 116 miles on the clock. Another is advertised as having been driven just 700 miles. If you want a car you could actually drive, there’s a 1978 Indy Corvette with 22,900 miles.

Unfortunately, the demand predicted for these cars back in the Disco Age has yet to arrive. If you like ‘Vettes, you wouldn’t kick a 1978 pace car out of your garage, but as Corvettes go, these are considered lackluster performers and too many were built for them to ever be considered rare.

According to the Corvette Black Book, the original plan was to make 300 of the black and silver ‘Vettes. Mike Yager’s Corvette Bible claims 2,500. Had Chevrolet stuck to either of those figures, Indy Pace ‘Vettes would probably be more collectible today. But for Chevrolet, the profits these cars were raking in must’ve been as irresistible as coke at Studio 54. The Indy cars received a lot of hype, so demand went through the roof and Chevrolet cranked out 6,502 copies – more than one for each dealer.

With a base price of $13,653 compared to the standard Corvette base price of $9,446, the Pace Cars were expensive and profitable because they were loaded with “mandatory options.” Power windows, power locks, removable roof panels, rear window defogger, air conditioning, tilt/telescoping column, AM-FM radio with 8-track (or CB radio at extra cost) – all were included. Even this probably doesn’t help the value of these cars as luxury tends to be the exact opposite of what Corvette collectors crave today: radio delete, heater delete, oversized fuel tanks (when they were available), manual transmissions. You get the drift – racing-related stuff on a Corvette is hot. Stuff that you would normally associate with a Caprice Classic is not.

Anyway, receiving almost as much press as these cars received when new is a barn-find pace car offered for sale by Hemmings advertiser Corvette Mike. The car has been all over the Internet due to the fact that it has only 13 miles on the odometer. It’s even covered in an authentic layer of scurvy storage grime.

The pace car’s bonafides include a CB radio, Gymkhana suspension and the 220hp L82 350, all of which are cool. The fact that it’s an automatic makes it a little less so. Check it out for yourself over at Corvette Mike’s.

barnfindpaceVette_04_1000
barnfindpaceVette_01_1000
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barnfindpaceVette_03_1000

Parking-Lot Spotlight 1955 Chevy Belair

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Note: Updated to correct mis-Identification of this parking-lot find.  It is in fact a 1955.  The main details that denote the difference is the placement of the Chevy and BelAir badging and grile.

So I’m lucky. I live in a place where there is not prone to any type of natural disasters, we don’t much rain and it only snow when it’s a cold day, you know where.

It’s also a place were you don’t have to put way your collectible set of wheels, you can drive the year would and a lot of folks do.

Here is my latest parking-lot find.

It is a 1955 Chevy, 2 door Belair.  Yeah, I know it’s a couple years before the super wonderful 1957’s came out, but I like these shoe box cars, with their very clean lines especially the 2 door version and I particularly like the lines of the BelAir convertible.  It reminds me of the clean lines for my 1966 Chevy Impala convertible.

Love the red and white.  Fantastic chrome.

Wheel aren’t ordinal but I think that are great for this car.

Look at the stance! It’s just great.

You gotta love that hood ornament!!

 

All Belair came standard with a 6 cylinder with about 353,00 produced, not counting convertibles.

The 6 was an overhead value, cast iron power plant with a displacement of 235.5.  With a 3 9/16 x 3 15/16 and a compression ratio of 7.5:1
these cars knocked out a whopping 115 hp.  The would breath through a Rochester one barrel Model 7007200 carb or a Carter one-barrel Model
2101S (for the Powerglide auto transmission) and a Rochester one-barrel Model 7007181 for the standard shift.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Car Production Numbers. They Made How Many? 1911

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1911 oh… that was a great year!  Well I don’t actually have any proof of that, but there sure were a lot of new car makes that year.  Here the list:

Alpena; ArBenz; Atterbury; Carhartt, Case, Chevrolet; Colby, Crow-Elkhart, Dalton, Gaylord, Havers, Hupp-Yeats; King; Lenox; Mighty Michigan; Motorette; Nyberg: Penn; Rayfield; R.C.H.; Roader; Rogers; S.G.V.; Standard Electric (yes electric); Stutz; Stuyvesant; Virginian; W.F.S.

So who were the leaders for that year?

Ford out-paced all with 69,762 Cars.

Second up was Studebaker/EMF with 26,827.

1911 Studebaker...you can't use just '11 any longer - someone might think this was a 2011 Studebaker

Willys-Overland up next with 18,745 and Maxwell about 2,000 less at 16,000.

One of the 16,000 Maxwells

Buick came in at fifth with 13,389, beating out Cadillac with 10,071 cars.

Hudson and Chalmers finish up the list with 6,486 and 6,250 respectively.

The 1911 Chalmers - look at that stance!!!!

1911 Milestones:

–  International Motor Company was formed (MACK)

– Buick sets a speed record, running 20 miles in just over 13 minutes.

– First Indianapolis 500 was held and won by Ray Harroun in a six-cylinder Marmon Wasp – 6 hours, 42 minutes and 8 seconds of drive time.

The Marmon Wasp

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Automakers World War II Efforts- Crosley

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As you know, the US government asked and eventually forced the auto industry to contribute to the war effort.  This series is to highlight some of the major contributions and first up is Crosley.

Crosley produced cars from the 1930s until the 1950s.  Interestingly, before Powell Crosley produced cars, he was the owner of the Cincinnati Reds.  Their first car, what we would call a subcompact these days, was a convertible.

1939 Crosley Convertible

For the war effort Crosley supplied its power plant the four-cylinder CoBra.  CoBra was short for  Copper Brazed and often refered to as the “The Might Tin” it was used aboard PT boats  and  and the B-17 Flying Fortress bombers  mainly to power generators, refrigeration compressors, etc., and were widely praised for their successes in the war effort. The engine was made from sheet metal rather than cast iron like most other engines.

CoBra Block – the thin walls reduced hot spots.

Crosley CoBra this one was set up for vehicle use

Crosley stayed in business after WWII and eventually closed up in 1952.  Their last attempt to save the company was to production a utility vehicle called the  Farm-O-Road which was used on farm and ranches.

1950 Farm-O-Road Utility

Their last car was in 1952:

Last year of production for Crosley

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Vacuum – Tune it up!

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Checking the vacuum on your old car is an important part of a thorough, but most of the average guys don’t bother, or don’t have the gauge.  Most often if you do have the gauge, you might not be exactly sure what the reading might be.  For the recorded I’ve never had a car where the readings were stable.  Normally you’ll get a fluctuating reading that move around.  Below are a few ‘ranges’ and what they may indicate.

Standard Vacuum Gauge

These are for V8’s only:

–  A good reading will be between 15 and 22 in. hg (a steady needle).  Closing the throttle you should see a 5 notch drop and reopening it should settle back previous span (15-20).

– If you get a reading where the needle has a swing 4-5 in. hg ethier side of normal, you are looking at a possible simple carb adjustment.

–  If the reading is higher than normal you need look at replacing your air filter or check to ensure your choke is not stuck.

–  Low reading would be fairly steady reading around 5 hg will have you looking for a vacuum leak on the intake/carb area.  Look for poor connections at the carb or any “T” or “Y” or straight though connection.  Baring that look for cracked hose.  You know I hate vacuum leaks.  I recently restored a 1984 corvette with the Crossfire injection set up.  Rather than chase down a single spot, I just replaced them all.  That was a lot of vacuum hose and tucked in some stuff spots.  But you are working on something bit older, like my 1970 Mustang, replace it all, it’s going to go back sooner or later, especially with the kind of temps we have out here in the Southwest.

–  If you get a reading that between 8 and 14 you are looking at a timing issue at the least to leaking piston rings at the worse.  Do a compression check for the leak and use your timing light before you tear it apart.

–  If the needle is swinging (unsteady) between 14 and 19 hg that indicates valve guide problems.  That going to be a valve guide problem.

Thanks for reading

Tim

 

Auto Factoids for Week of Oct 9 2011

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O.K.  These are back, enjoy.

 

10/12/1950  Kaiser-Frazer Built their 500, oooth car.

There ya go...the 500, 000 th

 

On 10/13/ in 1902 Packard Motor Car Co. was formed from the Ohio Automobile Co.  Of interest: In September, 1900, the Ohio Automobile Company was founded as the manufacturer, while the cars were always sold as Packards. Since these automobiles quickly gained an excellent reputation, and there were more automobile makers that produced — or at least planned to — under the label “Ohio”, the name was changed soon: On October 13, 1902, it became the Packard Motor Car Company.

 

1902 Packard Model F

 

An Ohio

 

The very next day 63 years later Oldsmobile debuts the Toronado (10/14/1965).

1965 Toronado I want one of these

 

On 10/15/1945 Oldsmobile began creating producing per war cars.

And  1924 on the 15th of October, one of my hero’s was born.  The proud Poppa  of the Mustang and savior of Chrysler Lee Iococca was born in Allentown, PA.

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim